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 I’ve passed this popular Williamsburg restaurant a bunch of times since it’s right near the Steven Hero Productions studio I record at frequently. (check out http://www.stefanheld.com and http://www.careyspassionvoicestudio if you are curious about what I’m talking about) It smells so tantalizing as I walk by that I think they must pump the smell out onto the sidewalk to lure you in. I often think about stopping in to try it out, but they don’t do slices and often have a ridiculously long wait. I finally had the opportunity today when I met a friend in the area for a run and headed there for lunch afterwards.
We decided to share a salad and 2 personal pies. It was a little bit too much food for lunch, but we both managed to find room. Funny how whenever truffle oil is involved, it becomes pretty difficult to leave food on the plate.  Next time, 1 pizza and 1 salad will be plenty unless we’ve just run 6+ miles. The salad was light and refreshing with arugula, roasted pears, Gorgonzola and a lemony vinaigrette. It came with 2 triangles of crusty, cheesy flatbread that was clearly a excellent preview of the pizza that was on it’s way. The pizzas were seriously fabulous: on top- baby spinach with pine nuts, mozzarella, ricotta, peccorino and white truffle oil. and on the bottom- mixed wild mushrooms, caciocavallo, mozzarella and white truffle oil. Chewy and crunchy crust, stretchy, stringy, flavorful cheeses, fresh vegetables and the perfect amount of truffle oil to finish them off. I couldn’t pick a favorite- they were both pretty close to perfection. The only tiny negative about our lunch was our waitress, who was sort of flighty and inattentive. Luckily for us, we were happy to stay and chat for over an hour since she had no interest in bringing us the check.  Oh, and it was freezing in there…until we were finally getting ready to leave when all of a sudden the heat came on. Overall, I would absolutely recommend it and will surely go back. If I lived in the area I’d be ordering delivery weekly.

> This might be the most perfect place to meet a friend for lunch that I’ve found in my culinary adventures thus far. It’s basically a combination of a fancy cafeteria with table service and a interspersed gourmet gift market. Kind of a mini Eataly. (please see my review of Eataly if you haven’t already) Todd English’s restaurants have always been my favorites, and this one is a fantastic combo of all of his best ideas in one place.
The Plaza Hotel, in it’s smack-in-the-middle of Manhattan location, makes meeting here pretty convenient no matter where you are coming from. The hostess will give you a buzzer so that you can stroll around the shops while you wait to be seated, about 15 minutes for us. There’s plenty to look at
 and we were seated before we knew it. Knowing what I   know now, I think it would be worth waiting an hour for a seat if need be, especially if you are with people who all have different tastes….Or not. It’s REALLY great when you’re with someone who likes the same things as you AND likes to share. Yup, perfect for that.
The menu is extensive, but not overwhelming. We were seated at the sushi bar, which was fun to watch but not what we felt like eating. We were happy to find out that you are not at all restricted by the area in which you are seated. Our waitress was very friendly and knowledgeable and made some great recommendations when we asked. The only negative was that they seemed to be understaffed and the wait between courses and trying to get our check was a little annoying. No biggie since we were just there socially and had nowhere to scurry off to, but it would maybe be an issue if this was a work-day lunch break. My friend and I (who both spent a long time living in the Boston area) were SO excited to see a sampling of the pizzas from Todd’s Massachusetts pizza restaurant, Figs. We both had drool-worthy memories of it and couldn’t WAIT to order the famous fig pizza. Ahhhhh. It was just as incredible as we both recollected. A crunchy rosemary crust, sweet figs, tangy Gorgonzola and salty      prosciutto. I also remember the golden potato one

 
 well and intend to go back very soon for it.
We also shared a Greek salad which was excellent. With an oregano dressing, flavorful olives, creamy feta and fresh veggies, it was the perfect accompaniment to our pizza.
When we finished everything, we were still a little hungry and chatted with our waitress about a 3rd little dish. They have so many tasting-sized, awesome sounding options that I can’t wait to go back to try more. We were tempted by the stuffed dates, the baby beets with pistachios and manchego and the lobster/artichoke pasta, but decided to take our waitress’ very strong recommendation for the risotto ‘tater tots’. YUM. This is not what one would call a little light snack, even though it’s a reasonable portion. Creamy, cheesy fried risotto balls with a creamy dipping sauce were SUCH a treat. I would have preferred a stronger flavored sauce- maybe with a spicy, mustardy kick to it, or a tomato/ketchup-type sauce, but they almost didn’t even need a sauce at all. Full of flavor and texture, I think these along with a salad would make a great lunch next time I’m in the area. Oh, who am I kidding!?!? There’s no way I would order the same thing I’ve already had when 90% of the unexplored menu is begging me to try it. Maybe I’ll see ya there…I LOVE that this is only a 30 minute walk from my apartment. I think it’s going on my heavy rotation list immediately.

