Amuse * Bouche is going to Hawaii

Hand decorated custom nut-free kosher cookies at Eleni's in Chelsea Market

It still seems like a dream, but your votes have won me a trip to Hawaii as a guest blogger for Urbanspoon. The trip (dates to be announced soon) includes roundtrip first class airfare from JFK to Hawaii on Hawaiian Airlines' new direct flight linking the Big Apple to the Big Island (yes, the flight is now just under ten hours!), connecting island hopper flights between four islands, four star hotel accommodations on each island, a rental car on each island, and dinner at a restaurant on each island.  In exchange, I get to guest blog for Urbanspoon about the food and culture of the fiftieth state!

So when the Social Media Team from Hawaiian Airlines hopped on the June 4th inaugural flight to JFK, they asked me to guide them for a mini food crawl for a few hours to show a small slice of NYC's diversity.

The best piece of advice I can give any visitor to New York is do a few things really well, rather than a lot of things really quickly.  I have lived in the city for almost ten years, and still haven't seen all I want to see.  Avoid exhaustion and frustration by designing your day around just a few carefully chosen things.  Because there was a slight chance of a thunderstorm, and we only had a few hours, I decided that the Meatpacking District would be an ideal destination.  Two of them had been even lived in New York for awhile, but hadn't visited in a few years.  I knew the High Line would offer something new for them to enjoy.

I met my new friends, Jeremy, Asiana, and Lesa at Chelsea Market--an ideal destination if the weather threatens to make the Big Apple soggy.  This urban market is housed in the former National Biscuit Company factory (Nabisco), which dates back to 1890... and the very site where Oreo cookies were first invented and produced.  The megacomplex has now been transformed into an endless thoroughfare of restaurants, food stands, and markets to tempt every type of taste bud.  The spaces on the upper levels are now home to The Food Network, Oxygen Network, MLB.com, Google, and the studios where Iron Chef America and Emeril Live are filmed.

The group unanimously decided that nothing is more classic New England than a classic lobster roll, so we headed directly to The Lobster Place.  Our buttery New England style roll was toasted, and then loaded with sweet fresh claw and tail meat lightly tossed in a zesty lemon pepper mayo with celery and scallion medallions and a bibb lettuce skirt, served with chips and creamy cole slaw.

Two diners beside has had taken advantage of the wide array of fresh seafood, and were scooping forkfuls of fresh uni straight from the shell.

Eleni's Cookies

Next, Lesa led us to the chocolate shop of Jacques Torres, who is known as "Mr. Chocolate".  The gang sampled chocolates filled with a rum-kissed liquid caramel, triggering instantaneous ear-to-ear smiles.  We also made stops at Eleni's cookies, the Fat Witch Bakery (where Jeremy picked up some treats for his wife of thirteen years--this very day was their anniversary--congrats!), gawked as golden twists, loaves, and infinite trays of rolls came piping from the ovens at Amy's Bread.  Senses stimulated to the point of delirium, we decided to head across the street to Colicchio & Sons, one of my favorite restaurants in America, and namesake of Bravo's Top Chef Head Chef, Tom Colicchio.

While we awaited our table, we saddled up at the gorgeous bar, backed by a remarkable two-level glass wine tower.  The bartender mixed us up this classic vodka martini, and a non-alcoholic blend of foraged ginger tea, ginger beer, honey, and lemon which tickled my nose and awakened my palate.

Though we struggled to narrow down just a few plates to share before heading to our next destination, our good intentions proved in vain.  The team at Colicchio & Sons must have known our weaknesses (though quite literally everything on the menu tempted at least someone at our table).  A chorus of servers arrived at our table in a synchronized sweep, and before each of us were placed chilled bowls of mint-infused cucumber gazpacho, as if someone had placed into a bowl a delicate, cool cloud of spring garden and chilled breeze.  Glistening butsu cubes of a wonderfully subtle salmon tartare arrived in a shimmery pool of miso vinaigrette, scarfed with sweet and crunchy julienned jicama.

