Philip Marie Brunch 03-29-2009

Location: 569 Hudson Street
Time: 12pm
People: RB, MGru, ALev, JLam from MeSoHungry and myself

Feelings: My co worker, FF, told me about $16.95 brunch with unlimited Bloody Marys at Philip Marie, so I made a reservation right away. This nourishing promotion of "unlimited drinks with brunch" seems to be a trend for a struggling restaurant scene nowadays. An Aussie style restaurant, Bondi Road in LES also attracts large Brunch crowds with similar offers.

I listened to FF's suggestion and made a reservation for noon, which seemed a bit early for Sunday brunch. The place was still half empty then, so we had the wait staff's full attention during our meals, with is essential when you have unlimited drinks. But FF was right about going there early: At 1pm sharp, it turned into a bustling establishment of younger, quite attractive women. I suppose this is where young women of NYC have brunch to chat about their possibly wild night before.

MGru and JLam's unlimited Bloody Marys lived up to its name: It kept coming unlimited-ly. As soon as MGru had three or four sips, the waitstaff brought her another glass. She pointed out that this must be a trick for a quick table turnaround, but the waiter never pressured us to leave or hurry.

Despite his shellfish allergies, JLam ordered crab cake benedict. He enjoyed it and spent the rest of his day without any inflammations. He either conquered the shellfish allergies or three large glasses of Bloody Marys somehow helped. ALev and I both enjoyed the wholesome and well seasoned skillet potatoes that came on the sides of our crab cake benedict and veggie omelet. However, my veggie omelet was unsettling. It was overcooked outside and a bit runny inside, which is the worst combination for any omelet. Since I don't drink alcohol, I had to wash it down with decently flavored skillet potatoes and coffee that somehow smelt a bit like bacon. RB enjoyed his mahi mahi fish and chips. The fish was cripsy and flaky, but the freshly cut fries were a bit too soggy for fish and chips. They were tasty nonetheless.

For a bargain recession brunch, the place was very classy, and the bathroom was spotlessly clean. The food might be mediocre, but the portions were large, and the delightful atmosphere and very pleasant staff were ideal for Sunday brunch in West Village. This would be a perfect place for people who can enjoy Bloody Marys one after another to wash down their mediocre food for a casual sunday converstation.

Q&A with R&F: Exclusive One on One with ALev

Feelings: Ramen and Friends got a close up on our chamber pop rock star, Mr. ALev!

R&F: Who are you?
ALev: ALev.
R&F: What do you do? What do you do for fun?
ALev: I’m a musician – I write and sing and play the trumpet. I have a band, Mappa Mundi which plays my weird Chamber Pop compositions. I also love social eating and drinking.
R&F: Go Mappa Mundi! Where can we find you?
ALev: You can find me in Brooklyn, at the piano or trumpet.
R&F: Your blog or website?
ALev: Mappa Mundi’s site is: http://www.myspace.com/mappamundimusic.
R&F: Your favorite food?
ALev: I love curries, and noodles, and huaraches, and banh mi, and smoked fish in any form. Dessert = apple pie, with a crumble top, caramel, and vanilla ice cream.
R&F: Your favorite restaurant?
ALev: Rosewater. Hanco’s. Or the Red Hook taco vendors.
R&F: Your most memorable Ramen and Friends outing?
ALev: That’s tough. Maybe I should list the most memorable things ordered: Thousand Year Old Egg, Jellied Duck’s Blood, Shredded Crispy Fish and pork buns with no pork. Sadly no one got the turtle blood infused sake. I may regret that for the rest of my life.
R&F: Your most horrific food related experience?
ALev: I once got this green curry from my then-favorite Thai place, Tuk Tuk (sadly no more). It was so hot it took me out for a week. I don’t think I ever really recovered.
R&F: Your favorite drink when you are making music?
ALev: Scotch. But recently I’ve been into bourbon. And sake. And well-made, classic cocktails.
R&F: Tell me what you ate today.
ALev: Granola, salami sandwich with provolone, hummus, leaves, and olive tapenade, a banana, and some tea. Oh and coffee cake that was yummy.

You can catch Mappa Mundi's next show @ Public Assembly in Williamsburg, Bklyn/ Tuesday, April 14th/ 11pm. They will be performing at Hebrew School's record release party. Fun!

