NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: PERRY ST.

Monday night I stopped by Perry St., Jean-Georges Vongerichten's way west West Village restaurant, now helmed by his son Cedric Vongerichten. Overlooking the Westside Highway, and on the bottom floor of one of Richard Meier's glass towers, it is definitely an interesting location. The dining room is large with ample space, and darkly lit, suitable for an intimate dining experience.

The food is very good, although not mind-blowing. After my meal, I really did not crave to come back. But the food was well executed and could make for a nice date night. 

An amuse bouche of butternut squash puree, toasted pumpkin seeds, and coconut froth was exceptional and wonderful.

Rice cracker crusted tuna with siracha-citrus emulsion ($18.50) was tasty and delicious. The great crunch of the crust made me smile

Sauteed shrimp with fennel, tarragon, and chorizo sauce ($16) was a fine appetizer. I could taste the freshness of the shrimp, like they were just plucked from the ocean.

The fried chicken with mushroom spaetzle and ginger vinaigrette was a fine take on fried chicken, although I would not order it again. The skin had great flavor, although I thought a tad too much rosemary. The meat was juicy and tender.

A slowly cooked salmon with passion fruit-olive oil emulsion, spinach, jalapeno and black olive ($25) was a perfectly executed dish. The fish was exquisite, and the emulsion was quite a unique complement, but great. The spinach had a nice spicy kick to it from the jalapeno which I loved.

A poached pear with warm hazelnut frangipane and chocolate amaretto truffle ($9) was truly sublime. It was a fabulous ending to a fine meal.

Perry St.
176 Perry St. (at West St.)
New York, NY 10014
212-352-1900
www.jean-georges.com

NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: BOTTEGA DEL VINO

Last week I was invited to a lunch at Bottega Del Vino, a northern Italian restaurant in Midtown I had walked by many times, but never entered. I always thought it was for tourists or for "power lunches", but what I found inside last week, was a charming spot with some unique (and pricey) dishes.

You can't judge a book by its cover. You would never expect from the modern glass exterior, a quaint and charming interior with all its furnishings imported from Italy, including aged wood pillars, marble tops, and etched copper antique chandeliers. This setting really transports you from NYC to Verona. And so does the food.

My dining companion and I decided to have the chef send out what he thought were the "classics" of Bottega Del Vino.

We started with a simple Insalata Mista ($16), a mixed green salad with cherry tomatoes and grilled shrimp. It was a simple salad, beautiful to look at, with two perfectly cooked juicy shrimp. 

Next came a special ravioli dish filled with veal in a butter sage sauce. Although I could have used some more flavor inside the ravioli, they were perfectly cooked, delicate, and the sauce was light and soothing.

Our next course was the Risotto all'Amarone Vialone Nano ($24), rice cooked in Amarone wine. This was one of the most unique dishes I have had. It was rich and decadent, and the flavor of the wine was really prevalent throughout the dish. I actually got slightly buzzed!

Next came our meat course of Filetto di Manzo alla Griglia ($42), grilled filet mignon in a mixed pepper sauce. This was quite the cut of meat; perfectly cooked, juicy, tender, and succulent. The mixed pepper sauce was a great complement to the meat too.

I was pretty stuffed at this point, but figured you only live once, so we had an apple creme brulee ($14) and a tiramisu ($13). I'm glad we got these desserts because they were spectacular! The creme brulee was fantastic and the tiramisu was one of the best I have ever had; it was truly mind-blowing!

So for some unique northern Italian cuisine in a transporting setting in Midtown, Bottega Del Vino hits the spot. Come for lunch or dinner, definitely stay for dessert!

Bottega Del Vino
7 E. 59th St. (at 5th Ave)
New York, NY 10022
212-223-2724

www.bottegadelvinonyc.com

NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: ED'S CHOWDER HOUSE

Last week I had a lunch (with a stunningly beautiful Director of PR for a restaurant group) at Ed's Chowder House (formerly Center Cut), a new seafood restaurant in the Empire Hotel. Ed's is brought to us by Jeffrey Chodorow's China Grill Management empire and consulting chef Ed Brown. 

It's a beautiful, clean space, with high ceilings, that had a Southampton feel to it.

We started with a chowder sampler ($12), a selection of oysters ($2.75 each), and the tuna sliders ($5 each).

The three chowders were a sweet corn, a New England style clam, and a Manhattan style blue crab. They were all fine, the highlight for me was the sweet corn, which was sweet and had a little kick to it as well.

The oysters were extremely fresh and delicious! It felt like they just came off the boat!

The tuna sliders were also nice, and the addition of a chipotle mayo gave a nice to kick to them as well.

For our main course we had the lobster roll ($24) and the Chatham cod ($24).

