5 min Review: Permanent Brunch

Last weekend my friend Alicia organized an outing to see Still Life at the Lucille Lortel theatre. We decided to have brunch before our play and Alicia let me pick the place. I read about Permanent Brunch a few months ago and put on my short list of places to check out. We met on the early side since they don't reservations and we were a party of 5 which can be hard to seat. After waiting about 40 mins, we were seated at a front table meant for 4! Oh well, we squeezed. We had water immediately from the busboy and menus but didn't see our server for a good 10 mins. Finally, we all ordered. I had scrambled eggs with whole grain toast and herb new potatoes. Sarah and Lauren had the same thing. Alicia had buttermilk pancakes with a fruit sauce on the side. Martha had the baked eggs with a short rib ragu and duck fat fingerling potatoes. We also ordered up a sampler from their bacon bar and these special donuts called zeppolis. If I told you we all got our food at the same time I would be lying. Alicia had her pancakes a good 5 mins before I got my food. Martha's baked eggs came last. About 10 mins after Alicia's pancakes. The zeppolis came out as a starter. The bacon came out between the scrambled eggs and the baked eggs. A total cluster. We asked for syrup. Didn't get for 10 mins. We asked for ketchup. Didn't get for 5 mins. Coffee? We didn't get for 30 mins!!! I actually asked a busboy for a cup. Because our food came out at random times, we couldn't wait to eat together as cold eggs are gross. The food was good. Not great but good. But not worth suffering through the terrible service. On a positive note, the space was really cool and they have this ipod station where you can hook up your device and then play guest DJ. The concept is cool too, heck we all like eating breakfast food at dinner! But get your act together!!!

Bottom line: Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Glad I tried but not rushing back. Perhaps going at an off hour would be better instead of during prime brunch hours. Visit at your own risk.

thatstheticketblog.blogspot.com (read Alicia's blog for the play review)

www.permanentbrunch.com

Eatin' it Up in London

London, like New York, has an amazing food scene. But, like all good things, it didn't happen overnight. I remember going to London as a teenager with my mom and being completely devastated by the food choices. Bangers and mash? What the heck is that? Meat pies? Yuck. I think I survived on bread, butter, diet coke, and penguin bars for the entire stay. I eventually went back as an adult and found to my surprise things had changed for the better.

As with any trip I take, I spend hours doing food/restaurant research. After consulting my sources, I sent a list of places and ideas to one of my besty's (Erica) who lives in a darling flat in central London. Erica was celebrating her birthday while I was there so it was extremely important that the birthday girl pick a birthday meal. Aside from Erica's special meal, we hit many spots that I highly recommend!

Day 1: Tired but hungry!

Borough Market --> www.boroughmarket.org.uk

This is a foodie's paradise. I literally stepped into this market and my eyes were wide and my mouth was open. I was in heaven. The stalls lined little pathways that went left and right and revealed magical places. Neal's Dairy Yard is perhaps the best cheese shop ever. Upon arrival, a cheesemonger gave us a taste of a lovely mild blue. This was what they were pushing as their special cheese deal of the day. 20 lbs later, I walked out of Neal's with their Gloucester Cheddar, a Brit version of Manchego, the mild blue I tried upon arrival, and a lovely soft goat cheese that was very rich. After tasting the Gloucester Cheddar, I became hooked. So much so that another vendor was doing grilled cheese sandwiches with this cheese and I had to buy one! What a piggy! Erica and I hit a few more stalls for some fruit and vegetables before leaving this wonderful place.

Armed with all our goodies for later, we went to Mayfair and had tea at Claridge's. What a gorgeous hotel! Erica and I met up with another besty of mine who happens to be moving to London soon. Nancy, Erica, and I all had the champagne tea. Why the heck not?! We sipped our champers while feasting on lovely tea sandwiches -- egg, cucumber, chicken, & salmon-- and the best scones with clotted cream ever. Little did I know that you can actually ask the waiter for more tea sandwiches!

