As soon as I sat down, I was handed a cocktail menu – and of course had to order the Grapefruit Soften.  Soften = Elderflower, and though my elderflower obsession has waned a little bit (insomuch where I was going through a bottle of syrup every month, and I currently have the same bottle from a few months ago), I will still order it whenever I see it on the menu.  Stoli vodka, grapefruit juice, orange bitters and elderflower – I think this might’ve been better with a floral gin like, ahem, Bombay Sapphire (my personal fave gin), but the drink might’ve felt a little too summery then.  As it was, a very nice take off of the classic screwdriver, and I happily drank this. 

I ordered brussels sprouts & bacon because something about seeing this on the menu makes me order it, though I’m more than capable of making these excellently myself.  I asked MK if she’d eat any and she said, “Well, I’ll eat the bacon…” hahaha! HB tried some, commenting that she doesn’t like brussels sprouts usually – finding them too bitter (and I said “then they’re undercooked”) – but thought she might like them better since these were cut apart.  She was right – she thought these were much tastier than ‘sprouts she’s had in the past.  I thought these were fine, but really, cut apart, cooked in butter, then tossed with crispy chunks of bacon… There’s nothing in that explanation that I don’t like.  MK happily ate all the bacon… and some of the butter.  I prefer eating my ‘sprouts in halved form, though, and roasted. 

I ordered the wiener schnitzel, and while it looks the same as that at Wallse, it was markedly cheaper, and the breading stayed on the schnitzel.  HB and I both liked it better here than at Wallse – I thought this was perfectly cooked, tender, flavorful, and just made better by the lingonberry sauce.  The potato-cucumber salad was very tasty as well. 

Most people ordered wiener schnitzel or this – the jaeger schnitzel, which was schnitzel topped with mushroom/bacon gravy, buttery, rich gravy, that MK all but drank from her plate.  I guess she liked it?  I tried a bit but I don’t really remember it to be honest.  I know she was very happy with it though! 

MK ordered the Sacher Torte, which she appeared to find too goopy sweet – it was pretty dense and sweet.  The top was fudgy while the cake itself tasted a bit nutty, like hazelnuts almost. 

Since I’d like it last time, I ordered the salzberger nockerl, or merengue on top of huckleberries. 

This was too much for just me, so I passed it around the table, and everyone seemed to like it.  I really like the airy puff of cloud on top, and the tart huckleberries do a good job cutting through the sweetness.  A nice end to a pleasant meal!

Yvo says: The food was markedly better than Wallse, and the service was also very pleasant while we took up the huge long wooden table in the middle of the restaurant.  Very casual, laidback atmosphere – I would definitely return, if I didn’t think it was in the middle of nowhere- the above brunch, with most of us getting coffee, a cocktail, dessert, etc. plus paying for the birthday girl came to $45/person… not so bad. 
brunch is recommended

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2012. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: schnitzel

When I saw housemade rhubarb strawberry soda on the menu, I knew what I had to get.  Imagine my shock when I realized I’d ordered an $8 soda.  Um.  It tasted good – like what it was supposed to – but $8 for a soda is just not acceptable.  I’ll make this at home next time with my once-a-season rhubarb bunch (in my CSA). 

One of the appetizers listed was housemade potato chips with I believe Roquefort cheese. These arrived quickly (there was no one else in the restaurant), hot and freshly fried… doused in the melty Roquefort.  I liked how crispy they were, but I would have preferred the blue cheese be served on the side.  It warmed and just… made the chips soggy eventually.  Wah. 

And then the main event arrived: fried chicken, with fried okra, mac&cheese… and three pieces of fried chicken.  Yum! 

The fried okra wasn’t quite as crispy as I’d have liked, and could have used a little salt.  A nice munch while eating the fried chicken, since I didn’t have to wipe my fingers to use a fork to eat them. 

The mac&cheese was a little too bland for me, with a very mild cheese used. 

As for the star of the show… the chicken.  Disappointingly, my favorite piece, the thigh, was missing.   

A breast, a drumstick and a wing piece appaeared, but the thigh… gone.

So I picked up a drumstick and began nomming. 

The chicken was juicy and flavorful.  Crispy exterior.  But it lacked something, a little oomph.  I thought it could be better, that while the meat was juicy, the exterior crisp… it lacked a bit of seasoning or salt.  A sprinkle of salt or a bit of seasoning in the batter would do this chicken wonders, it’s a shame that it was missing.  Maybe this was an off night?  I’m not really sure… But it’s also on the expensive side (not just the soda, but everything), so I’m not entirely sure when I’ll revisit.  Hmm. 

