kenito799's Profile
Becherovka in NYC?
Becherovka is again avaiable at Warehouse on Broadway, $25 / 750ml
Great Wines Under $35
Just tried the 2010 J-M Raffault Rose and I was disappointed...sort of typical pedestrian strawberry rose, no hints of vegetal cab franc flavors that I have enjoyed in the past. Oh well....
But I must report on a fantastic $30 bottle that is wonderful now but will drink well for decades: La Rioja Alta Vina Ardanza Reserva Especial 2001. Just released, this is powerfully flavored yet light in an old school Rioja way. I wish I had enough storage space to fill a closet with it. Rioja Alta has only declared two other vintages to be worthy of a Reserva Especial release: 1964 and 1973. I can't wait to taste the 01 890 Gran Reserva when they release that! Most likely will be priced above $30.
Mekong East, Bayside -- Vietnamese in Eastern Queens
Pho 32 has very bland broth in the pho...but good meats: brisket, tendon, tripe. SInce the place is Korean, I like to go to the condiment bar and get spicy sesame-hot pepper sauce and dip the meat into that then gradually add it to the soup as I eat. The result is spicy Korean hybrid pho. The condiment bar also has chopped thai peppers (I wish they had them instead of sliced fresh jalapenos at Mekong East). Pho 32 has decent pork chops and good fresh veg in the vermicelli bowls. It's also nice to snack on kimchi while waiting for your meal--great with your OB beer.
But if real pho is what you want the aromatic broth at Mekong East down the street is much better.
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Mekong East
43-13 Bell Blvd, Queens, NY 11361
Mekong East, Bayside -- Vietnamese in Eastern Queens
you can get the chicken broth pho with "mixed seafood", $8
Mekong East, Bayside -- Vietnamese in Eastern Queens
We went back, and yes, this time the garnish came on the side with our pho (Thai basil, bean sprouts and a lemon wedge). The chicken pho broth had good flavor with lots of clove/star anise spice. The beef cubes were fine (have had better), but the hot and sour soup was quite good, with lots of heat and sourness. Mine had big chunks of tilapia, pineapple and tomato, with beans prouts and fried crispy onion bits on top.
Best Korean - Any Borough
Good options in Ktown but probably even more variety and selection in Flushing and eastward outthe Northern Blvd corridor. Search outer borough board for specific types of Korean food you are craving...seollong tang? BBQ? Seafood? Porridge? lots of posts...
example:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/677818
Drinks and Sides at Peter Luger
Cheapest wine is about $40, and it is cheap wine. Beer is a better choice, as well as a Manhattan or a Martini first, which are huge.
I think the creamed spinach is definitely worthy and shouldn't be missed--rich yet light and great flavor. I don't really need potatoes to take up more room than I can be filling with bacon and steak. I haven't tried the lamb chop but I will next time instead of potatoes.
Mekong East, Bayside -- Vietnamese in Eastern Queens
Mekong East 43-13 Bell Blvd (just north of Northern Blvd)
Unassuming, sparsely decorated little place, very inexpensive. A great addition to the neighborhood! Better than many Vietnamese places in NYC (I am spoiled by trips to Philadelphia and Minneapolis--NYC can't compare). Vietnamese owner. There is no relation to any other Mekong restaurant in NYC--it's just east of any other Mekongs, hence the name.
This food was excellent and I will be back to try the rest of the menu. You have to ask for extra spicy or everything will be very mild. Here is what we tried:
Calamari au buerre - fried pieces of squid (no tentacles) that somehow had a wonderful buttery flavor. Awesome lemon-black pepper dipping sauce.
Spring rolls - excellent, super crisp, with wood-ear fungus making them nice and earthy, served with mint and lettuce to wrap and nuoc mam to dip.
Banh Mi - the mixed meat/pate was quite nicely done. I have had better in Philly and many worse in NYC. There were several options for other meats.
Papaya salad - fresh and delcious, with bits of grilled steak added. Needs to be much spicier and it will be perfect.
Chicken-crab soup - killer broth as with all the soups here, this had lots of crab and thinly sliced asparagus. I haven't had this soup before and I loved it.
