Best of NY Part III: Squid Ink Paella at Midnight

Here is the third and last installment of NY eats that were most memorable.

1) Socarrat

One of my biggest gripes about L.A. was that it didn't have serviceable Spanish food. Then The Bazaar came along, except Jose Andres decided he wasn't going to serve paella, the classic Spanish rice dish that had so eluded me both in the kitchen (could never get it to cook evenly) and restaurants (yuk). So when I heard about this "paella bar" that specializes in this dish and also got an overwhelming endorsement from a fellow NY-based foodie, I had to try it -- even if it was after two bloody burgers and a good chunk of a divine porterhouse earlier in the day.



Entering this narrow joint with one long, communal table just before closing around midnight, I wasn't hungry but this paella tinted in black squid ink and topped with shrimp, almost raw slices of scallops, pieces of fish, squid, fava beans and slivers of piquillo peppers was a revelation. It came with an aioli that I used to dip the meaty shrimp and sometimes spoonfuls of rice. Socarrat refers to the crusty layer that forms at the bottom of the pan. In short, the best part of the paella. The leftovers tasted almost as good when heated from home hours later (our server urged us not to microwave the paella -- I dutifully complied). I still dream about this paella.

Socarrat
259 West 19th Street
New York, NY 10011
(212) 462-1000

2) Russ & Daughters

This place is an institution, and conveniently located adjacent to Katz's, so I sampled its famed bagel and lox. The salmon was pretty darn perfect, but I wish I would have gotten a plain bagel as the one with everything on it was too salty for my taste. The saltiness of the salmon made it sodium overkill but besides this minor detail, what's not to like about a bagel with smoke salmon, cream cheese, tomatoes and red onions? Ok, I prefer warm bagels and this one wasn't. Not sure if that's the way I'm supposed to have it but I like them heated because otherwise the bagel felt too dense and not soft enough.

Russ & Daughters
179 East Houston Street
New York, NY 10002
(212) 475-4880

3) Kefi

This shrine to nouveau Greek cuisine helmed by chef Michael Psilakis is a bit hectic and cramped but the grilled octopus salad on top of beans was by far the best dish. The octopus was smoky and soft and complemented the almost pureed beans very well. It had a slight crunch from diced onions that also gave it a refreshing bite.

Kefi
505 Columbus Avenue
New York, NY 10024
(212) 873-0200

4) Artichoke Pizza

Here was another 2 a.m. pizza run but imagine my surprise when I see a long line outside of a tiny storefront waiting at that hour, in the rain. Obviously, this joint has some serious fanatics. Everyone has their favorites but I liked the Margarita. Fortunately, it only serves four kinds of pizzas besides Margarita: Sicilian, which is the square one, artichoke, which is like a slightly fancier version of cream of mushroom soup on pizza dough (this doesn't mean I didn't like it) and finally, the odd crab pizza. This last one I didn't get but of the other three, Margarita had the best combination of thin crust, cheese and tomato. My partner in crime who stood in line and kept me company in freezing rain liked the Sicilian. The debate goes on...

Artichoke Pizza
328 East 14th Street
New York, NY 10003
(212) 228-2004

5) Ippudo

I'm always on the hunt for fantastic ramen, so had to try this NY outpost of a Japanese chain that got raves from NYT critics and message boards alike.

It was unfortunate that I had it as my first meal of the day, which, despite its soupy goodness, was on the heavy side, even for me. I mean, I usually live for that stuff -- milky broth full of porky flavor and robustness. I got the Shiromaru Hakata Classic with the works, slices of pork that deliciously dissolve in your mouth from lengthy cooking, green onions, bamboo shoots, egg, red pickled ginger slices and wood-eared mushrooms. I also tried the Akamura Modern, which had a stronger flavor that I didn't like as much. The base of the broth was the same but the strong flavors came from garlic oil and miso mixed in.

While it was a good bowl of ramen, I like the Hakata ramen at Shinsengumi here better.

Ippudo
65 4th Avenue
New York, NY 10003
(212) 388-0088

6) Il Laboratorio del Gelato

Now onto dessert: This gelato shop is so small, blink and you could miss it, but the green tea and hazelnut flavors were definitely worth stopping by.

