Claudette

Alright readers.  I'm back!  After an inspiring trip to France, I thought my first post of 2014 should be Claudette, the hot new French restaurant from the same owners as Rosemary's.  It looks like French food is trending in NYC, finally knocking Gastopubs off the food du jour [insert sigh of relief here].

The owners of Claudette completely transformed the space previously occupied by Cru.  Claudette's dining room is breezy, largely a result of the white walls and several large French doors cast wide open.  Walking into Claudette made me wish my flight back from Nice was cancelled during the pilot strike. The only thing missing from Claudette's wicker chairs and cushioned benches is a beach within walking distance.  While the tables at Claudette are as cramped as Rosemary's, Claudette accepts reservations, a huge improvement for people that aren't interested in waiting over a half an hour for a table.   

The service was a bit of a mixed bag.  The hostess, upon learning that my good friend was 8 1/2 months pregnant, immediately sat me (even before my friend had arrived, a classy move).  Our server, on the other hand, largely ignored us.  After being seated for ten minutes, we had to ask the bus boy if we even had a server.  When the server finally arrived, he relentlessly tried to get us to order drinks, which ultimately resulted in me pointing out that my friend was days away from giving birth so no booze that night, thanks.  We never received the bread basket that was delivered to every other table in the dining room.  And after taking our order, we did not see the server again until he delivered dessert menus.  I had better servers in France.  That said, the busboy was mostly attentive and helpful so perhaps our experience is only an isolated server issue.  

On to the food.  We started with the flat bread with pistou spread (similar to pesto, minus the pine nuts).  The dense flat bread, drawing from Claudette's Moroccan roots, was served in a bread basket with a side of of the pistou spread.  If you are a garlic fan, the pistou spread is an excellent option.  If you are anti-garlic, this spread is not for you.

As a contrast to the heavier flat bread appetizer, we also ordered the Courgette, a vegetable starter.  The Courgette consisted of thinly sliced zucchini mixed with sun dried tomatoes and basil, tossed in a light olive oil dressing.  The Courgette was colorful, light and refreshing.  While it is placed at the top of the menu, insinuating it is a starter, I would recommend ordering this as a side for your entree.

The dish that makes me want to go back to Claudette is the Lamb Shank, which happens to be a commonly featured special.  The tender, braised lamb was flavorful and meaty without being gamey.  I won't bore you with the bland beans and squash that sat in the au jus sauce, looking more like colorful decorations than having much flavor or appeal.

The fries, which taste delicious with the left over pistou and/or au jus sauce, are coated in a North African spice, Ras el Hanout.  I spent a large portion of the meal trying to decide if I liked the Ras el Hanout spice on the fries. Strangely enough, I am still debating this as I write this blog.

Even though we didn't partake in alcohol on this trip to Claudette, I certainly plan on ordering from the French only wine menu next time.  Like Rosemary's, Claudette features affordable (for a NYC restaurant) wines (in addition to more expensive wines).  The wine menu boasts wine from every region in France, including one of my favorite Champagnes, the Billecart-Salmon.

Looking to join the new French food craze?  Claudette's Lamb Shank will make you glad you did.

Your foodie friend

Insider tip: Skip the overly hyped Chicken Tangine. While the chicken is moist, the dish was largely bland and underwhelming.  Cafe Mogador's chicken tangine is twice as good and about half of the price.  Writing this blog post made me realize I have not reviewed Cafe Mogador so stay tuned for the review this winter.

MP Taverna-Astoria

Astoria, I've missed you (food blog readers, missed you too, sorry I've been MIA)!  Astoria's Greek community always makes for a fun night out.  It's only a 30 minute subway ride on the Q or N train from midtown so there's no need to take a cab.

After a few Manhattan hits, the Greek restaurateur, Michael Psilakis, decided to branch out to Astoria with MP Taverna (there are other MP Taverna locations on the Island now as well).  It seems like a somewhat risky venture in that now he is among dozens of other already popular Greek establishments.  But Psilakis pulls it off, with a menu that includes both Greek staples and Greek inspired food adventures.  The food  is truly the star of MP Taverna.  Management will need to fine tune the rest.

Our server was over the top in welcoming us.  What he lacked in competence he made up with in warmth and gusto.  We arrived ravenous (surprised?) and asked for pita bread as soon as he greeted us.  Our server informed us that the restaurant servers pita with dinner but at our request, he would bring us pita right away.  Twenty minutes went by so we asked again, and then again 20 minutes later.  Pita, slightly heated and sliced into triangles, shouldn't take over 45 minutes to arrive at your table.

The wine menu is Greek heavy, but thankfully includes other options from the rest of the Mediterranean and California.  One of the coolest things about MP Taverna is that every bottle was available by the glass or half bottle.  Brilliant!  I wish more restaurants did this.

