The Strand

Things have changed. A few years ago if you had asked me when I like to eat breakfast and what I like to eat for breakfast I would have said by 10am and a stack of pancakes. Today if you asked me that question I would say by 12pm and anything with eggs. The switch from sweet to savory continues and today I got the chance to explore my savory side. My roommate and I met another two friends at The Strand on Broadway in Astoria.

This smokehouse opened in November 2012 and is packed Friday and Saturday nights. With bluegrass music on the little stage in the huge room it's a fun place to meet one friend or a whole group of people at the large picnic tables ready to accommodate a dozen people. Rather then go for our usual evening drink we decided to try a calmer brunch atmosphere.

A has been talking about their biscuits and gravy for the past month. Every time the topic of brunch comes up she told us that the Stand has really good biscuits and gravy. After our friends arrived and they decided on the waffles and fried chicken and I on the salmon and poached egg on an everything bagel our waiter arrived. A declared her desire for the famed biscuits and gravy and to her terror the waiter proceeded to do the contorted 'we don't have that item' face. That's when I knew it was all over.

He was perfectly nice about there not being any gravy because the previous batch was burnt. Good sir, if this is one of your most popular items, what happened? He sat down next to A as if to comfort her in this devastating time and aimed to aid her in her biggest decision of the day, what to get instead. She did go with my choice and we were both happy with it (aside from the bagel not being toasted). But I could tell anger was in her heart and we would be back next weekend in the never ending search for...BISCUITS AND GRAVY!

St. Andrews Restaurant & Bar

A few weeks ago A and I met for a drink after work. In an effort  to try new bars we selected St. Andrews near Times Square. Normally I tend to follow the TSR - the Times Square Ratio. The further away the restaurant is from Times Square, the better the restaurant. Example, Guy Fieri's restaurant Guy's American Kitchen and Bar is located in the heart of TS, enough said.

I walked in St. Andrews and found a spot at the bar to sit and wait for A to arrive. I had the juicy, satisfying burger while I sipped on a beer. A arrived and ordered the Scotch eggs.

Then she turns to me with her wide eyes and I know it's time for dessert. They had Sticky Toffee Pudding. Done and done. It arrived hot with plenty of caramel and whipped cream to go around. This warm treat was perfect for that rainy night. Each bite was warm and filling. So for this place, ignore the ratio and go get the pudding.

Momofuku Noodle Bar

When you have to wait in line to find out how long the wait is you know the wait will be too long. As D and I stood in line at Ippudo trying to find out the wait the cute guy in front of me leans back and says "You should try Momofuku" "YES!" I yelled in his face.

D and I made our way around the corner to Momofuku Noodle Bar which has been on my list to go to for a while. You know how in your mind there are those places that for some reason you will be denied entry or have to wait hours to get into? Momofuku was one of those places for me. We walked into this restaurant and walked straight up to the bar and sat down. Way to easy! It was a warm day on Friday and the heat was on in the restaurant so obviously this swarthy beast was very hot. First D and I shared the shrimp buns which had spicy mayo, pickled shallots and iceberg lettuce. A mystery sauce was placed in front of us so naturally I squirted it on my plate and tried it. A little spicy but tangy it added the needed kick to these wonderful little buns.

For mains D had the spicy miso ramen which received good reviews. I had the momofuku ramen which had wonderful pork belly, pork shoulder and poached egg. With this added heat in front of me I had to suck down my Tiger Beer even faster. It was a filling meal that is perfect for a cold night at the end of a long week. Now that I know I won't be turned away it's a place I would go back for a filling meal.

The Constant: Cheese

F gave me the Smitten Kitchen cookbook for my birthday and I now have the regained confidence to tackle new dishes. Please see my wonderfully (heavy) pasta dish with peas and alfredo sauce. Yummers.

Last week I ventured to Astoria Bier and Cheese for beer bread and two types of cheese. Okay, lie, I got a third cheese for my roommate who was having a tough week. Why do I get the feeling my roommates will suddenly start having really tough weeks, every week? I piled that all together with Divina Roasted Red Peppers and some cipolline onions for a fantastic grilled cheese sandwich that had to be flattened by lining a second pan with foil and crushing it down while it cooked. I'm clever, I know.

Last is pizza. Used the rest of my red peppers, cipolline, sauteed mushrooms, mozzarella, parm, and Mama Lil's peppers. For frozen dough and pasta sauce it was a pretty darn good pizza.

'inoteca

It was my birthday a couple weeks ago. Obviously I wanted to go out to dinner with my close lady friends. Five of us met down at 'inoteca in the LES on a chilly night ready to eat some Italian food. I had been to this restaurant before and it was because of this great experience that I wanted to return and bring my closest friends to.

Waiting for the last member of our party, 4 of us sat at the large farm table in the middle of the restaurant like the posh diners we were. Then it began. HE came to the table.

HIM: "Water?"
Me: "Yes, please?"

We were then offered sparkling, still or tap. Tap all around. Duh. K was having trouble getting to the restaurant which warranted getting an antipasti platter to hold us over. With longing eyes I searched the room for HIM to help us, to ask us if we needed anything, you know, like food or more wine. Eventually we caught the eye of someone and got our platter ordered. K finally arrived and we seemed to be the only people who noticed because it took quite a while for HIM to come back. FINALLY, he returned and I welcomed him back to the table. Un-apologetically he said "Sorry".

Then it came time to order our food. No recommendations. No serving size guidance. Nada. When I ordered my chicken pate in Italian HE looked at me and said "You know that's chicken pate, right?"

Sigh.

Food arrived sporadically leaving some people without their bruschettas they had ordered while some of us received everything at once. Plates were placed in the wrong place resulting in a massive shuffle with each touchdown of a dish. The food was great, but was overshadowed by that guy that I would have to talk to again.

