Category Archives: Restaurants & Food Courts

Speedy Romeo

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Instagram Post 2/11/2018

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Occupying a space that was once a former auto parts shop that was once a liquor store that was once a bar, and named for the co-owner’s champion race horse 🐎, Speedy Romeo has become a dining fixture at 376 Classon Ave in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill neighborhood (“neigh”-borhood?). Their wood fired oven turns out tasty Neapolitan style pizzas from the traditional to the imaginative like the three winners shown here. (All equally good so there was no win, place, or show this time around the track.)
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The Dangerfield with béchamel, pork-veal meatballs, ricotta, basil, and garlic chips
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The White Album with béchamel, roasted garlic, mozzarella, ricotta, provel, pecorino, and parm, with additional pork sausage
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The Anton Ego with smoked eggplant, summer squash, tomato concentrate, onion, basil, and mint
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Riding their galloping Clinton Hill success (Michelin Guide’s Bib Gourmand list) they opened an outpost on Clinton Street (of course, of course) on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Speedy Romeo trots out other offerings too, and one of these days I’ll kick my unbridled appetite for pizza and harness the willpower to sample them!

(Um, about all the puns…just horsing around. 🙃 )

 
 

Azerbaijan House

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Instagram Post 12/2/2017

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We were in the neighborhood, so we stopped by Azerbaijan House, 2612 East 14th St, Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn to check out what Mina had cooking. The three of us were in search of a delicious, light lunch and having been there before, we knew exactly what to expect and weren’t disappointed.
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Tashkent Salad – boiled beef tongue with daikon and red radish.
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Kutab (aka Qutablar) – I never pass up the chance to order this griddled treat; similar to a crepe, it’s filled with meat, folded in half, dressed with pomegranate, and always tasty.
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Düşbərə – The menu describes them as homemade ravioli, but you might know them as the mini version of manti, delicious little dumplings served here in soup.
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Stuffed Cabbage
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Kükü – a thick pancake made with potato, onion, egg, greens and nuts; real homespun flavor!
 
 

Old Tbilisi Garden

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My Instagram posts are usually brief takes on restaurants accompanied by a photo or two. (You can see my feed right here, updated almost daily, by selecting the “Instagram” category from my home page – no signup required.) But folks sometimes ask for fuller reviews and more photos, so in response, here’s a more comprehensive report on one of my favorites.

As Lead Organizer of The World Food Lover’s Dining Out Group, part of Meetup.com, it’s always my pleasure to bring groups of people to ethnic restaurants that feature cuisines they may never have experienced.

Recently we visited Old Tbilisi Garden, a restaurant that features the cuisine of Georgia. (No, not the US state “Georgia” but rather the Former Soviet Union country “Georgia”.) It seems like there’s a budding proliferation of Georgian restaurants and bakeries around New York City these days, and I, for one, am thrilled about it. Our feast at Old Tbilisi Garden hit the heights but only scratched the surface of this wonderful cuisine.

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Adjaruli

The overarching term is khachapuri, literally “cheese bread,” and there are at least a dozen kinds that I know of. They’re commonly filled with tangy, salty sulguni cheese and imeruli, a fresh crumbly cheese which when melted together combine to make stretchy, cheesy nirvana. Two of my favorites are adjaruli and megruli. Adjaruli is shaped like a kayak, the center of which is filled with cheese; a raw egg and a chunk of butter are added just as it’s removed from the oven. Stir the mixture: the egg cooks and combines with the butter and melted cheese. Break off pieces of the bread and dip them into the cheese mixture. Now picture hot bread with melted buttery cheese that you eat with your hands, fresh out of the oven – what’s not to like?

Megruli

Megruli is a little more self-contained: cheese bread filled with cheese and then topped with more cheese and baked. Did I mention cheese? Think Georgian pizza.

Khinkali

Despite the resemblance, these are definitely NOT soup dumplings. Just grab one by its topknot and bite into its savory lamb filling. They say you’re not supposed to eat that little handle, but I like it, so I guess I’m just going to keep breaking the rules!

Pkhali Trio

These tasty spreads fulfilled the vegetable requirement of our meal: spinach, eggplant, and green bean served with Georgian bread called shoti.

Chicken Bazhe

Bazhe, a Georgian walnut-garlic sauce, was the perfect blanket for the chicken reposing beneath. If you’ve ever tried satsivi, another delicious Georgian dish, then you’re already familiar with the flavor of bazhe – basically satsivi with the addition of pomegranate.

Chakapuli

Chakapuli is lamb stew in a tangy white wine sauce spiked with tarragon, an herb that figures significantly into the cuisine – and even soft drinks like tarkhun!

Lamb Mtsvadi

No Georgian meal would be complete without skewers of savory, tender, marinated lamb with delicious tkemali (sour plum) sauce.
 
 
Old Tbilisi Garden is located at 174 Bleecker Street, Manhattan, in the heart of Greenwich Village.
 
