July 14, 2010 Off

Patty Wagon

//// By Joan in 21: Food truck

Finally back to LA! We got lots of LA entries back up now that need to be published.

There’re more and more new food trucks spawning everyday. One day we just walked out to see what truck is out there for lunch and we saw Patty Wagon – a cute truck specialize in mini-burgers with 100% grass fed beef and organic ingredients. We were instantly intrigued by the menu. Since the burgers are sized like sliders, we both got two.

You’re My Everything – Sauteed sweet peppers, onions and garlic with swiss and a little mayo on our toasted hamburger roll.

Keep Your Sunny Side Up – On our toasted ciabatta, spread with our homemade gremolata (garlic, lemon, parsley butter).

Get A Kick Out Of You – Roasted jalapenos, pancetta, provolone cheese, and a lil mayo on our toasted hamburger roll.

Mood Indigo – Bleu cheese, bacon, caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms on our toasted ciabatta roll.

All the burgers were very good! The patties were juicy and full of flavors. I like how the pickle slices were on top of the burgers. The ciabatta rolls were tasty too. My favorites out of the bunch was Mood Indigo and Keep Your Sunny Side Up.

Hand cut fries with sea salt, garlic and rosemary. I like how thin the fries were. Well seasoned and fried.

Overall I was very impressed with their food. The burger tasted gourmet and fresh. It’s definitely a truck that’s worthy of tracking. Speaking of tracking food truck, TruxMap is a fantastic website that tells you where the trucks are on the map. I found it very useful and it’s great for someone like me who don’t have twitter.

Tags: Burger, food truck

July 11, 2010 Off

Il Buco (New York)

//// By Freda in 03: NYC, Favorite Food Entries

I just came back from the sunshine and sea turtle of Belize and was delayed in publishing this one last entries on NYC. As I said on last post, my mind was set on Italian food. My friend brought me to Il Buco, a very lovely Mediterranean restaurant at Noho. They features a simple seasonal daily menu for lunch. I couldn’t help gushing about this place to my friends, it has became one of my most favorites at NYC.

The front looked like an vintage shop.

Inside I was surprised and dazzled by the flowers and fruits in loveliest colors. They’re contrast with the vintage copper ware and rustic wood work.

And the potteries gave a wonderful cultural, crafty vibe. You can find something to look at in every corner of the space.

I just love the charming, warm rustic Mediterranean country vintage decor. The chunky, natural wood tables gave this simple but hearty feelings that’s reflected in their menu. It almost gave me an illusion of farm-to-table cookings at someone’s home in the middle of NYC.

Both the bread and the olive oil are really good (especially the olive oil, the flavors are amazing!).

The menu of the day: Cabbage Soup with Barley, Poultry Broth and Poached Egg. 8 Oh my this might look simple but it is so incredible! It’s cooked with Prosciutto so the soup is full of the dense cured meat flavor.The barley gave a wonderful texture to chew on. The soup is just so tasty, I didn’t want it to end!

Fresh pasta Sheets with Brussels Sprouts, Mint, Formaggio di fossa. 19 Wow~ how can something seeming so simple be so good! The homemade pasta has great texture, combine with the soft but crispy shreds of Brussels sprouts and the hint of mint, every bite is an explosion of flavors and textures. Despite the lightness of the ingredients, it was dense with flavor (the oil, cheese and herbs).

Artisan Pasta with Chicken-Cerignola Olive Ragu nad pecorino Romano 21. The pasta roll is not heavy at all. It’s got an addictive bite, and thick enough to carry the rich, strong tasting sauce. It’s so good and a good complimentary to the previous pasta.

Sadly our stomach was bursting at the end and didn’t get to try their dessert.

I enjoyed the simple Italian cooking of Il Buco way more than Del Posto (and strangely I’ve got to taste more variety of flavors here too). I guess I’m more of the rustic type who prefer the simpler things. This place will always be my must-eat whenever I visit NYC. I can’t wait to try their dinner too.

We’ll be back to LA in our next post.

Il Buco
47 Bond Street, New York, NY 10012-2450

Tags: Italian, Mediterranean, Pasta, Soup

July 2, 2010 Off

Del Posto (New York)

//// By Freda in 03: NYC

I was craving really good Italian food when I was at NYC. We made two reservations, one of them is Mario Batali’s Del Posto, for some high end treat.

Even with our reservation (at 10), we had to wait for a bit before sitting down. The space is, to my delight, brightly illuminated while remaining romantic. The spacious hall size dining space with two floors gave a sense of grandeur.

Very good bread with soft butter that melt on your bread.

Amuse Bouche. The gold flake one is a hash brown bite. It’s got to be the most fancy looking hash brown I’ve ever had in my life.

Pumpkin Cappellacci with Almond Milk, Black Truffles & Dried Sage. 22 The pumpkin and almond sauce give the dish a delightful sweet, creamy flavor (the truffle wasn’t really needed for this already lovely dish). I love it!

Spaghetti with Dungeness Crab, Sliced Jalapeno $& Minced Scallion 28. The Jalapeno gave it a wonderful kick, and even helped highlighting the freshness of the crab. A Special Fish of the Night.

I forgot what dessert it was (wasn’t too memorable), and the complimentary petit fours. I totally forgot to get the one with Extra Virgin Olive Oil Gelato.

