Bravo African Restaurant

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Instagram Post 3/1/2019

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Some months ago, a group of us led by the redoubtable Dave Cook of eatingintranslation.com fame joined in a West African food crawl through the Bronx stopping at Bravo African Restaurant, 1473 Westchester Ave in Soundview, for these two Senegalese dishes.

[1] The first, Ceebu Yapp (you might see thiebou yapp), literally rice with meat, in this case grilled lamb, is a classic dish served here with an oniony gravy over a bed of broken rice, all the better to drink up the juices. Was it a coincidence that the three most colorful items on the platter, green bell pepper, yellow corn, and red scotch bonnet just happen to match the colors of the 🇸🇳 Senegalese flag?

[2] So many names for this hearty West African staple: Mafé (or maafe or maffe) is peanut (or peanut butter or groundnut) stew (or soup depending upon its viscosity) otherwise known as sauce d’arachide, tigadèguèna or domoda (depending upon your whereabouts). Its tomato base was underpinned with beef, carrots and potatoes and, to my palate, bore a striking resemblance to another West African favorite, palm nut soup, but peanutty for sure. The spice level can vary from one recipe to the next, but by any name it’s always a crowd pleaser!
 
 

Vatan

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When I write about restaurants on Instagram, they’re usually brief takes accompanied by a photo or two. (You can see my feed right here on ethnojunkie.com, updated almost daily, by selecting the “Instagram” category from my home page – no signup required.) But because of Instagram’s character count limitations, it’s often necessary to break up a review into several parts. This one originally appeared as two posts, published on February 27 and 28, 2019.

If for some reason it were necessary for me to go vegetarian, I could handle it thanks to the cuisine of India: so many types of preparations infused with so many herbs and spices in so many combinations create what feels like a boundless array of choices. It’s a cuisine that can be both subtle (the distinction between types of dal for instance) and overwhelmingly intense in the same bite. You can partake of this palate pleasing panoply at Vatan, the exceptional all-you-can-eat vegetarian Indian restaurant at 409 3rd Ave in Manhattan where your helpful, friendly server delivers courses from a set menu; you can request additional portions of any item that you found appealing.

Vatan is as much about the experience as it is about the food – and the food is excellent. Vatan (वतन) is the Hindi word for motherland and the decor, presided over by Ganesha, the elephant-headed god of wisdom, good luck, and the remover of obstacles, is calculated to transport you to a Gujarati thatch-roofed hut where you can relax and enjoy your sumptuous meal.

Here are a few of the extraordinary dishes I’ve tried. (Click any photo to view in glorious high resolution.)

First course: the appetizers – varied and delectable

• Sev Puri – crispy shells filled with potatoes, green gram (mung) beans, yogurt and chutney
• Ragda Patis – potato cutlet in white bean sauce
• Samosa – savory pastries filled with spicy potatoes and onion
• Muthia – steamed flour with spinach
• Chana Masala – garbanzo beans with onions and coriander
• Khaman – puffed cream of wheat flour cakes similar to dhokla
• Mirchi Bhajia – fried hot peppers with garam masala
• Batata Vada – fried potato balls in chickpea flour batter

Annotated

The accompanying chutneys (clockwise from 10:00)

• Carrot Sambharo (mustardy!)
• Fried Garlic
• Mango Chutney
• Tamarind Date Chutney
• Cilantro Chutney

Second course: the entrée thali

• Toor Dal – boiled lentils cooked with Indian spices
• Kheer – rice pudding with dried fruits
• Chole – chickpeas cooked with garam masala, an Indian spice blend
• Ful-Gobi – cauliflower and green peas sautéed in a savory sauce
• Bhaji – sautéed spinach and corn
• Batakanu Sak – potatoes cooked in a mild red gravy
• Papadam – thin lentil wafers
• Puri – puffed whole wheat bread
• Roti – whole wheat flatbread

Annotated

The entrée complements

• Khadi – soup with yogurt and besan (chickpea flour) with aromatic spices
• Khichdi – lentils with rice and assorted vegetables
• Pulao – rice with (undercover) peas

An addition: Rotla, a Gujarati specialty

Flatbread served with classic embellishments of ghee, garlic chutney, and jaggery (palm sugar) and yes, they did work together. Dessert was Indian ice cream, gulab jamun (fried dough in sweet syrup), and masala chai.
 
 
Vatan is located at 409 3rd Ave in Manhattan. I highly recommend it, especially à deux.
 
