The menu is pretty simple, covering just one side of the page.

We started off with the kara age or fried chicken pieces – I’d been disappointed with the kara age at Tabata, our current favorite ramen place (I’ve eaten there at least 5-6x now, not bothering to review the followups, but have tried other things there), so I was eager to have it elsewhere. This did not disappoint – fried perfectly crisp on the outside, juicy meat on the inside, and seasoned very nicely. The slaw on the side was just nice to munch on but nothing special. I was really happy that we were off to such a good start.

DLS chose the miso ramen, the only one served with curly noodles.  I know for sure he enjoyed his bowl very much, and I tried his noodles and really liked them as well. The perfect texture – a bit of bounce, good chew, and just perfectly cooked… it was good. He did note that it was spicier than he expected, but nothing unbearable.

I chose the shio ramen, as that’s generally my first order at any ramen place for comparison’s sake. It’s my preferred type of broth… usually. I had a lot of issues with my bowl. First, to get the good stuff out of the way: the pork slices were perfectly tender and fragrant, melting in my mouth nicely. Yeah, that’s all the good I can say about my bowl, really: the broth was well-made, but I found it agitating and annoying that someone decided they should add a ton of yuzu pepper/seven spice. When I order shio ramen, I expect the broth to be light, salty, ‘sweet’ – if I wanted to add spices, I could use the bottle of pepper on the table to pump the spice level. It wasn’t unbearably spicy, it was just enough to tickle my tongue and annoy me, as that’s not what I wanted when I ordered that. That’s not to say that you won’t enjoy this: maybe everyone in the world likes things this way, and I’m odd. Regardless, I found that a negative… and one that I could and would overlook, had I enjoyed my noodles.

Oh, my noodles: gummy, floury, tasting mushy and yet uncooked at the same time – they were just not good. I had a hard time eating a lot of them because they just tasted so bad – seriously, all I tasted was uncooked flour and mushy noodles. I was pretty upset by this – given that I’d looked forward to this so much and honestly, I’d read so many good things about the noodles. Why did my noodles suck so bad?!

Now, I know many people who have gone since then, and before me as well, and not a single person has reported the same issue I had. I’m inclined to believe that I got the one bad batch (and DLS tried some of my noodles and agreed with my assessment, so I’m not crazy), but given the location being super far from just about everything and anything that I personally do, and my bad noodles plus not enjoying the broth that much… I seriously doubt I will give this another try.

To rinse the uncooked flour taste out of my mouth, we decided to share a green tea ice cream – served with red bean paste, toasted buckwheat, barley molasses and soybean powder for $3.  I was surprised to see so much of the ice cream melted before it got to us, but I liked the toppings and thought the serving was the perfect size (and price) for a quick sweet bite to end our meal. It was definitely more interesting than just a scoop of ice cream – and you know how I love texture in food, so the contrasting crunch was much appreciated.

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend nor not-recommend this place. My noodles were unforgivably un-tasty, and I just didn’t like the broth. I do recognize that enough people have gone and liked the noodles that my batch must have been just a bad one… but as I mentioned, given its location and my personal experience, it is highly unlikely I will be returning (unless one of my friends insists that I give it a re-do, which has happened with several of my recent negative reviews already). Service was extremely friendly and pleasant, and the space is nice and comfortable as well. Oh, be warned- it is kid friendly, which may be a negative for those of you who don’t have kids. (I had the absolute pleasure of sitting next to a kid whose parents spoiled the crap out of him. I don’t care if I was there for only 10 minutes of their rearing him, if you don’t wake up until we’re about to leave, we’re leaving anyway and you can eat at home. You don’t get to tell me that we’re staying just because you don’t feel like going home. That’s how my parents raised me.)

If you do decide to check Jin out, do let me know about your experience. I’m really curious about my noodles and if it’s possible I got the single lone horrible batch…

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2012. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: DLS, fried chicken, Ice cream, Ramen

Before we did that, though, we had to fuel up for walking around, right? So I picked Isabella’s for its proximity to the museum (okay, that’s a lie; I didn’t realize just HOW close it was when I picked it, but it is right across from the southern flank of the museum).

A glass of the Bella Vita on the left for me (sparkling basil-lavender lemonade) and iced tea for DLS on the right. I love sparkling drinks, so it was a no-brainer; unfortunately, the basil and lavender were both very faint, though I would rather that than an overabundance of lavender.

