Szechuan Gourmet (Midtown)

This is the third post in the series A Casual Weekend in New York. Other posts include Frank Pepe's Pizza and Salumeria Rossi Parmacotto.

It's a well known fact that Times Square itself is pretty much a culinary deadzone. As you walk between the huge M&M Store, the loud flashy billboards, and the hoards of people, you glance between your choices:

Should I eat at the Olive Garden, Planet Hollywood, or that huge McDonalds that overlooks the square? 

Choices choices.

It wasn't until years later that I learned that if you just walked a few blocks away from Times Square, there were actually plenty of excellent places at which to dine. Much better choices.

On our last night in New York, we had to make a choice.
We had enjoyed a delightful lunch at one of our favorite Italian eateries. We knew we didn't have much time before our 7PM train back to Boston. Bryan was loathed to eat train food for dinner (do they even sell food on the train?), and he really didn't want to wait until midnight to eat in Boston.

So we had to find something relatively close - a place that wouldn't balk if we walked in with our casual dress and suitcases. After a not-so-brief search online (hey, these things are important!), we found the highly reviewed Szechuan Gourmet right on 39th street, only 5 blocks from Penn Station.

Perfect.

Szechuan Gourmet is not really a hidden secret in New York.  It has a spot on Eater's coveted 38 Essential Restaurants list. The Food Network's show "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" also featured Szechuan Gourmet's Crispy Lamb Filet on its show about Chopsticks. Frank Bruni gave this place two stars in his glowing New York Times review back in 2008.

We ordered some of our favorites Sichuan dishes, such as Braised Spicy Fish Filets with Napa Cabbage (literally "water-cooked fish" in Chinese), Ma Po Tofu, Stir Fried String Beans, and Stir Fried Shredded Potato.

Everything was quite good. The Mapo Tofu could have used a bit more Sichuan peppercorns, and the string beans were just at tad greasy. Overall, though, the flavors were decidedly authentic and full of intensity.

My favorite dish was the Stir Fried Shredded Potatoes (thanks to the recommendation from Frank Bruni in his New York Times review), which were delightfully crispy and surprisingly flavorful. They tasted more like a vegetable than a starch. It reminded me of a similar (but also different) dish I like to get in Boston.

Is it the best Sichuan food I've ever had?

Probably not, but then perhaps I'm a bit spoiled.

We have some pretty good Sichuan food here in Boston. In fact, well-known food writer Kenji Lopez-Alt from Serious Eats has even gone so far as to say "Boston's got Sichuan Restaurants that puts even the best in New York to shame, and that includes those in Flushing" (emphasis added). [source]

I haven't eaten at enough places in Boston or New York to make such a strong statement. However, I will say that this restaurant, which is pretty revered as far as New York Sichuan restaurants are concerned,  is at least equal to the best places in Boston.

I'm not complaining. It's awesome that there's such a good place right in Midtown Manhattan. All in all, the food at Szechuan Gourmet is very good. The intense and authentic flavors from their ample use of Sichuan peppercorns was most certainly present. Their general command of flavors is good, and every dish was really quite enjoyable.

Best yet, it was fast, which is great when you're rushing to be on time for that train.

I'm sure I'll be back again . . . suitcase and all.
Szechuan Gourmet
21 W 39th St
New York, NY

Scampo Spring Menu {Snapshot}

This is a {Snapshot} of Scampo. The original, more detailed post can be found here.

Spring is in full force here and many restaurants are rolling out their spring menus. Scampo contacted me a couple weeks ago and asked me whether I wanted to try some of their new spring dishes. I've never really thought of Scampo as the type of place that changes its menu a lot so I was curious how they would incorporate spring ingredients into their current line up.

Mozzarella from the Mozzarella Bar with king crab, cocktail avocado & green mustard oil

We had a HUGE meal! They ended up giving us a nice mix of popular favorites (such as the appetizer shown above which was on the menu when I visited in 2011) as well as a great overview of their spring-focused menu.

I'll start with our favorite dish of the entire evening (from the Mozzarella Bar section of the menu): Mozzarella with Beef Carpaccio  ($20)was fantastic. The carpaccio itself was super soft and flavorful. Bryan was extremely impressed with the excellent al dente texture of the uber-thin angel hair spaghetti, which can so easily be overcooked (and so often is!) due to its size. The spaghetti was delicious, tossed with spring purple garlic and hot red pepper. I loved it.
The Hand Cut Serrated Egg Pappardelle which came with a sauce of chervil, English peas, and pancetta ($14/$24) was rich, buttery, and flavorful but suffered in texture. The fresh pasta was wayyy overcooked - almost melt-in-you-mouth soft. I guess if you like really mushy pasta and don't enjoy chewing, it might not seem so bad. However, we tend to prefer pasta with a nice al dente bite, and thus we were a bit disappointed.

