Whatever happened to the French fry craze in NYC? B. Frites and Le Frite Kot are history; only Pommes Frites remains - and here I am, constantly desiring French-fried potatoes. This past weekend, my search led me to Pomme De Terre in Brooklyn. Although the charming bistro serves much more than potatoes, I thought I stood a good chance of fulfilling my craving there.
"Since your name means 'potato,' are your potatoes amazing?" I asked the server. "Yes!" he said proudly. "We hand-cut our French fries, and then we soak them in cold water for a day." This sounded like the degree of potato-obsession I was seeking. Soon I was rewarded by a golden-brown mass of salty, crispy goodness. The ketchup tasted homemade.
I could've dined solely on French fries, but I also devoured a shallot-dressed green salad, a whole roasted branzino stuffed with herbs and served with fennel and sweet roasted tomato, and a warm chocolate cake shaped like a many-petaled flower with a vanilla ice cream pistil. (I ate all the petals. Next to me, a couple shared the banana creme brulee. What a wonderful idea!)
I am sure to be lured back to Pomme de Terre by the prospect of grilled dry-aged ribeye, pan-seared skate, and duck leg confit with homemade duck sausage. But above all, I look forward to another order of those French fries.
Pomme De Terre: 1301 Newkirk Ave., Brooklyn, (718) 284-0005.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Greenwich Grill
If you crave Italian food while your dining partner wants Japanese, I suggest an evening at Greenwich Grill - a lovely TriBeCa Italian restaurant where you can order sushi from the Japanese place below! I was unaware of this perk when I visited with a friend this weekend and was surprised to see chopsticks at the place setting.
After reading about the Grill in a local magazine, I was drawn in by the prospect of a restaurant similar to Basta Pasta, a Japanese-owned Italian restaurant in Chelsea. Although the menus are quite different, both places present moderate portions of artfully presented dishes, and the service at each is exemplary.
My friend pronounced her dirty martini "excellent" and I uncharacteristically ordered a cocktail, the "Glinda." (It sounds so "Sex And The City!") The Glinda was a mojito-like drink made with rum, mint, and sparkling wine, but with no lime.
The lime would come in when my friend ordered ceviche - a brightly colored melange of green avocado, red tomato, purple octopus with some clams and striped bass. The dish packed a punch of cilantro and a bit of citrus. I ordered a half-portion of gnocchi in a Gorgonzola cream sauce accented with Parmesan; there wasn't one ingredient or bite in that entree that I didn't like. The seven gnocchi were of the larger, more substantial kind, not the little melt-in-your-mouth puffs of potato you find at Hearth. The green olive bread went to good use, as I could not let one bite of sauce go uneaten!
My friend went the pasta route for her main course, ordering the fettucini in a Thai green curry sauce with Dungeness crab. The coconutty sauce was rather sweet and would have benefited from some spice, but the texture of the fresh pasta was perfect. I loved the deep-fried swordfish with herbed tartar sauce and frisee salad.
Time for dessert! The server was very accommodating when I asked for some whipped cream to go with my "seasonal berry marinade," which was something like a cool raspberry blackberry soup with a dome of fruit hiding a scoop of vanilla ice cream. My friend's tiramisu was incredible; a dusting of espresso and cocoa provided it with an intense flavor, and the dessert did not suffer from the unpalatable surplus of amaretto that I have found elsewhere.
Green kukicha tea was a relaxing and fragrant finish to the meal.
Greenwich Grill: 428 Greenwich St., (212) 274-0428.
After reading about the Grill in a local magazine, I was drawn in by the prospect of a restaurant similar to Basta Pasta, a Japanese-owned Italian restaurant in Chelsea. Although the menus are quite different, both places present moderate portions of artfully presented dishes, and the service at each is exemplary.
My friend pronounced her dirty martini "excellent" and I uncharacteristically ordered a cocktail, the "Glinda." (It sounds so "Sex And The City!") The Glinda was a mojito-like drink made with rum, mint, and sparkling wine, but with no lime.
The lime would come in when my friend ordered ceviche - a brightly colored melange of green avocado, red tomato, purple octopus with some clams and striped bass. The dish packed a punch of cilantro and a bit of citrus. I ordered a half-portion of gnocchi in a Gorgonzola cream sauce accented with Parmesan; there wasn't one ingredient or bite in that entree that I didn't like. The seven gnocchi were of the larger, more substantial kind, not the little melt-in-your-mouth puffs of potato you find at Hearth. The green olive bread went to good use, as I could not let one bite of sauce go uneaten!