We opted for the 2010 Decoy Cabernet Sauvignon because I was enamored with the '09 I had a few months back.  It was pretty disappointing when we noticed after the server poured the bottle into our wine glasses that despite the menu clearly stating the bottle was from 2010, the bottle was actually a 2011.  The wine was too young and the restaurant didn't have decanters (the server didn't even know what a decanter was!).  The bottle was ok, but far from the great bottle we had expected and paid for.

If you are looking for a slightly more intimate dinner, ask to be seated upstairs.  Otherwise, the dining area behind the bar is lively, playing a mix of music aimed at a mid 20's to mid 40's crowd.  This is a great place for a double date, especially if you have friends that will order family style.  The menu (including the specials) is large and narrowing down what to eat was a good problem to have.  The food is well portioned and thus easy to share.  With so many tempting choices, you'd be sad to go it alone.

While everything we had was good, there were definitely a few standouts.

What to Order:

To start, opt for the Bulgar Salad with dates, almonds, pomegranates, pistachio, red onion and olives.  This dish is served cold, tossed in a light dressing, and is packed with color, texture and flavor.  I would have preferred if the dates were chopped (they are too big to be bite sized) but other than that, this salad is an interesting alternative to the standard Greek salad (which is also on the menu).










If the Lamb Risotto is on MP Taverna's list of "Specials", you must order it.  This was hands down the best dish of the night.  MP Taverna's Lamb Risotto should be a permanent fixture on the nightly menu.  The shallow bowl of risotto was mixed with braised lamb shank, Parmesan cheese, a blend of parsley, dill, and chives, shallots, and garlic.  Despite the few service hiccups, the Lamb Risotto at MP Taverna is reason enough to return.  As you can tell from this shot, it was so good, we could barely leave it alone long enough to take a picture.









If you are looking for something light yet satisfying, order the Grilled Branzino.  The portion size, which included a side of your choice, was impressively large (and also attacked upon arrival, which explains the sad state of affair of the fish on the skillet).  The freshly caught fish was dressed with olive oil and oregano, highlighting the quality of the fish.  This dish is a nice balance to the heavier lamb dishes.

Looking for a food adventure minutes outside the city?  Once MP Taverna works out a few service kinks, I know I'll be back,

Your foodie friend

Lafayette (Brunch)

Ok Carmenelli, we are officially through.  No more disappointing brunches or dinners.  No more terrible service.  The only highlights of my brunch at Lafayette were the company and the outdoor seating, neither of which are remotely related to your cooking and service, the essence of your restaurants.

Carmenelli, you have a Patisserie located on the premises of Lafayette so your croissants should be exceptional and fresh.  But my chocolate croissant had a hard, log of chocolate in it.  While the dough was light and flaky, there is no way you can pawn that underwhelming treat off as a freshly made croissant.

Both of our mains were terribly overcooked.  The Brussels style (aka Belgium) Waffle with Nutella was charred in some places.  And the whipped cream on top was flavorless, so the waffle needed much more nutella then was lightly drizzled on the charred waffle.  Also, the Smoked Salmon in the Benedict was thoroughly cooked so it was like eating a cooked piece of salmon (not even cooked to medium rare), not a savory breakfast dish.

The service was worse at brunch than at dinner.  We repeatedly had to ask the server to serve us (e.g. take our order, deliver maple syrup for the waffles, bring us the bill, etc...).  It took asking twice and twenty minutes to bring out the maple syrup, by which time the waffles were cold, which certainly didn't improve its already lackluster taste.

What to Eat:

If you are stuck eating at Lafayette for brunch, the only item that was delicious was the Eggs Lafayette, Lafayette's take on deviled eggs.  The hard boiled egg halves were piled high with a puree of smoked sablefish, and then topped with trout caviar.  I would order at least one of these per person.

Anyone else cross Carmenelli's restaurants off their list?  I know I won't be back,

Your foodie friend

Lafayette

With all the new French restaurants opening up, I decided to have an impromptu French food week.  Lafayette now occupies the ominous Chinatown Brasserie space.  There's always something strange about walking into a restaurant in it's new incarnation, especially when it is so different from its predecessor.

Lafayette tries really hard to be the new "it" French brasserie, cheesy "french" waitress costumes and all.  While the decor works, the costumes certainly don't.  The one huge plus to Lafayette is the abundance of outdoor seating.  Despite it's location across from a parking lot, it is actually quiet a charming set up.

The menu focuses on seasonal ingredients, which is great for snow pea and radish fans (are there any radish fans???, there was certainly a lot of radish featured on the menu).  The wine menu is French centric and overpriced.  Not to say that there aren't great selections, we were happy with the Sancerre we ordered, but the prices are pretty close to gouging.  I don't think you should have to spend $80 to get a good bottle of wine wine, after all this isn't Per Se.

