Fig & Olive: Meatpacking District

Fig & Olive
420 West 13th St - Map
Between 9th Ave and Washington St
New York
(212) 924-1200
Mediterranean Chic

Fresh ingredients, flavorful palate punches, inviting open-space ambiance.....the list goes on. Fig & Olive couldn't have found a better location than the Meat Packing District by taking advantage of all the wide-open spaces: tall ceilings, full-length windows, open kitchen, warm and light color palette, and fun wicker-covered hanging light fixtures (I particularly loved the wrought-iron olive branch candle-sconces along one wall, opposite a white wall with potted green plants - great touch!). What better venue to truly embrace the feel of the open Mediterranean sun on your face, and expecting light and flavorful food?!

Well, on this particularly beautiful and sunny Saturday afternoon, after our hibernation through the NYC winter, a friend and I decided to brunch at this much-talked-about restaurant. Being partial to the Mediterranean palate and spices, I was eager to see how Executive Chef Pascal Lorange was going to coax out some of the more subtle flavors of this prominent cuisine.

Upon entering the restaurant, we were greeted by the hostess, behind whom were white shelves lined with various bottles of olive oil. We were immediately seated and allowed to peruse the brunch menu as well as their regular one.

My friend, in his overly cautious attitude toward food, chose their scrambled eggs from their brunch menu. I, however, brought some adventure to the table, and ordered 6 of their crostini, and their Yellow Fin Tuna Carpaccio. The friendly waitress was very informative and was efficient at filling our glasses with water and our mugs with the sought-after coffee.

The scrambled eggs were brought on a beautiful plate, inside a bread nest, served with a side salad. The crostini I ordered for the table were as follows:

• Grilled Vegetables, Olive Tapenade
• Eggplant Caviar, Red Bell Pepper
• Manchego, Fig Spread, Almond
• Prosciutto, Ricotta, Fig & Olive & Walnut Tapenade
• Bresaola, Goat Cheese, Olive
• Shrimp, Ricotta, Cilantro, Tomato

Allow me to describe in detail the play of flavor. First of all, each of the crostinis themselves were toasted to perfection; toasted rim, and soft inner bread.

The grilled vegetables were nice, still maintaining their shape and flavor, and releasing their smokey grilled flavors, textures of eggplant and zucchini teasing the palate.

The eggplant caviar was most interesting, with distinct eggplant flavors, and the subtle caviar undertone to buffet the eggplant - interesting synergy that surprisingly goes well together.

The manchego and fig spread was amusing, with the play of salty and savory-sweet figs. The almonds added an enveloping warmth and delicious crunch to the crostini, and the fig spread while primarily sweet, wisped your palate of a savory deliciousness at the end.

I particularly liked the prosciutto crostini. The deep purple of the prosciutto contrasting with the stark white ricotta was very appealing. The meat had a subtle flavor that meshed well with the soft ricotta, all tied together like string with the tapenade reacting differently and wonderfully with both the prosciutto and ricotta. Wonderful textural and flavorful play.

The bresaola and goat cheese was also magnificent in its simplicity. In conrast to the prosciutto, the bresaola had a lot more meaty flavor, and what better cheese to pair it with than a bold goat cheese? The flavors melded perfectly together.

Last, but certainly not least, and probably my most favorite was the shrimp crostini. The light sea flavor and defining texture of the shrimp atop the creamy avocado was superb. This crostini took me back to Greece, sitting on a beach, enjoying the warmth of the sun on my face, and the deep and clear turquoise waters at my feet atop blindingly white sparkly sand. The flavors simply washed over me in waves, and I was sad when I took the last bite.

Next came the tuna carpaccio. I have to say, I was impressed with this dish. Carpaccio is usually a raw and very thinly sliced meat, typically served with arugala and parmesan and sometimes olive oil. The yellow fin tuna was dressed in balsamic vinegar, lemon and sesame oil, and served with cilantro, arugala and marcona almonds. I loved that they were able to maintain the beautiful shape of the tuna fillet that was sliced to paper-thinness, with it's ruby hue in some places, and dark purple in others. I particularly loved how the subtle flavor of the tuna was not lost underneath the power-players of sesame oil - as subtle as it may be, balsamic vinegar - bold, but tempered to a hint of sweetness, and the lemon juice - perking up the hidden flavors of the arugala and tuna and emphasizing the cilantro tang. The marcona almonds were a pleasant textural play against the fragile tuna and the crispy arugala - and played nicely off the peppery flavors.

