My friend and I have been talking about the Korilla BBQ Cart ever since we read about it online – we’ve been meaning to go but it’s always up in Midtown West (very far from my office). One day, my coworker texted me to let me know that it was down the street from our office (on 20th and 5th!) I rounded up the troops and we walked over to the cart:
There are a lot of options (the menu is actually a tad confusing with what you can order) but I think I ordered the pork chosun bowl:
You pick the toppings near the end of the assembly line (and they set up a mirror to reflect the topping options so you don’t have to be super tall to see the options) – I ended up asking for all of the vegetables (which is similar to the bibimbap) and getting white rice, too. The chosun bowl was surprisingly delicious (and not too bad at $8) – definitely better than a lot of the food I’ve had in Korea town. I wish they parked near our office every day because I would seriously go there all the time!
We did a team bonding dinner at Hill Country – $25 for all you can eat meat and sides:
My favorites: brisket, macaroni and cheese, black eyed peas, cole slaw, and German potato salad!
A little over a month left before the end of 2010 and I’m actually pretty sure that I’m going to make it to all of the Michelin-starred restaurants in New York! I’ve been eating out a lot (in case you haven’t noticed from my foursquare check-ins) and meeting a lot of great people! I went to Convivio on a date a couple weeks back – it was my last Michelin-starred Michael White restaurant (Marea and ALTO are the other White restaurants I’ve visited) Convivio is located in Tudor City and I had absolutely no idea how to get there; I knew it was close to the UN Plaza and ended up walking around the area before realizing I had to walk up the steps across from the plaza to get to the restaurant. The restaurant is on the cutest block that’s semi-secluded but also has nice views of Queens and the East River.
We decided to do the four course prix-fixe menu since we were both pretty hungry (at Marea, the server suggested we do one full tasting menu and we should order a la carte for the rest). After we ordered, we started off with some crusty bread:
The sourdough bread was served with olive oil (instead of butter) – I should do a round up of all of the breads I’ve eaten this year – I really think I’ve eaten a couple pounds of flour (at least).
My first dish was the fegatini – rustic chicken liver crostini with marsala onions:
The antipasti and pastas were my favorite dishes of the evening (our main courses were both disappointing) – the chicken liver was spread on thickly and was lightly drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette that made the crostini taste absolutely decadent.
My date ordered the veal tongue radicchio salad:
We were contemplating whether or not to order the salad (I don’t think either of us have ever tried veal tongue) but decided to order it because it seemed interesting and light compared to the rest of the dishes we ordered. The veal tongue was thinly sliced, firm, and slightly salty, which paired well with the capers and contrasted nicely with the slightly bitter radicchio.
For my pasta course, I ordered the Maccheroni alla Carbonara – pancetta, pecorino, scallion, egg, and black pepper:
I was slightly disappointed with this pasta because I always associate amazing carbonara with the pasta they serve at Dell’Anima (I dare you to find a better carbonara in the city). The sauce was a bit watery, didn’t have enough body from egg yolks, and overall, tasted a little bland.
My date ordered the Fusilli -neopolitan pork shoulder ragu, caciocavallo fonduta:
I enjoyed the fusilli a lot more; the tomato sauce was so rich and creamy and luckily, my date liked my pasta more (or at least I thought he did) so we traded and I was able to eat all of his fusilli while he ate my carbonara.
For my main course, I ordered wild striped bass with squash:
And my date ordered the porchetta:
The server really sold us on the porchetta because he said it was slow cooked all day in a variety of spices and with apples and the meat was fall-off-the-bone tender. When the dish came, I thought the meat was a little tough and extremely salty – like it had absolutely no other flavor components to the dish! I wasn’t very impressed and I don’t think my date thought it was a huge hit, either. My striped bass was extremely plain and the squash and other vegetables were cooked down so much that they didn’t have any of their natural sweetness anymore.
For dessert, I ordered the chocolate panna cotta with candied citrus and vanilla gelato:
And my date ordered the Budino – warm dark chocolate, hazelnut gelato, candied hazelnuts:
Both desserts were really good, especially my chocolate panna cotta. The panna cotta had a very silky texture and was also very rich – even though I was beyond stuffed, I managed to finish the dessert!
I enjoyed the start and finish of my meal at Convivio but the most important part of the meal was a little disappointing, especially for a Michelin-starred restaurant. I’d definitely return for their chicken liver crostini, fusilli pasta, and their chocolate panna cotta.
A belated Happy Thanksgiving to all of you 馃檪
This Thanksgiving, I flew to North Carolina to spend time with my family – my mom hosted a brunch with a huge turkey and then my aunt hosted a dinner in Raleigh with another huge turkey! It was a great weekend of eating and spending time with family. How are we going to top it for Christmas this year?
Here are some pictures from my Thanksgiving party in New York – Ariel was nice enough to bring pies from Four and Twenty Blackbirds in Brooklyn (pumpkin pie and salted caramel apple pie):
Laura made amazing mushroom caps filled with cream cheese, bacon, and scallions:
We celebrated Thanksgiving at work by arranging flowers – here’s my arrangement:
My brother and my mom preparing some jap chae:
David put the final touches on my mom’s version of jap chae:
My dad and Laura in front of the turkey:
The turkey (my brother massaged it with a special spice mixture and then we cooked it in my mom’s convection oven instead of spatchcocking it):
The brunch spread:
Another shot:
One of my mom’s friend made rice – one of my favorite dishes:
Me and my dad:
A pound cake that my mom’s friend made (my mom added lemon icing to it):
How was your Thanksgiving? I hope you spent it with your family and friends!
