This Little Piggy Has a New Favorite Spot

I decided I would start the week off with a bang.  I met up with a good friend so we could swing by the friends and family opening of Cienfuegos, a "secret rum bar in the EV" (posted on Urban Daddy yesterday).  Upon entering Carteles, the small sandwich shop at the front, we were led up a staircase in the back and entered a medium sized dining room.  While food does not seem to be of much concern here, the cocktail list is quite extensive.  All of the drinks are "punches" and can be ordered by the glass or in various sizes of bowls.  We enjoyed the the $30 punch bowl of some concoction with the word "Mischief" in it (as opposed to the $60 and $100 options).  It was alright, probably not as good as some of the punch bowls I've had at their sister cocktail dens, Death & Co. and Bourgeois Pig, but still light and refreshing.  In the next couple of months I bet this places will become extremely popular, especially for Friday/Saturday night birthday parties, bachelorette parties, and groups of loud girls who want a night out.

But... all in all, I just wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be.  I mean, I thought the space was great.  The decor was nice, especially the tiles that adorn the ceiling above the upstairs bar.  Unfortunately, however, I think they will likely be so focused on the drinks that the food will probably always take a back seat.  But, hey! I didn't try the food so I may be entirely wrong. 

It's worth the trip though, and I am sure I will go back in the near future to try the food and another punch bowl.  At the end of the day, I am fairly certain the place will be a huge hit, at least at the beginning, and people will probably call me crazy, but oh well!

That was not the bang of the night, however.  We then headed down to Chinatown for additional cocktails and some live jazz.  This is where I truly thank my friend for such a wonderful evening.  He brought me to Apotheke, which I had heard of but never visited.  This is by far my new favorite spot in NYC, and even better, it is located near my apartment.  I was told the weekends tend to be different there than the weekdays, so I will probably stick to Monday and Tuesday nights when they have live jazz.

Also of great importance were their cocktails.  They were unbelievable.  I told the barkeep that I liked everything except tequila, and he threw some things together creating an insanely delicious spicy, salty beverage.  Did I say how amazing it was?!  Ok, just checking, but really, it was that good.  Anyways, it was a fabulous way to end the evening and an even better way to start the week.  Great music, excellent cocktails and a wonderful friend!  What more can you ask for?!  Oink oink!

More on Momofuku Milk Bar

So much has been going on with Momofuku Milk Bar lately.  First, the release of their new soft serve flavors and my excitement over the Red Velvet Cake/Creme Cheese Frosting swirl, in addition to Carrot Cake and Cereal Milk flavors.  Then the elimination of their breakfast pork bun and relocation to the Bronx, where they will continue baking the goods until their new Williamsburg baking headquarters is ready.  And finally, another cameo on Gossip Girl last night (evidently, Blaire wanted to go there for dessert).  With all this action, I'm surprised I haven't posted sooner, but better late than never right?

Here's what This Little Piggy thinks:

- the Red Velvet Cake fro-yo tastes very little like its namesake.  It actually tastes a whole lot like chocolate.  At first I thought I was crazy, especially when my boyfriend's niece said it did in fact taste like the batter of red velvet cake, though recently my boyfriend confirmed it tastes like... chocolate.

- the Coffee Milk, which I had never tried before, was tasty.  It was creamy and didn't taste too strong of black coffee.  I would take this over the soft serve any day.

- the Compost Cookie... still a winner!  Rumor has it (confirmed 2 minutes ago) there is a similar recipe , if not the exact one, online.

- this last comment is dedicated to the party of three staked out at 1 of the 3 tables in the place: it is rude, to say the least, to bring your lap top (mac, of course) to one of the smallest and most crowded and popular locals in Manhattan and set up shop for 1 hr.+ to review your recent photos with friends.  Tx.

This Little Piggy gives the Compost Cookie and Coffee Milk four oinks.  Red Velvet Cake soft serve = two oinks.  Next flavor please.

Motorino does Brunch!

I'll make this quick, because piggy has to run, but I thought this was worth forwarding.  According to Serious Eats (which happens to be one of my all time favorite blogs), Motorino will begin serving a pizza pie this weekend that has eggs!  Ohh happy day, my brother will be thrilled!  Not only does he LOVE Motorino and make me go there (clearly a difficult task) every Sunday with him after football, but he also loves brunch!  Looks like the only difference this Sunday will be Motorino at 1pm, rather than 8pm.  Oink!

Brunch @ Back Forty with EWI

I started off 2010 with a bang, joining my supper club, Eating with Impunity (EWI), at Back Forty (Ave. B at E. 12th Street) for brunch. Nine of us met up at noon last Saturday and were pleased to get a large, family-style, cozy table in the front window.  I had been for brunch before and loved it, so I quickly seized the opportunity to give it another try.  Given the size of the large group, we were able to try a number of different things from the menu.  Here is a run down, along with a couple pictures, of what we tried:

-  The fresh donuts are a must (!), so we got two orders (I could have sworn last time they came with jam, though they were tasty with the glaze alone).

