dear

What an amazing week of eating. All gluten-free. What started as a concern of not being around my kitchen all weekend and in the land of Kosher delis and bagels, became a really fantastic marathon of top shelf New York food. I did miss the following foods dearly and gawked at ever stand that sold these…

• Bagels – I couldn’t have my favorite breakfast food and New York bagels are the best. I was continually sad about it
• Hot Dogs – Now the meat themselves in Nathan’s are fine, but not able to eat the bun just ruins the whole hot dog stand idea.
• Pretzels – Also a cart food I had to skip. They’re everywhere and I’d see kids eating them and I’d be so tempted to snatch it from them, but I refrained from being that creepy person
• Cookies and cake desserts – There are cookie and cupcakes everywhere and I had to say no.
• Pizza – New York is notorious for their pizza joints and every place claiming to be the original something. Again I turned an eye to all of them. It hurts a little inside and I mask it with the following star studded and Iron Chef type eating.

Le Bernardin Monkfish

Now that I’ve gotten all the things I couldn’t have, here is the crazy list of places and things I had. Hold on to your hats it’s a wild ride. I’m fooded out and remember this all fit into a total of less than 6 full days.

Spice Market - Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant creations that is fancy asian street food with a twist. It’s located in the trendy Meatpacking District and close to lots of good bars and other restaurants. Overall food was pretty good, not great, but the decor and the service itself were great. Gorgeous interiors, tasty yet weak drinks and items I had were a lobster spring roll, curry and cod. It’s a great place to meet up with friend like I did and to have a good time.

Le Bernardin – Eric Ripert does fine fine dining of seafood perfectly prepared with almost too perfect of dining service. I had  the Hamachi sashimi and Monkfish as entree and it was delicious. Dessert hazelnut with Gianduja cream, hazelnuts and brown butter ice cream was amazing, so much technique in the ice cream presentation. Cooked so nicely and with excellent saucing. Located right in Midtown near Rockefeller center it’s a gem in the middle of total hustle bustle. No gluten fillers here. The service was a bit too finicky for me though. They were  adjusting the plates, silverware and glasses to much, it became distracting.

Babbo

Babbo Sardines with Lobster Oil

Babbo – Mario Battali does it again. It’s Italian and food that preceeds the Mozza line in Los Angeles. His food lived up to all the expectations. We were lucky to walk in and grab the last table. People behind us waited at least an hour before being seated so this was a blessing. Anyways here’s the gluten-free dishes I had, Marinated Sardines great way to start and nicely oiled with lobster oil and carmelized fennel, Gnocchi with braised oxtail (out of this world!), and Beef Tongue (I had to, how many places have this on the menu). It was a thorough meal with wine and unpretentious foods. Our waitress was totally whack, she was flustered and got Amaro and Amaretto mixed up. Come on, hurmph, as if!

Momofuku Ssam Bar – David Chang’s team stirs up some really interesting fusion asian foods in the East Village. Don’t confuse this place with the Noodle bar. Dark interiors and a wait at the Milk Bar sets the proper mood for the clean ingredients here. Assorted pickles (I’m loving pickles lately, these are great), Steamed buns (I couldn’t eat the bun but the meat was crazy tender and fatty), Grilled Branzini (clean and solid dish). Overall the food was good and the place was fun. More on the lighter side and they made asian food really show the seasons of food and great use of vegetables.

wd-50 – So now onto Wylie Dufresn, the whacky guy on the Top Chef Masterswho is filled with molecular gastonomy to make his dishes. Pretty much using science and methods to create his food and flavors. The dishes were hit and miss. Some were great and some just confused me a bit. Shrimp noodles (noodles needs more flavor and the yogurt didn’t go with it), Wagyu Skirt Steak (now this was awesome, great sauce and extremely tender meet) and for dessert Soft Chocolate with peppermint ice cream (very good, but the chocolate looked like little weiners). I think the tasting menu might be worth the try. Overall xcellent service and I actually saw him in the kitchen working! Yes famous chefs actually cook and sauce occassionally. Oh and Jean George is venture partner, so you know this place isn’t going anywhere.

Jean Georges – My favorite restaurant of them all, of course it happen to be last of the fine dining. Opted for the lunch that was only $26 for 3 courses! Crazy I know. Started with Hamachi Sashmi…(ohhh soooo good, the citrus in it was perfect), Red Snapper crusted with nuts (normally I would never get a crusted fish, but I thought this would be the place, ultra fine crust and sweet sour jus oh yeah). Ended with the Late Harvest dessert which had an assortment of cranberry jellies, sorbet and beet pasta and pear. Tastes I haven’t had and a beautiful dining room in a Trump Tower. Oh and the Ginger Lemonade is the best. I believe it’s a simple syrup made from candied ginger with sparkling lemonade. I want it now. ahhhh.

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Read the next post for the casual eateries, snack and bakery foods that were in this gluten-free New York trip.