El Idolo (New York, NY)

August 2010

W 14th St and 8th Ave
New York, NY 10011

"Tamale?" he asks before I can even open my mouth. I grin and nod. "Six, please!"

Oh yes, the guys at the El Idolo truck know what I want. They see the tamale lust in my eyes as I stride purposefully down the street with the truck in my sights. Where lesser taco trucks would squeal their tires and drive away fast, this one stands its ground (at the southeastern corner of 7th Ave. and Washington Place, in the evening, and on 14th St. and 8th Ave. during the day) and they give me what I come for: tamales. Good ones. Six at a time.

El Idolo's tamales are fragrant, large, corn husk-wrapped, Mexican-style affairs filled with red chili chicken, green chili chicken or cheese and rajas. The masa is usually flavorful and tender and a nice, not-too-soggy, not-too-dry texture, though it isn't made from fresh ground masa as some of the better vendors make them way up, uptown. Granted, the competition is weak, here, but El Idolo's tamales are usually head and shoulders better than any other tamale I've tried in the area, including Sobre Ruedas (whose tamales are underflavored and a little dry); the incredibly sweet folks who sell in front of Our Lady of Guadalupe on 14th Street, on Sundays (who do beautiful arepas, but terrible, soggy tamales that smell oddly musty); and even the slightly more upmarket tamales at La Palapa Rockola and Havana Alma de Cuba. El Idolo's red chili chicken tamales have a really lovely hint of vinegar and the fragrance of just mildly hot red peppers. Tamales verdes and tamales rajas have a bigger kick.

The reason why I give El Idolo four (or really 3.5) stars, though, is because tamale quality is inconsistent and other offerings are not strong. Tamales have, on a few occasions, been tough and dry; I frequently get a different kind of tamale than I ask for; gorditas sometimes taste of rancid oil; and taco fillings like carne enchillada and lengua are not as tender or well spiced as they are at Sobre Ruedas. Until I find myself up in East Harlem or at the Red Hook ball fields on a regular basis, though, I have to say that El Idolo provides a wholly welcome fix for this tamale junkie.

Annisa (New York, NY)

August 2010

13 Barrow St
New York, NY 10014
(212) 741-6699

Every once in a while, there's a certain confluence of stars that makes for the perfect meal. It's about the food, the company, the service, the drinks, the ambiance, the weather, your mood. On a warm August evening, it all happened for us at Annisa.

Given the recent NYT writeup and prime time dining hour, we weren't able sit in the dining room when we sauntered in without a reservation. But the experience of dining at the bar in the front was so pleasant that I'd think about doing so, again, on purpose. And I'm not just saying that because I'm terrible at making dinner reservations -- honest.

We had access to the full dinner menu and the laid back vibe at the bar was conducive to the kind of good conversation and dirty joke telling Justin and I like to partake in on our dates. In more refined dining rooms, we tend to incur glares from civilized people when we tell crass jokes.

The bartenders were also wonderful folks -- nice, talented and interesting to watch at work making, among other things, real iced tea from real tea bags. One fellow, whom I shall call Pink Shirt Guy, invented an absolutely delicious Caprese cocktail, listed on the current menu. I wouldn't say it was a dead ringer for a Caprese salad, but the basil and tomato notes married in good (Tito's) vodka were fantastic in the summer heat. Egg white foam added a richness that really did recall the mouthfeel of a good buffalo mozzarella.

Here's what we ate:
Amuse

Smoked hake in a delicate pastry shell. There's a fancy name for this, but I don't remember it. The bite was delightful.

Appetizers

Black and Green: Chickpeas, Olives and Garlic. This appetizer also comes in larger form, as a vegetarian entree, and was much better on the plate than it sounded on paper. The heart of it was a lightly fried, soft chickpea flour patty/cake, topped with green and black chickpeas (nutty and *wonderful* -- a must, I think, for anyone who's only eaten chickpeas out of a can) and coarsely chopped green and black olives. The combination of flavors was really quite brilliant.

Appetizer of grilled Japanese eggplant and two peppers (one sweet, one slightly hot), served with a dollop of sour cream. The simplicity of this dish focused attention on the clean flavors of the component vegetables and their "slippery" texture (something that many of us Asian food afficionados get all googly eyed about). It didn't wow, but its straightforwardness was refreshing and enjoyable. The flavor profile reminded me a bit of certain Turkish and Greek mezze.

Mains
Roasted Rack of Lamb, South African Flavors. The lamb was remarkably fresh; spiced and salted in a restrained, but non-wimpy way; and perfectly cooked to a perfect, tender medium rare. I don't know where Ms. Lo sources her lamb from, but I would argue that this is some of the best lamb I've tasted in the city. The chops -- thoughtfully frenched so you can pick them up and gnaw every last bit of flavorful meat from the bone -- come atop a generous square of bobotie, a South African shepherd's pie spiced with cardamom, cumin and allspice.

Salt Broiled Spanish Mackerel with Heirloom Tomatoes, Hijiki and Sweet Onion. Anita Lo's kitchen probably matches Le Bernardin in consistency when it comes to preparing fish. She never serves overcooked fish and I love that she doesn't try to cover up the fresh, strong flavors of mackerel, but rather allows them to shine, unimpeded. The small grape tomatoes in the dish were sweet as candy and dressed with a light hand. HIjiki added some interesting texture, though I'm not sure it really improved the dish's flavor that much, for me.

A glass of bright, acidic 2008 Joseph Drouhin Chablis (poured from a newly opened bottle) went reasonably well with the fish. But if anyone has an even better wine pairing suggestion for broiled mackerel, do tell, do tell.

Mignardise

They brought out a plate of three mignardise right before our bill, which included tiny, passion fruit popsicles, candied ginger and deep, dark chocolate wrapped in mint leaf. I know "palate cleansing" is such an overused, wonky descriptor, but the tiny (inch long), adorable, brightly flavored passion fruit popsicles really were that. Dark chocolate was a bite of intense, very high quality chocolate, though the mint leaf lingered in the mouth for a while after the chocolate was gone. I'm still trying to figure out whether I enjoyed that or not.

Ms. Lo really does work her own kitchen frequently, if not every night, to go by our non-scientific survey: We catch a glimpse of her coordinating with her team every time we go. If you see her, just try not to stare at her with your mouth open like I do. I think it makes her uncomfortable.