Blue Ribbon Sushi

I always tell people that it is un-New York to not eat sushi. It’s my little way of getting back at the people who tell me it’s un-American to not eat ice cream (which I do not like). What are the best sushi places in NYC? Probably the ones I cannot afford to go to…

Citysearch has an interesting list , with Blue Ribbon coming in a strong 4.

Of those, I have also been to Yama (love it – on Irving), Morimoto (on the most expensive blind date ever, excellent food…) and Bond Street (decent, but more sceney than foodie).

Most of these places have been in NYMag’s list for years. I won’t spoil this entry with talking about my experience at Sasabune (because nothing compares). I guess good sushi will always be a staple in New York's diet.

I had only been to Blue Ribbon Sushi once before, so it was like the first time all over again. It’s difficult for me to describe sushi. I’m just hoping most people know what it is…

The Sake Tataki (salmon tartare) is one of the best in the business. I am not a huge salmon fan (too fishy and boring) and I really liked this dish. A couple of years ago, I had my first face off with a quail egg on top of tartar. Are raw eggs good for you? I know body builders love them, why shouldn’t I?
The Kanpachi Usuzukuri (thinly sliced amberjack with yuzu pepper) was next. I have never tasted amberjack. As usual, I looked it up. There are many pictures on the web of very excited people holding up their catches. Being from Florida myself, it’s a wonder that I have never eaten amberjack, yet they are found there.
Wakame (seaweed with sesame dressing): This is just a general favorite of mine. I think it’s the sweetness and the different textures. I would much rather have seaweed salads than 8 pieces of iceberg lettuce with ginger dressing.
Spicy Tuna & Tempura Flakes with cucumber inside out… do most real sushi eaters find spicy tuna a non-choice? It is definitely the one I, and all my friends, tend to go after at every place. For a while, I told myself that I was on a quest for the best spicy tuna roll in the city. Then, I realized that was a dumb quest and that tuna are filled with mercury and I shouldn’t be eating it more than once a week.

Where have I had a spicy tuna roll you ask? Let’s go through a few places: Yama, Aki Sushi, Sumile, Taka, Lure Fishbar, Blue Ginger, Blue Ribbon, Bond Street, Haru, Hakata Grill, Natsumi… ok ok you get the point? Some spicy rolls are overly spicy (Hakata! Thankfully the one by work closed), but Blue Ribbon has hit the mark. The roll is not overloaded with the spicy mayo nor is it 90% rice, 10% fish/mayo combo.

Spicy Crab Roll (blue crab & shiso) This is just another twist on a spicy tuna roll… with crab. I happen to love fake crab (kani). However, you really need the real crab in the good rolls, which Blue Ribbon had.
Madai (japanese red snapper). This was my “random sushi piece” choice of the night. I’m sorry to mention this, but Sasabune’s snapper sushi put this piece to shame (I mentioned it again...)
The Karai Ise Ebi (spicy lobster with egg wrapper.) I decided to test this one out because it was the most unique of the sushi choices and one roll just isn’t enough to fill me up. The egg wrapper was interesting. It reminded me of a crepe, very thin, no overpowering taste. The sushi piece came with a sizeable piece of lobster, no skimping here.

Blue Ribbon Sushi is a great choice if you don’t mind spending some dough to get some grub. We waited in the entrance way and were allowed to order drinks and appetizers (people were even eating full meals there) and waited 40 minutes on a Wednesday night at 8, table of 3. As a side note, I believe the people next to us were on a date, even though they were both married. Very awkward, yet, as usual, great NYC people watching.

Braeburn

I needed a place to bring my parents. This is not easy task. It was requested that I bring them somewhere like the places I write about, yet it can’t be too expensive (so I couldn’t go crazy) and it couldn’t be loud (which took out about 95% of the restaurants I would normally try). Therefore, off I went on a search for the perfect place.

I thought I knew the west village. Yet, another restaurant has popped up that I never knew about and never would have considered going to, if not for an equally obsessed foodie friend. Thanks Nick! (No not my nick, another nick). Its reasonably priced and reasonably quiet, not to mention they liked the food (and the company, which can’t be beat!)

