Sometimes life requires a kick to bring one back to reality, to remind oneself about the things that really do matter and the dangers of hiding away in a dream world. I finally had the opportunity to watch Inception on Sunday ($6 movie tickets at NYC AMC theaters before noon is an amazing deal!), and it brings up many interesting views on reality. What separates reality from the dream? Can an idea that is planted subconsciously continue to eat away at your thoughts until it becomes a reality? If reality is something we create and manipulate, then I better start creating a better reality for myself.

I usually kick back in my comfy foldable chair when the time comes to really focus and reflect. It’s a nice change from my usual position on the bed as I type away, and most definitely a better option for my back. With my debut entry after a 3-month hiatus, I hope to really return to the basics of what I truly enjoy in my spare time – photography as a form of art and expressing myself through words. Finally getting a new job also helps. =)

My visit to the Russian Tea Room actually took place Winter 2009 Restaurant Week. As per tradition, my coworkers and I made our semi-annual pilgrimmage to a nearby restaurant to sample its $24.07 menu. It was actually what I imagined a fancy restaurant in Moscow to be. Prim, ornate, rich colors surrounded us the minute we stepped in. Red, the color of royalty. And topped off with an enormous crystal bear. We retreated downstairs for the mandatory coatcheck and were met by shelves of Russian trinkets and Matryoshka dolls. Impressive display, albeit a bit stuffy.

I started with the Tea Room Red Borscht, a red short ribs broth with pickled red beets, seasonal vegetables, dill and braised beef pirozhki. Soups of such vibrant colors intrigue me, and the borscht proved to be rich and flavorful, an excellent way to start off the meal.

My coworker decided to try the Goat Cheese and Wild Mushroom Blinchik, a crepe filled with mixed mushrooms and melted onions topped with lingdonberries.

As recommended by the various Yelp reviews that we scoped out beforehand, all 3 of us ordered the Boeuf à la Stroganoff as our entrees. Easily the best part of the meal, the restaurant offered a generous portion of the beef filet, which sat serenely atop the bed of house made buckwheat noodles. The wild mushrooms, porcini cream, and red wine reduction created a perfect blend of succulent deliciousness with the meat and noodles, a dish that I quickly inhaled.

For dessert we had the option between the Chocolate Pyramid, a bittersweet chocolate mousse with a vanilla crème brûlée and citrus syrup, and the traditional Vanilla Cheesecake covered with chocolate curls and fresh berries. Of course I chose the heavier dessert. The cheesecake had to be the densest cheesecake I had ever eaten, and I struggled to finish.

Overall, definitely enjoyed my Restaurant Week meal here, though I don’t know about my financial capability to return for their regular menu. If anything, the experience satisfied my curiosity about what lay beyond the bright red awning.

Russian Tea Room
150 W 57th St
(between Ave Of The Americas & 7th Ave)
New York, NY 10019

College graduation. One of the pinnacle moments of one’s life that calls for celebration. I consider my dinner at Le Cirque last week to be one of the last hurrahs I could push off financially onto my parents. Proof? I’m writing this as I nibble on a large side of 85 cent rice cooked with spinach from the work cafeteria. The lovely financial perks I enjoyed as an overpaid undergrad intern must now be allocated towards the more mundane obligations in life – rent, health care, travel expenses, food, savings. And if I was to ever “go out,” I had better spend more wisely in other areas.

I chose Le Cirque not only because of its good reviews, but also for its claimed NYC fame. My parents rarely dine out, preferring the simpler home cooked meals. I wanted their trip to NYC to include dining at a well-known, high class (albeit expensive) restaurant, and Le Cirque had a $35 anniversary pre-fixe dinner menu I wanted to try. While the cafe area was closed off due to a party, we were still offered the anniversary menu in the dining room. Jackets were provided for my dad and brother, since the more formal dining area required the guys to suit up.

The entire table actually ordered the Lobster Risotto as an appetizer; I think there was something about the word “lobster” that screamed “Eat me, I’m an expensive seafood creature!” The risotto was actually my favorite part of the meal, filled with many meaty pieces of lobster mixed in with creamy, flavorful risotto.

