Everything on the menu sounded delicious, so it was difficult to decide on what to order.  Lucky for us, they were featuring their Summer Tasting Menu, which consisted of a first course, a second course, side dishes and dessert.  Unlike most prix fixe menus where you are asked to pick one item in each course from the pre-selected options, Craftsteak serves you everything that’s listed on their Summer Tasting Menu.  A total of 13 different items!  All courses were served family style with more than enough food to keep our appetites sated.

FIRST COURSE

SECOND COURSE

SIDE DISHES

DESSERT (Chef’s Selection)

And because all of that food wasn’t going to suffice, we also ordered from the regular menu to supplement our already over-indulgent meal.

Craftsteak will be serving this same menu during Restaurant Week (August 31 – September 6, 2009) at $50.09 per person.  A portion of the proceeds benefits Three Square Food Bank, a partner organization of Feeding America.

Happy Spooning and Forking!

The last day in New York City was probably my favorite day out of our entire trip. Of course I was sad that our vacation was coming to an end, but it couldn’t have been a more perfect day.

Having packed the night before, we got up early and got ready for a brisk morning walk to attend morning Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, probably the most beautiful Cathedral that I have ever stepped into. Not really having definite plans for our last day in New York City other than lunch, we whiled the morning away by strolling around Midtown Manhattan, caught a parade along 5^th Avenue and then made our way to our lunch destination, Peking Duck House (Midtown location).

Upon our arrival, the restaurant seemed fairly busy and the noise level was pretty moderate, like in almost all Chinese restaurants on a Sunday.  Towards the back of the restaurant, there were two large (and noisy) parties, but luckily we were able to secure a table in the front of the restaurant, in a semi-private room away from the noise, at the large windows facing the street.

As soon as we were seated, our waiter provided us with menus and took our drink orders. Within mere minutes, he returned with our drinks and a complimentary appetizer(-ish) of shredded cabbage and carrots, dressed lightly in a sweet vinaigrette dressing. This was quite refreshing.  Unexpected.  Different.  But refreshing.

Because our (I mean, my) main purpose of having lunch here was for the Peking duck, it was imperative that we order it. However, unfortunately for us, the Peking duck dinner ($32.50 per person and includes 2 entrees) required a minimum of 4 people. Being that it was just the two of us, we had to order a la carte (which was considerably more expensive than the Peking Duck dinner, but a drop in the bucket compared to the dinner tasting menu at Per Se that I wish I had booked.)

According to their website, Peking duck is “one of the most sophisticated arts of Chinese Cooking. “  They “prepare well in advance.  First, air is pumped into the duck to stretch and loosen the skin, and then boiled water is repeatedly spread over the bird, which is then carefully dried.  The dried skin is rubbed all over with maltose and the duck is then roasted in a hot oven for a period of time until the meat is tender and the skin is crispy.”

The duck arrived at our table and was presented to us by the chef.  He did a little carving presentation for us and expertly sliced up the duck into thin, medallion-like slices and arranged the slices beautifully on a plate.  We almost didn’t want to disturb the presentation, but yeah, that lasted for about a minute.  Hunger over-ruled aesthetics, yet again.

After carving the duck (and leaving a lot of meat left on the bone), the chef proceed to make little Peking duck “burritos” for us.

Each delicious parcel consisted of their house made pancake filled with duck slices, scallions, cucumber sticks and then topped with their special sauce, which tasted like your basic hoisin (plum) sauce to me.

The duck was pretty good.  I’d have preferred the skin to be a bit crispier, but the meat was tender and juicy.  I’ve never had Peking duck served with the tortilla-like pancake before.  I was expecting tiny steamed buns, but it was delicious just the same. The entire duck yielded approximately 20-25 thin slices of duck meat and skin, leaving a lot more meat on the duck skeleton, which the chef promptly took away.

I immediately asked the waiter what they were going to do with the leftover duck (as there were still a lot of meat on the duck that we ordered) and he asked us if we wanted it and of course I said yes.  What was I thinking?  I was thinking that I wanted my $46 dollars worth of duck, dammit!

Not one to contribute to gastronomic waste, I asked for the duck, hoping that they’d at least cut it up and put it in one of those Chinese take out boxes.  Boy, was I mistaken.  They bagged the poor baby up in a paper sack, then put the paper sack into a plastic bag, then put the plastic bag into a plastic grocery sack.  Seriously!  Like I was really going to be carrying a grocery bag filled with what was obviously a carcass of some sort, through Midtown Manhattan back to our hotel.   We had a plane to catch and I sure as hell wasn’t going to take that now carcass of duck  on the plane in the way that they wrapped it up.  The meaty duck skeleton ended up being thrown in a garbage can on our walk back to the hotel.  So much for not wanting to contribute to gastronomic waste.

