Szechuan Gourmet, NYC

    Hey everyone! It's been way too long! Stupid law school is taking up all my valuable eating time, damn it to hell!

    Anyway, this entry is about Szechuan Gourmet chinese restaurant. My buddy Jason Singer had been wanting to experience some authentic chinese food so we decided to meet up one night after work and get some grub with Chris and my other friend Eric. After searching online, the top pick was this place. Don't worry about trying to find one because they have about 10 restaurants all over Manhattan.

   So, of course, with me ordering the food - we went the weird/spicy route and got some new dishes and some old favorites. The absolute best thing of the evening was the ox tripe and tongue. I know you're thinking to yourself, "EWWWWW!"...but no. It was amazing. Served cold like a salad and shaved razor thin, this dish was poppin' with flavor and super tender. It was dressed in a sesame soy dressing which gave the meat a little tang. Singer and Eric thought it was ox tail as they were enjoying the hell out of it. I reminded them that it wasn't ox tail it was actually tongue and stomach lining...their enjoyment level quickly bottomed out to say the least. But really...is tail much less of a gross thing than tongue or stomach? I don't think so!

   

   We also ordered some of my old favorites such as szechuan wontons, three pepper chicken, and bok choy sauteed with garlic and oil. Oldies but goodies. Singer, Eric, and the waiter had some fun fooling around with the szechuan peppercorns that I've written about before. DANGEROUS SUBSTANCE. When you bite into one, as my cousin Jen described so accurately, it tastes and smells as if you just sprayed pine sol in your mouth then the numbing begins...oh what fun. 

   Soup dumplings. I had never tried these babies. I would see them on the menu and kind of brush them off like, "eh soup dumplings? What's so great about that? you put a dumpling in soup? Who cares." I was wrong! These things rule. A pillow like doughy outside filled with pork (had other varieties like crab and veggies but we're not kosher so we love pork) with a soupy surprise! I don't understand how someone could make a dumpling containing meat AND soup! I'm guessing it was a chicken based broth, but I could be wrong. How does the liquid stay in there!? I don't know, maybe it's magic. They were awesome, sprinkle a little soy sauce on top and you're good to go! Absolutely DELISH.

Ox tongue and tripe

 Szechuan dumplings

 soup dumplings!

 glamour shot

 three pepper chicken

baby bok choy

Roll N' Roaster, Brooklyn, NY

HI HI HIYA! Welcome to the blog once again! Today's entry will be about one of my favorite pit stops on the way to AC which also happens to be a kind of historical landmark...ROLL N' ROASTER! Be prepared to have the best lunch/dinner/2am munchie trip of your life.

Roll N' Roaster has been around for decades. To put it in perspective, my 55 year old father can remember taking his dates there on a friday night during his teen years. Like I said, been around for a WHILE. The place has not changed a bit! It still is decorated the exact same way. Orange and yellow themed plastic booths with a huge pick up counter in the front where they display the 3,000 items you can have smothered in gooey cheese sauce. They have everything from your original roast beef sandwiches to pizza pies and fried shrimp. Everything on their menu is A-may-zang.


For this trip, my Dad and I got the original roast beef sandwich, onion rings, and a vanilla shake. The roast beef sandwich is probably the best thing you'll ever have in your life. I always order mine medium rare because I like it bloody juicy and double dipped in gravy (for no extra charge). The roll is perfect, it holds the gravy and keeps the meat nice and moist without becoming too soggy.  The meat is seasoned perfectly and the whole thing is just a big ol' piece of GODDAMN DELICIOUSNESS.


Next were the onion rings. Now, I usually don't eat onion rings because I usually don't like fried things, but these were epic. A little well done and Krunchy as heK. Some people go a little crazy and order a side of cheese sauce to dip these babies it, but I usually go for the classic dip in ketchup, you can't go wrong with that. 


My favorite part of the meal, without a doubt, is the one, the only, VANILLA SHAKE! YAYYY! Without a doubt, the best shake you will ever have in your life. Creamy, cold, smooth, vanilla goodness topped with thick airy whipped cream. Oh boy, now I want one. This place is SO good, you will have it stuck in your head from the first bite. Before you die, make it your life's mission to enjoy Roll N' Roaster and it's fine gravy dipped sandwiches and the best shake you'll ever have. This place rules.