I feel like we all really got to know Braeburn. There were four of us. We ordered 4 appetizers and 4 entrees, basically the entire menu. For appetizers, we ate the Clam Chowder with littleneck & razor clams, chorizo, dill, the Spring Mache Salad with breakfast radish, bacon, sherry shallot vinaigrette, the Quail “Sausage” with baby white turnips, smoked mustard sauce and the Roasted Beet Salad with Braeburn apples, spicy walnuts, goat cheese fondue. I don’t really feel the urge to discuss the salads, other than to say that they were good, as salads go. The clam chowder was excellent. It was what I would consider in a light cream sauce. It’s no Capital Parker’s, but sometimes you can do without the heavy appetizer. The chowder was nicely spiced, a bit “crunchy” for my mom’s taste, which was because of the crispy dill. Sounds gross? Tasted great. The quail “sausage” not only was an interesting dish to eat, but it was also a conversation piece. What is a quail sausage you ask? Well, I assumed it was quail spiced and in the shape of sausage. I was incorrect. I still think I am correct. My dad… disagrees. Yet, we did agree that it was rather tasty and uniquely creative. I suggest that you try it, if you are adventurous enough to taste a small helpless bird that never did anything to you anyway. Sorry – a little of the old vegetarian coming out there… back to reality (oh there goes gravity).

Continuing on our tour of Braeburn, we ordered the Top Sirloin of Lamb with crushed peas, mint, and garlic sausage, the Skate with bok choy, honshemeji mushrooms and maine mussel broth, the N.Y. Striploin with grilled radicchio, pickled cippolini, and balsamic vinegar and the Petite Veal Rack with fava beans, red shallot puree, and Madeira jus. To be honest, we only ordered all of these things because everyone else, less me, wanted to order to the lamb. I told them that was ridiculous, and because I’m boss they listened... How can I write a blog about one entrée? I’m selfish… So, we all ordered different items. I had the Skate, which is like a sting-ray. You can tell if you buy it in a store, or go to a restaurant that serves you hefty portions, the you are getting a big chunk of wing (yummy thought…). I love it. I first fell in love at Lure Fishbar (excellent). But Braeburns’s skate was equally as good. I like the way you can peel apart the fish in segments. I can’t help playing with my food. I did try everything. The lamb was excellent, and although I found it to be a little fatty, it was the better of the other three entrees. The steak was cooked well, but its just a steak… The veal rack was also well received. All in all, we had a good time and an excellent meal.

Random side note that I think is cool: They also have a $30 comfort menu that you can substitute with Passover menu until April 15th (I posted too late for this to matter; assuming anyone even reads this blog and/or takes my recommendations?)

Union Sqaure Cafe

Has anyone in NYC not been to this restaurant? It’s been on the Zagats top restaurants since… I don’t know how long (literally no idea; just know it has been a while). Its part of the Union Square Hospitality Group (thanks Danny Meyer! http://www.ushgnyc.com/_pdf/company_overview.pdf).

So, I love the restaurant Cookshop. It’s not only close to my apartment, but its also consistently great food. I tend to get a lot of the same thing over and over again, but I have never been disappointed. I have heard that one of the faults of Cookshop (never in my mind) is that the menu is too small. The food is good, but there’s nothing to choose from. So, here comes Union Square Café.

They don’t have a brunch menu, its called lunch. I’m scared.

It was 1pm. Do you know where you are going to eat? (How annoying is that news channel slogan?) Turns out that lunch at USC far surpassed my imagination. In a very not-me move, I didn’t even check the menu. It wouldn’t have mattered. The menu is so large that I wouldn’t have been able to just decide in advance and stick to my decision; especially after I saw all the plates going by. I never thought I would be having seared scallops on a random Sunday lunch. That is my normal dinner go-to. We ended up splitting the scallops and the tuna salad sandwich. Yes, I typed it. Tuna Salad sandwich. I consistently refused to eat that as a child. Mayo really isn’t my thing. My mom would make my brother and herself a sandwich, and I would make my own… with honey mustard dressing. More healthy? Maybe, but that wasn’t my concern 20 lbs and 10 years earlier. I just think mayo is disgusting. (Melanie – if you are out there, feel free to post photos of the greatest all time mayo fight). I try to avoid lobster rolls with a lot of mayo (hello Klee). I make them at home with just the plain lobster on a toasted bun. Why ruin the goodness? But I digress….

As I mentioned, we split the Seared Sea Scallops (with brussels sprout-bacon farrotto and black trumpet mushrooms) and the Tuna Salad Sandwich on Tom Cat White (with slab bacon, arugula and garlic potato chips). The scallops were a no-brainer. I saw them pass. I love black trumpet mushrooms, even though I think they look like a charred green vegetable. I love USC’s scallops (check out the other link to the restaurant). They did not disappoint. As you can see to the left, the scallops were large. As you cannot see, they were also tender and cooked to perfection. The tuna sandwich was probably the best I have ever had (sorry mamma). Yes, there was mayo, but the overall taste, including the slab-o-bacon and the delicious bread glazed over my hatred. I’m glad we split it because it was enormous (my half pictured – which I couldn’t finish). USC, being the delightfully elegant place it is, split our dishes so we didn’t have to pick them apart.