 

Chat & Juice Express

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Instagram Post 2/26/2019

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“Live Pani Puri!” proclaimed the signs along Jersey City’s Newark Avenue. A common Indian street food, pani puri consists of a crispy spherical shell filled with potatoes or chickpeas, doused with chutney (usually tamarind) and chat masala (a spice blend) and sprinkled with sev (crunchy chickpea noodles); its yogurt-laden counterpart is dahi puri. Each purveyor’s recipe is unique, and therein lies the fun of taste-testing a series of them. Pop one into your mouth whole, no biting please. But “live”? Perhaps in a nod to authentic street vendors back home, Jersey City’s method of production is replicated at a station within the confines of a restaurant where your pani puri, sweet or spicy, is produced à la minute.

[1] Around the corner at 2978 JFK Blvd, Narendra Patel and his wife Hetel own Chat & Juice Express, a small shop dedicated to Gujarati street snacks. (BTW, you might see the word spelled chaat elsewhere.) Here’s their version of dahi puri adorned with jewel-like pomegranate seeds.

[2] This is Dabeli, a peanutty Gujarati specialty that features mashed potatoes and Narendra’s own special masala blend. Definitely worth a stop along a pani puri crawl!
 
 

Legend Chicken

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Seems like I always discover tremendous treats in the teeniest mini-malls when I visit Flushing; Legend Chicken, tucked away in stall number 2 (of only 4!) at 135-15 40th Road in Queens, is a notable case in point. They obviously take pride in offering cage-free, hormone-free, halal-certified poultry, but the fact that all their Taiwanese street food is truly delicious and cooked to order is what won me over. Three examples:

[1] Leg Cutlet prevailed over Legend Pops and Legend Chicken in the “which one should we get” deliberation. Tasty – and there’s always a Next Time to try the others.

[2] Blood Rice Cakes. Don’t be shy, you might like ’em. You won’t know until you try.

[3] Hashbrowns. Your comfort zone reward for trying the blood rice cakes 😉.

There are additional chicken variations on the surprisingly extensive menu along with specialties like Taiwanese sausages, taro and turnip cakes, Venetian tofu and a few items I had to ask about: amid avian accessories like gizzards, necks and hearts, spades made the cut. Nope, not card suits. Turns out those are tails, aka the Pope’s nose, aka the part that goes over the fence last. The real deal.
 
 

Sitafal Basundi

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Instagram Post 2/25/2019

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Exploring ethnic neighborhoods with likeminded foodnerd friends is pretty much my favorite pastime. On a delightful crawl through Jersey City, NJ, we stopped along the way at Rajbhog Sweets, 812 Newark Ave. We were all familiar with their outpost in Jackson Heights, Queens, but this venue appeared to offer a slightly different selection of mithai, chaats, and snacks so I was intrigued.

Peering into one of the freezer cases, I spotted a plastic container unceremoniously hand labeled “Sitafal Basundi” (second photo). Sitafal is the Hindi word for custard apple, a luscious tropical fruit that’s available in season at ethnic markets and sidewalk fruit stands if you know where to go (hint 😉). Basundi is a rich, creamy dessert, particularly popular in western India, that can be served warm or chilled. Made from long cooked cream, whole milk or sweetened condensed milk plus nuts, fruits and spices like cardamom and saffron, one could think of it as kulfi semifreddo. Being a fan of Indian sweets of every fashion, I’m rather partial to it and this version was delicious.

So many more wonderful places along that strip, I need to return soon. Who’s coming with me?
 
 

Hometown Bar-B-Que

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Instagram Post 2/24/2019

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Having to shop at IKEA in Red Hook, Brooklyn is always a good excuse to take a side trip to Hometown, the top notch Bar-B-Que restaurant at 454 Van Brunt St. The sound system treated us to a superbly curated mix of oldies that harmonized with the cold beer I was clutching and made the long wait tolerable: plenty of time to peruse the menu. Gotta get the pastrami bacon, gotta get the lamb belly, gotta get the brisket. Lip-smackin’ good. In other words, the Real Thing.

Speaking of side trips, our sides were coleslaw, potato salad, mac & cheese, cornbread, and collard greens. Yum. More of the Real Thing.

Problem was, I had too much time to study the menu. Korean sticky ribs? Vietnamese hot wings? Did somebody say ethnic food?

