Rambling$ and Gambling$

Excellent Food at Minetta Tavern (food)

2012-02-04T15:15:00.006-05:00

This meal was from a few months back, and it was my first visit to the dining room at Minetta Tavern. I'd eaten at the bar shortly after they opened to try the black label burger, which I enjoyed very much.

My first impression was that it was super cramped. I've shared tables with strangers before in tiny hole-in-the-walls and this still felt more cramped. And that was after only being able to make a 5:30pm reservation. Thankfully, the food was excellent and the three of us ate a lot of it.

Bread with butter and salt.

Black Maple Hill bourbon. Quite good and more viscous than I was expecting. I first tried to ordered the 20yr Pappy which they didn't have. The server mentioned to me that people ask for it all the time and she wishes they just took it off the menu once and for all.

BRANDADE DE MORUE salt cod, potatoes, shaved summer truffles
I didn't have this but my friend enjoyed it very much.

HUITRES ET CREPINETTES truffled pork sausage, salt pond oysters
Pork and oysters are a great combination, and the taste of truffle gave it a nice earthy richness.

PIED DE PORC PANE crisp Berkshire pig trotter, lentils, herb salad
We ordered an entree portion of this dish and split it between two of us as a second appetizer. The portion shown here is half of the entire plate. The skin was crisp, and the meat was rich and tender. The lentils were a good addition, but I don't think the herb salad cut into the fattiness enough. I think I prefer the crispy pig's head at Ma Peche, which is slightly more refined but a very similar dish.

GRILLED WHOLE DAURADE fennel, charred lemon, herb oil
I did not have this but it looked well prepared. I really like daurade as a fish and don't tend to see it on menus often enough. My friend liked the fried capers that came with it, which was a great way to add flavor and texture.

DRY AGED COTE DE BOEUF, roasted marrow bones and sucrine lettuce salad
The salad was rather plain, but the huge steak for two was not.

The marrow bones were rich and unctuous, and while some would prefer the steak rarer and more bloody, this was fine for us.

The steak is rightly raved about, with an excellent minerally flavor and a great crust. You don't really need anything else, and the marrow kind of puts it over the top.

POMMES ANNA, CHAMPIGNONS POELES
The mushrooms were terrific, though I liked the ones at Lincoln better, and the pommes anna were rich and crisp, if a little dry. I was getting jaw fatigue at this point, so they were not my first choice of side to indulge in.

CHOUX FARCI
The stuffed cabbage, on the other hand, was moist with nice simple flavors.

POMMES ALIGOT
Essentially cheese melted into mashed potatoes, this fit right with the theme of over the top, rich, heavy foods we were eating that night.

GRAND MARNIER SOUFFLE
This was quite good. I think it was meant for two, but I found the size interesting. I've only had souffles that were either much smaller or much larger.

HAZELNUT CREPES
Not particularly special.

The food was excellent. But between the cramped space and the difficulty in getting a reservation if you're not a VIP, it certainly wouldn't qualify as a special occasion place. Also, there's not much in the way of balance in the dishes, so it might not be the place to go if you're not in the mood for a heavy meal.

I think that Minetta Tavern is exactly what a one Michelin star place should be. Not worth making a detour for if you're vacationing. But if this is the type of food you're in the mood for, it's an excellent choice. And if you're a local, it's worth being a regular (if you can).

NFL Playoff Picks 2011-2012: Super Bowl (sport, gambling)

2012-02-04T13:59:00.002-05:00

Another football season comes to an end this Sunday, one which has been quite successful for me in terms of picks. I think the biggest reason for that has been my focus on specific themes backed by simple data. However, I don't think I can do that here. This game is just so much different than any other game. I would suggest just having fun playing some squares or some of the 400+ props out there.

6:30PM ET
NE vs. NYG
Line: NE-2.5/3EV, o/u 54

The line opened at 3, and has been bought down so much, the line is now either NE-3 with no vig or NE-2.5, depending on the sportsbook. Gronkowski is still a big if, but he's such a freak that I expect him to play and play well. I expect the returns of Vollmer and Arrington will greatly help New England.

I think the deciding factor will be Eli Manning, and I think he will have a bad game this time. He hasn't exactly been great to begin with, having thrown a pass so bad last week that the opposing defensive backs hurt each other going after the interception. Even so, I feel that he's been outperforming of late (11TDs to 1INT in last 4 games, vs. 29TDs to 16INTs during the regular season), and will regress to the mean. I predict at least two turnovers that will allow the Patriots to take a commanding lead.

Some might question the "commanding lead" part of that because of the vaunted Giants front line. However, I think New England's tight end heavy passing offense and use of slot receivers is the perfect counterattack. The use of a no-huddle should also tire out the Giants' defense, and allow New England to string together a few scores.

Although everyone wants this to be a close, exciting game, I think New England will win by at least two touchdowns. Many sportsbooks offer adjusted lines, but I wouldn't make that bet, because you're probably not going to get enough value for such a bet. The last time the winning Superbowl team won by more than 14 points was back in 2003.

Picks:
NE-3, Over 54

NFL Playoff Picks 2011-2012: Pro Bowl (sport, gambling)

2012-01-28T09:25:00.000-05:00

No, I'm not handicapping the Pro Bowl, you degenerate. Go find an alley to shoot some dice.

15 East: My Favorite Meal of 2011 (food)

2012-01-23T11:31:00.000-05:00

I've shared so many amazing meals with amazing people this past year that it's hard to pick a favorite. Some of this might be a recency bias, but my meal in December at 15 East was just so incredible and enjoyable from beginning to end that it's my choice for favorite meal of 2011.

I've written about 15 East before, but this meal was a much more complete experience than previous meals. I let the chef do his thing and was wowed all the way through. I went with two foodie friends and the gorgeous photos and videos(!) you'll see here are courtesy of Cheeryvisage.

While we were waiting for our seats, they were nice enough to offer us some complimentary champagne.

A preview of the wonderful bounty from the sea we were about to enjoy.

The meal started off with an amuse of belly button mushroom with chrysanthemum leaf.

SLOW POACHED OCTOPUS with sea salt, ANKIMO (MONKFISH LIVER) with spicy radish and sake vinaigrette
The first course of the chef's omakase was the signature slow-poached octopus. It had a rich umami flavor and was wonderfully tender. Ankimo is one of my favorite things and this was quite good.

The whole octopus plopped onto the sushi bar as the chef cuts from the tentacles.

MAINE SEA URCHIN IN SHELL Maine uni is actually my least favorite of the unis one usually gets in restaurants, but this one did taste fresher and creamier than normal, although it's unclear whether I'm affected visually by seeing it in the shell.

ISE EBI SASHIMI Although this was from San Diego, the chef did say that this was the same clawless spiny lobster variety as the famously expensive Ise ebi.

Just to show how fresh this lobster was. PLEASE DO NOT WATCH IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH

The flesh was delicious and sweet, and the knife work was excellent, with slices of perfect size and texture.

SASHIMI PLATE FEATURING: HAMACHI (YELLOWTAIL), ARCTIC CHAR, SPANISH BLUEFIN CHUTORO, SABA (MACKEREL), BOTAN EBI (SPOT PRAWN), SEARED ISAKI (GRUNTFISH), AND LONG ISLAND AOYAGI (ORANGE CLAM)
The large fish slices were tasty and the spot prawn was very sweet, but the real winners here for me were the seared gruntfish, which had a lovely smokey flavor from the searing even though it was cold, and the orange clam, which came from one of the largest pieces of such a clam I have seen at a sushi bar.

In fact, here's a video of the clam. The chef does this to kill the clam, and the freshness and tensile strength is apparent as the clam stretches and shrinks back to its original shape.

COLD SOBA NOODLES WITH HOUSE MARINATED SALMON ROE
The soba here is lovely, with a simple traditional cold soba preparation. The key here is the salmon roe, which come in fresh and whole and get marinated in house. This makes them less salty and more delicate in texture.

Some extra salmon roe for us to appreciate them individually. Each egg popped with flavor under the delicate skin.

ISE EBI TEMPURA with smoked sea salt and sudachi
Well-fried, tender lobster meat, heightened with extra umami from the smoked salt and citrus.

We weren't sure on the sake, and they were nice enough to bring a tasting of three for us to choose.

We ended up with the seasonal URAKASUMI HIYAOROSHI sake, which was the smoothest sake I've ever had. The flavor of sake was clearly there, but without that rice wine burn that I'm not really a fan of.

KANPAI! Cheers to the chef!

His face was covered in that last pic, so here's one of Chef Masato at work.

SHIMA AJI (STRIPED JACK)

MADAI WITH UME (RED SEA BREAM SNAPPER WITH PLUM PASTE ON TOP)
I found this rather unique, as I've not had plum on sushi before, but it works here with the robust fish.

SEARED KINMEDAI (GOLDEN EYE SNAPPER)
One of my favorite pieces here. The searing definitely makes it, and I prefer it to the kinmedai I had at Masa.

A look at the chef's box of various cuts of tuna, from lean to fat.

AKAMI (LEAN TUNA)
While lean tuna is what one gets when one orders "just" tuna (maguro), I find the akami both here and at Masa to be leaner, redder, and more robust in taste than tuna I've had elsewhere.

CHUTORO (MEDIUM FATTY TUNA)
I prefer chutoro to otoro when it comes to sushi, and this was perfect deliciousness suitable for a single bite as the fat melts with each chew.

SANMA (PIKE MACKEREL)

SAYORI (NEEDLE FISH)
A very interesting texture as the fish itself is firm yet so thin. Almost like how perfectly cooked shrimp would be.

IKA (CUTTLEFISH) WITH SUDACHI
I'm usually not big on things like octopus and squid, but this was very tender without needing scoring, and brightened up by the citrus.

SHIRO EBI (TINY WHITE SHRIMP)
I first had these at Kurumazushi, and these things are just sooo sweet. Sweeter (not in a cloying way) than any other sweet shrimp.

SANTA BARBARA SEA URCHIN
Santa Barbara uni is larger and creamier and my favorite of North American uni.

HOKKAIDO SEA URCHIN
But my favorite in NYC is the Hokkaido uni here, with a dirtier, brinier taste of ocean.

A look at his large trays of uni.

ANAGO (SEA EEL)
Warm, rich, and full of fish flavor without too much reliance on the sweeter sauce.

TAMAGO (EGG CUSTARD)
Our meal had ended with the anago, but I had to get this egg custard and specifically requested it. A traditional preparation not available everywhere (though they do have it at Yasuda, it's not as good as this version), it's made with egg, minced shrimp, and mountain yam. The key is the technique in cooking both sides, creating a cake that is airy yet more robust than a sponge cake.

ISE EBI MISO SOUP
One last course made from our lobster. The hot soup was well flavored with miso and the head and tomalley of our lobster.

DESSERT PLATE FEATURING: PUMPKIN FLAN WITH ROASTED CARAMEL SAUCE, SOBA TEA ICE CREAM, CHESTNUT RED BEAN CAKE, STRAWBERRY
The chef gifted us this assorted dessert plate, and I really enjoyed the soba tea ice cream, which had that rich, slightly bitter flavor, yet rounded out by the creaminess. I think 15 East has some of the best desserts for a Japanese restaurant in NYC.

CHOCOLATES
We were the last ones in the restaurant, and they sent out some nice chocolates, although these may have been petit fours from Tocqueville next door.

15 East is my favorite Japanese restaurant in NYC. The sushi is first rate, prepared by someone who actually apprenticed his years in Japan. The rice is among the best in NYC (different, but comparable in many ways to Yasuda), and the traditional Japanese cooked items such as tempura and soba are terrific.

I also believe that 15 East offers great value. While the Ise lobster is a more expensive delicacy ($120 per lobster, comprising 3 courses: sashimi, tempura, soup), the base omakase is $140 and well worth it. Most importantly, it fills you up. While many people claim to spend less at some of the top sushi restaurants in NYC, they do not eat like I do, and I've never gotten out of a place like Yasuda satisfied for less than $250.

These weren't actually all the photos from the night, and in fact David Chang was eating there when we walked in. For all the photos, check out Cheeryvisage's photoset.

NFL Playoff Picks 2011-2012: Conference Round Sunday (sport, gambling)

2012-01-21T20:56:00.002-05:00

I was originally hoping Green Bay would win so I could go heavy on San Francisco this week, as I knew Green Bay hadn't played a good defense all season (the best defense they faced was Kansas City, in their only loss). However, the Giants stepped up and won in convincing fashion, helped by 5 turnovers.

3PM ET
BAL@NE
Line: NE-7, o/u 50

Just like Green Bay, the Ravens defense hasn't has been tested this season. The best offense they played was San Diego, and the Chargers put up 34 points on them. The Patriots, on the other hand, did at least play the Steelers, Giants, and Jets. In the end, it comes back to matchups, and the strength of Baltimore's defense is stopping the run, which is not a huge part of the Patriots offense. While the Patriots defense isn't great, Baltimore's offense has not been inspiring either. The only way Baltimore wins this game is to shut down the Patriots on offense, and if the Patriots jump out early, I don't see Baltimore catching up.

Picks:
NE-7, Over 50

6:30PM ET
NYG@SF
Line: SF-2, o/u 41.5

As I mentioned before, turnovers are hard to predict, and coming off a week where these two teams forced a total of 9 turnovers, it's hard to figure out what might happen here. It is also hard to use previous results from this season as this Giants team feels almost like a different team. Much of the hype is on the Giants right now, with many believing that the line might move to a pick'em by game time.

Even though the Giants' running game appears to have come back some, they clearly rely on big plays in the passing game to score. Much of that comes from their receivers making big plays, and I assume the 49ers will game plan for that, especially as New Orleans managed those same big plays at the end of their game last week. If San Francisco manages to limit those big plays, I think they win a tight, low scoring slugfest.

Picks:
SF-2 (might want to wait till last minute), Under 41.5

Recap of bets I really like:
Like I said, there's too much randomness in the Giants game for my taste. As far as the Patriots game goes, 7 offers a pretty good value considering the line sent out originally was 9. Certainly there's a very good chance that the Patriots just blow the game wide open. In either case, I think if the Patriots do cover, it will be a high scoring game, making the parlay decent value.
2 team parlay:
NE-7 and BAL@NE Over 50

NFL Playoff Picks 2011-2012: Divisional Round Sunday (sport, gambling)

2012-01-14T20:31:00.003-05:00

Going 4-0 on Saturday felt good. Most importantly, I correctly recommended going heavy on the first game, and there was never really any danger of losing both picks in that game.

1PM ET
HOU@BAL
Line: BAL-7.5, o/u 36.5

This season's Ravens team has been the epitome of playing to the level of your competition. Their 4 losses during the regular season were all to teams without a winning record, while they went 0-4 ATS in games where they were favored by double digits. Is Houston the kind of team that will get Baltimore to play their best? Houston only played two teams this season where they were considered the weaker team. They were at Baltimore and at New Orleans, and lost both games both straight up and ATS. I think this game will come back to coaches and matchups, and Houston's reliance on the running game will match up poorly against Baltimore's second ranked run defense which gave up only 3.54 yards/rush.

As far as the total is concerned, my feeling is that when two of the top four scoring defenses play each other, the line should be 33 or below. So I feel that there is some edge to the under. However, these two defenses were not as dominant as the 49ers and Steelers were this season, and so the edge is not as significant.

Picks:
BAL-7.5, Under 36.5

4:30PM ET
NYG@GB
Line: GB-7.5, o/u 53

The Giants certainly seem to be peaking at the right time, with their defense putting in three consecutive strong performances. But the offenses they played were not as dynamic as the Packers offense, and much of their recent success can be attributed to turnover differential, as they were even before the last few games of the season. Turnovers are hard to predict, but Green Bay has been very good this year at preventing turnovers. This line opened at 9, but has somehow been bought down to 7.5 on the hype of this Giants defense. Green Bay, however, has won every game at home this season by at least 8 points (except for the Detroit game Rodgers sat out). This makes the line very attractive down here at 7.5.

The Giants have had 4 games this season where the total has been 50 or higher. The over came in in 3 of those 4 games, and the only game that went under was when New England had 4 turnovers against the Giants and scored their second lowest offensive total of the year with 20 points.

Picks:
GB-7.5, Over 53

Recap of bets I really like:
It looks like the Giants will have to rely on turnovers if they're to cover or keep the score low. Otherwise, I see value specifically at 7.5 and predict the Giants will be playing catch-up, which they're very capable of doing to hit the over.
GB-7.5
NYG@GB Over 53

NFL Playoff Picks 2011-2012: Divisional Round Saturday (sport, gambling)

2012-01-14T01:00:00.003-05:00

Not a bad first weekend in terms of picks, but what was notable in my mind was that the results once again demonstrated the biggest lesson I've learned from making picks as a whole this football season. When I focus on a specific theme supported by stats (even with small sample size), they turn out to be fairly good picks. When I make picks based on a general idea of a team (they are good/bad, they score a lot/very little), it doesn't work out so well. For example, I went 3-1 on my Sunday picks last weekend. Of the three winners, I provided stats that supported a situation-specific theme. For the loser, the Pitt-Den under, my main reasoning was that they tended to be good defensive teams and bad offensive teams. Again, too general. So I'm going to try to keep identifying more specific themes going forward.

4:30PM ET
NO@SF
Line: NO-3.5, o/u 47

The old unstoppable force versus the immovable object. But are they as unstoppable and immovable as they seem? The Saints' offensive production drops off significantly outdoors on the road versus at home. But it's hard to go against a team with such an electric offense, so let's be more specific. During their recent 9 game winning streak, the best defense that the Saints played was Tennessee. They were also favored by 3.5 on the road that game and won 22-17. In fact, the Saints have failed to score more than 26 points on the road if you don't count the first week against Green Bay and their two games against Carolina and Minnesota, two of the worst defenses this year.

The 49ers have the best defense in the league and are probably the healthiest team in the playoffs right now. But they've only played a top 10 defense three times this season, and none with the consistent explosiveness of the big 3 offenses (GB, NO, NE). So what to make of this game? The thing that seems to get forgotten in the analysis is the San Francisco offense. They ranked 11th during the regular season, and in fact, averaged more points at home (27.6) than the Saints averaged on the road (27.2). It seems to me that considering all the factors, the 49ers are comparable to the Saints, and certainly not a team that should be getting 3.5 points at home. What is probably more interesting is that they might take care of business not by completely shutting down New Orleans, but by scoring more.

Picks:
SF+3.5, Over 47

8PM ET
DEN@NE
Line: NE-13.5, o/u 50.5

The key to this game will be passing. Over their last ten games, New England has failed to cover every time their net differential per pass play has been below +1 yard (0-5 ATS, 5-0 ATS when differential greater than +1 yard per play). Even though Denver is mostly known as a running team, they've actually had a positive net differential per pass play in 5 of their last 10 games, going 4-1 ATS in those 5 (and 2-3 ATS otherwise).

Clearly, the key for Denver has been the big pass play (hence greater yard per pass differential) off play action, as evidenced by last week's win against Pittsburgh. Given what happened in that game for all to see, it will probably be much harder for Denver to repeat that performance. The Patriots might give up a few more first downs, but as long as they can stop the big play, I doubt Denver can keep up. But Denver will try though, and Denver has actually gone over every time (5-0) their o/u line was higher than 43.

Picks:
NE-13.5, Over 50.5

Recap of bets that I really like:
I started off looking at this weekend's games really liking the 49ers +3.5. I still like that bet, but the over seems an even better bet. No matter how much confidence Harbaugh has in his defense, I doubt he is so arrogant that he expects to shut down New Orleans and win with a conservative offensive gameplan. In fact, I think taking both bets makes a nice semi-hedged pair. It's hard for me to imagine an outcome where the Saints win in a low scoring affair. Given the likely key stat for whether the Patriots will cover, I think it's more likely that the Patriots will gameplan correctly after seeing Denver's win last week. As far as the total goes, Denver has gone over all their higher totals. The only cause for hesitation would be that the 50.5 line is 3.5 points higher than their previous highest line this season.
NO@SF SF+3.5
NO@SF Over 47 heavy on both as a pair bet
DEN@NE NE-13.5
DEN@NE Over 50.5

NFL Playoff Picks 2011-2012: First Round Sunday (sport, gambling)

2012-01-07T21:48:00.002-05:00

Even though the Lions-Saints game turned into the shootout everyone expected, you would have still made money betting the unders and hedging. So I would dare to say that the first day of playoff picks went well. Now onto Sunday's games.

1PM ET
ATL@NYG
Line: NYG-3, o/u 47.5

How do you pick this game when Atlanta is extremely consistent and the Giants are extremely inconsistent? It's too hard to figure out what will happen in the game, so let's just use some small sample regular season stats to help. Atlanta has only beaten one team with a winning record during the regular season. While the Giants have had some surprising losses against noticeably weaker teams, they have managed to beat teams that are on par with them. Except for their week 1 loss to Washington, the Giants have covered every spread this season that was 3 or less. So I'm going with the Giants on this one. As far as the total goes, the Giants have gone over totals over 50 while under totals in the high 40s. What that probably suggests is that the Giants can keep up against a high octane throwing offense, but won't press the issue otherwise. Since Atlanta is not an offensive juggernaut, I think the under is the play here.

Picks:
NYG-3, Under 47.5

4:30PM ET
PIT@DEN
Line: PIT-9, o/u 33.5

Is the Tebow magic over? Another game that's hard to predict because Pittsburgh is ravaged by injuries while Denver, even during their streak of wins, did not really prove that they were an effective football team. Again, let's go with some regular season trends. Pittsburgh plays much better at home, and even though they are an elite team, they had three road games where they were favored by a TD or more and failed to cover all three of those games. Denver's season has basically revolved around keeping games close, and I don't see this hurt Steelers team getting enough separation. The total is low because Pittsburgh has the best scoring defense in the NFL and both teams have had trouble scoring. Since their bye week, the Steelers have managed just 29 points in three road games. If the Steelers can't get any separation, I don't think Denver will open up their defense until they have to.

