Union Square Cafe

101 East 19th Street

(between Park Avenue South and Irving Place)

After having lunch at TsuruTonTan—the old location of Union Square Café—I became nostalgic and wanted to experience their new location, which formerly housed City Crab.

As it was only a few blocks away, we decided it would be a good place to go for dessert after our udon noodle lunch.

The décor is relaxed and comfortable, and I have to say moreso than what found in their original location. It feels more open and spacious.

Entranceway.

Bar.

 

Stairs leading to second-floor seating.

Main dining room.

We didn’t have a reservation, but as we arrived after the lunch crowd, we were seated immediately in the front lounge area. Great spot for people watching.

As soon as we were seated, a server provided us with a complimentary bowl of olives as well as freshly made sourdough bread along with a schmear of butter topped that was topped with sea salt! That bread was nothing short of heavenly! So good that I asked for seconds!!

Though we had wanted dessert, we were craving salt so we ordered a side of fries. It’s not offered as a side on their menu, but they were more than happy to accommodate us! The fries were perfectly crispy and not over-fried. Also, they were cut wide enough so no floppy fries, either!

All desserts are $13. After speaking with the server, we ordered the rhubarb sundae (frozen yogurt and whipped cream). As it was a birthday celebration, it arrived discreetly (no singing!) with a lighted candle and beautifully scripted birthday wishes in chocolate sauce. They also provided us with complimentary biscotti.

 

Have to make a special note on the plating. Traditionally sundaes arrive in long V-necked glasses. Straws and long, skinny spoons would be required. Instead this sundae came in a pretty dessert dish that one could imagine being served in an outdoor Southern afternoon garden party.

We also ordered a slice of Middlebury Blue cheese from Vermont. It is described as a semi-soft raw cow’s milk with a mild, buttery, grassy flavor. Good, but probably the least memorable part of the meal. All cheeses are $7.

As it was a b-day celebration, champagne had to be ordered. My friend went for the restaurant’s own Tassin Champagne: the Union Square Cuvée from France ($22).

 

I, in the meantime, was debating between a red or white wine. So as an excellent solution, the waitress suggested the Cavaletto.  It’s a Pinot Noro Bianco, “Pinner,” from Italy’s Piedmont region ($18). It’s a white wine with a fuller richer body containing hints of caramel notes. Though to be quite honest, I was probably most taken by the lovely wineglass it was served in!

 

Finally, do go to the restroom on the ground floor to look at a cool psychedelic design (a morphed image of the person looking at the design!) that may possibly hypnotize you.

Note: Gratuity is included in bill!

Pros:

Excellent service.

Relaxing and comfortable atmosphere.

Large, well-cared-for unisex restrooms.

Cons:

Wished they offered a wider variety of cheeses.

Final Thoughts

Excellent experience. Will definitely return.

TsuruTonTan

21 East 16th Street

(between Fifth Avenue and Union Square)

On my continuing quest for noodle soups during this cold spring of 2017, I heard about TsuruTonTan, a restaurant specializing udon noodles.

And the fact that it’s in the former Union Square Café location also intrigued me.

As I had heard that reservations were highly recommended, I went ahead and made lunch reservations a week ahead of time for a friend and myself.

The upfront restaurant décor near the bar is lovely.

 

I especially appreciated the graphic wall design with the lit-up letter spelling out the name of the restaurant.

 

The restaurant was comprised of several different sections or rooms. There was a back room (where we were seated), a more cafeteria-style seating room, and an upstairs room for probably larger or private parties.

 

The menu, which provided a photo for each menu item, reminded me of the menus normally found in Korean restaurants.

 

We decided to start with two appetizers. The spicy tuna tartare cone ($12), which was comprised of avocado puree, micro shiso, and wonton skin. It was a very cool and yummy concept and design.

With the appearance of a mini ice cream cone, the tuna tartare and avocado were layered. So with each bite, one would experience a different flavor texture.

The hamachi carpaccio ($13) was fresh and light.

And we, of course, had to order a bowl of udon. We decided to share a large bowl of duck udon ($18). A regular and large noodle bowl cost the same, so it makes sense to just go ahead and order the large!

 The duck were both duck breast and duck meatballs. The broth was light as we were hesitant about ordering a creamy broth. We also went with the chef suggestion of the thick, wide noodles as opposed to thin noodles.

 

Going with the wider noodles, meant less noodles overall, but I could definitely taste that the noodles were freshly made.

The spoons, though, are ridiculously large. They’re fine to help ladle out the noodles, but not useful whatsoever to drink with. So don’t be shy about asking for a smaller spoon.

