Soul Food at Sylvia's

I love lists. I make to-do lists, to-visit lists, to-clean lists, and even where-to-eat lists! And Sylvia's in Harlem has been on "The List" ever since I moved to NYC (more than 10 years ago!) THANK YOU, Kwame, for finally making it happen!

Founded by Sylvia Woods, aka "The Queen of Soulfood," this restaurant has been feeding folks with delicious, comforting, homestyle dishes since 1962. What started as a little luncheonette is now an expanded, welcoming, wonderful place to have a good, good meal.

On a cold, dark Saturday night, I met up with Mike, Sara, & Kwame for a delicious dinner. I didn't have a single snack that day, saving room for all the good stuff!

Sara & I both ordered a Scotch & ginger ale, a drink Mike & Kwame introduced me to years ago when we all worked on the same talk show. This was fine, nothing out of the ordinary.

Mike ordered a Sugar Hill beer and liked it. I mean he really, really liked it. Kwame had the rum punch but I forgot to snap a pic.

Everyone gets cornbread--it's on the house! This was good--strong corn flavor, a little sweet. I was surprised to see miniature tubs of 'whipped spread' instead of butter, but oh well--tasty all the same!

I didn't come all the way from Brooklyn just to eat bread though-- You better believe I got the Harlem style chicken & waffles: fried chicken (breast attached to wing) with waffles and didn't have a second thought! Yep, that's me, mixing sweet & salty (well, sort of).

I'm not a huge waffle fan--but these? These were yummy. Fluffy and soft and they actually HAD something to them--they weren't empty shells of nothingness.

Kwame ordered the fried shrimp. He sweetly let me try one and holy smokes stop the train folks, these are insanely delicious. I might have to go back and just get the shrimp. They're that good!

Mike ordered the smothered pork chop--I didn't get his exact review but I do believe he enjoyed it. (sorry for the blurriness--I was in a hurry to start eating!)

Sara ordered the Harlem-style Chicken & waffles, too, but she opted for dark meat (which was a leg and a thigh, I think?)

Sara & I also shared the mac and cheese. I thought this was just okay. It was elbow macaroni with some cheddar cheese on top--honestly, I'd skip this the next time (and there will be a next time!)

I ate so much of the waffle that I'd forgotten we planned to get dessert. Oof. Dessert. And there are many options. Super moist, delicious red velvet cake, for starters. Yum.

We also got the strawberry bread pudding with bourbon sauce, but I am not a bread pudding fan. Pass.

Sara & I were really wanting to get the peach cobbler, but they ran out right before we put in our order. Sigh. We opted for the banana pudding instead. This was more like a pile of ripe, sweet bananas with a touch of custard. Oh my sweetness it was goooooood.

It was delicious. Absolutely delicious. And very reasonable! My entree was $11.95 and PLENTY of food. Desserts were under 6 bucks. You can easily eat here to your heart's (and stomach's) content and not break the bank. And I will be back to Sylvia's. For more chicken, some of that fried shrimp, and the elusive peach cobbler.

Sylvia's
328 Lenox Avenue
New York, NY 10027
(212) 996-0660

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Happy New Year!

Normally, ABF & I stay in for a quiet, cozy night on New Year's Eve, but this year we opted to go out for the big night--and it was a lot of fun! (and check it out--above you will see ABF's very first photo appearance ever on Stuff I Ate!!)

We hit up Dino's in Rockville Centre, which is actually an easy walk from ABF's apartment. It's a pretty popular Italian restaurant that is usually super-busy, so ABF was on it when he made reservations almost a month ahead of time!

There were 2 seatings: 7pm and 930pm--we opted for the 7, assuring we'd be on ABF's couch in plenty of time to watch a movie (or, as it turned out, the British comedy series "The IT Crowd") and ring in the New Year's at home. Win-win! They also had a singer serenading us during the meal, which was actually a lot of fun. I even got my very own serenade at one point, thank you very much :)

I opted for a glass of Pinot Noir, and was pleased with the light, fruity body of the house wine.

ABF had a drink too (since we were walking home and ABF didn't have to drive!), ordering a gin & tonic. Cheers!

I managed to limit myself to *one* garlic knot. Are garlic knots popular outside NYC? It's basically a roll twisted into a knot shape and reeking, in the most wonderful way, of garlic. Yum.

