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mascarpone

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Posts posted by mascarpone

    DeMarco's Pizzeria

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    I stopped by DeMarco today and had a sausage slice and a plain square. It was good, but it was not the same as DiFara. A difference was the speed. I ordered, and as I was the only one there (at around 12:30) I was eating within ten minutes.

    As many have pointed out, the difference is Dom. At DiFara, he is the only one who makes the pizza. He has such a long and close relationship with his oven (like fifty years) he knows exactly how long pies should bake for the best result. The quality of the pizza at DeMarco can't approach DiFara because Dom and his oven are not at DeMarco.

    Perhaps it would be different if I would have been there later when there would have been a faster turn over; or I should go there with a group and order a whole pie instead of geting reheated slices.

    But in my opinion, it will be very difficult for DeMarco to catch DiFara; they are related, yet very different. DiFara is focused, it is ninety-nine percent about pizza and a master is always at the helm, whereas at DeMarco, they do other dishes, there is a nice space, waiters, a bar I think . . .

    THE BEST: Vietnamese

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    The last time I was there was a year and a half ago, therefore my recollection of Saigon Grill is foggy at best.

    I should refrain from answering do to lack of information. At the time I was avoiding the Pho and other noodle dishes while leaning towards low-carb beef cubes and pork chops (delicious).

    I do remember that it was very busy as the food was relatively cheap and tasty.

    How does it compare to other Vietnamese restaurants? Beats me.

    Hasake

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    It's above average, traditional sushi at a fair price.  It's part of Bon Yagi's empire, I think it may have been his first place.

    Other bits of his empire:

    Sobya, which has good soba noodles.

    Cha An, which is a tea house and is probably the most refined of his places (also the newest).

    Decibel, which has food that should be avoided and variable sake, make sure what you get is fresh, served in a not so nice basement.

    Those three (plus Hasaki), are within feet of each other.

    He also owns

    Rai Rai Ken, a noodle place I've never been to.

    Shabu-Tatsu East village, never been there either.

    Sakegura, a good high end sake bar.

    He may own Otafuku, the okonomiyaki place down the block from Hasaki, either he does or the guy who owns the Sunrise Mart empire does, I don't remember which (that empire includes two supermarkets, Angel Share (the bar), Around the Clock (scary diner like thing), Village Yochenko (mostly cooked bar food), the sushi place under Village Yochenko and last but not least, Dojo!!!

    That's right folks, two guys own many of the Japanese food establishments around St. Mark's.  I suspect they have other places as well, or partial ownership interests.  I've heard each group has 12-15 places.  No master websites, so its a guessing game.

    I went to Rai Rai ken. It was just ok, I thought; not great. I prefer the Midtown West branch of Men Kui Tei (60 West 56 Street; 212-757-1642). There is an East Village Men Kui Tei that I have never been to(63 Cooper Sq., 212-226-4152). I wonder if they are also owned by Bo Yagi.

    Tochigi prefecture

    in Japan: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    I am planning a day trip to Nikko and was curious about any must-try restaurants in that town. It seems that the town is famous for its yuba - is there anywhere that does this any particular justice? Or, perhaps there's another cuisine for which this city is famous that I haven't discovered? I'd love to hear your opinions.

    I went to Nikko in December of 2003 and was taken to a modest Unagi (Eel) restaurant by my girlfriend's uncle. It was very simple place (four tables), and their main dish was a box of rice covered with Unagi. Delicious! I asked for a business card on the way out, but no luck. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the place. But I do have a business card of a Japanese Red bean sweets Store that was a few doors away from the Unagi place. The Sweets store was called Mitsu Yama Yo Kang Houmpo and the number in Nikko is (0288) 54-0068. I didn't buy any sweets as I had never developed a taste taste for them and they were rather expensive. I enjoyed the Unagi, as I have eaten this whenever I have been at Sushi restaurants in New York. It was definitely a step above what I was used to. It was, however, a very small place; small, but good.

    THE BEST: Ramen in NYC

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    I had the opportunity to go to Men Kui Tei @ 60 West 56th Street (212-757-1642) and found that the Shoyu, Kyushu-style, and Miso Ramen to be the best overall Lamen so far in New York. An interesting feature there is you can request the texture of the noodles when you order like you specify a steak order (well, medium or rare; but in this case hard, medium, or soft noodle). I ordered hard and the bowl was in front of me within a minute.

    And the gyoza are outstanding! :wub:

    A beer, gyoza, and Miso Lamen cost around $17.

    There is also a branch of Men Kui Tei in the East Villiage @ 63 Cooper Square (212) 228-4125, however, I have not been there.

