Grits in the City - discounts and faves
Hope you enjoy all these as much as I do!
Rachel is one of my best friends and today she would have been 32.
When I arrived in Madrid, jet lagged and in the midst of a group of 16 students, mostly from the same university (which wasn’t mine), I thought I was going to have an uphill battle or a long summer ahead, one. When I met Rachel, we clicked instantly. She was warm, friendly, and 100% her own person. Like me, she wasn’t a University of Maryland, University College student and we clicked instantly.
When City Grit Culinary Salon first launched, I received countless emails from friends. Being from the South and with a blog so close to the name it just made sense. Somehow though I never made it there until last night. I was invited to join some other local Southerners for a Southern Dinner, and this ended up being our venue. Fitting! Four of the six of us were from Alabama. We sat and chatted about childhood experiences all over the wonderful food – and it was a perfect combination.
Sarah Simmons who started City Grit invites various chefs to come in and prepare their food and, from what I understand, usually adds a bit of a Southern flare to their offerings. The biscuit last night was a bit Southern, but I’d say for the most part, the chefs last night were serving up their usual fare. The venue was quite an intriguing choice as well. By day, the space is a furniture store. The building itself was a Catholic school and is some 200 years old!
A few Saturdays back, we decided to try out 606 R&D’s “Sunday Supper”. (Note: Sadly 606 R&D has since closed.) It had been a busy day – running all around Union Square/Greenwich Village for iAdventure’s Olympic Scavenger Hunt (we, the Google+ Local team, were the overall winners!). We had worked up quite an appetite.
Located along a strip of several restaurants and bars, 606 R&D looks very low-key. T originally thought it was more of a sandwich shop until a friend mentioned they had fabulous cocktails and we should stop in. [Read more…]
I’d forgotten how therapeutic cooking can be. Baking, in particular. I do believe people usually lean one way or another. You have your bakers, who like measurement and absolutes, and then you have the cooks, who look at various ingredients and can play, with it with or without a formal recipe. I’d just finished Alyssa Shelasky’s Apron Anxiety, where the kitchen functions more or less as her sanity – providing her a release when nothing else seems to be able to do the same. Great book – perfect summer read if you love food and haven’t picked it up yet.
Last Wednesday, I’d planed on making T a big batch of peanut butter cookies. I figured I’d be up late making them since I had trapeze, but I found myself home an hour early after leaving midway through the class in tears. While the class wasn’t my finest, the substitute teacher who didn’t know me or my capabilities said some things which really upset me. The comments were out of line seeing as this is something I do only once a week rather than in their formal circus training program. [Read more…]
I don’t mean to skip ahead (I will fill in the blanks) but I so enjoyed my meal at The Alembic that I just had to write this one next. Out of all of the meals, this one was a whim. I’d noted it as a great spot in the Haight for cocktails. I hadn’t made much of a note of anything to highlight as far as their food is concerned. Almost a big, big miss. We’d ridden along the periphery of the Haight in our bike ride through San Francisco and over across the Golden Gate Bridge and into Saulsalito, but we hadn’t really gone through the heart of the neighborhood. After doing brunch our final day in North Beach, we decided to wander through this area.
I really enjoyed checking out Ambiance as well as several of the vintage stores along Haight Street. In the process, we saw Cha Cha Cha in the distance and walked by the signage for The Alembic. We were intrigued by what we saw and liked the idea of the menu, so we decided to come back and hope to get in. When we arrived, there was a group of people assembled in the front – making it look crowded. [Read more…]
When I was lucky enough to win one of the prizes in Zagat’s “12 Days of Foodie Cheer” – a $500 gift card to use at Zagat rated restaurants – my mind went blank. Where did I want to go? I polled friends. I read menus. I looked at possible reservations. I finally chose Jean Georges as the first place to try, based on what I was reading, their selection, and feedback from a co-worker.
I felt special from the moment I walked in the front door. I had a conversation with the elegant lady in front of me about this week’s Valentino selection she was wearing, and she was warm and sincere. The host was chatting with her, making it clear that unlike me, she was a regular. But no one treated me any differently. They seated us in a cozy table perfect for two, angled just as to put us sitting together in a curved corner table. We went with the three course tasting menu, which was filled with a variety of options, noticeably many with an Asian flair. [Read more…]
I’d been dying to try Seersucker and figured it was a perfect time when two of my Southern friends were in town back in November.We instantly noticed that the wood pieces along the wall, mounted at a set interval, were intended to align to the ridges in seersucker fabric. Nicely done.
Occasionally, there are restaurants I’m seemingly always planning to visit that I never manage to actually visit. Char No 4’s on that short list, known for their classy American fare (with a definite hint of the South) paired with their extensive whiskey and bourbon selection. Their website actually defines the restaurant as “a whiskey bar and a restaurant inspired by a passion for bourbon”. Yes please. I finally made it there due to a special through Blackboard Eats, which entitled you to a free 2 oz. taste of one of two whiskeys (Rittenhouse Rye 100 or 4 Roses Bourbon) with the purchase of either an appetizer or entree. Deal.
