Brunch at The Cecil

One snowy Saturday, my dear friends traipsed up to Harlem to eat brunch.  It was tough finding a spot in the neighborhood that could accommodate vegan palates and carnivores alike, so thank goodness for The Cecil, a trendy new spot offering Afro-Asian fusion (say what?).

Such a blustery day calls for good food and plenty of it !  We started with an order of the bread basket.  The assortment of bread, bacon cheddar cornbread, sweet potato rolls and pecan rum rolls, comes to the table piping hot,

with an assortment of spreads - the maple butter was my favorite on everything (including my finger), but the apple butter and marmalade were good too.

Light and nutty, with the faintest hint of rum

Moist and delicate - perfect little cornbread muffin

The spicy crispy squid with okra was well-fried in a light batter and drizzled with a sweet chili sauce.  I think I ate this whole plate myself because I am just an absolute monster around fried squid.

The signature oxtail dumplings were slippery wontons with strong meaty flavor in creamy, green apple curry sauce.

Jamie ordered Afro-Asian po boys which came as a trio of baos filled with hoisin duck, smoked salmon salad, bacon and eggs and a generous pile of rough cut fries.

The vegan ordered one of the four menu items available to him, the collard green salad with cashews and coconut dressing.  A comment one says to all vegan dishes: "Actually looks pretty good!"

Peter ordered the roti pizza, featuring oxtail, fried egg and aged cheddar,

with a side of cassava hash - thick, thick chunks of cassava fried with caramelized red peppers and onions.

Like a good friend, I did not ask anyone if they enjoyed their foods because I was too busy focusing on my wagyu burger.

Just look at that buttery lettuce !

The thick burger is topped with smoked pork belly, beautifully melted gruyere cheese and a warm tomato compote that adds just the right touch of sweetness.

The meat is well-seasoned and moist, and the brioche bun stands up well to the burger's size.  I was actually pretty surprised at the tastiness of this burger, and coming with a light little warm coleslaw salad, the giant plate is a great, hearty brunch option for only $16.



Han's Nonsensical Rating: I can't speak for anyone else (because I forgot to ask!), but I really enjoyed brunch at The Cecil - the burger is one of the best in the neighborhood, the atmosphere is fun and warm, and man, those sweet potato buns with maple butter.  Just roll me home! (Ha!)

The Cecil
206 W 118th St
New York, NY 10026

Christine's 30th at UFORGE with Mei Mei Street Kitchen

A few months ago, Sean threw the most amazing surprise 30^th birthday party in the history of mankind for his lovely bride to be, Christine. It was a night of local art, ridiculously delicious food, friends and family (who were all clearly infatuated with the birthday girl), and – literally – magic!

The event was at UFORGE Gallery in Jamaica Plain. It’s an intimate space, and I loved the pieces by local artists that lined the walls. Here’s the big surprise and ensuing mingling:

Sean, being a perfect example for all fiancés, had other surprises up his sleeve. The first was that the event was catered by Mei Mei Street Kitchen – Sean and Christine’s favorite food truck.

I absolutely loved the carrot soup, and that’s saying something since I rarely eat anything carrot unless the word ‘cake’ is involved.

With a light, soft texture, the soup was pleasantly refreshing, and the bourbon cream was an ingenious complement.

My favorite dish of the night was the honey, pesto, cheddar & feta scallion pancake. I know. Could it sound ANY better?

It was equal parts crispy, gooey, and heavenly. The addition of honey gave it a pleasant sweetness that really hit it out of the ballpark. YUMM-O. I kept harassing the awesome Mei Mei folks for more. They’re such good sports. Exhibit A – “when you see it” in the picture above…

Mei Mei also set up an awesome buffet.

First up, the roasted beet salad. Super solid... and beautiful!

Then… trifecta beer mac ‘n cheese.

You’re drooling now, because that is the only rational reaction. The crumbs atop the mac ‘n cheese gave it a nice little crunch, the cheese was slightly sharp (which is how I like it!), and the macaroni was not at all overcooked.

Then… caramelized onion bread pudding.

I loved the delightful browning, and the onion flavor was spot on throughout.  I also enjoyed the fluffy, almost eggy texture.

There were also two types of dumplings – tofu and beef.

Makes me wanna jump right into this pile of dumplings.

Mei Mei also made us macarons! The holy grail of any baker.

These were incredible, especially the cinnamon ones with bourbon buttercream. The meringue cookie texture was the perfect balance of chewy and crumbly… morphing exactly how a proper macaron should after a single bite.

