What I Ate: 1/29/16 - 2/4/16

Inspired by "Grub Street Diet", I wanted to start chronicling my meals for posterity and sharing my favorite dishes with others. Each diary will cover food eaten in one week, no matter how big or small.

This week: Moving Day, back-to-back Basta Pasta, and meeting someone off of Instagram who turned out to be normal

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FRIDAY, 1/29/16

On the way to lunch, I stopped by Arcade Bakery and picked up dessert: lemon sugar brioche and s’mores danish for Sammy to try.

Whole Foods gets a bad rap but I personally like having lunch there. Fried fish poboys next to the chicken tikka masala. A few feet away, you’ll find quinoa, kale, and other healthy things I don’t get. The variety of selection is overwhelming but you’re bound to find something tasty. Sammy got a nice golden rotisserie chicken while I enjoyed moist pork shoulder, risotto, and sauteed mushrooms. I ordered a matcha lemonade but they ran out of mint so they comped it for me while a barista ran to grab more mint for the line of waiting customers. We enjoyed the pastries while listening to screaming, crying babies. Note to self: Don't sit in the kids section next time.

Dinner was a seamless order from Angelo’s Pizza.. I had enjoyed their spaghetti and meatballs last time so I tried the Chicken Marsala. Delicious sauce and ample portions of chicken that retained juice despite being delivered.

SATURDAY, 1/30/16

Showed up at Golden Unicorn for dimsum with Sammy and his friends. After a brief wait, we were led to the 2nd floor and sat at a massive table while carts of happiness whizzed by. The egg tarts here are my favorite - perfectly flaky crust and the egg custard actually tastes like egg instead of the usual sugary, artificial filling. Unfortunately, you can’t just buy these a la carte anytime….they’re only available during dimsum.

SUNDAY, 1/31/16

After bringing some boxes of items to my new apt, I took a break and had a quiet solo dinner at Basta Pasta. I ordered a mushroom risotto to start (kinda watery and underseasoned) and their classic pasta that is submerged into a giant wheel of Parmigiano, tableside.

MONDAY, 2/1/16

Moving Day! To start off the day, I had breakfast at Sarabeth’s near Central Park. I made the mistake of going with the Restaurant Week menu and I don’t even remember what I had. On the walk back to my apt, I took it all in. The horse-drawn carriages plodding along Central Park, Columbus Circle off in the distance, and the Plaza Hotel where I enjoyed many Luke lobster rolls. Gonna miss this neighborhood.

After moving into my new apt in Union Square, my roomie and I celebrated with a dinner at….Basta Pasta. I had a very satisfying plate of homemade silk handkerchief pasta, mixed mushrooms, lemon zest, ricotta cheese. We split an uni pasta (uni is not created equal because their version is watery and not flavorful), and the roomie had a nice seafood vongole.

TUESDAY, 2/2/16

Cold day means Thai Son. David and I ordered the usual stewed beef pho and spring roll appetizer. We discovered an ingredient that improved the flavor profile of the noodle soup: a generous squirt of lime which added the perfect amount of acidity to the tomato based broth.

Later that evening, I met up with Rebecca, a food blogger on instagram. We’ve commented on each other’s posts over a few weeks so I arranged for a face to face meeting at Sakagura. Highlights included the miso short ribs, and silken tofu with bonito. Botan ebi was meh in its raw form but was resurrected in an improved tempura form. We talked about likes and dislikes (bell peppers for her and eggplant for me) as well as our shared penchant for pho. I made plans to take my new foodie friend to my favorite pho spot in NY called Khe-Yo.

WEDNESDAY, 2/3/16

Yesterday was vietnamese lunch and japanese dinner. Today’s lunch of green curry from Lan Larb Soho was fiery Thai. Coworkers smirked and smh-ed as I went through 10 paper towels for the beads of sweat perched on my eyebrows. Next time, I’m bringing a towel from home.

Second lunch was the office birthday lunch that was catered by Uma Temakeria (think sushi burritos and spicy tuna handrolls). It was a hit for the whole office - for those on a health kick and for those with gluten/kosher/food allergy issues. This was one office lunch that didn't elicit mass food coma afterwards.

After two lunches, I decided to have a light dinner on my way home at Republic, an Asian American bistro with a brigade of 10-15 chefs. Chatted with Caroline, one of the managers there and she recommended the vietnamese chicken salad. The chicken thigh chunks were juicy and the ginger marinade was light. My go to salad even though I hate salad.

THURSDAY, 2/4/16

Walked to Gourmet Garage with David and Xavier and split a whole rotisserie chicken with David. Paired it with an awesome sweet corn chowder. Cheap and filling.

Dinner was with some old friends (christine and Ken) and new friends (since undergrad). It was great to meet Nancy and her husband, Ted and we ordered the majority of the menu at The Milling Room on the UWS. The wood adorned decor and candlelit tables really made for an intimate ambiance. I ordered a thick porkchop which was a bit overcooked and slightly dry.  The table unanimously agreed that the duck and the squid ink spaghetti were standouts.

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WEEKLY SUMMARY

Dined out: 14 times

Restaurants Visited: Arcade Bakery, Whole Foods, Angelo’s Pizzeria, Golden Unicorn, Basta Pasta (2x), Sarabeth’s Central Park, Thai Son, Sakagura, Lan Larb Soho, Uma Temakeria, Republic, Gourmet Garage, The Milling Room

Highlights: Golden Unicorn; egg custard | Sakagura; miso short ribs | The Milling Room; duck and the squid ink pasta

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Next week's EATS

Last Week's EATS

What I Ate: 1/8/16 - 1/14/16

Inspired by "Grub Street Diet", I wanted to start chronicling my meals for posterity and sharing my favorite dishes with others. Each diary will cover food eaten in one week, no matter how big or small. 

