Bond Girl

A little bit of salt and pepper with some wasabi powder and sesami seeds if I am feeling Asian. Otherwise, drizzle with olive oil and grill, serve with peach serrano jam.

Patricio Sandvcal, Richard Sandoval's little brother, runs the kitchen in this place.

I got food from this gem of a place twice last week and I was impressed both times. There are three different typers of guacamole on the menu, they are expensive but very very good. I especially like the Ancho guacamole, which is unusual and addictive and comes with tortilla chips that are still warm. The fish taco is also very nice as well, with deep fried fish pieces and 4 little tortillas. I heard that there this a whole fried fish on the menu that is superb although I haven't tried it. And, the pork is supposed to be phenomenal, but someone else will have to tell me that. As with most mexican food, this is better if you go with a crowd and share different dishes. But for the misanthropes out there, the place delivers in the East Village area, and the food arrives fast and in above average condition.

In NYC, we have the much publicized Modern at the MOMA which is a cut above the typical museum eating but the other cafe at the MOMA is also pretty good with a really interesting system. You take a number and give your order, then you place the number on the table. The servers find you by identifying the number on your table.

I've never had it either. The soup is definitely not authentic but it's certainly very good.

France, Italy,and Spain seem to be the most heavily featured. There certainly is plenty of room for more representation from some overlooked(in Saveur) European locales: Netherlands, Belgium, Scandinavia, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Greece, Eastern Europe.... etc. Very little African cuisine as well. I still like the magazine though. I almost always enjoy the regional American stuff and just wish there would be more representation of some other areas. ← Yeah, it's still better than others....although i wish they would discover other parts of Asia that is not India.

I love Saveur for the writing and the content but lately it seemed a bit tired. For a magazine that embraces the exoticism of a diverse ethnicity and the places off the beaten path, it seemed to be continually turning in the same places. If I have to read one more story about Argentina, India or some rustic spot in France or Italy, I will positively scream. If any Saveur editor is reading this, there is a whole wide world out there, and good food in those places too.

Yeah and the one in Kittichai has enoki mushrooms, coconut milk and some other wild mushroom.

Awwww, Carrot top, you are too nice.

Inspired by the recent string of thai eating, I am feeling very ambitious to attempt the Tom Yum soup. According to Pichet Ong: Here are some the ingredients for the soup base: tamarind galanga kaffir lime fish sauce sugar I know I forgot something...someone help me figure out what it is? Or does anyone out there has a better version.

How big is her staff? Is she the only one in the kitchen? ← Stayed out of the kitchen, will ask my dining companions on kitchen staff size. But, food was coming out while she was chatting with us at the bar, so there must be a decent size staff back there.

Went to Annisa for desserts yesterday, and tried every dessert on the menu. Loved the hot mochi balls.

I've never been to Annisa, but is it true that regulars never have the same meal twice there?

Here's the qualifier, Simpson comped a two of our entrees and all our desserts, so if you want to get a real sense of the prices, check out the menu.

Jefferson Menu Between the six of us we had 6 different entrees and may be 12 skewers. I ordered one of each desserts on the menu so there were 6 desserts and everyone was very very stuffed after that.

I don't think the drink prices have came down but the food prices definitely have. King (who if the chef at Kuma Inn) spend $40 at the bar last night. I'm not sure what he had. But, dinner for 6 people includes a 30% tip was $25 per person.

Despite and experienced crew and weeks of preparation, the opening of Jefferson was not uneventful. Earlier that day, the basement was flooded and the manager was still trying to restock the bar. Nonetheless. the soft re-opening of the Jefferson still packed in a full house. The new menu is more tapas to be shared among friends and less trendy eating. Among the six of us, we ordered a bunch of skewers (calamari, fish balls, duck and mushrooms). some grilled shrimp, grilled squid on corn, the salmon that was in the Times, and the duck. All the dishes was well prepared and tasty. It seemed that Simpson has worked out all the kinks during the week of the test runs. Although I wasn't wild about the Salmon, but that has more to do with my own personal preference of not liking cream sauce more than anything else. Pichet Ong's dreamy desserts finished the meal with a fresh berry and lemon cream trifle, a beautifully rich chocolate cake with cream, a dish of delectable ice creams (vietnamese coffee, balsamic and respberries) and with cookies, an assortment of sorbets and cookies (the coconut sorbets were superb), a panna cotta with grilled pineapple. With food like this, I'd eat here everyday.