Beef pho - again the broth here is awesome and this is certainly the best pho east of Flushing--flavorwise I would have to do some head to head comparisons to determine which is best, this was really good broth. A bit unusual in that they garnish it for you rather than giving you a plate of fresh veg on the side. Not sure if there was any thai basil in there. Just brisket I think for the meat...there was also a chicken pho. So not as many chicoes as you usually see for your pho, would be nice to have tendon, tripe, etc.
Grilled pork chop - perfect yummy version, huge portion, with lettuce and pickled veg on the side.
Items I will return for (and I would repeat any of the items we tried): beef cubes (the classic dish); sour tamarind-based soup; summer rolls; chicken pho; various tilapia dishes
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Mekong East
43-13 Bell Blvd, Queens, NY 11361
Xtabentun cocktails : Yucatan Daiquiri
Revised recipe with measurements:
Yucatan Daiquiri
2 oz light rum
1/2 oz Xtabentun (3/4 oz if you want the drink a bit less sour)
juice 1/2 grapefruit (2 oz)
juice 1/2 lime (1/2 oz)
Shake with ice, strain
Great Wines Under $35
Yes the Loire cab francs are all about earth, vegetables, minerals, iron and blood. It can be great, it can be super funky. But not usually too expensive!
I love Loire cab franc roses...especially how dry they usually are. The slight green pepper note adds some savory interest to the usual strawberry-melon rose experience. I drink Jean-Maurice Raffault's rose every summer.
Great Wines Under $35
Yes I love that Belliviere Pineau d'Aunis! Another PdA with great black pepperiness is 06 Emile Heredia Domaine de Montrieux Le Verre des Poètes.
I am a cab franc fan too, Olga Raffault makes great Chinon. Another nice cab franc is Thierry Germain Saumur-Champigny.
The only time I tried Romorantin it was an 05 Cazin (had it sept 2010). I found it so tart I couldn't get much out of it. Maybe they are better with more age?
In general great terroir-driven wines that are also super values can be found all over Loire. The absolute best Muscadets are under $35 and they are amazing. Most Muscadets are under $20. Pepiere, Grange, Haute Fevrie are some of my favorite producers.
Dry Riesling recommendations?
German rieslings can do this great thing where they are sweet yet so acidic that the sweetness is balanced so they are refreshing and not cloying at all. There are so many that pull this off, probably Kabinetts or especially when labeled Trocken they will not seem sweet. Some examples I have had recently:
09 St Urbans-Hof Urban Nik Weis Selection (super cheap)
05 St. Ludwig Bernkasteler Kurfürstlay Riesling Kabinett (also from a bargain bin)
05 Freiherr Langwerth von Simmern Erbacher Marcobrunn Riesling Kabinett (getting serious, this will age into petrol territory)
07 Hexamer Meddersheimer Rheingrafenberg Riesling Quarzit
Finger Lakes can produce nice rieslings. I agree with Ravines, you also should look for dry rieslings from Hermann J. Wiemer
Great Wines Under $35
I need to get into cru Beaujolais, sounds like great value and a style I would like. Thanks for the suggestions.
LdH rosados and blancos--do not overchill! You will taste nothing. I like them even a bit warmer than cellar temperature, like a red. I LOVE how these wines evolve in the glass, you get a different experience with each sip. The 1999 Gravonia Blanco Crianza is a super wine for $20.
I agree with the Produttori del Barbaresco suggestion, great wines at that price. I am going to a Nebbiolo tasting this week and I hope to leave with some more suggestions for savory Piedmont values.
Xtabentun cocktails : Yucatan Daiquiri
I realize this is true...I will measure the juices next time I make this drink and post the oz. I have been using regular Persian limes, which have inexplicably become incredibly expensive and hard to find in NYC in the past couple weeks, and the ones I have gotten have been tiny so I am doubling the amount of lime. The grapefruits are not the biggest, they are the cheaper ones that are good for juice, about the size of a large navel orange, with pale pink flesh and juice rather than ruby red.
Brunello / Amarone - $20 everyday alternative?
I will second Allegrini Palazzo della Torre Veronese which is mentioned in that post. There is some of that Amarone dried fruit earthy-sweetness for less than $20.