Picks:
DEN+9, Under 33.5

Recap of bets I really like:
There really isn't any. The Giants have been one of the hardest teams to bet on this season. I do think there's some +EV to combining bets for my view of what will likely happen in the Steelers-Broncos game.
2 team parlay:
DEN+9 and PIT@DEN Under 33

NFL Playoff Picks 2011-2012: First Round Saturday (sport, gambling)

2012-01-07T07:36:00.003-05:00

For the playoffs, I will make picks on all the sides and totals, but will also recap at the end of the post all the bets where I think an edge actually exists. As I often say, the advantage of the player is that while the bookmakers have to handicap all the games, the player can pick and choose his/her bets.

First, something I found interesting from week 17. Five AFC teams needed to win (and maybe have something good happen as well) to make the playoffs. Of those five, only one team won, the Titans, and they didn't make the playoffs.

Bill Belichick often talks about preparing for only the upcoming opponent. Well, most coaches aren't as good as Belichick. During the regular season, most coaches have enough trouble worrying about general execution and keeping their jobs, let alone executing for a specific opponent. Now that they're in the playoffs, though, they can really focus. My main point is that with all else being equal, the coaches matter much more in the playoffs than in a regular season game.

4:30PM ET
CIN@HOU
Line: HOU-4, o/u 38

For all the talk about the first playoff game for Cincinnati's rookie QB and young receiving corps, at least Marvin Lewis has playoff experience. This will be the first playoff game for Gary Kubiak as a head coach, and I think it matters. Houston has limped into the playoffs after suffering a rash of injuries. While it is possible that those who could heal have healed for them, they are certainly not the team that we saw earlier in the season. The return of Andre Johnson will be big even if he's not at full health. The question will be whether he can stretch the defense, and I think the Bengals need to test him early. If they figure out they can single cover him for the most part, they can focus on the run game and the tight end and the Texans will have a tough go of it. On the other side of the ball, of the last 10 weeks of the season, Houston has given up its most points on defense in the last 3 weeks. It's unclear whether they are indeed tiring and getting worse or whether they have been playing possum the last three weeks and have been in fact trying to rest and heal. With so many unknowns, it's hard to pick a side, so if I had to choose, I would just take the points. On the totals side, I think the line is set correctly given both defenses (very good, would've been great if Houston didn't have the injuries). However, both teams have lots of playmakers and aren't very ball-control based offenses. In fact, I see both sides aggressively going for the big play on both offense and defense, and the result will be an easy over.

Picks:
CIN+4, Over 38

8PM ET
DET@NO
Line: NO-10.5, o/u 59.5

Yes, that totals line of 59.5 is the highest that's ever been sent out for an NFL game (I remember a 58 once between the Colts-Chiefs of the early/mid 2000's), and everyone expects a shootout with two high powered offenses playing at night in a dome. But here's what I'm thinking. Sean Payton probably thinks his team will win in a shootout. But Sean Payton knows his team will win if the game is slower. They know they'll be able to score. But if they take away the big play and make Detroit put together drives to score, that puts a lot less pressure on their team. I think Sean Payton is both good enough and aggressive enough as a coach to shift gears in this manner. If New Orleans does use this strategy, I don't see how Detroit can stay close. And I certainly don't think it will go over if the Saints are focused on the win and not on helping Brees set records. Another point of interest is that the first 15 plays for the Saints are scripted, so we will know early if this is indeed what they do.

Picks:
NO-10.5, Under 59.5

Recap of bets that I really like:
I do like the over in the CIN@HOU game, but think that there's too much randomness to pick a side. I really like the under in the DET@NO, especially as more and more public money will come in on the over, but what I would really want is to take a 1Q under as those first 15 plays are scripted, and any gameplan is most likely to stay intact in the first quarter. Also, Detroit has been known this season for making big comebacks. So if the first half total is low, I would easily hedge at halftime in the hopes of middling both bets.
CIN@HOU Over 38
DET@NO Under 59.5, to be hedged at the half
DET@NO 1Q Under, don't know line yet

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T14:58:00.003-05:00

Wishing everyone a happy and successful 2012.

No NFL picks this week, but I will discuss all the playoff games and lines in more detail like I did last year. I will also offer my thoughts on the belated NBA season. All that coming up, including... a post of my favorite meal of 2011!

Dining at the bar at Eleven Madison Park (food)

2011-12-31T13:10:00.005-05:00

I haven't eaten in the main dining room at Eleven Madison Park since it got its third Michelin Star. Reservations have been harder to come by since the prestigious announcement, and it's hard to plan an expensive dinner with people so far in advance. However, I have eaten at the bar a couple of times, and the food is still wonderful.

The bar is busy all the time, but they do a good job of finding seats for diners among the people just grabbing a drink or waiting for their table in the dining room. Both times they told me it was going to be about 15 minutes and I didn't have to wait more than that, unlike many places in NYC. It's louder and more lively than the main dining room, but still very comfortable.

There are four appetizer choices ranging from $22-28, and four entrees in the $36-38 range, not including white truffle options. These prices are about right for high end restaurants in NYC, although the portion sizes are smaller here than at some other places.

There's no selection of canapes, but there is bread service, with a delicious goat's milk butter, a creamy salted cow's milk butter, and salt.

The bread is terrific. The inside is flaky, fluffy, and buttery, while the outside has a delicate, soft crust. It's quite rich by itself, and doesn't even really need butter.

SMOKED FOIE GRAS TERRINE WITH BLACK TRUFFLE AND POTATO
The terrine was rich and smooth, with a wonderful smell of truffle and a hint of smokiness. The flavors were concentrated and earthy, including the vegetables and potato nubbins. While foie is often served with some sweet or sour component to cut the richness, it wasn't evident here and I don't think it's necessary. That being said, the dish is a bit "busier" as a whole than I'm used to eating here.

While wine pairings are normal and EMP even does beer pairings, I decided to step up the difficulty by asking for a cocktail to go with the dish. While more flavors can be combined in a cocktail, skill is also needed to temper the higher alcohol content with the food. This one I had was called the "Repossession" (I think, I could be wrong), and while I forget the ingredients, it worked beautifully with the foie dish. It had nuances of umami and smokiness that enhanced those essences from the dish itself, while the citrus base was complementary and helped to cut the richness as mentioned above.

TAGLIOLINI WITH ALASKAN KING CRAB, BLACK PEPPER, AND LEMON
♫ "Reunited, and it feels so good." ♫
I used to eat this dish a lot back when they were doing their two course lunch. It is a comforting, delicious combination of sweetness from the crab with the brightness of the lemon and the sharpness of the black pepper. The texture of the tagliolini leans more toward the texture I associate with noodles rather than pasta, and appeals to me greatly.

LOBSTER WITH MUSHROOM SABAYON AND SPINACH
I had this entree a while back and don't recall the exact description. Everything was cooked perfectly and the flavors settled into a warm, comforting harmony with earthy, autumnal overtones.

In fact, I hadn't been to EMP in a while and the moment I started eating this dish, the flavors started to come back like memories and I could easily say, "Yes, this is Daniel Humm's food at EMP. These are the flavors, essences, and combinations that epitomize his cooking."

The bar at EMP allows customers to enjoy some of the restaurant's characteristic dishes in a slightly livelier atmosphere and without having to make a reservation well in advance. However, considering the lack of canapes and the (expensive, but reasonable) $60 price for an appetizer and an entree, it makes me appreciate even more the value of the $125 prix fixe in the main dining room.

NFL Picks Week 16 2011 (sport, gambling)

2011-12-23T23:39:00.001-05:00

In the NBA, where an 82-game season forces many players and teams to be on autopilot some nights, motivation can play a significant role. But in the NFL, every game is crucial in the short 16-game season. Therefore I don't buy into the theory that teams will play significantly better when they are facing must-win games for playoff positioning late in the season. To me, it is important to focus on the dominant statistical themes that have worked well throughout the season, and not get caught up in the playoff push or draft tank.

CLE@BAL
BAL-12.5

A game that features a number of previous themes:
1. The divide between the best teams and the worst teams is just too large.
2. A dominant defense will very easily help a mediocre offense cover a large spread.
3. Home-road splits matter. Baltimore is undefeated at home while Cleveland has only one win on the road.
4. This is the second meeting between these two teams this season, with Baltimore winning 24-10 at Cleveland a few weeks ago. There is no reason to believe the Ravens will win by a smaller margin now that they get to play at home.

NFL Picks Week 15 2011 (sport, gambling)

2011-12-18T00:13:00.003-05:00

I remember back in the 2008 MLB season, I went over 65% on over a hundred bets. A large part of the system was fairly simple. Whenever both pitchers in a game were on a roll with great numbers in their last three outings, I played the under. Many of the lines were in the 8-8.5 range, and maybe a rare 7-7.5 when two dominant aces faced off against each other.

The following season, the books adjusted accordingly, and I broke even before realizing the edge had gone. Many of the lines felt like they had shifted down about half a point. In the last couple of years especially, it's felt like more and more lines in the 6-7.5 range have been sent out when aces faced each other.

PIT@SF
Under 38.5

Pretty much the exact same play as SF@BAL three weeks ago. To me, this bet feels much like those 2008 baseball bets. Two dominant defenses (1st and 2nd in PPG) are going against each other, with San Francisco giving up 14 ppg and Pittsburgh giving up 15.2 ppg. The 38.5 line is just like those 8-8.5 lines I used to get in 2008. I really believe that the proper line when two dominant defenses like these play each other should be in the low to mid 30s. Perhaps we all need to get in on this before the books make adjustments next year.

NFL Picks Week 14 2011 (sport, gambling)

2011-12-10T21:26:00.002-05:00

KC@NYJ
NYJ-10.5

Even though the Jets defense hasn't been playing up to their reputation, they should have no problem handling Tyler Palko and the struggling Kansas City offense. The Jets play much better at home than on the road, and they pretty much need to win out to have a shot at the playoff. They're plenty motivated and the offense has played much better of late.

Takashi: For The Timid and Adventurous Alike (food)

2011-12-03T22:33:00.013-05:00

A few months ago, before it was featured on Anthony Bourdain's new show "The Layover", a couple of friends and I went to Takashi in the West Village. We chose Takashi because we wanted something that was not only good, but somewhat interesting. Takashi is indeed a very interesting place. They specialize in yakiniku, the Japanese take on Korean barbecue. You grill the meats yourself on a grill built into the table. What separates Takashi from other places, however, is the quality of its beef and the variety of offal it offers on the menu.

One thing to note. They do not take reservations for groups smaller than 4 people. They also called to confirm my reservation 3 hours before my scheduled time, which I feel is a rather useless endeavor. I originally made a reservation for 4 people, but one of them ended up not being able to make it. So I gave them a courtesy call just before we headed out to let them know we would only be 3, and the person on the phone tried to cancel my reservation because we no longer had four people. After explaining to them, rather forcefully, my views on such a policy, they acquiesced and honored our reservation.

Once we got there, everything was fine. The food was very good, and definitely interesting. They offered a choice of simple seasonings or a marinated preparation for each menu choice, and we deferred to their recommendations.

A simple selection of banchan featuring cabbage, soybeans, and kimchi. These were quite good and we asked for seconds. They actually cost $2 each, which I didn't find out till the bill arrived.

NAMAGIMO (ultra-fresh liver with sesame oil and roasted rock salt)

We started with a couple of selections from the raw part of their menu. The liver definitely had a mineral tang to it, and it became more evident in the aftertaste on the way down. I imagine that some of the aftertaste was already muted by how fresh this raw liver was. The texture was similar to that of fluke sashimi.

NIKU-UNI (chuck flap topped with sea urchin and fresh wasabi)
We had been looking forward to this interesting combination, but were very disappointed. The piece of raw beef, while looking well-marbled, was devoid of flavor, and the shiso leaf pretty much dominated everything. I would think that this would have been much better if the beef was given a quick sear and if we had only eaten half or less of the shiso leaf.

BEEF SCHMALTZ CROSTINI WITH TRUFFLE OIL
This was a tasty combination of rendered fat with a noticeable but not overpowering hint of truffle oil. The crostini and greens provided a nice crunchy texture and balance to the warm and satisfying richness.

As we move onto the main grilled meat courses, please note that this dinner was a while ago, and I'm not completely sure if my description matches the photographed meat.

TAN-SAKI, TAN-SUJI, & TAN-MOTO (the tongue experience)
The tongue experience featured the front of the tongue, the back of the tongue, and the underlying connective sinew. I found most of the flavors to be similar, and felt that texture was the only real noticeable difference between the parts. As it turns out, the three of us each preferred a different part of the tongue.

OXTAIL
Oxtails are usually slow-cooked to break them down. They sliced the pieces pretty thin, but the meat was still rather tough, and it felt like I was gnawing at the bone part of grilled galbi (Korean barbecue shortrib).

As can be seen here, there's really not much meat. I did not feel that this was the best way to enjoy oxtail.

U.S. KOBE MARBLED CHUCK-FLAT STEAK (6oz)
This was one of their specials of the night, and the only cut we strongly considered ordering seconds of.

They would not let us cook this piece ourselves, and one of the servers grilled it for us at the table.

This was probably one of the best pieces of US Kobe beef I've ever had. Well marbled with flavor and slowly melting with every bite. Sliced and pulled off the grill to each of our preferred doneness.

BEEF BELLY
The belly was as rich with fat and flavor as expected.

It was, however, much tougher than say, pork belly, and offered quite a good chew. Probably one of the reasons they had to score the flesh.

TSURAMI (cheek)
After having eaten so much beef at this point, it was hard to detect any subtle nuances between cuts. All I can say is that this was very beefy, and the thin slices were a welcome relief from the bigger chunks we'd been eating till that point.

SHIBIRE (sweetbreads)
These were absolutely wonderful on the grill. A nicely charred surface gave way to soft, creamy innards. The cleanness of the flavor highlighted the freshness of the ingredient.

MINO (first stomach)
Not the typical stomach one associates with tripe, the flesh charred into a somewhat hard exterior and was very, very chewy. Honestly, that's all I can remember about this cut. Lots of chewing.

Home-made Madagascar vanilla softserve ice cream with azuki beans and green tea syrup. This was good, but it felt out of place for the meal. It wasn't rich and indulgently satisfying like all the previous courses of meat, but it wasn't a light ending that counteracted all that unctuousness either.

I'm pretty sure we also ordered the fourth stomach and the between-the-rib meat as well. But I have no recollection or photographs of those cuts. Honestly, after a few courses of meat, it all begins to blur together. Which is kind of the point. Takashi is a great place where both timid and adventurous eaters can come together, fall into a blissful meat coma, and marvel at the interesting cuts of offal on offer.

NFL Picks Week 13 2011 (sport, gambling)

2011-12-03T14:01:00.001-05:00

It's always easiest to focus on what you do well. That leads some teams to be quite one-dimensional in their game plan. A team that is one-dimensional is actually more reliable to wager on or against than a team that is extremely good or bad, but more well-rounded.

DEN@MIN
Under 37.5

Denver's offense is not necessarily one-dimensional by choice. Tebow will sometimes just miss an open receiver. Minnesota's defense, however, has been fairly strong against the run, allowing only 3.67 yards per carry. Minnesota's offense has also been fairly one-dimensional, with a strong running game averaging 4.98 yards per carry. However, Adrian Peterson is out, and Christian Ponder has not really shown much. Add to that Denver's strong defensive performance in recent weeks, and I expect there to be a lot of punts in this game. Denver's substantial improvement on defense has coincided with Elvis Dumervil's 6 sacks in the last 4 games. This is a guy who had 17 sacks two years ago before he got injured, but someone whom many may have already forgotten.

STL@SF
SF-13.5

This line might even move past the big 14 number if Bradford is indeed not playing. As I had mentioned earlier in the season, the gap between the best and the worst teams is just too big. Even though the 49ers didn't get much offense going against the Ravens last week, San Francisco has the best defense in the league, and I still believe that great defenses help mediocre offenses cover big spreads.

NFL Picks Week 12 2011 (sport, gambling)

2011-11-23T05:58:00.002-05:00

Defense may win championships, but many bettors don't realize that defense also covers spreads. Bettors often associate large spreads with dominant offenses, but a dominant defense can often propel a mediocre offense into covering a large spread. This is done not only by shutting down the opponent's offense, but by frequently providing the offense with good field position. Given enough chances with a short field, an NFL offense, no matter how bad, will manage to score.

BUF@NYJ
NYJ-9

This is a perfect example of a large spread that scares people away because of the mediocrity of the Jets' offense. But the Jets' defense is second in the league in opponent's QB rating, and should be able to provide good opportunities for their offense. In addition, two previously mentioned themes show up here as well. Buffalo is a significantly worse team on the road while the Jets are significantly better at home. They also played each other recently, with New York winning by double digits at Buffalo. Furthermore, New York has had 10 days to prepare for this game while this will be Buffalo's third consecutive road game. It just feels like Buffalo will be overwhelmed.

SF@BAL
Under 38.5

How is it that a matchup between two of the top three defenses by opponents' PPG yields a total in the high 30s? My guess is this is another example of how fantasy football affects people's perspectives. Names like Flacco, Boldin, Gore, and Rice are on many fantasy teams, causing people to overestimate the actual offensive capabilities of their respective teams. I think this line should objectively be in the low to mid 30s, and I expect it to be an enjoyable, hard-fought, defense-dominated game.

NFL Picks Week 11 2011 (sport, gambling)

2011-11-19T16:26:00.003-05:00

Even though I've only been able to make one pick per week in recent weeks, I have been on quite a streak, having picked 6 winners in a row. I mention this since I may as well jinx myself as the only pick I have this week is one that will go against the instincts of most NFL fans and bettors.

DAL@WAS
WAS+7

The Redskins are reeling. They've lost 5 in a row including one to Carolina. There is no sense of consistency as to who will get the bulk of the work at their main offensive positions. Their defense has been hit with injuries. Dallas has fared better of late. Their 44-point offensive outburst against Buffalo was their best performance in a long time, and there's talk that the NFC East could be theirs for the taking. So why am I going against the "hot" team playing against the "cold" team?

Two of the points I've made in earlier weeks are applicable here. First, Dallas has not done particularly well on the road. They lack the consistency to really be a heavy road favorite. The Redskins play significantly better at home. Second, this is their second game against each other this season. In the first game in Dallas, the Cowboys won on a late field goal. Now they play in Washington, and they have to lay a TD? Sure the teams are different than they were then, but I don't feel that the Cowboys played particularly badly in that game or that the Redskins played particularly well. 7 points is a lot to give on the road. Earlier in the week, and perhaps still at some books, the line was at 7.5.

Full Rundown of Masa 2011 (food)

2011-11-17T09:48:00.002-05:00

If you've decided that you're going to go to Masa and spend the money, you might as well go for white truffle season. The basic set omakase is still $450, but there are a couple of white truffle supplements available.

It was not difficult at all to get a reservation. I called one week in advance, and when we arrived for our 8pm reservation, there was no one at the sushi bar, and two two-tops at the tables in addition to our foursome. Everything is just as beautiful and tranquil as I remember from our visit last year. The sanded wood of the tables is just as beautiful as that at the sushi bar. Service was friendly and professional.

Photos are not allowed at Masa. I thought it was about the food or disturbing the guests, so I asked to take photos of the restaurant after our meal was over and we were the last ones there. We were told that the restaurant itself is exactly what the chef does not want people taking photos of. They offered to take one photo of us behind the sushi bar, but that everything else was off limits.

The dinner began as usual with a progression of small courses. When I say "as usual", the dinner really is almost an exact replica of my meal there last year.

EEL CUCUMBER WITH SUNOMONO
Eel and cucumber is a terrific combination, and the vinegary tartness of the sunomono made for a bright and refreshing first course.

TORO TARTARE WITH CAVIAR AND TOAST
Similar to my meal last year, I found the toro to be nice and rich, but nothing was really done to it. The flavor of the dish came from the terrific caviar, of which there was a huge mound on top of the toro. The texture combination of all the components was stellar.

FUGU SASHIMI INCLUDING LIVER, SKIN, AND INTESTINES
A good combination of textures with fresh raw fugu. Fugu is one of those fish like fluke that chefs seem to love but I personally don't get. Especially as the blowfish they use is of the non-poisonous variety, taking away from what makes fugu exotic.

FUGU KARAAGE
The fugu flesh, when cooked, has an interesting tender texture with a little bit of give. The fry job was perfect and we enjoyed this very much. We were encouraged to use our hands and really get at the flavor in the bones.

LANGOUSTINE
The langoustine was simply done with a splash of citrus. It arrived at a perfect, just-cooked temperature, with a wonderful aroma. Again they encouraged us to use our hands, and I really went at getting all the little pieces of meat out of all the claws and legs.

MUSHROOM RISOTTO
Those of us who could not eat langoustine were served a wonderfully aromatic mushroom risotto featuring three kinds of mushrooms, including matsutake and maitake mushrooms, and a little shaving of white truffle.

WAGYU WITH WHITE TRUFFLES (SUPPLEMENT)
This cost $150 per dish compared with $120 when we went last year. We ordered two for the four of us. However, I enjoyed this dish much better this year, as I felt the beef was seasoned a bit more and had a better sear, which both brought out the flavor of the beef, and melded better with the truffle shavings.

KUE AND FOIE GRAS NABE
The usual hot pot presentation featuring a deep, fragrant broth. We each received two generously-sized slices each of foie gras and kue, an extremely expensive fish also known as kelp bass. The kue had a fresh taste and wonderful texture, with the fattiness encased in the flesh. The foie gras was rich and flavorful, yet in a mild and gentle manner. A perfect example of the harmonized nature of his cuisine.

The sushi courses were served two pieces at a time on a beautiful black rectangular block that they had to carry over from the bar for every course. It was specifically designed to span the two tables of our four-top, while the other two-tops had shorter versions.

