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Tuesday, 10 May 2011

Pho Grand: Review

When I moved to New York City, one of the first things I did was hunt for a place that served amazing Pho. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Vietnamese soup, Pho is a Vietnamese rice noodle soup, usually served with beef, chicken, or seafood. Having lived in the Bay Area, a place where Vietnamese restaurants are as common as hot dog stands in NYC, I didn't just want to find my regular Pho place, I needed it. The first place I found was in Chinatown, it was right next to another Pho place that was completely empty, so I figured there was a reason for that, so I went into the one that had a good number of people in it. I honestly can't tell you the name of the place because I quickly forgot it, since the Pho was just not very good. The broth (the most important element of pho) was bland, and barely had any meat. So my search continued.

On one of the happiest rainy days of my life, I stumbled upon Pho Grand, a Vietnamese restaurant that obviously serves Pho. I excitedly entered and was seated immediately near the window. The waitress brought me the extensive menu and offered me tea, which I accepted as I looked through their Pho selection. They have all kinds of combinations: Brisket, Navel, Flank, Omosa, Tripe, Tendon, Eye, Round, Grilled Chicken, Grilled Pork, Seafood, and Fishball. I ordered the Xe Lua which is a combination of Brisket, Navel, Flank, Omosa, Tripe, Tendon, Eye and Round.

The server brought it out the spectacular looking soup rather quickly, and I dove in. I added my soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sriracha, chili paste, lime, bean sprouts, a basil leaves, and got it to just exactly the way I like it. The colors all blended together beautifully, making it almost difficult to spoil it, but I couldn't resist, and dug in; it was amazing. The broth was perfect, the meats were perfectly cooked, and my tea went nicely with the meal. I sat there eating my soup with pure joy, savoring every bite, slowly beginning to lose momentum as my belly filled with the slippery noodles, delicious meat and tendons. The rain subdued, and I was nearly done, just a few more bites. I breathed in heavily, I was almost full, but I just couldn't let those last few drops go to waste. Miraculously, I was able to force those last bits down (go ahead, call me a glutton!) I remained seated, possessed, tempted to open the top button of my jeans. The waitress came an removed the empty bowl which I had defeated.

What was most amazing was the price, a mere $6 plus tip. I had officially found home.

277 Grand St
Ste C
(between Forsyth St & Eldridge St)
New York, NY 10002
Neighborhood: Lower East Side

Have you ever tried Pho? Any place in particular that serves especially good Pho?

Saturday, 07 May 2011

How To Make Arepas

As the resident Venezuelan at IRLF, I believe I can call myself an expert on Arepas. I have eaten them my entire life for breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, late night bite, and any other time of the day. Arepas are really like sandwiches or tacos, fairly easy to make, and you can put whatever you want in them. If your fridge is completely bare and you just have some butter, ham and cheese, that's perfectly fine and just how we eat it every morning.

First you need to buy a package of this:

This can be found at some supermarkets like Stop n' Shop, Mexican, Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Latino markets. This is the core part of the arepa, without it you have nothing.

Next Step:

2 1/2 cups of luke warm water (it really does need to be luke warm, if it's too cold then the dough will be all wrong)

2 cups of P.A.A. Corn Meal

1 teaspoon of salt (I also like to add a dash of sugar)

Then:

Pour water into a bowl, add the salt (and sugar if you like), and slowly add the cornmeal while whisking it, until it becomes too hard to whisk.

Now comes the fun part:

Get your hands in there and start kneading the dough until it becomes nice and smooth (make sure you wash your hands first).

When it's completely smooth, start making balls from the dough, they can be whatever size you like, and however many you want.

Now, take this balls and pretend your making hamburger patties. They can be thick or skinny, it's really up to you.

(If you have dough left over, no worries, just store it in the fridge for later. When you come back to it, it might be a little hard, just add a little bit of luke warm water and you should be good to go.)

Cooking them:

Butter and heat up a skillet at low heat, and place the uncooked arepas.

When they get this nice brownish color on one side, flip them over and cover, maintaining the low heat.

They should be ready in about 6-10 minutes.

When they're ready, you could wrap them in any towel you have lying around the kitchen just to make them a little softer. This isn't necessary, but it doesn't hurt.

When they've cooled down a bit, take a butter knife and cut the arepas like so,

and stuff them with whatever your heart desires.

Enjoy!

Thursday, 05 May 2011

Tapas restaurants in San Francisco (working title)

Having lived in the San Francisco bay almost my entire life, I'm proud to say that I've enjoyed quite a lot of the restaurants this beautiful city has to offer. From typical Chinese food in Chinatown to exotic Burmese food in the Inner Richmond, I can only say that this small city has a big apetite. One thing that San Franciscans have mad love for is tapas. Tapas are basically appetizers or snacks, that are usually acompanied with a robust glass of red wine and a few good friends. It ranges from bread, chicken, seafood, ham, sausage, and anything else one can imagine. Tapas are associated mostly with Spanish culture, and if you've ever been to Spain you probably noticed the countless tapas bars even in the most desolate alleyway. But like every kind of cuisine, chefs have been putting their own spin on it to provide foodies with different concepts and tastes to enjoy.

