The 54th Summer Fancy Food Show

This year, I wasn't able to spend a lot of time at the Fancy Food Show; I got to the Javits Center shortly before the end. Fortunately, the vendors became very generous with their samples towards the close of the show - a woman was handing out bags of D.O.P. mozzarella di bufala campana! But I made sure not to load myself down with too many goodies, because there were people strategically placed at the exits to check through everyone's bags. (I did see a woman filling up her pockets with chocolates.)

Here are my highlights and bits of precious information:

• A Poilane representative, who was showcasing some wonderful sourdough with D'Artagnan duck pate, informed me that the famous French bakery has plans to begin distribution through Whole Foods. How great would this be!

• San Diego-based Chewy's, which makes gourmet pastries and cookies, has a really yummy crushed rugelach product. The company is marketing cinnamon-walnut and double-chocolate "Insatiable Crumble" as an ice cream topping or a cheesecake bottom. (More info at 800-241-3456.)


• Creative cheddars were a treat for the tastebuds. Grafton Village Cheese was offering up sage cheddar, garlic cheddar and maple-smoked cheddar. (I have a block of the maple-smoked and I'm not sharing it!) Cabot, also from Vermont, had chili-lime cheddar.
  


• There was a Belgian waffle stand, courtesy of Carbon's Golden Malted Waffles!
  


• There was also a lot of alcohol. In the Peru section, a man from CATB Liquor was handing out grape whiskey sours made with Pisco Queirolo. I also had a lime mojito but can't remember where.

• A man from Naturally Nora handed out three flavors of cupcakes. They were dairy-free, soy-free, kosher, and free of artificial flavors, colors, preservatives and hydrogenated oils! (Truly a cupcake for Bloomberg's trans-fat-free New York!) The confetti icing was naturally colored with ingredients like elderberry.
  


• Fresh mozzarella was everywhere, not just at Fattoria Gaia. Lioni Latticini made an appearance; Antonio Mozzarella Factory handed out plastic cups full of bocconcini with basil; and The Cheese Works Ltd. had a mindblowing array of cheese including generous samples of burrata.
  


• Cypress Grove Chevre served up some wonderful chive goat cheese.

• My last stop was Venchi, the Italian chocolatier I became aware of when I visited Eataly this year. I wish the vendor had been freer with the samples; he gave me just one little triple-layered gianduja praline! Fortunately, many chocolate delights are available via the Website.
  

I'm going to end this post with a question for anyone who might know - at the end of the show, what happens to that whole pig at the Euro-USA stand?

Pomme De Terre

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.

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.

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.

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!)
  

Lokal Mediterranean Bistro

The apartment directly above me is being renovated from top to bottom. Everything is being ripped out, drilled, and reinstalled. This means a daily onslaught of unbearable banging, shouting and thudding, which chases me out of my own apartment. I need a vacation! Unfortunately, much as I may long to visit the French Riviera (or any foreign destination) a trip out of the country is not an option for me right now.

Yesterday, the farthest I could travel was Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I was planning to take a stroll around McCarren Park when I caught sight of Lokal, a small Mediterranean restaurant on the park's perimeter. As I walked closer, the soft sounds of bossa nova wafted into my ears. Stained-glass French doors opened out onto the street, and I could see couples relaxing on striped blue banquettes. Sighing, I entered and sat down. The tables were decorated with shells and blue sand. I could almost imagine that I was on some kind of exotic vacation, although the cross breezes originated not from the sea but from the traffic on Nassau and Lorimer.

Lokal's menu offers plenty of classic spa selections, if you'd like to share in this fantasy of staying at some exotic resort. Caesar salads, grilled vegetable plates and penne with shrimp will entice the calorie-conscious diner (although "Lokal" is not a pun on '"lo-cal"). I ordered some unsweetened iced tea and a tuna burger. Although the beef burgers looked much plumper and more substantial, there was no filler in my choice - the burger was all chunks of seared tuna. The puffy brioche bun was nicely smeared with wasabi mayo, and a good portion of rosemary-sprinkled shoestrings was included. (For those who want something larger for lunch, there are meatball or beef casseroles.) At dinner, the menu expands to offer roasted free-range chicken and grilled NY steak.

I finished my last French fry to the strains of "How Insensitive." Although this song might be particularly apt for the people working on the apartment above me, at least I can temporarily escape their cacophony at Lokal.

Lokal Mediterranean Bistro: 905 Lorimer St., Brooklyn, (718) 384-6777.

Mia Dona

My companion and I had introduced a couple to Fiorini, and they instantly fell in love with the restaurant. So when they got engaged, we thought we'd take them there to celebrate (they love the risotto). How disappointed I was to find that Fiorini is closed on Sundays!

Fortunately, Mia Dona was open tonight. And since it was Memorial Day weekend, it was easy to get a table. I really enjoyed my light and healthful meal at this contemporary Italian restaurant, and our friends actually preferred Mia Dona's desserts to those of the more traditional Fiorini.

While we munched on fragrant roasted heads of garlic and warm tomato focaccia sprinkled with fennel seeds, we deliberated over the appetizers. (It was nice that the bread was served before we ordered, as we were so hungry we could barely make a decision.) I ended up with a delicious goat cheese ravioli in brodo; the clear broth was light and smoky with a tinge of rosemary, and its four stuffed pasta pockets lay atop a tumble of enoki mushrooms and peas. The grilled octopus appetizer was marvelously tender and featured a triple kick of black pepper, hot peppers and red pepper aioli.

Although my grilled branzino with arugula and tiny melted strips of truffled pecorino was perfectly good, I wish I had ordered my friend's choice: ricotta gnudi in truffled butter and sage. The rich dish had just the right touch of speck. Cavatelli in a tomato sauce with smoked bufala mozzarella and basil satisfied the self-proclaimed "sauce snob" in our group, and my companion ate up a rather small portion of olive oil-poached cod accompanied by clams and broccoli rabe. The fish had a nice meaty texture and benefited from a sundried tomato pesto. We also split a side of dilled beets.

Next we had some French press coffee and, of course, a celebratory dessert. The gianduja semifreddo stole the show; it arrived looking like some kind of super-decadent multi-layered nut-topped brownie. A chocolate cake bottom was the foundation for a layer of hazelnut cream and lots of cold chocolatey goodness. Other choices were blackberry sorbet, maple panna cotta with crunchy sugared walnuts, and a buttery-crusted pear cranberry crostata. But that semifreddo... it was truly an experience to remember! It was a sweet omen for our friends' union.

Mia Dona: 206 East 58th St., (212) 750-8170.

Brunch at Le Barricou

I wish I lived around the block from Le Barricou, or even better, inside it. The huge space features glass doors which open out onto the sidewalk, exposed-brick walls, a high mustard-stained wood-planked ceiling, a large back room with a piano, and a tiny outdoor patio. There's even an ATM machine back there! I'd have no reason to go outside.

I'd start out each morning with a free basket of freshly baked croissants and pain au chocolat, trucked in each morning from the owner's Bushwick bakery. At any rate, that's how I began my brunch today. A buttery croissant and an excellent Gimme Coffee cappuccino took the edge off my hunger while I decided to order the pissaladiere, then changed my mind and got the eggs Norwegian (at $7.50, a steal). Thickly cut herbed home fries and a romaine and baby spinach salad accompanied two English muffin halves topped with a nice portion of smoked salmon, Hollandaise and poached eggs. The couple next to me ordered the freshly ground grilled burger; the French fries looked tantalizing.

According to the owners, live music and wine-tasting events will soon be held in the newly renovated back room. It's going to be difficult to stay away from this place!

Le Barricou: 533 Grand St., Williamsburg, Brooklyn, (718) 782-7372. Weekend brunch till 4!

Kyoya

It's easy to miss this elegant Japanese oasis. After you walk past a graffiti-covered fence near the corner of East 7th St. and 1st Avenue, don't forget to look down; there will be a staircase leading you to an unforgettable experience! You can enjoy Kyoya's delicately prepared cuisine in the semi-private tatami room, in front of Chef Sono at the bar, or at one of the five or so tables in the front. Reservations are definitely recommended.

After being mightily impressed by my meal a week ago, I decided to bring my companion last night. To my amazement, our server remembered that I had ordered the Nagasaki mackerel sashimi the previous week. Almost all the fish is from Japan, except for the tuna (Panama) and the sea urchin (Canada). None is farmed.

The menu is divided into chef's specials, hot and cold appetizers, main courses, and a $150 kaiseki. (Note: this is one of those fancy places, so rice, miso soup, pickles and tea are extra! The Chiran green tea from Ito-En is bracing and wonderfully strong.) There's miso-marinated beef tongue, fried mountain vegetables, sea urchin with tofu skin in a crystal clear broth, eel agedashi-dofu, and Hokkaido male and female smelts. In short, there are a lot of items I've never encountered before, which just makes me want to order them all!

I thought my companion might enjoy the Tousui hotpot appetizer - a ceramic pot filled with a hot soymilk stew with tofu skin and soft chunks of tofu. This mild, sweet dish was livened up with garnishes of scallions, ponzu sauce, daikon radish and citrus salt. Although I'd also ordered the icefish yukari (a mound of tiny, lightly fried fish) on my previous visit, this time I went with ebi shinjo: fried shrimp mousse balls interspersed with crunchy rice crackers, tender shiitakes, baby corn and asparagus in a light broth.

