Posts for category ‘Good’

Two years into my residency as a New York Eater, I officially declared a boycott on Restaurant Week and most prix fixe menus. I was tired of being served one too many subpar options, too many basic dishes that weren’t showing off the true talents of the restaurant I was sitting in. Why was I shelling out $35 for a dumbed-down piece of seared salmon when I could be ordering a more satisfying app and entree for the same price off the real menu? I didn’t see the deal.

So it was an unexpected (but happy) blow to my jaded snobbery to discover the most compelling reason to have lunch at A Voce—apart from the phenomenal fresh housemade pastas—is that they don’t play around with their prix fixe menu.

For the past year or so, the restaurant has instituted a daily $29 three-course lunch special, an actual well-thought-out menu rather than the cheap-to-serve stuff like a boring green salad and a chicken entree. Chef Missy Robbins changes it up every so often, highlighting different regions of Italy depending on the area’s iconic cuisine and the time of year she’s serving it—hearty dishes from the Piedmont in the winter, lighter seafood-based fare from Sardinia or the Veneto in warmer weather.
>> Read on to discover the menu standouts at A Voce. >>

Today’s post marks the inaugural installment of the Good. Food. Stories. Neighborhood Guides, brought to you by our far-flung contributors, who know exactly on which streets you’ll find the best grub and local atmosphere. Though she lives in Manhattan, event consultant Kerry Stewart is a West Coast gal at heart and her twin loves of film and strong coffee reflect her Northwestern upbringing. Here she shares her favorite spots in Seattle’s Capitol Hill.

Growing up in the suburbs of Seattle, getting to go “downtown” was always a big deal and was usually reserved for things like shopping at Nordstrom’s, getting my picture taken with Santa at the now-defunct Frederick & Nelson department store, and cultural outings like the Frye Art Museum or seeing a play at the ACT Theatre. When I got older, it meant going to Capitol Hill with my best friend, Stacy.

Her mom would drop us off at one end of Broadway and pick us up exactly two hours later at the other end, allowing just enough time to shop, stare at the punks with their dog chains, multi-colored mohawks and head-to-toe leather (maybe this is where my continual craving for a leather motorcycle jacket comes from), have some coffee, and drive home before dark.

Capitol Hill has been gentrified since those exciting days of the early ’90s, but still holds a place in my heart as the coolest neighborhood in Seattle. When I go home, I go up to Capitol Hill and get a little thrill, but now it’s from the great food (and from seeing those few remaining punks).

I seem to have a predilection for the burger joints of Capitol Hill, but there’s options both classy and classic along the main drag of Broadway:

>> Read on for burgers, coffee, bourbon, and Brussels sprouts >>

Soapbox moment! Every once in a while, I feel the obligation to drop some science like Galileo dropped the orange and dispel a few food misconceptions.

Though on the whole I consider myself a positive person, it took so much willpower not to verbally smack the woman who last week tried to sell me on a new cutting board by extolling the virtues of a “bacteria-repellent” polypropylene model, with the added complaint that wood is too hard on your knives and will dull them swiftly and significantly.

Sigh. So many untruths to take care of in that sentence.

Now, I have been guilty of bad, bad cutting board hygiene in the past, but knowledge is power and I am now well-armed against microbial killers in my kitchen. And you should be too.

Simply, it doesn’t matter whether you use a wood cutting board or a plastic cutting board—what matters is how well you clean it.
>> So what are the pros and cons of wooden and plastic cutting boards and how do you keep bacteria off? Read on. >>

People say that Rosa Mexicana or Mexicana Mama serve the best Mexican food in New York. Bah. They obviously haven’t had dinner at Taqueria Los Jarritos.

Ride the 1 all the way to 190th Street, take the elevator up, and turn left on St. Nicholas Avenue. Look for the blinking lights right next to the old Armenian church.  Los Jarritos looks like a grocery store run by a mariachi band, yet hiding inside are four or five plastic wrapped tables, none of which are more than a few feet from a jukebox blaring Mexican hits and classics at top volume.

Grab a menu and order from the pictures. Nobody speaks English and you may get something other than what you were expecting. Here you’ll find hearty, well-done staple dishes from Puebla, not the jack cheese-plastered stuff we consider Mexican food, however comforting it may sometimes be.
>> How is the food at Los Jarritos different from typical Mexican food? Read on. >>

Today, please welcome a post from Kristen Trajan, who has meticulously scouted a few wallet-friendly NYC dining options to keep us full and on a budget.

I’ve been riding the poor train for years now, and while I’ve been known to hop off for a little Blue Hill at Stone Barns, I stay true to my cheap roots. As Danielle will attest, I’m a great dinner date, but not a terribly adventurous grocery partner. (You’re talking to the girl who recently put a $1.29 package of pasta back on the shelf after realizing I could get it for $1.19 eight blocks away.)

But we don’t always have the luxury of—or energy for—making delicious dishes for less at home. And that’s why I’m giving you the highly coveted top 5 under $5.

Under $5, you say? In New York? Yes, my friends, ’tis true. I know just about every corner, park, and questionable hole-in-the-wall restaurant for recession-friendly deliciousness. But I’m starting with five classy spots. You know, where you can take that date you don’t really want to invest in. In no particular order, I give you the first five:

>> Where can you get this bowl of filling hummus for only $5? Read on. >>