This week: Back-to-Back Greek and CHICKFILA!

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Friday, 1/8/16

Lunch from Jack’s Wife Freda was a disappointment. The burger was bland and the chicken wings were kind of dry. Perhaps it had to do with it being delivered vs eating there but I don’t get what the hype is about (always a crazy line out the door). After work, I met up with my friend for a portrait session around Tribeca. We started things off with a red velvet cupcake at Billy’s Bakery and a few hours later, we stopped by Church Street Tavern for a snack: a bowl of creamy risotto. Dinner was at Basta Pasta where we snagged two bar seats without the usual 30 min wait. I’ve been working my way down the menu to try every pasta dish and enjoyed my bowl of bowtie pasta with smoked salmon, tomatoes, asparagus with a kick from the the grain mustard cream sauce.

Saturday, 1/9/16

Back to back photoshoots. My friend and talented dancer, Monica Thysell needed some pics for her portfolio so I trekked out to Astoria for the day. First stop was at Burnside Biscuits for The Moose - a gigantic breakfast sandwich accompanied by the most delicious grits (I ordered a second one).

After a zen moment at Astoria Park, and a few wardrobe changes later, we were famished. Met up with her husband Mark at MP Taverna for some perfectly grilled dorade. On our walk back, I picked up an al pastor tostada from El Rey Taco Truck.

Sunday 1/10/16

My roommate Christian was out of the country for a few weeks and so I welcomed him back at Limani, a Greek spot near Rockefeller Center. We noshed on hummus dip, avocado salad with shrimp, dorade royale, and lambchops.

Later that night, I had the oxtail bone marrow fried rice from Blue Ribbon Sushi. Yup, still as enlightening as the first time.

Monday, 1/11/16

Headed to Hudson Market for spicy pork bibimbop with Julia. For $11, you get a massive bowl of rice (white or brown), veggies (carrots, bean sprouts, squash, mushrooms, red bell peppers, kimchi, spinach, radishes), protein (chicken breast, bulgogi, or spicy pork bulgogi) and optional fried egg. Big enough for two portions and highly recommended if you work near Tribeca.

I was pumped for dinner because I’m the biggest Chick-Fil-A fan! Now with a push of a button, someone will deliver my #1 with waffle fries and strawberry shake to my door. Thank you Postmates!

Tuesday, 1/12/16

A coworker had just completed all of the Disney marathons and to celebrate, we broke her diet hard at Bubby’s with biscuits, mac n cheese, and other “they shall not be named” guilty pleasures.

Dinner was at the hotly anticipated Nishi, David Chang’s new Italian/Asian fusion spot. There was about an hour wait so we grabbed drinks at Bathtub Gin, a hidden speakeasy in the back of a coffee shop. I’m a sucker for clandestine places and this one didn’t disappoint. Attentive service, strong drinks, and a vibe that transports you back in time.

There were hits and misses (they were still new) but I instagrammed my favorite dishes. I enjoyed this fried shrimp app that had a great ratio of breading (not too thick to distract from the shrimp). Of course we ordered their famous pasta dish with creamy chickpea hozon, a riff off of pasta carbonara. The noodles were super al dente and the flavor was fine, I just wish that the $24 dish came with more than a spoonful of noodles. While we sat at the bar, I noticed a guy taking photo with a portable light. Didn’t recognize him with the hat but it was FoodieMagician who I met briefly at Spotted Pig a few months back. My favorite dish hands down was the scallops. Velvety and voluptuous. Sweet and briny. After our meal, DC came out of the kitchen to take the temp of the room. Sammy mentioned how much he liked the korean stew and DC nods his head in agreement.

“I know right? It’s so fucking good, it baffles me why white people don’t like it!”

I point to a caucasian chef prepping near the bar. "What about him?"

DC laughs and says, "He's the only white guy that likes it."

The chef doesn't look up and smiles as he continues prepping.

Sammy graciously paid for the meal after losing in credit card roulette. See the full story here

Wednesday, 1/13/16

It was a slow day for our finance analysts so we went across the street to Church Street Tavern for a rare sit-down lunch. I’ve had the Tavern Burger so today I tried their new “Double Royale with Cheese” an elevated Big Mac with better dry-aged meat. Pretty good but I still prefer the original Tavern Burger.

Dinner was Chick-Fil-A again because why not? I felt kinda bad because the delivery guy was holding my shake in one hand while pedaling on his Razor scooter in 30F weather. I gave a good tip.

Thursday, 1/14/16

The best antidote to freezing weather is a big bowl of pho. Xavier and I went to our go to spot in chinatown, Thai Son, but ordered the stewed beef noodle soup (#14B, no tendon) to change things up. Hearty and delicious with a tomato based broth, ample chunks of tender meat, and slices of lime to lift up the broth. Highly recommended.

The asian theme continued to dinner where I seamlessed hot sour soup and a tray of soup dumplings from Joe’s Shanghai.

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WEEKLY SUMMARY

Dined out: 18 times

Restaurants Visited: Church Street Tavern (2x), Basta Pasta, Billy’s Bakery, Jack’s Wife Freda, Burnside Biscuit, MP Taverna, El Rey Taco Truck, Limani, Blue Ribbon Sushi, Hudson Market, Chick-Fil-A (2x), Bubby’s, Bathtub Gin, Nishi, Thai Son, Joe’s Shanghai

Highlights: Nishi; raw diver scallops | Burnside Biscuit; The Moose and pepperjack grits with Tabasco | MP Taverna; grilled dorade

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Last Week's Eats HERE

Next Week's Eats HERE

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