>As always, this recipe is just a concept. Sometimes I add corn, onions and brown rice into the mixture or fill hallowed out zucchinis instead of peppers. Be creative…Like most of my concepts, this one is pretty hard to mess up.

For the peppers:
Mix up a can of black beans, some cilantro, a few tablespoons of salsa, and a diced shallot.
Scoop the bean mixture into peppers that have been cut in half, membranes and seeds removed, I used red and green bell peppers and jalapenos.
Put some olive oil in a baking pan.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
Top with some shredded cheddar.
Bake for another 10-15 or until the cheese is bubbly and golden.

For the Guacamole:
Mash up 2 very ripe avocados with some lime juice, diced jalapeno, diced grape tomatoes, chopped cilantro and a shallot. Add a little salt and pepper to taste.

YUM.

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      I personally HATE midtown. So many stressed out people hurrying somewhere. So many taxis screeching, ambulances with their sirens blaring, buses splashing pedestrians, suits cutting each other off walking and talking on their cell phones. Yuck. It’s just basically all of the things I hate about NYC (which I generally love) lumped together in one hectic 20 block radius. Radiance Tea House is a little bit of peace and quiet amidst the crazy fast paced surroundings and it was truly a lovely place to meet a dear friend for lunch to catch up. I found it on yelp.com and am thankful to the great reviews that led me to pick it as our meeting place. It is beautifully decorated and has a really nice gift shop inside. The high-backed  wooden chairs are surprisingly comfortable and had an antique, handmade look to them. Very appealing and perfectly coordinated with the rest of the decor. The service was polite, attentive and friendly. The menu was healthy, diverse and very reasonably priced, although the teas were astronomically priced. I had a small pot of apricot tea for $7.50, and would probably not do that again even though it was excellent tea. I understand that high quality tea really does cost a lot, but I am perfectly happy with a cheap bag of Yogi tea instead. For lunch I had salmon, baby bok choy, rice and edamame on the side. It was absolutely delicious. Light, healthy, cooked perfectly, flavored exquisitely. I would absolutely return to this little haven in midtown. Of course, that is only if I have to be in that dreadful part of the city again for some reason.

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I had dinner with 2 friends here last night and for an enjoyable meal at a very convenient uptown spot, I was glad it was suggested.
When we walked in, we were greeted by a friendly hostess and seated immediately. She asked us the name of our 3rd party who hadn’t arrived yet, and sat us in the dining room.
The vibe is warm and cozy, decorated with dim lights, primary colors, and authentic (I think) Mexican statuettes. It had the faint smell of a fireplace, which added to the ambiance on a chilly, rainy, winter night. It is a much bigger space than I thought, and I wondered how I had never been there before. Nice touch: When our third party arrived a little later, he was immediately greeted by name and sent over to us.
Water glasses were quickly filled. Fresh tortilla chips in 3 bright colors (red, yellow, and green) were put on our table (and speedily refilled when we polished them off) with their accompanying salsas; a spicy green one, a chunky tomato salsa and a smoother red salsa. Drink orders were taken- I had a mango mojito that was sweet, summery (wishful thinking) and delicious and my friends had margaritas that they loved.
Upon my friend’s recommendation, I had the Enchilada De Pollo con Mole. It was SO tasty and the perfect meal on such a damp, cold night. Served with sides of yellow rice and refried beans, even though it was very filling I cleaned my plate. We looked over the appealing dessert menu, but none of us had any appetite left. We also couldn’t really see why Ben & Jerry’s Ice cream would be on this menu- especially at almost $7 for a serving.
I know that in the warmer months they have a lot of outdoor seating and I will definitely plan to revisit at that point. I was very impressed with the efficient and polite service, we had at least 2 people waiting on us and making sure that our water glasses were kept full. A delightful neighborhood spot that I will certainly return to. Muy bien.