There’re interesting take on classic sauce and menu, though In the end I wasn’t too blown away (like how I felt about Vetri) perhaps I needed to try the tasting menu or sample more dishes (hard to do for a 2 person table).

Del Posto (212) 497-8090
85 10th Avenue., NY, 10011

Tags: Italian, Pasta

July 1, 2010 2

Baohaus (New York)

//// By Freda in 03: NYC

I took a weekend trip to New York with my friend few months ago. We walked by this joint called Baohaus at Lower East Side. Seeing that It features Taiwanese Gua Bao – open bun usually topped with pork or beef, we got curious. Though it seems to be catching on the bandwagon as Taiwanese Pork Buns had became a BIG thing in New York a few years ago thanks to Momofuku introducing it to the NYC yuppies.

Their tagline “Fresh off the Boat’ is reeks of Asian American humor. 😉

The front desk is loaded with Taiwanese local products and it was blasting uncomfortably loud, annoying clubby music (my friends and I think they did it deliberately to get customers to leave sooner…either that or they just have bad taste in music). However, the owner’s family photos on the wall gave the space a bit of heart, though the lack of frames made it a bit temp-shop feel.

HAUS BAO $4.50 Their signature all natural Hanger Steak Bao Served with: Crushed peanut, cilantro, Haus Relish, and Taiwanese red sugar (according to their website, it was showcased on n Food Network’s Ultimate Recipe Showdown (March 2010). Gosh it was incredibly delicious! The Haus Relish are genuine Taiwanese pickles, and they compliment the beef flavor so well. The buns were freshly steamed: soft, fluffy but stayed firm.

CHAIRMAN BAO – $4.00 A name that makes you go ha-HA (-__-;;;). Braised slow and low using all natural Berkshire Pork Belly. Served with: Crushed peanut, cilantro, Haus Relish, and Taiwanese red sugar. I love this one even more! The pork was fatty but it just slide and melt in your mouth. Despite all the tacky humorous names, the food was beyond my expectation.

Fried Bread with Sesame Paste. This is a modification of a Taiwanese snacks. The bread are too fragile (broken in half) to be picked up with the heavy seasme paste, and it was oily too.

UNCLE JESSE – $3.50 VEGETARIAN Pan fried organic tofu coated in sweet potato starch topped with our Haus Sauce, cilantro, crushed peanut and Taiwanese red sugar. I can’t believe how yummy the tofu one taste too!

My friend had been to Momofuku, she said Baohaus‘s pork bun totally kick Momofuku‘s ass as Momofuku’s are watered down version for Americans. With food this yummy, I can forgive the loud music.

Baohaus
137 Rivington Street (near Norfolk), NY, NY 10002

Tags: Taiwanese

June 30, 2010 2

Bibou (Philadelphia)

//// By Freda in 11: Philadelphia, Favorite Food Entries

My last visit to Bibou, a small French BYOB tucked in the Little Saigon area of Philly, was unforgettable. I brought Joan back to try the Sunday Prix-Fixe Night again (I rsvp 1 week ahead). Just as last time, it was $45 for 4 courses (cash only).

Pity this time the butter that came with the bread wasn’t Echire‘s. Since it was insanely hot at Philly, the soup was the Chilled Tomato Gaspacho. It was fresh, flavorful and totally enhance your appetite, very lovely.

Last time I didn’t tried the chef’s most proud dish: Escargots: Snail Ragout, Fava beans and Mousseron Mushrooms, flavored with Tarragon. Wow, this is so delicious. The flavor is rich, the escargot’s texture compliment the flavored-soaked mushrooms really well. Every bite is a unforgettable. I’ll get this again and again when I came back here. The spiral plate was pure genius too.

Joan got the Pan-eared Foie Gras with poached Plum and Red Wine Duck Jus. What can I say, it’s perfect.

For the main course, Joan got the Omble Chevalier: Arctic Char poached in olive oil, green papaya, sea beans and radicchio fricassee, citrus Vinaigrette. The fish was perfect cooked and oil up, the sauce is flavorful but light…what a delight.

I wanted to get the Bone Marrow but it was sold out. Instead the owner recommended me to try something they have but not on the menu: the French classic Pig’s feet with Lentil. The pig’s feet was cooked tenderly and then fried with very crispy skin. Hence the inside was melt-in-your-mouth, while the skin has a nicely burnt chewiness. Being not a lentil fan, I was shocked by how tasty the sauce is. I savored every bite because it was too yummy. I’m on the look out for this dish at French restaurant from now on.

As was my experience last time, their dessert wasn’t quite as on par with their appetizer and main course. The Chocolate Mousse was fine and dark, but not too special tasting.

We finished early this time, and the weather was still good thus we can walk off the food (no stranded at the restaurant till midnight!). This place remains as my favorite in Philly.

This post wrapped up my long and delayed entries on Philadelphia. Next up is a 3 entries post on New York, then we’ll be back to LA.

Bibou
1009 South 8th street, Philadelphia PA 19147

Tags: Foie Gras, French, Prix fixe

Patty Wagon

Il Buco (New York)

Del Posto (New York)

Baohaus (New York)

Bibou (Philadelphia)

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