chic eats: the breslin

As a passionate and unabashed carnivore, I'm ashamed that it wasn't until April that I finally dug into The Breslin's meaty menu. Liza Ilarde was in town so we rounded up some former MEGA girls for a get-together at this chic little English-style pub. While the wait can be long and the quarters a smidgen tight, The Breslin agrees with me. For one thing, they have a great beer list with both local craft and classic English brews. And then they have a dreamy menu of bar chow that includes delights like this lovely plate of crispy sweetbreads and spiced lentils. Absolutely delish!

Our non-meat-inhaling friends went with scallops and an herbed Caesar salad with anchovy croutons.

But the winning order of the night was Minelli's: the Terrine Board featuring intriguing varieties like guinea hen with morels, rabbit and prune headcheese, liverwurst and a classic pork pâté, all served with pickles, piccalilli & mustard. At $32 for a board, it is a great spread to pick on while enjoying good beer and even better conversation.

Almost makes me want to wish for a gloomy day so I can skip the beer garden and squeeze into a cozy pub for some great beer and grub ... almost.

The Breslin is located at the Ace Hotel, 16 West 29th Street (near Broadway), New York, NY 10001-4502.

post-world cup pulpo

I'll be honest. I didn't really follow the World Cup all that much. For the duration of the games, my Facebook status updates mostly read, "Just let me know when Cristiano Ronaldo takes his shirt off. Thanks." And then I completely lost interest after I was told the players weren't allowed to remove their shirts anymore (marketing FAIL). I had allegiances in certain matches but that had more to do with my gratitude to certain countries for the wonderful beer they have fueled my life with (Germany), the location of the city I love and live in (USA), the smokin' hot players (Portugal), and the chocolate they regularly provide me when my eyelids start to droop at 3pm (Switzerland). Today, I followed the finals with mild interest as I had to study for my Spanish test tomorrow. But strangely enough, even as I was laboring at learning Spain's tongue, I was rooting for the Dutch. One of my dearest friends ever, my brother from another mother Johan, is Dutch. So I really wanted them to win it and hear of the mad tales of celebratory debauchery afterwards.

But alas, the victory went to Spain. I ended up spending the evening dancing to Brazilian Forro and a smattering of Latin music at L'Orange Bleue, which inevitably meant dancing amongst the victorious red-clad Spaniards. But don't worry Johan, I had this to commiserate with you and your countrymen:

I thought the salad was quite nice. There was some bitter arugula, endives, turnips, baby turnips, orange segments, and of course, the grilled octopus. The octopus was very tender and not all overly chewy. I would've liked a few more orange segments to counteract the bitterness of the arugula, though. I'm now a fan of their peach sangria, which for $27 a pitcher fueled a few hours of dancing pretty well. I also really liked how easy-going the staff are at L'Orange Bleue. They don't rush you at all, which is unheard of in Manhattan, and will even sit with you and take you for a spin on the dance floor. (The downside is, you may be in a rush to leave but if you're server is in the middle of dancing to Dejame Entrar, there's not much you can do but wait!) This probably isn't the place for someone not interested in getting chummy with their servers, but if you're looking to unwind on a Sunday night as we were, then this is definitely a great place to do it.

Felicidades to our Spanish friends. Hopefully my proctor for tomorrow's test comes to NY via España and will be a tad more forgiving (or too hungover to notice) wandering eyes. I kid ... does this look like the face of someone who can do wrong? (Just work with me, come on.)

Wishing everyone a productive week ahead, now that you can all finally go back to actually working!



L'Orange Bleue is located at 430 Broome Street (at Crosby Street), New York, NY. Tel. (212) 226-4999

spice market

No matter how many times I've been there, I always have to suppress a gasp when I walk into Spice Market. What a stunning place ...

Last Wednesday was no different. I'd been to Spice Market on a few other occasions with my Filipino freinds. This time I was with my dearest Céline, our visiting Belgian friends Kevin and Jelena, and soon-to-be-New-Yorkers Kim and Chris (well, Kim's going back to being a New Yorker really, but that description just rolls off the tongue much more easily). 

A friend once told me that the interiors of Spice Market consists of elements imported from Bali, which is pretty believable given the incredible level of detail inside. The food is oft described as reimagined Southeast Asian street fare, which I must say  leaves me feeling a tad neglected since they seemed unable to find a single dish to include from any of the Philippines' 7,100 islands.

