Eating in New York City

Eight Days a Week in The Big Apple



CX 830. Smooth take-off from Hong Kong. Stewardess named Honey.
" Would you like the fish or the pork, sir" ? Lunch over Japan.
Dinner over the Great Pacific Northwest. Shut-eye over Chicago.
Touchdown at noon. Blast of cold air. "How ya doin?" New York City.


Then, a week at jet speed. Tapas Bars, Paella Bars, Wine Bars,
Beer Bars, even Rice Pudding Bars. Cuisine from all over: Italian,
Spanish, Mexican, American, New American, New Brooklyn,
Polish, African, Salvadoran. Giant portions and small plates,
glistening fat and micro-greens, the familiar and the strange and
even the outre. All in the electric cauldron of New York City.


Socarrat Paella Bar, Chelsea
A dancer from Barcelona and a heavenly Paella. But was the rice burnt ? ...

Cabrito, West Village
Slow Cooked Goat and Jooocy Chicken ...

I Sodi, West Village
Did the heart sing an Aria ? ...

Public, Nolita
The waitress looked like Drew Barrymore. But she moved too fast ...

Rice to Riches, Nolita
Rice Pudding sucks. Or so we thought. Not any more ...

The General Greene, Brooklyn
The General orders New Brooklyn Cuisine ...

Salvadoran Pupusas, flea market, Brooklyn
Pupusa ? What on earth is a Pupusa ?? ...

Socarrat Paella Bar, Chelsea, New York City

A Crust to die for


Paella Valenciana, with pork ribs, rabbit, snails
snow peas and asparagus


Quiet Friday afternoon in Chelsea, New York City.
Marcel the waiter at Socarrat, who happens to be a
dancer from Barcelona, suggests an Albarino from
the wine list. "Trust me", he says.




I sip the crispy, refreshing Albarino and munch on
white anchovies with garlic and parsley on toast
while perusing the Paella menu.

Doesn't take me long to zero in on the Paella Valenciana,
which Marcel pronounces as V-a-l-e-n-th-ee-ana, with
a slight lisp around the 'th' sound in the middle.


"It will take about half hour", he says, and pours me
some more wine.

I look around. All the restaurant has is one long slender

highly polished bar counter and about two dozen high stools.

Brick-lined walls, mirrors and framed Spanish paintings

complete the look.

And all it serves is Paella. And just a few Tapas.

And that's enough to bring in the hordes in the evenings

when I believe the queue snakes around W 19th street,

making this small, tightly-focused Paella Bar one of

the most talked-about new restaurants in the city.

Because the Paella is very very good. My Valenciana came in

a gleaming black pan, smelling of everything that I imagine

Spain to be and tasting so good that I was almost giddy.

I haven't been to Spain yet you see, so perhaps it

doesn't count for much when I say this was the best Paella

I've ever had. But it was.


And that crust at the bottom, that glistening, slightly charred, caramelised , salty, bacony,

al dente layer of rice sticking to the bottom - Socarrat in Spanish - that was just to die for.

I scraped and scraped with the big steel spoon and licked it clean. Marcel was appreciative.

"That's the best part, yeah ? "


Socarrat Paella Bar

259 W 19th St, New York 10011

Phone: (212) 462-1000

http://www.socarratpaellabar.com/

"Eating in New York City" series

Cabrito, West Village, New York City

Drunk on Goat



Cabrito. Sour orange and chili-rubbed goat,
slow roasted and served chopped with Salsa Borracha
and warm flour tortillas



After coming back slightly inebriated from a wonderful dinner at
Cabrito, I wrote an email to some of my friends. Looking back,
the email sounds a bit over-enthusiastic and slightly alcohol-fuelled.

But I am reproducing it here anyway, as a more sober review
would perhaps not do justice to this fabulous meal.



--- On Tue, 4/14/09, Argha Sen wrote:
From: Argha Sen Subject: Re: Cabrito To:


Guys - thanks for trying for the reservations. Well I Sodi was booked and so was Scarpetta and so was Convivio. And that too on a Tuesday night. So much for Recession America.

So we went to the next restaurant on my list. And boy was I glad. Was I glad glad glad. And happy. HAPPY.

This was Cabrito, the Mexican place Frank Bruni raved about, in the West Village, on 50 Carmine St between Bleeker and Bedford. What an amazing, satisfying, heartwarming Mexican meal. The energy and easygoing buzz of West Village, a slightly shabby-chic decor and fantastic fantastic fantastic food . And no Burritos, Tacos, Enchiladas, Chimichingas.

Instead we had: GOAT. Sour orange, garlic and chili-rubbed goat. Slow roasted, ( roasted real slooow, like real sloooow) and served chopped with Salsa Barracha and warm flour tortillas. Meat falling off the bone, no gamey goaty smell, but not delicate, dainty either. This was goat with real character and substance, but no punctuation, no commas, no fullstops. And the salsa was sweeeeet. Do you get it ? The contrast, the textures, the taste ?

And CHICKEN. A plump, juicy chicken, rubbed with chili and served with a buttery rice studded with raisins, fried plantains and coconut. Do I have to tell you that the chicken was juicy, like JOOOOCY. And the rice. Oh.

