Bar Artisanal

Winter Break for school rolled around, and I spent ten days in New York City. For my first official meal back I wanted something that would be low-key and encourage conversation, so I ended up going to Bar Artisanal with two girlfriends.

Seeing old friends for the first time in months brought such a deep sense of comfort. I've enjoyed meeting people in a new city and a new school, but being able to speak around people who have known me for years and understand the history and personality behind all of my snarky comments felt like wrapping myself up in a soft, fluffy, warm, down blanket.

Ordering the Artisanal Blend of fondue also helped raise the happiness levels, certaintly.

We wanted some greens to lighten things up, so we went with the Beet Salad with Mache. Beets are lovely in salads, and I'd like to experiment more with them in the next few months. I like the color and gentle sweetness.

The cheese flights are the primary reason why I enjoy going to Artisanal, or in this case an Artisanal family restaurant. There is a wonderful array of pungent, spicy, mild, unctuous, firm, cheeses: something for every cheese mood. I love the oozy, pungent nature of a ripe Epoisse, so we originally gravitated towards the Sinful Experience, which had Epoisse, a Camembert, and Chaource. We eventually decided upon the Fromager's Selection in order to swap out the familiar Camembert for the Ibores, which is a Spanish goat cheese and would provide a more varied flavor profile in our tasting. [How do I get this stupid thing to align left? (stupid thing stuck on center)][Oh, that's how.][I feel like a genius.][It doesn't take much.]

All in all it was a lovely dinner. I was a bloody hour late, and my poor friends didn't even snipe at me, which is what I very well may have done.

My favorite moment of the night came when a gentleman at a neighboring, and very loud, table suddenly wiped out on the floor as he somehow managed to lose rear-end contact with his chair. The hum in the restaurant momentarily paused as fellow dining patrons turned to see what caused the ruckus, and then the restaurant chatter quickly picked back up as people went back to their own affairs. Gotta love New York sensibilities.

Bar Artisanal, 268 West Broadway, New York, NY

Dinner Party: when did we grow up?

I am still shocked to discover, somehow, while we weren't watching, my friends and I became sulf-sufficient, and could merit the title of adulthood -- if at least, only nominally.

My college friend invited me over for dinner at her apartment which she decorated around this chandelier.

It was a lovely evening of wine, good food and better conversation.

Clockwise from top: Rolf Beeler Hoch Ybrig, Raw Milk Taleggio, Pata Cabra Goat Cheese

I could not get enough of this cheese plate. If she had just served this and the wine, the dinner party would have been a success in my book.

Upon her mother's instruction, my friend didn't season these scallops at all, and they were very flavorful. So maybe we're adults with a bit of momma's help. No shame in that.

This piece of halibut is gigantic. I can't imagine these thing flopping its way out of the sea.

It made for some hefty portions.

Brace yourself: she cooked this corn in the microwave.

I swear, one of these days I'm going to nuke a live lobster and see if it really does keep the juices in.

The tea she served with dessert was a little bit gimmicky. You dump this ball of tea leaves into a pot of hot water.

And slowly this miniature floral arrangement reveals itself. This gimmick more than worked. I was enthralled.

The baklava came with high hopes, as she grabbed it from a shop in Queens. I figure anything that comes from one of the other boroughs, has got to be authentic. Lo and behold, there was corn syrup in the ingredient list!

Now that just doesn't seem quite right. And neither did the fit of my pants when I left their apartment.

Uva

Some restaurants merit absurd activity like waking up at 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning in a panic, so that you can be standing outside Prune by 9:45 a.m., teeth brushed, clothes changed, hair combed, and mascara applied, ready for a delicious New York City brunch.

Some restaurants are good but only deserve reasonable behavior. I waited almost an hour for dinner at Uva, and I'm embarrassed to say I did.


Which is not to say that Uva is a bad restaurant. It's good. In fact, if all the dishes tasted like this Burrata Barese (creamy mozzarella with yellow beef tomatoes, fava beans and balsamic glaze), then maybe it would be worth a little New-York-insane-fixation-on-a-long-wait action. E Except even here, things weren't perfect. The fava beans were dry and a pointless, negative addition, but somebody wanted to save ink on the menus and didn't have the cojones to yank them off the dish that night.

The culatello might have made me waver except even my love for charcuterie has to admit that at the end of the day, all the restaurant did was source some good cured pork and slice it thin.

The arancini (deep fried saffron rice balls) tasted like Italian comfort food. Solid, no whirligigs attached.

A special of tuna tartare with pickled onions and roasted endive was not bad except for the fact that the lighting was so poor we couldn't tell the onions from the tuna, and K took a big bit of pure pickled onion, so no one had any tart accompaniment to balance the rich fish.

Don't order the Polpettine di Vitello (mini veal meatballs cooked in a savory tomato sauce, served with grilled ciabatta bread). I know it sounds good, but one bite and it was clear why a mini veal meatball rage has not overtaken the city. Veal must not be fatty enough of a meat to make into a juicy meatball because these suckers were dry and generally not worth your time of day. You deserve better.

Even better than this Polenta Tartufata (fresh polenta filled with robiola cheese in a black truffle sauce.)
Once again, it's good, but it's not marvelous. The polenta tasted a bit dense and mushy, nothing like the truly revelatory polenta at Il Buco. The truffle sauce had a nice heady earthy flavor, but upon further consideration tasted slightly artificial, which doesn't make complete sense because you and can both see little bits of truffle, but at $9 a plate, it'd be hard to believe they are all real fresh little bits of truffle.

The decor in the restaurant itself is cute. The Upper East Side's version of Inoteca, lots of old wood and brick. It'd be a good go-to restaurant if we didn't have to wait so long. Admittedly, the people on the phone said that generally the wait is about "a glass of wine's" worth, so I don't know what was up with our luck that night, but unless you live in the neighborhood, it's not a good enough of a place to merit a subway ride and a possible long wait.

