Peter Luger Steak House

This post is part 1 of our Eating in New York (again) series. 

I've been hearing so much about this place.

First, there was the post + giveaway where I asked all my readers to share their favorite steak and/or burger places. This particular restaurant kept showing up over and over again.

Then, there was the winner of that same giveaway who, after enjoying the meal courtesy of the winning gift card, told us "the dinner was good, but not as good as Peter Luger."

And then there are the numerous accolades, such as Zagat's number 1 steakhouse 26 years in a row or the Michelin star. How many casual steak houses get Michelin stars?

When we found out we would be going to New York again this year, Bryan said, "there are two places I definitely want to try. Peter Luger and Marea."

I was lucky enough to land a 12pm reservation for four last minute, so we decided to meet up with some friends for lunch in Brooklyn at this super famous steak house.

Peter Luger is right across the Williamsburg bridge in Brooklyn. It's been around since 1887, although the Luger family sold it to one of their biggest fans, Sol Forman, when business started declining in 1950. Thankfully, Mr. Forman was able to revive the place enough to garner an excellent review from the New York Times. This boosted its popularity, and it has remained that way ever since. Today, Mr. Forman's granddaughter oversees the buying of the meat (which actually undergoes an extremely rigorous process!).

We love walking, so we actually walked from Midtown (around 50th street) all the way to Brooklyn. The bridge has a wonderfully huge pedestrian/bike section that makes walking easy and very pleasant.

It's a long walk from Midtown (I think it took us around an hour), so we were relieved when we finally saw the restaurant. It's really right on the other side of the bridge.

We heard the thick bacon was good, so we ordered it. I wish we had known how big it was! Silly us, we ordered one slice per person, which was way too much food. Seriously, I think one slice for the table (just to taste) would have been plenty. The bacon was very tasty though - juicy, nicely charred, and flavorful.

Of course, the showstopper was their signature dish - the Porterhouse. Peter Luger only purchases USDA prime beef, mostly from the Midwest. Above that, however, they personally inspect each piece of meat and only purchase ones that pass their own even higher standards. They look at factors such as color, fat distribution, and bones.

We ordered the Porterhouse for 4, which is basically two Porterhouses. The crust was beautifully charred and the inside was a perfect medium rare. In short, it was absolutely delicious. This steak seriously rivals the best steaks we've ever had. Ha ha, we thought we would have trouble finishing it, but we ate the whole thing!

The sides are also really really good. I think their creamed spinach is the best I've ever had in my entire life. It was exceptionally smooth and "creamy," yet did not seem to actually contain much cream or cheese. Perhaps it was more broth-based. Whatever it was, I preferred it so much more to typical creamed spinach, which I personally find to be too rich for my tastes.

Similarly, the German roasted potatoes were fantastic, with perfectly crispy browned edges. Many recommend these two sides, and I wholeheartedly agree.

Cash only!

Well, close. Peter Luger only accepts cash, checks, debit cards, and their own branded credit card. Thankfully, there is an ATM literally right outside the restaurant.

Overall, I can see why this restaurant is so popular. Though the menu is limited, they execute every single item tremendously well. The steaks, of course, steal the show, and you must try the Porterhouse your first time here. The creamed spinach and roasted potatoes are also delicious, and makes perfect sides to this very very satisfying meal.

Peter Luger
178 Broadway
Brooklyn, NY 11211

Eating in New York (again) and Giveaway winner!

Bouchon Bakery in the Time Warner Building 

Congratulations to Vicki who won the Tapena Wines giveaway. Vicki said "I made beef bourguignon with cheeks once, it was so good! For the tapas, I'd have to go with the sardine cakes with salsa verde."

Thanks all for participating!

The past few years I've had the privilege of visiting New York City for work. Bryan and I have fun dressing up in our formal attire to attend an annual black tie event in Manhattan. In fact, Bryan buckled down and purchased a tuxedo this year to avoid having to rent in the subsequent years.

Of course, a fun "side effect" of this business trip is that I always extend it into the weekend, which give me and Bryan ample opportunities to try a bit of all that New York City has to offer!

Here's a peek at some of the upcoming posts you'll see in this New York series . . . .

You'll have to cross a big bridge to get to this restaurant . . .

