peter_nyc

I'd be curious to hear your thoughts about Coco Roco, the Peruvian joint on 5th Ave. betw. 6th and 7th Sts. I find it leaps and bounds better than Mancora.

I had two recent meals in Bay Ridge this week I thought deserved mention here: India Passage 7404 Third Avenue I don't know much about Indian food, but I do know that I enjoyed my meal here more than any other Indian I've had in the US as best I can recall. The curries were very flavorful, and while perhaps a bit milder on the sheer heat, the flavor was all there. Definitely worth a go. La Maison du Couscous 484 77th Street Wow, really good Moroccon fare. Tried the harrira, another vegetable soup I can't recall the name of, the couscous with lamb, raisins and onions, and the lamb tagine with artichoke hearts and peas. Everything was delicious. The lamb was so tender you could eat it rigtht off the bone with a spoon. The couscous was surprisingly sweet and very nicely spiced. Washed it all down with a pot of mint infused green tea. So nice. The decor is lacking a bit, but don't let that scare you off. This place is great.

OK, what's up with the fried dumplings at CV? I would say there were more like "warmed pork-filled dough balls in oil." Good thing we were really hungry because I thought these to be the weakest dumplings I've had in NY to date. Not fried long enough? Filling not spiced enough? What went wrong?? Anyone care to defend them?

Had dinner at Coco Roco last night on 5th Ave. I'm convinced it's the best of the Peruvian spots in the neighborhood (which includes Pk. Slope and Cobble Hill). Last week I ate at Mancora, which seems to be a pretty popular destination amongst the eG Brooklyn crowd, but I have to say it pales in comparison to Coco Roco: the chicken at Mancora was incredibly dry; at Coco Roco it is moist and beautifully spiced. I did enjoy the ceviche at both restuarants (Mancora served a truckload portion of it while Coco Roco opts for a more appetizer-sized amount). Even though there was a bit of a disaster with getting the chicken to our table (apparently the guy in charge of the rotisserie forgot to set aside one for our table and allocated all the finished chicken to take-out and delivery orders), we weren't really too upset given the quality fo the food. The yellow rice and beans side was really well done and the chicken cilantro soup was great. I would skip on the sweet blue corn drink next time though: it was an intoxicatingly sweet concoction ordained with very finely chopped apples and fruit, which proved ultimately irrelevant given the fact that the ice in the glass prevented one from accessing the fruit Dessert at chocolate room, duh.

Thanks so much, easternsun! I appreciate the offer. The only problem is that my travel companion has been to Osaka, and I'm not sure I can convince him to return (he's not so into the foodstuffs as I). To make matters worse, his girlfriend, whom he is bringing along for the trip, is a vegatarian . Yeah, we're thinking that it's going to be frigid cold up north that time of year, and we will be travelling during blackout dates for much more reasonably priced airline tickets Tokyo->Sopporo... the train thing seems not the most convenient of travel options. Maybe I could convince him to make the trip out to Kansai if we include a stop at Hiroshima (he's also been to Nara and we've both been to Kyoto and Kobe). Are you aware of any gastronomic highlights in Hiroshima?

Ok, guys. I really need your help... I'm headed to Japan this coming January (I loved it so much last May I just had to find a way to come back), but I don't know where to go! I know I'll be staying in Tokyo at least for a few days and that I'm eager to check out Yokohama. Besides that, I'd like to pick maybe one or two cities in somewhat close proximity to each other and accesible via Shinkansen, but I don't know where to begin! If you had to choose two locations in all of Japan that are somewhat near to each other to visit, which would they be? My priorities are: 1. quality/assortment of local cuisine 2. sightseeing and all the rest of the touristy stuff Thanks for your input.

Actually, yes. The chef did mention it was sujiko, but I thought that just meant that he had prepared the ikura himself. Isn't all ikura made from sujiko? I think I'm a bit fuzzy on the relationship between sujiko and ikura.

Ok I know I've been really obsessive about the ikura thing lately, but today at my local sushi joint I was served something they called "nama ikura syuyuzuke" (or something close to that). The eggs were VERY MUCH tougher than I've ever had and seemed to be, well, al dente. Needless to say I found the experience a bit offputting; I absolutely love the standard run-of-the-mill packaged ikura that is much saltier and less firm. So was this a mistake in preparation or some other type of preparation I've never had? The "nama" makes me think that it's the latter since I'm under the impression that nama means unpasteurized.

An itamae at a local sushi restaurant here in New York offered me a sample of homemade ikura because he knew I was looking for sujiko to make my own (I still haven't found any ) What struck me was how much less salty it was compared to the stuff I'm used to (that comes from the fish monger the restaurant gets most of its fish from). Also, the eggs were much firmer and all still whole. Not chewy or viscous at all. I immediately tasted sake and verifed that indeed the chef had added sake to his marinade. I couldn't detect soy sauce and probably would have preferred a bit more. Is it normal for good, fresh ikura to have a mild taste like this?

