Eatyet’s Weblog

To deal with heat wave recently, I’ve been ordering out a bit more. My new favorite place for take-out; 86 Turkish Mediterranean Food Court 2180 86th St. Brooklyn, NY 11214.

We went to eat there once and it’s pretty bare bones looking, but the food was amazing. To get you hands on the pitas while hot, alone is worth a trip. When they are fresh, it’s ridiculously good. Perfectly crispy and crusty with sesame seeds outside, the mostly hollow inside is light and chewy. Even something mundane as fried calamari was excellent when we were there, delivery can’t preserve the freshness but is still very good. They have a huge menu, we don’t eat meat but the kebobs and gyros looked really great. We stick to the cold appetizers, we love the ‘shepherd’s salad’ (tomatoes, cucumbers, onions with sumac), the ‘eggplant salad’ beats the ‘babaghonush’ in flavor, and the ‘hummus’ is decent. ‘Piyaz’ was a nice surprise, it’s a salad of white and red beans that’s much better than the description implies. ‘Stuffed grape leaves’ are elevated by the addition of pine nuts and currants.

I tried the yogurt drink ‘ayran’ once. The bottle states it’s Kosher, made with hormone free milk and salt. I don’t hate it, I like strong tangy yogurt flavors and salty things (and it was quite salty), but combined I wasn’t sure how it went with the food. I would’ve finished it but it’s also really high in fat.

-Lina

Empire Cafe, located off of Westheimer & Dunlavy (Houston, TX) is a quaint little spot that I’ve loved going to for years.  It’s a great place to go on any given day, but especially great on a beautiful day, as they have plenty of outdoor seating. I enjoy going with friends and having a glass of wine with one of their decadent desserts (mmmm Italian creme cake). I behaved and did not get one that night. I know…For shame! I like that it’s within walking distance of the many boutique, thrift, and antique shops down Westheimer.

So this past Friday, my brother, sister and I hit up Empire because my brother wanted the Friday special. Friday special? I ask. See that delicious glazed salmon pictured above with asparagus and other veggies served over rice? That is the Friday special. My brother was kind enough to let us taste a bit of it. Absolutely delicious. The salmon was cooked just right and didn’t have that fishy taste salmon sometimes has.

I started backwards with this post, but my brother also ordered a mojito and I thought it looked pretty interesting. Mojitos are mojitos, but this was darned good. It wasn’t as strong, which I appreciated. I think for most people, you’re not there to get drunk. You’re there to enjoy the atmosphere and have a good drink on a lovely day.  I think next time, I’ll grab a mimosa.

And a meal with my family wouldn’t be complete without an appetizer. That night we had *dips of the world*. An appetizer with baked pita bread and three different dipping sauces; a spinach & artichoke dip, black bean dip, and a marinara sauce. Personally, that spinach & artichoke dip was my favorite. I ate most of it. heh =)

–Chelle

I would describe Sri Lankan food as spicy and pungent (which may scare off people more than the spice part). These were from a visit earlier this month but I was sidetracked by other stuff, so finally here are the pictures from the Nirvana Café 218 3rd Ave New York, NY 10010. (Menu)

We missed the lunch buffet but there is the dinner special. Get one entrée and the second one is half off.

Passion fruit cordial and Faluda (mixture of milk, rose syrup, and jelly). The sweet drinks really helped to curb the spice load.

We had the Appetizer Assortment (platter of three cutlets, spring rolls and vadais/lentil cake). The cutlet is like a knish with tuna, I really liked it. The spring rolls were good with the spicy dipping sauces. The lentil cakes were hard and I didn’t really care for them.

We really filled up too much on the appetizers. So the Eggplant Moju side was really unnecessary. It’s a deeply caramelized dish of onions and eggplant, its okay, would’ve been better paired with plain rice.

For entrées; I had the String Hopper Kottu: shredded, steamed rice noodles sautéed with vegetables and egg served with fish curry sauce (had to contend with some small bones, not too many). Evan had the Lamprai: dutch-style savory rice accompanied with a curry, sweet-spicy onion relish (seeni sambol) fish cutlet, ash plantain and shrimp blachan (malay shrimp paste) wrapped altogether in a banana leaf. The shrimp paste gave it a really strong smell but the taste wasn’t as strong. It was a lot of food, we end up taking home half our plates and most of the eggplant. I had the Curd and Treacle (forgot to take pic) for dessert, it’s a tart yogurt drizzled with honey (good for digestion). Next time I want to try more desserts and maybe cut back on the appetizers.