Great Wines Under $35
Red, white or rose from R Lopez de Heredia in Rioja, Spain are mostly under $30 and are great wines, non-jammy, old-world classic aged wines. Few wines made like them are to be found from any current producer, anywhere...even the whites and roses are aged in barrels and bottles in the winery for years before being released. (They are selling the 2000 rose now.) Most wines made to age like this are released far before they should be drunk and are massively more expensive (Burgundy, top Bordeaux, Barolo, etc). The whites and roses are complex and wonderful but may be an acquired taste; the reds are more approachable.
Other Riojas along these lines are Gran Reservas from La Rioja Alta or Marques de Riscal but they might be a bit more than $30.
Xtabentun cocktails : Yucatan Daiquiri
This anise-honey-herbal liquer from Yucatan has lots of pleasant flavor but is massively sweet. In Mexico I was told that if you don't want to sip it straight, you can mix it with soda on the rocks with lime (I haven't tried that yet). I brought a botttle of Kukulcan brand back from Merida and concocted this riff on the Hemingway Daiquiri that I quite enjoy:
Yucatan Daiquiri
2 oz light rum
1/2 oz Xtabentun (3/4 oz if you want the drink a bit less sour)
juice 1/2 grapefruit
juice 1/2 lime
Shake with ice, strain
Does anyone else have any suggestions for Xtabentun?
WHICH ANEJO TEQUILA IS BEST FOR SIPPING?
I agree, I generally prefer reposados to anejos, which are great but the vegetal agave taste can be hidden. Some brands not mentioned here that I brought back from Mexico and love:
Baluartes -- super smooth, subtle, a bit more oak than most reposados
Morales 1921 -- dreamy and complex, this is probably my favorite
Clase Azul -- in the beautiful blue and white bottles -- way too smooth, sweet, and cognac-like -- Very nice but I prefer a bit more of the agave edge.
Milagro -- this is excellent quality for the price. You don't need to buy the fancy glass agave bottle to get the good stuff.
Best lunch strategies for sightseeing around Coba and Valladolid?
On the northeast corner of the main plaza in Valladolid, through the arches there is an arcade called the Bazar Municipal. There are 5 or 6 small restaurants there serving wonderful, inexpensive typical Valladolid fare. I can't think of a better place to try longaniza de Valladolid, tamales made in banana leaves wth creamy masa, egg enchiladas with pumpkinseed sauce, as well as the typical yucatecan pork and turkey preparations. The scene is mainly locals (there are so few tourists in this charming town). As anyone walks into the arcade each restaurant has a guy standing in front and they all start shouting about how their food is best, it is quite amusing. One of the best meals we had on our short trip to Yucatan.
Recs for Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, and Cancun
Thanks for the tip on Bomba Jarocha in PDC--we stopped for lunch after arrival in Cancun on the way to Tulum. Perfectly Mexican seafood feast!!
Tulum tips:
El Asadero (on Satellite Norte, about two blocks off Avenida Tulum) does an awesome meat-centric Argentine-Mexican fusion, very casual, very popular. No liquor license. Get the combo #4 plus an order of the Argentine sausage (comes grilled, split, covered in olive-oil-rich chimichurri).
Cetli is a splurge for gourmet regional Mexican cuisine, Claudia Perez is a chef from Mexico City who does wonderful things like huge shrimp with huitlacoche, chicken breast rolled with herbs and various sauces (pumpkinseed or peanut mole, cactus jelly, etc), and awesome chili relleno. Surprisingly excellent wines from Mexico to accompany the meal. An unlikely spot in down-to-earth Tulum. www.cetli.com.mx Also a block off Avenida Tulum on Orion Norte and Polar Poniente. Claudia will be offering cooking classes soon, we are told, at the Posada Luna del Sur, where we stayed in Tulum.
Another random tip--we sat at Zamas (along the beach drive, maybe 3-4 km from the start) for beachside drinks one late afternoon and found that they make killer Spanish-style patatas bravas.
