Belated shoutout to Portland Restaurants

I should have done this a long time ago, but I took an amazing trip to Portland, Oregon this past August where I had some of the best meals I can remember.  Super fresh, organic, farm to table without being kitschy - the food in Portland was seriously THE BEST.

Le Pigeon

Clyde Common

Tasty n Sons

1. Le Pigeon - Best French meal I have ever had.  Seriously.  Foie Gras profiteroles?  Need I say more?
2. Tasty n Sons - This place had an hour long wait for "brunch" at 11am on a Wednesday afternoon.  Need I say more?  And it was worth the wait.  A tapas style brunch menu - super reasonably priced.  Finally one can do savory and sweet!
3. Bijou Cafe - Amazing french style omelets. Fluffy, perfectly soft.  Better than the ones I had in Paris.  Seriously.
4. Clyde Common - While located in the urber hipster Ace Hotel, the service and food were welcoming and warm.  Had a delicious light crab and lemon pasta.
5. Brunch Box - One of the food trucks - breakfast sandwiches served on buttered texas toast.  Need I say more? Trial by Fire is my boyfriends favorite sandwich of all time. 
6. Random Order - Delicious Pies, especially the Vanilla Salted Caramel Apple...

Random Order

Random Order

Other obvious notables - Stumptown coffee (love the bottled cold brew), Vodooo Doughnut (maple bacon bar)

Voodoo Doughnuts

Stumptown

Also want to note - The Allison Inn & Spa in the Willamette Valley was amazing.  Go there.

The Allison

Pool!

Blacklisted restaurants for 2012

One of my New Years Resolutions is to stop eating at bad restaurants.  I know everyone thinks New York City has some of the best restaurants in the country, if not the world, and to a certain extent I agree.  However, I have been burned one too many times and now I need a place to keep track of restaurants that just need to go on my blacklist.

Right now I only have a couple - but I will keep updating this post as the year goes on....

New York has pretty much two tiers of restaurants in terms of pricing.  

1. entree prices $15-25
2. entree prices $25-35

Now I want to specifically address tier 2.  Most NYC restaurants fall into this tiers (the ones that go on everyone's "best of" lists - the ones that get the press and coverage.  Fancy, not fancy - most restaurants I seem to go to fall in tier 2.  That being said - there is a HUGE variance in quality.  Warning, if you can get a same week reservation at a restaurant in tier 2, it is likely going to be a major rip off.

Why pay $27 for 3 scallops at Gravy, when you can pay that for a fantastic piece of fish at ABC Kitchen?  Well, trust me I know, it's hard to get a resy at ABC - but it's worth it.  Otherwise you may be stuck paying $24 for lasagna at The House. 

Lesson learned - Make reservations.  Just do it.

Blacklisted....

1. Commerce - Overpriced with terribly over entitled service. West Village DBag central.
2. Tamarind - High tier 2 priced Indian food.  When taking my order, the first thing my waiter did was suggest I order the chili crab appetizer - the most expensive appetizer on the menu.  Biggest turnoff a waiter can do.
3. Gravy - Overpriced southern food.  See above - $27 for a 3 scallop entree.  No thanks.
4. The House - again see above.  Anyone who has a $14 Devil egg appetizer has to be ripping your face off.
5. Pipa - This always ends up being a default for me since it's close to my apartment.  And every time I regret it.  Maybe tapas just isn't for me, but I have never been impressed with the food and the portions make the bill escalate very quickly.  Brunch in particular is disappointing.
6. De Santos - I have nothing to say about the food, because I didn't even make it to ordering.  Went there and was seated next to the door (cold!!), it was super loud and took 20 minutes before anyone came to even talk to us.  Walked out.  Doesn't matter what the food is like - ambiance and service were terrible.
7. August - All I can say is ehhh.... just hasn't lived up to the hype for me.  Cramped space, poor service, and tiny portions.
8. Burger & Barrel - Terrible bartenders (extremely rude and dismissive), subpar burgers and dry fried chicken.  Prices aren't terrible, but nothing is worth the bad attitude and service.

Jumbo Size Ice Cube Trays- Perfect for the Bartender in you!

So I just discovered these jumbo sized ice cube trays - which are apparently perfect for whiskey drinking.  I however, like them for just about anything during the summer!  Very Mad Men like!

Next time you want to impress your guests, turn up the notch on your cocktails by adding one of these jumbo ice cubes - reminds me of the old Milk & Honey days....

Tovolo King Cube Extra Large Silicone Ice Cube Trays
Sold from Amazon for $6.50

Last Week for Madison Square Eats!

Madison Square Eats is a monthlong outdoor food haven located at Worth Square with the diverse tastes of some of the city’s most raved about eateries. Open from 11am to 9pm each day!  It's so good, I've been going everyday for dinner!

Closes on June 3rd, so hurry there this week!!

Mad. Sq. Eats 2011 Participants:
Asia Dog, Bar Suzette, Breezy Hill Orchard, Calexico, Carnelian Knoll, Chameleon, Cookie Panache, Eataly, Engage Green, Goat Town, Hong Kong Street Cart, ilili, Karma Living, kudu-lah, Marquet, Momofuku Milk Bar, Nunu Chocolates, P&H Soda Co., Peter Charles, Piccolo Café, Resto, Roberta’s Pizza, Sigmund Pretzelshop, Stuffed Artisan Cannolis, Selen Design, Spices and Tease, The Filling Station, Yumi Chen Designs

http://www.madisonsquarepark.org/things-to-do/calendar/mad-sq-eats

What Happens When...you have a new restaurant every month for just one month?

So I went to What Happens When last weekend on the recommendation of many of my friends and at the advice of many a food blogger...

While I think the pop-up restaurant is an interesting concept, I think it is incredibly difficult for a restaurant to produce and execute a different concept (ambiance, environment and menu) once a month.  It takes months to design out and perfect a restaurant, and everyone knows never to go to a restaurant in it's first couple of months of opening.  That's basically the "Friends and Family" time when a restaurant is in beta form.  Usually service is not crisp, dishes are still being refined, decor and seating is still TBD...

So.....doesn't that mean What Happens When is always in beta?  Yup.  So why pay top dollar for beta?

$58 prix fixe - even in NY is a bit steep if you ask me.  Add cocktails and wine and you quickly reach $100/person....

While the food was better than average (not great, but not average), the whole experience had somewhat of a "wedding" vibe to it.  The food seemed a bit mass produced, and the decorations (because they are makeshift) feel very wedding/bah mitzvahesque....

It's a cute and kitschy concept, but for around the same price I would definitely recommend a place like Torrisi.  No fuss, no muss - just great food.

What Happens When
25 Cleveland Place, NY NY

Tuesday - Sunday, 5:30pm - 11pm
212-925-8310