ABC Kitchen

A long-overdue trip to ABC Kitchen was in store for us over Labor Day weekend – hard to get into since it hit the scene last year, it took a while for us to plan ahead far enough to get a weekend reservation at this local, organic food hotspot.

I was recently reading an article about how 9/11 changed the landscape of New York City restaurants – places with grand, museum-like designs, dim lighting, club music and menus with fancy-shmancy ingredients and delicacies have had their heyday. In the face of a major catastrophe (and an economic downturn), NYC has become a place where low-key, casual and good-for-you dining is where it’s at. ‘Organic,’ ‘self-sustaining,’ ‘locally-grown’….these are words you hear quite often. And ABC Kitchen is at the heart of this trend, for a good reason. Hey, if Jean-Georges is behind something, it's usually good.

The design is completely cozy: lots of wood, soft lighting, a casual and warm almost barn-like feel. And adding to the barn-like feel is the fact that this place is big on vegetables and does them right. You can have a meat-free meal and be completely satisfied – veggies are definitely the star.

We took a sharing approach and got a bunch of appetizers – no entrees – which was a great way to go.

Roasted beets with housemade yogurt: these were great and if you’re a beet-lover, give these a try. The yogurt adds tanginess without too much flavor to take away from the freshness of the beets.

Crab toast with lemon aioli: extra crispy toast smothered with a crab salad. A tad on the oily side, but quiet delicious because of it.

Roast carrot and avocado salad, crunchy seeds, sour cream and citrus: By far the best dish of the evening – what seems to be a simple salad is bursting with flavor. The roasted carrots are the star and are perfectly complimented by the creaminess of the fresh avocado and sour cream, and contrasted nicely by the citrus dressing and crunchy seeds. Mmmmmm.

Pretzel-dusted calamari, marinara and mustard aioli: Good, but nothing to write home about. The mustard aioli was the best part of this dish, since we didn’t taste any pretzel flavor in the calamari crust.

Whole wheat pizza with spicy cacciatorini meatballs, habanero tomato sauce and ricotta: a nice, spicy pizza with fresh ingredients.

All in all, the ABC Kitchen experience is among the best – both from an atmosphere perspective and the quality of the food is top-notch. Go for the vegetables and soak up the pretty atmosphere and lighting (thanks to ABC Home, which is connected through the back of the restaurant) - and just kick back and enjoy.

Torrisi Turkey Sandwich...at Yankee Stadium

I've been meaning to try Torrisi's sandwiches for some time now, and despite working around the corner from the restaurant, it took me until today at Yankee Stadium to finally try it. From co-workers and friends, I've always heard that their sandwiches were incredible and someone even went as far to say "it's the best turkey sandwich you'll ever have." In short, expectations were high when I bought a $14 turkey sandwich at a food stand in the Great Hall at the stadium.

Prepared to order, a soft sesame seed roll is piled with freshly sliced turkey, shredded lettuce, tomato, mayo, and spicy mayo (I ordered no onion since I don't like raw onion). At a cost of $14, I expected the sandwich to be a bit bigger but by the end of it, I realized it was the perfect size. Both my friend & I were comfortably full after each eating one. The turkey is moist and flavorful and the double mayo really works (and I'm not a big mayo fan). The spicy mayo adds a nice kick but nothing too harsh if you're spice-averse. The straight mayo bleeds with the tomato to create a nice little sauce. The shredded lettuce offers some nice crunch to round it out. Each bite is flavorful and delicious.. not something you expect from a turkey sandwich. We both walked away very happy and I trust you will too.

I'm not sure if it's the best turkey sandwich I've ever had but I don't think I know what the best turkey sandwich I've ever had is. Either way, this sandwich deserves to be in the "best turkey sandwich" conversation. For those going to Yankee Stadium, I suggest splurging on it and getting a side of garlic fries. Oh, and the Yankees won!

Quick hits: Quantum Leap, Corner Bistro, & Cowgirl

A few meals that may or may not deserve their own write-up will get the quick-hits treatment.

Quantum Leap

On a hot afternoon, we were looking for a hearty meal to satisfy our appetites, but nothing too heavy that would weigh us down for the rest of the day. Enter Quantum Leap. This vegetarian restaurant in the heart of Greenwich Village was hoppin' and delivered exactly what we wanted. We each got a salad that perfectly straddled the line between healthy & hearty. I think Jess would recommend the veggie & tofu combo salad, while I would direct you towards the cobb salad. This ain't an ordinary cobb salad.. it's topped with soy bacon & veggie chik'n. No meat, no problem.

