Category: <span>neighborhood gem</span>

Wallse

click to see more pictures
click to see pictures
click to see pictures[/caption]Like most New Yorker, I love West Village. A stroll down the streets in Spring is delightful. Tree line brownstone buildings, cute cafes, chic boutiques, and a multitude of small restaurants.
Among them, stood a small, artsy restaurant, Wallse.
Wallse is an Austrian cuisine run by chef-owner Kurt Gutenbrunner, who also own Blaue Gans and Cafe Sabarsky. I have to be honest. I don’t know what I should be expecting at an Austrian restaurant. The only other place that strike a slight similarity is the Marrow (now closed), which served German food. As I understand, Wallsee, the town that the restaurant is name after, is only about 3 hours from Munich.
On the evening we visited Wallse, the building was scaffolded, which was cleverly camouflaged by the benches and flowers. Once step inside, it is equally artfully decorated. Across from the bar is a giant portrait of chef Kurt Gutenbrunner. The place is quiet, modern and sophisticated, and as were the food.
chef Kurt Gutenbrunner
chef Kurt Gutenbrunner

a glass of Riesling and Ingwer
a glass of Riesling and Ingwer(Beefeater Gin, Ginger, Seasonal Fruit, Elderflower, Lemon)

2 kinds of spread: sour cream with chives, and liver mousse
2 kinds of spread: sour cream with chives, and liver mousse

Bread comes with sour cream with chives and liver spread. Surprisingly generous!! and smooth. But kinda wish the bread was warm…

wallse08b
Complementary Corn bread with avocado and lime sauce with a little snitzel, topped with salty pop corn. Beautiful dish. Definitely woke my taste buds up.

    Foie Gras, Rhubarb, Walnuts
    Foie Gras, Rhubarb, Walnuts

    Another artistically displayed dish. Foie gras is a little small, the flavor is anything but. It is creamy and dreamy.
    Octopus, Asparagus, Fennel, Saffron
    This was a little disappointment to me. It is equally beautiful, but the octopus was lost. To us, it is only a delightful salad. The octopus suction cups were all cut off, it looks like a sausage or a carrot than an octopus arm/leg. Along with the suction cups, the taste was lost as well. 🙁
    White Asparagus, Sweetbread, Chive Sauce, Fingerling Potatoes
    White Asparagus, Sweetbread, Chive Sauce, Fingerling Potatoes
    Wiener Schnitzel, Parsley Potatoes, Cucumber Bibb Salad, Lingonberries
    Wiener Schnitzel, Parsley Potatoes, Cucumber Bibb Salad, Lingonberries

    For main course, we went for schnitzel of course. It was perfectly cooked, light, flaky and still juicy. And the white asparagus with sweetbread was just outstanding. White asparagus was fresh, sweet, with a great crunch. And the sweetbread, it was the uni of the land. Just absolutely mouth-watering.
    Parsley Potatoes, Cucumber Bibb Salad
    Parsley Potatoes, Cucumber Bibb Salad

    However, yes, there’s always a but… unfortunately…
    While everything was careful plated, almost an art itself, it was the side dish that had the mishap. The cucumber bibb salad and the potatoes came in a little soup bowl. They seem sort of just got throw together. It’s 
. pathetic. it remind us of the salad that serves on airplanes. It doesn’t fit in. it seems out of place, not among these dishes, not on this table, not at a Michelin Star establishment.
    Salzburger Nockerl, Huckleberries
    Salzburger Nockerl, Huckleberries

    (April, 2015)

Txikito- great Spanish in Chelsea

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click to see more photos
Friends were requesting to have tapas for dinner, and it just so happen that the thrillist daily news alert in my inbox that day was titled: The 14 Best Spanish Restaurant in America. Very suprise that there is only one on the list in NYC — Txikito in Chelsea on 9th Ave. The menu was very difficult to dissect. Names of most dishes on the menu were unpronounceable for me that I won’t even try to attempt. Then I saw the picture of the squid ribbons, nothing matter anymore, we have to go there.


Txikito (pronounced “chick–KEE–toe”) means little in Euskara, a language spoken by Basque people, who reside in northeastern Spain. This neighborhood basque place is owned and operated by Alex Raij and Eder Montero. The husband and wife team were recent semifinalists for Best Chef in James Bread Award. Front door opens to a little bar, and main dinning room is in the other room. It a long ,cozy, warm room that built like a fishing boat. Faded Shiplap wood as wall, cute little red table and wood chairs. It is very relaxing and welcoming. The front of the main dinning room is actually a rolling glass garage door. It was a little chilly at night, so it wasn’t open. But it would be a gorgeous afternoon, sitting here slipping a delicious sangria, when summer come and this door rolls open. We ordered a ton of food, and these bite size dished just make us wanting more.

Foie Micuit
Absolutely love the Foie Micuit. The rich, creamy, thick cut, velvety foie gras with crunchy toast, with a bit of sweet jello atop. Man, what would I give to have this as breakfast every morning….

Txangurro
Txangurro is another bite that makes you want more and more. It kinda echo the richness of the Foie Micui, but in a different sense. This one is crabmeat gratin on top. Baked, warm, still rich and creamy.

Pulpo
Pulp is an artfully plated octopus carpaccio. It was surprisingly simple, just some lemon oil, a little bit of herbs, a little bit of spice, and voila. Octopus was sliced paper thin, great to carry the flavor of the mixture, and not rubbery at all.

