I walked over one Saturday night (the picture above is from last weekend), dining companion in tow, to take advantage of the free money and see what was in store. This used to be a KFC, and the closest fast food to my apartment; I like the upgrade. It’s essentially Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine: a little Greek, a little Israeli, some of this, some of that.

Pyramida was mostly empty at this hour — there’s no foot traffic this part of Second Avenue, and the subway construction surely can’t be helping. We sat at a window table, and the attentive service began. Our waitress offered the specials, and really, really pushed the shark. I’ve never seen actual shark on a menu, much less eaten it, so what the heck, when else will I have the opportunity?

We were started with a bit of tapenade and a mound of sweet pea puree. I don’t generally care for whole olives, but I’m a fan of good tapenade; I only lamented that far too few pita triangles were provided to enjoy the whole dish, so after we finished those off, I kept going back to this with just a fork. The peas retained the flavor of peas, which just doesn’t do it for me, but this half of the amuse would appeal to the pea-lover.

Given that we wanted to try as many dishes as possible, we chose to create a three-appetizer sampler. The menu notes you can choose any three salads or spreads in a combination, but our waitress had no problem letting us choose whatever we liked; I figure good restaurants will let you pick whatever you like and will figure out the cost later.

The hummus was pretty standard hummus, with barely a hint of garlic, but this was quite smooth preparation, and we mostly plowed through this.

The tabouleh tasted wonderful, though — piles and piles of parsley, liberal use of onion; I found my fork in this dish far more often than I probably should have, but it was worth the onion breath.

And then there were falafel. Light, crispy “crust” on these five little morsels, piping hot, waiting for us to devour them…

These were the real deal. Perfectly cooked balls of ground chickpea. Delicately fluffy inside, meltingly so. I loved these, but my dining companion would have gorged herself on just these given a bucket of them. Seriously, these could well be the best falafel in Manhattan.

We each had an iced white tea, a blueberry pomegranate for me, and the peach mango across the table. The blueberry dominated my tea, which was perfectly fine by me. (It seems blueberry always overpowers pomegranate.)

Since I had opted for the shark, my dining companion, still in the spirit of trying as much as possible, ordered the Ultimate Meat Combo — chicken, lamb, and kofta. It arrived on a bed of the chosen “seasoned” french fries, sided by a Greek salad.

That is some seriously grilled meat. And it was tasty, for the most part: the lamb was cooked a solid medium-rare, and did not retain the “gameyness” some people seem to not like (unlike me). As a bonus, it was super tender. The white-meat chicken was all about the char on the outside, so it was par for the course and something I’d skip next time. The kofta was declared “good”, from a hard-to-please kofta eater. So my impression of “wow, this is delicious chargrilled meat!” was on target.

Though the seasoned fries were forgettable, the salad was covered in feta, and the tzatziki was incredibly tasty. Lots of this came home with me as leftovers.

Ah, the shark plate. Three big, fried chunks of shark, with a trail of tahini-based, creamy sauce covering it and the pilaf. That’s “spicy okra” in the corner, and a Israeli salad rounding out the special.

Trust me, the sauce makes this dish. I would have preferred it on the side, but there it was, in all its glory.

But first, the sides. The Israeli salad consists of chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, bell peppers, olive oil and lemon juice. I appreciated the lettuce-free nature of this, and would happily take home a quart of vegetables this bright and crisp. It served as an interesting foil to the okra, which wasn’t exactly spicy, but it solidly showcased the taste of the okra without any gooeyness I’ve seen in such a dish.

The shark turned out to be a little different that I expected. While it certainly had flavor, I couldn’t really place it. The fish itself was firmer than I imagined, and wasn’t particularly flaky; it was a bit like swordfish in texture and taste. The crust provided a bit of contrast in each bite, too. But the sauce really tied this together. I can imagine that it would have seemed a little dry otherwise. Overall, though, I’m glad I went with this.

