Supermac
348 7th Avenue (bet. 29th and 30th)
New York, NY 10001
212-760-1900
www.supermacnyc.com
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( 3 / 399 )Wednesday night I went to Kobe Club in Midtown for drinks. In typical NYC FOODIE style I ended up getting a little tasting of the food too, which was great because I had never been to Kobe Club before.
It's an interesting space with an automatic door that lets you into the narrow bar area up front with the dining room in back. From the ceiling hangs an abundant amount of samurai swords, and the booths are black leather. It feels like you are in the underground lair/lounge of a Japanese warrior (a warrior that enjoys steak).
I had the Diver Scallop and Braised American "Kobe" Short Rib ($26), the American "Kobe" Beef Cheek Ravioli ($24), and the Kobe Beef Sliders ($27).
The short rib dish, which came with roasted chanterelle mushrooms, was perfectly cooked, tender, juicy, well-seasoned, decadent, and delicious. I didn't even need the diver scallop on top, which was an added bonus.
The beef cheek ravioli came in a truffle broth and had a black truffle on top of each ravioli. It was a very rich and decadent dish. I had never tasted a dish where the flavor of truffles was so strong. It was new and enjoyable.
The kobe beef sliders were juicy and perfect. They came with onion, tomato, gruyere cheese, shitake mushroom, and a miso mayo. Delicious!
There was also a basket of cheesy bread that was really tasty and addictive.
Kobe Club is a great place to go to indulge in decadence. With delicious and addictive food, I say screw the economy, go for it! If you are on a budget though, they are running a winter $35 prix fixe menu, where you get an appetizer, entree, and dessert (a $125 value).
Kobe Club
68 W. 58th St. (between 5th and 6th)
New York, NY 10019
212-644-5623
http://www.chinagrillmgt.com/kobeClub/
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( 3 / 339 )Monday night I went to dell'anima, a small Italian spot in the West Village. I've had various foodie friends rave about the place so I wanted to see what they were talking about.
The place is on the medium to small size, with only 45 seats, a few seats at the bar, and six seats in the back at the chefs counter, overlooking the open kitchen. I was immediately drawn to those seats, which I love for solo dining, but unfortunately they were all taken, so I took a seat at the bar.
I started with an order of three bruschette ($10). They give you a basket of the bruschette and you choose what you want to put on it. I went with the soft-scrambled egg with bottarga, the tonnato with fennel and lemon, and the ricotta with sea salt. I really enjoyed this starter. It all tasted great and I think it is a really fun way to start a meal!
For my entree I went with the Pizzoccheri ($17), one of their pastas made in-house. It came with speck, savoy cabbage, potatoes, and smoked ricotta. The pasta was really well cooked and I enjoyed the saltiness the speck and smoked ricotta lent to the dish. I never had savoy cabbage in a pasta dish, and I actually was not a fan of it in the dish, for it was soggy, and could have done without it. Everything else worked well and it was a soothing dish.
I think dell'anima is a great place for good wine and good Italian fare. The prices are pretty good too. I will say that the place is extremely loud, so if you are looking for intimate conversation I would not go here. But for fun Italian eats in the West Village, it is a great spot!
dell'anima
38 8th Avenue (at Jane st.)
New York, NY 10014
212-366-6633
www.dellanima.com
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( 2.9 / 358 )Last week the NYC FOODETTE (my younger sister) and I went to Pure Food and Wine, the popular raw/vegan restaurant in Gramercy. Now, I’m a huge fan of my meat, but sometimes I get inspired to eat healthy, and this was one of those times. The term “raw” refers to keeping all of the ingredients under 118 degrees. This was the perfect spot for my sister, who you can call a “Seagan” (she eats mainly vegetables and some seafood).
The place is really sexy, with walls and chairs of red. They also have the most amazing patio in NYC, great for dining alfresco in spring and summer.
We decided to get the five-course tasting menu ($69) so we could truly explore this different way of eating. All the dishes were beautiful and looked like works of art.