Return of Bistrouge and Milk Bar 03-28-2009

Location: 432 E 13th St
Time: 7:30pm
People: JB, JCor, PTra, RB and myself

Feelings: RB's family visited us from Long Island, so we decided to take them to our favorite Pan-European bistro, Bistrouge in East Village. We started off with their three rustic appetizers: zucchini pancakes, grilled asparagus, and vodka cured Alaskan salmon. As we sipped our drinks and chatted about what each was up to, we shared our love for the asparagus. It was quite flavorful and refined, and I, the ovo-pescetarian who never tasted beef in my life, somehow thought these fiberous asparagus must be what beef steak tastes like. (Of course, RB clarified to me that this tastes nothing like meat.)

RB and I ordered our favorite, mussels and frites, and we enjoyed their fearsomely rich flavors. I felt the mussels were smaller and came with less soup than the last time, so it was a bit disappointing, but the dense flavor was still delicious and enjoyable. Then I found out why I had less soup than usual: while the waiter was serving, he dripped quite a lot of mussel juice down JB's jacket. This was very unpleasant since the waiter did not even notice what had happened. To make matters worse, JB does not care for seafood or the smell of it, and she was stuck with a rather unpleasant and fishy mussel juice flavored coat for the rest of her night.

Post Mussels Dessert: Momofuku Milk Bar, 207 2nd Ave

While trying to conceal the memory of the greatest mussel juice incident of 2009, we walked a block to Momofuku Milk Bar. It was packed as if we were actually at a bar that serves beer, not cereal milk. Yes, PTra actually enjoyed their famous cereal milk while we attacked a dozen cookies. JCor and I enjoyed fluffy and moist corn cookies while PTra, RB and JB preferred rich and dense peanut butter cookies and compost cookies.

Needless to say, RB and I woke up with cookie hangovers next morning.

EDIT (4-8-2009): What a nice surprise! The owner of Bistrouge contacted me after reading my post. They sent me quite a generous email, offering the dry cleaning bill and drinks on the house. Although JB did not need dry cleaning for her jacket, I appreciate such thorough and warm customer service, which is hard to find nowadays in NYC. Bistrouge remains to be one of my favorite restaurants, even more than ever, and I hope to visit them soon.

Q&A with R&F: Exclusive One on One with MGru

Feelings: Ramen and Friends got a close up on our dessert guru, Ms. Sassy MGru!

R&F: Who are you?
MGru: I'm Sassy MGru!
R&F: What do you do? What do you do for fun?
MGru: I search for the unfindable: a good job in NYC. For fun, I scour the streets for good eats.
R&F: Where can we find you?
MGru: The gym. (I tell a lie.)
R&F: Your blog or website, or when are you thinking about starting the dessert blog!!??
MGru: Once I learn how to manipulate the interwebs (using more than just my basic HTML knowledge), then the world will come to know the bestest dessert blog EVAR!
R&F: Your favorite food?
MGru: My mind is boggled-- ONE food?! Can I go with one type of food? Is dessert a type of food even though you can't really subsist solely on it?
R&F: Your favorite restaurant?
MGru: How to choose among my babies?! I'll have to go with my tried and true, Grimaldi's.

R&F: Your most memorable Ramen and Friends outing?

MGru: Spripraphai Night. So many amazing dishes... so many amazing friends.
R&F: Your most horrific food related experience?
R&F: When ALev said that there was a small bulls eye on my meatloaf at Soda Shoppe in Tribeca... it turned out to be mold. My meal was done-ions.

R&F: Eeeeck! Your favorite drink when you are feeling sassy?

MGru: Pink Panties (pink lemonade, vodka, and cool whip-- mixed with ice in a blender)
R&F: Tell me what you ate today!
MGru: Almond vanilla granola, fluoride at the dentist's (I couldn't spit it all out), bahn mi sandwich, vegan "creamy" cauliflower soup with roasted mushrooms, lemon herbed marinated tofu sandwich layered with roasted vegetables and parsley-almond pesto, chocolate bread pudding with bacon creme anglaise.
R&F: Wait, did you go to dessert truck again?
MGru: I can't tell you how many times I've been back to Dessert Truck since our first trip there ever-so-long-ago. I just love it! And I find that the bacon creme anglaise can be more or less bacon-y depending on the day. Yesterday, very bacon-y, two weeks ago, not so much as a hint of bacon-- I think they lied to me that time.

