savory-bites » New York City

The Great GoogaMooga | Prospect Park, Brooklyn

Jessie — Mon, 21 May 2012 17:24:53 +0000

Many thanks to Cat, who snagged Sabrina and me a pair of GoogaMooga tickets. This was my excuse to enjoy some awesome weather yesterday.

If you haven’t heard of GoogaMooga by now, think Coachella or EDC and then scale that down by like 1,000,000x. Supposedly 40k people filled the park this weekend, and despite that massive figure, there was still plenty of sitting room under the shade. Plus, unlike music festivals where you can go on all night, the human stomach at one point will reach its capacity, limiting the potential of infinite enjoyment at a food festival. That being said, it was a blast.

Layout: Dozens of restaurants have a “store front,” clustered by burgers, pizza, dessert, etc… Each restaurant features a specific dish and that’s the only item you can buy. Beverages are purchased at a separate stand.

Gameplan: Split everything with Sabster. General admission was free, unless if you were willing to shell out $250 for VIP tickets (those who did complained over Twitter that it was a giant rip-off as they ran out of food early in the day), and each vendor sold food in the range of $5-$12. We got here early because vendors were told to prepare for 2k portions despite the event expecting 40k people.

No DSLRs were allowed, so it was back to the regular point-and-shoot.

Stop 1: Craft (Tom Colicchio)

Dirty Duck Dog: $7.00

Taste: Like duck. Surprising? It wasn’t like eating a roasted duck, but in a blind test I would have known it was duck. There’s a hoisin like sauce in place of your usual ketchup/mustard and there’s some pickled cabbage to act as your sauerkraut. Interesting aftertaste, which wasn’t necessarily bad. Bun was perfectly soft (guess it was a regular hot dog bun, notin’ wrong with that). Texture of duck dog was like a sausage. Not too chewy or grainy.

Rating: 7/10

Line: Practically none at 11:15am

Stop 2: Vinegar Hill House

VHH Juice: $5

Taste: WTF did they put in this?! Worst juice I’ve had in my life. Tasted like a tomato met an egg white and didn’t know what to do but explode into a bitter tangy mess. I have no idea what was on the rim, but it was spicy and if I had to venture a guess, Paprika?

Rating: -1/10

I can’t believe Sabrina drank the whole thing. The stuff she does when you tell her it’s healthy for you…

Soft Shell Crab Sandwich: $11

Taste: Impeccably delicious. Would have used a bun without sesame seeds, but this crabwich is nearly perfect. Soft shell crab was perfectly done- it was crunchy and perfectly seasoned. The spicy mayo was the cherry on top. Could have done without as much cabbage, but like I said, nearly perfect.

Rating: 8/10

Line: Pretty darn long by the time the afternoon rolled around, but only a <10 minute wait around 11:30am

Stop 3: Sausage demo with Adam Kaye of BLUE HILL FARM!!!

(Adam: “Yes, I realize that the sausage maker is named ‘dick.’ The full name of the company is actually named F. Dick.” [Adam snickers] “It appears that we all become 8 year olds when we make sausage.”)

Here’s some interesting stuff that you probably never want to know about sausage:

The encasing for sausage is made out of natural ingredients. What part of an animal’s body do you think provides for natural encasing? That’s right! You guessed it! The intestines! I’m not sure why this grosses people out because the stuff that’s in the lining when you’re eating sausage is probably much worse.
Ever eat a grainy sausage? It’s because instead of pre-freezing the meat/fat prior to grinding, the meat/fat was at room temperature, causing the fat to ooze through the grinder rather than getting that clean slice. Yum.
Some sausages aren’t cooked- ie salami.

Don’t worry. I still love sausages.

Stop 4: Brindle Room

Steakhouse Cheeseburger: $10 (“the best $10 you’ll ever spend in your life”)

Taste: This rather inglorious looking burger appears desperately pathetic. Don’t blame Brindle for this; blame Sabrina. Since she wouldn’t eat cheese and they were afraid that the cheese would melt all over the patty if they only melted half a slice, I decided to just slap on that americano [cheese] after it came out. Don’t let this picture deceive you. This is the best damn burger I’ve probably ever had. That’s right. ever had. Holy smokes!

