Category Archives: West Village

EN Japanese Brasserie

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EN Japanese BrasserieEN Japanese Brasserie
435 Hudson St
(between Leroy St & St Lukes Pl)
New York, NY 10014

EN Japanese Brasserie is one of the first Japanese restaurants I had heard of when I moved to NYC. It is one of those places “everyone” has been to and deems to be a good place. I had never been because there have been so many cuter, smaller Japanese restaurants in NYC that always make the cut over EN. After a very long week at work, LAW and I finally made last minute reservations for a late dinner at EN. Our table wasn’t ready so I immediately got a drink to force myself to relax (is this how I know I’m getting old?). I had the Ginger Cocktail ($13), which was a mixture of homemade ginger ale, rice shochu “Shiro,” lime juice, and soda. The drink was very light, too light for my purposes, but pleasant. The homemade ginger ale was soothing and gentle. The lime juice added just a little acidity to the ginger and rice shochu. The drink was so light to begin with that they really needed to use one of those gigantic ice cubes because the mini crushed ice cubes they used diluted the drink too quickly.

EN Japanese BrasserieWe ordered the EN Kaiseki ($65), which is the smaller of the two prix fixe menus offered. Kaiseki is a traditional Japanese multi-course dinner. The meal is meant to be balanced and seasonal.

The kaiseki starts with an O-Banzai, a chef’s selection of three small Kyoto-style appetizers. We had the Hijiki (hijiki seaweed and soy bean simmered in shoyu), Zenmai Piri-Kara (royal fern sprouts in a spicy shichimi togarashi) and Kinoko Kiriboshi Daikon Ohitashi (assorted Japanese mushrooms & sun dried daikon radish with yuzu). All three were chilled, delicious, and balanced. The hijiki seaweed was sweet and tasted slightly of miso. Unlike the typical green, flat, and crunchy seaweed salad you find, hijiki is cylindrical and chewy (super QQ!). Delicious. The zenmai piri-kara was my least favorite only because I tend to not like mushy things – the royal fern sprouts were quite mushy. My favorite was the kinoko kiriboshi daikon ohitashi. The assorted Japanese mushrooms were bulbous little buds and tremendously fragrant. I had never had sun dried daikon before. It tastes less bitter than fresh daikon. The yuzu was so light, slightly sweet, and slightly citrusy. I can imagine the sauce tasting great with a nice fillet of fish…

EN Japanese Brasserie
The next course was the Chef’s Sashimi Selection. Bear in mind that photos are only of one portion. We didn’t have to share (more for us!). The chef’s selection wasn’t exactly much of a selection because it included just the basics: salmon, tuna, and yellowtail. I love the basics so it wasn’t a problem. The sashimi was overall decent quality but since I have been going to Kura so often lately, very little can compare.

EN Japanese BrasserieSaikyo Miso Marinated Grilled Black Cod was next. It tasted similar to the Robataya one that I love but was a smaller fillet and less fatty. Flavor was perfect but was lacking the crispy fatty skin that I also love. Continue reading →

L’Artusi, an Italian restaurant in West Village

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L’Artusi
228 W 10th St
(between Bleecker St & Hudson St)
New York, NY 10014

I have yet to find an Italian restaurant that I love in NYC.  I miss the North End in Boston, where the Italian restaurants serve up delicious pastas in the most unpretentious ways.  The waiters and waitresses are sarcastic and on the verge of being rude but with good Italian humor.  The restaurants are cozy and small, always packed with just a table or two too many.  The food is served in large family style portions.  Pasta is not called “rustic” but is just labeled ”homemade” – really the same thing.  Flavors are bold and chefs are not afraid to use large pieces of garlic.  Prices are also reasonable.  That’s a big one.  Paying more than $20 for a non-seafood pasta just seems a bit odd to me.  Well, with that being said, I’ve been on my search nonetheless.  Last week we tried L’Artusi, a pretty well-known Italian restaurant in the city that we had not gone to yet.  LAW and I were in the mood for pasta and fish and L’Artusi had just that.


