EatWellsLiveWells

March 23, 2009 Washington, DC.

On Monday I went to Brasserie Beck in Washington, DC with my brother and son for a Belgian-style lunch. We of course had mussels and all ordered the traditional style – steamed with white wine, garlic and parsley. They were served with a nice bowl of crispy frites and a trio of mayonnaise. There was plenty of baguette to sop up the broth. We finished the meal with two desserts – a clafoutis with fresh fruit and a warm pear tarte tatin with crème frâice ice cream. Finally we had some excellent coffee served in a bodum press pot. A good time was had by all and definitely worth a visit.

We made a quick trip to Chinatown on March 7, 2009. Our first stop was Prosperity Dumplings on Eldridge Street. 5 fried dumplings for $1 or 8 steamed ones for $2. Enough said. Our next stop was Doyers Vietnamese Restaurant on Doyers Street. We had summer rolls, Vietnamese crepes and a fresh, young coconut, which was delicious. We did not however order a ‘buddle’ tea.

February 16, 2009

If you’re ever find yourself over on Manhattan’s West Side and hungry for BBQ, I would recommend you visit Daisy May’s BBQ. They serve some of the best bbq in the City.

February 13, 2009

As an early Valentine’s Day celebration, I went with my wife to Aquavit, the Swedish restaurant headed by chef/co-owner Marcus Samuelsson. We both had the herring sampler with cheese and potatoes to start. For the second course, my wife had the Swedish meatballs served with pickled cucumber, lingonberries and mashed potato. I decided on the hot-smoked salmon with red and yellow beets and orange-mustard sauce. I must say,it was one of the best pieces of salmon I have had. It was cooked just right. We ended the meal with the “Arctic Circle” – a goat cheese parfait with black currant sorbet and passionfruit curd and the “Chocolate Custard Cake” – carmelized banana and cashew ice cream. It might have been Friday the 13th but we certainly had good luck today. By the way, the restaurant has a great bar.

February 13, 2009

East 55th Street between Madison and Park Avenues, I spotted Papa Perrone’s “Home of the Rice Ball” and on Madison Avenue at 57th Street, Obika Mozzarella Bar, which according to some sources serves the best tasting mozzarella in New York.

January 29, 2009

Last week I went to Allegretti, the Nicoise restaurant on 22nd Street by chef-owner Alain Allegretti. I had beet salad, pheasant and for dessert, a selection of artisinal cheeses. Frank Bruni of The New York Times gave Allegretti two stars but I would say that it was infinitely more comfortable than the 3-star restaurant he recently reviewed on 3rd Avenue and 13th Street.
For the wine, my friend brought a magnum of Paolo Scavino 1993 Bric del Fiasc, which was fantastic. I really enjoyed the meal and will surely go back if I have the opportunity.

January 25, 2009

On Sunday I went with my wife and son to Tournesol Bistro Francais in Queens. The bistro is located on Vernon Boulevard, in Long Island City. We had braised beef cheeks, grilled salmon, and skate with a heaping mound of fries. The beef had a delicious dark sauce, perfect for mopping up with the chewy baguette. For dessert, my son had profiteroles. The prices were reasonable and the service was attentive. We had a great meal and a lot of fun.

January 19, 2009

I was in Washington, DC for the inauguration of Barack Obama and managed to have only one great meal. My brother snagged a lunchtime reservation at Acadiana. We started off with a few warm, freshly baked biscuits served with red pepper jelly and Creole cream cheese. For appetizers, we had ‘charbroiled oysters’ with garlic butter, parmesan romano cheese, warm French bread and ‘fried green tomatoes’ with zatarain’s spice boiled gulf shrimp rémoulade. For the entrée, I had ‘Louisiana crawfish étouffée’with mahatma long grain rice (perfect for a bitter cold day)and my brother ordered the “Peacemaker” fried oyster po-boy’. His sandwich came with a bag of Zapp’s potato chips from Louisiana. We washed this down with a few Arnold Palmers. The food was excellent as well as the service. I would definitely go back again and would love to try their ‘Big Easy Happy Hour’.

January 4, 2009

We went to Sam’s on Court Street for dinner earlier this month. This is an old school, red sauce Italian restaurant with lots of attitude and jokes that are as old as the phone booth next to the bar. But the food is decent and the prices reasonable. We had a plain pizza, spaghetti with meat sauce, scungilli fra diavolo, and sauteed escarole with garlic and oil.

January 3, 2009
The line is usually pretty long at Artichoke Pizza in the East Village. Their special artichoke pizza is a thick pie covered with a Béchamel sauce, cheese and sliced artichokes. Its a super heavy, super rich slice of pizza. I actually prefer the simpler margherita, which comes out slightly burnt. At $3.50 a slice, it should taste special.