Yes, it’s true, the final week of NYC restaurant reviews has arrived. Don’t fret…I may have some special meals in my back pocket, you know, saving them for a rainy day! But I am looking forward to getting back to sharing some fantastic recipes with you and some more delicious meals here in Toronto (as in the restaurant I just visited last night!) So GET PUMPED!
Photo from Zagat
Our first of the last dinners brought Adam and I to Pok Pok in Red Hook, Brooklyn. I have to say, since honeymooning in Thailand last April, we haven’t been able to find any Thai food that felt truly authentic. Well, once we stepped into Pok Pok, that all changed. Pok Pok’s interior really made us feel like we were back at one of those family run restaurants on the side roads in Chiang Mai. And the amazing back patio, where they have a grill and beer slushie, was also fantastic. Again, twitter friend to the rescue, I discovered my new favorite cocktails.
The Stone Fence: Applejack, Som apple drinking vinegar, draft cider, and bitters. AKA my new favorite cocktail in NYC!
Pok Pok makes these “drinking vinegars…” may sound weird but trust me, just order a drink with it and prepare to have your mind blown! The rest of the food was simply amazing and the serious heat coming off the papaya salad brought us right back to our Thailand honeymoon.
Het Paa Naam Tok: Spicy forrest mushroom salad with soy sauce, lime, and chili powder dressing, shallots, mint, cilantro, and rice powder
Cha Cha ”La Vong:” Vietnamese catfish marinated in tumeric and sour sticky rice and fried in tumeric oil with scallions and dill. Served on rice vermicelli. You smelled this from across the room! This was my fave dish of the night!
Papaya Pok Pok with sticky rice: spicy green papaya salad
Our last dinner, just the two of us, took us back to the restaurant where we had our first dinner in Brooklyn way back in May, 2011. Al Di La in Park Slope has such a cozy vibe, and as we settled into our booth, we felt like we had just moved to Brooklyn again. Famous for their homemade pasta and rabbit dishes…you can guess what we went for!
Red beet and ricotta ravioli with melted butter, parm, and poppy seeds
Braised rabbit with black olives and polenta. Basically tasted like a richer chicken but that polenta…so creamy!
Homemade tortelloni with mascarpone and artichokes
On our first visit, the table next to us ordered their ricotta doughnuts for dessert and the smell alone made us order our own batch. This visit was no exception and they were just as delicious as the first time!
Ricotta doughnuts with melted chocolate and whipped cream for dipping
My parents arrived for the weekend to help us move and drive all of our stuff home. Don’t worry, in between lots of packing, I made sure we had time to hit up two more restaurants. Juventino is a Mexican inspired fusion restaurant in Park Slope. A beautiful rustic interior, the service and food was truly top-notch.
Bread plate. Served with roasted garlic, goat cheese, and honey butter with sage
Mushroom soup with truffle oil and crisp egg. This was the my favorite. The egg was soft boiled, breaded, and fried and sitting on a bed of delicious tomato sauce. So unique!
Seared scallops with corn puree, glazed carrots, asparagus, and cherry tomatoes. This corn puree tasted like pure roasted corn. So good!
Seared cod with tomato rice, citrus beurre blanc and caviar
Roasted free range chicken with sous vide breast, roasted vegetables, pickled carrots, and white truffle honey
The owner noticed that we had been waiting a very VERY long time for our entrees (re: over an hour). He wasted no time in coming over and was so apologetic, he comped the entire meal. We were all kind of shocked but he was insistent that our whole meal (we were a table of 6 who all ordered apps and mains) was on the house. I was blown away…the food was delicious and beautiful and service like that, really just can’t be beat.
The final meal also showed how good the customer service can be in some of New York’s restaurants. Aquagrill in Soho seemed to be the perfect spot for a fish loving family.
Complimentary tuna tartare on potato chip
Onion foccacia, jalapeno corn bread, ciabatta
With little touches, like complimentary tuna tartare and fantastic bread service, we were off to a good start. The waitress was extremely helpful in helping us all choose our orders and the smells coming from other people’s tables made our mouths water!
Grilled striped bass with parmesan gnocchi, maitake mushrooms, and mushroom gravy
Caramelized mango tart with mascarpone cheese and macadamia ice cream. Surprisingly very bland.
Adam, has you may have noticed from his love of Kraft dinner and really, anything I make, is not a picky eater. So when he commented about how his fish tasted “off,” I knew something must be wrong. The manager immediately came over, apologized profusely, took his entrée off the bill and gave us a free dessert. Might not have been the best dessert, but it was a very nice touch.
Miso glazed sea bass with Korean kimchi, twice cooked string beans, and a wasabi miso sauce
My fish however, was perfectly cooked and I literally licked that plate clean (okay, so maybe not licked but mopped it up with the delicious onion foccacia).
So how’s that for a final week of eating? Not bad, if I do say so myself! Next up, what you’ve all been waiting for, my “best of” New York list. So stay tuned!
Oh HEY there, Twitter friend!! Thanks for the link back
I’m so glad you liked Pok Pok – that Cha ca “la vong” is unreal, as is the Stone Fence cocktail. Also happy to hear that you enjoyed your week in New York – what an epic few days of eating. I love it.
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[...] many of our favorites are featured with recipes of some of their house specialties….from the rabbit at Al Di La to the fried goat cheese salad at Rosewater…the memories of delicious dishes [...]