The lobster roll was silky, fresh, and truly wonderful! The mayo was light which I liked, and the roll was sweet and perfect.

The Chatham cod came with a potato chip crust, spinach, and a mustard sauce. The fish was perfectly cooked and tasted extremely fresh. The potato chip crust gave a great crunch and added a beautiful texture complement to the tender fish. The mustard sauce was soothing and balanced out the dish perfectly. It was a great fish dish.

We also had a side of seasoned fries ($6) and a jalapeno corn gratin ($6). The fries were surprisingly awesome, and the corn gratin was addictive and great!

Of course after all this seafood we had to save a little room for dessert, so we ordered the chocolate donut holes with kahlua creme ($8) which were a sweet ending to a fine meal.

So for a fine seafood experience for lunch or dinner, definitely stop by Ed's Chowder House.

Ed's Chowder House
44 W. 63rd St. (bet. Broadway and Columbus- in the Empire Hotel)
New York, NY 10023
212-956-1288

www.chinagrillmgt.com

NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: SCUDERIA

Last Thursday I grabbed a bite at Scuderia, an Italian Trattoria in the West Village. One of the owners of Scuderia is Leyla Marchetto, whose father Silvano owns Da Silvano across the street, which has been around since 1975!

We sat outside on 6th Avenue and began our meal with a few appetizers chosen by our waiter. He sent out fried olives stuffed with pork ($10), a Bibb lettuce salad woth gorgonzola ($10.50), roasted jumbo artichoke ($12.50), and a Baccala -Salted Cod and Potatoes ($11.50). My tablemates and I agreed that the highlight of these appetizers was definitely the Baccala, which was creamy, tasty and addictive!

A Picante pizza ($17.50) with spicy pork sausage, taleggio, and rucola was absolutely wonderful! In fact, it was one of the best pizzas I had ever had! There was a beautiful balance between the spiciness of the sausage and the sweetness of the taleggio and olive oil on the pie

Next we had two pasta dishes: Orecchiette “Norcina” ($28.50)and the Gnocchi di Patate all’Aragosta ($22.50).

The Orecchiette came with prosciutto, rucola, peas, and truffles. It was a rich and decadent dish.

The Gnocchi came with lobster and a light lobster sauce and was truly fabulous! There were hunks of plump, juicy lobster which were great. My two dining companions and I could not stop eating this dish, and I know one of them was having fantasies about it the following day!

For our entrees we had the Mix Seafood Grill ($32.50), Braised Short Rib ($23.50) and the Veal Shank ($29.50)

The grilled seafood with fish, calamari, and lobster came dressed with olive oil and herbs was simple, fresh and fine.

The braised beef short rib came with a nice polenta. The beef was extremely tender and there was a nice sweetness to the dish.

The veal shank with a saffron risotto was amazing! The meat was cooked so perfectly, it fell right off the bone. It was juicy, tender, and delicious! One of my dining companions stated it was the best he had ever had! I thought the addition of the saffron risotto was a unique complement to the veal, and I enjoyed it.

Scuderia is the perfect spot to come for a glass (or a few glasses) of wine, have some Italian bites, and watch the world go by.

Scuderia
257 6th Avenue (bet. Houston and Bleeker)
New York, NY 10014
212-206-9111

www.scuderianyc.com

NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: SORA LELLA

Sunday night I had dinner at Sora Lella, an Italian restaurant in west Soho. The original Sora Lella was opened in Rome in 1959. My dining companion and I were the only ones there when we arrived, which is a shame, because there is some great Italian cooking going on there.

The place is bright with white and yellow hues and a ceiling two stories high. It's a very comfortable place to dine. Before we even ordered, the chef sent us out two croquettes, which were delicious! We were also sent out a bowl of chickpeas and sliced pasta in a tomato sauce, which tasted very homey and comforting.

We started with Sora Lella's version of Caprese ($18), fresh mozzarella, tomato, and a basil pesto. The dish was beautiful to look at, and was like a work of art. This was one of the more unique versions of caprese I have had, the tomato seemed to be in a gelatin form, but tasted great. I really enjoyed the hint of basil. The mozzarella was extremely fresh and wonderful. The addition of the basil pesto was ingenius and really complemented the mozzarella and tomato perfectly.

Our next dish was the gnocchi di patate all’Amatriciana ($18), which was home-made potato gnocchi in a classic Roman sauce of smoked guanciale, tomatoes and Roman Pecorino cheese. This was one of the best gnocchi dishes I had ever eaten! The gnocchi were cooked perfectly, and had so much flavor packed into them. I loved the smokiness and saltiness of this dish; it was absolutely wonderful.

The next dish we tried was the veal cheeks braised in a sweet white wine sauce with peppers ($32). I had never seen veal cheeks on a menu, and was excited to try this dish. I am glad I did, for the meat was so tender that I did not need a knife to cut it. The lightness of the sauce, as well as the addition of the sweet peppers, was a great balance for the rich and decadent meat.

