Brunch w/ Claudia @ Five Leaves...

Sorry but this is gonna be a GIANT-ASS PHOTO mode of an entry for Five Leaves (yes, the Heath Ledger joint). There are so many textures that I want to articulate There's really nothing I can say that the pictures don't--honestly, in terms of freshness, texture, vibrancy of flavors...this is the only time I've felt the pictures leave me with little to elaborate on. My made up onomatopeia jargon isn't on par :P

Firstly--sugar beets and regular beets with arugula, some kind of yogurty vinaigrette. Possibly w/ some macadamia nuts--the purple-ness is purely from beets. Arugula > spinach > frisee for salads! actually no I take that back, frisee > spinach >> romaine >>>>>>>> iceberg lettuce -.- MMMmmm...this was more like beets with a splash of arugula but I thought I'd cover it up and make it look like a crazy nest :P

And.......then.........ROASTED TOMATERS!! u'd think it'd be a bit much to have a ton of roasted foods for brunch but this was *lightly* roasted, a *kiss* of fire if u will--not a tongue bath teeny bopper dress down of fire. A little sweet--can't remember all the spices, but it had a nice savory kick to it. Portions were good--we just...got thru a lot b/f I decided to take a photo :P

Hashbrowns--delightfully different in texture, seasoning, and form. A welcome change to breakfast/brunch hash that's all soggy and plain potato-y! No ketchup required/needed. WEE!! Then we have...an egg sammich!! This was a lighter take on egg sammiches...

But as you can see, it's simple but well executed. Lightly seasoned. Not too savory. No bacon--nice herbs. YAY. We kind of...ordered a lot b/w the two of us but...it was kind of a long meal and def took stuff home :P And then there's....my....best....pancake...EVER. I mean look at it!! ^_^ so fluffy, so scrumptiously balanced and subtle!

I couldn't try this shot for a lot of frames b/c then my pancakes would be swimming in syrup (as light/not-overtly-viscous and touch of sweet as it is). :( But times like these I sure wish I had strobe equiment to get that globule of syrup touching down! Then again...that'd be a lot to lug around, esp to greenpoint-ish. :)

LOOK AT THAT DRIP!!! :) I was too lazy to...test it out further for the perfect globule prior to actual pouring, but either way--I was HUNGRY! That and pouring while snapping and balancing w/ slow iso is pretty tricky to maneuver.

:) *sigh*. LOVE. THESE. RiCOTTA PANCAKES.--looks like it was used with the nitrous oxide cream whipper, u know, notorious for all those fancy 'foams'/espume. Judiann had posted a demo of her using the whipper for iSi so that's how i...deduced!! Except maybe not I dunno--but this ish was thick and airy and wonderful!! and the SYRUP!!! as I mentioned in the Spoon brunch entry--this syrup was amazeballs. YES i said "amazeballs"!! Not too viscous (sorry purists!), i could just...suck it up in a beer hat all day--or, as mentioned, intravenously :D

Jaime's bday brunch @ Spoon...

Look a little...familiar?? Possibly, oh, from THIS lovely set??

I'm a little behind--this was from near end of July--I put the camera down for a bit and just...ATE :) Birthday is coming up so gear up for Stone Barns, possibly Marea (!), L'artusi or Otto, and a new vietnamese place in Williamsburg whose owner I've been in touch with since back in...June? ^_^ so excited!! Should be effin' TASTY for once :P It's a watermelon/champagne concoction from the house.

ANYHOODLE...so brunch was a whole ordeal @ tblsp brunch (at Spoon, of course). About...10-11 womensfolk and LOTS of food. We all hovered around similar egg skillets, pancakes, etc and there were so many of us I didn't want to be that d-bag holding everybody up while shooting their food!

That was Mansi's fruit/granola yogurt parfait. This shit u don't get @ McDonald's or...some deli, amigos. Look at the grains!! :) I tend to not get yogurt granola berry thing-a-ma-bobbers @ restos b/c I feel like I can cobble together a much better version and pay infinitely less for infinitely tastier--but, Spoon's got me smackin' mah lips and rubbin' my hands together.

