Barmarche, nolita

I get the most satisfaction discovering places that not only have awesome food and ambience, but are also fairly easy to book for last minute dinner plans. This is hard to come by in New York city. Barmarche arrived as a miracle for my friend Ashley’s birthday last weekend, and I’ve since been a huge advocate for this sleeper. Not only did they accommodate 12 of us at the height of Saturday night mealtime, they seated us at a well thought-out square table as opposed to a long, awkward rectangle so commonly found in restaurants trying to conserve space. Our group, which was a diverse mix of people, could therefore communicate easily with multiple sides of the table, and we were all set up to share delicious food.  The servers, though incredibly busy, were timely with our orders and constantly checking in to take drink requests.

Our party shared many tasty appetizers: popcorn shrimp, guacamole, bruschetta, and my favorite, almond stuffed dates with crispy bacon and blue cheese. The mix of sweet and salty and crispy and soft was so perfect that we had to request another two orders to sustain our unstoppable craving.

caramelized bacon wrapped dates

crispy popcorn shrimp

While we overloaded on appetizers, we still had room for the overwhelming main course options, all reasonably priced. Barmarche is known for its “taquitos”, which are essentially tacos on slightly smaller tortillas. The fried bass taquitos were a vibrant, fresh twist on heavy Mexican food, and the shrimp risotto was creamy, hot, and filling. My branzino was incredibly crispy, and the perfectly light, pre-night out meal to pair with my spicy margherita.

bass taquitos

perfectly cooked branzino

truffled shrimp risotto

Barmarche is the perfect prequel for a night on the town. Conveniently located in the center of Soho, the Lower East Side and Nolita, it is positioned closely to a wide array of bars, and with its wide range of international food and cocktails, it’s a fit for all sorts of crowds. I wouldn’t say the food is breath-taking, but it’s thorough, creative, and well-rounded. Highly recommended for group dinners (especially for a younger, yet sophisticated crowd) – in fact, I hope to have my birthday there in May!

Grade: A-

Location: 14 Spring Street @ Elizabeth

Website: www.barmarche.com

Today Sonia and I had an impromptu brunch at Cafe Orlin, a bustling, straight-forward, American/Middle-Eastern East Village restaurant that never fails to form a line of hungry patrons outside its door. Surprisingly, though, at around 12pm today we were seated after only five minutes of waiting outside, albeit at a tiny table sandwiched between others. The brunch menu covers all my must-haves: huevos rancheros, mediterranean breakfast, veggie burger, eggs florentine, and lots of omelettes. Once I saw a few plates go by, I settled on the Middle Eastern Eggs, which came with two eggs (I added mushrooms and tomatoes of course), israeli salad, and labneh cheese. Sonia ordered the Tunisian Eggs – two eggs over easy with spicy tomatos and peppers.

perfect breakfast

Sonia's eggs

fluffy pita

Despite the several rooms packed with diners, our meals were served promptly. Warm pita, perfectly cooked eggs, and hot tea – exactly my wish for a Sunday brunch. While it’s straight-forward and the ambience is nothing spectacular, I will definitely be back again if in the area for a solid, no-frills meal.

Then of course, after watching Unique Eats’ expose on the bakery at Peels, I of course stopped off on my way home to try their famous 3-in-1 pie, a cross between Boston & Banana & Coconut cream pie. And after literally eating every last bite of it, I think I can fairly say it’s one of the best pies I have ever had. The crust was perfectly crunchy and dense, the dark chocolate was rich and light, and the caramelized banana flavor was unreal. The combination was indescribable – 100% recommended for those, like me, who define themselves as sweet-obsessed.

Amazing.

Grade for Orlin AND Peels dessert: A

Location (Orlin): 41 St. Mark’s Place between 1st and 2nd Ave
Location (Peels): 325 Bowery, New York NY 10003

Website: www.cafeorlin.com

Scene aside, the night got progressively worse as the noise increased and our drinks took longer and longer to arrive. Big mistake to request to turn down the music to accommodate my partially deaf friend (thanks Sonia) – the volume only got louder after that. When we put our food order in, the dishes came out simultaneously, within seconds. Though I normally would have complained about this horrible timing, I didn’t mind so much because I couldn’t get out of the place sooner. We were anxious to get the meal over with.

In an effort to be thorough, however, I will touch on a few of the dishes that were at least edible. Soshito peppers – fine, they were good, nothing special.

kale caesar and peppers

The sushi was actually decent, but again, not worth going to this place to try. The chicken lollipops were tasty, but probably came out to $20 per bite of meat given the ratio of edible food to bone on the plate. The biggest joke was the $20 black cod butter lettuce wraps, which not only tasted odd, but had literally a tiny cube of fish on three measly pieces of lettuce. And, the steamed duck buns tasted like dog.

chicken lollipops

duck buns

Before I go deeper and deeper into my negativity, I’ll just close with some advice. Only go to this Stanton Social wannabe if you’re looking for a Meatpacking scene with overpriced, despicable food in the lower east side.

