Picnic Garden

I really enjoy introducing people to new foods. As long as they are curious enough to try, I'm willing to show them. On this chilly night, a few friends, Mr. M&P, and I drove over to the Picnic Garden in Edison, NJ. There we enjoyed in the delights of all you can eat Korean barbecue dinner for about $30+ per person. That includes a buffet of meats and seafood for the grill and a variety of cooked appetizers, rice, soups, and ice cream. It also includes traditional banchan like tofu, kimchi, pickled cucumbers, etc. It's really a great deal. And what's best is that they have these huge vents above every grill allowing the smoke and odors quickly get sucked up instead of into your clothes. Oh and have I mentioned it's BYOB? Oh yeah, bring your own booze. Does that sound enticing enough for you?

We started the night with some appetizers. I usually like to choose some lighter more vegetable based fare to offset all the meat we would be eating that night. Above, I had some jap chare, watercress salad, spicy cucumbers, pajeon, and mandoo.

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Junoon

To celebrate my sister and my birthday, we chose to go to Junoon this year. She always wants something different from what she usually eats. She doesn't eat a lot of different cuisines. It's not that she's not adventurous. It's more that she doesn't go out of her way to explore and discover much like Mr. M&P and I. Anyway, I know that she doesn't have much experience with Indian food so I thought it would be a good idea to suggest fancy Indian food. Most people have some kind of pre-conceived notion of what Indian food is; And that's usually curry. Boring and wrong. It's so much more than that. And I for one, wanted to find out more about the cuisine too.

So we sat a very spacious table and spoke with the waiter. We asked him about the menu and what would be best to share. We went through many suggestions and ordered a good variety. But to start, the kitchen sent an amuse bouche of carrot soup with paneer. It was flavorful but light. A really nice easy start to the meal.

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Parm

One night after helping Mrs. Green M&M and Mr. HP Sauce move, Mr. M&P and I were ravenous. It was still early in the night so we decided to see if we could score a table at the ever so popular Parm. There was a bit of a wait but we were in no rush. So when we got seated, we kind of ordered with our eyes while our stomachs gurgled in hunger.

We started off the night with the Pizza Knots ($5) which were like garlic knots but with sauce and cheese. These were quite tasty but didn't blow my mind. I wouldn't mind order them again but only when I'm craving them.

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Marta

When I asked Dessert Zombie what he wanted to do for this birthday, he didn't hesitate about Marta. This new Danny Meyer establishment has been getting wonderful reviews. What can I say? That man really knows how to run a restaurant. No wonder he's consider the king of New York.

Unfortunately we waited a bit for our table as the guests before us took their time. But once we were seated, the waitress apologized and we were on our way to some delicious food. We started off by sharing a bunch of appetizers like the croquetti di patate e salame ($7) which were just okay. Sure the outside was crispy and the inside was a mix of creamy potatoes, scallions, and soppresata but I've had better. It wasn't bad but certainly didn't shine like the other dishes we chose that night.

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Oda House

Have you ever had Georgian food? The country, not the state. Neither have I. But I've been hearing a whole lot about it lately in the food news. It's becoming quite popular among the circuit these days. So Mr. M&P and Dessert Zombie, and I went to try some. So what's the most famous dish to have? Why the famous Georgian bread, khachapuri!

This freshly made to order bread come piping hot to the table in a boat like shape cradling delicious fillings. The most popular is the adjaruli with cheese, butter, and a raw egg ($16).

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Peasant

For Mr. Peanut Head's birthday, we went to Peasant. He's never been there before but several of us have. It's an oldie but a goodie. Solid Italian food with bold flavors. We sat as a fairly large group so I didn't take pictures of everything. I mainly focused on my own dishes and Mr. M&P's.

To start, Mr. M&P had the Pizza Bianca ($16) which was a white pizza with mozzarella, ricotta, and parmigiano reggiano and in season fava beans. This was fantastic. While I enjoyed the three cheeses, I really thought the fava beans took the pizza to another level adding both mouth pleasing flavor and texture to the dish.

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Stage House Tavern

It has come to Mr. M&P and my attention that we need to explore our neighborhood some more. So one random night, we decided to go out to dinner. We chose the Stage House Tavern as it always seemed to be busy. Once we arrived, we wished that we had gone and visited earlier. They have a really nice outdoor area with its own bar, tvs, and tables. A good space to just sit and hang out. But since it was a bit chilly this night, we decided to have a table inside and enjoy dinner.

With a predominately Italian menu with some American aspects, the menu looked pretty simple and familiar. We started with the garlic bread to share. This wasn't exactly what I was expecting. This Italian bread with chopped garlic, cheese, and even more cheese on top was kind of like an Ellio's pizza but not as bad as that. You know what I mean.

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Tuesday Nights: Boulton & Watt

Towards the end of one year, my friends thought that we weren't hanging out enough. It's true, we weren't. So they started Tuesday night get-togethers. Every Tuesday, we'll pick a bar to drink, eat, and hang out for a couple of hours. Whoever can make it will attend. If you're busy, it's okay. There's always next week. So this is Tuesday Nights on Tasty Eating where you will find bars that serve food and how we like them.