To accompany our meal, my friend ordered a non-alcoholic lychee mojito ($8). It was very refreshing and tasty.
 

And after some very generous tasting samples (I think they let me sample about four wines???), I went with our waitress’s suggestion of the Riesling Havemeyer Piesporter ($12) from Germany. It was sweet and light and went perfectly with our meal.

On our way out, we noticed the Japanese Waving Cat bidding us fare thee well!

Pros:

Friendly service.

Tasty udon.

Cons:

Small, hot bathrooms.

Uncomfortable booth seats.

The little stone they provide as the chopstick holder is ineffective. Chopsticks kept sliding off throughout the meal. Should either be larger or a groove should be created for the chopsticks to sit on. Or just simply have the chopsticks folded within the napkin or rest on top of the plate.

 

Final Thoughts

Glad to have tried their giant bowl of noodle soup once, but unless I’m in the neighborhood it’s not someplace that would be a destination spot. It would, however, be a good option to take an out-of-town friend.

Excellent Dumping House (Chelsea)

165 West 23rd Street

(between Seventh Avenue and Eighth Avenue)

On a cold, wet rainy spring day, I was in the mood for soup dumplings. And Excellent Dumpling House had just recently opened in Chelsea.

Small, clean, and comfortable dining environment.

 

With banquettes on one side

And tables on the other

The staff would stand in the center to easily monitor the customers’ needs. It also makes it easy for the customer to catch a server’s attention.

The restaurant is generally packed during lunch hour so I would recommend going during off hours. I luckily showed up at around 2 p.m.

While they offered a variety of dumplings, I decided to satisfy my craving and ordered the steamed xiao long bao ($7.50).

They were cooked perfectly as was able to pick them up without a single dumpling breaking.

Also, the soup inside the dumplings were warm and didn’t burn my tongue as some soup dumplings in other restaurants are wont to do.

I also ordered a bowl of their pork chashu noodle soup served with ramen and bean sprouts in a thick chicken broth ($9.95).

Absolutely delicious and filling. The pork belly literally melted in my mouth. And they did not skimp on the amount of pork, either!

I also liked the wooden spoon that came with the soup bowl! And I drank every drop of that soup.

Perfect meal for a cold day!

While they don’t serve alcohol, the waitstaff kept my water glass filled without my even having to ask.

 

Pros:

Excellent service: attentive and not intrusive.

Cons:

No alcohol.

Limited dessert menu.

Final Thoughts

Would definitely return when I’m in the mood for soup dumplings and also to try their other dumplings as well as other entrees.

Zia Maria (Dinner)

318 West 23rd Street

(between Eighth Avenue and Ninth Avenue)

Wrote a previous post when Zia Maria first opened and I tried their lunch special.

Finally had a chance to go for dinner.

As the restaurant specializes in freshly made pizza, we ordered a large four seasons pizza ($30) for two. Ingredients are mozzarella, prosciutto, mushrooms, artichokes, and olives

So much food that we ended up taking three slices home. Next time, I’ll go for the small (four slices, as opposed to the eight in a large pie)!

To accompany the pizza, I had a glass of their True Myth Cabernet Sauvignon ($12). With a full, bold taste and a smooth finish, I’m not surprised that it’s one of the restaurant’s most popular red wines. And the bottle is pretty stunning, too.

On weekdays, they also offer Happy Hour house wines ($6) from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. And the house wines are very good, in particular their Montepulciano.

 

Pros:

Friendly service.

Excellent wines for Happy Hour.

Cons:

Wish they offered a pie with six slices.

Final Thoughts

Would definitely go back for their Happy Hour as well as for the True Myth Cab!

Tarallucci e Vino

15 East 18th Street

(between Fifth Avenue and Broadway)

For a belated New Year celebration, a friend and I wanted to be adventurous, so we decided to try out Tarallucci e Vino, a restaurant neither of us had been.

Glad that we had made reservations, as the place was packed on a weekday night. Atmosphere was cute with dim lighting.

Please note that the above photo was taken at the end of the evening!

We started off sharing the rucola salad ($13) comprised of arugula, endive, shaved fennels, blood oranges, and toasted fennels. Love arugula!

I ordered the orecchiette pasta ($21), which came with crispy cauliflower, guanciale, and shallots. Really liked the nice crunchiness of the crispy cauliflower with the orecchiette.

My friend ordered the abruzzese duck ragu ($24).

 

Her one comment was that it wasn’t what she expected.

To accompany our meal, I ordered a glass of the Nero d’Avola ($11). I always order the Nero if I see that it’s offered. It has that smooth finish that I love.

My friend being in a somewhat celebratory mood went for their sparkling rosé ($13).