Menu Full Meal

Medium Rare

Pure Heaven

Hagi, New York City, NY

Hello Everyone!


It's been a looooong week, and I could use a good blogging. I hope everyone else could too! This week I'm going to write about a great little Japanese pub type place called Hagi. I would best describe it as a tapas bar with Japanese food with $12 pitchers of Sapporo and Kirin. Pretty awesome.


Chris and I went to Hagi last week before a preseason Ranger game at the Garden. We took the 1 up to 50th street and walked west towards 8th ave. Don't be confused when you get there, you definitely want to take the stairs down to the creepy basement restaurant, it's where all the goodies are! Also, make sure you get there around 5:30-6PM on weekdays and at 5PM (opening time) on weekends because if you don't, there will be a pretty long wait. The restaurant itself probably only has about 15 tables that could hold 50 people at a time. So, it's pretty tiny. But what it's lacking in size, it makes up for with tasty tidbits. Everything on the menu is pretty much under $8. woohoo!


As I was waiting for Chris to meet me there, I ordered some kim-chi and a pitcher of Sapporo. The kim-chi was exactly what I was expecting, pretty standard. It was a good start. When Chris FINALLY showed up, that little booger, we got to the good stuff. We started off with some yakitori yummies. Yakitori is basically just meet on a stick grilled with sweet terriyaki-ish sauce brushed on it. We tried the Wagyu beef, pork belly, duck, chicken skin and calf liver. I'd have to say that my favorites were the beef, duck, and chicken skin. Don't be afraid of the sound of it, it's actually amazing. Like ordering BBQ chicken and biting into the first bite and getting that awesome sweet burnt crunch but instead of being one bite, its a whole stick! Awesome! (I ordered two!). 


After those babies, we got some gyoza and wasabi dumplings. The gyoza were great, very crunchy and light - in fact they were so good, Chris ordered another one just for him lol. The wasabi dumplings are great. The pork inside is seasoned like the pork in gyoza but with a hint of wasabi and I'm pretty sure the entire dumpling dough is infused with the hot stuff. It burns so good! My sinuses were cleared for a week after I ate those thangs! Finally, we ended the meal with the terriyaki squid. It was really tasty. Very tender and grilled to perfection and went well with the sweet sauce.


After the delicious meal, we went on to see the Rangers kick some ass and had a pretty great night. So definitely go there, don't be afraid that it's down in a basement, and don't be afraid of the sometimes weird food on the menu. Be adventurous! If it's on the menu, someone is ordering it and loving it. Try it!

Kim Chi!

Wasabi Dumplings

Gyoza (6)

Duck,Pork,Skin,Beefs

Liver (yum)

Terriyaki Squid

Mangoes Mexican Restaurant, Bethpage, NY

Hey Foodie Friends,


   I hope everyone is doing well and keeping their tummies full! Today's post is about my favorite little Mexican restaurant on Long Island called Mangoes. Not only is the food always great, but they are family owned and so so so nice! I should thank Chris's Mom and Dad for introducing me to this place a couple of years ago, because I've been there probably twice a month every since.


   Usually, when I go to restaurants, I love to try new things off the menu once I know it's a good place. Howeverrrrr, when it comes to Mangoes, I can't help but but order the shrimp fajitas every single time I'm there. They're THAT GOOD! They go for $17 and you get 8 medium sized shrimp atop a pillow of sizzling sweet onions and green peppers, rice, beans, and dollops of guac, sour cream, pico de gallo and 3 homemade tortillas. Yes, homemade. The onions and peppers are always cooked to perfection; they are caramelized perfectly so that they are as sweet as candy. Since I love spicy food, I order mine minus the green peppers, PLUS sauteed jalapenos on the side. Wooooie! Hot and Spicy goodness. Another great addition, if you like hot and spicy things, is their homemade habanero hot sauce. You have to ask the waiter/waitress to bring it to you because it's not out on the table. It'll be our little secret ;). After I house the entire thing, I feel like Professor Klump, but it's so worth it! Oh Mangoes, how I love thee.