Bone marrow rendered helplessly creamy like a savory butterscotch dueted with a salty contrasting boquerones and piquant salsa verde.  Though none of us had enjoyed bone marrow with sardines, it now seems lackluster to enjoy it any other way.

A quartet of four types of crisp peas snapped gorgeously under tooth, adorned with citrus yogurt and a snowcap of ricotta salata.

No sooner had the first round of plates been gracefully removed from the table in unison, then a new kaleidoscope of colors and flavors replaced them.  Prince Edward Island mussels that had been gently coaxed into smiling arrived swimming in a broth of sweet fennel, tangy tomatoes, and mildly spiced chorizo, like little fire-kissed treasures of the ocean.  These plump gems were the most exquisite I have ever tasted.

One of my favorite aspects of Colicchio & Sons is that the aforementioned wine cellar and bar beautifully partitions the room into two unique dining experiences, intended to cater to two very different dining needs.  The back dining room is where I might sit if the meal was intended to be the evening in and of itself.  The menu features several tasting options that have been ornamented with delightful amuse bouches and mignardises, and a meal with great converation and award-winning food can easily span hours.  The front room, called the Tap Room, features a broader array of individual plates, more rustic in nature, often slow-roasted, and prepared in the stone hearth near the entryway... allowing diners the same delicious caliber of ingredients, but in a setting more conducive to a craft beer or cocktail, with plates shared by the table.  And though the Main Dining Room has provided me one of the most fantastic dinners I will remember for a lifetime, one major drawing card for the Tap Room is its carefully editing selection of brick oven pizzas.  The one I shared with my Hawaiian comrades was blanketed with buttery, nutty taleggio, salty crumbles of prosciutto, tender ribbons of baby leeks, and garlicky dollops of sofrito, all on a fire-kissed thin crust with an outer crunch that yields to a soft center.

The boudin noir appeared like a red velvet angel food cake benedict, the tender sausage feeling similar to a light, smoky mousse, in a decadently velvety potato puree with roasted apples, capped with an egg whose soft center served as a luxurious sauce, unifying all of the rich flavors.  This is a dish unlike any I have had, and one that I will most certainly recall for years.

Thick medallions of crispy coated pork belly gave way to a most surprisingly tender bacon center, all fanned on a pedestal of woodland mushrooms, plump gnochhi, and a sweet maple jus, almost like a pastoral breakfast pasta for dinner.

And though ordering items from the next room's menu is not encouraged, our server won my heart when he brought us my very favorite dish from the dining room, this stinging nettle fettuccini with roasted tomato, briny castelvetrano olives, and confit duck.  The perfectly al dente pasta ribbons sing of a lush forest, woven with the olives and tomatoes to almost resemble a vibrant duck puttanesca.  It's one of the very special, ephemeral dishes that will soon disappear with the season, and I will genuinely miss it.

Thank you to the whole Colicchio & Sons team for creating a very special memory for us the way only you can.  My new friends commented that the service was just as delicious as the food, and how refreshing it was to see a diversity of personalities working beautifully together to make us feel very welcomed.  Lesa even stopped our server, Thanh, and asked, "you really love working here, don't you?  I can tell..."  A very special thank you to Thanh, as well as the managers Cyndra and Pedro who both stopped by the table and made my new friends feel extremely welcomed and taken care of.  But also, thanks to the impressive team of runners and attendants who somehow choreographed everything to create what was definitely the most memorable stop in our journey.

The High Line, NYC's elevated city park...

To walk off the feast, we took a very leisurely stroll along the High Line... amazed at how dramatically different the city looks from just a few stories about street level...

View from the High Line

Though we ended our evening at the 50,000 square foot Italian culinary wonderland known as Eataly, we were still far too full to indulge in any of its delicious offerings.

Well, except for a cup of Venchi's Gianduja drinking chocolate, of course... (it pours directly from a brass sink faucet!)

