Thursday is the new Friday

Thursday was one of those great nights of food, drink and perfect company. And I had all my fun within a 5 block radius. After work Ann took me to Al di La for a glass of wine - I can't wait to go back there to eat. It's one of those neighborhood places - everyone knew Ann and the staff is super friendly. Of course, she is the poster child for Al di La after appearing in the picture accompanying the NY Times review last year. They don't take reservations and are very small, but their new wine bar helps prevent the people back up during dinner. While sipping our marvelous whites Ann pointed out some of her favorites on the dinner menu - more to come on this fine place of Northern Italian food. Then we walked over to her house so I could get the low-down on house and poodle sitting, and the pots, pans and utensils I'll be needing for my upcoming Italian Spring Dinner Party! I have to say, the setting will be perfect for feasting and friends.

I then ran over a couple blocks to Rose Water on Union St, to meet Alix and Livy for another Brooklyn restaurant week pick. It was not easy to get a normal reservation time for dinner, but Alix had managed to do so. Rose Water focuses on American Nouveau - seasonal, local, organic and satiating taste buds. We started with a WONDERFUL white German wine, of which I've forgotten the name (anyone want to sponsor my wine education?) and absolutely superior bread, a little saltiness on the crust and dipped in olive oil and a fantastic white bean spread - the most nuanced of flavors.

For the prix fixe, there was an impressive array to choose from - I started with a chick pea stew, which included a giant, flavorful cheese-stuffed falafel. Golden roasted chicken for my entree, with sweetly sauteed mushrooms - I was already getting too full to finish, but we then ordered dessert, sharing all three: a chocolate peanut butter cake, apple fritter, and a vanilla cheesecake...ohhhh, myyyy.


Then hopped down the block to Union Hall to meet Erin and Nick for a drink. Union Hall is enormous. Despite it's size, it's always packed. Of course, there are many diversions, including a music venue on the lower level and bocce court on the upper level. That's right - the twenty-somethings of Brooklyn evidently know their Bocce. It's a great place to hang out with your pals, with several areas of comfy seating and even a pseudo library and fireplace. A patio is on the side for those much anticipated summer days.

Ah, Thursday night. I think that explains why on Friday night I fell asleep to a movie rental...

Al di La
284 5th Ave (and Union St.)
Park Slope, Brooklyn

http://www.aldilatrattoria.com/

Rose Water
787 Union St (between 5th and 6th Aves)
Park Slope, Brooklyn
718-783-3800

Union Hall
702 Union St (and 5th Ave)
Park Slope, Brooklyn
718-638-4300
http://unionhallny.com/

Yuca Bar

I had eaten tons of food all weekend, but I'm glad Justin pressed for the Yuca Bar Sunday brunch. It's prix fixe for $12: brunch cocktail, coffee and a humongous plate of "pan-Latino" food. But that's not all. Yuca Bar is very good at atmosphere - it strikes what I think is a 1970's Cuban appeal. Everything inside has hues of golden yellow and orange - the walls, the pictures, the fresh orange juice, and the mimosas. Music is always good and usually Cuban. Justin's bloody mary was a work pop art - tall glass, deep red-orange juice with a vibrant green celery stalk and bright yellow lemon wedge suspended artfully.

I had a giant scrambled eggs burrito with jack cheese and bits of chorizo, fresh pico de gallo and guacamole on top, and yuca hash browns on the side. One cannot go wrong. We were very full at the end, so we started a nice long slow walk through the city, striving for the calmer parts so as not to disturb the digestive tract. Luckily, it was a warm and sunny day.

As soon as it turns Spring in New York the performance artists come out of the subways and into the parks. On our meander from the east to the west side, we had free entertainment everywhere. The real prize winner was probably the (ahem) talented young lady at Chelsea Pier who was singing her heart out about...it wasn't clear exactly. But it was passionate, without pause and improv Broadway-style, if there is such a thing. We, um, then decided it was time to head back to the train.

Yuca Bar: Cucina Latina
111 Avenue A (and 7th St)
East Village, New York
212-982-9553
http://www.yucabarnyc.com/

Assenzio - Tanti auguri a te!

I have an unfair affinity for Italian food. It cannot be helped. On Saturday we went to Assenzio, a Sardinian charmer in the East Village. I'm sorry that I forgot my camera for the whole of this food weekend, so I will test my descriptive writing skills.

