leap of faith
j’adore quantum leap (the restaurant, not the t.v. show)! with one location next to school and another in the east village, it’s not entirely vegetarian/vegan – they have a handful of fish entrees, and some dishes (like the vegetarian pad thai) contain fish sauce, but it’s certainly vegetarian-predominant and beyond delicious.
the first time we went, the japanese dumplings fell flat but the vegan pumpkin pie still has court and i talking. since then, i’ve made the barbecued “chicken” sandwich (never had a better soy chicken cutlet) with french fries (worthy of any burger joint), but last night decided to mix it up for the vegetarian “curry” stew.
we started off with an appetizer of vietnamese spring rolls, one of the monthly specials. at $3.95, we didn’t think we could go wrong – think again. the fried skins were crispy and delicious, but the insides were … cold? as in, not quite de-frosted. blech. luckily, the lady there was very nice about quickly removing them from our table and returning with scorching hot ones, thoroughly cooked this time, in a matter of minutes.
the filling was nothing special, but you can’t really go wrong with fried treats…as long as they are cooked all the way through!
our entrees were significantly better: court went with the vegetable burger and i, as mentioned before, had the vegetarian curry stew. the choice between mild green and spicy red confused me, but i went for the spicy and had no regrets. it was an unusual selection of vegetables – celery and potatoes don’t usually make appearances in traditional thai curries, but the seasoning was fragrant, the portion size ample and the taste delicious. the real highlight, however, was the rice – soft and perfectly cooked and studded with lentils. yum! i just wish they’d given me more. then again, we left with our bellies groaning, so it’s probably for the best i didn’t have more of that delicious rice on which to gorge myself.
and the best part? leftovers for lunch today!
a perfectly good thing
for my money, nothing beats a good breakfast burrito when it comes to top comfort foods (also up there: lo mein, cheese fries, rice…)
in california, the best were the ones from a’s burgers, hefty and greasy and stuffed with hot crispy potatoes, taken to go and eaten on the beach (usually salt creek). there was a coffee shop in san juan capistrano that also had a pretty good version, and for a few extra bucks they’d throw in some vegetables too.
late at night, in a pinch, jack-in-the-box serves up breakfast burritos after two a.m. for a ridiculously low price (not bad, but definitely not great), but for drunk munchies, nothing beat jose bernstein’s in westwood. they delivered their delicious treats until three in the morning, and their vegetarian burritos came stuffed with cheese, mushrooms and potatoes and topped with their delicious green and red salsas.
i’ve yet to find a good replacement in new york, although husband has been known to whip up some good ones at home from time to time.
the key ingredients seem to be crispy tortillas (not crispy like crunchy-burnt, but crispy like they’ve been grilled or put in a panini press), lots of melted cheese, potatoes (if you’ve got them, and i highly recommend that you do) and hot sauce (preferably tapatio).
if you’ve got the time, i like to start by sauteeing some onions (and here i take a tip from husband’s grandfather’s wife, and that is: the more onions, the better) in a hot pan with olive oil and butter (butter for the flavor, olive oil to handle the heat). if your potatoes are already cooked, wait a few minutes before adding them, but if you’re using raw potatoes, add them when you do the onions. when both are getting tender, if you’ve got some mushrooms, now would be the time to add them to the mix, along with some chili powder. next go the eggs (you can mix them in a bowl first for a more consistent mix, or crack them straight into the pan). when everything’s starting to come together, pile on the cheese (i like jack pepper or sharp cheddar), cover it with a lid (the steam will melt the cheese faster) and lower the heat.
while that’s going, it’s time to start with your tortilla. you can butter it and fry it lightly in a pan, or do it the old-school way and heat it straight over a burner (only works if you’re, as my dad would say, cooking with gas), flipping it every few seconds until each side is just starting to brown.
by now your eggs should be done, so flop them onto your tortilla, add just the right amount of hot sauce or salsa, and you’ve got the perfect meal. simple, sure, but you can’t deny its appeal.
watch out if you’ve added mushrooms – they tend to come with lots of juice, so you may get some drippage. but i don’t know of any other home-made meal that brings greater joy to the eaters.
speaking of which, i haven’t had dinner yet, and my appetite has definitely been whetted by this post.
everybody’s eating for the weekend…
another weekend of gastronomical delights…after several productive hours of studying yesterday, court andy and i rewarded ourselves with dinner at rice over on elizabeth street. kitschy idea, for sure, but tasty nonetheless.