 . . .which serves a mean steak worthy of a Michelin star!

You aren't allowed to take pictures of the food in this restaurant, although they may let you get a picture of yourselves (as long as the background is a blank wall and not the kitchen!!!)

Exquisite, beautiful food in a restaurant named after its address

A huge marketplace full of amazing imports - an Italian food lover's dream

Among the best Italian food we've had in New York from this recently upgraded two star Michelin restaurant near Central Park

All decked out . . . Can you guess where we are?

Enjoy the series!

Asana

Asana (noun) in yoga, a sitting position intended to restore and maintain well being.

Asana is one of several restaurants inside the Mandarin Oriental in Back Bay right next to the Prudential Center. The Mandarin hasn't been in Boston for that long, only about 3 years. Within that time, Asana is still trying to find its voice.

As many of you may know, the Mandarin Oriental is an Asian hotel, with headquarters in Hong Kong. When the hotel first opened, French Chef Nicolas Boutin (who has worked at several three star Michelin restaurants) left the Hong Kong Mandarin Oriental to come on as Executive Chef in Boston. Unfortunately, his innovative fusion of Asian and French cuisine wasn't that popular with Bostonians. Since then, Asana has taken a safer approach, offering local, seasonal New England inspired fare with an emphasis on fresh, high quality ingredients.

Asana's actually looking for an executive chef right now. Meanwhile, the current staff is doing an admirable job of delivering a wonderful assortment of farm fresh, locally-inspired dishes.


The space is beautiful and is connected to the Mandarin Oriental. This means that residents of the building can order room service from here and also dine here without having to step outside. Though it's not as flashy as, say, the Ritz Carlton, the Mandarin gets its own share of celebrities and dignitaries. They are just much more low-key about it.

Housemade Pappardelle wild mushroom, arugula, truffle oil, shaved pecorino romano cheese $21

I was excited to see that all their pastas are freshly made! The housemade pappardelle was very good, though I wished it were just a hair more al dente. I loved the fragrant flavors of the wild mushrooms, truffle oil, and cheese. This dish was richly full of umami and very enjoyable. Bryan enjoyed my leftovers and spoke quite positively about dish (he loved the fresh pasta, of course!)

Georges Bank Seared Scallops Siena Farms english pea, pancetta crisps carbonara style gnocchi, sorrel $26

This was one of my favorite dishes. The scallops were cooked perfectly - nicely seared yet moist and near sushi-quality in the center. I loved the seasonal addition of English peas as well as the crunchy, circular pancetta discs.

Crispy Maryland Soft Shell Crab vine ripe tomato, avocado, wild arugula, meyer lemon vinaigrette $25

Though we didn't order this crab dish, the chef brought out this new menu item for us to try because it was one of his favorites. I thought it was alright, but then I've never been a huge fan of soft shell crab (I feel like I'm eating shrimp shells), so I can't really be objective on this one.

Four Course $58 / Wine Pairing $31
My dining companion, Edwina (who actually works for the Mandarin Oriental), decided to try their new tasting menu. Every month they switch up the tasting menu to feature a seasonal ingredient. This month? The ingredient was cheese!

Below are the four courses you would get with this tasting.

Shaved Serrano Ham
arugula, farmers cheese, heirloom melon, 12 yr aged, balsamic
2009, bodegas burgans, albarino, rias baixas, spain 

Chef Tim uses house made ricotta cheese in this simple but flavorful starter. And guess what? I was able to get the recipe for the cheese! I'll be trying it soon and promise to report back.

Homemade Farmers Cheese Gnudi
shaved easter radish, cherry tomato, Siena farms english pea, blondie frisee, ramp pesto
2009, terrazas, torrontes, reserva, argentina 

Do you know what a Gnudi is? It's like gnocchi, but made without flour. Some refer to it as a "naked" ravioli since it has the cheese and "filling" but no wrapper! In fact, "gnudi' means "nude" ravioli. I loved this dish - I'm already a fan of fresh peas, and the ramp pesto was so flavorful and totally reminded me of spring.