I would camp out at Assenzio for a long time. Pitch a tent and eat the antipasti all day. Tables are all crammed together in a cozily lit room with light sea foam green walls and (probably) creaky wooden floors. Italian phrases scripted on the walls, with little candles lighting your way. You must go here. We were a good-sized party celebrating two birthdays, and we were lucky to get a table in a little alcove.

Our jubilantly tall Italian waiter taught us the Happy Birthday song in Italian and came to check on us many times. He was cheery, brought us good wine, and we had great fun.

The sun-dried tomato and olive oil spread on bread made me deliriously happy. I must try to replicate this. We shared lightly battered calamari and zuchinni with a tomato sauce for antipasti, along with a melted hunk of mozzarella between grilled slices of juicy portobello. For primi, I had a perfectly al dente fusilli with tuna, capers, and olives. Although I thought all together it would be very salty, it was in fact truly balanced. Dulci? We shared three among us: a pear tart, fried bananas crusted in cinnamon and sugar, and a chocolatey chocolate tort, all with gelato on the side for good scooping.

We walked over to Avenue C and in true birthday fashion, tried to go dancing. Maybe it was too much pasta, so we finally settled at Yum Schneider, a wonderful German bar. With a disco ball and stuffed animals perched in paper mache trees, it's certainly peculiar. But very nice and with a wide range of German beers and food. If only my pasta has not expanded, I would have sampled more...

Buon compleanno, Ryan and Brad!

Assenzio
205 E 4th St (between Avenues A and B)
East Village, New York
212-677-9466


Yum Schneider
229 E 7th St and Avenue C
East Village, New York
212-598-1098
www.yumschneider.com

Scottadito

Brooklyn restaurant week is a genius invention. It means you can get a three course meal at any number of fantastic places for a reasonable $21.12. The only flaw is that it does not include wine or dessert, which we know must come with every meal.

My charming party was a bit late for our dinner at Scottadito, osteria Toscana, but that gave me some serendipitous time at the bar to eavesdrop for a moment...The lovely and very pregnant bartender and a man that appeared to be a neighborhood regular were having an agreeable exchange in Italian. I have no idea what they were saying, but it was something about good food and life, I'm sure.

Turns out the restaurant is new to the neighborhood, though I was so sure it had been around forever - it looks comfortably settled in, with sturdy butcher block tables, worn brick walls and low, heavy wood beams. Like a homey cave of good food and nice, mellow tunes - anywhere from Dean Martin to Brazilian bossa nova. My friends and I sat by the front window, which is huge and looks out onto Union St in Park Slope.

Delicious food, of course. For antipasti, a vegetable souffle in a pool of tomato and basil coulis. For primi, an orecchiette with beets, arugula, black olives and ricotta salata. Orecchiette is a thin, ear-shaped pasta named for it's shape - orecchio is "ear" in Italian (both vocabulary and stomach grow). For secondi, a nice tilapia coated with dry herbs, along with steamed greens. We drank a delightful Montepulciano and for dulci, a heavenly tort of rich dark chocolate and some creamy chocolate gelato, with our steamy lattes and cappucinos.

Also for dessert we had a deeply involved and intense discussion about the concept of the moustache - what it symbolizes, it's shifting power dynamic, and the female equivalant. Everyone had an impassioned opinion on this topic, and by the end we were no closer to consensus. The Italianness of Scottadito must have rubbed off on us!

Scottadito
788 Union St (between 6th and 7th Aves)
Park Slope, Brooklyn
New York
718-636-4800
http://www.scottadito.com/

Forecast: food, snow and sleet

Mid-march and we have an actual snowstorm in NYC. The whole day I was buried in my scarf, hiding from little beaming ice pellets and avoiding giant piles of snow and slush. Ryan and I planned to meet at BAM cafe after work, have a little dinner and go back downstairs to the theater to catch a movie, thus smartly avoiding more wintery mix.

We walked into the hugely cavernous cafe, looking forward to the menu, but saw empty tables full of empty wine glasses. It looked like a mass exodus had just occurred. It was 10 minutes of feeling semi-strange as waitstaff were cleaning before we found out that the kitchen had just closed. The people before us had ate, drank and scurried into the theater. Whoops. The best laid plans...

No worries. We went back outside and trudged through the ice and snow to nearby Pequena.

The only thing about Pequena that's actually small is the restaurant itself. The plates are huge. I don't know how authentically Mexican the food is, but I'm always happy eating there. Little tables are crowded into a small colorful space with el Dia de los Muertos figurines and little twinkly rose lights.

