I have been neglecting this blog but will be back next week with posts of my trip to Chicago, Lotus of Siam, and a more comprehensive update of what I’ve been up to. For now, a photograph of me, David, Laura, and Laura’s family friends at a Chinese New Year feast we attended over the weekend in Flushing:
Happy New Year!
On Saturday, we were looking for a place to eat after running some errands in Soho. Ken had to run to Freeman’s to get a haircut and we ended up getting a quick bite to eat at The National while we waited for his barber. The National serves brunch until 4 and didn’t seem packed so we decided to give it a try:
The restaurant has retro fans, a wall of mirrors, and a vintage motorcycle decorating the dining room with a wait staff looking like they walked out of an American Apparel ad. They were also a little aloof, possibly because they only had an hour until they closed to switch out for dinner service. I asked how much meat was in the lobster BLT sandwich (at $24, they should know) but the waitress had absolutely no idea and glared at me for even asking. In my defense, some places weigh out the lobster before placing it on the roll (Mary’s Fish camp is a perfect example). I went with the lobster BLT anyway because I was actually planning to visit Pearl Oyster Bar for a lobster roll later in the day and figured I could give this place a try instead:
The lobster BLT comes with arugula, tomato, bacon, and red onion with a side of French fries. The lobster chunks were definitely large and buttery but there were too many other flavors from the tomato, peppery arugula, and salty bacon. I wasn’t a huge fan and kind of felt like I should’ve gone with my initial plan of visiting Pearl Oyster Bar. The fries, on the other hand, did beat Pearl’s; they were exactly like McDonald’s fries. We ran out of ketchup and had a hard time getting a refill because the waitress ignored us until Ken waved her down.
Ken ordered the fish tacos:
The tacos were made with fried cod and definitely the most flavorless tacos I’ve ever had. We doused them with Tabasco, which made it slightly better, but overall, neither of us were very impressed. I don’t think either of us would return to the restaurant; Freeman’s is right around the corner and even though I’m not a huge fan of that restaurant, it’s definitely better than what we experienced at The National.
Have you ever wanted to eat at multiple restaurants for a single meal? Recently, I’ve been wanting to visit *at least* two restaurants per meal and have been lucky enough to eat with people that put up with my crazy cravings. On Saturday, Ken asked me what I was in the mood to eat for dinner (we had spent the morning and afternoon eating pretty random things – string cheese, pudding cups, mocha yogurt from Trader Joe’s, lobster rolls and fish tacos) and I said I wanted to eat some Chinese food but from two restaurants. He didn’t understand how we were going to eat at two restaurants for dinner (especially since it was 10:30 when we were heading out and both restaurants closed at 11) but luckily, he agreed to join me in yet another dining adventure.
We hopped in a cab and headed to Xi’an Famous Foods first; my plan was originally to go to Chinatown to pick up liang pi noodles but then I remembered a new outpost opened up in the East Village…on the same street as Grand Sichuan, the second restaurant I wanted to visit. I figured we’d pick up the liang pi noodles, take them to Grand Sichuan, and eat them while we waited for our Grand Sichuan order (I would never do this at another restaurant, but it seems to be okay at Chinese restaurants). The East Village location is a lot larger than the other spots (there are four total) and Ken ended up ordering lamb noodles in addition to my favorite liang pi noodles because he wanted hot noodles. The noodles with lamb and cumin was really spicy and Ken was originally really excited about it but I think the lamb was a little too fatty:
My order of liang pi noodles with gluten chunks, bean sprouts, cucumbers, and cilantro might be my new obsession:
It’s an extremely addictive dish; chewy, flavorful, and surprisingly refreshing. I could drink the sauce straight from the take out container but decided I would resist the temptation since it was probably not the most lady-like thing to do.
