a brunch at Ngam

Despite the 15 degree chill, we decided to walk from our Financial District apartment, to Union Square, for brunch and errands. Plan A (Side Bar) was a bust- overridden with Ravens fans. We decided to push on towards the East Village. 

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Ngam's otherwise uunassuming entry caught my eye with a chalkboard offering unlimited cocktails with brunch. The space is industrial and open with exposed brick and piping and modern art accents.  We were immediately greeted with a warm smile and led to a cozy table for two in the back.

The menu is fusion of Thai and modern comfort food dishes. The complimentary cocktails are Soju-based. We tried all three: bloody Mary, mochatini and Thai Tea Martini. These are absolutely stunning libations crafted with attention to detail and impossibly fresh ingredients.

 For our entree selections, Chris requested the Thai-tea soaked French toast with a side of caramelized bacon, myself the steak and eggs. The eggs were whipped with Thai basil and the chef's take on hash browns: julienned and braised sweet potato. While these dishes sound heavy, we felt pleasantly content and by no means weighed down.

As we exited, the chef introduced herself to us. Kudos also to our server. She was quite attentive, without hovering and had a clear love for the restaurant. This is our new spot. We'll be back in the near future.

a dinner at Scarpina

Yesterday evening, we managed to pull ourselves into the rain and wind,  for a prix fixe dinner at Scarpina. The Mediterranean-Latin fusion venue hosts amber lighting, square mirror-clad walls and modern silo lamps. The eager staff seated us and immediately showed a twang of frustration when we showed our Travelzoo offer (pre-purchased, includes 3-courses each and a bottle of wine).

We were impressed with the extensive selections on the first and second choices to select from. I love going out with my Chris (my fiance!), he understands and embraces that I love picking things we both feel for and sharing. We selected the lamb tacos with black bean spicy hummus and P.E.I mussels with fennel, tomato and garlic for our first course. The tacos could have been warmer, the mussels were piping hot and mediocre. In this round, the lamb won with the tasty grilled pita around it. The tacos could have been a meal in themselves.

Before we could finish our first course, three servers crowded our table, one empty-handed, the others with our entrees. They apologized that our food was ready and offered to wrap up our first courses. Strike 2. We declined to have our appetizers wrapped (who reheats mussels?!) and accepted our mains: horseradish crusted salmon with cucumber slaw and steak Latino with Vidalia escabech, creamed spinach and yucca fries.  The salmon arrived luke-warm and lacking flavor, surprising for something that has been spiced with horseradish. The steak came in a massive cut, the fries were tasty and the spinach tasted mostly of fresh cream.

We finished our bottle of Argentenian Malbec and accepted coffees and our dessert selections: creme brulee and panna cotta. Both dishes were dressed in summer berries and were otherwise average. We didn't finish any of the three courses. It appeared as though they were trying to "wow" patrons with portion size, when I feel they could have benefited from better quality ingredients and smaller portions.



Images: (here & here).

In the Streets, a photo series

hair

of you

new magazine

rub for fertility

scrub

fire escapes

eyes on you

twin towers

ev

become your dream

flatiron-1

flatiron-2

a brunch at SideBAR

This weekend I learned that it's illegal in New York to sell or serve booze before noon on Sundays. A law, which I probably shouldn't have had to have learned at 11am this past Sunday. Let's be fair: shopping at Trader Joe's in Union Square is much more palatable after a Bloody Mary (I have been called an "Uptown bitch" by an elderly woman before, to which I corrected, "I live Downtown.")

I decided to waste some time before noon, a pursuit, which was quite fruitful, as I discovered East Village Cheese. Ready to seek a little shelter from the heat, I noticed the door to SideBAR was open. About a year ago, I had a deeply satisfying brunch with one of the best Bloody Mary recipes I've encountered. The story goes that the chef believes the cocktail should be treated like a food, and therefor is prepared with a consistency comparable to gazpacho.

At 11:45am, the overtly friendly bar keep welcome me in for a cocktail. Win. After pouring my drink, he continued to labor over a chalkboard selling the brunch prix fixe special: $20 all you can drink bloody mary/mimosa with an entree. I'll give it a go. I did walk here from the Southern most tip of Manhattan, and my stomach was grumbling (a dangerous combo when grocery shopping). I requested the BLT with hand cut fries. The sandwich is spot on for a hot day with extra crispy bacon, mescalin, ripe tomatoes and spicy mayo. Other choices included a burger, chocolate chip pancakes and a bagel with lox and cream cheese.
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I also recommend the attached restaurant, Vintage Irving, for small plates and wine.