   Chris usually orders mole poblano. That's one dish I truly do not understand, and I don't know why. Everytime he gets it, I try it and my brain doesn't know what to make of it. Is it chocolate? Is it spicy? I just don't know. But, I have tried the mole at other places, and I seem to think (and Chris agrees) that theirs is pretty damn good. So, I guess if you understand what that dish is supposed to be, it's good and you should order it. If not, GET THE FAJITAS!
  
    Oh, they also have really good table side Guac for about $7. It's worth it, you'll love it. Get it, eat it. MMM!

             Shrimp fajitas/jalapenos/hot sauce     

        Sides 

Mole Poblano

 Tiny bit of Guac left 

Yankee Stadium!

Hey Guys!


  Sorry it's been so long since my last post but I've been a tad busy! Anyway, this time I will be writing about my culinary experience at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.


  We arrived about 3:30pm for a 4:05pm start, the perfect time to EEEAAAATTTT. Walking in, let me just tell you, this place is huge! It's like a museum, but the most crowded awesome museum you've ever been to. So first thing's first, we had to try Lobel's Steak Sandwich. I've heard rave reviews so I had to check it out myself. I had to see what a $15 steak sandwich was all about. After walking in a giant circle looking for it, I finally found the butcher window and knew I was close. There was an older gentleman trimming and slicing the meat, preparing it for the sammies and next to it was a line that wrapped around itself and led to a little sandwich stand. I got on line and it took about 10 minutes to be served, not as bad as I thought. I ordered my sandwich medium rare, paid, and headed to my seats so I could start eating.


    I opened the plastic container and my first thought was,  "holy shit this thing is HUGE!" The meat was cut in quarter inch thick slices and bathed in thick brown meaty gravy slapped on a nice fluffy round bun. I had high expectations. I took my first bite and I hate to say it, but I was a little disappointed! The meat was not medium rare, I think they dipped it into the gravy for too long and overcooked it. The thickness of the meat was too much, it was tough to bite through the sandwich and chew it up. The gravy was good, but it needed some salt. The best part of the sandwich to me was the bread, which isn't a very good sign. The bread was sweet like challah and soft on the inside. The whole sandwich was too big and tough to eat like a sandwich, it was more like eating pieces of steak and then biting a piece of bread. It was so filling I had to save half for later, bad idea. The longer you let it sit there, the tougher it gets to eat. So, my overall opinion on that is...EH. I've had much better steak sandwiches, and it's really annoying because it could be so much better if they knew how to cut a piece of meat. Dayum!


   Next, I had to try the Philly Cheese Steak from Carl's Steaks, so Chris and I split it. Now we're talkin! This sandwich came piping hot, meat was smokin, cheese was perfectly melted. It looked damn good, now how did it taste? AMAZING! In fact, it was so delish, that I forced myself to eat my half of the sandwich after eating an entire Lobel's sammie. Needless to say, I was stuffed. But the meat was so tender, the cheese so perfectly creamy and salty, and the onions so sweet that I couldn't stop eating! That was the highlight of the day after the Yanks lost to the Sox 6-3 (BOO!).

Meat Man!

Lobel's 

Inside the beast

Carl's Cheesesteak

Inside the masterpiece

     So my final recommendation is to skip the line for Lobels, unless you somehow get a thin sliced masterpiece, and go for the cheesesteak at Carl's. You won't be disappointed, it'll be the best $12 you spend that day!

Taqueria Coatzingo, Elmhurst, Queens, NY

Hello again!

Last night, Chris took me out on a date to a place I've been wanting to go to for a long time. Taqueria Coatzingo in Elmurst, Queens. I was first introduced to taquerias in Orlando, FLA (where I went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter 4 times in 2 days...mm hmm that's right!). At a taqueria, they serve...you guessed it! Taco's! Damn good ones, too. They serve a lot of other things, but this time, we stuck to the tacos only. 

Chris and I drove about 30 minutes to get there, got a spot right in front, and entered into another world. Now, I've never been to Mexico, but after last night, I can imagine what it would be like. Lets put it this way, Chris and I were the only Gringos in sight. 

