Brooklyn Brunch

A few months back, my friend Kel & I hit up a Park-Slope area restaurant called Sidecar. I love my friend Kel--she will try just about anything once, and she has a metabolism to die for. We had a 20-minute wait or so on a busy Sunday afternoon before getting our own roomy booth.

We started with one of the house specialties, the cheese grits. I am NOT a fan of grits. I don't 'get' them, but the few times I've enjoyed them, cheese and/or jalapenos have been involved. These grits were creamy, smooth, and surprisingly scrumptious. The presentation is deceiving, however; it's really a very thin layer, not even 1/4 of an inch deep, on a long dish. A little goes a long way, though, so it's really all you need. I might not necessarily order these on my own, but I'm glad I tried them. If you like grits, you'll probably adore these!

Next up, a side order of house-made bacon. These people make their own bacon (drool). It's soft and chewy and super-flavorful. Kel is more into super-crispy bacon, so she left most of it to me (sabotage!)

Another must-order: the chicken-fried steak. It's not as good as the CFS at Live Bait (in the Flatiron district), but it was pretty darn good for Yankee cooks. Living in OK and TX, I have been wooed by many a white gravy (please, let's just not think about how it's made). This was a decent go...accompanied by..... biscuits and gravy! I would have liked a little more flavor with this dish--the biscuits were a little bit spongy and there was probably not enough good old American lard in it. Darn the Midwest for tainting my Yankee tastebuds! If you're going to skip a dish, I'd recommend this one. I actually prefer the cheese grits over the biscuits and gravy.

The best part of this experience, hands down, was the dessert. You wouldn't think something as simple-sounding as chocolate pudding was worth raving about, but you'd be wrong. I was wrong. I was so very, deliciously wrong. They must use seriously high-grade chocolate in this pudding: it's dark, rich, creamy, velvety, and I simply didn't want it to end. I would walk back just for this pudding..and this time I wouldn't share. Love in a cup. Yum.

Sidecar
560 5th Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11215
(718) 369-0077

Bagels, Canadian-Style

One of the 'must-taste' stops on our trip to Montréal was St. Viateur Bagels. They've been making their own signature bagels for more than 50 years. I'd heard enough about it from Food Network peeps and travel articles to know I had to hit this spot. After the BF & I visited McGill's campus, we took a train ride up to the location on Mont-Royal.

It was a day full of on-and-off downpours, so the location was sadly not at all busy. Which was fine for us; we had no problem getting a seat. It just didn't have the same busy vibe I expected from all the TV and other media coverage I'd seen. But it's really about the food, isn't it?

While I did enjoy all the chances I had to speak French, it was just as easy to find people who speak English, as did our server. I wasn't that hungry at the time, but the BF (thinking wisely, I'd later realize in hindsight) ordered a sliced turkey sandwich with the soup du jour, cream of mushroom.

I ordered a toasted bagel with strawberry cream cheese. We asked for poppy seed (in English & French), but we both got sesame (NOT my favorite by a long shot). I managed to pick a good number off of my bagel (discreetly, bien sur) and decided to go with it. You might notice I have an entire bagel PLUS one half, which I generously shared with the BF. The cream cheese was nothing special--it tasted rather..packaged, I thought. I found out later it's Kraft cream cheese spread! FAIL.

The bagel, however...I guarantee this isn't like any bagel you've had in the US. They are smaller, chewier, and softer. It's a completely different texture than the US bagels (and I've yet to find a bagel anywhere in the US that tops NYC bagels...maybe it's the water).

While I enjoy American bagels, they can often be heavy, dense, and unwieldy, often large enough to stand in for 4-6 servings of bread. These bagels are much more subdued. They have a crunchy exterior and a soft, pillowy interior. As delicious as they were, however, I would still say I prefer American-style. These just come in at an extremely-close second place.
I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty they were, and quite sorry I didn't follow in the BF's foosteps and order the delicious sandwich. Maybe next time. :) If you're in Montréal (which I recommend visiting), definitely stop by and try a bagel.

St. Viateur Bagels
1127 du Mont-Royal Avenue East
Montréal, Québec
H2J 1X9
514 528-6361

IKEA!

My love affair with IKEA goes back many, many moons. I first noticed them in the credits of MTV's "Real World," back when all they made was cheap MDF-board items that were great for dorm rooms, but not so much real life. When I moved to Houston, there was an IKEA right off I-10 (and 15 minutes from my apartment!) Their items were already getting better, and I was soon a devotee. I still love the kitchen table I bought in 2000 for 80 bucks (they no longer make this model). It's sturdy, well-made, and I still adore it! God bless those Swedes!