Grade: D

Location: Hotel Rivington: 107 Rivington Street

Website: www.co-oprestaurant.com

my excuse for eating across the street

I was ecstatic when I found out that a rustic restaurant called Bakehouse was opening literally steps from my apartment, which is at least a few blocks away from decent coffee and food (…well, maybe two full blocks). On a snowy day like today, I finally had my chance to justify eating so close to home and I met my aunt there for lunch. Bakehouse is just the type of place that I’d ask for to be easily accessible. It’s cozy, cavernous, and welcomes sit-down diners as well as those who want to enjoy coffee while reading the paper. At the restaurant’s entrance, you can line up to buy a selection of house baked bread ($7 for an olive loaf), pastries, or freshly baked cookies (I’ve had the chocolate chip before – delicious), which will be perfect for the days when my sudden carb cravings take over.

view from my booth seat

My aunt and I were seated right away at noon. There isn’t a bad seat in the house – all tables face what was the snowy westside highway, and little Christmas lights that frame each window make you feel that much more at home. I was instantly impressed when my tea arrived in a large white mug – I despise drinking out of 1 ounce teacups. The brunch menu has a simple list of well rounded selections, but the second I saw a white truffle oil, asiago, and mushroom omelette, my decision was made. My aunt ordered the salmon benedict. Our meal came with a selection of both freshly baked french bread and multigrain bread, and the omelette was incredible – the eggs were delicately layered with a generous amount of wild sauteed mushrooms and sharp asiago, and served with a side of simple roasted potatoes and mixed greens. My side order of sauteed spinach was a great addition as well – buttery, fresh, and hot.

perfectly cooked eggs

salmon benedict

The service was perfectly attentive, the food was homey and filling, and the warm ambience fit the occasion of catching up with my aunt just beautifully. I can’t wait to become a regular and have my first solo meal at the bar!

Grade: A+

Location: 113 Horatio Street between Washington and West

Website: www.bakehousebistro.com

Murray's Cheese

I love cheese – everyone should probably know that by now. But it’s the people who know me best who understand my true, sincere love for this dairy product and indulge me in it from time to time, whether it’s by sharing a massive cheese plate with me (Sarah, Sonia, Justyn), talking about cheese with me (Dad), or buying me cheese (Mom). This Christmas, I felt luckier than ever when my friend Carolyn surprised me with the most generous food-related gift I’ve ever received: Cheese of the Month from my favorite cheese shop, Murray’s Cheese. I thought I couldn’t be happier at that moment, but after receiving my first shipment last week, I realized that nothing could surpass the excitement of getting a package of unexpected, delicious cheese ALL FOR MYSELF.

There’s a theme to every month’s shipment, and this month, it was All American Winners in honor of football season (yay Niners). Despite loving the prospect of sitting down and eating this cheese on the couch with a fork and knife, I decided to share the wealth with my New York adopted parents (aka my sister Justyn and her fiance Eli). Mom and Dad number 2 are often the sharers of my foodie wealth, whether they have a say in it or not. With my ice pack of cheese, water crackers, and fig jam in hand, I crossed the street excited to embark on our cheese tasting.

impromptu cheese party!

After reading aloud each cheese description, we dove right in. The first of the bunch that I tasted was the Aggiano from Utah (far right), an American version of classic Italin Grana style cheeses, but a bit creamier. I loved this with the pear, but Murray’s recommended a chocolate-y stout as an accompaniment. The second cheese was a 6-month aged Vermont Pawlet (middle), which is apparently a show-stopper with ham and earthy wines. I loved this creamier, sharper version of what I thought tasted like cheddar. The best, however, came last when I tasted one of the smoothest, creamiest, butteriest cheeses I’ve had: the Cremont from Vermont. The rind slid right off of the edge, and the sweet fig jam made the cheese taste more like heaven than it already did. Similar to Kunik, which I discovered last year at Buvette, this cheese is definitely going to be added to my list of all-time favorites (in addition to St Andre, Port Salut, Affinois, cheddar…Humboldt Fog..list goes on).

lovely little cremont

Bottom line is – best gift idea EVER!

