Archives for December 2009

Poco’s NYE Dinner Menu

Yoshie and I went to last night’s pre-tasting of Poco’s New Year’s Eve dinner …for friends and family to taste and work out any kinks in the dishes. Poco reached out to us as food bloggers to participate. The modern Spanish menu is created by guest Jessica Floyd (trained by Daniel Boulud). My notes in blue (remember this is a free meal, but I’ll try to be objective here).

Choice of:
Crudo – Marinated Snapper, Grapes, Shaved Artichokes, Marcona Almonds, Celery Citrus Emulsion. One of the bites of raw snapper was especially tasty and buttery. Overall, kinda like ceviche.
Calamar – Cumin Crusted Squid, Blistered Guindilla Peppers, Baby Arugula, Green Romesco. This is my recommendation. The best calamari I can remember eating. I usually have calamari that’s soggy. This was crispy and had a lot of different layers of flavor throughout.

Choice of:
Arroz Negro – Creamy Forbidden Black Rice, Bay Scallops, Drunken Goat Cheese, Black Radish, Fennel Salad. Tasty, creamy.
Pernil – Puerto Rican Braised Pork Cheeks, Pickled Fried Okra, Sweet Plantain Tart, Black Beans. Didn’t get to try this, unfortunately. I’m still curious how Pork Cheeks taste.
Huevo – Pimenton Crusted Soft Cooked Hen’s Egg, Wild Mushrooms, Crisp Chorizo, Valdeon Cream. A nicely cooked soft-boiled egg.
…This is a toss-up because they both good. But out of the two I tried, I’d go with the Huevo.

Choice of:
Pescado- Rum Glazed Halibut, Caldo Verde, Limon Hushpuppies, Chimichurri. The fish was just alright. Not as moist and tender as I’d like. The chimichurri sauce was good, but is different from the chimichurri that I know of. Perhaps if the chimichurri was bolder in flavor, it would hold up the halibut more.
Pollo – Pan Seared Breast, Chicharrones, Espellette Potato Cream, Hen of the Woods, Brown Butter Jus. The chicken was well cooked, but not very adventurous. With the gravy, it’s like eating tasty Thanksgiving turkey. The Chicharrones is less like the deep fried fatty pork rinds I know of, but still really good. Fried cripsy skin with non-fatty pork meat (tenderloin?).
Cordero – Braised Lamb Saddle, Baby Lamb Chops, Sweet Rice Torta, Smokey Cippolinis, Farofa Crumble, Port. I recommend this dish. Lamb nicely cooked and I liked the sweet rice torta, which was like a crispy rice nugget.

Choice of:
Sopapillas – Candy Apple Filled, Dulce de Leche, Huckleberry Ice Cream. Delicious. Heartier of the two desserts.
Tarta de Queso – Galacian Crema, Cacao Crisps, Guava Puree. I like this one more. Light filling with nice crispy brittle. I believe they changed up the cacao in this recipe.

$45 Four Courses
$30 Additional Wine Pairing
Seatings tonight at 6, 7, 8 and 9pm

A very solid four-course meal overall. Starts strong if you get the Calamari. The second course is where it’s at. The third is the weakest, in my opinion. And the dessert is redemption. The wine pairing is nice. I got two glasses per dish, but I think they were just getting feedback as to which one pairs better. That left me a little tipsy at the end while talking to the friends and family of the restaurant. I quite enjoyed their company. I learned a few things through our conversations, especially with the executive chef’s father. I just can’t remember them. But I do remember starting a ten minute conversation about how Rob Schneider is the alpha male lead in The Benchwarmers. The guest chef was kinda cute and she can cook. She could easily be on TV.

I’m told that their brunch is popular. $22 served with 3 cocktails mimosa, bloody mary or sangria …or $25 unlimited cocktails with a large party. Sounds like a deal!

Thanks Sarah, Poco and Yoshie for the experience.

Poco – 33 Avenue B (@ 3rd Street) New York, NY 10009

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Corner 28 Upstairs Restaurant

Matt got the cravings for some Flushing Chinatown food late in the evening. So he picked me up in the rain and we headed over to Corner 28. The downstairs $1 Peking Duck Bun window was closed and so was the cheap pick and point prepared steam tray selections. They have an upstairs sit-down restaurant.