Overall, I had a wonderful experience at Fig & Olive. I didn't feel rushed and felt comfortable taking my time with the food and laying back occassionally to sip at my coffee. Fig & Olive truly embraces and adopts the Mediterranean cuisine and attitude, and I couldn't have thought of a better place to have this experience on the dawning of Spring in NYC.

Firebird Russian Restaurant

Firebird Russian Restaurant
365 West 46th Street - Map
Between 8th and 9th Avenues
New York
(212) 586-0244
Pre-Revolution Russian Cuisine

Winter Restaurant Week in NYC again. Another opportunity to smuggle myself in to one of the more expensive culinary venues in our great city. This time around, Firebird Russian Restaurant - the love-child of J. William Holt and wife Irina von der Launitz (who is apparently the granddaughter of the late Vladimir von der Launitz, former mayor of St. Petersburg), is housed in a townhouse whose entrance spans two-stories.

Judging by the embellished and pretentious lobby, with green marble-like columns flanking doorways, rich colors, and Fabergé eggs showcased in glass cases, one would expect a mighty fine dining experience. Immediately past the lobby, there's a small waiting area by the bar, with a live pianist playing on the piano, and the bar was heavily stocked with a variety of vodkas from all over the world. The drink menu was particularly impressive with 4 pages listing various vodkas by country. The wine list was also impressive. Firebird was not afraid to show a bit of a whimsical side with a section of the menu devoted to special cocktail drinks with names like Flirtini - vodka mixed with chambord, grapefruit juice, and topped with champagne.

On this particular evening, my sister and I arrived earlier than the rest of our party, so we of course decided to indulge our senses at the bar. I personally was debating between a Kir Royale or the Flirtini, while my sister settled on a cool glass of their Riesling (which, I have to say, was delicate, and apple-fruity). I settled on the Flirtini (I figured, looks like a cosmo, but should taste different!). It tasted more of the grapefruit juice, but the champagne added a nice texture, and the chambord a nice color - even though I would have preferred more of a balanced flavor. I imagine the vodka was supposed to just add that alcoholic kick, I must not have noticed it over the décor. I would like to mention that the bartender, a giant of a man, was not particularly attentive to his patrons. He looked busy, but after careful observation, he was just moving around a lot, and not paying much attention to either mixing drinks or the clientèle waiting to place an order. After waiting for what seemed like an exasperating amount of time, we were eventually served. Slowly, the rest of my party arrived, and the very friendly host (not in a pretentious, but sincere way) caught my attention so that I may round us all up.

We were escorted into the next room, and one of the servers, bedecked in a starched, white coat, with gilded cuffs and buttons pulled the table out of a large booth, allowing 6 of us to slide in comfortably, and seating 2 of our party at the exposed end of the table. We were distributed their restaurant week 3-course menu, and their wine selection. The wine selection was meager at best. They only offered a handful of wines, by the bottle only ($45). When I asked for the more extensive list, I was given a shady answer to the effect of them relocating their wines to a different cellar and so the wines are not all accessible. I doubt it. I think they were just limiting the selection for restaurant week patrons. Ew. Consequently, we ordered no wine at all, and ordered cocktails instead, c'est la vie.

The menu was not all that exciting, actually. The offering for the first course was either the Soup of the Day, which was a silky a lusciously thick soup of root vegetables, with a distinct zucchini flavor - overall, not bad at all, the Firebird salad, a small amount of fresh goat cheese, topped with a mound of mixed greens, barely dressed with a bland vinaigrette, topped with a very thinly sliced piece of roasted pain de mie, acting as a crouton. The last offering was a pork pierogie. I immediately was drawn to that, since it seemed the most interesting of the 3 appetizers. I was mistaken. Two tiny pieces of puff pastry dough, filled with pork, and served with a small arugala side-salad (which, I might add, was undressed). The dough was overwhelming, and the pork was bland. There wasn't even a sauce to dip into to help soften the bready crust and to possibly add another dimension of flavor to the pork. One other member of our group ordered the same dish, and he too reflected my sentiments.

For the second course, they offered the chicken kiev, a vegetable risotto, salmon in a puff pastry dough, and a beef stroganov. Turns out nobody ordered the beef stroganov, so I cannot comment on its virtues (or vices). I happened to order the chicken kiev, which was served as a whole breast with a manchonéed wing tip, and breaded, atop a small bed of steamed small dice of sweet potato. As soon as I cut into the breast, like a perfectly timed show, the inner compound butter juices, which have melted, oozed out deliciously over the entire plate, "finishing it off," so-t0-speak. This being my first chicken kiev experience, I found the flavors to be delicious. The compound butter was delicious, the chicken breast was perfectly moist but meaty, and the breaded crust added a wonderful contrasting texture. Furthermore, the sweet potato was a nice addition to the savory juices. While I enjoyed this dish, I was not blown away by it. There were no sparks. It was just good.

