"Ninth" Square Donuts: New Haven, CT

Over the weekend I'd gone to visit a dear friend in New Haven to celebrate his 33rd birthday. Our evening began at Geronimo Tequila Bar & Southwest Grill where I had a triple-serving of a doubly-good spicy blood orange margarita with jalapeño-infused tequila. (their posole stew and chorizo salad wasn't bad either) The following morning, I had plans to take the 11:55 Metro-North back to Manhattan, but Luis and Larry were kind enough to give me a ride into the city. On our way, we stopped for a quick "brunch" at Orangeside Luncheonette in the Ninth Square historic district.

square turtle donut and caramel-covered coffee roll 
at Orangeside Luncheonette

Even though Luis and Larry were ordering savory dishes for themselves, I couldn't resist the decadently-dressed sweets displayed on the counter. When I had trouble deciding between the square "turtle" donut or the caramel-covered coffee roll, Luis suggested, Get both! While I admit, the caramel-covered treats looked more exciting than they'd tasted... no stop to the Ninth Square would be complete without a visit to Orangeside Luncheonette for a couple of "ninth" square donuts!

Orangeside Luncheonette, 135 Orange Street, New Haven

Celebrating 9 Years at Tout Va Bien

four desserts... for two!

Last night David and I celebrated our nine year anniversary with a late dinner at our old, midtown favorite: Tout Va Bien. 

We began by selecting a bottle of "Champagne TVB" ($55) which tasted of the extra dry variety with good doses of fruit and flavor. (and how nice it was to have a real champagne!) In the mood for salad, I ordered "endives in season," which came dressed in a mustard vinaigrette, while David opted for (his favorite) pâté maison. The bitter endives were close enough to what I was craving and David's pâté was a pretty pleasing choice. (very moist, not too firm and big in flavor) For our main course, David and I decided to share moules marinière! ($17)

A large glass dish arrived, piled high with mussels and covered in another glass dish which was to be used for our emptied shells. David also ordered a side of frites for the moules, which he considered would be incomplete without. The mussels were just as good as they always are at Tout Va Bien: soft, fresh and there were even one or two that were nearly huge! Nearing the bottom of the dish, David began dipping his fries into the marinière which was my cue to prepare a piece of bread for sopping (perhaps the best part of moules marinière)!

Finally finishing the mussels, David and I perused our menus for a fitting dessert. David recommended mousse au chocolat and crêpe TVB (a huge ice cream-filled crêpe)! Unfortunately, they were out of the crêpe TVB; we instead selected crème brûlée. 

we tasted a third dessert... just to be polite

Minutes after the arrival of desserts, they were accompanied by two more mousses au chocolat, a vase of roses and the house bucket of sangria! David and I slowly made our way around three, out of the four, desserts while commenting on The Oscars which was playing on the bar's TV behind me. When David finally asked for the bill, we had noticed they did not charge us for the champagne or desserts! We'd been going to Tout Va Bien for nine years now; we'll certainly be going back for the next nine years--and more!

Tout Va Bien, 311 West 51st Street, Manhattan

Nearly Forgetting About Henry's

A few of Henry's dishes which 
we chose for sharing

As I'd previously mentioned, Monday night was David's birthday and we began the celebratory night with a quiet dinner for two at Henry's, on the Upper West Side.

Previously living just two blocks from the place, Henry's was always our "go to" place whenever visiting folks were in town (it's where David had his undergrad graduation luncheon and where our former roommate introduced her, now, wife to her parents). Planning a surprise cocktail hour at Toast with a few of David's closest friends, I decided Henry's would be the perfect spot for a pre-cocktail hour dinner.

A cow-goat blend and a pecorino

were our selections

David and I decided to begin with the Saxelby's artisanal American cheese plate which included apricot chutney and a wonderful cheese which was a blend of goat and cow--I've never had a cheese like that before! Moving on, we selected from the all-American wine list the Brotherhood blanc de blancs NV brut (Washingtonville, N. Y.). The N. Y. state sparkling comes from "the oldest operating winery in the U. S. A." and at $30 was both a bargain and a value!

