Pinkberry

Pinkberry is the new 'hot' frozen yogurt place in New York City. There are a number of locations, with (perhaps unfortunately) one near our new apartment, and one near my office. The menu is pretty simple: frozen yogurt in either original, green tea or coffee flavors. All three are fairly citrusy - more like real yogurt in flavor than most frozen yogurt. Once you order the yogurt you can get any number of different toppings from fruits like strawberry, raspberry and kiwi, to granola and toppings like chocolate chips and sprinkles. I like green tea with raspberries and strawberries. The place has a cool atmosphere with floors made of small stones spread out (I think it was originally a non-slip poolside pavement) and $500 Philippe Starck Victoria Ghost chairs. Really the atmosphere is more of what the place is about. I think I could get pretty much the same thing elsewhere for less than the $5+ I've paid for a cup of frozen yogurt. But it is definitely taking off and promises to be a lot of fun!

S'mac

S'mac is another restaurant that specializes in just one item: Macaroni & Cheese. Far from your standard homemade Kraft version, this restaurant offers gourmet flavors, and they even deliver! The space is small and you have to use good 'hovering' skills to grab a table when it opens up. The atmosphere is very casual, very easy going, and very yellow. Food comes in three sizes: nosh, major munch, and mongo, fast food style.

I couldn't resist the Parisienne, which includes creamy brie, roasted figs, roasted shiitake mushrooms, and rosemary. I could have personally done without the figs, but otherwise I enjoyed the rich and creamy flavors. Of course, I like anything with mushroom... Clark enjoyed the Alpine, which features Gruyere and slab bacon. We were pleased with our experience there, and plan to take any true Mac & Cheese lovers in the future.

Another post written by V!

Graffiti

After working in some of NYC's finest restaurants, including Jean Georges and Compass, chef Jehangir Mehta has recently opened a humble, 18-seat savory/sweet eatery of his own. Located in the East Village, Graffiti is a visual scrapbook of his life; the menu a culinary scrapbook of both his Mumbai upbringing and expansive training. His unique cuisine subtly marries contemporary Asian cuisine with Indian seasonings. - restaurantgirl

Graffiti is a tiny restaurant that to me epitomizes the East Village life: trendy, cool and tiny (jam packed with people, providing no personal space). I'd read about it online and was intrigued. It was a bit of a surprise when I walked in with V for dinner one evening: the restaurant has three tables.

Even more confusing is that though there were two open tables, we were seated at the one table with guests already dining and the server asked them to get up to put us back the the far corner of the table. We definitely weren't ready for that. But after a bit, it began to make sense: the other tables were reserved for larger parties, and the communal style is part of the experience. It was a little tight to fit together on one side of the table, but it wasn't too bad overall.

The food is served tapas style with simple pricing: each dish is either $7, $12 or $15. The wine is all $8 by the glass or $25 for bottle. The prices are reasonable but they definitely can add up. Our total for the meal was about $100 (including a bottle of wine)

We ordered a handful of different small plates including the cheese flat-bread, chili pork dumplings with grapefruit confit, pickled ginger scallops, and the braised pork bun which was probably our favorite dish. It had a puffy and soft little "shell" with the braised pork inside. For dessert we had the Hazelnut chocolate caviar cupcake after seeing our neighbors try it, and it definitely didn't disappoint.

By the time we were at dessert, the restaurant was packed. I needed to get up to go to the bathroom, so I had to have the people next to me get up, and then make my way through the kitchen (which is smaller than the kitchen in my apartment. Edging behind the two cooks, I got to the bathroom, which itself it about the size of a toilet (in fact the sink is mounted above the toilet to save space). It made me feel at last like I have a large apartment! Hooray.

I'm not sure who else I'd bring to Graffiti, it's a place that definitely caters to a certain type of customer - one that fits well here in the Village. In fact one group of older people came in on a reservation but decided it wasn't quite right for them and left. It worked for me, and I think by the time we finished the dinner V had been turned too.

Cafe Centosette

Following our big move into Manhattan, we felt we deserved a big meal after all of our hard work. Cafe Centosette, an Italian cafe was recommended by two friends, and was the closest in proximity to our apartment. It is a small, cozy place with tables very close together. Our server had issues with getting our meals ordered and served properly, but was nice enough about it. We each ordered pasta, and the dishes were all quite delicious. The side of spinach was perfectly cooked and seasoned well. The most bizarre part of the meal was getting a carafe of white wine with ice cubes in it. I've never seen that at a restaurant before... We have heard since that this restaurant is even better for brunch, so we'll have to head back there to try it.