After we picked up our order from Xi’an, we ran to Grand Sichuan (on the same street, just one avenue over). The restaurant said they were closed (but it was only 10:45!) but they agreed to let us order take out. I knew exactly what I wanted – pea sprouts sauteed with garlic and Gui-Zhou spicy beef. The pea sprouts at Grand Sichuan are so good and the flavor just can’t be replicated at home:
And I’m always a fan of their Gui-Zhou spicy beef:
Ken was a huge fan of both dishes from Grand Sichuan more than the dishes from Xi’an Famous Foods. Actually, he loved my idea of going to two restaurants because we had a variety of dishes to eat, ended up taking everything back to his place, and watched the some playoff games while eating dinner. I satisfied my craving for Chinese food and we were both happy campers – what a great way to spend Saturday night!
Ken and I are heading to Chicago this weekend to my friend’s wedding! We’re planning to eat at the following restaurants:
1. Portillo’s – cake shake and and Italian beef sandwich
2. Potbellys – as soon as we land! Tuna sandwich with extra peppers on a whole wheat bun!
3. Oven Grinders – pizza pot pie + meeting Ken’s friends
4. Phoenix or Ken Kee – dim sum + bubble tea + Ken meeting my best friends
5. Wedding food (steak, please!)
6. Pequod’s – ideally we’d make a visit and buy pizzas to bring back, but I don’t think that’s going to happen
We’re going to watch the Bears/Packers game on Sunday, stay at Ken’s sister’s place, and spend time with his niece and nephew, too!
Originally we were going to L2O but there just wasn’t enough time for another Michelin restaurant…meaning we’ll have to return to Chicago sometime this year to dine at the restaurant. I’m not completely sold on Ken Kee/Phoenix (those were just my favorites when I used to live in Illinois) – I was also thinking of visiting Jam or The Girl and the Goat. Suggestions?
To end our Saturday of over-indulgence, Ken and I headed to ABC Kitchen for dinner. ABC Kitchen is Jean Georges newest restaurant venture that’s next to ABC Home and Carpet in Union Square. We didn’t have a reservation but luckily got there right as someone was leaving their seats at the bar so decided to eat there instead of waiting for a table in the main room (the menu is the same at the bar). We started off with some drinks – Ken ordered the Manhattan with brandy-soaked cherries and I ordered the spiked lemonade infused with thyme:
We had a lot to order and I was definitely in the mood to eat, so we ordered a lot (more than we should have, probably) and then started eating their bread with olive oil and sea salt:
We started with the peekytoe crab toast with lemon aioli:
The bread that we started with was toasted, topped with lots of peekytoe crab, and a little aioli in the center of each toast piece. This is one of their more popular dishes and Ken really liked it, but I thought it was too simple (I still liked it but thought it could have been a little more flavorful).
Next, we had mushroom pizza with a fresh farm egg:
The mushroom pizza was my favorite dish of the evening; a fresh farm egg was placed in the center of a cornucopia of mushrooms and Parmesan cheese that had the perfect bite to it. After we finished our pizza we were worried that we were going to get full before the other dishes arrived; luckily, we both made room in our stomachs to eat the next dish, the bowtie pasta with veal meatballs:
The meatballs were tender and well seasoned but the pasta was cooked to various degrees of completion; some pieces were really overcooked and mushy and some were perfectly al dente. I also think I might be more picky about my pastas because I had just eaten at Osteria Morini earlier that day.
Our last dish was the Akaushi cheeseburger:
We told the bartender that we were sharing everything so the kitchen split the burger for us and gave both of us large orders of fries. The burger at ABC Kitchen probably wins an award for the most pretentious burger of the year; herbed mayo, arugula, and pickled jalapenos on a sesame seed bun. Ken said it was an okay burger but he definitely would’ve preferred a big mac (BUT this is coming from the guy that wanted to go to McDonalds after Masa). I thought the burger was a bit too salty (and pricey – $21 for a burger is up there with Minetta Tavern’s pricing!) I was undecided on the french fries; they all had different finishes (similar to the pasta); some were really crispy and some were a bit on the soggy side.
We both enjoyed our dinner and would probably return (next time I’m getting two mushroom pizzas!) andI’d definitely save room for dessert (the people next to us had a big bowl of chocolate ice cream or pudding that looked absolutely amazing).