We both ended up having black cod for our main course. My companion ordered the seasonal simmered fish, which was a large piece of cod poached in a sweet soy sauce; I chose the miso-marinated black cod. The three slabs of fish were rich as peanut butter, and they arrived with a small dish of cold edamame.

Although I fondly remembered the matcha-dusted dark chocolate mousse cake with unsweetened whipped cream from my last visit, we were due to meet some friends at Caffe Emilia for dessert. So I'll have to repeat that pleasure another time.

Kyoya: 94 East 7th St., (212) 982-4140).

Abraco

Are you tired of all those boring muffins and croissants at your local coffee shop? Then head over to this tiny East Village cafe. Olive oil cake, cured black olive cookies, ricotta fritters and orange bread puddings are imaginative accompaniments for Abraco's great cappuccinos. (If you want something less exotic, try the chocolate chunk cookies.)

Abraco: 86 East 7th St., (212) 388-9731.

Udon West St. Marks

Here's a meal for the the barhopper who finds himself with less than $10 at the end of a long night, or the night owl who wants something savory before stuffing himself with Insomnia Cookies. Udon West St. Marks is open till 3 a.m. (4 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays), and all menu items are less than $10. The least expensive dish ($5.75) is tsukimi, or "moon-viewing," udon, which is a large bowl of thick wheat noodles, a raw egg, hot broth and a sprinkling of chopped scallions. You can also order udon with minced beef, mountain vegetables, julienned burdock tempura, fried shrimp or yam paste. (If noodles aren't your thing, order beef over rice.)

Udon West St. Marks: 11 St. Marks St. No phone. Cash only.

New Grom Gelato Opening... TOMORROW!

Just in time for the warm weather, a free cup of super-premium gelato awaits you. I'll see you on Saturday, April 12, at 233 Bleecker Street!

Grom Gelato: 233 Bleecker St. Open from 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

Broadway East

Vegan food has been sprouting up all over the city lately, from Tierra Sana in Forest Hills (100-17 Queens Blvd., 718-830-0544) to Jill's Vegan Organic (231 Court St., Brooklyn, 718-797-0330). Red Mango's vegan red velvet cupcakes can be found all over Brooklyn, and the Upper East Side's Healthalicious (1594 Second Ave., 212- 988-8700) even serves a vegan Sloppy Joe!

But my absolute favorite place to eat vegan cuisine is the month-old Broadway East. (Where else do you come away with a packet of spinach seeds instead of matches?) This is no earthy-crunchy hideaway; it's a dimly lit, sophisticated space which is perfect for a date. In fact, it's perfect place for a date where one of the partners is non-vegetarian, as there is a sprinkling of items on the menu such as oysters, bass and free-range chicken. (This is an excellent menu strategy, apparently... when I visited, the oysters were 86ed.)

Our party of four munched on raisin walnut bread and an assortment of pickled vegetables as we waited for the appetizers. We ordered a refreshing fennel frisee salad with almonds and blood orange sections, and seared red beet tataki accompanied by diced yellow beet "tartare" and agar "caviar," livened up with sesame oil and sesame seeds.

Entrees were especially creative. The Peking tofu was the best vegetarian approximation of duck that I have seen; it used tofu skin stuffed with another preparation of tofu which had a meaty texture, and was served with a sweet dark sauce and cabbage. The "Mysore thali" was quite substantial with its skewered tofu, fingerling potatoes, and mushroom saag. My choice was a bowl of three crispy coconut tempeh triangles (I love the texture of this fermented soybean cake and wish I could find it more often), atop soupy, coriander-spiked lentils, greens, fried onions and whipped sweet potatoes.

Dessert was so good that one could have a heated argument over the last bite. There were both vegan and non-vegan choices; I preferred the non-vegan, buttery chai bread pudding with its melted dark chocolate chunks, crunchy brioche "dust" and saffron ice cream. The rest of the table pounced on the black cocoa cake and roasted sesame "ice cream." And what better way to end the meal than with a cup of Gimme Coffee espresso?

Broadway East: 171 East Broadway, 212-228-3100.

Batch (3/2009 CLOSED)

"You've come at just the right time," said Pichet Ong. He was preparing a plate of chocolate truffles for sampling. And these weren't just any chocolate truffles; they were the salted butter caramel, basil balsamic, white chocolate jasmine and saffron Pernod concoctions of Ellen Mirsky. She's selling 6-piece boxes of them at Batch, Pichet Ong's delightful addition to P*ong.

My timing had been horrendous earlier this week. I'd attempted to visit Batch on Monday after reading a newspaper article which incorrectly stated that the sweets shop was open every day. Unfortunately, Batch is closed on Mondays! Naturally, I had to make up for lost time. So I filled up on luscious raspberry cream cake, dense, fudgy chocolate mint cookies, a big chocolate chunk cookie, and a cake topped with thin slices of bananas. Oh, and those truffles.

Batch: 150B West 10th St., (212)929-0250.

Prince St. Cafe & Catering

A recent article on the Jane Jacobs and the Future of New York Website asks: "Is a New Yorker's right to an affordable dining-out experience a livability issue?" I certainly feel that it is, so I was delighted to discover Prince St. Cafe & Catering tonight. For $12, I dined like a king! I ordered the homemade fettucini, which is prepared in six different ways: with wild mushrooms and English peas, grilled veggies and goat cheese, duck confit and truffle butter, crabmeat and sun-dried tomatoes, prosciutto with tomatoes and mozzarella, and my choice, the luscious pine nut pesto. Olive oil coated the thick noodles and crunchy pine nuts, and the wonderful aroma of fresh basil permeated the room. A customer walked in and said that this delicious fragrance was the first thing he noticed. (The special also included hunks of fresh baguette and a big vinaigrette-dressed green salad.)

I still had a few bucks on me, so after gaping at the red velvet, lemon meringue and chocolate cupcakes ($2), I ended up taking a giant chocolate fudge brownie home with me. I'm still too full to eat it!

Prince St. Cafe & Catering, 26 Prince St., (212) 343-7310.

Sweets News

You may have heard that in the darkest night of the soul, it's always 3 a.m. Well, this is no longer true, with the opening of the Insomnia Cookies shop at 50 West 8th Street! The store serves up fresh-baked brownies and cookies studded with giant chocolate chunks until 3 a.m. (If you've ordered online, you know that you must place your delivery order by 2:15, but if your cravings keep you up even later, you have until 3 to get to the shop.) According to store employees, they are now selling thousands of cookies a week; the shop has provided much greater visibility for what was once just a delivery operation.

As for the cookies, I would say "Get them while they're hot," but they're always hot!

Insomnia Cookies: 1-877-63-COOKIE.

Drinkable Art

You've probably heard of edible art. You may even be familiar with edible, wearable art. But have you seen the drinkable art of master barista Sammy Lin? At Bottega Del Vino (and Via Quadronno on Sundays), he delights customers with imaginative coffee-and-foam paintings of monkeys, snowmen and women's faces. (He uses a coffee stirrer.)

A native of tea-drinking Fuzhou, China, the 33-year-old Lin had his first cup of coffee at the age of 25. He thought it tasted like bitter water. But he was soon to move to New York, where he would develop a keen appreciation of the beverage. At Via Quadronno, he perfected his basic technique, but soon decided that it wasn't enough to make a great-tasting cappuccino. It had to be great-looking too!

One day, Lin tried his hand at painting a snowman on top of the cappuccino foam. And then he made a mistake, and the snowman ended up looking like a monkey. The monkey is now his signature painting - Ivanka Trump requested it one morning, and children regularly demand it on their hot chocolates. That's not to say that Lin can't be convinced to paint another animal. One customer, on being told that she was not allowed to bring her dog inside the cafe, pleaded with Lin to look out the window at her forlorn little pet and paint it. He obliged.

Customers from as far away as Japan, Germany and France visit Bottega Del Vino just to see what Lin will paint next. Some people even bring in photos from newspapers or magazines. On my recent visit, the visage of an elegant lady appeared atop my cappuccino. It was almost too pretty to drink.

When I asked Lin if he saw himself expanding into other artistic mediums, he shook his head. "I love my job! I have created my own style."

Bottega Del Vino

You could be excused for thinking that Bottega Del Vino, with its shelves full of wine, hand-blown crystal stemware, and glass walls forged from wine bottles, was a very adult restaurant. And indeed its owner, Severino Barzan, prides himself on his 130,000 bottle collection. (He was the 2004 recipient of Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence.) But when I visited the restaurant for lunch yesterday, I sat next to an Italian family of eight with three young children. The mother asked for "un po' di prosciutto" and soon her youngsters were happily munching on a big plate of ham and cheese (when they weren't throwing their spoons on the floor).

I'm not sure what else the family ate, because I was thoroughly engrossed in my own meal. I'd ordered some of the daily specials; my appetizer was a poached duck egg, its yolk spilling out into a velvety beige bed of pureed fava beans. Smoked tuna carpaccio livened up the mild dish, as did a basket of oregano-sprinkled focaccia.

No sooner had I scooped up the last bit of beans when the server brought my cacio e pepe. (If you like cheese, this pasta dish is impossible to resist. There's even a restaurant named after it in the East Village. At Cacio e Pepe, the server brings by a giant wheel of pecorino and swirls the tonnarelli around and around in it before depositing it on the plate. But although I enjoy the presentation, I never feel like I got quite enough pasta!) The version at Bottega Del Vino was made with thick, rigatoni-like tubes, which caught every melted mouthful of sheep's milk cheese and smidgen of black peppercorn. I actually couldn't finish the dish, much as I wanted to. And I didn't have room for dessert, which was a shame, as I hear that pastry chef Annamaria Kosa whips up some pretty special sweets, among them buffalo ricotta cake with raspberry compote, apple fig strudel and white chocolate semifreddo with caramelized chestnuts in rum sauce. For Easter, Kosa has created a watermelon-sized, hollow chocolate Easter egg into which you can hide a gift. Children from 1-100 can enjoy it!