My BF is in the process of buying a new apartment, which will require new furniture/furnishings, so I was more than happy to join him this weekend for a trip through the Hicksville IKEA. But the furniture, dishes, etc. aren't the only draw. It also happens to be a favorite Cheap Eats spot of ours.

Can you believe this chick had never eaten at an IKEA before last year? I was always there on a mission, and didn't want to 'waste time' eating there. Ah, foolish youth.

This weekend, after a few hours of walking around on an empty stomach, I got a sudden buzz of head rush while still standing. I brushed it off, but the BF wisely said "I think it's time to get some lunch." You don't have to tell me twice--Swedish meatballs!!! We got in line at the cafeteria-style eatery and hit the ground running. I ordered the Swedish meatballs. They used to come with mashed potatoes (one of my favorite foods in the world), but I was disappointed to see now they offered red bliss potatoes instead. I asked sweetly (and politely) if I could have another scoop of gravy for my meatballs. The BF darted a look at me (he's SOOOOO not the special request type) but I just kept smiling at the woman, who smiled back and ladled on another splash of the creamy brown gravy. Excelsior! I may have shot a 'look' back at the BH (with a twinkle in my baby blues, of course) as I moved down the line.>{?

The BF ordered Chicken Marsala, which wasn't on the menu last time we went. He also got a side salad. We both got drinks, and the total was 16 dollars and change. Ka-ching! Cheap Eats!

Of course, there's little point to touting a Cheap Eats spot if it's not tasty. IKEA Café always makes us happy. The chicken Marsala was a real chicken breast (not that scary, pounded, processed kind) and the veggies were crisp and perfectly cooked. The Marsala wasn't exactly like we're used to, but it was still delicious. While I was at first bummed to see boiled potatoes instead of mashed, I was quickly won over. The potatoes were perfectly cooked: smooth, creamy, and just fabulous. I loved my dish so much that I dared to let foods touch. That's right. Not only did I let the gravy go everywhere, I even added bits of lingonberry sauce to each bite. I combined sweet and savory with (little to) no trepidation!
I took a close-up shot to email to my mother, who will require proof of such a claim.

On our way out, Kevin grabbed a coffee and a cinnamon roll. I didn't think I wanted one. When you have a mom like mine whose rolls are like cinnamon-laced crack, it's a tough act to follow. However, Kevin asked me to 'hold' his roll while he ran to the restroom. So maybe I sampled a bite (or four) while waiting. I was trying to get to the soft center of the roll before he came back. I wish I'd taken a shot of his expression as he saw he had maybe 2/3 of a roll left. Sucker! ;) I mean...thank you for sharing, Sweetie. :)

IKEA
1100 Broadway Mall
Hicksville, NY 11801
(516) 681-4532

Pho

Here it is...one of the restaurants I usually keep close to my vest. Pho is at 73 Mulberry Street, between Canal & Bayard. CPZ brought me here years ago, and it's still a tried-and-true cheap/delicious/fun standby. She's a New York Native (a rare species), so I can always count on her recommendations to rock. We went here again last night, and I noticed some of their prices have gone up a dollar or two, but the portions are still big enough to share and more importantly, still full of flavor.

Every time we go, we get the fried spring rolls (they have pork inside) and the papaya beef salad (Note: They have a decent selection of vegetarian options if you're so inclined, but this post is mostly meat-related). The spring rolls are always perfectly crunchy, but just soft enough that they don't fall apart in your hands. They come with this dipping sauce that is so good, we keep it on the table the rest of the meal to douse over our noodles, etc. The salad isn't on the menu, but it's ALWAYS on the specials board. We noticed this time the price went up 2 dollars to 11.50, but trust me when I say this is still an excellent deal. The cool, shredded papaya is the perfect complement to the hot, charcoal-y grilled beef, which is so tender you don't even need a knife to cut it. This IS a spicy dish, by the way. This time it was so spicy I had to slow down a bit! Between the two of us, we can almost finish this, especially if we are super-hungry.

(a CU shot of my salad--after I'd already eaten the meat. Isn't it pretty?)

For our entrées we both got the grilled shrimp over vermicelli. 6 bucks!! That's basically a dollar a shrimp ;), plus noodles, lettuce, chopped peanuts, cilantro, etc. I took the rest of my spring roll sauce and a few dots of sriracha sauce to this bowl, and it was absolutely fantastic. It also made me fantastically full.

