Tuesday Pie Party at Green Table & Billy's Bakery

Everybody, say hi to my friend Jean!

Jean and I met up for dinner some week ago when she had an insatiable hankering for chicken pot pie, and being that I cannot turn down any sort of pie, I joined her for a mid-week dinner at Green Table in Chelsea Market.

We whetted our appetites with a bowl of macaroni and cheese that came to our table all bubbling and browned.

The macaroni and cheese was fairly solid.  I tend to like anything with a crunchy crust, and the mac'n'cheez had plenty of it. One of my favorite Seinfeld episodes includes Elaine's 'Top of the Muffin to You' shop selling only muffin tops. I think another worthy restaurant would include only crispy macaroni and cheese tops.  (Such a solid idea, I know!)

After the refreshing bowl of mac, we were greeted by our chicken pot pies that came with a side salad (which I cheerfully pushed off to Jean's plate since I didn't need any distractions from the main event).

Though I typically prefer a pie where the crust is rustically crimped onto the pie dish, Green Table's presentation was fancy and clean, and it defintely confirmed that this was going to be a pie full of chicken delight.

The puff pastry shell was dynamite.  (This is why there are three pictures of puff pastry shell and little else.)

The chicken pot pie base itself was flavorful, thick with vegetables and absolutely comforting on such a damp, chilly day.  Unfortunately, the chicken was fairly stringy and borderline dry.  Bummer.  Now I admit, I have eaten my fair share of Morton chicken pot pies in my youth, and perhaps I am not the world's expert on chicken pot pie (though I definitely would like to be), I still would rank Green Table's version as decent and passable, but definitely I am sure there is a finer poultry pie out there yet to be explored.

After, Jean and I burned off about 30 calories to walk to Billy's Bakery to add on about 3000 calories in the form of sweet pies.

Jean opted for the last amazingly fat slice of banana cream pie that was horrifyingly thick and yellow.

I grabbed a sliver of the peanut butter pie studded with nuts and chunks of peanut butter cups.

I've been to Billy's once before in 2008, and I would confirm again, that this bakery is not my favorite. I very much want to like it, since it is so old-fashioned and charming in appearance, and the sample of 7-layer bar I had by the register was totally solid, but the pies were truly too sweet and too rich to be enjoyable beyond a couple of bites, which is so hard for me to understand since I always want to finish the whole thing.  Ah, such is life.

Better luck next time!

Green Table
75 9th Avenue  New York, NY 10011
(212) 741-6623

Billy's Bakery
184 9th Avenue
New York, NY 10011

Brunch at Le Barricou

The Williamsburg scene seems to offer an endless supply of charming restaurants, and Le Barricou, from the same owners as Maison Premiere, is no different.  

While waiting for Thanan, I chatted with a fellow Hitchhiker of the Galaxy fan at the bar.  He talked to me about the Hitchhiker BBC series, the movie, and even the RPG computer game while I enviously eyed his gooey eggs benedict. Then Thanan tapped me on the shoulder and informed me he was ready to eat.

We were given a complimentary basket with a croissant and pain au chocolat.  Though the items tasted more like cold, chewy rolls than typical flaky, buttery croissants, I still them ate them cheerfully as free pain au chocolat does not come by very often.

I really only invited Thanan to brunch so that he could help me eat these pancakes I had espied online, since he generally will let me order anything and then proceed to help me eat everything.

 

There is no eloquent way to put this:

The pancakes were freakishly large and fluffy.

And beautiful.

The texture is a bit different than the usual flapjacks one would find at a regular diner, or even the perfection found at Clinton St. Baking Co.  The soft, pillowy interior is encased in a slightly crispy, almost fried shell reminiscent of Dough's doughnuts.  I am not even sure how they cook this through, or how the pancakes are so remarkably fat and thick, but the strawberry butter sinks into each bite perfectly.

As much as I enjoyed this, a few bites were all I really needed, though I could probably do more damage if I had only ordered these pancakes (and a plate of bacon, which is essential for a true, complete breakfast).

However, we had more to eat!