For dessert, we ordered the Torta al Cioccolato ($11) to share. It’s dark chocolate, mascarpone, nutella, and toasted hazelnuts.

Beautiful and richly decadent. Absolutely, the best part of the meal!

 

And it pairs deliciously with the Nero d’Avola.

 

Pros:

They had Nero d’Avola!

Cons:

Pricey.

Final Thoughts

Decent meal, but for the price and what was offered, I don’t consider it a must-return-to dining experience. May return, though, for dessert and coffee/wine!

Dean & DeLuca’s Eat, Drink, Speak: A Series (Featuring Julia Turshen)

560 Broadway

(between Prince and Spring Streets)

On Thursday, December 1st, as part of their Eat, Drink, Speak series, Dean & DeLuca’s Soho location featured a discussion with author and chef Julia Turshen.

 

Julia Turshen was promoting her first solo book Small Victories: Recipes, Advice, and Hundreds of Ideas for Home-Cooking Triumphs.. One may not recognize her name, but she has coauthored many well-known cookbooks, including Gwyneth Paltrow’s It’s All Good and Marja Vongerichten’s The Kimchi Chronicles. She’s also written for a variety of magazines and newspapers, including Vogue, Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.

 

The discussion was led and moderated by Alison Roman (below right): a freelance food writer, whose credits include having been a Senior Food Editor for Bon Appétit.

It was obvious that Turshen and Roman had an easy rapport. So the conversation was light and casual, followed by a Q&A with the audience. Some interesting tidbits: the photography for the book was completed in just three days at Turshen’s upstate home; her favorite recipe is the chicken soup featured on the book’s cover as it was inspired by her aunt; she considers the anchovy an underappreciated ingredient.

 

After the discussion and Q&A (which lasted a total of about 45 minutes), the store offered a tasting of some of Turshen’s recipes:

Julia’s Caesar with Gorgeous Crudité.  Light and healthy!

Big Bowl of Potato Chips with Roasted Scallion & Chive Dip. The dip was delicious!

Dates with Mascarpone. I especially liked to ones wrapped with prosciutto. Yum!

And we finished our tasting with Feel-Better-Soon Cookies. Very moist and chewy—like the best cookies should be!

The event was held at the back of the store and free for all to attend. It also was also being featured live on Facebook. Overlooking the action, was a deer head!

Pros:

Events are free.

Cons:

Chaotic when the discussion ended and the tasting began. For example, one attendee planted herself at one of the food tables and basically ate an entire bowl of crudité on her own.

Final Thoughts

Would attend another event depending upon the discussion and featured chef.

Momofuku Nishi (REVISTED)

232 Eighth Avenue

(between 21st Street and 22nd Street)

Since its initial opening, Momofuku Nishi has made several changes.

They are now open for lunch (12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Mon.–Fri.), and they have decided to do away with their “No Tipping” policy.

Which means that their signature Ceci e Pepe dish (renamed to the simpler and easier-to-remember “Butter Noodle”) is now $19 as opposed to its original $24 price.

And the price reduction did not mean a reduction in the quality of the dish at all. Still delicious and in spite of appearing to be a rather small serving, it is still ideal for sharing.

As a matter of fact, that is one aspect that hasn’t changed. The restaurant still encourages that all of their dishes be shared.

With that in mind, we ordered two new items on their menu. For the appetizer, we went for the mandoo ($14): pork wontons in chili vinegar. Warning: VERY spicy.  So spicy that it overwhelms the wonton making it rather tasteless.

And as an additional entrée, the skate wing ($26), served with cauliflower, brown butter, and lemon. The skate was probably our favorite part of the meal. The fish was completely deboned and meaty and flavorful.

For dessert, we were disappointed to learn that they no longer offered their famed pistachio cake (even though it’s featured quite prominently as part of the décor).

With only three options, we decided to go with our server’s recommendation: the butterscotch cake with whipped cream ($10). I found it a bit dry, even with the whipped cream.

To accompany our meal, they offered half carafes of their house white, red, and rosé ($30). We went with their half-carafe rosé, which was from Provence and had a nice, dry, light taste.

 

Pros:

Friendly service.

Comfortable atmosphere.

No longer hour-long waits. We arrived at 8 p.m. (considered prime-time for dinner in NYC) on a Thursday night and were seated right away.

Cons:

Pricey.

Wished they offered a greater variety in their desserts, especially since Milk Bar has opened several doors down.

Final Thoughts

Will return to try their lunch menu as it includes many items that are not offered on their dinner menu. Such as: their famed “Impossible Burger” (touted as a vegetarian burger) and a variety of ramen noodle dishes.