 - Lina

In the city there are plenty of places to pay top dollar for chocolate but I refuse to drop the big bucks for anything other than La Maison du Chocolat. They have two stores in Manhattan and more in France, London, and Tokyo. When I went to Paris a few years ago, I didn’t go looking for them; instead I was totally infatuated with Fauchon, which had wonderful pastries but their chocolate wasn’t quite up to par.

The first time I had tasted their chocolates I was in college. My wise and most tasteful friend Tamaki bought and shared a Coffret Maison box and some cake from La Maison (I say cake but it was mostly ganache) with me and some classmates. At first my taste buds were out of tune from copious amounts of the much sweeter Lindt truffles earlier that day (it was college, chocolate was often a meal replacement).  I was in a bit of a taste shock, unable to take in the flavors at first, but the texture was undeniable. It was the smoothest airy creamy chocolate I’ve ever had, and I was soon an addict for life before the day was over. The chocolate flavors were so rich but not bitter and did not have the cloying sweetness that I was accustomed to. I couldn’t go back to the way things were, every chocolate confection I taste would be compared to them.

My personal favorites are their macarons, fruit infused ganaches like the Salvador (raspberry) and Valencia (orange), and their truffles are the gold standard for me. After one Christmas when I treated myself to a large coffret and gaining 8lbs, I learned to enjoy in moderation more (and only a few times a year). So I stay away from boxes, except for the boxes of mini macarons (which are a bargain compared to the chocolates). The shells are perfectly delicate, crisp and chewy, and are filled with their amazing ganache. Flavors include dark chocolate, milk chocolate, raspberry, vanilla, caramel and coffee; a flavor I normally dislike but they made it great.

I don’t klnow what it’s called. It’s a 2 inch wide ball, with a hazelnut filling, rolled in hazelnuts and praline and coated in dark (milk?) chocolate.

Azuma is located in the heart of the Rice Village area ( 5600 Kirby Dr, Ste 5, Houston, TX 77005), right off Kirby. The decor is modern, with a hint of traditional Japanese flair. The wait staff, hostesses, and even the managers have been friendly and very helpful the past few times I’ve been. Azuma also has a nice wine & sake list, which I have yet to sample. I’ve been here 3 times in the past two weeks. I’m really loving this place.

Sushi. I’ve tried several times, and I must tell you, as much as I’ve tried to eat sushi, I can’t. Sushi and I just aren’t meant to be. So, I try everything else and this time around I tried their shrimp tempura, which is served with miso soup & rice. Their miso soup is delicious and I love the tenderness of the jumbo battered shrimp. They also have a variety of beef, seafood, pork, and chicken dishes. Another dish that you must absolutely try is the Azuma hot rock beef. You can choose from their standard beef or their kobe beef. Basically it’s about 6 oz. of beautifully sliced beef which comes with this extremely hot (so hot it’s red) rock that you in turn cook the beef on. They offer a side of their mango ginger sauce and their terriyaki sauce for dipping the meat in. It was inventive and the rock stayed hot until I cooked all my beef.

P.S. My friends who’ve had the sushi thought it was really good, so I’ll just have to take their word for it. And, when they say spicy tuna roll, they really mean spicy tuna.

Azuma also serves robata dishes. These are different meats, seafood, pork, chicken grilled on a hot plate. Now, the grilling is mainly done in the back and what comes out are these cute and tasty grilled appetizers. I’ve had a few of the items already and I would highly suggest the Japanese short ribs. Oh they’re my favorite. Also, my friend enjoyed the lightness & taste of the grilled calamari (pictured above).

I’m a little upset that I couldn’t get a better photo of Azuma’s friend banana tempura w/ice cream. It was good, but you can’t really go wrong with banana tempura, and ice cream makes everything taste better. I would have to say that the dessert menu could have more items on it, but what they do have, and I don’t have a photo of, is MOCHI ICE CREAM. For those who’ve never had mochi before, it’s a Japanese sticky rice dough with an ice cream filling (mochi wiki). At Azuma, they serve you with green tea, red bean, mango, and vanilla mochi. The green tea is my favorite. It’s light and cute and full of yum.