    I also went to Aji-sen in china town. It was not good at all. :sad:

    Inquiry: Kyushu Cuisine for Girlfriend's Trip

    in Japan: Dining

    Posted

    My girlfriend, a native of Tokyo, will visit Hakata City for the first time. The event she is attending is a friends wedding and she will have a bit of free time while she is there. Please recommend some specific locations with address and contact information for some inexpensive regional quisine of Hakata City.

    In particular, she is interested in Kyushu Style Lamen, Motsu Nabe, and Udon.

    Any and all locations (from restaurant establishments to Street Food vendors with food Carts) are welcome.

    Arigato Gosighmas.

    mascarpone

    (New York City)

    Inexpensive French eateries

    in New York: Dining

    Posted · Edited by mascarpone (log)

    Thanks, Todd36, for that detailed review. If Veau D'Or was indeed superior to a meal at Eleven Madison Park during resaurant week, I will have to check it out. I had a great dinner at EMP during RW last June with Pan and another friend that was second only to Union Pacific for all time best restaurant week meals.

    I've eaten at Eleven Madison Park three times in the last three months. One dinner was fine, restaurant week dinner was Ok, but not two stars, and the last dinner was pretty good. I've eaten there a few more times in the past. I think its a little inconsistant at Eleven Madison Park, and I view it as "Jean Georges" light, meaning its serving a New American/French menu that is a bit similar in concept to Jean Georges, at half the price, and its not as good as Jean Georges. The roughly $20 prix fix lunch at Nougatine (Jean Georges cheaper part) is better done than the restaurant week special at Eleven Madison Park. That being said, Veau D'Or is a very different animal than Eleven Madison Park. For one thing, its about half the price, which puts it real close to restaurant week prices and the food was better than Eleven Madison Park's restaurant week dinner. It doesn't have the same level of service or atmosphere and the cooking is not modern. But the food is good, and well worth the money, which is the topic of this thread.

    Yeah, I can see your point. I have only been to EMP twice, and both meals were outstanding. Perhaps I got lucky both times.

    Inexpensive French eateries

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    Thanks, Todd36, for that detailed review. If Veau D'Or was indeed superior to a meal at Eleven Madison Park during resaurant week, I will have to check it out. I had a great dinner at EMP during RW last June with Pan and another friend that was second only to Union Pacific for all time best restaurant week meals.

    Inexpensive French eateries

    in New York: Dining

    Posted · Edited by mascarpone (log)

    I looked up Veau D'Or on Yahoo. It looks as though it is still kicking. The review specified it as Alsatian and rec. sweetbreads, tripe, and kidney's, escargots in garlic butter to cassoulet, coq au vin and rack of lamb.

    Le Veau D'Or

    (212) 838-8133

    Address:

    129 E 60th St

    New York, NY 10022

    Cross Street:

    Park & Lexington Aves.

    THE BEST: Chinese Dumplings

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    What an adventure! I'll check out Tasty Dumpling but won't ask anyone's name!

    Did you see any Chinese people at Excellent Dumpling? I get the feeling that that's a real non-Asians' restaurant (in terms of the clientele), and I'm not surprised you weren't pleased with the dumplings there.

    Good point. I would say the clientele was 80% caucasian.

    THE BEST: Chinese Dumplings

    in New York: Dining

    Posted · Edited by mascarpone (log)

    I did a dumpling tour last night with my girlfriend. We took the F to Delancy and went to Fried Dumpling on the west side of Allen just south of Delancy and ordered 10 pork/chive fried for $2. The wrapper was thin and crispy and it was well browned. The dumplings were somewhat clumped together, but came apart easily after a bit of teasing.

    Next we walked two blocks to Dumpling House on Eldrige between Grand and Broome. There was a mob of people there ordering and we were edged out by several other customers and ended up having to wait for a new batch of fried Pork/chive to be made. I ordered 10 for $2. Although crispy on the underside--and despite the wrapper being quite thin, the dumpling seemed somewhat doughy and undercooked as the cooks were hastily churning out the product. The contents of each dumpling were very juicy and tasted better than those at Fried dumpling. I made the mistake of popping an entire dumpling in my mouth after it had come out of the oil fryer and got burned.

    We then made our way to Excellent Dumplingjust south of Canal on the east side of Lafayette. This was a restaurant and the Pork/Chive fried dumplings there were inferior to those at the two establishments that we had previously visited. The main complaint is that they were thick and doughy and the contents were tasteless. We ended up paying close to six dollars for eight substandard dumplings.