Grilled P.T. Farm Hanger Steak
hand cut truffle fries, farmers cheese, asparagus rosemary jus
2010, laboure roi, pinot noir, burgundy, france

Edwina let me try a small piece of the steak, which was also served with the house made ricotta cheese. Alas, I enjoy my steaks medium rare (or maybe even rare sometimes!) so I thought this medium-cooked piece of steak was too tough. Hanger steak is tricky. It's a flavorful cut of meat, but it's also a tougher cut of steak and thus needs to be cooked as little as possible (or prepared using sous vide!).  If you plan on getting the hanger steak, definitely order it rare or medium rare.

Housemade Ricotta & Raisin Tart
lemon sorbet, apple wine air, lemon crisp

Desserts are amazing here.

Executive Pastry Chef Nelson Paz is really really good at his craft. Edwina absolutely loved her Ricotta and Raisin tart, which she could not stop praising. The dessert is composed of several different complex parts, each of which takes quite a bit of work to prepare. For example, Nelson described to us how the he dried the lemon "chip" for countless hours (I think at least 6!) in a low heat oven in order to prevent it from burning.

Quintuple Chocolate Cheesecake - $10
Valrhona chocolates

This crazy chocolate cheesecake is one of Asana's signature desserts, and it's worthy of the accolades. It's made from at least 5 different kinds of Valrhona chocolate, starting from the white chocolate caramels to the 85% ultra dark coating and all the way to the 100% cocoa nibs sprinkled throughout. This dessert is excellent - it truly showcases both Chef Nelson's attention to detail as well as his exquisite artistry.


The food at Asana is overall very good. I personally especially enjoyed the fresh pastas (both the pappardelle and the gnudi), as well as the pan-seared scallops.

Nothing on the menu is particularly risky - you'll see a pleasant assortment of seafood, meat, and farm fresh vegetables. Like most hotel restaurants, they serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's the type of place that would be perfect for special family gatherings like Easter, Mother's Day, or graduation dinners. It would also work fine for client dinners as well as other work related meals.

The desserts are the true stars here. They would stand perfectly well on their own in a fancy patisserie. If nothing else, try the quintuple chocolate cheesecake. You won't be disappointed.

 Asana
776 Boylston St
Boston, MA 02199

Disclaimer:
Time to time I receive free products, meals, etc. as a food blogger. I do not receive any payment for blog posts/reviews nor am I required to write a post when I receive free products, meals, etc. The views expressed in this post are completely my own. This meal was paid for by Asana.

Beef Cheeks Boeuf Bourginion + Wine Giveaway!

Beef cheeks are so underappreciated. I first tried beef cheeks in Napa Valley at a lovely dinner at Nickel & Nickel Winery during the S. Pellegrino 9th Annual Almost Famous Chef Competition. I fell in love with the ultra soft texture, collagen-rich texture of the meat. It was much less dry, much less stringy than any meat I'd ever enjoyed. Later, I found out that beef cheeks are really really cheap, because no one wants them! Our local upscale market (Savenor's) sells them for $2/lb (unprocessed), or $6/lb processed.

Around the same time, a Spanish wine company called Tapeña (derived from the words Tapas (small plates) and Peña (close group of friends)) contacted me asking whether I would be interested in trying some wines that were designed to go with Spanish tapas.

Well, we ended up making a French dish to pair with the Spanish wine, so maybe you can call this a European fusion meal?

I mentioned earlier that beef cheeks are a lot cheaper if you buy them unprocessed. Please note that it takes A LOT of work to process the cheeks. You literally get this "flap" that's the entire cheek. You have to do a lot of work to cut away all the fat and connective tissue surrounding the cheek meat. I personally think it's not worth the effort and I'm happy to pay $6/lb for the cleaned version (pictured above).

Since we were having wine, I invited my wino friend Peter (he's written a few guest posts on this blog) to come over. I figured I could finagle a blog post out of him. I always love cooking with Peter and his wife Chia Chi because they really enjoy good food and do not mind cooking time-consuming meals with me in my tiny kitchen.

We decided to make Boeuf Bourguinion straight from Julia Child's book (a la Simply Recipes). By now, this is probably one of the most popular food blogger recipes because it's the first dish that Julie tried to make in the movie Julie and Julia.

Of course, we put a slight twist on the Julia Child recipe since we were using beef cheeks instead of normal beef chuck (thanks to this blog's inspiration).

