Tag Archives: fish

Japanese, Restaurant Reviews

Sushi Fan

Leave a comment

First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:

This joint has a really nice 15-piece omakase for just $85. You get a lot of what would normally be “upgrade” toppings on the pieces, too. Things like uni, foie, etc. Here are some pics of everything we had (minus the hand roll).

My favorite was the wagyu beef with uni on top (obvious?). It was A5 rib eye!

I would definitely go back here again, and the joint is BYOB so that’s perfect! They also offer a super-upgraded 18-piece omakase for $140. But honestly, the 15-course is such a great value that I don’t think I’d get the 18-course.

SUSHI FAN
102 St Marks Pl.
New York, NY 10009

East Village, Japanese, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Domakase

Leave a comment

First check out this quick Ride & Review video HERE:

This joint offers 13 pieces with unlimited sake for $120. We had about 4 or 5 carafes of the stuff, so we definitely got our money’s worth. Our favotire pieces were the lean and fatty tuna, the foie gras on crispy mochi, and the bowl of uni, ikura and caviar. Awesome! Would go back for sure! Only criticism was the sterile, medical office type lighting being a bit “fluorescent blue,” if that makes sense, and the loudness of the music.

DOMAKASE
23 Avenue B
New York, NY 10009

East Village, Parms, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Spanish

Kobo by Nai

Leave a comment

The best way to get a feel for this restaurant is to watch my Ride & Review video on YouTube:

But for the traditionalists out there, here’s a breakdown of everything we had:

STARTERS

1. Oysters

These were beautifully presented.

2. Croquettes

Seriously delicious and addictive. The outer shell is thin and crispy, and inside is a delicious explosion of high end Spanish ham and cheese.

3. Mortadella

Yes. With some creamy ricotta on the bottom, this really took the starters over the top.

4. Iberico Ham

This was some seriously high quality stuff. Melts in your mouth!

PASTA

1. Cavatelli

I really dig this spicy beef version of my favorite pasta style, cavatelli.

2. Pappardelle

Probably one of the top three dishes of the night. The Iberico pork ragu was nuts!

3. Curry Lamb Bechamel Lasagna

This is a game changer! Make sure you get this. If you like cumin lamb szechuan noodles, you will love this Italian take on it.

4. Fideua

This squid ink “pasta paella” was my favorite dish of the night. The squid was perfectly cooked, and the pasta was so tasty.

MEAT MAINS

1. Iberico Pork Meatballs

This works as a shared starter too, but I could eat this every day. This is also top three of the meal.

2. Short Rib

So tender and flavorful. Ruben does a similar dish at his other restaurants and all of them are great.

3. Chicken Milanese

This could benefit from a slightly flatter pounding, but there was a sweetness to this from either apricot or honey that was incredible.

SEAFOOD MAINS

1. Whole Fish

Perfectly deboned and beautifully presented.

2. Mussels

Save some sourdough bread to drag through the deeply flavorful sauce that comes with the perfectly cooked mussels.

3. Shrimp

These Spanish style garlic and spicy oil shrimp were absolutely perfect.

VEG

We had the broccolini with Romesco sauce. Even the veg here is off the charts good.

The radicchio salad was also really nice, with poached pears and walnuts.

I’ve said it before with Nai, Emilia and Amigo: Ruben deserves a Michelin star at his restaurants. Everything he puts out is delicious and innovative. He’s one of the city’s most under the radar chefs. So much talent! I highly recommend all four of his restaurants.

KOBO BY NAI
202 Avenue A
New York, NY 10009

East Village, Japanese, Restaurant Reviews

Kissaki

Leave a comment

I took my wife to Kissaki for her birthday since she likes omakase restaurants. This place did a great job. We went with their 13-course tasting menu, swapping out sashimi for nigiri on the sushi pieces, and we also shared a sake pairing (four generous pours that progressed through the meal).

My favorite items were the Santa Barbara uni, the thin sliced squid, the Japanese barracuda, and the Spanish mackerel.

I’m no omakase expert, but this place seemed to deliver very good quality at a great starting price point of $120 (for the nigiri – add $60 for the sashimi).

My only gripe: they should offer a combo of both nigiri and sashimi, since some of the nigiri sushi looked really interesting with wild toppings and flavors, while the sashimi pieces were more traditional and plain. A mixed piece menu would be a great way to get a taste of both modern and traditional.