We were pre-celebrating Ryan's birthday (more food and fun coming next week!) and after two minutes of sipping our deliciously tart margaritas, the entire table was full of food for us to share. There was some serious rearranging to get everything to fit. And we were faced with a food challenge: eat everything in 30 minutes in order to make the movie. Fish tacos with chipotle mayo in soft corn tortillas, rice and black beans, and a plate of sweet plantains, guacamole, and pico de gallo with hot tortilla chips to scoop it all up. Needless to say, we packed in quite a bit and ran to the movie.

It's cash only - thus one more dash through snow and ice to an ATM. Then a quick hustle through the messy streets and sidewalks to get back to BAM. Wet socks and shoes, but great dinner and movie. The movie, The Lives of Others (Leber der Anderen) was brilliant and beautiful.

Pequena
86 S Portland Ave (at Lafayette Ave)
Ft. Greene, Brooklyn
New York
718-643-0000

The Lives of Others (Leben der Anderen) - in German with English subtitles
http://www.sonyclassics.com/thelivesofothers/

Remembering Sunday Brunch...

Every week I start anticipating the weekend by Tuesday. Since the next weekend food adventure seems light years away, I simply have to recall the past until the future arrives...this past weekend Ryan and I met for brunch at Caracas, a Venezuelan restaurant in the East Village. This place opened in a storefront the size of a small bathroom and then after some time of taming the hungry, drooling crowds that gathered nightly outside, the owners expanded to the much larger (still pretty cramped) space next door. Caracas has a happy and colorful decor, bright table clothes with giant flower and fruit pattens, and big painted murals on the walls.

Here is the thing about Caracas: if you go there once and eat an arepa, afterward you will suffer strange cravings and urges to return. Arepas are foods you do not cross paths with often. That said, if you see one, eat it - a semi-sweet corn cake with any number of meat, vegetable or cheese items stuffed inside. My favorite has a combination of ripened and sweet avocado, black beans, sweet plantains, and a soft, fresh cheese inside that is dyno-mite. When I say dynamite, I mean you could literally explode with happiness. Also try their appetizers - Emilia and I have shared some favorites: tequenos (little fried cheese sticks), tajadas (fried sweet plantains and cheese), guasacaca and chips (Venezuelan guacamole and plantain chips), or ensalada la acida (multi-bean and corn salad with a puckering lemon dressing).

Last Sunday after Ryan and I unsuccessfully tried to get a table for brunch at Yuca Bar (another favorite place), we walked down the block to Caracas at prime time and sat right down. Ah, desayuno. I had un plato muy delicioso. An big plate of the favorite fillings listed above, plus perico - eggs with peppers, tomatoes and onions - and a big glass of sweet passion fruit juice. Life is good.

Caracas Arepa Bar
93 1/2 E 7th St (between 1st Ave and Ave A)
212-529-2314

Caracas To-Go
91 E 7th St
East Village, NY
212-228-5062

www.caracasarepabar.com

Letter from Roma!

This was the best letter I've received in a long time...You don't even
need pictures to visually taste this scene. If after reading it
you don't want to immediately fly to Italy, there is something horribly
wrong...

Dear Christine,

Yesterday I went to the most incredible Sunday Italian lunch in
Frascati, a beautiful little town right outside of Rome up on a hill
with great views of the city. The house was amazing with a huge yard
full of lemon trees, orange trees, olive trees, a tomato garden and an
apricot tree. There were about 30 people invited and a long table was
set up outside for the lunch. Luckily, it was a beautiful sunny,
spring day.. perfect for lunch outside.

The guests arrived around 1pm and the lunch began with an
assortment of antipasti- sausages, olives, a spinach quiche and a
chicory quiche, a ham brioche, and grilled vegetables. We drank a
punch made with fanta and prosecco...it was all delicious. After awhile,
we all sat down and the main course began. For the primi piatti we were
served lasagna alla bolognesa and rigatoni with carciofi (artichokes)
which was actually cooked in their brick oven outside -
it was all too good for words!

For the secondo piatto, we had small sausages with a sweet potato dish
that is kind of hard to describe but absolutely delicious. Just picture a ton of
people all sitting together eating and talking away with wine glasses
being constantly refilled and bread being passed around. After the
secondo piatto, came the beginning of the desserts: a macedonia, a
fruit salad, with all the fruit of the season and whipped cream on top,
of course.

