NYC: Battery Park to Columbus Circle

Quite an eventful (and somewhat stressful) weekend in NYC - experiencing apartment hunting at its finest... or worst. Fingers crossed it all goes well! Made up for it with an abundance of good eats :)

Sushi, North End, and the Mandarin

After a long morning of apartment-viewing (seven different buildings to be exact), my cousin and I were craving light Japanese fare. Unfortunately, our first choice, Ootoya, was about to close for its lunch/dinner transition break, so we began walking towards the Gramercy area looking for a place to eat. Almost by pure luck, we happened upon Momoya, and after glancing at the menu posted on the outside window, we decided to try it out.

As we are both big sushi and sashimi fans, we both ordered the chirashi bowl, which is offered at lunch for only $16 (compared to $20+ anywhere else). It was actually amazing to see at such a nice restaurant ($$$ level on Yelp as a reference) and the cuts of fish were not only super fresh, but very meaty. The rice was also seasoned in a type of soy sauce and shallot mixture. So good!!!

Complimentary miso soup with our meal

Chirashi bowl - SO many fresh pieces of sashimi, such a great deal!!

Had a lovely dinner later that evening at North End Grill with the boyfriend - the view of the sunset next to Battery Park made it the perfect way to relax after a very long day :)

My lamb, his fish, our funnel cake :P

Lunch the next day at the lobby lounge of Mandarin Oriental:

The menu is asian fusion-focused, so we had wagyu beef sliders, the korean short rib sandwich, and a blood orange-lychee-pineapple juice. Pretty pricey though, and spotty service - not sure we'd consider going back.

Birthday Festivities

Feeling 22... thanks to my dear friend Lily who has gotten that song stuck in my head after singing it non-stop this past weekend. I had such an amazing birthday weekend with amazing friends and, of course, amazing food. Thanks again to Jon and Josh for planning such a fun night!

Celebrating with Friends

Was pleasantly surprised (more like ecstatically shocked) to be taken to Talula's Garden with some of my favorite people for dinner. The restaurant itself is beautiful and pulling up to a building lit up at night by fairy lights is a whole new experience altogether. The interior was much larger than I expected with very high ceilings and multiple rooms, including a small bar area where we spent a majority of our wait time before being seated. The food was incredible - definitely ranks near the top of my best dining experiences ever. 

Shared appetizers/sides (from top left clockwise):
Winter Cauliflower Ravioli, sauteed tuscan kale, savory anchovy, toasted pine nuts, brown butter sauce
Applewood Smoked Salmon Salad, "everything" dressing, lettuce, pickled pearl onion, rye crisps, fingerlings
Little vegetable dishes, raw radish and cucumber salad (front), roasted baby carrots (back)
Long Island Fluke Crudo with Winter Citrus, ginger-scented avocado crema, endive, cashew, tarragon-chili oil

Muscovy Duck Breast and Crisp Confit, tender cabbage and duck fat fried spaetzle choucroute, turnips, pear, cashews, duck jus
Seared Day Boat Scallops, leeks & butterball potatoes, kohlrabi puree, roasted carrots, carrot butter, lemon-caper mojo
More vegetable sides, "creamed cauliflower" fontina mornay (front), whipped yukon gold potatoes (back)

Continuing Break: Bohemian + Le Bernardin

Two amazing culinary experiences from spring break, one at an exclusive reservations-only Japanese restaurant, the other at a 3-Michelin star venue.

Dinner at Bohemian

Having heard of this place from my cousin sometime last year, I have been wanting to try this restaurant for awhile now. After finally tracking down the phone number, I called exactly one  month in advance (unfortunately an hour after they began taking calls for the day) and was able to secure a reservation for 9:30 PM on a Saturday. Latest dinner I have had in a long time, but totally worth it! I probably won't be back anytime soon because the menu is rather limited and I'd prefer not to go through the reservation booking hassle, but definitely an experience I am happy to have had.

Uni croquette - Japanese croquettes are usually just like breaded and fried mashed potatoes, but this one had a distinct mushroom taste as well, similar in flavor to fried mushroom risotto

Mac and Cheese with tomato garlic toast

Top: kobe-style short rib sashimi
Bottom: miso black cod

Foie gras soba - amazing flavor!

Washyu (kobe-style) flatiron steak with fried satsuma (Japanese sweet potatoes)

Welcoming Spring: Bibou + Brunch

With most of the campus sunbathing on the beaches of Punta Cana or jetsetting off to Europe, I opted to spend a quiet spring break wining and dining here on the east coast with my mom. No regrets!

Some snapshots of our food adventures this past week... much more to come ;)

Dinner at Bibou

Bibou has long been on my Philly food bucket list, but it's located in Bella Vista and I have always considered it too far (aka I'm too lazy to make the trek). We had an early dinner here on a Thursday and it became clear to me why it is always so difficult to secure a table during normal dining hours, especially on the weekends - the place is tiny and can probably seat about 30 people max... by the time our appetizers came (around 5:45 PM), the place was basically full.

Started off with a whole baguette and amazing butter
Duo de Foie Gras, seared foie gras with sauteed persimmon, persimmon gastrique, foie gras custard

Striped Bass, red quinoa, chanterelle mushroom and broccoli, zinfandel sauce

Onglet de Boeuf, hanger steak with green peppercorn sauce, fingerling potatoes, green asparagus

Coconut macaroons and meringue
Pineapple Tart, blueberries, creme fraiche

The menu here is always changing, though they do have some staples, such as the escargot appetizer and hanger steak entree. They usually have a foie gras dish that I highly recommend, though it seems they switch up the flavors every so often (it was paired with mango only a month ago, but we had it when persimmon when we visited). The foie gras custard was a little heavy for us and we struggled to finish it, but the seared portion was perfectly fatty and savory, especially when balanced with the sweetness of the persimmon.

Sushi + Southern Comfort

The Fat Ham

Spent a quiet weekend in Philly, but was able to visit Kevin Sbraga's newest establishment in University City, The Fat Ham. It blends the idea of Southern comfort food with the tapas-style shared plates that Philly is so well known for, resulting in a marriage of nouveau cuisine and old traditions. Roommate from Nashville's verdict: pretty good but not very authentic. 

Fried oyster sliders, shrimp and grits, root vegetables with thick-cut bacon

Potato chip crusted mac & cheese, pork belly with beans, hot fried chicken