A City Gem: Yakitori Totto

It doesn’t happen very often that you walk into a place and immediately know that it is one of the best.  We knew this was such an occasion as soon as we walked up the stairs and entered Yakitori Totto, which serves authentic Japanese food in the middle of Hell’s Kitchen.

When you enter, you’ll notice that the open grill is the centerpiece of the warm dining room.  For your first visit, pick a seat by the bar to observe the chefs masterfully create the many grilled skewers of joy, ranging from

Pho finally in HK: ChaPa's Vietnamese Noodles and Grill

Hurrah! Pho has arrived in Midtown West!  There’s been an absence of pho around here, but lo and behold, as I was doing my weekly run to Stiles Farmers Market (that’s how I discovered Danji as well), I caught sight of the ChaPa’s Vietnamese Noodles and Grill sign.  Every day after that, I impatiently awaited the grand opening.

That day finally arrived – here’s what I had:

Sweet Potato Shrimp Fritters, Lightly battered deep-fried sweet potato and shrimp served with lettuce, pickled carrots, and daikon.  Served with Vietnamese fish sauce.

Danji: Korean Tapas in Hell's Kitchen

If you were to ask someone from NYC what neighborhood to check out for a great meal, you’d probably hear East Village, Tribeca, West Village, Lower East Side, Chelsea; more blatantly, what I’m trying to say is that the last answer you would ever hear is Hell’s Kitchen.  

I am here to invalidate all of the anti-Hell’s Kitchen folks out there and open their eyes to the delights that my beloved neighborhood has to offer.  I have lived in this area since I moved to the city four years ago, so admittedly I am biased (and those who know me also realize I tend to stay in the vicinity purely out of laziness).  But all of that aside, Hell’s Kitchen is booming.

Tri Tip Grill: Where Carnivores Unite

If you’re feeling especially carnivorous, check out Tri Tip Grill to satisfy your hunger.  That’s what I did when I was craving a big slab of meat (apologies to the vegetarians out there reading this).  

Tri Tip Grill definitely did the trick – take a look at what we ordered:

Little Buck – 4 oz. of thinly sliced tri tip served with caramelized onions or au jus dipping sauce

Co Ba: Mediocre Banh Mi

Serious Eats, you have failed me.  Serious Eats NY recently had a post titled “The Best Banh Mi in Manhattan, NYC” that listed the top ten banh mi establishments in the city.  I foolishly believed them.  I feel swindled.  Number one on their list, Banh Mi Zon, I immediately crossed out because the photo of the classic sandwich didn’t look particularly appetizing – where was the delicious roast pork?

I decided I wanted to give number two a try, Co Ba.  My go-to banh mi place, Banh Mi Saigon, was number four on the list.  I absolutely LOVE their banh mi, so based on Serious Eats’ recommendation, I figured Co Ba had to be nothing short of amazing.

Wah.  Where to begin?  I ordered two different banh mi to go:

Lotus of Siam: Best Thai Food?

I have a deep rooted love for Thai food.  I’m surrounded by it in my neighborhood and find myself eating it at least 3-4 times a month.  I had heard Lotus of Siam, an apparently legendary Thai restaurant in Las Vegas (some have praised it as being the best Thai restaurant in the nation), was opening up a location in New York City.  An authentic Thai restaurant over 150 dishes deep in Vegas, the newly opened NYC location had an abridged menu and higher prices.   In my honest opinion, extravagant Asian food doesn’t make sense.  It’s an oxymoron.  Traditional Thai food isn’t meant to have all these extra bells and whistles.   This is my long-winded way of saying I was initially a bit hesitant at trying this restaurant.

I don’t regret a single bite.  My friend and I shared two dishes and both were absolutely delicious.  I still think it’s overpriced for what it is, and I get that rent is high on 5th Avenue, and anywhere else in Manhattan for that matter; but in any event, I probably won’t be a repeat customer.  And it looks like the creators agree – Bill and Saipin Chutima abandoned this venture back in January according to Diner’s Journal stating it’s against their original vision: “homey and affordable.”  I wish owner Roy Welland listened. Anyways, back to the most important part, the food!

 

Navarra Gastronomic Week: A Taste of Navarra

The beautiful land of Navarra, Spain - you always hear about Barcelona and Madrid, but Navarra?  Where is that?  Navarra is a region in the northern part of Spain, bordering France, with the capital being Pamplona – this is where the famous running of the bulls occurs every July.  The picturesque Pyrenees mountains and lush green plains are a focal point…but what really entices me is their spectacular offerings of food and wine.

Photo courtesy of the Government of Navarra

Basque-ing in Glory

Another restaurant week adventure – my husband and I wanted to check out the newest China Grill Management restaurant, Bar Basque.  They specialize in Spanish / Basque cuisine.  Having just opened in October 2010, we figured they had to have a good restaurant week menu to woo in new clientele.  And that they did.  They had a comprehensive menu with a lot of options coming straight off their normal menu.  

Often times (or it seems so to me), restaurants tend to haphazardly throw together dishes specifically for the restaurant week menu, only to turn off diners with their mediocrity.  In my past experience, restaurants that stay true to their normal menu are far more successful and leave customers with a positive impression. 

City Lobster and Steak

My hubs and I had a super early dinner yesterday (5pm, senior citizen's style) - we checked out City Lobster and Steak.  The reviews for the restaurant are mediocre, but I wanted to try it anyways.  The restaurant week menu looked mouth-watering, so despite some of the negative reviews, they had me sold.  Goes to show that putting time in to create a menu that really sounds amazing will entice customers (or maybe just me…). 

Check it out:

Cookie Sampling: Ruby et Violette

After lunch with my coworkers last week, we decided to check out a cookie shop I recently discovered in the area.   I remembered reading a food blog post about the “best chocolate chip cookies in NYC” that featured Ruby et Violette in the top ten.  I was so excited to see that such a famed cookie establishment was in my neighborhood.

Ruby et Violette isn’t your ordinary cookie shop – they have a huge selection of flavors (apparently over 100 throughout the year), and the only recognizable flavor is “Perfect”, their rendition of the classic chocolate chip cookie.  It’s a very cute little shop that’s all white inside and has some café style seating inside.  Besides cookies, they also sell various kinds of brownies and ice cream (definitely something I’ll be sampling during my next visit)

As I approached the counter and eyed the 20 different flavors of cookies available that day, I was a bit overwhelmed.  There were so many cookies to choose from, and being the cookie monster that I am, I wanted them all.  But alas, being $2 / cookie (and that was the “special of the day” too, typically $2.50 each), I decided it was best not to drop $40 on cookies.  I opted to get six different cookies to split with my husband.  Behold, the chosen ones:

Top: Perfect, Friday Night Foosball, Peanut Butter Chip

Bottom: The Breakup, Carrot Cake, Cookies 'n' Cream