Directly following my trip to Peru, I left on a research trip to the West Coast for two weeks.  What was I researching?  Glad you asked: a book on Stadium Eats!  Um, yeah, without a deal in sight currently (hint, hint, anyone reading this who is interested!), I went to preemptively scout out the 6 West Coast stadiums and eat my way up and down the West Coast at the same time, starting in San Francisco, working my way down to Los Angeles, then San Diego, back up to San Francisco and then to Seattle!  Phew!  Tune in at 4:15 EST (or 1:15 PST, lunchtime on the West Coast) for the next 6 weeks to see what I ate and where I ate it… and how I gained 10 lbs in two weeks!

I made my way back up to San Francisco to return the rental car and catch my flight to Seattle.  On my last night there, I really wanted Dungeness crab, which I felt had been in short supply on my trip.  Okay, it really hadn’t been, but I wanted to hit up Crab House at Pier 39 since it’s been 3 years since my last time, and I really enjoy eating a whole Dungeness crab… all by myself… but this time around, I decided that I should try another place, and make it one that everyone has mentioned in the past.  Plus it seemed like my trip had a definite Vietnamese slant on it, so why not?  I went with PPQ Dungeness Island because it was open late when I needed it to be – I just arrived in San Francisco, dropped my stuff off at the hotel and headed out - and because I’d heard the name many times in the past. 

I had to start off with the summer rolls as usual - notice the dish of sauce has a streak of red in it.  Sriracha sauce not fully blended in, so I knew to avoid that area and dip lightly.  Another interestingly way-too-long roll cut into 3 pieces, so the middle pieces had stuff exploding out of the roll.  I liked the roll, though, and found it tasty. 

But the main event! that’s what’s important here.  A whole Dungeness crab. 

The body was already broken into pieces and I got to work quickly, taking the meat out deftly without using the hammers (shudder! hate those hammers; they ruin the crab) and dipping it into the butter that had accumulated on the bottom of the dish.  NOM.  Really fresh and very, very tasty.

I also ordered garlic noodles because, um, hello?  These were garlicky, delicious, though more like lo mein or egg noodles than I’d anticipated.  Not a bad thing, per se, but I am partial to broad white rice noodles or ho fun, though that’s Cantonese style and perhaps not Vietnamese.  These were already really good, and then I made the brilliant decision to dump the noodles into the buttery sauce on the bottom of the crab dish and let it sit there and soak in the butter for a few minutes.  The taste?  Awesome.  The after-effects of all that butter on my system?  Yeah, not so much.  I just can’t eat THAT much butter in one go (I’ve tried many times).  Ah well, a bit of intestinal discomfort for the glory… par for the course! 

Just to balance things out, a beef dish.  This actually was pretty similar to the ’shaking beef’ dish at Slanted Door.  It was tasty, but I don’t think I need to order this again – I’ll be back, and I will know to just go straight to Dungeness crab, do not stop at appetizers, do not stop at beef, just crab and noodles, an order each all for my own.  Mmm, boy, yummy. 

Yvo says: I didn’t need the beef dish or the summer roll dish, really, but it was nice to help get a feel for the restaurant itself and its other offerings.  I definitely would go back for the Dungeness crab alone… and now I’d also like to try some of the other Vietnamese places around town that do the whole Dungeness crab this way.  Mmm, nommy.  Check this place out!
recommended

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Post tags: dungeness crab, summer rolls

After a couple of hours at the batting cages, BF and I had sufficiently worked up an appetite – despite my brunch – and met up with BlindBaker plus BF’s former coworker, JP (I don’t know why I referred to him as this in a previous post - one of the downsides to using initialed nicknames constantly) and his wife, VSa, to grab some food.  JP and VSa wanted to hit up Congee Village in Chinatown, which caused both BlindBaker and I to cringe internally, but I decided to put my gameface on and put aside my prejudices.  (With a name like Congee Village, I really want to ask them WTF they were thinking.  Plus, I’ve been twice in the past, and their congee sucks – how are you going to put “congee” in your name and then not make it properly?!) 

***I should note here that I actually co-hosted a baby shower here – for ANM and T of TCC – three years ago – and I enjoyed some of the food, as noted below. 

Because I speak Cantonese semi-fluently (especially in food), I ordered everything everyone wanted, in Cantonese.  The fun part was when he tried to clarify things with me, and I had no idea what he was asking me!  Shameful that I can ask for things but I can’t answer when they ask me things…. sigh. 

JP and Vsa ordered veggie dumplings, steamed.  I didn’t want one, but they said these were pretty sad – very soft and floppy, and not very tasty.  FAIL. 

BF wanted fried dumplings, but these were the thick-skinned kind he doesn’t like.  I tried one, and while I don’t mind thick skin (sometimes; I have to be in the mood), these were not cooked through (the skin, if that makes sense) and the meat was not that flavorful, even with the use of black vinegar.  FAIL. 