 The final dish turned out great! Yes, you have to cook beef cheeks for a long time before you break down the connective tissue. However, because of its slightly higher fat content, the texture of the final product is deliciously soft.

Since I basically just followed Elise's and Ryan's recipe, I will not be reproducing it here.

And how did the wines taste with our fantastic meal? 

Here's Peter . . . .

When Jen invited me to try three "Tapas" wines under $10, I was skeptical. While there is no correlation between price and quality above $20 (Matt Kramer of Wine Spectator asserts that the cost of making even a top quality wine is $15 a bottle), wines under $10 tend to be designed for mass market appeal and few are produced with the level of care and precision needed to be outstanding.

Also, I admit that I am a bit of wine snob. If a wine does not garner 92 points or higher from a reputable rating system or come recommended by a person whose palate I trust, I typically don't even consider it. Why waste the opportunity when you could drink something better? But to be a true lover of food and wine, sometimes you have to put aside your prejudices and judge a product on its own merits.
 
Our beef cheek experiment gave us the perfect chance to try the three Tapena wines and find the best match. The normal pairing with Boeuf Bourginion is a red Rhone, Burgundy, Beaujolais, or Saint Emilion Bordeaux. But the Tapena wines are from Spain, so the available varieties are Garnache, Verdejo (the Spanish version of Sauvignon Blanc) and Tempranillo.

Not surprising, the Verdejo does not pair with the beef; but in a standalone taste test, it is the hands down winner of the three wines. The fresh white has the most complexity with a nose of melon, apples, and peach. Not overly dry or acidic, it has the balance to satisfy a large audience and would be a crowd favorite at any summer party.

Typically fruity and spicy, Garnacha usually pairs with ethnic foods with a kick. The Bourginionm with its earthiness, poses a real challenge for this wine. With a nose of cherry and red fruit, Tapena's Garnacha is surprisingly sweet and tasted strongly of red fruit. While not spicy, it is too jammy for the hearty beef dish.

The violet Tempranillo is the most hearty of the three competitors. It has nice dark red color bordering on violet. With an interesting nose of peppermint and crushed rocks, the wine smells fairly herbaceous. On the palate, it carries a hint of spice but also has a nice earthiness that makes it the best pairing of the three.

Thanks Peter!

Giveaway!
Tapeno has been generous enough to give one lucky Tiny Urban Kitchen reader ingredients and supplies to host your own "Tapas" Party! The winner will receive the following ($150 value):

THREE bottles of wine: Garnacha, Tempranillo, and Verdejo  
TAPAS PARTY SUPPLIES! Coasters, Olives, Nuts, a Corkscrew, Pens, a Tapas Book, an Ice Bucket, and a Spice Pack

To enter, check out Tapena's extensive recipe collection of Spanish tapas! Pick your favorite and mention it in the comments below. For additional chances to enter, please tweet (one additional entry) and/or put on facebook (one more entry) a link to this post. If using Twitter, please mention @tinyurbankitchn in your tweet.

Example:
Giveaway! Throw a tapas party! Win three bottles of Spanish wine plus tapas ingredients @tinyurbankitchn http://bit.ly/jDGiNs

Please comment below letting me know if you posted something on facebook and/or twitter.

Maximum number of entries per person: 3

Contest ends THIS FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2011 at midnight EST.

Good luck!

The Art of Hand Pulled Noodles - Noodle making class in Beijing, China

It's arguably becoming a lost art.

Many of you might know that I'm a bit obsessed with hand-pulled noodles.

OK, I should clarify. My husband is obsessed with eating fresh, handmade noodles. As a result, I became obsessed with figuring out how to obtain them. After an exhaustive search of Boston, we realized that hand-pulled noodles do not exist in Boston.

So I set out to learn how to make them myself. It wasn't easy. I soon learned that the internet is sparse when it comes to information in English for making hand-pulled noodles. Sure, there's some information, but at the end of the day, I think a lot of the information is still hidden in China.

So when I went to Beijing last fall (after having made my noodle making Project Food Blog post), you know what I had to do. I signed up for a hand-pulling noodle class with a Chinese noodle master.