Uva, 1486 Second Avenue (at 77th St.), 212-472-4552

The Mother of All Food Crawls

I was going to write about dinner at Uva with a high school friend visiting with her husband from California, but then I remembered that back in 2005, pre-engagement, the two of them visited and embarked upon the Mother of All Food Crawls.

We're talking fourteen food stops in 48 hours.

View The Mother of All Food Crawls in a larger map

Some were planned, some spontaneous. Myself and two high school friends (G and K) living in New York took around S and A from the Bay Area for a whirlwhind eating tour. I stole these pictures from my friend, and here we go

Day 1, ~10:30 p.m. Sushi Samba, planned
A complimentary appetizer of flash-fried Japanese river crabs because we had to wait a really long time for our table despite making 9:45 p.m. reservations.

Not pictured: edamame, blistered Shishito peppers, fried calamari.

Neo Tokyo Roll (yellowfin tuna, tempura flakes, and aji panca); Green Envy Roll (wasabi pea crust, tuna, salmon, asparagus, and aji); Pacific Roll (king crab, avocado, Asian pear, soy paper, and wasabi-avocado cream).

Two orders of Kampachi (Japanese yellowtail) Sashimi Tiradito with yuzu, black truffle oil, and sea salt.

Yellowtail Ceviche with ginger, garlic and soy.

Miso-marinated Chilean Sea Bass.

Day 1: ~12:00 a.m., Flute Bar, unplanned

Foie gras platter, smoked salmon platter, and bubbly obviously.

Day 1: ~1:00 a.m., L'Express, unplanned

Somehow we decided we needed Dinner #2.

Steak tartare with mesclun greens, moules frites, chocolate mousse cake, tarte tatin.

Day 2: 8:00 a.m., Norma's, planned

We ate family style modified for individual orders, while sitting around a circular table. Five people, five dishes, eat one-fifth, pass to left.

Seared rock lobster and asparagus omelette with home fries.

Crab cakes spice with Habanero peppers with dill yogurt mustard sauce.

Mandarin Orange French Toast.

Artichoke Benedict

Day 2, ~10:00 a.m., nap

Four friends passed out on my bed.

Day 2, ~12:30 p.m., Rice to Riches, unplanned

Marscapone rice pudding.

Pear rice pudding.

Day 2: ~1:30 p.m., Cafe Habana, planned

Mexican grilled corn with this delicious mayonnaise slathered all over; chicken diablo sandwich with fries; avocado and white cheese sandwich with fries; Cuban sandwich with fries, chicken dish with beans.

Someone couldn't wait for the food-paparazzi picture.

Day 2: ~3:30 p.m., il laboratorio del gelato, planned

Twelve flavors available, five people, 2 flavors per small serving, the solution seemed obvious.

Which two flavors did we not want to try?

Chocolate gelato, rum raisin gelato, vanilla rum gelato, peanut butter gelato, papaya sorbet, tangerine sorbet, coffee gelato, green tea gelato, raspberry gelato, lemon sorbet.

Day 2: ~6:30 p.m., Joe Shanghai, planned

Three orders of crab and pork soup dumplings, one order of pork soup dumplings, one order of string beans with pickles.

Day 2, ~9:00 p.m., A Salt & Battery, planned

It's so sad, the Second Avenue location has closed. You'll have to go to the west side for your fish 'n chips fix now.

One large order of cod bites, one small order of chips.

Gone in no time. End of a long day, but we've still got it!

Day 3: ~8:00 a.m., Le Pain Quotidien, planned

I like the 19th street location best because they bake the bread there.

One Tuscan Platter of Parmesan, ham, tapenade, the some amazing ricotta, pesto, sun dried tomatoes, olives and greens.

Mesclun greens salad.

Two orders of baguette with jam and praline spread.

Day 3: ~10:30 a.m., Artisanal, unplanned

Large basket of gougeres.

Sinful Experience Flight: Humboldt Fog (goat, California, airy yet rich, tangy finish); Brillat Savarin (cow, French, velvety, neutral to pronounced; Robiolo Due Latte (cow, Italy: yielding, lactic subtle).

Sampled of cheese condiments and some Langres to the left (cow, France, salty but not too aggressive, smoky)

Great Iberian Peninsula Flight: Serra de Estrella (sheep, Portugal, rich, intense, subtle toffee finish); Pau (goat, Spain, creamy, slightly sweet and nutty); Cabrales (3-milk, Spain, complex, buttery, numbingly intense)

Day 3: ~1:30 p.m. Alice's Tea Cup, planned

We went to the UWS location, but they've got the east side covered now too.

Scones: pumpkin, orange walnut, strawberry chocolate, banana butterscotch.

Clotted cream and jam.

Carrot-Cumin Sandwich.

Alice's tea and Rooibus Bourbon tea.

Day 3: ~6:00 p.m., Ota-Ya, planned

Sadly, this place has closed down. They had the best tempura. Now the next best option in the neighborhood is Tenzan for fantastic rolls.

Shrimp tempura.

Black Draft Roll, Crispy Salmon Roll, Mexican Roll, Volcano Roll, three orders of "white tuna" sashimi.

Day 3: ~8:30 p.m., Chola Eclectic, planned

Uttapam (rice and lentil vegetable pancake)

Chicken chutneywalla (curried mango chicken, mint, coriander, fresh ginger); Goa fish curry (spiced Chilean Sea Bass, fresh coconut, tamarind, chili-tomato sauce); Murli's chingri malai (spiced shrimp, raisins, ginger, fennel infused, tomatoes-coconut sauce); Bhindi masala (sauteed okra, onions, bell peppers, ginger, fresh tomatoes.)