Pepolino

Yesterday was my third day in New York. I had seen all the huge tourist attractions on previous visits and decided that a night on the town would be just great. So I went to Little Italy, or the Tribeca neighborhood, and walked around. I must say, North End in Boston is much better. That's real Italian. This is New York Italian. Not as nice. Anyway, the time soon came for me to choose a place to eat dinner. There were only a scant amount of eateries, most of them super casual, not pretty white-tablecloth places. But then I found something different. Pepolino Ristorante. Well, I thought, I have been fantasizing about a good Italian meal tonight, so why not stop here? Looking back now, I see that I made one of the best restaurant decisions ever. 

After I was seated, got my menu and drink, and ordered my food, I was served a delicious assortment of Italian breads. Guess what was provided as a spread? Butter? No. Try again. Tomato flan. Yes. Doesn't that sound heavenly? It was. It came with a single parsley leaf stuck on top, which gave it a striking presentation. Spread on foccacia, the flan was just marvelous. It had a wonderfully spicy garlicky flavor, which contrasted nicely with the soft, mellow bread, making the flan the star. A perfect way to begin a meal. 

For an appetizer, or antipasto, I got the spinach soufflé with tomato culis, light butter, and some grand panado cheese to top it off. It came soon after I ordered, the soufflé sitting in the two sauces. The cool (and beautiful) thing was that the butter and tomato didn't mix, so they stayed on either side of the plate, like two stripes. The soufflé was bright green, and a sprig of thyme was stuck into it. The soufflé's flavor was just amazing, with a fresh taste of spinach ringing through clear and strong. The culis was bright and a bit tart, and the butter was creamy and rich. My appetizer was definitely a culinary triumph. 


I chose cacio e pepe for my entree. Cacio e pepe is a popular dish in Rome. The Romans often have late-night spaghetti parties on their rooftop balconies, and cacio e pepe is often served. It seems so simple on paper. In Italian, it just means "pasta with cheese and pepper." To be exact, Pecorino Romano, a cows-milk cheese, with a sharper, tangier flavor than that of Parmesan is the classic ingredient, while black pepper is another authentic addition. If you don't put black pepper in a cacio e pepe, it's not a cacio e pepe. You've got an Alfredo sauce. Spaghetti is the classic kind of pasta used, and at Pepolino, they were certainly authentic and classic, so they did all the hallmarks of the dish well. The rich, creamy, melty cheese, al dente pasta, and spicy pepper aftertaste were all there. The pasta was homemade, and was cooked perfectly; tender but with some bite. Also, I tasted one of the specials of the day: spinach and ricotta ravioli with tomato and fresh basil. It was fresh, light, and summery, and the ravioli itself was cooked again to perfection. The entrees I sampled were certainly authentic, and I enjoyed them to the fullest.


For dessert, I chose an orange blossom creme brûlée. After my rich meal, I felt a bit delicate, so I passed on the chocolate cake. The creme brûlée seemed like the perfect "docli" to me. I was also very surprised and gratified when the waiter presented me with not only a creme brûlée, but a slice of free ricotta cheesecake (complimentary, of course)! I cracked the top of my brûlée and dug in. The custard was sweet, creamy, and rich, and perfectly infused with just the right amount of dainty orange blossom flavor. The top was crunchy and had that delectable bittersweet flavor. There were candied pieces of orange zest on top. The cheesecake was nothing like a New York cheesecake. It was much less dense, a tad airy, and very elegant. The ricotta lent an interesting texture as well. Lightly dusted with powdered sugar, this cheesecake could make you faint with the wonderful flavor. So I give that an A+.


The service was divine, too. All the staff was Italian, giving the place an authentic feel. My waiter also spoke French and Spanish; it was fun talking the latter with him. My food came promptly, and it tasted absolutely sublime, as if they really put their hearts into it. The atmosphere was intimate, and the soft lighting and quiet music told me once again that it was a place for dates and couples. The price was rather expensive, but everything had been worth it.

So if you're in the Tribeca one night and need a really memorable Italian meal, stop by Pepolino, and I promise you'll be happy. Very happy. 

The Lemongrass Grill

As if once wasn't enough, here is yet another Thai restaurant, reviewed by moi, Mademoiselle Nouvelle Orleans, here in New York City.

