Aureole: New York

Search for a restaurant for our first date night began only after we secured a baby sitter. We didn't want a restaurant that was far from our apartment; yet, we didn't want a place too close (although there are many within walking distance). The search got even narrower when we went to OpenTable to look for restaurants with available tables on the particular date and time our baby sitter is available. So began our first date night adventure.

We narrowed it down to Aureole: New York - the flagship restaurant of Charlie Palmer. I had lunch there once at the Bar Room and recall thinking that I needed to come back for dinner. The restaurant moved here from their former Madison Avenue location when One Bryant Park opened summer of 2009. The location is prime - a block from Times Square and Bryant Park with never ending foot traffic. 

The space is separated into the Bar Room and the Dining Room - a set up that you see in most high end restaurants these days. In the front of the house is the the vibrant Bar Room - an open space with high ceiling which probably helped to absorb the noise; and floor-to-ceiling window facing the 42nd Street. Then in the back is the Dining Room. Lower ceiling and dimmed lighting made it cozy but with sufficient noise to feel the energy. 

We went for the 5-course Dinner Tasting.

First Course - HAWAIIAN HAMACHI

avocado, pineapple, yuzu citrus, baby red shiso

Second Course - SCOTTISH LANGOUSTINE

basque peppers, potato gnocchi, sauce bouillabaisse

Third Course - BLACK BASS

mussels, purple potatoes, mustard greens, tomato

Fourth Course - PRIME NY STRIP

leeks, hens of the woods, potato puree, natural beef jus

Dessert - PINEAPPLE BAKED ALASKA

coconut, mango, passion fruit

The bouillabaisse sauce in the second course was quite memorable - you can taste the vastness of the ocean all squeezed into a couple of spoonful sauce on the plate. 

Black bass was cooked to perfection - the skin side charred just the right amount so that you can feel the crunch when you bite into the skin; yet the meat was moist with the broth from the mussels. 

Potato puree with the beef dish had a hint of wasabi, reminded me of Japanese style beef steak with wasabi soy sauce. They go quite well together - wasabi and beef. Maitake mushrooms (or also know as hens of the woods) on the plate added to the aromatic experience of the dish.

I couldn't quite figure out what the dessert was. I didn't know what a baked Alaska was - so I had to look it up when I got home. According to Wikipedia, "Baked Alaska (also known as glace au four, omelette à la norvégienne, Norwegian omelette and omelette surprise) is a dessert made of ice cream placed in a pie dish lined with slices of sponge cake or Christmas pudding and topped with meringue. The entire dessert is then placed in an extremely hot oven for just long enough to firm the meringue." I actually enjoyed the contrast in the creamy texture of the ice cream and the fluff meringue. 

Overall, the portions were just about right for a tasting menu. Each course had solid base; but with touches of Asian flavors to lighten the dishes. 

The Dining Room was full when we were seated, I suspect with the theater crowd. When we left, it was probably 1/3 full. Not sure if it got full again with late crowd. 

Very much enjoyed the dining experience. The food was not extraordinary; but it was not forgettable either. I'm sure to come back again, if not for dinner, for lunch. 

Aureole

One Bryant Park

135 West 42nd Street

New York, NY 10036

Tel: 212.319.1660

http://www.charliepalmer.com/Properties/Aureole/NY/

Cho Dang Gol

There are many Korean restaurants to choose from along 32nd Street. Less known is that there are good Korean restaurants along 35th Street as well as we discovered. Cho Dang Gol is on such restaurant known for its home made tofu. In the back of the restaurant are large pots that are used to make fresh tofu. The place is always packed with patrons and at peak time, there is a long queue.

We ordered tofu kimchi soup, stone bowl bibmbap with bulgogi, and korean pancakes (chijimi). The side dishes were very refershing in that they were not all different versions of kimchi. Tofu soup was mild, not too spicey, and full of soft tofu. Very tastey. Chijimi was more vegetables than batter, which we liked because it brought out the flavor of the vegetables and kimchi. The rice bowl was taste and mild. The best stone bowl bibmbap in New York so far.

The staff was attentive and quick; and no non-sense service. A bit on the pricey side for a Korean restaurant but it was worth it. We'll certainly go back again.



