Go!Go!Curry! - chicken katsu bliss

I agree, the name "Go!Go!Curry!" isn't the most appetizing (something to do with the number 5 and Japanese baseball stars...), but this small Japanese curry shop, which is located in the awkward area between Penn Station and Port Authority, has a lot going for it. JLau and I ducked in here to grab a quick bite for lunch and escape the rain after an unsuccessful stop at a Theory sample sale during lunch hour. I've read about this place numerous times on various blogs but it was just too out of the way from work to ever go, so this was the perfect opportunity. I ordered a small chicken katsu. It's not small in the least as you can see in the picture. We could've ordered a medium or the Grand Slam option which gives you a little bit of everything and shared...but we each got our own small (JLau got the pork though).

It's a thinly pounded, panko-breaded and deliciously deep-fried chicken (or pork) cutlet (katsu), over a mound of sticky rice, with thick Japanese curry. I found the curry to be a little too salty for my liking but the rice balanced it out. The sauce on top of the cutlet was really good too - I forget what it's called but it reminds me a little bit of chamoy. Oh, and it comes with shredded cabbage to make you feel better about being a lard and eating all that fried, salty goodness.

Mad. Sq. Eats

Somehow I've missed this mini-food market the past couple years. Mad. Sq. Eats, appropriately taking place next to Madison Square Park (non-NYers - that's different from Madison Square Garden, very very different), brought together some great restaurants/food purveyors who set up stalls with food and drinks that you can either eat at one of the tables, at the park, or take home.

There were some purveyors I was really excited to see like Sigmund Pretzel Shop (I had a pretzel during the winter), Roberta's (it's all the way out in Brooklyn), People's Pops, Nunu's Chocolates and Stuffed Artisan Cannolis. Most of these places I'm either too lazy to go to (LES or Brooklyn) or are available only at food-oriented street fairs which I may miss.

I tried Calexico, which I think was one of the first "trendy" food trucks/carts, about three years ago. I didn't think much of it then. This time was much better. I got a pollo verde taco, which came with two tasty corn tortillas and moist chicken. Unfortunately, the overall flavor was nothing mind-blowing. Their chipotle pork quesadilla on the other hand was ridiculously good (although they could tone down on the cheese). The "wrapped" quesadilla was gooey and salty from the cheese, sweet and moist from the chipotle pulled pork and warm and crunchy from the griddle.

Other tasty bites were the hot dogs from AsiaDog, which have asian-inspired toppings like kimchi and seaweed flakes, thai-style relish with cucumber, red onion, cilantro, peanurs and dish sauce, and a banh-mi style topping, among others. I'm a huge fan of theses. Not a fan of tons of toppings on burgers, but on hot dogs yes.

And also a pretty delicious fresh-made pie from the aforementioned Roberta's featuring speck, mushrooms and red onions.

The event is over, but it seems Calexico has stuck around for a while.

Ricotta at A Voce

I had lunch with Mama at A Voce where we saw Missy Robbins. Last time I was there, Andrew Carmellini was still the chef. For the appetizer, we ordered the cows milk ricotta with extra virgin olive oil, mint, chilies and thyme. 

It's so visually appealing, but unfortunately could've used a bit of salt.

Cheese + tapioca flour = deliciousness

We've started "Sunday Funday" which pretty much means a lazy Sunday at someone's apartment and copious amounts of food. Vonatron (this is your new name now on my blog) donated her apartment this time. Last time she tried to make Pao de Queijo but apparently it failed. This time I tried my hand at it. I used a different recipe (pretty much the most basic one I could find) and they came out totally legit. At first I was super worried when I was trying to beat in the tapioca flour since it was really hard to incorporate it (also made a huge mess). But in the end it all worked out and after reading the recipe reviews, it seems that I could've done half butter, half oil and also upped the amount of tapioca flour in the recipe. The dough is extremely sticky, so I kinda just plopped down chunks of dough onto a baking sheet. We had made some bacon in the oven so I just reused the bacon fat greased baking sheet.

End results: delicious.

Pao de Queijo

adapted from food.com

2 cups tapioca flour

1 cup milk

1/2 cup butter*

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese**

2  large eggs

Preheat oven to 400F

Bring the milk, salt and butter to a boil and then remove from heat. Make sure not the burn the milk.

Slowly add the tapioca flour, constantly stirring with a wooden spoon until incorporated. It might take a while but it will work. You can add up to 1/2 cup more of tapioca flour if you want to be able to form actual balls at the end.