Yvo says: I love the fact that Bubby’s is open late, so you can get your fried chicken fix anytime you need.  I was too full for dessert after eating, but they also have a lovely pie selection.  Unfortunately, the chicken lacks in just that one area, and it’s definitely somewhat pricey, but given that you can go anytime you want… perhaps that’s justified.  Hmm.  Definitely some thought for me to return, but your reasons for going may be different from mine.  Lots of pie! 
middle of the road

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Post tags: fried chicken, soda

While we were browsing the menu, three types of salsa and a basket of crisp tortilla chips were placed in front of us.  The chips were not stale – a recent pet peeve of mine when munching on this sort of snack – and the salsas ranged in heat level, and were clearly homemade.  Not bad. 

Happy hour beer specials included Modelo for $5, so I said, eh, when in Rome, why not?  Don’t ask me how it was.  I wasn’t a fan, but I didn’t expect to be. 

But we went onwards with ordering copious taco platters.  Here’s the thing.  They didn’t limit us, and our server was absolutely fantastic.  She kept coming back to ask us if we wanted more, if we wanted more beer, if we needed anything else.  Awesome.  The deal: $15 for all you can eat tacos, and you choose the protein.  Fish, pork, chicken, vegetarian (which were portobello mushrooms, I believe).  Each platter comes with 3 tacos.  We had to order by the platter, but we could order as many as we liked at a time.  For example: my first order was one fish and one pork.  This was separate from everyone else’s orders, which ranged from “one of each, please” to “vegetarian only”. 

The first to arrive for all of us were the fish tacos. 

Little nuggets of lightly fried fish on a corn tortilla, dressed with a bit of a spicy sauce, some lettuce, and cotija cheese: these were good fish tacos.  The spicy drizzle actually was just the slightest bit too much for me, but you know, I dealt with it.  I would have liked some sauce on the side for me to put as much or as little as I liked, and maybe more tomato… and cilantro.  Love cilantro. 

I took a quick pic of Cookie’s vegetarian tacos, but I didn’t hear from her how they were. 

Next to come out were the pork tacos. 

Pork shredded, again dressed similarly.  I thought this was okay, slightly dry, not quite juicy enough.  Again, I wanted something extra to it, but t’was not to be. 

Last and sort of least was the chicken.  I didn’t actually order any, because I don’t generally like to order chicken from restaurants. 

I was glad when I heard the general consensus was that the chicken tacos were awfully dry, and the least favorite. 

We ordered a few more rounds – my next order was a single platter of fish tacos, since I’d liked those best.  And by the end of the night, the numbers went like this:

Goats: 20
TC: 19
BeerBoor: 18
Cheese & Yasmine: 10 each
Yvo: 8
Cookie: 4

Then I posed the kicker of a question to the super awesome waitress: “So, if we came in and it wasn’t happy hour, how many tacos come to an order?”  I’d already checked the regular menu, and it was $15 – 17 per order, depending on what protein you chose.  She looked at me, smiled, and said “Three.  Just like what you just got.”  So… yep, each order we got normally goes for $15, and we each had at least two orders.  Nice!  (And there was no suggestion that if we didn’t finish a taco, we’d have to pay for it individually.  I’m sure if you waste a lot of food, they’ll do something about it, but I’m just saying they don’t go into it trying to stop you from ordering as much as you like.)

GREAT DEAL. 

Yvo says: Seriously, were you not reading?  The tacos – particularly the fish tacos – were quite tasty, and for the happy hour price of $15 all you can eat, a total steal.  I would totally recommend the happy hour – and there are other things on the happy hour menu, but we were very focused on getting all the tacos we could eat.  Yum! 
recommended

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Post tags: all you can eat, fish tacos, happy hour, tacos

Yes, Matsugen has closed – permanently as far as we know – but I enjoyed this last meal of sorts, so I’m posting it for you to enjoy vicariously in case you weren’t able to get there before it closed.  Interested in seeing what Jean Georges will put there next…

I visited Matsugen once when it first opened, and I worked downtown.  I marked it as good, but a bit out of the way for me and I would unlikely return.  Well, Matsugen remained out of the way for me, as I quit my job to return to school, and I am rarely, if ever, in TriBeCa.  But about a month ago, I was informed it would be closing within the week, and I realized I had business to attend to a brisk walk away, so I decided to go for lunch after I’d taken care of said business.   

One of the things that had changed since I went almost 3 years ago was the addition of a three course lunch prix fixe, $26. 

This includes fried soba noodles, a nice little snack to munch on as I waited for my food to come out. 

In my first visit to Matsugen for lunch, I’d happily ordered the yuzu jelly and uni appetizer, though it’d cost us $24.  On this lunch visit, though it was clearly listed on the lunch menu posted outside the door as being part of the lunch prix fixe, when I got inside, it wasn’t on the printed menu.  When I asked, the host said “Oh, maybe you saw it on the dinner menu?” – no, sir, it was on the lunch menu, but I shrugged and instead of arguing, just added it to my meal for $9.  Obviously, this was quite a smaller portion than what I’d received at $24… which was a good thing, because there was no way I could eat the big portion we’d had last time. 