I suggest that everyone give USC a try. I have now eaten there for dinner (pre-blog starting so you didn’t get the pleasure of reading what I thought on my first try) and now lunch. There’s a reason that this place has been on the top of everyone’s list for years: it’s a wonderful restaurant with excellent food, great service and a non-disturbing atmosphere. It doesn’t try to be something its not, but it puts all those places to shame. You can just ask the guy I sat across from: with hair down to his bum, covered with a doo-rag, a Redskins jersey (why?) and workman boots, the guy was enjoying a Sunday Funday with two buddies wearing their softball uniforms, drinking three bottles of red wine and some beers and eating everything on the menu. I don’t judge, I’m just glad that I wasn’t the least dressed up person in the joint.

Bar Blanc to Reopen as Bar Blanc Bistro

Bar Blanc to Reopen as Bar Blanc Bistro
Random rant: I’m not sure if this is justified, but when restaurants tout their menu as cheaper “recession friendly” and the prices are the same, something smells fishy (no pun intended). Granted, at Bar Blanc Bistro, the bar menu is cheap eats; but it’s not nearly as appetizing as the “bistro” menu.

Socarrat Paella Bar

On an unassuming street (2 blocks from my apartment, also unassuming…) in Chelsea – the best neighborhood in NYC – there is a small 20 seater restaurant called Socarrat Paella Bar. Seemingly run by a family (the guy who took my coat seemed very vested in how much I enjoyed my meal), Socarrat has been getting a lot of buzz. Therefore, because I am into the new and buzzed, I went last night to see what everyone was talking about.

The dimly lit restaurant was crowded with a different scene. The lighting and atmosphere makes you feel like you may just be in a small restaurant in Spain. The staff was extremely friendly, clearing, cleaning, suggesting dishes, partially (mostly?) because they are hurrying you along so the next person can sit. Usually, I would be annoyed by this, but I think their attitudes and the fact that the paella takes 30 minutes to cook, makes it feel like you, not them, are dictating the time. It is hard to come by a restaurant with one long table, high chairs and such a mix of old and young, business and casual. That must speak volumes of the place if so many different people are willing to give it a go (or at least speaks of the people that have reviewed the place before). They do not take reservations and I heard that the line on a Tuesday night could lead you to an hour wait. So, at 7:30 on a Thursday, I was prepared to wait at least an hour. Either the food gods were looking down on me, or the recession is taking its toll, because we only waited 5 minutes.

We started with some tapas, even though we had read that they were more or less a waste of your stomach space compared to the paella. We ordered two of the specials, the white asparagus (a favorite among us) and the lamb chop. The asparagus (available year-round, spring is the best season for fresh asparagus. Crops are harvested from late February to June, with April being the prime month) tasted and felt like they came out of a can. They were very soft in texture and overly pickled, served on a yellow cheese sauce with crispy serrano ham on top (actually the tastiest part of the dish).

The lamb, which you can see a picture of on the website or in real life to the left, was overcooked. Yet, it was nicely seasoned and the sauce and potatoes were good. Generally, I like my potatoes a little more crisp, but we were not ordering home fries with brunch, so what can I expect? Our third tapas was off the menu, the Canelones, which are a wrap of thin pasta stuffed with shrimp, spinach manchego and drizzled with vizcaina sauce. I was not in love with this dish, although it was creative and relatively good. It was one of those dishes that is hot and cold at the same time. The wrap was cold and the inside was hot. On the other hand, maybe it was sitting for a while? I don’t know.

Onto the main course: The Paella we have all been waiting for… This isn’t your mom’s paella (my mom makes a mean dish). No yellow rice and saffron. See to the left the picture of Socarrat, which refers to the sticky rice at the bottom of the pan, where the servers scrape the bottom of the cast-iron dish in order for you to get the good stuff. We ordered the Paella Socarrat. The rice was topped with chunks of chicken, fish & beef, shrimp, cuttle fish, edemame, mussels and cockle clams. You have to order the dish for 2 or more people. Its huge an takes up to 30 minutes to cook, so come prepared. At a semi-steep rate of $21/person, this paella did not disappoint. To be completely honest, the rice was awesome. However, that’s where it ended for me. I had one bad shrimp, which was overcooked, soft and hard the weirdest texture and I was done. It was really hard to get over that. My date, on the other hand, said all the shrimp he ate were great. So, guess it was just a bit of bad luck on my part. The mussels, clams and even the beef (coming from a semi-non-meat eater) were all properly cooked, which has to be hard when everything is possibly cooked together. Usually the “meats” in a paella dish are overcooked and chewy, but this was not the case here (less the bad shrimp).