We were far too full for dessert, though Pyramida offers an array of choices, from baklava to rice pudding and “outrageous” chocolate truffles.

I heartily recommend Pyramida if you’re in the area for dinner. That stretch of Second has a lot of Middle Eastern restaurants, and I think they hold their own against the kebabs and hummus available at any of the other choices. However, I cannot stress enough that you make sure to order the falafel! It’s probably worth going for that alone. I’m definitely going back soon — restaurants and shops alike are getting killed by the subway construction, and I think it’s important to reward the good ones with my business.

© BeerBoor for The Feisty Foodie, 2011. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: falafel, kofta, shark, tabouleh

The restaurant normally has a $42 prix fixe dinner Sunday through Wednesday. It comes with two appetizers, entree, and dessert. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we had to push dinner back a week. This caused dinner to fall during Winter Restaurant Week, so the same prix fixe menu became $35, score!

After being seated and given our menus, we were each given a small glass of Arak. I never had this before. It is a clear Middle Eastern apertif used as a palate cleanser traditionally served with ice and water. It becomes cloudy once mixed with the water. The waiter suggested we drink it throughout the meal to cleanse the palate and aid in digestion. I would never order this because of its strong licorice flavor, but in the spirit of being festive I drank it anyway.

The Restaurant Week menu had a large number of options, which was a big plus. I am no longer a fan of RW since many places offer an extremely limited menu in order to turn and burn the tables quickly. A multi-course meal for cheap that isn’t appetizing is no deal at all.

All of the appetizers came out super quick. There was a lot of table turnover, even on a Sunday night, so the name of the game for them was speed. Everyone was also served a hot and fluffy pita along with their appetizers.

CT’s first was the Bone Marrow with sour cherry tabbouleh and pita pillows. This could have been an entree portion with its two huge bones. I don’t even think CT was able to finish the dish. The tabbouleh was fantastic. The roughage cut through the richness of the marrow nicely. The mini pitas were a good base to build a little marrow sandwich.

CT says: I agree with everything TT said. The bone marrow was cooked nicely and the presentation was great; but it was just too much of such a rich food. I was only able to finish the first one. The tabbouleh was really refreshing and was a perfect accompaniment for it. It tasted really delicious all wrapped together in the fresh pitas. However, this was definitely an appetizer to share with 2-4 people.

Her second appetizer was the Veal Sweetbreads in a lettuce cup with garlic whip and kabiss. There were three of these cups on a very long plate, hence only a picture of one. I had one and enjoyed it. Deep fried, what’s not to like?

CT said: This was a much more manageable and appropriate sized appetizer and very delicious. Just crispy enough, not greasy, and a great small bite.

The most popular choice for the table was Marinated Octopus & Calamari Salad with carrot tahini, sweet pickled cucumber and nigella. I believe my Mom & Dad both ordered this as well. It was good. I didn’t get much “Lebanese” flavor out of it, but it was a very nice salad containing some of my favorite ocean dwelling creatures.

My second dish was Harissa & Amontillado Shrimp with tomato, toasted almond and parsley. This came out served in a sizzling cast iron pan. The shrimp were perfectly cooked and flavored. I was quite happy with this dish. The tomatoes were slightly warmed from sitting in the hot pan which brought out their flavor in this off season for them. The almonds gave a good overall crunch and nuttiness.

Almost as soon as all the plates were cleared, the entrees came out. I think we were all relieved to see that these portions were on the smaller side considering the amount of food we all just ate.

CT ordered the group favorite entree of Date Braised Beef with cashew “couscous,” cucumber and rose petals. This was really good. A lot more tender and flavorful than the short rib I got at Tree.

CT says: This was a great dish, not too heavy and a perfect sized-portion (I was still recovering from the size of the bone marrow dish). The short rib was very tender and the crunch of the cashew “cous cous” added a nice texture to the dish. I’m not a huge nut person, but I liked the flavor it added. I would be happy to eat this again.

