Blog - Grits in the City - discounts and faves

robicelli’s cupcakes: 5 miles ahead

February 3, 2014 by Lara Leave a Comment

T and I had been wanting to pay a visit to the newly opened store for Robicelli’s. But it’s a bit of a hike – ok far – so going for a visit, unless that happens to be where you live, does require some time (not that I’ve ever let that deter me).

Yesterday was gorgeous. Okay, comparatively nice. The sun might have been hiding, but temps were almost a balmy 50 degrees, no rain or snow, and little wind. Perfect day for a stroll to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. To be fair, the plan had been to take the subway, but we decided why not just walk?

Turns out that walk was over five miles. We strolled through South Park Slope and into Sunset Park, where the streets were filled with families, some children sitting to the side of their parents as they fried up food for their street carts. There was a man protesting in Spanish outside a church, his microphone breaking up but seemingly accusing someone of being a murderer.

Finally we made it into Bay Ridge, which started much further north than either of us realized. There were too many options from which to choose, the likes of which changed while we were sitting there.

T had walked the whole way intent on trying their buffalo chicken cupcake, an appropriate nod to Super Bowl day. When we got there, there were none to be seen. Instead, he went with the chicken and waffles. [Read more…]

farewell, chicken sandwich

January 28, 2014 by Lara Leave a Comment

I’ve been to 7A twice the last couple of weeks with my sister. We wanted to squeeze in at least a couple of visits before it closes its doors for the last time on January 31st. I’ve already posted over on Medium just how sad their closing makes me. They’re on the short list of restaurants I automatically link to neighborhoods, almost as if one couldn’t exist without the other.

Friday night though, I think it all set in. Deciding we were going to go all-out with our final visit, my sister kicked off our order, “We’d like to start with the mozzarella cheese sticks.”

Our server paused, seemingly running through a mental list. She shook her head, “We are actually out of those.”

Caught off guard, my sister continued, “Okay, well I’ll have the Austrian … the fried chicken cutlet with sweet potato fries.”

The server looked back up. “I think we still have those. I’ll check. If not, are regular fries okay?” My sister nodded yes.

As our meal continued, I heard similar conversations between patrons and the servers. No, we don’t have that beer. We are out. No, sorry we are out of that menu item. With 7 days to go, it seems as if they’re done. No new supplies. Just there to sell out of their existing kitchen inventory.

The last weekend has come and gone, so no more chance at brunch, but there still are several nights to squeeze in a dinner or lunch. A last hurrah. Might I suggest the Austrian sandwich – of course, assuming it’s in stock.

The intersection of East 7th and Avenue A will never be the same.

Side note, this is this blog’s 1,000th post! I can’t think of anything better to be the focus of this post.

7A Cafe – 109 Avenue A (at East 7th Street) – 212.475.9001
Reservations Not Required
Note: 7A is now closed.

seeing red – carpets, chili, & velvet

January 13, 2014 by Lara Leave a Comment

I love awards shows. I do. Yes, they drone on and on and sometimes, maybe get to be a bit long. And sometimes the hosts disappoint. But you know what doesn’t disappoint? The dresses. Oh the dresses. Whereas the Oscars tend to lean towards the “fancy fancy”, the Globes tend to sprinkle in some crazier options for attire. Then there’s the general unexpected, like celebrities tripping and falling. As someone who often does so herself at inopportune times, I live for seeing stuff like that. It makes me feel better.

I had a few friends over for a night of red to line up with the red carpet. There was (mostly) red wine, red meat (chili), and red velvet cupcakes. I thought chili would be a perfect simple awards show meal – filling but not so labor intensive that I wouldn’t be able to sit down and hang out with everyone myself. Thankfully it didn’t disappoint.

You can easily replicate the mix of spices that I usually buy in a packet, but I’ll admit I usually just buy it because it makes whipping this up even easier and possible to do so on varying levels of spiciness. I’ve been using the McCormick brand mix, and opting for some alterations – the simple one that looks like this:

Ingredients

1 spice pack chili mix
1 pound ground beef (can substitute turkey)
1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes
1 14.5 ounce can of tomato sauce
1 onion (diced)
1 jalapeño (diced) – optional
Shredded Cheddar Cheese – optional
Crackers – optional

First, brown the ground beef. Drain. Separately, sauté the diced onions. Incorporate the onions in with the beef, adding the spice mix, both cans of tomatoes, and jalapeños (optional). I suggest dipping in a spoon and testing the spice level. If it’s not enough, you can add in more chili powder or even more jalapeños. Simmer for 10 minutes. Serve as preferred. I love sharp cheddar cheese and a smattering of crackers. Sour cream also makes for a fun addition.