First, we learned that Beijing-style hand-pulled noodles are different than the Shaanxi-style hand-pulled noodles. Shaanxi-style hand-pulled noodles make use of a base (called kansui or jiansui), which is typically a mixture of potassium carbonate and sodium carbonate. The version I had been making at home was based on this method, but used sodium bicarbonate instead (baking soda), since it was easier to obtain in US markets. Beijing noodle dough, on the other hand, is simple, consisting only of high gluten four (te jing fen), water, and salt.

What causes hand-pulled noodle dough to be flexible and stretchy?

1) an increased water to dough ratio
2) the addition of salt
3) continual kneading and twirling of the dough

Because the class was only 2 hours long, the instructor had pre-kneaded the dough for us already. (Yeah, I know, he did the hardest part!) Nevertheless, it was interesting to learn some proper techniques related to dough twisting and pulling.

The idea is to stretch out the dough like a rope, bring the two ends together while twirling, and then stretch the dough again to its original length. Check out the video below to see this in action. You do this over and over and over again until the dough reaches the right consistency. It takes a bit of experience to be able to tell when the dough is the right consistency. A proper dough will be soft, pliable, and can stretch easily without breaking.

Many things can affect the quality of the dough - humidity in the air that day, temperature, gluten percentage in your dough. He told us that on a humid summer day you may only need to twirl for about 10 minutes, whereas in the winter you may need to twirl for 15-20 minutes.

Ideally, you twirl in different directions each time: counterclockwise, then clockwise, etc.

When the dough is finally ready, then you begin pulling. For Dragon's Whiskers, which are super, super thin, you end up pulling the dough close to ten times! That's like 1024 noodles! The noodles become so thin, you really can't boil them. They would fall apart if you tried. Instead, these types of super thin noodles are typically deep fried.

If you want to make noodles for boiling, typically you don't want to stretch them more than 4-5 times!

Despite the fact that I had some experience with making noodles, I was surprised how hard it was when I tried do everything "properly." I guess the lesson is - don't learn bad habits! They are hard to unlearn.

Here's a brief video I made of the class. Below, I've provided the recipe that they gave to us.

If you want to take the class yourself, check out the offerings on their website.

If you have trouble watching the video embedded here, click here to go straight to Youtube

Disclaimer: I have not tried this recipe at home. The only recipe I have validated at home is the one from my first blog post on this topic.

Hand Pulled Noodle Dough

167g high gluten flour (te jing fen)

100g water

1 tsp salt

Combine flour, water, and salt. Knead dough until elastic (possibly up to an hour, or you can try using a stand mixer on speed 4 or a bread machine). Cover the dough with plastic and let it rest at room temperature for at least 15-20 minutes (to relax the gluten). Twist the dough for about 15-20 minutes or until it is nice and stretchy. Pull noodles.

This is part 14 of the China Series detailing my recent trip to Beijing, Xian, and Shanghai. 

Other posts in this series: 

part 1: Wander the Streets of Beijing

part 2: Xian'r Lao Man (handmade dumplings)

part 3: Made in China (Peking duck)

part 4: Noodle Bar (hand pulled noodles)

part 5: Bao Yuan Dumpling (handmade dumplings)

part 6: Da Dong (Peking duck)

part 7: Jia Jia Tang Bao (Soup dumplings / xiao long bao)

part 8: Yang's Fry Dumpling (Pan fried steamed buns / shen jian bao)

part 9: Din Tai Fung (dumplings)

part 10: Eating At the World Expo

part 11: Crystal Jade (Dim Sum)

part 12: Jiu Men Xiao Chi (Nine Gates Snack Street) - the best Street Snacks in Beijing

part 13: Noodle Loft (Mian Ku)

China: Lost in Translation

Happy Birthday Bryan: an Ode to Noodles and Ducks
How to make hand-pulled noodles, la mian, shou la mian, 

Oven Roasted Golden Beets

There are some things that inherently taste so good, the best way to enjoy them is really with minimal preparation.

Ever since I discovered what fresh beets taste like, I've been a huge fan of them. Fresh beets, which you can simply cover with foil and roast in the oven, are healthy, easy to prepare, and taste absolutely delicious.

Who would have thought that peeling them first, and thus caramelizing them in the oven, would glorify this humble root vegetable to new heights?