55 West 35th Street (between 5th and 6th)

New York, NY 10001

(212) 695-8222

http://www.chodanggolny.com/

Soba Totto - Sequel

Recently, I went back to Soba Totto for dinner. Although my prior visit was not the best experience, the soba noodle was good so I decided to give it another try.

What I learned was that the restaurant does not take reservations for parties of less than four. I had three in my group, so the restaurant simply told me that I will have to come to the restaurant to get a table. I did not think too much at the time since it was a dinner with few of my good friends. But, I would not use the restaurant for any client dinner or dinner with important guests. Sure, if I have four or more in the party, it looks like the restaurant will take reservations. But I could not quite understand the reason there. For important dinners, I need to know that I can secure a table so that we can get seated. Next time, I may ask why. Certainly, I would not come back for any important dinner.

As for the dinner, we were asked to wait at the bar until everyone in the party was there. So we had to wait for about 10 minutes until everyone was in the restaurant. But we got seated with no further problems. There staff was friendly and did not get the order wrong this time. Everything on the memu were available this time. I was a bit surprised that the each portion size was small - small even for Japanese standard. Perhaps we did not notice this the last time since we were more focused on getting the right food to begin with. We orderd different kinds of yakitori and few other dishes. Nothing to fuss about. Ordinary yakitori.

The soba was good. But the rest of the food was so so. Luckly, Aburiya Kinnosuke is only a few minute walk away. So next time, I'm inclined to have dinner at AK, then perhaps stop at Soba Totto for a quick soba noodles to finish the evening.

Soba Totto

Eating "soba" noodles on New Year's Eve is a Japanese tradition. For 2006, we went to Sobaya in East Village to close out the year. But we were not overly impressed. So as 2007 came to an end, we wanted to try a different noodle shop in Manhattan. When we heard about the opening of Soba Totto in Midtown-East, we thought we'll give it a try and made a reservation.

Soba Totto is the fourth restaurant in New York opened by the company that owns/manages Yakitori Totto, Toris, and Aburiya Kinnosuke. It goes without saying that our expectation was quite high. And the rumor had it that the restaurant went to Japan to bring a well regarded "soba shoku-nin" to run the kitchen.

When we went, the restaurant had been opened for a week. So the service was not fully polished; which was expected. At the same time, the restaurant is a sister restaurant to the other three establishments - all with good reputation. So they should be experienced with opening restaurants in Manhattan.

Although we initially went to have soba noodles, we decided to order yakitori as well after reviewing the menu. But when we tried to order, a lot of the yakitori items was "sold-out." For example, nankotsu, tebata, kimo, and others were not available that night. Perhaps we should have stopped there and stuck with our original plan to simply have soba noodles. But we didn't and tried to have some that were available - tsukune (tare and shio), mune, and karaage. To finish the dinner, we order zaru-soba.

Tsukune (tare) and mune came soon after we ordered. They were both good - tender meat and cooked well. But then the problems started. The staff began to bring items that we did not order. Then our zaru-soba came before we got our other orders. We asked them to take back the zaru-soba and bring our other orders first (yes, we were picky about the order in which we eat our food, especially to finish everything with soba noodles). Then we waited, waited, and waited. Asked about our orders and they kept saying "soon." After about 30 minutes, we finally gave up and asked to cancel the orders, simply to bring our zaru-soba.

When we finally got our zaru-soba, the excitement was gone. Have to admit, the noodles were good. But our whole dining experience was ruined. As we got ready to leave, we asked for the manager for explanation. Apparently, the staff punched in the wrong table number with our order, causing the confusion. Well... the manager did try to compensate us with "complimentary" dessert. But we were not in the mood, so we kindly refused, asked for our check and left.

Oh, and one other thing. The table next to ours was a group of six Japanese people that were very loud the whole time. Understandably, some noise is expected in a place like this. But this table was beyond noise. And to top it off, they got one of the restaurant wait staff to do a "split" (as in both legs going the opposite... a dance routine) right there in the restaurant - right in front of our eyes. The staff apparently was a dancer in New York and one of the guests at the table was also a dancer. But it is simply unacceptable for a staff person to behave this way in a restaurant. Of course we mentioned this to the manager. To their credit, the staff person immediately came to our table to apologize.