Scampo has a huge brick oven in the center of the restaurant and they cook plenty of cool breads, pizzas, and other items inside. This individual sized pizza (really, almost enough to serve 2 people) was topped with applewood smoked bacon cured in apple cider, smashed plantains, and ricotta cheese. Though unusual, it was actually pretty tasty and reheated nicely the day after as well.
Bryan love duck fat fries (he claims Michael Mina's restaurant in San Francisco offers incredible duck fat fries for free instead of bread!), so he was excited to see these Duck Fat Fries with Truffle Aioli ($9) on the menu. These were nice fries, and you could taste the fresh potato flavor in each stick, not something you necessarily experience in more processed fries. I wished they were a bit crispier, and we felt they were undersalted (easily remedied, of course). The truffle flavor was pretty faint - I'm not sure I really tasted it. I still give a significant edge to my favorite truffle fries on the other side of the river.

This next dish screams spring: Delicate Mushroom Gnocchi with Grilled Lobster Tail and Spring Ramps ($18/$28). The dish was solid - the gnocchi is quite starchy and soft (almost gummy), not my favorite type of texture. The flavors of the dish were nice, though it was tough to share the single, lone grilled ramp on top of the dish. I wished for a few more!Bryan really enjoyed the next entree, Blackened Flatiron Steak ($38) which came with fried polenta sticks and mashed sweet potatoes. The beef was super tender and cooked to a nice medium rare. The sauce was flavorful and overall the dish was quite good.Though this may not be the prettiest dish to look at, the Chilean Sea Bass ($36) surprised us. We had never tried oven-roasted sweet cabbage, but it was really, really good! It reminded us of the way we make Brussels sprouts at home - crispy, light, yet flavorful, just a tad bitter and sweet at the same time. Not surprisingly, the cabbage here is topped with crisped shaved Brussels sprout leaves, which may explain the association.

The fish itself was unusually sweet (almost like there was honey or something on top). It was OK, but I almost wished for a bit more umami to balance it out. The lobster risotto underneath was pretty tasty (though not particularly memorable).  
We were pretty full at this point but we knew we had to try some dessert. This Chocolate Peanut Roulade was excellent. It's made with high quality dark chocolate and filled with a dark chocolate mousse. I found it to be just a tad sweet, but my other friend who loves chocolate desserts thought it was insanely good. I really enjoyed the peanut caramel on the side. The malted vanilla ice cream, though underwhelming on its own as far as ice creams go, worked well with the rest of the components. If you like anything with peanuts and chocolate, you can't go wrong with this dish.
The Lemon Sabayon Tart was already delicious on its own, but the accompaniments really made it shine. It comes with a blackberry Merlot sauce, blueberry ice cream, and a crunchy lime tuile. I loved the blueberry ice cream and had no trouble finishing it.


Thoughts
There's a reason why Lydia Shire is so successful in Boston - her food is very good and her restaurants are well run. Except for maybe the texture of the pappardelle, there were really no misses in the entire meal. We had many dishes that we enjoyed a lot. I would most definitely go back and just taste my way through the mozzarella bar - they are so fun!

The restaurant can get loud on busy evenings (we went on the Thursday right before Memorial Day weekend). They gave us a table a little further away from the bar so it wasn't too bad, but I could imagine wishing the noise level were just a bit lower if I were sitting in a different area.

Overall, though, we are fans of Scampo and have returned on numerous occasions. Bryan likes to take his out of town coworkers there because everyone always loves the food and the restaurant's got a cool history of being inside of a jail.

Disclaimer: Scampo paid for the cost of food. We paid for alcohol and gratuity. All opinions are my own.

Salumeria Rosi Parmacotto

This is the second post in the series A Casual Weekend in New York. Other posts include Frank Pepe's Pizza.

I have a weak spot for these Italian markets-inside-of-a-restaurant (or is it vice versa?). After enjoying one of our favorite Italian meals ever at one of these quaint places in Rome, I longed to find something like that in the U.S.

Lucky for me, I live less than a five-hour train ride away from New York City, where these types of markets have been flourishing. We'd already discovered one favorite - a cozy, authentic Italian restaurant/market that sells incredible Italian goods (love their olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and bread!) as well as serves fantastic food.