Of course, red beets are a pain to peel. Your hands turn bloody purple and they stain everything around them like crazy. I think that's why most people just roast them whole in the oven. It's makes everything so much cleaner, so much easier. At the end of a long work day, the last thing you want to do is get your hands dirty peeling beets.

But then there's the lovely golden beet. The beauty of the golden beets is that you can peel and chop them up before roasting without staining your hands.

Once roasted, they caramelize beautifully and taste even better than whole-roasted beets (which are essentially just steamed in the oven). I first had this at a friend's house, and I've been hooked ever since. I was surprised that I had a harder time finding websites that talked about this method. Almost everyone just covers them in foil and (essential) steam-bakes them.

Let me tell you - this way tastes so much better.

I wouldn't recommend it for red beets (for all the reasons I mentioned above), but if you can get your hands on some golden beets . . .

well, you're golden. ;)


Oven Roasted Golden Beets
2-3 golden beets
2-3 T vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste

Peel and chop into cubes golden beets. Toss with vegetable oil and put in a baking sheet or tray, making sure the beets are in a single layer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Roast at 400 degrees F for about 25 minutes, or until beets are soft and have golden brown edges.

Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Lucca [Back Bay]

After a long day of shopping in Back Bay, what's a hungry girl to do if she's craving good Italian?

Lucca Back Bay is the second outpost of the original North End location right on famous Hanover Street. Owned by the same people (Ted Kennedy, Matthew and Sean Williams), this location has Anthony Mazzotta working as the executive chef. Chef Mazzotta has worked in some pretty well known places, such as The French Laundry, Per Se, and Ken Oringer's Toro, before coming to Lucca Back Bay.

The food at Lucca is inspired by different regions of Italy depending on the season. The winter menu features Piedmont and Lombardy, while the the spring focuses on Umbria and Abruzzo. The summer highlights Sicily and Calibria while the fall focuses on Sardinia and Larzo.

Here's a look some dishes we enjoyed on a chilly day last fall.

The space inside is beautiful, with a grand marble staircase leading up to the second floor and wine bottles displayed high up on a backlit wall.

Insalata a la Romana
wedged romaine, parmesan emulsion, deviled egg, marinated white anchovies and pickled shallots $13
The fork and knife "deconstructed" Caesar salad came with anchovies, pickled onions, and a deviled egg on the side. Although fine and creatively presented, the salad did not stand out to me in any special way.

Grilled Bread and Smoked Prosciutto Soup
cipollini onion marmalade, taleggio cheese and rosemary oil $11
The thick grilled bread and prosciutto soup was interesting. The prosciutto gave the soup a deep, rich flavor while the bread made the soup so thick that it almost seemed more like a gravy.

Ricotta Cavatelli Pasta 
fresh mozzarella, broccoli rabe, cipollini onions, cherry pepper pesto, pine nut crumble $22 

We always love having fresh pasta, and this was no exception. The homemade cavatelli had a wonderful chewy texture. The cherry pepper pesto was delicious, and the pine nut crumble added a nice crunch to the texture of the entire dish.

Housemade Yukon Gold Potato and Peppercorn Gnocchi, chanterelle mushrooms,
bacon, spinach and roasted cipollini onions $13 (appetizer)

Similarly, I loved my fresh, homemade gnocchi, tossed in a rich and creamy sauce deeply rich full of flavors from bacon, onions, and mushrooms.

Overall Thoughts
If you're in the Back Bay and you don't feel like making the trek all the way to the North End, Lucca is a pretty solid choice for good Italian food. We were surprised how close it was to Newbury Street. In fact, it took us only about 10 minutes to walk from the Apple Store on Newbury Street to Lucca.

The decor is beautiful, the service is good, and the food is quite enjoyable. It's definitely a step up from most of the dining options right on Newbury Street, many of which are, unfortunately, quite wanting. Prices are similar to what you'd find in the North End at some of the more upscale restaurants. It still doesn't beat our favorite restaurants in the North End. However, if we're in the Back Bay and craving some high quality Italian food, Lucca's a pretty solid choice.

What are your favorite places to dine after shopping in the Back Bay?

Lucca Back Bay
116 Huntington Ave
Boston, MA 02116