I also like judging a place by the scones/breads/muffins they put out--and Spoon had some tasty stuff, of course. There was a cornbread with...I'm not even gonna try to remember--BUT i remember a raspberry scone (perfectly, thinly/delicately crisp on the outside and moist on the inside--without being cakey), a brown sugar/maple muffin, and some other thing that was good but I don't remember. *note to self--take notes while eating...and possibly start new series of photos with me and fork/knife and plate*

Doesn't that look like something I need to consume in a cabin but not in some disgusting hermit eating dirt way?? This had 2 eggs, home fries, bacon, spinach--i forget what else but it was by far the healthiest (and yes filling) version of crazy breakfast eggs I've had in terms of recognizable roughage and...whatnot :P There were 2 other variants of this egg skillet bizness, rotating tomatoes or whatever else int here. I didn't get one which wasn't in skillet form--I think it was Abby's that had bruschetta and artichokes or something. YARR...i was debating on getting that and my egg skillet stuff too. Sorry it's so vague--I can barely remember. So much for just enjoying food and not noting it for the blog!! :) Breakfast pizza maybe? Damn you Spoon for not having the brunch menu up!

Besides being farm-to-table fresh (which totally had that vibe in decore anyway that put it over-the-top quaint see mason jar drink!), they have ur obligatory Stumptown coffee to make it JUST that...'artisanal'-y :) Piece de resistance methinks would be the yummay house blueberry maple syrup (available for purchase, I believe!). I'm no syrup fan--so excessively viscous and saccharine...makes me gag (not in that repulsive way, in that....compulsive way!)

BUT...this and the syrup @ Five Leaves...mmmmm I will intravenously consume ANY DAY!!! And that is *not* ice cream, homeskillets, that is...pure...buttery...heaven. Oh little blueberry oblivious to the frothy warm silk enveloping it! YOU SILLY LITTLE BLUEBERRY!! YOU DON"T EVEN KNOW!!! :)

That's all. I'm tired. I still have more july brunches to post!! Aug was full blackout of meals tho I did enjoy quite a few--like Moules Marinieres and Provencale ^_^_^_^^

Fulton Stall Market...

First summer Fridaaaaay! :) Went to Fulton Stall Market w/ Julia and Jay. made a pit stop @ the Banh Mi food truck (separate post to follow).

There weren't that many vendors but not many greenmarkets will have 3 little kids play cello and violin so deftly and amusingly :D I was hoping for more offerings, though there was plenty of coverage in terms of greens, baked goods, cheeses, and seafood. I know this looks all fall-y but it was still tasty!

YAY. These eggs were huge--at least 30% bigger than the EXTRA LARGE eggs at the grocery store. Even those are rather big compared to the regular 'large' ones. Is it just me or is the naming convention a little off? Didn't buy any but was very tempted since I'm also sorta in a fritatta phase. MEHBEH next time.

Onto animals!...

Shore catch only had like 3 types of fish but they were purty and ...substantial looking! I have no idea what the fish were except one might've been flounder since it looked like the underside of what that just went thru the transformation! :) and Scaaaaaaallops! And some fish that was blue with yellow speckled dots!

My favesies was Sang Lee Farms--their asparagus was HUUUUGE but SWEET! and crisp, tasty, vibrant! Not to mention their various sauces--the pesto was "eh" since honestly after bringing back pesto from Liguria, Italy--it's a little hard to readjust my set point. Anyhoo--the ginger scallion dip was surprisingly addictive and "punchy'--u'd think ginger/scallion would be mild which in subtlety it is, but it's a damn good dip.

My only gripe is Sang Lee producs are a little expensive--except the asparagus was $4.50 a bunch and that was enough in one bunch as 2-3 bunches of regular asparagus! And purple asparagus! woohoo! The dips and pesto (which are the same size as those plastic containers of hummus) were $8.50 and $9.50 respectively. Yummay...but hell no I'm not paying that much for dip. :(

The goat cheese chevre and hot pepper jelly the Sang Lee table had out for tasting was REALLY GOOD. I like expanding my palate but hot pepper jam isn't exactly my cup of tea--but this was grrrrrrEAT! :) The goat cheese was milder and a bit creamier than what I identify with goat cheese, which I would suppose make it go even better with the jelly :) YUMMAY JELLAY!

