What I Ate: 1/29/16 - 2/4/16

Inspired by "Grub Street Diet", I wanted to start chronicling my meals for posterity and sharing my favorite dishes with others. Each diary will cover food eaten in one week, no matter how big or small.

This week: Moving Day, back-to-back Basta Pasta, and meeting someone off of Instagram who turned out to be normal

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FRIDAY, 1/29/16

On the way to lunch, I stopped by Arcade Bakery and picked up dessert: lemon sugar brioche and s’mores danish for Sammy to try.

Whole Foods gets a bad rap but I personally like having lunch there. Fried fish poboys next to the chicken tikka masala. A few feet away, you’ll find quinoa, kale, and other healthy things I don’t get. The variety of selection is overwhelming but you’re bound to find something tasty. Sammy got a nice golden rotisserie chicken while I enjoyed moist pork shoulder, risotto, and sauteed mushrooms. I ordered a matcha lemonade but they ran out of mint so they comped it for me while a barista ran to grab more mint for the line of waiting customers. We enjoyed the pastries while listening to screaming, crying babies. Note to self: Don't sit in the kids section next time.

Dinner was a seamless order from Angelo’s Pizza.. I had enjoyed their spaghetti and meatballs last time so I tried the Chicken Marsala. Delicious sauce and ample portions of chicken that retained juice despite being delivered.

SATURDAY, 1/30/16

Showed up at Golden Unicorn for dimsum with Sammy and his friends. After a brief wait, we were led to the 2nd floor and sat at a massive table while carts of happiness whizzed by. The egg tarts here are my favorite - perfectly flaky crust and the egg custard actually tastes like egg instead of the usual sugary, artificial filling. Unfortunately, you can’t just buy these a la carte anytime….they’re only available during dimsum.

SUNDAY, 1/31/16

After bringing some boxes of items to my new apt, I took a break and had a quiet solo dinner at Basta Pasta. I ordered a mushroom risotto to start (kinda watery and underseasoned) and their classic pasta that is submerged into a giant wheel of Parmigiano, tableside.

MONDAY, 2/1/16

Moving Day! To start off the day, I had breakfast at Sarabeth’s near Central Park. I made the mistake of going with the Restaurant Week menu and I don’t even remember what I had. On the walk back to my apt, I took it all in. The horse-drawn carriages plodding along Central Park, Columbus Circle off in the distance, and the Plaza Hotel where I enjoyed many Luke lobster rolls. Gonna miss this neighborhood.

After moving into my new apt in Union Square, my roomie and I celebrated with a dinner at….Basta Pasta. I had a very satisfying plate of homemade silk handkerchief pasta, mixed mushrooms, lemon zest, ricotta cheese. We split an uni pasta (uni is not created equal because their version is watery and not flavorful), and the roomie had a nice seafood vongole.

TUESDAY, 2/2/16

Cold day means Thai Son. David and I ordered the usual stewed beef pho and spring roll appetizer. We discovered an ingredient that improved the flavor profile of the noodle soup: a generous squirt of lime which added the perfect amount of acidity to the tomato based broth.

Later that evening, I met up with Rebecca, a food blogger on instagram. We’ve commented on each other’s posts over a few weeks so I arranged for a face to face meeting at Sakagura. Highlights included the miso short ribs, and silken tofu with bonito. Botan ebi was meh in its raw form but was resurrected in an improved tempura form. We talked about likes and dislikes (bell peppers for her and eggplant for me) as well as our shared penchant for pho. I made plans to take my new foodie friend to my favorite pho spot in NY called Khe-Yo.

WEDNESDAY, 2/3/16

Yesterday was vietnamese lunch and japanese dinner. Today’s lunch of green curry from Lan Larb Soho was fiery Thai. Coworkers smirked and smh-ed as I went through 10 paper towels for the beads of sweat perched on my eyebrows. Next time, I’m bringing a towel from home.

Second lunch was the office birthday lunch that was catered by Uma Temakeria (think sushi burritos and spicy tuna handrolls). It was a hit for the whole office - for those on a health kick and for those with gluten/kosher/food allergy issues. This was one office lunch that didn't elicit mass food coma afterwards.