The menu was a big book with photos of the dishes (like Denny’s) mixed with photos of their bubble tea drinks. Sorta difficult to find what you want, but I love to see what the food looks like. So I’ll take that. A late night menu with a lot of selections at $6.99. We chose the Chinese Sausage & Smoked Pork (possibly belly?) with Vegetables and Shrimp w/ Lobster Sauce. Matt also ordered the Shrimp Dumpling Noodle Soup and I got the Pumpkin & Clam Congee (rice porridge) at $3.50 each.

I been hankering some Chinese Sausage and vegetables for a while. It did the job. The Pumpkin & Clam Congee was interesting. I don’t think it would appeal to someone who’s used to bland or salty rice porridge, but might work for an American taste who’s never had congee. The Shrimp w/ Lobster Sauce was a little chalky, probably from the flour to thicken up the sauce. The food overall was good and affordable. The selection and quality is comparable to Congee Village House in Manhattan, but a little cheaper. And they’re opened until 1am.

We could barely finish it all. Partly because it was a lot of food and also because I had just turned Matt onto Paul McKenna’s weight loss hypnosis system. I might have screwed him with that. Look how skinny he is.

Corner 28 – 40-28 Main Street Flushing, NY 11355

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Krolewskie Jadlo Polish Restaurant

I had to escape the holiday leftovers, which we’re not even half way into. I was thinking of eating something I usually can’t get because of my daytime job, now that I have the week off. Maybe DiFara’s pizza way out in Brooklyn? I was thinking the lines could be better because its cold outside, but possibly longer with the holiday tourists in town. In the end I decided to drop off my laundry and head over to get some good Polish food in Greenpoint.

I went to my local laundry mat, The Bean & Clean. I was sad to see a flier that said Gloria (the owner of the family business) had recently passed away in a car accident in Aruba. That lady was amazing. She knew everyone’s name (and I never even told her mine), how much your bag would weigh before putting it on the scale, and had the correct change in her hand before I’d even pull out my wallet …to find I only had the bills that would make that change. Sometimes I tried to think of nothing, so she couldn’t read my mind. I was stunned to find out the news. I did have a weird feeling on the way over to the laundry mat. I thought about her mother and wondered why I haven’t seen her in at least a year. The last time, the mother had lost a lot of weight. I thought the worse. But in reality it was Gloria instead. Tragic. Life cut short so unexpectedly. The only happy part is that she was on vacation.

I hopped on the bus over to Greenpoint and went to Krolewskie Jadlo on Manhattan Ave. There’s several great Polish restaurants on that street. I went to the one with the armored knights outside. The restaurant looks sorta like a Polish Medieval Times with swords on the walls and what I assume are paintings of old kings. They played some cool contemporary Polish pop music that a table of hipster kids were making fun of. I was trying to decide if it was offensive. Say if it was Chinese music and they started singing along with “wang chang chui chui, chow chow ding…” I’m sure they didn’t mean to be offensive, just stupid.

I got the weekday $9 lunch special. Pick one of the soups, one of the entrees under $8 and a dessert. They brought out complimentary bread with cucumbers and smalec (pork lard spread …some reports online think it might be chicken). I didn’t know what this spread was when I was eating it. I thought it was some kind of fish and butter thing, but pork and lard makes more sense. This thing was so creamy and buttery. It was rich butter x3. Delicious. Better if you don’t know it’s lard.

The Ukrainian Borscht was awesome. Chunks of vegetables on the bottom. Creamy. I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad Polish soup so far. All delicious, like the amazing split pea soup at S & B in Williamsburg.

I was quite satisfied already. Then they bring out my Roasted Hocks in Beer entree. I was expecting tiny 1-inch sliced hocks you get at the supermarket. This was a huge whole hock. I’ve never seen it like this. Even though the hock has a lot of bone, fat and skin, there was a definitely a hefty amount of meat in there. Very tasty. Well seasoned. Some parts tasted like roasted chicken, some like ham, some like pork shoulder …all very tender. It came with mashed potatoes and also a separate plate of sauerkraut and dill cucumber salad.

It’s not over yet. I got the cheesecake for dessert. Not a very big slice, but there is no reason for it to be after all the food I just ate. The cheesecake was a little gritty. I imagine it’s store bought from a local bakery. It’s cool that they give you a dessert at all, but not a must eat. Plenty of food before this. An amazingly huge and delicious Polish meal for only $9. I also got a large beer for $5 (probably 20 oz). I’m pretty happy.