 
Incidentally, if you’d like to be part of the dining out group, you can join Meetup.com (there’s no charge), sign up for The World Food Lover’s Dining Out Group, and then watch your email to see the schedule for our next adventure. Reply to this post and I’ll keep an eye out for you!

Old Tbilisi Garden

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Instagram Post 11/13/2017

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It seems like there’s a proliferation of Georgian restaurants and bakeries (no, not the US state “Georgia” but rather the Former Soviet Union country “Georgia”) around New York City these days, and I, for one, am thrilled about it. Our feast at Old Tbilisi Garden, 174 Bleecker Street, Manhattan hit the heights but only scratched the surface of this wonderful cuisine.

Of course, we ordered adjaruli, one of the many varieties of justly famous Georgian khachapuri (literally “cheese bread”). Kayak shaped and filled with two kinds of melted cheese, butter and an egg, the ingredients are stirred together to create stretchy, cheesy nirvana; always a crowd pleaser.

And then, for contrast, we got megruli, cheese bread filled with cheese and then topped with more cheese and baked. Did I mention cheese? Think Georgian pizza.

Khinkali – despite the resemblance, these are definitely NOT soup dumplings. Just grab one by its topknot and bite into its savory lamb filling. So good!

The Pkhali Trio fulfilled the vegetable requirement of our meal: spinach, eggplant, and green bean spreads served with Georgian bread.

Bazhe, a Georgian walnut-garlic sauce, was a perfect complement to succulent chicken.

Chakapuli is lamb stew in white wine sauce spiked with tarragon, an herb that figures significantly into the cuisine – and even soft drinks like tarkhun!

And no Georgian meal would be complete without skewers of savory tender marinated lamb with tkemali sauce. 😋

Note: Read the complete review here!
 
 

Belarussian Xata

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Instagram Post 11/11/2017

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Belarussian Xata – Part One (because I need to go back – yes, it’s worth doing again). Located at 1655 Sheepshead Bay Rd, Brooklyn, it’s currently New York City’s only Belarusian 🇧🇾 restaurant and I’m grateful for it. Xata means “cottage” and the memorable décor strives for authenticity (I’m assuming this: I know food, not interior design 😉). The staff is attentive and helpful; since Belarus is Russia’s neighbor and was once part of the Former Soviet Union, there’s a lot of cross-pollination between the cuisines but if you’re a purist like me they’re happy to point out Belarusian specialties.

The appetizer “Village Style” sets out three different kinds of salo (fatback, not unlike Italy’s lardo): plain, smoked, and Hungarian style, served with chunky fried potatoes and greens. So that you’re not just eating unadulterated fat, I recommend constructing each forkful with a bite each of salo, potato or bread, one of the greens, and a bit of mustard. Highly enjoyable.

Machanka, a traditional Belarusian specialty featured three kinds of pork – sausage, ribs, and a cut of meat – in a delicious creamy gravy that reminded me a little of veal blanquette but on steroids. All of the meats were wonderfully tender. (You have the option of ordering the dish with either blini or potato pancakes.)

We also got the grilled branzino with vegetables, not a Belarusian dish, but one of us was craving fish! The kitchen did a good job here as well.

Dessert was warm Orshanskie (“сырники оршанские в чугунке”, literally Orsha cheese pancakes in a pot, Orsha being a city in Belarus), mini cheese balls with a few raisins added for good measure bathed in a sweet sour cream and poppy seed sauce. Surprisingly good!

Note: Read the complete review here!

h/t Eat the World NYC
 
 

Bhanchha Ghar

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Instagram Post 11/7/2017

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If you’re going to enjoy a Nepali 🇳🇵 feast, Jhol Momo would certainly be the ultimate comfort food; as a matter of fact, we were even mo’motivated to do it because of the encroaching cold weather. At Nepali Bhanchha Ghar, 74-06 37th Rd, Jackson Heights, Queens, winner of this year’s #momocrawl 🥟, we tasted a bit of many dishes, specifically:

• Chicken Choila, grilled chicken marinated in a blend of spices.
• Buffalo Sukuti, dry meat, like jerky.
• Achar, a pickled dish, here half fish and half mula (radish).
• Bhuttun, organ meats; tasty indeed.
• Sel Roti, a ring of fried rice flour, traditional in Nepali cuisine; get at least one!
• and last, but certainly never least, Jhol Momo, chicken and pork, each with its own characteristic shape. The steamed dumplings swim in a pool that lies somewhere along the sauce-soup continuum, and the two complement each other perfectly. The word jhol means soup and here it was delicious in its own right.