I was in the mood for lamb so for a supplemental $7, I ordered the Lamb Chops (2 chops) seared with za’atar salsa verde. The chops were small-not that I was looking for a huge portion-but still seasoned and cooked nicely. There was a bit too much fat on them though. I guess spending the extra money on this didn’t pay off this time around, then again I wasn’t paying.

When it came time for dessert, I was frankly shocked when CT passed on ordering the ilili Candy Bar (chocolate kataifi crunch, chocolate ganache, pistachio and fig caramel and finished tableside with warm chocolate sauce). Maybe she figured since Mom and Aunt B ordered it, she would be able to have a taste of theirs and try something different? I had a rich, decadent bite. The waiter was not blowing smoke when he highly recommended this.

Instead, CT ordered the Awaimat (Lebanese beignet with orange blossom simple syrup). I had half of one. It was quite gooey inside. I am not sure if that is how they were supposed to be or if they were undercooked. Otherwise, a bit too sweet for me with the simple syrup.

CT says: I really liked the beignets – they were like mini-doughnuts, so what’s not to like? I didn’t think they were too gooey inside. However, the syrup was a little too sweet for me too. It was ok at first and I liked the orange-y flavor, but after the beignets soaked up more of the syrup, it became a bit too intense. I wished they served the syrup on the side so I could’ve dipped into it instead.

I decided on the Ashta (traditional Lebanese clotted cream with orange blossom simple syrup and bananas). This just sounded really unique and interesting to me (and apparently to my Dad too). I am glad I ordered this. The cream was rich and creamy, but light at the same time. Yes, I just used the same word to describe itself. The same syrup that was on CT’s beignets was not as overpowering. The bananas didn’t really add much.

All in all, this was a fantastic way to end CT’s birthday celebrations for this year. It was super reasonable at $42 and a bargain at $35. ilili is a bit of a hidden gem on Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District. It doesn’t get much press although it puts out a tasty and unique product. I would definitely recommend stopping in even if it’s only for some drinks and appetizers.

© TT for The Feisty Foodie, 2011. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Flatiron, restaurant week

Before I left for Peru, ILILI began offering brunch in their spacious (I mean huge – I think the place holds 250 people?!) restaurant, and invited bloggers to come sample their brunch menu.  Despite brunch’s ill reputation as a service most kitchens hate to offer and as one of those things that many people just love saying “I’d rather make my own brunch at home and get exactly what I want without sitting on top of other people, I actually enjoy brunch out quite a bit.  It’s true that at the end of the day, what is so unique about brunch menus?  It’s usually the same stuff, eggs a few different ways, Benedict with some variations… (one of the ways I justify paying for this is that I do not wish to learn how to make a proper Hollandaise sauce, so will go to a restaurant and rely on them to make it for me!). 

Well, ILILI rocks the boat with its Mediterranean spin on the brunch menu.  Instead of simply offering Mediterranean twists on classic dishes, they also offer some truly unique dishes. 

The brunch menu is structured as a $25 prix fixe, which includes a ‘normal’ brunch drink (American coffee, orange juice, or grapefruit juice) and a choice of pomegranate cava, mimosa or bellini.  I chose the bellini, but wound up trading for the pomegranate cava, which was much bubblier and happier, suiting my mood better. 

We chose to add a bread basket ($9) to our selections, because we were feeling munchy and why not? 

I tried a bit of everything and found myself enamored of the lemon almond blondie, dense and moist, very lightly sweet.  To be honest, though, my dining companion and I found ourselves with near exactly opposite opinions on each item; he didn’t appreciate the almond blondie, nor the dark corn-muffin-looking piece which boasted a hint of maple, slightly smokey and to me, yummy, while the croissant had an herb mixture I found displeasing to my palate, and the crumb-topped apple muffin – containing real chunks of apple within – wasn’t to my liking, but he enjoyed both greatly.  The scone was a toss-up for both of us; in the end, it worked out well for us both, as we didn’t have to fight for anything in the basket. 

