Happy Thanksgiving!

We just finished dinner and all the turkey (dark meat, please ;) is making me awfully sleepy. This all-day affair among friends, both new and old, made for a very cheerful night full of laughter, food, and prosecco. We started with dessert in the early afternoon - warm coconut custard pies from Veniero's (my single favourite item from the bakery), and ended the evening on an equally sweet note with pumpkin and pecan pies. For those on the east coast, I hope you had an equally wonderful dinner with friends and family, and for those on the west, dinner must be starting right about now - enjoy, enjoy!

Kelly, Steph, Justin, and Shann

Here's half the crew taking an afternoon break in Shann's room. Kelly and Natalie arrived via bus from DC and Matt came in from upstate. Justin and three of his friends took the train in from Yale, and then there's the four of us: Shann, Steph, Darien, and I. The apartment is far from spacious, but there is always room for friends :)

Itzy Bitzy Patisserie - Sunday Behind The Scenes & Plenty Of Food (Doughnut Plant, Pizza Moto, Huaraches, Kampuchea, Milk Bar)

above photo by Nicholas Paldino

Mitzy did a lovely job detailing the behind the scenes of our first Sunday event at the Brooklyn Flea Market, so I shall supplement with photos :)

7:00am

Mitzy and her husband, Ferry, picked me up from my apartment just a bit before 7am for a pre-market stop at the Doughnut Plant. Sweet fried dough = breakfast of champions :) The new crème brûlée doughnuts weren't ready at that early hour, but we were quite pleased with our selection...

...the vanilla yeast doughnut for Ferry...

...roasted chestnut cake doughnut for Mitzy...

...and roasted chestnut yeast for myself. I typically stick with the cake selections at Doughnut Plant, but was craving something plusher that morning. You just gotta go with your gut feelings. We completed our breakfast with cups of hot chai, also from the Doughnut Plant.

7:30am

Vendors starting to prepare and setup for the day. Ferry singlehandedly took care of the hard labour of setting up the (not so instant, as the box promised ;) tent - thank you!

I've been a frequent visitor to the Market since it opened earlier this year. Countless Sunday afternoons were spent browsing through housewares, vintage clothing, and of course, plenty of food. It was here that I fell in love with the lush ricotta cannolis of Salvatore Brooklyn, which I wrote up on Serious Eats New York. And while certain vendors were permanent fixtures at the market, others came and went with the season. I was lucky enough to catch Chida on their last week for a cup of the icy goat's milk cajeta. Hopefully she returns to the market in warmer weather. Nonetheless, you could always count on pupusas and huaraches from the Red Hook Vendors, rain or shine, and always with a smile. And for sweets of the baked sort, I oft head for a selection of biscotti at Whimsy & Spice or brownies from Hot Blondies.

The Market at 11:00am

It's for such reasons - small businesses, familiar faces, and good products at reasonable prices, that I return week after week. As cheesy as it might sound, labour of love, is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of each and every one of the vendors at the market. Because, truth be told, it really is. For what other reason would you get up in the wee hours of the morning, brave the winter chill by standing outdoors for 10 hours, or the scorching summer heat in the months of July and August? It's pretty clear to me that they're only here because they are very proud of, and stand by, their products whether it be chocolates, cupcakes, soup, pizza, brownies or bottled hot sauce.

Here's Mitzy - the genius behind all these fantastic macarons, setting up. This was taken around 10am, just as the Market opened for the day. Mitzy baked each macaron by hand herself on Friday night...I'm pretty sure she didn't get any sleep this weekend. She was exhausted but very happy, and deservingly so!

Macarons on display. Chestnut-Green Tea to the left, and Pumpkin on the right.

Pumpkin macaron, bitten :)

Passionfruit turned out to be one of the most popular flavours of the day...though Mitzy and I share the same personal favourite - the Chestnut-Green Tea.

I can't even begin to tell you how much work, effort, and labour Mitzy has put into these macarons. I started off as one of her taste testers two months back, after we met at the SWEET fest with Robyn, and already we've become such great friends. No one knows macarons in-and-out like Mitzy...and surely no one in the city makes macarons that taste anything like hers.