(There is a very important reason why you should end a meal at Bottega Del Vino not with an espresso, but a cappuccino. It's so important that it merits its own post.)

Bottega Del Vino: 7 East 59th St., (212) 223-2724.

Nirvana In A Jar

Today, my companion brought home the March issue of New York Spirit: Resources For Natural Living. Among the magazine's coverlines were "How to Beat the Winter Blues" and "The Fast Track to Enlightenment." I have my own recipe, however unwholesome, for beating the blues; it involves a spoon and a jar of Guido Gobino's Crema Gianduja. This creamy chocolate-hazelnut spread is about 50 times better than Nutella; it contains 34% IGP hazelnuts from Italy's Piedmont region and not a whit of vegetable fat filler. Fold it into a crepe, smear it on a piece of toast, refrigerate it till it turns fudgy, or just spoon it out of the jar right into your mouth. It might not steer you towards enlightenment, but you might reach nirvana!

Guido Gobino's Crema Gianduja, and the darker, more cocoa-y Crema Al Cacao spread can be found at Chelsea Market's Buon Italia (75 9th Avenue, (212) 633-9090). It is also sold, along with other scrumptious Gobino products, at Grom Gelato (233 Bleecker St.).

Brunch at Cookshop

This past Sunday, I thought it might be nice to brunch with a friend at Cookshop. It turned out that half of Manhattan had the same idea. There was a wait even though we had a reservation; fortunately it wasn't too long, as my buttermilk beignets craving was unbearable! Cookshop serves the four hot, puffy, sugar-dusted doughnuts with a stroke of genius: cardamom-spiked pineapple compote. Like lemon squeezed over fried zucchini, it's a perfect combination.

After polishing these sweeties off, we decided against the cornmeal pancakes with caramel bananas. My friend ordered a thick slice of rye toast which had the dual function of supporting some braised chard and poached eggs, and sopping up a pool of velvety cheese fondue. I downed the "Cookshop Scramble" with smoked salmon - a halved biscuit holding a portion of eggs scrambled with caramelized onions, dill and salmon.

When we were finished, I briefly considered ordering more beignets, but one must occasionally show some kind of restraint.

Cookshop: 156 Tenth Ave., (212) 924-4440.

Eataly Excitement!

Attention, obsessed foodies: gourmet food mecca Eataly is set to open its first store in Rockefeller Center in June. It'll be small, only around 400 square feet, but plans are afoot for a second, much larger store (6,000-7,000 square feet) in the Meatpacking District. I just got back from Turin, where I visited the original complex and ate at the most formal of its eight restaurants, Guido per Eataly... I'm still thinking about the vegetable-foam rainbow parfait, and a thin layer of white onion melted around a pork meatball, and the roulade of pheasant with thyme-scented grits, and the fresh agnolotti, and the incredible crusty bread, and the torrone semifreddo...

Speaking of torrone semifreddo, in early April (ETA: April 12), Turinese gelateria Grom is opening a second store. It will be located on Bleecker at Carmine. Watch out, Cones!

6/24/08 ETA: At the time of this writing, Eataly was expected to have opened in New York, but it has not! I am waiting with bated breath.

6/29/09 ETA: According to the New York Times, Eataly has finally signed a lease.

In Vacanza...

I can't wait for the New York opening of Eataly anymore. Not one more second. So, this week I'm flying to Turin, Italy to experience this giant organic market/foodie theme park for myself.

At Eataly, you can learn to cook like an Italian chef, try over 100 different dishes made with artisanal products at eight themed restaurants, taste numerous wines, and gorge yourself on pasta, salumi, cheese, focaccia, pizza made with fior di latte mozzarella, meat bred from Piemontese cows, and fresh fish. The Website proclaims excitedly: "At Eataly you can eat whenever you want!"

After all of this, there might not be room in your belly, but your mind might still have room for food for thought. The Eataly library contains thousands of food-related magazines and 10 computers to satisfy any craving for culinary information.

You might be wondering, when is this marvel going to set up shop in the United States? I hope I'm about to find out, and I'll report back whatever I hear.

(On the flight over, I plan to whet my palate by reading the brand new Around The World In 80 Dinners: The Ultimate Culinary Adventure. In this gastronomic world tour, authors Cheryl and Bill Jamison visit Indonesia, Australia, Thailand, India, China, South Africa, Brazil, France, Singapore and New Caledonia!)

Sakae Sushi

Have you ever wished your waiter would materialize at the click of a mouse? Well, your dream has come true with the opening of Sakae Sushi; every table sports a computer screen, and you can click "Request Bill." However, if you like to escape the pull of computers on your lunch break, this Singaporean-based Japanese chain might not be your cup of green tea.

I found the system a bit buggy today, even though I'm pretty computer-literate. It took me a little while to adjust to the mouse, and I found myself forgetting the extra step of clicking "Add To Order." Halfway through ordering my meal, the application unexpectedly quit, erasing all of my chosen dishes. (I thought to myself, I've enough laptop problems at home!) However, the staff was extremely accommodating, and I have the feeling that even if I'd never seen a computer before, they would've made me feel at home.

Although Sakae Sushi serves pages of cooked dishes, its main draw is the conveyor-belt sushi. At most kaitenzushi, everyone sits around a bar and tries to grab the most desired items before their neighbor. But Sakae Sushi, there are separate booths, and you look over your shoulder to see what's coming around.

"I can't take it!" exclaimed a girl who couldn't have been more than seven. "What?" asked her mother. "All this food going 'round and 'round!"

Unfortunately, I found some selections on the varied menu strangely unappealing (sweet tofu skin stuffed with tuna mayo or egg salad? someone in the kitchen really likes mayonnaise). In an eel hand roll, the eel tasted off, and the nori was tough. But my saba shioyaki bento included a nice portion of tasty salted mackerel fillet. The agedashi tofu cubes were the size of the giant marshmallows at City Bakery, and they were too heavily battered, but there was a nice furikake sprinkling on the white rice. The menu at Sakae is so extensive that I'm willing to give the place a few more tries, because the concept is so fun, and the service so efficient.

(In the meantime, I'll continue my unlikely fantasy about sushi fusion master Hidekazu Tojo making an appearance in New York someday. This Vancouverite created the original inside-out roll for seaweed-phobic Westerners. He also invented the California roll; his version is loaded with sweet crabmeat, egg, spinach and avocado.)

Sakae Sushi, 405 Lexington Ave., 877-SAKAE-USA. Note: the entrance is on 43rd St.

Teodora

There are more food issues in my family than an entire year of Gourmet Magazine. One relative is allergic to onions and peas, another to shrimp, and another can't eat anything spicy. The most challenging relative suffers from an extreme allergy to pepper ("No white pepper. No black pepper. No red pepper. No green pepper. I'll die," is the litany she recites at every restaurant we visit). But not only is this relative unable to eat pepper, she also has an ever-growing set of rules about things she absolutely will not consume. No warm or hot desserts. No fish (but canned tuna is OK). No broccoli rabe or greens more bitter than iceberg lettuce. American coffee, not cappuccino. You get the drift.

Fortunately, the folks at 10-year-old Teodora are veterans who treat all their clientele with grace. So when my relative sent back her filet mignon this past weekend ("This isn't rare!") they obliged and brought out another. ("Bloody rare! That's how I like it.")

Teodora is a cousin of Luciano, a seafood restaurant in Rome. It inspires passion - the walls of the women's bathroom are covered with lipstick kisses - and all the tables in the homey duplex are usually full. And there's a lot more than seafood on the menu, to the delight of my relatives. There's balsamic-glazed rack of lamb, and radicchio salad with bacon and eggs, and crisp fried artichokes, and homemade pasta hats stuffed with spinach and ricotta in butter sage sauce, and gnocchi in cheese fondue. For those of you who miss the San Gennaro parade (or for that matter, any other NYC parade), you can get your sausage and peppers in an inventive pasta dish made with strozzapreti (did you know that means "priest choker" in Italian?). I love whole fish, so I devoured the orata stuffed with garlic cloves and herbs.

With my relatives in tow, a warm dessert (apple tart, chocolate cake) was out of the question, so we split a tiramisu. Teodora's chocolate-chip-filled version was rather like a mascarpone mousse - not much ladyfinger in there, and no cocoa dusting - but still wonderful. My relatives were thrilled, and all was right with the world!

Teodora: 141 East 57th St., (212) 826-7101.

Barrio Chino

I was craving one of the chewy German pretzels at Cafe Katja, but the place was closed for a private party (I really should've called ahead). "Where should we go?" I asked my disappointed friend.

We wandered around a bit, and ended up around the corner at Barrio Chino, a jam-packed Mexican joint. The name of the restaurant means "Chinese Neighborhood" - it's located at the edge of Chinatown. (Interestingly, in Spain, the term barrio chino can mean something completely different.) The guacamole was promising; fresh and spicy with lots of chopped onion, it came with thick hot corn chips.