Thanan ordered the fanciest item available that day - the special lobster omelet served with home fries and stripes of funky greenbeans.

He seemed to like it okay, but he did not finish it.

I ordered the flat apple, bacon and gruyere cheese omelet.

I appreciate when food is described exactly how it is served.  This omelet was super flat.  It also was very appley.  And bacony.  And cheesy.  I liked it, but I did not love it, as the apples were too distinct, too sweet, and I just found myself distracted, confused, and annoyed with each unbalanced bite of sweet and savoriness.  I can be quite the difficult eater sometimes.

After, Thanan and I burned some time downing some of The Chocolate Room's dark, spicy hot chocolate.  

I ordered mine with a homemade marshmallow that slowly melted into the deep cocoa abyss.

I don't find myself wanting a second visit to Le Barricou, unless to answer a critical pancake craving, but I remain strangely addicted to breathing in The Chocolate Room's sweet air.

Le Barricou
533 Grand
Brooklyn, NY


The Chocolate Room
269 Court St
Brooklyn, NY

Saturday Night Bites at Bar Corvo

Greeshma visited last weekend, so our foodtinerary was dense with decadence and delight.  

We made time to take in some culture (her with a self-guided tour of the Met, followed by deep stares into the eyes of long-haired French waiters at Buvette, and finally rockin' some fierce girl power at Target First Saturdays at the Brooklyn Museum).  

Following our exploration of the Mummy Chamber and bad feminist readings, Greeshma, Thanan and I walked a couple blocks over to Bar Corvo, a new restaurant from the owners of Al Di La, one of Greeshma's most favorite restaurants ever.

There, we ordered a slew of sharable dishes including:

The calamari salad, which was light on the salad (my favorite kind of salad!).  Tender yet chewy, excellent.

Fava bean puree and dandelion greens for some earthy, healthy dimension.

Fried spicy chickpeas - crunchy, simple and addictive.  (Looking at the image, I am suddenly craving Kix.)

Fritto misto with an assortment of fried randomness, like onion slivers, lemon slices and chunks of butternut squash.

One of our favorite dishes of the night was the semolina gnocchi with oxtail ragu.

The gnocchi was essentially deconstructed, presented as a smooth, airy and light puree, entirely smothered with a layer of thick, meaty ragu and flakes of pecorino.

The main meat course was reserved for the braised lamb shank, a huge hunk of cartilage, fat and tenderness.

The lamb pretty much dissolved effortlessly in our mouths, the preferred way for Greeshma to enjoy any edible object.  

My personal favorite dish of the night was the chitarra neri.  The squid-ink pasta was surprisingly fresh and bright-tasting, from the mint and lemon.  The pasta also had a touch of spice from the hot peppers that sparkled underneath the crushed, ripened tomatoes.

After, we capped off the night at The Chocolate Room where Thanan suddenly looked super Asian and Greeshma did not know what to think.

We all ordered the exact same item: the brownie sundae, and might I dare say, this might be one of my favorite sundaes in the city?

The brownie was completely drowned in hot and heavy fudge, the baked confection all but a soft, chewy vessel to shovel more melty, chocolatey goodness into my mouth.  The fresh mint chocolate chip was not half-bad either with amazingly large shards of dark chocolate throughout.

The sundae was definitely the most delicious way to end such a charming night!

Bar Corvo
791 Washington
Brooklyn, NY


The Chocolate Room
269 Court St
Brooklyn, NY

An Indulgent Elvis Encounter at Peanut Butter & Co

Sometimes when my life is particularly boring, I entertain myself with testing broadly accepted social notions.  After a day spent writing a handful of PowerPoint slides that highlight key pension reform from 2008-2012, I decided today was a great day to validate the popular statement: "Too much of a good thing is a bad thing."  How could such a thing, full of so much goodness, quite possibly be bad?

I headed to Peanut Butter & Co. to confirm exactly how much I love peanut butter (which is currently with all my large, feebly-pumping, cholesterol-addled heart).

