Shachi's Arepas

I met up with an old coworker, D, for lunch at Shachi's Arepas near Penn Station. It's definitely a take-out lunch type of place, as there are really only 2 tables that fit 2 people each. Fortunately, D and I managed to snag one of the tables, at which we devoured our savory, Latin-spiced, deep-fried goods.

For those of you who have not been fortunate enough to eat an arepa and do not know what an arepa is, it's sort of similar to a tortilla, except it's much thicker, often made of cornmeal, grilled or fried and stuffed with various types of deliciousness. Sometimes arepas are called "Venezuelan corncakes".

D and I both ordered the $9 lunch combo, which includes 1 arepa, 1 empanada and 1 soda. I got a pernil (pork, with tomato & aioli) arepa, a pabellon (beef, plantains, beans and cheese) empanada, and a bottle of water (healthy!), while D got a pollo (chicken) arepa, a queso (cheese) empanada and a diet coke (caffeine!). We were both quite pleased with our purchases - dense, flavorful, and full of just enough variety to make our tastebuds sing.

I did find the arepa to be just a tad dry, as seems to happen frequently with arepas. And while others have raved about the pernil being supremely juicy and flavorful, I thought it was missing just a slight bit of depth. The aioli didn't add much, and the pork and tomato combination was somehow slightly flat. But the empanada was perfectly crisp, with the sweetness of the plantains adding exclamations of joy to the beef and beans. I have a terrible weakness for plantains.

I cannot help making a comparison to Caracas Arepa Bar in the East Village, since it's the only other place in Manhattan with "Arepa" in its name. I would have to say that I enjoyed the arepas at Caracas more than Shachi's because of three things. 1) The ratio of corn patty:filling at Shachi's was just slightly too high, 2) Caracas' menu is more extensive, and 3) Caracas' arepas had stronger, bolder and more creative flavors. But I unfortunately will not be returing to Caracas anytime soon. Why, you ask? Because last time I went with my husband, a single bite into his deliciously juicy pabellon arepa squirted all manner of meat sauce onto my clean-freak husband's recently pressed shirt. Suggestions of bib-wearing have been met with resistance.

So all things considered, I was quite happy have been able to re-experience the arepa at Shachi's and to have the lovely company of D to top it off. Shachi's may not make it as high on the list as Caracas, but Caracas sets quite a high bar. And Shachi's is still a fantastic choice if you're looking for something different in the Midtown West neighborhood and want to try some arepas.

Ramen Misoya

I love ramen. One summer, I ate at Ippudo almost every week, and I even ate there several times by myself. You really have to love a place to be willing to repeatedly ask for a table for 1. So I was really excited to hear about another ramen place opening up in the East Village and was eager to see if it might give Ippudo a run for its money.

While I was waiting for my husband to join me at Ramen Misoya, a Japanese man came by and took a long, tentative look at the place. I think he couldn't quite figure out if the place was open yet since there was no one inside, but being much too quiet and polite, he remained standing there for over 5 minutes until someone inside noticed him and told him he could come inside.

Ramen Misoya specializes in miso-flavored broths (hence "miso"ya). My husband and I ordered the $9 lunch specials (appetizer + your choice of various miso ramens). I ordered the Shiro Ramen (lighter broth) with the Chicken Karaage (fried chicken nuggets).

My husband ordered the Ramen Misoya (darker broth) with gyoza.

The broths were intense and flavorful, the noodles were just the right texture, the tofu on my ramen was nicely fried, the gyoza skin was perfectly thin with a balanced and tasty filling. However, the chicken karaage was very dry and (perhaps I've been spoiled (forever) by Ippudo and Totto Ramen) the broths, while tasty, felt overpowering and heavy. And they definitely were overly salty / msg-laden, because both my husband and I were really thirsty for the rest of the day.

So if you're looking for a quick ramen fix and don't have time for the Ippudo wait, Misoya (along with any of the other East Village joints) will definitely satisfy the warm bowl of noodle soup craving. But, unfortunately, you won't find me at Misoya asking for a table for 1.

New York Mart

New York Mart isn't a restaurant, but it's new and it's got a lot of food, so it still makes the cut for this blog. I had heard that a new Asian grocery store had opened in Chinatown right next to Deluxe, so after having dim sum at Jing Fong with the cousins, we went in search of this new market. When we first found it, cousin J said, "What is this? Whole Foods??" This picture doesn't quite do it justice, but there's some wood paneling covering various parts of the store. Wood paneling at an Asian grocery store?! Who ever heard of such a thing?

Was too busy loading up on cheap groceries to take more pictures, but there's also a section with big trays of various prepared foods, plus a large seating area for you to consume your purchases. I bought a huge bag of sugar snap peas, another huge bag of dou miao (pea shoots), a large bunch of chive flowers, a bunch of green onions, a gallon of Chinese soy milk, two boxes of tofu and three bags of frozen dumplings for $22. At Whole Foods I think that would have been something closer to $40.

And now to decide whether my Hong Kong Grocery shopping will be replaced by New York Mart.

Jane's Sweet Buns

The husband and I met up with some friends at Cafe Mogador and had a delicious brunch of poached Moroccan eggs with spicy tomato sauce, eggs benedict, homefries, pita, hot tea and fresh squeezed orange juice. I noticed Jane's Sweet Buns across the street and knew we had to stop in before we left the East Village.

Jane's Sweet Buns has a lot going for it.

1) The name. Need I say more?

2) The cuteness. Whimsical pink benches for you to park your sweet buns while you eat some sweet buns. And don't you love the checkered curtains in the back?