On this recent Tuesday Night, we headed out to: Boulton & Watt

I enjoyed Boulton and Watt so much the first time that we decided to go back for some more. However, we found that some of our favorite items on the menu are no longer there! So long braised short rib toast. We'll miss you dearly. So instead, we decided to try a few of the newer items on the menu. First up, the tuna tartare ($14) with tuna, charred pineapple, avocado, and red pepper chutney with a side of fried taro chips. A nice refreshing start to the night.

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Root & Bone

Comfort food has taken over the restaurant scene across this country for awhile. It almost seems that every new restaurant is about the casual scene each toting the best this or the best that. I've seen a lot of burgers, noodles, and fried chicken places pop up recently. I'm wary about a lot of these new places but when Root & Bone hit the market with rave reviews of their fried chicken, I had to check it out. My favorite, Bob White, is fantastic and I wanted to know if Root & Bone would measure up. So off I went with Dessert Zombie in tow to celebrate some happy life changes. We sat at a two top table in a fairly small restaurant. Expect to be elbow to elbow with your neighbors. They try to squeeze in as many tables as possible in this place. We arrived at an early 5:45pm for dinner and the place was packed by 6:30pm. All this on a weekday. Yup, it certainly is a buzzed about place.

Now onto the food. There was no doubt we were going to order the fried chicken. The half chicken to share, in fact. But what sides and starters should we get as well? Biscuits, of course! The Grandma Daisy's Angel Biscuits comes with a bowl of honey roasted chicken jus for dipping and some salt and seed on the side. These biscuits came hot to the table and were quite nice. I actually preferred them without the chicken jus as I enjoyed their buttery flavor. Were these the lightest and fluffiest biscuits? Nope but quite nice on their own.

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Tuesday Nights: BXL Zoute

Towards the end of one year, my friends thought that we weren't hanging out enough. It's true, we weren't. So they started Tuesday night get-togethers. Every Tuesday, we'll pick a bar to drink, eat, and hang out for a couple of hours. Whoever can make it will attend. If you're busy, it's okay. There's always next week. So this is Tuesday Nights on Tasty Eating where you will find bars that serve food and how we like them.



On this recent Tuesday Night, we headed out to: BXL Zoute

I've been to sister restaurants of the BXL Restaurant family before and enjoyed them. So when I found out that there's one flatiron area, I wanted to try it out too. BXL Zoute is a bigger and newer version of this chain of Belgian restaurants. I do, however, enjoy the kitsch at the other locations too. So it's personal preference, really.



We looked over the menu and picked a few things to share. Above (from left to right), Bitterballen ($8) which are meat studded bechamel croquettes. These were awesome! If you like Spanish croquettes, you would love these little balls of creamy, cheesy goodness. We also had the Boudin Noir-Coquille ($14) which was an interesting plate of seared scallops and blood sausage. This take on surf and turf combined sweet tender scallops, and funky meaty blood sausage. And finally, one cannot go to a BXL restaurant without ordering the Moules Frites ($22). They offer several different flavors but we opted for the traditional kind: Marinieres (white wine shallot broth). Perfectly plump mussels in a delicious broth ripe for some crusty bread. And the frites were no slackers either. Crispy and well seasoned. Delicious!

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Aldea

For Mrs. Pattis Magician and Ms. Pastry Chef's birthdays, we went to Aldea to celebrate. This George Mendes restaurant focuses on Spanish and Iberian Peninsula cuisine. Seafood is showcased here as well as any seasonal ingredients. You may choose to dine a la carte but the $75 4 course meal is ideal if you prefer to get more bang for your buck. You get to pick any snack, first course, main course, and dessert from the menu. The dishes are not made smaller if you choose the prix fixe. So if you're a big eater, this would work very well for you. For myself, I had some issue finishing all my food but that's just me.

Before I continue, the prices listed below are the a la carte prices. However, we did choose to do the prix fixe.



To start, the snack I picked was the Croquetas de Bacalhao ($11). These creamy little balls of bechamel and fish was light as can be. The side of roasted garlic aioli was nice addition of strong garlic flavor without overpowering the lightness of the croquetas.

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The Capital Grille

Me: Hello, Mr. Haribo Mule

Mr. HM: Hi

Me: Steak dinner in NYC?

Mr. HM: Why yes, of course.

Me: Capital Grille in Midtown?

Mr. HM: Sounds good.



And that's how it usually goes when Mr. Haribo Mule comes into town.

First up, some shrimp cocktail to share. Not huge by steak house standards at all. But the taste was decent.

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Barchetta

For Ms. Lollipop's birthday, we went to Barchetta. She is known to love seafood both raw and cooked. Barchetta is David Pasternack's new seafood place. It opened with mixed reviews but we wanted to go and judge ourselves. The space is open, bright, and modern. They didn't change much from the previous restaurant (La Promenade des Anglais) so we recognized it right away.

