Foodie Love

New York City Review: Pure Food & Wine

Pure Food & Wine
54 Irving Place (by 27th Street- next to Casa Mono)
New York, NY
+1-212-477-1010

I first went to Pure Food & Wine last September for my friend's birthday since he had become raw vegan. I'm a meat eater so going to a vegan (and especially raw vegan) restaurant was not high on my priority list. But I'm always up for culinary adventures so I went for the dinner with slight skepticism. The restaurant impressed me and left me feeling full and satisfied without a bite of meat! It truly was a new experience and I was greeted with a lot of new flavors and textures. I have immense respect for those who cook here because it takes an extra dose of creativity to be able to make raw vegan food look and taste this good. I walked into the restaurant thinking that I would be unhappily chewing on raw leaves and bland food but on the contrary the food here was extremely well seasoned and so flavorful. This all makes sense because they dehydrate a lot of the ingredients. The desserts are a little rich and sweet for me (lots of coconut butter, coconut cream and agave nectar)but they are still impressive (you wouldn't be able to tell that they don't contain dairy) and sharing a dessert is perfect.

This cheese plate was something we were all looking forward to. The three cheeses were made with nut milk and had the texture of real cheese.

Sushi rolls with no rice? Jicama is used instead of rice and that combined with all the other vegetables offers a crunchy yet soft texture. I quite liked the untoasted seaweed as well.

Corn and avocado soup

Tacos al pastor- so many different textures and such a pretty dish!

The tamales was AMAZING- you wouldn't think it was raw or vegan

Cauliflower cous cous

Dark chocolate Semi-freddo with passion fruit sorbet

My friend actually ended up working for Pure Food & Wine and I have been back to eat three times since with a few trips to One Lucky Duck (the take out section of Pure Food & Wine with a great selection of juices and smoothies).

I went back last Saturday (May 2012) and ate out in the terrace for the first time. The weather was beautiful and the space was gorgeous- I never knew how spacious it was out there.

Morels, peas, asparagus and truffles carpaccio. So sexy!

Oyster mushroom scallops

Philly Roll

Hen of the woods tacos el pastor- love the acid in the sauce/vinaigrette

A signature dish: lasagna

New spring dessert- Strawberry tart with basil "ice cream"

Labels: new york city, pure food and wine, raw, raw vegan, restaurant, vegan, vegetarian

New York City Review: Rosanjin

Rosanjin

141 Duane St

212-346-0664

Rosanjin was a very interesting find. I initially came across the restaurant's name when I was looking for Japanese restaurants to work at, and the food seemed very authentic but there was very minimal information and reviews about it online. I went there on a Thursday evening and my friends and I were the only customers! The restaurant only seats about 24 people but it was surprising to see no other guests.

I immediately noticed that the servers were slightly awkward, but friendly. They didn't quite seem to know what they were doing. It was an unusually hot day that day and they gave us a hot towel (would have appreciated a cold one). We ordered the $80 kaiseki course, which we had to indicate when we made the reservation on Open Table.

The food I had at Rosanjin was probably the most authentic refined Japanese food I've had in New York City (along with my meal at Inagiku at the Waldorf Astoria). The $80 course filled me up about 90% and we all thought the price was very reasonable. Why then is there so little publicity about this restaurant??? The restaurant is owned by a Korean man who spent a lot of time in Japan (in fact his Japanese sounds native), and he is new to the industry. I think if they had a better front of house manager and put in more effort to market the place, they could really make a name for themselves. It's a shame that not more people know about Rosanjin because the food was excellent.

Green tea tofu with tonburi (mountain caviar) and nagaimo (Japanese yam)- cut ridiculously fine

Sashimi course: botan ebi (a very sweet shrimp), toro (tuna belly), uni (sea urchin) and hirame (flounder)

Grilled gindara (sable fish) with daikonoroshi (grated daikon radish), myouga (like ginger), abalone and shrimp

Ebi shinjou (grated shrimp and fish with egg whites) with gomadoufu (sesame tofu), fiddlehead fern and satoimo (Japanese yam)

Tempura (the one with the little rice crackers around it was scallop)

Pickles, corn rice and miso soup

Desserts in a kaiseki meal are never elaborate- usually just fruit and/or ice cream

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Labels: japanese food, kaiseki, new york city, rosanjin, tribeca

New York City Review: M Wells

M Wells

21-17 49th Avenue

Long Island City, Queens (at 21st Street)

718-425-6917

Unfortunately as I write about M Wells, there is sad news that it will close at the end of August. Apparently they have another location but it's not known when they will reopen. Read the article here.

M Wells is really a place for people who love to eat. I was told that it was not an actual diner and that the menu changes regularly so I was picturing a spread of healthy, local and organic dishes. Instead, I learned that it was owned by Chef Dufour, who used to work at Au Pied de Cochon in Montreal (which I have actually been to) so a lot of the food was a heart attack waiting to happen.