Image: from my iPhone

a dinner at Vintage Irving

The rain was still light when we settled in at Vintage Irving. The cozy spot focuses on wine and small plates designed by Chef Jason Bunin. We ordered a few glasses of red from our flustered server- me the Nero d'Avola from Sicily and my partner to Sangiovese Trappollini. The Nero begs to be served with food with its dominate notes of fig.

For our shared small plates, we selected the Truffle Chicken Meatballs with thyme scented sherry wine sauce, Grilled Octopus with garlic and herbed asparagus with lemon oil and lemon juice and the Beets with roasted asiago, arugula and rosemary vinaigrette.

The meatballs were moister than I expected for a chicken base- and improved with each bite, given that the sherry wine sauce cajoled you to generously roll and soak them. The octopus came in an impressive presentation with two large tentacles flowing over the asparagus and unexpected pico de gallo. More impressively, the protein came in a perfect marriage of tender and firm, with light hints of the grill. The beets pulled the meal together: chopped and molded into a neat cylinder resting on a bed of arugula- the rosemary didn't dominate the dish.

Another small detail I enjoyed- a carafe of water with two small glasses. It's pleasant to have minimal (and yet balanced) interruptions from the servers. I will certainly return. Also recommend is the attached Side Bar.


Image: Vintage Irving Official

a dinner at City Crab

Having had a big brunch Saturday afternoon, I didn't have the desire for dinner. Regardless, there's always room for oysters on the half shell. We settled into City Crab on Park Avenue in Union Square. The cocktail list tempted- though the bar keep admitted that most of my choices were quite sweet and I found myself sip sampling the Central Park (mojito) then opting for an Absolut Ruby and Soda, followed by house bubbly.

To eat, we shared the Maryland Lump Crab Cake and a platter of seasonal oysters. The crab cake came in a well formed cylinder with a mild Dijon sauce and garnished with edamame salad. It should be noted that this dish is the closest to the impressive crab cakes I've sampled in Baltimore: with succulent lumps of blue shell crab dominating the flavor.

The Oyster platter represented the East and West coasts with four each of British Columbia Fanny Bays, Long Island Saddle Rock and Fisher Islands. I tend to prefer the sweetness of West Coast shellfish to the briny East- but the Long Island were quite gorgeous this evening.

A word to the wise- happy hour on Saturday begins at 10:00pm. Enjoy half priced house pours with your seafood!


Image: from my iPhone.

Sunday, a photo series

Maiden/Nassau.

reserve.

fulton fright.

secret soho.

going places.

raw 1 g

raw 2 g.

crumble.

University to 13th, a photo series

cornered.

oh em gee.

logos.

more-

saturday hours.

one dollar section.

Collective Message-

spec.

bang.

Sunday Union Square, a photo series

crossing.

lunch ladies.

slush.

stop.

US, a few photos

this guy-

j0bama

deals at union square

shop'd shadow.

cafe deville

It's gorgeous, no? I'm finding it difficult to imagine a better day to take a seat outside at Cafe Deville: warmth (without the humidity), the Friday before Memorial Day and good people. We took a seat and ordered a few $5 happy-hour margaritas. A constant parade of curious characters passed as we sipped. French Bull Dogs, boys in skinny jeans, loose knit sweaters, girls in over-sized tees and itty bitty shorts. Frantic patterns, retro sunglasses. I reveled in the diversity- in comparison to the Financial District.

As our buzz set in, we decided to take a look at the menu. The waitor suggested the crab cake, we also requested the cheese plate. A rich little combination of treats, but seemed to work well with the tart and salt margaritas. I'm not entirely sure why the waitor felt that the crab cake was the cat's meow. It tasted like something you'd buy at the supermarket fish counter. Lots of filler, no juice, no sass. The cheeses were decent. A single dried fig and a handful of grapes. I'm fairly confident that everything on the plate was purchased at Trader Joe's down the street.

Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed the people watching, afternoon buzz and good company.

Note: the oysters looked delightful.

3rd Ave at 13th Street.

union square progression, a photo series

somebody's ride.

provision square

plated

terra cota

cloud haunt.

chaos close