But enough taking things personally and moving along to the important stuff. What did we eat? I thought about ordering the Red Curried Duck, which I've tried before and loved. But since it was a ridiculously hot night in New York, I felt more inclined to have seafood. I picked the steamed red snapper with shitaake mushrooms, ginger, scallion and tarragon ($27). I loved the strong flavors, which nicely soaked into the soft and succulent fish.

However, the next time I come to Spice Market, I am definitely ordering what Céline had: the Halibut Cha Ca La Vong with herb salad ($25). The halibut was just addictive, swimming in that heady soup spiked with turmeric, peanuts and fish sauce. Love, love, love. I had total food envy.

Kim's dish was also pretty delicious: Onion and Chili Crusted Short Ribs with Egg Noodles and Pea Shoots ($22). The flavor reminded me a lot of beef brisket soups so common in Asia. So hearty, and the short ribs were incredibly tender and flavorful. This dish is also definitely worth a repeat.

While my entree was not the best of the bunch, I was still stuffed silly since I took full advantage of the complimentary jasmine rice and polished off my entree completely. Such a great meal with wonderful company. Not much more I could ask for ... except maybe an haute version of sisig or turon on the menu someday?

Spice Market is located at 403 West 13th Street, New York, NY. Tel. (212) 675-2322

booty call cuisine

It is imperative that I eat at Xiao Ye as soon as humanly possible. 

This joint, set to open in the Lower East Side next week, is brought to us by Eddie Huang of Baohaus, a former lawyer/streetwear designer/restauranteur (he also writes a blog called Fresh Off the Boat which cracks me up to no end). I've never been to Baohaus but now feel this pressing need to trek down to Rivington just to get a bao to tide me over til Xiao Ye opens. Baohaus earned its stripes from turning up some of the most delish Taiwanese  Gua Baos in town. As described in this New York Times article, "God is in the details. The buns are steamed in lotus leaves. The pork is flash-fried, and then simmered in rice wine, soy sauce, rock sugar, ginger and star anise—a technique called “red cooking” in Mandarin—plus cherry Coca-Cola, which adds a hint of caramel." Good lord. I can barely sit still. I am definitely in dire need of having some Chairman Bao stat!

But I digress ... my point was, I really need to eat at this restaurant. Xiao Ye means midnight snack, and the fare served is Taiwanese street market food—otherwise referred to by Eddie as "booty call food." (Source: Serious Eats) I forgive them for naming a dish "Trade My Daughter for Fried Chicken" because they have Hainanese chicken on the menu, which I loooove. They serve it with a sunny side up egg—a combo I've never tried but now I'm itching to know if chicken and egg jive. And I feel the need to hand over some of my hard-earned cash to an establishment with the balls to name an appetizer "Poont@ng Pot Stickers", a veggie dish "Help U Poo Poo Greens", their noodles "Kim Jong's Ill Noodles", and a pancake dessert "Flat Taiwanese Bootycake." It also tickles me pink that their lobster dishes have names like "Robster Rice" and "Robster Craws." I am a fan of people who don't take themselves too damn seriously. I'm positive I will be dreaming about the Extreme Taste Salt Cured Pork, which is marinated in soy sauce and wine for 24 hours before cooking, until the day I step into Xiao Ye.

For more of the wacky menu, see the images on the right. Counting the days til this booty call comes ...





Xiao Ye is located at 198 Orchard Street (between Houston and Stanton Streets), Lower East Side.
Baohaus is located at 137 Rivington Street (Norfolk Street), Lower East Side. Tel. (646) 684-3835

keeping death company

I suppose a place called Death & Company is a bit of a weird spot to have birthday cocktails at. But if you'll indulge my morbid side for a second, you have to think that every year we grow older, we do get a bit closer to kicking the bucket, right? So I'm just being real here. In any case, I should be so lucky if I met my end via death by cocktails and foie gras.