Looking for a different kind of chili? Check out my prior post on pumpkin turkey chili.

On a related topic, which Golden Globe winner do you want to see first? American Hustle, August Osage County, and Dallas Buyers Club are on my list.

brunchx2 at the dutch

January 6, 2014 by Lara Leave a Comment

Back in December, I went to brunch with my sister to celebrate her birthday before we went to the Pink show. I sent over a bunch of options, but she came up with her own idea – The Dutch. I had been curious for a long time about The Dutch but kept forgetting to go. Problem solved. It was a day where light snow was coming in, a common occurrence for me, food, and SoHo.

I was having a hard time making a choice when it came to the menu, as there are so many great options. There is a crispy whole grain waffle, apple, maple-bourbon, and pecans. And then there’s the soft scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, trout roe, and a bagel. Or what about the shrimp and kimchi fried rice served with two eggs and grilled pork belly? So much awesome, only one plate.

When it came time to make a choice, I was thankful to not have to! As is often the case, my sister and I chose to go the “best of both worlds” route, mixing savory and sweet. First, we got the hot fried chicken served with honey butter biscuits and slaw. Fellow brunch splitters rest assured – the dish comes with two biscuits!

And for our sweet option, we had the cornmeal flapjacks, which were served with salted butter and blueberry syrup. The cornmeal made for an interesting addition – it made it a bit more savory than your typical pancake, as did the lovely salt they added to the butter. I really liked the blueberry syrup, which was nice and sweet but not that super sugary version you often find with syrup. Nicely done.

On New Year’s Day, I found myself back over in the area with a group of girlfriends. When the restaurant we had a reservation at was closed (I’ll be kind and leave them unnamed but restaurants accepting reservations when they’re closed is the worst), I found myself back at The Dutch. I was again torn by what to order (even more so having had the magical mix). Thankfully another friend wanted to order the same mix. What can I say – fried chicken, honey biscuits, and cornmeal flapjacks. It’s just magical.

The Dutch – 131 Sullivan Street (@ Prince Street) – 212.677.6200
Reservations Recommended

new year’s eve at kiwiana

January 3, 2014 by Lara Leave a Comment

To me, New Year’s Eve is a night to get dressed up. Something sparkly – so doesn’t even have to be crazy fancy – and be surrounded by some of my favorite people (along with one special guy, naturally). Unlike last year, T and I decided to keep it local – an “off year”, if you will, where battling for cabs wouldn’t be necessary and we could enjoy ourselves the whole weekend in our chosen borough.

I came across a list of restaurants offering New Year’s dinners on the Twitter account for Park Slope Stoop. Their list had a bunch of great options from which to choose. T and I took a look and chose Kiwiana, a New Zealand restaurant which had an interesting looking 5 course option.

It’s a small restaurant tucked into the northwest side of 7th Avenue and Union Street in Park Slope. We were surprised to find that the menu differed somewhat from what we had read online, but were still looking forward to seeing how it was seeing as we had read so many great things about it.

The first course only had one option – seafood chowder. Chowder was a bit of a misnomer as it was more of a soup. After the chilly walk over in heels, it was hard to mind anything that was so warming as a starter.

For the second course, we both went with the Octopus which was served with chorizo and smoked potatoes. I was surprised when this dish came out to find it was prepared cold! The flavors were good though. The spice of the chorizo and the smokiness of the potatoes nicely balanced the octopus. The presentation was also interesting, with the octopus sliced thinly similar to pepperoni. First time I’ve seen that. The other option on the prixe fixe menu was white bait latke with tartar sauce.

For my third course, I chose the pork belly, earth cooked yam, boiled kale, and bacon. The pork belly was a leaner cut than I’ve typically had. It was nicely seasoned though and I like what they did with the kale. I often find it too bitter, but they managed if soften it a bit. The other option was foie gras torchon, blood orange marmalade, and toast. I’m not a huge fan of foie gras, but could appreciate in my small bite that it was nicely prepared.

