worst. lunch. ever.

Lunchtime is precious to me- as a working mom, it's the time of day when I can choose to go wherever I want to, and eat whatever I feel like. I try to choose lunch places wisely because of this. Especially now that I'm pregnant with #2- I want to satisfy all of my cravings, which mostly means cheese. A few of the 'busties' and I decided to pay a visit to Danku for lunch. Y and P always pass by and were intrigued by the use of 'organic' 'natural' and 'eco friendly' in their menu. I have been avoiding this place because I've read a few negative reviews, but they apparently offer Dutch and Indonesian fare in an enviromentally friendly atmosphere, so we figured we could give it a try. It had been awhile since I read anything negative, so perhaps they worked out the kinks... Oh, how wrong we were!! We were in for one of the worst lunches we ever had, anywhere...

The place itself seemed harmless enough- minimal decor, with the appearance of cleanliness. They had a very elaborate recycling program, which I wish was adopted by more places. We walked in close to 1pm, and we were the only patrons. The staff behind the counter were actually quite friendly (perhaps just thrilled to see patrons), and were excited to give us their lunch recommendations. I do have to wonder if they actually ate the same food that we did. I wanted to try some of the Dutch offerings, so I ordered three 'krokets', which basically look like fried turds. The first one I tried was 'chili con carne'. I had a feeling that I'd regret this order, but I was trying to be adventurous. The outside was crunchy and acceptable, but the inside...it had a horrible pasty consistency, and tasted worse than something you would get in a public school cafeteria (and smelled as such). I do not know how it was 'chili' or 'carne' but there was some sort of gristle that was apparently meat, with a very salty taste. It was revolting. Ok, the next one I tried was the mozzarella and tomato kroket. How bad can that be? It's fried cheese! I love the greasy goodness of the mozzarella sticks found in various bars and chain restaurants in every part of the country. Never met a fried cheese product that I didn't like...until now. Same horribly pasty consistency, with a nauseating slight sweetness and strange tang that was probably the 'tomato'. Again, very salty. If it had just been cheese, it may have been edible. I'd say it was the 'best' of the worst. The worst one was actually the spinach and artichoke kroket. I love spinach artichoke dip, so I thought this one sounded promising. It was so sticky I wouldn't even call it pasty...more like beige liquid concrete with bits of green inside. The flavor was so off-putting that I can hardly describe it. I could hardly believe what I was eating. Dipping sauces accompanied the krokets, but they are not worth mentioning, and if anything, made them worse. Now, I can't claim to know what authentic krokets taste like, but I cannot believe that they would taste anything like this. I have had croquets from many different cultures, and they have all been at least 'good'.

Y and GB opted for the Indonesian noodles with tofu satay. They were both so horrified with their lunches that they were speechless. Y said that it tasted like the lowest form of airplane food, and GB seemed to agree. I couldn't understand how they could mess up noodles so badly, so I had a taste for myself. They may actually have been worse than my krokets. P ordered a sandwich and asked for it without cheese, and of course it showed up with cheese. He waited a long time to get a replacement. He did say that it tasted ' fine' though. He also ordered a 'spicy kale soup' that tasted ok, but lacked any hint of spicyness. The only thing that seemed passable was the green salad that came with the kroket combo that B ordered. She said the salad was fresh and crispy. The one amusement of our experience was watching AP attempt to re-arrange the wooden tulips that were sitting in a vase at our table. He kept trying to make them look better.

Our lunch experience was so disappointing, that I actually wanted my lunchtime back. I left feeling full but completely unsatisfied, and a little sad. Thankfully Y knew of a small Swedish cafe called Fika around the corner that had lovely looking pastries and delicious coffee. At least we had a tasty dessert, so not all was lost.

xie xie sandwiches

I've been hearing/reading a lot about this Asian inspired sandwich shop on 9th avenue, and so I finally decided to check it out. Chef Angelo Sosa has an impressive resume (you can do a google search if you really need to know), so I would hope the 5 sandwiches on the menu would all be delicious. But I've been hearing very mixed reviews, most of which were disappointing. I've been curious, so I figured it was time to try it for myself.

