Spice Diary

Where to go for Bahn Mi – Vietnamese Rolls

Bec Sleeman — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 10:00:17 +0000

Hidden, undiscovered, in Little Italy is Saigon Vietnamese Sandwich Deli. This little establishment churns out fresh and delicious rolls with stalks of cilantro, cucumber and carrot to compliment to pickled turnip, house-made pate – or whatever it is you decide to dine on. May i suggest the house special and no breakfast… they’re a decent size! Saigon Vietnamese Sandwich Deli 369 Broome St, New York, NY

Best Fried Chicken in New York – Peels

Bec Sleeman — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 10:00:13 +0000

I’ve tried the fried chicken at The Redhead and over the Bridge at Brooklyn Bowls (catered by Blue Ribbon), but to date, my favorite experience has been at Peels, in East Village.

I thought i would struggle to draw separation - it’s just chicken, fried – but there was a distinctly better flavor from the folks at Peels. Something about the seasoning, and the crunch which hid a juicy, succulent flesh – oh, and the accompaniments! I’m not usually a huge chicken, let along fried chicken fan, but i must say i thoroughly enjoyed this!

Look how super crunchy that chicken looks! Mmmm...

HUGE chicken breast and wings - with dipping sauce.

The kale, mushrooms and delicious cheese salad that we ordered to start.

PEELS

325 Bowery (Cnr of 2nd st)

New York, NY

Brunch at Walter Foods

Bec Sleeman — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 10:00:33 +0000

Complimentary blueberry muffins!

Walter Foods chorizo scramble with red peppers and jack cheese.

Salad of baby beets, goat cheese, toasted almonds and raison walnut toast.

Walter Foods has a cosy gastropub feel, located on Grand Street in Brooklyn. While i have only been for a Sunday brunch, i would love to return to try out the raw bar!

Walter Foods

253 Grand St,

Brooklyn, NY

Magnolia makes more than just cupcakes!

Bec Sleeman — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 22:17:02 +0000

These Magnolia Bakery breakfast muffins are delicious with fat chunks of apple, cranberries and nuts laced throughout! I recommend you try one next time you’re all cupcake’d out!

If you are not familiar with Magnolia Bakery (and therefore are not an avid Sex In The City viewer), check out this post for some background!

Magnolia Bakery

401 Bleeker St,

New york, NY

And check out their website for other New York locations.

Co. …For Pizza

Bec Sleeman — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 09:00:48 +0000

Co. short for Company, is one of those great pizza places that you keep going back to, to order the same thing. I’ve been numerous times and tried plenty of pizza’s on the menu. My favorite was a time they had a special with asparagus, parmesan, quail eggs and truffle. A friend of mine also filled me in on the time they ordered a special pie with mint, peas and proscuitto which, apparently, was everything it sounds like and more. The most recent time we went, i shared a Popeye and The Bogan ordered his regular – the margherita.

Strawberry and lemon verbena soda

Salad of radicchio, shiitake, taleggio cheese, balsamic and olive oil

The Popeye - lots of spinach with pecorino, gruyere, mozzarella, garlic and black pepper

The Bogan's margherita with tomato, basil, mozzarella and parmesan

For dessert i would recommend the Strawnoffee Pie, except that they recently removed the Strawnoffee Pie from the menu. Apparently the strawberries are not up to standard this season, not “sweet” enough. Maybe this is the case, but either way – no Strawnoffee on the menu is a HUGE upset. Instead, all you can do is drool over pictures of Strawnoffee and hope, pray, that next summer the strawberries are sweet enough for Co. to put this speciality back on the menu – or in the least, share their recipe!

Co.

230 9th Ave,

New York, NY 10001

ABC Kitchen: A Jean-Georges Restaurant

Bec Sleeman — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 00:55:03 +0000

My mum is visiting from Sydney at the moment which means that i have been eating like a king for 2 weeks! It’s brilliant, we’ve been to Betal (for restaurant week), Co. for amazing pizza, and today we had a delicious lunch at ABC Kitchen – located in the ABC Carpet and Home store. The restaurant is fitted out shabby chic, but delicately – with chandeliers in each corner, big wooden tables and mismatched china plates. Meanwhile the seasonal menu features locally sourced produce, organically grown and deliciously prepared. Meanwhile the drinks menu is equally as exciting with exotic smoothies and sodas, alongside cocktails and wine.

Add it to your bucket list – i will be going back for dinner, when i can get a reservation!

Lime and basil soda - really yum! Mum had the lime and ginger soda, equally good!

