Balon Time No See
Balon Winebar & Bistro | 245 East 81st St. (off 2nd Ave.) | 646.641.2282 | balonwinebar.com
bar
Red Classic
Classic Dorrian's Cheeseburger | Shoestring Fries | Dorrian's Red Hand | 1616 2nd Ave. (corner of 84th) | 212.772.6660 | dorrians-nyc.com
Still A Cornerstone Burger
...I found this burger had great texture—I love a loose interior crumble and exterior caramelization—but do prefer a bit more of those lovely warm, clear beef juices running down my chin and slowly disintegrating the integrity of the bottom bun.... [Full Post]
Dive Into The Seahorse Tavern
...The Seahorse Tavern represents a long overdue post for real adults to chow down on some down-home chowder, sling back some raw Blue Point oysters with a pint of Blue Moon Belgian Wheat Ale, or enjoy Basque-style mussels and lemon sole with a friend or date over a bottle of moschofilero from Greece.... [Full Post]
Germanic Monday
...The sausage loaf had the texture of a refined thick slice of good bologna, and was flavored by a rich combination of spices. This was a great dais for the soft-fried egg and a hit a ground mustard, which together augmented the leberkäse's unctuousness and almost guilty amount of porkiness. The runny yolk of the egg, which I'm always a fan of, evenly integrated the texture dichotomies between the hot protein and the chilled finely chopped yet still toothsome potato salad.... [Full Post]
Like A Good Neighbor
...The side salad of arugula, fresh basil, cherry tomatoes and shaved parmesan was a perfect compliment to the dish, as was the wonderful glass of white wine, an Argentinian torrontés of bright, subtle citrus, apricot, and peach, with herbal hints, a nice "weight" (it doesn't "coat" the inside of your mouth), and finishing clean enough that you can still enjoy the flavors of whatever you're eating.... [Full post]
A Day On The Half Shell
...I recently had some great Mystic oysters at Flex Mussels; I described them as "large, meaty, silky, creamy, briny..., and tasty".... [Full post]
Icy, Spicy Gonzalez!
...That inspired me to make frozen jalapeño margaritas while I tended bar on one of these oppressively hot and humid July days. They were a huge, tasty hit (made 3 pitchers of them), and looking forward to taking some of my customers and PHUDE-nyc Facebook page fans and start making these with strawberries, watermelon, and even cactus fruit.... [Full post]
Getting Ziggy With It
...A very decent pie this was. A nice, pliable but not doughy crust, with a thin strong fold but without the more the more New York-style "crisp". The cheeses were traditionally rustic and aromatic, the sausage buoyantly spicy and sweet, and all of it drizzled with a clean and earthy olive oil that brought all the good flavors together with each bite... [Full post]
Sorry, Carlos
... Alas, the practicality, the chef argued, of Peel & Eat shrimp is that it presents less prep for the kitchen—no peeling by the sous chef—so he decided to scrap using shrimp, and instead use already "prep"-able—and "spice"-able on the fly—grilled chicken and/or steak, and has made an admittedly delightful and tasty version of what we will be calling Pub Tacos ... [Full post...]
Pulino's Just Might Deserve (and Survive) The Hype
...But eventually you have to give McNally some credit. I've liked—if not raved about—the food at Pravda and Balthazar, and frequented those for many years regardless. Pulino's will have its heralders—and, I'm sure, some detractors—but longer after fanfare, discussions and debates have subsided and been forwarded to the new "next big thing", people will be squeezing in rezys and inviting their friends to grab a bite and a beer here with them.... [Full post]
Gastropub Just a Little Off
...The hot dogs being longer than the buns they were on, I was able to try a bite of just weiner. They were good—Psilakis' recipes both—and possessed the texture of homemade sausages. But, again, they kind of clashed with the remedially lowf-fi food "comfortability" of the toppings, especially the Chicago dog, which excelled on the toppings but were better suited for a Sabrett's.... [cont.]