For dessert we had the chocolate “salami” roll with crunchy almonds, dry cookies and caramel sauce, served with chocolate sorbet ($10) as well as the Marsala wine and whipped egg yolk ice cream with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar ($12). Both desserts were fine, but nothing to write home about.

Sora Lella is a little Roman gem that sits next to the Hudson. The cooking here transports you to Italy, with its authentic and homey flavors. If you can't make it to Rome, take a cab or subway to Spring street; it's the next best thing, and cheaper than a plane ticket!

Sora Lella
300 Spring Street (bet. Hudson and Greenwich)
New York, NY 10013
212-366-4749
www.soralellanyc.com

NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: VELOCE PIZZERIA

Last week an old high school friend and I stopped by Veloce Pizzeria in the East Village for a quick lunch. I had been there before and the place has gotten some good reviews. Gourmet pizza has been very popular in 2009, with such places as Keste, Co., Tonda, and Motorino, leading this culinary fad in NYC. Veloce Pizzeria is part of this culinary trend and the pizza here is really good. 

We started with their batter fried calamari with lemon and arugula ($9). I really enjoyed this calamari because the batter was very light and simple. There was no sauce for dipping, just the lemon, which was fine, because that is all the squid needed. It was a great appetizer.

We went with the regular margherita pie ($15); tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil. The pies at Veloce are Sicilian style and are cooked in a square pan. The bottom of the pie was slightly burnt which I actually really like. The sauce had a nice sweetness too. As I ate my square slices I actually said to myself "this is really good."

So for some great square pizza, Veloce Pizzeria hits the spot.

Veloce Pizzeria
103 First Avenue (bet. 6th and 7th)
New York, NY 10003
212-777-6677

www.velocepizzeria.com

NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: XIE XIE

A few weeks ago I stopped by Angelo Sosa's (Jean Georges, Spice Market, etc) new Asian sandwich spot Xie Xie. It's a small little spot, with just a few seats, and a menu of five Asian inspired sandwiches. I went with the Vietnamese BBQ Beef sandwich ($9) with basil mayo and carrot kimchee. I really enjoyed this sandwich. The meat was very tasty, the basil mayo was a great touch, and the carrot kimchee gave it the perfect crunch!

Xie Xie is a great addition to the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood and I plan on headng back soon to try the other offerings.

Xie Xie
645A 9th Ave (bet. 45th and 46th)
New York, NY 10036
212-265-2975

www.xiexieproject.com

NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: MONTENAPO

This past Friday I had a really nice lunch at Montenapo, the new Italian restaurant in the New York Times Building. It's a very large space with large glass windows. It seems geared to cater to the "Power Lunch" crowd.

My friend and I started with the Cappesante and the Burratina.

The Cappesante ($18), seared jumbo sea scallops with sunchokes puree, black truffles, veal reduction and micro greens. I like scallops, but do not order them often, but was glad we ordered these, for they were great! They tasted extremely fresh, and I loved the addition of the black truffles on top.

The Burratina ($20), 24-month aged Parma ham with soft center fresh mozzarella, baby arugula, marinated organic cherry tomatoes and extra virgin olive oil, was not only delicious, but it was truly beautiful to look at. It was the perfect salad.

Since I am on a quest for the city's best pastas, I had to order some pasta here, and lucky for me Montenapo has a nice deal, where for $25 a person, you can try three small portions of their homemade pastas, which we did. I also love trying a bit of everything which made this deal really appealing too. We went with the Mezzaluna, Rigatoni, and the Agnolotti.

The Mezzaluna, half-moon raviloi, filled with ricotta, parmesan cheese, mint and honey, served with sweet tomato sauce was unique and was like no pasta I have ever had. Each flavor was distinct and you could taste them all separately, as opposed to one big mash of a flavor. It was nice.

The Rigatoni, with Roman cured organic "Guanciale" pork jowl, braised white onions, parmesan cheese, crushed black pepper and fresh rosemary was great and addictive. 

The Agnolotti, filled with braised veal cheeks, served atop of celery root puree and veal stock reduction was rich and delicious.

I really enjoyed all three pastas, for not only were they all perfectly cooked, but all the flavors were different, unique, and wonderful.

We also shared the Tonno Rosso ($33), grilled tuna loin with vegetable filled red onion, organic black rice and tomato, olives and capers "Sicilian" sauce. This was a fine hunk of tuna, that wasn't mind blowing, but a decent dish. I enjoyed the black rice a lot, which I rarely ever have.

Of course a fabulous lunch would not complete without dessert, so we shared a really delicious Tiramisu ($9), lady finger cookies soaked in double espresso and layered with marscarpone cheese.