Well the Fatty Crab Ale and the second twangy ale whose name I forgot to note obviously heightened the satisfaction and is perhaps muddling my brain a bit as I write. Mick Jagger was wrong. You can get SATISFACTION. And I didn't even try Bruni's recommended dishes: the Carnitas and the roasted Poblano peppers in cream.

I asked if the chef was Mexican. The waiter said "no, but he was born on the border of Arizona, so close !"

Viva La Mexico. You rule. New York City is great

--------------------------------------------------------

Pollo Barbacoa. Roasted half-chicken
served with mezcal raisin and coconut rice




The Cabrito bar, packed on a Tuesday night



Cabrito
50 Carmine St, NY 10014
Ph: +1 212 929 5050
www.cabritonyc.com

"Eating in New York City" series

I Sodi, West Vilage, New York City

But did the heart sing an Aria ?

• Pic courtesy www.nymag.com
  
  I Sodi hits hits all the right notes
  
  Executive chucks up corporate career to start a restaurant. Check


• Teams up with famous chef to craft a small, changing menu themed around her mother's Tuscan cooking, with authentic Italian emphasis on seasonality and simplicity. Check




• Hires designer to create a sleek but cosy ambience, combining Tuscan trattoria feel with New York City sophistication. Check



• Hip bar with Italian apertivos, cocktails, distinguished wine list, couple of craft beers and counter dining. Check


• Professional service. Check.


• Absolutely fabulous espresso, hand-pulled by an enthusiastic Barista who went into raptures over the Danessa beans he had used. Check and Double Check.

We had all the pastas on the menu
~Aglio Olio E Peperoncino Con Pecorino Romano
Spaghetti with garlic, olive oil, red pepper and precorino


~Lasagne al Sugo di Carne
Housemade lasagne with meat sauce


~Spaghettini Freschi Al Prezzemolo E Pomodoro
Housemade spaghettini with parsley, tomato and parmigiano


~Risotto Verde
Risotto with spinanch and parmigiano

And we shared two secondi
~Galletto Schiacciaoto
Cornish Hen roasted under a brick
~Coniglio In Padella Con Olive
Pan-seared rabbit with olives


This is exactly the kind of Italian restaurant I always want to eat in.
Exactly the kind of gloriously simple menu I had encountered
in small trattorias and tavernas in Tuscany. The design and
ambience and attention to detail here made it all the more
enjoyable.

Yet somehow the heart didn't sing as it did with my best meals in Italy.
Maybe it was me. Maybe in Italy I was always under a spell. Maybe
the magic of Italy can never be recreated outside. Or perhaps the dishes at
I Sodi, while excellent, didn't have that extra something to lift them into
the realms of the divine.


I Sodi
Chef Owner: Rita Sodi
Designer Owner: Jeff Dworkis
Executive Chef : Michael Genardini
105 Christopher St., New York, NY 10014
nr. Bleecker St.
Ph +1 212-414-5774

"Eating in New York City" series

Public, Nolita, New York City

Just a few pics of the stunning bar at PUBLIC, on Elizabeth Streeet in Nolita, New York City

I was trying to click the waitress who looked like Drew Barrymore, but she moved too fast.

For the record I had a Guava and Red Chili Margarita

Sauza Blanco tequila infused with red chili, lime juice, orange liqueur and guava puree

http://www.public-nyc.com/

210 Elizabeth Street, New York City 10012

Ph: +1 212.343.7011

"Eating in New York City" series

Rice to Riches in Nolita , New York City

"Eating three sensible balanced meals a day will only spoil your appetite for rice pudding" http://www.ricetoriches.com/

Stumbled upon this delightful, irreverent, unashamedly sweet-loving

and carb-inducing little joint on Spring Street, somewhere between

Nolita and Soho in New York City, called RICE TO RICHES, sort of

like a Gelateria selling rice puddings in different flavours and

with different toppings.

Pic courtesy www.ricetoriches.com

What a wonderful concept ! They have taken the dowdy, unsung

rice pudding dessert and given it a sensational makeover with

flavours like " Take me to Tiramisu" and " Man-made Mascarpone"

and toppings ranging from Nudge ( chilled espresso with cocoa) and

Mischief ( Buttery Graham Crackers) to Remedy ( caramel vanilla sauce)

and Heartthrob ( raspberry jelly).

And they have done it with such style. Funky decor in shades

of brown and orange, colourful flavours and toppings in inviting

" eat-me" displays, witticisms and tongue-in-cheek proclamations

( "eat all you want, you are already fat" ) draped all over the walls

and counter, futuristic furniture and storefront, attractive serving

bowls in sizes ranging from Diva ( 6z) to Sumo ( 40 oz), and a

lively , "Italian-gelateria-meets-trendy-Soho-bar" vibe.

Their website says "this is legally sin ... Our rice pudding

contains a secret ingredient ... the same one that gives

Viagra its magical power".

And you tend to believe them.

http://www.ricetoriches.com/

37 Spring St

New York, NY 10012

Ph: +1 212.274.0008

"Eating in New York City" series