This burger was so outstanding, I think it deserves another paragraph. First, this thing did not need any cheese and as I read the description on the Brindle Room’s brunch menu, it sure as heck does not need any caramelized onions for that matter. Well, what could make a burger so great you ask? First the juice. ohmygosh, each bite practically drooled with the juices. The interior was slightly pink with the meat soaking in all that juice. Then the flavor hits you. Not once, not twice, but throughout the bite. I have no idea what they did to make it so flavorful. You could tell that there was a good amount of salt added- perhaps it was aged because I don’t think you can achieve that saltiness by just tossing in some salt. Either way, this burger beats the Spotted Pig and Minetta Tavern burgers and you only have to pay $12 for it!! What a steal!

Rating: 11/10

Line: Too short (nobody sadly at around noon)

Stop 5: Roberta’s (their website looks like someone hosted a unicorn party and forgot to clean up)

Bee Sting: Tomato, mozz, soppresata, honey, chili oil $12

Taste: Interestingly painful is all I can say. Painful for the overdose of chili oil, which not even a shirley temple could remedy. If it weren’t for the intensity of the spice, I think I would have fully enjoyed this. Everything else was done well though- the crust was paper thin, the cheese melted just the way you’d expect fresh mozz to melt, and the tomato sauce was just sweet enough. The honey was a thoughtful touch and worked quite well with the flavors.

Rating: 6/10

Line: 15-20 minutes. I mean, they hand cranked these out and they were made to order. Someone had to haul a portable oven to the park to make this pizza happen. An applause for that.

Stop 5: Collichio & Sons

Yes, that is pork belly. You’ve probably had it in the form of BACON

Pork Belly Tacos: 1 for $7, 2 for $12 (not on the menu at the restaurant)

Taste: Very gluttonous. In my book, it’s very difficult to screw up when a thick form of bacon is your star ingredient. These weren’t exactly tacos as they were made out of corn tortillas (reminded me of arepas, actually), and what looks like shredded cheese is actually just picked cabbage, onions and the works. The toppings provided a refreshing balance to the heaviness of the pork. Some bits of bacon had a welcoming crunch and luckily they weren’t stingy when it came to doling out that bacon.

Rating: 7/10

Line: 10 minutes. Surprisingly short given that the line looked massive. They had two stands- one to order and one for pickup. That’s how many people there were! Word has it that they ran out of propane on Saturday by evening.

Stop 6: Wooly’s

Wooly Mammoth with strawberries, mango and condensed milk: $7.00

Taste: I expected this to be like the shaved ice you get on the streets of Shanghai, but the Wooly’s shredded ice was very interesting. It was like floating on pillows of long shredded down feather that magically melted in your mouth with a silky finish. The condensed milk was a good call. Think froyo but with ice, flavored by the strawberry syrup and condensed milk. A very welcome icy finish to a warm day. Totally recommend trying this if you’re in Chinatown.

Rating: 8/10

Line: 20-30 minutes. As you can expect, by the time 2:30pm rolled around, people were hot, sweaty, and looking for something cool. This was really the only alternative, unless if you wanted generic popsicle sticks and ice cream sandwiches.

Like most festivals nowadays, they encourage composting.

AND LOOK WHO WE FOUND?

Overall, an awesome day. I think I’m done for the rest of the week in terms of food. I’m glad we hit the park early because by the time we starting leaving, alot of the beer at the pavilion was sold out and one restaurant that sold fried cheesecake balls was all sold out too. There have been massive complains floating around that this was a poorly planned event, but seeing as how we got to the festival bright and early, we had none of these issues. Plus, we didn’t get that VIP ticket, as we probably would have rather used that $250 towards a dinner at Per Se.