Another must-have for me is their Vietnamese iced coffee. It's very strong coffee that slowly drips out over condensed milk. You mix it and pour it into the glass of ice. Strooooooooooong, son, but oh-so-scrumptious. This time, I was so enamored with the food that I almost forgot it was sitting right in front of me! That papaya-beef salad will do that to a girl. ;)

This place is definitely in my Top 5 for cheap eats, not to mention it never fails to make my taste buds happy.

Pho Restaurant
73 Mulberry St.
New York, NY 10013
212-233-8988

Chinatown Ice Cream Factory

Chinatown Ice Cream Factory has long been on my list of places to try in NYC, but for some reason or another, it's taken me years to get there. When I met Halcyon and her DH in the city a month or so ago, her DH told me he wasn't that crazy about it, so I moved it down the list to a lower-priority ranking. :)

As it turns out, that place is RIGHT around the corner from my favorite Vietnamese restaurant (post coming after this one) that my dear friend CPZ brought me to years ago. It's a favorite of ours, both because it is delicious and it is remarkably cheap. Win win! CPZ treated me to dinner (gorgeous AND generous! oy!) and so the very least I could do is treat her to ice cream. She mentioned CICF, and after a roundabout walk (took me a few minutes to google it on my blackberry), we found ourselves just steps away from the restaurant and sampling different flavors.

Chinatown I.C.F. has some basics, like mint chocolate chip or vanilla, but they also have more 'exotic' (as they put it) choices such as red bean, lychee nut, zen butter and almond cookie. I tried one sample of almond cookie and was instantly smitten. I am an absolute sucker for anything almond. Tortoni is one of my favorite desserts, but bad tortoni is pretty awful. That's when it's gritty or frostbitten or just plain cheaply made. This ice cream was none of those disappointing qualities. It was smooth and satisfying and just what my taste buds wanted. I ordered a small scoop with rainbow sprinkles. Carlota got the mint chocolate chip with jimmies (rainbow ones are sprinkles and chocolate ones are jimmies, as any self-respecting Yankee knows. Debate over.) We tried each other's ice creams as well and agreed we'd both picked winners. The ice cream is SUPER rich and creamy. I initially looked at the small portion and thought "4.50 for THAT? I could buy a whole pint of Haagen-Dazs for the same price!" However, it IS extremely filling and decadent, and when I scraped the very last drops out of my cup, I absolutely felt it was worth it. And later, I will probably still buy the Haagen-Dazs (have you tried their "Five" line yet?? YUMMMM!)

At 4.50 for a small scoop + jimmies/sprinkles, this doesn't exactly qualify as "Cheap Eats" in my book, but it was definitely worth the visit, and I would recommend it if you're in the neighborhood!

Chinatown Ice Cream Factory
65 Bayard Street
New York, NY 10013
(212) 608-4170

The Australian

My friends and I are always on the lookout for cheap and tasty Happy Hour spots! I met up with my friend, Blonde Beth, yesterday for a long-overdue catch-up session. She did some googling and came up with this place, which was within walking distance of my office. The Australian touts itself as a bit of Down Under flair in the middle of Manhattan. Our waitress even had a pretty believable Australian accent. I ordered the Passion Fruit Martini off the HH menu (6 bucks) and Beth was already drinking a non-HH Drink. The martini was scrumptious and STRONG. Our experience was going along nicely....until.... Beth found something in her glass. Something globby, something gross, and something altogether unpleasant. I was taking a picture of it when the waitress came back to check on us. We showed her the glob, and she barely blinked. Beth ordered another drink (this time off the HH menu), and we shuddered and tried to think of puppies and sunshine. Unfortunately, I'd already ordered my chicken saté app, or we would have up and left. Maybe we should have anyway. Oh well. I figured I'd at least give them the chance to make it up to us. Yeep.

My sate and Beth's ouzmo arrived (I was already halfway through my martini) and we decided to soldier on (brave souls that we are). The sate was good, but it didn't taste as advertised--the menu called for peanut sauce and a chili yogurt sauce, but I saw none of that. I tasted rosemary and olive oil, and it was still good. Oh well. They were all white meat, delicious, and the potato wedges underneath were good-sized, expertly seasoned, and FANTASTIC. All in all, this was an excellent value for 5 bucks (another HH special). I was quite full, and the food was good for absorbing my 2nd passion fruit martini. Beth had one ouzmo but then switched to the passion fruit martini as well--I highly recommend them. They're sweet, but they have a tartness to them, too.