For my fourth and main course, I had to try the NZ venison, which was served with a poblano sauce, rice and butterscotch beans. I can’t say I’ve ever had venison before (so had to give it a try). Their preparation was excellent. Super tender and the sauce was a nice slightly spicy addition to the mix. The other option was the lamb chop, which was accompanied by lamb empanadas and a radish salad. The flavors were great, but the lamb “chop” was much more of a lamb “lollipop”. The portion size was much more appetizer than fitting of the more entree round of the courses.

For dessert, we both chose to go with the sticky date pudding over the pavlova. After we ordered, I started to see plate after plate of the pavlova – which was big and fluffy and made me wish we had gotten one of each! The sticky date pudding though was sweet and filling. A perfect end to a wonderful meal. I will definitely be back – next time for brunch and the chai French toast!

Kiwiana – 847 Union St. (at 7th Ave) – 718.230.3682
Reservations Recommended

holidays, facebook & craft

December 24, 2013 by Lara Leave a Comment

It’s been a busy several weeks going into Christmas. Aside from the Christmas parties, there were concerts (Pink & meeting John Mayer) and even Sleep No More hosted by Neil Patrick Harris. This blog has been a bit neglected, with November focused on NaNoWriMo and December being a holiday whirlwind. That doesn’t mean, however, there haven’t been some fabulous meals, so it’s time for some overdue catching up.

A week ago, our team at Facebook took some of my work team out for a holiday lunch at Craft. It was a beautiful lunch, taking place in their private dining room. It was a really nice space, with an area in the back corner that opened into the kitchen where you can watch them preparing the food. [Read more…]

brown butter apple pie-tart

October 21, 2013 by Lara Leave a Comment

When we went apple picking at Harbes Farms, I thought 1/4 peck didn’t sound like it was really that many apples. Granted, I’m working with double that but still, I’ve been surprised just how few apples most recipes require and how many, at this point, I still have left! Of course, going apple picking again this past weekend in Vermont didn’t help with the apple situation, but that’s another story.

A couple weeks ago, I decided to make an apple tart with more of these apples for date night. It seemed perfect timing that I received a great looking recipe from Tasting Table for a Brown Butter Apple Tart. Since I actually don’t have a tart pan and didn’t want to be the grand hold up on dinner, I ended up simplifying, skipping making my own crust and using a crust from the store. It’s hard to feel guilty about this shortcut when your store carries crusts made entirely from Nilla Wafers.

Ingredients

4 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 vanilla bean (halved lengthwise, scrapping out the seeds from the pod with the tip of a knife)
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt
3 semi-tart apples

First, you’ll need to make the filling. To do so, you’ll whisk together the eggs and granulated sugar. Separately, heat the sticks of butter over medium heat in a small saucepan. Once the butter is melted, add in the scraped vanilla seeds as well as the vanilla bean pod. Keep stirring the mixture over the heat until the butter foam begins to subside and turns a deep golden color (rougly 5 minutes).

Remove the saucepan fromt he heat and allow it to cool for 10 minutes. Remove the pod halves and then whisk the butter into the original egg-sugar mixture. (Full disclosure: I accidentally didn’t keep the egg/sugar separate from the butter/vanilla bean. While I didn’t get quite the same brown butter effect, I kept going and the tart was quite good. If you mess up something, keep on going!)

Then whisk in the flour and salt, whisking until the mixture is smooth.

Next, you’ll need to cut the 3 apples into rings. The best apples to use are something like Granny Smith, Braeburn, or Pink Lady. The apples need to be peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (ideally into ¼-inch thick rings). I can only assume this would be infinitely easier if you happened to own an apple corer. I, naturally, do not. No big deal, right? Wrong. This made coring and slicing the apples a bit more difficult. Arrange the sliced apples into a an overlapping concentric circle. Add a few apple at the center as well. I’ll admit that when I did this I looked at the apples, neatly situated in the pie crust, and assumed this was going to be one ugly pie-tart.

But fret not. The filling magically filled in the gaps and covered over the non-uniformly sliced apples. Finally, you’ll slowly pour the prepared filling over the sliced apple. Since the filling is a bit thick, allow time for it to make its way through the spaces between the apple slices to make sure you don’t overflow. Stop once the filling reaches ¼-inch from the top of the crust.