After two lunches, I decided to have a light dinner on my way home at Republic, an Asian American bistro with a brigade of 10-15 chefs. Chatted with Caroline, one of the managers there and she recommended the vietnamese chicken salad. The chicken thigh chunks were juicy and the ginger marinade was light. My go to salad even though I hate salad.

THURSDAY, 2/4/16

Walked to Gourmet Garage with David and Xavier and split a whole rotisserie chicken with David. Paired it with an awesome sweet corn chowder. Cheap and filling.

Dinner was with some old friends (christine and Ken) and new friends (since undergrad). It was great to meet Nancy and her husband, Ted and we ordered the majority of the menu at The Milling Room on the UWS. The wood adorned decor and candlelit tables really made for an intimate ambiance. I ordered a thick porkchop which was a bit overcooked and slightly dry.  The table unanimously agreed that the duck and the squid ink spaghetti were standouts.

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WEEKLY SUMMARY

Dined out: 14 times

Restaurants Visited: Arcade Bakery, Whole Foods, Angelo’s Pizzeria, Golden Unicorn, Basta Pasta (2x), Sarabeth’s Central Park, Thai Son, Sakagura, Lan Larb Soho, Uma Temakeria, Republic, Gourmet Garage, The Milling Room

Highlights: Golden Unicorn; egg custard | Sakagura; miso short ribs | The Milling Room; duck and the squid ink pasta

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Next week's EATS

Last Week's EATS

What I Ate: 1/15/16 - 1/22/16

Inspired by "Grub Street Diet", I wanted to start chronicling my meals for posterity and sharing my favorite dishes with others. Each diary will cover food eaten in one week, no matter how big or small. 

This week: over-hyped disappointment, a taste of suburbia, and way too much Jameson.

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Friday, 1/15/16

After talking up the Double Royale with Cheese, Xavier wanted to try it out so off we went for Friday lunch at Church Street Tavern. Even though I had it just two days prior, the burger took a few steps back. The buttery brioche bun was replaced by a drier, pedestrian sesame bun. The two patties also shrunk in size by at least 20%. Let the record reflect that this was the last time I ordered the Double Royale.

After work, I got my haircut near St. Marks and passed by Yuba, a sushi spot that has been instagrammed by some food bloggers. I poked my head in and sat at the sushi bar. Everyone from the waitstaff to the chefs, especially head chef Jack, was hospitable and courteous (he even gave me a free piece and a cup of sake after meeting me for the first time). If only the sushi was as nice. As Jack fed me piece by piece of my solo omakase, I kept waiting for the beat to drop…but it never did. I was slowly drowning in fact that I fell for another disappointment that was hypebeasted on social media. Not sure if it was an off day, but the fish didn’t taste very fresh and was slightly fishy. While the price was very competitive, I’d rather pay a premium for top quality fish. Gordon Ramsay said it best: “Damn, what a shame.”

I strolled into Sobaya to forget about Yuba but my bad food day was about to get its third strike. Sobaya was my happy place that never disappointed. Consistent quality, great rapport with the staff, and reasonable prices have earned my loyalty over the years. For some inexplicable reason, I decided to go off book and order something I never had before; the minced salmon sashimi over rice. Compared to my usual order of sake oyako don (sliced salmon with salty ikura), this salmon sashimi bowl was bland and meh. I wasn’t going out like this.

“Hi Han Dynasty? I’d like to place a takeout order for your chicken wings. 10 min? Ok, see ya soon.”

Victory.

Saturday, 1/16/16

Grabbed a bacon and egg burger for breakfast at Shake Shack in the JFK terminal and a decent crabcake sandwich at DCA airport when I landed. I was in DC to shoot portraits of my dear college buddy Victoria and her ginger munchkin, Maya. After walking around the basin, we got some shots at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and the nearby area. Victoria took me to a delicious local spot called “Meat in a Box” which served gigantic, juicy kebabs.

For dinner, we pulled up to a nondescript convenience store, called Lake Anne Market. In the back of the store was a small kitchen humming on all cylinders and pumping out orders. We put in our orders of baleadas (mine was stuffed with eggs, avocado, queso, and crispy pork) and relaxed while the sounds of Spanish soccer announcers and smell of fresh tortillas on the flat top permeated the air for eternity. My god was it worth the wait.