Yesterday was a very nice day, a step away from the day before yesterday. I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rockefeller Center, and explored Brooklyn a bit. Cool, right? That night, I was hungry and wanted to go out to eat, so I researched a bit, and found The Lemongrass Grill. I decided to stop by; two Thai nights in a row isn't that bad, is it? So I got my coat and umbrella (it was raining and the wind was roaring and blowing like mad), and walked a couple blocks till I found it. It looked nice to behold; with lots of pretty, soft lights. I saw in a moment that it was a romantic restaurant; there were lots of couples in there. But I decided that I liked the feel of it and went inside. 

I sat down at a table and got my drink and menu right away from a sweet, pretty waitress, and she left me to choose my food. I decided to try another drink, called some Thai name I can't remember off hand. After I'd sipped for a bit, the flavor of it hit me nicely. It was sweet and cold and absolutely singing with cherry flavor.  Yum!

I then chose my appetizer. The menu of the place was huge, at least 6 pages, so I had a long list of starters to choose from. After a bit of debating, I chose the Vegetarian Crispy Roll, which was a dish with bean thread, carrot, cabbage, and onion embedded on a wonton wrapper, which was fried until it was crisp and flaky. It came with (I think?) sweet chili sauce for dipping, which made it taste even better. The vegetables tasted pleasantly fresh, and the outside was crisp, flaky, and golden. The sauce was a curious syrupy texture but tasted spicy and full of flavor. All in all, a good way to start a good meal.

I chose Nasi Goreng Bali, a Thai and Indonesian fried rice with carrots, peas, onions, and a scrambled egg on top. The rice was perfectly cooked and the shrimp that came with it was super spicy and flavorful, just not as fresh tasting as the un-frozen gulf shrimp we get back in New Orleans. The vegetables were okay, and the egg was fluffy and well browned. My entree was very good just not spectacular.

Thai folks aren't big on dessert, so had to go my own way on that. My dinner at The Lemongrass Grill was very good, the waitress was sweet and took good care of me, and the atmosphere was quiet and better for romantic dates than for a normal dinner. So if you need yet another Thai restaurant to consider, here is my review of the Lemongrass Grill!  

Cafe Chili, The Tired Traveler's Savior

Au revior, NOLA! I'm heading up north to New York, steadily eating my way through the state, and giving you my usual reliable restaurant reviews. New York, here I come!

Yesterday was a super hard, draining sort of day; full of traveling, motion sickness (due to a bumpy JetBlue flight), and so on. As for nice dining (before dinner, I mean to say).....I DON'T THINK SO! I passed on a smelly chicken salad sandwich at lunchtime, and after I got to JFK, Madame La Bouffe did get me an Orange Sherbet from Jamba Juice, but I was still starving when dinnertime came along. When we got to our temporary lodgings and relaxed a bit, we decided to go for a walk, and find someplace to eat. That wasn't easy, because it was Christmas night, and only a handful of restaurants were open. After strolling up and down in the biting cold, we came across a  cozy looking Thai restaurant, called Cafe Chili decorated lavishly with a Christmas tree, fake snow, and many other Christmas symbols. We decided to give it a try. We wouldn't last much longer if we waited for dinner; I was practically famished.  We went inside and were immediately attended to by a quiet Thai waitress, who led us to a table by the window. 

After we had seated ourselves, and got our waters, Madame La Bouffe ordered a Sake cocktail, because, as she said, "We're only in NY for so long. I'm going to live large." 

Our waiter, a very reserved, super quiet young Asian man, gave us our cocktails and menus, and left us to choose our food. There were lots of tasty-looking options on the menu, and I had a hard time deciding which to choose. Finally, I settled on the Cilantro Corn Fritters for my starter, and the basil snapper for my entree. Madame La Bouffe got the Emerald Green Vegetable Dumplings and the scallop-shrimp curry for her main course. 

Our appetizers were absolutely delicious. My fritters tasted so good, with a super crisp, craggy crust and a soft, sweet interior. The corn kernels on the inside were pert, not mushy, and when dipped in sweet peanut sauce, they were just fabulous. I snitched one of Madame La Bouffe's dumplings, which I really liked a lot. The wrapper was actually bright green, and the fillings....well, I don't know what the fillings actually were, but they tasted very fresh and yummy. Dipped in a soy sauce, they tasted like a magical, life-renewing food.

Our entrees were "uneven." I had been expecting just a fillet of fish with a basil  sauce, but NOPE!

Anyway, now that you know what it looks like, I'll tell you about the most important part of it: the taste. The snapper was deep fried WITH THE SCALES AND EVERYTHING ON. Then they took the meat out and piled it on top of the fried carcass. The basil was incorporated in the dish as crisp little chips, which were delightful. The meat was tender, with a crust that crunched deliciously as I chewed. The meat was also sauced with some kind of sweet concoction that was really good. This entree was the strangest yet the most delicious snapper I'd ever eaten. 