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 I was lucky enough to win a ‘Chicago Facebook Fan Day VIP’ Prize which included reserved seats at the show, lunch at B. Smith’s with 2 of the lead’s from the cast, a gift bag with a T-shirt and a bolero and a limo ride to the theater. Pretty incredible day overall.
We were given a special 3 course menu as well as 2 fancy drink options, and it was a real treat to be treated like VIPs. I sat across from Colman, who plays Billy Flynn in the show and it was great to chat with him and find out that he is totally down to earth. The other people who were sitting at our end of the table were also a complete joy to hang out with, and I felt really lucky to be at such a cool event with really appreciative and enthusiastic people.
The great thing is that the day was SO wonderful that I didn’t really care that the food was very meh. Restaurant row is kind of hit or miss, and this was a miss. I have a few favorites on that block and I will stick with them. (It was not, however, nearly as awful as Brazil, Brazil, my favorite one to loathe in the area…please see my review of that one if you want a good laugh)
I started with a simple green salad (not pictured) and the ‘Foxy Roxy’ a fruity drink that they came up with for us…I RARELY drink and wondered if indulging at noon on a Sunday was such a smart idea, but it turned out to be mostly juice. I couldn’t even taste the alcohol in it…which was fine by me. I asked the waiter what he recommended for an entree and he said the steak was excellent, so I went for it. I should not have believed him. It was overcooked, dry, and slobbered in a mustard sauce that completely took over the whole dish. It sat atop a medley of peas, carrot and potatoes that was one baby step above airplane food.
 The dessert was a pleasant surprise. I am pretty easy to please when it comes to carbs and sugar, and the bread pudding was quite delicious actually. It came with a very vanilla-y ice cream on top and I cleaned the plate.
If you’re in the area and looking for a great restaurant, try Orso instead. Now THAT is a fantastic place to eat. As far as B. Smith’s goes, I’ll give it a little pat on the back for the yummy dessert and efficient service, but just cause it was free for me, did not mean it was good.

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It’s another snow day out there. With about 5 inches on the ground already, I won’t be attempting to run today. On non-run-able days I make a little extra effort to eat healthy foods so as not to mess with the lack of calories burned.
I’ve also been on a cooking kick lately, trying to save money and really just enjoying how creative of an art it is. I made today’s lunch rummaging through my pantry and fridge to use what I had on hand. This whole meal probably cost about $2.50. NICE and delicious!
This recipe is a concept, like all of the ones I post, and can be used as a loose guideline. Feel free to change the veggies and sauces involved and add or subtract flavors that you like/dislike. I’m sure this would also be great with garlic, scallions and herbs added in.
For the salmon cakes:
Beat an egg.
Mix in 2 small cans of salmon, use the juice from one can but drain the other.
Dice some celery and radish and throw that in the bowl too.
Add some Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, Tabasco and mix it all up.
Form 4 cakes and squeeze most of the moisture out of them.
Roll the cakes in panko breadcrumbs until well coated.
Put a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a pan, warm over high heat, add cakes and turn down heat to medium. Don’t move them around much. Brown on each side for 2-3 minutes.

For the salad, plate up:
Mesclun lettuce mix
feta
cranberries
pepperoncini
carrots

Top with 2 salmon cakes and make a quick olive oil/balsamic dressing to pour over the top!

Enjoy!

I plan to use the 2 other cakes for a little dinner appetizer tomorrow with homemade spicy tartar sauce.

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This is not the actual photo of what I ate for dinner last night. My photo turned out really ugly and dark so I stole this one from Yelp. This IS what I ordered though, but I ate mine in the comfort of my home on a chilly night.
I had the sampler with pita. Included was Babaganush, (way too creamy, not enough eggplant, mostly tahini) Falafel, (overcooked, too dense, but good flavor) Couscous taboule, (delicious, lots of parsley, mint, tomatoes, couscous and lemon dressing) Beets (with celery and walnuts in a balsamic vinegar dressing- quite tasty and the walnuts -which I hate, didn’t even bother me) Roasted cauliflower with green tahini sauce (surprisingly tasty and kind of fun to eat since it was one huge hunk of the veggie) and Bureka (filo dough supposedly stuffed with mushrooms- although I think mine was all just greasy dough). It came with a few decent olives and 2 sauces. One of the sauces was a wonderful green tahini, the other was way too spicy for me- I’m not sure what it was.
I must say, I was sort of disappointed that in this ‘chef’s choice’ sampler there was NO hummus included. Wouldn’t YOU expect it from a place called Hummus Kitchen?
The pita, by the way, was awesome. Really fluffy and doughy and warm. I basically used it instead of utensils and everything tasted even better wrapped up in a pillowy pita bed.
Would I go back here? Well, I suppose. I would like to try the hummus at some point. The falafel, however, was so poor that I would really prefer going to Pyramida instead…where the falafel is heaven. (please see that review) I guess it’s worth another shot though, maybe it’s better in the restaurant than on delivery. Oh, and the price was VERY fair- with all of this for under $10.