Yeah, it's quite sad. I had the most incredible meal there about a year ago, and when I returned toward the end of this summer it wasn't the same. Not mindblowing, not amazing, not great, just OK. I also missed that small sushi bar, I thought it had such charm.

A sushi chef I once knew used to make persimmon ices. They were fantastic. I think he extracted the juice of the fruit and mixed it with plum wine and froze it solid. He would scrape with the ice with a fork to serve. Too bad the owners of the restaurant he worked at decided to burn the place down and collect insurance. I miss him and his ices dearly.

I finally tried al di la last night and was, well, disappointed. Everybody seemed to have such praise for this spot, but I thought the food was pretty unimpressive. The highlight of the evening was our waitress: she seemed very passionate and knowledgable about the food and wine and carried herself with such a perfect balance of energy, authority, friendliness and respect. But most importantly she seemed right off the bat to have a stake in the quality our dinner experience. So, back to the food. We had a great bottle of Roero Arneis Pasquero 2004. Also, we ordered the salt cod antipasto, the garlic soup, the bagna cauda (anchovy/oil tapenade-ish sauce served with raw and gently cooked vegetables and roots, some pasta primi (tagliatelle with meat ragu, beat-filled pasta with poppy seed, and a special of the day that seemed almost identical to the tagliatelle), and the pork chop special. The cod I think was the most interesting of all the dishes I sampled, but I thought the salt cod foam/salad needed more.... SALT! It didn't taste like much at all. The polenta cakes seved with the cod were pleasant but could have also benefitted from a bit more seasoning. The garlic soup was not to my liking at all and was very glad I hadn't ordered it for myself: the garlic essence was so overpowering that the taste lingered through the rest of the meal and afterwards. The bagna cauda, or anchovy/oil sauce served with vegetables was ok, but it got a bit redundant in spite of the nice variety of veggies and the overall impact was kind of dull (more seasoning here as well?) As for the pasta dishes? Well, I know I shouldn't have but I couldn't help myself from thinking that Babbo had a much better rendition of pretty much everything I tasted. I think that the texture of the pasta was the weakest link, a bit too mushy and therefore couldn't really didn't hold up to the heavy ragu(s). The beet-filled pasta with poppy (also a dish that Babbo serves but with a different filling I think) was probably the strongest of them all. Pork chop was fatty but flavorful. Much much much better down the street at Rose Water. Just my two cents.

Thanks so much for the detailed description! I had the tom yum once but thought it was exceptionally pungent, to the point where the broth was almost intolerable. Has anyone had this experience?

I was asking in specific reference to what is listed as "sour curry with omelette and shrimp" on the menu. It has a flavor completely distinct from the other curries I've tried (green, red, massaman, etc).

Nha Trang is definitely not as good as it gets, although it doesn't get *much* better. Try Thai Son on Baxter and Nam Son on Grand (betw. Chrystie & Bowery). Best Vietnamese in Chinatown IMHO.

I ordered this dish tonight (my third time at Sripraphai) and was absolutely intrigued by the flavor. I'm pretty sure it was unlike anything I've had before except for maybe something I had while in Vietnam. Does anybody know what gives the curry that very distinctive fermented-like flavor? Is it fermented shrimp?Also, I highly recommend the bean thread salad, the third salad I absolutely love (#1 and #2 being the papaya salad and fried catfish salad of course).

Not positive on the fermented beans but for peppercorns check out Kam Man on Canal at Mulberry.

Today I asked the sushi chefs at my local sushi restaurant if they knew where I could score some sujiko. They laughed because they assumed I wanted to eat it whole, still in the sac. After some failed attempts to communicate my true intentions across a pretty severe language barrier I continued with my meal in silence, ashamed and frustrated.

I called both, no luck on either front. Still sujiko-less.

The ingredients (translated into English on a suspicious stick on label) are: rice rice koji sugar alcohol (8.5%) salt How adverse an effect will using this stuff intead of hon-mirin have on my food? Specifically on ikura which I purchased this explictly for.

Okay... I finally got some pictures of the bottles I brought back from Japan. If anybody can tell me anything about any of them, I'd be really appreciative. This last one is a nigori sake, I know that much!

Is this the good stuff? I can't read the Japanese...

I'm all set to attempt my own ikura but I don't know where to find the sujiko, or salmon roe still in its sac. Tonight I scoured the fish sections of JAS Mart on St. Marks and Sunrise Mart to no avail. Do they usually stock it? If not, does anybody know where I should look? How about Mitsuwa in Edgewater, NJ?

Thanks so much! Should it be served atop vinegared rice or plain rice?

I plan on marinating my own ikura here in New York and am clueless on how to go about doing it. Would anyone be kind enough to provide a rough outline on how to proceed? Thanks so much!