The Market was a slow for the first hour, but things picked up quickly, and we were left with only seven macarons by 3:30pm :) Huzzah! The best part was seeing smiles on everyone's faces as they tasted the macarons. For macaron newbies, their expressions went from curiosity ("this looks like a mini hamburger!") to wonderment as they pondered flavour options, and then turned to big smiles coupled with bright eyes ("whoa, this is intense!" "soo good!" "we'll take the assortment box!"). Equally exciting was the turnout of so many familiar faces - I know the Market isn't convenient for most people in terms of subway lines, so thank you A TON for your support! It wouldn't have been the same without you :D

Our six flavours for November. Clockwise from top left: Chestnut-Green Tea, Pumpkin, Coffee, Chocolate Caramel Pecan, Passionfruit, and Pistachio.

above photo by Nicholas Paldino

Here's a photo Nick caught of me when I wasn't paying attention...I must have been pondering which macaron to eat next, hehehehehh ^_^

For lunch, (which lasted on and off for a few hours as we alternated between eating and taking care of customers), we had our first taste of Pizza Moto which was crazy, crazy delicious.

I'm sure the 30 degree weather helped intensify that craving for something warm, salty and crisp. I had mistakenly thought Pizza Moto was associated with Motorino in Williamsburg, but they're two completely separate operations. I'd have say I prefer the crust of Pizza Moto, pulled thinner, nicely charred in all the right spots, and a touch less chewy than Motorino.

The huarache from the Red Hook Vendors was delicious upon first bite, but had all but cooled down by the time we found a spare second to return for another bite. Cold pizza is still delicious...cold huarache not so much. Hehe, now you know.

Done by 4:00pm, we decided to pack up from the market and say "bye" to our wonderful neighbors (we shall met again next week!). We were grateful to receive an awesome booth spot - smack in the middle of everything. Could we have asked for a better first day? Probably not :)

6:00pm
Hankering from something hot, soupy and comforting, we drove back into the city for dinner at Kampuchea.

We started with a couple dishes to share (though I'll admit to being a glutton and eating most of it, heheh ^_^) "Seared Monkfish Liver - Beef jus, macerated apples, pickled daikons, basil"

"Seared Sweetbreads - shitake mushroom broth, enoki mushrooms, and basil salad"

Then we moved on to noodle soups, the perfect dinner for such a cold day. Mitzy went with the, "Duroc Pork Katiev - Flat noodle, pork roth, braised pork belly, salted pork shoulder, sauteed pickled mustard grees, sprouts & herbs"

And Ferry had the "Bwah Moun - Jasmine rice, chicken broth, organic chicken breast, tiger shrimp, ginger, Thai chili, lime juice, sprouts & herbs"

I didn't realize just how cold I was (even with heat packs attached all over my body, and then some tucked into my coat pocket and in my boots) until I literally slurped up the broth, hot, clear, and comforting. "Chicken Katiev - Egg noodles, chicken broth, organic chicken breast, sweet sausage, sprouts, chives, sautéed shallots & herbs"

No desserts on the menu (why? :o(), but a trio of fresh fruit drinks - lychee fizz, watermelon juice, and pineapple coconut juice, was a lovely start to sweets before we headed to...

...Momo Milk Bar. If Milk Bar were a person, then I'd be stalker. And unbashfully so. Morning stops, post work stops, afternoon stops. (Pistachio) Cake for breakfast, (more Pistachio) Cake for dinner. ..tristar strawberry milk, and cereal milk...

...the three of us shared the two milks above, and then two slices of cake. First off, "Chocolate Chip Cake - Passion Fruit Curd, Chocolate Crumbs, Coffee Buttercream"

Second, the "Dulce de Leche Cake - Tres Leche Filling"...

I like my days to start off with something sweet and close off with something even sweeter. It could be no more perfect :)

So that's it, Sunday from beginning to end. Tiring, but one of the best Sundays I've had in a loooong time. Mitzy and Ferry are simply amazing, and one of the nicest couples I've ever met. We'll be back at the Brooklyn Flea Market this weekend and sure hope to see you there ^_^

P.S.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Doughnut Plant
379 Grand St
New York, NY 10002
(212) 505-3700

Brooklyn Flea Market
Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School
357 Clermont Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11238

Kampuchea Noodle Bar
78 Rivington St
New York, NY 10002
(212) 529-3901

Momofuku Bakery & Milk Bar
207 Second Ave
New York, NY 10003

Thank You! :D...