Kajitsu, in the East Village, specializes in Shojin cuisine which was developed by Zen Buddhists and believes in the Buddhist principle of not taking life (and more importantly for us, it means it’s a restaurant that doesn’t use meat or fish). A Michelin-starred restaurant that only serves vegetables and non-meat items must be an incredible restaurant, right? I mean, having a restaurant specialize in vegetarian cuisine that doesn’t make you miss meat is a daunting task and being Michelin-ranked is even more impressive. My friend from college, Melany, was in town for work and we met up for dinner and to catch up:
We sat at the bar so we could watch the chefs in action and ordered the hana, their seven course tasting menu. The prep area was very clean and minimalistic:
Our first course was Braised Daikon Radish with Rikyu-Fu and Matsutake with Grated Daikon, Daikon Leaves, Yuzu:
The wheat gluten (in the front) served as the protein in this very light and delicious start. The daikon was lightly stewed and all of the flavors really stood out separately but also came together very well.
Our next course was the Puree of Parsley Root and White Miso Soup with Leek Tempura Kintoki Carrot:
The carrot added just enough sweetness to the very delicately flavored soup; I was worried that it was going to be really plain but it was actually quite flavorful and full-bodied.
Next, we had Fresh Persimmon and Kabu Turnip with Sesame Cream and Tonburi, Rice Paper, Breakfast Radish, Rice Porridge with Tea Leaves and Lotus Rootlet, Lotus Seed, Ume Paste, Ginger, Scallions, Fried Sunchoke with Sweet Red Miso, Multi Grain Cereal, Shichimi Pepper:
And the porridge without the gingko leaf:
The dishes signified the changing of the seasons; persimmons are eaten a lot during this time of year and porridge is something warm and filling that I eat all year round but it’s especially comforting when it’s cold outside. The gingko leaves were hand-picked and placed on the porridge, which added a really beautiful touch to the presentation of the dishes. The porridge was slightly bitter because of the tea leaves and I wasn’t a huge fan of the persimmon dish because it also included sesame paste and made the persimmon taste muted.
Next, we had House-Made Soba with Dipping Sauce, Scallions, Wasabi:
Melany’s dad makes the dish a lot because it’s simple yet very gratifying; also, when I read reviews of Kajitsu, everyone spoke really highly of their house made soba. I enjoyed the dish but didn’t think it was the highlight of the meal.
My favorite dish of the night was probably our next course – Fallen Vegetable Leaves with Baked Sweet Potato, Beets, Purple Carrot, Burdock Roots, Ginko Nuts, Chrysanthemum Leaves, Steamed Awa-Fu with Assorted Autumn Mushrooms, Fried Potato:
The presentation was really beautiful and colorful (and all of the plates they used were absolutely gorgeous) – I really loved the attention to detail of each fall-shaped leaf! Under the fallen leaves was a small Japanese potato that was wrapped in aluminum foil – kind of like a treasure hunt! The assorted mushrooms were stewed with more of the wheat gluten and provided a really filling dish that was a nice contrast after the soba.
Next, the chef brought us out sesame tofu marinated in white miso (for three months) with shaved truffle and a glass of sake:
Melany had a different sake glass that I thought was very cute:
The tofu was kind of pungent and the server explained that the tofu is marinated under ground for three months before they dig it up and serve it; it’s not on the menu but our chef liked us enough to give us the extra dish.
Next, we had our last savory dish – Chestnut Rice with Macadamia Nuts Powder with Sesame, Parsley and House-Made Pickles:
And the macadamia nut powder:
The dish was simple but very comforting; the rice with hints of chestnut tasted like fall and the macadamia nut powder added a slight sweetness to contrast with the simple house pickles.
For dessert, we were given Sweet Kabocha Ball with Azuki Bean Paste and Dried Cranberries:
While we were eating our dessert, the chef began preparing our matcha tea:
He started by pouring hot water in each of the bowls and swirling the water around. At first I thought it was to prepare the water to the perfect temperature, but then he threw out the water (I think it was to heat up each bowl). Then he spooned in a scoop of matcha green tea powder, filled up the bowl with water, and began whisking the green tea before serving it to us:
Around the same time, the server brought along sugar candies by Shioyoshiken:
The candies tasted like microscopic granules of sugar and weren’t as delicious as they were nice to look at, but it was a nice way to round out the meal.
Melany and I really enjoyed the meal at Kajitsu and I also thought the service was very thoughtful but not imposing. The meal at Kajitsu was one of the better one-starred restaurants I’ve visited this year and I can see why the restaurant would move from the one-star category to the two-star category. I recommended the restaurant to a friend and he visited last week and enjoyed the meal just as much as I did (he also said the sake pairings were really great). I’m definitely adding Kajitsu to my repertoire of restaurants I would like to visit after my year of Michelin dining is over.