In any case, though the aesthetics continue to be bothersome with such a dish, I found this thoroughly enjoyable.  The citrusy zing from the yuzu jelly complemented the salty creaminess of the uni perfectly.  And though last time I lamented the lack of textural contrast, I found this time no issue with that (though had I, a sprinkling of fried soba would surely clear that up!).  Yum.  I will certainly miss this dish greatly. 

I also chose to add, for $5, a yuzu cherry soda (housemade).  Unfortunately, though the color was so promising and the flavor combination wonderful to imagine, this fell flat, without much cherry or yuzu showing up to the party.  Pleasant enough to drink, just not much of what I’d ordered it to taste – yuzu and cherry.  Ah well. 

Part of the prix fixe was an appetizer sampler.  Yes, that’s an appetizer sampler – pretty big, right?

First up: a sushi trio, with a spicy tuna, California (with real crab), and a salmon avocado piece each.  Fresh, light tasting, without the spicy tuna being too spicy, all of it very light and fresh.  Yum. 

Yuba sashimi was the next little plate – tofu with a bit of skin.  If you like tofu, awesome; it was good, but I’m not like omg tofu yay! so it was just good. 

Spring mix with some standard veggies, and a sesame dressing: again, very light.  I didn’t feel at all like I was eating too much to enjoy the main course. 

The fourth and final plate in the appetizer sampler was tempura, unlike what you might expect.  Light, airy, non-greasy, with two shrimp and an assortment of veggies that were all very yummy.  I think it was sweet potato, okra (yes, I was surprised, but I could be wrong – there was a veggie that took me off guard, though).   

My main course – choice of hot or cold soba, and though I like hot soba plenty, the cold soba choice was spicy sesame inaka soba.  Inaka soba is not widely available in New York City, so I went for that one: inaka soba is made with the husk incorporated to create a coarser strand with a nice, hefty chew to the noodles.  Though described as spicy sesame, there wasn’t enough spice in the dish to make me uncomfortable (I’m rather a wuss when it comes to spiciness)… The topping boasted chicken, greens. 

But what blew me away, absolutely robbed my consciousness as my eyes rolled backwards in my head… the texture of each noodle was amazing.  I like soba, but when I make it at home or even when I eat it at restaurants, I’m forever looking for it to be just a bit more al dente, a little less cooked, a little chewier… well, this was what I’ve been looking for.  Perfect.  Chewy, with just the right amount of heft to each strand.  Yes, the ground chicken, the spicy sesame, they did their part in making this dish transcendent, but the star of the bowl was definitely the soba.  Oh goodness, that soba… and now I will spend the rest of my life searching to duplicate the experience.  Sigh. 

The third and final course was vanilla custard. 

I actually didn’t finish this.  The texture of the custard was good, but the syrup topping was slightly bitter – a slight burnt taste to it, honestly, which I couldn’t get into and decided to just let the meal end on a positive note instead of stuffing my face to discomfort. 

Mmm… and my total?  $26 prix fixe + $9 uni appetizer + $5 soda = $40, which tax & tip took me to $55.  Was it worth it?  Absolutely. 

Unfortunately, as Matsugen is now closed, there’s no reason for me to post my normal “Yvo says” or “recommended/not” – it is what it is.  I was a little disappointed in the end that I discovered the perfect soba, just as Matsugen was closing… but I was grateful that I had the chance to go not once, but twice during its life, and that I learned what I want from my soba.  I will definitely seek inaka soba whenever I can… and if you have a lead for me, please let me know!  I already checked my favorite soba restaurants. 

Thanks, and as always, happy eating! 

PS By the way – I realized I didn’t make it clear in the rest of the post. I overheard at the restaurant that the reason Matsugen is closing is because the chef’s work visa expires and instead of renewing it, he’d like to return to Japan. I don’t blame him one bit, though I wonder how things have changed for him in the time since Matsugen closed, what with the earthquake, tsunamis, radiation… it is really a scary, sad time for Japan. I hope he is well.

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2011. | Permalink | 15 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Jean Georges, soba, uni

For one of my last meals before going (temporarily) meatless, I headed over to Capsuoto Freres with the gang of (mostly) foodie friends, where we celebrated StB‘s exciting news (which is hers to share with the blogosphere, if she so chooses, when she so chooses, ie, not my place to tell).  She’d read that this place had amazing souffles, and we were all eager to try the food.

As it turns out, Capsuoto Freres is in the middle of nowhere in northwestern TriBeCa.  I’ve been called out on this blog before for what I consider acceptable/convenient in terms of location, but too bad: the street was deserted at 7pm on a Thursday, the cab driver only vaguely knew where it was, and it is at least a 10 minute walk through a dead neighborhood from the train station to get here.  The restaurant itself was fairly empty as well, with only a few other parties scattered around (this is a plus though, not too noisy and not crowded). 