Christine’s friend also baked her a beautiful cake and cut it in a most professional way.

Color me impressed. (And satisfied – the cake was delicious!)

The second surprise of the evening was that we were to be entertained by magician Darren Yong.

We all loved his different tricks, and of course we all said to ourselves multiple times, “How did he DO that?!” It was all pretty amazing. I will forever remember Darren bending and twisting a fork by the force of MY OWN HAND. Mind. Blown.

So, here’s to Sean and Christine… after a fabulous event like this one, I can’t wait to see you in September for your wedding!

UFORGE Gallery

767 Centre Street

Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

617-553-4480

Mei Mei Street Kitchen

Various Locations

Follow them on Twitter to find out where!

Darren Yong

617-820-6340

The 5 Course Tasting Menu at Annisa

A few of us got together at Annisa to celebrate Thanan.  Nothing specific.  Just him (because apparently that's reason enough).

I helped pick Annisa because I am obsessed with the ferocity of Anita Lo from Chopped and Top Chef.  Mean-muggin' female chefs just have to be good right?

We opted for the 5 course tasting ($78) which began with butter curls that were so soft and perfectly smearable on their cold, crusty bread.  I ran out of bread, else I woulda devoured every single piece of butter.

The amuse was an egg salad and fish roe tartlet offering a quick pop of fishy, eggy crunch.

First course.  The black sea bass sashimi with trout roe had these beautifully juicy yuzu pearls that tasted like popping boba, but much better. The sashimi was fresh and slippery.

Second course.  Seared foie gras with soup dumpling and jicama.  If only words could truly describe the utter bliss that emerged in our mouths with the initial bite of this savory splendor.

Thanan told us we had to just pop the whole thing in our mouths to enjoy all at once, but I regretted it immediately.  As small as this was, it would've been nice to savor it more than the 30 seconds it took me to eat it, and marvel at the taste of the rich duckulence and the crunch of fresh jicama.  We all wanted dozens more.  Okay, that's a lie.  We wanted hundreds. By the steamer baskets !

Third course.  Grilled mahi mahi with avocado, opal basil and pickled rhubarb.  I had no idea this was called opal basil, because my mother used to make us this eyeball drink all the time, but it's fun squish in a savory dish. Besides the eyes, the pickled rhubarb added a nice bit of acidity to the pretty plain fish.

Fourth dish.  Grilled mangalitsa pork ribeye nestled on a yumsome little sauce, a dry potato salad, dandelion greens and a tiny bit of crispy pork ear.

Thanan and Harry echoed my sentiments on the pork - it tasted like home with its Asian marinade.  The pig ear melted gloriously in my mouth.

While most tasting experiences I've had included a choice of dessert, they surprised us with nearly one of every dessert on the menu:

The surprise favorite for me was the strawberry and tofu pudding.  It was so fruity and bright, creamy, with a surprise crunch that just came out of nowhere. "What is that crunch?"  No clue.  Let's just keep eating it though and not ask too many questions.

We received two of the bread and butter pudding with a sunny little Meyer lemon curd.  Thanan and Peter liked it best, though the bread pudding was a bit eggier than I prefer, but honestly, I could sop up that curd with anything.

The selection of chocolate and malted desserts was fun - moist chocolate cake, creamy mousse, a crunchy malted cookie that was my favorite, and crunchy chocolate nibs floating in chocolate milk.

The "tower" of caramelized banana, peanut butter and coconut foam sounded exactly up my alley, but it was my least favorite - the flavors didn't meld well.

The pecan and salted butterscotch beignets were hot little bundles, oozing heaven into my happy stomach.  (The bourbon milk ice was not too distinctive.)

This is definitely something I can get hot and heavy with. Ha. (Gross.)

Then with the check, a little surprise of cute baby coconut lychee popsicles made with toothpicks, candied ginger, and mint chocolate truffles.

Of the tasting menus I've had in New York, I would say Annisa is good but not great.  There was nothing wrong with each dish, but neither was there anything particularly astounding aside from those foie gras dumplings and that strawberry tofu pudding that has really made me reconsider my disposition towards tofu in desserts.  The place is small, intimate, and friendly, but offers pretty standard-tasting fare at its price point.

Han's Nonsensical Rating: Skip the tasting and just order multiple plates of the foie gras dumplings.  And the strawberry tofu dessert if you're lucky enough to see it.

Annisa
13 Barrow St
New York, NY