...for stopping by Itzy Bitzy Patisserie at the Brooklyn Flea Market yesterday! We had an enthusiastic turnout, including old friends, new friends, and many who had their first introduction to macarons on that chilly Sunday. Mitzy and I are happy to report a successful first day (and hopefully many more to come). I'll have a post up later tonight, chronicling our day from sunrise to sunset…with much food involved in the hours in-between.

Happy Monday!

Mitzy's Macarons & Momo Snack Time

If you haven't read the bit on Itzy Bitzy Patisserie just yet, click here. Mitzy and I will be at the Brooklyn Flea Market tomorrow from 10am - 5pm selling her new line of French macarons (directions to the Market here). We'll be at booth E5 with six fall flavours...and samples if you arrive early enough :) Hope to see you there!

This afternoon, I met Lauren at Momofuku Milk Bar for a "light" snack. But things happen, and sometimes you end up eating more than you intended. Such was the case today. We first decided to share a few items...

...including the kimchee focaccia...

...and a slice of cake. Three flavours were available around 1:30pm - pistachio, chocolate, and...carrot! It was my first time seeing carrot cake at the bakery, and of course that made me very, very happy.

But the chocolate cake looked especially tempting today. I was torn and briefly considered getting both. Cake makes everyone happy, so why not? However Lauren suggested salty pistachio soft-serve, post-cake, so we settled upon the chocolate after much indecision. I'll stop by again sometime soon (late night snack perhaps?) for a wedge of carrot cake.

Beautiful, isn't it? "Chocolate Cake - Yellow Cake Icing, Chocolate Crumbs, Fudge." For someone who isn't a fan of icing, the "yellow cake icing" is quite something, smooth and more light than rich, tasting honestly of yellow cake presented in the form of icing. It's slightly befuddling at first. And then you realize how good it tastes, and then it's like, hell yeah! The slices look thin, but turn out to be surprisingly filling...don't say I didn't warn you.

Lauren had her first cup of cereal milk, which she enjoyed plenty. $4 per cup is on the steep side, (I'd rather pay $1 more for cake or my favourite item there, the brown butter bun) but I feel I can justify the price as a weekly habit. A morning latte nowadays can run just as much, if not more.

There was a brief delay in our wait for the kimchee focaccia, and upon arrival of our order, we found gifts alongside to make up for it. Behold, the English muffin! A warm house-made muffin generously slathered with black pepper butter (they should sell this butter by the pound, heheheh), and topped with a fried poached egg, onions and bacon.

Next to that was a warmed volcano, which I first tasted last week. Our head honcho at Serious Eats, Ed, describes the volcano as "the most delicious knish ever, filled with potato gratin, gruyere cheese, and Benton's bacon." Spot on :) Here's a cross-section shot of the volcano. Some claim that a single volcano fills them up for the day, but to that I say, "absurd!" It keeps me very full for a few hours...and then I crave a momo cake. Sometimes I wonder if I have an eating disorder that requires a minimum serving of one cake slice per day.

For better or worse, my physical proximity to Milk Bar places me in a very dangerous position. After work on Thursday, I bypassed anything savoury for dinner, and did take-out: pistachio cake and tristar strawberry milk. I went straight home, put on Cary Grant's Holiday, and had a most delightful evening. The hostess at one my favourite restaurants noted that the best part about being a "grown-up," is that, "you can eat anything you want, whenever you want, and no one can tell you otherwise."

And with that in mind, I was back at Milk Bar on the way to work the next morning - blueberry cream cookie for breakfast.

Have a great weekend (and stop by the Market tomorrow if you have a chance - the macarons are fantastic)!