When I walked into this retro diner, I thought they were trying too hard to just be different and hipster. But once I ate their food I didn't care about their slow service or attempt at making Long Island City the next Williamsburg. We ordered a few dishes and shared them family style- the best way to eat with friends. There really is no clear theme or concept for the food here... They just serve whatever tastes good I suppose- and I had a bit of a problem wrapping my head around it at first. But my taste buds and belly had no problem accepting M Wells. I didn't take a photo of the herb salad with buttermilk dressing but it was an eye opener! Loved the dill in the salad and there was plenty of dressing coating each leaf.

I knew I had to eat this when I saw another table order it. Escargot with bone marrow! It's absolutely genius!

I didn't know what to expect when we ordered the gravlax pie but it exceeded my imagination. One of my favorite dishes of the meal. Loved that there was salmon roe on it. Served with creme fraiche and potatoes.

The steak tartar was just alright, nothing special

The fish and chips had a very thick batter so I wasn't a fan

We were so full at the end but I HAD to order the banana cream pie. It was not too sweet and the crust was close to perfect. Loved it!

Labels: bone marrow, diner, escargot, gravlax pie, Long Island City, M Wells, new york city, queens

New York City Review: Asian Jewels Seafood Restaurant

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Asian Jewels Seafood Restaurant

13330 39th Ave
Flushing, Queens

(718) 359-8600

After doing some research online, it seemed like this was one of the best places in Flushing for dim sum. Just like at the dim sum places in Chinatown on a crowded day you get a number and wait for it to be called out. You really don't have to wait long to get a table so it's worth the wait. It really feels like you're in Hong Kong or somewhere else in China when you walk into this place. What I love about dim sum is the variety you can eat with just two people. Below are photos of everything we ate between the two of us.

Some sort of pork patty

Siew mai: pork and shrimp dumpling

One of my favorites: pork riblets with black bean sauce

Chicken feet: better than any I've had in Chinatown because it's very tender

Turnip cake

Shrimp stuffed chili peppers

Didn't really like this: celery, carrots and shrimp wrapped with glass noodles

One of my favorites: fried glutinous rice balls with sesame and lotus root paste

Fried dough wrapped in rice noodles

Some sort of pork ball

Rice noodles with shrimp

Labels: asian jewels seafood, chinese, dim sum, flushing, new york city, queens

New York City Review: Amy Ruth's

Amy Ruths
113 West 116th Street
212-280-8779

On Saturday, my friend and I walked from Columbus Circle to around 96th street through Central Park because he wanted to go to a raquetball tournament. It was a beautiful, sunny, breezy day and as I was lying in the grass looking at where we were on blackberry maps, I realized that we were only 20 blocks away from Harlem. I immediately suggested we walk further north to go eat some fried chicken. I really wanted to go to Charles' Pan-fried Chicken but it was a little too far up, so we went to Amy Ruth's instead.

I hadn't been there for two years but nothing had changed in the restaurant. I ordered The Ludacris (four chicken wings) with mac & cheese and collard greens. My friend ordered the Reggie Harris (Southern honey dipped fried chicken) with grits and coleslaw. Portion wise I thought mine was more generous. The chicken wings here are definitely my favorite in town- crispy outside, juicy inside, no sauce around it... The mac & cheese could've used a little more salt but other than that the meal completely satisfied me. We ordered a banana pudding and velvet cake for dessert but it was a little unnecessary since they were huge and on the sweet side.

Labels: amy ruths, collard greens, fried chicken, harlem, mac and cheese, new york city

New York City Review: Robataya

Robataya NY

231 East 9th St. New York

212 979 9674

As soon as I walked into Robataya, I felt like I was back in Japan. Everyone greeted us with a powerful "いらっしゃいませ～" ("irasshaimase", which means welcome) and most of the staff were Japanese. There were two cooks taking center stage, surrounded by the fresh ingredients and grill. They sit on a low stool with a cutting board in between them and the grill. The waiters call out the orders for the grill and the cooks repeat the order and don't even have to write it down. They display their knife skills in front of the guests and when they finish plating a dish, they pass it over to the guests using a paddle. The counter seats were full by 7pm or so and everyone was amused by this show.

This is one of the few authentic Japanese restaurants that I've been to in the US and I would definitely go back here for comfort food. They use quality ingredients and simple cooking methods. It's exactly the kind of food I love to eat. Besides the robatayaki (grill), they also have kamameshi, which is rice cooked in the traditional way (in a kama or pot), with ingredients such as salmon & salmon roe, chicken and burdock and king crab. Ordering may be a bit of a challenge for first timers but the waiters are prepared to explain the menu and they also have an omakase course.