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dining in dublin

July 25, 2013 by Lara Leave a Comment

Continuing the theme of July 4th vacations, this year T and I left NYC behind and took off to Dublin for the majority of the week. If we thought we would be missing out on all of the red, white, and blue, we were wrong. We found many Irish bars decorated for the 4th and even restaurants offering special deals day of on their American wines. So kind of you, Dublin.

I was curious about what I would think of the food, clearly something I find quite important. Most often compared to the UK, I wasn’t expecting to really love the cuisine. I have to say though we managed to find a nice mix of foods and overall, I have to say Dublin was quite tasty.

At the strong recommendation of some friends, we found ourselves at Gallaghers Boxty House. What’s a boxty, you ask? It’s a thin savory pancake – think crepe, but thicker. I couldn’t try their signature version as it has mushrooms, so I instead went with their chicken and smoked bacon boxty. So good and not the least bit heavy. Finish off the meal with their bread butter pudding. Delicious. Our friends let them know we’d be coming in so they recognized us actually came over and said hi. What hospitality!

Looking for something sweet on-the-go? Gino’s on Grafton Street is exactly what you want. They’re not open super late – 10 or 11pm – but work them into your schedule. Fabulous variety of gelatos at a reasonable price. A scoop of their Guinness gelato combined with caramel gelato was perfection.

For some standard pub fare (and a large variety of their own craft beers), the Pourhouse is a great option. Their burger was fabulous (as well as fabulously massive), and they also did a great fish and chips. Two perfect pub fare options.

We also managed to check out a couple of nicer local restaurants I’ll share about separately – Ely Wine Bar and The Exchequer. Overall, I have to say we managed to find some pretty tasty spots in the friendly city of Dublin.

jam & stir-fry

June 18, 2013 by Lara Leave a Comment

I spent this past weekend in Vermont with a wonderful group of people as a part of Alejandra Ramos‘ Sweet Escape, a long weekend filled with culinary and crafting activities at Good Commons in Plymouth, Vermont. I knew I was in from the moment I read about the concept. I love Vermont, and this sounded like a perfect way to get out of the city for a long weekend (and the idea that we would be enjoying Alejandra’s amazing cooking all weekend definitely didn’t hurt). I’ll be sharing more about my experience there in the coming days/weeks.

My main goal for the weekend, aside from relaxing and disconnecting (as much as possible) from social media was to get some inspiration to start cooking more. I have a big move coming at the end of the month. I will be moving into my own place, which means a kitchen all to myself and, oh yes, full responsibility for all of the bills! Let’s just say cooking in home might be featured here more prominently, with restaurant reviews still here, but less frequently.

One of our sessions about midway through the weekend focused on making jelly. Not just any kind of jelly. Wine jelly. We were lucky enough to get to spend some quality time with Nancy, the master of all things jam or jelly at The Potlicker Kitchen. She walked through the basics of making and canning jelly, as well as her fascinating story about how she got into doing this full time. Her line of jams/jellies is quite extensive and unique. She had a small sub-set of the selection with her, ranging from oatmeal stout to strawberry habanero to carrot cake to knotweed. I’ll admit, I was amused at the varieties and initially was wondering how many varieties I really needed with my biscuits – until she started to talk about how to possibly use them in recipes. Reduce over heat and, logically, you get a sauce. Brilliant!

She went onto describe how the pineapple habanero jam worked great in stir-fry. This popped into my head when I was getting ready to leave work yesterday afternoon, and I decided to keep the momentum going from the weekend and head into the kitchen. I found a quick recipe for stir fry for 1, which I modified a bit to the below, and doubled. I’ll admit, I was a bit antsy. Modifying recipes isn’t something I’ve done a bunch of, and I wasn’t sure if I could figure out just what to do in order to make this jam into a sauce of sorts – so I opted to try this one for myself before sharing with anyone else. I was relieved to find how easy it really was to do.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 teaspoons cider or red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 pound chicken breast, cut into 1/4-inch strips
1/2 cup broccoli florets
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup diced green or sweet red pepper
1/2 cup sliced water chestnuts
4 green onions, sliced
6 tablespoons beef broth
2 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons pineapple habanero jam
Hot cooked rice

The recipe claims this takes 25 minutes. I will not say how long it took me, other than that I did not end up doing any packing last night. Ooops. Anyhow, it’s easy enough.

