NYC – 6/22/16 – Alon Shaya @ Chef’s Club

Shaya was one of my favorite meals of 2015 so I obviously could not miss the opportunity to have some of Alon Shaya’s food closer to home.  It was fantastic although with a limited menu I couldn’t help but feeling that I just wanted to get back to NOLA.

Salatim served with pita bread – Louisiana crab tabouleh, bulgur, mint, tomato; Labneh, hold land trinity; Blackened eggplant salad, tahini, pine nuts

Fried oyster hummus, pecan brown butter

Cochon de lait shakshouka – slow roasted pork, stewed tomatoes, green chili zhoug

Louisiana shrimp – okra, paprikash, jasmine rice

Continuing the month long birthday celebration

NYC – 6/16/16 – Sadelle’s

Sadelle’s is one of my absolute favorite brunch and lunch spots despite the iffy service and hordes of people. But I put off dinner for some time based on the early poor reviews. I went in with low expectations and so was actually pleasantly surprised. The prices seem high especially for presentations that aren’t even worth commenting on. But portion sizes were large and all of the dishes quite good. Unfortunately the large plates and portion sizes do not work with the table sizes and I found myself having to rearrange the entire table quite a few times which has become one of my biggest pet peeves. The twice baked potato was perhaps the best possible version of this classic and may be reason enough for a return dinner visit.

Tuna tartare

Salad

“Kaspia” baked potato

Roumanian steak

Scallops

NYC – 5/25/16 – Pasquale Jones

I’m not sure that I like Pasquale Jones better than its big brother Charlie Bird but it definitely holds its own.  But the addition of very good pizzas, with a crust that is my preferred style, certainly helps.  The sugar snap pea salad was absolutely fantastic as was the dessert although I have unfortunately forgotten the description.  I accept partial responsibility for how much I disliked the white asparagus dish as I generally do not love it and this was one of my least favorite preparations which is a shame because it could have been infinitely better roasted in the wood burning oven.  But slippery trout roe on top of slippery asparagus was extremely challenging to eat, even though this dish was beautiful and an instagram favorite while on the menu.

sugar snap pea, watercress, pecorino & cultured cream

little neck clam pizza, parsley, garlic, lemon & cream
steelhead crudo, breakfast radish & sorrel

white asparagus, nasturtium & trout roe

NYC – 3/17/16 – Maison Premiere at Chef’s Club

I could not miss a chance to have Maison Premiere cocktails without having to cross a river.  And of course there was the added plus of missing the traditional St. Patrick’s day crowds.  Thinking we would never be able to get seats at the bar and wouldn’t be eating, I didn’t take pictures of the food menus and so cannot recall exactly what we had.  However the first dish from Maison Premiere’s menu was fantastic.  The two others were from the Chef’s Club menu and quite good as well.

 


NYC – 3/9/16 – Osteria Morini

I have no explanation for why I haven’t been here for a year other than there are just too many choices in New York and I often am travelling too much.  I completely forget how good it is.  And another completely fantastic chicken dish which would typically be my last choice on a menu but I have found so many good ones lately.  Far too dark for decent photos though!

Negroni
Lamb crudo – olive oil & chives
Beet – ricotta salata
Roasted squash – marscarpone, pumpkin seeds

Mista insalata – mixed winter greens, peppadew peppers, pomegranate, apple, Morini vinaigrette

Pollo al Mattone – brick oven roasted chicken, gaeta olives, lemon, potatoes

NYC – 3/6/16 – Sadelle’s

I wish I could say that service has improved but at least the breakfast and lunch menu has remained consistently fantastic.  Since Sadelle’s has opened I have eaten more bagels than in the last 5+ years.  However it is best to stick to weekdays and avoid at all costs on the weekend.  What a complete zoo.

House beets

Smoked Scottish Salmon

NYC – 10/17/15 – Sadelle’s, NYCWFF with Virgilio Martinez and Matthew Lightner, and Nomad Bar

Sadelle’s
Another visit and I wish that I could say that the service improved but sadly such was not the case.  Although I did have it much better than the people seated on either side of me who were missing dishes and had to ask repeatedly if they were coming or forgotten.  And not much of a spoiler that on my most recent visit this weekend it is still not good.  As I’ve never had any service issues at any of the other Major Food Group spots, it does baffle me a bit what is going on here.  Growing too quickly perhaps?  But nevertheless I will continue to return because I love the food.  The salads are what I want to eat everyday for lunch if I could.

Beverly – turkey, cheddar, beet, bacon, tomato
Pickles


NYCWFF – Virgilio Martinez and Matthew Lightner

Most of me just wants to say that this was a complete sh*t show, the end.  I was really looking forward to this dinner to have Matthew Lightner back in town and to finally have Virgilio Martinez’s food and maybe decide if I would ever make the trek to his restaurant in Peru.  The NYC Wine and Food Festival (NYCWFF) has been in existence long enough that there is really no excuse for such poor organization and service, especially at one of the priciest events of the weekend.  Of the hors d’oeuvres, we somehow only received 2 and after inquiring several times as the dinner proceeded were told that the kitchen had run out.  When the number of guests are known and the room fairly small, I still don’t understand how this was possible especially as these were not passed hors d’oeuvres.  Our table was ignored by the servers and when we questioned this and complained, the response and lack of even an apology from the organizers was disappointing at best. When paying a lot for a dinner, having to do battle to just get the food on the menu is absurd. I’ve had a good run of events at the NYCWFF but I think this is the end of the road for me.

Tart of Sprouted Grain with garden salsa and smoked clams
Rock of the Sea Razor Clams with avocado cream
Pseudocereals with Andean grains and citrus
  

Marine Soil Scallops with aji amarillo tiger’s milk and seaweed

Porridge of Heirloom Rice and Smoked Fish with mushrooms and sourdough
 BBQ Lamb with petals of beets and rose, aromatic red sauce
 Cacao and Chaco Clay, chocolate ganache, chaco clay and dragon fruit

Nomad Bar
And when dinner is underwhelming and you are still hungry where else to end up by Nomad Bar for my favorite cocktail, Satan’s Circus, plus a hot dog.  I’m not sure how I got by before this place was open.


  

NYC – 10/9/15 – Sadelle’s

My first attempt to visit Sadelle’s unfortunately was on a Monday and I did not realize that they were closed.  Its probably good that I gave them an additional week to work out some of the kinks.  There are several restaurants where terrible service completely ruined the experience for me and because the food was not exceptional I will never return.  On this visit to Sadelle’s service was honestly a complete disaster.  My table evidently fell through the cracks with no server assigned and I sat for 25 minutes before even being able to catch somebody’s attention.  And it really went downhill from there.  However in spite of this Sadelle’s is one of my favorite new restaurants of the year.  I absolutely loved the waldorf salad including the lemon vinaigrette which tastes exactly like one I used to make.  I wasn’t expecting anything great from the house beets but this may be the best beet salad I’ve ever had.  The fresh herbs and lemon zest made them somewhat addicting.  While I believe that food and service are equal parts of the experience, on rare occasions great food is enough to forgive the other issues.  I took a chocolate babka to-go and may have eaten the whole thing in two days (even though I hate to admit it).

Waldorf salad – chicken, raisin, walnut, celery, apple
 House beets
 Chocolate babka