I've always hated green tea ice-creams that look green but taste like anything but green tea -- you know, the watered down flavor. I could actually taste the green tea in this one. The hazelnut wasn't as good but equally deep in flavor.

95 Orchard Street
New York, NY 10002
(212) 343-9922



7) Donut Plant

I'm not one to crave anything too sweet for breakfast or in general, but one bite of the plain glazed yeast donut was one of the most comforting ways to start your day.

The donut was soft as I bit into it and the sugar on the glaze, yes, the sugar was plentiful, but nothing that a dunk in some strong coffee can't remedy.

I had the plainest kind to really see what this donut shop is made of, but it offers a huge array of wacky varieties.

Donut Plant
379 Grand Street
New York, NY 10002
(212) 505-3700


And finally, there were two disappointments: Shake Shack, whose famed burger underwhelmed me, and Joe's Shanghai, which I should have known better not to go to. What was I thinking when I have Din Tai Fung right here at home?

Best of NY Part II: Momofuku Ssam Bar

Out of all the eateries listed on my New York list, there was only one "must" -- the beyond-hyped Momofuku Ssam Bar. It was a production to book a table for bossam, but it was worth a try. I liked the braised pork a lot as well as his version of the Korean bossam, complete with super fresh oysters, decent kimchi and other less traditional condiments like bibb lettuce (instead of red leaf -- perilla leaves would have been a nice touch) a gingery scallion topping and a pureed version of the same kimchi. The best part of the pork extravaganza was by far the extremely tender pork that had been braised for hours and hours, and that most importantly, sported a nicely charred and wonderfully caramelized crust that gave it a slight crunch.



It was supposed to feed a party of 6-10 but the eight people around our table weren't able to finish it off, as good as it was. Still, upon the descent of the massive pork plate, the usual onslaught of raves associated with braised pork poured -- "fall off the bone," "succulent," and my personal favorite, "like buttah."

The traditional bossam I adore features steamed pork belly. As much as I love that version, this one was very good. But blow my mind it didn't. Maybe it was because bossam isn't new to me. I think the raves it garners may have something to do with the novelty of this dish as well as his interpretation of it. Don't get me wrong. I'm not a hater. I'm heartened that David Chang is so explosively popular (not that what I say will make a dent in his continuing meteoric rise to the top) and hope his success helps to spread the word a bit about Korean food beyond barbecue, bibimbap and soontofu stews.


Here is what I would do differently. I would offer perilla leaves because as you know, those are underused greens that are incredibly fragant and delightful, especially when paired with heavier meats. I would also spice up the kimchi more. Not sure if he makes it in-house, but let's kick it up as those back alley hole-in-the-wall joints would in Korea! No watering down, please. The ssamjang, a salty and spicy paste that accompanies all wraps made from fermented soybean paste and red pepper paste known as kochujang, was also not as punchy as it could have been.

I was very impressed with the oyster selection, however. I'm not the biggest oyster fan, but these were so fresh and meaty I could have slurped them down solo. It almost made it redundant to wrap both the pork and the oyster in one lettuce goodness.




Besides the main attraction that was the pork, I liked our starters but again, not blown away. Naturally, we ordered even more pork. I had to since I had heard so many raves about those famous pork belly buns. I thought they were pretty good, though not fantastic. They definitely melted in your mouth but the buns weren't as pillowy as they could have been and something about the combination of pickled cucumbers and hoisin sauce didn't do it for me.




The duck breast came with lobster mushroom, daikon and orange for sweetness. It was ok but not great.

Smoked octopus with a dollop of creamy guacamole imparted an interesting flavor combination. The smoked octopus was clean-tasting and I love anything charred and smoky. It came with shishito peppers and cantaloupe that gave it a bit of sweetness.

I had to eat these starters sparingly to save myself for the star pork but next time, I'd like to try other dishes at Ssam Bar as well as check out his other restaurant that only offers tasting menus, Ko.

For dessert, we headed to Momofuku Milk Bar next door but were utterly underwhelmed with the samplings of funky ice-cream flavors like stuffing and cereal, not to mention the cornbread and cookie selection offered.

Skip dessert and take the leftover pork (and bones for broth) home and make carnitas tacos out of them! Definitely worth trying at least once.

