A few weeks ago I visited the world's unofficial capital, New York City. This was my second visit, and I had a mission: to find the best food NY had to offer. My first trip was a disappointment, due to lack of guidance and a small budget; my diet primarily consisted of hot dogs and pizza. This time was a different story. I was determined to seek out the gastronomic heart of NY cuisine. With a fat wallet and an empty stomach, I began my journey...DAY 1 - A 6-hour long flight has rendered me starving for a hearty meal. I meet with my homeboy Kevin, a Parsons student that has shed his native Californian skin and molted a new East Village coat.
Dallas BBQ: Gigantic chicken wings in a delicious golden honey sauce that makes you want to lick the plate. Homemade cornbread. Texas-sized margaritas. Southern comfort has found a home in Manhattan.
Magnolia Bakery: Banana pudding. Wait, let me re-phrase that. BAHHNANAAAA POOODDIIIINNNG! Rich yet fluffy, creamy with Nilla wafer crunch, Magnolia's banana pudding is a sweet oxymoron.DAY 2 - Dinner with my East Coast cousins. Let's see what the locals have to say...
Bread: New Italian in SoHo. Calamari, octopus salad, bruschetta, and mushroom ravioli in a marinara sauce that is to die for. It's my cousin Heather's favorite place, and I could see why.
Rice to Riches: If ColdStone and Pinkberry had a European cousin, it would be this trendy little rice pudding shop off Spring Street. Over 20 different flavors of creamy rice pudding (chocolate...tiramisu...pecan pie???) and various toppings that somehow blend together harmoniously.
DAY 3 - A long day full of tourist madness and shopping. The perfect ending to a day like this can only come in one form: DESSERT!
The Dessert Truck: The fairy Godmother of all food trucks. Crème brûlée, chocolate souffle, hazelnut donuts, quality for under $5. Our pick of the night: hot chocolate, so creamy and thick you'd swear they just melted a Hershey bar and poured it in a cup.
DAY 4 - Exhausted after another long day of fun, we decide to stay in and try another New York staple: ordering take-out. In NY, anything and everything can be delivered to your house at nearly time. We order bulgolgi and kimchi stew from a local Korean restaurant. Slight disappointment, overpriced and bland, but at least we had the luxury of resting our feet and having the food brought to us like kings.
DAY 5 - The St. Patrick's Day parade off 5th Ave leads us to another hot spot in New York's culinary world.
Greenberg's Bakery: Claimed by many to be the city's best black and white cookie. Covered in sweet, creamy icing and large enough to cover your face, this cookie takes the cake. Get it? Cookie? Cake? Nevermind.
There you have it, a few highlights from my trip. I highly recommend going there for yourself and creating your own culinary adventure. The city thrives on restaurants, so it's hard to find a bad meal out there. And if you can't find anything, there's bound to be 5 pizza joints in a one block radius of your location.
Kin Noki Fusion Pot
13788 Roswell Ave #188
Chino, CA 91710
(909) 464-0019
I've always had a bad experience with shabu shabu. Every place I've gone to has either been too bland, too expensive, or too little for my voracious appetite. So it took a lot of convincing on my sister's behalf to get me to go to her favorite shabu shabu joint, Fusion Pot. Thank goodness for annoying sisters.
Fusion Pot was my first truly enjoyable shabu shabu experience. What first impressed me (besides the mouth-watering scent of meat cooking when you walk in) is the variety available. Most shabu shabu places only offer the standard broth, which is basically water and seaweed. Fusion Pot's the Baskin Robbins of broths. Besides the standard fare, they also offer sukiyaki, miso, and kimchi bases. Being a food-pyromaniac, I went for the kimchi. The broth wasn't straight-up kimchi soup, so the meat tasted nice and spicy without the overwhelming pickled flavors of kimchi. My sister got sukiyaki, which added a salty but slightly sweet flavor to her meat. The meat they offered was high quality (your choice of rib-eye or kobe), and for the animal lovers they have a vegetarian and seafood platter available. Another perk: you're allowed to order seafood and vegetable items a la cart, allowing me to order a side of scallops to enjoy with my kimchi soaked beef. Your meal ends with coffee jello topped with cream, a surprisingly good palate post-dinner cleanser.
