This is a no-nonsense category 3 dollar slice joint down on 1st Avenue just below the 14th street L station. Doughy yet crispy crust, quality melty yet crisp cheese, and a good sweet sauce. Fucking hits the spot. I easily put this slice down after a full meal (dessert included) at a nearby French bistro. Great little slice.
JOEY PEPPERONI
222 1st Avenue
New York, NY 10009
Jeepney is a Flip joint downtown on 1st Avenue that has been getting popular for its large format feast known as “Kamayan Night,” which they host only on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Essentially they cover the table with banana leaves, cover the banana leaves with rice, and then cover the rice with all sorts of delicious food.
The one caveat: you eat with your hands. It gets pretty messy, but if you’re careful like I was, you won’t slobber up your $4000 camera rig.
The drinks at this place are all very tropical island-inspired, which is fun. They have a Flip version of a pina colada, which is made for two to share:
And smoothies made with a sweet bean ice cream:
There’s also a variety of Flip beers to sample as well:
So what the fuck are people eating at Kamayan Night? There’s lamb stew, rice cakes, baby bok choy, banana ketchup ribs, stewed pork belly, sweet sausage links, spring rolls, pickled cukes and onions, and a fried whole red snapper. Everything was delicious – seriously; not one item on the table was lacking in flavor and tasty, exotic island goodness.
The lamb stew, although it felt like a winter dish and a bit out of place from the other items, was really packed with spicy curry flavors. It came across more like a mountain dish to me, as opposed to an island dish. It was surrounded by sweet rice cakes which ate like a bread.
The baby bok choy was refreshing and sweet, as was the array of pickled cukes and onions. They much needed green pop and crunch to the meal.
The sausage links were sweet and meaty. The skin casing was a bit thick and rubbery for my liking (I like char grilled casings that snap and crunch); I assume they were boiled as opposed to grilled.
The stewed pork belly was hiding under the bok choy. This was really great. Soft, flavorful, and super porky.
The spring rolls were a nice texture change up as well: crisp and light.
The banana ketchup ribs were amazing. I tasted the banana but not so much the ketchup, which I suppose is a good thing. There was a mild heat to them as well. Really nicely done.
I think the star of the meal, for me, was the fried whole red snapper.
It was so fucking crispy on the outside, yet tender and light on the inside. It was easy to pull apart and avoid bones as well.
I even dug into the cheek at some point, which was nice.
For dessert, I thought this dish was a bit small for four people to share, but it was really good and refreshing. It was sweet bean ice cream on top of coconut flavored shaved ice and garnished with flan, some small cubes of minty jelly, and then topped with Rice Krispies.
Same thing from a second visit (ube ice cream):
A couple of things I noticed:
1) Apparently not every Kamayan feast is the same. The table being set up next to us had shrimp as well as a clam stew of some kind for ravaging:
2) The walls are adorned with some hot naked broads. Enjoy:
If you’re feeling courageous, try Balut – a fertilized duck egg. Half duck, half egg. A fetus, basically. Sometimes crunchy with fowl parts.
JEEPNEY
201 1st Ave.
New York, NY 10003
My wife and I came here as one of my Christmas gifts to her. We had heard lots of amazing shit about this place, so we were excited to go. This meal happened at the new restaurant space on Extra Place. Since it was relatively recent since they made the switch, we had the pleasure of actually seeing and meeting Chef David Chang in the restaurant. Pretty awesome, seeing as I feel he is one of the most important and innovative chefs of a generation. Here’s a shot I took of him and my wife after we finished our meal:
So anyway, check out the tasting meal we had: easily one of the best meals of my life. My wife’s photos came out amazing, so I included them too (overhead shots).
We were seated at the corner of the U-shaped bar, and felt that our every need was attended to, constantly. The service here is amazing, and it feels as if each diner has a pair of chefs and waiters all to him/herself. The presence of management is always felt as well. They really go above and beyond to make sure you are having a great meal.
First was a Concord grape soda & jelly shot to prep the taste buds. Fizzy and sweet.
We were already sipping on some cocktails. Mine was a gin drink (on the left) called “Shrub,” and my wife had a bourbon drink called “Quartet.” Both were excellent. We had a pair of hot damp towels too, to get all that subway stripper pole germ shit off of our hands before eating. The cool thing about this meal is that it’s not pretentious by any means. You eat with your hands for most of the meal.