I was thrilled to find another one of these types of places. This restaurant is unique because it comes out of a partnership between two very seasoned Italian entities: Chef Cesare Casella, a seasoned restauranteur and chef who earned his family restaurant in Italy its first Michelin Star when he took over as chef; and The Rosi family, who own Parmacotto, a specialty meats company in Italy.

It's no surprise that the salumi we tried here was among the best we'd ever had this side of the Atlantic.

Like a typical market/restaurant, Salumeria Rosi sells all sorts of Italian imports and various house made treats at the front counter.

You have your choice of a variety of antipasto ingredients.

Or maybe some of their house pasta or olive oil?

Of course, as I have mentioned before, the cured meats are the stars of the show. The selection changes daily and the menu can be an bit overwhelming if it's your first time.

I think the best way to experience as many as possible is to order a variety plate. We opted for the smaller size, which includes two of each kind. I think the larger plate includes three of each kind, which would be nice for larger parties.

We tried the following: Soppressato Picante, Soppressato Dolce, Finochioni (fennel), Chef's Signature Ham, Coppa, and Mortadella. Bryan's favorite was the Soppressato Picante, which had an intensely rich and deep flavor with just a bit of "funk" to it that he loved (yes, this is the same guy that loves blue cheese and the like). My favorite was the Finochioni, which was embedded with peppercorns for that extra little kick.

To give a semblance of being healthy, we ordered Chef Cesare's signature salad, Pontormo ($13), which consists of market greens tossed together with a soft-scrambled egg, guanciale and pancetta. It's hard to go wrong with that combination of ingredients, and the smoky, salty cured meats most certainly added a lovely dimension to this green salad.

We also ordered Sauteed Brussels Sprouts ($12), which was served with crushed garlic and crispy prosciutto di Parma D.O.P. Overall, the dish was fine but nothing particularly special.

According to our waiter, New York Magazine voted Salumeria Rosi's Lasagna ($15) as the "Best Lasagna in New York." The lasagna layers are filled with a pork and beef ragu and bechamel sauce. It's deep, rich, and quite satisfying to eat. The pasta sheets were a bit softer than I would have liked, but overall it was pretty tasty.

I personally preferred the Amatriciana ($15) over the lasagna. Amatriciana is a pasta dish that we saw constantly while we were in Rome. It's a gorgeously flavorful tomato-based sauce made with guanciale, Pecorino, and Romano. It's deeply rich and flavorful. The pasta, even though it wasn't freshly made, was a gorgeous al dente texture. I loved it.

The waiter strongly recommended that we order the grilled prime steak, Manzo ($17),  which came with heirloom beans from the chef's farm in Italy. We were surprised that such a simple dish was be so good, but it turned out to be one our favorites. The steak was cooked perfectly, and the beans were incredible! They soaked up all the jus from the steak and were juicy and flavorful.

According to the Chef Cesare Casella, he started his own heirloom bean business after realizing that he couldn't find really good beans in New York in order to make some of his signature dishes.

We tried a series of cheeses to round out the meal. You can get cheese individually for about $8 each, or try a variety of three for $17.Finally for dessert, we shared Semifreddo ($9), a Parmigiano Reggiano parfait (essentially a frozen ice-cream-like block filled with toffee and nuts with a Parmesan crust), Prosciutto di Parma brittle, and peaches. It was unusual, but it worked. I was expecting it to be more savory, like the Parmesan ice cream we had in Rome. But this was still very definitively a sweet dessert.

Salumeria Rosi seems to be the only Italian market/restaurant of its kind in the Upper West Side. It's probably only about a 3-minute walk from my aunt's condo (lucky her!).

Overall, we really enjoyed our meal here. Dishes are all served in small plate form and cost around $15 each, so prices can quickly add up. Everything we tried here was quite tasty - it seems like you can't go too wrong with the food selection.

Despite all that, when it comes to food, we still give the edge to Il Buco Alimentari, whose pastas and secondi plates still stand as one of our favorites in New York. In fact, we went back to Il Buco for lunch the last day of our weekend trip.

However, Salumeria Rosi Parmacotto has a definite edge on the quality of the salumi. Everything we tried on that variety plate was seriously really, really good. Don't skip the salumi plate and definitely order something with their heirloom beans.

We liked our favorite cured meats so much, we walked up to the market after lunch and took some to take home with us.

And yes, we carried it all the way with us back to Boston. Yum.