SUSHI
SHIMA AJI striped jack
TAI sea bream
TORO tuna
HIRAME fluke
KINMEDAI golden eye snapper
IKA squid
AMAEBI sweet shrimp
AOYAGI orange clam
HOTATEGAI scallop
SUJI grilled toro sinew
AJI horse mackerel
KURUMA EBI cooked tiger prawn
ANAGO sea water eel
UNAGI fresh water eel
UNI Santa Barbara sea urchin
WHITE TRUFFLE sushi rice rolled in white truffle shavings
NEGI TORO toro and scallions
UME SHISO

For my friends who couldn't eat some of the pieces, replacement pieces of
MAITAKE mushroom
MATSUTAKE mushroom
AKAMI lean tuna
were served.

This list was the list provided to me by email a week after the meal. I am not exactly sure that those were indeed all the individual pieces we had, but the list seems to be on point for the most part.

Dessert was a light, sweet melon which I didn't eat any of.

At this point, our server came to us to tell us that the chef had white truffle ice cream, at a supplement of $95 each. We ordered three servings (one scoop apiece). The ice cream was tremendously flavorful, with a just-right texture in between hard and soft. This was the "wow" ending that a meal like this needs.

Overall, the sushi was fresh, and I actually thought the rice was better than on our last visit. The quality of the ingredients and flavors are not really up for debate here. The only question is one of value, which was the sole reason for the New York Times downgrade to three stars. To that end, I think it depends what you think you are paying for. The food is top notch, and full of expensive ingredients that command high premiums. But I also believe that people, especially in New York, pay to have such a meal in this private, serene setting. If you need this privacy in addition to enjoying a top quality meal, then it is worth it by all means. For me, I don't feel that I need all these expensive ingredients crammed into just one meal, and would prefer some more new dishes in the menu at these prices.

When Whimsical Presentations Go Too Far (food)

2011-11-15T23:38:00.003-05:00

I'm all for whimsical food presentations, such as WD50's Everything Bagel. But I think the following dish went a little too far. Shared by my friend AF on Facebook, this dish was served from the kitchen of "Demon Chef" Alvin Leung in Hong Kong. Chef Leung was featured in Anthony Bourdain's Hong Kong episode of No Reservations.

The name of this masterpiece of a dish is "After Sex on the Beach". Pretty self-explanatory.

NFL Picks Week 10 2011 (sport, gambling)

2011-11-12T20:55:00.002-05:00

I mentioned last week that as the weather gets colder, hard hitting defenses are more likely to prevail. Another advantage that I feel gets amplified as the weather gets colder is home field advantage. It gets harder to travel and it gets harder to fight through the noise and get up from the hits.

On a completely random note, I continue to see those Buffalo Wild Wings commercials where they send the game into overtime. I'm surprised I haven't seen a spoof where everyone at the bar and BWLD (stock ticker) management get arrested in some sort of huge gambling ring.

BAL@SEA
Under 41

Combine Baltimore's hard hitting defense with Seattle's deafening home field advantage, and I predict a lot of punts. Then again, there could also be a lot of turnovers, but I think that this will be a tight, low scoring game.

NFL Picks Week 9 2011 (sport, gambling)

2011-11-05T22:01:00.002-05:00

As the weather gets colder, defense becomes even more important. Not just any defense, but real hard hitting defenses. As some offenses start to play more conservatively, defenses will be worn down even more. Defenses that succeeded early in the season by gambling on interceptions will probably regress as the end of the season approaches.

SF@WAS
Under 37.5

These two teams have conservative, mediocre at best offenses. They also happen to have two of the best defenses this season. Normally two defenses that hold opponents to such low averages (15.3 OPPG for SF, 19.9 OPPG for WAS) would end up with a line below 35. However, because they are not big name teams, people don't associate them with dominant defenses like Pittsburgh and Baltimore. And that is where the value lies.

A Tale of Two White Truffle Dinners (food)

2011-11-05T13:56:00.008-05:00

It was the best of times, it was... that's about it. Really hard to go wrong with two different white truffle tasting dinners that each cost less than the average white truffle shavings supplement at most good restaurants in Manhattan.

The first dinner was Trufflepalooza at Locanda Verde. A one night only event featuring a three course white truffle menu for $49.99. It was my first time at Andrew Carmellini's popular TriBeCa Italian eatery.

The service:
When I first called to make a reservation, I inquired about whether we would be able to order off the regular menu. I was skeptical whether a three course dinner light on meat protein would be sufficient, and was surprised when the answer I got back was "no". When we actually got to the restaurant, we found out we could actually order off the regular menu. Unfortunately, they were still not particularly flexible when it came to ordering. We had 3 people, and two of the regular menu items we wanted had two portions to an order. They refused to make a third portion of either even though we offered to pay for the extra. In the end we just ordered one of each and found our own way to share.

Also after getting to the restaurant, we had to wait about 20 minutes for our 10:30pm reservation. One other misstep was that by the time we had finished our late dinner, they had thrown out all the hard copies of the truffle menu. As for the rest of the service, it was fine. Water was replenished, but it was not always easy to get our server's attention. I thought the runners did a very good job though.

The ambiance:
It was dark and loud, with a busy, trendy vibe. Perfect for that neighborhood. Not perfect for me when I'm there for a special dinner after having not eaten anything for 10 hours. It was noisier than what I would normally consider a good buzz for a restaurant. I was beginning to worry about whether the food would really be excellent, or more like "pretty good for the scene", like at John Dory.

Truffled focaccia. Warm and full of truffle flavor. The aroma was delightful. We had seconds.

BLUE CRAB CROSTINI WITH JALAPENO AND TOMATO The first of our regular menu items, and one of their signatures. Notice how it was cut in two but they wouldn't cut it into thirds? This was bursting with fresh crab flavor and the jalapeno added a very nice kick. A lovely starter of harmonized concentrated flavors.

LAMB MEATBALL SLIDERS WITH CAPRINO AND CUCUMBER The second of our regular menu items, this had wonderful concentrated lamb flavor. It may be too much for some, as it borders on gaminess and funk. The goat cheese enhanced it with another powerful flavor while the cucumber provided a nice, relaxing contrast. Another lovely starter of harmonized deep flavors.

FEATHER RIDGE FARM EGG WITH POLENTA AND PORCINI RAGU I'm able to provide full descriptions of our truffle menu because my friend TF was smart enough to photograph the menu. Silly me, relying on the restaurant. Notice the generous amount of white truffle shavings for this first course.

Of course, the breaking of the egg. To me, any egg dish needs to both showcase the richness of the yolk and focus on a strong texture profile. That was definitely accomplished here with the slight crunch of the frisee, the creaminess of the polenta, the ragu, and the well-cooked egg providing a wonderful array of textures.

CARNE CRUDA PIEDMONTESE WITH HAZELNUTS, CELERY, AND FETT'UNTA The other choice for the first course was a tartare. I did not find it particularly appealing as I'm more a fan of the traditional French version. I also did not feel that the truffle enhanced it in any way. I did not try any of the fett'unta (garlic bread).

MY GRANDMOTHER'S RAVIOLI Another signature dish we ordered off the regular menu. Unfortunately, they brought this out to us at the same time as all of our second courses. Since nothing was served particularly hot, something was bound to get cold. The thin skin on the ravioli was nice, but the filling of a beef, pork, and veal mixture did not stand out to me. I also found the sauce slightly too acidic.

PAPPARDELLE VERDE WITH WHITE BOLOGNESE It was originally supposed to be duck agnolotti with artichokes sugo and parmigiano reggiano, but they ran out. This can be ordered off the regular menu (without truffles), and it definitely was enhanced by the truffles. The pasta was excellent and I enjoyed the hearty bolognese sauce. It might have affected my view of the grandmother ravioli.

FONDUTA RAVIOLI WITH CHESTNUTS AND LEEKS The other option for the second course was absolutely wonderful. A traditional preparation of pasta and truffle cheese sauce was enhanced in both flavor and texture by earthy chestnuts and leeks. Home run.

TRUFFLE-HONEY CAKE WITH WHIPPED RICOTTA AND CHAMOMILE GRANITA A sizeable dessert to finish off the meal. I liked the subtle flavor of the cake quite a lot. The combination of cake, ricotta, and chamomile granita went together very well, offering a delightful contrast of temperatures and textures.

WHITE TRUFFLE RISOTTO DOLCE WITH PEAR SORBETTO I did not really try the other dessert option as I'm not really a big fan of risotto or rice pudding.

The second dinner was at Sapori D'Ishcia in Woodside, Queens. They hold their 2011 Truffle Festival from late October until they run out, offering a different four-course white truffle tasting dinner for $60 every Tuesday night. I read somewhere that the owner's father is actually from Piedmont and gets their truffles himself. It was also my first time at this restaurant.

The service:
Pleasant, efficient, and unobtrusive. Although it wouldn't surprise me if this may depend specifically on your server. Note that they only have bottled water, and at the end of the meal, they offered a 10% discount if we paid in cash.

The ambiance:
A pleasant surprise considering it is kind of in the middle of nowhere in a quiet warehouse area in Woodside. It had the feel of a cozy old-school Italian eatery. It was dark, but the restaurant had a nice buzz. At the back wall of the restaurant, they have shelves and a freezer section with retail food items as they are still very much a food market storefront, although I assume that has taken a backseat to the restaurant in recent years.

Bread and olive oil. Plain and simple.

RICOTTINA DI BUFALA, SPEK ALTO ADIGE D.O.P., SMOKED PROSCIUTTO, PEASANT BREAD The first thing that hit me when the dish came was the smell of truffle oil. There were real white truffle shavings, which I felt had a slightly different aroma than the most powerful smell of the dish. Regardless, it was a wonderful dish. The smokiness of the prosciutto paired with the creamy cheese, enhanced by the aroma of truffles. The inclusion of greens and bread helped to round out the spectrum of textures in each bite.

HOMEMADE PORCINI SCENTED FETTUCINE, WHITE TRUFFLE CREAM SAUCE The pasta was absolutely delicious. Perfect texture. Wonderful cream sauce that brought out the truffle aroma and the accent of porcini.

PAN SEARED VEAL MEDALLIONS, RUSTIC POTATO TORTINA, BARBARESCO RED WINE REDUCTION Beautifully cooked, sizeable portions of veal were enhanced by the presence of white truffles. The potato and vegetables were a nice touch to a well composed main course.

VALROHNA COCAO DUSTED CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE, MASCARPONE WHITE CHOCOLATE CHIP GELATO, DRIZZLED WITH WHITE TRUFFLE HONEY I enjoyed the gelato a lot, with that subtle sweet hint of truffle honey. I just wished there was more of it.

The comparison:
Like I wrote at the beginning, you really can't go wrong with either one. The truffle shavings at Locanda Verde were more generous, but it was a more complete meal with bigger portions at Sapori D'Ischia. Also, their truffles have to last for a while longer. Which is another bonus for them in that theirs is still going on, while Trufflepalooza was a one night event.

ESPN Films: Charismatic (entertainment, horseracing, tv)

2011-10-30T12:45:00.005-05:00

I've been a fan of almost all of the documentaries in ESPN Films' 30 for 30 series. While the 30th anniversary has passed, ESPN continues to release documentaries that had originally been planned, and they continue to be of extremely high quality.

"Charismatic" is the story of both the horse and its jockey, Chris Antley. Chris Antley was an extremely talented jockey who had battled substance abuse throughout his career. The kind of talent that is now completely gone from American horse racing in my view. I especially remember Chris Antley, as his first Kentucky Derby win aboard Strike The Gold was the first Derby winner I ever picked. Charismatic was an underachieving horse that became one of the biggest upset winners of the Kentucky Derby, and had a chance at the Triple Crown before breaking down in the final furlong of the Belmont.

Like most of the 30 for 30 documentaries, the subject matter transcends sports and is a human interest story that delves into real human drama. It was directed by Steven Michaels, son of legendary sportscaster Al Michaels. I highly recommend it, and you can watch it on Youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVY9M3Gyfmo

While we're at it, here's my favorite race call ever, featuring an exciting finish between two legends in turf racing and a roaring crowd: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sfUKPLowpM

NFL Picks Week 8 2011 (sport, gambling)

2011-10-29T07:42:00.002-05:00

As the season moves along, we learn more and more about the teams and get more data to work with. Perhaps the most relevant data for direct comparison is the first matchup of two division rivals for when they play again. This week offers the first divisional rematch on the schedule.

SD@KC
KC+3.5

The first time these two teams played, Kansas City had just come off two embarrassing blowouts to teams that we didn't know at the time were as good as they turned out to be (Detroit and Buffalo). Still, Kansas City managed to keep it close at the end on the road. That game was the first sign that the Chiefs weren't that bad and that the Chargers weren't as good as many had predicted. Now that they're playing at Arrowhead where the Chiefs have a solid home field advantage, I don't see how they would be blown out.

NFL Picks Week 7 2011 (sport, gambling)

2011-10-22T21:00:00.003-05:00

We're far enough into the season that teams have established themselves as being different from preseason expectations. For example, teams like Buffalo, San Francisco, and Detroit are legit, and their success has not been from just one lucky win after another. With that, we can do a better job of handicapping teams as we have a better understanding of the strength of their opponents so far this season.

SD@NYJ
NYJ-1

This line has been anywhere from NYJ+1 to NYJ-1. This is a perfect example of looking at the teams each of them has played. While the Chargers are 4-1, their four wins have been against four teams who have combined for four wins so far this season. The Jets, on the other hand, have had a tough schedule, and have shown to be able to take care of business at home. The Jets may be on a short week, but the Chargers also have to deal with an East coast 1pm start.

Curry-less Delights at Junoon (food)

2011-10-19T08:55:00.007-05:00

When most people think of Indian food, they think of curries. But Indian food has much more to offer than just that. At Junoon, the one-Michelin-starred modern Indian restaurant, they do a fantastic job of demonstrating just that. We had the five elements tasting menu, which was very reasonably priced at $85 and featured five different Indian cooking techniques (one of which is curry).

I want to note that we used Savored, which gave us 30% off the final bill pre-tax. That turned a good deal into a great deal. I highly recommend Savored to everyone and they continue to constantly add more good restaurants. If you do decide to sign up, please use my referral link: http://svrd.co/oj3EJw

Junoon is very ambitious in all aspects. The dining room is huge and opulent with high ceilings, carved teak, and a reflecting pool. It was impressive, and I am tired of the many food critics in New York (most notably and recently Sifton) who complain about opulent decor. There were plenty of servers on hand, although they were slow to refill water for the only spicy course of the night.

CINNAMON LASSI This was an absolutely fabulous drink. A slightly sweet, slightly tart, not-too-thin and not-too-thick yogurt with a perfume of cinnamon in every sip. I began to swirl the glass and smell it as if it was actually wine. However, something has to pay for all that opulent decor, and this came at an exorbitant price. This barely half-filled wine glass of yogurt and cinnamon cost $8.

AMUSE: SEMOLINA CAKE There wasn't much flavor in this, but I guess it's meant to be a bridge to the stronger flavors in the rest of the meal.

AJWAINI MUSHROOM - STONE COOKING - CHANTERELLE, TRUMPET ROYALE, AND SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS SCENTED WITH AJWAIN AND BLACK PEPPER ON CARAMELIZED ONIONS The mushrooms had good flavor and a nice cooked texture. For me however, the onions tasted like the onions you get on a hot dog, and tainted the dish for me as a whole.

BLACK BASS RECHEADO - CAST IRON COOKING - BLACK SEA BASS SEASONED WITH A CLOVE-CHILI PASTE SERVED WITH SAUTEED VEGETABLES The first thing I noticed was the pretty substantial portion of fish for a second course. While the skin was not crispy, it was cooked pretty well overall. The marinade and seasoning had completely penetrated the fish, giving it great flavor without any real need for curry or sauce.

VENISON BOTI KEBAB - OPEN FIRE PIT - CUBES OF VENISON MARINATED WITH YOGURT, LIME JUICE, GROUND FENNEL AND MUSTARD OIL It's hard to retain moisture with a kebab, especially the ones with a spit through them charring over an open flame. This one does a pretty good job considering, but if you're someone who must have their meat on the rare side, it might not work.

Accompanying our third course were naan, dal, and raita. Pretty good, but nothing amazing.

LOBSTER TANDOORI AND DAHI WALE LAMB CHOP - TANDOOR CLAY OVEN - LOBSTER TAIL IN A TANDOORI SPICE BLEND, LOCAL LAMB CHOP MARINATED IN YOGURT, CASHEW NUT, WHITE PEPPER, AND GREEN CARDAMOM While both meats in the surf and turf had a tasty char on the surface, they suffered from the same problem as the kebab. Due to the style of cooking, you are going to be left with lamb and lobster more cooked than in modern Western cuisine. I personally don't mind it because the Chinese have always overcooked lobster, but there are many who will not like the texture. For what it's worth, I thought they did a marvelous job in keeping the flesh as tender as possible given this method of cooking, and the marinades really penetrated the meat.

DUCK TELLICHERRY PEPPER - CURRY - CRISP DUCK BREAST SLICES ATOP RED RICE WITH A SAUCE OF TELLICHERRY PEPPERCORNS, CURRY LEAVES, TAMARIND PULP, AND COCONUT MILK So it wasn't completely curry-less, but this was curry in the sense that it was a sauce. The protein itself wasn't cooked in the curry, and this allowed the skin to remain crisp and the duck to be cooked to a medium rare. This was also the only dish of the night that had a spicy kick. It was not clear to me that this curry particularly enhanced the duck.

TRIO OF KULFI - FIG, GREEN APPLE, CARDAMOM Neither of us liked the dessert on the tasting menu, so we asked to replace it. They allowed us our choice from the dessert menu. The fig kulfi was quite nice, but the green apple was too tart. The cardamom was pretty good. The problem I really had with this dessert was one of texture. Kulfi, by nature, should be denser and creamier. However, in doing these fruit flavors, that richness disappeared and the texture was a mediocre limbo between ice cream and sorbet.

SPICED CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE CRUNCH, COCOA NIBS, AND CHAI ICE CREAM All the components of this were good, but there was nothing particularly novel.

MIGNARDISES Passionfruit gelee and I think coffee-flavored chocolate. Not particularly memorable.

Downstairs by the bathrooms is where they showcase the many spices they use. On one side is a table filled with spice jars.

There is also a whole room filled with more spices. I don't think the door was locked when I was there. Given some New Yorkers' affinity for umm... exploring restaurant bathrooms, I hope they lock the door in the future.

When we asked for the bill, it originally came without the Savored discount. But that was quickly taken care of with no problem when I mentioned it to the server. Overall it was a very good meal in an attractive setting. The modern interpretations of classic Indian cooking styles were very well executed, but you have to be predisposed to liking those cooking styles, especially with the meats. I think even without the discount, the $85 price for the tasting menu is reasonable considering how many expensive proteins were involved, including lobster tail, lamb, duck, and bass.

NFL Picks Week 6 2011 (sport, gambling)

2011-10-15T23:09:00.002-05:00

While there is plenty of parity in the NFL overall, the difference between really good teams and really bad teams is just too great. I think linesmakers often just can't make lines large enough.

STL@GB
GB-14

It might be 14.5 at some places, but I just don't see how a banged up Rams team can keep from getting routed by a team playing some of the best football on both sides of the ball I have seen in a long time.

MIA@NYJ
NYJ-6.5

It might be 7 at some places, but if you can get 6.5, I would say to jump on it. While the Jets' three consecutive losses have disappointed fans, a more objective look will reveal that all three losses were on the road to playoff contenders. When you consider that the Jets will be motivated and that the last time they played a home game against a bad team they won by 29 points, laying a TD sounds like very good value.

Limited Time: Matsutake Menu at Kajitsu (food)

2011-10-13T16:19:00.010-05:00

While many are waiting for truffle season to really kick in, there is already a delicacy that is in season right now. The matsutake mushroom is technically the most expensive mushroom in the world (truffles are technically not mushrooms). In fact, they are one of the very few types of mushrooms that they cook with on Iron Chef America.

Kajitsu is a Japanese vegan restaurant that I have raved about before. Right now in October, they have a special matsutake menu which they limit to 5 parties per night. Similar to truffles, the aroma is key with matsutakes, and the chef did a wonderful job of preserving that whenever a dish had those mushrooms as a component.

Our first sake pairing of the night.

TERRINE OF AUTUMN VEGETABLES WITH CHESTNUT CRUMBS Absolutely gorgeous. Beautiful colors and lots of vegetables. I think vegetables in aspic is a fairly common Japanese preparation. This one was simple, focusing on the clean taste of the vegetables.

It rested on top of parsnip puree, and had two small slices of wheat gluten cut to look like autumn leaves, further decorating the plate.

So just how many vegetables were in this? I asked for a list, and they were nice enough to write them down for me. The terrine base (portions are not uniform) includes: broccoli, asparagus, cabbage, lotus root, bell pepper, tomato, okra, snow peas, mitsuba, red beets, zucchini, edamame, celery, corn, and potato.

CLEAR SOUP WITH MATSUTAKE MUSHROOMS, FRIED TOFU, AND SUDACHI
The sudachi was the small slice of yuzu-like citrus. This was simple with very subtle flavors. A warm soup that focused on the aroma of the mushrooms. I thought the textural differences in the soup were interesting, with the mushroom slices and the fried tofu, although I'm personally not a fan of sogginess of the batter left in the soup.

More sake.

HOUSE-MADE UDON WITH GOMA-DARE, CHAYOTE, SHISO, SHICHIMI
I absolutely loved this. The goma-dare was a beautifully harmonized sesame sauce and the udon were perfectly chewy. While the last time I had goma-dare I had soba, I thought their version of udon worked perfectly with it.

MATSUTAKE TEMPURA Accompanying the noodles were these pieces of lightly fried matsutake.

This was the first really assertive sake we had.

SLOW SIMMERED VEGETABLES, FEATURING SATOIMO, CARROT, MIZUNA, FRIED TOFU, KABOCHA, GOBO Here, the vegetables were simmered separately and then put together at the end. Our favorite was the kabocha.

ASSORTMENT OF GRILLED VEGETABLES WITH SMOKED SOY SAUCE; MATSUTAKE MUSHROOM CROQUET WITH HIBISCUS LEAF; GRILLED AWA-FU WITH SWEET SOY SAUCE, BUCKWHEAT SEEDS, WASABI
The matsutake croquet had that wonderful mushroom earthiness in a creamy filling with a perfectly fried exterior. The awa-fu, like all their wheat gluten, has a texture that is definitely an acquired taste. It was fried this time.