This is from Breezy Hill Orchard & Knoll Crest Farms--which also had some bad ass apples. I'm partial to their Fuji since I usually prefer fuji and gala apples anywa. BUT, their wine sap was interesting. I forget what the third is.

The apples were smaller than I thought they'd be--I mean I tend to think farm fresh fruits and veggies would end up being smaller than the ish @ supermarkets--but given the ginormity (yes, ginormity :D) of the asparagus and tomatoes etc, I thought they'd at least be a little...bigger. These fit in your palm for the most part =/ Great texture tho!--one thing I dislike about apples sometimes is it has this..disintegrated papier mache feel to it. Dunno how else to describe it--but not crisp! And the supermarket ones are nowhere near crisp and well ripe like these!

Stony Hill Farm also had some tasty looking fruits. If u click on the photo u'll see one funky lookin' strawberry. Quirky! Me likes. Fairly certain this is also from Stony Hill. They also seemed to be purveyors of italian goods too--there was ur usual offering of Loacker sweets--but there were other biscottis I don't usually see around. Some were more breakfasty type like S'Doro's or whaver they are! EHHHH.

I didn't really care to take pics of the baked stuff but it looked pretty solid. *shrug*. Also ignored a good chunk of the cheese and the wine vendor. OH WELL. wasn't that interesting. There's a photo of Cupcake Express on my flickr but i don't really care about that!

Instead, here's a questionable picture of fresh mozarella cheese from Hoboken Farms, with purveyor of said cheese. hehe.

Julia and I also go the mozarella--while it was creamy and had that...mozarella musk to it, I might have to say the mozarella @ Whole Foods (whatever it is) might just be a bit better b/c the texture for the Hoboken one is a little firmer and smidge drier than I'd like. Good color tho!

Overall--not sure I'd make the trek all the way down to South Street Seaport so much--but def would come back if I was to hit up Water Taxi Beach and DEFINITELY for those damn apples and scallops and asparagus!! pretty much most of Sang Lee :P... and mozarella (maybe!)

Sorella!...

2 girls eat up Italy particularly Piemonte food and bring it back to the city! That's the concept behind Sorella on Allen b/w Broome & Delancey. Cute name. cute concept--it's pretty much how Karen and I felt after our little trip in October--except we ate the crap out of all of italy and were struck mostly by the modern Italian tastes of each regions (the homey, simple, rustic, pride of the land kinda dishes) and esp the modern emerging Italian cuisine at Pane e Vino in Florence and Il Satollo in Rome! [I PROMISE i'll post about these 2 soon--tied for 1st in favorite restaurants in the the 5 countries i've been to!]

It's a little hard to replicate the experiences and meals we had in Italy--so much gets lost across the AtlanticHad a little xmas dinner with Albee and grubbed up on the small plates.

We had the Hearst Ranch Beef Carpaccio with a parsley treviso sald, crosnes (apparently teeny artichoke like...'tubers'), and smoked salt. A little heavy I thought on the oil--but the smoked salt was badass.

We also had the Crispy Veal Sweetbread with a quince-bacon marmalade. I like the texture of the sweatbread--the breading's interesting. I don't have the mindset to really debunk what it comprises it at t he moment--the marmalade was a little like a variation of hoisin sauce I've seen used at some asian places...I still like/LOVE the Kefi sweetbreads better! Well cooked tho...

the best BESTEST was the Pate de Fagato: duck fat english muffin bread with chicken liver mousse, bacon, and a teeny little egg on it. Sounds heavy and artery-clogging but MY GOD very smooth, very subtle, and quite light. never mind my lighting! just look at that pate mousse!! so airy!

THENNNNN...we had the GNOCCHI!! Also one of my faves here! So light! So subtly rich! So smooth! The potato gnocchi so delicate and melty and subtle! Had some chives, roccaverano fresca cream sauce (heaven!--and light light light!) with brown butter pears--added a very nice light sweet contrast and harder texture to the whole thing. Seriously--best tasting and best cooked gnocchi I've ever had. I did not know...what gnocchi was supposed to be like...until this one. HAHA.