I remembered this dish from the baby shower – garlic paper fried chicken, which I ordered as such, but the waiter tried to tell me the name is something else.  Ok, you know what I’m talking about, so why do you have to keep telling me I have the name wrong?  I said “Ok, but it’s paper fried chicken with garlic added, right?” and he kept telling me about some sauce that’s added.  I don’t know what he was talking about.  So I got the name wrong, but the dish was right: juicy fried chicken with paper-thin crispy skin, tender meat, and amazing bursts of garlic flavor.  I don’t like chicken at restaurants, but this is one of the dishes I like to eat a few pieces and be done with.  I think an entire meal could be eaten of this and rice… Yum!  Everyone else seemed to like it, too. 

“Wet” fried noodles with beef, beef ho fun, sup chow ngau ho.  Yes I’ve tried to make this before, to great fail (don’t look for it! please!).  They did it pretty well here – this was another of JP’s choices – lots of beef, veggies, and the noodles were good. 

Honey walnut shrimp, VSa’s favorite dish.  She said she really likes this here, and it was perfectly tasty – large shrimp, each coated with the sauce.  I’m completely biased and still prefer my favorite Cantonese place, especially since they keep the sauce separate for me to dip as liberally or as conservatively as I like (and to scoop some into my white rice to eat like that… o yes I did and do!).  I also would have liked extra sauce to dip the broccoli in, but as it stands, this is an acceptable version.  (I also prefer the beef noodles – the last dish – from my favorite place more, but that’s straight bias, since these were good, too.) 

Seafood chow mein – I love noodles.  These were really good, lots of seafood, though a bit skimpy on the more expensive seafood bits.  JP said he liked this dish a lot too, which made me glad I’d ordered it – I didn’t want to be seen as the pig just ordering stuff that no one else wanted to eat (we shared everything family-style).  When I asked for “jeet cho” (red wine vinegar), the guy brought it but then pointed out the black vinegar on the table.  Hon, if I wanted to put black vinegar on my noodles, I’d be crazy first of all, and second, I’d have used it already then.  I just kind of blankly stared at him because I didn’t know the name for black vinegar in Chinese until he pointed at it.  This was very confusing.  Did he not know I wanted to put this on my noodles?  Was he just having fun mocking the girl who clearly did not know any Chinese but FOOD???

BlindBaker stepped in here and added a tofu dish whose name escapes me (or perhaps I never knew it).  This was tasty with rice!  Can you tell me what the name is?  Thanks! 

My first plate, I took a little bit of everything to show you.  Then I stuck to mostly noodles since those are the carbs I crave.  Seafood chow mein with red wine vinegar???  Yes please!!!  NOM!!! 

Yvo says: Both BlindBaker and I admitted to each other that we had unfairly judged Congee Village without giving it a fair chance till then.  The food was tasty enough.  However, it’s in an awkward part of Chinatown for those of us using mass transit (on Allen Street) (we drove this time and found parking very close by, luckily), and to me, this isn’t real Chinatown – not just because it’s on the edge, but because it’s a large, very clean restaurant – good for those who are going to Chinatown for the first time.  The food is definitely tasty – but I don’t think I’d seek this place out often.  Maybe if I were showing people new to Chinatown, or wary of “hole in the wall” dining, I could see going back.  The full bar doesn’t hurt either (though we didn’t utilize it).  I can’t speak to prices because BF and JP paid without letting us look at the bill – thanks again, BF & JP!!! – but I know that neither of them said it was expensive, and we had some leftovers to take as well.  Oh, and the waiters totally spoke enough English for those who are new to Chinatown and don’t speak Chinese. 
recommended for Chinatown n00bz and/or those afraid of grime

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Post tags: cantonese

CT made dishes her Mother makes, so nothing like we would get at a restaurant.

The first dish was Keema with Aloo. It was ground beef with potatoes and spices. CT hadn’t made it in a while, so she wasn’t overly happy with the result. I thought it was good and balanced well with some of the stronger flavored dishes.

Her other dish was Shrimp with Mustard Seed Curry and Yogurt. CT went overboard with the amount of shrimp she bought, but I’m not complaining. It was super tasty. I will have to get her to make this again, soon!

JC made Mapo Tofu with Pork. This was my first time having this. It was by far the star of the night. Everyone loved this dish. Tons of salty, porky, goodness in this. The tofu made this healthy, or at least that’s what I tell myself.

JC also made a shrimp dish, Shrimp with Celery in Oyster Sauce. This was also really good. JC left the celery al dente so it still had a nice crunch to it. Quite different from the shrimp, CT made, but just as good.

I think I ended up getting seconds and thirds. Everything was delicious. As if that wasn’t enough, JC also made dessert, Almond Jelly with Fruit Cocktail. It was simple yet exactly what was needed. A good end to the meal.

