Balon Time No See
Balon Winebar & Bistro | 245 East 81st St. (off 2nd Ave.) | 646.641.2282 | balonwinebar.com
wine
Full Steam Ahead
Steamers | in Broth with Shallots | The Seahorse Tavern | 303 East 85th St. (off 2nd Ave.) | 212.744.7774 | www.theseahorsetavern.com
Elio's-Centric
...I had forgotten how the rest of the city—the world—kind of falls away when I'm at Elio's. The dishes were simple yet expertly executed, channelling many layers of "home cooking comfort". My veal was so tender that my butter knife sliced straight through it in one motion.... [Full Post]
Lunch With Me Matey...!
...You expect the Drunken Sailor to have the crusty exterior of a seasoned salt, just like the edge of the bread and the fried, melted cheeses that adhered to it. But then you're hit with his boozy breath, an aroma that take over more senses than it's supposed to. You try to placate him with patience, but that only angers him, as he becomes suddenly punchy with blue cheese stankiness.... [Full Post]
Back Where I Balon
...This dish was triumph of surprises. The fish remained flaky throughout eating, countered nicely by the slightly bitter yet "verdant" bok choy bulbs and leaves, and accentuated by the properly understated amount of mango purée... [Full Post]
Tre Bene
...He first recommended the truffle egg toast appetizer off the pane-bruschetta menu section. The dish consists of two egg yolks baked on bread, and topped with fontina cheese and truffle oil. The offer the option of adding grated bottarga on top, and me being a new fan of it, decided it was worth the extra three bucks.... [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]
"Shake" Wait
...The flattop-grilled, "squished", Pat Lafreida beef is still stellar—caramelizing to a slight crisp on the outside while flavorful juices ran clear from the moist interior—and topped off with an "crisp"-fried, earthy, plump portobello mushroom oozing with hot, sharp and mellow muenster and cheddar cheeses, which winds up being more of a treat than a necessity, but is charming nonetheless... [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]
Mussel Head
...but I love mussels to be the "stars" of the dish, as they were here, plump and proud with their deep oceanic flavor and one of a kind texture accented on more than one level by porky ham strips, sweet onion, aromatic white and earthy garlic... [Full post]
Surf 'n' Turf Starter
...Most "surf 'n' turf" dishes boast a flavorful earthiness,and this dish was no exception. The smokey brininess of the salmon complimented the mellow beefiness of the slightly seasoned, rare-ish steak. The very bright and peppery dressing accentuated both proteins' flavors, and rounded them out the sweet, almost citrusy herbal hints of the sage.... [Full post]
The Early Bird
...The vinaigrette also added nuance to the earthy, herbal chicken meat, brightening the meat's flavor with its hits of vinegar, as the red pepper flakes balanced the natural sweetness of the green beans and woke up the corners of my mouth, like a jolt of coffee, preparing me for the rest of my day... [Full post]
Catching Up
...The fennel and bottarga pie was rich with layers of flavor, from the citrus-hued piquancy of the fennel to the earthiness of the bottarga, which boasts the same flavor property—almost—as anchovies, with more subdued salinity and brininess.... [Full post]
UPDATE | Dog Days of Summer
...So I again skillet-grilled two Thumann's Pork & Beef Hot Dogs and placed them into toasted hot dog buns, topping them with shrimp (this time boiled in water, butter and lemon juice instead of sautéing them in butter and garlic), wasabi mayo, sriracha sauce, pickled orange peppers, and cilantro, and bringing them downstairs on a paper plate to Ali and Chris to try.... [Full post]
Dogs Days of Summer
...Both were tasty; the Italian-themed one serving up some nice homey and familiar old world tastes, the other a cornucopia of textures, temperature, flavors, all of them brightly explosive, almost, with neither of the hotdogs' toppings overwhelming or masking the well-seasoned, snappy, juicy meat.... [Full post]
Chili of the Sea
...I then sliced two tilapia filets into big chucks and threw them in the pot with a can of whole clams (I wanted to represent—in a Sloppy Jill—the many layers of women, so I used a flake fish, a crustacean, and a bivalve), continuing to stir over medium low heat until the tilapia fell apart into flakes but kept their firmness, about 10 minutes. I then let it simmer for another 5 minutes, letting extra liquid steam off until giving the mixture its necessary chili-like consistency.... [Full post]
