Ali Wong Show

Anyone who knows me knows I've watched Baby Cobra five times and have pretty much memorized all the punch lines.  Obviously comedy is best fresh the first time around, but I love(d) Ali and the show so much, I had to spread the love and make all my friends watch it too.

Long story short, my friends and I were all over the ticket game last fall and hopped on a conference call 10am the first morning of the first pre-sale so that we could coordinate our tickets and seats.  Turns out we couldn't pick seats, but it didn't matter, because we all got tickets and have been eagerly waiting for April 29 to come for months.  Well, April 29 came, and I laughed so hard I cried.  Good thing I don't normally wear make-up.

Someone recently commented to me that being a big Ali Wong fan is an Asian thing, which I had honestly not thought about at all.  I assumed there would be a big Asian following and a lot of Asian pride that there's an Asian comic, but I thought many of her jokes were universally funny.  Perhaps not everyone would agree though.  Yes, she has a number of race, particularly Asian, jokes that someone who shares the culture would identify with and appreciate more, but I enjoy and laugh at non-Asian comics' jokes about other cultures, so what's the big deal?  Anyway, I guess it's a bigger truth than I realized, as so many audience members were Asian.  So much so that her opening line was about all the Asians in New York being at her show last night.

But that's okay; not everyone has to have the same taste.  I had a great time regardless, and judging by the audience reception, I was not the only one.  Two thumbs up for Ali Wong!

Coffeemania

I've been meaning to try Coffeemania for a while because the dinner menu and desserts sounded amazing, but sadly I thought it was only okay.

For starters, the service was extremely slow.  My friends and I came for a late dinner, and it was mostly empty (just a few other tables), but for whatever reason, it took forever in between courses.  We were a large group, so I know that slows things down a bit, but there was no reason dinner should've taken about 2 hours at a casual joint like this.

As for the food, the appetizers we tried were average.  The brussel sprouts were very crispy (more so than usual), the calamari was also extremely crispy (in my opinion, too much batter and overfried), and the wings were not standout.

The entrees were better.  The sea bass was nicely cooked with good consistency.  The sauce on the duck was also very good.  The risotto was heavy, but it was good for a few bites (we shared, so didn't have to eat it all by myself; otherwise, the risotto might've been too heavy).  The pasta nera wasn't that memorable.

As for my favorite food group, desserts, I was a bit disappointed.  We tried the smetannyk (layered sour cream cake), which was too sweet, and the "happiness" caramel cake, which was okay; if you're a caramel lover you would probably like it.  Not bad, but sort of underwhelming.

KazuNori | The Original Hand Roll Bar

KazuNori is a perfect example of "Keep It Simple Stupid"; simplicity done well just works. My favorite part of Sugarfish was the hand rolls (felt the actual sushi there was only okay, but that's another story), so I was excited to stick to the hand rolls and try more variety here.

You can choose from their set menu of 3, 4, 5, or 6 hand rolls and/or order a la carte. I really liked the toro and the scallop, but the blue crab and lobster were my favorites. If I had to nitpick, it would just be that the temperature differential between the delicious, warm rice and the cold fish was too big and very noticeable; I think it would've been better if the fish was more room temperature.

To manage expectations, I would note that this is not "gourmet" or high end sushi/hand rolls, but I think it's quite good for a fast and casual, but specialized joint...sort of like the Shake Shack of hand rolls, if that makes sense -- not high end, but well done for what it is.

Mikey Likes It (Ice Cream)

 I was most excited to try this place because of the waffle ice cream sandwiches -- I love waffles, and I love ice cream.

On the pros -- the flavors all sounded wonderful, and the guys were super friendly and let me sample a bunch of flavors.  They all tasted great, as it's pretty hard not to like creamy ice cream that's mixed with a bunch of goodies, like cookies and brownies and chocolate, but if I had to nitpick, the mocha flavor in the Foxy Brown wasn't strong enough for a coffee ice cream, and the Black Street chocolate tasted more like milk chocolate than dark chocolate.  But plenty of other good flavors to pick from to suit your liking.

On the cons -- we tried the red velvet waffle (flavors today were original and red velvet), and I was disappointed by the waffle and wished I just got 2 scoops of ice cream instead of a Mac Daddy.  I personally like my waffles a bit crunchy, but these waffles were too soft and chewy and doughy for me.  Also, the waffles are made fresh to order, which is a plus, but the steam and heat from the waffles melts the ice cream pretty quickly, and even though they give a very big scoop of ice cream, by the end, I ran out of ice cream and was left with soggy waffles (and I am not a slow eater of ice cream).  I guess if you like soft waffles, that would be okay, since the waffles soak up a lot of the ice cream, but again, my personal preference is for crunchy waffles, and I would've preferred a traditional cone here.

Ducks Eatery

Above average brunch with a differentiated menu, which I definitely appreciate.

 Pumpkin waffle with fried duck confit -- the waffle was light, and the walnuts and fixings went well with it.  I was really excited about fried duck confit instead of just fried chicken, and it did not disappoint.  The skin was crispy, and the meat was still juicy inside.