Madame La Bouffe's curry, however, was not so good. Her scallops, she said, "tasted like they were marinated in Windex, and I actually had to spit them out." Her shrimp, she said, were just "okay," and the curry sauce tasted "like it came out of a box." 

So if you happen to be in Brooklyn, hungry and tired of traipsing about in the cold, stop by Cafe Chili, located on Court St., and you'll get a really memorable snapper and other great Thai food. We don't recommend the shrimp and scallop curry, but the Emerald Green Vegetable Dumplings and Cilantro Corn Fritters will practically knock your socks off! Until next time, and happy eating!`

The Milk Bar

The Milk Bar, a casual sandwich-salad-milkshake lunch spot, is a fairly new addition to the River Bend Area, and I've been wanting to try it out for a while now. The tantalizing "Open Soon" signs almost drove me nuts, and finally, after many long weeks of waiting, it opened! I soon found the perfect opportunity to stop by. After I had performed in my school Christmas service, and left with Madame La Bouffe at 11, we both got hungry and talked about a good place to eat our lunch. We remembered The Milk Bar, and sped off down the street toward the River Bend.

As we entered, it was clear that the Milk Bar is very popular around noon. The place was filled with folks sitting at the tables, eating, drinking, talking, and in a nutshell, having a very nice time. Madame La Bouffe and I chose a table, got a menu and drinks, and perched ourselves comfortably upon the black-and-white cow-patterned chairs. We studied the gourmet sandwich menu carefully, and soon we chose our food. I picked the Shirley Valentine, a delicious sounding sandwich of hot ciabatta bread stuffed with spinach, tomato, red onion, artichoke, mushrooms, and melted feta and mozzarella cheeses. Madame La Bouffe selected the Thai Chili Chicken, which wasn't as well described as my sandwich was on the menu. Still, it attracted Madame La Bouffe like a pin to a magnet. 

As we waited for our food, we chatted and sipped our drinks and watched the staff make milkshakes, which was a simple process yielding wonderfully tasty results. Our sandwiches came at last, wrapped in paper bags with hearts drawn on them. We released them from their wax paper and bit right in. The Shirley Valentine, was, I thought, one of the best vegetarian sandwiches I'd ever eaten. The bread was crisp and soft, and the fillings made the already great roll even better. Everything was cooked well; nothing was mushy or overly crunchy, and the gooey cheeses added rich, creamy notes, a step away from the other rather fresh, raw fillings. The sandwich was delectable, but it sadly was so big I couldn't finish it. So if you're a dainty bird-eating eater, you might not be able to finish very much. Madame La Bouffe too, liked her Thai sandwich, and all in all we had a very good time.

Both the staff and atmosphere at The Milk Bar are both pleasant, and they always slip a lollipop into your sandwich bag, if you choose not to have a milkshake.

So if you're looking for a good spot to have lunch with your friends or just by yourself, come over to the Milk Bar. I promise you'll be coming back for more. And if you don't like milkshakes or lollipops, Cold Stone is just around the corner, so you can get an ice cream cone instead. Bon appetit, my faithful readers! 

Zea, A True Southern Favorite

Zea, that smooth Southern chain, had never really crossed my mind as a good spot to eat until I'd had my first dinner there. Mind you, I'd never been there, but I've pretty much just passed it by. Now it happened that me, my grandmother, and my best friend/second cousin Jeanne were going to a play together, and, being hungry, we decided to go out for a nice dinner at a restaurant beforehand. My grandmother asked, "How about Zea?" Jeanne and I said OK, Jeanne with a touch more enthusiasm, having already been there and enjoyed a good meal. I recalled that old saying, "Try everything at least once in life," and decided to play along and try it out. So we pulled into the parking lot of one of the Zeas, and strolled up the prettily lit walkway to the eatery itself.

After our friendly waiter had us comfortably seated at our table, placed our drinks beside us, and given us our menus, we sat back and browsed. Finally, I decided on the Southern Thin Fried Catfish, chose my sides (Zea's signature stone-ground grits and hush puppies), and sat eagerly awaiting my food. Jeanne got the Duck Empanadas, a favorite of hers, and Grandma got a half-rack of the Thai Ribs. We had plenty to chat about as we waited, and we watched others eat their food, eagerly anticipating the moment when we would be doing the same.