Bao Noodles 03-27-2009

Location: 391 Second Ave
Time: 7pm
People: RB and myself

Feelings: Ramen and Friends' pro bono accountant, JT suggested we try this Bao 111's sister joint, Bao Noodles. It is located in the middle of nowhere (aka Gramercy), I thought it might be worth the long walk from the 6 train. The decor was very cute and casual, and the most important thing: it looked clean.

We started off with tofu summer rolls with Hoisin sauce. They were fresh and crunchy inside, and rice paper was perfectly sticky. To foreshadow the return of Bun and Associates, I ordered bun with vegetable spring rolls with much anticipation. The veggie spring rolls were quite crispy and flavorful and complimented the cold vermicelli noodles well.

Since he recently started watching his cholesterol, RB ordered one of their more healthy dishes, lemongrass steamed chicken. It was unimpressive but had good flavors although slightly bland. He stared at my juicy and flaky fried spring rolls with a big sigh.

Bao Noodles was very cozy and offered a decent variety of Vietnamese dishes, including the city's "it" food of the moment, bahn mi (Vietnamese Sandwiches). Their panna cotta is apparently very good as well, so I would love to go back there for dessert in the future.

Happy Hour: Gossip Bar & Restaurant 03-26-2009

Location: 733 Ninth Ave
Time: 6pm
People: Go Smithsonian!

Feelings: My coworkers from Smithsonian Channel went to happy hour at Gossip Bar & Restaurant to boost the team spirit. The bar is a spacious Irish pub in Hell's Kitchen with an extremely relaxing ambiance, yet still maintains its classiness with cozy back room with fireplace and New-American menu. They have bar food staples like quesadillas, calamari, wings, and nachos as well as more unexpected dishes for a neighborhood bar such as duck breast, mini cordon bleu, chicken satay, and steamed mussels.

The fish and chips we ordered were fresh and flaky. It was no A Salt & Battery, but it was pleasant surprise for Happy Hour food nonetheless. The service was extremely accommodating, and they made sure we were liquored up (or watered up) at all times. My water glass was never empty for even five minutes.

I feel that the name of the bar does not go with the atmosphere for the place, but I would love to go back to this cozy and classy bar for happy hour with my wonderful coworkers some time soon.

Thank you New York Magazine! 03-26-2009

These are utterly exciting times at Ramen and Friends. Our Num Pang post was linked on New York Magazine. Click on: "Yet another found the place “overwhelmingly crowded” on Friday," and voila, you will arrive at Ramen and Friends!

Thank you Serious Eats! 3-25-2009

These are exciting times at Ramen and Friends. Our AQ Kafe post was featured in the king all food websites, Serious Eats. Thank you, Serious Eats!

The Smith Night 03-24-2009

Location: 55 3rd Ave
Time: 6pm
People: PMc, JR and myself

Feelings: This New-American brasserie seems to be much more popular than its predecessor, Pizzaria Uno. The place was packed with NYU students and young neighborhood crowds on Tuesday night. The decor had a very retro vibe but was not overdone, and it definitely still had more of a laid back weekday dining atmosphere.

As I looked through their long list of drinks, I discovered they serve my favorite, a Moscow Mule. My heart soared as I almost never come across American restaurants casually serving Moscow Mule! Since I have chronic pancreatitis, I reluctantly skipped the drink and stuck with the free sparkling water they provided.

My vegetarian bi bim bap was surprisingly good for a brasserie, and PMc and JR enjoyed their Mediterranean salad and Ahi Tuna salad. We finished off our meals with warm giant chocolate chip cookies, which were extremely hard and difficult to chew. The food was nothing unusual, but it was indeed decent and something I would expect to have at any American brasserie.

The Smith gives you meals with big portions at a reasonable price with impressive service. I can see why students and neighbored crowds would enjoy this place. Although unspectacular, it is indeed a reliable place for casual dining.

Port Jefferson Trip! Salsa Salsa 03-21-2009

Location: 142 Main St, Port Jefferson, Long Island
Time: 6pm
People: Madam MB, JB, RB and myself

Feelings: Since the weather was so pleasant, RB's mother, Madam MB in Long Island took us to Port Jefferson. After strolling by the water, we grabbed a scoop of hazelnut gelato to welcome the nice weather. Madam MB's first gelato experience was a success. It was not as creamy as L'Arte di Gelato, but it was a perfect little treat by the sea.

