Category: <span>American</span>

The Fourth (restaurant week 2014 dinner)

The Fourth (restaurant week 2014 dinner)

Th Fourth at the Hyatt Union Square is another restaurant that serves regular menu items during restaurant week. From the masterminds of Tocqueville and my beloved 15 East, the Fourth is a beautiful restaurant on street level with an espresso bar in the front. High ceiling, red wall, red velvet booths, white linen, and gallery like decoration, it is a stylish, beautiful place. We went there for Summer restaurant week last year, and found that while their regular menu is limited, but the RW menu does have decent choices and generous portions. (see 2015 winter restaurant week menu)
JAR OF FOIE GRAS

    JAR OF FOIE GRAS
    seasonal compote

HEIRLOOM TOMATO SALAD

    HEIRLOOM TOMATO SALAD
    Hawaiian heats of palm, red onion, watercress & red wine vinaigrette

ASPARAGUS & FARM EGG SALAD

    ASPARAGUS & FARM EGG SALAD
    fava beans, pickled onions & parmesan

HOUSEMADE TORCHIO PASTA

    HOUSEMADE TORCHIO PASTA
    pancetta, summer squash & arugula
    Pasta was plain. We did added the $8 supplement lobster, but it was still blend. It needed some sort of sauce and seasoning.

HEARTH ROASTED RACK OF BERKSHIRE PORK

    HEARTH ROASTED RACK OF BERKSHIRE PORK mustard greens, green garlic, dates & horseradish
    Fatty slab of pork belly with crispy skin was roasted perfectly. Feel kind of like a Chinese crispy roasted pork, but on the salty side. The greens on the side felt disconnected, as if it should be a separated salad dish.

HAKE A LA PLANCHA

    HAKE A LA PLANCHA
    slow braised hake, potatoes, olives & tomatoes
    Hake was a little dry. With all that olives pate on top, it was way saltier than it should be. Again, I feel it needed some kind of broth to carry it and balance the saltiness.

PINK SALT BRICK ROASTED AMISH COUNTRY CHICKEN

    PINK SALT BRICK ROASTED AMISH COUNTRY CHICKEN
    shaved vegetables & lemon vinaigrette
    Chicken was very well cook, and juicy inside. But the vegetables on top seems it was just thrown on top.

QUATRIEME COFFEE POT DE CRÈME

    QUATRIEME COFFEE POT DE CRÈME
    mascarpone mousse, coffee crumble, amaretto gelato & quatrieme coffee foam

valrhona chocolate chip cookies

The Clam

The Clam

White curved ceiling, white linen, dark chairs, with the semi-open kitchen, The Clam is a cozy restarrant on Hudson St opened over a year ago. Chef/ co-owner Mike Price is cracking up clams everyway there is. On the menu, there are clam dip, clam red sauce, deep fried clams, clam pizza, stuffed clams, clam soup, steamed clams, and of course, raw calms. But I have to say I am surpised that at The Clam where Clam should be the star, none of the entree feature clams. Since we came to The Clam to have clams, so clams we have.
Purple RainYuzu Pomergranate Swizzle
There were 8 selections from the cocktails menu. Immediately 2 stands out to us, the Purple Rain and Yuzu Pomegranate Swizzle. Love the Purple Rain, unlike the dark purple color, the drink was light and crisp, and the ginger added a little zest. It was perfectly balance. The Yuzu Pomegranate Swizzle was not as sweet aas we fear. It brought us to that little tropical island, with toes in the sand and enjoying the sun. absolutely love the yuzu. The only thing is that, the tall glass was filled 95% with ice, there were only may be 3 slip of cocktail in it.

the clam dip zesty potato chips

    THE CLAM DIP zesty potato chips
    Clam Dip is served with large basket of thick crunchy potato chips. The chips seasoned, and would be by itself. The clam dip was very creamy and has plenty of clams in it. Between the dip’s creaminess and chips’ saltiness, I would be happier if it was a little more lemony. This would be the perfect snack/ finger food for the Super Bowl.

diver scallop crudo

    DIVER SCALLOP CRUDO red blush pear, hazelnuts, chives, lime
    One of my favorite dish of the nigh. The scallop crudo was the only thing we ordered that is not clam, and it did not disappoint. The scallop was sweet. The pears and lime help bring out the sweetness and flavor even more. The crushed hazelnuts on top added crunch. It is refreshing, and just delicious.