Our food came quickly, which I was very happy about; some restaurants I've been to in the past make you wait for your food for over half and hour, which is very inconvenient setup. We tucked right in when the waiter brought us our plates, and there was a cozy silence for the first few minutes, as we crunched, dipped, gnawed, and chomped, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. My first remark on my catfish is that the menu lied. It said, "Southern Thin Fried Catfish," and in reality it wasn't thin at all. The fish was in the shape of chicken tenders, and was, well, pretty thick. But the coating was crisp, crunchy, golden brown, and well fried, and the fish was flaky and moist. Adding a good dunk of flavorful tartar sauce made it even better, and I crunched away. My hush puppies were very good, with a pleasant sweet flavor of corn on the fluffy inside and a shatteringly crisp browned outside. The grits are what I really loved. Most grits are just the classic dried ground corn, which is delicious, but Zea's grits had real, genuine, sweet little corn kernels in them, and they tasted like homemade. Apart from that, the grits were creamy and scoop-able, unlike some grits I've eaten, which were watery and looked like undercooked gruel. 

After we all finished our delectable entrees, Jeanne and I decided to spilt a piece of strawberry cheesecake. It came, fantastically presented, on a white plate; a golden beauty of a dessert, with delicious syrupy strawberries lounging about the plate. On top there was an enormous piped puff of whipped cream, which added lots of charm. Our waiter put down three plates and three forks , and Grandma said, "I really don't need dessert, I'm really full from my ribs." The waiter said cheerfully, "Oh, it's just in case you do. It's really good cheesecake." Jeanne grabbed two of the forks and held them up, which made us all laugh. Then Jeanne and I got to work. The cheesecake was delicious, though still very average. It was crumbly, creamy, and melted in our mouths, but Jeanne and I didn't stop to "mmm." We attacked it has fast as we could (we were trying to eat before Grandma came back from the bathroom), and when she did, there was only the whipped cream left. Grandma took a swipe of that, and then Jeanne and I ate the rest. A perfect way to end a perfect dinner.

So all in all, I had a really fun time at Zea, and I urge you to try it out as well, if you've never been. I recommend the catfish and the strawberry cheesecake, but if you're one of those folks who talks a lot and only occasionally takes bites, keep watch, because someone will probably want steal it! 

Dinner at Nino

Friday night came along, and I was getting desperate. Madame La Bouffe was out of town, and since I had no expert recommending restaurants to me, I was on my own. I thumbed through a Gambit "Out to Eat" issue without much interest, and researched a few other places. Friday night is the night lots of people go out to dinner, and spots like Superior Grill, Stanley, and other delicious eateries would probably be packed. I needed a nice, casual, quiet place with no huge hordes of hungry folks holding up the line, and suddenly, my brain snapped. Aha! Cafe Nino! I've been to Cafe Nino a few times before, and I remember being very satisfied and having a good eating experience. So I decided to stop by for a bite. 

Cafe Nino is a very casual local Italian restaurant, and it serves lots of hearty food. Pizza, pasta, calzones and Philly steaks are the top items on the menu, and they make them pretty darn good! The night I went, they also had spinach lasagna, chicken Parmesan, chicken Masala, and a veal dish sitting in hot vats.  I decided on a spinach calzone, and after I ordered I talked to the good natured man who was making the pizza. He let me watch him toss the thin dough and knuckle it into a large round. He explained the different things that they put on the pizzas, and we had a nice conversation. So you can count on getting treated really well by the staff!

My lovely calzone came, steaming hot, out of the pizza oven. The filling, absolutely stuffed with cheese and flavorful spinach, tasted perfect all wrapped up in a hot, golden-brown pocket of dough. The nice man gave me a plate of marinara sauce for dipping, and after I brought the first bite to my lips, I began to eat enthusiastically. The filling and dough were both very delicious, and they were the perfect marriage of crisp, chewy, creamy, and earthy. The sauce was tasty as well, and when I dunked a forkful of calzone into it, it tasted even better. 

I also tasted some of the spinach lasagna, which was delectable but just not spectacular. After I thought I was done eating, the man also brought me some hot bread, shaped like bows, that tasted really fresh and had a nice yeast flavor. I'm happy to say that I did have a little room left for them. 

This hearty meal only cost me $20, which is a really good price for such delicious dinner. 

If you're counting on fine dining, I suggest not to come by, because this place was formerly a Steak and Egg! The kitchen and dining room share the same space, so you can watch the cooks work their magic. Also, you have to clean up your own table, so don't count on someone throwing away your plates and stuff for you! It's a bit more effort, I grant you, but I think it's still so worth it!

If you're walking about at night, hungry and tired, stop by Cafe Nino, and I'm sure you'll be satisfied, by both the food and the price!