JP Eats Food Blog

Three standouts from Lafayette, the new Andrew Carmellini (and...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:17:40 -0400

Three standouts from Lafayette, the new Andrew Carmellini (and Luke and Josh) “everyday French restaurant.” Whatever an everyday French restaurant is, the place is already fantastic and it’s not even fully operational yet. These guys have the magic touch for making restaurants that somehow pull off being both a scene and completely casual at the same time.

The food delivers, too. The rabbit casserole was outstanding and it’s worth a trip for that alone—the stuffed loin pieces were about as good as rabbit gets and the potato pavé-tomato-y-thing was a great accompaniment that I need to make at home. The fries are great, but everyone knows I’m a sucker for fries. Finally, there’s the apple tart for two… If you can tell from the photo it could also be served for four, but it’s the best apple tart I’ve had in NYC regardless of size.

Chicken Wings from Mission Chinese Food NYC. These have to be my...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:56:30 -0400

Chicken Wings from Mission Chinese Food NYC. These have to be my favorite chicken wings. In fairness, I’m not a huge fan of traditional, messy, Buffalo-style wings, but still. Not only are the wings fried to perfection, but the fire from the chiles and numbing effect of the Sichuan peppercorns is at once flamboyant and completely balanced in a way that is hard to describe. As an added bonus, they throw in little strips of crispy, salty, delicious fried tripe.

Tuna tacos with mango-habanero salsa at Sueños. These are a...

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 09:56:19 -0400

Tuna tacos with mango-habanero salsa at Sueños. These are a current special and every bit as good as they look. They’re even better when washed down with a smoky, Mezcal topped margarita.

Soft scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and trout roe from The...

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 09:49:00 -0400

Soft scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and trout roe from The Dutch. Usually I go for the lunch-ier items at The Dutch’s brunch (shouldn’t the soft shell crab sandwich be back on the menu soon??), but when I feel like breakfast I always go for their take on the NY classic.

A few beers from Maine Beer Company. Yesterday I was introduced...

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 18:55:16 -0400

A few beers from Maine Beer Company. Yesterday I was introduced to a brewery that I had never heard of, and it turns out their beers are some of the best I’ve ever tried. Part of me feels like I must’ve been living under a rock, but their beer is truly rare as they are highly focused on things other than marketing and broad distribution. These are fresh, hoppy, balanced, easy to enjoy beers in kind of east (coast) meets west (coast) style. If you see them, buy them—just save some for me!

Pan seared Hudson Valley Duck Farms duck breast with porcini...

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 11:31:51 -0400

Pan seared Hudson Valley Duck Farms duck breast with porcini mushroom and broccoli rabe risotto. The duck was seared then roasted with the “EMP spice blend” (Sichuan peppercorns, cumin, coriander, and lavender). For the risotto, I blanched the broccoli rabe in chicken stock while reconstituting the dried porcini, then added some of the porcini-reconstituting water to the stock and used it for the risotto. I finished the risotto by adding back in chopped porcini and broccoli rabe with a little parmesan.

Mazemen and Shoyu Ramen from Yuji Ramen. To me this is sort of...

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 14:22:30 -0400

Mazemen and Shoyu Ramen from Yuji Ramen. To me this is sort of crazy—a Kickstarter Campaign helped turn a Williamsburg popup into a ramen bar in a Whole Foods, and it will soon become a full-fledged restaurant. More importantly though, the food is fantastic.

Yuji offers two basic dishes. Mazemen is essentially a fettuccine shaped ramen noodle served dry with a few options of toppings. Pictured here on the left is basically Sunday breakfast—a poached egg, bacon, and bonito flakes. This is simple but really, really good. The other option is a more traditional Shoyu Ramen that he makes with whatever bones and scraps he can drum up from Whole Foods that day. Today’s offering, pictured here on the right, was a turkey and oxtail broth that he served with some poached whitefish. Hard to say which I liked more.

My only disappointment is that the Whole Foods location will be closing May 12 and the permanent location will be in Williamsburg. Oh well… I guess I know what I’ll be doing for lunch for at least one day a week for the next six weeks.

Homemade cheesesteak. Leftover dry-aged ribeye sliced thin and...

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 15:17:26 -0400

Homemade cheesesteak. Leftover dry-aged ribeye sliced thin and browned along with caramelized onions and Gruyere.

Blue Moon Fish is back at the NYC Greenmarkets after their...

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 15:15:00 -0400

Blue Moon Fish is back at the NYC Greenmarkets after their annual winter hiatus/ vacation to Florida. That’s cause for celebration, right? As long as the tacos aren’t too spicy, it’s hard to beat washing them down with a great Blanc de Blancs Champagne like this Brut Nature from Laherte Frères. These tacos were my usual recipe—flounder breaded with Panko, lime-cilantro mayo, cabbage, tomato, more cilantro, and a bit of hot sauce.

