105 Hudson St
(between Franklin St & Moore St)
New York, NY 10013
(212) 219-0500
Just a quick update on Nobu...
I went on a Sunday night with three friends and tried a respectable part of the small plates menu. We didn't order off the sushi / sashimi menu since there are many, better establishments for that kind of thing.
I'll echo what is really now conventional wisdom: The food is fair, but not in any way outstanding. Sauces drown as often as they enhance. In many instances, the dishes needed the sauces as cover up.
Among the four of us, we had
1. Yellowtail sashimi with jalapeno appetizer
2. Sashimi salad
3. Asparagus with egg sauce
4. Calamari "pasta" with shitake, asparagus and garlic
5. Miso cod
6. King crab tempura
7. Sashimi tacos (with lobster and snow crab)
8. Halibut cheeks with wasabi pepper sauce
9. The "Bento Box" dessert ("Warm Valrhona chocolate souffle cake, shiso syrup, white chocolate sauce and green tea ice cream")
The good: sauces really were very delicious even in instances where they overwhelmed the dish. The egg sauce was nicely buttery and lemony; the calamari "pasta" came with a tasty miso / mirin / butter concoction; the sashimi tacos came with a tasty and painstakingly minced pico de gallo. The bento box dessert was well thought out and well executed. Halibut and cod were both relatively fresh and non-"fishy."
The bad: tempura was soggy, not crisp as it ought to be. The jalapeno yellowtail was dreadful, yellowtail not fresh enough to be served as sashimi. The addition of the overly salty sauce and the jalapeno was a thinly disguised attempt to cover up the taste of the fish. Overly sweet sauce also overwhelmed the delicate flavor of the miso cod.
With two large carafes of junmai daiginjo and a few teas thrown in, the bill came out to be 70 a piece, not including tax. Service was unremarkable either way. Decor is little helter skelter.
I keep finding myself back here because it's become such an institution. But honestly, if I had my druthers, I'd much rather pay a few bucks more for sashimi at Sushi Yasuda or quite a few bucks less for the same quality small plates at neighborhood joints.
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Charm Thai (New York, NY)
722 Amsterdam Ave
New York, NY 10025-6328
(212) 866-9800
Charm Thai on 95th and Amsterdam has to be one of the best restaurants I've eaten at in quite some time. It's an incredibly good deal for the quality of the food (at least based on the three dishes we tried). The decor's pleasantly kooky, with interesting inverted wok-looking lights, multicolored striped tile, various decorative plates hung on one wall, a random shield-looking thing imbedded in another. It's pleasant and comfortable, not glitzy.
Went tonight (Thursday night) at around 9:30 p.m. and the place was 75% full. We ordered the mixed appetizers for one ($6 or $7), which came with half a spring roll, fried wrapped shrimp, a curry puff, and I think one other thing that I'm forgetting. Everything was simple and delicious, crisp and non-greasy. The curry puff pastry was wonderfully flaky, without the slightest hint of sogginess. And all of the fillings were made with impeccably high quality ingredients. I usually don't like shrimp, but this one was so fresh, juicy and tender that even I enjoyed it. I know the same appetizers are available pretty much everywhere, but this is the best execution I've come across in Manhattan.
I had the tamarind duck for my main and Justin had the ped kee mao. My tamarind duck ($15) was flawless--genuinely excellent. The duck was perfectly juicy on the inside, with the outer skin roasted to a lovely crisp, served with strips of fried (but non-greasy) eggplant. All of this was topped with a perfectly balanced (not too sweet, not too sour) tamarind sauce. Ped kee mao ($8) came with a generous amount of fresh, high quality veggies, all highly flavorful, and nice chunks of chicken.
The restaurant hasn't gotten its liquor license, yet, but conveniently, there's a liquor store right across the street, manned by a very nice older gent. I bought a Chateau Ste. Michelle Reisling to go with our meal.
The food isn't blistering hot, but otherwise, the dishes we tried were authentic. I highly recommend it.
New York, NY 10025-6328
(212) 866-9800
Charm Thai on 95th and Amsterdam has to be one of the best restaurants I've eaten at in quite some time. It's an incredibly good deal for the quality of the food (at least based on the three dishes we tried). The decor's pleasantly kooky, with interesting inverted wok-looking lights, multicolored striped tile, various decorative plates hung on one wall, a random shield-looking thing imbedded in another. It's pleasant and comfortable, not glitzy.
Went tonight (Thursday night) at around 9:30 p.m. and the place was 75% full. We ordered the mixed appetizers for one ($6 or $7), which came with half a spring roll, fried wrapped shrimp, a curry puff, and I think one other thing that I'm forgetting. Everything was simple and delicious, crisp and non-greasy. The curry puff pastry was wonderfully flaky, without the slightest hint of sogginess. And all of the fillings were made with impeccably high quality ingredients. I usually don't like shrimp, but this one was so fresh, juicy and tender that even I enjoyed it. I know the same appetizers are available pretty much everywhere, but this is the best execution I've come across in Manhattan.
I had the tamarind duck for my main and Justin had the ped kee mao. My tamarind duck ($15) was flawless--genuinely excellent. The duck was perfectly juicy on the inside, with the outer skin roasted to a lovely crisp, served with strips of fried (but non-greasy) eggplant. All of this was topped with a perfectly balanced (not too sweet, not too sour) tamarind sauce. Ped kee mao ($8) came with a generous amount of fresh, high quality veggies, all highly flavorful, and nice chunks of chicken.
The restaurant hasn't gotten its liquor license, yet, but conveniently, there's a liquor store right across the street, manned by a very nice older gent. I bought a Chateau Ste. Michelle Reisling to go with our meal.
The food isn't blistering hot, but otherwise, the dishes we tried were authentic. I highly recommend it.
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