Momofuku Bakery & Milk Bar
207 Second Ave
New York, NY 10003

Sunday: Milk Bar, Sullivan St, BCD Tofu

10:30am
We planned for lunch at the newly opened BCD Tofu House in Ktown, with just a duo of minor (and delicious) detours along the way. The morning started at Momofuku Bakery & Milk Bar, conveniently/dangerously located 50 steps from my apartment. I can already envision the many nights I shall pass in after work. Dessert for dinner: a slice of cake and a few cookies…perhaps a wedge of brownie pie. Complete makings for a meal as far as I'm concerned. Bryan and I shared a two light snacks including the Pork & Egg bun, complete with fatty pork belly, deep fried soft poached egg, cucumber, hoisin, and scallions.

But as my hankerings oft lean to the side of pastries, desserts, and the like, I found greater joy in devouring the brown butter cinnamon bun. The oversized bun is warmed to order, plush and just a touch sweet, a dandy companion to the whipped cheesecake filling. We ordered them in boxes to go because the plan was to eat half, and then go. But go, we did not. It was a novel idea in theory. However, one bite led to another, and before you knew it, there was little left aside from a smidgen of cheesecake filling and crumbs in the box.

11:30am

Next, we headed towards Union Square, took the N to Times Square and walked over to Sullivan Street Bakery right off 10th Ave. After oogling the yeasted wonders (pizza bianca! bomboloni! pasqualino di riso!), we decided that one savoury and one sweet seemed like the ideal snack combination. First off, a square of Pizza Zucchini, crisp and liberally salted.

....and then the Budino di Banana, one of the newer (and now my favourite) pastry at the bakery. Read more about it on my Sugar Rush post for Serious Eats New York.

12:30pm

We made it to BCD Tofu just two hours and four snacks after our start. And though I was somewhat full by the time of arrival, a simple glance at the bubbling pots of tofu stew on neighboring tables convinced me that one could never really be that full. It's all in your head. I used to patronize the BCD Tofu in LA fairly frequently, and while this one doesn't live up to the original, it nonetheless manages to satisfy and provide the slightest touch of nostalgia. You could do much worse for $9.95 ($11.95 on weekends and nights). Tables are roomy, the banchan assortment is generous and includes fried fish, an automatic plus in my books. I'll be here plenty on snowy days and rainy nights.

Hope you're having a lovely Thursday! :)

Momofuku Bakery & Milk Bar
207 Second Ave
New York, NY 10003

Sullivan Street Bakery
533 W. 47th Street
New York, NY 10036
(212) 265-5580

BCD Tofu House
17 W 32 St
New York, NY 10079
(212) 967-1900

What Are You Doing This Sunday?

Hopefully munching on all six flavours of Mitzy's Macarons.

Remember the babies in this post?

The macarons are finally on the market, ready for you to indulge!

Two things:

1. Mitzy's website, Itzy Bitzy Patisserie is up and running

2. I'll be helping Mitzy make her first macaron debut at the Brooklyn Flea Market this weekend. Come by and visit us from 10am-5pm, rain or snow or sleet.

Brooklyn Flea Market
Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School
357 Clermont Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11238


We'll be there with a limited quantity of samples and six fantastic macaron flavours on hand:

- Chestnut with green tea
- Chocolate caramel pecan
- Coffee
- Passionfruit
- Pistachio
- Pumpkin


Please stop by, even if it's just to say "hi, hi, hello!" We'd be so delighted :)

Hopefully the weather won't be too chilly...I shall bundle up and drink plenty of hot liquids.

These macarons are indeed spectacular - from ingredient quality to flavour, it's truly a labour of love. Come taste it for yourself. You'll get to meet Mitzy, the wonder woman behind these creations, she's simply the sweetest lady in town.

If you have a moment, check out these posts:
- Robyn will be there this weekend!
- These are indeed some of the best macarons in our city.
- I kid you not.

Can't wait to see you Sunday! :)

Motorino

I have decided to do absolutely nothing this weekend. And it feels quite lovely. Usually I attempt to jam Saturdays and Sundays with activities and food - there's nothing more I despise than wasted time. But with no particular plans or obligations set in stone by Thursday evening, I decided to simply take it easy.

Sometimes there is simply so much to do in this city that I feel constantly on the cusp of a heart attack. Eat here or there? Croissant or brioche? Pistachio or strawberry gelato? Both? Gelato at Otto or L'arte del Gelato? And then there's the nit picky issue of madelines and why our oven never seems to function properly. Of course, food aside, there are real life issues to account for, but food is always the first thing to pop in mind.