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An interview with Terry Chen of “Filled with Sweets”

Jessie — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 01:36:36 +0000

Filled with Sweets Bento Box

There’s nothing more inspiring than hearing that someone who you’ve befriend has acted upon his/her passion. Such stories have been creeping up here and here, including Katie Shea of City Slips, Raj Gokal of Sano Intelligence, and Trevor Owens of Lean Startup Machine. But today, I want to dive deeper into someone whose story is at least relevant to this blog.

Meet Terry, founded of Filled with Sweets, an “Asian Inspired” baking company in NYC. I had the chance to meet and catch up with Terry a couple of weekends ago.

Meet Terry, founder of Filled with Sweets, an “Asian Inspired” baking company in NYC. I had the chance to meet and catch up with Terry a couple of weekends ago.

“What led you to start Filled with Sweets?”
Well, I’ve always been into baking. I grew up eating all of these Asian flavors that just aren’t found here and I thought to myself, it can’t just be me. So I started baking using Asian influenced flavors, gave them to my friends, and received really positive feedback. Last year, I began taking this idea seriously. I’ve been at the Hester Street Fair, Park Here (an indoor pop up park in SoHo) and in the Grub Street food fest. I also put my idea onto Kickstarter and had overwhelming support.

“How often do you bake and what do you bake?”
I bake on a weekly basis and churn out 200 baked goods. Right now, we have five cupcake flavors and five cookies. I try to use as much organic and local ingredients as possible. I use hormone free butter and milk and local honey. Since my goods are freshly baked, there are no egg preservatives. One of the things I try to focus on is making my baked goods “not too sweet and with not too much butter” without sacrificing taste. My cupcake frostings use a Swiss Meringue base, which I believe holds up better.

“Did you develop the recipes yourself?”
Yes, it took about five to six months to develop the recipes and tweak them.

“What’s your favorite flavor?”
Definitely sesame! Other people seem to love it too.

“What is your goal with this endeavor?”
Ultimately, I’d love to have my own storefront with international branches. But as a first step, it’d be great to be able to sell at a café or at a gourmet supermarket. Right now, I just have to get the name out and pitch my idea to vendors.

“Are there any new recipes in the development line?”
I actually just got an ice cream maker, so I’m looking to learn how to make ice cream and somehow incorporate that into my baked goods.

For a much detailed (and better interview), head over to Cindy over at LookyTasty.

Terry was nice enough to provide me with her “bento box,” which is a melange of some of her best creations, including maple black sugar cookies, sesame cupcakes, honey jasmine cupcakes, and green tea matcha cookies.

Maple Black Sugar Cookie: filled with coffee cream ($2.00 each, 3 for $5.00)

Not gonna lie, this is pretty darn awesome. It’s not overly sweet, but just enough to satisfy that sweet tooth. The intense maple almost reminds me of a pancake-filled breakfast. That goes to tell you how I drown my pancakes in maple syrup. Unfortunately, this cookie doesn’t hold up well after a few days as it gets a bit harder. But that just gives you one more excuse to gobble it up as quickly as you can.

Honey Jasmine Cupcake: filled with raspberry jam and topped with jasmine frosting ($2.50)

Love the Swiss Meringue frosting. It’s just subtly sweet. But the best part awaits inside. There’s a raspberry filling! Given that I had to wait overnight to eat this, the filling was a great call because it kept the cake moist. Imagine if I had it on the spot…

It’s called Filled with Sweets for a reason!

Black Sesame Cupcake: filled with black sesame paste and topped with black sesame frosting (minis- $1.75 or 3 for $4.50)

This was by far my favorite. For those of you that love sesame, this is a must try. Everything about this screams sesame. In the first bite, there’s only a hint of sesame. But as you dig further into the sesame filling, the sesame flavor punches you in the mouth. Really a wonderful balance of sweet and sesame.

I’m also not the only one who loves Terry’s cookies and cupcakes. Check out her reviews at Yelp.

Be sure to check out Terry at the TAP-NY (Taiwanese American Professionals) Night Market on Friday April 13th as well, ticket are on sale here. The folks at TAP also did a wonderful interview with Terry.