In a large resealable plastic bag or shallow glass container, combine the first four ingredients. Then add your chicken and make sure to turn to coat. Seal or cover and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes. I did this with a container and feel like the plastic bag might have better coated the chicken.

In a skillet (or wok, if you should you have one), stir-fry the broccoli in the oil until vegetables begin to soften. Add chicken and marinade (don’t forget the marinade – I didn’t remember to put it all in, and it made my chicken end up a bit dry). Then cook on medium-high for 3 minutes. Add green pepper, and water chestnuts and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes or until the vegetables are crisp-tender. Next add the onions.

Combine broth and cornstarch until smooth, and add to skillet. Bring to a boil. At this point, I added in the jam to make sure that it didn’t cook too long, but yet had time to reduce. I would recommend incorporating it a bit earlier to make the flavor more distributed. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened, and serve over rice.

Remember to start cooking your rice well before you start all of the above (or use microwaveable rice), or else you’ll end up with crunchy rice like I did… Overall though, the recipe was great and the jam was a great way to add a bunch of flavor using only one convenient ingredient. Love it!

If you’re interested in ordering some of Nancy’s jams and jellies, they’re available here online, I bought one other one this weekend and will share how that works out once I figure out how I’m using it!

checking out the new franny’s

May 13, 2013 by Lara Leave a Comment

I’d been curious to see how the new location of Franny’s would compare to the original, as it’s been one of my Brooklyn favorites. The new spot opened on April 8th, and promised more seating, a larger menu, and even a separate downstairs dining space for private parties. Accustomed to arriving to a group waiting just outside or inside the door, we were amazed to find the new space much more open. The pizza oven space is much more spacious, as is the bar area.

We decided to sit at the bar, happy to have caught them still serving dinner at almost 10pm (their posted hours are actually until 11:30pm). We ordered several appetizers as well as a pizza, which ended up being a perfect amount of food. The first dish to come out was the pea shoots with lemon and pecorino rossellino. The fun ribbons of cheese were a nice balance to the slight bite of the greens.

This freekeh salad was my favorite out of the starters. It included some tasty parsnips, almonds and pecorino ginepro.

I was not sure if it would be too heavy, but this wood-roasted pork sausage with mustard greens was a perfect addition to the line-up, adding just enough protein to the starters we tried. The greens were nicely done – not too bitter with excellent flavor.

And of course, it’s not a visit to Franny’s without a pizza. This time we went with the prosciutto cotto, spring onion, olives, chilies and caciocavallo pizza. The thinly cut proscuitto was flavorful. The chiles added a bit of spice and it was a nice change from the standard mozzarella for them to use the caciocavello (a sheep’s milk cheese).

For dessert, we tried their latte gelato and the salted caramel. The latte was more of just iced milk – made me almost think of making snow ice cream growing up. Put the two together, and the flavor was quite good. Yum. Verdict? New Franny’s still equates to the varied goodness of the original.

Franny’s – 348 Flatbush Avenue (b/w Stirling Place & 8th Ave), Brooklyn – 718.230.0221
No reservations, except for parties of 8-12

live octopus birthday dinner at sik gaek

March 21, 2013 by Lara Leave a Comment

When it’s your friend’s birthday and all he wants is a group outing to a Korean restaurant in Queens for some live octopus, you do it. Especially when he’s taunting you saying “C’mon, Tony did it!” – referring to a visit Anthony Bourdain paid to the restaurant as a part of a No Reservations episode back from 2009. Ok, fine. I decided if my friend was on it enough to coordinate “reserving” one of the only twenty-something octopuses being flown in from Korea that I would give it a try. When else would I have this opportunity?

I would list out exact menu items ordered, but I’ll be honest. I don’t know names for most of the dishes we had. The menu was mostly in Korean, and if you visit Sik Gaek’s website, it’ll appear all in Korean, even when you click for English. We started out with some beef fried dumplings, thick pork belly, and a soju watermelon.

When it came to the main course, we let the birthday boy order. We ended up with the seafood hot-pot, preceded by sashimi. There were others who ordered a variety of more standard Korean fare – beef and noodles and a massive shrimp dish of sorts (their shrimp was amazing). When it comes to the sashimi and the hot pot, perhaps it’s best I save my words and just share some videos of what our experience really was like.