Yet again, more vegetables than I could figure out. Luckily, they came through again: kabu turnip, kabu turnip leaf, fennel, fennel fronds, wax beans, enoki mushrooms, cherry tomato, tatsoi. The grilling and the smoked soy is there, but again, quite subtle.

Assortment of pickles for our final savory course. There was some eggplant and kelp in the assortment.

CLAY POT STEAMED RICE WITH MATSUTAKE MUSHROOMS

The aroma was bursting from this as they removed the lid.

A closer look, which was tough because of all the steam coming out.

The rice was hot and comforting, filled with the sweet umami of the wonderful mushrooms. For the three of us, there was probably a total of about eight bowls of this size.

RED MISO SOUP WITH EGGPLANT AND KARASHI Good strong flavor and again, served hot, which was important. This was very good and I had seconds.

SWEET POTATO KINTON WITH COCONUT TOFU CREAM, WALNUTS, AND MACADAMIA NUTS Like most of the desserts I've had at Kajitsu, the inside was filled with white bean paste. This overpowered any of the sweet potato or coconut tastes that were on the plate, but matched well with the nuts.

Assortment of sugar candies

Matcha to round out the meal. Another beautiful, solid meal at Kajitsu, and I think that the matsutake is worth the extra splurge ($100 instead of $70) if you like mushrooms. It's always impressive to consider the sheer variety of vegetables offered in every meal here.

Japanese Comfort Food (food)

2011-10-11T08:56:00.007-05:00

Now that the weather has shown clear signs of autumn, soul-warming comfort food is on the agenda. While a bowl of hot noodle soup certainly hits the spot, sometimes I'm in the mood for fried meat and hot rice.

Go-Go Curry (38th St/8th Ave)

One of my favorite places for fast, consistent comfort food at a great value. While Japanese curries in general tend to be a bit sweeter, this one tones down the sweetness and the curry actually seems more like a slightly thickened gravy. Accompanying the curry is rice, cabbage, and your choice of (mostly fried katsu-style) proteins available in four different sizes.

Or you can have it all with the grand slam for only $12.50. Pictured here, it includes one pork katsu (cutlet), one chicken katsu, one hard boiled egg, one shrimp katsu, and two berkshire sausages, along with a huge mound of rice and shredded cabbage smothered in their curry. The most disappointing (perhaps not so because my expectations are often low) is the shrimp katsu, with too much coating for very little meat. The pork and chicken cutlets are crispy, but a little on the thin side. It's perfectly fine when accompanied by the curry, but may disappoint those who (probably expect too much) are looking for particularly moist meat. The flavors are right on point though, and my favorite item is the berkshire sausage. The first thing I eat every time, they just burst with flavor with a delightful snap of the casing.

Katsuhama (preferred: 55th St/btw 5th and 6th Ave, original: 47th St/btw 5th and Madison Ave)

For exceptional katsu, Katsuhama is still my favorite place. While the original seems a bit dingy, the newer one on 55th is quite nice. Very bright and clean. The prices are yet again very reasonable, especially when you consider that the rice, cabbage, and pickles have unlimited refills. I stopped by the other night and saw that they now have a $24 prix fixe which is a great deal.

The mortar and pestle filled with sesame seeds. You grind the seeds yourself and then mix in the katsu sauce. Some tartar sauce because I ordered seafood, and some pickled daikon and cabbage.

For the first course, you get to choose one of five appetizers. I went with the sashimi salad, which was prettier and tastier than I would have thought. The miso soup is also unlimited refills.

For the main course, you get to choose one main katsu, and two side katsus. For the main katsu, I chose king salmon, and added one shrimp and one crab croquette. The salmon had good flavor, and the croquette was creamy. The shrimp here is much superior to the one at Go-Go Curry, and the fry job is excellent for everything.

But the real star of katsu is almost always pork, so I ordered an extra a la carte berkshire pork loin (shown here $20 for 180g). The a la carte is just $2 less than the set, but I already had rice and cabbage from the other set. In this case they gave me some potato salad as well. The pork katsu is fried perfectly. Crunchy, juicy, and full of pork flavor. Be careful that the hot mustard is indeed quite spicy. They also feature the berkshire tenderloin, but I feel that the tenderloin is too tender and does not gain from the expert frying.

There is also dessert included in the prix fixe. I chose the red bean ice cream. While there were red beans in it, the base looked and tasted fruity, which felt a little weird.

NFL Picks Week 5 2011 (sport, gambling)

2011-10-08T22:49:00.002-05:00

Bill Simmons wrote a few seasons ago that he thinks home field advantage has disappeared. I do agree that home field isn't as big as it used to be for all the teams as a whole, but there are certain teams for which home field matters significantly, and I think the home-road differential for these teams is being underestimated.

TEN@PIT
PIT-3

This line has moved significantly as it opened with the Steelers -5. People are jumping on the fact that the Steelers' offensive line has looked horrible, Big Ben is hurt, and Chris Johnson finally having a 100 yard game. Well, the 100 yard game was against the horrible Browns, and the Steelers are really good at home. Given that the Steelers do have a home field advantage, the line suggests both teams are even, and I don't agree with that assessment.

GB@ATL
ATL+5.5

Another line that has moved a lot from the GB-3.5 that it opened at. Atlanta is a much different team at home, and Green Bay hasn't been as dominant on the road. I expect this to be a competitive game, and I don't think it would really surprise anyone if lAtlanta won this one outright.

The John Dory @ Ace Hotel Review (food)

2011-10-05T13:00:00.005-05:00

A friend and I were in the area looking to grab a drink and ended up at the John Dory because the wait at the Breslin was going to be over an hour. While our hostess gave us the "we'll have a table for you shortly", we still ended up waiting almost half an hour while getting a drink standing at the bar.

Overall, it has a really good vibe, nice buzz, and a good crowd. With some nice cocktails, it's a good place to grab a drink, and the food is fine in that context. But with too many misses, it certainly is not the kind of place I would go for the food alone. The menu, besides the raw bar, mostly focuses on seafood and consists of small plates.

CHAR PATE WITH PARKER HOUSE ROLL The pate had the nice mild taste of (arctic) char and a nice texture that wasn't too much like a spread. While the parker house roll was soft on the inside, it just wasn't anywhere near as good as parker house rolls I've had elsewhere. I think a more traditional texture pairing of soft pate with toast/crunchy bread would have worked better.

CHORIZO STUFFED SQUID WITH SMOKED TOMATO My friend had this and liked it a lot.

BRANDADE WITH TOMATO TOAST Now this was a texture match that worked better for me. The presence of the tomato provided a welcome sharpness to the tasty but one-note brandade.

CHILLED CRAB AND AVOCADO Pretty much exactly as it sounds, although it was pleasantly spiced up by some hot sauce.

GRILLED OCTOPUS WITH EGGPLANT, GARBONZO BEANS, AND HARISSA The flavor pairing was quite nice in this dish, with the charred octopus, smoky eggplant, and earthy beans. However, this dish lost me the moment I bit into the octopus. While I appreciate octopus being tender, it still needs to have some give. This did not, and while it wasn't mush, the best word to describe the texture was limp.

OYSTER PAN ROAST WITH UNI CROSTINI No photo, but this was the wow dish of the night. As in "wow, that's disappointing". The crostini itself tasted very little of uni and very much of butter. The pan roast managed to be creamy without being rich and satisfying. To me, the genius of the Grand Central Oyster Bar's pan roast is the ability to present flavorful, briny oysters in a way that is warm and comforting. This did not come close.

NFL Picks Week 4 2011 (sport, gambling)

2011-10-01T12:35:00.003-05:00

There were a couple of remarkable comebacks last week, but the most amazing thing for me last week was that Chicago punt return TD that was called back. http://www.nfl.com/videos/auto/09000d5d8228f7c4/The-punt-return-that-never-was

MIN@KC
MIN 1H whatever the line is

The line for this game is Minnesota by 2.5, but I think the first half line needs to be at least Minnesota by 3. Despite being 0-3 this season, the Vikings have led during halftime in every one of those games, against teams much better than the Chiefs. In Kansas City's only game where they scored more than 7 points, they were held scoreless in the first half. This is one of those rare moments where the trends are very clear, but the books may not be able to set the line that reflects the trend because of the situation mathematically.

PIT@HOU
PIT +3.5

Pittsburgh's offensive line has looked horrible so far, but they still have weapons and know how to win. Houston's looked much more impressive so far, but they haven't played a strong defensive-minded team yet. I just don't think the Texans have proven themselves yet, and the extra half point is too much to give to a tough, experienced team.

Lincoln Ristorante: The Best Volume-Weighted Restaurant in NYC (food)

2011-09-28T23:22:00.009-05:00

What I mean is that while the quality of food at Lincoln is on par with the very top tier of restaurants in NYC, what makes it a truly astonishing restaurant is the number of customers. When we went last night, they did 200 covers on what they called "a slow night". The previous night, they did 300 covers. It's easy to have Michelin inspectors fawn over your 10+ canapes and dishes when you're doing 12 to 18 covers a night, but to produce this quality of food for this many people nightly is remarkable. Even more mind blowing is the fact that the open kitchen is not particularly huge, and that they don't have an army of people for their kitchen staff. One fish cook, one meat cook, two pasta cooks, two garde manger, and two saucier/garnish, with head chef Benno and his sous chef running the pass.

Atmosphere: Lincoln is a beautiful, elegant restaurant with extremely tall ceilings. We were seated in one of the dining rooms where the majestic floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the Juilliard dorms from our view. The lighting is dim without being dark, and the four of us sat at a very comfortable semi-circular banquette. There was a lot of space between tables.

Service: I had emailed the dining room manager Misha prior to our visit about dietary restrictions and everything was taken care of smoothly. He seemed genuinely interested in our passion for the food, and was very friendly. In fact, all the servers were friendly and engaging, with warm smiles. Water and wine glasses were refilled promptly, and while I did ask for more bread once, I did not have to ask for it again.

Food: After looking through the a la carte menu, we decided to opt for a chef's choice tasting menu. The chef was also able to specifically feature any dish that caught our eye from the menu. I pride myself on being able to pick the tastiest dishes off a menu, but this time I had to admit that the chef's choices were probably better than what I would have chosen from the menu.

IL GIORNO DOPO - DIMMI LIQUORE, COCCHI AMERICANO, LEMON JUICE, SPLASH OF ST GEORGE ABSINTHE VERTE I had arrived early and decided to have a drink at the bar. This was exactly along the lines of what I requested. Something vibrant but with a touch of sweetness to get the taste buds going.

Our wine for the evening was the FONTANAFREDDA ‘Vigna La Villa’ 2001 BAROLO D.O.C.G.

MUSHROOM CROSTINI Our amuse for the evening was packed with mushroom flavor.

OLIVE TAPENADE CROSTINI This was for our friend who couldn't eat mushrooms.

Our bread service for the evening featured wheat, rustic Italian white, focaccia brushed with lardo, rosemary, and pepper, and grissini (breadsticks) perked up with chili flakes. The grissini were the most popular, with the heat from the chili flakes making them quite addictive. More important for me was that they were not overly salted like ones I've had at other places. The lardo flavor on the focaccia was not particularly noticeable, which was a little disappointing.

OLIVE OIL with LEMON and WHITE BEAN PUREE with DRIED OLIVE BITS For us to have with our bread. We enjoyed both, although personally I would have preferred the white bean dip to have been a little thicker for the purposes of eating with the grissini.

CRUDO DI TONNO - BLUEFIN TUNA, HEIRLOOM TOMATOES, CELERY, LAMPASCIONI A wonderful dish where, to me, the tuna wasn't even the star. The tuna itself was very good, but more spectacularly it worked beautifully as a fatty, melty, wrap harmonizing the strong celery, onion, and nutty tomato flavors. At first I didn't even think the tuna was necessary, but then I realized that there wasn't much else that could have brought it all together like it did.

INSALATA DI BARBABIETOLE - SALUMERIA BIELLESE BRESAOLA, BEETS, GOAT CHEESE, WALNUTS, WATERCRESS Another dish featuring an amazing job of harmonizing flavors and textures. The sweetness of the beets, the earthiness of the walnut and watercress, the saltiness of the goat cheese and bresaola. The crunch of the walnut, the creaminess of the goat cheese, the tender beets, and the paper thin bresaola. All those things came together, made more incredible by the fact that the individual components are quite strong in their flavors. The thin slice of bresaola really worked here, and was certainly not something I would have thought of beforehand.

MALFATTI DI BIETOLA DA FOGLIA - BEET GREEN GNOCCHI, POPPY SEEDS, ORANGE The only way for me to describe this dish was that it was like a top class dim sum dumpling. The skin was thin and delicate, soft but with give, revealing a packed filling of chopped beet greens that had an almost spinach-like taste. The cheese and butter sauce gave it a nice creaminess and warmth that coated each bite.

AGNOLOTTI DI POLENTA E CODA DI BUE - ANSON MILLS YELLOW POLENTA, RED WINE BRAISED OXTAIL, SPIGARELLO, BEEF SUGO We had specifically requested that this dish be part of the tasting menu. The oxtail was cooked perfectly with strands of wonderful meat in a rich wine and beef jus. I had never heard of spigarello before this dish. It had a slight broccoli taste without the bitterness of broccoli rabe, while the leafy texture paired well with the strands of oxtail meat. We did not feel that the pasta was as successful, however. Using polenta as the pasta filling did not allow either texture to stand out, and the polenta flavor wasn't strong enough to stand toe to toe with the rich oxtail. I think a sweet corn filling for the pasta would have been perfect.

RIGATONI WITH TOMATO SAUCE For our friend who wanted something lighter, he was served something very simple. Perhaps too simple, but the tomato sauce was indeed light and fresh without being overly sweet or acidic or overpowered with herbs. The pasta was cooked perfectly.

MELANZANE ALLA PARMIGIANA We decided to order some sides to go with our main course. The eggplant parmigiana was a sizeable portion that was flavorful and well executed. At the same time, like the rigatoni, it seemed rather pedestrian.

GNOCCHI DI PATATE The gnocchi were soft and pillowy, and came with a rich, thin, creamy sauce.

FUNGHI MISTI A collection of four mushrooms bursting with flavor and warmed by the saute butter. All the mushrooms had a perfect, tender texture similar to that of a perfectly cooked shrimp.

AGNELLO - LAMB LOIN CHOP, FAIRY TALE EGGPLANT, ARTICHOKES, SUGO D'AGNELLO This was an incredible main course. A couple of us thought that it was the best lamb we've ever had. Phenomenal flavor and the most amazing cooking job. Cutting a cross-section of the meat revealed a perfectly consistent gradation of color and texture from the outside char to a mostly pink inside to a small rare center. The meat was juicy throughout and there were a couple of pieces of fat lining the outer edge of the lamb chop. The fat was tender and flavorful, but not necessary if that's not your thing.

For the other three of us, we were eagerly anticipating what would be revealed under the lid.

MAIALE PER DUE - RAVEN & BOAR FARM'S WHEY FED SUCKLING PIG, CRANBERRY BEANS, PEPERONATA, PORK SAUCE The pork shoulder for two is slow cooked and confited with duck fat. The skin is crispy, the meat is fork tender, and the rendered fat is soft and silky. The bean stew is a tasty accompaniment, with a decided spiciness that worked well with the fat and porcine flavor.

SORBETTI For a predessert, we were offered sorbets. Concord grape for the gentlemen, cantaloupe for the ladies. Very refreshing.

BUTTERMILK PANNA COTTA - STRAWBERRIES, RASPBERRIES, BLACKBERRIES, MOSCATO GELEE For the ladies, a fruit-based dessert. I do not know if this is a normal policy to give different desserts to men and women, and I wonder what some customers might think of this.

TORTA CAPRESE - CHOCOLATE AND COFFEE BUDINO, MIRTO HUCKLEBERRY COULIS, CHOCOLATE TORTA, CARDAMOM, COFFEE GELATO My favorite part of this was the coffee gelato, which felt more like ice cream to me, served with cocoa nibs.

Petit fours with chocolate caramels and biscotti.

After the meal, we walked by the open kitchen and got to chat with chef Benno. We discussed the difference between his food here versus his food at Per Se. "When you do 10-12 courses, you can be more subtle. When you only do 5 or 6, you have to pack more of a punch in each course, and the portions are bigger." That's exactly it. His same great flavors are louder here. At first I was worried that 5 courses plus dessert wouldn't be enough for me, but I was completely and happily full by the end. Although I did eat slightly more of the pork and had some of the lamb.

Go to Lincoln and marvel at the refined compositions of antipasti and salads. Then delight in the delicate pastas and be sated by the generous portions of perfectly cooked mains. Benno's vision was to create a restaurant where one could both have a quick meal before the show as well as celebrate a special occasion with a long spectacular meal, and I think he's succeeded.

NFL Picks Week 3 2011 (sport, gambling)

2011-09-24T20:22:00.002-05:00

While the NFL has always strived for parity, there is a pretty big gap this season between the good teams and the bad teams. This week is quite interesting in that many of the games feature even matchups of good teams or bad teams.

ARI@SEA
SEA+3.5

Arizona is one of those teams that are really bad. Yet people don't completely see that because they have well-known names from a fantasy football standpoint like Kolb and Fitzgerald. Their defense, especially their secondary, has been dreadful. Not that there's anything really nice to say about the Seattle offense, but you can disregard last week's performance on the road against an angry Steelers team. With the 12th man back on their side for their home opener, I think Seattle will take this one as Arizona won't be able to score enough to overcome their dreadful defense.

GB@CHI
Over 45.5

One of the oldest and most storied rivalries in football, these two teams have played under the total in their last 7 games. However, I think this is the game to break that streak. We all know about the Packers' offense, with Rodgers at the helm. But their defense has shown this year that they can be thrown on, and the Bears do love to throw the ball. Chicago has been an abysmal 28.6% in third down conversions so far through two games, but the Packers' defense has also allowed a 55% conversion rate on third downs to opponents. Something's got to give, and I think we're going to see an entertaining game with lots of offense.

Keens Steakhouse: Terrific Mutton Chops. Porterhouse Could Be Better. Now with Bacon! (food)

2011-09-22T09:12:00.007-05:00

I love taking people to Keens Steakhouse. It's conveniently located on 36th street and 6th avenue, close to Penn Station and close enough to Times Square. The food is very good, the single malt list is extensive, and the really old school environment is something to behold. I was actually mildly surprised when I took a friend there recently to discover that even a place this old and steeped in history still tries to come up with something new on occasion.

I'm talking about bacon. A slab bacon appetizer was added to the menu about 4 months ago. While it wasn't quite as meaty as the bacon at Luger, it was still plenty flavorful. The accompanying tomatoes and greens went perfectly with the bacon, adding some nuttiness, bitterness, and acidity to counteract the feeling of shoving pure grease into your mouth.

Nice aged Longmorn, neat. The single malt list is truly impressive.

The mutton chop is my favorite thing to get here. Cooked to a perfect medium (it still gets really red next to the bone), the meat is flavorful, the fat from the "chops" is luscious, and the homemade mint jelly goes great with it. As I was splitting this with a friend, they were nice enough to slice it off the bone for us.

This was my first time ordering the porterhouse for two. While the meat flavor was there, there wasn't really enough of a minerally, dry-aged tang to it. Also, serving it sliced and resting on a cutting board allowed it to dry out and get cold quickly. This is significantly inferior to the way Luger serves it, on a super hot plate and resting in its own drippings to stay moist.

While offering a range of steakhouse staples, the desserts manage to be fairly strong here. My friend loved his red berry bibble, shown here without the ice cream that usually accompanies it.

I had to have the coffee cantata. It's basically a sundae with coffee ice cream and some raspberry, and some very good fudge sauce. I mentioned to our server that I used to like their indian pudding, which they took off the menu a while back, and he replied that I was probably one of about five people who did.

I always highly recommend Keens, but I would definitely suggest sticking with the mutton chop over the porterhouse.

NFL Picks Week 2 2011 (sport, gambling)

2011-09-17T19:43:00.002-05:00

There was a lot of scoring in the NFL last week. A lot of quarterbacks had big games, and I think the lines have moved in response to the explosion of offense in the first week. So for this week's picks, I'm taking two unders.

SD@NE
Under 53.5

This line will probably keep going up as game time approaches. How could it not? Two of the most prolific offenses in recent memory going up against each other, and with Monday night's high scoring Pats-Dolphins game fresh in everyone's minds. But are these two teams particularly better now than they were last year? In last year's matchup, they put up 43 total on a 48.5 line. I just think this is one of those lines where the public is one way and the sharps will be going the other.

PHI@ATL
Under 49.5

The Eagles can certainly be explosive with Vick under center, but a line near or above 50 should almost always be reserved for two passing powerhouses, in my opinion. And that is not what these two teams are. Even if Atlanta is running on all cylinders offensively, they would, in fact, be running. A lot. I see a lot of drives being kept alive, but I don't know that they'll be heading into the endzones particularly frequently.

Dinner at Kin Shop (food)

2011-09-17T18:36:00.004-05:00

I'm normally not a fan of Top Chef, but I had read some really good things about this modern Thai restaurant from Harold Dieterle, the first season winner of the popular show. As I was visiting a friend in the West Village, we decided to give it a try. All the photos are courtesy of his camera phone as I was not planning any fancy food excursion.

I cannot speak to its Thai "authenticity" as we did not try any spicy dishes, as well as the fact that the restaurant calls itself a "modern Thai" restaurant. Everything we had was delicious, although we did not have anything that I would call truly spectacular. With its tasty, well-executed food, surprisingly reasonable prices, and interesting interpretations, Kin Shop, in my view, is a wonderful neighborhood restaurant definitely worth a visit.

Our appetizers included grilled prawns and pork and oyster salad.