Perhaps we should give them the benefit of the doubt as they get their house in order. The noodles were good and would go back again, in spite of the service issues.

Soba Totto211
211 East 43rd Street (between 2nd and 3rd Ave)
212-557-8200

pinkberry

I recall the “frozen yogurt” boom back in the late 80’s/early 90’s – TCBY boom. The frozen yogurt shops popping up every where, taunting its low-fat low calorie treats. If I recall, they came out with various kinds of flavors – including the usual vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate.

Well, it looks like the frozen yogurt boom is back – except this time its with a 21st century flare. A recent boom in Manhattan is pinkberry. This chic/modern minimalist frozen yogurt café seems to be quietly becoming the place to be for the Manhattanites. pinkberry got its start in Korean Town in Los Angeles, which quickly grew to about 10 shops in the area. Then it began its expansion into Manhattan with three stores open so far – SoHo, Korean Town (32nd Street) and UES.

The menu is quite simple. You choose either the plain or green tea flavor frozen yogurt. Then add toppings of your choice – including berries, fruits, nuts, and candies. They also have shaved ice topped with yogurt and toppings and smooties.

The dessert is bit on the pricey side. But then again, it is very good. And refreshing after a nice hearty meal and you don’t have to feel guilty about it – hey its low fat and low calories.

Give it a try.

www.pinkberry.com

Land

There seems to be a lot of new restaurants popping up along 2nd Avenue in the Upper East Side. One such restaurant is Land, a Thai restaurant serving Northeast Thai cuisine. Land is a second restaurant opened by executive chef and owner David Bank. The sister restaurant is on the Upper West Side, also called Land Thai Kitchen.

Land does not take reservation. So when we arrived at the peak dinner time on a Saturday night, we were told that the wait is about 20-25 minutes. We left our name and a mobile phone number and waited outside. The wait was actually about 15 minutes and we were shown to our table. The dining area was small but cozy – with perhaps room large enough to seat about 50 customers.

The staff was very attentive and friendly. We ordered a papaya salad as a starter and each of us ordered a separate entrée. I ordered the special – grilled tuna with curry sauce and coconut milk served on top of green beans, asparagus, and liche – while my wife ordered cashew nut with chicken. The papaya salad was very spicy to my liking, but to those who does not like too much heat may want to ask for a medium. The entrée came in white serving plate with a side of jasmine rice. The ingredients were quite fresh. And the seasoning was not overwhelming.

The prices were reasonable. The restaurant has BYOB policy. I’m not sure if this is temporary or permanent. But given that the restaurant did not have a bar area, this is probably a permanent policy. We looked around the restaurant and there were many customers with their own bottles. As customers got seated, the wait staff quickly acknowledge the bottles by setting up glasses and offering to open the bottles.

As we left the restaurant, there was a long queue outside. The restaurant was not exceptional, but will be in a list of our weekend restaurants when we want Thai food. Also a good place to come with a group. In fact the restaurant had two large groups.

Land
1565 2nd Avenue (between 81st & 82nd)
New York, NY 10028
(212) 439-1847

www.landthaikitchen.com

The Modern - The Museum of Modern Art

The Modern is a French-American restaurant located at the Museum of Modern Art. The restaurant is a member of Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group (“USHG”), which includes other well-known places in Manhattan, such as Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Eleven Madison Park, and Shake Shack. Having heard good things about this place, my wife and I decided to have our anniversary dinner at The Modern this year.

The Modern has two distinct dining areas – The Dining Room which features more formal setting with open ceiling area with a splendid view of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden inside the MoMA complex; and The Bar Room featuring more casual but energetic setting and certainly much younger crowd than The Dining Room. Both dining areas showcase the creation of Chef Gabriel Kreuther, which is described as “elegant, creative French cuisine....”Obviously for our dinner, we choose The Dining Room.

We’ve been to many “fine dining” establishments in New York, some of them living up to the reputation while others some what disappointing. The Modern has one of the better ones and thought that it lived up to the hype. We were impressed with the service and delicious food to match the mood and the setting of the restaurant.

We were greeted by a staff assigned to our table with the menu. After taking our drink order (Bellini and Cosmopolitan), he gave us some time to leisurely read the menu. In fact, after we placed our food order, he offered to hold off on putting the order into the kitchen until we had some time to enjoy the cocktails and the amuse-bouches, which was a plate of scooped cucumber ball, goat cheese, and foie gras pâté.