They deliver and do take-out for lunch only, which may be good for office orders. This is a good place to try if you are in the neighborhood and looking for something different than the typical Asian-fusion cuisine that abounds in Chelsea.

Corner Table goes to Wine Country

Welcome to Healdsburg

When planning a trip to wine country, everyone has their own suggestions about where to go, where to stay, where to eat. Well, here is where I went, drank and ate. Do with it what you may:

Gary Farrell - full tasting and complimentary cheese. Our tour guide sure did know a lot about Gary Farrell. This is a great starting off point. We had a 10:30am reservation and were the only ones there. The tour was long enough to learn about how they make the wine, but short enough to not get bored. See below for info:
Gary Farrell Wines10701 Westside Road, HealdsburgPhone: (707) 473-2900Website: http://www.garyfarrell.com/Daily tasting and tours by appointment. View & Spacious Tasting Room, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Chardonnay.
Grove Street Wine Brokers


Merry Edwards – full tasting – Our pourer was very knowledgeable about wines. I definitely learned more about the region and wine country than I did about Merry Edwards (a change from Gary Farrell). We were sat in a private room, with no interruptions. I assume that if you are there at a busy time and not such a big group (we were 6 people) that you may share your table with others.

Siduri – This is a random spot in the middle of a business park, great small family winery
http://www.siduri.com/

Twomey – very nice building and outdoor space. Extremely friendly wine pourer. Gave us good restaurant recommendations. $5 fee, but get a wine class for free.

Twomey Cellars – 3000 Westside Road, HealdsburgPhone: (707) 942-7120Website: http://www.twomeycellars.com/

Rochioli – said to be first pinot makers in the area, contested – give grapes to gary Farrell
J. Rochioli Vineyards & Winery6192 Westside Road, HealdsburgPhone: (707) 433-230511am - 4pm. Picnic Area, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc.

Papapietro – small family owned in group of wineries

Papapietro Perry Winery4791 Dry Creek Road, HealdsburgPhone: (707) 433-0422Website: http://www.papapietro-perry.com/ Open Daily from 11 am - 4:30 pm. If you have a passion for Pinot, come join us in our tasting room.

Bella Caves – horrible wine, in caves, so interesting.
Bella Vineyards & Wine Caves9711 West Dry Creed Road, HealdsburgPhone: (707) 473-9171Website: http://www.bellawinery.com/

Martinelli – quick tasting, no personal attention.
http://www.martinelliwinery.com/

Hop Kiln: We learned that mustard is planted to supply nitrogen to wthe soil when wineries replant. So, when we were told at Twomey that there was a mustard tasting at Hop Kiln winery, we couldn't pass it up. Whats better than 100 bottles of wine to taste? 100 different kinds of mustards? Could go either way... Well, this change I enjoyed. I ended up with four different kinds of mustards, probably more mustard than I will ever need.

Lunch: Willie’s Seafood

We went to this place on a recommendation from one of the pourers at the winery. It was totally overrated, but the crab cakes and the calamari were excellent. Granted, you have to consider that we went here after a serious stop for mustard tasting at Hop Kiln and with four wineries under our belt. So, it could have gone either way.

Dinner:

In town: http://www.scopahealdsburg.com/
Scopa is a great little Italian place in the center of town. Seating is limited, with only one large table (semi-outside). But, it was packed. Even after 10pm, which I would assume in a quiet wine country town is pretty late for a neighborhood spot, people kept pouring in. The service was good, with a just-off-the-boat Italian guy helping out our knowledgable waitress. We went with a bunch of small plates, the best being the Burrata Cheese (some of the best motz I have ever had), Polpette Calabrese (Meatballs) and Lamb (small but spicy). Great thin crust pizza, but regular is the best way to go, you can skip the special.