Needless to say we ate a lot.....a lot. Albee & I totally dug the Pate di Fegato the most--like...lick the plate clean if that was socially acceptable. But i did take a picture of our ravished gnocchi plate :P

Gnocchi was #2--but we did squeeze in dessert, and the Spiced Panna Cotta I have to say--just like what we liked about the Pate & Gnocchi--rich but subtle, smooth--melts in yo mouf! Perfect temperature and consistency...

I can't find the listing for dessert on the menu--but I remember the Spiced Panna Cotta having pomegranates, brown butter (methinks) pumpkin, pears, roasted pumpkin seeds...and a pretty damn hard crust on the bottom actually. Like--hard core stab and wiggle to break the crust/bottom. We REALLY worked that spoon. It wasn't as difficult to break down in your mouth but...i mean *damn*. Good flavors tho. Perfect little winter dessert feel :) WEEEE!!!

And then afterwards I went to drop off Karen's xmas gift nearby and she gave me Kee's chocolates. RICH RICH RICH just like Sorella's...(more intense actually)...but not so sweet over overwhelming either!! Just a less subtle, stimulating punch to the palate :)

Defintely...DEFINITELY coming back for the brussel sprouts from what I hear the barkeep says--he made really great recommendations and was a little chatterbox in the most amiable and natural sense :) Also got to chat w/ the chef a bit--lovely people who seem a little nervous but very proud of their venture :) Definitely transparent the thought and love that goes into plating, composition, and...ingredients and all! Some dishes weren't mindblowing but def above average esp for NY Italian fare. Anxious to also come back for the grilled quail and lamb ragu!

...BTW, the panna cotta--inn the chef's words--"It's like sex in your mouth!"...I'd have to say...it's more like really good making out sesh when you're a wee enamored teenage brat and the excitement lingers on warm flushed cheeks and twinkled eyes...u know, back in those uncorrupted days. ;)

That Pate di Fegato though...Albee said I was erm...having a sort of...."la petite mort" moment with it :)

brunchy-brunch-brunch @ French Roast...

I have no idea why but I really really like poached eggs. Other than that I love my eggs sunny side up for the most part--and when I was a wee lass in Viet Nam, my mom would soft-boil eggs for us before any big travel dates, sprinkle a little salt in there, stir it up and breakfast a-hoy!

ANYWAY...so I've taken a shining to eggs benedict mostly out of my adoration for poached egginess, and affection for smoked salmon as well.

And a weird curiosity as to what the big deal was with hollandaise sauce based on hearing about it in multiple movies back in the day. Yes--some obscure reference to hollandaise sauce or somebody screwin' up how to make it. Don't even remember which movie it was :)

Anyhoodlekins...I went to French Roast the other weekend w/ Julia for brunchy brunch brunch on the UWS. We initially were going to go to the Polar Rink by the American Museum of Natural History but well--let's just say it was a rough night so I opted for food.

I like French Roast for the most part--but the 'taters were greasy and bland (and...a strange color which I'm assuming is due to whatever...weird..possible chili oil they used but...it wasn't even spicy!). The english muffin the eggs benedict were on were a little on the paltry and far from hearty side--the hollandaise was a bit heavy, but the egg was poached to perfectionnnnn.

Julia got the salmon omelet with sweet potato puree. A little odd w/ sweet & savory--but I'd grub on that orange pile of mash any other day.

Not too sweet. Still a lot of texture as u can see with little yammy-spokes protruding from the pile :) I have to say tho--FR plating aesthetics not so hot. I want my food PRETTY!! Not slopped on and rushed out! "Rustic" plating...is only for the really good sh*t! :D

The other dish I like @ FR? The Salad Lyonaise (which I surmise isn't on the wkd menu--neither is the french onion soup WTF?!). What's in a salad lyonaise? POACHED EGGS. yes. on a bed of frisee, with some bacon bits, and bits of taters and other salady-goodness. including tomatoes. SUPER CLOSE UP TIME!

My fave place for eggs benedict--which you can get WITH spinach AND smoked salmon (woohoo!) is at Cafeteria. Brunch here of course is notoriously...crowded. BUT SO TASTY. esp the mac & cheese with smoked gouda and bacon. Everything just tastes cleaner and healthier and leaner yet heartier there. Not that much more expensive either.

Amy's Bread & Ronnybrook Farm Milk Bar!...