The birthday boy makes this look easy.

The video here where I finally tried it? Decidedly less refined. I only had a small bite – which was all I ever intended to try. I’ll confess, it wasn’t my favorite. I far prefer charred octopus to the chewier variety, and this definitely didn’t have that char layer. And I was so paranoid about not chewing it enough for the wiggling business not to be an issue that I couldn’t really think too too much on the taste. It was definitely an adventure and I’m glad I joined in on the experience.

Following the sashimi, the giant hot pot with all sorts of seafood came out. There was lobster, more octopus, abalone, conch, shrimp … so many things. They claimed it served 3-4 people – a statement we’re still confused by. The pot was massive, and there were at least 6 of us picking away at it, with it seeming to go nowhere.

As if that wasn’t enough, once we decided we were mostly done with it, the workers pulled it off the flame and turned it into a big pot of fried rice. No additional charge. We weren’t too hungry, so we told them just 2 servings worth of rice. The result was way more than we were prepared to handle, all topped with cheese. It was definitely a unique dish. This was just overall a restaurant full of surprises. It was a fun change of pace to do for a birthday, for sure. Great outing for a group!

To finish of the celebrations, the birthday boy’s girlfriend had brought his favorite cake from Veniero’s – cannoli cake! Which we all ate with, what else – chopsticks!

Fun night in Woodside! Anyone else out there tried “live” octopus before? Thoughts?

Sik Gaek – 49-11 Roosevelt Avenue – Woodside, Queens – 718.205.4555
Reservations Recommended

overnight blueberry french toast casserole

March 14, 2013 by Lara Leave a Comment

Not that I’m exactly a pro, but I’m learning that hosting in-home events can be a challenge. Especially if, like me, you don’t cook often. The timing can be tricky and you don’t want for your guests to be stuck waiting for too long without enough to eat. Everything coming out once everyone has left would definitely be a hostess faux pas.

I’d never tried an overnight french toast casserole but thought it was the perfect addition to the line-up for Dixie’s recent birthday brunch (AKA my annual excuse to have all of my friends over for brunch in February). I adapted it from this version I found online.

Ingredients

12 slices day-old bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (or, if you’re like me and bought new bread, oatmeal thick style bread worked quite well – added a bit of additional flavor)
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup fresh blueberries
12 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon bourbon (whatever you have will work – optional, but delightful)
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon butter

Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking dish. Arrange half the bread cubes in the dish, and top with cream cheese cubes. Sprinkle 1 cup blueberries over the cream cheese, and top with remaining bread cubes.

[Read more…]

celebrating 2 years at marea

March 13, 2013 by Lara Leave a Comment

I did not know where I was going for dinner to celebrate our 2 year anniversary. I did know I was meeting T at Columbus Circle. And I was to be dressed up. So I pulled out my to-be-worn Roberto Rodriguez dress, heels, and made my way there from work, curious to see where we were headed. While Marea had been a long lingerer on our “to try” list, it hadn’t really crossed my mind Marea could be the spot. Especially since I thought (incorrectly, as it turns out) that Marea was in the Upper West Side.

As we perused the menu and Bible-like wine list, we were greeted by this light refreshing amuse-bouche. I was very impressed by the sommelier, who was able to quickly go off of a couple I found interesting paired with my description (what wine works well for this guy over here who doesn’t like white wines but can no longer drink red) to guide me to a selection buried in the pages. Verdict? Quite good and at a reasonable price point to boot. [Read more…]

valentine’s day at kittery

March 3, 2013 by Lara Leave a Comment

We were not planning on going out on the actual day of Valentine’s Day. Most places only offer prix fixe menus or find some other way to make it more expensive for that one particular evening. However in the end, we opted to do our Valentine’s plans on the actual day. We started the evening with some paint your own pottery at The Painted Pot before making our way down the street to Kittery.

The restaurant, which has been open since around Christmastime, isn’t crazy crowded. As should be expected for Valentine’s, it was totally different. We got there around 9:30 (my squirrel here was super detailed so I wasn’t exactly the quickest of painters) and found the place completely full, with the hostess telling us it would be another hour before they could seat us. T did not look amused. However, it was only another 10 minutes before they seated us. Perhaps some growing pains of a new-ish restaurant learning how to deal with peak crowds. [Read more…]

opening night at nightingale 9

February 22, 2013 by Lara Leave a Comment

Last night was the official opening for Nightingale 9, a Vietnamese street food spot that sneakily went up under the facade of a curious frame shop that just never seemed to be open. Outta nowhere, there was a name and last week, there was a sign proclaiming Thursday, February 21st to be the day. I really wanted to check it out, being such a big fan of Kerry Diamond’s other spots – Seersucker and Smith Canteen.