Raw diver scallops, sea beans, serrano chilies and lime

Roasted carrot and avocado salad, crunchy seeds, sour cream and citrus

We saw a lady at the table next to us enjoying this salad as we sat down. The carrots are roasted in citrus and spices, including cumin and nutmeg, which is then used in the a vinaigrette dressing. The texture combination of avocado, crunchy seeds and fried bread, against the carrot and sprouts, is really good.

Pizza with mushrooms, parmesan, oregano and runny farm egg

ABC Kitchen

35 East 18th Street (between Broadway & Park Avenue)
New York, NY 10003

Perry St for Restaurant Week – Winter, 2011

Bec Sleeman — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 21:00:34 +0000

A photo diary of the Jean-George Perry St restaurant.

An appetizer - crab ball with truffle aioli

Appetizer

Entree

Dessert - chocolate fondant with ice cream and brittle

Bill’s Bar and Burger

Bec Sleeman — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 21:34:02 +0000

This place is great on a hangover (i.e. New Years Day, when we visited), plus they have TV’s if there is a game playing. But best of all, they do awesome shakes!

Don’t try and be healthy – fried vegetables is not going to soften the blow of a big night out.

Vegetable fries

Mmmm… fries!

Then bring on the burger – the 5oz mushroom and swiss burger, doused in ketchup.

Bill's cremini mushroom and swiss cheese burger

And the shake! These are unreal, more unreal than Shake Shack which you have to queue a year for. You’re looking at the cookies and cream which comes blended thick with Oreo’s, but the campfire (with toasted marshmallows and vanilla ice cream), as well as the peppermint patty with chocolate and peppermint, make it difficult to decide.

Bill’s Bar and Burger

Meatpacking District

22 9th Ave at W13th st

New York, NY

Rockefeller Center

16 W51st St at 5th Ave

New York, NY

Best Brunch in New York – Tipsy Parson

Bec Sleeman — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 23:20:23 +0000

Good coffee and good a brunch are typically not found together in NYC. You either get the chef or the barista, not both… unless it’s Tipsy Parson.

Tipsy Parson, on my first and only visit, became one of my favorite brunch places in New York because the menu was delicious and the coffee on par. Two things I have not found hand in hand until now.

When The Bogan and I visited, we sat at the bar – our first choice, if given one. I ordered my cappuccino and was pleasantly surprised when it arrived with a thin, silky foam on top and creamy flavor. The Bogan, meanwhile, ordered his non-dairy French press, which was equally good, thanks to the fine folks at Stumptown supplying cafes like this one with their delectable beans.

A Happy Drinker - cappucino at Tipsy Parson

To accompany our coffee we ordered a doughnut to sample. This is new to me, doughnuts are not generally served, let alone existent, on a menu anywhere other than your beachhouse bakery back in Australia. So I was surprised to find I was licking my fingers after almost inhaling the thing whole – it was so doughy, and warm, and glossy, and nothing like I remember them to be (which was two days old, dry and coated in sugar)! I recommend you treat yourself – it’s worth the calories.

Following dessert we had breakfast. I had lemon-cornmeal pancakes with blueberries, banana and maple syrup, The Bogan had avocado on grilled 5-grain bread with olive oil, roasted tomatoes, green salad and a plump poached egg. My pancakes were very nice, not as good as Bill Granger’s ricotta hotcakes with honeycomb butter (you know what I’m talking about), but not far off. The Bogan’s meal; two slabs of rye bread mounted with fresh avocado and a poached egg – an add-on he was unwilling to resist – also looked amazing. The only thing this dish was missing was vegemite.

Lemon-cornmeal pancakes

Don't stand on ceremony!

Yum. The Bogan definitely did order well!

After eating in silence, our morning papers splayed out in front of us, we had to walk off our bellies full of brunch – nothing like The Highline to help us achieve that!

Tipsy Parson

196 9th Ave (between 19th & 20th st)

New York, NY

Doughnut Chips from Diablo Royale

Bec Sleeman — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 10:00:31 +0000

We were lured to Diablo Royale for Sunday brunch with the prospect of none other than unlimited brunch cocktails. I mean, how else does one come to a decision on their Sunday brunch destination? The deal is $25 for a brunch entree and readily flowing sangria or mimosas. But that aside, the other thing that should have you swooning for some Diablo Royale brunch action is there bowls of Gracia doughnut chips. Seriously. Yum.

They are pretty much deep fried tortillas generously seasoned in sugar and cinnamon, just like a doughnut (at least, donuts as i knew them back in Australia). Everything in that description sings amazing!

The Diablo Royale brunch is not to bad, either. It’s Mexican food – so think fish tacos, Huevos Rancheros and Breakfast Quesadillas.

Diablo Royale – 2 locations

189 W10th St

New York, NY 10014

167 Avenue A,

New York, NY 10009