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[Pigging by Wilfrid: October 30, 2014]
For many years, it was a half-price sushi place. Indeed, it was always half-price, which meant it wasn't half-price, that was just the price. And it was bright yellow. But now it's a Mexican Taverna, courtesy of Alex Stupak.
Yes, the restless Alex Stupak, master dessert chef turned taco-master, turned superbly creating Mexican chef, turned taco-master again (get these entrées outta here). He seems to have an urge to simplify.
[Pigging by Wilfrid: October 28, 2014]
Anyone who reads Serious Eats could see this place coming. Pitmaster/co-owner Tyson Ho authored a blow-by-blow account of its creation: How I Built a Barbecue Restaurant in Brooklyn.
And chef Ho is no less garrulous an enthusiast in person, eagerly presiding over a serious, almost obsessively focused menu of meat and drink.
[Pigging by Wilfrid: October 28, 2014]
I had no real intention of benchmarking Arrogant Swine (also reviewed today) by revisiting Hill Country--when it opened, about the best barbecue New York had seen--but it kind of worked out that way.
After being quoted a fifty minute wait for pasta upstairs at Italy on a weekend lunchtime, my daughter and I walked three blocks to find Hill Country peaceful, relaxed, and wreathed in smoky smells.
[Pigging by Wilfrid: October 21, 2014]
Blind taste a dozen wines from 1989 to see how they're aging? I'm game. Two Italians, two French, three Ribera del Dueros, and a bunch of Riojas, including--argh!--two blind pours from the same bottle. Most of us missed that, and some of us (argh, again) ranked the pours very differently.
I did pick the French wines, but somehow managed to switch the Bordeaux (a fine Latour à Pomerol) with the Olga Raffault "Les Picasses." The actual Chinon was not too pleasant, which makes me worry for the bottles I have stashed from a different, older vintage.
[Pigging by Wilfrid: October 21, 2014]
Yes again, about once every six weeks in fact, when I want a hassle-free meal which I know is going to be very good and very inexpensive. Why wouldn't I keep going back?
The menu is concise, so I usually order specials now. This time around, I ordered the radicchio and delicata squash salad--pretty much a main course salad.
[Pigging by Wilfrid: October 21, 2014]
We ducked into this old standby on Allen Street on a cold afternoon, after a long walk around SoHo, NoHo, NoLita, Chinatown and the LES. Seated promptly at a not-too-clean table, the food came slowly and randomly.
The most interesting dish was pale, steamed chicken, with a bewildering selection of strange mushrooms, and some little, bitter fruits with tiny seeds I couldn't identify.
[Pigging by Wilfrid: October 21, 2014]
You're on the Upper East Side, hungry, and you finally discover that your teenage daughter--quite rightly--has had enough of Shake Shack. "The burgers, meh" was what her shrug said.
We dived proudly into a nice-smelling Colombian café and bakery, Dulce Vida, where customers were either sipping from bucket-sized cups of café con leche, or addressing mammoth plates of food.