A Delicious Memorial Day Staycation

The Triboro Bridge and Harlem as viewed from Astoria Park

UPDATE: YOU DID IT!!!!  Your support won me the trip to Hawaii with Urbanspoon!!!  I'm cRaZy excited and a little overwhelmed at how many friends (and friends of friends of friends) helped make this happen.  Just goes to show what you can accomplish when you have an awesome community and team around you. I may have written a post and been invited to enter this contest, but YOU gave me this gift!  I get to go to HAWAII to do what I love to do!  Share food, culture, and tradition through my writing and photography.  Thank you SO MUCH!!!!

New York City is where you live when you want to live everywhere else in the world all at the same time.  Where else can you stroll just a few streets and travel from one ethnic enclave into another and another endlessly without leaving the city?  Though Memorial Day weekend marks a traditional date for New Yorkers to vacation outside the city and tourists from around the world to explore the Big Apple, my funds didn't add up for such an excursion.  But when you live in a city like New York, local travel can be just as thrilling, if not more, than journeying long distances.  After all, if each of the boroughs were independent cities, Brooklyn and Queens would still rank as the third and fourth largest cities in America, just behind Los Angeles and Chicago!  So I decided to devote my holiday weekend to celebrating the culinary diversity of the city by traveling to a few new locations beyond my usual borders.

The Smokehouse Club

What's an all-American holiday weekend without good, old-fashioned barbecue?  To start the weekend off, I headed to the highly acclaimed John Brown Smokehouse in Long Island City, Queens.  The crew there is built of a football coach, a former Navy SEAL, and a food blogger.  "None of us have ever been a 'sous' anything... we aren't fancy.  We just really love what we do," smiles owner and pitmaster Josh Bowen (formerly of Hill Country).  The proud Kansas native (a Jayhawk clock is displayed next to the soda fountain) is also known to occasionally pluck at his banjo, which rests on a stand near the meat counter.

Luxuriously velvety foie gras can be ordered atop any sandwich or platter, or as a side by itself.

Though reviews rave of the brisket and burnt ends, Bowen suggested I try the Smokehouse Club.  "People forget the turkey here is incredible."  It truly is delicious, juicy and smoked, stacked with pork belly brisket, fresh lettuce and tomato and a slight slathering of mayo.  Bottles of BBQ and Ghost Pepper BBQ (atomic, I am told) are at my disposal, but a sandwich this good doesn't need any extra sauce.  One side accompanies each order, and the mac & cheese is a tasty classic version, though the molasses-rich pureed sweet potato steals the show.

Homemade pies are lovingly baked by various members of the staff, who wave in turn as the cashier introduces each slice and its creator.  I wanted to try them all, along with a bread pudding, but just shy of needing a cot to sleep off my food coma, my friend and I settle on a wonderfully gooey and buttery pecan pie, balanced perfectly with a creamy, zesty key lime pie.  The dining room may be no frills, and you have to order from the counter.  But a meal here is well worth the trip--a gorgeous reminder of what is great about American cooking.  It was the ideal way to kickoff the holiday weekend.

Empire State Building & Midtown as viewed from the East River Ferry.

When you live in a city of five different boroughs--each unique and special in thousands of its own ways, how do you determine which one or two to visit over a Memorial Day weekend NYC "staycation"?  You don't.  You let all five of them come to you!

To kick off summer, Food Karma Projects produced a first-ever 5 Boro PicNYC featuring food and drink vendors from each borough, all held on Governors Island.  With history dating back to the Revolutionary War, the island has been part army base, part landfill, part coast guard headquarters and now national monument and center for recreation, turned over to the City of New York for just one dollar in 2003.

