Re: pizza in NYC

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Friday 29 June 2007 @14:06

[In response to a post about Obsession and Pizza…]

There’s a funny story about pizza in NYC: at some point last century, it became known that “Ray’s Pizza” was the best place in the city. This meme became so prevalent that over the intervening decades literally dozens of independent establishments opened and named themselves Ray’s, followed by variations like “Original Ray’s” and “Famous Ray’s” and so on. I’m not sure anyone knows for certain how this meme started, or whether any of the eponymous restaurants is its genesis.

As far as I can tell, none of them is particularly inspired, but they’re certainly abundant.

Restaurant week

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Wednesday 19 July 2006 @17:01

It’s restaurant week in NYC, which means two weeks of prix fixe menus at some of the higher-end establishments in the city. They do this roughly 3 times per year.

Last night, a group of us met at Nice Matin, on 79th and Amsterdam. The restaurant takes its name from the most popular newspaper on Côte d’Azur, so we hoped to relive some of our lovely experiences in Southern France last year.

We split the cheapest Côte du Rhone red — still yummy — and I ordered the soupe de poissons for a starter and the arctic char in a mussel sauce for the main. The former was served with croutons and sides of aïoli and gruyère. All very tasty.

The place was a bit louder and more boisterous than I expected, especially for 9 p.m. on a weeknight, but that’s what to expect during restaurant week. We were a group of 5, and were seated at a table for 4 with an extra chair on the end, so it was a bit tight… er… intimate.

There have been a number of complaints on Chowhound about the service, but I thought they did fine, particularly given the restaurant week crowds. I’d go back.

We need to find out if there’s a way to consolidate our OpenTable accounts. For some reason, we opened two separate ones, and so we’re not accumulating points as fast as we should!

Sang for my supper

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Sunday 25 June 2006 @14:59

Nothing makes one feel like a hopeless drunk more than a severe bout of hiccups after consuming five-sixths of a pitcher of sangria.

We happened upon a little tapas place on the upper west side Friday night. The food was a mix of excellent (the pulpo gallego) and somewhat less inspired (the tortilla) but on the whole a good experience.

As for the aforementioned pitcher, my other half ordered it while I was in the loo. Need I mention that he will drink at most one glass? It was probably the best sangria I’ve had since visiting Spain in ’00 — made with a good, robust wine — not the watery fruit salad that some mediocre Mexican places serve. Polishing it off was not in any sense a chore. But it did make my Saturday a bit less pleasant than usual…

Moto head

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Saturday 6 May 2006 @17:08

We’re in Philadelphia this weekend, and decided to revisit Morimoto, which is still probably one of our top-5 restaurants worldwide. The first time we went (nearly two years ago, I think), we ordered the tasting menu, here called Omakase (お任せ) or “trust the chef.” It’s a good chunk of change, but completely amazing… it’s worth doing the first time, but not on every visit. This time, we were content to stick to the regular menu. Those prices are more reasonable than one might expect, given the quality of the food and the fame factor of the chef. Mains are in the $25–35 range. Sushi isn’t really any more expensive than any high-end place in NYC, and it was the best eel I’ve tasted since being in Japan.

But this isn’t just another Japanese restaurant. Morimoto’s creations are unique, and draw flavors and influences from all over the world. One of our starters last night was the “tuna pizza,” which starts with a crispy grilled tortilla as a base. On top of that is tuna carpaccio (thinly sliced and raw), mild red onion slices, plum tomato, jalapeño, a touch of parsley, and anchovy aïoli. All perfectly executed.

For mains, I chose the black cod miso. This fish is apparently not in the same genus as our humble north Atlantic cod (or so I learned from Wikipedia), but rather comes from cold waters between New Zealand and Antarctica. Anyway, it tastes great with a ginger-miso reduction and a handful of Chinese red beans.

Art chose a crispy barramundi with mushrooms in an amazing red broth. I wish I had examined the menu more carefully; I’m not sure what was in the broth, but it was certainly tasty. I tried to check the menu online, but it’s out of date. And why oh why do all restaurateurs get bamboozled into having these horrible Flash-based sites? (I’ll save that rant for another day…)

We also tried a new beer in Morimoto’s line-up: the black obi soba ale. I was a fan of the soba ale already; I occasionally find it at liquor stores (including, surprisingly, the Bottle Shop in New Haven) or the Fairway Market in NYC. But I love dark, rich, bitter beers (Guinness, Bar’s espresso stout), and this one did not disappoint. Morimoto’s beers are made by the Rogue Brewery in Portland. The ingredients list included “free-range coastal water.”