The evening's menu was prix fixe, with 4 courses and a decent selection--way more food than we'd normally order, but hey, it's a holiday!

I got an early start on one of my New Year's Resolutions: eat more seafood! I ordered the seafood salad for my starter. I was thinking of the insanely delicious dish we'd had with Jen & Tom at Patricia's. This was close-- a little brinier with a dash of green olives, crunchy red, yellow and green bell peppers. I ate a good amount but still left a lot on my plate--tonight was all about pacing!

ABF started with the Caprese Salad: lots of fresh basil, mozzarella cheese, and tomatoes. Delicious.

We both got the Caesar salad as well--this was lightly dressed and quite tasty. No heavy cream dressing--just a lemony drizzle all over it. Crunchy and refreshing.

My main dish was the Lobster Tail fra Diavolo--which came with mussels, clams, and shrimp. This was good, but the sauce was not even a little bit spicy. That was disappointing, but I do love a good red sauce. We saw the dessert cart stroll by at this point, so I made sure to leave some room for that!

ABF's entree was the striped bass, which was even better than my dish. Tender, flaky fish and also mussels, clams and more (he shared his mussels as he's not a super-huge fan).

ABF went for the Napoleon, and while I was initially disappointed to see a fluffy filling instead of custard (which is my favorite)--this was stellar. Crunchy, firm pastry, delightfully light filling. Wow. Delish.

I couldn't resist the rainbow 'cookie,' which is really more like a cake. My friend Beth G makes THE BEST RAINBOW COOKIES IN THE WORLD, so I'm a tough judge. If you don't have a Beth G handy, the rainbow cookie at Dino's is a damn decent option. Light, almond and cherry flavors, and a dark chocolate topping. It's a small serving, but it is riiiiiiiich.

We each had a strong, cinnamon-topped cappucino as well, and this is the point where we were both quite glad we had a short walk home (you have to get up and move after a meal like this)!!

The best part of the night was easily the service and attitude of the owners/servers. Everyone was in a good mood, everyone who passed by was pleasant and welcomed us, checked on us, smiled at us! The owner and his wife were especially friendly, greeting us just as effusively as the regular customers who sat at the table next to us. I think a night like New Year's Eve is maybe not the best night to judge the menu, as it is a limited section, but it is a great chance to get a feeling for the mood there, and ABF & I are definitely going back to Dino's!

Dino's Restaurant
328 Sunrise Highway
Rockville Centre, New York 11570
(516) 798-0017

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Christmas Cookies: Snickerdoodles!

All this week I'm featuring some new, some classic, and some all-around delicious Christmas cookie recipes!

We start the week with a classic recipe for Snickerdoodles, using this soft-bake recipe I found on AllRecipes.com.


My friend Kwame helped me with this recipe, too. As I've mentioned before, I'm more into cooking than baking, but this recipe was so easy that I think that's definitely changing. If you're not super comfortable 'baking,' this is an excellent starter recipe!

Look at that gorgeous batter! We chilled it for a few hours before shaping the cookies into little balls and dropping them into a cinnamon-sugar mix (equal parts sugar & spice).

I like my Snickerdoodles to be chewy so I baked them only for the 10 minutes stated, but if you want a crunchier cookie, just bake them for an extra 2-3 minutes (adjust for your oven's settings/baking times).

Soft-baked Snickerdoodles

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Mix butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar and eggs thoroughly in a large bowl.
Combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.
Blend dry ingredients into butter mixture.
Chill dough, and chill an ungreased cookie sheet for about 10-15 minutes in the fridge.

Meanwhile, mix 3 tablespoons sugar, and 3 teaspoons cinnamon in a small bowl. Scoop 1 inch globs of dough into the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Coat by gently rolling balls of dough in the sugar mixture. Place on chilled ungreased cookie sheet, and bake 10 minutes. Remove from pan immediately.