I’d asked a friend what I should order here, and he’d mentioned that though there are the standard eggs benedict (two different kinds – one even with truffle hollandaise), I should really try the more unique offerings.  I’m glad I did – above is my order of the chakchouka cocotte, which turned out to be basically eggs baked into a spiced tomato sauce.  It was so good – the tomato sauce dollop atop it boasted a lovely sweetness, while the eggs were fragrant with the spices used to cook it (which I can’t exactly name for you – these are not spices common in my pantry, so I certainly can’t name them offhand).  The nuggets of hashbrown dumplings were amazing – crisp, crisp exterior with a super chewy (like mochi!) interior, but when I questioned the extremely talented John Shim, a chef at ILILI, he said it was simply grated potato and onion, much like a latke, and fried properly.  SO good. 

I was impressed with the eggs being baked in this sauce and yet not overcooking whatsoever – my yolks remained liquid gold and delicious.  (Yes, I love raw egg yolk, and have since I was a small child… mmm)

For my side, I opted for the grilled beets with aleppo honey butter.  The aleppo was slightly spicy, but unevenly spread across the beets, which proved a bonus point for me.  I enjoyed this dish greatly but honestly, I love beets so you could probably feed them to me nearly any old way and I’d love them. 

My dining companion ordered the veal bacon.  Speaking to Chef Massoud after our meal, we mentioned to him how much we adored the veal bacon – and he explained its existence was partially out of deference to the many non-pork-eating people from the area which this cuisine represents.  Smoky, but not overwhelmingly so, the meat on this bacon was so tender, you could pull it apart.  Oh my, this was simply fabulous.  I think I could eat this every day for the rest of my life and not feel guilty; it wasn’t particularly fatty or oily, which is nice so early in the day. 

Wanting to try more of the menu, we opted to add on hommus, which is, in all honesty, a pretty standard dish from this part of the world as well.  However, this was anything but standard.  Fluffy, creamy, with absolutely no graininess nor contrasting texture – which, in this case, worked – I was blown away by the hommus.  I’ve eaten a lot of hommus in my life, and this was simply fabulous.  I asked Chef Massoud what his secret was, but he told me that it was simplicity.  Nothing fancy to this hommus, with very few ingredients.  If memory serves, it contained about 3 ingredients (chickpeas, tahini and lemon juice).  And it was amazing. 

This was served with very airy and hot pita – each one was puffed up like a pillow! – that we could have had replenished, but nearing that wall, we declined politely.  I could have spooned that lovely hommus straight into my mouth and consumed it that way, quite honestly… and been very happy. 

Another dish my friend had recommended was the katayef, or a Lebanese pancake.  We opted for the fresh fruit one, topped with strawberries, lots of almond slivers, and a mound of (yes, there’s something in the center of that ball!) what we thought was cheese (think it is called ashta, and a quick Google doesn’t really tell me much).  Since I’m not a fan of crepes, I only had a teeny bite, but my dining companion seemed quite taken with his choice.  The ‘cheese’ spread nicely all over and was very tasty, he said. 

It also came with a small dish of what he said was rosewater (but really, orange blossom) syrup.  He used this sparingly on the katayef, and still enjoyed it thoroughly. 

I have to say, I was impressed that without fail (minus that croissant/herby thing in the bread basket), I enjoyed each and every single one of these dishes.  (Yes, I told Chef Massoud this to his face, and he laughed at my bluntness… I think.  Or me.)  It isn’t often that I absolutely adore everything in a meal with no exceptions, and coming pretty close is also not an easy feat.  I guess I always find something to complain about or dislike, but this time, I am really hard pressed to tell you that I disliked anything – even the herby croissant wasn’t bad, per se, just not pleasing to my palate – someone out there likes how that tastes. 