KISSAKI BOWERY
319 Bowery
New York, NY 10003

Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews, Spanish

Cervos

Leave a comment

My wife and I finally tried this spot. It’s been getting very popular lately in the food scene, mainly because of the crispy shrimp heads seen here:

They paired nicely with the house hot sauce.

They’re delicious! But so are the other items they offer, like the mussels escabeche:

The fried skate wing:

And the piri piri chicken with french fries:

Fries were perfect, chicken was juicy! Great cocktails as well.

We’ll definitely be back to try the Manila clams and a few other items that looked tasty.

UPDATE! Clams were pretty good, but I probably wouldn’t order them again in terms of portion size.

These Louisiana white prawns were excellent. I would definitely order them again. There were five on the plate.

CERVOS
43 Canal St
New York, NY 10002

Other, Restaurant Reviews, West Village

Dame

Leave a comment

My buddy Nick took me on a little British food tour in the West Village that started off at Dame, a relatively new pop-up style joint that only offers their incredible fish & chips on Fridays and Saturdays. Take a look at this perfection:

They also sell wines and other nice provisions.

But I have to say, these were the best fish & chips I’ve ever had. Really light and crisp outside with nooks and crannies galore in the fried batter. Tender and juicy inside, hot and steamy. Really great quality fresh fish, filleted and cleaned on site – no bagged or frozen bullshit. And absolutely perfect thick, crispy fries… I mean CHIPS.

Make your way over here for this special treat. You won’t be disappointed.

DAME
85 MacDougal St
New York, NY 10012

American, Burgers, Diner, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Other Cuts, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Union Square/Flatiron

Chat n Chew

Leave a comment

This local diner is in the vein of the American classic in feel, but with a bit less traditional menu items.

They have a great selection of cocktails, which are part of their happy hour menu as well.

I was impressed with the food. I tried a lot of stuff so here it goes:

Mac & Cheese

Great flavor on this and a nice blend of cheeses.

Asian Grilled Chicken Salad

Loved the sesame balsamic flavors on this.

Korean Wings

These are not batter fried in the traditional Korean style, but they are still sticky, sweet, spicy and crisp.

Fish & Chips

These are perfect. The best I’ve had, actually. The cod is juicy and flakey, and the batter is perfectly golden brown and crisp. They get hit with a dusting of curry too so the flavors are great.

Burger

This 10oz monster is great. Classic style, cheddar, LTO. Comes with fries for $15.

Crab Cake

This was nice and meaty. Also comes with fries and coleslaw.

Flatiron Steak

Lean and flavorful, this baby can be eaten with just a good sear on the outside. 6/10.

Coca-Cola Cake

Wow. They re-reduce the Coke back into a syrup and that gets mixed into a chocolate sponge and topped with crispy chocolate cookie bits, and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Really nice.

Give this place a shot! I know I will be back.

CHAT N CHEW
10 E 16th St
New York, NY 10003

East Village, Nolita/Soho, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Thai

Fish Cheeks

Leave a comment

My wife and I came here for a friend’s birthday lunch. Here’s all the stuff we tried:

DRINKS

Watermelon Spritz: Aylesbury vodka with Aperol, fresh squeezed watermelon juice and Prosecco.

Thai Old Fashioned: Mekhong Thai spirit with Angostura, orange, kaffir lime and spiced chocolate bitters.

APPS

Calamari: fried calamari, cilantro, dried red chili, tamarind and fish sauce glaze.

Zabb Wings: fried chicken wings with chili, lime and mint.

Shrimp in 3 Crabs Sauce: lightly cured raw shrimp with lime juice, garlic, bird’s eye chili and mint.

Yum Som-O: pomelo, cilantro, fried shallot, apple blossom, toasted coconut flakes, peanut and tamarind dressing.

Grilled Pork Cheeks: Compart Duroc pork cheeks served with Jeaw sauce.

Market Oysters: served with fried shallots and nam jim seafood.

ENTREES

Coconut Crab Curry: southern style curry with crab meat and sea beans.

Short Rib Massamun Curry: grass fed short rib braised for 12 hours, potatoes and peanuts.

Crab Fried Rice: crab, rice, egg, scallion, cilantro and cucumber served with nam jim seafood and prik nam pla.

Steamed Fish with Thai Herbs: whole striped bass, chili, lime, mint, cilantro, cilantro and lemongrass broth.

Seafood Pad Cha: stir fried shrimp, scallop, squid, wild ginger, green peppercorn, basil, string beans and Thai eggplant.