The service was awkward throughout the meal.  Our server constantly tried to get us to order our meal, which was ridiculous and unnecessary, we were there on the early side and the dining room was largely empty.  Once we finally caved to her hounding, she asked if we wanted our dishes coursed, we we did.  Despite her offer and our acceptance, everything arrived at the same time.

The dessert menu was lame, lacking traditional French favorites like souffles and tartins.  We ended up going elsewhere for dessert.  

Despite having a patisserie on the premises, Andrew Carmenelli does nothing with the bread basket tossed on your table.  Overall, I felt that most of the dishes we ordered were average.  The scallops were small and overcooked, with the best thing on the plate being the snow peas.  Strangely, we noticed the table across from us got up in the middle of their entrees and left after barely touching their food.  Perhaps we weren't the only diners underwhelmed with Lafayette.  At Lafayette's price point, Carmenelli needs to up his game.

What to Eat:

Start with the Octopus, the large, thick tendril is placed over thinly sliced, sauteed onions and peppers.  The plate is also garnished with pureed eggplant and drizzled olive oil.  Octopus is plentiful these days so you may think why bother, but I appreciated the rusticness of this dish.  And the freshness of the octopus was top notch.

Another fabulous starter is the Snap Peas with Pureed Ricotta and Salsa Verte (oh ya, and radishes on top, easily pushed to the side).  This was a winner because it was simple, different, and delicious.  This appetizer is perfect for a sweltering, summer day.  The pureed ricotta hidden under the snap peas were an excellent contrast to the light, chilled salsa verte dressing.

The Short Rib Ravioli special was hands down the best dish of the night.  The delicate home made ravioli noodles where packed with a tender, braised short rib.  The dish was finished off with an aged balsamic vinegar and Parmesan topping.  This dish was so good it made me sad I had to share it.  

Carmenelli, you get one last shot for brunch at Lafayette before I write you off entirely, who wants in?

Your foodie friend

Avoid at all costs: Maine Crab a la Nage.  We sent this gelatinous, foul tasting dish back it was so bad.  This should be removed from the menu, I can't see how anyone could enjoy a luke warm gelatin with tiny slivers of crab in it.

Taverna

NYC's oppressive heat waves always make me crave Greek food.  Taverna, located in Gramercy, recently replaced the longstanding Lyric diner.  As someone that actively avoids diners, I was pretty stoked with the neighborhood upgrade.

Taverna has dozens of tables for sidewalk seating (for when the weather is below 90+ degrees).  Fair warning readers, the service was far from great.  After being ignored for 10 minutes, we had to call over our waitress to take our order.  We then had to flag her down to check on our food (I'm pretty sure it shouldn't take 30 minutes to prepare a Greek salad).  And this was when the restaurant was at least half empty.  

But the food was well worth tolerating the negligent service, as you can probably tell from the bright colors of the fresh ingredients in the Greek salad.  Every dish we ordered was a hit.  The menu was packed with so many enticing options I could easily go back every night this week and order something new.

What To Eat:

Even though it is meant to be a side, I decided to start with the Fasolakia, which is green beans stewed in a tomato sauce.  Taverna's green beans were the best green beans I've ever had at any Greek restaurant anywhere, including Greek restaurants in Greece.  The green beans were cooked to perfection, and tossed in a thick tomato sauce, with diced carrots (the diced carrots were a welcomed addition that I've never seen before in Fasolakia).  

For an entree, we devoured the Youvetsi Thalassinon, which is also known as Greek paella.  This savory orzo dish is practically overflowing with fresh scallops, shrimp, octopus, and mussels. The light orzo noodles are tossed in a buttery, feta tomato sauce.  This is a great choice if you are struggling to decide which seafood dish to go with (because Taverna offers quite a few).

Looking to take advantage of the break in the heat this weekend? Pull up a chair at on of Taverna's sidewalk tables,

Your foodie friend

Amali

I know I've been neglecting my beloved food blog.  Partly because I am swamped with work and dance but also because I haven't been inspired to write.  I am tired of saying "good food, bad service" or "average food, bad service".  Why is it so hard to find good service AND good food in NYC?

But alas, after eating at Amali, a charming Mediterranean restaurant near Bloomingdale's, I am once again inspired to pound the letters on my keyboard.  Amali's menu doesn't focus on just one country but instead incorporates Greek, Italian and other Mediterranean countries to create a diverse and delicious offering.

The restaurant is somewhat reminiscent of it's Greek sister restaurant Periyali, which I also enjoyed (reviewed here: http://forthefoodieinallofus.blogspot.com/2013/03/periyali.html).  The white walls are contrasted with red upholstery, hinting at the eclectic Mediterranean cuisine that will follow.  Also like Periyali, a medium sized bar area lines the front of the restaurant.

