Sweet & Sour Chicken

The low resolution and blurry details of this image are reflective of the type of experience one typically has at this Old Brompton Road watering hole; a sloppy one. Located conveniently in the middle of South Kensington, the neighborhood that nearly all my expat friends and myself call home, Nam Long has been host to innumerable birthday parties and other celebrations, none of which I remember very clearly. This general lack of clarity is thanks to their signature Flaming Ferrari cocktail, a deadly concoction involving dark rum, white rum, blue curaçao, and a butane lighter.

Never having actually consumed any solids in this establishment, I felt that my whirlwind 16 hour layover in London merited giving it a try. The sweet and sour chicken, made with ketchup as is often done in ‘Chinese’-style Western cooking was all that it could be- generously portioned, sweet, and crispy. Not ‘authentic’ by any means, but not trying to be either.

If you are looking for Really Good Food on the Old Brompton Road, I would recommend the nearby Cambio de Tercio. For a Really Good Time however, Nam Long with its toff clientele and the seedy, vaguely Vietnamese decor that essentially  invites misbehavior is guaranteed to gratify.

Details: 159 Old Brompton Road London, SW5 0LJ, United Kingdom (+442073731927)

‘Chicken n’ Waffles’ (Brick Pressed Chicken, Aged Cheddar Waffle, Corn Pudding and Balsamic Spiked Maple Syrup)

It is seldom that I decide to dine at a restaurant with the full expectation that it does not serve Really Good Food. It is even more seldom that my prejudgements are proved to be mistaken. Despite a decidedly ’sceney’ atmosphere and louder than ’energetic’ noise level, with two levels, a raw bar, and a wet bar, it is clear that the AvroKo design firm of  Public and Double Crown fame have done it again. Eastern-influenced décor and finger-licking Southern-style cuisine manage somehow to coincide and not collide.

Participating in ‘Social Monday,’ a prix fixe menu option that includes a free after-dinner drink at the upstairs lounge, entitles one to a steady stream of eclectic small plates such as Baby Spinach Salad with Roasted Corn, Smoked Goat Cheese and Spiced Cashews, Chipotle Grilled Shrimp with Tomato and Feta Relish, and my personal favorite Warm Donuts that come, as advertised, tantalizingly, deliciously warm.

The next time you find yourself on the LES, step inside and be surprised.

Details: 99 Stanton Street New York, NY 10002-1405 (+1-212-995-0099)

Belgian Waffle

After a morning riding an emotional roller coaster of cold-induced misery and the simultaneous terror and exhilaration of foolishly following more experienced friends down ski trails far beyond my ability, I was finally in the mood for waffles. Sugary, crunchy, and most importantly, warm, this sweet treat all but evaporated from between my mittened fingers.

Details: 1840 Sugarbush Access Road. Warren, VT 05674 (+1-800-53-SUGAR)

Vermont Cider Jelly

My après-ski bus ride, sore knees, chapped lips and all, was made infinitely more endurable after a fix of sugary donuts, spread with tangy jelly, and fresh pressed cider both hot and cold.

Details: 3600 Waterbury-Stowe Rd
Waterbury, VT 05677 (+1-802-244-8771)

Pad Thai with Organic Chicken, Tiger Shrimp, and Peanuts

Formerly known as Highline, this funky restaurant+bar+club has all the energy and none of the pretention of its better known Meatpacking District neighbors like Spice Market and The Standard Grill. Dishes of particular note are the Pad Thai Spring Rolls and the Banana Fritters with Coconut Ice Cream. For generous portions, suspiciously reasonable prices, and the highest concentration of swoon-worthy waiters this humble blogger has ever encountered, go see what you can at Sea. 

Details: 835 Washington Street New York, NY 10014-1307 (+1-212-243-3339)

Uovo in raviolo al burro tartufato (Soft egg-yolk filled raviolo with a truffle butter) with White Truffles

There is a growing trend of successful restaurants opening branches in Las Vegas. In the case of the transformation of SD26, the owners of the traditional Italian eatery formerly known as San Domenico have managed to create a corner of Sin City right alongside Madison Square Park. Would-be diners proceeding towards the main hall are invited to deposit their coats and scarves at the night-club-style coat check alcove. Upon being seated, one is presented with clunky metal and plastic device, which upon closer examination reveals itself to be the mother of all wine lists. Stabbing at the touch screen with fingers still clumsy from cold, my dining companion, although a wine aficionado was nevertheless at a loss over what to select. Sorts by region, varietal, and price remained inconclusive, the inability to scan quickly from one end to another without a tedious repetition of keystrokes being a key impediment to the decision-making process. Eventually, wine arrived the old-fashioned way, after consultation with the sommelier, a comic character whose main distinguishing feature besides a luxuriant pony-tail was a wine spittoon worn around the neck just as boldly as any rapper’s bling.