A complimentary ferry service taxis visitors to and from the island for free on the weekends, departing from Brooklyn Bridge Park and Manhattan next door to the Staten Island Terminal at South Ferry (near Battery Park).  My favorite way to visit the island, however, is via the East River Ferry, which stops at various ports along the East River in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens for just $4 one way or a $12 hop-on-hop-off pass, allowing for breathtaking views of the skyline, as well as unique ports of entry in culinary hotspots like Williamsburg, Hunters Point, and Midtown Manhattan.  Once on Governors Island, bicycles can be rented by the hour or full day--ideal for travel around the island's various recreational offerings, including snack bars, hammock coves, and even a miniature golf course.  But we weren't here for putt-putt, so it was straight to the row of colonial homes for the picNYC.

One of the most consistently long lines came from The Jarlsberg Cheese stand, one of the event's main sponsors.  From wafers and cheese with whole figs, to fired up grills making these golden molten sandwiches of gooeyness, one of the most delicious morsels of the day was this grilled cheese with maltese cured pork, silky relish, corn cracklin, and handmade bread.

I've always wanted to try these guys, but never quite make it down that far--so I was thrilled to see the Red Hook Lobster Pound.  They were offering exquisite lobster rolls either warm with butter "Connecticut Style" or chilled with mayo "Maine style".  Opting for the former, the meat was sweet, tender, and incredibly juicy on a beautifully toasted bun.  Nothing screams East Coast summer to me quite like this.

There were several sausages being smoked up around the park, but one of the most outstanding franks came from the team at Peels, who offered a homemade smoked green garlic and poblano kielbasa on a tender nest of braised cabbage.  It was the heartiest, most flavorsome sausage of the day, and one I won't soon forget.

"Try the healthy option" chanted the gang from the Brooklyn Grange, NYC's very own rooftop organic farm, with signs inviting customers to watch them toss their own salads.  And it just goes to show how refreshing and flavorsome simple, high quality ingredients can taste.  A mix of spicy leafy greens with a citrus-strawberry vinaigrette, and my palate was cleansed, my appetite ready to tackle other tidbits.

But there's something to be said for home, and loving what you know.  When I saw Chef Ian Kapitan of Alobar (the closest participating restaurant to my apartment), I nearly sprinted over to see what he was serving up.  All bias aside, it was one of the best sausages I have ever enjoyed--with duck and foie gras.  Several picnickers commented on the fantastic franks, pausing to ask what else they serve at Alobar, if they could make a sausage taste this special...

Just a few weeks ago, I devoured this mushroom toast, stacked with decadent and creamy smoked ricotta, roasted garlic, a duck egg, and red wine onions with a sweet little punch that holds the whole tower together.

Or how about their maple bacon popcorn with a drizzle of truffle oil -- the quintessential gastropub bar snack to duet with a frosted pint of craft beer.

As the day drew to a close, new and old flavors began to swirl like watercolors in my mind as a contented sleepiness settled in.  But isn't that part of the wonderful fun of a picnic and outdoor food festival?  Triggering memories of past favorites and inspiring new ones, in the first warm days of summer surrounded by new and old friends.  The 5 Boro PicNYC was a wonderful success, but half the fun was visiting the gorgeous Governors Island, which will be open with several other festivities on Saturdays and Sundays throughout the summer.  Even more comforting, returning home to Astoria that night, it was nice to be reminded of just how much I love my own little niche in this great city.

Queens Comfort on Eyewitness News PLUS New Lunch Special

The new croque monsieur bread pudding with a fried egg is outrageously delicious.

Queens Comfort | 40-09 30th Ave, Astoria | 718-728-2350  www.queenscomfort.blogspot.com

It's no secret that Queens Comfort is one of my favorite places to nosh, so it was an honor when I was interviewed by ABC 7's Lauren Glassberg for her feature on the comfort kitchen which is scheduled to air today, May 18,  at 5 p.m. during the Neighborhood Eats segment (does this mean my mug might be menacing yellow cabs next week on Taxi TV?!)  The featured recipe for the segment: the Cap'n Crunch Chicken Fingers with red chili bacon caramel sauce, of course!  Just for the record, Lauren Glassberg seems extremely charismatic and pretty on television--but in person, she is actually stunning, and very generous in sincere conversation.  I was already a fan, but witnessing her work last week was affirming of her genuine talent.