Having said that, I actually just picked this place because Zoe and I passed it last week and I couldn't believe that I'd never been there. So we set up an intimate party of cocktail lovers to celebrate my impending 30s (it's still a year away, but clearly I have a flair for the dramatic). The wait for our table was a tiny bit annoying, but after half an hour and some sweet talking out front, we did get seated. I got a kick out of the menu, which had all sorts of quotes that I am totally including in my repertoire. This one's a favorite:  

The quote above seems particularly geared towards me since I am given to proclaiming that I will wake up at 7AM and run 4.5 miles after drinking roughly five gin & tonics. Death & Co.'s cocktail menu is pretty extensive, separated by the main spirits used: rum, gin, tequila, whisky, champagne or beer. Furthermore, they change their menu every few months to incorporate in-season produce. I settled on the Hoi Polloi, which was refreshing, delicious, and served in a satisyingly tall glass.

We hadn't planned on eating but Zoe, Mat and I have very little willpower when faced with the words "foie gras, pork belly and truffled macaroni." The seared foie gras, priced at $18, was totally worth it. We were served two slices of foie about 3 inches long and 1 inch wide, laid atop dainty corn cakes and quince puree. Heaven. Just heaven.

I loved the presentation of the truffled macaroni (above), which made clearing out the plate a breeze. Not that it wouldn't been wiped out if the macaroni was simply dumped on a saucer. Macaroni, cheese, bread crumbs and truffle oil are just heavenly, no matter what. I wasn't able to get a good picture of the pork belly but they were quite good as well. The pork was flavorful, and the meat-fat-crispy-skin ratio was on point. Even Zoe who is very particular with pork belly gave this dish two thumbs up.

Qualms: there was a strange and rather unappetizing odor permeating the area where we were seated, making the feeling of being inside a massive coffin a bit too real, if you know what I mean. I would definitely come back to Death & Co., but I would let that air out first ...

I proclaimed this week my birthday week, so you can expect a few more stories about how I milked my birthday for the next few days ... in the meantime, if you're in New York, I hope you'll go do something amazing to enjoy the fabulous weather that we're having today. If you're elsewhere in the world, have a wonderful weekend!

Death & Co. is located at 433 East 6th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A, New York, NY 10009. Tel. (212) 388-0882

dinner at megu midtown

Last night we celebrated my dear friend Gaea's birthday at Megu Midtown. Most of us had this on our "Restaurants to Try" list so we were pretty excited. But frankly, it was largely a let-down. Service was extremely slow, inattentive and rather unrefined. At the prices they charge, you would think the servers would be trained to put dishes in front of the person that ordered it. Half of our party had at one point worked in restaurants so the fact that they failed to do such a basic thing really irked us. Two people splurged on the Omakase but did not seem to find it worthy of the $180 pricetag (See Pattie's recap of the Omakase at her scrumptious blog, A Slice of Pattie). For me, the only noteworthy things served were:

1. The uni and quail egg sushi. I have not had uni since coming back from my Tokyo trip out of fear that I would just be incredibly disappointed at the quality of uni served here. But the uni at Megu was absolutely fresh and devoid of that fishy taste. It was just silky and delicious, and the creamy taste was enhanced beautifully by the quail egg yolk. Just YUM. It's $11 for just one piece but well worth it if you worship uni as much as we do.
 
2. The Megu Kobe Beef Slices “Ishiyaki” ($34), which you grill on a hot river stone yourself. This  was pretty darn good. The meat was incredibly soft and really needed no flavoring. I subtract a few points though because the waiter actually forgot to put in this order, which happened to be the birthday girl's! Tsk tsk, tut tut. Lucky for them, it's a dish that doesn't need cooking so they were able to rush it out to her pretty quickly. This was light years better than the lamb chops that I ordered, which were cold by the time they got to me. I realize that lamb chops need to be rested to keep the juices in the meat, but my dish was just sitting out too long, IMO.

3. Dessert. This plate of heaven was served up for our birthday girl (but charged to us for $25—no birthday freebies even at this restaurant of supposedly high standards). In the end, we didn't begrudge them the $25 because it was a truly delicious pile of desserts. The mini chocolate souffle, the green tea cake, the banana-flavored mille-feuille, the cream puffs, the little chocolate cubes, even the ice cream and sorbet ... every bite was just scrumptious. But I still begrudge them the rest of the money I paid for the largely subpar meal.

In the end, we consoled ourselves by saying that at least we'd checked this off our list and could move on to other restaurants. But would we come back? Probably not.

apiary

Before leaving for the Tokyo-Manila foodfest, we ... well ... ate. We met up with our friends Chris and Meredith at Apiary, a sleek restaurant in the East Village which serves up excellent New American cuisine for locavores. I love the ambience at this place. It's modern and chic but very warm and accessible. Great for intimate dinners with friends or a possible first date.