DLS chose the mushroom omelet – apparently he loves mushrooms – and I know he really liked it because he kept telling me try some. The mushrooms were tender and swathed in a perfectly cooked blanket of egg, a slight cheese touch to bring it all together. He was quite happy with his dish.

Surprising exactly no one, I chose the smoked salmon benedict, one of my absolute favorite brunch dishes (mostly because it’s unlikely I’ll make this at home); the lemony Hollandaise mixed with the perfectly poached eggs, running over the smoky salmon and the crisp buttermilk biscuits… just fantastic. I was clutching my stomach in pain by the time I had to call it quits, and I wanted to keep going, it was so good. The potatoes were also great – seasoned strongly, with enough flavor to make anyone forgo ketchup seeking… just a great brunch pre-museum, without question.

I should note that though I failed to photograph it, the bread basket came with this lemon poppyseed pound cake that was addicting, and I had trouble not eating it all and ruining my appetite for the meal ahead. It came with a flavored whipped butter as well that we both enjoyed as well… The bread basket alone was simply fantastic.

Yvo says:  I really enjoyed my brunch at Isabella’s, and would not hesitate to suggest a repeat visit – though we didn’t have to wait this time, I’ve heard that the wait times can be a bit excessive at times. Service was pleasant, and prices were in line with what I expect to pay for brunch – especially in that area.  Yum!
recommended brunch

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2012. | Permalink | 15 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Brunch, DLS, salmon benedict

I have this thing for root beer, especially brewers I haven’t yet experienced. Fitz’s is one such brand – I thought it was a nice, light root beer, without a dominating root taste (some root beers can be super birchy or licoricey and I don’t like that). It wasn’t too thick or too sweet, but just the right balance. I would definitely order this again and give it a try if you like root beer.

Just one of the many reasons I adore Sarah is that while she went straight to looking at dessert, I was drawn to the cheese&meat platter… but she was game to get both, so why not? I sadly have no memory recall for names of meats and cheeses (which gets me in trouble when I try to remember what I liked next time), but each and every single one of these was delicious, while we both had our favorites. I enjoyed smearing the not-too-goaty soft cheese on the thick country bread with some apricot compote and taking nibbles of the crunchy almonds, the pickled veggies and fatty meats… so good. This was just about the perfect snack for a perfect day of bliss for both of us, still riding on our respective highs from the night prior.

As for the dessert that caught Sarah’s eye… well, I immediately said “oh my god!” when I saw it listed on the menu. Blood orange yogurt panna cotta. If you read yesterday’s post, you know why I said that: it’s what I wanted to make but failed to find any blood oranges. Well, good to know that other people far more culinarily talented than I had the same idea…! Plus they were able to execute it to this – just astonishingly delicious level; the panna cotta was creamy, smooth, and while it was apparent that it was made from yogurt, it didn’t affect my enjoyment of it, wow. The blood orange countered the sweetness perfectly and honestly, overall, this is just the heights of dessert that I can only hope to achieve one day; the perfect bite with a bit of acidity from the blood orange, a little sweetness, and then texture from the chocolate layer. Absolute perfection. Sarah and I agreed: this was dessert nirvana.

Yvo says: This was the perfect shared afternoon snack for two girls to gab while devouring; service was pleasant and unobtrusive, the light inside TWC is perfect in the early afternoon, and it just continued our happy highs for the rest of the day…. parfait!
highly recommended

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2012. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: meats & cheeses, panna cotta, root beer

Exactly a week after we went to Le Bernardin, DLS took me to Jean Georges because… much like Le Bernardin, the executive pastry chef of Jean Georges, Johnny Iuzzini, was leaving at the end of 2011.  Of course, I’ve actually ‘worked with’ Johnny in the past (click the link earlier, you’ll see) and sampled desserts that he literally made on the spot, but it would be different to eat what he makes at the restaurant, right?  Right, and that was reason enough to have dinner here (I had lunch there earlier in the year).  

I joked how ‘lucky’ DLS was that Dominique Ansel had already vacated the executive pastry chef position at Daniel – and how lucky I was to have already been to Daniel.  Ha! 

Our amuse bouche: fluke sashimi with tarragon salt; black mission fig with house made mozzarella; roasted pepper soup with black truffle emulsion.  I particularly enjoyed the fluke sashimi, which was nice, bright, and the salt added another layer of flavor to the piece.  The soup was also a wonderful sip, and while the fig/mozzarella combo was lovely, it didn’t stand out compared to the other two. 