On my first visit, my boyfriend and I decided to go with the fried jambalaya rice balls from the snack section of the menu, the bacon from the appetizer list, and the shrimp and grits entree. The jambalaya balls were very flavorful – slightly spicy and not overly salty. The andouille aioli served along with it was a nice touch. Note, they take the word “snack” seriously here – you’ll see that the order included three balls.
I can’t help but know I’m going to love a restaurant that has bacon as an appetizer. The bacon is house smoked and it’s a thick cut, served alongside molasses marinated grilled corn Awesome. The bacon is thick and chewy. If crispy is your preference this might not be for you.
Our main course was my favorite out if the meal. They used chile marinated shrimp and paired it with sweet corn-hominy grits, scallions and baby cilantro. Sometimes as much as I much as I love my grits, meals incorporating them can come out too heavy (such as in the brunch that unfortunately preceded my first trapeze class). At Char No 4 though, they avoid this. They’re light and fluffy. Added plus is the spicy shrimp they’ve used, which add a nice needed kick to the grits.
The next visit, I wanted to mix it up, and so I went with their cornflake crusted crab cake with a side order of their cheddar polenta fries with ancho chile sauce. The crab cake was okay. Somehow it was soggy, and didn’t have a lot of flavor. The lemon bay leaf sauce was a nice touch, but next time it’s back to the shrimp and grits for me (or perhaps their mole pork sausage or their chopped pork sandwich).
The polenta fries though were quite good. If you’re looking for something to add, I highly recommend them. I tried my friend’s smoked and fried pork nuggets with Char No. 4 hot sauce, which I really liked. She spoke so highly of their french onion soup that I may have to try it next time – it was prepared with vidalia onions, bacon-chicken broth and a cheese crouton.
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Cheddar Polenta Fries – Char No 4
Char No 4 – 195 Smith Street (at ) – 718.643.2106
Reservations Recommended
Every year since I moved to New York, my parents drive up from Alabama for the week of Thanksgiving. One year, we tried to do the whole thing in my little place (that would be the year of the Jive Turkey fiasco – and yes, I just Google’d and somehow, they seem to still be in business) and last year, we ended up doing it out at my sister’s place. Usually my mom ends up having to do way too much work and doesn’t even get to really relax and enjoy the day, and so this year, we decided just to be all modern and go out to eat instead. We noticed last year at this time that our favorite Greek restaurant in the city, Pylos, served a prix fixe meal for Thanksgiving. At only $40 per person (not including drinks), it ended up being actually less than what we’d spent on our turkey from Hill Country plus the cost of all the sides my mom had baked that year.
They had several seatings – 4:30PM and 6:30PM (they were planning on having a 2:30PM seating only if the 4:30 filled, so not sure if that came to pass – I can say there were people in the restaurant wrapping up, so I presume they had this as well). All which was required was a credit card, on which $8 per person would be charged if you were to no-show. To start, everyone received soup – which was an acorn and butternut squash soup with honey, nutmeg, and Greek yogurt (kolokythosoupa me meli, moscocarido kai strangisto yiaourti). Anytime I’ve had butternut squash soup, I found it to be too salty and sometimes bland. The honey and nutmeg helped to balance out any saltiness, which I loved – and the yogurt made it very creamy. I’m forever spoiled now and fear I can’t have this soup elsewhere because I liked this version so much better. If you are here and they happen to serve it again, don’t pass it up. It’s worth it. [Read more…]
Back in February at Dixie’s annual birthday brunch, a friend brought vegan chocolate chip cookies. I was skeptical. I take my sweets seriously and while I’ve had vegan baked goods several times at Sticky Fingers in DC, I’ve yet to embrace the idea that I can make something in my kitchen that’s remotely edible when you eliminate everything you’ve gotta for a vegan recipe. Oh dairy! While I’m very anti-milk, I do take milk chocolate seriously. However, I was totally blown away by these cookies. I couldn’t stop eating them, even though there was this glorious king cake, homemade donuts, baked brie, you name it to fight with them for prized stomach space.
I finally asked for the recipe to try them myself. I’ve baked something vegan once before (thesevegan protein bars). While I definitely do not follow a vegan diet, I’m not opposed to trying out new things and, having tasted these first-hand, I knew they were worth the new ingredients for my fridge. So my vegan friends, the “tree hugger” in the title of this post is definitely filled with love. I figured my trapeze class last night was a perfect time to try them out. It made enough for an army, so I brought the leftovers into work – where they’ve been met by rave reviews. My friend got the recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking and it requires only a few ingredients you may not have in your kitchen (of course in case you happen to be vegan!).
Ingredients
The recipe claims it yields a dozen, which might be true if you were going for Great American Cookie Company ginormous style. I’d say mine made close to three dozen! Plenty for any event or just to much on. Try them. You won’t believe they’re vegan.
Added bonus? No eggs! Means no salmonella… means eat all the batter you want! Win all around.
(Again just to note, the title is not meant as an offensive slight to vegans. It’s actually more in line with my old school thoughts on such things. In Alabama, there aren’t exactly a ton of options for someone pursuing such an extreme diet. That’s one of the things I love about NYC. You can find it all here, whatever your diet may be. But it’s this old association which leads me to want to end with this graphic… m’kay?)