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Homemade Eggnog

I love eggnog, always have, always will. Don't try to harsh my buzz with the stats on calories, fat grams, etc. It's a once-a-year treat and I relish every sip. This year, my friend Kwame & I decided, on a wonderful whim, to make some ourselves. Holy. Deliciousness. We were not prepared for the awesomeness. (PS: This recipe does not cook the eggs--we experienced no ill effects, but keep in mind the FDA warns against consuming raw eggs for pregnant women and young children, etc)

I'm so glad we made this together, as it's a little labor-intensive, and that my mother gave me not one, but two KitchenAid bowls when she gave me her mixer. First you cream the sugar and egg yolks in one bowl. That was Kwame's job (he's much more of a baker than I). We let the mixer go for 3-4 minutes until the butter was pale yellow and delightfully fluffy.

Next up, the egg whites, along with a little less sugar. These took a little bit longer, and we basically mixed them until we could hold the mixer upside down and have the egg whites rest there without falling. Sweet!

Third, the whipped cream, which we beat by hand, because hey, any extra calories you can burn before consuming this delectable drink are worth it.

I was a little unprepared for how much volume all this whipping would produce. We had to use my largest stockpot to hold all the creamy wonderfulness (folding the cream into the eggs, then the whites into the rest). We chilled it for a few hours while we baked dinner and some Snickerdoodles (the first recipe in next week's Christmas Cookies posts!), then poured 2 glasses, straight eggnog, no booze. That's how I always drank it, and it was good. Super vanilla-y, creamy, but not heavy. Went down very easily.

Second round, we put in some liquor. I chose spiced rum for mine while Kwame went with Irish whiskey. I was amazed at how the alcohol rounded out all the flavors and actually made it better. Now of course, if you don't like alcohol or choose not to drink it, this is still a wonderful way to toast the season!

Cheers!

This will change the way you think of, taste, enjoy, and otherwise relate to eggnog!
Oh, and here's the recipe we used, courtesy of the Butter-pimpin' Paula Deen:

Paula Deen's Eggnog
6 eggs (separated)
3/4 cup sugar
1 pt heavy cream
4 pts milk
1/2 pt bourbon (we added liquor with each glass as we went, so not all would be boozy)
1 tbsp vanilla
1 pinch nutmeg

Beat the egg yolks with the 1/2 cup of sugar until thick. In another bowl beat the egg whites with 1/4 cup of sugar until thick. In a third bowl beat the cream until thick. Add the cream to the yolks, fold in the egg whites, and add the milk, Bourbon, vanilla, and a pinch of nutmeg, if desired. Chill before serving.

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Alfredo of Rome

My friend Kelli has long told me about the wonders of Alfredo's of Rome, which claims to be the birthplace, in 1914, of Fettucine Alfredo. True or not, they make a mean dish of Alfredo, and we finally made plans to share a meal there one night.

I think Kelli was even more excited to have me try Alfredo's signature drink: the spiced apple martini. I have to admit, I was picturing sicky sweet, unnaturally 'green' drinks in my mind, but Kelli told me this was something different--Alfredo's takes Red Delicious apples and soaks them in their vodka for 3 days. A sprinkle of fresh cinnamon on top and voila--it's like liquid apple pie, but without a lot of the sweetness. Refreshing!

We ordered the prix fixe dinner, which came with 3 courses. I started with, of course, the Alfredo pasta. If you order this as a main dish, they prepare it tableside, but not for the appetizer portion, alas. Still, this was fresh, light, not at all thick and heavy like you might expect. It had gooey cheesiness but didn't sink like a stone in my belly--beautifully balanced.

Kelli ordered the Caprese salad, another classic. Red & yellow tomatoes, surprisingly delicious for mid-December, topped with fresh mozzarella and basil. This was very, very good. Honestly, if we'd stopped here, with the martinis, pasta and Caprese, I would have been happy.

Main courses were still to come, though. I ordered the broiled halibut, which had a lovely, crunchy crust, and came with mashed potatoes and a white wine/lemon/caper sauce. It had a few green beans which were just ok (these are NOT my favorite veggie).

Kelli ordered the Lasagna, and my word was that delicious. It was a sort of deconstructed, loosely configured lasagna with a killer meat sauce. I may have snagged not one, but two bites. I wish I'd had room for more.

What really stole the show, however, was Kelli's favorite dish there: the green beans! I don't like green beans, but I LOOOOOVED THESE. Sautéed in just the right amount of garlic, barely cooked so they were still crunchy. Oh man..I could have made a meal just out of these. Amazing.