We started with the Roasted Mushrooms with pancetta, fried egg, and ricotta salata ($17). This is the priciest appetizer on the menu but is also their most well-known.  Almost every review I’ve come across about L’Artusi mentioned the roasted mushrooms as being amazing.  And it really was quite good.  The mushrooms had an amazing chewy texture, but more importantly, an AMAZING smokey flavor.  The egg served as a nice creamifier as it added a bit of moisture to the mushrooms.  Ricotta salata (ricotta that has been pressed, salted, and dried) was very light, which was great because when I first saw the dish, I was intimidated by the volume of cheese piled onto the shrooms.  Luckily, they served little purpose other than adding a bit of saltiness.  There were also little slices of roasted garlic and some kind of pickles, both adding a bit of sharpness to the dish.  Yum.  Though not $17 kind of yum.  It’s really difficult to mess up mushrooms, eggs, and garlic and though the dish was good, it didn’t blow my mind.


This is the Orecchiette with sausage, salami, and pecorino ($18), rated one of the 12 most epic New York City pastas to eat before you die by Eater.  The orecchiette pasta was cooked perfectly al dente, with a slight bit of elasticity when chewed.  Sweet Italian sausage was good, though was nothing special.  I loved the tinge of bitterness and the slight crisp texture the radicchio offered, it really complemented the sweetness of the sausage and the creaminess of the cheese.  If it were up to me, I would’ve added a little more chili flakes to kick up the heat.  Otherwise, it was a solid pasta dish.  I, again, wasn’t overwhelmed by how awesome it was, but was happy with it. Continue reading →

Late Night Snack at The Dutch

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The Dutch
131 Sullivan St
(between Prince St & Houston St)
New York, NY 10012

 

After a loooooooooong day yesterday, I met up with M.B. at about 10pm for a quick bite.  I hadn’t had dinner but only wanted something light (busy days… they either make me ravenous or the opposite).  She suggested The Dutch, a trendy modern American restaurant in the West Village that is particularly known for their late night dining.  If you read their “about me” page and watch the video, you get the sense that this is a real food kind of place, a place that probably serves large portions and is about simple, good tasting food.

YUP, THAT’S THEM. SO, WHAT’S GOOD HERE ANYWAY?

We cook things that make us happy, like a seasonal green market salad; a deluxe steak with a tower of shellfish; tasty sandwiches; flavorful curry or chili; homey fried chicken and fresh pie or something altogether surprising and new. You should really check out the menus.

DO YOU BUY LOCAL?

Sure.

ORGANIC?

Sometimes.

MAKE YOUR OWN HOT SAUCE?

Absolutely.

SOUNDS INTERESTING. WHAT DO YOU CALL THAT? IS IT DUTCH FOOD?

It’s American food.

 

See what I mean? Continue reading →

Fish, a seafood shack in the West Village

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Fish
280 Bleecker St
(between Jones St & Commerce St)
New York, NY 10014

 

At the recent Rosa Mexicano Blogger Tasting Event, I met someone who was obsessed with Fish.  He compared it to one of my favorite restaurants of ALL TIME, Pearl Oyster Bar, and said that he even preferred Fish because it was more gritty and shack-like.  I’ve tried almost all of Pearl Oyster Bar’s competitors, primarily for lobster rolls, and so had to try Fish.  I already knew that it wouldn’t be as good as Pearl because I am loyal and Pearl is the best, but could it be nearly as good?   Continue reading →

La Bota, tapas for people who don’t care about food nor money.

