Five Points

Last night, Jess & I went to Five Points with her parents, Ed & Val. Once again, BlackBoard Eats came through for us. This time with a 30% off coupon.. cha ching!

The restaurant reeks of Fall and as soon as you walk in, you feel like you're home. The mix of wood, exposed brick and pumpkins evokes a ski lodge vibe and warms your soul.

We got prime seating in the back of the restaurant right by the kitchen. We even got a few strong whiffs of truffle oil, which is always welcome.

The drink menu was both seasonally appropriate (hot spiked cider & Smuttynoses's winter ale) and unique (lavender gimlet & the unknown Flight of Martinis). Everyone was happy with the drinks that started our meal.

The appetizers were also all top notch - panchetta pizza (possibly the highlight of the meal), salad (dates + blue cheese + walnuts = yes sir!), and mezze (squash dip, wild rice, beets, & some other tasty dips served with warm pita-like bread). We all agreed that the pizza was phenomenal - caramelized onions FTW.

After a longer-than-normal break in between courses, we got served wreckfish (Jess), pasta (Val), steak (Ed), & chicken (Eric). If we are keeping score at home, we went .500. Val & I loved our main courses & didn't leave a trail on the plate. Ed & Jess... not so much. Ed felt the steak was too chewy and Jess thought her fish didn't have enough flavor. I thought the pumpkin chutney was delish but can't speak about the fish (somewhere between cod & trout?).

On the positive side, my portion of chicken was hearty (2 pieces - I think breast & thigh/wing), super moist, and juicy. Served alongside a handful of parsnips & a cooked-to-perfection potato gratin, this dish hit the spot. Dipping the chicken & parsnips in the juices made every bite flavorful. The only complaint I have is that the skin wasn't very crispy. A crunchy exterior would have texturally balanced the dish quite well & taken it/me to an even higher level.

For dessert, we decided on the honey apple cobbler with whipped cream. It was good, not great, and the four of us didn't even finish it. We all agreed that it was lacking that something something - cinnamon? more butter? vanilla ice cream? better "crumble"? Who knows... it just wasn't there.

What we all did agree on was that we had a fabulous night out and while some of the food wasn't out of this world, I think we'd all be happy to come back and try out some of the other cocktails and dishes (pizza as an entree, anyone?) on the menu.

Do Hwa (Korean BBQ)

As promised, we're back to bloggin! On Wednesday evening, we went out to dinner with our dear friends, LT & J-Fark. Despite Jess' stomach feeling a bit under the weather, we decided to check out Do Hwa, a Korean BBQ spot in our neck of the woods. We learned about Do Hwa through a BlackBoard Eats deal (25% off) and wanted to get outside our culinary comfort zone. LT had been there before and said it was good so we headed down to Carmine Street to get our Korean BBQ on!

We entered Do Hwa and were immediately taken back by the tasty aroma filling the air. After a long hump day, we all needed a cocktail... I was the only one who went outside the box by ordering the Yuja martini (chilled citrus vodka topped off with champagne & lemon sorbet). It went down easy and packed a punch... pretty much, exactly what you want from a martini. I didn't dabble but they had a nice selection of beers on tap, taboot.

We shared 3 appetizers between the 3 of us: Obok Salad, Japchae, and Dukboki. Not sure what any of that means? Me neither! Check out their menu here: CLICK ME! (From what I've read, it's always changing.)

Despite carrying some serious kick, the best app, IMHO, was the Dukboki. It looks like ziti pasta in a red sauce, but looks are deceiving. What looks like ziti are actually tender rice cakes, and what looks like red sauce is a hot chili sauce. We kept eating this tasty dish despite our mouths being on fire. Both the Obok Salad & Japchae were completely finished by the time the entrees came around, so don't think that they weren't good as well. The vinaigrette on the salad & the noodles in the Japchae really made the dishes.

The entree that both Farks got was the Steak Bibimbop. This dish consists of slices steak & loads of veggies packed on top of rice (white or brown) that's served in a way-too-hot pot. Oh, and it's topped with a fried egg (if that's your thing). You control your own spice & flavor destiny by mixing in as much chili sauce as you'd like. I think I might have put a bit too much on as I was sweating by the end of the meal. But, that might have had something to do with the dish being served WAYYYY TOOO HOT! I couldn't eat for a good 5-10 minutes til it cooled down to a reasonable temperature. It was rather tasty & quite hearty with a nice mix of flavors going on in the bowl. J-Fark thought that it lacked flavor and I understand why he said that.. there was a bit too much going on in the bowl, and combined with the hotness, all the flavors kinda blended together. I would get it again, but not before sampling some of the other items on the menu.

The garlic spinach side dish had LOADS of flavor and I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who likes the garlic-spinach combo.

Due to her aching belly, Jess went with the most neutral soup on the menu - the Mandu D'Uk Gook.  It was homemade dumpling soup with rice cakes and was basically like wonton soup on steroids.  There was lots of flavor in the broth and the dumplings and rice cakes really soaked it all up. 

Overall, it was a tasty meal that turned us on to a type of food we weren't very familiar with. More importantly, it was great times with friends, and I think we would all come come back to check out their do-it-yourself grilling tables. Head down there & let us know what you think of Do Hwa!