And for dinner, we ordered the Chef Tasting Menu – which comprised of 8-course tasting course. And for me, suggested wine paring with the dinner.

The course included:
1).Melted Goat Cheese Amuse-Bouches
2).Foie Gra Terrine Flavored with Juniper Marinated Raisins, Grilled Country Bread
3).Yellowfin Tuna and Diver Scallops Tartare – Seasoned with American Paddlefish Caviar
4).Roasted Maine Lobster with Buckwheat Angelhair
5).Chorizo-Crusted Chatham Cod with White Coco Bean Puree and Harissa Oil
6).Long Island Duck Breast with Black Trumpet Marmalade, “Fleischneke”, and Banyuls Jus
7).Cheese Plate
8).Dessert

Did not care too much for the foie gra. Bit too much stuff around it. The tartare was quite good and matched well with the saltiness from the caviar. Maine lobster with buckwheat angelhair was an interesting combination. The duck breast was quite meaty. For the cheese plate, they brought a tray full of cheese for us to choose from. The portions on each course was just about right, except for the cheese plate. They were quite generous with the cheese, which we were not able to finish them all.

And for each course, the staff matched it with wine selection. It was quite good. Perhaps it was a bit too much alcohol but nonetheless, very enjoyable. They offered wines from various parts of the world, from Alace to Bordeux, from Virginia to Long Island. And finished it with Port for the cheese plate. Quite an experience and each wine was paired nicely with the meal. One regret is that they did not have a list of the wines served during the meal for me to refer back to.

The presentation of the food, with the wine and the timing were all orchestrated quite well by the waitperson in charge of our table and one additional staff to assist. Again, the service was quite impressive.

When we finished the course, had our espresso, and ready to depart, we had been at the restaurant for over 3 and 1/2 hours. Now, that is a leisurely dinner. One of the more memorable dining experience in New York for sure.

The Modern
The Museum of Modern Art
9 West 53rd Street
(between Fifth and Sixth Avenues)
New York, NY 10019
(212) 333-1220
Advance reservation strongly recommended. At least two weeks in advance

www.themodernnyc.com

Ultimate Belgian Tasting

Ultimate Belgian Tasting

A friend invited me to a Belgian beer and food tasting event that was co-sponsored by the Ale Street News and Consulate General of Belgium in New York. It was quite an event. You had to pre-register with your name before the event. You received a ticket which you need along with an I.D. to get into the event. It was held at the Heartland Brewery and Chophouse on 43rd Street.

After we got passed the bouncers in the entrance, we got inside and presented our tickets. Then we got a sampling glass and straight to the tasting. There were over twenty breweries and importers represented, each with their own booth to showcase their beer selections for us to taste. And as we mingled in the crowd, there were staff persons walking around with plates of different kinds of hor'dourve. There were other booths offering different types of Belgian foods like waffles, chocolates, cheese plates and patties. I was told that there were over 500 people who came to the event.

We really enjoyed the event. Never had so many different kinds of Belgian beer before. Typically, Duvel or Stella Artois comes to mind when we think about Belgian beer in the U.S. So it was quite intriguing and also a learning experience for me. It was very good. I particularly enjoyed beer with fruitiness of cherry and apples. You can taste the sweet fruit and yet quite strong with good flavor.

I also enjoyed the food. Tasted Belgian waffles – freshly made in the premise, right off the grill. Was very good. The best Belgian waffles I’ve ever had. Chocolates were good as wells their cheese. So overall it was quite an evening.

A list of some of the beers I tasted during the night.

Chimay Grand Reserve
Orval
Vichtenaar
Affligem Blong
Affligem Tripel
Unibroue 16 (from Quebec, Canada)

So Kong Dong Restaurant

Soft Tofu Soup!!