From the moment we were seated, we were promptly and warmly greeted by our server.  We had warned him we were in a rush and he made sure to bring out the food so quickly we had time to spare.  He had an impressive in depth knowledge of the menu and it's exotic ingredients.  You could tell from the moment you met our server that he took pride in providing impeccable service.

After discussing the menu with our server, Amali delivered a bowl of dense, thickly sliced seven grain bread with seasoned olive oil.  The hearty yet soft bread was a welcomed surprise/departure from pita typically served at Greek restaurants or Italian/focaccia bread served at Italian restaurants.

Amali boasts a large wine menu, with white and red options from all over the globe.  Because we were ordering a few seafood items (and it was over 90 degrees out), we went with a crisp bottle of Sancerre, which went perfectly with all of our food choices.  Amali allows you to bring "unique" bottles for a corkage fee.  Sadly, I forgot to ask what that meant but my inclination is that the restaurant allows corkage for bottles not featured on the menu, which if that's the case, I'm a fan (on my to do list to call back and inquire...seeing that I will be back).

What to Eat:

We started with one of the specials, the Heirloom Tomato Over Whipped Ricotta with Basil Leaves.  I hope this is a special that appears all summer because it certainly is worth repeating.  The large, colorful tomato slices where placed on top of a bed of airy, ricotta cheese.  The texture of the ricotta cheese was so light it was hard to believe it was ricotta.  The sweet tomatoes were then topped with different varietals of basil leaves.  We needed extra bread to ensure we did not leave a speck of the delectable cheese behind.

Another appetizer must is the Spanish Octopus a la Plancha, with olives, potatoes, celery and oregano.  You can see from the picture, it looks like the appetizer is lined up, inviting you to aggressively dive in to each bite.  The plump octopus tenderils were moist, which is not a term I would usually use to describe octopus, but they were.  The octopus was topped with a mixture of greens, olives, small diced potatoes, and slices of raw celery.  This was a fantastic light dish on a hot summer night.

Somehow, my picture of the Line Caught Local Dorade did not turn out.  Nevertheless, the dish was perfection.  The whole fish is grilled and then presented at the table so that the server could confirm that I would like the fish filleted.  Amali takes great pride in the quality and accuracy of its seafood.  The dorade was no exception.  I wish this simple, yet flavorful fish, was offered at more restaurants.

The fish does not come with sides, which was a bit strange for a Mediterranean restaurant.  Luckily, the Oven Roasted Broccoli 

with Pine Nuts and Salmoriglio appetizer seemed like a suitable choice for a side.  Salmoriglio is a mixture of lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper.  The broccoli was packed with so much flavor that despite not having cream, my husband was willing to eat it.

Looking to escape the Bloomingdale's chaos?  Amali will provide you with an inviting and enticing reprieve from your shopping madness,

Your foodie friend

Wong

Wong is yet another West Village super hyped restaurant that I had impatiently waited to try.  Plans were cancelled, the restaurant was closed for a paint job, etc...Finally, we had the chance to check it out with our good foodie friend from Cali.

Did it live up to the hype?  A few dishes did (see below).  But I was underwhelmed with the Lobster Egg Foo Young, rated as one of the best dishes of 2012.  It came out as a hodgepodge of ingredients that competed against each other, and left me wondering what was so extraordinary about it.

Wong didn't/doesn't have air conditioning, which was more than a bit stifling in the summer heat.  The service was friendly at first but wholly inattentive throughout our meal.  We sat with our finished dinner plates for at least a half an hour and then had to beg for a check.  Also, I was a bit underwhelmed by the sparse wine menu.  Luckily, there is a wine store around the corner so you can pick up something you want to drink and just pay the corkage fee.

What to Eat:

Start with the Duck Buns and don't agree to share these!  The duck buns are listed under a small plates so if you want this for an entree, maybe order 3 servings for 2 people.  I promise that you will NEED more than 1 duck bun per person.  The duck buns are practically overflowing with black bean marinated, delicately shredded duck breast, and then topped with Chinese celery.  Wong's doughy buns (it's hard not to chuckle reading that) are worth abandoning a carb free lifestyle.  Just writing this makes me want to go back and order more.  We tried at least half of the menu at Wong, and if it wasn't for the Duck Buns, I certainly wouldn't return.

The other standout at Wong is the Crispy Cauliflower, a spicy side dish. The pan fried cauliflower is tossed in a hot peanut sauce and is a generous serving for a side dish.

Craving duck?  Wong will satisfy that hankering (even if it doesn't satisfy others),

Your foodie friend

Insider tip:

Wong offers a Duckavore Dinner for 4 people, which consists of several different duck preparations (e.g. Duck Bun, Duck Noodles, Duck Meatballs, etc...).  It is pricey, at $65/person, but after snarfing down the Duck Bun, I would consider trying this feast.  In order to secure the Duckavore Dinner, you must give Wong 48 hours notice.