home away from home

Fortunately a few gentlemen in our group volunteered to scope out the scene and come back with a plan as the rest of us laid like dead fish on the beach, nursing our head aches and stomach pains resulting from the night prior. And as always, they didn’t come back empty handed. Instead, they returned in a bus after paying off a friendly public bus driver, Craig, to skip his Sunday shift and drive our rowdy bunch around for an adventure. While we initially expected to rely on Craig solely for transportation, he soon became our essential gateway into what little local Caribbean culture remains in the tourist city of Nassau. Not only did he take us to his favorite liquor store, drive us through neighborhoods that no tourists had ever gone before, and show us a variety of the city’s landmarks, but he also took us to a special place called Beverly’s Kitchen, a quintessential hole-in-the-wall Bahamian restaurant.

outside of Beverly's

We lined up outside and selected our main of choice, which ranged from fried fish to curried goat and jerk chicken, as well as our sides. Without question I went for the steamed snapper with jamaican beans and rice, macaroni, and steamed vegetables. And after waiting for 14 orders to be processed and cooked, I was getting seriously anxious to fill my empty, beer-laden stomach with some stick-to-your-bones local food.

steamed snapper

My fears of a bland, boring steam snapper totally disappeared when my styrofoam box unveiled a brightly colored, saucy filet of fish on top of a massive serving of rice, beans, and cheesey macaroni casserole. I took a seat on the steps of the bus entrance, and with the sun in my face, my feet touching the gravel, and a cold Kalik beer by my side, I dove right into an unexpectedly incredible Caribbean meal.

Carolyn's spicy jerk chicken

And just a few hours later, our group decided to follow Craig’s advice by paying a visit to the “Fish Fry,” a collection of small shacks by the beach specializing in affordable, fresh seafood. Though I claimed to be full, I couldn’t resist the conch fritters, which essentially tasted like fried calamari balls – just the perfect thing to accompany my warm rum and coke. Within minutes Craig was back from a break to join us for some fried food and drive us to our next destination – the shameful, yet traditional, Senor Frogs.

conch fritters

fish fry at dusk with Craig

All in all, the day was a success in terms of both cultural and gastronomic adventure. And because of our good friend Craig, we left the Bahamas with a totally different view of the place than when we had arrived. 

Victorious!

Wow it’s been a long time since I’ve written, mainly because I have been trying to eat a tad more simply after two weeks of gorging in San Francisco. This past weekend, however, I was challenged by my sister’s friend’s fiance in a cooking competition, so all bets for being food-conservative were off. The secret ingredient, revealed to us the night before, happened to be one of my favorite things on earth: Balsamic Vinegar. Vinegar is one of the most crucial ingredients to cooking. It brightens any dish, adds a tang that’s just close enough to being spicy without being distracting, and it can lighten up dishes so dense as meatloaf. These triggered thoughts of freshness inspired me to cook a Tuscan pasta with balsamic-marinated tomatoes, feta, basil, olives, capers, onions, garlic, and parmesan cheese served along side balsamic marinated grilled shrimp and garlic toast. But as delicious as that sounds, the main show stopper, which secured me the gold at the end of the night, was a perfect panna cotta.

I recalled Dave Lebovitz’s version because he focuses on few, simple ingredients, and uses fresh vanilla bean. Paired with Ina Garten’s balsamic berries, it created a masterpiece that truly wowed the Top Chef judges.

I had never made panna cotta because personally, I prefer desserts with chocolate. Panna cotta, flan, creme brulee, pudding – all of these “vanilla” sweets don’t do much for me. But with a secret ingredient of balsamic vinegar in mind, I knew I needed something to pair well with balsamic marinated fruit – the sound of balsamic chocolate makes my stomach turn. And it turns out – all panna cottas are easy! Unlike custard, there are no eggs required – just cream, sugar, and gelatin. Almost like a variation on ice cream, except instead of a crazy machine to churn the mixture, you only need a fridge. Simple.

cute jars drying

The key ingredients to this simple dessert, in this case, were the fresh vanilla bean and the delicious stewed berries. But what made it really special was the old school $1.50 jam jars that made the dish feel rustic and homey. This was not only beautiful, but saved the hassle of inverting the pudding from a ramekin.

Ready for fridge

Final product with berries

My competitor made an incredible dessert as well, with flavors far more complex than mine – ginger ice cream with a ginger-chocolate balsamic reduction and roasted pear, blueberries and pistachio. To be honest, the chocolate won me over, so I’m glad our votes didn’t count in the overall pool.

Opponent's dish

After a lot of dollars spent and sweat droplets lost, I think it will be a while before I participate in my next chef competition. But I have to say, it feels quite rewarding to be recognized for something that I sincerely love to do.