My friend was spot on with her choice of main course, but I miscalculated. I ordered the guajilla-marinated red snapper, which was strangely cinnamony and desperately needed some kind of sauce. The accompanying small pile of green rice was dry. But my friend's two tostadas were excellent; the corn tortillas were layered with plenty of queso fresco, sour cream, lettuce, avocado, tasty marinated shrimp and tender shredded beef.

Feeling vaguely unsatisfied (and envious of my friend), I recommended that we order dessert. Three hot sugared churros with a pot of hot melted chocolate is definitely reason enough for me to return to Barrio Chino... but next time I'll order the tostadas.

Barrio Chino: 253 Broome St., (212) 228-6710.

Chocolate, Champagne and Oysters

It's almost Valentine's Day, which is a great excuse to consume (or exhort others to consume) more chocolate, champagne and oysters:

In the chocolate category, I recommend the new heart-shaped brownies at Kyotofu (705 9th Ave., 212-974-6012). They're even better than the little "miso chokos," if that is possible. And who can resist that adorable pink box?

Moving on to champagne (but not leaving chocolate behind), Bacchus Wine Made Simple (2056 Broadway, 212-875-1200), an Upper West Side wine shop, will be holding a "Champagne and Chocolates" tasting event on February 12. Come Valentine's Day, your sweetheart will find your talent for pairing chocolate and champagne irresistible. But if you prefer your champagne to be pure, unadorned, and unlimited, head over to Tre (173 Ludlow St., 212-353-3353), which will be holding a one-hour all-you-can-drink champagne pour for all couples dining on Valentine's Day. (This could get interesting!)

Now for oysters! Danny Brown Wine Bar & Kitchen (104-02 Metropolitan Ave., Forest Hills, 718-261-2144) will include roasted oysters with butternut squash puree in a special Valentine's Day dinner from 5-9:30 p.m. Savoy (70 Prince St., 212-219-8570) will be a veritable oasis of oysters; February 11 begins a week-long celebration of the mollusk with an eight-oyster taste-off and white wine pairing. The most appealing duo will be featured at Savoy's four-course Valentine's Day dinner.

Whatever your pleasure, I hope you have a delicious Valentine's Day.

Spice Up Your Life!

"When I cook, I don't just top something with ginger or add a little bit of cut-up lemongrass. A balance of flavors is essential, so I make sure there are elements of sweetness, salt, heat, acidity and texture. For salt, I might use some capers, soy sauce - sweetness can even be evoked by masa or coconut. For heat, there are chilies, and acidity can include citrus, lime..."

The speaker was Michael Schulson, the charismatic chef and host of the Style Network's Pantry Raid, and the event was McCormick's Flavor Forecast 2008 luncheon at Gilt Restaurant. (Besides being fed well at this event, I was to learn more about spices than I ever knew! Were you aware that one teaspoon of dried oregano contains more antioxidants than 1/3 cup of blueberries? Or that cinnamon may lower blood sugar? Or that red pepper might increase your metabolism? Note to self...)

Schulson was introducing our "Gastro-Tourist" course, which consisted of a plantain chip topped with curry-tempura shrimp, a spoonful of lemongrass-poached lobster with pickled lychees, and bright pink sugared rose petals in a poppy vinaigrette-dressed green salad. I tried to concentrate on each bite so I could focus on all the elements. (During the "meet-and-greet" before the sit-down, we'd already nibbled on deep red venison tartare livened up with allspice and brandied cherries, and poached foie gras on sage brioche.)

We were then treated to a very educational talk by David Heber, the director of UCLA's Center for Human Nutrition. (More interesting facts! 50,000 years ago, our human ancestors feasted on 800 varieties of plants. Also, the skin of an apple protects it from oxidizing in the same way that some plant compounds may protect us!) I wish I remembered more of what Mr. Heber said, but my fork was distracting me. It was digging into a cornmeal-crusted scallop atop a multicolored pile of little heirloom beans, a deep-fried green olive on a hunk of cinnamon-scented pork tenderloin, and roasted sea bass encrusted with gingered pistachios.

McCormick's Kevan Vetter and Gilt's Christopher Lee, who collaborated on the exciting menu, also spoke. (I haven't been back to Gilt since Paul Liebrandt left, but it is definitely on my to-eat-list now!) Lee talked about how sweet was becoming savory, and savory was becoming sweeter, and this was a perfect introduction to the dessert course. I happily indulged in a guava-coconut sorbet on a strudel cone on a white chocolate stand, cinnamon-dusted cocoa whipped cream atop a hot chocolate cupcake, and a chocolate orange candy decorated with an intense chocolate swirl and a bit of gold leaf. (I noticed that some people, perhaps those watching their figures, didn't finish their dessert! Don't they know that the presence of healthful cinnamon in the whipped cream negated all the calories?)

So, after all of this, you might like to know, what exactly are the 10 hottest flavor trends for 2008? Well, a couple are vanilla-cardamom and cocoa-chili. For more inspiration, click on McCormick's Website.

Corner Shop Cafe

Lately, all I seem to want is Belgian hot chocolate, mac & cheese, and fruit cobbler. Fortunately, these comfort foods can all be found at Corner Shop Cafe. Whenever I walk down Broadway, I always want to go inside this pretty restaurant (it looks like Anthropologie, if Anthropologie had a cafe), and last night afforded me my first opportunity.

I began with some fried artichokes tossed with lemon and salt, which arrived in a basket (note to fried artichoke lovers: $7 will get you just one fried artichoke at Bar Stuzzichini, but it will get you a whole basket at Corner Shop Cafe!). The waiter had recommended that I order a half-portion of macaroni and cheese as it was so rich. He was right! But the portion was hardly small, it was rather like the size served at Penelope's. The flavor was out of this world. Pepper Jack, Gruyere and cheddar melted together around a pile of tender elbow noodles mixed with taut little peas and a few slices of shiitake. The dish was topped with breadcrumbs and crunchy bits of Parmesan. A bit of truffle oil provided that final "what is that wonderful taste?"

I finished the whole thing (incidentally, if you're not a mac 'n' cheese fan - there are lots of other goodies for you: pork milanese with grilled corn and tomato salad, soy-marinated skirt steak, rosemary roasted free-range chicken, cioppino, even Cuban sandwiches! Order a Gorgonzola-ed mashed potato on the side.) with room to spare for a tart strawberry-apricot cobbler with a side of whipped cream. The dessert menu also includes a mango creme brulee - maybe I'll try it this summer, but right now, I'll stick with the cobbler and perhaps the chocolate bread pudding.

Corner Shop Cafe: 643 Broadway, (212) 253-7467.

Pam Real Thai Food

It was about 20 degrees last night; I was starving, but didn't want to walk another block in the cold. Since I happened to be right around the corner from Pam Real Thai Food, I walked in.

A sign announced "cash only." I had $17 in my wallet, so I strategized about how I could enjoy soup, an appetizer and dinner and still have enough money left over to leave a good tip. I ended up with steamed chive dumplings, tom yum koong and vegetable green curry (vegetarian main courses were only $5.95). The menu included more exotic offerings like anchovy rice, fried baby mackerels, kaeng tai pla (a spicy dish with lime leaves and fermented fish kidney), and a salad of ground pork with lime and fried chilis.

My tom yum koong soup was tangy and pungent with lots of lemongrass, cilantro and hot chili. It contained two plump shrimp and a bunch of halved white mushrooms. The bowl was small but the flavors were big. Three chewy pouches stuffed with chives were next, accompanied by a sweet soy-based sauce. I think I might have preferred the dumplings fried, but I was trying to be healthy for once!

Next came a plate of jasmine rice and the vegetable curry. Unfortunately, this dish was not very filling, and I looked on with envy at the large plates of noodles that other tables had ordered. My curry consisted of three small steamed cubes of tofu, some shredded bamboo shoots and a few sprigs of greens in a mild, coconutty broth. Tasty, but next time I'm going to order a deep-fried whole fish or crispy duck.

I have a feeling that if I lived in Midtown West, I'd be ordering in from Pam Real all the time, because there are a lot of things I'd like to try, and the food is good and inexpensive.

Pam Real Thai Food: 404 West 49th, (212) 333-7500.

Oden at Ariyoshi

It's winter - time for nourishing, hearty stews. One stew that satisfies without widening the waistline is the Japanese oden. (I used to grab it at 7-Elevens in Tokyo.) Ariyoshi on Broadway has a nice selection: chicken meatballs, fish cake (fried or not), pork sausage, the slippery, granite-colored yam cake known as konnyaku, grilled tofu, hard-boiled egg, daikon and something called "beef muscle." Order a la carte for around $2 per item, or a $10 set.

Ariyoshi: 810 Broadway, (212) 388-1884.

Little Lad's

Back when I was a starving college student in Boston, I regularly took advantage of the all-you-can-eat vegetarian buffet at Country Life. I remember indulging in "pepper steak," "sea cakes," and desserts topped with cashew "whipped cream."

There used to be two Country Life locations in NYC, but they closed many years ago, and apparently the one in Boston just closed down as well. But Larry Fleming, the spry, ageless founder of the chain, is not about to give up on his dream of spreading healthy, inexpensive food to the masses. (And the massive - like me! Did I overdo it this past holiday season or what?)

In a dark, gloomy corner of the concourse at 120 Broadway, he's opened a little veggie oasis: Little Lad's. I got a little bit lost trying to find it... a sign on the Broadway side of the building advises visitors to walk around to the Nassau Street entrance, which is equally as confusing. After enlisting the help of a security guard, I walked down the stairs to the concourse, where I finally encountered Little Lad's. The entrance looked like a country store, with baskets of healthy baked goods and fresh produce everywhere.