the front page of the menu lists all the different rices they have – everything from regular basmati and sushi rice to exotic concoctions flavored with garlic, edamame, or laurel. every entree comes with rice, and the servers are always great about recommending the right type of rice to complement your dish. the menu is equally split between vegetarian and more carnivorous-friendly options and covers a diverse range of cuisines, everything from jerk chicken wings to different curries and even ratatouille, as well as fried rice balls and other yummy snacks.
we started by sharing some appetizers: a warm and chewy arepa, covered with cheese crumbles and distinctively tasting of sweet corn – yum! – as well as a side of ratatouille (after a rat managed to make it look so delicious in a cartoon, we just had to have a bite for ourselves). the ratatouille ended up tasting a bit like glorified spaghetti sauce (good spaghetti sauce, but spaghetti sauce all the same), and without its characteristic pastry crust or any rice, it was a little hard to eat (especially since we were only supplied with chopsticks – not the best for sopping up sauce).
andy and i both got the thai coconut curry (his with chicken, mine with tofu), laden with tasty vegetables and just spicy enough to warm us up, accompanied by thai black rice, sweet and chewy. court got the vegetarian meatballs (ok, but not as good as the ones in hana foods’ vegetarian meatball hero) with thai black rice with edamame.
the meal was definitely filling, but i always have room for dessert, so we kept with the theme (if you’re going to be kitschy, may as well go all the way) and headed a few blocks over to rice to riches, the sensation that just keeps popping up in food blogs and newspaper articles. signs throughout the brightly colored (and v. brightly lit) store proclaim what we already, at some level, all know: you’re already fat, so eat rice pudding.
each serving comes in a cute little tupperware container that’s perfect for reusing to bring snacks to class. andy and i split the coast to coast cheesecake – yum! i’m not sure i got much of a cheesecake flavor, but it was absolutely delicious, and despite feeling like my stomach might actually burst i had to keep eating it. the sad, soggy rice puddings proffered in bodegas and cafeterias ain’t got nothing on these gourmet treats.
after dinner, it was over to the east village for sam’s birthday party. one long night of heavy drinking and raucous carousing later, and it was time for brunch. min had stopped into town before doing some admitted students stuff at brown, so he, husband and i went over to sweetwater bar and grill on north six. (we had originally planned to eat with collin and sam at bliss on bedford, but it was too crowded, and min wasn’t feeling the vegan vibe.)
sweetwater is a great bar, but it lacks a little in the service department when it comes to brunch time. when our waiter came to take our order, he listened politely with his arms folded…then promptly forgot everything and had to come back with a pad of paper to write it down. and when my cappucino did come, it was served in a glass (rather than a mug – come on people, hot drinks are served in insulated containers with handles for a reason) which i always find a teensy bit off-putting – although the pretty chocolate shavings on top somewhat distracted me from the problem of using the wrong type of beverage container.
husband and min both got poached eggs on thick buttery slices of sourdough – min with a very well done steak (despite having ordered it rare) and husband with some avocado, soppresata and “tomato salsa” (really just diced and seasoned tomatoes). both seemed very pleased with their food, and my french toast was fantastic: a hefty hunk filled with slivers of almonds and drizzled with caramel, with a side of thick whipped cream and some “caramelized” (read: burnt on one side) slices of banana, both also artfully drizzled with caramel. the caramelizing the bananas really just made them chewy and soggy, but the whipped cream and the french toast were fantastic, and i didn’t miss the maple syrup one little bit. the serving sizes are dwarfed by the massive plates, but our tummies stayed full until the end of “into the wild,” which collin had on in-demand. pretty movie, great story, and emile hirsch was pretty great as a crazy wild boy.
on the way home, husband and i stopped by hana foods for some sandwiches: a zebra sandwich for him (basically a caprese salad with ham) and a donkey (fried portobello mushroom cutlet, avocado, tomato and hummus) with sprouts for me. yum! hana’s can do no wrong: every sandwich in their creative oeuvre comes with a delicious combination of ingredients served with a generous hand, and they have a wide variety of meats and pseudo-meats to keep every sandwich eater happy. plus, there’s always leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch. topped it all off with some almond crush pocky (the grown-up version of my favorite childhood treat) and a newman’s own “lightly sparkling” raspberry kiwi beverage, and i’m satisfied and ready (i think) to start reading torts. maybe.
dinner and the office
old habits die hard. i’ve fallen back into watching waaay too much food network, including even the shows i hate – like guy’s big bite. guy did, however, make what looked like a pretty appetizing salad with green beans, roasted corn, red onions and other yummy vegetables, so i decided to try my hand at it, with my own modifications, of course.