The setup at PB&Co is quite simple, a straight-forward counter where you place your order and a scattering of small particle-board type tables.  I went for the Elvis which comes with choice of peanut butter (creamy, crunchy or flavored), wheat / white bread, and option of bacon.

The meal took about six minutes to deliver, and was served on a simple plate alongside three slivers of carrots and a small, puffy bag of potato chips.

My custom Elvis sandwich consisted of crunchy peanut butter and bacon, though the cashier's favorite incorporates their maple peanut butter.  The options are endless (if your definition of endless means 11 total scintillating peanut butter flavors).

Though the sandwich appears relatively thin and unassuming, I assure you it was a hefty beast - each delicious bite of thick-cut bacon and crunchy peanut butter immediately sank to the bottom of my deep stomach.

Not pictured with this melty badboy is the peanut butter milkshake I ordered to accompany this immensely dense sandwich.  Milkshakes at PB&Co are loose and liquidy, reflecting heavy emphasis on the word milk in the term milkshake.

Washing down each bite of the wonderfully toasted ode to the King of Rock and Roll with an equally peanut buttery shake temporarily broke me down to agree with the fact that quite possibly, too much of a good thing may be a bad thing.  I think in economics, we dub it the law of diminishing returns, and my friend, the returns were rapidly diminishing.

I pawned off the rest of my sandwich to my visiting colleague, slurped a farewell sip of the shake, and shook my nutty self out of that shop for the night.

I still can't help but believe that there is some food item out there that can quite possibly prove that statement wrong, but until that day, I bid you good night, and sweet, dark chocolate dreams!

Peanut Butter & Co
240 Sullivan St
New York, NY

Fiesta brunch @ Masa

I am, by definition, an awful person... I can't believe I've neglected to update for more than a month! To help make up for it, I want to share a gem of a brunch experience. This morning, my roommates and I woke up early for brunch in the adorable south end neighborhood at Masa. I'd been there before, but not for fiesta brunch: you get an appetizer, an entree, and coffee/tea - all for $7.95. Um, I haven't seen prices like that since 1995.

The atmosphere is warm, modern, and there is definitely a southwestern feel.

We were greeted with a basket of blue and regular cornbread.

It came with a flight of spreads - apricot, maple butter, and sweet chipotle. We loved it all. The chipotle spread had a nice little kick, the apricot spread tasted light and fresh, and the maple butter, well, you can't really go wrong there. The bread itself had a nice moist texture, and was generally pretty good. If it had been served warm, it would have been outta this world.

I went with the caramelized plantain empanada as my appetizer. It tasted exactly as it sounds - heavenly!

It was served warm, on top of a generous dollop of cinnamon cream cheese. Everything about this was perfect - the plantain was outstanding, dense but not too sweet. The pairing with the cinnamon cream cheese was genius. I want more already.

Samiksha and I both ordered the huevos rancheros for our entree.

We didn't really know what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised by how pretty it looked. It was a cheese quesadilla over a black bean puree, topped with two over-easy eggs, cotija cheese, sour cream, and a circle of salsa ranchero. We were so excited to dig in, and our excitement only increased as we took in each bite. Soooo delicious. I'm not usually a fan of black beans, but the combination with the quesadilla and eggs... just wonderful.

Ritu and Sophia ordered the Santa Fe style eggs benedict. (I know, my roommates are all super gorgeous!)

They confirmed that their bennys were quite tasty. Also, you can see that our coffees were served in glass mugs. Awesome. I don't know why beverages taste better in glass mugs, but they certainly do.

And finally, as Samiksa ate her way through her plate, she stopped and said, "Hey look, guys, it's mitosis."

Sigh. These are the sort of things you hear when you live/brunch with three engineers. <3

The best part of the meal came with our bill -- the knowledge that, including tax and tip, it came out to $10 each. Literally. Cue the gospel music. Too good to be true, right? Nope, we pinched ourselves, and left Masa only $10 lighter. So if you're looking for a fancy brunch on a not-so-fancy budget, look no further than Masa! You'll love it as much as we did.

Masa
439 Tremont St.
Boston, MA
617.338.8884