Last week Hana, Mark, and I went to Momofuku noodle bar and had David Chang's version of pork buns (soooo good), and since I was still craving the flavor, I decided to try Sosa's version. I love pork buns with their sweet and savory filling, and fluffy steamed doughy exterior. I took my order to go, and it was thankfully all in separate parts. A box for the buns, a container for the pork, and a small container of a pickled condiment, which I've since learned is sweet and sour shallots. Keeping the elements separate allowed the buns to stay fluffy without getting soggy or tough. For a takeout meal, I thought the buns were nice and soft and had a good texture. The glazed pork was tender with all the right flavors, but there was a little too much sweetness for me. I prefer a more savory taste. But the quality of the ingredients was great, and the sweet and sour shallots really pulled the whole thing together with a nice tang to cut through the sweetness (although they were also on the sweet side). I think you could give me anything that has been pickled, and I'd eat it! I thought the portion was good, I had more than enough filling for the three buns. At first I wanted a fourth bun, but 10 minutes after eating, I am quite full.

The place is small, with just a few tables inside. The music was quite loud and the place was busy. I'm not sure that I'd want to sit and eat there, unless I was in the right mood and with a chatty companion. When I eat by myself, I tend to look for a more relaxing experience to escape from the office for a little while. Even though it was busy, the service was quick, and I didn't want to wait too long for my order. I'll probably be back at some point for the pork buns, but after hearing about the other sandwiches, I'm not sure that I'd try them. Perhaps if I want to try something new, but with pork buns on the menu, why would I? I apologize for the blurry picture of my assembled bun, I forgot my camera and my phone just didn't want to take a clear one.

Unfortunately I washed the meal down with a mediocre bubble tea from Aru Sushi, a small sushi spot on 9th ave that was on my walk back to work. I love plain black milk teas (I usually skip the boba), and usually have a high tolerance for failure. This one was just plain bad though. I think next time I'll try one of the juices or natural sodas that were on offer at Xie Xie.

Tea rambling

I'm a huge fan of various types of black tea, but usually not scented or blended teas (especially blended teas). I just like to enjoy the pure flavor of each individual tea. One example is Earl Grey tea. I loathe Earl Grey, and for whatever reason, the bergamot just drives me crazy. I can taste it even in the smallest amount in a cup of tea. The smell also irks me. So I was really baffled when a few weeks ago a friend of mine ordered an Earl Grey Chocolate Chip cookie from Radiance Tea House, and I tasted a little bite. It was...good! I don't know why, but I liked it. So when PeeWee, GB, and I returned to Radiance for lunch today (a favorite spot of ours), I ordered one of these cookies. I'm finishing it right now, and I still can't understand why the flavor combination is working for me. I can definitely taste the bergamot, but combined with the chocolate and the sweetness, it's pleasing my palate. It almost gives the cookie a more delicate flavor. I also ordered a 'sweet' iced tea with my lunch, another thing that I never usually do. I'm a tea purist, and usually hate sweetened teas. But for whatever reason, I was feeling adventurous. It was actually not bad, there was a nice amount of lemon that cut the sweetness. But I think I'll stick to regular teas from now on. I just don't have a southern palate, but it was nice to change things up a little bit.

a day off?

On Wednesday I took the day off. It felt very strange to have time to do whatever I wanted. Hana was with Antoinette, and after Mark and I had a relaxing breakfast in DUMBO, he was off to Albany for work. Breakfast was interesting, we went to this fairly new cafe/design place near our apt. The breakfast was a scrambled egg, Israeli style salad (with lots of olives and dill so you know I loved it and Mark didn't), warm pita bread, and 'labne' which is a middle eastern yogurt cheese. Quite tasty! I need to start making my own Labne. apparently it's easy to make by straining greek style yougrt. I'd definitely go back for breakfast, but I don't really like the vibe of the place. It's part cafe, part home design store, and part clothing store. just pick one thing and go with it!

Once Mark left for Albany, I decided to check out the newly opened High Line park. It was very relaxing to just walk the park, look at the view, and soak in the sun (sunshine is apparently a rarity these days). The park was interesting, it still looked like an old elevated railway, with plants and trees all around. There were sleek wood benches and lounge type chairs as well. the wooden lounge chairs looked inviting, but were very uncomfortable. I couldn't sit for very long, which was a pity in the beautiful weather. the benches are a better choice. The plants are colorful and pleasing, but there was not a huge variety. There were a bunch of employees (or volunteers?) still planting and weeding, so I'm guessing that they are not finished with the greenery yet. The high line is an interesting mix of old, new, natural, and industrial. There is also an art exhibition area. I was glad that I was able to check it out, but I'm not sure how quickly I'd race back. It was quiet when I went, but I imagine the weekends will have it filled with hipsters and tourists.