Madrona Manor: The restaurant was very quaint yet extravagant in an old era type of way. It is expensive to stay there, but definitely worth the dinner stop. Great for a special occasion. http://www.madronamanor.com/ . There is a very liberal tasting menu – can choose you own size (3,4,5 courses and your own menu, or get the traditional tasting). Extraordinarily nice service, chef came out to greet us (young and to be honest… pretty cute). Standouts from the tasting menu included an asparagus course, with quail egg, the rabbit tasting, rabbit four different ways, fois gras tasting (I’m not a fois gras fan but I hear it was great: seared, terrine and torchon, stone fruit, savory popovers, uplandcress) and the halibut. No need to order the tuna appetizer (Oh-Toro Tuna Crudo sea beans, edamame, ginger, ponzu "froth"), it was two extremely small pieces of raw tuna on a huge plate, never a good idea.

They are famous for their homemade ice cream ($250 a lb vanilla from Tahiti, Cart "à Glace"Ice Cream Sundae, instantly hand "churned" tableside using -324º nitrogen. Served with chocolate sauce, almonds, whipped cream, cherries on top). Not an ice cream eater myself (I know, sacreligious) I was told from all the other diners that this sundae is the greatest sundae of all time. No joke.

Harbour

Too bad this isn't Harbour Island...

When I received the email from Thrillist (one of the many list serves that I read to find out NYC happenings), I though that Harbour was a place I would like. It had everything I needed: In Tribeca (I’m trying to spread my wings away from the west village), seafood (everyone knows my love of scallops, et al) and brand spankin new. Ok, so I don’t have the best record when it comes to picking restaurants. Most of the good places I have gone to have been because my boyfriend is obsessed with food, and therefore obsessed with reading reviews and picking the best places. I, on the other hand, love going to new places, even though the first week a restaurant opens isn’t necessarily the best time to go. Restaurants need time to come into their own. But, this place was different. There are 10 wines under $20. That is unheard of in NYC, let alone anywhere. I needed to give it a chance.

That was the only chance I will ever give Harbour. An almost eerie copy of one of my all time favorite NYC restaurants, Lure Fishbar, Harbour is decorated like the inside of a ship. No, not a spaceship, which would have been super dope, but, more like a super fancy sailboat. The decorations reminded me of something my parents would have picked out for their home in 1989. Not ugly, just not right. But again, there was the wine under $20. I just kept repeating to myself…

Let’s get something straight before we start: Just because you serve an amuse bouche and a light dessert/palate cleanser at the end of the meal, doesn’t make you a four star restaurant. For appetizers (we were with another couple) we ordered the Sea Bream sashimi, scallop ceviche, clam chowder and the topneck clams. Let’s start there… the sea bream sashimi, although I did not taste it, looked proper enough. The scallop ceviche wasn’t THAT bad. Remember my complaint about L’artusi’s scallop ceviche? Sea urchin… I’m not 100% sure why restaurants think it’s a good idea to mix soft, supple raw scallops with tough unappetizing sea urchin. I guess it’s an acquired taste that I have yet to acquire. The scallops and the sauce were good, although I’m not sure which kind of scallops they were, as they were not whole, they were more like slices. The clam chowder, again I did not taste, looked really odd. That’s the best way I can start describing it. I’ll finish by saying that clam chowder should not be brown. Or, if you are going to be serving brown clam chowder, at least note it on the menu that it will be as such. The topneck clams, all three of them, were mediocre as well.

Then comes dinner (after our first bottle of, actually great, $19 liter bottle of Gruner)… I ordered the Red Hake. The menu was very small, so the options few. I had never heard of Red Hake, but for the sake of trying new things, and because I didn’t want to eat chicken at a seafood restaurant, I gave it a go. Red Hake is a tough white fish with no apparent taste. It was a bad choice, although the other choice, mussels, didn’t seem that good of an idea either. Mussels are a boring substitute for a meal. But again, no choices here. The red hake had no taste, was tough, and was covered with spicy yellow curry foam. The only saving grace of the dish was the two small shrimp shu mai, if you could find them.

No reason to go to Harbour, unless in the next couple of months you feel like it will improve in some way… note: the only other restaurant that is worse in the city is AGO. I went there the first week it opened and the only good part of the meal was the fresh parmesan cheese on top of the salad. I hear that it is still bad there.

I almost forgot to mention that on a Saturday night at 9pm in NYC, there was not a soul at the bar. Ok, so that street in Tribeca isn’t the first place one would normally choose to hang out, but still not a good sign.

But, $20 wine…

Late Addition: I was told to say that two of the diners at this dinner had the best part of their meal before we entered the restaurant. I should have taken it as foreshadowing when the boys insisted on ordering two CrifDogs before dinner.... we would have been better off staying and going to PDT. But, please dont tell anyone that...