I took a seat at the crowded bar and perused one of the most unique menus I have ever seen. Most of the dishes were offered in either a Chinese or Portugese style, which are the flavors of Macao, an area and cuisine I am not familiar with at all. I was very excited for this new culinary adventure.
The guy sitting next to me had a bowl of ribs that looked great, so I ordered that. The dish was Berkshire Pork Ribs, Portuguese style, braised with olives and prunes ($17). The dish was interesting. The sauce had a sweet and olive flavor to it, (there were in fact olives in the sauce,) and was unlike anything I had ever tasted before. I personally would have preferred some sort of spicy kick to it, but that is just my preference. The meat was tender, and fell off the bones nicely. The dish did not blow my mind, but it was fine.
I also ordered the Chinese style meatballs, which they call Pearl Balls ($8). These were three huge rice balls filled with pork. Again, this was a unique dish for me, and I thought the balls were great! They were actually the perfect complement to my Tsingtao beer.
Luckily for me the gals next to me were full and let me try two of their dishes too! I tried a little bit of their Portugese style meatball, which was a lamb ball filled with cheese ($8), and also one Chinese style shrimp in a crispy wrapper ($9). The meatball was fine, came in a tomato sauce, and the addition of cheese was a nice touch. The shrimp had a great salty flavor to it, which also went well with my beer.
In fact, I think the Macao Trading Co. is the perfect place to come for great drinks, and unique and tasty food. I do not know any other restaurant in NYC serving this type of fare. This is not only a wonderful addition to the Tribeca neighborhood, but to all of New York City.
Macao Trading Co.
311 Church St.
New York, NY 10013
212-431-8750
www.macaonyc.com
[ 2 comments ] ( 129 views ) | permalink | related link |
( 3 / 458 )I hadn't been to The Little Owl since 2006 (see my review on this site) and the two or three times I had been, I dined alone. I went last night, this time with the perfect dining companion. I have to tell you that The Little Owl has not missed a beat. It is still cozy, quaint, homey, romantic, and the perfect restaurant!
We started with the gravy meatball sliders ($10) and the goat's cheese gnocchi ($14). The sliders, made with beef, pork, veal and pecorino, were honestly orgasmic! I loved the addition of pecorino, which gave the meat an extra little zing. These sliders are one of my top favorite dishes in all of NYC! The gnocchi was quite excellent as well. It came with ratatouille, rosemary braised lamb, and natural jus. The gnocchi was cooked perfectly and it was like popping little pillows of deliciousness into your mouth!
For entrees we had the roasted halibut ($23) and the potato wrapped scallops ($28). The roasted halibut came with chive mashed potatoes and lemon creme fraiche. It was cooked perfectly with crispy skin on top, and tender meat underneath. The chive mashed potatoes were the perfect complement to the fish. I wouldn't say it was mindblowing, but it was a really nice dish.
What was mindblowing was the potato wrapped scallops, which came with spinach, capers and lemon-leek brown butter. This may be the best scallop dish I have ever had! The scallops were fresh, clean, sleek and absolutely perfect. The potato wrap gave the scallops the perfect touch of crispiness and the bed of spinach was the perfect complement. The lemon-leek brown butter was soothing and delicious!
For dessert we had the chocolate cake with pecans and espresso gelato ($7) and the raspberry beignets with nutella ($7). The chocolate cake was cliched but fine. The beignets were great. Doughy, chewy, addictive, and the perfect ending to a fantastic meal.
So for one of NYC's best all around restaurants, The Little Owl is still the place to be.
The Little Owl
90 Bedford St. (at Grove)
New York, NY 10014
212-741-4695
www.thelittleowlnyc.com
[ add comment ] | permalink | related link |
( 3 / 443 )Tonight I decided it was too long since I had been to a steak house so I decided to hit up Benjamin Steakhouse in Midtown. The chef, Arturo Mcleod, spent 20 years at Peter Luger's, so he knows his steak. The restaurant, adjacent to the Dylan Hotel and formerly Britney Spears' flop NYLA, is a magnificent space. It is elegant and regal, with soaring ceilings two stories high. The centerpiece of the main dining room is a huge working fireplace, which is turned on during the Winter. That is exactly where I sat, like a king on his throne.