You can find Terry at

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Co. Pizza

Jessie — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 01:41:57 +0000

me: want to hear a joke about pizza?
Esther: okay!
me: nvmd its too cheesy
Esther: haha i loveeee cheesy jokes
Esther: tell mee!

A couple of weeks ago, I made my quarterly visit to see Sabs. She bunked off early from work and we figured we could squeeze in lunch. The only issue was we couldn’t make up our damn minds on where to go. In the end, we settled for Co., this pizza place that supposedly everyone was raving about. By the time we got there, it was nearly 3pm and the afternoon rush had dissipated. Still, the place was quite busy for 3pm.

Just a brief background on Co. (pronounced as Company). Co. opened in 1999 under Jim Lahey who previously founded Sullivan Street Bakery. Co. has been in the press numerous times as one of New York City’s top pizza spots. We wanted to see what all the hype was about.

Popeye: pecorino, gruyère, mozzarella, spinach, black pepper, garlic ($17)
Shiitake: caramelized onion-walnut puree, olive oil, rosemary, sea salt ($18)

We ordered a pie each for ourselves, which in retrospect, was too glutinous. In fact, we couldn’t even eat dinner. That being said, the pizzas are personal size (I reckon 11 inches?) and any hungry guy can easily wallop up a whole pie. Don’t get me wrong. We finished everything but were literally bursting through the seams after.

Popeye: A swing and a…. MISS: Incredibly green. I mean, talk about presentation or lack thereof. Was someone afraid that I was deficient in iron? Cause that spinach was piled on in heaps. Anyhow, the first bite was terribly salty- salty to a fault. But the rest of the pizza was pretty decent. It reminded me of a flat savory focaccia. My main complaint was that the spinach leaves were too big and often I found myself staring at a lonely pizza crust because I had eaten all the spinach! Not quite sure why this particular pie is so popular. I’d give it a 6/10. But, if you’re looking for something “light,” this is probably the pie for you.

Shiitake: A swing and a… HIT!!: Holy mother. The flavors from this were out of the ballpark. This is by far one of the most unique pizzas I’ve ever had. The sweetness from the caramelized onions married so well with the walnut puree. I’d definitely recommend trying this one.

Overall, I’d say that the Popeye was way overpriced and the Shiitake was worth the $18. But if you’ve the munchies and you’re looking for something greasy and cheesy, this most definitely is not the place for such cravings. In fact, there was no tomato sauce or mozz cheese on any of these pies. I’m also not really a thin crust pizza type of gal, but I have to admit that the crust was pretty awesome. However, some parts of the crust were so dried and burnt that you could taste the char.

Banoffee Pie: coffee whipped cream, toasted hazelnuts, dulce de leche, sliced banana, graham cracker crust ($8)

Despite being incredibly full, Sabs and I couldn’t help ourselves but look at the dessert menu. The decision was partially inspired by our neighbor, who ordered something with bananas and whipping. Too bad it wasn’t the Banoffee. Imagine how sad and disappointed I looked when I was greeted by this lump of brown.

A few bites into it, I thought to myself- hey this isn’t that bad. Then another bite- oh shiz! It’s awesome! Whoever created this did a marvelous job of incorporating the dulce de leche without overdoing it. You could taste that subtle caramel-like flavor along with the richness from the coffee. I don’t think I’d order this again, but this was another unique menu item that I doubt I’d be able to find else where.

Although this was a mixed experience, I’d say it’s worth giving Co. a shot. The pizzas are cooked in a 700 degree wooden oven (that’s good right?) and alot of the pies have super unique ingredients/flavors. So if you come, you might as well go all out and order something you can’t find anywhere else. Then again, there seems to be few things on the menu that are run of the mill to begin with.
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230 Ninth Avenue
New York, NY 10001
212.243.1105

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Crif Dogs (take 2)- best hot dogs ever

Jessie — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:59:37 +0000

Chihuahua: bacon wrapped dog covered with avocadoes and sour cream. don’t be scared ($4.50)

A few weeks ago, the day after Christmas, Mark and I headed into the city to meet my awesome Australian friend Adam. I felt a bit awkward suggesting we meet up at Crif Dogs, given that I was proposing we eat a glorified tube of encased meat on a potato bun for lunch, but he was totally fine with it. (I had a Groupon, of course). Luckily, I proposed noon and nothing earlier because Crif Dogs opens exactly at noon. And exactly at noon on that particular Monday, all the seats (roughly 5 tables + a bar) promptly filled up.