i ended up eating the corn i bought for a snack, and i didn’t want to go out and buy more, so the salad had to go without. oops.
i started by boiling two russet potatoes, cubed. while that was going, i thinly sliced a whole red onion and put it in a pan with some hot olive oil, added a dash of sea salt and lots of black pepper, then some lemon juice and a little bit of lemon zest. just before the onion finished, i added in a little italian parsley.
as the potatoes were cooking, i added in a beautiful orange carrot, cut on the diagonal and then halved (it was from the farmer’s market, and totally huge). when both were done, i scooped them out and put them in a big bowl with the red onions, now perfectly soft and seasoned. into the pot of water i dropped some green beans, cut in half, and let them cook for just a minute or two. into the oil that the onion had cooked in, i placed several cubes of tofu that had been rolled in flour, lightly seasoned with black pepper and chili powder.
after the green beans were done, i added them to my “salad,” then topped it with fresh grape tomatoes, a swirl of balsamic vinegar (newman’s own, yum), more black pepper and lemon juice and another handful of chopped italian parsley. then i served the salad on some leaves of fresh spinach and put the fried tofu on the side.
a very yummy, easy dinner, incorporating lots of fresh vegetables and bright colors, with plenty of leftovers. i’m sold.
and for dessert? a caramel pecan brownie (super chocolatey and indulgent) from dancing deer baking co. (super-cute!) and episodes of the office (in preparation for its triumphant return next week!). i promise one of these days i’ll be productive
shake shack: open for the season
yesterday our lawyering class had a field trip (our professor making for an unusual mama duck, twenty-some lawyering students in suits being not-as-cute-as baby ducks) to the New York Supreme Court – Appellate Division, serving Manhattan and Bronx counties.
the architecture, of course, was stunning – classic facade adorned with columns and sculptures – but it was the interior that made our jaws drop. a central dome was constructed of stained glass and bore the names of previous SCOTUS chief justices and chief justices of the New York courts; the dome and the rest of the room were ornately guilded, and the walls done up in detailed murals. even the chairs were comfortable – i don’t even remember the US Supreme Court having such nice seats for visitors.
after an afternoon of oral arguments (ranging from the interesting – criminal cases involving suppressed testimony and race-based challenges to jurors; to the mundane – insurance cases and unpaid lawyers; to the confusing – a family court case where the child’s afterschool expenditures had been miscalculated from barely more than $1,000 to nearly $15,000 – lawyers can’t do math), we were ready to trade in our plush surroundings for beer and food.
first stop was an unremarkable bar, that mixed exposed brick walls with curious murals on the wall (resembling something from the european renaissance era) with mini pool tables in the back – but there were three dollar drafts with a pretty well-stocked tap (ranging the full spectrum from boddington’s and hoegaarden, among other delicious choices). plus, our professor was buying!
so much lawyer-ly talk whetted our appetites, so i suggested a trip to the shake shack in madison square park, a few blocks away. and yes, it has reopened for the season! (despite it being a brisk thirty degrees out; luckily for us, heat lanterns had been placed around the tables in the eating area behind the shack).
it might have dismally low health code ratings, but the shake shack is delicious, and deserving of an expedition.
their aptly named concretes (the heaviest and thickest milkshakes you will ever encounter, featuring the shack’s frozen custard and tons of toppings) are not to be missed, and definitely meant to be shared (i like the shack attack – full of all kinds of chocolate-y goodness). their burgers (so i hear) are among the best in the city, and they serve the perfect fries – perfectly crisp, just the right thickness and just the right amount of salt (although they get a little cheap with the cheese sauce – but at least it’s not fake nacho sauce).
if you can stand the cold, you should definitely get your butt out there – once summer gets in full swing, lines will be forever (read: hours) long.
i realize this post has gotten somewhat heavy on the parentheticals, so i’ll stop now…back to reading law review articles on judicial review…
union square farmer’s market
i recently heard complaints about the union square farmer’s market (only the largest the city has to offer), complaints comparing it unfavorably to the bounty of southern california. and sure, while the gourmet tamales (plenty of vegetarian choices, inspiring the addition of just-for-me-but-loved-by-all vegetarian tamales to the regular christmas repast), roasted corn, artisanal olive oils and bounty of fresh fruits guaranteed that a trip to the westwood farmers market would always be a highlight of the day, i have to say, i’ve adapted to my new city, and i’m damn proud of what it has to offer. (plus, the year we left for new york, the westwood farmers market was slated to be turned into yet another ubiquitous mall.)
