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I wish I could remember to take the photograph *before* I start eating. I may need to hire someone to remind me since it seems I always remember after the first few bites…You will notice that the top right dish is totally empty. Oops. That was a scrumptious piece of seared salmon with seaweed salad. Clockwise from there, spicy salmon roll, scallop sushi, salmon sushi, yellowtail sushi, and WOW toro sushi. Top left is a cucumber jellyfish salad, and in the middle a seared tuna in ponzu sauce. These were the restaurant week specials- which began with a pretty standard miso soup and salad. What a wonderful sushi experience, the kind that makes those subpar 7.95 lunch specials at other restaurants seem like a waste of time (and stomach space). The quality of the fish here is so incredible, it really changes everything. The service was excellent as well, efficient, fast and polite but not invasive. I’ve been meaning to try Hatsuhana for a long time since it’s my brother’s favorite sushi spot, and I am so glad that I finally made it!

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I *meant* to take a picture of that tiramisu in it’s untouched entirety, but ‘accidentally’ dropped my spoon into it and found that the spoon had mysteriously made it’s way to my lips before I got a chance. And, yes, I realize that I am starting this entry with the final course, but I can’t stop thinking about it. Luckily for me, I have half of it left…waiting to be eaten by me at 3am or maybe for breakfast. I should NOT eat tiramisu after a late dinner. It will keep me up all night. I knew that, but ordered it anyway when I saw it on the next table over, being adored. The ratio of cream to cocoa to Marsala (yes, Marsala!) soaked biscotti was divine. Each layer was distinct and delightful. Dare I say, the best tiramisu I’ve ever had.
Progressing in reverse order, my friend ordered the special of Chilean sea bass with garlic spinach. This might have been the most perfectly cooked sea bass I’ve ever had. SO crispy on the outside, delicately seasoned, rich and flavorful. This is how fish should be prepared. The owners of the restaurant from my previous entry would be smart to come try this and learn from it. I ordered the monk fish with artichokes. Again, cooked to absolute perfection with a sauce that did not compete with or overpower the fish- just complimented it in a lemony/winey/delectable way. The only thing I didn’t love about my dish was the addition of pistachios. I felt that they were clashing with the delicate flavors a little. Personally I just don’t love nuts with fish I guess. I will give the chef props for creativity though, that was definitely original, and it was easy for me to avoid them.
Not pictured are the 2 AMAZING appetizers we shared. Too bad too, because they were both beautiful…but silly me forgot to turn my camera flash on. Sorry about that! One was a tuna tartare with avocado, lemon, ginger and cucumbers that was so beautifully presented it was a little sad to break into it. The other was the most UNREAL cheese, a homemade stracciatella with prosciutto, tomatoes, basil and eggplant. The eggplant was so naked and wonderful, just a slight flavor of vinegar. I’d never had eggplant prepared this way, where there was no breading to muddy up the texture or flavor. I liked it so much that I asked our fantastic waiter to explain how it was prepared. Little did I know that he was also a serious foodie and very knowledgeable chef himself and he got a little excited and animated as he explained. Of course, once we found that out, we thoroughly enjoyed our chats with him between courses. He was sweet and sincere and completely understood that a good dining experience has a lot more to do with what’s on the plates that the chef sends out.  A truly wonderful experience includes a waiter who knows what he is talking about and does it with a personal flair, knows when to check on us and when to let us talk to each other, and appreciates our love for good food and good friendship. A special thanks as well to Luca, the kind manager who helped to make our meal an especially memorable one.
As I reflect on on the whole evening, starting with the very difficult decision of choosing dishes from an incredibly appealing menu, I am certain that I will be back soon.