After food was cleared I expected the dessert menu to be brought over for us. Instead HE stood there and asked if we wanted anything else. Any good restaurant knows they can make more money on dessert. Don't give up at the main meal has left the table. Keep working on getting me to spend my money! IDIOT. Only two meun's were brought over for us to share like we were teenagers. Dessert was incorrectly described to us but we thought, what the heck we'll order a few. K's dessert was the Nutella Panino. Ooo sounds exotic, doesn't it. FALSE, not exotic. Have you ever had toast with Nutella on it? Then you have had the Nutella Panino from 'inoteca. When asked how dessert was I told him that it wasn't him, but to pass it on to the chef that the nutella dessert was a little disappointing. "Ok" He says. Not, thanks for the feedback, I'll pass that on, how were the other dishes...anything.

Eye roll.

It's surprising that one person can so perfectly ruin your birthday dinner. I tip my birthday hat to you and say, you succeeded good sir.

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Jane

The Ladies Who Brunch are looking into matching, monogrammed cardigans for their brunching. Let's hope this happens, we would be the most stylish brunch attendees. Ever.

This week, without matching cardigans, we convened at Jane on West Houston for brunch with friends. Thankfully I made reservations a week ago for our 12:30 brunch. I say this because people were spilling out onto the street and crammed around the hostess' stand. Eventually we were beckoned in to wait there a few moments. As we all stood there a plate of donuts was on it's way past us. We all eyed it and someone leaned over to someone else and said 'how do I get one?'. I dare not name who made this inquiry. Then like magic, the kind man stopped in front of us and offered us a donut. We all stared at him in disbelief. Armed with napkins, the waiter made his way outside with this plate trying to tide waiting guests over till they sat down, tempting them with what may lay within and praying they did not decide to leave for another brunch location.

Fortunately, we were not seated by the entrance but in the back corner in a booth away from everyone waiting. As one who enjoys brunch, this one is constantly plagued with the decision to go with a sweet or a savory meal. I have spoken with others about this and they too, suffer. I decided that at my last meal at Queen's Comfort I got french toast (AND their hot chocolate, yes I wanted to throw up too) so this time I went with Eggs Florentine with hash browns and my complementary mimosa. Everyone enjoyed their meal and had a good time. I have no breaking news or insane stories, just that gathering with friends for a meal continues to be my favorite pastime and will continue to be so in this new year.

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Aamanns Copenhagen

Wikipedia defines a Smorrebrod as: Smørrebrød (originally smør og brød; Danish for "butter and bread") usually consists of a piece of buttered rye bread (rugbrød), a dense, darkbrown bread. Pålæg (literally "on-lay"), the topping, then among others can refer to commercial or homemade cold cuts, pieces of meat or fish,cheese or spreads. This daily practice is the base on which the art of the famous Danish open sandwich, smørrebrød is created: A slice or two ofpålæg is placed on the buttered bread, and then pyntet (decorated) with the right accompaniments, to create a tasty and visually appealing food item.

Before this past Sunday I had never head of this open face sandwich until I stepped foot in the bright, open space of Aamanns Copenhagen. The quick steps from the street level lead to an open floor plan of light woods, white walls and very expensive light fixtures (as appraised by my designer roommates). Seated in the back of the space under a huge piece of art I was able to assess the airieness of the room and the calmness that it induced upon seating.

After all five of us sat down we determined the size of these pieces of bread and how many we should order from our super, oh-so-unhelpful waiter. After being ignored for a good ten minutes he finally arrived to take our WHOLE order. Eventually we all received our coffees, teas and freshly squeezed orange juice. The tea was served in a conical mug with a cute lid with an opening on the top allowing the tea bag string to peak through. As if a cuddly baby had been placed on the table we all wanted to play with it and awed when it moved.

Our glass boards arrived with what looked like mini pieces of art, almost too beautiful to eat. I ordered:
- “Gravad laks”: cured salmon with dill, foxy sauce, pickled onions, endive and rye breadcrumbs
- Danish roasted pork belly with crispy greaves, fried apples, and red cabbage glazed in orange and warm spices

Please don't ask me what foxy sauce is. Up until this point I thought it was an egg that was on my salmon and only realizing now, it was, in fact...foxy sauce. Sigh. I eat a lot, everyone knows that. And these two pieces of rye bread filled me up. The bread was dense and piled high was food. I saw some people pick their food up and attempt to eat it (fail). I elected the traditional 'fork' and 'knife' method which worked in my favor and allowed me to go back and forth between dishes.

B, as a vegetarian ordered a cheese plate. And for $17 we thought this would be an impressive display of the cheeses of Denmark. Not so, Obi Wan. All of us received our glass boards and sat, waiting for her dish to arrive. Some people dug in but I stand firm on waiting for other's dishes to arrive so we can all start our meal together. Enough time passed that I had to sneak a bite in out of pure hangover hunger. Eventually I made 'eyes' at our waiter and that set a light bulb off that, yes, someone was still waiting for their $17 dish. And as you might expect, this plate, in my humble opinion was worth $9. I'll just leave it at that. 

In a space that emptied as we finished, and really was not that big, one would expect their waiters to, I don't know, check in on them or perhaps clear their plates when the whole party is sitting their staring off into space. At first we considered the idea of dessert but after the interminable wait we decided that it was for the best that we did not or else WE WOULD NEVER LEAVE.

Eventually I made 'eyes' again and got the guy over to our table. I think we were putting our coats on before he brought the checks back to the table. When I started this meal I thought to myself, golly, this would be a cool place to bring a visiting friend or my parents, but alas at the conclusion, even though the food was tasty and filling, I would not want to put my guests through the pain of staring into one of those beautiful light fixtures just wondering if their waiter would ever return. 

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