The first food items were a lobster & mint cylinder, and a dry aged beef tartlet with carrot. The beef was really flavorful and savory. I wanted more! The lobster and mint combo was surprisingly good, and it was a refreshing bite.
Next was an amazingly tasty bite of sushi. Striped bass with nori, pickled veggies and daikon.
Then came a millefeuille of rye phyllo dough layered with trout roe and green tea powder. Absolutely stunning to look at, and even nicer to shove down your throat. Just be careful not to breathe while eating or that green tea powered may have you coughing.
This red snapper tartare may have been my favorite dish of the night. It came mixed with a jelly made from the fish bones broth/flavor, and dressed with yuzu, lime and shiso spray.
Another refreshing and light dish was this raw scallop with pineapple dashi, drizzled with basil seed and basil oil soup. Awesome.
Next was probably my least favorite dish, but it was still nicely executed. Beets with brown butter and bonito (dried anchovies).
The following is the absolute best preparation of uni (sea urchin) I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating. Prior to this, I wasn’t exactly the biggest fan of uni. I’ve had some great preparations (like at Takashi), but nothing ever really blew me away to the point where I would go out of my way to have it. This was amazing though. It was raw, and served with a fermented chic pea puree and topped with lemon olive oil. So fucking creamy!
This next dish was fun to watch them prepare. It was torched mackerel with rice, wasabi and dash ponzu sauce, sitting on a wasabi leaf. Sushi, essentially. The cool thing was that they used an infrared torch to get that char on the fish without imparting any fuel flavor from something like a butane torch.
After some googling at home, I found that Chef Chang has actually endorsed the product, and supported their Kickstarter efforts. The product is called the Searzall. Check it out – it’s fucking cool:
The trout mousse with pickled sunchoke and kale in a dashi broth was warm and comforting. A bowl of this on a cold winter night would hit the spot. They poured the broth in table side. I shot some video of it (six seconds), but it really wasn’t that exciting so I decided to just show the photo.
Another highlight of the meal was the soft scrambled egg with Siberian caviar and sweet potato flakes. It had great texture from the flakes, great briny salt from the caviar, and the egg was perfect.
They also served the egg dish with some sourdough bread and watermelon-radish salted butter. The butter was very unique and flavorful. Very fresh and light. The kind of butter you can eat by the vat and not feel guilty about it.
My next favorite course, and my wife’s first favorite course, was the celery root agniolotti pasta with Tandoori spice and fucking white truffle. This was perfect in every way. It was soft and pillowy, yet it had crunch from the truffle (it was crisp!). It was slightly salty, but I really didn’t mind because the flavors were so robust.
Next was a slow cooked branzino with yogurt sumac sauce. It was toped with spiced sunflower seeds, which came off slightly bitter, but still nice to eat. Also mixed in was artichoke. This dish had the skin on. Typically I don’t eat fish skin unless it is crispy, but this was awesome. It was soft and tender. It felt like any other part of the fish meat when I popped it into my mouth.
This next dish was both salty and spicy. It was roasted lobster tail and sweet potato in a lobster sauce with fried ginger. The sauce would have been perfect if it wasn’t so salty. I found that if I didn’t dip too often into the sauce, then I really enjoyed this dish. The lobster meat was cooked perfectly.
Most interesting dish of the night goes to the Hudson Valley foie gras that seemed to be grated as if it were super soft cheese. It was garnished with pine nuts, Reisling wine jelly and lychee. This, too, was salty, but I enjoyed it very much.
Here comes the meat, bitches! Venison loin with a sauce made from cranberry and deer blood. It was served with a side of whipped potato that had been combined with with butter and a cheese that was reminiscent of a Stilton or blue cheese. As you can see below, the venison was cooked rare, and if I had to guess, it was sous vide style, and then lightly torched.
A palate cleanser came next: Clementine sorbet with Campari.
The dessert was highly anticipated. A guy a few seats down from us when we first arrived had just gotten his bowl, and was flipping out about how great it was. He didn’t want to eat it because he didn’t want it to end. Coconut lime sorbet with banana rum meringue and wafers.