I just realized that four of my last five posts were of the...

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 10:34:12 -0400

I just realized that four of my last five posts were of the liquid variety, and the fifth was about Cadbury Creme Eggs (not that there’s anything wrong with that!). So, here’s a mostly gratuitous picture of a near-perfectly roasted duck with the EMP treatment of honey, lavender, Sichuan peppercorns, cumin, and coriander.

Last week I was lucky enough to attend a dinner with winemaker...

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 10:28:52 -0400

Last week I was lucky enough to attend a dinner with winemaker Mike Hirby. We tasted several of Mike’s wines from his Relic Wine Cellars label as well as a few of the labels where he’s the consulting winemaker. The wines were fantastic across the board which is rare when tasting such variety—from Pinot to Petit Sirah to Bordeaux varietals, with my personal favorite being a Cabernet Franc blend called The Prior. The wines are most certainly Californian, but they’re nuanced, pure, and in no way overbearing. Highly recommended.

Stone’s Enjoy By (04.01.13 edition) makes an appearance in NYC....

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 10:06:04 -0400

Stone’s Enjoy By (04.01.13 edition) makes an appearance in NYC. I thought I was going to miss this when I didn’t see it anywhere for a week after release, but then a secret knock and a wink later, one emerged from a back room of a local store. At any rate, this is crazy beer. It is undeniably the freshest hop profile you’ll find in any commercially available beer. I really like that about it. But it’s also a bruiser— not just the nearly 10% alcohol, but the bitterness and hops make it a bit of a challenge to put away the whole large bottle. Still, I’ll look forward to unearthing and drinking a bottle from the next release.

Ithaca Picnic Basket Pale Wheat Ale. Having gone to Cornell and...

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 11:44:03 -0500

Ithaca Picnic Basket Pale Wheat Ale. Having gone to Cornell and lived in Ithaca, I’ve had plenty of opportunity to sample Ithaca Beer Company’s offerings. This one is by far my favorite, but it must also be the most expensive when you consider that to drink it you have to dine at Eleven Madison Park.

Does anyone know if you can find it elsewhere? Is it by any chance the same or similar to their White Gold Pale Wheat Ale?

Glorious Cadbury Creme Eggs.

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 11:29:00 -0500

Glorious Cadbury Creme Eggs.

Stone Brewing 05.05.05 and 06.06.06 Vertical Epic Ales at the...

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:22:49 -0500

Stone Brewing 05.05.05 and 06.06.06 Vertical Epic Ales at the Stone World Bistro and Gardens. Unfortunately I wasn’t at the Epic Festival to taste the full line up of anniversary ales, but getting to taste these two was just fine.

Tacos Tumbras a Tomas in LA’s Grand Central Market. I had...

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:15:22 -0500

Tacos Tumbras a Tomas in LA’s Grand Central Market. I had never heard of the market let alone these tacos, so this was a great surprise on a recent trip to So Cal. This place is the epitome of cheap, greasy, deliciously authentic Mexican food. The chicken and carnitas were about as good as it gets. The beef was very good too and the tortillas were solid. Sadly they were out of Lengua.

Mountain Sweet Berry Farm is back in the potato chip game after...

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 18:04:23 -0500

Mountain Sweet Berry Farm is back in the potato chip game after almost a year. Apparently they rented a kitchen to make the chips in the past but now have a space of their own. These are the very best potato chips you can find in NYC, so if this isn’t cause for celebration, I don’t know what is!

Chili Lobster and eggs from brunch at Marc Forgione. Forge is...

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 10:27:44 -0500

Chili Lobster and eggs from brunch at Marc Forgione. Forge is underrepresented in my brunch rotation, I’ve decided. This dish is basically the dinner menu Chili Lobster but served over a bed of fluffy scrambled eggs. The thick toast and eggs soak in the Sriracha based sauce and the lobster is rich and perfectly cooked. This is one of the best things you can eat for brunch in NYC.

Perfectly crispy, garlicky roasted La Ratte potatoes from...

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 11:29:43 -0500

Perfectly crispy, garlicky roasted La Ratte potatoes from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm. Potatoes don’t get much better.

Tsar Nicoulai Caviar. Mostly, I’m just posting because I...

Sat, 05 Jan 2013 11:38:42 -0500

Tsar Nicoulai Caviar. Mostly, I’m just posting because I like the photo, but I do recommend Tsar Nicoulai for a holiday treat (or everyday treat, if that’s how you roll). Their California white sturgeon caviars are delicious and completely sustainable.