This time, we each did a different tasting menu so we could try more things.  We didn’t even ask last time if we could each get a different one, whoops.  DLS’s autumn menu began with ‘egg toast’ which had thin slices of toasted bread, sous vide’d egg yolks, topped with a ton of caviar.  My bite was pretty salty, even in light of what I had…

My first course on the regular Jean Georges menu, titled simply ‘egg caviar’ was served in an egg, reminiscent of the egg from Le Bernardin.  But first bite and I was overwhelmed with salt; I’m no stranger to caviar, and in fact love salt as well, but I just felt overwhelmed with this dish.  Even after I tried DLS’s, which was also pretty salty… we both agreed that this was unnecessarily and overwhelmingly salty. 

The menu has since changed, so I’m unable to give an exact description, but I believe these were scallops in a green apple and pomegranate sauce of sorts.  The scallops were either raw or barely cooked, and fabulous, with a slight sweetness from the sauce.  I enjoyed my bite very much!  (seasonal menu)

Sea scallops, caramelized cauliflower with a caper raising emulsion… quite tasty, with perfectly cooked scallops, and cauliflower that’d been perfectly caramelized on one side to develop all the sugars, delicious. 

From the autumn tasting menu: semolina gnocchi and black winter truffle; literally the pillowy-est gnocchi either of us had ever had, it barely tasted like gnocchi but instead like clouds, just puffs that were barely there.  It was almost disconcerting to think of this as gnocchi. 

JG’s menu: young garlic soup with thyme and sauteed frog’s legs; the soup itself was magnificent in its garlic fragrance.  I really enjoyed it, though I did think at one point that it would make a fabulous sauce for pasta or some other carby item.  As for the frog’s legs, I was encouraged to use my fingers and dip the frog in the soup (I was assured that rose water would be brought for me to rinse my fingers afterwards), which I did; frog tastes like a very mild white meat chicken to me, and this was no different.  Dipped in the soup, it simply served as another vehicle to ingest the delicious soup.  I shared with DLS, of course, and was amused to note that two bowls of rose water were brought over for us to each rinse our hands, with the server smilingly telling us, “I noticed you were sharing, so I brought over another bowl for [DLS] to rinse as well.”  Thoughtful, observant and not intrusive.  I can get behind that. 

From the autumn menu: crispy skin black sea bass, roasted brussels sprouts, and spiced red apple jus: very tender and tasty, though not particularly a stand out. 

From the JG menu: turbot with chateau chalon sauce; I don’t know exactly what sauce that is (and I’m sure I can Google it), but I wanted to lick my plate clean.  The turbot was firm, a very dense meat, and it was topped with a really nice mix of zucchini and tomatoes… but the sauce, oh the sauce, it pulled everything together, just delicious. 

From the autumn menu: poached lobster, saffron tapioca and Gewurztraminer foam: I don’t remember trying this, actually, but DLS said that the foam and tapioca wasn’t that good but the lobster was lobster, and good as far as that goes. 

From the JG menu: I was probably too busy eating this, lobster tartine, fenugreek and lemongrass broth, pea shoots.  Perfectly cooked, with a delicate yet flavorful broth… I’m not even sure I shared any of this. 

From the autumn menu: I don’t think this is on the menu anymore, but I believe it was venison with grilled endive.  Very meaty and cooked exactly right… not gamey… a good end to the savory portion of the menu. 

The JG menu: broiled squab, onion compote, corn pancake with foie gras: I recall this being really difficult to eat, as I struggled to cut the squab into bite size pieces… a combination of too much to drink and just the awkward shape of the bird makes this a dish I barely touched… though I liked the corn pancake with the foie gras. 

Then, the reason we were there: dessert!  The autumn menu came with the above: pomegranate sorbet, sweet potato souffle, cranberry parfait, and a white wine tart.  The item in the back right – the top part was lovely, like a toasted marshmallow.  The others were just… mmm.  Not particularly amazing in my opinion. 

The JG menu came with the chocolate dessert: roasted white chocolate sponge, chocolate peanut butter ganache, a bitter chocolate sorbet, and…

JG’s chocolate cake.  With all this fanfare, you’d think I was about to tell you how amazing it all was… nope.  The desserts were all the weakest part of the meal, and actually quite disappointing.  I don’t know what it was – did I expect more?  I just wasn’t too impressed and both of us literally left most of each dessert on the table.  Meh. 

Lovely macarons graced our table a few minutes later. 

Signature house made vanilla marshmallows, which were lovely as usual – not sticky, and just puffs of sweetened air, really. 