    Last but not least we went to Tasty Dumpling south of Bayard Street on Mulberry near Columbus Park. There the dumplings were comparable to Dumpling House, yet they were completely cooked and there was more variety. I ordered five Pork/Cabbage fried for a dollar as our tummys were exploding at this point. The Cabbage gave the dumpling a sweeter taste, not nearly as dramatic a taste as the chive. The wrapper was thin and was more completely cooked than at Dumpling house, however they were not nearly as busy.

    Personaly, I like the chive better than the cabbage, however she prefers cabbage. The best wrapper was at Fried Dumpling and the best contents at Dumpling House. Best overall dumpling at Tasty Dumpling. The menu designs/decor at Dumpling House and Tasty Dumpling were so similar (I thought we were in a chain franchise) that I asked at Tasty Dumpling if they were at all affiliated. The woman at the counter said Dumpling house was owned by her sister. When I proceeded to ask her name to post in the review, a very large Chinese man with a menacing look came out from the kitchen and I muttered that it wasn't important and we quickly exited.

    Quesillo

    in New York: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    Perhaps recipes vary from country to country. Triana is a Dominican bakery...

    My guess is that recipes vary from household to household and from pastry chef to pastry chef. Carmen Aboy Valldejuli, who wrote the book on Puerto Rican cooking (Cocina Criolla is the name of the book) offers several recipes for plan. Flan de Leche uses milk and whole eggs. The recipe with evaporated milk also calls for whole eggs. Nevertheless, all of the flans I've ever had in Puerto Rico were far more eggier than any creme caramel in France. I'm sure they all had a surplus of yolks in addition to any whole eggs.

    Thanks for the tip on the cookbook, Bux. As flan is my current obsession, this is a more economical option. :biggrin:

    THE BEST: Ramen in NYC

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    I have to agree with Mascarpone about Minca.  I made the second visit to Minca a few month ago, and i was greatly disappointed by their noodle.  The first time i was there during summer, the noodle was good -- al dente and nice texture.  But, at my second visit, the noodle was so not good.  I don't know what was wrong with the noodle, but the noodle seemed to loose the consistence.  Broth, however, was still good when i visited the second time. 

    Rai Rai Ken is okay, but I am not too crazy about their noodle.  The noodle does not have great al dente texture.  Everyone has his/her favorite when it comes to the type of noodle he/her favors.  Rai Rai Ken's noodle is not for me, but many people seem to enjoy and like it very much. 

    Momofuku's Ramen is not Ramen.  It's noodle in soup.

    I could not have said it better myself.

    Rai Rai Ken got a thumbs down because mainly because of the noodle texture issue. Also, although off the subject, the qyoza were terribly greasy and were falling apart.

    Quesillo

    in New York: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    According to the Venezuelan woman I married, quesillo and flan are made from essentially the same recipe (venezuelans use condensed milk, whole milk and both yolks and whites) however quesillo is cooked longer and winds up with lots of little holes where flan is solid.  Quesillo is a bit drier and has a more burnt carmel flavor and flan is creamy and "light".

    Perhaps recipes vary from country to country. Triana is a Dominican bakery...

    Quesillo

    in New York: Cooking & Baking

    Posted · Edited by mascarpone (log)

    I had an interesting chat with Maria, the main baker at Triana Bakery-Cafeteria. She said that there are similarities between quesillo and flan--sugar, egg (yolk and whites), liquid vanilla. The differences, according to Maria the baker, are that quesillo is made with condensed milk, evaporated milk, and regular milk while flan has powdered milk and water.

    Maria, who was very impressed that I had posted a review of her bakery on the internet, said she would be interested in giving cooking classes on Domincan pasteries to anyone who was interested.

    Triana Bakery/Cafeteria

    1493-95 St. Nicholas Avenue (184 & 185 St.)

    Tel. 212-740-6198, 212-740-2583

    Todas Clases de Sandwich, Bizcocho Dominicano, para Cumpleanos, Bodas, Bautizo, etc.

    NB. Milagros, the voluptuous baker at the counter, may try to seduce any unsuspecting men with a sweet tooth.

    THE BEST: Ramen in NYC

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    I have to disagree about Momofuku. I was dissapointed with the Ramen there. Namely, the texture is soft (it should be more al dente) and, face it... real egg noodles should have a yellow color. These noodles are white and the bowl/ingedient presentation is totally unbalanced. I was much more satisfied with Minca six months ago before it slipped. Rai-Rai Ken is somewhat better than Momofuku, although not by a substantial margin. Momofuku is more of a general noodle soup bar than a serious Japanese Ramen joint.

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