Freemans

For this one, we'll let our friend and protege, Jason Bleck, take the reigns for our first ever "guest blog."  Here he is:

JB

Between Rivington and Chrystie, there is an innocuous corridor running amidst typical east village walk ups.  Take four strides too many and one would miss the alley entirely; venture down the path however, and prepare for a truly satisfying and well rounded dining experience. 

Freemans Restaurant endeavors to serve rustic cuisine in a colonial tavern turned hip Bowery hotspot.  The restaurant largely succeeds in its pursuit.  With exquisitely seasoned American staples and a beautiful decor, the only real downside to the Freemans experience is that too many people are aware of its existence.

Without a reservation, the food bloggers were twice denied a table.  Thus, when our dear friend Lindsey was about to embark on her 25th year, the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone presented itself.  We would celebrate her birthday and get a reservation at Freemans (they only accept reservations for parties of 6 or more).  We called many weeks in advance and they were able to accommodate our party for July 3rd at 9pm.

When we arrived the joint was packed.  We waited outside in the sweltering summer air for about twenty minutes and then we were ushered inside to our table.  The AC cooled our skin and the beautiful people were easy on the eyes.  The front bar's antique fixtures and dim lighting were juxtaposed with top shelf liquor and hipsters in fedoras.  The tables in the front were way too close together for my taste which is why being led to the backroom so delighted me.  We were led through the kitchen, past the waiters' lockers into what had to have been the best table in the house.  A lone oak table sat in the middle of the private room.  Beautiful plants adorned antique bookcases and kitchen shelves stocked with wine and liquor.  After seating, our group really felt like we were being treated to a special evening in someone's colonial home.

The service was great, and the restaurant even accommodated a seventh and unexpected party guest.  The waiter recommended some specialty cocktails and our evening began.

I had a Gatsby something-or-other and my friends got the Freemans Cocktail and the Grass Roots Sour.  Although the list of ingredients was certainly impressive and exotic, for $12.00, the cocktails did not impress me that much.  My Gatsby tasted like a gin and tonic flavored with ginger ale and I found myself wishing I just ordered a dirty martini like the b-day girl did.

Artichoke Dip

The meal began with what I can only describe as two of the best appetizers I have ever had in my entire life.  The healthy sized portion of mussels were so delicious that our entire group devoured them within a minute and we had to get more bread just to soak up the remaining juices.  Next came the spinach artichoke dip served with mini toast.  I am not usually a big fan of that dish as I find it is often too creamy for my liking.  However, this dip was perfection.  It was not creamy in the slightest and was seasoned with what I believe was wine, garlic and some spicy jazz.  It was incredible and unlike any spinach artichoke dip you have ever had, I guarantee it.

Mussels

The entrees we ordered were the filet mignon, the trout, the chicken and the scallops.  My chicken was jazzed up with a bbq sauce that had a great kick to it but it was not overwhelming.  The brook trout was cooked to perfection and seasoned delicately.  The dishes were on the smaller side.  The chicken came with mustard potato salad and we ordered a side of spinach.  I felt that the sides were uninspired, but the meat was so good that it was hard to notice.

Fillet Mignon

Scallops

Chicken

Trout

Desserts were frankly very plain and probably overpriced, but the bananas foster with rum butterscotch was the highlight and we were glad we listened to the waiter's recommendation.  The meal closed with cappuccinos and an iced coffee (which to my surprise is not something you are supposed to order at restaurants- feel free to comment on this issue below).

All in all, a lovely and memorable evening with great people and great food.

Agua Dulce

Hells Kitchen…known for restaurants, but not many that we frequent. Sure, we love 5 Napkin, Eatery and Hells Kitchen (that’s the name), but haven’t really found anything groundbreaking there…until last weekend. We hit up Agua Dulce for some Pan-Latin cuisine and were very impressed by the food. It’s also a great place to have a drink - there is a lounge area in the back of the restaurant.

For starters, we got the Guac trio: Guac Tropical, Guac Ahumado and Guac Tipico with a heap of crispy, fresh tortilla chips – the good, thick kind. This app was more than enough for four people and I think everyone had his or her favorite. Eric & I were huge fans of the Guac Tropical with pineapple, mango and habanero, while the others dipped frequently in the Guac Ahumado with chipotle, house cured bacon and tomato.

It was a battle of the sexes for the main courses: the men went with the macho Churrasco – grilled skirt steak, chimichurri (yummmmmm), hand harvested sea salt and roasted new potato. The portion was so large that both men had leftovers on their plates.


The females both ordered the crispy organic salmon with seared cauliflower, red pepper and mustard green olive caramel sauce, how typical. Everything was great. The skin gave a crispy and salty flavor to the fresh salmon and the red pepper sauce was a great dipper.

For Acompanamientos, we got the cauliflower with brown butter and fresh lime and an order of the crispy fluffy yuca fries with garlic and vanilla aioli. Both were huge hit. The cauliflower was delicious and had great flavor – there were crunchy garlic-y bits throughout. And the yuca fries with a little dip of the vanilla aioli is a party in your mouth. Both plates were empty by the end of the meal.

Suffice to say, we had no room for dessert because everything ordered was consumed. We’ll definitely be back to Agua Dulce – dreams of the yuca fries all through my head.

More info: http://www.aguadulceny.com/