Dessert was included too--I ordered the profiteroles, which are normally a favorite. These, however, fell a little flat for me. They were cold and just not as appealing as I expected. i'm used to having them filled with ice cream and presented tableside with hot chocolate sauce, but everything on this plate was cold. I had a few bites and I was done--also, FIVE profiteroles? What an outrageously huge portion! Enough for 2, even 3 people.

Kelli opted for the simple, vanilla gelato. What a WINNER. This had such a rich vanilla flavor, I would guess Madagascar vanilla. I had 2 bites of this, and preferred it by leaps and bounds to my pick.

The food was fresh and surprisingly delicious. While there were some tourists (listen, it's in Rockefeller Center, and the Christmas tree is a huge draw this time of year), I was surprised and impressed that there were so many actual Italians there (speaking Italian and everything!) There are several branches of Alfredo's, including one in Rome, so if actual Italians from Italy make a point to visit this place while in NYC, I think that says a lot.

My only complaint would be with the service. We specifically made reservations ahead of time for a seat near the window (for better people watching), but those tables were all filled when we arrived. Rather than wait for our window seat, we went to the back room. No one welcomed us, greeted us, etc. Odd. Our server was a tightly-wound woman whose attention seemed elsewhere that night. I must give a shout out to the male server who, although he didn't take our orders, was quite attentive and followed up when Kelli's green beans were MIA. It was a Thursday night and while they were busy, it cleared out quickly after we arrived, so I'm not quite sure why we were so 'neglected,' but we made the most of it.

Despite the so-so service, I would go back. I'd get an apple martini, share an Alfredo app, and maybe split an entrée with someone. Hmm...who would be up for that? Someone whose initials are ABF???

Alfredo of Rome
4 West 49th Street
New York, NY 10020
(212) 397-0100

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Duck Walk Wines: North Fork

Duck Walk Wines is one of my favorites in Long Island, but until Mike & Sara's trip out with us, ABF & I had only been to the Water Mill location.

After a lackluster trip to Pindar (nonexistent customer service and less than wowing wines), I asked the ever-accomodating ABF to drive us 2 minutes down the road to DuckWalk's North Fork location. (See Sara's review of all the hot spots here!)

For some reason, I'd always thought of it as a smaller location, but it's actually impressively large.

There's tons of seating, a spacious bar, a stunning fish tank and even more outdoor space (which I saw when I stepped outside during an unfortunate coughing fit).

We started with the Duck Walk Chardonnay, which is the very first chardonnay to win my heart (and my tastebuds). Sara & Mike are big Chardonnay fans, and I think they liked the offerings at Duck Walk (though once again, I'm more partial to stainless steel-fermented while they prefer the oak-barrel version).

We also tried their Reserve Merlot (one of my favorite favorites), Windmill White, you name it--we sipped it!

Of course we had to try the dessert wines, which wowed me from my first visit there. The Aphrodite (a Gewurztraminer) is like a fruity explosion in your mouth--perfect for sipping after a lovely meal, pouring over ice cream, or standing alone as dessert all by itself. Mike & Sara went home with a bottle of this, and ABF & I have one waiting at home. It's so so so so so so good, and it might even be for sale at your local wine/liquor store (a few of my neighborhood stores carry it). If you want a showstopping wine, Aphrodite is it!

Connor was our guide on this visit, and after the dessert wines, it turns out he was just getting started. He kept pouring taste after delicious taste, and sharing bits of trivia, knowledge, and passion along the way. He was in no hurry to get us out of there, even though we arrived about 30 minutes before the tasting room closed.

Duck Walk serves their dessert wines with small chocolates. They always instruct you to taste the port, ice wine, or Aphrodite on its own first. Then take a small nibble of chocolate and taste the wine again. It's striking what a difference the chocolate has on the wine's flavor profile (and by "flavor profile" I mean "awesome deliciousness that practically defies description").

Duck Walk was the polar opposite of our experience at Pindar (which I'm pretty sure is their sister winery!), where no one bothered to explain what we were drinking or even ask if we had any questions. I'm so glad Mike & Sara's first visit to the North Fork ended here! Thanks to Connor and everyone at Duck Walk North for making our trip there such a blast! We've replenished our wine cabinet and made yet another fun memory on the North Fork! Cheers!

Duck Walk North
44535 Main Road
Southold, NY
(631) 765-3500

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