Hot Plates Live - Post 5

Ofrenda - toasted tortillas with pinto beans, braised pigs feet, rice and green tomatillo sauce. There was a seconf tortilla with cactus (perhaps this was the vegetarian version).

Both were very good and had a nice spicy kick to them.

Bao Haus

is a new spot on NYC's Lower East Side at 137 Rivington Street that specializes in Taiwanese steamed buns (bao).

It's a very small "restaurant". You enter at street level and walk down a flight of stairs to the counter where you place your order with one person. Everything is made to order (by a second person behind the counter in the tiny kitchen) and you can take a bar stool seat at either of 2 tables.

I tried the Haus Bao - two of their signature certified angus steak baos ($8.95). They were tasty and flavorful, but two were not enough and I was still a little hungry.

I also had a can of mango juice for $3.

Hot Plates Live - Post 4

Mark - signature cheeseburger slider with onions and special sauces

This was a wonderful, juicy burger.

Le Colonial

This restaurant has been around for many years located in NYC's Midtown area at 149 East 57th Street. The decor is a throwback to colonial French occupied Vietnam with ceiling fans and louvered faux window shutters.

"J" and I went to NYC Restaurant Week and enjoyed a 3 course prix fix dinner for $35. We both started with the shrimp dumpling appetizer in a yummy coconut sauce. "J" had the salmon entree and I had the seafood green curry which was not spicy (as warned by our waiter), but mild and tasted more like coconut. I was a little put off that after the waiter asked us if we wanted a side order of rice that it was a $3.50 charge. How else does one eat curry if not with rice?

Then we shared the only 2 desserts offered on the prixe fix: banana and coconut tapioca pudding (which was more liquid than solid) and assorted sorbet (a scoop of raspberry and coconut). But since we didn't start off our meal with a usual bread basket we made up for it by ordering a 3rd dessert: banana beignet which was a banana in a fried wonton served with ice cream and chocolate sauce.

Although the setting and service was very good this is the type of food you can get at more casual Vietnamese restaurants at a fraction of the price.

Hot Plates Live - Post 3

The Norry at Kampuchea - five spice rib with tamarind glaze.

The rib was tender and the glaze tasty.

Bon Chon

Good news fans of Korean fried chicken! Another Bonchon outpost has opened in NYC's Garment District at 207 West 38th Street. This was their first week and they are still putting the finishing touches inside (paint, drilling) and service is very slow. Be prepared to wait 20-30 minutes for your order.

I tried the white meat "strips" small (6 pcs for $7) with your choice of sauces - garlic or spicy garlic. I tried the garlic and my pieces of real chicken breasts strips were coated with sauce. They weren't as crispy as the other Bonchon location, but maybe because I had to wait 35 minutes for my order. But it was freshly made because the chicken was scorchingly hot.

All meals are served with fries (very crispy and tasty) and a cup of some sort of Japanese radish floating in liquid (not much flavor).

Hopefully they will improve service so the lunch rush won't be so unbearable.

Hot Plates Live - Post 2

Sigmund Preztel Shop - German style soft pretzels

I tried the cheese pretzel and it was good. I wish I had room to eat the other 3 pretzel flavors.

Hot Plates Live - cont'd

My photos are very dark, but the event was professionally photographed and I "borrowed" the photos from a website so you can enjoy the beauty of all the wonderful food.

You will easily be able to distinguish which photos were taken by me (with my cell phone) vs. the professional.

Enjoy!

Hot Plates Live - Post 1

Spina - saffron infused malloreddus with bolognese .

These was similar to gnocchi and the bolognese was wonderful. I could have eaten another bowl of this.

Hot Plates Live

was a tasting event held at the Highline Ballroom in NYC's Meatpacking District on 1/25/10. For $15 you received a ticket to enjoy all the tastings you could handle.

Stay tuned for my posts on each of the dishes I tried last night.

Hillstone

(formerly Houston's) is located in NYC's Midtown at 153 East 53rd Street. The name may have changed, but the decor, service and food remains the same - all very good.

I had the Asian Steak Noodle Salad ($19) which had nice juicy chunks of medium rare steak mixed with noodles, peanuts, carrots, avocado, mango, tomatoes, basil and chile flakes.

Since I ate a "salad" I treated myself to dessert - the warm apple walnut cobbler a la mode ($8) which was not very warm and a little too sweet. I also ordered hot tea which was served in a cute, square cast iron tea pot.

I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti

is the title of a memoir by Giuli Melucci.

Thanks to my local library I was able to borrow and read this book about the trials and tribulations of her love life and the cooking that accompanied each relationship. It was a fun, quick read and there were recipes within each chapter.

Marfa AYCE Ribs

Marfa is located in NYC's East Village at 101 East 2nd Street.

On Mondays they offer a Recession menu that includes all you can eat ribs for $12 and all you can eat chicken wings for $9.

"M" and I tried both. The wings were tasteless and so was the white sauce served with them. There were about 7 wings in a serving.

The ribs were very meaty and tender, but heavily sauced (that's why there are no photos - my hands were a saucy mess) and served with coleslaw and baked beans. The ribs were worth the money even though we only had two servings (about 5 ribs each serving).

Marfa is a large place with nice big tables and lots of black and white photos of Texas.