www.claridges.co.uk

Day 2: Birthday Girl's Lunch & Dinner

A bit weary in the head from all the wine and cheese from the night before, we headed out to lovely Hammersmith and went to the very famous River Cafe for lunch. Sitting on the banks of the Thames, this restaurant single handily brought good food to the UK. Rose Gray & Ruth Rogers are considered pioneers in the food world. Not only did they give the UK a food scene, they gave birth to talent like Jamie Oliver and April Bloomfield. All that said, the food was truly amazing. I started with the Antipasti di Verdure that featured red peppers, spinach, fennel, and tomato with a lovely basil EVOO accent. Nancy had a lovely mesclun mix with beans and Erica had the scallop special. Both were beautiful and absolutely delicious. Our entrees were even better. I had the handmade ravioli with pesto and a shower of Parmesan. Words can't describe how good this was! Both Nancy and Erica had the ribolita. We complimented our meals with the nicest Sauvignon blanc from Italy. Since it was a birthday meal, we indulged with a piece of flourless chocolate cake called the Chocolate Nemisis. This cake was served with a tart cream that was a very interesting contrast to the rich chocolate we all enjoyed.

www.rivercafe.co.uk

The Birthday Girl's Dinner was at a really swish gastropub called The Engineer. I can't take full credit for finding. I was tipped off by the lovely Gwyneth Paltrow whose blog, Goop, I read often. There was quite a few of us--Nancy, Rich, Nina, me, and the Birthday Girl-- at the dinner so I can't recall all the dishes. I can recall that I started with a nice bean soup and then had a lovely tortellini pasta with sundried tomatoes, olives, and pine nuts. Everything was really good and really affordable. Also, the pub is in a nice location in Primrose Hill. We drank several bottles of wine...I lost count at one point! But what dinner!

www.the-engineer.com

Day 3: Canary Wharf and the Proms

Oh how I love Canary Wharf. Lots of shops, restaurants, and good walking paths parallel to the Thames. Erica and I went out to Canary Wharf with our friend Nicki who was up from Brighton to see us. I was DEAD set on trying out Jamie Oliver's new place called Jamie's Italian. I had been to Fifteen the last time I was in London and loved it so I wanted to sample other Jamie restaurants. We had to wait about 30 mins for a table but that gave us an excuse to sip some Proseco on the terrace of the restaurant. Jamie's Italian reminded me of Otto for those of you familiar with Batali's pizza joint in NYC. Lots of cheeses, meats, pastas, and most importantly, a GREAT wine list. We started off with chickpea popcorn (crunchy fried chickpeas spiced with fennel and sweet paprika), assorted brushetta's (chargrilled sourdough bread served with creamed ricotta, rustic tomato salsa, smashed roast artichoke, rocket and Parmesan pesto), Parmesan with balsamic, mozzarella w/pesto, and rice balls filled with ricotta. We also ordered up a bread basket filled with focaccia, ciabatta, sourdough country bread, and grissini sticks. For our entrees (yes, we ate more), we all shared the pasta bolognese, the truffle tagliatelle, herb polenta, cheesy cauliflower,and balsamic marinated chickpeas. My favorite was the bolognese! Alas, no dessert for us!

www.jamieoliver.com

My last evening was a real treat. A gang of us headed to Hyde Park to attend the Proms put on by the BBC. Little did I know that Barry Manilow was performing!!!! How funny to see tons of Brits walking around with t-shirts saying " I Love Barry"!!!! It was hysterical. We all brought picnic food and set-up a blanket and put out all our goodies.

We feasted on leftover cheese from Neal's, delicious guacamole Nancy made, fresh bread and meat from Whole Foods, olives, and the nicest organic wine courtesy of Nina! We ended the night singing Rule, Britannia!

Bottom line: London is the best. If I wasn't such a die-hard East coaster (and a mamma's girl), I would live there. I love the civility of town. I love the way crowds gather inside pubs like mad. I love the oldness of the city. I love all the black cabs. I love bad British TV. Most of all, I can honestly say I love the food:)

5 min Review : Locanda Verde

A few weeks ago I dined with some faithful foodies at Locanda Verde. The word on the street was positive and it was Italian--how could you go wrong? Plus, the menu looked delicious and the prices were descent. The chef, Andrew Carmellini, comes with quite an impressive resume having been a James Beard award winner and a F&W Best New Chef in 2000. One would think all of this would make for a wonderful dinner.

Think again.