Stamatis

Our last weekend living in Astoria, we tried out a Greek restaurant that we had heard great things about, but had never been to. Stamatis is one of many Greek restaurants located on 23rd Avenue but it has repeatedly gotten good reviews and was recommended through word of mouth many friends. We went on a Saturday night and were able to get a table pretty quickly. The atmosphere was relatively plain, and maybe reminiscent of a church fellowship hall, but the tables stayed full all night, and it seemed authentic because there were a large number of Greek groups and families there (I'm pretty sure some Greek Orthodox ministers came in at one point). The service became more friendly as the evening went on, largely due to our group's efforts and jokes and willingness to adapt.

We started with the spread sampler, that included three dips with pita bread. We liked the tabouli, tajzihki and eggplant spreads. These were a hit with our group, and we easily went through two servings of pita bread. We had some difficulty ordering our main course, as it seemed they were 'out' of many of the dishes we ordered. They were even out of the moussaka. Clark and I ended up ordering pastitsio, a baked pasta dish with a filling of ground meat and a bechamel sauce top. We both agreed that it was good, but pretty plain. It came with lemon potatoes, salad, and bread on the side. We were also given a complimentary dessert: custard wrapped in filo dough and topped with cinnamon for dessert. Delicious!

For the price, we got a lot of food, and it was a good culmination of Greek food in Astoria. -V

Buddakan New York

I really liked the New York Times' description of Buddakan:

Buddakan is the apotheosis, at least for the next 60 seconds, of a distinct genre: the post-millennial urban mess hall as supersize cocktail lounge with superstylized dishes, which chart a far-out trip to the Far East.

The specific cuisine in its sights is Chinese, and the real surprise is how good many of Buddakan's alternately faithful and fanciful interpretations of it are. A restaurant this sexy doesn't need to be smart.

V and I joined her brother, John, for dinner here to celebrate our birthdays. It was the second time I'd been to Buddakan, but my first time actually eating in the dining room. The restaurant has an amazing atmosphere; the main dining room is downstairs but open two stories up with huge chandeliers hanging overhead and wax-caked candlesticks on the tabletops. The side area in which we ate has pictures of Buddha heads randomly lit on the walls, and a dark environment that gives a sense of privacy.

Our server was very good and well informed about the food on the menu and made some excellent suggestions. The food is served family style, which was a great way to get tastes of several different dishes. Though the serving sizes and presentations seemed generally like a standard one-person entrees.

We started with a few appetizers, including the General Tso’s Dumpling, which was stuffed with chicken, ginger and garlic, which were served right from the steamer basket. I found the Crispy Calamari Salad with green apples, cashews, and a miso vinaigrette also to be very good. I was tempted to order the frog legs, but we shied away. The steamed sea bass roll with cabbage, ginger, sizzling scallion oil was good, tender and buttery, but a little forgettable.

We tried three main courses, and my favorite was the rich and flavorful Sizzling Short Rib with mushroom chow fun (noodles), and Asian pear. The meat was tender and a little fatty, the pear was refreshing, and the mushrooms and noodles were a great compliment. Next on my list was the Glazed Alaskan black cod with chili eggplant, black bean relish. The fish was light and flaky and the black bean relish was a nice flavor to go with it. The last dish served was a seared pork tenderloin with wild mushrooms, lotus scented rice, Chinese bacon. This was good, but I think we were all starting to get full and so it wasn't a favorite. I also felt like the rice, was a bit strong, but the tea-like flavor was good. We also ordered a side of charred asparagus that was amazing (for asparagus), it was not stringy, and had a great flavor with a "black bean foam."

Capping off the meal was a great cup of cappuccino and a Tempura Apple Fritter (essentially fried apple rings) with Saigon cinnamon anglaise (a white, creamy sauce) and salt and pepper caramel (a sauce that I found to be a little too peppery, or perhaps too dark of a caramel). Overall it was a great meal, with lots more on the menu I'd like to try. Combine that with top-notch service and it made for an excellent way to celebrate our birthdays!

Return to food!

I'm sure there is great concern out there that I am not eating because I have not posted an update to the blog recently. Do not fear. I have eaten. In fact I may have put on a pound or three (but I am going to the gym, so I'm going to argue that it is muscle weight). Really, I'd say that my academic and work schedule this spring has kept me from writing much while instead I'm reading lots and doing homework. Now, its spring break, so I'm going to try to catch up, and we'll see what i remember from any of the last 11 meals I've had that are yet to be blogged. So the posts may be shorter, but at least you'll know I was eating.