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Even just looking at this meal again makes me lose my appetite. How a chef could let this go out to a table (at $24, no less) is beyond me. When I see soft shelled crabs on a menu, I almost always get them as they are a short-seasoned favorite. The options were either fried or sauteed, so I ordered them sauteed- but asked the waitress to make sure it was with very little butter. They came out drenched in a pool of some kind of oily, buttery, thick, viscous gravy that tasted horrible. The delicate fresh crabs were so overpowered by the sludge they were sitting in that they may as well have been previously frozen, out of season and tasteless. On the side was a piece of greasy, overcooked potato that reminded me of cafeteria food. I asked my waitress for a steak knife since cutting crab with a butter knife wasn’t going so well, and I had to ask 2 more times before she actually remembered to bring one out for me. I understand they were busy, but that seems a little ridiculous to me. By the time the knife arrived, the crabs were cold. Luckily, the bread that came with the meal was fresh and hot out of the oven, so I was able to fill up on that and a salad. My salad was fine, but that was only because I asked for the dressing on the side. Both of my parent’s were served severely over-dressed salads that were almost inedible. I should mention that we also had to wait over an hour to get seated…so MAYBE the fact that they were extremely busy that night was an explanation for the terrible food. MAYBE it was an explanation, but as far as I’m concerned it was NOT an excuse. My family and I joked (though we really weren’t joking) that we should have just gone to the local diner instead. The one positive thing I will say is that the setting is lovely. It’s right on the water with boats all around. You can pretty much look past the parking lot and just focus on the pretty sights. Also, the hostess DID come over to apologize (but only after I gave the waitress my card with this blog address on it) and tried to say whatever she could to make it right. She even suggested that we give the restaurant another try on a less busy night. Unfortunately, my parents also strongly disliked their meals (my mother ordered pasta with clam sauce and the clams were out of shells- so probably not actually fresh, HUGE and grey. Ew. They didn’t even look like clams at all) and I doubt we will ever return. When you live in New York, and incredible dining experiences are a dime a dozen, why go back after strike one? I can’t find a reason.

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When I heard that Luke’s opened just a few blocks away, I knew I’d be giving it a try asap. I have to admit, my wanting to go was partly because I was skeptical, doubting that lobster outside of Maine was really worth spending money on. I grew up vacationing in Maine and Cape Cod and always look forward to those awesome side-of-the-road lobster shacks. Lobster rolls are one of my all-time favorite foods, but a sub-par one is a major disappointment. Well, I am SO happy to announce, these guys are FROM Maine! These rolls were phenomenal! Seafood barely dressed at all- just a perfectly cooked, simple pile of deliciousness on a lightly toasted bun. The lobster was definitely the best of the 3, and when I go back (which will surely be soon) I’ll stick with that one. The crab and shrimp were great also, but to me, it’s really all about the lobster when it’s this good. The little express claws that came with the rolls were also fantastic- accompanied by a spicy, sassy cocktail sauce. I’m saving the blueberry soda and vinegar chips for another day. I’m sure they’ll make a perfect snack one 3am.

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Hi there. I am Drake, guest writer for the day. I’d like to tell you all about the greatest new pet food to come out in a long time. My mom, Carey, refuses to feed me the crap from the grocery store and instead follows the brand, Wysong, like it’s a cult. Those nice people recently sent a sample of their newest food, Epigen. Now, I should tell you, I am the pickiest Yaruss family member, and have zero interest in anything that is not the Wysong Uretic cat food that I’ve been eating for 13 years. Occasionally, I’ll humor mom by asking to sample a little of her sushi, but other than that, I pretty much turn my nose up at everything. Well, I guess I’m turning over a new leaf because this stuff is AMAZING. My mom barely ripped open the sample bag and I was meowing, and pawing at her leg for a taste. She put a few kibbles on the floor and me, my sister Elsa, and Echo Doppler the dog had to fight over it. I gobbled it up so fast, that Echo the pit bull looked totally confused. He is used to only having that orange fatty, Elsa as competition. Finally, someone figured out that we cats are carnivores and really don’t want rice, bran, oatmeal or corn in our food. This Epigen is designed to mimic what we’d eat in the wild, lots and lots of meat. Yum yum yum. Mom says that I’m going to need to get a job if I want to continue eating this good stuff. I told her that it would be fine if she just offers it to me as a special treat once in a while. Do you have picky cats too? Well, get yourself a bag of Epigen from http://www.wysongepigen.net/ and I guarantee they will be happier, healthier and very very appreciative.

>This is by special request for trainer Joe from Equinox. You’re welcome Joe! 🙂
The next time I actually make it I will add a picture to this post. I love to make this salad to bring to BBQs and the like, or for myself for lunch on a picnic-y kind of day. It definitely feels like summer food to me.
The recipe is merely a list of ingredients…You really can’t go wrong. I always just eyeball the amounts of stuff and use what I have in the house already. You can take or leave ingredients as needed. You can also easily substitute the shrimp for chicken. Just mix all of this together and serve. If you want a pretty presentation, take the pit out of an avocado and put a few scoops of this salad in it’s place.
So here is the list:
One can of shrimp (I add this when making a large portion for budgeting purposes…but certainly feel free to leave it out if you want to just use fresh shrimp)
1 lb fresh cooked shelled de-veined shrimp
light mayo – just a tiny bit
lemon or lemon juice. (lime works well too)
curry powder (add a little at a time until you get the flavor you want)
red grapes
cut up apple
cashews or almonds, chopped slightly
a little cilantro and/or dill and/or parsley
Avocados (if you want to make a nice presentation)

Enjoy!! It’s a really delicious summer meal.