Fried Pork & Crispy Oyster Salad with celery, peanuts, mint & chili-lime vinaigrette. I enjoyed this dish very much. Pork and oysters go well together, and the crunchy textures throughout livened my appetite. Surprisingly light and fit to be called a salad, despite fried pork and oysters.

Grilled Prawns with fresh lime & "phuket style" black pepper sauce. The prawns cost $4 each and had a wonderful grilled aroma. They're not particularly large for the price, but reasonable and well cooked.

Roasted Duck Breast & Red Curry with crispy roti, green mango, fresh herbs & tamarind water. The duck was cooked well, but the red curry didn't really do anything for me, and it was not a particularly special combination.

Braised Goat & Massaman Curry with fried shallots, purple yams, mustard greens & toasted coconut. I really really enjoyed this dish. The flavorful fork-tender braised goat went well with the comforting massaman curry. The accompaniments all worked well and this is a wonderful dish to eat over white rice.

Duck Confit Fried Rice (Can't find it on the online menu). Rice, however, does not come with entrees, and so I decided to order a side of duck confit fried rice. It was a pleasantly large portion for $10. The duck was rich in flavor and not dry at all, which is something that can easily happen with proteins in fried rice.

NFL Picks Week 1 2011 (sport, gambling)

2011-09-11T00:28:00.002-05:00

It's always hard to gauge how much an injury will affect a team. In the NBA, the line usually moves too much in response to an injury of a star player, and I've read about plenty of systems fading that move. I'm not so sure that's the case in the NFL however, since star players are much harder to replace, and because so many more plays have to be successful just to get a score in the NFL.

IND@HOU
Under 44

So for my first pick, I'm going on the assumption that the loss of Peyton Manning and Arian Foster (whether he misses the game or plays in a weakened state) will be worth at least two scores. In their last 10 matchups, the two teams have combined for an average of 54 points while the O/U line has averaged 48. I think 44 represents good value here. Besides the loss in actual scores, every TD that now becomes a FG is a 4 point differential.

PIT@BAL
Over 36.5

We all know how good both defenses are. But there is plenty of optimism about how good both offenses can be as well. Both teams do execute their gameplans well and tend to be very well prepared. In the end, both defenses are getting older while both offenses have players entering their prime. I think this is a good time to jump aboard both teams' offensive bandwagons before people realize how good they are.

NFL Regular Season Wins Futures Bet (sport, gambling)

2011-09-07T19:34:00.002-05:00

Another NFL season is upon us, and without any major changes like an 18-game schedule. I began looking at regular season wins futures bets last season, when I picked the Chiefs over and the Bills under. I followed that up with an easy Knicks over for the NBA season, and was tempted by the Mariners' low number (60 wins) to take the over, but didn't pull the trigger.

I think a regular season wins futures bet is a terrific way to add interest to the season, especially for someone like me who doesn't follow a specific team, while avoiding the temptation to overbet during the season. Every week I'll have a few teams to specifically root for or against.

First up are the Cincinnati Bengals. The number opened at around 7 wins, and was quickly bet down by smart money to the point where right now it's about 5.5 wins with -165 on the under. The early line was caused by the easy schedule. However, I look at their depth chart and I only recognize Cedric Benson on offense. With the owner willing to pay Palmer $11 million to warm the bench out of spite, I don't see why they wouldn't be aiming for the Andrew Luck sweepstakes.

Next, remaining in the same division, are the Pittsburgh Steelers. Some may be worried about the Super Bowl loser's curse, but the team looks a lot healthier and the offense looks like it could do a lot of damage. Then again, everyone knows that and the line is at 10.5 wins with the over at -135. I think it's still worth taking, as they have a comfortable-looking schedule after the bye week, and they will probably need every win they can get to keep up with the Ravens.

Speaking of the Baltimore Ravens, they are my favorite bet by far. The line is 10.5 wins with the over offered at +105. While I do believe that the Steelers are the better team, I think the Ravens have a bit of an edge in their overall schedule. While both teams play the NFC South, the Ravens get the two tougher teams (Indianapolis and Houston) at home while the Steelers get them on the road. The Ravens also get the Jets instead of the Patriots, which I think is an easier match up. This is a team that won 12 games last season, and I see no reason for a 2 game drop off.

My final pick is the New York Giants under 9.5 wins. There's a premium you have to pay to make this bet as the under is -175. The Giants defense has been hit by injuries while I think the offense will suffer with the loss of last year's third receiver and tight end. With three out of division opponents that I think they can't beat (@Patriots, @Saints, and Packers), they will go under the number just by losing all their games against the Eagles and the Cowboys, which I think can very easily happen.

Summary:
Cincinnati Bengals Under 5.5 -165
Pittsburgh Steelers Over 10.5 -135
New York Giants Under 9.5 -175

5 Star Recommendation:
Baltimore Ravens Over 10.5 +105

A Quick Comment on the US Economy (economics/politics)

2011-09-03T23:33:00.002-05:00

I was at the mall a couple of weeks ago doing some shopping and doing my part to stimulate the economy. Actually, I hate that term. Politicians and CNBC talking heads keep going on and on about stimulating the economy. That, to me, implies that the economy is like some stalled car that just needs some minor adjustments. I don't buy that. I think the engine is completely under water and totaled. Even if the original model did work (which I question), I feel that it is certainly broken now by the events of the last five years.

To use another analogy, the current belief is similar to saying the economy is like some dominoes set up where we just need to stimulate it by tipping over that first domino, and the rest will continue falling. My view is that given what has happened, people are far from incentivized to keep those dominoes falling. The setup itself is broken.

Anyway, back to the mall. So I'm in Foot Locker trying to buy a new pair of basketball shoes. I see all these Nikes, classified by LeBrons, Kobes, Jordans, etc. None of them looked like they would actually be great for basketball. Is this what the kids are buying these days at $150 a pop? So I ask one of the salespeople which are the most durable basketball shoes, considering that I actually plan to play in them. Obviously noone has asked such a question before, so he went and asked another salesperson which of the shoes are durable. Her response? "What does that word even mean, durable?"

Which leads me to wonder how we can classify this economy of ours? Are we a service economy? Because such lack of knowledge about the product doesn't feel much like service to me. Are we a manufacturing economy? Seems like the majority of the stuff we manufacture is not practical if the basketball shoes we are selling are not really good for basketball. I guess we're just the economy where we're trying to sell anything we can to the next schmuck (like our debt and money printing). Sooner or later, we're going to run out of schmucks to buy our crap, right?

SHO Shaun Hergatt Review: Exceptional Food To Be "Savored" (food)

2011-09-03T20:32:00.007-05:00

First of all, I made my reservation using Savored. Formerly known as VillageVines, it's an interesting restaurant deal concept. Basically, you make your reservation online through their system. The reservation will cost $10, but 30% (40% in Boston) will come off your total bill (including wine!) at the end. Great savings and no commitment to buying something you don't want with a later upsell. No hassle, and the reservation can be cancelled pretty close to reservation time. They have a large number of restaurants on their list so it's worth using even for the occasional dinner out. I definitely suggest checking it out, and if you decide to sign up, please use my referral link here.

I obviously wanted to make sure that it worked, so I visited a couple of weeks before my reservation to see if anything was off limits with the discount. In that regard, SHO's Reservations and Training Manager Heather was extremely pleasant and helpful. I found out that while we could not ask for some specially created extended tasting, the discount would apply to the prix fixe or the tasting menu, and was still applicable when we decided to have the tasting menu and supplement a course from the prix fixe.

As for the rest of this review, I must warn all those readers who really just look at pictures that unfortunately, I forgot my camera due to a hectic day, and the cell phone I used to take some pictures did not have a flash, and ran out of batteries early in the meal.

First, a mention of the service. While the service was not bad, it left much to be desired for a restaurant with food of this caliber. I did not like that some of the people who brought food had accents that made it hard to hear them describe the dish (something that I mentioned back in my 2009 review), and in one case they didn't even bother with the description of the dish. At the end of the meal, we were hoping to get to thank the chef in person and discuss one of the dishes, but he was on the phone, and after we waited for a while, there was no further update. There was definitely a bright point though in Marissa, who was engaging and helped us pick out some wonderful wines. I think she is the co-wine director, as her name is listed on the online wine list. However, I also saw her bringing out dishes to some tables, which kind of muddles her role in my mind. That, in essence, is what I feel is missing about the service at SHO. A sense of order. A hierarchy of server, captain, manager, etc.

The food, most importantly, was exceptional. We had the tomato-centric tasting menu, supplemented a fish course, and replaced a couple of dishes to cater to dietary restrictions. Everything was tasty with some smart and interesting touches.

We started with a selection of canapes. Here was a small shot glass of pea puree with coconut foam. Light and refreshing.

Fried balls of potato and a little foie gras. The foie gras flavor wasn't particularly strong, and overall it had a nice beignet-like taste even though it was savory.

After the canapes, we had a small amuse. It was a sweet prawn with masago and was fresh and light, although not particularly intense in flavor.

The bread selection was quite good, with white, multi-grain, and rosemary olive rolls. My favorite was the multi-grain, which had robust flavor and texture from the seeds on the outside while the inside was soft and warm.

The real winner though, was the truffle butter. Among the best we've ever had with a perfect combination of creaminess and truffle flavor. Notice how much bigger the serving is compared to the regular butter. We ended up having about 5 servings total for the 3 of us.

CARPACCIO OF ROMA TOMATO CONFIT Simple, familiar, tastes were given ingenious textural twists. The tomato confit was peeled and oven-baked, allowing it to have an intensified flavor along the lines of sun-dried tomatoes, while remaining very juicy. Even better, the juices were contained in the bite of the carpaccio itself instead of leaking away. Also on the plate were small mounds of goat cheese panna cotta, which had a smooth, silky texture.

OVEN ROASTED TOMATO AND FENNEL SOUP The soup was fine, but the interesting components of the dish were a tomato gelee underneath the soup and a green basil espuma which combined for an interesting mix of textures. I think another component with a crispy texture would have really completed the dish. In addition, the garnishes on the peeled tomatoes were both very pretty and provided subtle hints of flavor.

TOMATO OIL CONFIT PRAWN The tomato oil and prawn smelled wonderful and was very well cooked. The sweet prawn went well with the warm tomato oil and was livened by a tomato and kaffir lime leaf sambal.

SALT PRESSED PETUNA OCEAN TROUT My friend DC could not have the prawn, so they presented this dish of alternating chilled slices of ocean trout and pear. It was quite good, and an especially fitting cold starter. None of us had tried or even thought of this fish and pear combination before, but it works.

SOUS VIDE EAST COAST HALIBUT Perfectly cooked, this was a robust piece of fish sauced nicely with a black olive oil and a cherry tomato vinaigrette. However, I felt that this was probably the least special of the dishes.

CRISPY DIAMONDS OF BRANZINO This was the dish that we added because that's how we roll. Perfectly cooked with crispy skin and flaky flesh, the accompanying liquid arugula, kalamata olive, and baby cucumbers were a fantastic combination of flavors and textures coming together in harmony in each bite.

UPSTATE NEW YORK QUAIL Absolutely wonderful. For the tomato-centric menu that had been fairly light up to this point, this was the perfect last savory course. The quail flavor was strong yet warm and comforting. The meat was soft and juicy but with a good biting texture that gave way to the foie gras on the inside. The foie gras managed not to dominate the quail flavor, but instead accentuated the flavors by adding a fattiness and a creamy finish to each bite.

CHILLED FINGERLING ESPUMA WITH COLD GNOCCHI, QUAIL EGGS, AND KAVIARI CAVIAR My friend DC couldn't have the quail, and instead went with a cold appetizer to end the savory courses. This was another example of innovative textures with familar flavor combinations. The cold potato and caviar is a classic, and the quail eggs did a nice job of bringing it all together.

SATUR FARMS YELLOW TOMATO SORBET Our pre-dessert was relatively simple and tasted exactly like what it was supposed to be.

TRISTAR STRAWBERRIES, TOMATO ESPUMA, AGED BALSAMIC Again a relatively simple dessert. The strawberries were sweet and went well with the tomato espuma, although I didn't think the balsamic was necessary.

CHOCOLATE CREMEUX WITH HONEYCOMB AND MILK ICE CREAM We were just there to have a good meal, but during our quail course, SC mentioned that we should just consider this meal an early birthday celebration as we had ordered some of her favorite wines. This was just in passing conversation, but they must have overheard and thoughtfully brought this extra dessert with "Happy Birthday" written in chocolate on the plate. This was delicious, with two different textures from the chocolate on top and the honeycomb inside. The milk ice cream was perfect in bridging those two components.

CHOCOLATES AND PETIT FOURS An okay selection.

Speaking of wine, SHO has a very impressive high end wine list, including 4 DRCs. And they aren't even the most expensive bottles! Browsing through the list online, they have a bottle listed at $15000. For our meal, we started with a Laurent Perrier Rosé, Tours-Sur-Marne, followed by the Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru, 'Le Grand Maupertuis,' Domaine Anne Gros 2004 for the meal proper, and ended with a Riesling Beerenauslese, H. Boch, 'Trittenheimer Apotheke,' Mosel, which held up well to both the strawberries and the chocolate.

Savored did indeed come through, with over $300 coming off our final bill. Looking back at my 2009 review, the food really has always been exceptional at SHO. Now that there's a 30% discount involved, there's no excuse not to go.

Buffett, BAC, and AAPL (stock/trading)

2011-08-28T11:13:00.002-05:00

This past week was quite a week for the markets, with a record move in gold and Bernanke's comments leading the charge. However, there was also unexpected news in Warren Buffett's investment in Bank of America and the resignation of Steve Jobs from Apple.

Yes it's true that Buffett made an investment in BAC, but I certainly don't think it's the vote of confidence some make it out to be. The worst offender in that regard, as always, is CNBC. Early in the morning, their main caption headline was "BAC up on Buffett investment in stock". This is very misleading. The cumulative perpetually preferred shares Buffett received can barely be classified as stock. With a guaranteed 6% return, and no market risk (par liquidation value), Buffett is not really accumulating any real equity in the company. Then there are the warrants, which give Buffett the ability, but not the obligation, to truly invest in BAC stock.

So what does it mean for BAC shareholders? Yes, there's a vote of confidence that BAC will not go bankrupt any time soon. But at the same time, the warrants mean that the shareholders can suffer heavy dilution at any time. Who wants to own equity in a company that has such an huge overhang limiting its upside? Of course some say that Buffett is a long term investor. If Buffett exercises those warrants, it's because he plans to hold a large piece of the company for a long time. That may be true. But the warrants last for 10 years, and is it clear that Buffett will still be there in that time?

Which leads me to what I thought was one of the more interesting questions to come out of the events this week. Would I rather have Berkshire without Buffett or Apple without Jobs? Who has the bigger impact on their respective company? Will Apple be slow to innovate without Jobs like the struggles Microsoft has had? Will Berkshire be able to get the same vulture-tastic deals without Buffett? I personally think AAPL is the better bet there as it has such a loyal customer base.

Speaking of vulture-tastic deals, how does this BAC deal compare? Obviously the 6% pales in comparison to the 10% GS deal. A deal so one-sided GS couldn't buy Buffett out quick enough. While Buffett reportedly is offering BAC a better deal because conditions are better, I don't buy it. I think it's a statement to the fact that there are fewer opportunities to get an equivalent return elsewhere. While the investment may be a vote of confidence that BAC isn't going bankrupt any time soon, I think it shows a lack of confidence in the future economic outlook.

Cheap Eats Around the Area (food)

2011-08-28T09:19:00.006-05:00

Some may be good, some may be meh, but all the food in this post is definitely cheap, and not far away from where I am.

Uncle Zhou's 83-29 Broadway (Dongan Avenue), Elmhurst, Queens

A favorite of Queens Chowhounders, this place has excellent noodles and terrific broths. It also had a good writeup in the NYT not that long ago. But the thing that really stood out for me was when I was in there one morning and the owner refused shipment on a delivery of lamb because the lamb was already diced. They wanted whole chunks of lamb which their cooks would butcher and break down themselves. That's a good sign that the food will be great.

The signature stewed noodles ($5.5) are wonderful with its rich lamb broth, cubes of lamb meat, and chewy knife-shaved noodles. Because of the way the noodles are served, they hold up well to take out in the broth.

More surprising for me were the lamb dumplings ($3 for 9). The dumplings were juicy with a good bite to the skin, but the really great thing was how flavorful the minced lamb filling was. So flavorful in fact, that it borders on funky, so it's definitely not for everyone in my opinion.

Krystal's Cafe 6902 Roosevelt Ave, Woodside, Queens

There are a lot of Indian lunch buffets around the 74th street area, but it was refreshing to find a Filipino buffet that's both good and cheap. The buffet ($7.37) is on the second floor of the cafe/bakery. You have to walk in and go to the stairs in the back, as the ground floor cafe does not serve the buffet.

There are about 10 total items including rice and noodles. The items really do tend to change daily while most of the Indian buffets tend to only switch one or two of the vegetarian options on occasion. Proteins range from fried chicken, beef, and pork, to Filipino staples like milkfish and jackfruit.

Besides the food items, there is also all you can drink soda (Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite) poured out of pitchers, as well as dessert. The dessert selection is quite good (the place is also a bakery), and tends to change daily as well.

Little Caesars 86-10 Roosevelt Ave, Jackson Heights, Queens

Yes, that Little Caesars. The one that had "Pizza! Pizza!" as its catchphrase in commercials when I was growing up. The one that was once the second most popular pizza in the US and is now the fastest growing pizza chain in the world. The signature product right now is a $5 Hot-N-Ready Pepperoni Pizza. The pizza is premade and kept warm in an oven, so it is always available. However, when you catch them at a busy time, the pizzas will come out fresh.

It's pretty much like any chain pizza. The dough isn't bad, but definitely needs to be cooked more well done for NY tastes. In the end, it's about being able to get a full sized pepperoni pizza for $5, which is great for kids.

Jose Fish Market 81-04 Roosevelt Ave, Elmhurst, Queens

Everyone loves fried food, and fried seafood allows one to indulge without feeling guilty about making a completely unhealthy choice.

The fried whiting/shrimp/scallop combo with fries ($6). Certainly a lot of food for that price. I don't think even "fried seafood" chains like Long John Silvers can compete with that price.

A closer look reveals the large mound of fries underneath as well. Honestly, the fry job wasn't bad. The shrimp and scallop lacked real flavor though, so I would recommend only getting fish and chips next time.

Corn and meat skewer stand, 82nd street, Roosevelt Ave

While the corn and tamales stand that pops up next to the taco trucks at the 74th street station is closer to me, they don't grill their corn which gives it just a bit more flavor. The corn at the 82nd street stand is pre-grilled, but they throw it on the coals to finish when you order one. Then the usual mayonnaise and chili powder and you have a terrific snack for $2.5.

Tacos and Juice place opposite the park/basketball courts near Elmhurst Hospital

I go here once in a while after playing basketball. Can't even tell you the address or the name of the place. But they have everything from tacos to enchiladas, and fresh squeezed juice.

There's a good amount of meat in the tacos, all made to order.

But the thing that makes this place special is the 3 tacos + juice deal during the day. They used to advertise it but don't anymore. I think you can still get it if you ask. Anyway, for $6, you get three tacos plus a freshly squeezed juice. Given that even tacos from the taco trucks by the subway station run $2.5 per and freshly squeezed juice can run $6 easily in Manhattan, this is quite an amazing deal. Here I had some carrot juice with my tacos.

iCook Teriyaki 85-08 Roosevelt Ave, Jackson Heights, NY

This is pretty much like the food from teriyaki chicken stalls you find in big mall food courts, but sometimes that's all one craves. Chicken, slightly sweet sauce, and rice.

This was the chicken and shrimp combo over a large mound of vegetable fried rice. The shrimp wasn't bad, but I would suggest just getting the chicken. There actually is a lot of food here for $6.75, as the container is quite wide with lots of fried rice and it comes with a small side salad.

Coming Back Soon!

2011-08-21T21:45:00.001-05:00

My laptop broke so I haven't been able to write anything. Now that I bought another one, there should be a cheap eats post, a restaurant meal review post, and NFL preview post coming up real soon. Please be patient.

Some Tasty Lunches (food)

2011-07-08T18:06:00.008-05:00

With no job taking me into the city, I tend to only eat in Manhattan when I'm catching up with friends. Here are some tasty Manhattan lunches I've had in the last couple of months.

Chinatown Brasserie:

I've written about Chinatown Brasserie before, and still think they are the only restaurant in NYC that makes dim sum close to hotel-quality dim sum in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, their prices are also comparable. For lunch, however, they have a decent prix fixe menu. For $17+t/t, you can get a small selection of 4 pieces of dim sum with an entree, or a full assortment of 8 pieces of dim sum with salad or noodles.

Cold Green Sesame Noodles.

An extra four pieces of dim sum for a $4 supplement.

Assortment of eight pieces, including some sticky rice in lotus leaf to help fill up.

Four pieces of dim sum preceding an entree.

Steamed bass with bok choy. A sizeable portion of fish and vegetables.

The dim sum was spot on as usual. The fried pieces were not greasy at all. The steamed pieces had delicate thin skins. The fillings were fresh and delicious, and had no random filler. I was most surprised by how big the portion of fish was, and think that it's a much better deal than the dim sum assortment.

Artichoke Pizza:

Still my favorite slice in Manhattan proper, the square slice ($4) at Artichoke (original EV location) is still the closest I've had to DiFara's square slice.

Luke's Lobster:

Lobster rolls have been kind of trendy lately, so I decided to give the well-reviewed Luke's Lobster a try.

Lobster roll. Good amount of meat, but it just doesn't fill me up at all. It was all right, but certainly not something I would crave. A combo including the lobster roll, soda, pickle, and a bag of chips cost $17.

Crab roll. Ordered the crab roll a la carte for $10. The crab roll was better as it had a sweeter flavor from the crab, although it did not feel as meaty.

Mary's Fish Camp:

A popular spot in the West Village focusing on fresh seafood. I can certainly understand its popularity, as a well-to-do neighborhood really should have a fresh, simple, seafood spot.