That day, I learned my lesson to never stray: you don’t order seafood at an upscale steak house and you don’t order ethnic food at a rustic locale called Hometown. Want mouthwatering fulfillment? You want the Real Thing.

Over the sound system as we were leaving, Marvin and Tammi broke into their Top 10 hit from 1968.
 
 

Mango Mango Dessert

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With a name like Mango Mango Dessert, you know what you’re getting yourself into before you even enter. This chain of franchised Hong Kong style dessert and ice cream shops features a multitude of mango desserts of course, but do check the menu for other specialties like mille crepes (the popular thousand layer treat) as well as coconut, durian and other tropical goodies. Four of us descended upon the 136-28 39th Ave location in Flushing and sprung for the Mango Combos A and B.

[1] Combo A included (left to right): special mango juice, sago (tapioca) and pomelo with mango ice cream, three mango mochis, and snow white juice (coconut) with mango and black rice.

[2] Combo B comprised a pair of mango pancakes, mango juice and glutinous rice balls with ice cream, and snow white and mango juice with sago and pomelo with ice cream.

You got a jones for mango? You know where to go, man.
 
 

Hobak Chaltteok

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For an abundance of Korean supermarkets far beyond the handful that Manhattan has to offer, head out to Northern Boulevard in Flushing. One such business, Hanyang Mart, aka H&Y Marketplace, 150-51 Northern Boulevard, is brimming with Korean staples, produce, fresh fish and meats as well as homemade ready-to-eat fare.

While wandering through the store, I noticed this hobak chaltteok; it looked tempting, so I was compelled to purchase it. When you see tteok (sometimes dduk) 떡 on a Korean menu or label, it refers to Korean rice cake. Hobak (호박) means pumpkin, chaltteok (찰떡) means glutinous rice cake; pumpkin seeds usually figure into this #snack for a little texture. Steam to soften (or microwave if you’re careful not to overdo it) and you’ve got what I suspect is a healthy snack: not too sweet with a satisfying chew that should keep you busy for a while.
 
 

Japan Village – Hachi

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In the beginning, there was a popular well-stocked market in Little Tokyo in the East Village accessible only by elevator, the darling of anyone in search of authentic Japanese ingredients and prepared food. That market, Sunrise Mart, begat Japan Village in Sunset Park (fitting) where cuisine from the Land of the Rising Sun (stretch) now reigns supreme in the Japanese answer to Eataly.

Three metaphors later, I can tell you that Japan Village at 934 3rd Ave in Brooklyn is good – and it’s only going to get better. The food hall that occupies one side of the expanse is home to a variety of vendors, each offering a different category of Japanese comestibles including sushi, onigiri, tempura, rice bowls, ramen, udon and soba, baked goods, bentos, and more. The other side houses a new Sunrise Mart, the genesis of this world.

Hachi, the stall that vends street food like takoyaki (octopus balls) and yakisoba (stir fried wheat noodles) also offers two kinds of okonomiyaki, a shredded cabbage pancake whose name means “your preference” (okonomi) and “grilled” (yaki): the original, with pork; and seafood, with octopus, shrimp, and scallops, our preference. We opted for the add-on scallions and mozzarella. Don’t ask. (The white squiggle is Kewpie mayo, BTW, not mozz.) It was topped with animated bonito flakes that looked like tiny pink flags flapping in the rising steam as if to wave goodbye to my diet. Seriously though, I thought it was perfectly delicious.
 
 

Ends Meat

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Instagram Post 2/22/2019

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My dining buddy and I had set our sights on Industry City in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, our self-imposed mission to hunt down good eats within its seemingly endless labyrinth. (“Haven’t we been down this hallway already?” “I think so, but the antique stove was on the other side last time.”) Indecision gave way to hangry frustration and, exasperated, we declared, “Let’s just share a sandwich here while we figure out where to go.” Little did I realize we were in the presence of virtuosity.

Ends Meat in Building 2 at 254 36th Street, has been specializing in aging and drying meat in their salumeria and butcher shop since 2012; old-style Italian techniques inspire their nose-to-tail cured meats. The sustainably raised animals come from local family farms where non-GMO feed is the order of the day and no hormones or antibiotics are used.

And the sandwich? Not something your mama would have packed in your trusty school lunch box. Behold the Beefneck Sandwich laden with caramelized onions, pickled cucumbers, cheddar cheese and thousand island dressing. Undeniably delicious. Now I have to go back and try some others (the Hogfather and the Bacon and Pate were calling my name as well).