Part of turkey day brunch avec Mama Ly in the city. Ate @ Chelsea Market (on 16th and 9th ave) since Momofuku Milk Bar was only open for pickup! :( Then got groceries (pancetta, porchetta, olive/black truffle tapanade etc etc) to make Turkey day dinner & grubbage for the drive down to DC the next day...

And yes, they quoted There Will Be Blood below.... heheheheeh

Eggs Kaush..something. Eggs in casserole! like at Viceroy (18th & 8th ave) and Relish (North 3rd & Wythe in Williamsburg). Came with roased potatoes w/ pepper & chives.

I swear though...somethign about poached eggs...i'm still fixated with them...

Mama Ly got the free range roast chicken w/ what looks like fresh mozarella, tomatoes, and a salad with really good vinaigrette!

Apparently it's diff from what the menu says (some kinda...cheddar. WHATEBBS). it was tasty. organic and all that ish but all that matters was that it tasted fresh and was prepped quite well yaaaaay.

The Ronnybrook Farm chocolate milk is whole milk but INFINITELY "thinner" and cleaner taste than most chocolate milk--even the chocolate soy milk. No aftertaste, no...lactose-y...intolerance...harshness. Tastier than Horizon Organic Chocolate milk (omg did i...did i blaspheme? HA!! HOCM def pales in comparison exponentially...and i once thought very highly of it. esp when buying it in bulk @ costco :D or whole food's :))

That said...Mama Ly's hot chocolate was also damn festive and good...

And to end with: almond buttered toast from Amy's Bread. Very soft--brioche-y kind of bread, subtle almond paste (not crazy sweet like how the Sicilians prefer it!--sweeter than Almondine)...

brunchy-brunch-brunch @ theViceroy...

People brunch here in Chelsea like it's serious business--and I've seen menus that offer brunch til 5. I'm okay with that. Sometimes I don't wake til 3 anyway. Or rather, I wish I had that luxury to rouse from slumber at such a gloriously ungodly hour since I work wkds so much.

Anyhoodle, my fave place so far in my hood is the Viceroy (depending who you talk to, pronouced vice-roy or veEs-roy :P) on 8th ave and w. 18th st. I had the poached eggs in tomato casserole & herbs and...comes with toast.

For the brunch prix fixe ($15.00), it comes with coffee. Or a mimosa. Or bloody mary. (or orange juice, but whatever, it's booze in the morning/early afternoon if you're gonna do up brunch right :)) Anyway, no pics of my acquaintance's omellette b/c it was egg whites with asparagus, feta and somethign else but the eggs sans yolk just wasn't as pretty :(it also comes with a breadbasket of corn-cheddar muffin, some other stuff that's really good, and a loose, liquidy preserve dip with citrus zest and what have you...(my memory is FANTASTIC these days if you dont' rememeber my freakish cognitive abilities :( *le sigh*)

I haven't gone back yet for dinner but Albee & I did come for a late lunch--he got a turkey burger I think? (the sirloin supposedly is the shizzzzz) and I had the honey roasted ham sammich with melted brie, arugula & honey dijon on a baguette. YES. ham sammich done in the utmost, exquisite way ^_^ Came with seasoned fries natch pomme frittes. Needless to say, I took quite a long lunch that day.

I play with my food b/c I didn't when I was younger. Not b/c I wasn't allowed to--just b/c i was THAT DULL. I sure made up for it now didn't I?

I've come to realize I have a very quiet, loving, codependency on tomatoes. My mom makes a great shrimp in casserole sauce. I actually had to look up this concept of casserole (which apparently has 4 diff classifications: ragout, carbonnade, hotpot, cassoulet). Mostly just pares down to stewing/braising stuffs in liquids whether provided by wine (e.g., coq au vin) or tomatoes in this case. MEH!! here's a shot of Viceroy (courtesy of Citysearch).

I don't think it's a Hemingway-esque kind of place. Possibly Simone de Bouvier kind of place. I'm totally making ish up but you get the vibe :) Retro, art deco, much bigger in person, stark contrast in steel accents, bright floor, dark aged oakiness evoking a sense of brandy and smoke stained kinda joint w/o the pseudo-intellectualism and pretension :). Nevertheless, hand me a snifter and a smoking jacket--pronto!