There was complimentary coffee:
And a small tray of macarons and chocolates came along with the bill:
I should also make note of the music at this place. It was excellent, as if the selection were based off of my favorites. There was lots of 80s music, and oldies. They even played our wedding song, which was nice. I felt bad because I was in the middle of chatting with one of the chefs about all the delicious shit in the fridges at the back of the restaurant, otherwise I would have liked to bust out and dance with my wife beside our seats.
It was so cool though – floor to ceiling fridges make up one whole wall in the back, and you can actually see what you’re eating and how it is stored. Here are some of the awesome things I found in the fridges: truffles, aging tuna, cheese cloth wrapped foie gras, aging venison loin (unless that is some sort of sausage) and a variety of aging beef.
As usual, my wife got a sweet deal for this place; dinner and a show for two for $60. I wasn’t expecting to like either the food or the entertainment, but I was surprised at how good the food was, and how fun the entertainment was.
We started at the bar, which is really elegant and fancy. It’s set up like a 1920’s sort of art deco social club. They have a nice cocktail menu ($14 each). I had the Bowery Honey Bee, and my wife had a “That’s Gold, Darling.”
The table bread came out in a stainless steel cone, and was served warm and toasty, with a dish of white bean puree that resembled hummus, but with less aggressive spices.
Our deal entitled us to a limited menu three course tasting. I started with the roasted shrimp and grits. The shrimp were perfectly cooked and the grits were creamy. I just wish there was more!
My wife had the mushroom veloute, which was creamy, earthy and rich.
For my entree, I had the ale-braised pork shoulder, which came with mashed potatoes and sliced, roasted carrots. This was really nice. The meat was tender, soft and juicy.
My wife had the salmon, which was perfectly cooked and came with cannellini beans and tomatoes. I typically don’t like cooked salmon, but this was really tasty.
For dessert, I chose the sticky toffee pudding. It was mor elite a bread pudding than a proper pudding, so I was taken back a bit when it came to the table. It was delicious though, and warm. The ice cream scoop on top was the perfect balance.
My wife had the cheesecake of the day, which was apple. Very unique. And good timing for around the Thanksgiving holiday: a mash up of New York (cheesecake) and Americana (apple pie). Great flavors.
The entertainment was a blast. The band was playing classic soul and motown hits, and the singer was excellent!
He even did a few duets with a female vocalist – serious hips on her!
The funny thing about the show was that in-between songs, a pair of burlesque ladies would come out and jiggle their shit on stage. It was basically a classy strip joint in period-piece attire (or lack thereof).
The best part was watching the band as THEY watched the dancers, laughing, crack jokes to one another as they played, etc. The guitarist was getting dresses and bras thrown at him from across the room. He dangled this red sparkly one from his guitar:
DUANE PARK
308 Bowery
New York, NY 10012
My wife and I stopped in here for some banh mi sandwiches after eating some pizza at Motorino around the corner. We tried a classic sandwich, and a pho sandwich (sliced beef and the toppings you usually get with pho, like bean sprouts, etc). Both were pretty good, but I think I liked the pho sandwich better. Both were pretty spicy without having to ask for it, which I like. Check out the pics:
SAO MAI
203 1st Ave.
New York, NY 10003
Motorino is one of those over-hyped pizza joints that non-native New Yorker’s think is a great New York pizza. Let me preface this review with this though: I did enjoy the food – ate every last scrap of it (I was starving). However, I felt that the crust was a little too soft. Th router edges were crispy and burnt, which was nice, but ultimately it was a floppy pizza. The sauce was weak (needed herbs or salt or something), and the cheese was sparse. My wife tried a no sauce-based pizza, with mushrooms, cheese, garlic, olives and soppressata. I found myself liking that better than my margherita pie. That’s a bad sign. When you are eating a pizza for the toppings and not for the basics of the pizza pie, then you are in the territory of “go somewhere else.”
Here’s the margherita pie. It’s mostly bread – very sparse on sauce, herbs and cheese. That may be fine for some people, but we needed to order a side of sauce just to dip the bread into. Despite generally liking the flavor of the bread/crust, I though the center of the crust (under the toppings) was way too wet and soggy. Perhaps they should pop this in the oven atop a grill so that the heat can get underneath the crust a bit, and make for a more solid foundation. When I make my pizza, I use a perforated pizza pan that allows for heat to directly hit the bottom of the pie, and I elevate the pizza off the surface of the heat.
