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Our third day in New York started off fairly regularly for a Saturday; coffee, bagel and Farmers’ market. It was what we ate on this day that made us realize that we were not in Halifax anymore! Doug decided that he wanted us to get off the beaten path and try something different, hence a trip to Koreatown. Koreatown is found in the few blocks around the ever so famous, Empire State Building. After a bottle of wine in our hotel room,  and a plate of cheese, salami and prosciutto at Il Buco on Bond Street, we headed uptown to find Kunjip Korean Restaurant. After a ten minute walk, we headed down 32nd Street and started looking for this place; needless to say it was easy to find as it was the only restaurant with a line up out the door. We got in line and were quickly offered some menus to browse. Doug, being the adventurous person that he is, decided that he wanted the “Sagol Haejang Guk” (spicy stew of ox-bone and ox-blood). Well, after asking the “maitre’d” what he thought, we heeded his warning and opted for the more user friendly “Kam Ja Tang”; pork bone and potato casserole. While in the line, we also ordered some steamed tofu, “Bo Ssam”(boiled pork belly, oysters and Kimchee) and “Oh Jing Uh Gobdol Bibimbob” (rice with cuttlefish and vegetable). We were finally seated, and quite efficiently and quickly, were served six small plates with Kimchee, pickled zuchinni, pickled tofu, turnip, hot sauce and Korean condiments. We waited anxiously for our dinner, and when it finally arrived, we thought that we would never get through the grotesque amount of food! But, after several glasses of Soju (a rice alcohol similar in taste to vodka) and some heavy breathing we managed to make a fairly large dent in our meal. Finally, I tapped out and told Doug that we needed to walk off the feast. So off we went, waddling away into the busy New York night, with our bellies full of pork, Soju and K-town happiness.

Casa Mono & Bar Jamon

I have never been a die hard fan or follower of the “celebrity chef’, but I was very curious to try out Mario Batali’s two Spanish resto’s in New York’s Grammercy Park. After a full day of walking over the Brooklyn Bridge and eating various forms of street meat, we ventured back up to our  midtown hotel to shower up and figure out our evening game plan. Bar Jamon was the first place I wanted to check out, but they did not take reservations, and Casa Mono, located right next door, had a booking cut off that we had missed. So, Doug & I decided to take are chances and head downtown towards Union Square and find these little “boites”. Along the way we met up with another “Haligonian”, Dave Kirby, and took him along on our adventure.

We arrived at Casa Mono around 8pm, and were very surprised to hear that they could fit us in with only a twenty minute wait! Woo-hoo, we had hit the jackpot! Better yet, the hostess told us that we could head next door to Bar Jamon and have some drinks while we waited. Over we went and walked into a tiny space that had two long wooden communal tables and a small marble topped stand-up bar. The wine list was extensive including a large choice of Sherries, but we opted for a cool and sparkly bottle of their house cava – Cava Mono. After taking in the small, vibrant space and drinking our Cava, we were called next door. I was sad to leave this gem, as I was dying to try some of the anchovy stuffed olives and Jamón Iberico, but I knew that a culinary adventure awaited me next door. We were seated tightly amidst a few of the dozen or so tables in the restaurant. There was a small bar that ran the length of the room and over looked the tiny open kitchen. Dave and Doug decided to leave the ordering to me, so I chose six items to share: Charcuterie Di Casa with Black Truffles, Cana de Cabra (goat’s cheese) with Fig, Pig’s Feet Croquettas with Green Tomato, Calamares Fritto, Tripe with Chickpeas and Blood Sausage and Sugar Snaps with chopped Marconas (Spanish almonds). The food was outstanding; every bite had popping tastes and textures. The only downside to our evening was that we had a limit of an hour and a half to eat, so we had to leave. My favorite was the tripe, as tripe and I have a very public love affair. The Cana de Cabra salad was also a huge hit at our table; the creamy goat cheese combined with the sweet figs paired beautifully with the last few drops of our cava.

I enjoyed my dinner at Casa Mono so much that when we haphazardly walked by the next day and saw a couple of empty spots at the bar, we bolted in and sat down like excited kids. This time around we had a more leisurely experience since we had time to enjoy every last morsel that I ordered. We tried the following items: Razor Clams a La Plancha, Flash Fried White Anchovies, Sepia (cuttlefish) A la Plancha with Salsa Verde, Pulpo (octopus) with Grapefruit and Fennel and Manchego Cheeses (3 month, 6 month and 1 year old) accompanied with a Quince Jam. Our server paired all this with an interesting wine that neither of us had tried before, Txomin Etxaniz. A perfect choice for a warm summer afternoon, this wine reminded us of a Vino Verde and left us wanting more.

My kudos goes out to Mr. Batali, as he stayed true to Spanish cuisine, and the restaurants showed no indications of being owned and operated by a “celebrity chef”; no t-shirts with orange clogs being sold here!

Blue Hill Restaurant - Understated & Elegant

Believe it or not, my husband turns thirty this weekend, and I thought that a trip to NYC for his birthday would be amazing.  So, over comes Grammy to watch the lil’ ham for a few days and away we go. Watch out Big Apple, here we come to eat you!

We arrived in Manhattan and checked into our hotel, The Carlton.  First off, we needed some cold beverages, so we popped into a shop to grab some Stellas and a bottle of wine.  To our dismay, six warm beers cost us $15 and our bottle of wine a whopping $30!  So, strike one for us country bumpkins in the big city! Luckily, we more than redeemed ourselves with our restaurant choice…

That evening, we had a reservation at Blue Hill Restaurant in Greenwich Village. After feeding on nothing more than horrible airport food all day, it’s not surprising that we were both salivating the whole walk there.  A non-descript building housed the restaurant and we entered by going down some stairs that opened up into the dining room.  Once we were seated we decided to order some sparkling; specifically an Italian Spumante.  With drinks in our hands and visions of food on our minds, we quickly ordered with a feverish excitement.  I ordered the “Zucchini & Squash Blossom with Cured Immature Egg, Green Garlic and Purslane”, the “This Morning’s Farm Egg with Chanterelle and Corn”, and as a main “Klaas Martens’ Emmer Quinoa with Peas, Corn, Pancetta and Berkshire Pork”.  Doug on the other hand, ordered “Grilled King Mackerel with Stone Barns Galisse, Dandelion Greens and Pine Nuts”, “Sweet Pea and Mascarpone Ravioli with Stone Barns Bresola and Basil”, and as a main” Grass Fed Lamb with Summer Beans”. Oh my!  All I can say, is that every dish, every ingredient and every taste sensation, was orgasmic!  My “This Morning’s Egg” was by far, the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.  Our server, Steve, was very professional and knowledgeable.  He surprised us with an extra course of their “Pastured Chicken”; a luscious, moist breast and crispy piece of thigh.  He paired it with a Barbera; outstanding!  Our mains were over the top.  My pork dish consisted of fatty belly slices with the crispy skin, as well as some braised shoulder pieces. Every item on the plate literally melted in my mouth.  At this point, I was ready to tap out, but somehow managed to save room for a cheese plate that showcased old and new world cheeses.

All I can say to sum up our experience, is that Blue Hill Restaurant blew us away and left us wanting much, much more!  Thank god we went as it has inspired me ten-fold.