|
|
PK Eating Habits
Peter K.
Location: New York
Blog Posts: 57
Member Since: 9/20/2007
Favorite Cuisine:
savory and sweet stuff
Foodie Subscriptions
Recent Eats
Aug 1st
Jul 26th
Jul 24th
Jul 23rd
Jul 20th
Suspicious Thai
The moment I saw a table set up for a DJ, I had my suspicions about Joya. But I thought I'd wait to taste the food until I passed any judgment.
We luckily sat in the outdoor garden out back, escaping the deafening sound of chatter indoors. Service was quick and efficient, which was surprising since the place was pretty packed.
While the meal started off strong with the crispy duck salad (made tastier by its being served immediately), the spicy sauteed pork and the green shrimp curry were medicore. The green curry was actually pretty decent, but I was very disappointed that the "spicy" pork dish was anything but spicy. Such undelivered promise made me yearn for Pam's Real Thai where the spicy warning symbols on the menu are for real.
If we had stopped right there, I would have left Joya without much of a fuss and may even have returned at a later date. But regrettably, we took a chance on their fried banana with ice cream dessert and all went down the drain. The bananas were fried into a greasy eggroll, the ice cream was low-quality supermarket strawberry scoops, and the flimsy whip cream with the maraschino cherry really made things unappetizing. Definitely an unpleasant end to an already forgettable evening.
Joya
215 Court St (at Warren St.)
Brooklyn, 11201
Tel: (718) 222-3484
Easy on the Crust, Please
Pizza with artichoke or crab meat as toppings sound novel and appetizing, so I was intrigued and even a bit excited when I saw a long line at 9:30PM on a weekday. I got myself the artichoke pizza, which wasn't cheap at $3.50 for a slice. It was like a cheesy (and oily) broccoli soup drizzled over bread. The crust was way too thick and bready - halfway into my pizza, I was so full from the crust that I just sucked up the cheese and artichoke and threw out the rest. I'll stick to the Brooklyn-style thin-crust pizzas on the go.
Artichoke Basilles Pizza
328 E 14th St (b/w 1st and 2nd Aves.)
New York, 10003
Tel: (212) 228-2004
Socarrat Paella Bar
It's $21/person for paella, which led me to anticipate the greatest paella ever. What did we get for $63 (3 people)? A thin layer of rice with underwhelming amount of shellfish and vegetables. The mussels didn't even taste that fresh. Disappointing!
Socarrat Paella Bar
259 W 19th St (b/w 7th and 8th Aves.)
New York, 10011
Tel: (212) 462-1000
The Smith
Brunch with a large group usually means a long wait. After an hour or so, the payoff wasn't too impressive. Bland open-face asparagus and brie omelet and not-so-bloody blood orange mimosa. I should to stick to making brunch at home on Sundays.
The Smith
55 Third Ave. (10th/11th St.)
New York, 10003
Tel: 212-420-9800
Even at 4AM, Technique Matters
If only I had known earlier in my life the correct way to eat pho, I think I would have developed a greater love for the noodle soup dish.
After (yet another) night of drinking and walking around town, my friends and I decided to conclude the night at Pho32 in K-town.Dave, the seasoned veteran of pho-eating, gave us a live demonstration on the real way to enjoy pho. For too long, I had treated pho like any other noodle dish, adulterating the clear soup with Sriracha and shoveling large chopstick-fulls into my mouth, hoping to finish the pho quickly before my stomach called for mercy.
Dave told us that the soup must never be contaminated and that the soup spoon, which I had hardly ever used with pho (I just drank straight from the bowl after the noodles had been decimated), was an integral part of the process. Into the spoon would first go the noodles - not too much, but enough for a hearty mouthful - then a piece of meat, beat sprouts, basil leaf, a dab of Sriracha and a squrit of Hoisin sauce. When the pretty spoonful was balanced and just perfect, there would be a careful dip into the soup to re-wet the noodles before a one-way trip straight into the mouth. In one bite, a multitude of flavors would coalesce, redefining any previous notions of pho.
We followed suit, and after a couple of clumsy attempts, began to expertly assemble delicious spoonfuls of pho. By meal's end, we were thoroughly convinced that pho could never be consumed in any other way.
Pho32 & Shabu
2 West 32nd Street (Between 5th Avenue & Broadway)
New York, 10001
Tel: (212) 695-0888
Browse Older Entries
