For authentic regional Mexican cooking, try Taqueria y Fonda. This is not your gringo Tex-Mex place that glops sour cream and guacalomole on your cheese covered entree. This place is the real thing -- with homemade burritos and enchiladas that don't have a just-out-of-the-bag chemical residue. They are fresh and pull like fresh-baked bread.
You might think you're in Mexico, but for the open door and windows that look out on a Domino's Pizza across Amsterdam, parked cars, and parking meters with bikes locked to them.
The dining room is tiny -- seating maybe 16-20 people at a time. The owner sat down at a table next to our to have his dinner around 9 pm, when things were slowing down. I asked what he was having -- and had never heard of the dish before: chicken covered cooked with avocado leaves and a paprika colored hot red sauce. "It's my favorite!" he said as he sat down to dine.
We ordered more standard fare: a giant steak burrito ($8.25) -- enough for 2 or 3 people -- that had really good steak -- not the shredded stuff you normally get, but real slices of flank steak grilled and mixed with rice, beans, tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream, cheese and salad. I had the chicken mole enchilada ($8.95) which had chunks of chicken (again, not the shredded stuff you get at commercial places) -- and a brown, mildly spicy chocolate sauce made with peppers, sesame seeds, raisins and almonds in a homemade corn enchilada. I was tempted by the chicken pipian that has a pumpkin seed sauce and cilantro and other herbs, but will have to save that for the next time.
We took home more than half of what we'd ordered (just 2 meals) and had them the next night for dinner, too.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
East Dumpling House on 106th just east of Broadway
When you have a noodley yen, there's the East Dumpling House -- which serves a variety of dumplings with both hot and mild aromatic sauces. We've tried the sampling of their dumplings: pork with chives, pork with cabbage, chicken with green pepper, chicken with corn, vegetable, shrimp and pork, basil chicken with shitake mushroom (7 pieces for $6.50). Our favorite is the shrimp and pork -- chopped pieces of tender, yet just cooked shrimp mixed with a green (chives?) and ground pork. All are yummy -- wrapped in an al dente pocket made of rice flour and either steamed or pan fried. We like both ways and can't decide which is better. The pan fried are browned on one side allowing a crunch as you bite in. The steamed dumplings make you feel a bit more righteous (fewer calories, no oil). If you know which dumpling you prefer, you can order either 8 pieces of a single type ($5.50) or 12 pieces ($6.95).
The cold noodles with sesame sauce ($5.95 were a bit bland, over-cooked and watery. The Pan Fried Ugly Dumpling with vermicelli, celery, chives and egg felt a bit excessive. The crust of the dumpling was rather thick -- and it felt a bit oily. We enjoyed the potato pancake Korean style ($3.95) -- a fast fried mix of shredded potatoes, onion and green pepper -- tasting like a combination of flattened hash-browns and really good onion rings. Service was friendly and prompt.
The small, paneled dining room was comfortably cool on a night so hot we were grateful of shade on the south side of 106th. You can bring your own beer or wine -- and dine for well under $10 a person.
The cold noodles with sesame sauce ($5.95 were a bit bland, over-cooked and watery. The Pan Fried Ugly Dumpling with vermicelli, celery, chives and egg felt a bit excessive. The crust of the dumpling was rather thick -- and it felt a bit oily. We enjoyed the potato pancake Korean style ($3.95) -- a fast fried mix of shredded potatoes, onion and green pepper -- tasting like a combination of flattened hash-browns and really good onion rings. Service was friendly and prompt.
The small, paneled dining room was comfortably cool on a night so hot we were grateful of shade on the south side of 106th. You can bring your own beer or wine -- and dine for well under $10 a person.
Hudson Beach Cafe, 105th in Riverside Park
To dine outside in New York with a view of the Hudson River and the Palisades and an occasional sailboat crossing through the sunset's reflection -- there's Hudson Beach Cafe, inside Riverside Park at 105th, just across from the dog run. You can bring your dog and they will serve him his own cup of water. You can come with your team in uniform and drink beer served in buckets of ice. And you can order burgers with fries ($10.95) with beer ($5) -- as we did.
The burgers were served with lettuce, pickles and a tomato. They were plump, and medium rare -- just as ordered.
Best of all -- you can sit on a terrace under green umbrellas above the beach volleyball courts and gymnastic equipment that's on the lower level of the park -- and gaze out at the Hudson River. No need to go to the country.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Henry's: An American Bistro, Broadway and 105th
When we want a place to meet friends for conversation where we can have a good glass of wine or beer and a good meal, we choose Henry's. Henry's is spacious enough -- with wood paneled walls and deco chandeliers -- to allow for some privacy, unlike so many bistros where the tables are squished side by side and others' conversations intrude into yours.
Henry's tables, covered in blue checked tableclothes, are spaced comfortably. Even the outside dining offers some quiet from the normal bustle of New York City restaurants -- aside from the occasional fire truck or ambulence racing down Broadway. A couple doors north is Smoke, a jazz cafe, and if you're lucky enough to be sitting outside, you may hear the fusion of live musicians.