To my disappointment, the buffet was about one-third the size of the one at the old Country Life. But for $3.99, I have no business complaining! (I must mention that for those who dislike buffets, there's a small menu of a la carte sandwiches - grilled "cheese," "steak-out," etc.) The buffet includes one go-around of soup, mains, salad and fruit; each additional visit is only $1. According to Mr. Fleming, customers used to complain that they always ate too much; this is why he added the small extra fee - as a deterrent.

On the day I went, there was a delicious, coconut-laced Jamaican black bean soup (I didn't try the split pea). Other selections included rutabagas, beans, dilled potatoes, Armenian lentil stew (this seems to be popping up all over the place; in my ill-fated, brief attempt to lose weight on the Diet To Go delivery program, this stew was one of the choices. I had never encountered it before I tried to go on a diet. Is it indeed an Armenian dish?). The salad bar was pretty standard. I sprang for some mixed berry pie; the cashew cream had more vanilla than I remembered but was just as addictive. The man in front of me, patting his ample belly, remarked that he wanted to consume an entire bowl of it!

As I sat down to eat, I noticed that many of the diners knew each other, and if they didn't, Mr. Fleming did! He flitted around like a happy butterfly: "Here's an old Country Life customer! She went to the one on Broad Street!" Next to me, a man called over to a co-worker, "Second day in a row here?"

Mr. Fleming will tell you that customers have drastically lowered their blood pressure or cholesterol with just one weekly visit to his healthy food emporium. Although I'm a skeptic, I do think it is possible to lighten one's mood considerably at Little Lad's, and the effects may last a few days... until your next visit!

Little Lad's: 120 Broadway, Concourse Level, (212) 227-5744.

The House

I always wondered what this mid-19th-century carriage house was doing in the middle of East 17th Street. Was it an inn? A nautical museum? Today, I found out that it was an excellent place to have brunch.

An amiable host sat me at a white marble table and I looked over the menu. The brunch menu included a prosciutto, fig and gorgonzola panino, a lobster club with pancetta, a scrambled egg sandwich, and my choice, a cheery little frittata loaded with bright red and yellow cherry tomatoes, baby zucchini, mushrooms and red onions, served with pressed sourdough toast. I couldn't resist an order of the well-salted roasted fingerlings peppered with black truffles... these were among the best brunch potatoes I've eaten. (However, the advertised Mocha Joe's coffee was much weaker and more bitter than I remembered from my trip to Brattleboro.)

I had no room left for the Key lime pie, triple chocolate mousse cake or gelato, but I'll make sure to leave some when I head over for dinner. I'm thinking about going on a Friday, when the rotisserie special is organic Amish chicken with ginger lemongrass honey.

The House: 121 East 17th St., (212) 353-2121.

Happy New Year!

2008 will mark the 6th year of the existence of Salli Vates' NY Food Page. I may plan some sort of party... details will be forthcoming!

In the meantime, my companion and I will celebrate the New Year with toshikoshi (passing year) soba. Since the Edo period, people in Japan have eaten these long, thin noodles to promote long life and prosperity.

Naturally, I'm not going to make these noodles myself. I reserved them at Soba-Ya! (If you're still scrambling around wondering what you are going to eat tonight, you have until 7 p.m. to pick up a box of fresh soba for two people, including wasabi, broth, chopped scallions and soba-boiling instructions.)

Soba-Ya: 229 East 9th St., (212) 533-6966.

Del Posto

My companion and I both have birthdays close to Christmas, so our holiday season is extra indulgent. This year, we celebrated my special day at opulent Del Posto, the perfect place for holiday excess. Unabashedly hedonistic, it offers $120 plates of tagliarini topped with 10 oz. of shaved white truffle, chocolate souffles with hot chocolate sauce pooling on the bottom... and is there any other restaurant in Manhattan that actually serves lard with the Italian bread?

We toasted with a glass of pinot nero, relaxed to the sounds of Christmas carols as played by an excellent pianist, and set to work on the amuses bouche... spiedini, miniature zeppole and ditalini soup with a touch of cocoa (yes, cocoa!). Although the people next to us were enjoying the aforementioned tagliarini, we decided to be slightly less hedonistic, ordering a couple of pasta dishes which both had a touch of spice. The spaghetti with Dungeness crab was spiked with jalapeno, and my sheep's milk gnudi were dusted with Tellicherry pepper. The incredibly rich dumplings, served on a velvety swirl of pumpkin puree, melted in my mouth. (I think I finally found something to trump the gnocchi at Hearth.)

Next came the main courses. The portions were deceptively moderate, as there must have been a stick of butter in the cauliflower ragu underneath my seared striped bass! (The dish also sported black truffles.) My companion's three large chunks of rare pink tuna were delicately crowned with thin slices of crimson air-dried beef. The waiter brought by a little bonus of olive-oil-preserved tuna for my companion... but when he saw my expectant face, he saved some for me.

Although I had also eaten more of the Italian bread (and the beautiful little olive rolls) than I care to remember, I could not forgo dessert on a birthday. Chocolate souffle it was! (My companion finished off the panna cotta with spiced pears, meringue and red wine gelee.) Then there were tiny cookies and a box of chocolates. I think my New Year's resolution should be to go on a diet. (After tonight's visit to Quality Meats, anyway.)

Del Posto: 85 Tenth Ave., (212) 497-8090.

Ciao For Now

No, I'm not going on vacation (until sometime in 2008, anyway); this post refers to a really delightful East Village bakery. If you favor savory baked goods as well as sweet ones, you'll really appreciate the offerings here: potato puffs filled with goat cheese and red pepper, bacon cheddar biscuits, and "not-frittatas" with egg, Swiss, spinach, potato and caramelized onions. And of course there's something for those of you who begin the day with something sweet: polenta muffins with a lemon lavender glaze, apple turnovers, and apple oat scones glazed with maple and vanilla. There are also various sandwiches and cookies.

(By the way, if you don't want to attend a Christmas party empty-handed, ask for the special holiday cookie box - you get 30 cookies for only $20.)

Ciao For Now: 504 East 12th St., (212) 677-2616.

L'Impero

Walking to L'Impero on a winter night has to be one of the most romantic experiences in NYC. You look up at the black-branched trees, ascend an old stone staircase, and find yourself in the hushed world of Tudor City. This past Sunday, the little journey increased our excitement at finally visiting this well-known Italian restaurant.

Surprisingly, once we sat down, service was a bit sketchy. (It was the weekend, people were gone for the holidays, and someone apparently injured himself in the kitchen.) However, the sommelier placated our party with a bottle of wine! (Always a simple solution.) We had no complaints with the food or value... the special Sunday four-course prix fixe is only $42.

First, we were served two kinds of thickly-sliced Italian bread and a plate of salami, chunks of Parmesan, and citrus-spiked olives. (We ended up pleading for a couple more of these plates; we were hungry!) Then came a hearty bean soup flavored with pancetta and garlicky crostini topped with a healthy helping of salt cod mashed with potatoes. For pasta, we chose the egg tortelli oozing with rich, creamy buffalo ricotta, spaghetti in a tomato-onion-pancetta sauce and the breadcrumbed cauliflower pappardelle.

The main courses, which arrived two hours after we sat down, were worth the wait! My selection was the fried haddock with a luscious caper-mayonnaise "salmoriglio" dipping sauce. Others at the table indulged in the traditional pork meatballs. We ended with chai-spiced panna cotta,a brownielike warm chocolate cake, espresso, and that romantic walk.

L'Impero: 45 Tudor City Place, (212) 599-5045. (6/15/08 NOTE: This restaurant will be closing and reopening under a different name.)

Brunch at Ditch Plains

I am still thinking about the smoked mozzarella ricotta fritters at Ditch Plains. There were six of them. I picked one up and bit into the crisp and browned exterior, but was in no way prepared for the gooey deliciousness inside. A layer of light eggy batter contained an onslaught of hot melted cheese... the spicy tomato sauce on the side was a nice touch but not really necessary!

I think I scared the no-nonsense waitress with my giddiness. (I'm sure she's not reading this, but on the off chance that she is, and remembers a slightly wacky table of four this past Sunday, we really meant no harm. And we weren't drunk. We were just giddy over the prospect of the fritters.)

We also ordered clam chowder (two kinds, Manhattan and New England), fried eggs with satisfyingly greasy hash browns and a side of thickly cut bacon, and gargantuan spinach-goat cheese omelettes that were enough for two. But after all of this, I was still thinking about those smoked mozzarella ricotta fritters.

Ditch Plains: 29 Bedford St. (212) 633-0202

Now This Is What I Call Customer Service!

I'm a great lover of convenience; this is what led me to discard my much-loved Vienna Saeco Deluxe coffee machine (and my Bialetti Mukka Express, which had an unfortunate habit of leaking coffee all over the stovetop) in favor of the Nespresso D290, one of the "pod" machines. (I know that coffee purists will probably look askance at me for this!)

Anyway, I came home yesterday and there was an unexpected package from Nespresso waiting for me. I know it's the holiday season, but the only person I know who would send me a Nespresso package would be my mother, and she apparently didn't send it. So, I opened the box and saw this message: "We greatly appreciate your loyalty to Nespresso. To express our gratitude, we are pleased to offer you a selection of dark and milk chocolate squares."