Fried Oysters and Clams with Fish Camp Tartar Sauce ($11). Nicely fried, plump and juicy bivalves. To me the clams were the standout, and much better than the majority of fried clam strips I got while up in Boston.

Fried Atlantic Cod Sandwich with French Fries ($18). The fish was fresh, although the serving felt a bit small. The bread was good and the sandwich as a whole was done well. The fries were ok.

Sardine Sandwich with Salad ($15). Enjoyed this a lot. The sardines had great flavor and the accompaniments worked really well together with the fish and the bread. The greens were ok.

Like I said, I don't get out into Manhattan much nowadays, so sometimes I will go for some good local food nearby. Uncle Zhou Restaurant, a relative newcomer in the Elmhurst area, has great Chowhound reviews which are well-deserved. It has replaced Lao Bei Fang down the street as my go-to place for delicious noodles and dumplings.

Dial Oil Hand Drawn Noodles ($5.25). That's the English name for this on their menu. Directly translated, it's hand-pulled noodles splashed in oil. In addition to the splash of chili oil, there's a bunch of raw garlic and some vinegar. It's quite strong and not for everyone. I don't know that I would eat this by itself, but rather with some other dishes to go with the strong flavors.

They offer a range of steamed dumplings. I've had the pork and celery ($3 for 10) and the lamb dumplings ($3 for 9). The lamb dumplings are really good. Strong lamb flavor, reflecting that "funk" that some people sense when eating lamb. If you really like lamb you should like this a lot. One morning when I visited, the owner refused delivery of pre-diced lamb, stating that they liked to get whole chunks and butcher it themselves. That's pretty awesome.

Nutritious stewed lamb noodles ($5.75) were also terrific. The lamb broth was full of stewed lamb flavor, and there were pieces of fresh looking diced lamb. The noodles were terrific, and more importantly for me, held up well in the soup through my 10+ block trek taking the bowl of noodles home.

The Chowhound thread on Uncle Zhou also discusses many dishes that I haven't tried, one of which is a Chinese version of turducken that needs to be pre-ordered. It's a quail stuffed in a squab stuffed in a chicken stuffed in a duck. I don't know how many people it would serve, but it certainly sounds intriguing. Who wants to go try it with me?

TV: Some New, Some Old, Some Good Some Bad (TV)

2011-06-26T17:35:00.002-05:00

The summer TV season is upon us, and for me, it usually means that basic cable dominates my DVR. But before we get to those shows, there were still a couple of shows that I had to finish.

Some Good: I tend to rotate my premium cable subscription depending on which series have finished and could be viewed in entirety on demand. I'm about to switch over to HBO to watch Game of Thrones, but I currently still have Showtime, where I just finished watching and enjoying Shameless. It's very much in the Showtime style where the plots can get pretty out there, but the producers have done a pretty good job of trying to include comedy, drama, and emotion into each episode. The characters are well-developed and very well acted, and I look forward to watching the second season.

Some Bad: A series that I won't be looking forward to the second season of, but will probably still watch begrudgingly, is AMC's The Killing. If you search online, most of the reviews will be similar. It started out with potential, then just became slow and directionless. Just a bunch of red herrings and meaningless plot points about characters that I couldn't get myself to care about. But whatever, most of us continued watching it just to get closure and find out who the killer was.

SPOILER ALERT***

Except that they didn't reveal the killer! While I originally thought that they would wrap this up and offer a new case in season 2, the producers apparently did not feel that way. It was a big slap in the face to those of us who persevered just to see it reach its conclusion. I didn't get anywhere this upset from the Sopranos ending.

END OF SPOILER ALERT***

As for the summer season, the USA network tends to dominate my DVR. Most of the shows are light and entertaining, which perfectly fits the summer theme. In Plain Sight, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Burn Notice, Psych. There are a lot of them, some better than others. My favorite is still Burn Notice, the first of the bunch that really helped put USA on the map for original series following their "characters welcome" theme. It has been a while since last season, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much fun the new season premiere was.

Some New: USA is also adding two more new shows to that lineup, and the first one, Suits, had an ok pilot. I'm usually not much for legal dramedies since the end of Boston Legal, and I don't expect that I will put this one or TNT's Franklin and Bash on my DVR. However, they're not bad and I certainly would watch them over some random rerun.

Some Old: Speaking of reruns, BBC America is showing Battlestar Galactica from the very beginning. I've heard a lot of praise from friends about this series, and even though I've only watched the miniseries and the first two TV episodes (BBCA is airing two per week), I definitely have to agree with them. While I'm not completely sold on all the characters, the tension and drama have been captivating. As opposed to Spielberg and TNT's Falling Skies, which had a such a huge premiere that there were talks of a second season renewal already. I found it boring, I didn't like any of the characters, and most importantly I didn't feel any of the kind of tension that would arise from the direness of the situation.

The Complete Experience at Eleven Madison Park (food)

2011-06-17T09:51:00.016-05:00

I have mentioned again and again that Eleven Madison Park (EMP) is my favorite restaurant in NYC and that I think it is the best restaurant in NYC. I think this time I will go into more detail about what I think sets EMP apart from other restaurants in its class.

Accomodative service and FOH:

There was a recent thread on Chowhound about expectations of EMP's service and some disparity among guests. I firmly believe that it is perfectly reasonable for restaurants to provide certain perks to regulars. What separates EMP in my opinion, is the ability to identify "regulars" without the need for a high frequency of repeat visits. They understand that at their price point, they are a luxury dining experience for many, and that one doesn't have to eat there every month to show one's appreciation for their restaurant.

Besides the reciprocal appreciation, EMP's baseline service is also at a very high level. They are very good at anticipating the needs of diners, but that is not as important to me personally. I am very demanding of service, but I do not expect them to be psychics. I am very comfortable asking for things, and all I ask is that the staff respond promptly, politely, and with a warm smile. EMP's service is very fine-tuned in this area, and they are also especially warm when you engage them in conversation. Never have I gotten an impression that they have something better to do or somebody more important to talk to.

Atmosphere:

I personally love the art deco design and the extremely high ceilings. While I agree it may not convey the warmth and coziness of the dining room at Daniel, it offers a majestic elegance without the over-the-top opulence of a place like Robuchon at the Mansion in Las Vegas.

Food:

It has been almost a year since the menu revamp, but I completely understand now its relevance as a showcase for the food at EMP. The thing about EMP is that they do everything well. While the focus at Le Bernardin is seafood, and the truly outstanding components of a meal at Blue Hill are the farm-fresh produce, EMP excels at a wide array of main ingredients, from vegetables to pork to duck to fish, and more. While every dish at WD50 is interesting, not every dish is good. While every dish at Daniel is perfectly executed, not every dish is interesting. I find that EMP is remarkably consistent in its ability to deliver an array of interesting small tastes through the canapes, and back them up with wonderfully refined yet comforting composed dishes.

I did not get a chance to tour the kitchen on my previous two visits for dinner, but there was no blizzard this time, so my friends DC and SC and I went a little crazy getting the complete experience, and it was a truly memorable meal.

I arrived early and had a drink at the bar. There were olives, chips, and roasted peanuts on offer. The chips were kind of bland and I much prefer the ones at the bar at Scarpetta.

I ended up having two drinks, one was from the cocktails menu while this one was off-menu and expertly mixed by head bartender Leo. The flavors just kept opening up as I kept sipping it, and it definitely opened up my tastes buds for the big dinner I was about to have.

We started off with lovely champagne Roses de Jeanne from Cedric Bouchard. A wonderful recommendation by the sommelier as even an accomplished oenophile such as my friend DC did not know about Bouchard.

Look at that lovely color.

The wine to accompany our main meal (and duck) would be this 1978 Chateau Lynch-Bages. Another excellent choice.

As usual, gougeres to start the meal. Just as good as ever, with a slight taste of salt and the savoriness of the warm cheese center. We had at least thirds.

PEA chilled soup with buttermilk snow and ham crisp. Our first canape involved traditional ham and pea flavors with an interesting play on temperatures with the buttermilk snow. DC could not have the ham crisp so they made a mint crisp for him.

FLUKE AND SCALLOP with basil and meyer lemon; ceviche with tangerine. The ceviche on the left was bright and flavorful, but I really liked the spices that went with the basil and lemon on the fluke.

CUCUMBER with fennel and tangerine. This was in place of the scallop for DC.
GOAT CHEESE lollipop with beets; croquette with watercress and chive. Goat cheese and beet just go so well together. A lovely presentation with the lollipop.

The croquettes were wonderfully light and airy.

ASPARAGUS with sorrel and lemon. This was for DC. Just beautiful.

SEA URCHIN cappuccino with crab and apple. For us, a favorite from last year makes its return. Full of sea urchin flavor, I think the apple really helps bring this dish together both texturally and with that refreshing flavor.

SMOKED STURGEON AND CAVIAR sabayon with chive; fingerling potato and creme fraiche. Another EMP favorite. I'm glad this is constantly offered. Just a wonderful range of savory goodness brought together by the chive oil at the bottom.

The potato looks even prettier than it did last time, and again showcases classic flavors brought together.

QUAIL ballotine with foie gras, fava beans, and radish. We ordered separately as opposed to the tasting menu to get a broader look into the food that was coming out of the kitchen that night. This was perfectly cooked quail meat with a lovely foie gras center. The fava beans and radish helped to offer a full array of textures and provided a refreshing spring flavor.

TROUT smoked with asparagus, creme fraiche and rye crisps.

CRAB salad with pickled daikon radish and crustacean mayonnaise. Just stunning to look at.

For the new bread service, EMP now offers its in-house roll. While it looked like a roll, it ate more like a biscuit, with a wonderful rich and buttery interior. It was served warm, so we had to wait a little bit of time in between each batch they brought us. I think in all we stopped eating the bread about the sixth time around.

The cows' milk and goats' milk butters. We went through a few of these.

LOBSTER poached with carrots and vadouvan granola. The lobster was cooked perfectly, but I found the sauce to be a little too sweet. The mix of vadouvan granola and carrots provided nice crunch and balance to the dish. I'm still hoping they bring back the lobster with meyer lemon.

The lobster after it was sauced tableside.

BROCCOLI variations with parmesan and lemon. If I didn't like EMP's lobster so much I definitely would have ordered this too.

LAMB loin with morels and english peas.

CHICKEN poached with provencal asparagus, morels, and black truffles. DC kept raving about this dish. I could smell the truffles sitting next to him.

PORK rack and confit with cherries, onions, and guanciale. The cherries were perfect without being too sweet. The rack was cooked beautifully, and I was happy to see the return of the confit with the crisp layer of skin on top. I just wish there was more of it. I remember when the confit was served by itself like a brick.

The pork after it was sauced.

DUCK rooasted with lavender honey, rhubarb and celery.

Our server expertly carving the duck tableside.

The skin was beautifully crisp and the concentrated duck flavor was definitely there. This duck was fatter than the one we had last time, and I think I would have preferred it cooked a bit more. Given the aging preparation, I think the meat would have been able to stand further cooking while still being tender, and the fat would have cooked down some more.

POTATO MOUSSELINE with wine braised dark meat. After previous discussion about what happens to the dark meat, we were offered this delicious mix of potato and dark meat. I would have preferred the potato texture to have been less watery though.

EGG CREAM malt, vanilla, and olive oil. Our predesserts were also prepared tableside.

Just wonderful. The flavors were delicate and as someone who does not particularly prefer carbonated drinks (especially water), I found the carbonation to blend in perfectly with the flavors in the drinking experience.

STRAWBERRY vacherin with lemon and basil. Amazing dessert. Strong strawberry flavor from the ice cream harmonized with the light citrus and creaminess from the vacherin. But when you add some of the basil into the same bite it just sings in your mouth.

PEAR poached with honey and ginger.

CHEVRE 4 farms with onion, walnut, and cherries.

MIGNARDISES I cannot recall what these were.

Peanut butter and jelly macarons, mango and coconut meringues.

Olive oil pate de fruit, bread crisps with chocolate and maldon sea salt. Chocolate and salt just go so well together.

Another tableside preparation, this was their coffee service, featuring Bolivian coffee that had a rich flavor that I enjoyed sipping even without milk or sugar.

Only after a specific temperature was reached did the coffee go in.

Finally we were off to the kitchen. DC had to stay behind while we toured the kitchen. It's a pretty big kitchen:

They set up a counter with full view of the kitchen where they prepare a special dessert right in front of us using liquid nitrogen.

Frozen scoop of champagne to be broken and mixed over the top of orange segments and some orange liquer, if I remember correctly. Delicious and interesting.

Just because DC could not make the kitchen tour did not mean EMP didn't have something special for him. When we returned to our table, it turns out that they had overheard him talking about sauternes and poured him a healthy glass of Chateau d'Yquem 1999. I took a sip myself and it was wonderful. The aromatic sweetness, great body, and depth of flavors slowly opening up in your mouth.

It was a truly memorable experience at EMP, made special from beginning to end.

2010-2011 NBA and NHL Finals Recaps (sport)

2011-06-17T08:17:00.002-05:00

Two amazing finals series that were both exciting from start to finish.

NBA:
It was like LOST. First, you had the good guys, many of whom had their own tales of redemption and second chances. Flashbacks to when they had their first chances at a championship. Flashforwards to the tail end of their career and a question of how many more chances they would get. In the end, they came together and won as a team.

Carlisle: He had that talented team in Indiana that was broken up by the Artest melee. He helped build that Detroit team until they won the championship without him. But this championship will separate him from being compared to Rick Adelman, another superb coach who hasn't been able to win the big one, and his decision to start Barea late in the series was pivotal.

Nowitzki: Like a true hero, he was always there to lead at the end. A thoroughly underrated player in the public eye throughout his career because it was so hard for an average fan to relate to his skill set. I still don't think enough can be said about his finals performance, especially the game where he battled the >100 degree fever and still made the final basket.

Terry: Was there with Dirk in their previous finals collapse. As Dallas kept failing year after year in the playoffs, one wonders how many more chances the two of them would have together before management decided to blow everything up.

Kidd: He had his chances with two previous finals appearances, but finally got a well-deserved championship. Does anyone remember now all the debates about the Jason Kidd trade? All the talk about what a bust it was for the Mavericks?

Chandler: Speaking of busts, Chandler was one of the big three high-schoolers to come out of the infamous 2001 draft along with Kwame Brown and Eddy Curry. We'd just assumed that they were all complete busts, but he played well throughout the season and was key in the finals.

Marion: He had his chance with the D'Antoni Suns, and people wondered after he left whether his stats were just buoyed by playing in that system and with Nash. He was important throughout the playoffs, providing the solid defense and rebounding that helped hold the team together when they weren't shooting well.

Stevenson: Another key defender and streak shooting role player, he had previous playoff experience from when he was on that mess of a Wizards team.

Peja: While he ran cold and was benched for the finals, he provided a scoring touch that really propelled the team to another level when he came over midseason. Another great story of a top performer in his time (the Kings team before he hurt his knee) who was running out of time to do something again.

Barea, Cardinal, etc.: Guys that make you wonder whether they should get playing time at all, and yet proved to be useful pieces important to the team's energy and chemistry. Their success was a great representation of why the Mavericks won.

You also had the villains, who willfully made the decision to embrace becoming villains, trying hard to push against the accepted beliefs and create something new. But the problem, as often is the case with villains, was that they didn't really come together as a team. In the end, we will still remember this team for LBJ, Wade, and Bosh. It just wasn't enough in the end. Storybook ending: good hard workers triumph over evil power-seekers bent on domination through teamwork.

NHL:
While I'm not that big of a hockey fan, I can appreciate the excitement of the sport when played at a high level. From Boston's penalty-killing, to Vancouver's clutch late goals early, to Tim Thomas playing like a man possessed, it was captivating from start to finish. While the level of hatred and intensity did improve the drama, tension, and excitement of the series, I did feel that some of the early altercations and the subsequent rioting marred the event somewhat.

A Wonderful, Exquisite Dinner at Daniel (food)

2011-06-07T09:07:00.011-05:00

In celebration of our second consecutive regular season triumph in the ICBL (we won by only half a board and were second in the playoff), our friend and teammate DC took the team out to Daniel just as he had last year. It was a truly wonderful experience all around that improved significantly on our dinner last year, and was perfect for our celebratory mood.

Accomodative service and FOH:

We are not the easiest of diners to deal with. It all started when I called two weeks after making the initial reservation to give them some notes on dietary restrictions. It turns out that someone had cancelled our reservation! But they still had record of it and reinstated the reservation without a problem. Then on the night of the dinner, one of our teammates came down with a stomach thing and couldn't make it. The receptionist was quite gracious when I called three hours before the meal to inform them that we would only be 3 instead of 4. They were also gracious when I came back the next day for a hard copy of our menu.

Our server/captain Yannick was friendly and engaging, yet professional and didn't hover. He deftly guided us through the menu options that would work with the dietary restrictions of my friends, and encouraged us to take a tour of the kitchen.

Atmosphere:

A beautiful room that conveyed warmth but was definitely busy. Lovely chandeliers provided enough light to see and take photos, but certainly not so bright that one would consider it unromantic.

Food:

From my visit last year, it was clear that the execution was top-notch, but there was a certain wow factor that was missing. I discovered the wow factor by ordering from the prix fixe and specials menu. While the tasting menu at Daniel does offer two choices for each course, I find that both of the choices are often too "safe" for my taste. Daniel is one of the few top end restaurants that have daily specials, and adding one or two courses from the specials to the prix fixe is a wonderful way to go. Both my teammates ended up with a starter, two mains, and dessert, while I went with three appetizers, a main, and dessert.

As we were celebrating, we started with this amazing champagne. While I'm usually not a champagne guy, this was just delicious.

Our amuse for the evening was a trio of beet. On the right was cured fluke with beet, potato gaufrette, and chive. In the middle was a beet puree with cardamom. On the left was cured beet with octopus. My favorite was the beet puree with a strong cardamom flavor.

Bread service included raisin walnut, garlic focaccia, mini baguette, sourdough, butter and sea salt roll, and 3 seed. While I did not try all of them, my favorite was the garlic focaccia, with whole cloves of garlic still in the bread.

CHILLED CAULIFLOWER VELOUTE with kataifi crusted blue prawns, romanesco, and cilantro cream. While I did not order this, I had some of the blue prawns and they were flavorful and sweet. The prawns were cooked to a perfect, just barely done texture that went beautifully with the crispy kataifi crust.

TAI SNAPPER CEVICHE with cucumber vinaigrette, tapioca pearls, shaved radishes, sea urchin, and northern lights caviar.

CRISPY SCOTTISH LANGOUSTINES with old Chatham yogurt, minted cucumber, lime gremolata. While the langoustine pieces were full of umami and covered in crispy greaseless fried dough, the star of the show for me was the combination of yogurt, cucumber, and gremolata. Everything went well together and complemented the langoustine flavor. If I could change one thing with this dish, it would be to have less of the crispy phyllo, making it easier to fit everything in one bite, including the langoustine, minted cucumber strands, and sauce.

WATERCRESS VELOUTE with Louisiana crayfish, chicken liver royale, crispy cockscomb, and mousseron mushrooms. Definitely not a dish that one would classify as "safe". A wonderful bounty of treasures awaiting a bath of watercress veloute.

The watercress veloute was assertive with a slight creamy finish. Every spoonful was delightfully highlighted by the sweetness, richness, and earthiness of the ingredients dotted along the plate. Every bite featured a wonderful contrast in textures.

SAUTEED DUCK FOIE GRAS with brown Turkish figs, confit fennel, young mesclun. My final appetizer featured a beautifully cooked piece of foie gras. Devoid of excess grease on the plate, yet as rich and bursting with fatty goodness in the mouth as one would expect. The sweetness of the figs worked well with the foie gras, but I would have preferred more textural components to the dish.

GRILLED ALASKAN KING SALMON with chanterelle, wilted spinach, spring garlic, green peppercorn sauce. One of the other advantages to the prix fixe versus a tasting menu is the sizeable portions.

YELLOWFIN TUNA "A LA PLANCHA". My friend wanted to have the yellowtail, but it was determined that he could not have the accompaniments due to his dietary restrictions. So they brought the beautifully cooked tuna and drizzled some vintage olive oil over it.

Sweet pepper ragout with marinated anchovies, chickpea panisse, mustard salad, iberico ham. A wonderful mix of sweet and savory, with umami galore. I could easily see how this would go well with the tuna.

ROASTED BLACK SEA BASS with syrah sauce, stuffed leeks, potato confit, and caramelized cipollini. For their second main course, both friends chose this signature dish that always seems to be on the menu at Daniel.

Here's the wow factor. My main course, carefully baked in clay, arrived atop burning fennel sticks that released a wonderful aroma.

Our server carefully removing the meat from the clay shell and plating my dish.

DUO OF FOUR STORY HILL FARM SQUAB. BREAST baked in clay with English pea fricassee. STUFFED LEGS with glazed spring onion, radish, minted jus. Just perfect. Tender, perfectly cooked breast, concentrated in flavor. With its own juices still flowing in each bite in addition to the jus. The stuffed legs were little bites bursting with flavor and the fried shell provided a welcome crunchy texture to the plate. I often judge composed meat dishes based on the accompanying vegetables, and these were also wonderful. The English peas, spring onion, and radish brought the freshness of Spring while retaining an earthiness that brought the dish together as a whole.

While I've had squab many many times in my life, most of the time it's been with Chinese preparations. Unfortunately, many Chinese preparations tend to overcook certain meats. So it was especially wonderful for me to enjoy squab breast cooked to this perfect color and tenderness.

CARAMELIZED HAZELNUT SABLE with dulce de leche cream, caraibe chocolate mousse, horchata ice cream. I like hazelnut so I found this satisfying, but I thought the horchata ice cream could have been stronger in flavor. I was pleasantly surprised by the breadth of textures on the plate.

SPICE POACHED CHERRIES with pistachio feuilletine and mascarpone-brandied cherry ice cream.

BLACKBERRY AND FROMAGE BLANC VACHERIN with Swiss meringue and creme Chantilly.