1. Esperpento

3295 22nd St
(between Bartlett St & Valencia St)
San Francisco, CA 94110

The Missions' most popular tapas restarant features your typical tapas spread: paella, jamon serrano, morcilla, gambas al ajillo (garlic shrimp), fried or grilled calamari, an assortment of cheese, veggies, and then some. It's in a great area that is widely known for having a great selection of restaurants. This place is delicious, authentic, cozily small and moderately priced. They have a large wine selection, friendly servers, and it always seems to be packed. If you're ever in the San Francisco area and looking to try or get your tapas fix, this is the place.

2. Bocadillos

710 Montgomery St
(between Columbus Ave & Washington St)
San Francisco, CA 94111

The name says it all, "bocadillos" literally means "snacks". The snazzy restaurant has an extensive list of grilled, marinate, roasted, and fried tapas. Of course no tapas bar is complete without a beautiful cheese & cold cuts menu, vast wine selection, typical Spanish deserts like brazo gitano (arm of gypsy), and other appetizers like patatas bravas (angry potatoes). With great food, ambiance, and a good company this trendy and casual establishment is a great choice if you're looking for something a tad more high-energy than Esperpento.

3. Cha Cha Cha

1801 Haight St
(between Shrader St & Stanyan St)
San Francisco, CA 94117

First off I'd like to point out that there are two Cha Cha Cha's, this one is in the Haigh-Ashbury, and the other one is in the Mission. I tend to prefer this one because I just always seem to have a better time here. The first thing you must do upon entering this place is ordering a pitcher of Sangria at the bar (if you're of age). There is usually a wait for your table, and the best thing you can do is start off with a bang. The sangrias are delicious. Once seated, you will see that their menu is unlike a regular Spanish tapas bar, Cha Cha Cha's is more a South American version, and features more latino type foods like ceviche, fried plantains, arroz con pollo (chicken and rice), and lechon asado (roasted pork leg). They also have some Cajun, Spanish, and Italian influences. This place is great with a big group of friends, it's in the middle of probably the coolest neighborhood in the city and is just a great place to start off your night.

Sunday, 24 April 2011

Polish food coma

On one rainy Saturday night, I found myself invited by my friend and her Polish boyfriend to a party in Williamsburg. As I prepared myself to face a mob of hipsters, she also told me to meet them in Greenpoint for dinner, to soak up as many calories before a night of drinking.

Karczma is right in the middle of downtown Greenpoint off the Greenpoint Avenue stop, famously known for being a predominantly Polish neighborhood. And with a name like Karczma, the Polish boyfriend, and Polish neighborhood, I put one, two and three together to deduce that I was probably going to a Polish restaurant, which I had never had before so I was very excited.

I arrived a tad bit earlier than my friends and walked in to this very cute wood covered restaurant with dark wood tables all over, a freshly polished and stocked wooden bar, waitresses dressed in what I assume is typical Polish clothing, and a whole mess of people speaking mostly Polish while Polish music softly played in the background. I felt like I was in Poland, and I loved it. I sat at the bar as I waited and asked the bartender to recommend a Polish beer, not too dark but not too light, she let me try a few and settled on Zywiec, which I was soon to find out was the best choice I ever made according to my friends boyfriend. As I sipped on my delicious beer, I thoroughly enjoyed being surrounded by this completely different culture.

My friends arrived shortly after and they sat us immediately. I put my entire trust in Przemyslaw (don’t worry I’m still not sure how to pronounce his name) and he ordered the Grilled Plate for Three which comes with Polish Kielbasa (traditional Polish sausage), Chicken, Pork Kebab, Blood Sausage, Chicken Breast, Fresh Ham, Salmon and Bacon served with Roasted Potatoes 3 dipping sauces: BBQ, Garlic, Horseradish. If you don’t think that was enough he also ordered a Plate of Polish Specialties that included Pierogis (baked dumplings), potato pancakes, more Polish kielbasa, Hunter’s Stew and stuffed cabbage!

This was most definitely a feast I will never forget. The kielbasa, the salmon, bacon, cabbage, and blood sausage were all delectable. There were a few too many servings of potatoes, and I don’t count cabbage stuffed with meat as a vegetable, so it would have been nice to have nice salad on the side, but apparently they don’t eat stinking vegetables in Poland. If you’re not a meat lover I suggest you go someplace else, but if you’re down for a night of artery clogging deliciousness than try this place out, just try not to over-do it like we did. The place has great vibe, good service, normal prices, and awesome food.

Any suggestions for my next venture into Eastern European cuisine?

Karczma

136 Greenpoint Ave
(between Franklin St & Manhattan Ave)
Brooklyn, NY 11222
Neighborhood: Greenpoint