Levain Bakery

This place is another Throwdown notable. Although, I’ve heard the cookies are a highlight, I was a little worried about paying $4 for a single cookie. Once I tried the oatmeal raisin cookie, I realized that I probably would be willing to pay $5 or $6 or even $7 for these gooey on the inside crunchy on the outside masterpieces. As impressed as I was with the oatmeal raisin cookies I was somewhat disappointed with the chocolate walnut cookies, those flavors just didn’t mix too good with this type of cookie.

Needless to say, two days later, I was back for another round of cookies. I gave another try to the chocolate walnut (same results) but also tried a Binniono, which is a baked doughnut with a seedless raspberry filling. Very good with none of the oil and grease you get from a regular doughnut.

Per Se

Thomas Keller’s Per Se is located in Columbia Square in New York City. The restaurant is considered to be the sister restaurant of French Laundry in Yountville, CA. Although The French Laundry is the more known then Per Se, Per Se is ranked slightly higher (#10) on the Best Restaurants in the World.

The restaurants have similar formats, a Chef or Vegetable Tasting Menu of 10-12 items (with a few extras that are never on the menu). A little known fact about these two restaurants is their kitchen’s a linked via closed caption satellite video. In each kitchen there is a 60+ inch TV on the wall that gives a peak into the other restaurant’s kitchen (only video, no sounds can be exchanged). This gives both kitchens a subconscious obligation to always maintain professional and high-class environment.

Since both the Chef and Vegetable menus were sampled in this meal, I’ll highlight a few of our selections below. Each tasting menu started with a paper-thin cone (one filled with crushed peas, the second with a salmon tartar. These cones packed umami in each bite – a fantastic starter to our meal. The "Oysters And Pearls" "sabayon" of pearl tapioca with island creek oysters and sterling white sturgeon caviar is another notable selection worth mentioning (one of my favorites). Each bite was creamy, smooth and full of flavor. The desert courses were decadent. The homemade Pineapple Sorbet lime macarons, compressed golden pineapple, papaya and persian lime salt was phenomenal and a great end to an outstanding meal.

The Abraco Cortado

Abraco is a coffeehouse that is the size of a postal stamp in the downtown Manhattan. You won’t find Venti - soy - half caffeinated - 3 pump – lattes here. Abreco has a limited menu of easy and no-nonse whole milk and non-flavored drinks. I had the Cortado (a small cappuccino), served in a simple glass cup. The Cortado had a smooth velvety texture that had a nutty and berry taste. The foam was perfectly frothed and temperature was just right. Bottom line… If you are ever in NYC and you drink coffee – you need to go to Abraco.

Clinton Street Baking Company

Bobby flay should not have beaten these guys on Throwdown. Let me explain….

After waiting for 30 minutes and seeing the crowd outside keep growing and growing, we got a nice spot at the back of the restaurant and sat in for our breakfast journey. The Blueberry pancakes were one of the best I’ve had (yep, better than Norma’s). The special addition to these pancakes is the maple butter, which we got extra to smother our pancakes. I kept wondering throughout the meal how to combine butter and maple into this velvety texture, too bad it’s a Clinton Street’s secret recipe.

The rest of the menu at Clinton Street looked good so we also tried the farmer’s plate (solid egg dish) and a couple of biscuits. The biscuits came with homemade raspberry jam which we devoured… I need to see if that recipe is available because I would love to remake it at home.

The Harrison

Before making a reservation at Amanda Freitag’s restaurant, I read a few reviews on yelp and open table. They had mostly good reviews (especially for the duck fat fries) but also a few negative comments about the service. I wondered if my experience would be similar….

First, we arrived to the restaurant 30 minutes late and were the last seating for the night. The host was nice and courteous (never tried to rush us or mention anything about the kitchen closing) and the server was both informative about the food and had some good food and drink recommendations. Those folks with bad service must have just been bad customers…

Here’s the breakdown of our meal:

Two Appetizers:

Beet Salad: A superb salad, crunchy raw beets with a robiolina cheese base topped with pistachios

Avocado and Ruby Red Grapefruit Salad: Good but not great – although the avocado portion was generous

Two Entrees:

Olive Oil Hake: The fish was cooked very well and the texture was good but the taste was underwhelming – the sides of braised leaks and sunchokes confused my taste buds

Braised Cabbage and Roast Sunchokes with Sweet Potato Puree: I wonder if people that are not vegetarians ever consider trying this dish – they should! The sweetness of the puree was balanced with the savory taste of the braised cabbage and toasted barely

Bonus:

The Duck Fat fries were a great compliment to our meal – very crunchy on the outside and a good texture on the inside. The fries were accompanied by an malt cider vinegar aioli which made the fries the star of the night.

森本 正治 (Morimoto)

Morimoto New York City is located in the located in the meat packing district of Manhattan. The outside of the restaurant gave me the feeling that I'm about to enter a Japanese rave but instead, I entered the world of Morimoto where the food is exquisite and service is amazing. The 8 course chef tasting menu ($120) included the following:

1. Toro tartare

2. Morimoto Sashimi with garlic and scallion oil

3. Japanese Seared Kanpachi

4. Market Oyster Steamer

5. Morimoto Nigiri Sushi

6. Intermezzo

7. Half Main Lobster / Flash Grilled Wagyu Strip

8. Chocolate Tart

Out of these dishes, the top dish was the Kanpachi which was accented with soy foam (yum) and the Wagyu part of the main course. The meat was just delicious.

The least favorite items were the Oyster Steamer (too fishy) and the Intermezoo House Made Ginger Ale (too acidic).

Stumptown @ The Ace Hotel

Hmmm.... the stumptown coffee shop in NYC is located inside the Ace Hotel. The Barista's are knowledgeable about the coffees they serve and the pastries that are magnificent. I had my usual skinny cappuccino with a smooth berry aftertaste and sampled the beet cupcake with a generous portion of cream cheese frosting topped with roasted hazelnuts.

This post-work delight was devoured at the Ace lobby lounge, where bar drinks and laptop carrying professionals mingle and enjoy their evenings in NYC.

checkout both locations:

Ace Hotel: http://www.acehotel.com/newyork

Stumptown: http://www.stumptowncoffee.com/locations/nyc-ace

Norma's Palm Spring

I always enjoy the atmosphere of the retro-chic of the Parker Palm Spring. from the shaggy carpets to the hammocks on the lawn in the back, it's always a great experience. Inside the Parker, you will be blown away by the food at Norma's. The decadent Potato Pancakes (a James Beard Award recipe) come aside a carrot sauce and apple cranberry relish - they are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside... not your grandma's latkas!

Two other dishes are worth mentioning... 1. The blueberry pancakes have both berries inside the pancake and a generous amount of blueberry sauce on top. I think the Crème fraiche make the difference in this dish. 2. Huevo Rancheros had just the right amount of heat to richness ratio.

Bottom line, all plates at Norma's were polished clean.