Montenapo is a great new high end Italian addition to the Midtown dining scene. If you are looking for quality ingredients and great dishes for a "Power Lunch" or a Pre/Post Theater meal, check this place out!

Montenapo
The New York Times Building
250 West 41st Street (bet. 7th and 8th ave)
New York, NY 10018
212-764-7663

www.montenaporestaurant.com

NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: SALUMERIA ROSI

Friday night I had planned on dining on pasta to begin my pasta culinary adventure, but fate had a different path for me. I got a call from a good foodie friend of mine who insisted I meet him at Salumeria Rosi, a small salumi shop and restaurant helmed by chef Cesare Casella.

The place is small and has some sort of unique artwork/scuplture on one of it's walls, which is both unique and festive, just like the food I was about to consume.

When dining with fellow foodies it is always a true culinary adventure, and I had not expected, but should have known, that we were about to consume most of the dishes on the menu! That's right, plate after plate of food started to arrive, and it was glorious! 

We started with a plate of their salumi which consisted of parmacotto, prosciutto cotto, prosciutto arrosto, porchetta, arista, mortadella, pancetta. Basically, a lot of meat. But this was not your regular Italian meat, this was the freshest and best meats I have ever had. There was a juiciness to each slice that was delicious, and great to have with a nice glass of wine.

After this initial tasting of meat, the ongoing arrival of plates with small Italian bites started to arrive. Dishes such as Lasagna with a pork and beef ragu and bechamel sauce ($8), Costina ($6), a spicy Tuscan spare rib, slow-cooked with tomatoes, rosemary and garlic, Caponata ($5) a sweet and savory Sicilian eggplant relish, were all great!

There were some standouts and memorable dishes that I cannot stop thinking about too. My favorite dish of the night was the Risotto with zucchini and basil pesto ($8), it was delicious and vibrant, and the perfect Spring/Summer dish. I loved the addition of toasted almonds which gave a nice crunch to the dish.

A dish called Sette Fagioli ($6) which is a seven bean salad ended up being the best beans I have ever had in my life!

Pancia ($9), a pork belly cooked in its own fat with Ciccerchie beans, dandelion, and crispy skin was amazing and addictive!

The Insalata di Asparagi ($6), sliced asparagus, radishes, arugula, grated hard-cooked egg, and parmgiano, was another great seasonal dish that lingers in my mind.

Salumeria Rosi also has a great bowl of mixed olives that is wonderful!

Salumeria Rosi is a great place to go for a glass (or three) of wine and some amazing and festive small Italian bites. Be it a date, a night out with some foodie friends, or just on your own, Salumeria Rosi will make you smile, I still am!

Salumeria Rosi
283 Amsterdam Ave (bet. 73rd and 74th)
New York, NY 10023
212-877-4800
www.salumeriarosi.com

NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: RED EGG

Last Sunday for Mother’s Day the NYC FOODIE and his family did what most families across America do on Mother’s Day; we went to Chinatown for a dim sum brunch. I love dim sum, and go to Chinatown on a regular basis to consume a hodgepodge of these Chinese delights. There are a bunch of dim sum spots in Chinatown that I like, including Ping’s Seafood and Jing Fong. On this day (created by Hallmark for capital gains--every day should be Mother’s Day!—duhhhh) we went to Red Egg, a spot I had never been to, but had read about.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, I realized I had no idea how to get in; it was tricky (I think the handle on the door had broken and was missing, but there was no signage). It took me a few minutes of walking to other addresses on the block to find a door, and peeking inside the window, til a hostess opened the door for me. But once inside, I found the sleekest and most modern of all dim sum houses in Chinatown, with some tasty bites too!

I love dim sum because you get to try a little bit of everything, and the NYC FOODIE’s family shares EVERY dish we order when we dine out. (PS. NYC FOODIE PET PEEVE #1- People who order the same dish as their dining companions, when dining out- come on people! Learn to share and expand your culinary horizons!)

We ordered a plethora of tasty dim sum, and all were pretty good. Red Egg is different than many of the other more authentic dim sum spots in Chinatown, for instead of ladies wheeling around carts, and you point to what you want, here, you check off on the menu what you want to order, which is nice.

One stand-out was the addictive garlic spare ribs. 

The only dish I could have done without was the shrimp salad with Huacatay salsa. This taste of Mexico in Chinatown was bland and not good.

A real keeper was the braised noodle dish, which was great.

Red Egg is definitely a dim sum dining destination in Chinatown. For the sleekest dim sum experience in this part of town, bring your mom, or bring a friend, but bring an appetite and get "sum"!

Red Egg
202 Centre St. (at Howard St.)
New York, NY 10013
212-966-1123

www.redeggnyc.com