3) Jane(s). Jane Danger not only has an awesome name, but also used to be a bartender. Hence the alcohol-infused pastries. But not only is the mastermind behind Jane's Sweet Buns named Jane, the cashier's name was also Jane, and she was the perfect combination of sweet, enthusiastic and edgy. Very "on brand", as my weird husband likes to say.

4) Sweet buns. I decided to take our rum raisin bun to go, but my perpetually hungry husband insisted on eating the bun immediately. And once we started, we couldn't stop. It was everything you could want in a sweet bun - fresh, soft, sticky and sweet. The bun disappeared before we even got to the subway station.

Next door to Jane's Sweet Buns is something else sweet that's coming soon! Guess we'll have to wait and see what new chocolately goodness awaits.

Marcus Samuelsson's Global Street Food Pop Up

My office is a stone's throw from Lincoln Center and this summer I spent many lovely lunch hours sitting in the Barclays Grove, sometimes in quiet contemplation while viewing the Paul Milstein Pool and other times experiencing tourist glee while watching the fountain blast streams of water high into the air.

But at some point I decided to forgo the mixture of calm and excitement of Lincoln Center for the simple peace of Central Park, gaining respite from the worries of the day with an introvert's restorative solitary luncheon on a park bench. For several weeks I had ignored the glitz of Broadway, until I discovered there was a pop up restaurant by Marcus Samuelsson (of Red Rooster in Harlem) right across the street. I made lunch plans with my dearest friend J, who is currently on maternity leave, and may not be able to make it to Red Rooster anytime soon with the arrival of the little one. As I made my way to Global Street Food, glitz seemed to have entirely taken over the area. The ABC building had turned into a fishbowl for viewing the ABC newsroom, discount designer retailer Century21 had opened its doors, Fashion Week trailers were parked next to Richard Tucker Square, and a giant display sponsored by IBM had been installed along the sidewalk, which was flashing moving, colored particles across an extended digital screen. I made my way over to the at65 cafe, the temp location of the pop up, but was greeted by movers and men with walkie talkies wheeling large objects in and out of the building. Apparently the pop-up hadn't been completely reset after a day of not being open. I made a call to J to meet me at Tavern on the Green instead, as it appeared I was destined to remain an earthy Central Park patron instead of a glitzy Lincoln Center one.

Undaunted by my second failed first attempt at dining at a new restaurant (see BaoHaus review below), I convinced J to join me again the next day for lunch. This time we were happily greeted by Marcus Samuelsson:

Intrigued by the name, J ordered the doro wat, and I ordered the shrimp piri piri. The menu's description of the doro wat states, "Doro Wat / Injera, Ayib, Tomato Chutney". Despite only knowing what one of those things was, the doro wat turned out to be a crave-worthy comfort dish. A quick Google search reveals that doro wat, often referred to as the Ethiopian national dish, is a chicken stew in red pepper paste. Injera is a spongy, yeasty flatbread common in Ethiopian cuisine, ayib is a type of cheese and tomato chutney is delicious.

The shrimp piri piri contained skewered, grilled shrimp, with a summery, healthy mixture of grains and vegetables. The grains were a bit undercooked, but it somehow added to the healthful feeling of the entire dish.

The menu included some delicious sounding desserts, including "Swedish Pancake Cake", but unfortunately we were too full to partake, and too cheap to eat only some of our mains to allow room to partake. Thanks, Marcus Samuelsson, for gracing us with your food presence. Though today your pop up closes down, I hope we might meet again, perhaps at Red Rooster.

BaoHaus Review

I finally made it to BaoHaus (East Village) after a failed attempt to dine there at 7pm on its opening night because they weren't ready to open yet and were still putting up the sign:

Once inside, we felt compelled to order drinks, although doing so is highly unusual for us cheapos. Can't you hear your mother asking, "Why would you buy that drink? It costs 30 cents at the grocery store but they charge you $2 at the restaurant! Just get water! It's free!" But the sight of these just makes me happy:

The baos were, as expected, rich and delicious. The "chairman bao" was full of pork belly fat and full of flavor, with the perfect hint of sweetness from the crushed peanuts and Taiwanese red sugar sprinkled on top. The "haus bao", filled with shredded hanger steak, was the "healthier" alternative, and still packed with flavor. The husband preferred the chairman (to be expected from a man who immediately begins eating chips as soon as he walks in the door after work each day), while I, of course, liked having both. The decadence of the pork belly needed a good counterpoint to balance out the accompanying guilt. Spinach to balance out steak, and steak to balance out a slab of pork fat.

Sweet bao fries! No, they do not look like french fries, but they are still fried deliciousness. I always get the black sesame sauce because it's amazing and have not been tempted enough to try the taro, durian, pandan or sesame/butter/jelly. Maybe one day I will convince someone else to try other flavors so I can sample them, and then go right back to eating my own full serving of sweet bao fries with black sesame sauce.

We also ordered the marinated pork over rice with fried chicken.

Chef Eddie Huang had this Taiwanese dish in his late restaurant (Xiao Ye) that closed in November 2010. We had eaten this dish at Xiao Ye and were slightly disappointed at the quality of it, and thought / hoped that its new incarnation at BaoHaus would provide redemption. Unfortunately, the marinated pork still fell somewhat flat and lacked the depth, saltiness and savoriness that one would expect and can easily find at Bian Dang in the food court in K-town.

But no worries, we were only really meant to eat baos (and sweet bao fries) at BaoHaus! And I will keep going back for more pork fat slabs with sides of steak and fried dough. The worse it sounds, the better it tastes.