6 littleneck clams with cocktail sauce

    6 LITTLENECK CLAMS cocktail sauce
    Clams were very fresh. Nice cocktail sauce with a little kick.

steamed littlenecks

    STEAMED LITTLENECK juicy bread, natural broth
    This was a bigger portion than I thought it would be. Clam broth was great. All the flavor from the clam came out. I could drink it as soup. While the broth was perfect, the clams were a little bit salty for me. And the garlic bread was fantastic.

spaghetti & clams spicy gravy, fried clam & lobster sliders

    SPAGHETTI & CLAMS spicy gravy, salad on top, FRIED BELLY CLAM & LOBSTER SLIDERS griddled bun & OLD BAY FRIES cocktail sauce
    Since we were sharing everything, our server was very thoughtful to have the portion split in 2 for us, so the tiny table doesn’t seems as crowed. For any pasta dish, the sauce is the soul. And this spicy clam sauce was excellent. It was rich with a just enough kick. The salad on top was a great idea. since the spaghetti is rather heavy, salad added a certain lightness to the dish.
    Fried belly clam was gorgeous. Not too much dough, crispy on the outside and juicy inside. Griddled bun was buttery and soft, lightly toasted. Lobster on the other hand, was kind of absent here. I would wish for a little more lobster and tartar sauce or maybe a slide of lemon on the side, to balance out the greasiness of the clam and buttered bun.

    For so long, oyster has been taking the spotlight, it is about time that clam takes the stage. After a clam-ful night, we didn’t have any room for dessert. My high note was definitely the scallop curdo and the spicy clam spaghetti. Service was warm and attentive. When our check arrived, it came in a little notebook, filled with comments or sketches left by customers. It is a cute thoughtful idea, and we enjoyed flipping through it. The Clam
    On a side note, I found it odd that there is a window to the street where the bathroom is. While I do not know what it would look like from the outside, it certainly didn’t make me feel comfortable going about my business. We all know there are a lot of creeps in this world. (Feb, 2015)
    The Clam

Parm

Parm

Went to Parm for lunch on the same day we went to ZZ’s. Surprised that we got a table given that it is a small place and during lunch rush hour. It was crowded with people waiting for their take out orders; all the bar stools were packed, but as we walked deeper inside, there’s more room than I anticipated. Most of the people around us ordered chicken parm, so we went for it as well. We had it on roll and a Beets Aranciata to share.
parm2
The chicken parm on roll was a bit of disappointment since the veal parm at Carbone was absolutely stunning. It generously came with 2 pieces of chicken parm, but it was served on a sesame burger bun. With the warmth of chicken parm and the sauce and cheese, the un-toasted bun had became soggy. 🙁 We were also hoping for a cheese stretch, but that didn’t happen either. Compare to the amazing veal parm I had at Carbone, I was disappointed.

Blue Hill at Stone Barnes

On a late October evening, we drove up to the Pocantico Hills to finally get a taste of the much praised Blue Hill. The trip wasn’t as long as we thought it would be. After only 20 minutes, skyscrapers are no longer seen in the rear mirror. It surprises me that a working farm is actually so close to the city. The sun had already set as we drove up to the farm house, and the darkness added a mysterious layer to the barn. Old, rustic on the outside, yet contemporary and elegant on the inside. Thru a little wooden door is a bar, then a waiting room with a fireplace, and it lead to a big, bright, high-ceilinged dining room. Dark wood beam ceiling, hard wood floor, with a long wood commune table in the middle displaying the season’s harvest, Blue Hill had transformed this barn to a formal dining room. Service was warm and attentive, tux wearing waiters usually tip-toeing and dance around the table smoothly. But once in a while an army of them would show up with plates in their hands, and in perfect synchronization, elegantly place the dishes in front of you, then disappear until next time. Everything is so perfect, in-sync, and beautifully orchestrated; it is totally up to the White house standard.

click to view slideshow
click to view slideshow

Dishes are very contemporary American, barely seasoned and artfully presented. I was skeptical about this farm to table concept, it sounds to me that there will be a lot of vegetables, and I don’t like vegetables much. I don’t normally order vegetables at restaurants. It usually cost a lot more than it should be and I can easily make the same at home. But then, I have never ever tasted vegetables like this. So fresh, so vibrant, such sweet of freshness, and vegetables finally got their justice. Bite after bite, food was full of surprise, even a simple radish tasted like I have never know radish before. The broccoli rabe cube had completely won me over. It was softer than a marshmallow with crushed, fried garlic. Before I fall back from heaven, there comes the Berkshire pork liver pate with chocolate crepes. Who would have thought liver with chocolate, but it is the perfect combination. Even better than foie gras with figs or apple or cranberry, like they are made for each other. Blue Hill was also playful with their Stonebarns “V9”. If only I could get a tray of them to bring home.
Half way thru the dinner, we were lead to another dining room for a “special” course. The area, which I believe was a corridor between what was two farm house, but now is a sun room with a long dining table. In the corner was another table with a display of root vegetables, on the other side was a prosciutto hanging to age. On the table, the were jars of pickled vegetables, and a large ostrich in a wooden bowl. Our course in this special room was bread and butter and an egg dish. There were 3 kinds of butter: regular butter, “sunshine” butter from a dairy cow name sunshine, and pig lardo; and I love “sunshine”. There were many other dishes that I fell in love with at Stone barnes, but to truly appreciate it, one would have to experience it oneself. It surely made me appreciate food and vegetables and the people who grow them like never before. Thank you Blue Hill for giving us a magical evening. (Oct, 2014)