We asked for a tasting menu and got the best that Apiary had to offer. Executive chef Scott Bryan started us off with very fresh hamachi crudo with cubes of avocado, slivers of hearts of palm, and jalapeno shavings. Very bright and refreshing, a great way to get our palates going.

Next, an utterly perfect scallop, so tender with succulent and firm flakes. Yum.

Then, a memorable encounter with sweetbreads. I had only had one brief encounter with sweetbreads before but this one made me stop and close my eyes in ecstasy. Sweetbreads are the thymus or the pancreas from a calf or lamb. At Apiary, the sweetbreads have a crisp crust but are melt-in-your-mouth soft on the inside. Truly luscious, with a rich and buttery taste akin to foie gras.

Our main entrée was Peking duck breast served with parsnip puree, caramelized endive, and tokyo turnips. This had to be the best duck I've ever had. The meat tasted rich but was not at all fatty as duck tends to be. It was almost like having a fine steak. Just absolutely divine.

We tried four different desserts, but my favorite was the Granny Smith apple tarte tatin with whipped crème fraîche. The pastry was nice and flaky, and the dessert was not too sweet, which is how I like it. So comforting.

If I remember correctly, dinner plus wine cost us about $90 a person, which was quite a deal considering how much great food we had. Prices are quite reasonable at Apiary, considering the amazing quality of food you get. A three-course prix fixe meal is offered from Sunday to Thursday for just $35, though I don't think I'll be trying that soon. There's just too many things I still want to order a la carte, particularly the braised rabbit papardelle. I recommend visiting Apiary on Mondays, their "Free Corkage" night.

Apiary is located at 60 Third Avenue at 11th Street, New York, NY. Tel. (212) 254 0888

public

On Johan and Lucie's last night in New York, we had a wonderful dinner at Public. I took Johan there on one of his trips to NY last year and we ended up eating at the bar because the restaurant was packed. This time, we made a reservation, though the restaurant was noticably emptier. Whether it was because of the economy or the fact that it was a rainy Friday evening, I guess we'll never know. It's not because of the food, that's for sure, as Public apparently received it's first Michelin star this year.

In any case, we went straight for the entrees that night. Being the experimental freak that I am, I knew what I wanted to order immediately: Snail and oxtail ravioli with pickled shiitake mushrooms, oven dried tomatoes, peashoots and smoked paprika oil ($24.50).

In all honesty, I was a bit disappointed. I love snails, whether it's escargot soaked in buttery, garlicky goodness or the Filipino preparation of ginataang kuhol where the snails are swimming in spicy coconut milk. In this preparation, I could not taste the snails at all. What this dish tasted like to me was beef brisket stuffed into a dumpling. I've had beef brisket soup with peashoots and noodles in many Chinese restaurants, and this was what this dish tasted like to me. I suppose this was meant to be a play on that, since Public serves "Australasian" cuisine after all. All that said, I ate every single bite willingly.

Lucie seemed very happy with her roast lamb sirloin on crispy goats cheese polenta with saffron braised baby vegetables and harissa aioli ($27). I've had this dish before and it's quite yummy, especially with the lovely shiraz we enjoyed. My beef with this dish was the crispy polenta, since I do prefer mine creamy (hello, Bottega's lovely polenta under glass). But Lucie loved the crispy goat cheese flavored polenta, and I can't say anything bad about that nicely medium rare lamb sirloin.

Both times I went here, I wanted to kick myself for not ordering fish because Johan did both times and practically swooned over his food. I'm such a carnivore, but next time I should give fish a chance. I'm not 100% sure, but I think Johan ordered the Australian barramundi with vanilla celeriac puree, braised garlic greens, verjus and muscat grape sauce ($28). I would definitely order that next time. I mean, muscat grape sauce? Uh, yum!

The high point of our meal, however, turned out to be dessert. The great thing about skipping apps is that you leave enough room for dessert and don't feel (too) guilty getting one each. Johan's choice was definitely the best of the bunch: Strawberry shortcake with candied almonds and amaretto mascarpone.

That, my friends, is a wonderful use of $9. Do have it if you get the chance. The strawberries drunk on amaretto, the cream, the crunchy candied almonds, and the delicious shortcake is just heaven.