Here’s the other pie – much better, but only because it had interesting toppings:
The highlight of the meal was the appetizer, an octopus salad with capers, potatoes, red onion, lemon and parsley. The octopus was really tender and flavorful.
Luckily our deal came with a bottle of wine – we picked this one from the Montepulciano region of Italy. It was great.
MOTORINO
349 E 12th St
New York, NY 10003
This recent addition to the BBQ scene sits on Second Avenue and draws a pretty big line at mea time. The set up is basically like any old fast food joint, where you stand in line, place your order, and tun wait to carry it away on a tray. The food is fucking delicious; everything from the sides to the mains. My buddy and I tried some sausage, some brisket, some ribs and a pair of delicious sides. Check the food porn – the cool part is you can eat street side:
UPDATE 2/26/17
Amazing beef rib. For $28 this is better than going to a steakhouse.
Pastrami sandwich – limited time only – was so freaking good.
And burnt ends sandwich was killer.
Standard brisket sandwich:
Spicy chicken sandwich:
Hot links:
S’mores bread pudding!
MIGHTY QUINN’S
103 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10003
I came here to the Union Square location for the first time with a few buddies before watching one of the US World Cup games.
I had a breakfast burger of some sort, which came with ham and egg on top of that bitch. It was really good, perfectly cooked too, as you can tell from the cut shot.
This was exactly what we needed before stuffing our bellies full of beer before the game, and hours of screaming and yelling for our team.
On a second visit I had the classic cheeseburger. The breakfast burger was better, in my opinion, and the bun is still in need of improvements. Switch to potato!
My wife had an asiago turkey burger, which was good but a little rubbery. I guess that shit happens when you eat turkey.
We did try some wings and an app that was essentially a fried pickle and pastrami fritter. Pretty good showing.
The down side is that they wouldn’t honor the wings or happy hour specials at the tables, despite the bar being filled.
Last item was the smokes shake, which was very nice. The roasted marshmallow on top really brought those flavors home.
5 NAPKIN BURGER
150 E 14th St
New York, NY 10003
My wife and I were invited to a press dinner for Spiegel, a downtown spot that opened in May of this year on 1st Avenue at 2nd Street (very close to the famed Nexus of the Universe, ala Seinfeld).
Restaurateur/owner Shmulik Avital and Executive Chef Dario Tapia (formerly at Westville and Maison Kayser) serve up a truly wide variety of foods with multi-national influences, spanning from classic to eclectic with everything in between. Shmulik spoke with us at length about how he was raised in a mixed-tenant building in Israel, where his neighbors were from nearly every country throughout Europe, the middle east, and northern Africa. Growing up, the mothers would exchange recipes with their neighbors, and soon the building was a true melting pot of international cuisine. His family is Moroccan, but you’ll see influences from all over the world on his menu. Truly fantastic. Shmulik also spoke about his motorcycle trip through Central America, where he gained inspiration to add a fish taco dish to his menu because he loved and enjoyed it so much.
They sport an equally varied wine list, directed by Vino-Man Kirk Struble, featuring selections from across the globe as well as a gaggle of imported beers (I love the Weihenstephan).
The ambiance is like a cafe, with a nice, large, custom U-shaped bar, oak and fabric seating, decorative brick walls, massive windows and tiled floors. An outdoor searing area that wraps around from avenue to street is set to open in April of 2015 as well.
The name Spiegel comes from Shmulik’s love of old cinema, particularly Lawrence of Arabia, his favorite film, which was produced by Sam Spiegel. Shmulik intends to have classic film nights in the restaurant to pay tribute to his love of classic, pre-1960s/1970s film.
Also worth noting: if you like what you see and read below, go check this joint out. They’re running a 50% Groupon deal right now that’s $15 for $30 worth of food. You can find it HERE.
Here’s a look at what we gobbled up, in menu form:
First, some starters and salads:
The zucchini fritters were nice and crispy outside, and flavorful inside. They came with a yogurt type sauce and a small side of nicely dressed arugula.
