it's a new york state of mind

i recently went to nyc to celebrate my favorite holiday. no, not jrue holiday. halloween.

that being said, while nyc was supposed to be all fun, girl gotta eat. so here goes my gastronomic travel story.

ESCA

while i think pizzeria mozza in los angeles and b&b ristorante in las vegas are okay, i truly enjoy osteria mozza. but, more importantly, i love babbo in nyc. so, i thought, i love seafood and mario batali has been giving me some good eating, why not try esca? i did.... within three hours of landing in nyc.

i started off with their famed crudo. sashimi. the problem that i had with it was that all the fish tasted the same. i.e., all were dressed in sea salt, olive oil and lemon. what should have been a light, refreshing dish became a bit too much for me.



on the other hand, the crispy troutlings were good (that is, without having to drench it in the horseradish). i just liked how it was unapologetically fried without being greasy. if they served it the way it was, without any dressing, i would have been just as happy. i am happy to report that the poor fish was completely eaten - heads, tails and bones included.



i am a fan of octopus. and this grilled octopus with some really large white beans was no exception. i have found that batali's restaurants really do octopus well. i don't know why. but this was meaty and tender and served warm.



this blackfish, served with mushrooms and leeks, was bland. to be fair, my mom asked that it be "low sodium" to comply with her dietary restrictions. that being said, i did not enjoy this dish.




SPICE MARKET

after lunching with mom, the rest of my eats were with the gals. this jean-georges vongerichten joint in the meat packing district was bumping. it was crowded, and it took a while to get a seat even though we had reservations. as a consequence, the bar area was a popular spot. the drinks were nothing to write home about though. nonetheless, we met some interesting dudes who were bent on impressing us gals on how hip they were. really.

below was the seafood laksa with shrimp and scallop. as in one shrimp. and one scallop.



i have no memory of the name of this dish or how it tasted. that's sad.



this was the coconut sticky rice, which coconut flavor was subtle to none.



this was the chili garlic noodles with shrimp. i suppose it was tasty but for the fact that all garlic noodles have to be measured against crustacean's garlic noodles. with that in mind, this was average.



this dish was the snap peas. i don't really remember this dish either. how sad.




RESTO

prior to arriving to nyc, i heard much about this new-ish restaurant. it stood out because it was supposed to be swine heaven. which was always a plus for me. so off we were to lunch.

this was the belgian hangover pasta, which came with ham, gruyere and egg served sunny side up. i liked this dish. the ham was thick and the pasta was nice. just don't look at the bottom of the dish when you've scraped it off. yes, that's a lot of oil.

this was the grilled cheese with gruyere and pork belly. mmmm..... pork belly. the bread was soaked through with butter. but i was ok with that. definitely not for the diet conscious. unless, you are conscious that you are busting your diet. let's just say that those green things on the side of the plate were left untouched and the rest were cleaned off.



the fries below were average but what made it good was the sauce, which you can choose. ours was yogurt, cumin and garlic. those rich flavors went well with the fries.



the tete de cochon below was a special dish and was basically a spicy pulled pork. like the grilled cheese, the bread was soaked through with butter. i thought it was tasty although i enjoyed the grilled cheese better.



MAGNOLIA BAKERY

i like cupcakes. and i heard much about this cupcakery. but i don't get it. see, i am a big fan of dainties cupcakes in la. but alas, dainties is no longer. it disappeared. poof. gone. but i digress.

the cupcakes below from magnolia were of the chocolate variety, which i tried. the cupcake itself was light but i thought to be too grainy. the icing, on the other hand, was nice and creamy. don't get me wrong, it was good. still. i miss dainties.

BAR BOULUD

one of my girlfriends really wanted to try daniel boulud's restaurant. so off we went.

the cheese bread below was fluffy enough. but again, i saw and tasted it and i couldn't help but compare it to the bistro laurent tourondel empire's divine cheese puff heaven. my vote goes to blt. sorry boulud. for starters, i would serve it warm to piping hot. i would also make it fluffier.



ordering the pork belly below should not be a surprise to anyone who know me. that being said, this version was tasty and crunchy. but a bit too salty. i still enjoyed it though.



i ordered this special dish, which was basically baby sheep prepared as a sausage, grilled and skewered. i was assured by the server that it was fresh. i found it too gamey. and when i say gamey, i meant smelly. as an aside, i often wonder why sheep abroad is not gamey (i.e., smelly) but it almost always is in this country....



the chocolat noisette below might have been my favorite dish from bar boulud. the light chocolate sprinkled with hazelnuts had a perfect texture in the mouth. mmmmmm.... hazelnuts.

i ate more. as in at green bo in chinatown (very disappointing) and at miracle bar and grill in the village (good bar food). but i'm tired.

keep in mind though that although i may tire of writing, i can never tire of eating. if i ever do, pigs are flying.