Tag: flatiron

Categories
restauranting

Latin Beet Kitchen Fall Preview

Latin Beet Kitchen is the newish restaurant connected to the front of Raymi, the fancy Peruvian restaurant on 24th Street. I’ve been wondering what this place was. I’ve seen a few people eat out in the front outdoor seating. But was it counter service, table service, do they serve alcohol? I was able to get some answers when I went to their Media Fall Preview, tasting some of the new menu and cocktail items coming soon.

So it turns out it’s from the same owners of Raymi. I’ve been there for a Ceviche vs Tiradito event in 2014. They wanted to open up a casual place to serve breakfast and lunch, while Raymi was closed. But they are going to start serving dinner at some point.

They do have beer during the day. I’ve seen people drink it outside. I’ve been tempted to drink out there for a lunch break on a nice day.

They are going to start serving weekend brunch cocktails: Bloody Tiger, Spiked Latte, Gin and Juice and Clear Michelada. I liked the Gin and Juice best. Snoop D-O-Double-G.

They’ll start serving these cocktails at night when they expand to dinner service.

Also tried some of their arepas and bowl samples. The arepas were a lot different than what I think of arepas. I usually think of arepas as lighter and having a pocket to stuff meat into. These were more dense and more like a cracker. I wonder if it’s because of the nature of having the smaller sample, than a full size arepa. Or maybe this is the difference between a Venezuelan vs a Colombian arepa.

The Tuna Nikkei Ceviche Bowl is promising. But surprisingly, I liked the Antina (Lentil Stew) Bowl the best. I’m a heavy meat eater and this was really tasty for having no meat in it. I’m feeling very conflicted inside.

Latin Beet Kitchen – 43 W 24th St (b/t Broadway & S Park Ave) New York, NY 10010

Categories
fast food indian

indikitch, The Indian Chipotle

I work really close to indikitch and it’s been open for about two years now. This is the first time I’ve been. I just figured if I want Indian food, I’d walk over to Murray Hill and partake in an AYCE buffet. But today they had a $2 deal for food and beer to celebrate Holi (Spring festival of colours). Long lines which I never do, but I just happened to walk by when the line was relatively short.

It’s pretty much like a Chipotle in the way it’s set up and the way it kind of looks, but with Indian food. I’m sure if you Google this place or look at Yelp reviews, a lot of people mention Chipotle.

You pick the Style (Feast, Biryani, Dosa, or Salad), then you pick your Main (Chicken Tikka, Pulled Pork Vindaloo, Goan Fish, Paneer Tika, Mushroom Kadai, Saag Paneer). All of these are priced similarity to Chipotle’s menu. And the feast is a lot of food. Kind of like getting a Burrito Bowl with a tortilla on the side.

The food is actually pretty good. I think it’s just as tasty as some of the Indian restaurants in Murray (Curry) Hill. Now I know. So if I don’t feel like walking too far, I could either go to indikitch …or Chipotle.

indikitch – 25 W 23rd St (b/t 6th & Broadway) New York, NY 10010

Categories
mexican

Oxido Modern Mexican

Oxido is kind of like a Chipotle –counter service burrito with point & pick assembly. They do have some different things like the New Mexican Beef Curry and different sauces. I’m a fan of different sauces. All restaurants should have different sauces.

Oxido – 18 W 23rd St (between 6th and 6th Ave) New York, NY 10010

Categories
lunch

King Crab Legs, Lobster Tails and Whole Boar at Sun Sweet Market

I’ve been eating surf and turf every day this past week for lunch, because I just noticed this deli, Sun Sweet Market, a few blocks from my office. They have a pay-by-the-pound buffet bar that includes lobster tails, king crab legs, scallops and a lot of different shrimp. I also see on Yelp, they’ve had whole cooked lamb and whole boar before. That looks ridiculous on the buffet bar.

05 Whole Boar - Sun Sweet Market
[UPDATE: I went today and they had the whole boar. Pretty crazy looking. It was just okay. Rubbery skin and average pork meat. But good enough with mayo]

It’s a dollar more than my favorite deli, Sunac, at $8.99/lb. Not bad. It’s actually average price for the area, but they have pretty high ticket priced items.

What I like to do is get a half lobster tail, some steak, a couple of scallops and the bacon-wrapped shrimp, along with a small cup of soup. It ends up being around $8-9. It’s not amazing tasting lobster, but it all works out if you grab some free mayonnaise packets.