Yvo says: I highly, highly recommend brunch here – I already want to go back.  Though you may initially think $25 is way too much for brunch, after you see what you get for it – after you eat it – you will realize that it is totally worth it.  The ingredients are top notch and everything tastes so good (we opted to add on the hommus and the bread basket, but you’d definitely be full just ordering from the prix fixe menu), you’ll find yourself wishing for extra stomach space so you can eat more stuff.  Especially the knafe dessert, which I was too stuffed to sample, but it has my name on it and I’m going back for it… oh yes indeed.  I will be back for that two-person-knafe… nom nom nom
highly recommended brunch

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2010. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Brunch

When I go there, there was already a line out the door.  Uh oh.

One of the owners was outside handing out menus and collecting coupons.  Apparently in addition to press/bloggers, they handed out free lunch coupons too. This caused some confusion as you couldn’t just walk up and get in line, at least not with being a little sneaky.

The line moved relatively quick. I got a chance to check out the decor.  Very nice and clean inside.  Notice the chick peas used as decoration(what hummus is made out of for those that don’t know).

In addition to the free wrap or plate, you could get a drink.  I chose Iced Tea.  It had some fresh mint in it and you could see the tea leaves on the bottom as proof of homemade tea.  It was sweet, but not overly so.

I decided to order the Hummus Chicken Wrap(all natural chicken breast, hummus, tahini, organic onions & greens).  The only sides they have are salads or hummus.  I tried to order their Organic Rice Pudding too, but was told only one item per person.  This was odd since it was an opportunity for people to try all the restaurant had to offer.

Luckily, they had their ordering system down pat, so it was only a short wait until your number was called.  No mass confusion that most restaurants usually experience when they first open.

The wrap was a good size.  Unfortunately, it was a bit dry and under-flavored.  I didn’t see any hot sauce offered and it could have used it.  The wrap also broke easily which made it a bit difficult to eat.  I will chalk up these problems to grand opening issues and the amount of volume they were processing to get everyone their food as quick as possible.  I will have to try again in a couple weeks to see how if all the kinks are worked out.  Thanks to Nanoosh for the complimentary lunch.

© TT for The Feisty Foodie, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: TT

Almost a month ago (sad face – is this post relevant anymore?), HB, StB, SpB and I all went out for dinner.  I didn’t realize when the restaurant names were being thrown around - I didn’t offer an opinion since I didn’t have one – that Naya was just opening.  In fact, we went on Day 2.  Does this give me the right to cast my opinion?  Well, maybe I should discount the weird service then – you can read about it here. 

So I’m just going to throw it out there, the pictures of what we ate, the companion post to StB’s post, if you will.

HB’s falafel

Complimentary olives, pita chips, tapenade

HB’s stuffed grape leaves

StB’s kibbe

Pita bread

Lemonade – this was actually quite tasty.

SpB’s potatoes were oregano’d, slightly spicy and really yummy.

SpB’s kibbe sampler platter.  I think she liked it, though she didn’t finish it.

SpB’s fries.  Good.  So they know how to do potatoes.

My kofta entree.  Actually, I don’t know what it was called.  I do know that the lamb reminded me of kofta/kofte in Turkey in texture, amazingly soft! but flavorwise was just alright.  The grilled zucchini was alright, though I really liked the rice “tower” on the side – similar to rice pilaf, made with stock and little toasted noodle-like strands throughout it.  Yummy.  The pizza looking thing?  I have no idea what that was or why it was on my plate, and it had way too much oregano for my tastes.  That was the only thing I didn’t finish though.  I liked my plate enough but not enough to go back.

Yvo says: At $26/person, it wasn’t expensive nor cheap, and while I liked my food enough, I don’t think I’d go back just for that.  Nothing on the menu was special and I didn’t see anything that I really wanted to try, either.  If you read my notes, this is what it says at the end which sums it all up nicely: “nothing outstanding“.  Nothing special here, besides the decor if you’re into that sort of spaceship like thing. 
middle of the road – not horrible but not great either

Naya Mezze & Grill
1057 Second Avenue
New York, NY
212-319-7777

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2008. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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