We also ordered Smoked Salmon with warm toast and condiment and Crispy Calamari with sweet and sour dipping sauce for the table. Smoked salmon? Not worth the $23 paid, especially since it was salmon I could have bought from Trader Joe’s for $8.99 and the warm toast was well, warm triangular slices of toasted bread. The calamari’s presentation in the dim sum bamboo container surprised us, but the ample rings of fried squid actually paired quite nicely with the sauce (which did not taste like traditional calamari dipping sauce).

My Pavé of Veal Breast with pear, pecorino, and coffee-cardamom scented jus was extremely tender as promised, with the meat falling apart quite readily with a little urging from my fork. The bed of vegetables on top of my veal provided an interesting bitter (but oversalted) taste to the dish, and it was best eaten with a bite of meat and pecorino cheese. The pear did nothing for me, and seemed an odd addition to the dish.

I should have warned my mother before she ordered the Diver Sea Scallops with shiitake, turnip, hot & sour broth, because the waiter brought out exactly what I expected – three small scallops topped with thin slices of mushroom and turnip. My mom’s first reaction was laughter; it was fortunate that I had taken my family out for Korean food two hours prior. While small in size, the scallops were quite tasty.

Wai also enjoyed his Chicken with peppers Basquaise, broccoli rabe, and panisse, the entree with the biggest portion of food.

My second favorite part of the meal? Dessert! It certainly failed to disappoint, and dessert portions were actually quite large. I ordered the Crème Brûlée “Le Cirque”. The top was perfectly caramelized, and I eagerly dug through the dessert to unveil a crème brûlée recipe printed on the bottom of the dish.

I also tried the Chocolate Soufflé and the Floating Island “Le Cirque”, both also recommended. (The Floating Island was better than the one I had in Paris!).

The soufflé was paired with a dollop of vanilla gelato on the side and reminded me of molten chocolate cake. The waiter also presented us with a plate of complimentary small treats to pair with our desserts.

Will I return? Not in the near future, since I can find delicious, comparable food elsewhere for lower prices and less stuffy atmospheres. While I can no longer claim to be a college student, Le Cirque’s dining experience made me age an additional 30 years that evening. One day I will be back for the full menu, as a refined, wealthy old lady who no longer finds pleasure in $1 slices of St Marks pizza and $7.99 Japanese lunch box specials.

Le Cirque
151 E 58th St
New York 10022
(212) 644-0202
On a side note, thank you for the continued support for my food blog! Your readership is much appreciated, and my earlier hiatus can be attributed to graduation and pre/post graduation festivities. Har har. With summer in full swing soon, please look forward to more frequent postings!

I like to save money. But I also like to eat good food. Solution? Eat for free on Stern’s budget! As cohort leader, I have the freedom to choose what kind of events to spend my allocated budget on (with suggestions from cohort members, of course ;D). Since many restaurants in New York City have been extending their Restaurant Week menus, I chose to dine at China Grill, an Asian Fusion restaurant located near the famous 53rd and 6th chicken & rice stand.

China Grill serves family-style, so the dishes are portioned according to party size. Since we had 11 guests in our party, we got to choose 4 appetizers, 6 entrees, and 4 desserts. We basically got to try everything on the lunch menu that didn’t involve paying extra. The menu looked uber cool, so naturally I took a picture of it. The other guests at my half of the table had to get used to restraining themselves from the food until I took my pictures. =3

My eyes widened as soon as the appetizers started rolling out on huge platters. Oh the size and the variety! My favorite had to be the Crackling Calamari Salad, which was dressed perfectly with the lime miso dressing.

In a close second were the Lamb Spare Ribs, which had a sweet plum & sesame glaze brushed on top.

The Spicy Beef & Scallion Dumplings were tasty too when dipped in the soy ginger sauce.

While the Caesar Salad was the least impressive of the four dishes, it was nonetheless a quality salad with the Asian flavors of crispy wontons, spiced roasted cashews, and ginger aioli mixed in with the chopped lettuce. For some reason, they gave us an extra platter of Caesar salad, so we took it to-go (can’t let food go a-wasting!)

I honestly could have just walked away full from the appetizers alone, but I couldn’t give up the chance to taste the main course. The flaky, medium-rare Barbecued Salmon immediately won me over, paired perfectly with the Chinese mustard sauce and stir fried greens.

The pieces of Sweet Soy Marinated Skirt Steak were succulent and tender, but the bed of wok sauteed lo mein noodles was just way too salty for me.