Pomegranate and spiced apple jellies, along with jasmine, coconut, praline and hazelnut chocolates – I definitely didn’t touch the coconut one.  Then, as the check was paid, our server came over with a small bag containing a small box of chocolates “for the lady to enjoy later” – ha, cute. 

I was wholly disappointed that dessert – the sole reason for this particular visit – was such a letdown.  Overall, though, I enjoyed the majority of our meal, even with a few dishes I’d rather forget.  A few notes, though – now that I’ve gone to three of the top restaurants in the city, and in such quick succession, I do note that Jean Georges was easily the ‘worst’ – that isn’t to say it’s bad, not at all, but relative to Le B and Daniel, I would say it would rank 3rd.  It felt slightly less posh/luxe than the other two as well; we had one server for pouring wine, explaining our dishes, and at one point he even served the bread as well – and I hope it’s abundantly clear that I’m not all “I need a team of servers for a table of two” but rather that relative to the other places, it’s something that might be expected at such a place.  Other than that, though, service was impeccable per expectations, and we had a lovely time. 

Yvo says: The food here was excellent, solidly above average, and though I didn’t like everything I ate, I still had a wonderful experience (and again, sincerest thanks to DLS!).  However, given the choice of any of the top Michelin restaurants I’ve visited now (if you include Eleven Madison Park, which I visited when it had only 1 Michelin star), Jean Georges would be last on the list.  Any of the other places would be recommended over JG for a special occasion, though it was definitely way cheaper than Le Bernardin and Daniel, so that may be something to consider.  Special occasion dining on a smaller budget for sure. 
recommended, but if I had to only pick one expensive fancy pants dinner for the year, this wouldn’t be it

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2012. | Permalink | 15 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: DLS, Jean Georges, Michelin stars

We were given a small bag with a map and a “Cafés do Brasil” lapel pin. All of the regions are primarily located in the southeastern part of Brazil. One of our hosts informed us that we would starting with a lighter roasted coffee and be working our way up to a stronger flavored brew.

The first coffee we tried was from Mogiana in the São Paulo state. It was described as “balanced body and acidity with excellent natural sweetness with a hint of cocoa flavor.” This was indeed very mildly flavored coffee. I wasn’t a fan as I prefer dark roast.

The second coffee was from Cerrado in the Minas Gerais state. It was described as “full body with intense aroma varying from caramel to nutty, light citric acidity. Light touch of orange and sweet flavor with a long-lasting chocolate aftertaste.” This read like a wine description, which made sense as coffee is just as dependent on where it is grown as grapes are for wine. With wine and coffee alike, I go by one rule: If it tastes good, drink it. I don’t get too involved in trying to pick out flavors. However, with this brew I did notice the lingering aftertaste.

The third coffee was from Planalto in the Bahia state. It was described as “perfect balance of body and acidity, natural sweetness, bringing out overtones of citrus above its rich, caramel-chocolate base. Excellent as a breakfast brew.” This coffee was more my style as it had a much richer flavor than the previous two.

Our hosts suggested we add a little bit of sugar to our samples. I usually drink my coffee black, but was willing to try it. The sugar helped transform the coffee nicely, but I’ll still drink it without.

After all of this coffee, my stomach was begging for some food. At first, the menu seemed to indicate we would have a choice of two dishes. It turned out we would be served BOTH!

First up was Pain Perdu with fresh berries and maple syrup. This was paired with the Cerrado coffee. On its own the French toast was quite sweet, but the coffee did an excellent job of cutting down the sugar. I don’t eat French toast too often, so this was a welcomed treat.

Next up was an omelette. The menu said we would be described it as “jambon et fromage Provecale. Goat cheese bail, tomato, olives served with Brazilian sausage “Linguica.” As you can see, we were not served what was described. It was a simple cheese omelette with one slice of bacon and mediocre home fries. While the omelette was cooked well, we were pretty disappointed since we had higher expectations from the menu. We were also given some more Planalto coffee.

I don’t know exactly how much coffee I drank, but I was pretty shaky the rest of the day. haha.

Cafés do Brasil week is going on now until Saturday November 19th. Check out this website for a list of participating restaurants and stores.

Thank you to our hosts for teaching us about Brazilian coffee and a nice brunch. I’ll be on the lookout for some of the darker roasts available from Brazil.

Please note that everything was courtesy of BSF and ApexBrasil. I received no monetary compensation for this review, nor was I obliged in any way to post about the food and drink, positively or otherwise. This is my own opinion and I feel it was unbiased; you are free to take from this what you will.

© TT for The Feisty Foodie, 2011. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: coffee