Duck Reuben sandwich

For our main course, we decided upon several dishes to share. David ordered butternut squash soup, pistachio green beans and french fries while I had already predetermined (from home) that I wanted to order the duck Reuben ($15). David's green beans were terrific (and quite large for a side--a neighboring diner ordered them as her entrée). And my duck Reuben sandwich was one I won't soon forget! The slices of duck tasted very fresh and juicy and I can honestly say that this sandwich rivaled Blue Ribbon's roasted duck club!

 Henry's biscotti plate

Both of us nearly too full for another bite, we decided upon sharing the biscotti plate which included a "chilled affogato." The off-sweet biscotti was just what we'd wanted while the shot of espresso helped with digestion. At the end of the meal, I told David about how I'd nearly forgotten about Henry's; while I'd never recalled an unpleasant experience at Henry's, I hadn't recalled any memorable ones either. However, Monday night's meal proved to be an unforgettable experience and one that I won't soon forget!

Henry's, 2745 Broadway, Upper West Side

Valentine's Day

chocolate-covered strawberries for breakfast

Tuesday morning I woke early, while David slept in after a night of celebrating his 29th birthday, and walked up Broadway to pick up some Valentine's Day treats. My first stop was at PJ Wine where I selected a bottle of Nicholas Feuillate rosé champagne before heading further north to Carrot Top Pastries to see what they'd have in store. As I entered the bakery for the first time, I scanned the cases for a suitable treat. I'd noticed they had chocolate-covered strawberries and recalling that David had not had them in a while, I decided a half-dozen would be the perfect treat!

they didn't even last 'til noon!

Arriving home, I surprised David with the red and pink gifts with which he promptly decided would be perfect for breakfast in bed! With a cup of coffee, some crackers and some slices of hard salami, I decided to join him. However, I had to work at the restaurant that evening so I was only able to spend a few hours with David before heading off to work. Later, I received directions to meet back at home for "surprise treats."

a surprise indeed!

Entering the kitchen, I was instantly wowed with a smorgasbord of all my favorite treats! On the menu: the rosé champagne; demi-baguette from Silver Moon Bakery; green frittata with homemade aioli; salmon caviar; five kinds of cheeses from Westside Market; blackberries, grapes and home-stewed cranberries; and a late harvest torrontés to pair with dessert. David and I began with the salmon caviar.

perfect presentation

salmon caviar, yogurt dressing & green onions

The caviar canapés were a lovely start to our meal and worked well with the champagne, which brought to mind Truman Capote's description of Cristal in La Côte Basque as one damp sweet ash. Next, it was on to the five varieties of cheeses.

Clockwise from top: Roquefort Société, manchego, bûcheron de chèvre, Saint-André; and white stilton with blueberries (all sourced from Westside Market)

I instantly recognized two of my favorite cheeses from Westside Market: the fatty Roquefort Société and the sweet white stilton with blueberries (I'd previously tried their version with pear and apple). As always, we were thoroughly pleased with our selections from Westside Market which were all rather impressive, especially the bucherondin de chèvre which had a beautiful ripeness to it. Enjoying the cheeses, I nearly forgot to partake in the selection of lush fruits, both fresh and preserved. 

roquefort topped with David's home-stewed cranberries

In addition to the perfectly ripened green grapes and plump blackberries, David prepared a serving of home-stewed cranberries of which he boiled dried cranberries and steeped them in white vermouth. They worked wonderfully atop the cheeses. 

a dessert wine that 

doesn't overpower

Moving counter-clockwise, I finally enjoyed David's "green frittata" with onions and a homemade aioli before moving onto our dessert course which included a bottle of late harvest torrontés, "tardío," by Santa Julia. Knowing that I'm a recent fan of botrytis wines, David tried to find a bottle, but could only come up with this late harvest bottle (I admit, they're not so easily found). Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the tardío which was sweet, but not cloying and held a faint bouquet of fruit.

David's famous oatmeal muffins with ice cream centers
and chocolates from Mondel!

My final surprise of the evening (for which I had to wait in the other room while it baked) was David's famous homemade oatmeal muffins with "molten" ice cream centers and my favorite chocolates from Mondel!

dark chocolate-covered green Marzipan with coconut flakes;
cocoa almonds; and milk and dark chocolate hearts

As always, David's muffins were perfect, which he likes to cook until almost completely done, then inserts a small scoop of vanilla bean ice cream into the center to melt slightly. And as is our tradition, David picked out my favorite dark chocolate-covered green Marizpan, sprinkled with green coconut flakes and cocoa almonds, one of my other favorites... I must say, that it was, quite possibly, my best Valentine's dinner yet!

champagne, please...