My friend went the pasta route for her main course, ordering the fettucini in a Thai green curry sauce with Dungeness crab. The coconutty sauce was rather sweet and would have benefited from some spice, but the texture of the fresh pasta was perfect. I loved the deep-fried swordfish with herbed tartar sauce and frisee salad.
Time for dessert! The server was very accommodating when I asked for some whipped cream to go with my "seasonal berry marinade," which was something like a cool raspberry blackberry soup with a dome of fruit hiding a scoop of vanilla ice cream. My friend's tiramisu was incredible; a dusting of espresso and cocoa provided it with an intense flavor, and the dessert did not suffer from the unpalatable surplus of amaretto that I have found elsewhere.
Green kukicha tea was a relaxing and fragrant finish to the meal.
Greenwich Grill: 428 Greenwich St., (212) 274-0428.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Fornino
I was just about to slap a nice big slice of ripe tomato onto my sandwich when I heard about the recall. Oh well. Into the trash it went. But I still craved tomatoes!
At that moment, a friend called me to ask if I wanted to meet for dinner in Williamsburg. A light went on in my head... Fornino! A divine margherita pie, consumed in the backyard garden of this artisanal pizzeria, would be (cooked, and therefore safe) tomatoey perfection. I jumped on the subway and met my friend.
We began with a cheese-laden, creamy Caesar with two slabs of herbed focaccia, and then decided on a pie. The special included pesto oil and arugula. For those of you who haven't been to Fornino (this excludes everyone who lives in Williamsburg), the menu includes three "generations" of pizza, which become increasingly elaborate. Examples: a first generation might be a classic margherita pie; a second generation might be a margherita with the addition of some fennel sausage, and a creative third generation could be anything from a gorgonzola pie with rosemary and caramelized onions or a rock shrimp pesto zucchini pie!
For our part, my friend and I felt like luxuriating in melting pillows buffalo mozzarella, so we shared a large margherita D.O.C. A toothsome, slightly charred crust, a dusting of Parmesan, some basil sprigs and yes, that superlative tomato sauce made the pizza a pie to remember.
I had no room for the Capogiro sorbetto and gelato - next time. And if the tomato recall continues, that next time might be sooner rather than later!
Fornino: 187 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn. (718) 384-6004.
At that moment, a friend called me to ask if I wanted to meet for dinner in Williamsburg. A light went on in my head... Fornino! A divine margherita pie, consumed in the backyard garden of this artisanal pizzeria, would be (cooked, and therefore safe) tomatoey perfection. I jumped on the subway and met my friend.
We began with a cheese-laden, creamy Caesar with two slabs of herbed focaccia, and then decided on a pie. The special included pesto oil and arugula. For those of you who haven't been to Fornino (this excludes everyone who lives in Williamsburg), the menu includes three "generations" of pizza, which become increasingly elaborate. Examples: a first generation might be a classic margherita pie; a second generation might be a margherita with the addition of some fennel sausage, and a creative third generation could be anything from a gorgonzola pie with rosemary and caramelized onions or a rock shrimp pesto zucchini pie!
For our part, my friend and I felt like luxuriating in melting pillows buffalo mozzarella, so we shared a large margherita D.O.C. A toothsome, slightly charred crust, a dusting of Parmesan, some basil sprigs and yes, that superlative tomato sauce made the pizza a pie to remember.
I had no room for the Capogiro sorbetto and gelato - next time. And if the tomato recall continues, that next time might be sooner rather than later!
Fornino: 187 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn. (718) 384-6004.
Monday, June 02, 2008
Sweets News
Belgian waffles are bursting out all over, and they're causing me to burst out all over too!
- The brand-new Sweet Melissa Cremerie (276 Court St., Brooklyn, 718-855-3410) is offering big Belgian waffles with two scoops of ice cream, homemade whipped cream and your choice of topping for $10.95. When I arrived there tonight, there was a big "SOLD OUT" scribbled on the blackboard. Darn it.
- Le Petit Belge (22 East 14th St., 212-807-7027 ) has been open for three weeks, serving Belgian waffles ("poffies") topped with fresh fruit, whipped cream, and of course, Belgian chocolate syrup. It's a to-go operation, so you can take your waffle and enjoy it in Union Square Park. (After I visited, I soon became La Grande Belge!)
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