NYC for 1st time: Chef on the loose

[gfron1]

When I see wild on that menu I read, "some style that I don't have space to tell you about but its wild..." I suspect mine was an IPA or some heavily hopped variety.

 

News of the night - Cosme...yeah, I don't need to go back. I'll post more later on it.

[huiray]

Our meal last night at Pokpok was really good. But I too find LOS far better. My host disagrees completely. Different strokes. I didn't find the flavors as bold and pronounced as LOS. Certainly not the diversity and depth of dishes. Nothing beats crispy rice, period. Staff were great, food was super tasty, but as Mitch said, you can't compare the two. 

 

Rob, have you ever read this?

[weinoo]

When I see wild on that menu I read, "some style that I don't have space to tell you about but its wild..." I suspect mine was an IPA or some heavily hopped variety.

 

News of the night - Cosme...yeah, I don't need to go back. I'll post more later on it.

Famous chef's satellite restaurants in NYC; wish I could say they were often great. Sadly, they're often not. 

[gfron1]

I have now. Interesting article.

 

So Cosme...sigh...drops chin to chest.

We ordered too much food (according to our server) but they don't know me very well. We ordered (notice how I say ordered not received) the uni tostada, burrata, Tleyuda, and Cobia for starters. Didn't get the uni. Then the lobster and steak for entrees. Didn't get either. Instead was sent octopus. And for dessert the corn husk meringue and the nixtemelized pumpkin with cream cheese.

We had a couple of cocktails. Both were just okay. This was the Telenovela with Pisco.

The cobia (front) with pineapple salsa was nice. Tyler thought it was undercooked...I'm not sure since I had never had that before. The Tlayuda in the center was good but impossible to eat neatly. The chicharrones on top were not crisp at all - day old? exposed to moisture? Not sure, but not good. Otherwise tasty and probably the bes thing on the table. The burrata - quite frankly the one we had earlier at Mekelburgs was heads and tails above this one.

Neither of our entrees arrived but they sent us this "crispy octopus" which wasn't crispy and was a far inferior version to one I had at the ICC show for lunch the same day and the one at the show was cooked in a friggin tent out in the parking lot!

Meringue was great. Pumpkin was terrible textures - cream cheese was cold and thick. Pumpkin was stringy. Just not good at all.

So, they fixed our $250 bill to account for the mistakes but it was still $170. That was a $75 meal...bump it to $125 for NYC pricing, but still not something I would ever pay for again. Better luck at Empellon tonight!

[KennethT]

Sorry to hear about this... In the couple of times I had been there in the past, I thought the uni tostada was the best thing on the menu...

[Smithy]

Ouch! Here's hoping that was the nadir of your trip.

[gfron1]

OMG! Tonight was the opposite. What an amazing meal at Empellon Cocina chef's table. I've been waiting for this meal for a few years.

[Deryn]

So sorry to hear about that expensive disappointment.

Were they all out of steak and lobster? If so, wow!

[weinoo]

Sorry to hear about this... In the couple of times I had been there in the past, I thought the uni tostada was the best thing on the menu...

 

Sorry - I think uni should stay where it belongs - in sushi restaurants. But since it's on every freakin' menu around, soon there won't be any left.

[KennethT]

Sorry - I think uni should stay where it belongs - in sushi restaurants. But since it's on every freakin' menu around, soon there won't be any left.

Most sushi places tend to have very mediocre quality sea urchin... Cosme, at the time, used extremely high quality sea urchin, and the combination with the salsa, bone marrow and corny tostada was a great effect..

[weinoo]

Most sushi places tend to have very mediocre quality sea urchin... Cosme, at the time, used extremely high quality sea urchin, and the combination with the salsa, bone marrow and corny tostada was a great effect..

 

Not the ones I go to.  But be that as it may, and that's for another discussion, many starred chefs who have opened satellites in NY have failed.

 

Glad you liked Empellon, gfron1. Stupak is practically home-grown.

 

I think, though, you would be well-served to at least try 1 or 2 iconic NY places. Maybe Katz's pastrami. Russ & Daughters. Sit at the bar at Gramercy Tavern or EMP - have a drink and a bite. Shop or browse at DiPalo's or Despana or even Eataly. That sort of thing.

Edited October 28, 2015 by weinoo (log)

[KennethT]

Not the ones I go to.  But be that as it may, and that's for another discussion, many starred chefs who have opened satellites in NY have failed.

 

Glad you liked Empellon, gfron1. Stupak is practically home-grown.