I also surprisingly liked the Wild Mushroom Profusion Pasta a lot, swirling in as much sake Madeira cream sauce as I could with each strand of noodle. I usually order meat over pasta for pre-fixes since I feel like I get a better bang for my buck, but this was some good creamy sauce.

The Sake Marinated “Drunken” Chicken disappointed me though. I found my piece to be too dry and not a dish I wanted to focus on amidst all the other goodies, but props at least to the ponzu sauce, sweet crispy onions, and Asian slaw that came with the chicken.

As if that wasn’t enough, there was still the dessert course! The balls of Homemade Ice Cream & Sorbet formed a perfect colorful circle around the fruit garnish in the center, and fresh cookies and vanilla tuile adorned the outside edges of the ice cream/sorbet. The white ice cream was surprisingly banana and not vanilla, but still good.

The Hazelnut Chocolate Torte garnished with blackberry & orange creme anglaise sauce was also a delicious way to end our meal. Of course, you can’t have fancy dessert without the random drizzle and spots. :)

China Grill
60 West 53rd Street

Excellent customer service at my first Jean George restaurant! As the inner doors into the Trump building slid open and we stepped inside, we were greeted by surprisingly pleasant receptionists who kindly pointed us in the direction of Nougatine and asked if we wanted our coats checked. The restaurant was well lit by the natural light outside, and we sat down in preparation for our Restaurant Week $24.07 lunch. I was instantly amused by the tiny bottles of honey, maple syrup, ketchup, and tabasco sauce in the center of the table.

Nougatine’s prix fixe lunch menu worked a little differently than other restaurants’ did. (And apparently it’s available year round from Monday to Saturday!) You get your choice of two plates and a dessert, and those two plates can be any combination of appetizers and entrees. The greedy person that I am, I chose two entrees as my main plates – the sauteed red snapper with caramelized cauliflower, poppyseed-buttermilk vinaigrette and the slowly cooked salmon with potato puree, julienne vegetables and basil vinaigrette.

For dessert, I chose the citrus semifreddo with almond sponge, crunchy meringue. For a few minutes, we were tempted to each order completely different dishes each so we could sample everything on the menu.

As per tradition, Carson ordered different dishes so we could optimize the variety - tuna tartare with avocado, spicy radish, ginger marinade and steamed skate with roasted pumpkin seeds, spaghetti squash, soy-yuzu broth, and Jean George’s warm chocolate cake with vanilla bean ice cream for dessert. Between the two of us, we had the fish covered.

The waiters were attentive without being too overbearing and took the time to explain each dish as our food was placed in front of us. My salmon came out first, and yummyyy! I order salmon a lot at restaurants when I’m trying to cut down on the red meat and carbs, and salmon medium rare is definitely the way to go. The pieces of fish were juicy and tender and paired well with the potato puree that it rested on. I was unprepared for the sour taste of the green basil vinaigrette, but the fish and potato helped neutralize the sauce. However, I wasn’t as happy with my second entree, the red snapper. The actual fish was fine, but the poppyseed-buttermilk vinaigrette reminded me of spicy mustard, something I did not want my fish floating around in. The only impressive part about the dish was the scaly skin appearance of the red snapper. The citrus semifreddo was tart yet refreshing, with a hint of sweetness from the almond sponge.

As for the boyfriend’s meal, “The tangy ginger marinade, the crunch of the sliced radishes, and the richness of the avocado accentuated the taste of the tuna tartare and made for a perfect start to the meal.”

Our experience at Nougatine was an overall positive experience, and I was completely stuffed halfway through my second entree (and I can eat A LOT). Recommended restaurant! Good value, especially for a more casual Jean George restaurant.