Never had this spicy Korean tofu soup dish until just recently. Our friends recommended So Kong Dong in Fort Lee, New Jersey that serves one of the best soft tofu soup in the area. When we finally had the chance to go there last December, it was so good that I immediately fell in love with it. I would go there every week, had it not been for the fact that it is not easy to get to Fort Lee from Manhattan without a car. But last Saturday, our friends invited us to join them and introduced us to another way to get there – i.e., through the use of public transportation. It involved taking the subway to George Washington Bridge, taking the bus to cross the bridge, and walking 10 minutes to the restaurant. But it was worth it… even if the walk was a bit cold.

So Kong Dong is a minimalist restaurant that serves only soft tofu soup and kalbe. This place is so popular that there is always a queue. When we went there in December, we must have waited at least 20 minutes – even when we had called in ahead of time to take a number to reserve a spot in the queue.

The menu is quite simple. A selection of soft tofu soup – including seafood, seafood and beef, oysters, kimchee and beef, etc. You can choose the level of spiciness to your liking – Not Spicy, Not So Spicy, Mild, Spicy, and Very Spicy. The menu also includes Korean BBQ (kalbe). After you order, the staff brings out five to six side dishes for the table – a selection of different types of kimchee. The rice that they serve is cooked in a stone pot which they bring to the table and serve it individually.

I had the Very Spicy seafood and beef soup when I visited there for the first time. And this last Saturday, I ordered the oyster soup. Again, Very Spicy!! The broth for the soup had flavor that brought out the sweetness of the spicy chili in the soup. So even at the Very Spicy level, I did not get the burning sensation. Rather, it complimented the flavor of the soup. If you are not very fond of spicy food, then I would suggest ordering “mild”. Too little spice can make the soup dull.

Kalbe was also very good. The meat was well marinated in Korean BBQ sauce and it was flavorful.

Best thing about this restaurant is the reasonable price. The price of the soup went up to $8.00 recently. But that is still a bargain, if you compare to what Korean restaurants will charge for similar menu in Manhattan.

I wouldn’t mind going there again before the winter season is over.

So Kong Dong Restaurant
130 Main St
Fort Lee, NJ 07024
(201)242-0026

B. Cafe

B. Café is a Belgium bar and café in the Upper East Side. You walk down few steps from the street and you walk into the bar filled with patrons, even on weeknights. It has the feel of a neighborhood bar where patrons are all locals. Feels very much at home. It is a great place to stop by on the way home from work with your friends. It is also a place where you can drop by on late Saturday night after dinner for few more drinks.

I went there for the first time this past weekend. The bar area is in the front while the dinning tables are in the back. It serves variety of Belgium beers – some from the tap and others in bottles. There are other drinks as well. And best of all, it will not break your wallet – the drinks are reasonably priced (for NY standard). On weekends, the bar area is opened till late so you can enjoy the drinks and company.

Next time, I’ll try out the food menu. Try the mussels and frites.

B. Café
240 E. 75th St.
(bet. 2nd & 3rd Aves.)
Manhattan, NY 10021
212-249-3300

Seoul Garden

There is a lot of Korean restaurants on 34th Street between Broadway and 5th Ave (a.k.a. Korean Town). Last Saturday, it was very cold. So decided it would be nice to have hot tofu soup – and “hot”, both in terms of spicy hot and hot hot. I called my friends and had a group of us try out Seoul Garden. The restaurant is big – take us a huge space on a 2nd floor of a building. No problem getting seated. The place is well known for its natural tofu soup. But the menu is also filled with other Korean food.

We ordered pajun and jap chae for the table. They brought different side dishes, like kimichi, pickles, and potato salad. Each of us ordered tofu soup as the main dish. I also ordered the set menu where in addition to the tofu soup came Korean BBQ (or kalbi). Tofu soup came in different levels of spiciness – very mild, mild, spicy, and very spicy. I tried the very spicy. It was hot, but bearable. It was actually great way to warm up the body in cold New York winter nights.

Seoul Garden
34 West 32nd ST. 2nd Fl. (Between 5th AV. and Broadway)
New York, NY 10001
(212) 736-9002

Kanoyama

We met a family in New York some time ago and have gotten to be good friends and hang out together periodically on weekends. Like us, they also love to try out the restaurant scene in New York. So, they have been bugging us for a while to try out a Japanese restaurant in East Village called Kanoyama. It has received high Zagat rating with comments like “still a secret” and “one of Manhattan’s best sushi options.”