-  The pork jowl nuggets with jalapeno relish are also delicious (beware: there are only 3 to an order and they're bite-size fried morsels of goodness! We went with 3 orders).

- I shared the Housemade German Sausage and Fried Eggs with creamy grits, greens & mustard sauce (I thought it was excellent, as did Felicia, who thought it tasted very similar to corned beef).

Among the other things that were ordered (and shared on small plates, we're a very close group) were: sweet potato pancakes (no need to order these, they are nothing like potato pancakes, which is why we got them), fried chicken and waffles, the grass fed burger, the blintzes with housemade farmer cheese, and... the poached eggs & baby green wheat with roasted wild mushrooms, squash, cippolini onions & toast (this was by far my favorite, I was pleasantly surprised by the texture and amazing flavor found in the baby green wheat.  I will definitely be getting this next time!)

Other hilights, besides the wonderful company: the Hot Spike Apple Cider was just what I needed to wake me up and keep me warm while the snow came down outside.

I thought this was a great restaurant before last Saturday and my new year's brunch only solidified those sentiments.  The atmosphere is comfortable and non-pretentious and the food is excellent (particularly for the price).  This will definitely be a staple brunch local for 2010!

ps.  Check out an excellent review of this brunch at babeswhobrunch!

This Little Piggy ate way too much at Momofuku Ssam Bar

A quick post before I call it a night.  My parents have been in town and we wanted to go out to dinner somewhere tasty before my dad leaves on Wednesday.  It was a toss-up: Noodle Bar v. Ssam Bar.  My family hasn't been feeling well, so I thought a big bowl of ramen would help remedy the common cold.  I also thought they would enjoy Ssam Bar, since you can't get that type of menu in many US cities.  I chose Ssam Bar, and figured we could always walk up the street to Noodle Bar if there was too long of a wait.  Fortunately, there was hardly a wait for a five-top at 8:45.  We waited in Milk Bar and were promptly seated when all of our party had arrived.

We sat down and began translating the menu for my mom, who is happy to eat anywhere, but would rather stick to items she knows.  Ultimately, we decided to order many different things and more or less share.  Here is the run down of what was had:

- All of the small plates (seasonal pickles, steamed buns – pork belly, hoisin, cucumbers, scallions, bread & butter – sea salt butter (vt), whipped lardo, and two bbq rib sandwiches (newman's farm, mo) – red onion slaw, we got two orders) 

- the honeycrisp apple kimchi - jowl bacon, maple labne, arugula

- the fried brussel sprouts - fish sauce vinaigrette, mint, delfino

- crispy pig’s head (newman’s farm, mo) – sauerkraut, pear mostarda

- spicy pork sausage & rice cakes – chinese broccoli, crispy shallots

Everything was delicious.  It ended up being the perfect amount of food, though I currently feel like I may explode.  Here are a few personal piggy notes:

- the bbq sandwich is by no means small.  With the rest of the food, one is more than enough for two people to share.  It was nice having two, though, so everyone could have a decent portion.

- the bread and butter is much more than what it sounds like. The sea salt butter and whipped lardo are the perfect companion to the warm and semi-crusty bread.  It is wonderful!

-  the brussel sprouts were my favorite!!  For that reason, I am including a recipe I found on epicurious.  It appears to be the same recipe that is in the Momofuku Cookbook and I can't wait to try making them at home (more to come on that).

On that note, good night!  Oink oink!

Piggy Weekend in Review

I had quite a line up of dinners planned for the weekend. Momofuku Fried Chicken on Friday night and DBGB on Saturday... it's a wonder I haven't had a heart attack yet. Anyway, a group of us were able to get one of the coveted reservations for Momofuku's special Fried Chicken dinner for Friday night.



While I am no connosueir of fried chicken (I like KFC), I had heard that Momofuku's Fried Chicken was one of the best and I was excited to check it out. The reservation requires a minimum of 4 people and a max of 8, and 7 of us showed up at 11:45 eager to dig into the meal. While the focus is clearly on the chicken, they also had their late night menu available (12-2 am) so we began with some appetizers. Their kimchi, which comes in a small or large jar, was delicious as usual, and the pork buns were unreal. We also ordered the tamales, which I had never had before. An order of three, including jalepeno/queso, pork/kimchi and sichuan sausage, arrived and was quickly devoured. Don't be fooled by the fact that there are three, two people can happily share this, not seven.

Good thing we ordered accordingly though, because next came an enormous plate of fried chicken that could have fed ten. The plate is divided between buttermilk fried and a more spicy/tangy korean chicken wing, and is the same heaping mound regardless of the number of eaters. While I loved the buttermilk, which were warm and tender, and not the slightest bit greasy, the korean chicken wings had an amazing flavor, and quickly became my favorite. Additionally, the fried chicken is accompanied with mu shu pancakes, carrots, lettuce, radishes and an assortment of sauces to help with making the perfect fried chicken burrito. With an order of pie crust frozen yogurt to top off the chicken and a bill that equated to $40/person (beer and wine included), Momofuku's Fried Chicken Dinner proved to be a delicious and fairly inexpensive Friday night out.