Pok Pok NYC - Unassumingly Delicious

Pok Pok NY
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The whole purpose of starting a supper club at my office was to introduce people to different cuisines they normally wouldn't try on their own. Our first supper club involved a screening of “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” at the IFC Theater and then dinner at Bohemian, a Japanese restaurant with a speakeasy vibe. It was here that some coworkers, clad in JCrew button downs and Bonobos khakis, had uni and various sashimi for the first time.

On a Scale of Adventure, with 1 being someone substituting sriracha for ketchup on their burger and 10 being someone who eats live octopus and bahay itlog (chicken ovaries on skewers), most of the group would be around a 6 with a few 2’s sprinkled in.

Pok Pok showcases Andy Ricker’s northern thai cuisine - bold spices, fermented fish sauces, and sweet and sour notes that invade your sense of smell well before reaching your mouth.

In other words, we selected this place to push us as a group to try something unique and to get us out of our comfort zone.

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The NoMad: Best Chicken I've Had

The NoMad
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A year ago, I had the best chicken of my life at The NoMad. Was it because these chickens were delivered daily from a farm in Pennsylvania? Was it because there was foie gras stuffed under the skin? Or maybe it was the tantalizing aroma of black truffles found in both the stuffing and the accompanying potato puree. It was a combination of all these factors that made me fall in love with chicken again.

Julia and Davis made a reservation and I brought my friend Anne. The whole point of the dinner was to try the chicken that had every blog and food magazine raving. To start, the server brought us a warm rustic flatbread with grilled leeks and gruyere fresh from the oven, much better than the usual stale basket of bread served at most restaurants.

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The Russian Tea Room: Pass the Borscht!

The Russian Tea Room
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When I first moved to NYC 7 years ago, I thought Restaurant Week was the best thing ever. Every time RW rolled around, I would get excited since it was an affordable way to sample cuisines at high end places. The experience for me was carefully orchestrated like tactical warfare - countless hours poring over the list of 100+ restaurants to seek out the "best bang for the buck" in terms of menu offerings from normally expensive restaurants like Nobu. Culling the list down to the Top 5. Gauging interest from various circles of friends and coordinating their schedules was Phase 2. Phase 3 consisted of the difficult task of booking the table, a separate battle in itself.

Was the time and effort worth it? 

There were more misses than hits - let's be honest, most spots don't really care and it shows. Offerings would include a generic assortment of salad, salmon or chicken breast, and some variant of a chocolate souffle - all items that aren't even close to the standard menu. Other places would serve anemic bite-sized portions that weren't worth the $38 admission. 

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(Dough)nuts

Dough
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The first time I had Dough was at the Brooklyn Flea in 2012. While walking around the food vendors located in the basement of the Williamsburg Savings Bank, I saw an ordinary looking glass case with shelves of donuts accompanied by an inconspicuous sign that said "Dough".

The reason I plunked down my money? All of the trays were empty save for 3-4 donuts. I bought a fragrant lemon poppyseed donut which was the best donut I ever had. The taste of fresh lemon juice and zest and poppy seeds was pure and refreshing. When I went back to the cart for more, the shelves contained nothing except for a few crumbs.

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Mantry

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Past Vdays would involve solo food tours where I would drown my loneliness in bowls of miso ramen. I'm in my first relationship ever so this past Valentine's Day was a chance to celebrate with someone else besides myself. I gave Anna some spiffy bouquets, and she gave me the gift of food which is the surefire way to my heart.

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