On one occasion, I ordered chicken with spinach and roasted fingerling potatoes, which I found a tad salty. Another time I had a burger (you have a choice of two: a standard, beef burger for $10 or a grassfed burger for $16). I had the standard burger, which was thick and juicy and comes with crisp French fries served in a paper cone.
Another time, I had the kale salad with grilled, herbed shrimp. The kale salad is so good, I've tried to reproduce it with fresh kale from our garden in Connecticut -- to no avail. Our kale, parboiled and squeezed in paper towels comes out soggy. Their kale arrives slightly parboiled and crisp. Roasted hazelnuts and fresh grapes, fennel strips and a flavorful citrus dressing -- not too oily, not too tart -- are mixed into the kale -- providing a wonderfully textured salad. The grilled shrimp are done al dente -- covered in their shells, they crunch when you bite in and are char-grilled with herbs.
I've also tasted three of the four pastas on the menu. The homemade pappardelle Bolognese, Parmasan, and parsley ($15) makes you think you are in a cafe on a street in Rome: the pasta is both fluffy and al dente, the sauce rich and seductive. The Gemelli, covered in a light sauce with asparagus, zucchini, yellow squash, arugula and tomato, was good, but left me a bit hungry ($18). And the Fettucine with Hudson Valley rabbit, carrots, peas, kalamata olives and chives was once perfectly cooked, and a second time, the pasta was a tad undercooked. The rabbit tasted more like a stewed chicken than anything else. ($20)
On another occasion, we split several appetizers, including three soft corn tacos: one with shrimp, arugula, pico de gallo and avocado salsa, one with marinated hanger steak, romaine lettuce, cherry tomato and salsa verde, and the third with spinach, cremini mushrooms, queso fresco, and roast tomato salsa. All were delicious. (choice of 3: $16, choice of 5: $21) The tacos were fresh, the ingredients were fresh. We also shared the mezza platter while waiting for friends to show up. The hummus, babaganoush, beet tartar, and spicy carrot salad provided a variety of flavors for the toasted pita. ($13)
Desserts? Who can resist desserts. We tried them all -- the bread pudding (very rich), the apple tarte -- crisp and hot with homemade vanilla ice cream melting into it, the volcanic chocolate cake (a bit too much melt in the center) and the special last week: perfectly cakey angel's food cake -- dark chocolate with a chocolate ganache filling sprinkled with chopped hazelnuts with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. (desserts run $6-12.)
Henry's tables, covered in blue checked tableclothes, are spaced comfortably. Even the outside dining offers some quiet from the normal bustle of New York City restaurants -- aside from the occasional fire truck or ambulence racing down Broadway. A couple doors north is Smoke, a jazz cafe, and if you're lucky enough to be sitting outside, you may hear the fusion of live musicians.
On one occasion, I ordered chicken with spinach and roasted fingerling potatoes, which I found a tad salty. Another time I had a burger (you have a choice of two: a standard, beef burger for $10 or a grassfed burger for $16). I had the standard burger, which was thick and juicy and comes with crisp French fries served in a paper cone.
Another time, I had the kale salad with grilled, herbed shrimp. The kale salad is so good, I've tried to reproduce it with fresh kale from our garden in Connecticut -- to no avail. Our kale, parboiled and squeezed in paper towels comes out soggy. Their kale arrives slightly parboiled and crisp. Roasted hazelnuts and fresh grapes, fennel strips and a flavorful citrus dressing -- not too oily, not too tart -- are mixed into the kale -- providing a wonderfully textured salad. The grilled shrimp are done al dente -- covered in their shells, they crunch when you bite in and are char-grilled with herbs.
I've also tasted three of the four pastas on the menu. The homemade pappardelle Bolognese, Parmasan, and parsley ($15) makes you think you are in a cafe on a street in Rome: the pasta is both fluffy and al dente, the sauce rich and seductive. The Gemelli, covered in a light sauce with asparagus, zucchini, yellow squash, arugula and tomato, was good, but left me a bit hungry ($18). And the Fettucine with Hudson Valley rabbit, carrots, peas, kalamata olives and chives was once perfectly cooked, and a second time, the pasta was a tad undercooked. The rabbit tasted more like a stewed chicken than anything else. ($20)
On another occasion, we split several appetizers, including three soft corn tacos: one with shrimp, arugula, pico de gallo and avocado salsa, one with marinated hanger steak, romaine lettuce, cherry tomato and salsa verde, and the third with spinach, cremini mushrooms, queso fresco, and roast tomato salsa. All were delicious. (choice of 3: $16, choice of 5: $21) The tacos were fresh, the ingredients were fresh. We also shared the mezza platter while waiting for friends to show up. The hummus, babaganoush, beet tartar, and spicy carrot salad provided a variety of flavors for the toasted pita. ($13)
Desserts? Who can resist desserts. We tried them all -- the bread pudding (very rich), the apple tarte -- crisp and hot with homemade vanilla ice cream melting into it, the volcanic chocolate cake (a bit too much melt in the center) and the special last week: perfectly cakey angel's food cake -- dark chocolate with a chocolate ganache filling sprinkled with chopped hazelnuts with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. (desserts run $6-12.)
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