 Smoked brisket hash -- I really enjoyed the flavor, although the brisket could've been a little more tender and soft.  Good meat to potato (btw it's purple potato!) ratio, i.e. healthy portion of meat. 

 Eggs pontchartrain -- I only tried a bite of my friend's, but the egg was perfectly done.  The fish was flaky and a tad bit salty, but overall good.  I heard the maple sweet potato home fries were too sweet though.

 Beignets -- since beignets are one of my favorite things (I've been scouring the city trying to find good, authentic ones), I obviously had to try these.  They weren't bad, but were not fluffy and airy enough.  The chocolate sauce on the side, although not authentic to beignets, was pretty delicious though.

Overall good quality and fun meal, and I'd be interested in coming back to try dinner as well.

Shorty Tang Noodles

It was good, but I was hoping to be amazed given the hype and news around the secret family recipes and best sesame noodles in NY...and I was not amazed, unfortunately.

To be fair, the cold sesame noodles are probably the best I've tried in NYC in recent memory, at least, but they're very far from the above average sesame noodle in other US cities.  The sauce was nice and creamy (good ol' peanut butter), but the noodles were overcooked and not chewy.  I think the sauce was also borderline too peanut buttery; as much as I love peanut butter and have no issue with it as an ingredient in sesame noodles, I don't want noodles that taste like peanut butter noodles.  I think some extra fixings, like julienned cucumbers, would've been good.  For bonus points maybe offer a version with shredded chicken and make sure the chicken isn't dry; I've yet to have a decent cold sesame noodle with chicken here.

The beef noodle soup was decent.  They had a good chili sauce on the side, so we could add spice according to taste.  The beef could've been a little more tender, and I would've appreciated more variety in cut of meat (e.g., tendon).  The daikon was a nice touch and delicious, but there was only one tiny piece total.  These noodles were nicely al dente an chewy.

For appetizers, we tried the steamed sticky rice pork ribs and the pork hock.  The pork ribs were tender, but not that meaty.  I quite liked the pork hock though.
  

Decoy

Decoy offers the best Peking Duck I've tried in NYC, but while there were many other good things on the menu, overall, I'm not sure it ranks at the top as a place I would put on my regulars list.  That said, the the fun atmosphere and format combined with the duck made it a good dining experience.

For those who haven't been here, if you want the Peking duck, you should make a reservation to make sure you get that, but then you also commit to the prix fixe menu.  My initial impression before going was that it's a little pricey for Peking duck, but then I got there and realized you don't just get a few things on the side, you get to pick a bunch of appetizers, other mains, rice/noodle, and sides too.  For 6 people, we had 2 ducks, 4 small plates, 3 other (meaty) entrees, a rice, and a side.  One member in our party commented "6 people is the optimal party size to maximize on food."  Good thing we're all big eaters.



To start with, the assortment of homemade pickles was delicious.  The staff tried to clear the tables for us a couple of times to make room for food we actually ordered, but we refused to let them take the unfinished pickles.  The fish skin chips were good, but not something I would've missed.

The small plates were a huge hit -- we had the Katz's pastrami triangles, oxtail dumplings (yum), pork lettuce wraps (very flavorful), and stuffed shishito peppers (I forgot they were stuffed and was pleasantly surprised to see all that shrimp inside).

Then came the duck -- nicely done with crispy skin pieces (without too much fat) as well as duck.  Sure, I've had  better Peking duck with crispier skin and juicer meat, but this is the best I've had in NYC, so I'll take it.  The pancakes were nice and thin; we could've used more pancake.  The duck also comes with 3 sauces -- traditional hoisin, a peanut sauce, and a cranberry sauce.  The peanut and cranberry sauces were good, but our entire party found them unnecessary and left them almost untouched...but we ran out of hoisin as a result.

I was less impressed by the other items, but perhaps I was just running out of steam at that point.  We had the grilled pork toro with rice cake, rib steak, and steamed sea bass for entrees, the crab and scallop rice, and a side of veggies.  Everything was fine, but nothing stood out and was not particularly memorable.

Overall, we had a great time and enjoyed our meal, and if I ever want Peking duck, I'll think of this place first.  That said, this place almost doesn't really compete just with Peking duck restaurants and competes more with other large format dinner spots, and for the latter, this might not be my top pick.

Pinch Chinese

A+ for food, but be warned portion sizes are smaller than average and prices are higher than average.  But honestly, it's been a while since I've tried a new place and actually enjoyed every dish ordered, so no complaints from me.

One of my biggest gripes about the sub-par Chinese food scene in NYC is that there is not enough specialization, and many restaurants try to do everything (e.g., a Cantonese restaurant serving soup dumplings), so all the food is meh.  I wasn't sure how I would feel about Pinch offering a pan-regional menu, but having tried a variety of things, I now realize that with the right chef, a pan-regional Chinese restaurant can be great too.