The star of the apps was the fried and stuffed mushrooms. Filled with cream cheese and smoked salmon, this was like a dream. Nicely seasoned as well. A real winner.
The baked feta fish was okay. I wasn’t too much of a fan of the tomato and eggplant sauce here, but the cheese was delightful.
The Spiegel chopped salad was nice and refreshing. All the veggies were treated superbly. I especially liked the hearts of palm: one of my favorite things to eat outside of the meat realm.
The kale salad was excellent. Expertly dressed and no bitterness. Sweet and savory all at once. I’d definitely recommend this one.
Next, a few sides. The carrots had a great cumin flavor going on that really made them stand out and punch up.
The broccoli had good flavor but it could have benefitted from a bit more salt and maybe some cracked black pepper. Otherwise it was great.
The star of the sides was the beet dish. I just kept going back at this plate. Really good shit, and beautifully colored.
Then some entrees. First was the veggie couscous. It packed enough flavor to stand on its own without the addition of any meats. It reminded me of pastina that my mother used to make, only more soupy and less creamy. This was an okay dish, but I’d probably go for something with a bit more substance on a subsequent visit.
The salmon was perfect. Juicy, tender, brimming with mild flavor. It came on a bed of roasted, chopped potatoes.
The veal schnitzel was the favorite for me and my wife. The breading was nice and crispy, and it had a great spicy kick to it.
And then came a pair of burgers, which were prepared specially for me, the meat man (the other dishes were mostly just fish and veg). The first one is called “The Kipling,” named after a patron who always orders it. It has a topping of the same tomato and eggplant sauce from the baked feta dish. To me, it was very reminiscent of a Sloppy Joe in terms of flavor profile. The burger was solid and held together, not like the mushy chopped meat in a Sloppy Joe. I think what took me to that “Sloppy Joe” place was the tomato flavor. On the other side of things, the french fries were some of the best I’ve ever had. They were absolutely perfect. There was a crisp batter texture to the outside, but the inside was soft and flavorful like mashed potatoes.
The other burger was the classic. Liberally seasoned beef, lettuce, onion and tomato. I prefer this to the Kipling. The only issues for me were that both burgers were a bit over cooked, and I think this classic burger could have benefitted from some cheese. This plate came with a small chic pea salad which was herby and refreshing, and topped with a little bit of crumbled feta.
Last, dessert. First was flan, which I really liked because it was firm yet creamy and smooth. The chocolate mousse was killer. I think I may have finished one whole order by myself. Last was the apple pie tart crumble thingy, which was very well executed and delicious. Overall I think the desserts were excellent, and I suppose that is a nod to the head chef’s experience at Maison Kayser.
I had an espresso, which was strong and tasty, from a roaster in California that the owner knows personally. This shot below is a nice decorative foam on top of a cappucino.
A quick note on their hours of operation:
Breakfast is 7:00am – Noon, every day.
Lunch/Dinner is 11:00am – 11:00pm Sunday – Thursday, and ’til Midnight on Friday and Saturday.
Brunch is 11:00am – 5:00pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
Happy Hour, with $7 select wines by the glass and $3 – $4 imported beers, runs every day from 4:00pm – 8:00pm.
SPIEGEL
26 1st Ave.
New York, NY 10009
This is just a quick and dirty review of Miss Lily’s jerk ramen. The verdict? Jerkworthy. Really fucking good. Take a look:
So what we have here is jerk chicken, pork belly, shoyu marinated ackee, egg and fermented scotch bonnet paste in a jerk broth. Jerk broth… Hehe…
Every element was fantastic. The chicken was flavorful and juicy. The pork was nice and fatty. The shoyu marinated ackee, which I had to google, is a fruit. However it was presented in such a way and with such interesting texture that I thought I was eating some kind of offal meat like kidney, fois gras or brains. It was freaking great! The egg was perfectly cooked. The scotch bonnet paste, I thought, could have used a bit more spice to it. I was expecting HOT. But if you need some spice, just add he “rass hot sauce” to your bowl and you’ll be good to go. The broth was really flavorful and hearty as is, but the sauce really punched it up.
We also had the coconut grilled jerk corn, which was really tasty – sweet and savory/spicy at the same time.
And some local brews.
MISS LILY’S 7A
109 Ave. A
New York, NY 10009