Yesterday Robyn, Doug and I went out for a low key Friday dinner at Motorino in Williamsburg. I've had the worst pizza craving for the last month or so, and the thing is, these cravings only intensify with time. Sometimes I try to wait it out, hoping they simply die away. False hopes, hehe.

There was a ten-minute wait for a three top, so we stood out in the unusually warm November air, and did some catching up. Motorino was packed with what I assumed to be hipsters, though Robyn assured me that this was on the gentle end of hipster-ville. I could not help but eye, in odd fascination, at the thin boys in plaid shirts, sunglasses in a dark restaurant, skinny jeans, and thighs that must be half the thickness of my own.

We shared a dish of roasted brussel sprouts, which were disappointing to say the least. Mainly due to the fact that they were served at an unpleasant degree which hovered between chilled and room temperature. But then again, after Momofuku's brussel sprouts, little else can compare.

The three pizzas arrived to our table soon after. First: brussel sprouts & speck with fior di latte, and parmigiano. Take a peek at the upskirt here.

Next, anchovy, fior di latte, tomato, capers, oregano, and olives.

The artichoke, olives, mozzarella di bufala, and tomato pizza was my favourite of the trio - striking a satisfying balance between the warm, briny olives, artichokes and creamy mozzarella melting all over. There must have been a delay between the pizza's exit from the wood burning oven to its arrival at out table. Slightly cooled. Again, temperature issues. There was little to excuse this, with the oven but twenty feet away. Nonetheless, the topping ratio was spot on, and crust was just lovely with a subtle char and fine balance between crisp and chew.

Service was wonderful, the charming waiters more attentive than necessary, especially for a casual pizza spot. But I'm not to complain, especially because I'm one of those people always in constant need of a water refill.

So, here we are, cheers to Saturday! And a weekend of doing absolutely nothing. Take plans as come, and if they don't, I'll tuck into bed with Fuchsia Dunlop's Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper. And perhaps a plate of Spam, eggs, and fried rice ^_^

Motorino Pizza
319 Graham Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(718) 599-8899

Wednesday Food Section

On Wednesdays, I go to work early and read the food sections of three newspapers: New York Times, Honolulu Advertiser, and the Star Bulletin. Below, links to my favourite articles of the day...

New York Times: Carbo-Loading, Hawaiian Style
Honolulu Star Bulletin: Shave-Ice Stand Becomes a Favourite
Honolulu Star Bulletin: Fresh Yuba in Waiakamilo

Oceana

Dessert with Steph at Oceana a few weeks ago.
Just eye candy for this post :)

Pumpkin Ice Cream Cake, Spiced Meringue, Yogurt-Lime Sauce. I did a short blurb on this dessert, my favourite of the three, for Serious Eats New York - check here.

Concord Grape "Pie", Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Apple Brioche, Tart Apple Sorbet. Similar to the dessert pastry chef Jansen Chan presented at NYC Food & Wine's SWEET event. The only major change I noticed was the inclusion of a frozen chestnut mousse at SWEET.

Mignardise

Ok! Off to find a cup of coffee, and then back to work. Happy Wednesday! :)

Oceana
445 Park Ave
New York, NY 10022
(212) 829-5550

iPod and the Subway: Happy Ending

After suggestions from Shann and reading the comments in my last post, I returned to the 34th Street station late at night in search of my iPod. My plan was to relocate the iPod along the subway tracks, and ask someone in the MTA booths to retrieve it with a grabber. Determined, I took the L to the F, and the F to 34th, hopped off the train, and across the tracks to where it had escaped me that sad morning. I peeked down the tracks, searching for a glimmer of red, and, nooooo...IT WAS GONE

::weep::

Defeated. Took the F down to 14th, and the L back home. And then ate a lot of ice cream, chocolates, and scrambled eggs (not together, of course ;).

Later that evening, Kathryn mentioned that her fiancé, Dan, had a nano which went though the laundry wash, died for a while, and then returned to life. Dan emailed me a day later, graciously offering me his iPod...and voila, there you see it above, case and all. Thank you so much, Kathryn and Dan for the iPod, and thank you, Shann, for loaning me your shuffle in the meantime :)

Between...