Sunday, 1/17/16

Met up with Victoria’s parents at The Greene Turtle and guzzled down some bar food (crab dip, pretzels, burgers) while we watched the Panthers manhandle the Seahawks for 31 points when we left at halftime. For dinner, Marcus prepared these things called Pizza Bites in an oven. My cherry was popped and I may have swallowed 10 of them before we headed out to catch "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi". We were armed to the teeth with 2 cherry Icees, nachos, Dibs, and popcorn; a radical and welcome departure from my usual Japanese dinners. #TasteofSuburbia

Monday, 1/18/16

Spent MLK Day catching up with Mari at Maketto over some braised beef and egg over bread (slightly salty) and Cambodian pork noodle soup (great!) and for L2 (lunch #2), she took me to DGS Delicatessen where we noshed on matzo ball soup, reuben with shmear of chicken liver, latkes, and babka bread pudding. We tried to walk it off but it was too cold and we Ubered.

I landed at JFK that evening and grabbed a light dinner at Shake Shack: two single shackburgers with cherry peppers on the side (highly recommended).

Tuesday, 1/19/16

Did a solo lunch at Khe Yo and ordered my favorite pho in all the land. Manager slipped me a comped toasted coconut gelato (sourced from il laboratorio del gelato) cause he saw me sweating like a little bitch. But it worked.

Dinner was a low key seamless order from Angelo’s Pizza. Decent spaghetti with meatballs that could have fed two.

Wednesday, 1/20/16

Our office used to get massive cookie cakes from Mrs. Fields but put a kibosh on that in an effort to be healthier. Now we order catered lunch and for January, we had GRK, a casual greek spot that delivered grilled chicken/lamb, pitas, greek salad, cole slaw, and greek yogurt with honey and granola. Pretty tasty without the usual food coma.

I was excited for dinner because I invited a few social circles of old and new Dukies to collide together over AYCE hot pot at 99 Favor Taste. There’s something extremely satisfying when you cook and prepare your own food. For the uninitiated, first you decide what type of broth you want (I prefer the original), choose your proteins and vegetables (I’m partial to the beef, fish fillets, enoki mushrooms, corn cobs, any type of green veg, and instant ramen noodles. I’d stay away from the shrimp cause it’s annoying to peel). It was my first time at an ayce hot pot and I can speak for our group of 11 that we had a blast.

For those that didn’t leave, they were rewarded with a free dessert tasting at Contra where the staff went above and beyond and threw in a few chocolate pb cups from Wildair as a bonus. A+!

Thursday, 1/21/16

Still full from the epic hot pot, I did a cheap $5 lunch in Chinatown. My plate consisted of curry chicken, radishes, cabbage, white rice, 1 egg roll, and 1 egg custard. Had to eat it outside because the last time I brought chinese food into the office, I got yelled at by the CEO. I don’t blame him though, radishes do smell like fresh farts.

Dinner was at Turntable in Ktown with my brother Jon. We split an order of a bulgogi burger and soy garlic fried chicken but our friend hooked it up with pork belly salad, fries, gyoza, and 6 shots of Jameson. If you know the Hsu brothers, then you know that you have to hold my hair after a ¼ bottle of Smirnoff Ice (that only happened once in college and I stopped drinking). We were fine and dandy after our first shot. After all, we had fried deliciousness in our bellies. The second shot rendered us speechless. We were staring at each other and were going to be late to a magic show.  The 3rd shot on our way out suspended our disbelief, which was the perfect state of mind for the upcoming show.

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WEEKLY SUMMARY

Dined out: 20 times

Restaurants Visited: Church Street Tavern, Yuba, Sobaya, Han Dynasty, Grille District, Meat in a Box, Lake Anne Market, Shake Shack (2x), The Greene Turtle, AMC, DGS Delicatesen, Maketto, Khe Yo, Angelo's Pizza, GRK, 99 Favor Taste, Contra, Chinese Deli, Turntable

Highlights: Lake Anne Market; homemade baleadas | 99 Favor Taste; hotpot | Contra; overripe banana ice cream 

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Last Week's Eats HERE

Next Week's Eats HERE

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