Corner Bistro

Corner Bistro almost definitely deserves its own blog entry. It has been one of my favorite bars & burger joints for many, many years and a place I used to frequent often with my friends from home. On this night, I met a group of 5 friends here for some beers, burgers, and fries. For some in the gang, it was their first corner bistro experience, so I was trying not to raise expectations too high. The truth is that it probably didn't matter. Corner Bistro absolutely rocks and everyone loved it. From waiting in line with a McSorley's beer (ale or dark) in hand at an unassuming hole-in-the-wall, to the cramped quarters in the back "dining room" to the bartender we call "Smitty" that seems like he has worked there for 145 years, you can't help but fall in love with the bistro. It helps that the food is no slouch. The bistro burger comes with cheese & bacon and costs a mere $6.75. It's my favorite burger in the city... at almost a half pound of meat after cooking, it's loaded with flavor and always cooked to order. I could sing its praises for a few more paragraphs but there's no need.. it's exactly what you want in a bacon cheeseburger. Throw in an order of fries that I'm fairly confident are cooked in bacon fat and you are enjoying the finest bar food this city has to offer. If you haven't been yet, please do yourself a favor and go.

Cowgirl

Come for the sweet potato fries, stay for the sighting of Elton from Clueless. Not to take anything away from Clueless, as it's one of the better movies of our generation, but it doesn't say much about Cowgirl when spotting Elton was the highlight of the meal. Personally, I really enjoyed my buffalo chicken sandwich (fried chicken smothered in buffalo sauce & topped with blue cheese) as well as the sweet potato fries served with maple pecan dipping sauce. However, Jess and our friend Craig, found the mahi mahi fish tacos to be rather awful. It was one of their August specials. Not that special. If you check out Cowgirl, make sure to get something off the regular menu as both my dish and the dishes of Jess & Lauren, our other friends, were much better than the fish tacos. We decided the place is very New Mexican -- half Texas and half Mexico. Check it out, but don't go in with any expectations.

Ed's Lobster Bar

When the temperature is hovering around triple digits, humidity is 100%, and dinnertime rolls around, you're not thinking steak & potatoes. This Saturday night during Heat Wave 2011, a seafood meal was calling my name. Having just eaten at Pearl's twice in the recent months, we ventured east to Ed's Lobster Bar (read our friend's blog and inspiration here) to see what it had to offer.

You walk in to an enlongated bar, which I enjoy sitting at for a meal like this. There are tables in the back, but I think it adds to the experience when you're slurping oysters and dipping steamers elbow-to-elbow with your fellow diners. We sat down at the bar and ordered some white wine and beer as a prelude to our bucket o' steamers. I love steamers for the experience of eating them as much as for the taste. First remove the clam's "sock," dip in warm water and then in warm butter...delish!

Afterwards came two lobster rolls, just the way we like it: a warm, toasted bun housing cool, lobster chunks with not too much mayo. I must say that this lobster roll stacks up there with Pearl's, and that I couldn't say either is better. Regardless of its stance, it totally hit the spot and provided for the perfect summer dinner.

We left stuffed, but not too full to indulge in a mini chocolate lobster...

I'm sure we'll be back to Ed's...perhaps to try the whole lobster or one of their other seafood entrees.

Go soon and get your summer seafood fix!

The Spotted Pig (burger, burger!)

I recently re-visited The Spotted Pig in the West Village to sample their burger. Coming off of the disappointment of the Minetta Tavern burger, I was really looking forward to the chance to be wowed. Despite a 30-minute wait for a table, my buddy and I were able to sit down right away at 2 stools at the upstairs bar.

Two beers and fifteen minutes later, our burgers arrived:

Served alongside a heaping pile of shoestring fries that were properly dusted with rosemary and sea salt, this burger delivered in all of the right ways. It was juicy -- but not too juicy -- and packed with flavor. It was cooked just the way we asked (medium/med rare) and all of the burger components worked really well together. I'm not normally a big fan of buns because I think they take away from a burger, but this bun had taste to it (almost like a potato bun) and added to the mix. Taboot, the roquefort cheese was tasty and worked perfectly on this hunking 1/2 pound (post-cook) burger.