After the park I walked around Chelsea Market a little bit, and had an iced Darjeeling (2nd flush) from T-salon. It was tasty and not too watered down. Quite refreshing after my walk. I don't think I'd want to hang out in T-salon for very long though. It felt pretentious, and the over the top Asian decor just didn't feel genuine to me. When I arrived around noon, the food behind the case also looked like it had been sitting for awhile. If I'm in the area, I would probably stop by to purchase loose tea and have a cup, but I would not linger.

After tea, I went uptown to meet my sister for lunch and pedicures! It was great to see her, we don't get to hang out very much anymore. We went to Bliss for pedicures, and while it was a nice pedicure, the service was horrible. My sister had to wait over 1/2 an hour before someone realized that they overbooked, and had to scramble to find someone to start her pedicure. No one apologized and she was not compensated at all. The staff is definitely snooty. I won't be returning to bliss any time soon, and I do like to go out and get an occasional massage, pedicure, etc. If you are looking for a big chain spa, Oasis is much better. The Bliss products are overrated, and expensive as well.

After my lovely relaxing day, I returned home to sweet little Hana! Now if that isn't the perfect end to my day, I don't know what is!

sobaKoh and milk bar

On Tuesday night I joined Ramen and Friends for SobaKoh night. SobaKoh is a small, tidy, and modern Japanese Soba shop. We were a large group and basically took over the entire place. I had the soba soup with yuba. Yuba is tofu skin, and has a very interesting texture, sort of like a very thin omlette. My soup was very tasty. The soba was delicate with a good texture, and the broth had a nice soy flavor. The yuba had a delicate texture, and was a good compliment to the soba. It's important to note that the flavors are very subtle and gentle, but I like this. I did add a little bit of the hot pepper provided at the table to give it a little more zip. I don't know what authentic soba is supposed to tastse like, so I can't vouch for the authenticity. I don't often crave soba, so I'm not sure I'll race back, but it's a good place to keep in mind for a quiet, fairly healthy Japanese meal in the east village. I don't have any pictures but check out http://ramenandfriends.com/for the scoop.

For dessert we walked over to Milk Bar, which is the famous David Chang sweets joint. Cookies, cakes, pies, 'milks', soft-serve, flavored butters...this place had a crazy assortment of treats. I was very tempted to take home some of the kimchi butter but I decided to leave that for another time, because I was focused on dessert. I was quite full from dinner but I still ordered three cookies to take home since I wanted to bring a couple back for Mark to try. I ended up with the compost cookie, marshmallow, cornflake, and choco chip cookie, and the chocolate chocolate cookie. I was really excited to try these, as I've read countless mentions of milk bar across the internets and it was featured on Martha Stewart's show. I have to say that the compost and mashmallow cookies were actually too sweet and buttery for me. I adore cookies and frequently bake, so this is really saying something. The butter made them a bit greasy, and combined with the sweetness it was just too much to take. Mark and I decided that the chocolate chocolate cookie was the winner. It had a rich chocolate flavor, and wasn't too buttery. But, as Mark pointed out, it could have used a bit more salt to really let the chocolate pop. If I have a chance to return to Milk Bar, I'd probably try the crack pie, and maybe the cereal milk, and take one of those chocolate cookies to go!

it was a fun night, I always enjoy the Ramen and Friends outings. It is a diverse group of people, and they are fun and friendly!