The airline industry could sure learn something from Nespresso!

Holiday Shopping 2007

Frightened away by the hordes, I have resorted to online shopping this year. And as you can probably imagine, most of the gifts are food-related!

To start, I sent my mother a gingerbread house from Cookie Outlet, which offers small, medium, large, and even blue-iced Chanukah versions. (Cookie Outlet also sends Junior's cheesecakes to nostalgic ex-New Yorkers around the country.)

Then, I looked at the Meduri World Delights Website. This Oregon-based company specializes in dried fruits which have been prepared in such a way as to maintain most of their moisture. But the prospect of dried fruit wasn't quite decadent enough, so I ordered a box of chocolate-and-fruit truffle delights for my companion. (OK, I'll make an admission. I have an awful habit of deciding that we'll open just one present prematurely. And this year, it happened to be this box of chocolate-and-fruit truffles. So I can tell you that the white chocolate strawberry tastes just like strawberry shortcake.) If you want to support a local fruit vendor instead, you can visit Manhattan Fruitier, which also sells some adorable chocolate penguins.

I've been extolling the virtues of my Nespresso Aeroccino to anyone who will listen, so this item went on my gift list too. Basically, I'm one of those people who can't make decent cappuccino foam, no matter how hard I try. I've done everything they've told me; I've held the nozzle in the bottom of the cup, the top of the cup, I've chilled the milk, I've used skim milk, and still, my foam is the consistency of, well, hot milk. Enter this amazing, foolproof machine: one simple touch of a button and my foam was the envy of any barista!

Naturally, this handy item is selling out (Nespresso is back-ordered till late December) but as of this writing, er, typing, it's still available at Williams-Sonoma. And if you're looking for coffee to enclose with this gift, I'm excited to inform you that you can now order Spanish sugar-roasted Torrefacto coffee at Tienda.com. (After my last visit to Spain, which was eons ago, I craved this coffee and could find it nowhere online.)

Right now, I'm not dreaming of a white Christmas, but rather a cup of Torrefacto coffee topped with perfect Aeroccino-ed foam, accompanied by a hefty helping of the peach cobbler in Alice Waters' The Art Of Simple Food, which also makes an excellent gift.

Pio Maya (CLOSED as of 7/08)

I did something I'm not proud of tonight. I may have offended everyone around me. What did I do?

I... ate on the subway. (A while ago, the MTA was considering fines for this, but apparently, it's still legal. Still, some people equate such an action with eating in a public restroom.)

But I simply could not help myself. After picking up a to-go order at Pio Maya, I'd tightly closed the bag. But as I waited for an F train, my hand crept into the containers of thick, unsalted warm tortilla chips and the super-fresh, chunky green guacamole. The train arrived, I looked around for a two-seater in an unoccupied part of the car and hurriedly sat down. (The woman behind me glared at me; she'd obviously coveted the same seat. I don't know why, as she wasn't going to eat anything. However, she did stretch out her legs and put her feet on the seat in front of her.)

Casting a furtive glance around me, I took out the shrimp taco. Lots of grilled shrimp and spicy pico de gallo were nestled inside doubled corn tortillas, a nice touch. Still, the whole thing was a mess; lettuce and tomato and shrimp spilled out. I hoped no one was watching. It didn't take me very long to polish everything off.

The next time I go to Pio Maya, I intend to eat in. The place has been renovated; the prep kitchen is now hidden, and black leather banquettes have been installed. So, just in case you were on my F train tonight, what can I say - I'm sorry, it won't happen again.

Pio Maya: 40 West 8th St., (212) 254-2277.

The Sunburnt Cow

Here's something to sweeten the start of the workweek. On Mondays, cocktails are only $5 at The Sunburnt Cow, a four-year-old Aussie restaurant/bar. The whimsical, tropical drinks are enough to brighten the most severe Monday funk. (They are also strong enough to make you forget how much you are eating!)

A friend and I visited the Cow last night, and it was impossible not to fall in love with the straight-out-of-Cavemen decor, the jovial staff and the $16 three-course "counter menu."

We started with drinks (of course)...mango-infused vodka with pineapple and the signature Sunburnt - fresh strawberries blended with passionfruit tequila. The effects started to kick in after a salad of greens, red onions, cherry tomatoes and blackberries, and a bowl of calamari sprinkled with diced kiwi (yes, kiwi) and jalapeno dip. (The dip was rather mild; I like to be stung! but the calamari were nice and tender.)

My friend had initially decided upon the roo bangers and mash (yes, real kangaroo!) but changed her mind when Karen, our delightful server, recommmended the mutton stew. This hearty dish ended up being our favorite of the evening. It contained carrots so sweet and soft we thought they were yams, caramelized onions, cubed potatoes, a rich, meaty sauce enhanced with red wine, and mutton that melted in one's mouth like butter... the perfect comforting winter stew.

Unfortunately for me, I was getting rather sloshed -it doesn't take much. But I still enjoyed my fish burger - a white-fleshed barramundi filet, moist inside its thick coating of beer batter - and a pile of hand-cut fries. (There are other burgers too...chicken schnitzel, lamb, veggie, and a sky-high beef burger topped with bacon, cheese, egg, pineapple and beetroot.)

The dessert menu contained three items: pavlova, sticky date pudding and "Lamingtons" coconut chocolate sponge cake cubes. We ordered the latter two. The warm date pudding was like eating pure caramel, and it was great with the strong coffee. (The coffee! I wasn't expecting such good coffee. "Coffee is a big thing in Melbourne and Sydney," explained Karen.) We thought the other dessert was reminiscent of a Mounds bar. I had to take the remainder home for my companion, whose sweet tooth actually exceeds mine.

Although I am feeling the results of my Monday excess on this Tuesday morning, there's always Wednesday...

The Sunburnt Cow: 137 Avenue C, (212) 529-0005. Check the Website for upcoming events, including a wild, two-restaurant party with a bus shuttling between The Sunburnt Cow and sister establishment Bondi Road on November 29.

Sake Bar Hagi

You've gotta love a sake bar that sells "chopstick helpers" and pre-bender hangover prevention supplements. I needed neither tonight, as I'm adept with chopsticks and was interested in eating instead of drinking. (Next time for sake and shochu!) But there were plenty of goodies for me to capture in my chopsticks, and non-alcoholic beverages like iced oolong tea.

I had no idea what to order. Spicy cod roe dumplings? Hokke (a Japanese fish)? Sea urchin sashimi? And those were just the specials. The main menu included lots of grilled items, appetizers and salads. First I decided on the Japanese eggplant... grilled till creamy and topped with a healthy portion of smoky shredded bonito flakes. I garnished each piece with a bit of soy sauce and minced ginger.

The special sea eel tempura came with the most addictive yuzu salt. I could eat this salt with anything, or even by itself. The citrus flavor went perfectly with the rich, lightly fried fish, of which there were a half dozen slabs.

Then... (when you can't decide, just order more!) a large pile of "mentaiko cream," or spicy cod roe spaghetti in cream sauce, arrived under a pile of shredded nori. This dish was the only one that I didn't completely adore, as there was a large amount of mayonnaise in the sauce.

Dessert was taiyaki, or a fried sweet pancake in the shape of a fish, stuffed with hot, sweet red beans ("Have you tried taiyaki?" asked the waiter, hesitantly. "Have I ever!" I replied). This version was accompanied by black sesame ice cream and whipped cream with sliced strawberries. Delicious!

I can't wait to return to Hagi.

(A tip... ever since Anthony Bourdain discovered this place, it's been mobbed almost every night. But if you come in on a Sunday, preferably before 7 p.m., you'll find ample room at the bar and several empty tables.)

Sake Bar Hagi: 152 West 49th St., (212) 764-8549.

Sweets News

• If you're a foodie, then you might find the West 30s around 7th Avenue rather desolate. But an unlikely little oasis opened today at 36th and 7th: MacarOn (no, that's not a typO). Tomorrow (Friday), owner Arnaud Cannone will serve up chocolate, strawberry and pistachio macarons for the first time. (Today, he was baking them.) (MacarOn: 485 7th Ave., 646-573-5048.)


• I'm not an Amex cardholder, but if you are, there's something SWEET in store for you tomorrow! American Express is holding a "SWEET" event from 9 pm–1 am at 269 11th Ave (btw 27th & 28th). More info at nycwineandfoodfestival.com.

Sushi Yasu

"We couldn't believe it when people started calling and asking for reservations," said Yuki as she poured our green tea. "We were just a fish market with three chairs!"

Now, Sushi Yasu has 12 or so chairs. And every day, native Okinawan Yasuji Hirashiki travels to Hunts Point to choose the perfect fish for the occupants of these chairs. Last night, there were sweet dayboat scallops in my sushi deluxe.

(There wasn't any natto (fermented soybeans). "Natto?!" exclaimed Yasuji. "That would clear the place out! Natto to most Americans is like blue cheese to many Japanese." "I like natto and blue cheese!" I replied.)

There were plenty of other goodies. Toro, sea urchin, salmon roe, and for those who eschew raw fish, the "Yellowstone Roll" (tempura fish in spicy sauce). My companion and I were thrilled to have happened upon such an excellent sushi dinner on an unexpected street.

So, for those Forest Hillsers who mourn the loss of Mickey's, and Astorians who miss Shima and are willing to travel, here's a great Queens sushi option for you. (Just don't take my chair!)