We finally decided to check out what the hype is all about. In fact, we decided to go with the family that recommended and another family friend. On weekends, the restaurant does not take reservations. So we decided to go early and arrived around 6:00pm. It was beginning to fill-up. And by 6:30pm, it was a full house. And pretty soon, a queue started to form which seemed to have gotten longer as time passed. Interestingly enough, the patrons were mostly non-Japanese/non-Asian.

I started off with a bottle of microbrew beer imported directly from Japan, which is very rare in New York. The name of the brewery is Hitachino and they served two kinds – classic and white ale. I had the white ale, which was quite nice. Smooth with fruity aroma and taste. It was a pleasant way to start the evening and the meal. Then the group decided to order a half bottle of sake – Sawanoi Daikarakuchi – very dry and quite smooth.

We began with few appetizers. Half of a sea urchin shell filled with sea urchin from Maine – which we ate by dipping them into a bowl of cold salt water, like shabu-shabu. Wow – the sea urchin melted like butter and the salt water actually brought out the sweetness of the sea urchin. Never had sea urchin like this before. Then came what I call the “fatty” salmon. It is the belly of salmon (equivalent to “toro” of tuna). It was grilled. This was wonderful. Crispiness of the skin balanced out well with the meat. It was moist with the fat that did not overwhelm and quite sweet.

Then we order “omakase” sashimi and sushi courses. Although the fish was quite fresh (mostly imported directly from Japan) and very good, I was not overly impressed. It was like any other reputable sushi restaurants in Manhattan. Perhaps all the hype really set my expectation high and was more of a let down. We also order few additional pieces of sushi ala cart. One sushi which I enjoyed very much was nama-dako (raw octopus). It is rare to find nama-dako in Manhattan, so it was a nice way for me to finish the dinner in a high note.

Overall, it was a good restaurant and we’ll go back there again. I’m not sure if we are willing to wait in a queue. The food is good and service was excellent. The staff did tell us that its been difficult to get good fish that weekend. So we will try again and perhaps manage our expectation next time. Hope they have better selection of fish.

Kanoyama Japanese Restaurant
175 2nd avenue (11th street)
New York, NY 10003
(212) 777-5266
http://www.kanoyama.com

New Year's Eve 2006

It is customary in Japan to eat soba-noodles on New Year's Eve. I guess its like how Americans eat roast turkey on Thanksgiving. There are many theories on the origin of this tradition. One theory dates back to the Edo-period in the 1600's. A goldsmith of the period came up with the idea of using soba-noodle dough to clean his shop on New Year's Eve by kneeding the dough to pick up the gold dust and particles. The more popular and well-known theory is that eating "noodles" brings longivity symbolyzed by eating "long" noodles. No matter what the origin of the tradition is, most Japanese families have soba-noodles on New Year's Eve to bid farewell to the year that is about to pass and look forward to the new year that is about to begin.

So every year in our household, we also find a way to partake in this tradition. When we lived in St. Louis, it meant buying packaged dry soba-noodles at Mitsuwa Japanese Supermarket in Chicago, making the soup ourselves, and eating them at home. During the three years that we lived in Tokyo, there were many popular and famous shops that sold their fresh soba-noodles. In most cases, advance reservation was a must. So we did exactly that - placed our order in advance and cooked them at home to enjoy with family. One year, we actually waited in a queue outside of the restaurant for over 90 minutes in the cold weather for one of the best soba-noodle I've had in my life.

New Year's Eve 2006 was no different. We debated whether to go out or order in. We decided to go out. We had heard from friends that "Sobaya" in East Village is one of the best soba-noodle shops in NY Manhattan. So we planned ahead with another family friend and decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, this place does not take reservations for dinner. So we went there ready to wait in queue if necessary to have the best soba-noodle in NY. Of course other Japanese and New Yorkers had the same idea. On our way there in the cab, our friend called and said that there is at least a 90-minute wait (and it was still 6:00pm). Fortunately, the restaurant allowed us to leave our names and phone number so that we can do other things while we wait. So we waited at a near by tea house. The wait was actually not that long. We got the call after about 50 minutes.