SIDES

String Bean & Pork Cracklings: sautéed with dried chili and garlic.

Sautéed Cabbage: with garlic and fish sauce.

Spicy Corn: with grape tomatoes and string beans.

DESSERTS

Sticky Rice & Mango:

Coconut Ice Cream:

Okay, so that would be a shitload of dishes to review individually. I can tell you honestly that every single dish I had here was incredible, and that’s even including the vegan and vegetarian dishes. My favorites were the calamari, wings, shrimp in 3 crabs sauce, pork cheeks, crab fried rice, steamed fish, seafood pad cha and beef curry.

FISHCHEEKS
55 Bond St
New York, NY 10012

Chinese, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews

Hwa Yuan

2 Comments

I went to Hwa Yuan with my wife and a group of friends to celebrate Lunar/Chinese New Year. We had a massive feast, but the very first bite of the meal was the clear favorite for all of us: crispy tangy beef.

This shit was like meat candy. So good that I wanted it by the bucketful.

Next up, Peking roasted duck.

Look at this fellow up close:

Our waiter sliced it up table side:

Here’s a short video of the slicing, set to American New Year music:

I also really liked this plate of sliced mountain yam with ginger, snow peas, goji berries and wood ear mushrooms. The yams tasted like giant water chestnuts.

This plate of eggplant was really tasty too, and I typically don’t love eggplant.

This dish was called “Amazing Chicken.” I really liked the sauce, but I wish the chicken had a bit more texture on it.

This was a roasted and stewed Barramundi fish.

And this bowl of ma po tofu was perfect. Just the right amount of silky texture and numbing spice with heat.

These pea sprouts were tasty too – almost like a cross between spinach and collards, simply steamed with garlic and soy.

Get your asses down to this joint and dig in. The food is really great!

HWA YUAN
42 E Broadway
New York, NY 10002

American, French, Latin/Mexican & Caribbean, New Orleans, Restaurant Reviews

Compere Lapin

Leave a comment

This is Nina Compton’s joint, from the New Orleans season of Top Chef. My wife got us a reservation here and we were all pretty excited to try it.

The cocktails here are awesome, and I’m now firmly of the belief that New Orleans is one of the best places for cocktails in the world. Their take on a mule is served in a brass rabbit, and they can only serve 14 at a time, since that’s how many brass rabbit vessels they have.

I had a Louisville Slugger, which was basically a vanilla smoked old fashioned. Delicious.

Now onto the food. First was this board of amazing biscuits with two kinds of butter (sweet and maple bacon).

We started with a nice round of small plates and apps.

Crispy Pig’s Ears

These were awesome. Great Caribbean spice flavor (Nina hails from St. Lucia), crispy outside, and a little chew inside. Just right.

Conch Croquettes

Another nod to Nina’s background, these Caribbean conch fritters were soft inside and perfectly crisp outside.

Tuna Tartare

This was so good. The spice level was nice, but the flavor and quality of the tuna was exceptional. Not to mention that it’s beautiful to look at. My favorite of the apps, and that’s a big win considering what came next.

Steak Tartare

The meat was nicely minced and served with a skim-coat of smoked beef fat. Amazing! My buddy, who is a big steak tartare aficionado, loved this. This shit was way better than the garbage we had at Dickie Brennan’s.

Now onto the main courses.

Jamaican Jerk Drum

Drum is a fish that’s local to the area. It’s white and flakey, kinda like a halibut. This had a nice crisped coating of jerk spices on the exterior, and a super tender and flakey interior. I loved it. What made this dish really pop, though, were the drops of citrus custard that dotted the plate. When you got that pungent hit of lemon curd in with a bite of all the rest, it really came together.

Seafood Scialatielli

This homemade spaetzl-like pasta was perfectly cooked and served with some high quality shrimp and clams. We really liked it.

Curry Goat

I didn’t get a photo of this, but I did get a bite of my friends dish. It was so tender and flavorful. Nina really nailed it.

Dessert: Soursop Semifreddo

Very rare to see the exotic soursop fruit on a menu stateside, so my wife and I jumped at this. It was served in a log shaped semifreddo form, with shaved celery, meringue and shaved cucumber. Really well balanced.

This was easily one of the best meals we had in New Orleans. I highly recommend this joint.

COMPERE LAPIN
The Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery
535 Tchoupitoulas St
New Orleans, LA 70130