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La Bota
41 Greenwich Ave
(between Charles St & Perry St)
New York, NY 10014

 

I recently went to this little tapas place in the West Village to meet up with some old friends.  Another friend picked the place so I did my research and found that it was rated pretty well – hence, I agreed to go (ha, no but seriously, I don’t like paying for bad food).  Of course I scoured the Internet for all the best things to order prior to coming and ordered those exact things: pitcher of sangria, bacon wrapped dates, meatballs, and croquettes.  Sangria, as pictured above, was a $27 pitcher of immensely watered down red wine with fruits (mainly apples) that felt like they had just been put in recently.  Also, notice the concentric circles on the wedge of apple in my glass?  I vehemently tried to ignore it while sipping my water wine but I couldn’t help but meet its gaze every sip… I really should’ve just removed it, huh.

These are the Datiles con Bacon, aka, dates wrapped in bacon.  For $8, we got 4 mushy dates with probably one slice of bacon cut into quarters.  It wasn’t bad, because nothing can be that bad when bacon is involved.  I was just sad that it didn’t compare to my favorite bacon wrapped dates tapas in Boston at Toro where the dates are slightly crisp on the outside and much more sweet, filled with Marcona almonds and Cabrales blue cheese.  La Bota’s version is much simpler and more expensive.

I read that these meatballs were great and as many of you know, I do love my meatballs (see Meatball Shop, Parisi Bakery, and Banh Mi Saigon).  They apparently come in a mushroom sauce but as you can see, the sauce seems more like a tomato based sauce with some other vegetables in it (including a few slices of mushrooms).  For $9, I would expect something much more intricate.  The balls were small, dry, and very tough.  At least the sauce had enough salt to give the bland meatballs a little flavor.   Continue reading →

The Meatball Shop

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Meatball Shop
64 Greenwich Ave
(between 7th Ave & 11th St)
New York, NY 10011
(also 2 other locations in Lower East Side and Williamsburg)

 

I was never particularly fond of meatballs before living in NYC.  Meatballs always reminded me of dry and limp cafeteria spaghetti – not exactly something I would seek out.  But after moving to NYC, I found that the Meatball Shop was the talk of the town.  As a very open-minded eater, I was eager to change my mind about meatballs and checked out the Meatball Shop as soon as I could.  The first time I went, we waited 2 hours for a table… don’t worry, this was before they had opened any other locations.  I’ve been to all three locations now and will say that the original Lower East Side one has been lacking in quality since the opening of the other two locations… not sure why.  The West Village and Williamsburg locations are great and much bigger.

Okay I know, I should really start with a meatball photo but one of my favorite things about the Meatball Shop is their market salads.  They switch it up… every week maybe?  The one pictured above is probably my favorite: butter lettuce, almonds, radicchio, sunchoke, clementines, and sherry vinaigrette.  If you think about each ingredient… they are all very intensely flavored and so the combination could either go really wrong, or so so right.  The butter lettuce was soooo tender and leafy!  I now know why they are called butter lettuce because in their prime state, they really feel like they melt in your mouth… like butter.  Almonds are always a welcomed addition to anything… it gave the salad a great crunch and nutty context.  Radicchio is slightly bitter and almost a little spicy sometimes.  I actually barely tasted them in this salad but I’m sure they added to the complexity of the salad.  This was my first time having sunchoke and wow, was it amazing.  Sunchokes are knobbly and funny looking… kind of like twisted ginger roots.  They were boiled or maybe blanched just so that they had the consistency of a very chewy potato.  They were slightly creamy… and had slight sweet and nutty undertones.  They went very well with the almonds and butter lettuce.  The clementines were the sweetest I’ve had (nothing like those awful sour and dry ones you find in most supermarkets) and the sherry vinaigrette just bonded all the flavors together.  I. LOVE. THIS. SALAD.

Here is a close-up of a classic beef ball with spicy meat sauce.  See how juicy and tender it looks on the inside?  You have the option of picking the type of ball you want and the type of sauce (see menu photo on top).  Having tried all of the balls and almost in every ball-sauce combination possible, I find that the classic beef ball and spicy meat sauce is my favorite.