 

I think, though, you would be well-served to at least try 1 or 2 iconic NY places. Maybe Katz's pastrami. Russ & Daughters. Sit at the bar at Gramercy Tavern or EMP - have a drink and a bite. Shop or browse at DiPalo's or Despana or even Eataly. That sort of thing.

I also think a slice of really good NY pizza is in order! Weinoo, any suggestions?

[huiray]

I think he should simply walk around the place too, taking in the vibes of the city, the people, the buildings,** the general interaction of what makes up NYC. By all means graze as he does this, including any of the "iconic" places, or even a dirty water hot dog from a cart vendor at some point, or whatever else. He might consider walking around the West Village/Greenwich Village, Christopher Street, Sheridan Square, Hudson Street,^¶¶ Bleecker Street, etc --- and graze on stuff while he does so (or have a drink)(or look in on THAT butcher shop there); take in Washington Square while he's going about that, maybe try a chess game or two (and lose his money doing so) and so on and so forth.

 

** One of the pleasures I had when I first moved to the greater NYC area back in the 1980's was to simply walk down 42nd Street observing the human tapestry passing before my eyes but also lifting my gaze above street level to around the second floor of the buildings --- the amazing and wonderful architectural detail and friezes and decoration and details were simply amazing. Much of that, unfortunately, is now gone - but the blocks around Grand Central still retain some if not all of this architectural splendor, even if so many of them are obscured from street level by those horrible sidewalk protector/covered passages.

 

^¶¶ Of course, the former Meatpacking District and the Hudson/14th Street/Waterfront area are now unrecognizable from what it used to be and has become sterilized, over-commercialized and prettified, IMO. But that is not meaningful to Rob, unless he knew the place before.

Edited October 28, 2015 by huiray (log)

[dcarch]

" ----One of the pleasures I had when I first moved to the greater NYC area back in the 1980's ----"

And NYC's disappointing food truck scene.

dcarch

[FrogPrincesse]

When I see wild on that menu I read, "some style that I don't have space to tell you about but its wild..." I suspect mine was an IPA or some heavily hopped variety.

 

 

A wild ale. Made using wild yeast, like a lot of Belgian beers

[Pan]

I also think a slice of really good NY pizza is in order! Weinoo, any suggestions?

 

I'm not Weinoo, but Patsy's East Harlem is still good. I was there again last night.

[weinoo]

Yes, Patsy's or Joe's, on 6th Avenue around Bleecker, or Prince St. Pizza are my favorite slice places.

 

Skip the dirty water dogs - a griddled hot dog at Katz's is 50 times better.

[gfron1]

I didn't have any time on the computer yesterday (that's a good think I think). So here's my Empellon Cocina chef's table experience. Just a fantastic, phenomenal, super, great, yummy meal. Alex was out on book tour so Isabella ran the table for us. 

A view in the kitchen from the chef's table

I started the night with an Obregon Fizz and a shot of their best anejo before heading to the table.

Our first was "Tigers Milk" which was their ceviche marinade - smart use of product.

Apple marinated in apricot seed salsa

Clam and tomato popsicles

Those were paired with this anejo

Then they poured this lovely wine

This dish has gotten all sorts of attention and it is fabulous - zucchini, chile ash mayo, fermented coconut cream. I liked it enough that I threw my tongue at the plate...

As good as it was, the painting of the plate feels gimmicky to me. The "paint" didn't come off even when I licked it, and I didn't taste anything when I licked it, so what's the point? That said, one of the top dishes of the night.

Gordita inflatada with salsa verde mousse

Egg white omelette with sikil pak (pumpkin seed sauce). Next pour:

They never let my glass stay empty for long.

Kumamoto oysters with nixtamalized popcorn kernels

Avocado with breadcrumbs and crab

Trout flauta. Our next pairing was a cider

Then, out came this container

So you know what was coming next.

Chicken wing with salsa de chapulines and guac.

Concha with chipotle date puree and american cheese

Scotch egg

Then this was fun. They had each of us pick an ingredient, and Isabella ground them in a metate and served it with the corn tortillas. Our group made a good salsa!

Quesadilla with chicharron and quelites

Blood sope

We wondered about this all night long. Turns out it was a pineapple that had roasted all day with a piece of lard on top and maybe some chiles.

that became an inverse al pastor. Next pour:

and we're heading into the dulces

Masa waffle with smoked maple syrup and chicken liver butter

Ripe plantain with mole poblano

a decent port, although at this point it didn't matter.

Black mole with white sesame

Chocolate with vanilla, tamarind and prune

Our next pairing was a frozen blackberry margarita

Tres leches with blackberry and watermelon - not very seasonal but it was a plate licker.