Walking in, you can see the small bar bordered by tables mostly in a L shape. There are some 2 person tables in the front but the back is mostly communal style, holding around 6 people each. The menu was divided into 5 sections: salads ($11-12), appetizers ($10-14), rice noodle soups ($10-12), vermicelli bowls ($11-15), and jasmine rice dishes ($10-15). While many of the dishes caught my attention, I did have to read carefully, as there were lots of dishes with mushrooms in them. They have beer and wine on tap, as well as several intriguing sodas (next time, I’m totally trying the tamarind soda) and teas.

To start, we had the Long Island Squid Salad, which was tamarind, peanuts, morning glory (this interesting green you see here, also referred to as “Chinese spinach” or “Swamp cabbage”), and fried garlic. The dish was refreshing and very light. A nice flavorful yet light way to start off the meal. I can’t say I’ve ever had fried garlic but it was kind of an amazing addition.

I opted for the Chao from the jasmine rice dishes. The dish had shredded chicken, cilantro, peanuts, and fried bread. It was a nice portion size – just enough to enjoy without feeling overwhelmed by food. The broth was light and topped with a heaping portion of cilantro (no problem by me).

My BF had the Berkshire pork rice noodle soup, which had roasted pork shoulder, country ham, cracklin, lemongrass, and annatto. I really liked his. It was quite spicy without adding any of their on-table assorted sauces. You could tell it would be as soon as they brought it out from the deep orangey red of the both (which apparently was due in part to the addition of the annatto).

For dessert, I have to confess we never got to see the menu. The party next to us took off, seemingly late for another event. They left behind a lady, who was still paying and, as it turned out, was also waiting for dessert. Since they’d left, she offered us their dessert. They were Popsicles – one a coffee with cream and the other a creamy lemongrass. They were so completely different. The coffee one was more icy than creamy, except for the thin layer of condensed milk running along the bottom. It packed a bit of a bite and was quite good. I think my favorite though was the lemongrass. It was so creamy and flavorful. I really enjoy the flavor of lemongrass but I’m much more accustomed to it in hot noodle dishes.i have to say, it’s a great cold flavor as well.

Wonderful first night here. Can’t wait to go back and try more things at this spot, in particular I’m already eying the cha ca catfish vermicelli bowl and the campanelli checken pho.

Nightingale 9 – 345 Smith Street (btwn 2nd & Carroll Streets)
No Reservations

verdict on breakfast tacos at briskettown

February 21, 2013 by Lara Leave a Comment

Yesterday I used another one of my carryover vacation days to enjoy doing a little this and that in the city. I’m becoming hooked on this extra day a week thing. It’s one part staycation and one part errands I never get to do. Amazing.

The first thing I did was to voluntarily head over to South Williamsburg on what ended up being a pretty chilly Wednesday to check out the relatively new breakfast at Briskettown. Based on the other time I had Daniel Delaney’s brisket (over at a friend’s house), I had a feeling it would be well-worth the hike over. [Read more…]

tea cocktails with google local, david’s tea, and eflirt expert

February 20, 2013 by Lara Leave a Comment

Last week, I went to an event with Google Local at David’s Tea. The event was with Laurie Davis of EflirtExpert.com, and author of the recently released Love at First Click: The Ultimate Guide to Online Dating. The evening was simple – cocktails using David’s Tea, the location of which was where Laurie wrote the majority of her book. The sips were paired with a lovely spread from Murray’s Cheese.

I’d yet to try David’s Tea, and was completely overwhelmed by the options (in a good way). I fell in love with rooibos when I was in South Africa, and this spot? Has some 21 varieties of rooibos! Their tea of the month was red velvet cake, which tasted like it’s namesake. Red velvet cake has never been so ultimately and totally guilt-free. I walked out with 3 kinds of tea and these fabulous disposable tea filters (for someone like yours truly who wasn’t ready to commit to the fancy mug for loose tea). [Read more…]