While I was perusing the dessert menu, I was intrigued by an acacia-honey ice cream. I asked if I could have a taste, and they were gracious enough to bring a scoop for each of us. It was absolute delicious, with creamy notes finished off by a very clean-tasting honey flavor. Sometimes honey ice cream can be cloying, but this was not the case here. As we admired the honey ice cream, it was explained to us that the honey comes from a beekeeper in Pennsylvania who keeps eight hives.

MIGNARDISES An assortment that was glanced over as we focused on the...

FRESHLY BAKED MADELEINES. So good we asked for seconds. Warm, soft, and comforting, highlighted by a touch of lemon flavor.

ASSORTED CHOCOLATES We had some of these, but were still focused on the madeleines. I don't think these are made in-house.

After this wonderful meal, we made our way to the kitchen for a quick tour. It wasn't bustling, but things were still going on. Chef Boulud had been greeting some guests in the dining room earlier in the evening, but had left by the time we finished our meal. Nevertheless, executive chef Jean Francois Bruel was a gracious host, explaining and showing to us the dried fennel stalks that they used to create the wonderful smoke that accompanied my squab dish.

An assortment of spice jars behind the main doors of the kitchen.

A monitor observing the dining room through video cameras. I'd read about this and supposedly this helps them anticipate and pace the timing of the courses.

A little Buddha statue in between two duck presses. Pressed duck is available with advanced notice. Even more interesting is the window above the duck presses. It's the window of their "skybox", a private dining room for four overlooking the kitchen and right next to Boulud's personal office.

Overall, it was an exquisite meal in every aspect, and I finally found the wow factor I was looking for. I want to try dining in the skybox sometime in the future. Maybe if we win three in a row? Many thanks to DC for making the night possible, and many thanks to my teammates for playing hard throughout the season.

2010-2011 NBA Finals Preview (sport)

2011-05-29T11:40:00.002-05:00

As I started watching the first few games of the conference finals, it became clear to me that we were heading towards a Dallas-Miami showdown. That was because both those teams had something the other two teams didnt. Championship swagger. That is something that every championship team in the last decade has had. The Lakers with Kobe certainly had the swagger of a team that knew they had the best player on the court and could turn it up another gear. The Celtics team with the new big three also had a swagger about them led by Kevin Garnett on defense. They knew they could completely shut down other teams. The Spurs certainly had that "been there done that" attitude, and they had a guy in Ginobili who was otherworldy in the things he could do. Even the Larry Brown coached Pistons team had fearless players like Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace, and Ben Wallace who believed in themselves way more than the media did.

So who are the players on Dallas and Miami who have shown this championship swagger? We all know about the superstars Nowitzki, LeBron, and Wade. But there's Jason Terry, who really thinks he's one of the three best shooters in the league. There's Peja Stojakovic, who puts up threes like he was still back in Sacramento. There's Shawn Marion, who has always been a very confident player, stepping up to play great defense. And for the Heat, Chris Bosh really started to have that swagger, and you could see it from the gleam in his eyes. This was a very different man than the one who admitted to feeling the nerves in Boston.

As for the teams that lost in the conference finals, you could see they just weren't ready. They didn't have that swagger, that body language that signified, "This is our time." While Chicago played hard and good team defense in the Thibodeau mold, they just didn't have that "we will shut you down" swagger. And when Lebron started guarding Rose in crunch time and their offense stalled, it was all over. As for the Thunder, I don't know if it's because they have a young team and a young coach, but they just never seemed to me to have that real sense of urgency in their approach. Remember last year's finals game 7? The Celtics played their hearts out and took a good lead in the 4th, but then the Lakers stepped it up and played defense that was amazing to watch. Odom and Artest trapping like Pippen and Grant used to. Completely stifling. There's plenty of talent on this Thunder team, but I just don't know if they really have one more gear that they can turn on which will signal that they're ready.

So what do I expect for this finals matchup? Lots of scoring. I'm actually pretty amazed that the over/under line in the first game is only 187. Dallas is so deep at every position with skilled players that I don't really see them being shut down for a long period of time in any game. Sure, they might go cold, but I don't see Miami being able to shut them down defensively. We can't go by the Chicago series because Chicago really doesn't score that much. Miami, as we all know, can score with the best of them in a fast paced game, and much will depend on the isolation execution and foul calling at the end of games.

My pick is Dallas to win in 6 games. I think they will dominate the boards with their true centers in Chandler and Haywood, and good rebounding small forward and point guard in Marion and Kidd. Furthermore, I expect that there will be one game on the road where Dallas just shoots lights out and builds too big of a lead. I think Dallas will be very smart about playing to their strengths, build their leads with the second team, and let Miami's big three get as much as they want, but only on isolations.

All You Can Eat Tacos at Mercadito Grove (food)

2011-05-24T18:18:00.006-05:00

Sometimes I get a craving to eat a lot of food. Not the refined, fine dining, high-end stuff, but just good food and lots of it. The best way to achieve this in NYC without going broke is to look for all you can eat (AYCE) deals. One such deal that I came across in my research was the AYCE tacos at two of the Mercadito branches in NYC. For $23 per person, you get all you can eat tacos of 10 different varieties. The deal is all night long on Sundays and Mondays while late night only on all other nights, so I brought along a few friends this past Monday to Mercadito Grove (Grove St/7th Ave) to try and sample everything on offer. Among the diners was KE from Donuts4Dinner, who took all the photos in this post.

Because AYCE just isn't enough for us serious eaters, one of us decided to order the ceviche sampler as well. The ceviches were interesting. Rather than just focus on citrus, they were accented with other fruit flavors which lent a sweeter taste. There was mahi-mahi with orange, shrimp with pineapple, and scallops that tasted of strawberry. While I personally wouldn't order them again, they definitely took an old favorite and reinvented some of the flavor profiles. Everyone had a different favorite of the three.

Then the tacos began. Tacos normally come four to an order, but we had five people and they were nice enough to make five to an order for us so we could sample everything easily. There were ten varieties on our menu, but they did not have the Pastor kind, so we had no pork that night. The restaurant is very small and the food took quite a while to come out initially when the place was full. As we kept eating and the place got emptier, tacos came out faster, hotter, and tastier. One thing that was consistent throughout was that the corn tortillas were very good.

MOLE Chicken, sweet plantain, crema fresca, mole poblano sauce. This was pretty good. Not the best mole you'll have, but the depth of flavor was definitely there. The sweet plantains were a nice touch, contrasting all the other flavors of the mole sauce.

CAMARON Shrimp, roasted garlic, chipotle mojo, avocado. This was another good combination. The shrimp had a nice fresh texture while the chipotle mojo had a definite spiciness to it. The avocado was perfect here balancing both the textures with its creaminess and the flavors by cooling off some of that heat.

PESCADO Sautéed tilapia, grilled corn, huitlacoche, manchego cheese, tomatillo salsa. The fish was pretty good if you like tilapia. However, the flavor of the tilapia was very strong, and the muddy fish was pretty much all I could taste.

CARNE Rosemary marinated organic skirt steak, potato-poblano-cactus fundido, avocado crema. This was the consensus winner of the night. The steak was good with its simple marinade and the crispy potatoes on top made for a terrific bite texturally.

ESTILO BAJA Beer battered mahi mahi, mexican style coleslaw, chipotle aioli. Very good fish tacos. The fish was still hot and the batter very crisp, which was key.

Grilled red snapper with some pepper-based sauce. This item is different from the current online menu. The fish itself was very good and well-cooked. The sauce, however, was one-note and it really just tasted of peppers. I think this tied with the tilapia as the group's least favorite of the proteins.

RAJAS Black bean hash, rajas poblanas, crema fresca, cilantro, onion, chile ancho salsa. I personally found the flavor combinations very interesting, but the consensus was that it was too soupy and failed texturally.

CALABACITAS Grilled zucchini, black bean hash, cactus pico, tomatillo salsa. One of our group felt that this was on the bland side and requested hot sauce. Another felt that as a meat eater, this was decent for something that was all vegetables. I'm somewhere in the middle, sharing a little of both those sentiments.

There was one more taco that I don't seem to have a picture of. POLLO Grilled chicken, cactus salad, tomatillo salsa, avocado. While the mole was focused on the sauce, the accompaniments on this chicken taco had a fresher flavor and allowed the grilled chicken to come through.

Overall, it was a very good deal if you can eat a lot. As the crowd dissipated, the food came out hot, fast, and fresh. We probably ended up with a total of about 65 tacos among the 5 of us, and I personally probably ate at least 15. Our favorites were the steak, shrimp, both chickens, and the fried fish. Service was nice and friendly, although the food came out very slowly at the beginning when the place was packed. I think it's definitely a good time and I'd recommend it for a sizeable group of eaters with mixed palates. There's also plenty of outdoor seating for those into that. Actually, there may even be more seats outside than inside the restaurant.

Like I said before, AYCE just isn't enough for us serious eaters, so a couple of us walked around in search of dessert, and found Grom Gelato on Bleecker and Carmine. This cup was KE's and featured vanilla gelato and limone sorbet.

Mine featured a scoop of hazelnut and a scoop of the crema di grom, an interesting combination of egg cream, corn biscuit bits, and chocolate chip. I didn't get much of a corn flavor from the biscuit bits, but loved the added texture component.

2010-2011 NBA Playoffs Conference Finals Preview (sport)

2011-05-15T18:39:00.002-05:00

I don't think anyone saw the Dallas sweep of the Lakers coming, but I did pick one of the series exactly right. Oklahoma City was my pre-playoff pick, but I really can't say that any of these four teams look like a champion to me. I think that whichever one of these four teams steps up and plays at a level higher than they did in the previous rounds will take this.

Chicago vs. Miami

The two key questions for me are whether Chicago can generate offensive production down low, and whether one of Miami's shooters (not LeBron or Wade) can get hot. Miami's weakness remains on the interior, but Chicago does not really score down low on power. Boozer is more of a jump shooter while Noah is not a main offensive option, even though I expect he will get many hustle rebounds. Atlanta could not handle Chicago's tenacious defense, but a large part of that was that Atlanta's guards and forwards were not good passers out of the double team. LeBron and Wade are both terrific passers, so it will come down to whether their shooters will make those open shots off the double teams. I will also be curious who Miami uses to defend Derrick Rose. I highly doubt Bibby can keep Rose in front of him, and I think the most effective option will probably be Wade.

Prediction: Chicago in 7

Dallas vs. Oklahoma City

After watching the Thunder's series with Memphis, I don't think they're ready yet. While Westbrook is capable of doing amazing things, I don't think his decision-making is there yet, and I think that without a perfect series, Oklahoma City can't win. Dallas is so deep and has so much firepower that the Thunder will have to keep pace with the scoring, and not just rely on solid defense. The problem is that Perkins and Ibaka can be offensive liabilities, and it just won't be enough in my opinion.

Prediction: Dallas in 6

Momofuku Duck Lunch (food)

2011-05-13T21:24:00.004-05:00

I strongly believe in not going to new restaurants shortly after they open. While this is contrary to the whole NYC thing of going to trendy, new openings, I just find that restaurants need a good amount of time to work out details in service and the menu. I do make exceptions, however, and usually when it's a casual concept or a specific specialty, it's actually more important to get there early. Too often, once word gets out, too many customers leads to a decrease in product quality, service efficiency, or value. That's why I strongly recommend going as soon as you can to Momofuku Ssam Bar for the new duck bar lunch.

They moved the Milk Bar across the street, and where the Milk Bar used to be, they are now serving rotisserie duck items from 11:30am to 3:30pm on weekdays. You order from the counter, pick up your food on trays when they call your number, get your own utensils, and find a seat at the all-communal tables. They have people cleaning the tables and refilling water regularly, and tips can be left on the table or in the jar at the counter.

$13 gets you the rotisserie duck over rice. There might not look to be a lot of food here, but you get half of one side of the duck breast. The vegetable filling the rest of the bowl was red mustard frill. It's certainly not cheap, but it is delicious.

The duck is cooked to a perfect, tender, pink. The duck is juicy and the flavor is fresh. The skin is crisp, and reminds me of good Chinese style barbecued duck, except that it's not as sweet and hasn't been hanging all morning. The rice and greens are extremely satisfying after soaking in some of the flavorful drippings of the duck breast. Just a spectacular, simple dish.

There are other items and accompaniments on the menu, but I decided to go somewhat healthy with the broccoli salad. The smoked eel vinaigrette was not particularly strong, providing only a slight smoky flavor, and the crispy rendered duck skin added some crunchy texture. It was served chilled, and for $5 had a decent amount of broccoli, when you compare it to similarly-priced sides at Otto or Torrisi.

A look at the rotisserie. The ducks cook at the top, and the fat drips down onto the basket of potatoes below.

A closeup of the ducks cooking. Because they continuously put ducks on the rotisserie, a couple of customers after me had to wait a little longer as they had just put fresh ducks on. I'm not sure how they would handle it if there were a lot of customers.

All the duck carcasses with their breasts cleanly removed.

It is not cheap for something so deceptively simple, but it is delicious, the duck has a very fresh taste to it, and it's definitely worth a visit.

Spring Greens at Blue Hill at Stone Barns (food)

2011-05-11T13:10:00.012-05:00

Farm-to-table cuisine has been very popular lately, with Jean-Georges' ABC Kitchen winning the James Beard award for Best New Restaurant. But what's even better is going to the farm itself. That's why I made a reservation well over a month in advance for Blue Hill at Stone Barns, to catch them during the spring season. That foresight paid off with a wonderful meal featuring some terrific and fresh seasonal greens.

Being in the city for so long, it's easy to forget that there actually is fresh air, light blue sky, white clouds, and greenery out there.

The main entrance to the restaurant and farm center. Rustic and welcoming.

The restaurant proper is actually quite big, with a sizeable kitchen.

The interior keeps the rustic feel while being elegant, with a large floral centerpiece and interesting support beam structure for the roof.

The farmers' feast begins with an array of amuses from the garden. First were dried and salted slices of potato, kale, and ramp leaves. Great crispy texture without frying. An excellent start.

When the vegetables are this fresh, you don't need to really do anything to them. Featured here are carrots, radishes, asparagus, and turnips.

A preview of the spring greens that would be featured in our meal. Spring has taken a while to come this year, so they were as enthusiastic to see the green vegetables as we were. On display here are ramps, asparagus, and fiddlehead ferns. It turns out that we managed to visit at just the right time, since ramp season is short (about 6 weeks) and fiddlehead season is even shorter (about 3 weeks).

Mini asparagus burgers in sesame seed buns were delightful small bites, but I don't think asparagus is a good flavor for this preparation.

Grilled asparagus with sesame seeds was a better preparation, adding a nice light smoky flavor to the asparagus.

A really refreshing herb spritzer. Kind of like a ginger ale, but with a milder flavor that still invigorates the palate, and much easier to drink.

I really like fiddlehead ferns and these were lovely. The season is quite short and they are only edible in this immature form, as they develop toxins as they grow.

This was a very smart and playful dish, displaying the skills of the chef beyond just picking things from the garden. The ramp leaves surrounded a cube of semi-liquid vichyssoise that burst with flavor.

Our last bites were meats that DC does not eat, so he got an extra turnip all for himself.

Our charcuterie included venison (on the left) and beef loin. The venison was remarkably flavorful and fatty.

We also got the famous "face bacon" which had good porcine flavor but excelled in its greaseless, crisp texture.

Another preview of ingredients featured grains, including red fife, emerald wheat, and spelt. The grain for the season was red fife, which would be featured in our first full course.

RED FIFE BREAD WITH ASPARAGUS MARMALADE, FRESH PEPPER, AND RICOTTA This was absolutely incredible. The bread was warm and almost muffin-like in texture, with a real earthy flavor of whole grain. The combination of bread with the soft ricotta, marmalade, and pepper had a comforting effect with the earthy taste lingering on the taste buds for a while.

They made special mention of what the animal feed was that generated the milk for this ricotta cheese, but I forgot what it was. It had a mild, smooth flavor that harmonized with the bread which was the main attraction.

GARDEN SALAD This featured more beautiful vegetables brought together by a light dressing of lime vinaigrette with egg yolk. Simple yet delicious. Real farm-to-table.

GRILLED WRECK FISH WITH SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS AND RAMPS The fish had a wonderful texture that was firm yet tender, but not in a flaky manner. This robust texture, and its robust flavor, matched well with the delicious and assertive shiitake and ramp sauce.

The potato and onion bread was outstanding. New loaves were continuously brought into the dining room and the bread was always served and carved warm. It had a beautiful crunchy crust that somehow gave in and melted away without requiring much chewing. The potato and onion flavors were noticeable in the crust and the soft fluffy interior as well.

For the bread service there was carrot salt, spinach salt, and a terrific butter.

FRIED EGG AND VEGETABLE STEW The egg was coated in panko and fried beautifully, resulting in a light, delicate, and greaseless crunch on the outside, revealing a lovely oozing yolk on the inside. The stew, filled with beans, more fiddleheads, stinging nettle, and other vegetables, was really earthy. If I had to describe what green tasted like, this would be it.

POTATO GNOCCHI WITH ASPARAGUS AND BALSAMIC They seemed more like potato raviolis or perogies even, as the pasta and the potato were two separate layers. Everything was fine, but there was nothing particularly outstanding and I didn't like the execution of the pasta.

BERKSHIRE PORK BELLY WITH SALSIFY AND LETTUCE I liked the salsify and lettuce, and the sauce was quite nice. But the Berkshire pork belly was not particularly distinguishable from pork I can get at other fine restaurants in Manhattan. It was delicious, as it's hard to mess up pork belly, but it did not wow me as a meat course as a farm fresh chicken might have.

GRASS FED BEEF LOIN WITH CARROTS DC does not eat pork, so they served him beef. The grass fed flavor does come out, but again, I just didn't feel like I needed to trek all the way out there for these meat courses.

A quick walk outside to breathe in the fresh night air before the sweet courses began. Real stars in the night sky!

CHEESE COURSE WITH MARMALADES

ORANGE SORBET WITH CASSIS, RHUBARB, AND ELDERFLOWER JELLY I thought this was just too sharp and one-note, but SC loved all the components and thought that it worked well as a predessert palate cleanser.

COFFEE GRANITE, CHOCOLATE SORBET, AND MILK FOAM The flavors were solid, and the textures and temperatures mixed well together.

MILK CHOCOLATE AND CHESTNUT CAKE It was actually DC and SC's anniversary, so the kitchen was nice enough to send this out for them.

CHOCOLATE COVERED ALMONDS AND MILK MILKSHAKES Very clean flavors to send us off.

Also, our wines for the evening, expertly chosen once again by DC in collaboration with the sommelier.

Overall, it was a wonderful meal filled with wonderful ingredients. From the start of the meal to the egg and vegetable stew, they showed off the produce spectacularly. The pasta, meat, and dessert courses were good, but not spectacular, and did not give the sense that they were worth travelling some distance for. Blue Hill is a hard restaurant to rate, because every dinner can be somewhat different based on the available produce. While there wasn't much cooking technique being shown off, it could also be because of the limitations on what they would use. My recommendation would be to figure out what season's ingredients appeal to you most, whether it be spring green vegetables, summer-autumn tomatoes, winter root vegetables, or whatever, and plan a trip accordingly.

2010-2011 NBA Playoffs Round 2 Preview (sport)

2011-04-30T19:27:00.003-05:00

The first round of the playoffs was very exciting. There were many close games with crazy finishes. The less talented teams played hard and never gave up. Just a tremendous display of established talent along with up and comers stepping up.

I think I did pretty well with my first round predictions. I correctly predicted the outcome (including how many games the series would go) in 3 of the 8 series. This included the Dallas series, where Portland was getting a lot of hype going into the playoffs.

Chicago vs. Atlanta

Indiana gave Chicago all they could handle, and exposed a clear weakness of the Bulls. They rely too much on Derrick Rose on the offensive end and can easily go through scoring slumps. If Atlanta continues to score the way they did in the Orlando series and Boozer doesn't provide a healthy offensive presence, Atlanta can easily upset them. Even though Chicago has home court advantage, let's not forget that Atlanta is actually the more experienced playoff team. Given the Bulls' inability to really take advantage of Atlanta's lack of interior size, I'm going to pick an upset here. I predict that Atlanta will steal a game on the road by just shooting lights out, and hold court at home where the crowd seems to be quite good this year.

Prediction: Atlanta in 6

Miami vs. Boston

Boston wasn't really tested because of the injuries to the Knicks, but Miami's series against the 76ers did confirm one thing that we've all suspected. Miami has trouble closing out close games. They go back into their isolation mode and have problems scoring. This will be even more of a problem against the solid half court defense of the Celtics. I don't think home court will be a huge factor here, as Boston has the experience of playing well on the road in the postseason while Miami is capable of just going anywhere and blowing the opponents out with sheer explosiveness and talent. In terms of individual performances, if Dwyane Wade has to chase Ray Allen around while on defense, it's unclear how effective he will be on the offensive end. I expect large margins of victory in most of the games, but the really close ones will go to the Celtics.

Prediction: Boston in 6

Oklahoma City vs. Memphis

I think I did pretty well in predicting the Memphis-San Antonio series. I knew that both teams rated to win at home, and Memphis stealing the first game without Manu Ginobili turned out to be the difference. While the Thunder was my pre-playoff pick for overall champion, I think this will probably be their toughest test. Whereas Denver was a good matchup for them because their youth and interior length neutralized much of what makes Denver good, this will be a tough matchup for them offensively. Battier, who was deemed another Kobe stopper not that long ago, will probably be on Durant, while Tony Allen, probably the best perimeter defender in the playoffs, will be on Westbrook. That being said, the inside presence of Perkins, Ibaka, and Collison off the bench will make life much tougher for Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. Those two will probably still be beasts on the boards, but it'll probably be harder for them to score. I expect a really close, relatively low-scoring (bet the unders) series that will go the distance. I expect Oklahoma City to pull it out, but only because of home court and their playoff experience last year. If Memphis also had a healthy Rudy Gay, I would pick Memphis.