The other dish that I thought was executed well was the salmon cooked in a thin puff pastry crust, and was stuffed with rice and egg. The salmon was not overcooked, and was still deliciously moist. The beurre blanc sauce was garnished around the fish center-piece. I have to say, this was a VERY good beurre blanc sauce. Not too heavy, not too acidic, a perfect balance of the two, and well seasoned. Again, a very good dish, but I wasn't blown away by it. The risotto was probably the most disappointing dish, actually. I didn't care for the texture, it wasn't as creamy as I would have liked, and I didn't like the taste of it. It wasn't bad, just not to my personal liking.

Finally for dessert, there was no option, we all were served the chocolate-orange tarte. Mine was accompanied by a cup of Earl Grey tea (since I didn't care for the other tea options). The tea was served in a tall glass cup, and placed in an ornate metal base with a handle - very traditional Russian tea accoutrement. I asked for sugar cubes, and they looked at me like it was the oddest request. Apparently, Firebird isn't that authentic. The chocolate tarte was really a chocolate mousse pressed into a small pyramid mold and plated. It tasted chocolaty and creamy, but for a tarte, I was expecting at least a crust. The dessert was ok, and I was hoping for a richer chocolate flavor, but I was sadly disappointed.

While my friends and I had a wonderful time at Firebird Russian Restaurant, it was more because of the pleasant company than due to the venue. The food was ok, but if you're interested in the show, and not so much in the substance, then Firebird is probably the restaurant for you.

Pasta Nostra

Pasta Nostra
116 Washington Street - Map
South Norwalk, CT
(203) 854-9700
Pan-Italian Gourmet Cuisine

Housed in Historical SoNo (South Norwalk), Pasta Nostra is a dynamic and inviting gourmet Italian restaurant. The waitstaff and chefs are extremely friendly and helpful and you get the sense that their mission is to ensure your delighted satisfaction. What's particularly interesting about Pasta Nostra is not that the food is excellent and delightful every time, but rather that their menu changes regularly. Unfortunately, they're only open Wednesday through Saturday evenings and they are a dinner-only venue.

Upon approaching Pasta Nostra, walking along Washington Street, you get a sense of a quaint, little town. They have cute boutiques and stores along the street. Additionally, there are a number of other restaurants there as well, which appear to be trendy and interesting. And don't worry, if you're looking for some nightlife too, there are a number of bars that you can take your pick from.

As far as decor is concerned, Pasta Nostra took a minimalist, cafeteria-chic approach: tile floors, simple tables with stark white tablecloths. It's set up in an open-kitchen style configuration, which lends a fun appeal to the gourmet dining experience. They also have some interesting art pieces hung up on the walls.

However, where they lack in decor, they more than make up for in quality of service and food. Their dishes never fail to impress, even to my critical palate. On this particular occassion, I and 6 other friends patronized this restaurant so we can share in a common experience. While it's impossible to predict what they're menu will hold, rest assured that you will always find something interesting to order, and if you're not that much of an adventurous eater, there are some good ol' traditional dishes as well - let's not forget, Pasta Nostra does pasta best!

They immediately brought to the table freshly baked bread that was cut into slices, and served us small dipping bowls full of their Italy-imported extra virgin olive oil. This oil is exceptionally delicious. I have never had such flavorful olive oil prior to Pasta Nostra. It had a deep green tinge, even unusual in the higher-end extra virgin olive oils which are primarily yellow with a hint of green. The oil tasted so distinctly of olive it was remarkable. When you dip the hot slices of bread into the oil, and watch as it is absorbed into the nooks and crannies of the white cloudy flesh, painting it with a beautiful green color, you can't help but savor it's heady flavor.

To accompany our meal, I chose a bottle of their Vigneti di Foscarino Soave Classico 2003 bottle of wine. To quote Nicole, a friend and fellow diner, "The wine and the olive oil, they're having a conversation in my mouth!" The wine was served chilled, and had a clear light cream to yellow color. Mineral-rich flavors balanced out all our meals with noted grassy aromas. It was truly delightful.