After singing the praises of Queens Comfort, I was asked by a nearby diner if there is anything I don't particularly care for.  After all, you can't love everything about everything, right?  Upon consideration, I suppose my only criticism would be that the menu is sometimes overwhelming in options that make you drool.  Unless you come toting a gaggle of friends ready to share a smorgasbord, it's likely you'll walk away bummed you didn't have the ravenous hunger demanded to sample everything that catches your eye.

Biscuits & Gravy

Take, for example, two new dishes that appeared this week on the menu.  First comes buttermilk biscuits and a maple cheddar sausage gravy with cayenne, sage, rosemary, and thyme.  A decadently creamy, savory and sweet spin on the comfort breakfast classic (delightfully served here for lunch and dinner).  Or the real kicker that hasn't left my taste memory since I first devoured it--a croque monsieur bread pudding with black forest ham, gruyere, fontina, and a passionate kiss of dijon mustard.  Top it with a fried egg and turn that mister into a madame.  See?  How on earth do you choose which one dish to enjoy?

Egg McRuffin'... an open-faced English muffin with bacon, gouda, cheddar, béchamel, & a fried egg 

As if Queens Comfort read my mind, this week they launched a fantastic new lunch special.  For $14.95 you can choose one starter, one entree, and one dessert from a broad selection of menu items (items qualifying for the lunch special are denoted on the menu with an asterisk).  Slightly more manageable portions of a variety of delicious dishes at a great price is reason to celebrate.

Jalapeño Hushpuppies with lemon pepper ranch

The starters on the prix fixe included their grilled Mexican street corn, bacon scallion or three leek mac & cheese, or homemade jalapeno cornmeal hushpuppies.  Mains range from a fried green tomato sandwich to a peanut butter & jelly burger, as well as their famous chicken & eggo waffles.  Desserts, rotating frequently, vary from s'mores bread pudding to homemade ice creams, which have recently included walnut fudge brownie, or even a version with actual strawberry rhubarb pie mixed in, crust and all.

Strawberry rhubarb pie ice cream with actual bits of crust

Now that's real comfort food...

Ready... Set... SLURP!

HinoMaru Ramen, 33-18 Ditmars Blvd., Astoria; (718) 777-0228
Closed Mondays


Astorians may finally slurp away, as HinoMaru Ramen (from the group that brought Spot Dessert Bar to the East Village) officially opened on Ditmars Blvd. (near 35th St.) this week, just a few doors down from the currently expanding Watawa (one of Astoria's most celebrated sushi joints, presently under renovation).  Filling in a void that has been hitting the city by storm, the residents of Western Queens can now choose from over 8 different regional bowls of ramen, plus an entire side menu of add-ins.  Check out my article today on GrubStreet.com for the abridged version.

Gyoza, made fresh in the restaurant, are what I regard as the most delicious I have tasted in a long time.   They are steamed to a juicy tenderness, and then beautifully seared to add crunch.

The Niku man (pork belly bun) are pretty straightforward and delicious... a definite must-order at $5.  The pork belly is remarkably tender, balanced with the sweetness of hoisin and the crunch of sprouts, lettuce, and scallions--all served on the most angelically fluffy steamed bun imaginable.

They also offer a handful of vegetable sides, like this refreshing $4 watermelon salad with tomato, yuzu vinaigrette, and scallions.

The soup broth simmers with the pork bones for nearly twelve hours.  Ramen variations include Hakata, Hokkaido, and Tokyo (pictured above) styles along with a selection of donburi (rice bowls).  The kitchen is led by Chef Koji Miyamoto, and will be continually evolving to offer new flavors and dishes for customers.