Say It Ain't So

IT happens to all of us. Your favorite restaurant does something shocking and it's no longer your favorite restaurant.

FRIDAY night, The Plaza Food Hall by Todd English was off to a good start, but soon began to slip...

The beginning of the night was also the best, as my competent server  

quickly set me up with a glass plus a bottle of bubbly

I was meeting my sister, Kim and arriving before our 7:15 reservation, the maître d' was kind enough to allow me to be seated incomplete; the friendly hostess escorted me to "the corner of ocean"--one of the best seats in the house. I was quickly greeted by our friendly server, Michael who'd remembered me from a previous visit and quickly placed a bar order for a glass of my favorite Valdo prosecco plus a bottle of sparkling Pellegrino for the table. Kim arrived shortly thereafter and also decided to start with a glass of Valdo while we perused the various menus...

Nearly no trip to The Food Hall would be complete 

without an order of Kim's favorite stuffed 

medjool dates

Michael gave Kim and me a few minutes to settle in over cocktails before asking if we were ready to place an order. As is my usual style, as of late, I decided to order "gradually," beginning with an order of medjool dates stuffed with cabrales cheese and wrapped in serrano ham. Kim's favorite Food Hall dish, she was pleased to have had them again, but I barely noticed whether they were memorable (this time) or not. 

Chilled prawn cocktail

In the mood for some cold, fresh seafood, I selected the chilled prawn cocktail as a second starter. Excited when the two dishes arrived (we each received our own), I went straight away to dressing the prawns with a  firm, juice-extracting squeeze of my lemon wedge. However, with my first bite of the shrimp, I was sorely disappointed with what seemed to be rubbery, overcooked shrimp. I discussed the disappointment with my sister, who'd said that it tasted frozen and waterlogged. Maybe we'd have better luck with our main course. Scanning the menus for something we'd not yet tried, I suggested she taste some of their sushi which is (usually) quite good.

King crab maki

Kim and I decided upon sharing a king crab maki with cilantro, jalapeño and blackened tuna. The maki arrived, looking less impressive than other sushi rolls I'd seen/had there before. There was nothing whelming about it and I was underwhelmed by the skimpy/unfresh-seeming mounds of wasabi and ginger. In the end, one of the pieces fell apart--any sushi connoisseur knows the importance of a tightly-packed roll. Michael kindly allowed us to enjoy our meal in peace and when he returned to clear away our dishes, I confessed that I'd already taken a look at their dessert menu and wanted to try the (new) cookies and cream plate. ($21)

Cookies and cream plate

On the plate: oatmeal cookie (replaced by a "blondie"); chunky chocolate chip cookie; Nutella Rice Crispy treat; double chocolate brownie; "nouveau" black-and-white cookie; cream puffs; vanilla and chocolate gelato; and red velvet Curly Cakes (which were missing from our plate--Michael brought one out separately). I generally don't care for The Food Hall's Curly Cakes, which I'd had there before, although Adam Platt doesn't seem to mind them. Everything else on the plate was o. k.--with the exception of the cream puffs with which they shouldn't have even bothered.

OVERALL, I really do find the experience quite sad because The Food Hall has--for long--been one of my favorite places in the city. But it must be that even at the best restaurants, slumps in standards do happen from time to time (perhaps they're breaking in a "staff-in-transition"--I did see a few new faces behind the lines). But I'll surely return to see if they improve. I still think they have the best "restaurant pizzas" in New York City.

Good & Hearty Foods West of Eighth

in love with Tipsy Parson's coupes

I'm starting off with a photo of my glass of off-dry prosecco at Tipsy Parson because as Mireille Guiliano says: Wine is food. 

THURSDAY I met with my good friend, Danny for 'brunch' at Tipsy Parson. With recent service being up-and-down, I decided to stop being so modest and made a reservation on OpenTable with the self-serving note: Maître d' at ████████, looking forward to another tasty experience at Tipsy! Without having to utter a word, the maître d' directed us to the best table in the house...