Despite having met and liked the chef on a personal level, I did not want to life Kittichai. The thought of going to a trendy restaurant with thumping music and racuous crowd makes me tired even before I could pick up the phone to make a reservation. But, Kittichai proves to be surprising in many ways. Yes, it was loud and the girl at the next table wore a skirt so short that the hem barely grazed the table tops, but the food was surprisingly elegant. We starated with sime fluke on asparagus and squid roe that was clean and lovely on the tongue. The banana blossom salas by contrast had a beautiful texture and the fried fish balls were on the salty side, but still pleasing to the palate. Ian sent out a winter soup of creamy tom yom with enoki mushrooms and sea scallops that had the most perfect balance of salty and sour that I've ever tasted in Asian food. It manages to capture the beauty of lime leaves withoutthe soapiness that frequently came with over use. Main courses were a griled king prawn that was succulent and juicy, a wonderful australian seabass covered in gai-lan puree, and a incredibly light vegetable green curry-here is whee the beautiful technique prevails. Think of green curry anything and you think of the greasy gooey stiff you get from a local thai restaurant. But, Ian's green curry was a light elegant broth with multi-dimensional layers of flavors. There were about seven vegetables in the curry, and ususally, you get one or two vegetables that were done perfectly and the rest poorly. In the best French restaurrants, you may get two or three vegetables done perfectly and the rest passably, At Kittichai, all seven vegetables were executed beautifully, and managed to pick up the flavor of the curry broth. It was perfection. Then there was the side of stirred fried thai watercress-which sounded simple enough but once again, impressively executed. The watercress was crisy, flavorful and perfectly done. We shared a Thai tea ice cream with sweet jellies on top that cleansed our palate, and a flourless chocolate cake that was steamed in banana leaves, which i did nt like but my dining companions did. The presentation was lovely, although a bit over dramatic. The service is friendly but slow. And, as I left the restaurant, a woman was walking in with one of her breasts exposed. It's not authentic thai, but who cares. It taste good, and isn't that all it matters?

Ran into Aaron Sanchez at WD-50 last night. It seemed that he's splitting his time between Centrico, the new place he opened with Myriad's Group in the old Layla location and Paladar. He rattled off a whole lots of great tasting dishes that is on the menu of Centrico, including Ceviche and Tamale and lots of others that sounded promising. Although I always thought Sanchez is a great chef when he does cook, many of my more serious dining pals thought Centrico is more trendy drink place than a eat place. What's your take?

WD-50 for Sam Mason's creations. Go see Pichet at the Spice Market and get some Ovaltine ice cream.

Life according to the gossip mill was that he got into a fight with the owners.

Rumour has it that three weeks ago, Sosa and the whole kitchen staff walked out during the middle of service. Anyone knows the fate of the restaurant?

It's on west 10th street.

After months of convalescing in South of France, Simpson Wong is back and ready to reopen Jefferson. The new menu is gentler, more accessible, with lower price points and in trendy mix and match style. If the test dinner tonight is any indication of the restaurant to come, Jefferson will definitely be a place to visit for finely executed Asian influence fares. We started off with a simple savory fried squash, and moved into a sweet caramelized scallop with avocado puree and potatoes, and then was refreshed with a lemony salad before digging into a crispy skined salmon in a ginger broth with greens. The duck was absolutely delicious on top of a bed of carrots and beat. Then, we had a brilliant dessert of tapioca pudding with mango and coffee ice cream, followed by a caramelized banana with ovaltine ice cream and popcorn. Consulting chef for Wong's fabulous desserts is none other than Pichet Ong of the Spice Market fame. Will report back when the place officially opens in September.

Jack, I am inspired! Will try this weekend.