Sushi Yasu: 71-45 Yellowstone Blvd., Forest Hills, (718) 544-0942.

Sweets News: Cupcakes!

• So, you work on Wall Street. When you have a chocolate craving, you run to Christopher Norman or Leonidas. You frequent Financier Patisserie when you hanker for a madeleine. But up until now, you haven't been able to find a decent cupcake. Well, that will change on Tuesday, Nov. 13: Crumbs Bake Shop will open a new location at 87 Beaver Street! Even better, on Friday, Nov. 16, the bakery is treating the first 1,000 customers to a complimentary cupcake. (I wonder, would they recognize me if I came back in multiple disguises?)
  


• In other cupcake news, you can now order Kyotofu's award-winning Valrhona chocolate souffle cupcakes online; the bakery has launched an online retail product store. Buy two dozen cupcakes and get two free!

The 10th Annual Chocolate Show

The Chocolate Show is somewhat scaled back from last year, but there's still plenty to see and sample. The chocolates' origins range from the outer boroughs to the farthest reaches of the globe.

Among the local offerings are Rhinebeck's Oliver Kita chocolates and our beloved Jacques Torres. I regret to inform you that Jacques Torres is not serving the famous hot chocolate this year. You will have to console yourself with a chocolate-chip cookie. The cookie boasts a dark chocolate chunk in every bite, but I do hope the hot chocolate will be reinstated in the future.

Sweetbliss is selling strike-proof NYC cabs made of chocolate, and Chocolat Moderne, which is located on West 20th St., is offering unique Greek (kalamata olive, walnut baklava) and Japanese-inspired (shiso, soy-miso) chocolates. The West Village's Peanut Butter & Co. is selling brand-new dark chocolate peanut butter cups for the first time... they're not even available in the store yet! The newest local chocolate company has to be Brooklyn Fudge, which just incorporated on October 31. Their fudge comes in exotic flavors like dark wasabi pecan. And you can't get much more local than Mad Mac NYC. This company will deliver chocolate-orange macarons to your door!

Now to some of the foreign highlights. Coppeneur of Germany (now available at your local Food Emporium) is featuring chili pepper cocoa beans and chocolate bars in such exotic flavors as mango lassi. Mary's Chocolate of Japan has introduced a new line of chocolates with Japanese ingredients: purple sweet potato, soybean flour, Japanese plum, azuki bean, green tea, and black sesame ganache. Comptoir du Cacao is here from France with delicate praline feuillete. (The Comptoir du Cacao stand is cash-only! Make sure to visit the ATM before you arrive at the Chocolate Show... not only do many vendors not accept credit cards, but the admission is payable only in cash.)

In the unlikely event that you have dragged a health nut to the Chocolate Show, take her to Dina's Organic Chocolate on the way out. Dina's Chocolate is 100% organic, dairy-free, and almost devoid of sugar. But if neither of you are health nuts, go over to Luv's Brownies for a hot heart-shaped brownie with loads of little chocolate chips.

(Finally, if you're a thirsty bird, bring a bottle of water with you, as it'll cost you more after you enter the show - just like at the airport).

Happy chocolate-eating!

The 10th Annual Chocolate Show, Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th St., November 9-11.

Amai Tea & Bake House (CLOSED AS OF 4/19/09)

I have a free-floating scone obsession. It first attached itself to the oat scones at Balthazar Bakery. Then, it was transferred to the buttered walnut scone at Cheeks. (That scone is lovely with an apple slice and a bit of cheddar.) After that, there was the sugarless fruit scone at Joe Coffee. My obsession briefly morphed into a muffin obsession, which was satisfied only by the diminutive maple muffins at Kyotofu. But today, in full force, it returned to its original manifestation when I entered the new Amai Tea & Bake House.

I had been watching the space for ages, ever since I first caught sight of the owner's popular Lovescool blog, which announced the impending opening of the cafe. Finally I went in tonight, and became starry-eyed with scones! Earl Grey currant? Greenmarket cheddar with pepper? Vanilla bean? I thought I would go insane. And then there was the lavender butter...

(... and dark chocolate brownies, and quince chocolate brownies, and green tea cupcakes with nice big swirls of green buttercream on top, and butternut squash tarts adorned with pumpkin seeds, and chocolate espresso tarts...)

Did I mention they serve tea?

Amai Tea & Bake House: 171 3rd Ave., (212) 863-9630.

Taste of New York 2007

"What do you mean, there's another room?"

I looked at my friends HungryMan and Nosher in amazement. I could barely get my mind around all that was going on in the room we were standing in. Wylie Dufresne of WD-50 was dishing out popcorn soup, the 9-week-old Los Dados Restaurant was frying up churros and dipping them in dulce de leche and chocolate, Morimoto was passing out yellowtail pastrami, Buddakan was offering miniature red-pepper-spiced bigeye tuna spring rolls with scallions and chives. The folks at Allen & Delancey had just explained to us that a "puree soubise" was made of sweet white onions (it tasted lovely with the salmon-roe and pickled lemon-topped onion knishes). We'd also eaten oxtail croquettes, grape leaves, buttery pumpkin tortelli with sage and amaretti, goat cheese custard, leg of lamb smothered with Romesco sauce, watercress dumplings from Chinatown Brasserie, a "Manhattan" cocktail of shrimp, squid and vermouth... and there was another room? (This wasn't counting the vast amount of alcohol being served. I was trying to abstain in order to use my calories for food instead of drink.)

"Oh no," I said. "I don't know how much more I'm going to be able to eat." HungryMan and Nosher didn't seem at all perturbed. They swept me into a much larger room which was filled with even more food and much more alcohol. I relented and accepted a bottle of Champagne Nicholas Feuillate.

"How are we going to do this?" I asked. There were four giant rows of food. We decided to walk around counterclockwise. At this point, my appetite was really falling off, but I managed to down spicy shrimp bruschetta from Devi, a milk chocolate with salted caramel treat from Payard (how could you skip that), and some pumpkin spice gelato from Ciao Bella. HungryMan was savoring a braised lamb sandwich on brioche. "OK, I think I"m finished," I said.

But then we walked over to the Blue Hill stand, where Dan Barber's offering was an amazing homemade V-8 and buttermilk panna cotta concoction topped with a cracker and baby greens... it was sweet, salty, crunchy, creamy, custardy and vinegary. "One of the best tastes of the evening," we agreed. And then there was Jacques Torres with his seasonal pumpkin, candy cane and gingerbread truffles (I hid them in my bag, there was no way I could eat them at this point), and smoked sirloin with truffled fingerlings from Craftsteak, and... and...

"OK, just one of these little corn avocado things from Zarela and some fluke with crispy garlic from Anthos and Tocqueville's coddled egg truffled grits with cured veal strip. That's enough. Enough!" I was serious this time.

But then I saw Pichet Ong, master of the sweet-and-savory dessert. Chevre cheesecake with huckleberries and small green pools of basil oil... I was a goner.

For the rest of the night, I tried to maintain some kind of coherent conversation with HungryMan, Nosher, a gentleman from Zagat and the famed Amateur Gourmet. But I don't think I did a very good job, as I was pretty delirious by then. Nosher remarked that he was wondering how he was going to be able to go to work the next day.

For anyone who hasn't been to this annual event, I implore you to go next year... you will come away with two months' worth of dining experiences in just one night.

New York Magazine's Taste of New York, Puck Building (293 Lafayette).

A Delicious Week!

Could this week get any more exciting? First we have the annual Taste of New York tonight at the Puck Building (293 Lafayette). If you attend, you'll be in good company - chefs Tom Colicchio, Zak Pelaccio, Dan Barber, Wylie Dufresne and Masaharu Morimoto will be there. (Incidentally, I have Morimoto's amazing new cookbook right in front of me... it features his signature Angry Chicken and inventive dishes like Crab Naan with Bagna Cauda, mozzarella sushi, a bouillabaise made with Korean chili paste and red miso, grilled scallop-stuffed sweet onions, crispy duck with port wine reduction and red miso sauce... are you hungry yet?) Esteemed chocolatier Jacques Torres will also be there, which leads me to....

(drumroll please)

THE 10TH ANNUAL CHOCOLATE SHOW! (Even the Website is excited about this, as it plays happy music when you click on the page.) Apparently, for the first time, an entire week has been dubbed "Chocolate Week," although the show is being held for just three days: November 9-11. See you there!

Yakitori Torys (CLOSED)

411 can be the darndest thing. Sometimes I call and the operator is halfway across the country, and she has no record of the listing I am requesting. That's exactly what happened this weekend. I was on the West Side with my companion, trying to take a cab to Yakitori Totto, and according to the operator, the restaurant didn't exist.

Fortunately, she did have a listing for Yakitori Torys on the East Side. (FYI: Yakitori Totto, as of this writing, does indeed exist.) Torys happens to be related to Totto, so it was all good. And how good it was!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this grilled chicken heaven, the chefs skewer everything but the squawk -the heart, the gizzards, something called the "oyster" that is cut from the thigh. But there's a lot more, for more conservative eaters and even for those who don't prefer chicken.

My companion and I ordered some plum wine and proceeded to look through the multitude of dishes (portions are appetizer-size, so we recommend that you order a million of them). First we tried the shutou, tiny white bites of mozzarella painted with salty tuna liver (yes, we thought this sounded a little strange). Then came an arugula salad with crunchy dried baby sardines and a dressing of organic poached egg, poured on at the last minute. We also ordered a pot of cook-as-you-watch tofu, which would not be ready for 25 minutes.