...an abundances of chocolates confections at the Chocolate Show New York, a brief jaunt through Tastings NYC, and hot borscht at Veselka, it was a wonderful day...despite losing my ipod. 10:00 am, Saturday morning, the poor thing fell between the subway tracks of the B/D train at 34th Street. I was tempted to jump down the tracks, quickly grab it, and have someone pull me back up. But reason took over and I realized it was a lost cause. Oh well...I was never one to mope over material goods :)

Lan Shou Hand Made Noodles

After a rather intriguing stop at the Chanel Mobile Art exhibit in Central Park last Saturday, Robyn and I went down, deep into Chinatown for noodles. Oh yes, oh goodness, we love our noodles, we love our dumplings. Specifically, fried dumplings and generous bowls of hand pulled noodles.

The place is called Lan Zhou Handmade Noodles and there, taped on the walls, like many places in Chinatown, were two menus. One English and one Chinese. The Chinese menu is always larger, and it was no different in this case. Sadly, neither of us could decipher a single character on the bright orange menu. Next to that menu was the English version, a menu less than half the size of the former, boring black ink printed on white paper.

Curiousity aside, the dinner was no less enjoyable as we devoured fried dumplings, crisp and plump, stuffed with pork and chives. Some like dumplings plain, others dipped in shoyu - I've been raised to pair dumplings with black vinegar. To each his/her own.

Above, Robyn's order of "Dry Noodles with Minced Pork Sauce" (Jia Jian Mein)...

...and my "Beef Noodle Soup." The noodles for all dishes are hand-pulled, quite literally the minute after your order is placed. We sat along the wall seats and watched as the man transformed balls of dough into thin strands in a matter of minutes. He adds only a few sprays of water here and there, and an occasional slick of oil to prevent the dough from sticking. The most wonderful part is that, unlike soba or pasta, the making of "hand cut" noodles is indeed done with the hand alone. No knifes, or yardsticks for precision cutting, no forks. Nothing but the hand - I found that most impressive.

And also, unlike soba and pasta, the dishes at Lan Zhou top out at $4.50 a bowl. Four. Fifty. For noodles handmade on the spot! Fresh dumplings skins! The only downside is paying $.75 for a bottle of water (no cups of tap here ;). But at prices like that, there's no reason to complain.

I went home that evening, very stuffed and content...

...I couldn't stop babbling about the noodles to my apartment-mates, so Shann, Steph, Darien, Justin (visiting from Yale for the weekend) and I found ourselves there the next night - celebrating Shann's 23rd birthday.

But this time around, with the aid of Justin's Chinese deciphering skills, we discovered a few of the menus items that just didn't make its way over to the English version.

See? Look how short this menu is!

First off the English menu, rounds of dumplings, both steamed...

...and fried. I cannot decide which I like better - a bit of both is perfect.

Darien and Steph each had the Beef Brisket Soup Noodles...

...and Shann went with the Lamb Soup Noodles.

Justin and I ventured to the Chinese menu, where my stomached settled upon an order of Duck and (fake) Abalone Noodles...

...here's a closer shot. Details, details! :) Mushrooms on the right, and a knob of ginger right above that.

The menu lists Fish Balls in Soup as an order item, but not Fish Ball Noodle Soup. However, with a kind request, they will gladly add a serving of noodles to compose an "entree."

Harboured into the center of each fish ball is a juicy sweet nugget of ground pork - a much welcomed surprise.

Post noodles, Justin tried to make out a few more characters on the menu..."hrm this is...sweet? dessert? I think this says something about sweets." My attention snapped immediately back to his words upon hearing, "dessert." DESSERT?! I encouraged him to prod a bit more, upon which he discovered "mochi" and then "salty." Salty Sweet Mochi? The two items involving mochi were listed side by side. So we ordered both.

These mochi dishes took the longest to arrive - 15 minutes (whereas noodles and dumplings took no more than three minutes). Perhaps this is because it is an infrequently ordered dish? We didn't see them at other tables on either visit. Ten pieces to an order, a single bite of boiled mochi dough...

...encasing sweet porky nuggets, the same meat mix encountered in the fish balls.

