NYC: Prune

You know those moments when everyone around you -on the streets, on your subway car, in stores, on TV- is whispering the name of something supposedly phenomenal under their breaths like a codeword or a secret chant? Some hidden gem of a place so special and so heavily shroud in mystery that curiosity alone forces you to find and experience its pure genius once and for all? Pruuuune. Pruuuune. Pruuuuuune.

Junipero Gibson with a pickled pearl onion

Ghost of Mary - Like a traditional Bloody Mary, but night time cocktail form. All the thick bloody mary mix had been strained out, leaving its savory, salty essence behind and supplementing lost volume with added vodka.

Quelle ambiance!

French breakfast radishes with sweet butter and sea salt

Roasted marrow bones, parsley salad, sea salt. There's no other way to describe this than: animal butter. Incredible.

Grilled prawns with anchovy butter

Whole grilled bronzini with black peppercorns, fennel oil, thyme, lemon, and gros sel. Mmm so simple.

Butter lettuce and herb salad with mustard vinaigrette. Tasted like the lettuce had just been plucked from the garden and put into this bowl.

Juicy, peak of the season watermelon with lime syrup. So architectural!

Almond cake with roasted black plums and raspberries. DEAR LORD.

54 East 1st Street (between 1st and 2nd Ave.) NYC - LES

NYC: Dinner PartE (à la Di Palo's Fine Foods)

It's my day off. Freed from being told what to cook, when, and how to cook it, I took charge and decided to host a dinner party. Ahhh..creative release.

Inspired by my gem of a neighborhood- sandwiched in between Little Italy and Chinatown- I decided to go the Italian route, venturing to Di Palo's Fine Foods on Grand Street to gather ingredients.

This place is an Italian food temple. A shrine to all things Italiano. Large wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano are stacked on the deli counters, as well as homemade rosemary focaccia.

Handmade (by the store) mozzarella. Oh my god. No, but, like..oh my god. Creamy, milky, fresh, tastes like what the cows ate for breakfast. and what I'd like to eat with every meal for the rest of my formerly fresh mozzarella depraved life.

Salumi, salumi, salumi. Prosciutto, prosciutto, prosciutto..hanging from the ceiling like meat ornaments

They hand you free samples of cheeses you want to try. I'm serious. I love these people. All the cheeses are perfectly ripe, and they have selected interesting and complex cheeses from throughout Italy to adorn their deli case.

Slices of hard, salty, goat's milk cheese to sprinkle atop the baby arugula and plum salad that I made, dressed simply with lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, and Frantoia olive oil (shown below)

The plums were of perfect ripeness (and they cost a dollar per 6 at a grocery store in Chinatown!).

Ripe, juicy, sweet, end of summer tomatoes

I hollowed out the tomatoes and stuffed them with a mixture of 7 oz Robiola cheese (diced into pieces), 4 oz Gorgonzola, 8 chives, 1 tsp paprika, 2 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp vodka, a healthy grind of black pepper, and the insides of the tomatoes. Phenomenal.
The full recipe (and Sam Sifton's ode to the tomato): http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09

A dinner party must: a crusty baguette to go with...Prosciutto, mortadella, and sopresatta (clockwise from top)
Sometimes I think beauty is simplicity. And this dinner party, with simple foods, simple wines, and simply my closest friends, was a thing of beauty.

NYC: Ed's Lobster Bar

When I recently moved into my apartment in Soho, something immediately caught my eye. There was a LOBSTER BAR next store to my apartment building. Appropriate, right? Exactly what I thought. With daddy flying in from LA to help me move in that weekend, Ed's lavishly expensive but insanely scrumptious lobster roll was the perfect welcome lunch. Thanks dad ;)

222 Lafayette Street

Mmm...a light, summery Kolsch beer to relieve us from the sweltering Soho heat

The sunshine poured onto the white brick and light wood bar

Lobster roll. Served with an elegant salad and Ed's Pickles.
The thing about NYC is that people like to specialize. They like to take one thing, be it lobster rolls, doughnuts, meatballs, pomme frites, PB&J, tiki cocktails, or mac & cheese, and they just do it right. And I respect this. No, I don't just respect this, I'm kind of obsessed with this. Do one thing, and do it freaking well. In terms of food and restaurants, sometimes "diversify" is such an exhausting term.

NYC: The Spotted Pig

Goddamn, I want to own this restaurant. April Bloomfield, I could kiss you. With your perfectly potted pickles and your highly addictive chicken liver toasts and your elegantly simple Pat LaFrieda burger adorned with Roquefort. Stepping into The Spotted Pig is like stepping into my dream residence, and its insanely good food is what I would aspire to cook for myself and my friends inside that home everyday.

So kitchy, so cool

Pickled baby onions, carrots, cornichons, beets

Pickled beet...
*cough* Art *cough*

The Burger: rare, juicy, creamy roquefort cheese, beautiful cross hatch there on the soft bun..perfection

The mussels paled in comparison to the burger and dessertCask-conditioned Spotted Pig Bitter (barely carbonated!)

Lemon tart with creme fraiche

BUSHWICK: Roberta's Pizza

Bushwick. Who would have thought? Some of NYC's best neapolitan style pizza, wine bars serving wines made from Corvina and Grechecco grapes, cute coffee shops, organic markets, and tortilla factories... and it's all only 20 minutes from Union Square on the L line. Who freaking knew?
Well, Bushwick, I'm sold. And I'm definitely sold on the mecca of wood-fired pizza, home grown ingredients, flawless execution, and hipster ambience that is Roberta's Pizza. Is it a craft beer garden? Is it an urban farm? Is it an awesome Italian restaurant? Not sure. Don't care. Love hanging out here. Coming back.

Yes, I'll have my Sixpoint Righteous Ale served in a jam jar, thank you

Oysters (eek I forgot what kind but they were small and sweet!) with celery granita. Perfect pairing.

The Millenium Falco: tomato, parmigiano, pork sausage, garlic, red onion, bread crumbs, basil

So good. So good. So good. So good.

The crust had a perfectly crunchy, almost burnt bottom with a chewy interior.

The English Pea: Gin, sweet pea, lime, and mint...purrfect summer cocktail

The restaurant's small backyard farm where they plant herbs and veggies to use on their pizza and in other delectable creations. [photo credit: blindtastingclub]

261 Moore Street, Brooklyn, NY (subway: L, Morgan Ave.)

NYC: Lan Zhou Handmade Noodle

This small, hole-in-the-wall Chinatown eatery- with its rundown interior and minimal seating-is exactly the kind of place that is responsible for my love affair with NYC.

Chi town - hand pulled noodlez

This man, right here, ^ he's an artist.

Fixin's: Sriracha, sweet chili, chopped vinegary collard greens, ?, vinegar

#1: Beef Noodle Soup

...with hand pulled noodles

Perfectly al dente with a nice chew. The broth is clean, and beefy, and rich, and satisfying. Accompanied by tender, thinly sliced beef and bok choy.

Boiled pork & chive dumplings

JUICY

144 E Broadway, NYC (subway: F, East Broadway)