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I can easily get 2 meals out of this less-than-$10 platter, and it’s delivered in under 20 minutes. Grilled chicken, tzatziki sauce (cucumber, garlic,yogurt, Mmm), Greek salad, mixed veggies, fresh pita. It is fine, not remarkable, but absolutely fine.  The chicken is a huge portion of sliced white meat, seasoned nicely and not at all greasy. The veggies were overcooked but passable. The salad had more cheese than lettuce, and I wound up taking more than half of it off. The pita was really fresh and  good- but in the past I have definitely gotten stale ones. I wouldn’t go out of your way for Chicky’s, but in a pinch it’s a pretty decent choice.
If you want REALLY good chicken, check out my review on Pio Pio.

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Back in February, my cousin, aunt, Grandma and I went out for a G’ma-birthday-lunch on the Upper West Side. We were stuffed afterward and practically rolled out of the restaurant. My cousin and I headed over to the bus stop across the street to go home to the East Side, and we caught a whiff of the most delicious smelling pizza. Even though we were both completely full, being the dedicated, hard-working foodies that we are, we actually debated going in for a slice to see if the smell was indicative of the taste. We decided instead to come back another time when we had the necessary appetite. Today was the day, and worth the wait. I was lucky enough to find some coupons on http://www.localbooking.com, and bought $30 worth for only $15, what a great deal! We had so much fun sampling 4 different types of pizza:  a pepperoni slice (the one basic slice we tried…standard triangle type but very good), a carciofo slice (whole wheat crust, garlic, herbs, artichokes, ricotta and mozzarella), a Forestiera slice (rosemary, ham, mushrooms, mozzarella, ricotta) and a pesto/tomato slice, and an awesome Rughetta salad: Arugula, pear, pine nuts and Gorgonzola. Everything was super fresh, seasoned perfectly (ie: the perfect amount of rosemary, just enough to add flavor, but not enough to overpower the other ingredients) and clearly made with love. The crust was chewy and crunchy and totally delicious. I don’t usually eat the crust once the toppings are all gone, but I pretty much cleaned my plate with these. The pizza was served on cute little wooden boards, and though the space only allows for 2 little tables, that’s really all we needed to be comfortable and happy. Dan, the owner, was nice as could be and definitely someone who has passion for his craft. We chatted briefly about his food blog- which he has promised to send me a link to (hint hint if you are reading this Dan!) I look forward to reading the local recommendations from someone whose palette I definitely respect! If you’re in the area and hungry, definitely stop in for a slice, you’ll thank me for it. Here’s hoping they open a shop on the East Side soon!

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This is not a bad photograph. This is actually a perfectly accurate photograph. It is SO crazy dark in this restaurant that my friend and I laughed out loud about it when we walked in and could hardly see our hands in fronts of our faces. It’s really kind of ridiculous, however, it IS a great spot to bring a date. Totally sexy and romantic. Erotic paintings of nude women on the walls, candles and dark wood everywhere. Plates that are ‘prefect for sharing’ as the menu says. I probably should have tried this one with last week’s hot date instead of my gay best friend. On second thought, it probably would make even more sense to bring a not-so-hot date here since you really aren’t able to look at them at all.
The food was unexpectedly good. We both enjoyed the high quality olive oil and caraway rolls that came out warm from the oven. We shared awesome kobe beef sliders with caramelized onions and a ketchup that was subtly flavored with ginger- very nice. We also had the soft shell crab- which was delicious, but the vegetables that came with it were WAY over-salted and seasoned for my taste. I couldn’t eat them. I felt the same way about the cubed potatoes that came with the rosemary roast chicken. It was as if there was a tablespoon of salt on 1/2 cup of potatoes. (I should say that I usually use much less salt than the average bear so maybe I just have a heightened sensitivity to it. My friend thought they were only a little too salty. ) We also had the sliced steak which was incredibly tender, beautifully marinated and cooked exquisitely. The location of this restaurant seems to be doomed as this is the 3rd try in the last 3 years…but maybe the food quality will actually let this one survive.