Ignoring the appraising stares of people-watchers peering through the plexiglass barriers of the second-floor gallery, I turned my attention to the menu. What awaited my discovery was truly astonishing! Pliant, peppery soppresata from the in-house charcuterie counter, and the fattiest, most flavorful pata negra ham I have ever tasted set the tone for what was to be an evening of complete culinary indulgence. Thanks to seasonal additions, I tried both the Fettuccine al Burro e Parmigiano (Homemade Fettucine with Butter and Parmigiano) and the Uovo in Raviolo al Burro Tartufato (Soft Egg-yolk Filled Raviolo with Truffle Butter), both hand-made, springy in the mouth, and smothered with gasp-worthy quantities of shaved white truffle.

In the midst of this rapture, the owner Tony May stopped by to ask  how the meal was going.  Through the act of shaking his hand, I was at once transported to the San Domenico of times gone by, where good old-fashioned Italian hospitality transcended trends. In the end, I was willing to tolerate the contrived chi chi atmosphere, the overbearingly attentive servers, and the ’efficiency’ of a wine computer that managed to overcharge our Barolo,  for the simple reason that Really Good Food trumps everything. Indeed, for a second chance to delight in the erotic ooze in the first bite of raviolo and a reunion with the sublime pata negra, I would endure far greater hardships.

Details: 19 East 26th Street (bet 5th and Madison) New York, NY 10010-1404 (+1-212-265-5959)

Pintxos Morunos (Seared Lamb Marinated in Lemon, Cumin, and Salsa Verde)

Although Alta will probably hold the tapas title to my heart for a long time to come, Boqueria executes the small plates model quite admirably. While celebrating my friend Pia’s birthday, the sangria flowed, dish after dish was demolished, and wonderfully none of us had to worry about placing individual orders. In a word, dining here is everything tapas should be; effortless.

Details: 171 Spring St, New York, NY (+1-212-343-4255)

Waffle with Fresh Strawberries

To me, waffles are something one has to be in the mood for. Perhaps this is why I couldn’t quite get into the offerings at Petite Abeille. A neglible degree of dryness aside, a Friday morning power breakfast wasn’t quite the ideal setting for a food that I typically associate with Sunday afternoon indulgence.

Details: 134 West Broadway, New York, NY(+1-212-791-1360)

My new friend Kimberly Belle may not have gone to culinary school, but she certainly knows a whole lot about food. While sipping champagne hurriedly transplanted from neighboring Resto Leon where we had patiently been awaiting a table, three foodie fans listened with rapt attention to the tale of Motorino’s august predecessor, the painstakingly, obsessively authentic Una Pizza Napoletana. If only I had come to this East Village venue just a few months earlier, I might have had the most exciting pizza-eating experience of my life!

Instead, although physically cosier than Kesté (and with infinitely friendlier staff!) and featuring such seasonal ingredients as squash and brussel sprouts, Motorino is just a little bit off. All four pies that I sampled were uniformly soggy in the middle (suggesting either too much sauce or an improperly heated oven), with crusts that were overwhelmingly doughy.

Despite Anthony Mangieri’s cryptic statement, that a new location will be found “in the very near future,” I think  for my next pizza-themed girl’s night, Una Pizza’s re-opening is worth waiting for.

Details: 349 East 12th Street, New York, NY (+1-212-777-2644)

Merinque with Mango Sorbet and Passion Fruit Foam

Shame on you Alain Ducasse. My previous two dining experiences at the Alain Ducasse restaurants in London and Paris were among the best meals I had this year. Consequently, I had intentionally been waiting for a special occassion before choosing to dine at Adour, a restaurant that I was sure would have a particularly memorable meal in store for me. And memorable it was; memorably terrible!

There is a resason why I tend to avoid traditional French haute cuisine and that reason is sauce. Although I’ve successfully conquered my childhood aversion to butter, I still find foods smothered in cream and thick, buttery reductions singularly unappealing. Why mask the naturally fresh flavor of lobster? The yellowtail ceviche was suspiciously fishy, the vegetables, doused in the sort of red sauce I normally associate with cheap Chinese takeout, were limpid, the cod all but tasteless, and the veal horrifyingly mushy. I am not a picky eater and I’m usually too reticent to speak up when food is unsatisfactory, but tonight, perhaps emboldened by my dining companion’s audacious personality, course after course was sampled and refused.

To be fair, the off-menu dessert brough out by the kitchen in a last-ditch effort to save the meal was a sugary, frothy fantasy, however my overally assessment is that here is a case study for an empire that is expanding too far, too fast.

Details: 2 East 55th Street New York, NY 10022-3103 (+1-212-771-2277)