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

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

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.

No Mad (Daniel Humm)

  It's been an incredible couple years for Daniel Humm.

His flagship restaurant, Eleven Madison Park, finally earned its third Michelin star in the 2012 Michelin Guide, joining the exclusive ranks of only an handful of restaurants in New York (Le Bernardin, Per Se, Daniel, Brooklyn Fare, Jean Georges, and Masa).

He came out with his first cookbook, an eye-popping, absolutely stunning guide describing how to prepare many of the dishes from Eleven Madison Park (check out the gorgeous 4-course meal he cooked inBoston as part of his cookbook "tour" in 2011).

At his flagship restaurant, he revamped the entire menu, offering a more expensive, whimsical "tour" of New York City through twenty or so artfully presented courses.

Jen and Bryan at NoMad

And finally, he just opened up a second restaurant, just "North of Madison" (get it? No Mad?)

During a whirlwind stopover in New York on our way to Australia, we met up with another couple in the Flatiron District to try out Chef Humm's new, more "casual" restaurant.
The NoMad sits in the lobby of the NoMad Hotel. You walk through the bar before entering a huge, expansive dining area with ornate chandeliers, velvet chairs, and dark, plush carpet.

Though it was hard to decide what to order, our party of four opted to get four appetizers, the famous "Roasted Chicken for Two", a pasta entree, and one more meat entree.

Service was impeccable and the bread came right away. Served on a fun cutting board that include a special indented spot for the bread knife, this warm, soft loaf reminded us a lot of foccacia but topped with all sorts of goodies such as fennel seeds, potato "chips", and roasted onions. The bread was surprisingly soft and moist inside and had a lovely, crispy exterior.

Roasted Beets were pickled and were served with smoked creme fraiche and roasted "rye" (crunchy crumbs that added a nice textural component). We differed in opinions, but this was at least one guy's favorite appetizer.

 A perfectly poached "Onsen" Egg was served with Tuscan kale, crosnes, and chorizo. Though it was on the saltier side, it was just right, and I absolutely loved the blend of flavors and textures from the salty and smoky chorizo, the gooey yet creamy farm fresh egg, and the crispy bits thrown throughout.

Chef Humm did a fantastic job on the flavors of the simple Tagliatelle with King Crab, Meyer lemon, and Black Pepper. Though I could have wished for the pasta to be just a hair more al dente, the lemony tartness of the Meyer lemons perfectly offset the rich, buttery sweetness of the king crab. The pepper added much needed spice, and really tied together the dish nicely.

The Fois Gras Torchon with Pear, Red wine, and Licorice came with a whole pear poached in red wine. Those who love fois gras really enjoyed creay fois gras and the soft poached pear. A huge, thick slice of brioche accompanied the fois gras was a big hit. "I really like the bread!" said one person.

It was early November, which is right smack in the middle of white truffle season. No Mad had a huge, gorgeous white truffle (see how big it is??!). They brought it by, and we all took nice, deep breaths as we all smelled the crazy fragrant aromas of this lovely specimen.

Bryan decided to get shaved white Alba truffles on his homemade pasta, which was awesome.My absolute favorite entree was the Black Bass slow cooked with matsutake mushrooms and spinach. I was initially drawn to the matsutake mushrooms since I had just enjoyed this gorgeous and very seasonal mushroom in Japan. I was blown away by so much more than just the mushrooms in this preparation.

First of all, the fish was executed perfectly, well seasoned and buttery soft. The matsutake mushrooms were just a bit vinegared, adding a wonderfully bright and needed contrast to the light dish. I can't say much more except that I was thoroughly impressed.

The Roast Chicken for Two is one of the the young restaurant's signature dishes, and the waiter said he always recommends trying that if it's your first time at the restaurant.

Similarly priced to the famous "roast chicken for 2" at Craigie ($80), this one kicks it up many, many notches by adding a thin layer of fois gras, black truffle, and brioche bread crumb "stuffing" in between the crispy skin and the chicken.

Objectively speaking, the chicken at Craigie is more tender (he does this whole crazy prep with sous vide, using really expensive Misty Knolls chicken). However, Humm's version is much more creatively flavored, and is really, really incredible.

Unlike at Craigie, you don't get the carcass to take home here. However, they do pull apart the dark meat and sauté it for you in this cream sauce that was a bit rich for me, but totally loved by others at the table.

Desserts

"Milk and Honey" is famous, and for good reason. It was by far our favorite dessert. Three perfectly formed scoops of "milk" ice (essentially milk ice cream) are drizzled with honey and laid on top of a scattering of crushed goodness that tastes like a mix of toffee, crumbled cookies, and sugar. Absolutely fantastic.

"Coconut" consisted of a coconut cake, crushed toffee, nuts, and coconut flavored ice cream. Our friend said it reminded her of a fancy Mounds bar (I guess the elements are all there). I don't love coconut, so it was only OK for me, but it was reasonably well received. If you only plan on getting one dessert, most definitely pick the Milk and Honey.

Chemex, traditionally made coffee poured table-side was excellent.

Overall, Chef Humm has done a fantastic job on the food at his second restaurant. Though we liked some dishes more than others, I would say there was not a single "miss" on the menu. My personal favorites would be the Poached Egg, Tagliatelle with King Crab, Black Bass, and the Milk & Honey. The "Chicken for Two" comes a close second, and is definitely worth ordering if there are at least two people at your party. Our waiter was very amenable to our "family style" way of eating, and brought us share plates and even split the chicken into two plates for us.

Definitely make a reservation, as they fill up quickly. I booked a few days early, and could only choose between a 5:45PM or 10:30PM reservation. Oh, and don't be confused by the other restaurant in New York called "Nomad." Check the address and make sure you are booking at the right one!