Tip: When you enter, you’ll see two tiny tables. Don’t be discouraged: go downstairs and you’ll discover a much more capacious dining room. Warmer too! 😉
 
 

Poke Bowl Station

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Instagram Post 11/7/2017

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A great big aloha 🤙 to the new kid on the block, Poké Bowl Station at 237 Flatbush Ave, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn near Barclays Center. Sure, we have plenty of great sushi 🍣 restaurants in Park Slope and Prospect Heights, but poké is its own thing: think of it as Hawaii’s cross between chirashi sushi and ceviche. In addition to almost a dozen signature dishes, they offer infinitely customizable options: choose your base (three kinds of rice or salad or zucchini noodle), proteins (a dozen choices ranging from tuna, salmon, and yellowtail to baby octopus, shrimp and even chicken), plus mix-ins, sauces, toppings and crunch and you’re sure to be thrilled with the results. In addition to the variety, I was impressed with the freshness and quality of the ingredients – everything I tasted was truly delicious.
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They also offer a wide variety of drinks including bubble tea, fruit tea, and yakult (yogurt drink). Tip: they offer all their sauces opposite the main counter in squeeze bottles, so if you’re not sure how you want to roll when you order, you could skip the sauce on your bowl and go rogue instead – try a couple that look interesting and add them yourself. It’s not quite the same of course (the sauce should go directly on the fish), but it’s great if you’re in the mood to experiment.
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Shown here is The Triforce with tuna, salmon and yellowtail plus lots of other goodies. Since I love eel, I asked if they would customize their signature bowl and they happily complied. Mahalo 🙏 for bringing your ’ono grinds to the neighborhood, Poké Bowl Station – I’ll be back soon!
 
 

Dim Sum VIP

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Instagram Post 11/2/2017

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I stumbled upon Dim Sum VIP at 68 Mott St, Manhattan, shortly after their opening and it’s been on my to-eat list ever since. It was fortuitous that I was in the neighborhood recently because almost everything I tasted was worth doing again (something I seldom do because I’m always on the lookout for something new). It’s the kind of format that we New Yorkers may be less accustomed to although it’s commonplace elsewhere: you’re furnished with a list of dim sum and you check off whatever is your heart’s delight at the moment.

A large poster on their window touts Abalone Siu Mai; since I love abalone and since siu mai are often a litmus test of the chef’s skills, I reasoned that the choice would yield a double return on my investment. I was not disappointed. The siu mai were unusually dense and delicious (reminiscent of Joe Ng’s work) and the abalone topping was, if you’ll forgive my mixed metaphor, the icing on the cake.

The synergistic Crispy Shrimp Rice Roll exceeded my expectations as well. Envision shrimp in a crisp fried spring roll wrapper swaddled in a steamed rice roll; the roll was greater than the (dim) sum of its parts.

The Red Oil Wontons were accompanied by steamed greens as a foil (a nice touch) and were excellent, presenting just the right amount of heat; the Chaozhou Fen Guo dumpling was tasty as well.

Note that the prices are a few dollars more than the neighboring dim sum parlors, but definitely worth it.
 
 

Cachapas y Mas

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Instagram Post 10/29/2017

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Smile when you say that! Just as Mexico has its lineup of stuffed snacks like tacos, burritos, quesadillas and so many more, so Venezuela 🇻🇪 lays claim to its own collection of lavishly loaded sandwiches, often based on corn or plantain. Cachapas y Mas at 678 Seneca Ave, Ridgewood, Queens (also at 107 Dyckman St in Manhattan) runs the gamut of styles and fillings, to wit: cachapas, sweet corn pancakes, typically topped with cheese and folded over quesadilla style; arepas, a little smaller, less sweet, made from corn flour and used for a classic Venezuelan sandwich; and tacuchos, Venezuela’s answer to burritos. In the plantain-as-bun department, they offer patacones, pressed green plantain sandwiches; and yoyos, sweet plantain sandwiches. They also offer pepitos (more familiar looking, like a hero/sub/grinder/hoagie depending upon your personal provenance) and other options. Mix and match your fillings, including three kinds of cheese, ham, chicken, sausage, pork, and beef, each in a number of styles and all delicious.

This is a patacon (rhymes with “not alone”: I must be thinking comfort food) with three meats (pernil, chorizo, and carne mechada) plus cheese, lettuce, tomato, and a couple of kinds of sauce. Everything is good, but if this is your first time, I suggest a cachapa or a yoyo with your choice of filling.

In addition to their brick-and-mortar venues, they have a Cachapas on Wheels truck.
 
 

Haat Bazaar

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Instagram Post 10/28/2017

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The medium is the message. I thought it looked rather like an artist’s palette, loaded with an assortment of rich colors poised to caress a canvas. Rather, it was an assortment of rich flavors in the form of bhortas (aka bhartas) poised to impress our palates. Start here to learn about Bangladeshi food because these spicy mustard oil and onion infused mashes are a staple of the cuisine, and are considered by some to be comfort food. They begin with virtually any vegetable (and sometimes dried fish) and are certainly a complement to rice but are comfortable with any dish. Obviously, the flavors vary depending upon the main ingredient – a fish bhorta will taste quite different from one made from dal – but I was intrigued by the subtle variations from one alu (potato) bhorta to the next. Once you know what you’re looking for, it’s not too difficult to identify potato, tomato, dal, eggplant, fish, etc. but the helpful folks behind the steam table at Haat Bazaar, 37-11 73rd St, Jackson Heights, Queens patiently identified all of the dishes they had to offer (see photo 2 for a helicopter view of our feast) – which was necessary for us since there are no menus. Definitely worth another visit.