I originally was interested in ordering their Melon and Prosciutto antipasti - a dish of various varieties of ripe, sweet melon with their 24 month Parma ham, however, they were out of melon, but one of the chefs suggested I order their Bresaola, Arugala, Tomato and Provolone antipasti - an appetizer that was comprised of thinly sliced air-dried beef, fresh slices of tomato, a mound of fresh arugala, and a few slices of provolone cheese. I was not disappointed with this option. The beef was sliced paper-thin, almost like prosciutto, but lacked the softness one normally finds in prosociutto. It was flavorful, light, and had a slightly sweet after taste that was pleasant. When eaten together with the provolone, I found it to be perfectly balanced with the firmness of the cheese, it's mildly sharp flavor, and the saltiness went particularly well with the bresaola. The tomato and arugala lent a wonderful texture and flavor to the combination, juicy and watery, and a hint of peppery-ness from the arugala.

Another particular antipasti dish that I found to be outrageously delicious and worthy of special note was their Citrus Tuna with Blood Oranges from Sicily. Blood oranges are a novelty to begin with, and have such a beautiful and deep purple color, that went perfectly with the raw slices of big eye tuna. This dish was seasoned with freshly chopped cilantro which not only served to beautify the dish, but lent an excellent counterbalance to the sweetness of the blood orange. Additionally, hints of cumin and garlic were prevalent in the dish, and most surprisingly - hot pepper which helped to tie all the flavors together to round them out. The presentation and flavors of this dish were delightful - and you couldn't help yourself from putting another forkful into your mouth. The smooth texture of the tuna is the first thing you notice, but then the sweetness of the blood orange envelopes your tongue, transporting along with it the savory aromas of the cumin and garlic, and then the last kick of hot pepper hits you in a not overwhelming way, but more of a novel accent.

For the entrée, I ordered the Baby Chicken with Gnocchi di Patate and Artichokes. The presentation of this dish was stunning. A whole chick, stuffed with fresh parsley was cooked to be perfectly crispy and seasoned on the outside, and juicy and tender. Aside it, there were small bit-sized pieces of tender gnocchi smothered in a parmigiano cheese sauce and topped with small chunks of roasted artichoke. The woody flavor and aroma of the artichoke went deliciously well and balanced out the smooth and milkyness of the parmigiano coated gnocchi. While the chicken was delicious, there was nothing exceptional about it. However, this dish, when savored with the wine was transformed into something else. The flavors of the chicken changed subtly to an interesting meld of flavors, almost tasting richer and more robust than alone.

I sampled the Chard Ravioli with Sicilian Tomato Sauce and that was an interesting pairing of basil garnished ravioli with the distinct chard flavors - pleasantly balanced, and the heady tang of the tomato sauce buffeted the flavors of the basil and the chard independently but to one harmoniouos end.

Dessert was a fun adventure in and of itself. I ordered the Tiramisu which was layered with mascarpone and crushed roasted hazelnuts. Texturally, it was such a fun experience, pairing the creaminess with the rough texture of crushed nuts. The flavors melded nicely, with hints of nutmeg and espresso. It was a delight. I also sampled their hot chocolate cake that was served with a scoop of vanilla gelato. It was chocolaty, creamy, and very rich - almost overwhelmingly so, but the gelato served to temper the flavors and round them out to something more manageable. I also requested their inteligentsia espresso which came served in the cutest espresso cup that was decorated with figures in dancing poses. The espresso was one of the best I've ever had - strong, dark and very bitter. It was prepared to have an appealing brown froth on top.

Overall, this experience was a fun and exciting one. We each loved sampling each other's dishes, the environment was comfortable and lax enough to allow us to be relaxed and have an overall good time. I recommend visiting this establishment for something new and delicious, and never disappointing.

La Creperie

La Creperie
2608 Broadway - Map
Between West 98th and West 99th Streets
New York, NY
(212) 865-7334
French Creperie, OU Kosher

One thing I've found about the Upper West Side, is that it lacks Kosher breakfast-type cafes like their non-kosher counterparts (which, apparently, seem to flourish especially so on Broadway's wide sidewalks). While La Creperie isn't exactly a cafe, this small French Creperie comes very close.

Since I was with friends who required a Kosher restaurant, and we were looking for some kind of breakfast/brunchy food, this was the only thing we could think of. The place isn't large, but it had a friendly and inviting store-front, despite the somewhat drab awning. I was a little surprised that they didn't have any outdoor seating out on the sidewalk, but they may not have any control over that. At first impression, I thought the place was cute, but that was quickly amended when I took a better look around, after being seated by the very friendly, and professional wait-staff.