I walked home to burn off a few of the calories. I thought about Gloria. I never knew her name before and she always knew ours. I’m glad the Bean & Clean is still open. Gloria and the family business has provided a great service to the neighborhood. It made me think of what I can do, what is my service, what is my calling in this life while I have it. I did just have a sudden urge a few days ago to work on my solo music once again. Perhaps that would entertain one or two people out there. Maybe that “wang chang chiu chiu” song I just made up is a good start.

Krolewskie Jadlo – 694 Manhattan Ave (@ Norman Ave) Brooklyn 11222

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Xi’an Famous Foods Manhattan

I saw the Roboppy/Serious Eats post about a Xi’an now opening in Manhattan’s Chinatown. This is the famous place in Flushing’s Golden Mall everyone keeps talking about. Even more so after Bourdain went to it on his No Reservations show. I still need to check that show out. Not to brag or be clueless (depending on how you look at it), but I still haven’t really seen the Bourdain show outside of a few mins while eating a taco in LA. My point is that it’s just surprising for a food blogger and someone who likes ethnic food and weird shit. I’m also surprised I don’t have an iPhone yet.

I did once try to find Xi’an in Flushing one time, but I didn’t know where it was except that it was in some mall. This would have been a good time to have one of those iPhones. So I was so glad to see this place opening an outpost so close. The shop is really small. Not really a dine-in restaurant. It has a tiny counter that maybe three people might be able to stand/squeeze in on. That’s what Yoshie, Rob and I were able to do on this rainy day. It really got tight when four other people were trying to order. There were photos of Anthony Bourdain on the wall. A sign that says they must give you a receipt or you’ll get your food for free. Another sign that says the bathroom is in the basement of the plaza/mall, toilet paper available on request. What happens if you forget to ask?

I got the popular Cumin Lamb Burger ($2.50). It was pretty good. Well seasoned lamb meat in a bread pocket, kind of similar to pita or English Muffin without the nooks and crannies. Yoshie and Rob noodle dishes (Mount Qi hand-pulled noodles & Cumin Lamb Noodle Soup – $5 each). The noodles are hand pulled in front of you at the counter. The way they pull it, it is a much broader noodle than of the Lan Zhou hand-pulled variety. Yoshie and Rob really enjoyed their food. It’s a good deal. I want to try the noodles next time. Maybe some day they’ll put up a photo of me on their bathroom wall.

Xi’an Famous Foods – 88 East Broadway #106 (but really on Forsyth at the corner of E. Broadway) New York, NY 10002
Ramen and Friends – for Yoshie & Rob’s thoughts

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Vegetarian Mexican Lasagna and Christmas Dinner

Had a feast with Rusty, Bonnie and Ashley last night. Everyone did a great job cooking. I tried my hand at a Vegetarian Mexican Lasagna with the least amount of effort. This is what I did…

1. Mixed together 1 chopped green bell pepper, 1 chopped Spanish onion, 1 bottle of Goya Ranchero Salsa, 1 can of Green Giant Sweet Corn, 1 can of Del Monte Diced Tomatoes w/ Zesty Jalapeño, 1 can of Goya Black Beans, a little bit of salt and pepper.
2. Boiled the Lasagna noodles, tried to not cook it all the way.
3. Pam sprayed the casserole pan and started assembling the noodles, the filling mix, ricotta cheese, and 1 bag of shredded Monterey Jack and Cheddar Cheese.
4. I let it sit overnight in the fridge, hoping the noodles will soak up the flavors
5. Stuck it in the oven at 360 for 45mins (covered with foil). An additional 15 mins uncovered, but I think I’ll do without this step next time. I don’t like it to get too crispy and un-edible on top. If you like it a little crispy, maybe less time uncovered.

The Mexican Lasagna turned out delicious and spicy. Add a dollop of sour cream on top and your golden. I think the grittiness of the ricotta cheese and the filling almost gave it a ground beef texture effect. I didn’t miss the meat. I would just assume it was in there. [update: I don't recommend eating Mexican Lasagna leftovers while watching District 9]

Merry Christmas, ham!

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Greenpoint Gazette Article

We got written up in the Greenpoint Gazette for the 2nd Annual Cookie Contest & Sing-along. It’s funny article, because I had forgotten I said all this stuff. I’m surprised at how comprehensible I sound …maybe thanks to the reporter. Thank you.

Article Link

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