To complete our meal, we ordered Shrimp Fried Rice and Crispy String Beans with Minced Pork.  The fried rice was flavorful and contained more than enough bay shrimp than I could have expected.  The string beans were as described on the menu, crispy, with minced pork and sauteed in what seemed like garlicy oyster sauce.  Delicious!  A perfect meal to end a wonderful vacation.

So after dinner at Lombardi’s, we headed across the street to a corner convenience store to pick up some portable libations (in the form of a can of Japanese imported beer, wrapped with a brown paper bag) for the walk to the first bar/lounge where we met up with 3 more willing participants in our Friday night Bar Crawl…

We made our way, in what seemed like a circle, to our first stop on our bar crawl, La Linea Bar-Lounge.  We didn’t really stay too long at this bar.  5 minutes tops.  It was already a bit packed.  The clientele seemed majority Hispanic.  Hip Hop and R& B music blaring from the speakers.  People seemed to be enjoying themselves there. The ladies room was fairly clean, but expected as it was still early in the evening.

From La Linea, we walked to our second stop, Karma, where we were able to secure the couches in the front room and stayed a bit… Most of our alcohol consumption occurred here in AA-alarming amounts.  The music thumped.  They know how to make a proper chilled SoCo-lime here, so I was happy. The drinks were strong enough.    Laughter insued.  High Fives were given way too much and what resulted was a huge bruise that spanned across 3 fingers on my right hand.  (Don’t ask me how, it was all a blur.)  Hookahs.  DJ.  Loungy.  Private back room.  No lines at the bar.  Friendly bartender.  Casual feel.  And an amazing group of friends to share it all with.

Around 11:00 pm, we split the party into 2 cabs and headed towards what should have been our highlight of the evening – Santos Party House where Q-Tip was the guest dj that night.  Now this is what I was really looking forward to.  And obviously, as evidenced by the line that snaked around the block, we weren’t the only ones who wanted to be in the presence of dj greatness.  I’ve been a fan of Q-Tip since he left his wallet in El Segundo.  Yup, before he branched off on his own and was a member of the awesome group, A Tribe Called Quest.  I think I even have “Left My Wallet in El Segundo” and/or “Bonita Applebum” on vinyl.  There was no way in hell we were getting in, even if I, or the other girls I was with, or dj Yellowjacket, had some sort of wardrobe malfunction in front of the doorman, there was not chance in getting in – not that night, anyway.

So what do we do?  It was still too early to call it a night and our buzz wore off during the short cab ride, so we walk over to Moomia, just  a half a block down the street.  I thought that this bar/club/hookah lounge or whatever you want to call it, was pretty strange.  It was Egyptian themed, like cheesy Egyptian themed.  There were heiroglyphics on the wall and everything.  There’s a decent bar area, small dancefloor and a comfortable seating area.  The clientele here, at least the night that we were there, seemed pretty mixed, with more Asians than I expected.  I thought I was in California for a brief moment.  The dj that night played obnoxiously loud trance music the entire time we were there – so loud that it made it difficult to talk to anyone over the noise.  It gave me a headache. I was so ready to leave… but not until the cocktail server came back with my drinks.

After we downed our drinks, we walked out of Moomia, flagged down a towncar and headed over to our last stop for the night, Sutra Lounge.  And though we didn’t stay long, and I wanted to, trust me, I really wanted to, it was by far my favorite.  The decor is warm and inviting.  There’s an amber glow the minute you step in, that ultimately sets the mood at this urban lounge.  Comfortable banquettes line the walls, with the dancefloor dominating the space in the center.  The music was blaring.  The crowd seemed to be enjoying themselves.  There was a strong urban vibe to this lounge that surpassed all of the other lounges that we dropped by that night.  I soaked it all in for a brief moment and truly  loved it.  You’ll need to check out the ladies room…  Overlook the fact that you feel like they crammed in one stall too many or that the floor is a bit slick,  and give your eyes a few seconds or so to adjust to the dim lighting.  Then focus on the “artwork” on the walls and on the stall door… colorful pages from the Kama Sutra itself. Ha!

What I enjoyed most about the bars/lounges that we went to that night was that they were so much more relaxed than the clubs here in Las Vegas.  Las Vegas clubs are so pretentious and basically a place for people to hook up.  It’s all “smoke and mirrors”.  Glitz, glamour and unwarranted hype.  The lounges in New York City are more relaxed and provided a comfortable setting to hang out with some friends and catch up on each other or to meet new people without  pretentiousness.   I’d take that over a Vegas club any day.