Wines in Peru
Tacama is probably the best, most consistent Peruvian producer. If you manage to find any wines from Arequipa (maybe not available outside that region, just like the excellent Arequipena beer can only be found there), they are fun to try. Peruvian wines certainly don't rival Argentina but they are not bad! Any large supermarket has lots of wine, the cheapest will be from Peru, and you might also find a lot of interesting South American wines that aren't exported to the US.
Pancetta source near Penn Station?
Wow that is better than I could have hoped...thanks!
Pancetta source near Penn Station?
Yes, I commute on LIRR and I cook dinner...so minimizing my commuting minutes is always a struggle. I come from Brooklyn on the D, so I know I can stop at W 4th and go to Murray's, then back on to Penn, but does anyone know of a decent place to buy pancetta near Penn Station (preferably near 6th or 7th Aves)? I try to avoid exploring that grim area, horrible in every way except for the good Korean food.
Does this have a name?
It sounds like a recipe from the card that comes with St Germain. St Germain and grapefruit go fantastically together. Here is a cocktail I invented as a riff on the Hemingway Daiquiri, named after my town as it is one of my house drinks:
Bayside
2 oz gin (Seagram's Extra Dry works well)
1/2 oz St Germain
juice one half grapefruit
juice one half lime
2 dashes Peychaud's bitters
2 dashes orange or peach bitters
Shake with ice and strain into cocktail glass.
Chicken sashimi
Went to Tori Shin last night and umm, I don't know how anyone could say it is anywhere near as good as Totto. Chicken sashimi was great to have and quite delicious, but for other yakitori there is no reason that i can fathom why you would go there instead of Totto or Tory's. Maybe the chickens are "Pennsylvania Amish" but they are definitely bigger than the ones at Totto, judging from the size of the organs. The flavor was correspondingly less concentrated. The genius of Totto is the perfect execution of each item, how they adjust the heat and moisture as each thing is grilled, to bring out the perfectflavor and texture...so that the gizzards come out smokier, teh meatballs juicier, etc--at Tori Shin everything had the same level of char. Just not in the same league. The meatball did not have the same springy texture from being expertly slapped repeatedly in the palm--I could have made a meatball like Tori Shin's at home. The bill was also much higher than we have ever paid at Totto, where we get more variety and better quality stuff. The place is extremely smoky, too, and although we were sitting by the windows one of our party had to keep leaving to get air since his eyes were burning.
So to each his own, and if Tori Shin were the only yakitori in town i woudl love it--and it is the only place to go when you MUST have chicken sashimi--but I would be hard pressed to believe that most people would prefer Tori Shin over Totto.
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Tori Shin
1193 1st Ave, New York, NY 10065
Fino Tapas in Bayside
Updating this post to report that Fino is consistently excellent and continues to serve some perfect food. The early spring 2010 menu leans more Italian than Spanish at the moment...tonight a special of squash blossoms stuffed with rocitta on a fresh, very lemony pesto was outstanding. Sweet corn soup with big chunks of lobster--delicious. The fresh pea risotto with crispy proscuitto was very good. Two menu items are fairly simple: grilled lamb chops over hummus; spaghetti with manila clams and pancetta. But the absolutely consistent perfection of the execution of these dishes is seriously not something you find very often anywhere in the city--the chops are juicy, rare, perfect; the spaghetti a perfect al dente, the clams beautifully fresh, the balance of just enough pancetta, olive oil and bread crumbs strike that restrained, simple balance that is what Italian cuisine is all about. And this chef doesn't just do Italian food, he excels whether the homage is toward Spain or France as well. The wines are excellent and well-priced, too. We are lucky to have this place in Bayside.
Best wine you've had under $15
08 Venta Morales La Mancha Tempranillo is another insane value--$6 at PJWine in NYC, drinks like a good $15 wine.
Tang: 24-hour seolleongtang in Auburndale
The menu indeed says "by Gammeok". But the waiter told us that there was a split and the ownership is separate now.
Hling: about 15-20 min on the Q12 from Flushing Main Street subway station to Francis Lewis Blvd/Northern Blvd.
Looking for a good meal in Eastern Queens.
Fino tapas/wine bar, Bell Blvd, Bayside. Great wines, wonderful food.