Place the pie-tart on a baking sheet in the oven, baking until the color of the apples is deep golden-brown. Make sure the center of the pie is also set and that the filling does not move when the pie is jostled. This should take around 1 hour. Once it is done, remove the baking sheet and the pie-tart from the oven, transferring it to a surface to cool for 2 hours. It’s lovely served with simple vanilla bean ice cream.

Enjoy!

homemade apple butter and harbes farm

October 7, 2013 by Lara Leave a Comment

It’s become tradition the last four years that it’s not truly fall until a trip to Long Island happens – four friends escaping the city for a day of fall fun. There’s brunch, cider donuts, tastings at North Fork wineries, and a corn maze. This year though, the trip came early enough that there was a new option – apple picking.

I can’t recall ever having been, though I’ve long had a fondness for apple season (likely due to it coinciding with my birth month, which I believe every kid automatically loves). I’ll admit, from the setup, I wasn’t sure how fun it would be for us adults. We arrived at Harbes Farm and were surrounded by strollers and children, one who thought it was funny and cute somehow to reach up and grab my rear as we waited in the super long ride to be taken around and into the orchard.

The line managed to move relatively quickly. We were set loose into our permissible rows (only certain rows are opened at a given time in an attempt to ensure the orchard is not completely ravaged). Thankfully, they opened an additional row while we were there as the rows up to that point were bare, with almost all of the apples decorating the floor.

We ended up with roughly 16 apples. So many apples to put to use! The first thing on my “to make” list was a no-brainer: apple butter. Growing up, this was an annual thing in our house. Homemade is in fact way better than anything you can buy in the store. My parents would make a batch, freeze it into smaller containers, which we’d then thaw and use over time. It lasts quite well and it’s perfect with fresh buttermilk biscuits.

Ingredients

6 pounds of tart apples
4 cups of cider or apple juice (plus extra, in case – see below*)
3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

I don’t have an apple corer, so I started by peeling and cutting the apples into slices. The original recipe I used (same my parents have used) intended to make the apple butter extremely smooth. I prefer it a bit chunky, highlighting the fresh flavor of the apples, so I prefer this rendition. Cook the apples in the juice (I used apple juice) until they are soft. This will take around 30 minutes.

Then boil for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. At this point, you’ll need to stir in the sugar and the spices.

Cook and stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Reduce to a gentle boil, stirring freqently until you reach the desired thickness. The recipe claims this should be around an hour, but I found this to be much less as I halved the recipe.

The apple butter will thicken once it cools, so take the pot off of the heat and watch as it cools. *If it thickens too much, use additional apple juice to thin it out, adding and stirring in gradually. Allow to fully cool before you can or preserve (I freeze mine in small containers, which I then heat up when I wish to consume).

Group & action shot courtesy of Joey Pasion.

4 course dinner at ai fiori

October 4, 2013 by Lara Leave a Comment

Earlier this week, I sat down and went through Zagat’s listing of NYC’s 100 Best Restaurants. It turned out I’d been to 19 of the 100, and I was excited to realize that our team’s dinner with our team at Federated Media would not only mean an evening of great conversation, but also bring me up to 20! I’d always been curious about Ai Fiori. I’m sure I’ve walked by countless times never realizing that’s where it was.

We were in the back room, with a very official door sealing our group off from the rest of the restaurant. We had a special menu from which to choose one of two selections for each of our four courses. To start, I had the Insalata di Astice – which was Nova Scotia lobster, charred corn salad, and ricotta salata. This was a nice thing to see as I feel like we’re bidding adieu to lobster until warmer weather returns. It’s like Ai Fiori knew I am not quite ready to see it go.

For the pasta course, I had the Pansotti di Anatra, which was duck confit parcels, romanesco, parmesan, and lemon. It was nice to have duck in pasta form. Sometimes a full entree of just duck can become overwhelming. Having it not only in smaller bites but also if being confit made it a lighter take on duck, and the parmesean was a nice touch.

When it came to choosing an entree, I was intrigued by a halibut option but ultimately just had to go with the Tagliata, which was a prime dry aged strip loin, endive, potato terrine, “cacio e pepe,” balsamico, and bordelaise. The meet was super tender, and the endive ended up being a perfect paring. If it was possible to choose to get a portion size along these lines off of the main menu, I think I’d order much more red meat. Just perfect.