The restaurant is easy to find with a big sign out front and a window where you can watch the chefs making la comida. When you get to the table, they serve you complimentary warm tortilla chips and above average salsa. The restaurant was so authentic that we ordered en espanol (thank you POBJFKHS). I had 3 tacos - spicy pork, chorizo, and lengua (yes, that means tongue) and Chris got the marinated steak and chicken. I know the automatic reaction to eating a cow tongue is, "EWWWWWW THAT'S GROSS!". But let me tell you something, it was the best one out of all 5! And if you closed your eyes and ate it, you would think it was beef brisket. For RealZ! The pork was my second favorite. It was spicy with a slight hint of tandoori spices and it was a lovely shade of fire red. The chorizo was also very good, smokey and meaty. MMM MMM GOOD. Each taco is served with a heaping helping of Guac, cilantro, and fresh onions. You can eat like a King, or Queen in my case, for $2 A TACO! So cheap! They also had a great selection of Mexican beer. I chose Negro Modello because it reminds me of New Castle which I love.

After dinner, we went outside and walked for a while. We came across a cute Abuelita making fresh street snacks out of her food cart. Even though we were stuffed, we had to try something. I remembered some of my high school spanish lessons and asked for La Mejor Comida (the best food). Abuelita smiled and pulled an arepa off the grill and piled on some fresh queso. The arepa, which I think is Colombian (right Yaz?), is a grilled bread made out of corn.  This arepa had a slightly sweet flavor that made it taste like a dessert rather than a snack. The cheese went well with it, being very mild and creamy. It was almost like a very weird piece of cheesecake, very enjoyable! When we were done stuffing our faces, we went to a small bar, had a beer, and watched the Barce game with the locals. All in all, it was a fantastic evening! Enjoy the pics!

PS - Authentic Mexican tacos will always be wrapped in 2 TORTILLAS! They're guaranteed to be great. Lil tip there, enjoy it, write it down, remember it!

             MenuTacos ($2 each!)            Spicy Pork             

 Arepa for Dessert!

Bonne Saison, Bayside, Queens

Hello again my little french fries! I hope everyone has been eating well. 

    Last Friday some great friends (with great beard to mustache ratios) and I went to Bayside, Queens to go out for the night. We started out at Brew's Brothers for a quick game of beer pong to wake our stomachs up. After, we went to Bonne Saison, a Thai/French restaurant recommended by my lovely friends Ana-Sofia and Zach. 

    I know it sounds weird, Thai AND French food in the same place? But let me tell you, it was mmm mmm GOOOOOD. I've been to the other Thai place that is close by, called Erawan and there is NO comparison. At Bonne Saison, it is family run. You can actually peek into the kitchen and see the Thai family hard at work. George, the head waiter and hell of a nice guy, will be happy to give you some recommendations that suit your tastebuds. The best part about this place is the price. It is extremely reasonable for the quality and quantity of food served. It is a small quaint restaurant but the table settings and atmosphere is elegant. Overall, it kicks Erawan's ass up and down Northern Blvd. Next time, I'm trying an all French menu.

     As always, I took pictures of the food I liked. For appetizers we had homemade pork dumplings with a delicious tangy dipping sauce and sliced steak salad with a citrus vinaigrette. The dumplings were so different and unique than any other dumpling I've had before. They looked like little handmade flowers filled with meat, delightful. They were so tasty and juicy, I might have to get an order to go next time. The steak salad was recommended by one of the women working in the kitchen. She said it was the best, so I ordered it, and she was right. SO good.

      

    For the main course we tried Pad Seiw. It was some beef with flat noodles in a brown sauce. So meaty, beefy and good. I would have to say that was my favorite main course because I'm not really a fan of sweet coconut Thai dishes. But if you do enjoy those, the green curry with chicken was very tasty. I think each meal was about $15 each. 

    Please go there and experience it for yourself. Say Hi to George for me! Enjoy the pics....

Pork Dumpling      Steak Salad Chicken&Noodles Green Curry                  Pad Siew