Dear diary……
Oops. Just Kidding.
I have had so much going on lately that I have totally neglected this thing. What to report? I had a birthday excursion to NYC, plenty of food stuff there. I have had the chance to revamp the wine list and enjoyed several new bottles. And it seems like I just changed the menu and am ready to do so again! Jesus, does it never end?
So, on the birthday excursion we first went to Mitsuwa in Edgewater past the fairy landing. It is a Japanese Supermarket that I adore. This location in Edgewater is the only one on the East Coast(Sinatra Drive). The place is cleaner than any hospital I have ever been to. All the aisles are clear, clean, concise, like you would expect something else. So what do we buy there? Mostly dry goods since we always seem to be going into NYC shortly thereafter. Oak aged soy sauce, expensive but wonderful. Yuzu in many guises (Japanese citrus). Furikake, a seasoning mix used on just about everything. It can be made from a variety of foods but I like the veggie one with pumpkin, sesame, egg, seaweed, etc… Brown Rice Vinegar, again expensive but so worth the flavor. a few other odds and ends. But what I really go for? The Japanese Junk Food! Peking Duck Flavored Doritos! Little baby sugar doughnuts, Amazing Jellies/Gummies, Candies, Cookies, and a serious energy drink that makes red bull look like kool-aid! As always, I get a snack for the ferry ride over, usually a cold seafood/seaweed salad and something fried.
On to NYC! I know I gush about the city all the time, but for me it’s a real treat. So many things to do, so many foods to try. It’s like a giant playground for me and I love it!
For lunch, Artisanal. A French brasserie type specializing in one of my food groups, CHEESE! I sampled 10, yes, 10 different cheeses for lunch along with two great Spanish wines (will post later). All were very good except one. This cheese, maybe, could be, if it were dipped in chocolate and topped with a chili, would be my perfect food, You see, Fosterkase tastes like BACON!!!!!!! Yes, BACON!!!! OH MY GOD!!!!!! Need I say more?
For dinner (only a few hours after my cheese-o-thon) we went to Asia de Cuba. It has been on my wish list so I loooked forward to some different and what i hoped wasn’t confusion, Fusion food. Beautiful space, very NYC I’d say. Service was very good and friendly. The idea here is to share multiple plates. Seeing how we had gorged ourselves earlier, we weren’t too hungry. OK, we went all out again, you got me!
Pan roasted Scsllops with habanero crema and plantains was nice, though i prefer my scallops almost raw if not raw. Their take on “ropa vieja” which was duck confit, shredded tableside, with julienned vegetables and napa cabbage leaves. Could have been outstanding if there was a better and more sauce to accompany the duck. The dish wound up being very dry. For the entree, we shared “short ribs” char sui with mofungo. Now let me say this; when the plate came out I was so taken back by the presentation that it almost got cold. I had never seen anyone slice short ribs and fan them out on a plate. They were good with a nice chinese “bark” on one side but again, dry.
Not that i had room for dessert…………….but I took one for the team. Fresh sugar doughnuts with chocolate and caramel sauces. The doughnuts were great. I also enjoyed an aged rum from Anguilla, Pyrat Cask 23, $45 a shot. It was like drinking Cognac, not rum. Amazing stuff, will have to splurge on a bottle when I have a few hundred bucks to spare.
Next up…..
Early Winter Menu, Wine List and new Cocktails!