especially on saturdays, especially now that winter has finally relinquished its grip, the union square farmers market is a sight to behold, with an amazing variety of food vendors interspersed among fields of potted flowers (pansies, hydrangeas, fresh herbs – gorgeous!).
organic salads, hand-dyed merino yarn, savory moroccan-spiced sausages, fresh cheeses and yogurts – even a new york winery could be found among the many booths. i started with some fruit, picking up some crispy bosc pears and juicy empire apples for a song. then i grabbed some scones for breakfast tomorrow – coconut chocolate chip and cinnamon chip. the man at the chicken booth was nice enough to shave some cents off the price, so i snagged a young chicken breast (free range, of course) for husband.
for nine dollars, i got a dozen brown eggs (from free range, vegetarian-fed chickens – at $3, a whole two bucks less than what they would cost at our corner bodega) and a package of fresh ricotta-stuffed ravioli ($6). $2.50 got me some giant carrots, yukon gold potatoes, and a yellow onion. another 2 bucks and i finished off the shopping with a bag of giant chocolate chip cookies.
i did miss the fish guy (i’d been looking forward to trying his crab cakes and chowder…guess that will have to wait until next week) and the lady who sells asian vegetables (i’d wanted some baby bok choi for a stir fry). but i did get a serious amount of groceries, all for under twenty bucks – i don’t know of a better feel-good deal in the city.
ladies who lunch
it’s now a four-day weekend! professor after professor has been cancelling class, which will lead to some very unpleasant weeks when make-up classes are piled on top of one another, but for now, i’m enjoying the freedom. and i started the celebration with lunch with jane and sae-won, currently visiting from, yes, the city of angels.
we went to oak cafe. heart! the atmosphere is always so lovely and inviting, warm and mellow, classy and simple: the perfect lady, offering plenty of delicious meals.
the torte of the day (the savory version resembling a quiche, but without the pie crust) was asparagus, which, at just six bucks, i had to try. the serving was not actually very large, a simple mixed green salad filling up most of the place. but it was light and fluffy while still being filling. the overall flavor was pretty good, although the cheese crust on top was a touch too salty.
jane had the oak turkey club, a hearty sandwich requiring three slices of bread to support the turkey, provolone and avocado, and sae-won feasted on a baked pear salad, complemented by pine nuts, crusted goat cheese and chili pecans. fabulous!
and now, back to the humdrum world of being a law student. there may be no class for a few days, but i have a conference with my lawyering professor on monday, and i’m not a little bit afraid he might slap me (or whatever the non-physical, school-appropriate analogue of that might be) for doing so poorly on my memo…
until next time…
yesterday was the worst! (until it got better)
the l train failed me again! i’d left some books at school, so i dragged my ass out of bed waaay early so i could get to school and frantically skim before class. the l train said not! i sat for half an hour as the count-down for the train would approach under ten minutes…and then inexplicably shoot back up to twenty! after thirty torturous minutes, an mta employee finally told us to give up and take a bus. i called up colin, who also would have to take the l about this time to get into the city. we met up and hiked over to the jmz, transferring to the f at essex, getting me to class only seven minutes after it had started, meaning that it took me an hour and fifteen minutes to make a twenty-five minute trip. boo.
and it gets worse. i’d painstakingly packed myself lunch (leftover risotto and lightly steamed veggies from last night’s dinner), snack (an orange and chocolate pudding) and dinner (tofutti cream cheese and peach jelly sandwich) in my new efforts to cut back on spending…and i left it all at home. lames!
the icing on the cake, however, was when i sat down in class, without my books or laptop, and the professor turned to me and said “i know you came in late, but how do you feel about being on call today?” o.m.g. luckily, i made it through without having to answer a single question, then went to the library to knock out some revisions on the god-awful brief i turned in on tuesday.
after that, the day started to pick up. went to lunch at red bamboo with court and ken, delighted to discover that red bamboo has some pretty good lunch deals (the cheapest starting at $5.95). i love red bamboo! my taste buds and tummy have never been anything but overjoyed by as trip to red bamboo. i ordered the soul chicken sandwich (somewhat hesitatingly, as the “chicken” – red bamboo being entirely vegan – consisted of nuggets, which are not easy to eat in sandwich form), but was given the dijon chicken cutlet sandwich instead. not my order, but whatevs. it was delicious, although a little too much mustard got in the way at times.