Continue reading →

Pearl Oyster Bar: Steamers, Fried Oysters, Grilled Fish, Lobster Roll

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Pearl Oyster Bar 18 Cornelia St (between 4th St & Bleecker St) New York, NY 10014 This place is truly a magical place for me.  Every time I eat here, the whole world pauses for me.  Time just stops.  Everything I have … Continue reading →

The Spotted Pig: Chargrilled Burger with Roquefort (blue cheese) and Shoestring Fries

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The Spotted Pig
314 W 11th St
(between Hudson St & Greenwich St)
New York, NY 10014

 

First of all, I must say that the Spotted Pig has trumped Pearl Oyster Bar in having the best shoestring fries. These strings of potato were fried with fresh slivers of rosemary and garlic slices. The rosemary slivers become rosemary fries (so aromatic!) and the garlic chips add just that bit of kick you need.

 

The burger was very, very good. Blue cheese was a bit much for my Asian-cheese-sensitive palate. I actually read a funny article about someone who brought their own American cheese to the Spotted Pig just so they could have the perfect burger. Coming across the article gave me one of those moments where I was like, “OH MY GOD, SOMEONE OUT THERE IS JUST LIKE ME!”  Anyway.  Bun was slightly dry… I think it’s supposed to be like that but I prefer the Shake Shack bun, which is almost like a potato bun. BUT the burger really was very good! The meat (Pat La Frieda, of course) was very even and smooth… Did not crumble at all. Also did not feel as greasy as Minetta Tavern or Shake Shack. I like the gastropub atmosphere and the fun bubble mirror in the bathroom too.

 

After all this. Shake Shack burger stills wins. Even money aside.

Gusto Ristorante: Orecchietti Al Forno (Prosciutto Cotto & Green Peas)

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Gusto Ristorante e Bar Americano
60 Greenwich Ave
(between Perry St & S 7th Ave)
New York, NY 10011

Thought I would upload another one from this place. It was delicious and creamy… Maybe too creamy. The freshly crushed black pepper that waiters always offer when you get your pasta was absolutely necessary to cut the creaminess. The parmesan crust was a nice salty addition.

Gusto Ristorante: Pappardelle with Shredded Oxtail Ragu, Rosemary, and Arugula

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Gusto Ristorante e Bar Americano
60 Greenwich Ave
(between Perry St & S 7th Ave)
New York, NY 10011

Bought a $50 for $25 card off of Living Social for this one. I always get these foodie deals in my inbox but the restaurants featured are always average expensive places. I have a huge pet peeve against paying high prices for mediocre food. It just does not make sense to me. If you need a bit of ambience too, there are plenty of places with good food, nice ambience, and good prices.  It is pretty hard for a place to get high reviews if the food is more than $50 per person.  The food better be DAMN good and the place better be REALLY cool or EXTREMELY beautiful.  I still want to go experience the Phillip Johnson designed bar at the Four Seasons in NYC.  Even if a drink is at least $20… I need to see the crazy beautiful light/sculpture at the bar…

Anyway, Gusto is rated very well and is an Italian place. I have not found many good Italian places in New York… Daily Catch and Giacomo’s in Boston still win. Decided to buy the card deal and give the place a try. The place is very modern chic… beautiful mirrors, spacious seating, elegant lighting fixtures, and foreign waiters… Ambience, yes?  Yes. Food… This Oxtail Ragu is the Italian version I’d Xi’an Famous Noodles. Very very tasty tomato sauce with hints of oxtail, rosemary and garlic. The shredded Oxtail had a great balance of fatty and lean meat. The Pappardelle itself was a bit too thin (therefore not chewy or QQ enough). $19 for this pasta. A bit on the pricier side… Especially since portions were not huge. But with my card, we only had to pay tip. Ultimately spent $35 on an AMAZING grilled octopus appetizer (I don’t even like octopus) and two pretty great pastas. I may go back because the food was solid and the place was so pretty.  Boston still wins though.