The wait was worth every minute of it. The soba-noodle is actually made right in the restaurant. There was a soba maker in the restaurant, kneeding the dough. I ordered the "ten-zaru" or cold soba with tempura. Fresh soba-noodle was cooked just right - not too soft and not too hard. It was balanced, the right amount of buckwheat flour ("soba" flour) and wheat flour, so that I can actually taste the "soba" flour. A nice way to close out 2006.

We also ordered some appetizers for the table - tuna wrapped in yuba, shrimp shumai, and goma-ae. We were disappointed that they were out of dashi-maki.

The service was friendly and attentive, in spite of the fact that it was probably the busiest night of the year.

Would go back again - next time try other things on the memu. They all looked good. Ten-don sounded quite attractive.

Sobaya
229 East 9th Street
New York, NY 10003
212-533-6966
www.sobaya-nyc.com

Rosa Mexicano

We felt like Mexican. So we went to Rosa Mexicano on First Avenue based on a friend's recommendation. When we got there around 6:00pm, the place was already packed and a long line waiting. The hostess said the wait was approximately an hour and a half. Luckily we had made a reservation so we were immediately seated.

This is an upscale Mexican restaurant - not your local Taco Bell for sure. We were greeted by friendly staff and they were all attentive and fast. I started off with the pomegranate margarita. It was like any other pomegranate drinks out there these days. Not bad, but it was hard to taste the pomegranate.

As an appetizer, we had the Guacamole en Molcajete. Freshly made by the table side. One of the staff came by with a cart with the ingredients on one side and a pile of avocados on the other. He mixed and grounded chopped onions, hot peppers, and cilantro. Then mixed in chopped tomatoes and a whole avocados. Little bit of salt and we had a bowl of fresh guacamole. It was wonderfully delicious. Chunks of avocados were tasty. It was quite good with flour tortillas made fresh in the restaurants. In fact you can see couple of staff persons making them in the corner of the restaurant.

The main dish did not dissapoint. I had the Enchiladas de Jaiba - or crab meat enchiladas. Two corn tortilla wrapped jumbo lump crab meats topped with creamy tomallio sauce. The best way to describe it is - Mexican crab cake. And a very taste crab cake. The meat was quite big and tasty. Went well with the corn tortillas. The sauce was not over powering.

It was certainly an upscale Mexican. The tab was on a higher side - when comparing to what you typically pay for Mexican food. But it was well worth it and certainly will go back again for good Mexican food.

It is a good idea to call ahead and make a reservation - especially on weekends. Rosa Mexicano is also listed in Open Table.

Rosa Mexicano
1063 First Avenue at 58th Street
New York, NY 10022
(212) 753-7407

Oh Mammamia Restaurant

It looks like a sportsbar from the outside. And I've always wanted to try out this small Italian place in the Upper East Side. The place always attract a good crowd, especially on the weekend. When the weather is nice, the patrons are overflowing out to the street side patio. So we finally decided to give this place a try. We went there early so the crowd had not yet began to fill the place.

The place is small but gives you a warm and cozy feel. The noise level was on loud, but it added to the family ambiance of the restaurant and was not a bother. The service was great. Attentive and the manager came by periodically to check to make sure that we were taken care of. It gave you the feel of true Italian family-style dining.

We order Insalata Alla Ricotta to start off. It was a very simply mixed green salad sprinkled with shaved ricotta salata covering the greens. Rasberry vinaigrette dressing was on a light side, but was actually the right amount as it complemented the saltiness of the ricotta cheese. It was simple but quite good.

I had the Spaghetti alle Vongole. It was clams (already out of the shell) in wine sauce with chopped anchovies and basil. The sauce was not over powering. It went well with the saltiness of the anchovies and clams. The portion was large, but I was able to finish it all. The pasta was cooked just right, not over cooked.

For dessert, we tried out the tiramisu. It was a large piece and one of the best. It was not too sweet. And the angle cake was not soggy, so really enjoyed the taste of the cake mixed with the taste of cappuccino.

Oh Mammamia is also has a good selection of brick-oven baked pizzas. We saw some of the pizzas that other patrons ordered and they looked really good. This place was a winner and will go back again. Next time to try the pizza. It is a good idea to either make a reservation or come early. By the time we were finished, the place was packed!


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Oh Mammamia Restaurant
1471 2nd Avenue
New York, NY 10021
(212) 288-4045
Note: Takes only American Express