Sun Sweet Market – 838 Avenue of the Americas (b/t 29th St & 30th St) New York, NY 10001

Categories
lunch

Taste of Persia NYC

Sharing the space with Pizza Paradise in the Flatiron District, Taste of Persia is a great place to get a taste of Persian food.

The chef/owner is really nice, proud of his cooking and perhaps a celebrity. When I first walked in, there were Middle Eastern girls already there asking me to take a photo of them with the chef.

He asked me if I’ve ever been there. Nope. So he let me taste everything. Dude. The best thing is the Fesenjan (Walnut + Pomegranate + Chicken Stew). But I was there to get the Ash Reshteh soup that I’ve read about in NY Mag and the NY Times. Interesting. It’s minty, sour and a lot of of the flavors I’ve never had at once. Next time, I’d get the Fesenjan!

Actually, I ate here many months ago, because I was curious about Persian food, because I was dating a Persian girl. I stopped talking to her, because I wasn’t sure if she was really into me. I wonder if that was a good move, because I liked her. At least I had a taste of Persia.

Taste of Persia – 12 W 18th St (btwn 6th & 5th Ave) New York, NY 10011

Categories
asian

Koa’s Sorba Noodles

Koa is a newish restaurant in the Flatiron area, headed the widow of Benihana’s founder, Keiko Ono Aoki (who is also the mother of Steve Aoki) and Iron Chef Chinese Yuji Wakiya.

They have a new noodle called Sorba. Not Soba, but it’s more like Ramen. I actually don’t know what makes it different then Ramen though. But it’s pretty good, but pricey.

We started off with Chicken Buns. They are bao type buns and are good.

I got the Soymilk Dan Dan Sorba ($23 lunch; $25 dinner). I liked it. The milky broth is great. It is pretty expensive for what it is though.

The lunch special sets look like a good deal, however. For instance, the Soymilk Dan Dan Ramen is $16.75 and comes with a salad and spring roll. So since I’m not sure what the difference between Ramen and Sorba is, it comes out a better deal I think.

My mind is still blown that Sorba noodles were created by Steve Aoki’s mom.

Koa – 12 W 21st St (btwn 5th & 6th Ave) New York, NY 10010

Categories
restauranting

J. Gumbo’s

I love Cajun food! And I feel like I should have been more excited when J. Gumbo’s opened up right downstairs from my office. It took over the Rickshaw Dumplings space. I feel like no one has really gotten excited either. Doesn’t get a whole lot of business. I feel like it’s the way it looks. Something about it doesn’t look right or cool or Cajun-y. I tried it anyway.

It was set up as counter service. The staff was really nice. They have free samples. I tried several of the dishes. They were all decent. I picked the Voodoo Chicken because it was the most flavorful. $8.95 for a good size bowl over rice. The corn bread is good!

Well, free samples, quick and friendly service. Now how does this place get more business? I don’t know. Looks like they have several locations across the country.

J. Gumbo’s – 61 W 23rd St (b/t 6th and 5th Ave) New York, NY 10010

Categories
restauranting

The Gander’s Sirloin with Fries and Bone Marrow Mayo

I was looking at this Thrillist photo of The Gander’s Dry-Aged Sirloin. I couldn’t stop looking at it. I kept IMing it to my friend.

I noticed that the lunch price is much cheaper for this steak is $28 vs $40. I figured it must be smaller. I was right. But I think they are portioning the lunch size wrong. Instead of making it thinner, they should keep the same thickness and give me half. I might be wrong, but the thinner steak looks weak and I don’t think it tastes as good. You don’t get that nice medium-rare middle, because it’s so thin, it’s cooked through. It was topped with rich Garlic Butter.

It included Hen of the Woods mushroom. I never heard of it, but it is interesting …like eating an edible pine cone.

Fries were good. It came with Bone Marrow Mayo, which doesn’t really tastes like much …maybe a little buttery. I preferred the ketchup or the Bone Marrow Mayo with ketchup.

The Gander also has complimentary Parker House Rolls. Free! Not like John Dory Oyster Bar where’s $4.50, although those are fucking good. These rolls came with salted butter. I love salted butter.

I felt like ate a lot of butter.

The Gander – 15 W 18th Street (btw 5th and 6th Ave) New York, NY 10011