I started off with three appetizers; Lump Crab Cake ($19.95), Canadian Bacon, Extra Thick ($3 a slice), and the Caesar Salad ($11.95).
The Canadian Bacon was truly extra thick, had a wonderful glaze on it, and was quite delicious.
The Caesar Salad was perfect. The lettuce was fresh and crisp, and the dressing had a slight flavor of anchovies, which I loved. It was definitely one of the best Caesar salads I have encountered.
The Lump Crab Cakes were great as well. I hate crab cakes that are made with mostly breading, and the breading on these crab cakes was almost non-existent, just the way I like it!
For my main course I wanted to get a Porterhouse, and they only had a Porterhouse for 2 ($82.95), so I went with it! (Please note I planned on taking home leftovers, for I knew there was no way I could consume all this food in one sitting!) The Porterhouse came out on a sizzling platter and it was a great presentation. The meat was perfectly cooked medium as I requested and had a great char to it. I will tell you this was by far the best steak experience of my life. It was a great and wonderful steak. Benjamin Steakhouse also makes its own steak sauce, which I added at times to give the meat an extra little sweet tang.
Of course to really get the true steak house experience I ordered a side of Creamed Spinach ($8.95) and the German Potatoes ($11.95). Both were great. I loved the kick of garlic to the spinach and the slightly burnt top to the potatoes.
Benjamin Steakhouse is the quintessential steak house. If I were to picture what a steak house is and should be, Benjamin Steakhouse would be it. The staff was very attentive too, placing more steak and creamed spinach on my plate for me at times! (Of course, I was one of the few diners there, for it was an early dinner, but they were still great.) In fact, I entertained many of them with my magic throughout the meal!
So if you need to fill that steak craving and want to feel like a King, Benjamin Steakhouse will satisfy all your desires.
Benjamin Steakhouse
52 East 41st (bet. Madison and Park)
New York, NY 10017
212-297-9177
www.benjaminsteakhouse.com
[ 1 comment ] ( 20 views ) | permalink | related link |
( 2.8 / 529 )The NYC FOODIE dish of the week is the Fried Chicken "Blue Ribbon Style" ($24.50) hailing from Blue Ribbon Sushi and Grill located in the 6 Columbus Hotel.
I finally had this dish after having heard about it several times since the place opened and is definitely worth all the hype. It is coated with matzo meal and flour and accompanied with a side of wasabi honey sauce giving the meat the perfect sweet kick it deserves. The $24.50 price tag is a tad steep for any fried chicken dish, but the crispiness, tenderness, and flavors of the chicken made me forget the price.
So for a great unique take on fried chicken, stop by Blue Ribbon Sushi and Grill and thank me later.
Blue Ribbon Sushi and Grill
308 W. 58th St. (bet. 8th and 9th)
New York, NY 10019
212-397-0404
www.blueribbonrestaurants.com
[ add comment ] ( 5 views ) | permalink | related link |
( 2.9 / 588 )A friend of mine took me out to Bar Bao, the new restaurant on the Upper West Side, formerly Rain. The redesigned space looks great; it's very large and very comfortable. The Vietnamese menu helmed by Michael Huynh (Bao 111, Bao Noodles) looks great... on paper. We ordered Daikon Duck Hash ($12), Chili Garlic Tiger Shrimp ($12), Berkshire Pork Belly ($22), Crispy Whole Red Snapper ($27) and Vermicelli Noodles ($14). Also, two desserts, not even worth mentioning.
None of the dishes impressed me. The whole time during our dinner I could not help but think about all those Vietnamese restaurants in Chinatown with better, more flavorful food, for half the price! This is not a good bang for your buck.
My recommendation is you can come for a drink or two if you live in the neighborhood, but then head to Chinatown to fill your Vietnamese food cravings.
Bar Bao
100 W. 82nd St. (at Columbus Ave)
New York, NY 10024
[ 2 comments ] ( 21 views ) | permalink | related link |
( 2.8 / 434 )Back Next
Calendar