All in all, the burger from The Spotted Pig delivered in a BIG way. I would highly recommend heading over there and checking it out... everything I've ever eaten there has been delicious.

Minetta Tavern (Black Label Burger)

We had been holding off on hitting up Minetta Tavern since it's such a far trek from our apartment...a four minute walk, just too strenuous. We decided to make the journey last night and our expectations were sky high after all the things we've heard and the responses to our RestoHoppers tweet...."This calls 4 a day of fasting so u can eat ALL u WANT...Congrats & have fun 4 the rest of us!"

We started off the night by indulging in their cocktail menu by getting the Blood & Sand and the Rhubarb Sophie...both delicious and strong.

Now...on to the food. We debated about the appetizer - Eric wanted to try the beef tartar but we ultimately went with the hamachi, which came with scallions and a citrus dressing. It was good but nothing to write home about. We were aiming for something lighter to prepare us both for our Black Label burgers....

We were very excited to have these plopped in front of us, both ordered medium because Minetta says that they "undercook." The burgers aren't huge, which we weren't complaining about, because the meat is supposed to be top notch. It's a dry-aged 70/30 rib eye, blended with skirt, brisket, and short rib. The burger is topped with melt-in-your-mouth caramelized onions (and a ton of clarified butter and salt) and sitting in between a brioche bun, which is just the right thickness so as to support the burger but not detract from it.

Our followers know that we usually like all of our meals, so it may come as a surprise to find out that we weren't obsessed with Minetta's Black Label burger. Yeah, it's a good burger, but did we appreciate the $26 worth of beef? Not really. Maybe it's the hype, maybe it's that we can't taste the difference between good beef & great beef, or maybe it's the hefty price tag for a burger. Whatever it was, we weren't blown away with "the best burger in the city." We're still partial to the bacon cheeseburger at Corner Bistro...maybe a little less high class, but it's equally as flavorful & half the price.

Good times at Minetta Tavern, but we won't be rushing back here any time soon. Check it out for yourself and let us know if we're blogging crazy talk.

Scarpetta

Last night for our 5-year dating anniversary, we celebrated with a meal at Scarpetta. Despite trying to get a reservation right when this night became available, the earliest they could seat us was 9:30. Lesson: this place has some serious buzz about it & you better be on top of getting a Saturday night reservation. Sitting on the edge of the Meatpacking District, Scarpetta feels much classier & cozier than the B&T restaurants just a block west.

We had heard so much about Scarpetta prior to dining here that we didn't even need a menu. They bring you a fully-loaded bread basket (pick up the pinwheel & thank me later) paired with olive oil, mascarpone butter, and a tomato-eggplant tapenade. When you're eating at 9:30, you respect a good bread basket.

We started off with the famed creamy polenta appetizer, which was finished table-side and already split in half for us (why don't more restaurants do this for you?!?).  We were given a bowl of creamy polenta & the waiter spooned truffled mushrooms on top. It's at this point that you know you're in for a treat... the sweet smell of truffles hits your senses. Each & every bite of this dish should be savored. It's creamy beyond your wildest dreams and loaded with truffled mushroom flavor.

We each got the spaghetti entree - an odd move for us since we usually like to sample the menu, but every review we read said this was the best dish, so we each wanted it for our own. It was a good move. It's as simple as spaghetti can be... coated in marinara sauce & mixed with shredded basil. You don't think you're in for a treat when you first twirl your fork around the plate of pasta, but you're wrong. There's something about that sauce that just causes a taste bud party to erupt in your mouth. The sauce is a bit sweet and I think that's what it is. The pasta is perfectly cooked and a bit thicker than normal spaghetti.  By the time the meal was over, both our plates were completely empty. The reviews weren't lying.. this dish is phenomenal.

For dessert, we got the chocolate cake and it was sublime. The perfect capper to a delicious meal,  served with a salted caramel gelato, this dish does a great job of combining sweet & salty.

The biggest takeaway from Scarpetta is that everything brought out seems simple & slightly underwhelming: polenta, spaghetti, & chocolate cake...nothing too crazy right there from a culinary perspective.  However, when each dish is cooked to perfection, you realize its full potential. Scarpetta was an absolute treat and we're lucky to have celebrated such a wondrous occasion with an equally wondrous meal.