Life is funny. It goes up, it comes down. Butter moved up to mid-town; and Asia de Cuba moved to occupy Butter’s old space. Re-located/ reopened recently, Asia de Cuba’s new place is sleek, modern. During restaurant week, we went there for lunch.
When Asia meets latin, does it gel or does it crash?
We like the calamari salad. The orange sesame vinaigrette balanced the oiliness very well. And it is a very generous portion. The spring rolls were not much of a looker, but don’t let it deceive you. The slow braised short ribs inside has great flavor, tender and moist. A great surprise! The snapper ceviche, light and bright! A great summer dish, and the fried plantains slaws on top adds a crunchy contrast to the dish.
For entrees, we chose the flat iron steak and scallops. I felt the steak could use a couple drop of lime juice. I could taste any trace of chili on the scallops, but it was a hearty dish with the beans and rice. The flavor is great, however, It could go easier without the mayo on top. The dish is heavy to begin with, and the “Japanese aioli”, aka mayo, makes the dish even heavier. I would opt for some lime or yuzu juice and may be some paprika pepper.
Desserts were great, and we love all three of them. The peppercorn ice cream was very interesting; the coconut cake is fluffy as it can be. And I love the sorbet! Fruits dices at the bottom with yuzu sorbet, sprinkled with meringue chips, coconut water poured over. Every bit of refreshing. A great note to end a delightful lunch. (August 2015)
Category: <span>NY Eats</span>
Just shy of 2 weeks left in NY restaurant weeks, where have you been to??
We didn’t plan ahead for restaurant week this time around, by the time we really start looking at our options, places we want to go were all booked. We were surprised that Tavern on the Green was still available for a 7pm reservation.
The place was built in 1870, became a restaurant in 1934. After closing it’s kitchen on New Year’s day 2010, it reopened as a more casual restaurant last year. However, it has not been warm-received by critics.
I have never been to Tavern on the Green before; I always think of it as a higher class place, more sophisticated, more expensive. So Restaurant week is a great opportunity to take a look at this “newly” re-opened place. We walked in from 66th street to west side of Central Park; there are areas still being blocked off for renovation. Turn the corner, there is a beer garden off the side, but no sign that it is open yet. We were greeted by the iconic red awning, open the door to a grand foyer. Flowers on a round table in the middle, almost feel like I walked into someone’s grand mansion. There’s gift shop on the left, and step to the right is the bar/ lounge/ sitting area. This used to be the original Crystal Room, now it feels like a very nice rustic country club. Fireplace, chandeliers , nice oversize comfy couches, and of course a bar in the middle of it all. With a carousel chandelier!!! I’m a little taken by all the nice lighting fixtures. 
Dining room is deeper inside, modern and sleek, entirely different atmosphere. Floor to ceiling windows let in plenty of sunlight. On the other side is the semi-open kitchen. There are booth seats for more cozy companies; we were seated by the window overlooking the patio.
There was a thunderstorm earlier in the afternoon, everything is soaking wet and no one is out in the patio. But by the look of it, it would be a very nice place for an afternoon tea or a sunny Sunday brunch. The room is a little loud, no tablecloth or curtains to absorb the sound, we found ourselves getting louder and louder as the night goes on.
On the restaurant week menu, there are 3 appetizers and 3 entrees and 2 desserts to choose from. The wine pairing option is at very affordable $20 for 3 glasses of red, white and/or dessert. Regular menu is not super expensive, we decided to do half and half.
White Gazpacho– Red Grapes, Toasted Hazelnuts, Basil
Part of the summer menu, this one is not much of a looker, but a great summer soup. Super light and yet creamy. A mix of cauliflower, celery and cucumber with a little red grapes as decoration. A hint of nutty favor from hazelnuts. NICELY done!!!
Avocado Toast– Red Onion, Cilantro, Lime, Radish, Grilled Sourdough
So Tavern on the Green has an “Afternoon” menu. And this is a twist from it. The one on the afternoon menu listed at $22. There is plenty of avocado on it, but the disappointment is on the toast. It doesn’t taste like it had been toasted. The grape tomato is great, but it totally over crowded the “toast”. Just some sloppy avocado slapped on an “not-so-fresh sourdough”. Not even sure it is Sourdough.