Next add the two eggs, one at a time, followed by the cheese. Stir until everything is incorporated. If the dough is not too sticky, you can knead it. I didn't and it was fine.

Make balls or drop lumps (this is what I did) onto a well greased baking sheet and sprinkle with some more cheese. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until lightly golden brown on top. Eat while still hot!

* You can apparently substitute half the butter with oil as this is more traditional

** Some reviews also said that you should substitute half the Parmesan with a softer fresh cheese, like queso fresco for more moisture but you can probably use any kind of cheese

Hecho en Dumbo (Manhattan)

So since coming back from Paris, I've been getting into the whole coupon thing. First I signed up for Lifebooker and have booked a manicure and salsa classes on it already, in addition to other things. Then I signed up for Groupon, although I haven't found anything yet. And I've also bought 4 coupons for a 2-person $40 brunch with a pitcher of sangria at Boutique Eats in Chelsea. We will be brunching there shortly. But I find myself turning to blackboardeats.com and scoutmob.com for a lot of NYC-based restaurants. Scoutmob gives you percentages (30% or 50%) off your total check (usually with an imposed limit) but these are free. Blackboardeats used to be free and it still sometimes is, but other times you have to pay $1. And so I paid $1 to get 30% off (maximum of $15) at Hecho en Dumbo (although it's the Manhattan location so maybe it should be Hecho en Manhattan?). 

JP and I went for brunch after one of our apartment-searching weekend mornings a while ago now. We sat at the table overlooking the kitchen (which I love). The guacamole wasn't memorable but margaritas were appropriately strong (tamarind and jamaica, of course). 

What I really enjoyed was the small plate of mini-pastries they gave - two palmiers (these are really popular in Mexico) and two small sweet buns with jam and butter on the side. It's little things like this that count and make you remember a restaurant. That and watching the staff make our food. 

My enchiladas were alright, a little too cheesy for me. JP really liked his huge bowl of pozole. I can understand that. Pozole isn't something I would order regularly but sometimes it just hits the spot. And with $15 off the check, we were quite happy. 

I wouldn't go out of my way to go here but if I was in the area, this is definitely a contender. On the plus side, they're open super late and have a late-night menu if you're out in the Bowery area.

Kittichai - AYCD brunch

The girls and I brunched at Kittichai a few weeks ago to celebrate the return of rock-climbing girl (I need to come up with nicknames for you guys, rather than using initials). Surprisingly I've actually never been. But it was fun! I liked the decor, especially the candles/flowers in the pool that's in the middle of the dining room. We went for an All-You-Can-Drink (AYCD) brunch but somehow, it seems that I am the only lush around these parts so I was one of only two people that actually did the $25 AYCD (unlimited blood orange or lychee mimosas, or bloody marys), while the rest of the group opted for the $20 three-course prix-fixe lunch (it's restaurant week all year round over here!). I went for the kaffir lime souffle pancakes with lemongrass butter. 

They weren't pancakes per-se and they weren't a souffle either...they were more like pancake-sized airy disks. Whatever, they were delicious. I think the better option was however the $20 lunch, although I am rarely in the mood for a three-course lunch at noon on a weekend. But if you are, this is an awesome deal and in a nice, fun setting (although the food isn't exactly Thai...)

Coppelia - a new Latin diner

AB visited this weekend from Rhode Island before he goes down to Brazil later in the summer. He finally met JP and vice-versa (although it seemed as if both of them didn't believe the other existed...). The visit pretty much meant non-stop eating, starting with Saturday brunch at Coppelia, a newly opened Cuban diner from the chef behind Toloache (love their margaritas). It's conveniently located on 14th and 7th, and will soon be open 24 hours. I really liked the decor - comfortable unpretentious booths with (Formica?) tables evoking the diner-feel, with the decor being predominantly in the warm yellow/ocean turquoise color palette. 

What stood out the most for me were the Torreijas de Oliva, pretty much a slice of french toast laden with olive oil, in the best of ways, and with a crispy brulee'd crust. it was almost pudding-like in consistency. 

I also had a semi-spaz moment when Pichet Ong, their consulting dessert chef walked in. He definitely saw me staring at him wide-eyed. I also took him to Ippudo (2 hour wait as always) and the pork buns were just as good as I remembered them to be. Now if only that rumored location in Midtown would open so maybe the wait time would be cut down to 1.5hrs...