My dessert paled in comparison, I must admit, but I loved it anyway. I had the salted milk chocolate mousse with tahini ice cream and sesame candy ($9). I do not have much of a sweet tooth and often tire of chocolate after a few bites (yes, I am a strange creature). But make the chocolate a tad salty, and I'm all over it. This dessert is not for everyone. But if you're one of those people who can eat chocolate and potato chips at the same time, give this a whirl.

Our final dessert was Lucie's choice: Roasted peach, buttermilk panna cotta, peach ginger soup and blueberry gelée ($9). This is totally my kind of dessert. I have a friend who doesn't think fruits belong on her desserts (or is it just berries Ludette?) but I am the exact opposite. I looooove fruits on my desserts. I just loved the lightness of the panna cotta paired with the crunchy topping. The sweet peach with a hint of ginger was a nice twist too. The blueberry gelée I could take or leave, but I suppose it made it all look prettier.

My one complaint about my experience was that I got attacked by mosquitoes under the table! I was wearing tights and those pesky devils managed to get through. Even so, I would definitely like to come back, especially to try their brunch. I've heard interesting things about coconut pancakes, a venison burger on a miso bun, and vanilla brioche French toast with some of that delightful amaretto mascarpone and fresh basil. Must wake up for that one of these weekends!

Hope you're having a great Sunday with a nice brunch, hot coffee, fresh OJ, and no chores!

Public is located at 210 Elizabeth Street between Prince and Spring Streets, New York, NY. Tel. 212.343.7011

soba totto

Hello darlings, I'm back from London! I had a fabulous time at the wedding but it is goooood to be back in New York. Happy to be back where people don't drive on the "funny side" (and therefore where I don't put my life at risk everytime I cross the road!). I have some London posts in store for you but my USB key isn't cooperating at the moment so they will have to wait until tonight.

In the meantime, I wanted to tell you about a Midtown spot where I went for a ladies lunch last week with Ludette and Vanessa. Those who work in the area know that choices are a bit more limited here compared to downtown so I like blogging about good places when I find them. I've eaten at Soba Totto before with Sonu but have better pictures this time so I thought I'd rehash.

I personally love soba noodles, but unfortunately I dragged two people who are not big fans of it. Ooops. But the lunch specials are so huge that you will definitely get your fill even without touching the soba. Check out my meal:

The shrimp tempura soba set is a little pricey at $18 but well worth it for the amount of food you get. Aside from the large tray you see above, there was also a side salad, so it's a lot of food. They serve a proper tempura where you get plump shrimp with each bite. The freshly made soba noodles were nicely al dente. The perfectly chewy noodles and the warm broth were so comforting.

Vanessa ordered her usual grilled salmon ($16):

Ludette seemed happy about her Chicken Kuwayaki set ($16). We had a funny episode because she wanted to bring home the soba noodles to her son. Our Japanese waiter was utterly conflicted between wanting to be a good waiter and not wishing the soba to be consumed when it wasn't at its best. Generally, Soba Totto doesn't allow its soba to be taken home because it won't taste as good when it's not freshly made. In the end, he let her take home the cold soba in a doggie bag, but warned that this would not be allowed next time.

Soba Totto is certainly not one of the cheaper Midtown spots, but it's great value for money and the ambience is quite nice. It's probably not good for everyday, but it's a nice place to go to for more special occasions. Just make sure the people you're eating with are not averse to soba!

Soba Totto is located at 211 E 43rd Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. Tel.(212) 557-8200

chikalicious

Chikalicious sounds like it would be the name of either a Filipino restaurant or a Filipino gossip website, but it's actually a chic little dessert bar in the East Village named after one of the proprietors, Chika Tillman from Japan. I went there today with Wendy, our dear friend and broker extraordinaire who's been patiently helping me sift through a million and one apartments. We had a lovely time chatting over pretty desserts.

We agreed that this 20-seat dessert bar is more suited to ladies than men due to the tiny portions. According to the website, the 3-course prix fixe menu is composed of American desserts with French presentation and Japanese tasting portions. In plain English, these desserts that will feel like a mere tickle in a grown man's tummy.

I don't really drink coffee anymore but I had to order a latte ($5) for this dessert session, and I was completely charmed by the tea cup they served it in. I think I want some delicate porcelain teacups for my pad now too.