   Soup dumplings -- I've been wishing for a Din Tai Fung in NYC for years and was nervous and afraid to be disappointed, knowing that the chef is from Din Tai Fung, but I'm happy to report that it was great.  The skin was thin as I had hoped, although compared to DTF, the dumplings are smaller, a bit saltier, and pricier.  They were nice and soupy though, and the thin skin is a winner.

 Cumin ribs -- I was planning on trying these anyway, but really had to order it after seeing that they quoted a fellow Yelper for the menu description ("'tender fall-off-the-bone ribs,' - Jocelyn, from Yelp")...literally lol...I wonder if she knows she's being quoted.  Anyway, they were as good as advertised.  Great flavor, and the meat was just slightly crispy on the edges while the meat was "tender fall-off-the-bone."

 Dan dan noodles -- this item is offered at so many restaurants, I almost didn't want to order it, but I'm glad I did.  The noodles were perfectly al dente and "Q," and the sauce was the right balance of salt and spice.

 Wind sand chicken -- apparently this chicken is marinated for 2 days, and it's the most expensive thing on the menu at $45, but I would not hesitate to order it again.  I started off with a piece of white meat, and it was juicy and tender, and the rest is history.  Skin was crispy (maybe could've been a little crispier), and garlic on top added great flavor without being heavy.

Buddha's delight -- I needed some veggies so went for what I thought would be the lightest thing on the menu.  My husband made a face when it came out (it looks bland), but it was well seasoned, and he ate his fair share of veggies with no prompting on my part.

Overall, very happy to find a good quality Chinese restaurant, and I look forward to going back to try more items on the menu!

Atoboy

Everything was good; half the dishes we tried were terrific, but the other half less memorable.

The really good -- lotus root, octopus, and pork jowl.  The lotus root was probably my favorite -- creative, light, and flavorful all at the same time.  The octopus also surprised on the upside; I love octopus and order it at a lot of places, but this was different because 1) the octopus was fried and had a slightly crunchy exterior while maintaining a perfectly soft and chewy inside, and 2) the chorizo-kimchi sauce was delicious.  Finally, the pork jowl was nicely fried and tender, and the barley on the side was a nice complement -- slightly sweet to balance out the salt, and barley itself is always refreshing.

    

As for the other dishes, the egg with uni was rich and creamy and good, but it didn't wow as much as some of the others.  The sunchoke had a generous helping of black truffle, but it felt like a mushroom dish (I forgot it was a sunchoke dish...good thing I like mushrooms).  The fried chicken looked over fried but was actually okay.  The chicken itself was nothing special, but I did love the spicy peanut butter (it didn't taste spicy but did have a nice tang to it).  Finally, the sea bass was probably the least special.  It's essentially a sea bass tartare with a bit of a kick to it. 

      

As for dessert, we tried the sujeonggwa granita, which is essentially cinnamon ice over yogurt.  Can't say I've had anything like it before, and I enjoyed it and am glad I tried it.  That said, I don't think I'd care to order it again.

An enjoyable meal and I wouldn't mind coming again, especially if I'm in the area.

Dough: Chocolate Doughnut Takeover April 1-2

Attention chocolate and doughnut lovers:

Dough is partnering with Callebaut and offering 15 special Belgian chocolate doughnuts in lieu of their regular menu.

Personally, I find the doughnut flavors at Dough to be the most exciting part of Dough, but recently I feel like the texture of the doughnuts is more dense than I remembered...not sure if the quality has deteriorated, if I over-hyped it in my head and mis-remembered the texture, or if trying Sidecar in L.A. has not ruined every other doughnut for me.

Anyway, still more than ready to run over and try any new flavors!

  

Post

This is one of the few new places that lived up to the hype for me.  They have a simple, classic menu that's done well.  We went for brunch and tried the avocado biscuit sandwich and the biscuits and gravy.  The biscuits themselves were slightly crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside; not dry at all.  The biscuits and gravy looked messy, but tasted great.  The avocado biscuit was good as well, but perhaps  next time I would try it with the sausage for a bit more flavor. 

    

Small shop, but fast turnover, so don't be discouraged if you do have to wait (the wait probably won't be long).

Trapizzino

Trapizzino is essentially a pizza pocket sandwich and is a popular Roman street food.  Trapizzino the restaurant opened up recently on the LES, and the trapizzini are filled with classic Roman-grandmother-home-cooking recipes.  Trapizzino also offers suppli (fried rice balls).  In a nutshell, this place sounded carbolicious so I had to try it pronto.

Rice balls (suppli): texture was good -- crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside.  The flavors of the day were classic and oxtail.  I liked the classic more; the cheese was perfectly melted and stringy.  The flavor of the oxtail one was decent, but there was barely any oxtail.

  

Trappizini: bread was light and fluffy and actually quite delicious, but the bread to filling ratio was too high.  We tried the eggplant parmigiana and chicken cacciatora, both of which tasted good, but there was not enough filling for the amount of bread.