The service was top-notch, the owner is extremely friendly and invested in guest satisfaction. He seemed to know many of the patrons on a first-name basis, and even at once point was carrying around one of the guest's babies (maybe they were related, who knows, everyone in there was Asian). But this place is certainly not for broke asses: expect to spend at least $18 on a single meal. On the bright side, if you're free on a weekday before 2:30 they have lunch specials starting at $9. But if you're wanting to impress a special someone, I highly recommend Fusion Pot. And maybe a bed to nap on after for your food coma.
Macaroni and cheese is hands down one of my favorite dishes because it combines my two favorite things on the planet: cheese and pasta. It's a classic dish that has transcended the stigma of childhood (I don't know any kid that doesn't get excited when Mom brings out "the blue box" for dinner). Now the all-American mac 'n' cheese has a gourmet makeover brought on by the imaginations of culinary artists. These chefs attempt to go beyond the realm of elbow macaroni and cheddar cheese, introducing new pasta shapes, exotic cheeses like fontina and romano, and other foreign ingredients to create a unique flavor stamp like applewood bacon, red peppers, and jalepenos. Thanks to some readers' suggestions, I have gone around the greater Los Angeles/OC region to find the ultimate macaroni and cheese dish. My research has been highly enjoyable, but the critiquing has been more difficult.
The Top 5 Macaroni and Cheese of Southern California:5. Mac & Cheese - Roscoe's House of Chicken and WafflesVarious locations in Los Angeles, Pasadena, and Long Beach www.roscoeschickenandwaffles.com
Suggested by Alex Iskander & Phil Lomboy
Roscoe's is known for their hearty soul food. Their mac & cheese is a prime example of that. Made with egg for a thicker texture and lots of buuuuhtter, this home-style recipe is sure to stick to the ribs and induce a 3 hour coma.
4. Uptown Mac & Cheese - Granville
Various locations in Burbank and Glendale
www.granvillecafe.com
Suggested by Kristine Songco
Granville is the next evolutionary step in cafes. They upscale the standard cafe menu items like sandwiches and pasta and turn them into mini gourmet masterpieces, as evidenced in their Uptown Mac & Cheese. Made with rich gruyere and aged cheddar, this version includes asparagus and sweet peas as a light counterbalance to a normally heavy dish.
3. Mac Daddy & Cheese Balls - Fred62
1850 N. Vermont Ave, Los Angeles
www.fred62.com
Suggested by Kevin Hwang
This funky Hollywood diner goes by the motto "dine now, eat later" and has a gigantic menu to prove it. Open 24 hours, this place is perfect for post-show snacks and drunk munchies. Their Mac Daddy & Cheese Balls is an interested take on the dish; they literally turn the mac n cheese into balls, coat them with cheese breadcrumbs, fry them, then sprinkle them with cilantro for a refreshing twist. Paired with good ol' Heinz ketchup, you can't go wrong with Fred's balls.
2. THE Mac 'n' Cheese - Slidebar Rock-n-Roll Cafe
122 E. Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton
www.myspace.com/theslidebar
Suggested by Brad Doerges
Slidebar's known to Fullerton residents and college students as the local watering hole, but the regulars come back for their amazing mac 'n' cheese. It's so good it's THE mac 'n' cheese. Featuring a plethora of cheeses like the standard cheddar and jack, as well as more bold varieties like fontina and grana padano. But there's another ingredient that lends to its creamy texture that reminds me of the mac 'n' cheese of my youth: Velveeta. That's not all! It's topped with bread crumbs and broiled to make it like a cheesy gooey casserole.
1. (Mac+Cheese)2 - Yard House
Various locations through Southern California and the U.S.
www.yardhouse.com
Suggested by Leo Camacho
Yard House succeeds in the difficult task of adding a touch of elegance to bar food. Their mac 'n' cheese is no exception. Aptly named (Mac+Cheese)2, it's a delicate balance of castellane pasta, chicken, applewood bacon, wild mushrooms, cheddar, and parmesan cheese. Along with white truffle oil for a warm, buttery note, Yard House's version can be considered the champagne of mac 'n' cheese.