The sweet mochi was shaped slightly differently, "so you can distinguish" the server said in Chinese, pointing at one and saying, "tian" (sweet) and the other, "xian" (savoury).

A bite of into the mochi exposed an interior coupling crushed peanuts, coconut, and sesame seeds bound in thick sweet syrup. There were a few more things we could not make out on the menu, including a paragraph on the bottom right. Justin gave it a shot and could only make out, "March 1st...more...more!"

"More what?" Shann asked.
We failed to answer her question that night.

A few days later I told Robyn of our attempts to decipher the menu.
"Oh! I should just ask my mom!"
And so she did...and now we know what the entire menu says!
Check her Flickr for the full translation...she also made a related post Serious Eats New York.

And as for the answer to Shann's question of "more what?" Robyn's mom translation provided, "due to inflation, the menu prices were adjusted accordingly on March 1." More, more indeed :)

Lan Zhou Hand Made Noodles
144 East Broadway
New York, NY 10002
(212) 566-6933

Happy 23rd Shann!

Baked by Steph, eaten by all :)

Noodle Bar Ran Out Of Brains -> Otto Will Always Be There For You

Noodle Bar Ran Out of Fried Brains -> Go To PDT, Then Otto

Lauren and I arrived to Noodle Bar for the Fergus Henderson dinner at 7:15pm. We put our names on the list, only to learn that the estimated wait time was two hours.

"They ran out of the fried lamb brains," said Kathryn.
"Nooooooo!"

Utterly dejected, we removed our names from the waitlist, and walked out, eyeing the plates of food on Zach's table. We drowned our sorrows in a few lovely cocktails at PDT. An hour and three drinks later, we slid off our seats, into the streets, and right over to my favourite casual weeknight restaurant in the city: Otto.

The restaurant was unusually quiet, even for a Monday night. But it was a good thing, as far as I was concerned for that evening - I've never been a fan of crowds or noise. We started with the salad one must always order when dining at Otto with Lauren, the Escarole & Sunchoke.

Then shared the roasted autumn vegetables (carrots, squash) in balsamic...

...and a little dish of Salsify and Blood Orange.

(sorry for the terrible photos - I clearly was not paying attention)

The gentleman in the next seat over shared a few cheeses with us, and it was then I realized that I've never ordered the cheese plate at Otto. It's understandable though - to pass up on Otto's gelato for cheese is crazy talk! Next time, we will simply have to get both.

Post-salads and vegetables, we split the Pizza Romana (tomato mozzarella, anchovy, capers, and chiles). And between bites of this and that, coupled with Prosecco, I was introduced to a rather enjoyable combination of Prosecco and Campari - another first for me. Frank wasn't at the bar, and dinner at Otto is never the same without him, but John was quite nice and taught us a few things about dessert wines.

Oooh, dessert.

When I eat alone here, my meal is as follows: two glasses of something nice, a seasonal vegetable, pasta (usually the carbonara), and then gelato. I enjoy dining alone, but if you find the right company...that of one who prefers to eat well and plentiful, then the meal has potential to be significantly more memorable.

Such was the case last night when we were trying to settle upon dessert.
"Olive Oil Copetta. Must. Yes."
"Yes!"
"Oh, but wait, what about the Pumpkin Copetta? We need that too!"
"Nonono, look down the menu - they brought back the Gianduja Chocolate!"
"Should we get that?"
"Which one? Both?"
"Three? ALL?"
"Why not?

And so, with great joy, we ended the meal with not one, or two, but three desserts.

The Olive Oil Copetta is a classic on the gelato menu - toppings change with the season. Currently on the menu: fennel brittle, fresh pomegranates, and blood oranges. As always, finished with Maldon and a dabble of olive oil.

The warm Gianduja Chocolate, shortbread square on the side...

...and the Pumpkin Copetta, composed of pumpkin gelato (made from Cheese Pumpkins), with almond crumble, cherries, buttered pecans, and mascarpone crema. It is a shame I cannot have this for breakfast every morning :)

PDT
113 St. Marks Place
New York, NY 10009
(212) 614-0386

Otto
1 Fifth Avenue
NY, NY 10003
(212) 995-9559