The place had one wall with exposed brick, decorated with hanging copper pots and pans. I found this to be an interesting choice of decoration, but it felt like there was still something missing. It definitely matched the copper-colored vents hanging over the crepe-stand decorated with a variety fresh fruit, which added to the sense of homey-ness - grapes, apples, bananas, pineapple. The wall behind the cooking and coffee stand was decorated with blue and white porcelain tea pots, cups, and jars - which almost seemed to clash with the adjacent exposed-brick wall. The rest of the restaurant had stark white walls, with one wall decorated with a large wooden frame filled with a collage of various French country-side scenes. The wall also had a wooden veneer that seemed to lack a richness in color, instead of a richer mahogany, it was of a blonder variety - which also matched the tables and chairs. While somewhat cliched, but warmly welcomed was the light sounds of French music playing in the background. I would have almost been disappointed if they didn't play any.

The menu had a nice selection of various crepes - both savory and sweet, except the sweet crepes were categorized as Dessert, and were placed on the back of the menu. I chose their Swiss cheese and mushroom, and asked them to add spinach to the crepe. My accompanying friends both ordered the Swiss cheese and creamed spinach crepe. We also ordered 2 regular coffees, and one iced-mocha (which judging by the sounds of it, was very good, but I cannot give you a first-hand description). The coffee was good, and they were out of skim milk since apparently their entire stock "went bad," so we had to resort to whole milk - could have been worse.

The crepes were served with a side of some mesclun greens and grape-tomatoes cut in half dressed lightly with a vinegar-based dressing. I found that the crepes were bland, completely lacking in their own flavor and didn't really have that "crepe aroma" often-times experienced upon being served freshly made crepes. I also was disappointed in that the crepe was too thin, and upon constructing the plate, wasn't folded enough to really allow you to taste the texture of the crepe at all. The filling was ok. I felt that it may have been overdone, and there was much more spinach than mushroom in it. The cheese was also overly used, as everything was oozing out in a way that made it difficult to control and eat. It did, however, hit the spot, and I'm willing to give this place another shot.

The three of us also decided that we'd split a dessert crepe - which upon much deliberation, we decided on fresh strawberries with whipped cream, since we discovered that our initial choice of peaches and whipped cream was canned peaches, and we wanted fresh fruit. I was much more satisfied with the sweet crepe than I was with the savory one. This was served with a healthy dollop of freshly prepared whipped cream (none of this out-of-a-can business), and liberal use of what tasted like freshly prepared strawberry sauce. So far, their points are running on their sweet crepes. One of our party had mentioned that the ricotta and strawberry crepe that she had previously tried was somewhat dry, which I find to be difficult to achieve since ricotta tends to retain a lot of liquid to begin with, and the strawberry also releases some of its juices when you apply heat.

As I understand it, this place is still relatively new, only in operation for about a year. Its value lies in it being Kosher, and it being a decent restaurant. The decor needs to be improved upon. I feel that since the French favor the richer and bolder colors and textures, they should build on that. Go with the exposed brick theme, and try to match that up. I still hope to try their Crepe Suzette - a personal favorite of mine, and I hope that some of their other savory options are better. If you're looking for Kosher, and something a little out of the ordinary, this is a nice place to go.

Grimaldi's Pizzeria

Grimaldi's Pizzeria
19 Old Fulton Street - Map
Between Water Street and Front Street
(718) 858-4300
Pizza


When they say "less is more," they have Grimaldi's Pizzeria in mind. The sheer simplicity of this old Brooklyn establishment is what draws people in from all over NYC. Residing in Brooklyn's DUMBO neighborhood (Down Under the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridge Overpass), expect to see lines out the door to the end of the block consisting of loyal followers to their pilgrimage.

This place offers either dine in or take out of pizza. That's it. They don't accept credit cards either, it's a cash only business! Well worth the wait, once escorted into the modest interior, you begin to feel like a part of an old Brooklyn tradition, gathering with other neighborhood people to share in some really delicious pizza. They have a meager beer and wine selection, but their toppings list more than makes up for it. Their pizza, baked in one of the few remaining authentic coal ovens, is crispy, flavorful, and actually quite pretty.

I would definitely recommend this as a great date place. Start off in the city, walk across the bridge. Grab a bite to eat at Grimaldi's, then walk down to the pier for some ice cream, all on a beautiful sunny day!

Good, inexpensive eats here! Highly recommend!