The hostess seated us immediately after someone took our coats, despite our party not being complete.  While we waited for the rest of our friends to arrive, this was placed on our table.

Mini toasts with pate, a gherkin pickle and what I want to say was sweet onion or sweet pepper relish – it distinctly added a sweetness to the whole bite.  I really enjoyed mine and was pleased that this should indicate good things to come. 

Once everyone had arrived, the wine had been ordered, and we were into our conversations flying around the large table – which, had the place been more crowded or noisy, would have been a negative, as I hate having to shout across the table to hear my companions – we began the wait for our entrees.  No appetizers had been ordered, but the wait seemed interminable, even though conversation flowed freely.  I was drinking and happily buzzed enough that I should not have leaned over to ask SpB twice “What is taking the food so long?” 

SpB’s dish arrived first.  Shrimp and scallops on fresh pasta.  No complaints but no raves either; I’m sure this was perfectly satisfactory.

HB’s poached salmon with an herb vinaigrette (so the menu says).  Quoting directly from our conversation afterwards via BBM: “So there was nothing special about the salmon.  It was cooked well but for some reason had a seafood taste to it – as in a not all that fresh seafood smell.  The sauce it was in was good but a little heavy.”  I asked her if it was typical French then, and she said “No, typical French is better.”  (French food is actually HB’s preferred cuisine.) 

ShB ordered shrimp and wild mushroom ravioli and told me in the cab afterwards that it was nothing special; the ravioli themselves had tasted rather bland and uninteresting, while the mushroomy stuff at the top (I didn’t sit near her, so I can’t say for sure what it was) was a bit salty.  She postulated that perhaps she had been meant to eat the two items together, and perhaps that was her fault, but I think her ravioli could have tasted at least marginally interesting, considering the ingredients. 

StB, AB, BB and I all ordered the sweetbreads with mushroom fricassee.  AB and I sat next to each other and both of us were overwhelmingly disappointed.  Bearing in mind that this was her third time having sweetbreads and my second time, we both mused that perhaps we were spoiled by really good first (and second) experiences.  (My first experience here)  The sweetbreads were super chalky and mealy, boasting that organ taste that I so do not like.  I wasn’t thrilled with my dish, though the accompanying veggies were fine. 

BB also found the sweetbreads to be a little chalky, but said this was only her 2nd time having them and she thought that’s how they’re supposed to taste.  I hope we go get some really good sweetbreads soon so she knows what they truly are meant to be

StB’s opinion here.

And onwards to the dessert souffles!

SpB and AB both ordered the raspberry souffle.

StB and I ordered the hazelnut souffle.

The waiters poked holes in the souffle, poured in creme anglaise and then topped with whipped cream.

BB ordered the special, tangerine souffle.

ShB ordered the chocolate souffle.

We pretty much covered the entirety of the sweet souffle menu.  BTW – we only ordered this many because the waiter insisted that they were small and that we wouldn’t want to share.  I could barely finish mine.  In the souffle’s defense, I suppose I didn’t know what a souffle was exactly – I was not expecting it to taste so eggy, though everyone else assured me this was normal.  I found my hazelnut souffle to have only one bite that was pretty good, the rest just… didn’t appeal to me.  It was more savory than sweet, fairly plain tasting, and nothing stood out for me.  Except it tasting like egg.

No one around the table particularly liked the souffles, and at $10 each it seemed like a huge rip off.  I was hugely meh on it.  Ironically, for StB, the best part of the souffle was the hazelnut pieces sprinkled within; that was the worst part for me, as it would be smooth souffle and then suddenly a hard bit.  You know I love textures in food, but this just did not mesh well in my opinion. 

Did I mention that though we’d all ordered our souffles when we’d ordered our entrees, they took another 20 minutes to come? 

Service was great though, we were never ignored or harassed, and the waitstaff was extremely friendly and cheery.

While we were eating our souffles, this plate landed on our table – miniature poundcake bites and candied orange peel.  I liked both quite a bit.

Yvo says: How do I put this delicately?  I suppose I can’t.  I don’t want to detract from our celebratory dinner, but the fact is, after dinner, StB told me “the food was really mediocre” and I said “The service, the atmosphere, the decor, ambiance – everything but the food was great.”  Of the food items consumed, my two favorite parts were the amuse bouche and – you guessed it – the mini poundcakes and candied orange peel.  Nothing else was tasty enough for me to even say “Maybe it was an off night.”  I feel bad for saying it, as the owner himself even came over to say hi and talk to us briefly, but the food really just… didn’t do it for me.  I did walk away feeling positive, if only for the great company, conversation, service, ambiance, but this place is pretty out of the way just for those things.  I’d do better to stay home with a bottle of wine and a few friends.
not recommended

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Post tags: Bistro, Desserts