Nougatine
1 Central Park W
New York, NY 10023

I ate here on a very special night back on January 31, and while I know I’m backtracking, there were just too many good eats in the past that I have to mention in my food blog. Perilla is a “Seasonal American” restaurant owned by Top Chef season 1 winner Harold in the West Village (very close to school!), and the menu rotates around seasonal ingredients. Even now I’m looking at their website menu, and there are items on the menu I don’t remember being offered 9 months ago.  Variety, all the more reason to keep going back, no? :) Alas, once I can eat out more often…

The soft lighting of the restaurant made the place seem very warm and inviting, and the flickering candles on each table heightened that feeling. My date and I shared the Crispy Berkshire Pork Belly to start – the perfect way to start. The pork skin was just the right amount of crispiness and the layer of fat under the skin absolutely melted in your mouth. The rectangular piece of meat lay on top of a bed of bok choy and mushrooms (?). I have to admit, my initial reaction when it came out though was “this is it?! it looks like a piece of meat from Chinatown.” But the display and ultimately taste trumped the roasted pigs that hang in the windows in Chinatown just waiting to be chopped up and eaten.

For the main entree I just had to order my traditional red meat, the Grilled Prime Hanger Steak.

My date opted for the more classy Roasted Duckling. Both tasted good, though I remember being a bit wary of trying the duck, which was ordered medium rare. I guess I’m just too used to well-done duck at Chinese restaurants, but hey, I’m still alive and kickin’. :D

I wish I could remember more about the individual tastes of the dishes…but I do remember one thing: the bed of veggies that the meats rested on were perfect delicious complements to the dish, and you gotta have that drizzle on the plate. Har har. We split the Blood Orange Cheesecake for dessert, a recommended way to end your meal though I don’t think it’s on the menu anymore. It was something new, and I think frankly we were just amused by the “blood orange” name.

Thank you Top Chef Harold for the pieces of art! Too bad we never saw him that night, though I know other diners have spotted him bustling around the restaurant.

With a slightly fatter wallet this summer from my internship (and a boyfriend who returned from a semester abroad ;D), I finally had the chance to experience New York City’s Restaurant Week. For those unfamiliar with RW…

“Twice a year, in January and June/July, there is a unique opportunity to experience some of New York City’s finest restaurants for a fraction of the usual price. Throughout the city, restaurants participate in “Restaurant Week” where they offer a three-course lunch for $24.07 (& some even offer dinner for $35). Restaurant Week is a great opportunity to try out a restaurant that may usually be out of your budget, or test some new restaurants with a little less financial risk.” – about.com

I went out with a group of college friends to Barbounia, a Mediterranean restaurant, for dinner. Chosen because two of our friends  were vegetarian and we wanted a cuisine slightly out of the ordinary, we were surprised to see no vegetarian options on the RW menu (one of them ended up ordering mushroom linguini from the regular menu). As for myself, I started out with the Tuna Carpaccio served with pickled red onion, sumac, and pommegranate moulass. The tuna was quite fresh with a slight tang from the garnishes. Hmhmhm yuumm raw fish.

Despite strong warnings from two table mates, I chose the Long Island Duck Breast as my entree. It came with a carmalized endive on top (which I stupidly thought was the duck meat at first when I started cutting…) along with fennel puree. It wasn’t the best piece of duck that ever entered my mouth, but I can safely say that the meat was not as overcooked and tough as the warnings had caused me to fear.

As for dessert…Kannafeh! Shredded phyllo dough and fresh goat cheese topped with rose water syrup and pistachio. I had an inkling that this would taste good after a slightly similar dish ordered at The Bourgeois Pig. The ice cream on top was a great contrast to the crunchy phyllo dough and the soft, slightly warmed goat cheese.

As for the boyfriend, who joined our delicious food venture, he ordered a different dish than me every time as per tradition so we can sample the most variety whenever we dine out. Appetizer consisted of the Kube Nyhaa, a hand chopped hangar steak tartar with a variety of ingredients mixed in. There used to be a time when I worried about eating raw cow… (until I realized just how deliciously tender meat can be when it is not cooked well-done). I prefered my choice of the tuna carpaccio though.

His main dish was the Lamb Loin Shawarma. I remember trying a piece of meat and finding it quite tender and flavorful. And a good meal rounded off with a Yogurt Panna Cotta dessert.

For those who may be slightly impressed by my memory of all the food names and ingredients, especially after having eaten this meal over a month ago, here’s my dirty secret: Take a photo of the RW menu. Haha.

Meal turned out better than expected, and we were all pretty full by the end. I think my favorite parts of the 3-course meal were the tuna and the sauce from the Long Island Duck Breast. We ended the night with shots of this traditional Greek alcohol that left our stomachs burning.

Barbounia
250 Park Ave S
New York, NY
http://www.barbounia.com/