Travel Preparation

This summer, James and I will travel to Vietnam and Japan for three weeks.  We will stuff avalanching piles of personal effects into one undersized suitcase, beg friends and family to watch our feline companions, and fly into the future via time zones.  Until then, New York City will have to feed our anticipation.

Vietnam, as you are likely aware, was ravaged by American forces during the Vietnam War (known to the Vietnamese, with good reason, as the American War).  But way before the Americans even considered this long thin country a threat to Democracy, Vietnam was occupied for over 1,000 years by the Chinese and about 100 years by the French.  Culinary influence?  Of course.

Searching for a Vietnamese dining experience in NYC, I did not want a fancy Asian fusion restaurant.  Banh Mi Saigon Bakery had great reviews and is said to serve the best and least expensive Banh Mi in the city.  Located in the back of a small jewelry store, more of a deli than anything else, the Saigon Bakery was full of hungry customers.

So what is Banh Mi?  A baguette stuffed with pickled vegetables, some sort of protein (in this case seitan), and fresh cilantro.  Basically, a sandwich.  The bakery offered minimal options for seating, so after taking a few exploratory bites in the confines of the jewelry store, we finished our sandwiches in Tompkins Square Park.

James loved his Banh Mi, and I thought it was okay, maybe a little too slimy for me.  I’ll have to acquire a taste for slimier textures before our trip.

We took the time to peek into a few of the fish stores in Chinatown,

and headed to Sakaya for a free sake tasting.  We were expecting to try a few different kinds of sake and were slightly disappointed to find only one.  However, it was delicious, and the owners of Sakaya were fantastic.  Needless to say, we left with a bottle of our own.

Continuing the Japanese theme, we walked a short distance to Cha-An.

We have both been here several times for tea and dinner, so this night, we decided to split the dessert sampler.

I started with genmaicha tea,

and James ordered Scarlet Glow, an herbal blend.

And then came the three course dessert.  Unfortunately, the waitress did not tell us what each dessert was, and they were not listed on the menu.

Ice cream:

Something that tasted like strawberry shortcake and a chocolate ball thing:

and cookies:

If you do decide to visit Cha-an, don’t miss the bathroom.  The woman’s restroom is equipped with a hi-tech toilet!  As you approach the seat, the lid lifts automatically.

The seat itself is heated, and a controller lets you customize your personal preferences.  Rear cleansing?  Rear cleansing soft?  Front cleansing?  Dryer?  Oscillating, pulsating, rinse cycle?  So many choices.

Banh Mi, sake, tea, and toilets of the future… I think we are ready for our travels.

Motorino

By the time we made it to Brooklyn, emerged from the depths of the subway, and found our way to Motorino, the wait was an hour long.  Visiting what had just been deemed “the city’s best pizza” by the NYTimes betrayed our impressionability… and our willingness to wait an hour for good pizza.

After prodding the host far too many times, we were fit into a small corner at the bar.  We sat down even before signs of the previous diner could be cleared.

The glow from the wood-fire oven was the focul point of the restaurant, and we were grateful to be inside, out of the cold, and ordering drinks from our very friendly bartender/waitress.  With a huge crowd and constant requests for her attention, our waitress could have been rundown and unpleasant, but she remained attentive and patient.

The pizzas looked small, so James and I decided to order two.  First, we tested the basics.  To be deserving of “the best pizza in the city,” the Margherita pizza would have to be superb.  It was.  Especially the slightly sweet sauce.

The crust was paper-thin except for the inflated outer rim.  Actually, my only complaint is that the crust may have been too thin.  It was hard to pick up a slice of pizza with out loosing half of the toppings to your plate or open lap.

Our second pizza was even better.  No sauce, just cheese with cherry tomatoes.  This was on the seasonal menu, so I have forgotten the name and the type of cheese.  Salty and wonderful.  James insisted that it tasted just like ice cream.  My palate did not detect ice cream, but maybe the idea of ice cream?  Right.

Is this the best pizza in the city?  Well, it is the best fancy, or to use the new catchword “artisanal,” pizza that we have ever had.  But pizza is an experience.  It’s $1 per slice at two in the morning while wandering the east village.  It’s a rainy afternoon on the couch with a movie.  It’s cold leftovers straight from the fridge.  And so on.  If I want a fancy pizza I’ll go to Motorino, but if I want all of the implications of a slice of pizza, the corner hole-in-the-wall shop will do.

COUNTER.

Using Valentine’s day weekend as an excuse, James and I decided to turn last Friday night into a date night.  Tempted to return to our favorite spot, Wild Ginger, we searched through vegetarian restaurants looking for a new contestant.  COUNTER came out on top.

First impression: The photos on the website make this lower east side restaurant look a lot nicer than it actually is.  Aesthetically, the 50s-diner-style back of the restaurant awkwardly contrasts with the trying-too-hard-to-be-trendy front of the restaurant.  We had made a reservation, but it somehow disappeared in the hands of the confused host.  Luckily there were open tables.

Appearances aside, we settled into our corner booth and had higher hopes for the quality of food.

Drink Impression: COUNTER has a long list of organic and sustainable wines, beers, and cocktails.  I chose the Rioja, El Coto, Spain.  Dry and chewy and very good.  With that description, I could be a sommelier.

James chose the Peak Organic espresso amber ale.  He enjoyed it, but I am still a bigger fan of Rogue Mocha Porter.  Dark beer wins.

Food Impressions: James and I decided to order three dishes and split everything.

Dish no.1–Wilted kale, wild rice, and sour cherries.

Perfectly steamed kale and thick wild rice seem like the last ingredients to pair with sour cherries, but apparently opposites attract.  Fresh and sour and delicious.

Dish no.2–Smoked mozzarella and basil flatbread.

This flatbread in one word: “meh.”  Even with smoked mozzarella the pizza was bland and very small for the price.  It is hard to tell from the high-quality iPhone photo, but the far end of the pizza was burnt and the cheese compromised.

Dish no.3: Seitan-mushroom veg. burger with fries, aioli, and chef-made ketchup.

Just like the flatbread, a very tiny serving size for too much money.  Yes, I am all for decreasing gigantic American portions, but that should also come with a decreased price tag.  The burger itself was good, although I liked the fries better.  The ketchup (James swears it had cinnamon in it) would have been fantastic if even just a sprinkle of salt had been added.

Overall impression: Not going back.

Our waitress was inexperienced, unnecessarily soft-spoken, and generally confused.  She grabbed my wine glass before I even had a chance to finish the last sip.

Food was okay, but it is not worth paying New York City prices for food that is just okay.

Atmosphere was not cool, no matter how hard they tried.

Don’t worry, date remained most triumphant.  We had a great time entertaining each other at the restaurant and decided to walk around for a while before finding dessert.

The night was freezing and windy, but somehow we ended up walking across most of Manhattan.  Wandering down a few of the crooked streets, we found the perfect place to eat dessert and warm up.  Cafe Angelique.

My dessert: Lemon-raspberry loaf cake

and Hojicha tea.

James’ dessert: Vanilla milkshake… in a carafe!

Bliss.