When our bill came, I was annoyed to see our waitress had not removed the 10-dollar drink (which Beth took 3 sips of before seeing that unsightly glob). However, she had long since gone, and when we explained it to our server (a lovely young man with a tongue piercing I couldn't help staring at), he quickly removed it from the bill and set it right. While I wasn't initially satisfied with our female server's lack of concern re: globs in drinks, I am pleased at how the second server fixed it. It made our disconcerting moments pale next to his attentiveness and the rest of the food and drinks (which were great). We will definitely come back and give it another go.

The Australian
20 West 38 Street
New York, NY 10017
212-869-8601

Pitch-Perfect Parfaits

Yogurt parfaits can be pretty pricey at lunch places--running anywhere from 3-6 dollars, depending on the size. Those monster-sized portions can pack quite a wallop to the waistline, too. I also had the unpleasant experience of getting food poisoning from a Café Metro parfait back in 2006--I was violently ill for a good 36 hours after that, and it's only recently, in 2009, that I started eating them again...cautiously.

The BF & I often hit up Trader Joe's in Oceanside (don't even get me started on the claustrophobia-inducing experience that is Trader Joe's in NYC), where we can leisurely wander the aisles and pick up new things or old favorites. They also always have samples in the back, so after we hit the first aisle or two, we wander over there. One of my favorites so far was a parfait with Greek yogurt (thicker and tarter than the sweeter varieties most of us are used to eating).

I mused aloud Sunday, while floating in the pool, that I'd love to have one of those right now. My fabulous BF wasted no time in going into the kitchen and putting together one that was out of this world delicious. Even better than the Trader Joe's version! This man is a master in the kitchen, God bless him!

After that delicious treat, which my awesome BF made just to make me happy, I became obsessed with them. We went to TJ's later that day and I picked up the supplies: frozen blueberries (1.99) and plain Greek yogurt (2.29). I already had walnuts at home (on sale earlier this year via Fresh Direct, natch!) as well as TJ's organic agave nectar (1.99 for the whole bottle--I still have about half left). For less than the cost of one large parfait, I have supplies to make a loooot more (I've already made two so far!

I spooned careful layers of yogurt, plopped chopped walnuts on top, as well as defrosted blueberries. My BF's version had some crunchy granola (Target's Archer brand--awesome and affordable), but I was out of that. I just subbed in even MORE walnuts (Omega-3s galore!) instead. I lightly drizzled each layer with a whisper-thin layer of agave, and voila! Instant and affordable deliciousness. They are my favorite summer treat right now!

Thai Standby

Pongsri Thai on New York City's 48th street is one of the first places I had Thai when I moved to NYC. My friend Jenezuela lived right across the street at the time, so we tended to order it quite a bit. Then she moved to Venezuela and I didn't frequent that neighborhood quite as much.

My first return back was with That Sara, my friend Mel, and Sara's friend E on the night we all saw BareNaked Ladies at Radio City Music Hall (amazing concert). I was delighted to find the food was still as fresh and affordable as ever. I've gone about once a year since then, usually with That Sara, as was the case last night.

If you're in the market for an appetizer, their spring rolls and their soft-shell crab are both quite tasty, but last night a dessert caught my eye, so I opted out of apps to save room. Priorities, people!

I have been trying to branch out and try new things (my go-to dish had always been Pad-See Ew there, I think it's number 124 ;) On my last visit, I tried the unusually-named "Big Bird's Love Nest." It was chicken, cashews, veggies, and pineapple chunks flecked with red pepper flakes, all atop a 'nest' of vermicelli which I think had been flash-fried or otherwised molded into a nest. Last night I remembered that I really enjoyed it, even though it had been so long I couldn't remember why, exactly. After much hemming and hawing, I ordered it again. The dish is spicy but NOT overwhelming, and the pineapple helps balance out the heat. The veggies were crisp, crunchy and flavorful, and the whole dish just sang to me. Yum.

Sara ordered the shrimp pad thai with no spices (as they are NOT her friend), and it appears the kitchen followed through with her request (since she didn't stop breathing or anything after her first bite) ;). Here's the link to her review! Our dishes came out in about 5 minutes flat, which was quite shocking. Service was swift last night, though not very attentive. No one checked on us to make sure everything was okay, no one checked in on us, period! The guy who refilled our water glasses took our dessert orders--I wish we could have tipped just HIM! ;)

I had about 1/3 of my dish wrapped up for leftovers (lunch today!) and saved room for the pumpkin coconut custard. I think I tasted more pumpkin than coconut, but that's just fine by me, and it was delicious. Smooth, creamy, with slices of fruit stacked vertically in each of the four squares. YUM. I was quite glad I made room for this!