Shrimp Scampi– frascati, Garlic, Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe
2 big prawns over a bed of spaghetti. Shrimps are cooked just right. For a cacao e pepe, there is enough pepper but not nearly enough cheese. The house-made spaghetti was great! Right texture and just al dente. It’s a little salty for my taste, but could also be just too much pepper.
Hickory Smoked Beef Short ribs– East Texas Baked Beans, Pickled Vegetables
Short ribs was a disappointment. Just as it looks in the picture. It is dry. Desperately need sauce. The tiny little drops underneath it wasn’t much help. The dish became blend and plain. However, I do love the little mushrooms that were mixed in the beans.
Long Island Striped Bass– Tomato-Onion Confit, Citrus Olives, Pomme Paille, Petite Cress 34.00
(From the regular dinner menu) Good size of bass filet, perfectly seared, the skin was very crunchy, but not oily at all. Seasoning was light but it didn’t matter. The tomato confit makes it a great summer dish.
Cioppino– Mussels, Clams, Scallops, Chorizo, Shrimp, Grilled Sourdough 32.00
Also, at average $30+ per entrée on regular menu, the portions here are very generous. The cioppino has plenty of seafood in the mixture. I was looking around, our next-table neighbor had the $56 rack of lamb, and it was gigantic! Huge, huge, huge rack. When they listed whole rack, they were not kidding. And I also saw they were shaving the black truffle on top of the lamb table-side. The server literally took out a good size of whole truffle and it started raining truffle slices. And he even handing out (shaving) truffle slices to diner’s hand at that table. WHAT!?! There was also a mountain of fries came along with that rack of lamb. The amount of food on that plate was unbelievable.
Back to the restaurant week menu. Chicken Pomodoro, the one entrée we didn’t ordered looked decent size too. It was a whole chicken leg, thigh included. Don’t know how the lamb nor the chicken taste, but sure looks good.
As the night falls, the outdoor patio lights up. How wonderful it would be to have a mid-summer night party here.
Tavern on the Green- a well known place with an expensive zip code; a historic landmark; a symbol of upper class Manhattaners. Through numerous renovations, scandals, and troubles, if these walls could talk… and I couldn’t understand how it could go from making $38million in 2007 to bankruptcy in 2009… I guess it is all just a part of New York history. Glory, downfall, rebirth…
Owners, chefs came and went, Tavern on the Green still stands its ground in Central Park overlooking sheep’s meadow. Will it reclaim its glamours days? It is still early to tell.
(July 2015)
Cecil the Hotel was burnt down in 1974. Today, Cecil the restaurant lives on. On a quiet Saturday morning, we headed to harlem to get a taste of this self-proclaimed the city’s first Afro-Asian-American brasserie. I love how they decorate the place. It’s very modern, yet has a certain charm that make us feel warm. It could double as a lounge, even a club at night.
The menu is an interesting read. There are dim sum, buns, kimchi, and country breakfast. There are plenty of asian influence, no doubt. But I’m a bit confuse… I don’t know what to make of it. May be it is just like this neighborhood, a mixture of different cultures, all blend together and created something unique.
We have (from top left) OXTAIL DUMPLING, Pastry Board, SALMON FRITTERS, and SPICY CRISPY SQUID. Oxtail dumpling is a must have. Perfectly cooked, thin dumpling skin wrapping up a tasty, meaty little pockets. The oxtail dumplings come in a thick curry sauce. The curry could use some more spice, but I am happy as is. Crispy squid is more or less just calamari. Crunch, crunch, crunch!
HERITAGE POACHED EGGS 16
– chicken Sausage, Collards, Red Curry Holandaise
Look at how fluffy that egg is. This might be the best egg of the day. The dish overall is a little too salty.
ROTI PIZZA 15
– oxtail, Aged Cheddar, Fried Egg
Oxtail flatbread! Good flavor, but I felt that the oxtail is too finely chopped, hard to get a solid bite of the meat. And the fried eggs, I would love for it to be running. While the pizza is very crispy on outside, it was kind of soggy in the center… good plate, needs improvement.