We were served an amuse bouche of vanilla ice cream set on a bed of vanilla lemongrass gelee. It was delish but not very photogenic.

Wendy ordered the lemongrass panna cotta with pineapple sorbet and cilantro agar agar gelee. The panna cotta was really good; it reminded me of the Filipino dessert maja blanca a little bit. It was a very refreshing and almost tropical dessert with the gelee and the sorbet.

I ordered the warm chocolate tart with pink peppercorn ice cream and red wine sauce. I have to say I was quite underwhelmed by the dessert. It's a cross between a molten chocolate cake and a tart, and I think I would've been more satisfied with chocolate cake. Cake would've been easier to dip into the yummy red wine sauce and the pink peppercorn ice cream. The most intriguing part of my plate was definitely the pink peppercorn ice cream. Sweet and spicy, and the taste lingers long after the last bite.

To cap off our meal, we received a plate with three kinds of petite fours. My favorite had to be the marshmallow coated with coconut flakes. So yummy. I'll have to figure out a way to replicate that one.

It was a very nice experience, for sure, but now that I've tried it I might not be too keen to go back. It's simply too little for too much, I feel (or is that just because I was famished from Bikram class? Something to consider). I might swing by Chikalicious' Dessert Club across the street just to give their menu a whirl. But this place left me with a been there, done that kinda feeling. But I'd say it's something to try at least once!

Where: 203 East 10th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues. Strictly on a walk in basis, four guests per party max

rabbit

Last night, I added another furry friend to the list of "special" things I've eaten: rabbit. We celebrated our friend Coco's birthday at Morandi in the West Village on this balmy evening in New York. I originally wanted to eat something lighter, like scallops or sea bass, but my curiousity got the best of me. I ordered Coniglio in umido, marsala-braised rabbit with pancetta over soft polenta ($22). I'm not a squeamish person—the Filipino delicacy balut, after all, is one of my favorite dishes ever and I've never been unnerved by the sight of the half-formed baby duckling. But I have to say that I had to swallow down a gulp when my dish was laid out in front of me, with a crispy fried leg as the centerpiece. It was like a screaming confirmation that, yes, you are indeed eating bunny. Hmm. After a few seconds of hesitation, I took a bite of the leg. Tasted exactly like chicken. Chicken with the skin fried to a perfect crisp and meat cooked to tender juiciness. There were two round portions, a meat loaf of sorts, with rabbit meat circled with pancetta. This preparation tasted more gamy, more like what I expected rabbit to taste like. It was a robust and hearty meal, but it's something I would probably like to have eaten more on a cold winter night. It paired perfectly with the Chianti we had ordered. I could totally imagine enjoying the same meal at an osteria in Tuscany. All in all, a good thing to try but I think I'll steer clear of Bugs' buddies til the weather cools down again.

Where: 211 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10014. Tel. (212) 627-7575

Momofuku Noodle Bar

After years of wondering about but not really feeling compelled to try the famed Momofuku ramen, we finally stumbled into the Noodle Bar this afternoon. I was starving and raring to eat anything so even though the $16 ramen price tag elicited "what the f*cks" from our party, we dove in anyway.

Our friend Wendy ordered those oft-praised pork buns. Being Chinatown frequenters, our eyebrows raised at the $9 pricetag for two tiny pork buns, of course. One bite made us a bit more accepting. The white bun was soft and creamy, and filled with pork slices rather than the usual shredded pork. Each pork slice had an ample bit of fat and crisp skin, and was seasoned with hoisin sauce and paired with refreshing cucumber slices. It's like a cross between a pork bun, a peking duck roll, and krispy pata (for non-Filipinos, that's deep fried pork belly). Good stuff and perhaps worth coming back for.

Now on to the ramen. Considering that I was starving, I expected to be more blown away than I was, if the Momofuku ramen was indeed so wonderful. But it was just alright. The broth was sufficiently salty and tasty, but not as complex as, say Ippudo. The ramen itself also did not have the perfect al dente consistency as, say Ippudo. What I did like was the wonderful pork slices in the soup (David Chang knows his pork belly, I concede) and the poached egg. Nice stuff. But overall, was it worth $16 and worth coming back for? I think not.

Where: 171 1st Avenue between 10th & 11th Streets, New York, NY 10003