It's not available for ordering (yes, I tried), but boxes of chocolate ramen are even on display on the counter... intended to show that ramen is available in endless variations.

The 60-seat space is comfortably open, with two large rooms separated by a long noodle bar, where guests can watch the chef at work in the large open kitchen.  Masks of Tengu adorn the walls (the Japanese spirit of mischief).  Service is dine-in only, and they are closed on Mondays.  Dinner service this week starts at 5:00 p.m., but lunch is anticipated to begin next week.

The chorus of staff chiming "Domo arigato gozaimashita" as guests exit the restaurant may be unfamiliar to the neighborhood, but it's music to the ears.  The staff is extremely friendly, the food delicious, and the space perfect for an intimate Lady & the Tramp noodle dinner, or a communal meal at one of the large tables in the back.

Welcome to Astoria, HinoMaru... and domo arigato gozaimashita!

Mediterranean Morsels at Morso

View of the Queensboro Bridge from a park in Sutton Place, just down the street from Morso

Morso, 420 E. 59th St., NYC; (212) 759-2706 

After nine years living in New York City, it wasn't until I was invited to dinner at Morso that I realized what an unofficial and somewhat unfortunate meridian Second Avenue serves, especially at the mouth of the Queensboro Bridge.  Other than the sky tram to Roosevelt Island or taking the lower level to Long Island City, I have never really ventured east of Second.  Arriving a few minutes early for dinner, I took advantage of the time to explore the street that to the north becomes York, and Avenue A farther south.  Neither York nor Alphabet City, this small stretch of street known as Sutton Place is one of the most affluent in Manhattan, having served as home to Kenneth Cole, Sigourney Weaver, Freddie Mercury, Michael Jackson, and even Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller.  The townhouses are beautiful--even more so, the views of the East River, the bridge, and Long Island City in Queens.  If planning a visit to Morso, I would absolutely recommend a stroll along Sutton Place to visit one of the small parks along the river.

Despite the rather exclusive surrounding neighborhood, Morso is extremely inviting.  Vibrant poster art commissioned specifically for the restaurant livens the border of the dining room, and an extremely friendly, accessible menu, features Italian and mediterranean dishes available either in large (tutto) or small (morso) portions, ideal for sharing a variety of plates.  It's the inspiration for the name, after all.

From the "Egg & Cheese" portion of the menu (a rotating daily egg dish is available at dinner), the gorgonzola fritters are a delicious harmony of temperatures, textures, and flavors, with crunchy crusted creamy gorgonzola on a bed of frisee with roasted pears, spiced walnuts, and a tangy apple cider vinaigrette.

The farro salad is a surprisingly hearty garden-inspired dish with tender farro grains, colorfully tart apricots, and earthy, meaty portobello and grilled eggplant.

Homemade pastas range from cannelloni florentine stuffed pasta rolls, to pappardelle blanketed with brisket-porcini ragout, as well as a classic take on spaghetti carbonara with savory bits of guanciale, onions, pecorino, and creamy egg yolk (pictured).

One of the most memorable bites of the evening was the capesante, sautéed scallops on a bed of black rice with piquant cubes of chorizo and roasted pepper, similar to what a south american risotto.  But the element that drew together the buttery shellfish with spicy sausage was a drizzle of a sweet and citrusy limoncello reduction.

The lamb chops, though flawlessly grilled and quite perfect, were only a secondary character to a side component that stole my favor from the entire evening--the chef's creative take on moussaka--a crispy crusted eggplant rollatini stuffed with minced merquez (lamb sausage) and feta, on a bed of white beans with a creamy mint sauce.  Rather than merely a side garnish, it was equally, if not more outstanding, than the chops.

A small, yett satisfying selection of desserts range from the Torta Napolitana (pictured), a decadently smooth neapolitan cheesecake studded with marsala-soaked dried fruit with a fresh strawberry puree, to an espresso hazelnut cake roll, as well as a selection of sorbet, gelato, and petit fours which change daily.