Due to lighting and our larger group, it was difficult to take pictures of other people's dishes. So I only took my own and the birthday girl's food.



To start, I had the Calamari alla Piastra ($16) which was grilled whole squid with red hot pepper and arugula salad. The squid was cooked nicely and I enjoyed it being left whole with tentacles and all. Inside, they left the ink sack as well so it became a sauce. I enjoyed this and was the perfect amount of food to start the night.

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Del Frisco's

It seems like steak has become the meal to celebrate good news. And good news it certainly was. With The Feisty Foodie and Dessert Zombie, we gathered to wish her good luck on her new job. And what better way to congratulate her than with big pieces of charred meat. Oh yeah. You know you want it.

To start, we had the off the menu slab bacon ($6 each). This is no ordinary diner bacon. This is a thick slab cooked to order. Be careful though. All that bacon means extra salt. All that salt means thirst and downing hard alcohol to quench it. Ahem ahem...

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Tuesday Nights: Bar Bacon

Did you know there's a bar in Hell's Kitchen that serves all things bacon related? Oh yes, my friends. BACON BACON BACON. What did you say? Bacon has jumped the shark? Shut up. As for the rest of you, please continue and read about all the bacon foods we had that night. With beers too, of course.

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Balaboosta

As someone who is very much into food, I've had my fair share of good to even great meals. I've also had my share of mediocre to bad ones too. But very rarely, do I come across a meal that not only satisfied my hunger but also impressed me so much that it left me with the feeling of elation. Balaboosta is one such restaurant. From top to bottom, I was just happy. The food and the service was great. This is one restaurant that I would highly recommend to you even though I haven't even gone through what I had there yet. Yes, it was THAT good.

Balaboosta has been on my go to list for awhile. So when Mr. Matzo Ball's birthday came around, I suggested it. He was as excited as I was. I made my reservation for a group of 6 and happily waited until it the day of the meal. A few days before our reservation, we needed to add 2 more people. No problem, I thought. Oops! It seemed to be difficult for the restaurant as the space is not that big. They'll try to accommodate us but no promises. So as the date crept up, I became more and more nervous. And this is when the front of the house went above and beyond their duty. They made it work for us. They had every right to deny us a table for 8 due to the last minute changes but they worked their magic. The accommodated us in every way and I was very grateful.



And that was only the beginning. Now onto the food! We started with a bunch of appetizers to share. First up, the fried olives with organic labne and harissa oil ($8). These delicious morsels of briny olives breaded and fried until crispy. And the ultra smooth strained yogurt with a punch of chili oil. A really great way to start off the meal.

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Restaurant Week: Fogo de Chao

I thought about writing a more lengthy post about my Restaurant Week experience at Fogo de Chao. But really there's not much else to say than, it was not good.

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Momofuku Ssam Bar: Duck Dinner

Awhile ago, TT & CT, and Mr. M&P and I went on a double date. No reason except that we really wanted to try the duck dinner ($140) at Momofuku Ssam Bar. This is one of the special dinners that they offer. You can also do a bo ssam or a dry aged ribeye steak. But we had our eyes on that luscious duck.

But this is no ordinary rotisserie duck. They take a whole duck, stuff the duck and pork sausage under the skin of the main body. Then they take the other parts and make a stock out of it. More on that later. Before, the beauty is cut up for us, they bring it table side to show us the beautiful lacquered skin. So shiny. So pretty. So drool inducing.

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Gato

When it comes to birthdays with my sister and her husband, Mr. M&P and I split up the year. The spring/summer is focused on the boys. The winter is for the girls. This past birthday celebration (the boys), we wanted to try something new. Lucky for us, Chef Bobby Flay had just opened a new restaurant in NYC. It's been a long time since he's opened up a new restaurant and we were excited to try all the new influences he's been playing around with.

We decided to share everything so that we may taste more dishes together. To start, we had the White Chicory Salad ($14) with chorizo, egg, fontina cheese, and apricot almond dressing. This was a really nice salad both bitter and luxurious from the richness of the egg and fattiness of the chorizo. The dressing added the slight sweetness that it needed.

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Kin Shop

Dinner with the family: Mr. M&P, Ms. Pastry Chef, Mrs. Green M&M, and Mr. HP Sauce. We spent the night in the city and celebrated with food. And lots of it. Our first meal that weekend was at Kin Shop. I have previous enjoyed Chef Harold Dieterle's Perilla and The Marrow. Kin Shop is a contemporary Thai restaurant with a casual feel. The dishes are all made to share so it's a great group place.

To start, we had the lobster summer roll ($16), fried broccoli and Chinese sausage ($12), stir fry of aquatic vegetables ($9), and fried pork and crispy oyster salad. While everything was delicious, I personally enjoyed the stir fry of vegetables and pork and oyster salad the most. The former for the simplicity and the latter for the wonderful textural and flavor contrasts.

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