RW: I Trulli

I had lunch plans with two lovely ladies I know from work, and we decided to meet for a rare 'off-campus' lunch. We almost went to our usual spot, Banc, which is delicious and dependable and close to work, but Pat had a winning suggestion--Restaurant Week! I Trulli was close enough for all of us.

I got there a little early, before the restaurant side even opened. I came in at the 'enoteca entrance, where you can have lunch, a glass of wine, or some delicious cappuccino. I ordered a cappuccino, taking a few minutes to relax and enjoy a quiet moment during a busy week. The drink was smooth with a touch of bitterness (in a good way).

The young woman at the bar was very friendly and genuinely excited to hear this was my first visit. She made some recommendations from the menu (they turned out not to be on the Restaurant Week menu, but I will be coming back to try them later!) and made me feel very welcome.

We entered the beautiful dining room and got a seat right by the wood-burning fireplace. Some delicious bread (a tomato-studded version and a tangy sourdough type with a crunchy crust were our 2 options) was there, with smooth ricotta on the side instead of butter.

For the appetizer, Pat & Sabrina ordered the fennel soup. It was thick, delicious, and had a parmesan crostini placed right in the middle. Pat is an especially big fan of fennel--both ladies loved this soup.

I ordered the octopus salad, as I am quite enamored with octopus of late. However, I'm finding that a lot of the time it is so charred that all I can taste is that, the char. This was a bit too charred for me, but there were still some tender, not-too-chewy bites. It was on a bed of cauliflower and olives, a tangy counterpart.

Pat & Sabrina ordered the same entree as well: rigatoni with lamb meatballs, topped with a dollop of creamy goat cheese. Holy rigatoni, this was amazing. Sooo good. The creamy cheese was the first foil for the tangy sauce.

I ordered the zucchini parmagiana--breaded slices of zucchini (instead of, say, eggplant or chicken). This was delicious but I do wish I'd had a little more red sauce to go with it. It was greatly overshadowed by the rigatoni.

Pat & I both ordered the chocolate/cherry flourless cake. It was rich but not too dense. It was a good combo of chocolate and bits of cherry.

Sabrina ordered the nougat semi-freddo, which was almost like Toblerone ice cream. A nice flavor but not my cup of tea--I stuck with my chocolate!

The food was very good,some of it was excellent. Our server was brusque and never came back after we placed our orders--not until it was dessert time, when he asked if we wanted coffee. Not the best service, but I won't let that keep me from returning.

As we left, we saw Dora Marzovilla, the owner's mother, working in the kitchen making her famous pastas. I snapped a quick shot and made a note to self--order the pasta next time!

I Trulli Ristorante/Enoteca
122 E 27th St
New York, NY
(212) 481-7372

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New Wonjo

After an awesome night of karaoke with some gals from work, my coworker C & I realized we'd gone all night without eating food. No bueno!
We walked right next door to New Wonjo, which just happens to be open 24 hours (thank goodness, because it was almost midnight at this point)!

We got a table immediately in the spacious dining area. Every table has its own little grill in the middle of the table--and they are apparently well-known for their Korean BBQ. I'll have to come back to get a chance to try it!

We had a spread of pickled veggies before us. I had some kimchi and I think I may have polished off the broccoli (it's one of my favorite foods)---sorry about that C!

The menu is huge and overwhelming, so it took us a while to pick our dishes. We each got bowls of rice & veggies with beef for C & octopus for me (look at me now, Ma!).

The server was friendly, helpful, and quick! My dish came with a fried egg, which the server sliced table-side and mixed into the dish.

He also gamely let me take a shot or two of him at work. When I asked what his favorite dish is at New Wonjo, he told me it was mine, the octopus dish. Score!


I do wish, however, that he'd warned us how hot our bowls were. Mine was warm, but C's was sizzling, I mean hot in a volcanic measure, and it actually singed the inside of her arm. Thankfully the burn is starting to heal, but I feel bad every time I see the angry half-circle.

My octopus was chewy but not too much, and the dish was nice and spicy.



Prices are not cheap, between $15-16 per person, but hey, when you're starving at midnight, you're willing to pay a premium!

New Wonjo
23 West 32nd Street
New York, NY 10001-3801
(212) 695-5815

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Street Eats: Biryani King

A new truck has been parked outside my office building for a while now, and on a cold, windy January day, I took the plunge and ordered some chicken tikka masala from the Desi Food Truck, aka Biryani King. While waiting for my $6.00 lunch (score!), I read their menu and realized that I'd have to come back and try just about everything else they have to offer.

Look at all that delicious goodness up for grabs! Nothing is over 10 bucks, and most items are 5 dollars or under!

It was a windy, freezing cold day out, so people would grab their food and go. I heard one British guy mutter "It's too bloody cold to wait" as he dashed off somewhere else. I only waited about 3 minutes--quite bearable. Where's that stiff upper lip??

The ad claims that the chicken is all white meat. I'm gonna have to say while the chicken was delicious, it was absolutely NOT all white meat. There was a lot of dark meat, which I am learning to appreciate, but still-that phrasing might need to be updated. However, it was saucy, spicy, and quite good. Best I ever had? No, but worth waiting a minute or 3 on 49th street.

I'm definitely going back to try the Kati rolls, the puri bhaji (2 for $41!) and a delicious looking lentil stew--all under 5 or 6 bucks! You can't miss the colorful truck--or follow them on Twitter (@DesiFoodTruck) to find out where they are each day!

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Happy Birthday, ABF!