Happy Spooning and Forking (and Sipping and Chugging… )…

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What’s a trip to New York City without having a slice or two or more of some spectacular New York Style pizza?  And what better place to indulge ourselves than at the historical Lombardi’s.  According to New York history, Lombardi’s was licensed by the City of New York in 1905, becoming America’s FIRST EVER Pizzeria.  So, a big THANK YOU to Mr. Gennaro Lombardi for introducing us Americans to pizza.

The pizza at Lombardi’s is still being cooked in the original coal burning oven it has had since it opened in 1897.  Coal burning ovens are now illegal in NYC, but thankfully, Lombardi’s got grandfathered in and is still allowed to operate the pizzeria using their coal burning oven.

Personally, I believe that the coal burning oven is key to the overall Lombardi’s pizza experience.  The coal creates an amazing, subtly blackened and smoky underskirt,  that serves as a perfect platform for whatever toppings you decide to put on your pizza. Also, even though the crust is thin and a bit charred, it’s still doughy and chewy.

As for toppings, we chose to keep it simple – tomato sauce, cheese, sausage and mushrooms.  The tomato sauce was fresh, not your usually watered down tomato concoction.  The mozzarella was gooey and piled on generously.  The sausage and mushrooms, though adding to the overall taste, didn’t need to be there as they were merely accessories to an already amazingly delicious pie.  Their caesar salad was a great accompaniment to the meal.  All was washed down happily with a glass of Brooklyn Lager off the tap.

Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures of my Lombardi’s experience, as I was too busy stuffing my face.  However, here are some pictures that my friend Mas took on his visit there last Halloween with some friends.  Can you feel the pizza love?

There is usually a wait at Lombardi’s, but well worth it, for probably the best pizza in all of New York City.  They offer sidewalk seating if you prefer, but the restaurant’s cozy interior makes pizza pie consumption all the more blissful.

Happy Spooning and Forking…

32nd Street – Manhattan’s Koreatown

After browsing at the menus of about four Korean barbeque restaurants, we found ourselves at Shilla BBQ and were seated in the back room, amidst many tables with their table top barbeque grills fired up at full blast.  By the time we left the place, our clothes smelled like we had been bathing in a barbeque pit – all part of the experience of dining in a Korean bbq joint.

Banchan are small side dishes, usually set in the middle of the table to be shared by everyone.

Our banchan consisted of kimchee, a soy based dipping sauce, steamed spinach and about five others, that were not so distinguishable, yet tasty just the same.

Instead of cooking our own lunch at our table top grill, which I often like to do, simply because it’s fun, we ordered from the lunch special menu and left all the cooking and food preparation to the chefs behind the kitchen doors.  For lunch I ordered the Bulgogi Lunch Special Box ($10.95).  Lunch was served in a partitioned plate reminiscent of school lunch trays, only prettier, as the partitioned plate was a nice shade of red orange.  Lunch also included seaweed soup and steamed rice.

Following are pictures of my “lunch box” deconstructed…

After a delicious lunch, we stopped by the Korean pastry shop and made our way to the Empire State Building where we were herded like cattle through the many queues to get to the observation deck.  I actually liked the view from the Top of the Rock much better and there really was no line issues or claustrophobic situations or any risk of being goosed by that stinky European tourist.

Happy Spooning and Forking…

Junior’s Cheesecake

We got two cheesecakes to share between us. And it was New York cheesecake as it should be.  Thick, though light and silky, all at the same time.

I chose the Blueberry Cheesecake to go complement my strawberry and lemon gelato.  We also got the plain cheesecake to balance everything out.  My only complaint is that I wish that there was a slightly thicker layer of the graham cracker crust.  What we had (at least on the slices that we had) was merely a scattering of graham cracker crumbs, that seemed to be there merely to keep the cheesecake from sticking to the pan.

Having what’s said to be the best cheesecake in New York City, in an iconic New York City location, with wonderful friends, couldn’t have been any better.  I truly enjoyed it.

Happy Spooning and Forking!

Gelato and Sorbet selections

After 10 minutes of sampling the different gelato flavors available, I opted for a refreshing strawberry sorbet, topped over an equally refreshing lemon sorbet.  Weak, I know, but trust me…. there is a reason for my madness and why I opted for sorbet instead of gelato.  (see post above)

Happy Spooning and Forking!