BRISKET & EGGS 18
– fried Rice, Duck Egg, Hoisin
Duck egg is nicely poached, the brisket was way too fat… even fatter than pork belly……
SMOTHERED CHICKEN & GRITS 19
– boneless Chicken Thigh, Okra, Tomatoes
Our favorite dish of the day! Very tasty chicken. The tomato sauce lighten up the grits. Love it.
It was a decent brunch. Very comforting, but hard to tell where the “Afro” influence is from breakfast. Oh, there is a unlimited pineapple mimosa (90 minutes) for $18 during brunch hours. So, YES please!
Esquire named The Cecil the best new restaurant in America last year. I think we will need to come for dinner to get a true taste of Cecil. I can totally imagine a live jazz band here at night, jamming it out with comfort food. It would be quite a party. (June, 2015)
The James Beard Foundation’s 2013 Best NYC Chef winner, Wylie Dufesne opened his second restaurant Alder the same year. Now, it’s his only restaurant after WD-50 closing it’s door last November.
Alder, a very subtle place on 2nd Ave. Bar in the front, dinning room is deep inside. Dark wood furniture, white brick wall, dim lit place, very clean lines. It is modern and very comfortable. Dinning room is tasting menu “only”, but of course you can still order off bar menu along with it. And we did exactly that.
FOIE GRAS DUMPLING– Mullet mousse, pickle raisin
Not our regular “dumpling”, should really call it a puff. Cute, delicious little bites. Rich and tasty, and balanced really well by the pickle raisin. Served in an escargot dish, where are my other four??
Layers of “cheesed” together, created a croissant-like cheese cube. Reminds me of the potato cake on the Mixed Grill from Torrisi Italian Speciality. Lightly toasted, topped with a little sauce. Amazing!
“PIGS IN A BLANKET” 13 – Chinese sausage, Japanese mustard, sweet chili sauce
Nice bite size of pigs in a blanket. Very very good Chinese sausage. This was a very nice touch by our waitress and very understanding staff. We did debated if we should order this as an individual dish, but was concern with the amount of food we are getting knowing we will get definitely the tasting menu and the pig ears. After we expressed our concern, our waitress surprised us with a mini plate of pigs in a blanket. Yes, it’s just two bites. But the thoughts really count. This way we get a taste, but not stuffed our stomach.
CRISPY PIG EARS 12- avocado, pineapple, pickled mustard seeds
Awesome crispy pig ears. So crunchy and so tasty. Not oily at all. Adding pineapple and mustard seeds is genius. It brightens the dish. And great combination of sweet and salty.
CARAMELIZED CAULIFLOWER TOFU– smoked eel, burnt orange, pistachio
Very interesting texture of tofu. It is almost “grits” like but much less heavy. A very healthy dish, but for me, it could use a little more seasoning.
BLACK GARLIC POTATOES– bravas consomme, chorizo, scallion
A Spain dish with a twist. Texture of black potatoes is just right, still firm and not mushy. Consomme was poured at the table, gives the dish a clear, light touch so it is not as heavy.
OKONOMIYAKI SILVER DOLLARS– grilled octopus, Kewpie mayo
Could use a few more octopus here. Chef Dufresne is taking a page from the very popular Japanese street-food cook book. This is basically a stack of mini tiny octopus pancakes pour with hollandaise sauce. Presentation looks great as the sauce is again, poured in front of us, but nothing innovative about this. This could be easily made at home.
FLANK STEAK– summer squash, beef tendon, hazelnuts
Tender, juicy, tender. Perfectly cooked!
OVALTINE ICE CREAM CAKE– strawberry, coconut, almond
Coated with cinnamon power, this was a disappointment to me. Not that it wasn’t a good piece of cake, just that there wasn’t any taste of ovaltine. Ovaltine is my favorite drink when I was a kid (i’m still a kid as times), but there was no trace of that rich, chocolatey favor here and totally overwhelmed by cinnamon.
BANANA CUBE & WHISKEY COOKIE
The banana cube was awesome. It a solid jelly packs with huge banana aroma and favor.
The 5 courses tasting menu is only $65, which is quite decent. Alder to me is contemporary cuisines with an Asian twist. I felt that the bar food wowed me more than the tasting menu. This is definitely a place where we can enjoy the delicious cocktail and great pub food. (June, 2015)