Remiss

Yes, I know.  I missed two consecutive days of blogging by allowing my personal life to take over.  Sometimes things go by the wayside.  I'm only human.  Between my 30-40 mile running weeks, my 60-hour-a-week job, friends, family, and boys, blogging is taking the backseat.  

Sunday night, after a dreaded double, I hit up Casellula for the millionth time with a date.  At this point, the staff of Casellula likely thinks I've dated every available (and unavailable) bachelor in the TriState area.  I measure the quality of the date by how the guy reacts to an endless array of cheeses and chocolate cake, which, regrettably, they had run out of on Sunday night.  Probably for the best.  This particular date loved the pig's ass sandwich as much as he loved the five cheese selection I ordered from the fromager.  

That would have been exciting on its own, but Monday brought a whole host of new adventures.  We had a late afternoon cocktail at Gramercy Tavern, my favorite bar in New York City (it always smells like Christmas), followed by what can loosely be termed "very expensive snacking" at The John Dory.  Crudo was nothing short of brilliant.  Nantucket Bay scallops arrived in a giant scallop shell adorned with a meyer lemon reduction.  Kampachi, a personal favorite, arrived beneath slices of ginger, a delicate amplification of the fish's freshness.  We ate an amuse bouche of arctic char pate with fried parsnip chips, oysters with a cilantro mignonette, and rock shrimp over buttery and salty grits.  With two glasses of wine, this seafood snacking came to a staggering $100.  Good news: the warm dinner rolls, bready and delicious, are free for the taking. 

Our meal at The John Dory came too early in the evening to fall into the category of dinner, which meant that after killing some time in Sunset Park I found myself moved to eat again.  Koreatown seemed the obvious option.  Complimentary kimchi spread--pickled cucumber, various styles of napa cabbage, fermented tofu, fresh tofu, seaweed salad, pickled daikon--opened the floodgates for an incredible Korean meal.  A scallion pancake stuffed with kimchi and onions provided the perfect precursor to a big bowl of Korean soup, filled with sliced beef, fresh beef dumplings, vermicelli, and rice cakes in beef broth.  They brought us strawberry ice-cream at the meal's end, which tasted of very good strawberry yogurt.  The day was a resounding success. 

Please know, before entering Koreatown, that you will be treated to all kinds of entertainments, the least of which involve live piano music played from fake rock formations.  I'm not kidding.  This is Manhattan's secret 24-hour-a-day playground.  And it's worth the trip.

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Casellula 

401 W. 52nd Street

New York, NY 10019

212.247.8137

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Gramercy Tavern

42 E. 20th Street

New York, NY 10003

212.477.0777

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The John Dory

85 10th Avenue

New York, NY 10011

212.929.4948

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Kum Gang San

49 W. 32nd Street

New York, NY 10001

212.967.0909

Back To The Cheese Board

I can freely admit that my diet this week has been less omnivorous and more carnivorous. I disclose, also, that it was my intent to eat more fish but I just kept finding myself at restaurants where meat and cheese were the name of the game. Case in point? Last night's visit to one of my favorite restaurants, Casellula.

Last night was a cold night and Casellula is the type of place that makes you feel warm even if it's 100 degrees below zero outside. Possessed of all the warming elements of a fine New York apartment--high ceilings, exposed brick, hardwood--Casellula is the type of haunt that makes it impossible to feel ill-at-ease.

Which may be why the place was so crowded, a luxury in such rough economic times. In fact, my friend was halfway through her Xarel-lo by the time I arrived, ten minutes late. (I drank the Kingston Pinot Noir from Chile, by the way.)

We began with the miso-mustard pickles, a melange of whole baby carrots, green beans, cippolini onions, and cucumbers. (The pickles used to include radish; where did they go?) This recipe actually appeared, alongside an arranged cheese plate from Casellula, in last month's issue of Food and Wine. Next up, four cheeses, selected by the lovely and knowledgable fromager, Tia Keenan. I mistakenly failed to take notes and cannot tell you which cheeses we enjoyed (Casellula regularly keeps 50 or so in rotation), but I can tell you that, in order, they were served with a sage pesto, a chocolate hazelnut brittle, a red-wine poached pear that tasted of Christmas, and a butternut squash puree. Rather than serving a condiment to cover all bases (say, honey), Casellula pairs each cheese indivudually. A peek near the cheese station before I left revealed lemongrass fudge and candied rose petals, as well as other goodies.

Next arrived our crostini, three tiny pieces of toast topped with fresh ricotta, honey, and hazelnuts. Followed by a beet salad with goat cheese and, my personal favorite, the Pig's Ass sandwich, Casellula's take on the cubano. The Pig's Ass comes stuffed with pulled pork, house-made bread and butter pickles, ham, and cheese. The bread is buttered and cooked in a panini press until crispy. The sandwich arrives with a spicy aioli for dipping.

The kitchen sent, with compliments, a new addition to the menu: a short rib sandwich. Braised short rib comes atop a thick and toasted piece of focaccia and is topped with roasted tomatoes and onions. This is the kind of sandwich that would make any slow-cooked meat-lover (actually, I'm thinking of my sister here) drool over her keyboard.

For dessert, we ordered the necessary chocolate cake, a many-layered chocolate buttercream-frosted fiasco (and I mean that in a good way) that is drowned, tableside, in an ample helping of local heavy cream. To honor the holiday spirit, we also had the egg nog, served in a large cappucino cup with three small salty cookies for dipping.

And even though the meal contained no fish, it was exactly the kind of fortification I needed.

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Casellula Cheese and Wine Cafe
401 W. 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019
212.247.8137

Late Night

I was supposed to have dinner at one of my favorite late-night spots last night but my friend came down with a cold, leaving me to fend for myself with takeout and bad television. The place we had planned to visit, Hagi, is actually a late-night destination restaurant. There aren't enough of these serving decent grub in New York.

For those of you looking for something to eat into the wee hours, I've compiled the following list. If this list doesn't do the trick, you can always take the trip to K-town, where kimchi flows 24/7. Enjoy.

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Hagi
(Sake, yakitori, sushi Bar)
Open 5pm to 5am
152 W. 49th Street
New York, NY 10019
212.764.8549

Smith and Wollensky
(Grill only; steaks available)
Open until 2am
797 3rd Avenue
New York, NY 10022
212.753.1530

Momofuku Ssam Bar
(Pork-heavy snacking)
Open until midnight weekdays, 2am T thru Sat
207 2nd Avenue
New York, NY 10001
212.254.3535

Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar and Grill
(Sushi, cocktails, full grill menu)
Open until 2am
308 W. 58th Street
New York, NY 10019
212.309.1404

Blue Ribbon Brasserie
(From matzos ball soup to hanger steak)
Open until 4am
97 Sullivan Street
New York, NY 10012
212.274.0404

Casellula Cheese and Wine Cafe
(Cheese, chocolate cake, delicious sandwiches)
Open until 2am
401 W. 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019
212.247.8137

'inoteca
(Truffled egg toast, traditional Italian treats)
Open until 4am
98 Rivington Street
New York, NY 10002
212.614.0473

Landmarc Time Warner
(Ample wine list, bistro fare)
Open until 2am
10 Columbus Circle, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10019
212.823.6123

Terroir
(Wine bar with many options)
Open until 1am
412 E. 12th Street
New York, NY 10009
646.602.1300

Sushi Seki
(Where the chefs go for omakase)
Open until 3 am; closed Sundays
1113 1st Avenue
New York, NY 10021
212.371.0238