One standout included the Winter Salad of Mache, Frisee and Wild Arugula in Walnut Birch Vinaigrette which came with Long Island apples, candied walnuts, and tea smoked cashew cheese. This was a great salad because not only did everything complement each other perfectly, but that tea smoked cashew cheese was absolutely mind-blowing. There is no use of dairy in vegan cooking, and this cashew cheese really tasted like cheese, yet it was made of cashews. Also, I’m normally not a fan of walnuts, but the candied walnuts tasted great and gave the salad a delicious crunch.
The appetizer of Asparagus Sushi Rolls with Mirin Soaked Forest Mushrooms with avocado, red pepper, sweet basil, and pepper gastrique was excellent. I have had this dish before and it is always great. After finishing the rolls you completely forget that there was no fish in them.
The White Corn Tamales with Raw Cacao Mole came with marinated mushrooms, salsa verde and avocado. I’m not a huge tamale eater, but it is safe to say this was the best I’ve ever had. All the flavors were delicious and it was an addictive dish.
One dish that blew my mind was the Winter Vegatable Tagine with Ceylon Cinnamon Date Cous-Cous with preserved cucumbers, olive flatbreads, and cheese stuffed picholine olives. This was probably the least attractive of the dishes, but the flavor combinations were superb. It was very unique and tasty.
Probably the most popular dish at Pure Food and Wine, and one I had enjoyed in the past, is the Zucchini and Local Hothouse Tomato Lasagna with basil pistachio pesto, sun-dried tomato sauce, and pinoli ricotta. Thinly cut pieces of zucchini take the place of pasta, a unique vegetarian take on this Italian staple. This dish is refreshing, a work of art, and ingenious.
You don’t want to miss out on dessert at Pure Food and Wine either. The Trio of Dark Chocolate Coated Indian Spiced Ice Cream Treats, which came with a chocolate cardamom coconut ice cream cone, pistachio gelato ice cream sandwich, and a chai tea creamsicle, was amazing! Like most of the food here, it was addictive and mind-blowing! (They don’t use dairy- the ice cream is made of coconut- I still cannot believe it!)
Pure Food and Wine is just like the Zucchini Lasagna dish: ingenious and refreshing. After every meal I eat here I feel rejuvenated, energized, refreshed, and healthy. The food here is superb and it is obvious much time and care goes into preparing each dish. The front of the menu states “Organic ingredients and handcrafted flavors that rejuvenate the body, mind and planet” and I couldn’t agree more. Dining at Pure Food and Wine can be a life-changing experience, and what better time for a change than now?
Pure Food and Wine
54 Irving Place (at 17th St.)
New York, NY 10003
212-477-1010
www.purefoodandwine.com
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( 2.9 / 405 )Wednesday night I went to Socarrat Paella Bar in Chelsea, a restaurant that specializes in--(drum roll please) paella! I like paella a lot, but don't really eat it often, and never had any memorable paella in my life. So I was hoping this restaurant would do this Spanish dish justice.
I actually first went by myself to Socarrat last Saturday, but the host said that the paella is meant for two people, so I decided to come back with a friend. It is a narrow space with one long black communal bar for dining.
We decided to order one of the tapas they had, for we were told the paella takes 35 minutes to make. We went with the fried artichokes ($9). I really enjoyed the flaky texture and the lightness to them, although I wished the flavor of the artichokes came out more.
We decided to get the seafood paella ($23 a person), which came with chunks of fish, shrimp, cuttlefish, mussels, clams, squid, and scallops. I thought the seafood and the rice were well cooked and had a nice juiciness. Unfortunately the entire dish was extremely bland. Both my dining companion and myself thought the dish needed a lot of salt and some sort of kick to it. We were disappointed.
Will I give this place another chance? Maybe. I would consider trying another one of their paellas, maybe one with chorizo, that would give the dish the needed kick. But for $23 a person, it had better not be bland. I want a good bang for my buck!
Socarrat Paella Bar
259 W. 19th St. (bet. 7th and 8th)
New York, NY 10011
212-462-1000
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