After shopping, we picked up dinner from Long Island's infamous burrito bar, Salsa Salsa. Anyone and everyone from Long Island seems to know about this place, but I must admit my skepticism was high. Burrito in Long Island? How good can it get? After my first bite of the giant shrimp burrito, there was epiphany: There is good food in New York outside of New York City--You can indeed find umami in Long Island. It was fresh and extremely flavorful. The brown rice, shrimp, black beans, guacamole in a warm tortilla were perfectly blended together, and I craved for more. Salsa Salsa may be better than most city Tex Mex restaurants.

Thank you JB for bringing home 50 munchkins from Dunkin' Donuts! Perfect dinner, perfect stroll, perfect dessert: Our Saturday afternoon in Port Jefferson was a success.

Momofuku Milk Bar 03-20-2009

Location: 207 2nd Ave
Time: 7:30pm
People: RB and myself

Feelings: I swear to you Momofuku is taking over East Village almost as fast as NYU. Momofuku Milk Bar is a bakery right next to/within Momofuku Ssam. I am not sure what made severely lactose intolerant people such as us visit a place that is named "Milk Bar," but we decided to try anyway. They offer very eclectic and kitschy selections of dessert: cereal flavored milk, soft serve, "crack pie", cookies, Chinese sausage foccaccia , "kimchi butter,"and pork buns. Who knew kimchi butter and pork buns would make it to a dessert place.

We shared a large slice of their banana cake, which is made with banana cream, hazelnut crunch, and gianduja fudge. Every bite brought a creamy and crunchy harmony, but I felt the sponge was a bit on the dry side. Three cookies we tried, cornflake marshmallow chocolate chip, chocolate-chocolate, and compost cookies, were all extremely rich, heavy and buttery, and we felt a bit sick after finishing all of them. (Duh.)

Momofuku Milk Bar is a very cute place that offers a nice communal bakery experience with overpriced dessert. And their service seems a bit too relaxed for how busy and crowded they are. But high pricey, relaxed servicey, cute decorey and eclectic menu-ey seem to be the selling point of all Momofuku eateries. Hmm, that sounds almost like NYU.

Num Pang 03-20-2009

Location: 21 E. 12th St.
Time: 7pm
People: RB and myself

Feelings: The owners of our favorite Cambodian noodle shop, Kampuchea, recently opened this Cambodian sandwich (aka "Num Pang") shop in Union Square. The tiny cramped space was overwhelmingly crowded with people who await their first bite on Num Pang. A man stood near us pointed out that no one in the kitchen was wearing gloves as they formed the sandwiches. That observation made me feel a little uneasy, but the amazing aroma coming out from the grill assured me that this will be a good experience regardless.

Our coconut tiger shrimp and peppercorn catfish were both served on garlic buttery toasted mini baguette (from Parisi Bakery in Little Italy) with cucumber, cilantro, pickled carrots, and delicious home made chili mayonnaise. Shrimp smelled a bit on the fishy side, but the catfish was spicy and well cooked. RB, a sandwich lover,will certainly go back there for more, but I felt that $7 for a small sandwich was a bit overpriced. I will only go back there if RB is treating.

Q&A with R&F: Exclusive One on One with RB

Feelings: Ramen and Friends got a close up on RB, our original Ramen and Friends member since July 2008.

R&F: Who are you?
RB: I'm RB.
R&F: What do you do? What do you do for fun?
RB: I draw. I animate. I nap. I eat.
R&F: Where can we find you?
RB: Either work, school, home, the potty, or Rainbow Falafel.
R&F: Your blog or website?
RB: http://www.robbruce.blogspot.com
R&F: Your favorite food?
RB: Fish Tacos.
R&F: Which city has the best food? And why?
RB: I would have to say New York mainly because I haven't been to many other cities. But I can't see there being as much variety that the New York restaurant scene brings. The options are almost frightening at times.
R&F: Your most memorable R&F outing?
RB: Bistrouge Night. Yosh OK and I all alone and all romantic-like with a giant bowl of muscles and frites.
R&F: Your favorite drink?
RB: India Pale Ale.
R&F: Your most horrific food related experience?
RB: When I was a teenager I had E-coli poisoning from a chicken hero I got at a local pizzeria. That was a tough 24 hours.
R&F: Yikes. Tell me what you ate today.
RB: Today for lunch, I had a turkey and swiss sammish with nayonaisse (tofu mayonaisse) on whole wheat. For dinner, curried duck noodles. And then Yosh OK and I split a Belgian waffle from Le Petit Belge.