Good Morning: a bacon wrapped dog smothered with melted cheese and a fried egg ($5.00)

Since it was already jammed packed, our orders took awhile to get to us (maybe 15 minutes)? The boys each ordered two dogs, I one, and together we got three Pap’s Pabst (Mark: “go to your blog right now and fix PAP’s blue ribbon… ITS PABST BLUE RIBBON! I DON’T WANT TO DRINK A PAP!!!”) Blue Ribbons (unflavorfully American, as Adam remarked) as well as a large order of waffle fries loaded with cheese.

Morning Jersey: taylor ham wrapped house dog with melted cheese and a fried egg ($5.00)

The three of us ordered some type of breakfast dog- Good Morning or Morning Jersey, the only difference being bacon versus Taylor ham. Both of them came with a fried egg and some good ol’ American cheese. Let me tell you. That dog was righteous. I never knew a hot dog could taste so freakin’ good. It’s the fried egg I tell you.

Spicy Redneck: a house dog, bacon wrapped, with chili, cole slaw, and jalapenos, did somebody say backyard wrestling? ($4.75)

When Mark’s spicy redneck came out, I looked at him hesitantly. If there’s one thing he hates, it’s mayo and anything that resembles mayo. Cole slaw would qualify for that camp. That thing was LOADED with cole slaw, to the point where everything else was completely buried. One bite in, no answer. Two bites in, Mark says, “Hmm… interesting.” INTERESTING?! That’s all I get out of the guy for a hot dog loaded with spicy chili and coleslaw? Eventually he admitted that the cole slaw wasn’t so bad and he could see the reason for it being on the dog (so that he could eat the hot dog in peace without tearing up). However, he noted that next time, he’d just get two of his Jersey Mornings.

Adam’s second dog was a Chihuahua (photo above, first one in the post), which sounds particularly nasty. I mean, bacon, avocado, and sour cream? But yours truly tried the Chihuahua on a very late night after visiting a particular nearby Japanese neighbor that offers cotton candy after your meal (hmm I wonder who that can be?) and it was fantastic! The best thing about all of these bacon wrapped dogs is that the bacon literally becomes one with the dog. The fat from the bacon welds itself onto the hot dog and transform the hot dog into what seems to be a blast of bacon-ness. The crunch also helps.

Large Cheese Fries ($4.00)

Not going to lie- the waffle friess + cheese are a bit disappointing as the cheese seemed to be cheese whiz. Then again, for $4, what should I expect? I’d hold off on the fries and either get an extra hot dog or perhaps the tator tots.

But yeah, a must try for all hot dog lovers out there! Warning: The meal does not come cheap. The Groupon, which I purchased for $10 and offered $20 worth of food, was insufficient to say the least. I had to shell out another $17 something, which means our hot dog meal came out to a whopping $37+ meal. Oy!

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113 St. Marks Pl.
New York, NY 10009
nr. Ave. A See Map | Subway Directions
212-614-2728

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Saturday brunch at Locanda Verde

Jessie — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 21:16:04 +0000

There are a few reasons why it’s so difficult to snag a reservation at Locanda Verde during both brunch and dinner. Due to a bit of mis-communication, I called to reserve a two-top on Friday afternoon for Saturday brunch. The only times they had left were for 10:30am and 1:30pm. So, we settled for the 1:30pm time slot (I had requested a noon reservation).