Related Posts
Il Buco Alimentari
Roscioli
Il Convivio
Sunday Night Suppers via Formaggio Kitchen

Salumeria Rosi Parmacotta
283 Amsterdam Ave.
New York, NY

Frank Pepe's Pizza

Happy Friday! Yes, I know our "A Casual New York Weekend" series has just begun, but before we make it all the way to New York, let's visit a legendary pizza spot that you're bound to pass on your way to New York from Boston. Consider it a worthy stop (about halfway point?) if you're driving from Boston.

It's long been purported that New Haven has some of the best pizza in the world. The two most famous ones, Frank Pepe's and Sally's (opened by Pepe's nephew in 1938), are located just down the street from each other. Fans will argue tirelessly about which one they prefer more, but clearly both are doing something right if they have been able to stay in business and faithfully feed New Haven for so many decades.

It was hard for us to choose just one. However, on a late, late night while driving back from a road trip to Philadelphia, we decided to stop by Frank Pepe's to finally see for ourselves the hype surrounding this legendary pizza.
Though they are usually packed (waits of over an hour are not unheard of), we had arrived after 10PM, and thus largely had the place to ourselves.
The white clam pizza is one of their signature dishes. According to their story, Pepe's began by selling little neck clams on the half shell as an appetizer. It wasn't long before someone made the connection to put the clams on the pizza. A legendary pizza was born.

For some reason, we were a bit underwhelmed by the pizza. The clams were a bit dry, and although it was tasty, I wasn't sure what exactly the hype was about.

In fact, I may have enjoyed our other chicken, sun-dried tomato, and basil pizza a bit more. This pizza was juicier, the meat was more moist, and overall it had more substance.

The underside is not bad, with some decent leopard spots.

Overall, the pizzas were still quite good. It's fun to see a place with so much history attached to it. I love how it looks like it hasn't really changed since the day it opened, except for the number of photos of famous people that appear on the walls.

I'm not sure if I would drive all the way here just to have pizza. We have some pretty good pizzas in Boston. However, if I'm passing by (like I was this time), it's a perfectly suitable place to stop by for a nice lunch, dinner, or even late night snack.

If you're a Pepe's lover, please fill me in on why I missed out. Did I come at the wrong time? Did I order the wrong pizza? Or maybe I should have gone to Sally's? Please let me know, and perhaps I'll know better the next time I go.

A Casual New York Weekend

You may be wondering why a title like "Casual New York Weekend" is followed by a photo of the opulent grand ballroom at the historic Waldorf Astoria.

I guess it's a bit incongruous for me say any trip is "casual" when Bryan has to bring his tux and I have to find some pretty dress. But really, that was as fancy as it got. After all, the whole ballroom thing was the "required" part of the trip. You see, I was in New York for business, attending a work dinner in that huge ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria. That part is the same every year.

In the past, we often made it a habit to check out the fine dining that this city has to offer.

But this time was different.

Perhaps it was because I had just spent over a week eating (and cooking!) like crazy in Thailand. Or maybe I was still "recovering" from the extended tasting menus from my Las Vegas trip earlier. Whatever the reason, I really just didn't feel like eating any loooong tasting menus.*

So we went a different route. We sought out some more casual places. We had "home-cooked" dinner at a cousin's home. We even managed to squeeze in a few old favorites.

We did fun things like visit the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art), where they were temporarily exhibiting one of only four versions of "The Scream" by Edvard Munch. This pastel that you see behind me was sold in May of 2012 for just shy of $120 million USD. It set a world record for the most expensive painting ever sold at an auction.

It was temporarily on display at MoMA between October 2012 and April 2013.

We finally got to try this very popular Asian fusion spot famous for its Packman-shaped tempura and ghost shrimp dumplings.

We found a spicy and authentic Sichuan restaurant that was conveniently close to Penn Station. In fact, we showed up with our luggage before heading back to Boston via the Acela train.

This meal is technically not part of the same weekend trip, but we had stopped in New York for one night before heading off to Thailand (overnight flight connection). We went into the city just for dinner at this farm-to-table restaurant that's connected to a home good store.

We had some of the best salumi we've ever had at this quaint salumeria on the Upper West Side.

We couldn't leave New York without visiting one of our all-time favorite Italian spots. This ricotta salad with pea shoots and snap peas was phenomenal.

With the death of H&H, our old go-to place for bagels, we queued up at Ess-a-Bagel and tried a lovely smoked whitefish bagel sandwich. Yum!

And of course, sometimes nothing beats sharing a hearty, warm hot pot in the comfort of an inviting home with good friends.

Stay tuned for specific posts on many of the above restaurants!

*OK, I do confess that I did try (and failed) to get a reservation at Brooklyn Fare, but that's probably the only long tasting menu that's on my "totally wish I could try" list at the moment in New York.