–Chelle

First off, I didn’t bring a camera with me, and even if I did, it was really dark inside so I doubt I could’ve gotten any good shots. This week (and last week) is New York Restaurant Week. It’s a great opportunity to eat at some restaurants that you were saving for a special occasion but never got around to. Dévi (8 E. 18th St., New York, NY 10003) is a really nice though pricey (for moi) Indian restaurant near Union Square. I’ve been dying to go there for the past year, ever since I bought Indian Home Cooking.

 -L

No, not a bar of chocolate, but a bar for chocolate. I first visited The Chocolate Bar ( 1835 W Alabama St., Houston, TX 7709 a few years ago when a friend of mine mentioned it to me. Since that one time, I have absolutely loved the place and take anyone who hasn’t been there yet. So, when an out of town friend told me she liked chocolate, I thought what better place to go than The Chocolate Bar.

This place has its own chocolate shop adjacent to the “bar” area where you can find an assortment of chocolates, from seasonal designs to your chocolate covered bon bons. But, I must say my favorite area is the bar area. The walls are a bold purple, adorned with candy inspired movie type posters and randomly placed disco balls hanging from the ceiling. There’s plenty of seating, although it doesn’t seem like plenty on a busy Friday night.

So since we were full from dinner, we decided to share a slice of cake. Do you see how gigantic that happy slice of heaven is? Do you see the bottle of milk behind it? You’ll surely need it to get through your decadent dessert. We decided on a slice of Uncle Darryll’s chocolate cake. This moist, 4 layer chocolate cake had the richest, yet lightest chocolate filling. It was covered with what seems like a chocolate ganache and then topped with toffee bits. It was fantastic. Between the two of us, we still couldn’t finish it.

Besides their different varieties of cakes, they also serve their own home made ice cream. I’ve had it in the past, and I think the one I’ve deemed my favorite is the one with white and dark chocolate bits in it. It was just all sorts of yum, and if it wasn’t so chilly, I probably would have had some tonight. I have yet to try everything on their menu, but one of these days I will. There is also fresh brewed coffee and a killer hot chocolate. The staff has always been friendly and helpful and my trips have always been pleasant. I believe the desserts are moderately and reasonably priced, anywhere from $6.95 and $9.95, for the portion of cake/pie you get. Others may disagree, but I have no problem throwing down for some good old chocolate cake.

The Chocolate Bar is a place “Where every hour is happy hour” (yups, that’s their motto). It truly is. Sitting there and enjoying good chocolatey desserts and good company makes a cold Friday night feel remarkably warm.

–Chelle

Té House of Tea (http://www.tehouseoftea.com/ 1927 Fairview St. Houston, TX 77019) is snuggled between Montrose & Shepherd, right on the corner of Woodhead & Fairview. The ambience is very mellow, and I noticed that the second we walked in today, with the soft reggae playing over the speakers. There’s a butterfly hanging from the ceiling, photos (for sale) hanging decoratively along the walls, and the cutest tea pots/sets/cups displayed throughout the cafe. The seats are comfy and the whole place gives off this cozy vibe.

It’s definitely a place I’d go to on a relaxing Saturday morning or afternoon for some tea. However, as I learned today, it’s not somewhere I’d go for my quick one hour lunch from work. This place is really just somewhere you go and meet friends, have a good talk, share a crepe (or get your own, because those things are DELICIOUS). I had eyed the menu before heading over there, and decided on the roasted chicken & brie panini, which comes with a salad, all for the lovely price of $5.95. I did not know there was going to be cranberry sauce on my panini. I’m not a cranberry sauce kind of girl, so my friend was kind enough to share her margherita panini with me (pictured above). It was divine. The fresh tomato, melted mozarella, and basil served on a perfectly herbed foccacia bread really hit the spot. OH!! The salad was great too. I’m not sure what type of vinaigrette they used, but I really liked it.

I should have gotten tea, but didn’t this time. I wanted to be able to enjoy it, and not be in a rush to finish it. My friend did get a small pot of their Strawberry Fields Green Tea. She’s not a tea drinker, so it really wasn’t her cup of tea. It did smell fabulous, though.

So I leave yall on a happy note. The highlight of my meal was the crepe with chocolate spread, topped with fresh strawberries, whip cream and powdered sugar (see below). It was like a taste bud orgasm. You can choose from a variety of spreads and fresh fruits. That crepe was certainly the best I’ve had. I’m definitely going back for more.

–Chelle