Grill time! These selections were our favorites: juicy miso-marinated chicken breast, grilled garlic, jumbo skin-on shrimp, skewers holding five luscious shishito peppers with miso jam, and natto kinchaku (crispy tofu pockets filled with hot soybeans). Everything was piping hot.

By now, our fresh tofu was finally ready. We dipped the hot soybean custard in soy sauce and deliberated over dessert, which would be - more tofu! We chose the apricot kernel tofu dessert, and just in case we grew tired of tofu, iced bananas in sweet coconut milk. (Actually, I liked the apricot tofu the most.)

Yakitori Torys: 248 East 52nd St., (212) 813-1800. This information should be accessible via 411!

Sweets News

If you picked up this week's New Yorker, you probably found the Extreme Chocolate article quite interesting! (If you didn't purchase the magazine, you can still see an online slideshow of an artisanal chocolate plantation in Brazil.)

The article got me thinking about chocophile Clay Gordon, who is truly one of the world's most enthusiastic devotees of the cacao bean. Clay has just written a new book, Discover Chocolate: The Ultimate Guide to Buying, Tasting, and Enjoying Fine Chocolate, which he'll be signing at Alice's Tea Cup (156 East 64th St.) on November 7th from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Pan Chan Paradise: Kunjip Restaurant

I can think of few activities as satisfying as dredging up the crunchy bits of rice at the bottom of the heated stone pot that gobdol bibimbob is served in. But one such activity is feasting on pan chan: the assortment of complimentary cold vegetable dishes one is served at a Korean restaurant. Today, my companion and I enjoyed both activities at Kunjip!

They were very generous with the pan chan, and there was a nice balance of mild and spicy. The milder dishes included garlic zucchini and potato salad, while the spicy ones included green beans in a sweet barbecue sauce, kimchi, and some type of leafy green in red pepper soy sauce.

The edge was now taken off my hunger, but I dove into the appetizer: a squid, scallion and scallop stuffed pancake that managed to be glutinous and crispy at once. Scallion soy sauce was perfect for dipping. I think this was my favorite dish of the meal.

Next came the gobdol bibimbob: stone bowls of rice with various toppings and red pepper paste. My companion ordered the ground beef bowl, while I ordered the vegetarian version. I was a bit disappointed that it didn't come with a raw egg on top, as I love to watch it cook and mix in the yolk. But the waiter noted my evident disappointment and brought me a bowl of steamed egg. It wasn't quite the same, but I appreciated the gesture. My dish did contain an ample amount of zucchini, spinach and shreds of shiitake. (My companion would have preferred more beef.)

But with all of those wonderful pan chan, it's really splitting hairs to complain.

Kunjip Restaurant: 9 West 32nd St., (212) 216-9487.

Trattoria L'Incontro

I was all set to order the fettucini with shrimp, mascarpone and leeks, when along came the waiter.

"Wanna hear our specials? We have fifty of them." Fifty!? I thought I'd heard wrong, but the waiter began to recite a list so long that if there were such a thing as the Waiter Olympics, he would've won. The specials included polpette: cheese-egg meatless "meatballs" in a tomato sauce, grilled sardines, a salad of thinly sliced beets with greens in a truffle vinaigrette, a quartered ball of fresh buffalo mozzarella, shrimp mango salad, lobster salad, venison, spinach ravioli, branzino, short ribs, chicken paillard under a tomato-avocado dice, Dover sole in lemon butter, sea bass livornese with mussels, grouper stuffed with spinach and mascarpone. I could have sworn I heard the word "ostrich" in there somewhere, but I can't remember.

I ended up with the very light polpette, and the whole branzino, which I generally prefer to fillet myself; I love the slightly charred skin. This particular specimen was stuffed with fragrant herbs and grilled to perfection. I wasn't a fan of the the side, a stew of mushrooms, tomatoes and peppers, but I didn't need it anyway after I finished poaching from my friends' sole, bass and chicken. The richly sauced sole was presented in a very interesting way: the spine fenced off each half. Maybe this deterred me from taking too much of my friend's entree!

Because we were stuffed beyond all reason at this point, our dessert choices were light: lemon ricotta cheesecake and tangy lemon sorbet. We ended with double espresso.

Although I haven't yet been to Manducatis, as of now, Trattoria L'Incontro is easily the best Italian food I've eaten in Queens.

Trattoria L'Incontro: 21-76 31st St., Astoria, (718) 721-3532.

The Perfect Autumn Cookie

It's autumn, and I'm craving warm flavors - cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin and maple syrup. Fortunately, I've found the perfect treat for this craving: Dancing Deer maple butter leaf and gingerbread acorn cookies. They're available online, at various gourmet markets around the city, and for some reason, at Crate and Barrel. That's where I found them today. I was looking for a wedding present for a friend, but became so distracted by the sight of these cookies that I could hardly continue shopping.

Gazala's Place

That flour-dusted rolling pin in the window of Gazala's Place isn't there just for show. Gazala Halabi, the Israeli owner-chef of this week-old Mediterranean eatery, is constantly rolling out crepe-thin, whole wheat pita. She's a woman with a very important mission: to show us exactly how delicious homemade Druze-Israeli cuisine can be! Judging from my meal today, she's accomplishing her goal.

Her menu features appetizers like cegar (a rolled pita shell stuffed with spiced mashed potatoes or meat), homemade grape leaves, olive oil goat cheese spread, hummus, cucumber soup, and several salads and sandwiches. There are meat, cheese and spinach pies, and for those craving a heartier meal, there are chicken and lamb kebab platters.

Since I hadn't eaten yet, I decided to go with the brunch special: a glass of rosewater tamarind drink, fluffy scrambled eggs, a mound of nutty hummus indented with a little pool of olive oil, the aforementioned whole wheat pita ("Can I have some more?" I asked), green olives, and green salad topped with tabouli and ripe red tomatoes. While I polished this off, I discussed dessert with Gazala. Date-stuffed semolina cakes? Kenafi? She packed me up a bag of cakes and some osh al-saraia ("It's halfway between sweetened cheese and cream," she explained).

I left with a full stomach, a bag full of desserts and a full heart! Lovingly prepared food has that effect.

Go visit Gazala at Gazala's Place: 709 9th Ave. (212) 245-0709.

Salli Vates' Second Anniversary: L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon

When my companion and I visited Paris this summer, we had wanted to dine at Joël Robuchon's restaurant. (As it was booked solid, we indulged instead at Dominique Bouchet. Heaven help that man if he ever decides to open a restaurant in New York, because with his initials, he'll step right into the DB controversy.)

Although we just missed M. Robuchon, who was in NYC last week for his seasonal reimagining of the menu, we were able to secure a reservation at L'Atelier tonight. The occasion was our second anniversary, which we celebrated with a sublime late summer meal. (I say "late summer" because although it's October, the autumn menu doesn't start till next week.) As we oohed and aahed at each successive course, I felt like a child on Christmas Day... what colorful present would arrive next?

After toasting with glasses of Amancaya Cabernet, we began with a layered foie gras Parmesan foam. Light yellow mini-bubbles mixed with a layer of unctuous, rich crimson. Then came our four chosen small plates (we'd elected to choose our own tasting rather than go with the 8-course). Frog's legs were tiny, delicate fried drumsticks served with dollops of garlic cream and basil pesto. Sugar-sweet langoustine was nestled inside a thin twist wonton skin. Coriander-spiced eggplant rolled with tuna was topped with Parmesan, tiny onion rings, and long strips of chive. A sculpture of buffalo mozzarella and grilled vegetables was also accented with basil pesto, and the zucchini and sundried tomatoes were powerfully flavorful.

(It was difficult not to fill up on the rosemary focaccia and little baguettes. The butter was French Echire.)

While we waited for the main course, our charming server, Opu, indulged us in food and Four Seasons-related trivia. Apparently, a perk for some Four Seasons employees is a free stay in any Four Seasons Hotel! But before we had a chance to ask for a job application, our amadai and rouget arrived. What is amadai? A fish which only swims in Japan. (Ours also swam in a tangy yuzu broth, complimented by fried leeks and lotus root.)

My two red-skinned rouget fillets were surrounded by a little festival of vegetables... browned cauliflower, bright green favas and snow peas, pale artichokes, fennel. My companion's portion looked rather small in comparison, so I made sure to share.

When I saw the dessert menu, I exclaimed, "No chocolate?" Opu explained, "The summer dessert menu does not include a chocolate selection, but don't worry... the pre-dessert is a chocolate cream with milk foam, and the selection of tartelettes includes chocolate ganache and chocolate peanut as well as apple and cinnamon." So, I ordered the feather-light, eggy almond souffle with almond ice cream, almond brittle and poached pears, and stole bites of chocolate ganache from my companion's plate. (Only fair, I thought, as I'd been so generous with my main course!)

Finally, we were presented with a surprise: a plate of miniature chocolate macarons with the words "Bon Anniversaire" drizzled in chocolate. We did get our chocolate fix after all!

L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon: Four Seasons Hotel, 57 East 57th St., (212) 350-6658.

Sweets News

Attention chocophiles! Some of the best chocolate in France is now available for trans-Atlantic delivery. Click here to order your very own box of luscious Jean-Paul Hevin chocolates. I can't get enough of the 76% cocoa pastilles.

(Unfortunately, the famous chocolate macarons are still reserved for lucky Parisians... and Tokyoites.)