For dessert, I elected to skip the chocolate and instead try the Panna Cotta, which was served with blackberries, grapes, and a very light sorbet. It ended up being a perfect finale and was a nice balance to the meat dish preceding it. I’ve been underwhelmed by panna cottas as of late, but this one was spot on.

Overall it was a wonderful evening, much worth of their spot on Zagat’s listing. Ai Fiori is a fabulous spot for a special occasion dinner (or just a special treat, as well).

Ai Fiori – 400 5th Avenue, 2nd Level – 212.613.8660
Reservations Required

4 chefs get fancy at mcdonald’s chef event 2013

October 2, 2013 by Lara Leave a Comment

When I received an invite to McDonald’s Chef Event, I was so intrigued I instantly blocked off my calendar for last Thursday. The invite was simple yet detailed. Four chefs would be preparing a gourmet experience for attendees, comprised of McDonald’s ingredients.

I arrived to Three Sixty° where attendees were greeted in the lobby by platters of two cocktails – one a mojito, the other, a bacon old fashioned. (I later learned both did also incorporate McD’s ingredients – like their mango pineapple smoothie and their applewood bacon.) On the main floor of the event space, there were a couple of bars and servers carrying around small boxes of, what else, McDonald’s french fries.

We were seated at tables once the meal portion began, where we were greeted by senior execs from McDonald’s. Before the chefs were introduced, McD’s made its big announcement – more fruits and veggies are coming. Soon, you’ll be able to get a salad with combo meals, and there will soon be more fruits and veggies on the menu overall.

The tables themselves were decorated by the perfect take home souvenir – a Big Mac-aroon – almost too pretty to eat. Though the invite had mentioned small plates, the courses which arrived were much larger than what you would see as a part of a tasting menu. It was hard to believe that what we enjoyed through the rest of the evening was made from items from the McD’s pantry!

First up was the appetizer, prepared by Chef Dale Talde. This was a fun course for me, being such a fan of and regular at his Park Slope roadside bar, Pork Slope. He prepared Kung Pao Chicken, which featured McDonald’s chicken nuggets, sweet and sour sauce, red wine vinegar, peanuts, and iceberg lettuce. I’ll be honest – I have never been a huge fan of McD’s chicken nuggets, not now, and not even when I was six years old. This dish though? Was amazing. It was flavorful. It was something you’d expect to see in a fancy restaurant. I think it was once this came out that I really realized the meal that was going to follow was going to be unique.

Next was the first of two entrees, and this course was prepared by Chef James Tahhan. He served a Tortilla Espanola with Garlic & Saffron Aioli, which featured McDonald’s hash browns, eggs, onions. It was served with an apple & cucumber Salad, which featured McDonald’s apple slices, cucumbers, red onions, chili lime tortilla chips, fresh limes, spring mix, chipotle BBQ, and honey mustard sauces.

Third was the second of the entrees, this one prepared by Chef Aaron McCargo, Jr. He prepared a BOLD BBQ Chicken, which featured McDonald’s crispy chicken, hash browns, chipotle BBQ sauce, espresso, cheddar jack cheese, onions, eggs, and applewood smoked bacon. I really enjoyed the mix of hash browns, espresso and bacon in this dish. Not only was it a fabulous mix of flavors, but it incorporated ingredients from every meal of the day on McD’s menu. Genius.

Next was the third of the entrees prepared by Chef Jessica Foust, a registered dietician on staff at McDonald’s. This entree was Slow-cooked Beef with Blueberry Pomegranate Sauce and Mac Fry Gnocchi. I had to read the menu to see that yes, the meat in this dish was in fact the 100% beef used in ground form for their hamburger patties! The fish also featured McDonald’s French fries, eggs, and blueberry pomegranate smoothie base.

For the grand finale dessert, also prepared by Chef Jessica Foust, was a Pumpkin Spice Biznut (Biscuit-Donut). This course featured McDonald’s biscuit mix, pumpkin spice latte syrup, praline topping, cream cheese, and whipped cream. I think out of everything, it was this dish I was most sad I wouldn’t be able go out and purchase at another point in the future. It was so flavorful, and a fun take on the current pastry hybrid craze that’s sweeping NYC as of late.

Thanks again to McDonald’s to having me for such a wonderful event. I’m curious to see what’s in store for those menu changes in the future. I’ll have to make it over soon to give that McCafe Pumpkin Spice Latte I was reading more about today a try!