We started with 3 cicchetti's or small plates for those not familiar with the term:

Mozzarella crostino with eggplant & pesto on prosciutto bread
Blue Crab crostino with jalapeno and tomato
Lamb Meatball Sliders with caprino and cucumber

The lamb meatball sliders were by far the tastiest in the bunch. I could have ordered several more! The blue crab was so so as it had a fishy taste. The crostino was good but just pretty ordinary. Nothin' special.

For our entrees, we all picked something different:

Homemade Pappardelle with lamb bolognese, mint and ricotta
Ravioli
Gigantone with Sunday night ragu and provolone picante

The pappardelle was VERY pretty. Big, fat noodles with a nice meat sauce. Again, pretty standard. The gigantone was awfully close in taste to the pappardelle and wasn't that special. My foodie friend liked it but wasn't mesmerized. My ravioli had a lovely taste but the portion was extremely small. It could have been a starter! I had so few of them that all I can recall is that they had parmesan cheese on them!

Bottom line: Save your money and go to your local Italian joint for equally delicious food at half the price.

http://locandaverdenyc.com

Eating Up a Storm in the Big Smoke

My foodies friends...on location in London. Many reviews to come when I get stateside. Reviews from Bourough Market, The River Cafe, The Engineer, JFK Terminal 4, Jamie's, and Claridge's. Maybe a surprise or two!

Having a great time! Cheerio!

A Gourmet BBQ to Remember...

While most Americans are grilling their burgers and dogs on this well deserved day, my family celebrated the extra time we had by creating a gourmet summer menu. This menu was made possible by a brand new grocery store that just opened in Vero. Fresh Market is a chain of stores all over the South and they pride themselves on selection, quality, and price. When we visited the store on Saturday, my mom was almost brought to tears when she spotted the baby bok choy. I too became tearful when I looked over the cheese selection and spyed my all time favorite - Grafton Cheddar. For my foodie friends that aren't familiar with Vero Beach, we have been living with Publix, Winn-Dixie, and Albertson's for way too long. The latter 2 are awful and we don't visit. The Publix near my house, called Wabasso Publix, is in my opinion the best one in town. The selection is better than most and the bakery is better than average. The wine section is very impressive with bottles from all over the world. But, what they fall short on, Fresh Market makes up for ten times over.

Our Labor Day menu:

Starters:

Ina's Guacamole

Little Karin's Salsa

Manchego, Jarlsberg, Danish Blue, & Grafton Cheddar with a quince paste and fig jam

Olives

Entrees:

Beef Tenderloin with a horseradish cream topping

Red and Yellow Beets with Goat Cheese and a Balsamic Vinagrette

Heirloom Tomato Salad with fresh Basil

Karin's Tzatziki with Pita chips

Little Karin's Pasta Salad (sundried tomatoes, wild shrimp, rotini pasta, EVOO, basil, and parmesan cheese)

Grilled Vegetables

Dessert:

Mom's homemade ice-cream (vanilla with chocolate chunks and Nutter Butter cookies) topped with hot fudge

We sent our guests home with doggie bags. As usual, we always make too much!

Bottom line: a big shout out to little Karin's Tzatziki. Perhaps the best I have ever tasted and loaded with garlic! Labor Day BBQ was a success!

Da Bronx

I confess, I am lukewarm about watching baseball. As a kid, I remember watching the Pittsburgh Pirates with my gram and always looked forward to this occasion as it came with a root beer float. Gram was a master float maker. She would serve these heavenly drinks in these great big beer mugs that practically covered my face they were so big. After the floats always came a rush of sugar to my head and in no time I was fast asleep next to her. She would wake me after the game and tuck me into bed and whisper how much she loved me and that the Pirates would win next time. I always think of her when I watch baseball....

A few Friday evenings ago, I headed up to the new Yankee stadium with my pals. It was chilly out and the rain cloud channel 4 predicted actually came and sat over the stadium for most of the evening. Despite the rain, we had a wonderful evening that was highlighted by a visit to Lobel's meat mecca. Lobel's has been around for over 100 years and I have passed their Madison avenue store many times but never had a reason to visit. Finally, I had a reason and their steak sandwich was calling my name. My pals and I stood in a relatively short line and all ante'd up $15 bucks for the steak sandwich. Since NY law now requires calories to be posted on all menus, we knew that the steak sandwich was 435 calories. The steak was sliced and covered in its natural juice and then placed on a perfectly baked roll. Back at our seats, we pulled the sandwiches out of their bags and all took a bite. Silence. Imagine, 4 girls not saying a word? Impossible, right? Ha! As the rain poured down on us and added more moisture to our rolls, we continued to eat them. Nothing could get between us and our sandwiches. The meat was so tender and the flavors were just perfect. I hate when meat is too salty and this was perfect. The buns were super fresh and the horseradish sauce I added made everything even better.