Prediction: Oklahoma City in 7

Los Angeles vs Dallas

As dominant as both teams have been in the regular season the past decade, this is actually the first time the two teams have met in the playoffs in the Nowitzki era. I expect this to be an extremely entertaining series, but I'm really not sure how the matchups will work out. Dallas can spread the floor with shooters to nullify the Lakers' interior presence, but the Mavs don't really have anybody to stop Kobe. My guess is this series will come down to whether Kobe is able to take over games and be the Kobe of old.

Prediction: Los Angeles in 6

Whole Suckling Pig Dinner at The Chef's Table of The Breslin (food)

2011-04-24T18:49:00.008-05:00

I have frequently maintained that this blog is not a food blog, even though the poll results on the right seem to indicate otherwise. I do, however, know some food bloggers, and we, along with some of our non-blogging friends, set out to tackle the whole suckling pig dinner at the Breslin.

The only large format feast I've done before was the fried chicken at Momofuku. Even though that's pretty gluttonous, that meal has nothing on this one. We originally had 10 people, but one had to cancel late, and so the 9 of us attempted to eat food that they had prepared for 10.

We start with two large platters of Caesar salad with anchovy dressing. A wonderful way to start. The fried herbs on top were crunchy and tasty, the lettuce was fresh and crisp, and the dressing had plenty of flavor. In fact, there was almost too much anchovy flavor in the dressing. I would have preferred more cheese and to have the leaves cut up ahead of time, but those are personal preferences.

The sides were the next things to hit the table, with a large bowl of each side on each end of our long table. These duck fat roasted potatoes were probably the highlight of the sides. Perfectly crispy and full of flavor on the outside, while soft and creamy on the inside.

There was also roasted fennel, which was good but not as spectacular.

The broccoli rabe was also terrific. Deliciously tender and flavorful. Everyone was kind enough to let me take the leftover vegetables and salad home, and they were still just as yummy and satisfying the next day.

The prized whole roasted suckling pig in all its glory. This was served with a red salsa that had a wonderful, slightly smoky tomato flavor, and a chimichurri that was way too herby for me.

As they make the first cut into the beast, smoke comes out. The practiced server skillfully cut up the pig, setting aside the inedible parts and working to give us all a bit of everything in the first serving. Belly (bacon), crispy skin, loin, shoulder, and rump meat.

The skin was crisp, the meat was moist and flavorful. Much of the fat was rendered and did not give off a greasy feeling at all. This was just delicious pork in all its simple glory.

We continued to completely devour the pig, tearing meat from the rump, breaking off the ribs, breaking off the ear, and cutting off the snout. However, it was not until very close to the end that we really dug into the best meat on the pig. What is the best meat on the pig, you may ask? The pork neck, in my opinion. Pork neck meat is something that I've enjoyed very much ever since discovering it in Thai food, and it did not disappoint here. Just a perfect mix of flavor, tender meat, and fat, with a slightly gelatinous texture that I love.

We ate so much of the pig that there wasn't any real meat to take home as leftovers, but that didn't stop us from digging in to dessert as well. The bittersweet chocolate tart was delightfully rich, with a good crust and enhanced by the light sprinkling of salt on top.

The tart also came with some solid vanilla ice cream. By the way, I had seconds of the ice cream and tart.

The cost per person is $65 plus 20% gratuity. I thought it was a very good price for a lot of good, if simple, food. I did eat more than everyone else, however, and we did split a 10-person preparation amongst 9 people. It's also the only way to get a reservation at one of the more popular gastropubs in the city, so it has that going for it as well. In all, I had a wonderful time and think it's a great way for a bunch of food lovers to get together and just pig out.

A large part of what made the meal so enjoyable was the wonderful company at the dinner table. Many thanks to Chubby Chinese Girl for organizing everything. Other blogs that were present included Bionic Bites, Donuts4Dinner, and Gypsy-Addie's Food Diary. All their blogs have been added to my blogroll on the right, and I am looking forward to their takes on the dinner and I expect that they have much better photos than mine. If any other food enthusiasts/bloggers are interested in doing any other large format feasts, feel free to leave a comment.

A Fun Little Hand (bridge)

2011-04-23T13:19:00.002-05:00

I really don't play much bridge these days. I continue to play for the Harvard Club in the InterClub Bridge League, but the season is wrapping up soon. I also play in an occasional rubber bridge game, and while I'm nowhere near the peak of my powers, I think I still have a little left in the tank.

As dealer, I picked up this hand for the first hand of the Chicago (hand rotated for convenience). With its prime controls and long diamond suit, this hand was too strong to just open 1NT with. So I opened 1♦ intending to rebid 2NT. The auction continued uncontested and I was declarer in 3NT on the ♠9 lead.

Even though dummy comes down with a hand that would've forced to game opposite a 1NT opening, some work will be needed to bring the contract home. I wasn't keen on committing to anything, so I ducked the first trick as East played the ♠10. East continues with the ♠Q as I win in hand and West follows low. Interesting play in the spade suit. It appears that East has started with all three honors, meaning he either has QJT tight, QJT8 and West led the 9 from 9xxx, or QJTxx(x).

Since I will need a heart trick even if I score 4 diamond tricks, I lead a heart towards dummy. West plays the ♥9 as I play the ♥Q which loses to the ♥A. Back comes the ♠J as I discard a small club and West follows with the ♠8. With nothing better to do, I play a diamond to the ♦10, losing to West's ♦Q. West goes into the tank for a little bit, and exits with the ♣Q. I take this in hand to test the diamonds. When I cash a high diamond, East discards a heart!

This was the position with me needing to take 5 of the last 6 tricks. It's pretty clear that East began with 5 spades and 1 diamond. What about his rounded suit holdings? If hearts began 3-3 I have no chance unless he blanked the ♥J for some reason. So did East start with 4 or 5 hearts? Is the ♥J dropping? The heart discard is actually quite telling. One of my favorite BOLS bridge tips is Terence Reese's "The discard tells the story". His main point was that some discards are much easier to make than others. For example, a defender will more readily discard a low card from Axxx or Kxxx than Jxxx. In this case, I reasoned that he was more likely to discard from an original 5 card heart holding because he could retain parity with dummy's holding.

Placing East with all the hearts, I can now count 4 tricks including the heart finesse. If I can score another club trick, I will actually make the contract. So what was the club position? I just could not see a case where West would exit with the ♣Q while holding the ♣J as well. So I played a club to the ♣A, dropping East's ♣J, cashed the ♣10, and finessed the ♥10 to make the contract. The full hand and play:

The defense was not optimal, but it often never is at bridge. Strangely enough, at the time that West got in with a diamond, I can always make it by a strip squeeze endplay if I know the exact position of the hand at that point.

Food Nutrition Labels (food)

2011-04-20T21:20:00.002-05:00

I understand that there is a lot of "gaming" involved in disclosing information on nutritional information labels. There is no specific definition of what constitutes a serving and the FDA allows advertising claims to be made based on rounding up/down per serving (I mentioned this topic before in this post). But sometimes I come across information on a nutrition label that seems so out of whack I wonder how much we can trust these labels at all.

While at my local Chinese supermarket, I looked at different brands of soy drink. It is not soy milk. As Lewis Black put it, "we all know there's no such thing as soy milk 'cause there's no soy titty, is there?". One container listed the ingredients as "water, soybeans, sugar" while another listed the ingredients as "soybeans, water, cane sugar". Sounds pretty similar so no problem. The calorie and protein numbers are very similar, while one has 15g of sugar per serving versus 17g in the other. Nothing strange so far, until I come to the line about dietary fiber. One container lists 0g per serving while the other lists 4g per serving. 4 grams of fiber! That's a lot of fiber (>10% traditional RDA). So how do two versions of the same product, using the same three principal ingredients, differ by this much on an important macronutrient? Does anyone actually check this stuff?

2010-2011 NBA Playoffs Round 1 Preview (sport)

2011-04-14T22:21:00.004-05:00

After a very entertaining NBA regular season and an NCAA tourney that lacked a lot of scoring and skill, it is now time to watch basketball played at the highest competitive level. Here are my thoughts on the first round matchups.

Chicago vs. Indiana

Besides talent, Indiana will probably be outmatched here on intensity as well. Chicago's interior length will make it difficult for Hansbrough and Hibbert inside, and Indiana does not play enough defense to stop Chicago. However, Indiana can rush the tempo and have the ability to just put up a bunch of points and run away with one, so I predict that Indiana will not get swept in this one.

Prediction: Chicago in 5

Miami vs. Philadelphia

This is a very favorable matchup for Miami. Philadelphia does not have the strong inside scorer that can take advantage of Miami's depleted interior. While Iguodala is a terrific defender, he can only guard one guy at a time, and Philadelphia just has no answer for Miami's big 3. Philadelphia landed in this spot by dropping 5 of their last 6 despite being favored in 5 of those games. If Miami starts out with two big wins, I don't know how the 76ers will find any motivation.

Prediction: Miami in 4

Boston vs. New York

In my opinion this is the closest matchup of all the Eastern Conference first round series. Now that the Celtics don't have Perkins, the Knicks have a chance if they run the offense through Amare with pick and rolls or the high post and Carmelo hits the boards on the weak side. If the Knicks stall on offense by running it through the black hole that is Carmelo, Boston's team defense will swallow them up. I think another interesting matchup will be the point guard play. I think the best thing for the Knicks is to play Fields on Rondo to negate his length, and then put Billups back on him late as he can play off Rondo who is still afraid to either take the jumper or go to the foul line late. I expect home court to be a major factor here, and that experience and chemistry will give Boston a narrow victory at the end.

Prediction: Boston in 7

Orlando vs. Atlanta

I feel that this series is the most likely to be a sweep despite it being a 4 vs 5 matchup. Dwight Howard will wreak havoc against the undersized Atlanta interior while Orlando's lengthy swing men will negate Atlanta's ability to shoot over opponents. Throw in Atlanta's historically horrible home court support, and this one could be over quickly.

Prediction: Orlando in 4

San Antonio vs. Memphis

A lot will depend on how serious Ginobili's injury is. If Ginobili is out this may very well be an upset. San Antonio is an old team that is not particularly deep. Memphis has a lot of young players and pesky players that they can throw at this Spurs team. DeJuan Blair and Tiago Splitter will have to step up as Duncan will have his hands full dealing with either Marc Gasol or Zach Randolph, who is an absolute beast down low. Both teams play extremely well at home and I can see them holding court throughout.

Prediction: San Antonio in 7

Los Angeles vs. New Orleans

This is a very good matchup for LA. While the seriousness of Bynum's injury may play a role in later rounds, New Orleans' loss of David West was a much bigger blow. Chris Paul can dominate a game, but he doesn't really take over games, and when any pass he makes goes into the forest that is Gasol, Odom, Artest, and maybe Bynum, points will be tough to come by.

Prediction: LA in 4

Dallas vs. Portland

Dallas was one of my favorite teams midway through the second half of the regular season because they're such a deep team. They have legit players two-deep at every position. Matching them up with the team most decimated by injuries seems totally unfair. Portland plays well as a team and Aldridge has been a beast, but I just don't think they can match the firepower that Dallas has in a long series.

Prediction: Dallas in 6

Oklahoma City vs. Denver

A really unlucky matchup for Denver, a team that's been playing some of the best basketball in the league since the Carmelo trade. A lot of the things that work well for Denver involve hustle, scrappy defense, and utilizing their speed and depth. Unfortunately, those things work less well against a team of young, fit players entering their prime. Denver would probably have had a realistic shot at an upset against any of the higher seeds, who all have significantly older teams. The Perkins/Sefolosha combo should easily hold against Denver's inside offense, while Durant and Westbrook really aren't going to be stopped.

Prediction: OKC in 5

Truly Epic Meal: Five Star Fish Dinner at Corton (food)

2011-04-10T17:57:00.014-05:00

My previous experience with a one-night-only special chef guest stint was an absolutely incredible dinner with Pascal Barbot at Momofuku Ko. This time around, I was just as lucky in getting to experience an epic "Five Star Fish Dinner" at Corton.

The name of this dinner came from the two collaborating chefs, who have 5 Michelin stars between them. The guest chef was Laurent Gras, formerly of L2O in Chicago, which earned three Michelin stars as a seafood-only restaurant under his reign. Chef Paul Liebrandt is the current chef-owner of Corton, which has two Michelin stars for his modern French menu.

We were each welcomed with a glass of champagne upon our arrival. As I had been running late, they were very generous in refilling my friends' glasses of champagne twice before I got there. In fact, they were quite generous with the champagne pours the entire night, as our 7-course dinner came with champagne pairings courtesy of Louis Roederer. The price tag of $195+t/t for 7 courses with champagne pairings was a very good deal, which became an absolute steal as the night went on.

BLOOD ORANGE GELEE AND CRACKER WITH COD AND MANDARIN CREAM Our first set of amuse featured this interestingly presented duo of lightly sweet bites.

SQUID INK BRIOCHE WITH CAULIFLOWER MAYONNAISE ATOP A POTATO AND LEEK TERRINE

The many earthy flavors managed to come together quite delicately.

BLACK OLIVE POTATO CROQUETTE The lightly fried exterior gave way to a delightful hot liquid center.

WHITE ASPARAGUS ROYALE WITH BLACK GARLIC GELEE AND PARMESAN ESPUMA Served in an egg shell, this was a wonderful combination of flavors, showcasing chef Liebrandt's use of black garlic and foam.

Bread service consisted of slices of country bread, picholine olive and rosemary rolls, and baguettes smoked with eucalyptus. All the breads had good strong flavors, but my favorite was the baguette, which was perfect for soaking up the sauces from our dishes.

Salt, cow's milk butter, and seaweed butter. The butters were fine, but I did not detect a notable flavor in the seaweed butter.

Our first pairing was a Louis Roederer Brut 2000 (magnum).

TAI SNAPPER WITH CRISPY SKIN, RED MISO, PICKLED RADISHES This was beautifully presented on a block of ice. The red miso flavor was really nice, with a hint of smokiness that matched well with the fish and the pickled radishes. The flesh was quite robust and provided a satisfying mouthful of food. The skin was crisp and melted in my mouth, but did not provide a lot of flavor.

Our next pairing was a Louis Roederer Brut 2003. It was mentioned that there was no Cristal that year, and that some of those grapes made it into this Brut.

RAINBOW TROUT WITH OSCETRA CAVIAR, NICOISE OLIVE, LARDO, GOAT MILK

Another beautiful presentation. The flavors were strong all around, but complemented the rainbow trout which held up to the strong flavors.

The fish practically melted in my mouth, and the combined textures were wonderful.

Our first taste of Cristal was the Cristal 1993 (magnum). This went very well with the stronger flavors of our next course.

SMOKED HALIBUT BOUILLON WITH SEPIA, RUBY RED SHRIMP, HALIBUT JAMON, SEA URCHIN, AND GREEN GARLIC

The variety of treasures from the sea provided an array of beautiful colors and great texture contrasts.

The star of this dish, however, was the broth. From a terrific dashi base, the smoked halibut added a rich smokiness to the broth that highlighted the sweetness of the accompanying seafood.

Our next pairing was a Cristal 1997 (magnum).

MONKFISH WITH RED WINE ESSENCE, BONE MARROW, QUAIL EGG, LEEK, AND TRUMPET MUSHROOM PUREE

The firm monkfish meat served as a wonderful vehicle for the other strong flavors in this dish.

The red wine essence was another great sauce, and was vital here as the sweetness was needed to cut the heavier flavors. They provided an ample amount of the sauce, which I happily mopped up with a smoked baguette.

Somehow I didn't take a picture of the final savory course pairing, which was a Cristal 2004.

ALASKAN KING SALMON WITH RAZOR CLAM, PIQUILLO PEPPERS, PARSLEY, SALMON 'JUS'

The salmon was incredibly cooked, soft yet slightly flaky, and bursting with flavor. The pepper puree coating provided a great texture complement and resulted in a bite with a terrific mouthfeel.

The color of the sauce on the white plate helped to highlight the beautiful bright colors on the plate. With a additional touch of pepper flavor, this was another delicious sauce that I happily soaked up with bread.

Our pairing for the first sweet course was a Louis Roederer Rose 2006.

RHUBARB WITH ORCHID ICE CREAM AND STRAWBERRY MERINGUE

At first, when I tasted the components separately, I thought the orchid ice cream was too floral. However, once I combined everything into one bite, the flavors were absolutely magical together. Furthermore, the ice cream, meringue, crunch, and jelled fruit was a wonderful combination of textures.

Our final pairing of the night was a Louis Roederer extra dry.

SAFFRON VANILLA FUDGE WITH MATCHA GREEN TEA SABLE, MANGO GANACHE, AND VANILLA

A wonderful arrangement of common dessert flavors. The salt and saffron drew out the flavor of the chocolate while the matcha, mango, and vanilla was a great progression of sweetness in one bite.

MIGNARDISES The petit fours began with currant and passionfruit gelees.

Followed by honey bourbon truffles.

Cocktail-inspired macarons with sidecar and mojito flavors.

Chocolates filled with salted caramel, dark chocolate ganache, meyer lemon, and espresso. They were very nice and brought us extras of the ones we wanted.

Some financiers for us to take home.

In all, it was a truly epic meal. Even at the best restaurants I've been to, I would consider a meal amazing if all the dishes were good, but a few were spectacular. In this case, every dish was spectacular, from the egg shell amuse all the way through dessert. The fact that the champagne kept coming and that the cost was extremely reasonable made it even more special.

Both chefs were gracious and humble when we thanked them for the wonderful meal. While I know that the meal was a collaboration, I am very excited to revisit Corton on its own. In fact, my friend SC, felt that chef Liebrandt has improved upon his previous mentor Pierre Gagniere.

Food in NYC is often about hype (food)

2011-04-01T14:56:00.007-05:00

In NYC, food, like many other things, is often about good PR, hype, and trendiness. Two of the most popular food trends right now are food trucks and Korean tacos. So obviously, a food truck selling Korean tacos gets a lot of hype. So I was in the city with a friend and we decided to try the Kimchi Taco Truck. Our verdict? All hype.

KIMCHI ARANCINI These tiny rice balls were 3 for $3. The panko coating was fried well, but there was no real substance taste-wise. You had to dip it into the red pepper paste to really get anything out of it.

TRIO OF TACOS Korean BBQ beef, braised pork, pulled chicken. There's salsa, there are scallion bits, but where's the kimchi? There was very little kimchi in everything we had, which confused me as I wouldn't have thought kimchi to be very expensive. The lack of kimchi revealed the real weakness, which was that the meat did not have much flavor in it.

TOFU EDAMAME FALAFEL This actually had the most flavor, with the "signature Asian spices" being very pronounced. It's not a taste for everyone though, and the spices definitely cover up any flavor the base ingredients might have had. Fried well though.

SPICY PORK KIMCHEESESTEAK This had the best flavor of anything we ordered, although it still didn't manage to be spicy.

There's a decent amount of meat here for $7, and this is honestly the only thing we would order if we had to eat from this truck again.

The prices are good for midtown Manhattan, although I don't know if that makes it worth the wait. If you really want tacos with flavor and a Korean twist, I recommend getting tacos from a real Mexican taco truck, buying some kimchi (it's not that expensive), and making your own "Korean" taco.

The next place I want to talk about is Red Rooster in Harlem. This place has had tremendous buzz and hype, with reservations filling up early, a two star rating in the NYT, and Obama holding a DNC fundraiser there just this past week. My friend TF lives nearby and managed to snag the tough reservation, so 4 of us decided to give it a try and share a bunch of things on the menu. Our verdict? Not all hype, but not particularly impressive either.

Decent, crusty, bread with a chickpea dip.

RED GRITS WITH SHRIMP, CHORIZO, PEPPERS This was a solid side with a good amount of shrimp and chorizo. I enjoyed it.

PULLED PORK WITH RAINBOW SLAW AND LEMON AIOLI The pulled pork was not particularly special, but it was tender and tasty and the slaw and aioli matched it well.

CORN BREAD WITH HONEY BUTTER AND TOMATO JAM The corn bread was moist and the honey butter was delicious.

CORN TACOS AND TOSTADAS WITH CEVICHE YELLOWTAIL, SALMON, AND AVOCADO Honestly, I didn't even know until I reviewed the menu to write this that there was seafood in this. The corn, onion, and avocado flavors were quite strong in the bite I had.

CHICKEN AND EGG WITH SPICY SAUCE AND SEARED LIVER A nicely cooked egg oozing yolk over chicken, bread, and a small lobe of seared liver. Can't really go wrong with this one.

FRIED YARD BIRD WITH WHITE MACE GRAVY, HOT SAUCE, AND SHAKE The chicken was definitely moist, but the skin was not particularly crispy, and there wasn't that much flavor going on. The greens underneath were nice though.

MAC AND CHEESE (GOUDA, NY CHEDDAR, COMTE) AND GREENS I liked the contrast of the greens with the rich mac and cheese. The mac was good and creamy, but there are a lot of places in NYC with very good specialty mac and cheese.

BRAISED OXTAIL WITH MOTHER'S MILK STOUT AND PLANTAINS This was good, but not particularly novel in my view. I liked the presence of both plantains and plantain chips as texture contrasts.

SWEET POTATO DOUGHNUTS WITH CINNAMON SUGAR These were nice and light, and I liked the accompanying lemon sorbet.

BLACK AND WHITE MUD WITH CHOCOLATE COOKIE CRUST This had a good contrast of textures and flavors.

SPICED CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH BRANDY CHERRY ICE CREAM The spice in the cake was evident, and my friend SM really liked the brandy cherry ice cream.

MALTED FROSTY Not on the online menu, this was essentially a frosty with some crunchy malted bits on top. Was this significantly better than a Wendy's frosty? I wouldn't say so.

In all, the food was good. The bill was very reasonable (<$50pp with tax and tip, no drinks). It's a really nice neighborhood restaurant that any neighborhood would be happy to have. I understand that its location is a big part of the good PR and hype, and I understand that people want it to do well and attract people. I also want to see it succeed. However, the chef is not doing anything particularly exciting or impressive, and I wouldn't say that it's a destination restaurant worth travelling a long distance for.