Next came all the other deserts and the prosecco.
Everyone finally got up from the table for these and ate standing in
the yard or sitting on the little benches by the vegetable garden and
under the apricot tree. The desserts were brought by the guests, who
were from all over the world. There was a tiramisu, bread pudding,
chocolate chip cookies, an apricot cake, nutella crepes, and many more
that I can't even remember (I was super full by this point and didn't
have enough room to try all the desserts!).

By this time, the sun was beginning to set and it was getting a little cooler.
We all went inside were we had espresso and the guys fought over whether
to watch rugby or soccer on tv. There were two amazing pianists in the group
who took turns playing on the piano. Later, we all went outside again
to watch the sun setting over Rome and when it was finally time to
leave we all crowded into a couple of cars to be dropped off at the
Metro station (the last stop on the A) to get back to Rome. As a new
friend of mine from the US said, it could easily have been a scene
from an Italian movie. An absolutely perfect Italian Sunday!

Love, E

Melt - in your mouth?

Melt does not look typically Park Slope. It's very stylized, both on the plate and in the interior. Bare walls are semi-cozy feeling, some a dark chocolate brown, others ivory. Warm lighting, spare-looking tables and chairs. Furniture and lack of decor shows the dichotomy of both straight edge and curvy lines. This would make sense if you saw it.

The inside of Melt inspired a conversation among Alix, Colin and I about design and architecture - we observed that despite living in one of the boldest, fastest moving cities in the world, New York does not go leaps and bounds ahead in architecture. Where are the crazy, sleekly curvaceous buildings we all think of as futuristic? Even super laid back Seattle has a space needle. Mystery unsolved.

So the food...I am never quite sure about "New American" food - it usually looks good but falls short and feels sadly overpriced. However, the lightly fried goat cheese ravioli that we shared on a salad of arugula, almonds and stewed yellow tomatoes was top-notch appetizer. A sensation surprisingly peppery mingled with the goat cheese. My salmon main plate was artfully arranged AND delicious - a compact stack of fish, under teepee-ed asparagus and sprigs of thyme standing like a flag on new land, all resting on a soft plop of whipped potatoes and ginger infused spinach. Modern architecture and design?

The co-owner told us the various meanings of Melt after we mused over coffee and inquired - a melting of flavors, the American melting pot of cultures and also the "sensation of melting". I had a hard time with that one, but Colin had an example: like when you come in from the freezing outdoors and your ears and fingers are painfully cold but the heat of your home and your chocolate drink warms and tingles you. That's "melt".

Melt
440 Bergen St (between 5th and 6th Aves)
Park Slope, Brooklyn
New York
718-230-5925

Max Caffe

Happy hour is best spent at Max Caffe. There is simply no contest. It's the winner, with only two possible hours during the week to celebrate - Wednesdays and Fridays from 5:00 - 6:00. This signifies that all wines are 1/2 price!

Max also wins the ambiance contest - comfy, vintage-style chairs and couches, grouped around scratched and worn coffee tables (read: a good trip to the thrift store). A scuffy wood floor, giant mirrors and big art on warm red and brick walls. Mellow bossa nova pipes through the spacious room. Lights lower as six o'clock nears.



Friday evening James and I had a (ahem) business meeting, starting there shortly after 5:00. I had the sweet Nero D'Avola and shared my favorite Antipasto di Verdure, a plate of - clearly - heaven-sent grilled crisp and buttery zuchinni, asparagus, yellow peppers, and carrots, paired with fresh, soft and salty mozzarella and crusty italian bread. See what I mean by no contest? Happy hour is normally spent getting increasingly sloshed and hungry at the same time. Oh, not here. Buzz comes slowly, in style and comfort.

Max is a coffee house, cafe and wine bar. Thus, it is suitable for all hours of the day. Also, it is two blocks from work, so I have tried all the various hours, sampling their excellent cappucino, panini, wine, and antipasti. But hmm...have not yet consumed dessert there...

You will leave feeling...discerning: After just one glass at Max, my friends have come up with brilliant observations - once Katie mused that, "Strangeness supercedes structure." Mull over that - it can be applied to almost any situation. Emilia and I have dissected our boy situations over countless glasses of the Montepulciano, always emerging with absolute clairvoyance. Or feeling...better.

Max Caffe
1262 Amsterdam Ave (at 122nd St)
Morningside Heights, New York
212-531-1210
http://maxsoha.com/caffe_home.html