Txipiron "encebollado"
Txipiron “encebollado”!!! the squid ribbon is really a must try here. It was very interesting. We have never have squid like this before and it doesn’t resemble as a squid dish at all. The squid was shredded into thin spaghetti-like noodle. It come in a light but rich broth of sweet onions and pine nuts. It was utmost interesting dish we have had in a while.

Most dishes we had were great (see pic here). Beef tongue is crispy but not oily and juicy enough. Lamb was tender, rich and full of flavor. We also had a couple pork dished, but they were not such shinny stars as others. (April, 2015)

Sripraphai Thai- authentic Thai in Woodside

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click to see slide show
Sripraphai Thai is my go to Thai food place in all of New York. This is not your regular neighborhood Pad Thai / fried rice take-out place, although their Pad Thai and Pineapple fried rice are outstanding. This place offers a taste of authentic Thai.
The BOOK of menu is a good read. Almost 10 pages long. Like most Asian restaurants, it is numberize and filled with pictures. And their method of numbering system does not go in order (A-B-C-D), it is A- appetizers; N- noodles; S- soup; O- over rice, and so on, they even have a section just for soft shell crab (SC); awkwardly a-la-carte is C and drinks is SD. It is all over the place, and will definitely take some time to navigate this book, even more difficult to decide what to orde. There are just too many choices and everything look good.
There are a few must have dishes every time I am there.
Thai Iced Tea– it is a little sweet for my taste, but it is so smooth that I can’t not have. But on a recent visit with a friend whom have spent some time in thailand, I was introduced to black Thai ice tea. No milk or sugar, but with lime. Utterly refreshing, the tangy balanced the density of the black tea, make a declious healthy summer drink.

Chicken coconut milk soup.
Everyone loves Tom Yum soup, but I prefer chicken coconut milk soup. It also has ginger and lemongrass in it. Creamy with a hint of sourness. If chicken-noodle soup cures cold and flu; this coconut chicken soup smooth my soul.

ST03
Crispy Ground Catfish Topped with green mango salad & cashew nuts

The catfish was finely ground then deef fried. While it has all the crunch, fish was lost. It was grounded so finely that it does not ressembled to be fish anymore. Other than crunchiness, it was airly. But when pair with the green mango salad that come with it, it almost become a crumbs topping, very interesting dish.

ST04
Papaya Salad with dry shrimp and crushed peanuts
a traditional stable in Thai food. And what’s not to love. It is sweet, sour and spicy.

ST05
B.B.Q. Pork Tender with garlic, chili and lime juice
This is a MUST have at Sripraphai Thai. So simple and yet so good. I have never had a piece of pork that have such tenderness. So succlent, and mouth-watering. This BBQ pork tender use the meat from pork’s neck, simply grilled it and serve with the house made special garlic chili lime sauce. This special sauce is sour at first, in the sourness hid a scent of sweetness, then packs a strong kick at the end. It is spicy, but it is the kind of pain that is enjoyable and keep me coming back for more.

ST06
Panang Curry chicken w. coconut milk

ST08
Sautéed Chinese Broccoli with crispy pork

While everything was delicious, we felt a sense of unsatisfactory, because we were told the mango with sticky rice was all sold out. No Thai meal is completed without this traditional dessert, at least for me. Sticky rice usually cooked with coconut milk, with fresh sliced mango. It is sweet but absolutly delicious. We were sadden that our meal couldn’t be fully fulfilled.
This family own authentic Thai restaurant is located in a residential area in Woodside, just steps away from the 7 train 69 street station. The place closes on Wednesday, and does not take reservation, so get there early as crowds outside the door usually gather around 630p on a Friday night. (March, 2015)

Cesca- great pre-theater near Beacon Hill

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click to see slideshow

Went to a concert at the Beacon Hill Theater several weeks ago, and we were having trouble deciding where to eat nearby. Thanks to the wonderful App “OpenTable”, we found ourselves at Cesca for per-theater dinner. It is the closest restaurant available in the vicinity of Beacon Hill Theater and surprisingly, our dinner was quite good.
Trendy, it is not, it is elegant. Bar in the front is crowded, with sports channels in the tube. Down the hallway is a raw bar, then semi-open kitchen and a comfortable dinning room. Natural toned walls with dark wood furniture and dimmed lighting, it’s rather old school, rustic, and neighborly.
Seeing the raw bar on our way in, how could we not have oysters. Served with mignonette form, oysters were fresh and sweet. Grilled octopus was not rubbery at all. Cooked just right, with a little charred. I doubt that it had been massaged for half an hour like the one at 15 East, but this is tender enough. Although I could go without the ceci beans and opt for more greens. House-made Pappardelle was al dente. And I could not believe the amount of meat in the ragu. Perfectly seasoned, simply a hearty, fulfilling dish. Then came the special- Lamb shank.
Lamb Shank
Lamb Shank

Lamb is the wow of the night. Portion is generous, big haunch of meat, braised in wine, tender and tasty, surrounded by garden vegetables and grilled potatoes. Meat fell right off the bone with the help of a fork, which is a beautiful thing.
For dessert, we had the chocolate fondant cake. But honestly I think we should have bypassed that. It has a lot of components but just too much going on, and overly sweet.
(March, 2015)