next up was my work study at peridance, most of which was spent calling dance studios in long island and jersey. afterwards, not having my sandwich, i stepped over to tisserie, which i adore.
just walking into the shop seems to make a day easier – all the tempting pastries deliciously ordered in neat rows behind bright glass cases, the beautiful displays of quiches and sandwiches…and much of the food is organic, and lots of vegetarian friendly options. you can’t go wrong with any of the quiches, and the mushroom sandwich is delicious. not being terribly hungry, i opted for the pumpkin tomato soup. the pumpkin made the soup thick and hearty, but was overwhelmed by the sharp tang of the tomato. not tisserie’s finest hour, but it got me through dance class.
after i went home and showered, husband and i went over to luna lounge, where his coworker’s friend’s band was playing in a benefit for the bravest – proceeds going to a scholarship fund for the kids of dead firefighters. cheery!
the two opening bands were too bad to sit through, so we went over to spuyten duyvil and indulged in the warm spanish mulled wine before heading back to luna lounge. unfortunately, the coworker’s friend’s band wasn’t any better.
for starters, the singer wore a red rose in his jacket’s breast pocket. when they brought another friend on stage to harmonize, the error of the singer’s instruction to the sound guy to “get the second vocals out of his monitor” became painfully clear. we didn’t last long, but the money went to a good cause.
for the record, no new york city band should ever be allowed to perform a song entitled “the city and its towers,” and most certainly never at a benefit for dead firefighters’ kids. poor form, my friends, poor form.
a note of deliciousness
today did not seem like it would be a good eating day.
the l train crapped out on my way to campus this morning, so i just barely made it to class in time, without a chance to stop for the everything bagel with cream cheese i had planned my morning around. (luckily, by some weird kiss of fortune, i had stuffed half a nutrivalley granola bar in my pocket on the way out the door…otherwise, there’s no telling how i would have made it through two hours discussing the indian child welfare act).
it was no better at lunch. class let out early, so i when i went to the lounge to grab some food, the salad bar i had been planning on patronizing since yesterday was not yet open (medium-sized salad, with as many add-ins as you like, including seared tuna for $5.50…probably the only thing that’s a real deal about the fighting violets).
longing for a salad, i had to settle for a nasty, prepackaged grilled vegetable sandwich, one with thick chunks of colorless eggplant and slimy roasted red peppers encased in a wholly generic bun, all of it dripping a weird watery oil. blech. and for forty-five cents more than my delicious, delicious salad would have been!
the only positive thing about the ordeal was the pomegranate white tea (from honest tea) i picked up. it kept me company in the library, where i spent the next few hours reading – or perhaps, paying my dues, because reward was just around the corner.
my afternoon class was cancelled! this welcome surprise painted the sky blue and awakened a choir in my soul…a rollicking, boisterous choir, one that wanted to get out and have fun.
so i met andy at red mango, where we split a green tea frozen yogurt (real frozen yogurt, as the sign proclaims, not a mixture of water and powder and icky-ness) liberally heaped with fresh strawberries, the mini-est chocolate chips, and magical little sparkly balls of white mochi (i refer you now to a recent post at seriouseats.com: http://www.seriouseats.com/required_eating/2008/03/mochi-and-waffle-themoffle-big-in-japan.html).
soooo good! especially when accompanied by some good ol’ fashioned “catching up”/gossip (andy’s been traveling asia for the past week and a half! there was some serious catching-up in order). then, class being cancelled and our hearts feeling light, we were very productive and ran many errands.
then i was a good girl and went to the gym, only to see as i left the waffle truck! i had been wanting to try one of the belgian waffles profferred by the bright yellow truck.
i started with a standard brussels waffle, perfectly sweet and chewy and light. that was topped with a thick smear of nutella (which was tasty but left me with a big of a dog-eating-peanut-butter effect, and was too rich about half way through) and topped with cold syrupy strawberries (pretty shot of color, and the juiciness was a good contrast with the thickness of the nutella, but the flavor was a little bland next to the richness of the nutella) and a fairy dusting of powder sugar. the waffle itself is four dollars, and each topping (or dinges) is a dollar…or you can opt for a WMD: waffle of massive deliciousness (maybe that’s what bush was really hunting for?). all the toppings you want for $7 (other toppings include whipped cream, maple syrup, belgian chocolate fudge and dulce de leche). it’s definitely big enough to share, especially if you get a hefty topping like nutella. after a morning of unsatisfying food, the waffle was a note of deliciousness in a newly optimistic day.
next time: the savory waffle, topped with four cheese, chives, and a hint of nutmeg.