First, Locanda Verde is operated by none other than Robert De Niro (as well as Ira Drukier and Richard Born of Greenwich Hotel). He’s invested in roughly 25 restaurants around the world (check out his interview with NYMAG). Then, there’s the chef, Andrew Carmellini. Now here’s an impressive resume- He started off as a sous chef at Le Cirque and eventually became a protege of the famous Daniel Boulud where he became the chef de cuisine at Cafe Boulud. He eventually opened A Voce, earning a Michelin Star. Now, he’s the chef and partner at both Locanda Verde and The Dutch.

Given all that, I’m surprised we snagged a reservation at all considering the last minute planning… And even when we entered at 1pm, we overheard the hostess telling a stray couple that they’d have to wait 45 min for a table. It wasn’t until we were leaving around 3pm that the place began to somewhat clear up.

Soft Scrambled Farm Egg Crostino with leeks, mushrooms and speck ($17)

Clearly, this was a highly anticipated brunch and I had nothing but high expectations. Leaving, I had mixed emotions about this place. Part of it was my fault- I should have ordered a pasta dish. After all, Carmellini is known for his pasta making skills. Instead, I went with a recommendation from the server and got a very traditional brunch dish- soft scrambled farm egg crostino.

Crostino is a thin piece of crisp toast. The crostino that came in this dish was seriously the size of my fist and sliced under an inch. A bit underwhelming, to say the least. When the dish first came out, my heart dropped. I felt cheated. Here it was- simple scrambled eggs on toast with sides that could be easily replicated elsewhere.

But as I ate, I began to taste the complexities that emerged from such a simple looking dish. First, the scrambled eggs were unlike anything I’ve ever had. Whereas most scrambled eggs are a bit hard and mildly rubbery, these scrambled eggs were like floating puffs of clouds. It reminded me of the time I had tried out Gordon Ramsey’s recipe for scrambled eggs. I remember being appalled at how they turned out- they were slightly runny and completely loose. But that’s apparently how the French do it. It’s just different from the traditional American scrambled eggs, and something that I’m not quite used to. Still, these were delicious.

There’s not much to say about the salad, but the prosciutto was perfectly salted.

Linguine with Clams (~$22 [?, not featured on online menu])

Sabrina ended up getting the linguine with clams, which looked absolutely mouthwatering. I’m not a big fan of clams, so I had a bit of the pasta by itself. To sum it up in two words, it was OVERLY SALTY. Salty to the point where I couldn’t taste the sauce. At least the pasta was cooked perfectly al dente.

Despite the saltiness, Sabrina thought it was still tasty. They were quite generous with the clams at least.

Crispy Garlic Potatoes ($7)

Amongst all of the dishes, the best was a tie between the crispy garlic potatoes and dessert. Before you write off potatoes, let me just say that these were PHENOMENAL. Holy crap. The best potatoes I ever had! They were actually completely crispy on the outside and the inside was super soft. There’s a ton of crushed and slightly burnt garlic which were equally as delicious. I definitely recommend getting these as a side.

I am thinking of potatoes here…

Coconut Semifreddo: mango sorbetto, mint, and lime ($10)

This was one of the top most intricate and delicious desserts I’ve had. By intricate, I mean the pairing of flavors. The only other dessert I’ve had that’s come close to this is at Pichet Ong’s Spot Dessert Bar, where basil ice cream was paired with olive oil cake and white miso semifreddo.

This dessert was executed very well. The mango sorbet was actually subtle compared to the coconut semifreddo (semifreddo is a lighter version of ice cream and made by combining whipped cream and ice cream). What I loved about the semifreddo was the bits of chunky coconut inside the semifreddo. By itself, the semifreddo was a bit too sweet but with the mango sorbet, it was just right. The mint, in the form of a syrup like drizzle, was a refreshing contrast.

I can’t believe I forgot to take a picture of their bread because it was super good. There was cheese and butter melted into the bread, which made for a light and airy yet toasted and very flavorful bread.

Overall, it was a decent experience, though slightly disappointing (partially because of all the buzz around the restaurant). Still, the next stop is The Dutch, and hopefully I’ll remember to order something less typical…

MENU
379 Greenwich St.
New York, NY 10013
at N. Moore St. See Map | Subway Directions
212-925-3797

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