I wish Wan all the best in London. I hope she enjoyed this dinner as much as I did.

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BlindBaker and I decided to go shopping before a dinner engagement we had, but needed to grab something to eat – fuel for shopping, you see?! – beforehand, so we headed over to Chikurin on 64th Avenue.  I remember going here when it first opened; I think it was even the first of the locations because I see now on their website that there are, holy crap, 9 locations.  Damn.  That’s a lot.  In any case, this location is right next to the subway station that I used growing up, and somewhat close to my mom’s house.  So I thought it would be nice to revisit. 

Of course, since we both dawdle a lot, by the time we met up, it was pretty close to dinner time, so I made the executive decision (sorry for being bossy!) that we should each pick a roll (to share, of course), and eat just that, so we’d have room for the large dinner we were having that night. 

We both picked from the special rolls menu.  I chose the Dynamite roll – the one on the right – which is salmon, tuna and tobiko.  There was nothing wrong with this roll, but both of us felt it could have benefited from something to contrast texturally, as the overall texture the way it was became just a bit uniform. 

BlindBaker smartly chose the Panther roll – salmon, eel, tobiko, all topped with tempura flakes or ‘crunch’.  The sweet meatiness of the eel + sauce against the creaminess of the salmon, and then the crunchiness of the topping… really good!  Texturally perfect and the flavor was spot-on, I really enjoyed this roll, as did BlindBaker.  I actually started dipping the other roll into the pieces of crunch that fell off the Panther… it helped quite a bit. 

Yvo says: Great neighborhood sushi joint.  No reason to not order from here when I’m craving just regular rolls, your local sushi joint… not the place for avant-garde or amazing sushi, but just your solid, local place, not destination dining… I’ll have to go back and check out the lunch specials and the cooked/hot foods as well and report back. 
recommended local sushi joint

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Post tags: Sushi

I started off with a beer. I chose the Ginga Kogen. It is an unfiltered Japanese beer. I never heard of it, but decided to splurge($10) and try it. I was quite happy with it. It was very refreshing on a hot, humid NYC day. CT got an Allagash White and LH got the Limeade Soju Slushie.

Since it was so hot, I knew I wasn’t going to get the ramen. I also had it last time I was there, so I wanted to try something new. The prix fix was the most interesting and at $30, pretty reasonable.

I was first given an amuse of spring radish with what I believe was kimchi mayo and scallion. The radish was nice and crunchy with a little heat from the kimchi. It definitely whet my appetite.

We also got two appetizers to share.

The obligatory pork buns. Delicious as usual. I think these are mandatory anytime you bring a Momo-virgin to the restaurant.

CT chose the chicken tamale too. It was a good tamale. The chicken was too dry which can happen quite easily when the tamale is steamed.

My first course was the Spanish Mackarel Tataki with horseradish sour cream, mint, and snap peas. Everything was super fresh, not fishy at all. I didn’t detect any horseradish flavor, but the snap peas were great. I wonder if they get them from the Union Square greenmarket that morning?

My second course was Miso Soup with rice cakes, wakame, and chili oil. This was quite possibly the best miso soup I ever had. Super flavorful with the saltiness of the miso and the heat of the chili oil. They rice cakes were cut to mimic the traditional tofu that is usually served in the soup.

The main was Roasted Duck Breast with cipollini onion, rhubarb, and strawberry. The meat was cooked perfectly, super tender. Strawberry and rhubard is a classic combination was brought great flavor to the dish.

LH got the signature Ramen. She said she wasn’t hungry, but managed to eat pretty much the whole thing. (She split open the egg before I got to take the picture.)

CT also decided to try something different as she wasn’t in a ramen mood. She went with the Chilled Spicy Noodles with Sichuan spiced sausage, spinach, and cashews. At first it looked like a sausage, cashew, spinach salad. The noodles were hidden underneath, so mixing was required. It turned out to be a great dish. The noodles were coated in chili oil, which made them SUPER spicy. The spinach and candied cashews helped to alleviate some of the heat. The sausage was good and brought good substance to the dish.

CT adds: At first sight, I’ll admit I had some food-envy, but by the end I liked my dish the best! Even as a lover of spicy food, this dish had me sweating, though still tasting delicious!

My prix-fix came with dessert. The soft serve flavors were too good to pass up. Olive Oil and Pickled Cherry. I got both. The flavors were quite good, although the pickled cherry totally overwhelmed the olive oil. It was just the right amount of dessert for me, served in a Chinese tea cup.

All in all, it was good meal. I am glad I was able to show LH the Momofuku empire. The restaurant wasn’t too loud and we weren’t squished in our seats, which was a welcome change. Yes, its not the best ramen in the world, but its other dishes are pretty unique and the prix fix is a good deal.

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