A leisurely day off for both Danny and myself, we ordered casually, beginning with the soup of the day: roasted cauliflower.

a hearty soup du jour

The soup was wonderfully hearty and delicious. I wouldn't be surprised if I'd learned that the soup contained mostly heavy cream. Still recasting after a succession of holiday festivities, I decided upon having something green and leafy for my main course (but with good flavor too). After asking our server how the spinach salad, with goat cheese, toasted pistachios, pickled red onions, grilled housemade bacon and warm bacon vinaigrette was, he confirmed: It's good--bacon with bacon.

done simply; and simply good

While the thick cuts of bacon were the highlight of the dish for me, the other ingredients in the salad married well--it was a simple salad that was simply good. Nearly, but not completely finishing the dish (which was a larger salad than I'm used to having), I decided I needed some bread and placed a final order for a buttermilk-chive biscuit with honey butter.

a charming presentation

After sharing my biscuit with Danny, we headed across the street to Three Tarts Bakery + Boutique for a macaron demo, tasting and book signing where we sampled tasty macarons and prosecco while watching pastry chef (and cookbook author) Kathryn Gordon demonstrate macaron-making at home for the shoulder to shoulder crowd.

SUNDAY, I decided to use the remainder of my Cookshop gift card to bring home dinner for David and me.

While others were watching Super Bowl,
David and I were having a super feast!

condiments

From Cookshop's brunch menu, I selected a variety of dishes: pozole soup with braised pork shoulder, hominy and jalapeño crème fraîche; frittata with roasted mushrooms, smoked mozzarella and Tuscan kale; and a Cabot cheddar griddled cheese sandwich with candied pecans, honey crisp apples and whole grain mustard. (a salad of bitter greens was included as well) 

escarole and radicchio salad

David decided to start with the griddled cheese sandwich which was a hearty little sandwich filled with a generous portion of sliced apples and a plentiful smear of whole grain mustard.

griddled cheese sandwich

and its interior view

Next, we tasted the frittata--of which half, I cut into small triangles and the remainder, I saved for the following day.

kale, mushroom and smoked mozzarella frittata

The frittata was also a hearty bite and David had mentioned that it'd been a long time since he'd had mushrooms this good! Moving on, I ladled out and dressed my portion of pozole soup with the accompanying crème fraîche, pickled red onions and crispy tortilla strips.

doesn't it look good?

it gets even better...

The hearty soup was fully-flavored and had the most delicious hominy I'd ever tasted! (granted, it was my first time) As with the frittata, there was enough pozole leftover for at least a single serving. I then told David that dessert was up to him and he responded by toasting a handful of almonds and pulling out a bottle French sparkling he'd picked up on his way home that evening.

nearly like a prosecco

We enjoyed the fresh-toasted almonds with some chocolates from our cupboard and the "Veuve du Vernay" (whose label read "crisp and fresh") had a sweet aroma and taste, but it was of a natural sweetness, not a sugary one. Not bad, but it reminded me more of a prosecco than it did a French sparkling.

Tipsy Parson, 156 Ninth Avenue, Chelsea
Cookshop, 156 Tenth Avenue, Chelsea

Foodie Books Wish List

I finally ordered a handful of books that had been growing on my (foodie/restaurateur) book wish list:

history's most famed
maître d'hôtel

When I first began working at my current post, our general manager told me a handful of stories plus few tricks she'd learned from her days working at Le Cirque alongside famed restaurateur, Sirio Maccioni. At the end of each story she'd always finish with, He wrote a book about it! 

perhaps rival to Capote's 
La Côte Basque?

Last month, in Edible Manhattan, I read a darling little article about the sadly out of print book, La Bonne Table by Ludwig Bemelmans. I was instantly tantalized by the (thinly-veiled non-fiction) book's premise of 'keenly observed... grandly-bad behavior by the prewar A-list.' Bemelmas spent the majority of his career catering to the very wealthy at Manhattan's great hotels such as the Ritz-Carlton, which he aptly refers to in  his book as "Hotel Splendide."

'inimitable gusto and
disarming honesty'

And last, but not least, the memoir of Julia Child's early days in France, recounting her first "perfectly soigné meal," enrolling in the Cordon Bleu and co-writing her first cookbook with "fellow gourmettes," Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle. I'd remembered when the book first appeared in 2007, but it wasn't until this past holiday season, at a Christmas carolling party, that I was finally reminded of reading it.


What's on your foodie book wish list?