Sara got her favorite: mango and sticky rice. It smelled delicious as well and it was quite tasty! The mangos were meltingly-ripe and sweet, and the sticky rice was sticky and nutty and not-too-sweet. I'm not really a rice person (I can take it or leave it, and in fact opted NOT to have it with my entrée), but this was still tasty.

Considering how rarely I've been going out to eat lately, this was a delicious and quite affordable treat! If you're ever in midtown/theater district/Hell's Kitchen, I highly recommend this place! They have 3 locations in NYC, but I can only vouch for the 48th street one--and I deem it worthy of repeat visits, something rare in this city jammed with thousands of new places to try!

Pongsri Thai
244 West 48th Street
New York, NY 10036
(212)582-3392

Berry Simple Sauce

Blueberries are always popping up on lists of "Top Foods" or "10 foods you should eat every day," etc. They're increasingly becoming a favorite of mine. Fresh Direct had a sale on pints last week, so I bought some and kept...well..neglecting them. I realized they were about to go bad if I didn't act, so I decided to make a favorite standby: blueberry sauce!

I don't get too fancy. I pick off any visible stems and dump the whole pint in the saucepan. Some people add water, but I just add the berries. I mash them and as the mixture heats up and starts liquefying, I add a tablespoon of sugar (or agave or honey, whatever is on hand) at a time. Taste as you go--you can always add more sugar if you need it, but too much at once and it will make your teeth hurt! These berries were super sweet, so I only added about 2 Tablespoons of sugar. Some people will then put the sauce in a processor and/or strain it, but I like the chunks. Yes, I'm growing up ;).

I had some Haagen-Dazs vanilla in the freezer, so I spooned the hot sauce over the ice cream, whipped up some fresh whipped cream, and made my taste buds quite happy on a warm summer night.

Marvelous Meat Sauce

This Irish chick looooooves her Italian food. I wanted to make an awesome meat sauce today, so I first hit up the Interwebs. Food Network had a good 7,000 recipes. Um, no. Too much. I googled here and there, hit up allrecipes.com, and eventually just decided to wing it. How hard can it be? Answer: even easier than you think. (Vegetarian friends, please avert your eyes)

I had a pound of ground sirloin that I planned to use to make burgers, but that's a plan that never gets accomplished. There are a few foods I would rather have someone else make for me, and burgers are right at the top of the list (along with paella, steak, and lobster). I don't know why--just a thing. If I go to a restaurant, I'll order something I'm not likely to make at home. Otherwise, what's the point?

First I sautéed about half a yellow onion (all I had on hand), and a HEAAAAPING tablespoon of minced garlic (the kind that comes in a jar, awash in oil). I was out of fresh garlic, or I would have pressed it fresh. I let those simmer in a combo of about 2 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter. After a minute or two (I always stop before the garlic browns--I hate that flavor) I added the meat and broke it up. I could tell it was a delicious, soft bunch o' meat, and knew it would do nicely, but you can always do just regular ground chuck. Again, recession recipes are about using what's on hand! (I'd bought this a while back on FreshDirect, froze it, and thawed it out last night.) I added half a tablespoon of salt (I always prefer to use too little and let people add more if they'd like) and a few cranks of cracked black pepper, then cooked the meat until it looked nearly done. Next, I added a 28 oz can of whole tomatoes. Use diced if you like smaller pieces, but I like the big, chunky bits of tomato in my sauce. Makes it feel 'real.' I added probably a Tbsp of dried oregano and basil and let it simmer for a good long while. Most people recommend an hour or so of simmering, but I have neither the time nor the patience for that. I took it off the heat, had one (or maybe 5) tastings, and declared it was yea, verily, quite good. I let it cool off a bit before putting it in the fridge. Then Kelli came up and joined me for a simple dinner of whole wheat spaghetti with the delicious sauce and a side of homemade garlic bread (the loaf cost 1.75 at the bakery next door!) I whipped up some softened salted butter and some minced garlic, spread it on the loaf, and watched it bubble up under the broiler. We were so hungry we didn't even stop to a) sprinkle fresh parsley on the bread or b) take a photo of the finished pasta dish. Next time!

Never be afraid to experiment...even in these tough economic times!