Wet, cold, but very full, we headed back downtown while the Yanks kicked some White Sox toush in the final inning.

www.lobels.com

Bottom line: skip the burgers and waffle fries and treat yourself to Lobel's. Worth every penny! Too bad I won't be back to Yankee stadium anytime soon!

I was pleased at Apizz

Last night I had the good fortune of dining with 3 lovely ladies at a gem of a restaurant on the Lower East Side. Apizz, pronounced A-Beets, is a wonderful little Italian spot nestled in a cozy space on Eldridge. I have been here maybe 4 times before and everytime I leave happier than when I arrived! The main dining room feels like you are in the Keebler Elves treehouse. It is that awesome. The main star of the room is the open fire pit that cooks everything from pizza to meatballs. Luckily for me, my dinner dates are all people who like to share so I actually got to taste much of the menu.

Our waiter started us off with an usual bread basket: Sullivan Street bread served with ricotta and a little bowl of fresh tomato sauce. Delicious! Each bite was perfect or at least I made it that way! We then ordered 3 starters, two to come very soon and one as a mid-course. The flatbread pizza with chiorzo was out of this world. Just enough cheese and the right amount of Chiorzo. Not one ingredient overpowered the other. The 2nd starter was the Gambero, a dish full of lemon shrimp and chiorzo in a breadcrumb based EVOO sauce. So flavorful and enough sauce to warrant another helping of bread to soak up the herd infused EVOO. We paused for a bit and enjoyed our wine. I had an Italian wine called Orvieto that was so mellow and refreshing. Our mid-course, Meatballs, is what makes Apizz famous. The polpette e pomodori are veal-beef-pork meatballs cooked in the open fire pit. They are made to order so they take 20 minutes. This is really nothing in the grand scheme of it as these meatballs are perhaps the best I have ever tasted. I can't say I have ever had really good meatballs though. A few years ago I tasted Rocco DiSpirito's meatballs at The Restaurant, which has since closed. I thought they were good but I really had no base of comparison. Now I do and Apizz is the winner!

Our entrees were all shareable. We had the gnocchi with the honey braised prime beef, the handkerchief pasta with fresh crab and tomato sauce, an open face ravioli with a mascarpone ricotta cheese and caramelized butternut squash, and the oven baked skate fish. Let's deconstruct the mains, shall we?

Gnocchi: delicious but if you don't have a big appetite skip. The gnocchi are dense and the meat is abundant. Full of flavor and one of the best pasta dishes on the menu.

Handkerchief: everytime my sniffer smelled something divine I knew it was the chef cooking the garlic for this dish. The crab is so delicate yet really stands up to the tomato sauce. It is a great pairing. The flat pasta is merely the conduit to getting this lovely crab/tomato sauce in your mouth!

Ravioli: the cheese paired with the butternut squash is so heavenly it makes my mouth water just thinking about it. So yummy but a few bites is all you need.

Skate: lovely lemon/caper sauce that adorned the fish. Perfect slices of potato infused with rosemary served as a side. Nice, but the pasta is a better bet!

Dessert: no room at all but the choices were great!

If you put me in a corner and asked me to pick my entree, I would say the handkerchief crab pasta. Loverlee!

The only ding I have to make about Apizz is our waiter. He was weird. He forgot to bring stuff and we had to ask multiple times for a few things. Also, he told us that Apizz's sister restaurant The Orchard was nowhere near the deliciousness of Apizz. Weird, right?

Bottom line: Great date spot men!! Order any pasta but the penne (I had on a previous occasion and didn't like) and make sure you get the meatballs. Opentable takes resi's for them so you can even earn your 100 points! The prices are in the middle, not as cheap as I would like, but not super duper outrageous. I am sure you will also be pleased at Apizz:)

www.apizz.com

Next Up: Yankee Stadium dining!