Momofuku Ssam Bar
207 2nd Ave. (at 13th)
New York, NY 10003
(212) 254-3500
(takes online reservations only)

Best of NY Part I: Porterhouse, Burgers & Pastrami

I've never had so many meals in a day and consumed so much meat within such a short period of time as I have during a recent New York City trip. Back-to-back steakhouses, paella at midnight and pizza at 2 a.m., although not all in one day.

I mostly ventured to new places this time around, except for my all-time favorite pastrami joint that's filled with equal numbers of tourists and locals during its bustling lunch hour, Katz's Delicatessen. But more about that later.



First I want to come out and say that the best meal I had -- and I qualify -- during this trip was the perfectly cooked, bloody pieces of sirloin and filet mignon with the delightfully charred edges at Peter Luger Steakhouse in Brooklyn.

It wasn't Momofuku's pork butt extravaganza braised for 10 hours-plus, or the piping bowl of ramen at Ippudo that everyone raved about. This signature bone-in porterhouse (for two supposedly but really for four) came sizzling on a plate that was so hot our server said we could cook the meat some more on the side of the plate if it was too rare for us. It wasn't. I'm not even a huge fan of steakhouses in general, always saying grumpily that a steak is a steak and I could cook steak on a home grill with better results. Have I been proven wrong. This meat was ridiculously tender, juicy -- yes, all the cliches stuck. The sirloin had a bit more fat so tasted a bit juicier than the leaner filet mignon. But the difference was very subtle and didn't deter from the sublime experience.
I could actually taste the meat -- and couldn't stop despite the fact that it was lunch time and we also ordered a burger to share, as if we didn't already have enough meat.

You know I'm a burger snob. I have very high standards for my burger and at every bite, I deconstruct and analyze before devouring a good one or dismissing a mediocre one. This burger was on the rare side, rather than medium rare, but was definitely above average. Still, the bun was on the dense and dry side for me and the patty was not as juicy as it could have been.

Speaking of burgers, I had three different burgers during this trip. All hyped and all good. I'll get into my favorite burger on this NY trip in a bit, but this one wasn't it. It was a decent burger but it wasn't as good as Houston's in LA (I know. Broken record). The best burger I had was from Minetta Tavern. By some tight scheduling that was at times hard to stomach, we landed a table at this hot spot that is a recently converted old-school steakhouse nearly as old as Peter Luger. I had to try restaurateur Keith McNally's latest project since I love his other joints like Balthazar, Pastis and Dr. Schiller's Liquor Bar so much. This burger wasn't the infamous $26 Black Label burger that has prime dry-aged beef but the relatively quotidian Minetta burger (still not chump change at $16) was good enough. I read that a superstar butcher supplies a patty that has a custom-mix of different beef parts, which was apparent in its great texture and flavor. I didn't love the brioche bun as much -- could have been less dense. The caramelized onions were on the sweet side for me but I liked the melted cheddar cheese topping.

Service, however, left a LOT to be desired at Minetta. Granted it was crowded with a huge line of people waiting, but that's no excuse for curt service. Our female server barely cracked a smile and wasn't helpful or attentive. I lost some respect for McNally, whose other restaurants always had impeccable service (but not as good as The Bazaar -- yes, I couldn't omit mentioning it -- or even Osteria Mozza).

While we're on the subject of sandwiches, can't neglect to mention the always reliably fantastic pastrami on rye at Katz's Delicatessen. I dream about this regularly. Needless to say, it was my first stop. This time around, though, I discovered another thing it does very well. Matzo ball soup! Ok, I don't even like this modified chicken broth with a huge ball of dough floating on it. But wow.



This soup really blew me away. The broth was light, tasted like chicken but not overpowered by it and the dough was not too dense or "doughy" and complemented the delicious broth so perfectly I couldn't help but be a little verklemp.

I'm a new fan of this soup that never sounded appetizing to me. Turns out I just hadn't had good matzo ball soup.

It's also the best way to warm up in cold weather. I heart NY.

Katz's Delicatessen
205 E. Houston Street (at Ludlow Street)
New York, NY 10002
(212) 254-2246

Peter Luger Steakhouse
178 Broadway Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(718) 387-7400

Minetta Tavern
113 MacDougal Street
New York, NY 10012
(212) 475-3850