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 Okay, I know what you’re thinking. Oatmeal is really NOT something I would normally think of as a culinary adventure. It’s not glamorous or exciting. It’s certainly not exotic or beautiful. That said, on the morning of a 2 foot blizzard in NYC, waking up to a piping hot, delicious-smelling, crock pot full of fresh apples & cinnamon oatmeal IS a really special treat, and a super healthy one at that!
Since I am a night owl, this works out perfectly for me. I put the ingredients in, turn it on around 1:30am and by the time I wake up, it has become simmering, golden wonderfulness. I am pretty particular about using high quality steel cut oats and McCanns is my current

favorite brand. I also like Silver Palette rough cut oats when I can’t find McCanns, although it seems to have caught on and most grocery stores carry it now. This recipe, like most of mine, is merely a concept. Nothing strict about it. It actually takes a little practice to get the right ratio of liquid in there- my first attempt a few years ago turned out to be a burnt-to-a-crisp, stuck-on mess. Thus, the importance of spraying the inside of the crock pot generously with Pam before adding the ingredients. Here’s the concept.
Mix together 1 cup of oats and a dash of salt and pour 2 cups of water over it. In the crock pot, mix together a peeled, diced apple with some brown sugar and cinnamon. Pour the water mixture over it and DO NOT MIX. Cook on low heat for 8-ish hours. If I wake up in the middle of the night I will check on it and sometimes add more water if it is looking too dry. When it’s done, mix it all up and enjoy! I like to put a little maple syrup on top for extra sweetness. It’s SO good!
Some variations I play around with are using milk and or half and half in place of some or all of the water. I also like to add in cut up dried mangos or cranberries, almonds, etc. It’s a fun breakfast to experiment with, and I usually make enough for a few days. It does microwave very well.
Enjoy!

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 It always seems to take me the longest time to try the restaurants that are closest to my apartment. I’ve walked past Tsuki a thousand times, but never went in because I have never seen one person in there. When I passed by today, I read a few of the reviews in the window and was prompted to search further online. Much to my surprise, almost all of the sites I checked out had averages of 4 stars and glowing reviews.
My favorite local sushi places are astronomically expensive, (Sushi of Gari and Sasabune) and loved for their excellent Omakase. (I hope to return to both at some point since my last visit was before I started

writing this blog, but the price tag means that they warrant special occasions.)
Tsuki, given the rave reviews is very fairly priced, and I actually had a little too much food for $23. I ordered the special sushi sampler and one piece of sushi tamago based on someone’s praise-filled review of it.
The sampler was excellent. I’d say it’s not quite as high quality fish as the two others I mentioned, but the preparation is respectable and the quality is much better than what I often refer to as run-of-the-mill sushi places. The marinated white and red tuna, fluke and salmon sushi were all delicious. The marinades complimented the fish and helped to tenderize it. I happened to really love the fluke with sea salt and yuzu, and fluke is not usually one of my preferences. The tuna roll was pretty good, but not the best.
 Tamago is one of my favorite Japanese treats- an egg omelette stuffed with rice, and when I took sushi classes, one of the unexpected pieces of information I walked away with is that one criteria you can judge a great sushi chef by is how well the tamago is made. Is should be pale yellow throughout with no brown. Soft and custardy, light but with a tofu-like firmness to it. You should be able to just barely make out the fine, parallel lines of the omelette’s many folds. Unfortunately, this one was way too thick, too fluffy, brown-spots throughout and not dense enough. It was, however, the only thing I wasn’t impressed with.
I agree with what so many other reviewers have said; this is not a 2-roll-deal kind of place, this is a place to branch out and get the pieces the chef suggests. Don’t let the lack of atmosphere and crowd keep you away, it’s worth a visit!
P.S. The delivery took less than 25 minutes. The order-taker phone person was courteous, clear and friendly….it’s the little things. Overall, pretty awesome.