ABF's birthday falls right in the middle of January, when it's usually cold and dreary and bitter outside. I wanted to find a warm, welcoming spot where we could celebrate his birthday, eat delicious food, and just have a great time.

Mediterranean food is a favorite of both of ours, so when I found Kellari Taverna was close by and offering a killer Restaurant week menu, I moved it to the top of my list. When my coworker, C, raved about their food, it rocketed up to #1.

Restaurant Week is a great time to try places you might not normally splurge on (set courses for 24.07 at lunch and $35 for dinner), but the truth about RW is that many restaurants offer some of their cheaper dishes (and often in much smaller portions) and you don't always get a broad representation of their offerings. Kellari is the polar opposite. What an impressive selection!

Perhaps just as impressive is Kellari's wine list, full of wines from Greece and elsewhere. We went along with one gentleman's recommendation for a full-bodied red: this Lion d'Or Cabernet Sauvignon from Macedonia. It was a bit sweet-tasting at first, but it was just lovely and delicious. I'm going to look for this on my next trip to the wine store.

Their house bread was a tangy sourdough and I immediately devoured two pieces, alternately slathering them with the house hummus (complimentary along with olives and radishes) or dipping them in the house olive oil (tangy but not too bitter). Our second batch was so full of rosemary that I passed on it.

ABF's appetizer was the smoked trout with a farro & arugula salad. It was tasty, and the arugula salad was a nice complement, but it was about to get schooled by the awesomeness of MY appetizer.

I chose the scallops with pomegranate risotto. Deeeelicious. Forget it! ABF took one bite and had a rare case of order envy (usually it's the other way around with us)! This was creamy, tangy, tart, and so delicious. The pomegranate juice gave the rice a deep purple color and just a touch of sweetness.

For his entrée, ABF ordered the beef tenderloin. That surprised me--I thought he would go for their signature grilled fish, but he was in a red meat mood. Also surprising? How delectable and tender said loin was! For a place that focuses on fish, they sure do make a tasty tenderloin, too! It came with Brussels sprouts and sliced red grapes--I still loathe the sprouts, but when put together with the melty beef and the tart grapes, it all went together quite deliciously.

My entrée was the grilled lavraki, a Mediterranean sea bass that you may also know as branzino, and it was out of this world. They serve it whole and deboned. To call it succulent seems insufficient. I didn't even spritz any lemon juice on this. The capers, tender fish, and fresh parsley were just meant to be together...and meant to end up in my belly. Well played, Kellari, well played.

Kellari's Restaurant Week menu is three courses, and my dessert pick was for the chocolate pyramid. It was the densest, richest, most intense little chocolate pyramid.

It came with a mastiche ice cream, but I did not care for the flavor at all. It was too ... off-putting. We did a quick google and apparently mastiche comes from the mastic (root for the word 'masticate' I love words #nerdalert) tree in Greece. It tasted a bit plasticky to me, though it did have a borderline minty flavor to it, but ABF enjoyed it. The hazelnut pirouline (stick-shaped cookie) was divine. I only gave ABF a little bite of that. ;)

What ABF enjoyed even more, however, was his dessert: walnut cake with fig gelato. You heard me: fig gelato. Wow. The walnut cake was fine, but when you draped it in the velvety scoop of fig gelato, forget it.

I said something along the lines of "It's like a fig died and went to heaven IN MY MOUTH." Imagine the best part of a fruity Fig Newton, now turned into a creamy, cold, delicious cloud. Le sigh.

So long story short, we'd go back for the scallops, the grilled fish, the beef, and the gelato. Oh yes, and the wine! Oh, and the homemade bread! You get the idea. I think we just added a new restaurant to our "Favorites" list. If you're looking for a delicious meal, excellent service every step of the way, and an extensively impressive Restaurant Week menu. Go now while the deals are still ablaze!

Kellari Taverna
19 West 44th Street
New York, NY 10036
(212) 221-0144

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Smorgas Chef @ Scandinavia House

I met up this week with a former coworker I hadn't seen in years. NYC is funny like that--getting around this small/huge city can be quite a trick, and you can go weeks, months, even years without seeing someone (thank goodness for email, FB, etc)! We finally picked a date to meet up for a late lunch, and my friend lives just around the corner from the Scandinavia House Cultural Center (in Midtown Manhattan), which has its very own Smorgas Chef restaurant!

I decided to go with 2 small appetizers--you have to have the Swedish meatballs here! The appetizer is 3 meatballs, chive mashed potatoes, and gravy with just a smidgen of lingonberry sauce. It's $9 and just enough for one person!

I also ordered the seafood chowder. This was super creamy, full of chunks of fish, mussels and more. While it was creamy, it wasn't greasy or heavy. Just right.

My friend ordered the Swedish meatballs entrée, which was just a bigger version of my appetizer (with some veggies on the side).

I don't drink a lot of soda (I don't really like carbonation, period!), but I had to try their housemade Lingonberry soda. This was interesting--it reminded me of bubble tea, with all of the tiny lingonberries sinking to the bottom. This was not as sweet as regular soda, which I actually liked. It was refreshing and just a little tart--I bet this is even better in the hot summer months!

We had a great meal and a great visit for not a lot of dough. The dining area is spread out and comfortable. There's a stunning birch tree in the middle of the room (we got to sit right next to it) with a plaque explaining its significance in Swedish culture. I have always loved birch trees myself, so I loved this bit of decor.

While the Wall Street Smorgas Chef is still my favorite (it's so warm and cozy!), this is a great spot for a midday meal, business lunch, or a quick catch-up session with an old friend.

Smorgas Chef at Scandinavia House
58 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10016
(212) 847-9745

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