Radiance tea house

The sun finally came out today, and a bunch of us 'busties' (a very secret Ops society) decided to duck out of work and enjoy a few dumplings and tea from Radiance Tea House on 55th street. We went as a group once before, and were dying to get back. Radiance is an Asian tea house that also serves light and healthy food, and various desserts. Our server (or perhaps he is one of the owners?) was the same as last time, and even remembered most of our names! We were very impressed. We ordered teas, and I got the 'house tea of the day' which was smoky oolong. I'm not a huge fan of smoky teas, but I was in the mood for a bold flavor. The tea was actually not very smoky at all, and almost sweet. It was very pleasant, even though it was not as described (I apologize for the blurry photos, I was using my cell phone). I ordered the same dumpling combination as last time- chicken and veggie (you can choose from chicken, veggie, and pork). The dumpling wrappers are very light and delicate, and the flavors subtle yet satisfying. One disappointment was that the dumplings I had last time had copious amounts of dill, which is a very nostalgic taste for me, one that I love. Neither type of dumpling had dill this time, which makes me wonder if either they accidentally gave me some pork dumplings the first time, or if they change the recipe based on what is available. Either way, I still enjoyed my lunch. It is served along with edamame and a small salad, fine accompaniments. For dessert most of us ordered mochi, which are not made on-site, but are still delicious. I'm a big fan of mochi! I ordered green tea, taro, red bean, strawberry, and blueberry mochi. I only had room to eat one, so Mark will be getting a mochi gift later today! Overall the service was a little bit slow (our sweet waiter apologized a few times), and the prices are high for lunch, but the food is tasty, the tea selection is great, and it's a very comfortable spot to have a relaxing lunch. We will definitely be back!! on the walk back to the office, P and I were playing with the word mochi. We came up with a name for an Asian/Mexican restaurant, Mucho Mochi. where you can have the mucho mochi nachos. and if you are male and added a chocolaty coffee you could have mucho mochi macho mocha nachos. Needless to say we were a little bit loopy after all of the caffeine.

Gordon Ramsay at the London- Maze lunch

To combat the gloomy, rainy day, Mark and I decided to have a spontaneous lunch at Maze at the London Hotel. Maze is the more casual dining area that is adjacent to formal dining room of the infamous Gordon Ramsay restaurant. Even though Mark and I both love Ramsay and watch all of his BBC shows (we're not big fans of the American Hells Kitchen or Kitchen Nightmares), we've never had much interest in eating in the formal dining room, because the critics all seem to agree that the food is just 'good' and nothing spectacular. But Mark met a colleague at Maze last week and really enjoyed it, so he suggested that we check it out.

First off, the room is a bit strange. The colors are quite nice, but the lighting fixtures, mirrors, and random glass walls are just plain weird. It felt much too busy, and fussy. The bathrooms felt overly masculine (in my opinion) and cold. The bathroom I used was much dirtier than it should have been.

The service started off poorly. We waited a very long time to order, and even longer for bread. Mark told me that the bread was amazing, so I was ready and willing for some doughy goodness. It arrived long after we ordered our lunch, but it was quite tasty. The service picked up a little bit after this. Our appetizers arrived and they were quite beautiful. I had the salad of confit fennel and beetroot, fresh ricotta and pine nuts (instead of the candied walnuts which make my mouth feel funny...slight allergy?). It was beautiful to look at and tasted fine, but felt a bit heavy for a spring salad. Mark and I have been enjoying ramps for the past couple of weeks, so I was hoping that there would be a more seasonal salad. I have never met a beet I didn't like, but it is a wintry root vegetable. The flavors were all a bit bland as well, a touch of acidity would have gone a long way.

For my main, I ordered risotto with fennel and veal cheek. I ordered this figuring Gordon Ramsay has risotto on every menu I've seen, and does it on all of his TV shows, etc. So it must be good, right? Well...it didn't live up to my expectations. The fennel garnished on top of the dish was lovely and flavorful, but the veal cheek was just fatty and mushy. Hardly any flavor at all. The rice was just a pile of sad bland mush, that had little bits of mushroom. As I ate the dish it did get a little better, some of the veal juices were seeping into the rice. But overall, a very disappointing experience. Bottom line is it was 'fine' and nothing more.

We were tempted to get dessert, but that risotto felt like a huge rock in my stomach. If I had a delicious and satisfying main course I probably would have been more tempted to order a dessert. We just did coffee/tea, and we were given some chocolate truffles and salty caramel bark to end with. These were the best part of the meal! The truffles were lovely dark chocolate, bursting with salty caramel flavor when you bit into them. The bark was tasty too, but I mostly focused on the chocolate. My coffee came in an enormous pot that they left on the table, and Mark's tea came in an equally large pot. It looked a little ridiculous. Don't get me wrong, the more beverage the better, but it really did look out of place. At least the tea was real loose tea in a sachet, and not a bag of tea dust.

It was a pleasant, comfortable lunch, but the food did not satisfy. If Maze is supposed to pique the diner's interest in trying the main dining room, it fails. But if you just take it as a pleasant place to have a comfortable, expensive lunch, it's fine. But for $28, I'd take my money and run to Jean-Georges for their 2 course lunch! Even though it's the same price, it feels like a bargain, especially compared to this.