Videos of the competition can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/user/JustynBellsey/videos

Recipe for Panna Cotta

Ingredients adapted from Dave Lebovitz’s recipe

2 cups half and half
2 cups heavy cream
2 packets of gelatin (knox)
6 tbsp water
1/2 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean

Heat the half and half, cream and sugar in a saucepan or microwave. Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and scrape the seeds from the bean into the cream and add the bean pod. Cover, and let infuse for 30 minutes. Remove the bean then rewarm the mixture before continuing. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a medium-sized bowl and let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Pour the very warm Panna Cotta mixture over the gelatin and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Divide the Panna Cotta mixture into the prepared cups, then chill them until firm, 2-4 hours.

Balsamic Berries (adapted from Ina Garten’s recipe)

2 pints berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries)
2.5 tbsp balsamic
1 tbsp sugar
Fresh Black Pepper

Slice berries and toss with above ingredients about 30-60 minutes before serving on top of the chilled panna cotta. Sprinkle with lemon zest if desired.

the not-so-sightly front of Harris'

For the last ten years, my family has held our Christmas Eve celebration at Harris’ Steakhouse in Nob Hill, and I don’t foresee that changing anytime soon. What has changed, however, is my selection off of the standard menu of fish, chicken, lobster, and steak. As a child, I always went for the petit filet mignon. Then, when my grandmother came to town and ordered lobster, my menu selection became steamed lobster for 5-6 years. Then, in my figure-watching high school days, I went through a soup-and-salad-only phase. And now, after realizing that I overdosed on lobster and am not a huge fan of steak, I’ve resorted to splitting a salad to start with my sister and ordering the salmon for my main, cooked medium-rare.

Harris’ value lies in its consistency. Each year, as we’re seated in the same large leather booth, a server arrives with buttered toasties and a small ramekin of delicious whipped cheese.

toasties with cheese

After ordering our drinks (generally ice cold martinis or wine), we’re served warm Acme bread and butter, which my family rarely hesitates to devour.

warm bread

Last night, though my sister Justyn and I normally split the baby spinach salad, we went for the mixed greens, which came with jicama, blue cheese, and tomatoes. Simple and fresh, it was exactly the basic salad that one would expect at a longstanding steakhouse.

mixed greens

My mother, as usual, ordered the oysters but did not share. I’m still bitter!

Oysters

My grilled salmon this year was cooked to perfection – just pink enough in the middle but perfectly seared on the outside. My baked potato was loaded with butter, sour cream, and chives, and with the creamed spinach off of my mom’s plate, I was in Christmas Eve heaven.

salmon

my sister's delicious steak

To top it all off we had pecan pie to go, which with tea was amazing. Another December 24, another success!

Grade: A

Location: 2100 Van Ness Avenue (at Pacific)

Website: www.harrisrestaurant.com

saltine toffee fresh out of the oven

A few years ago I went to a party and fell in love with what I discovered to be saltine toffee, essentially heavily buttered and sweetened crackers layered with rich chocolate and nuts. I had never heard of such a thing, but after researching the recipe online, I realized that this unique variation of one of my favorite sweets is ridiculously easy to make. Even better, it only calls for five ingredients: brown sugar, butter, chocolate chips, slivered almonds, and saltine crackers – my kind of recipe!

With only two hours to whip up a treat for my old college roommates before our reunion, I resorted to making this last night. Little did I know that they (and my parents) would become official addicts after tasting it. This toffee is honestly addicting – buttery, slightly salty, and though it’s satisfyingly rich, the saltines actually add a crunch and airiness that lightens what would otherwise be a pretty dense treat.

So, I say go for it. What’s the big deal giving up forty minutes of your life if the end result is something sweet and undeniably addicting (or is it addictive)?

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 11 oz. bag of semi sweet chocolate chips

40 saltine crackers

Slivered almonds or any nut of your preference (optional)

Directions: Line cookie sheet with foil and spray generously with nonstick cooking spray. Lay down saltine crackers side by side.

line side by side

Melt butter in sugar until foamy, about 3 minutes.

butter and sugar

Pour over saltines and spread evenly, and put in 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips; once melted, spread chocolate with spatula to evenly cover the buttery crackers.

wait about 30 seconds...

Add nuts and cool completely before putting in the refrigerator to harden. After about 30 minutes, break up with your hands and serve it up! Store in an airtight container in fridge.

almost ready...

Finished product!

brussel sprout pizza

mezze plate

chicken salad with kale

 Considering the amazing fresh whole wheat pita served with the mezze plate, some fresh hummus would have rounded the dish out perfectly but it was delicious nonetheless. And the fresh kale salad with fresh grilled chicken breast was beautifully prepared and the perfect well rounded lunch dish. I will no doubt be back, if not only for the homemade sourdough bread with fresh butter!

Grade: A

Location: corner of 10th Ave and 20th street

Website: www.cookshopny.com