One last drink.

Orange sorbet with sal de guasanos

[gfron1]

Dang, that was a long post. Sorry and you're welcome! Yesterday was more low-key because we met up with some friends so we did a meal of Korean ramen Mok Bar in Chelsea 

I had two sliders the Army ramen (spam and such) and yummy fried rice sticks. 

Lunch #2 at the Roy Bean house gastropub only because we're from where Roy Bean was from so we had to. Nothing special.

Dinner was after my first Broadway show - Kinky Boots, and we found B Side Pizza. I know that i'm not a pizza aficionado so I'll just say it was good. Could care less if it was authentic.

Today is tacos and Contra.

[Smithy]

That was quite an experience at Empellon Cocina!  Thanks for the detailed post.  I enjoyed looking at the titles of the cocktails and the beers, as well as the presentations.

 

If you can think that far back (and that far into the experience!): what did you think of the flavor combination of chocolate, vanilla, tamarind and prune? 

[gfron1]

It was one of two plate lickers, so that should answer that. The tamarind is what made it special - a bit of tang that I'll probably introduce into my work in the future.

[Pan]

That was quite a night of debauchery, what with all that food and alcohol! Thanks for holding your camera steady, lol! :-)

 

For the record, I'd never waste stomach space at Katz's by eating a hotdog. Besides, I understand their hotdogs are Sabrett, anyway, aren't they?

[gfron1]

If you are in Astoria, check out restaurants in Flushing, Queens.

Much better Dim Sum there.

dcarch

Following up on this. Dim sum in flushings?

Eh, having read your previous food travel diaries and knowing the restaurant, you don't need to go to Dim Sum Go Go. Long past its prime, and its prime was just pretty good.

I think generally what I like is fairly far removed from what you're into so I'll let others comment on the rest of the list.

I'd certainly be more than willing to meet you at Mission Chinese. Fung-Tu might be another interesting choice.

Booker & Dax is great, as is Dead Rabbit. By the time you get here, Kenta Goto's Goto should be open on Eldridge St., and that will be a good place, I'm predicting. There are so many serious cocktail places, that it's hard to pick one or two. From Pouring Ribbons, to mace, to my old favorite Pegu, you really can't go wrong.

Semilla is taking a fair amount of flak from some knowledgeable food people.

Dim Sum - Nom Wah, if you must in Manhattan. DS Go Go is as patrick said above.

Contra's people have opened a new, a la carte place right next door...WildAir. Dined there Saturday night, and liked a lot of the food. Great wines.

What about some classics, like Gramercy Tavern - the Tavern Room is awesome, with great cocktails? Or the NoMad Bar or EMP?

Rebelle is one of my favorite openings of the year. Others say it's Chevalier. And Gabriel Kreuther's opened a new place, while his last place, The Modern, still gets lots of happy people.

They're not new, but still good are Ssam Bar and Noodle Bar, and Ko, at a different level, is excellent.

Roberta's (and Blanca) are great.

Can you bring me some Hatch chiles?

Eataly is a fun stop, early in the day.

[huiray]

I think he should simply walk around the place too, taking in the vibes of the city, the people, the buildings,** the general interaction of what makes up NYC. By all means graze as he does this, including any of the "iconic" places, or even a dirty water hot dog from a cart vendor at some point, or whatever else.

Skip the dirty water dogs - a griddled hot dog at Katz's is 50 times better.

 

For the record, I'd never waste stomach space at Katz's by eating a hotdog. Besides, I understand their hotdogs are Sabrett, anyway, aren't they?

 

Heh. Well, I thought of a dirty water dog because it is an iconic "thing" - isn't it? And yes, the iconic brand for those dirty water dogs is also Sabretts. :-) 

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/guide/1010-wins-iconic-food-10-dirty-water-dog/

http://www.eatouteatwell.com/dirty-water-dogs-tasty-treat/

 

It's fun to have one, just for the hell of it, while walking around taking in the city. Besides, from what Rob has written in earlier posts here he has a very healthy appetite so I wouldn't think a little hot dog would fill him up. :-D  Of course, he is perfectly free to NOT have one!

[Pan]

If you want to go to Flushing for dim sum, I had a very good meal some time ago at Asian Jewels. If you want to stick to Manhattan, go to Dim Sum Go Go, but consider not ordering any buns there, only other items (they have very good dumplings). Some people recommend Hakkasan, which is much more expensive than the places I've mentioned, and which I have not been to. If money is no object, you might consider going there.