Gone Fishin'

Wow so I know it has been so long since I've written. Work and making the city my new best friend takes up most of my time and then any free time is left for sleep. But I can't neglect my blog forever since I've been eating and attempting to cook some good food! Also the fact that the bone chilling weather has begun in the city makes it very hard to leave my apartment. My first post back will be something that I actually cooked and outside of my comfort zone. Fresh fish is something I was scared to cook because I thought fish can be easily screwed up, over cooked, etc., but now it is something I love to cook. It's quick and fish is a healthy pick.

My cousin loves fishing and brought some striped bass from a fishing trip. I was definitely nervous as first, but from recommendations from my cousin and recipes online, I found an easy and delicious way to cook the fish. I used a rendition of this recipe. Filled with vegetables and even herbs which I hardly cook with, plus an easy way to cook the fish.


Cherry tomatoes, zucchini, squash, onions, lemon, Trader Joe's diced and fire roasted tomatoes (plus green chiles which added some heat!). These are the veggies I sauteed before putting in the canned tomatoes.


Freshly caught stripped bass.


After simmering the canned tomatoes with all the vegetables and herbs, I placed the fish in.


One flip! Love that the fish cooks perfectly in the sauce.


Finished product with brown rice.

I am quite proud of myself after this dish and I had leftovers for lunch the next day (always a plus for me). It was something different than the usual fried rice and pasta that I usually stick to cooking. Hurray!

Pretty Much Sums Up My Life...

Korilla BBQ.

Everyone knows that I love food trucks, as seen in LA and here. I love the creativity of the trucks (the variety of foods, the names, the truck design, the fusion, etc), the staff and the quickness of them. So when I pass a popular truck with a short line, I just can't pass it up. The Korilla BBQ truck was sitting outside of Trader Joe's at 14th street with a short line and of course, I had to stop and get some dinner. I decided on a ribeye burrito-Ribeye of the Tiger, picked the bacon and kimchi fried rice (magical!) and when picking toppings, the guy just asked if I wanted everything left and naturally, I said yes. So I'm not too sure what toppings were on it, but I know one of their many kimchi's and Korilla sauce for sure.

The burrito is big and a good price at $8 for a meal. The ribeye (bulgogi) was tender and juicy and the rice was great...couldn't really taste the bacon to be honest though. But strangely, my favorite part of the burrito was the kimchi. Every bite I took that had the kimchi in it was amazing. I love the crunch and the sauce. I love the fusion of BBQ and Korean, it all ties together so well: the meat, rice and kimchi makes a beautiful burrito combination.

The staff is extremely nice, fun and outgoing. Definitely will hit up this truck whenever I see it again. They are also contenders in the new season of The Great Food Truck Race on Food Network. Good luck to Korilla!


Korilla's trademark and colorful truck (pictures taken with iPhone).


A great burrito with great kimchi!


Yum, can't wait to try more variations-the bowls, tacos...

Secrets of a Broke, Tired Young Adult.

Living in an expensive like New York can be hard. Budgeting and not being able to buy everything I want is a hard task since most of my paycheck goes to rent. Unfortunately, I have a soft spot that makes me think it's okay to spend an absurd amount of money on groceries (...and clothes). I love going to the grocery store (Trader Joe's and Whole Foods for me, I'm lucky I'm close to both) and after a stressful day at work, all I look forward to is making dinner which is rare for someone my age with so much going on. Plus, it's so easy to eat out everyday/night. My co-workers eat lunch out everyday and I don't know how they can afford it! But they always ask what kind of "gourmet" lunch I brought today :).

So even though I spend so much money on groceries, I still buy easy and fast food. I know I've already posted about making my favorite comfort food fried rice, but this time it's in my hands where I didn't have already made rice by my mom and a refrigerator full of food. I actually made a better version last night with shrimp, but didn't take pictures.

So this is fried rice, the poor and tired girl's version.


1. Microwavable brown rice, stir fry packaged veggies, heat and serve chicken, egg and baby spinach. As you can see, I use the easiest route possible. No time to make rice and chicken and not enough money to buy a bunch of vegetables individually. P.S. this is the only counter space in our tiny, tiny kitchen. Gotta love it.


2. Chopped up the vegetables into smaller pieces. Zucchini, carrots, red onions, butternut squash.


3. Microwavable rice is magical. Two servings.


4. Add the egg, spinach and chicken. And yay a great, comfortable meal with leftovers for lunch at work.

And there goes one recipe that I will be living off of for probably my whole love. Cheap and easy is what I need in my life right now.

Summer Bucket List.

Living in New York can be quite stressful. Not only is this a fast-paced city with thousands of people, but the amount of restaurants and food to try here makes decisions and pressures of trying all of it stressful (life is so hard! ha). Some people may not care, but this is something that stresses me out! I have a list of restaurants I want to eat at from reading reviews in magazines, blogs and through word of mouth.

A big one for the summer was finding the Coolhaus truck to get an ice cream sandwich. I have a current obsession with ice cream, gelato and froyo, so of course I wanted to try one of the known ice cream trucks in this city. Their philosophy is all-natural, handmade and organic ice cream. I hadn't seen the truck anywhere, but one day I was walking home from work and randomly saw the Coolhaus truck in the most awkward place, but that was fine for me!

It was such a hard decision to pick my cookie and ice cream combo. There are so many great choices, but I decided on red velvet cookie with dirty mint chip ice cream. I asked the worker if it was a weird combo and she said that it's actually kind of popular! The sandwich comes with an edible wrapper, which is awesome because the ice cream drips onto the wrapper and you can still eat it (plus they are going green). The sandwich was awesome. I LOVED the ice cream. You can taste the natural-ness of the ice cream and the mint instead of the usual weirdly florescent green mint. The little chocolate chips were a great addition to the texture. The cookie was good too, but the ice cream was the star because of their homemade philosophy. I definitely want to hit up the truck again this summer and try out all the other combinations!


An easy to read menu, but so many hard choices.


Red velvet cookie with dirty mint chip ice cream.


Decently sized, I was pretty full after. Love the edible wrapper!

So now that I have crossed Coolhaus off my summer ice cream list, I have many more ice cream and gelato places to go! This is going to be one cool and fattening summer!

To My Favorite Chef...

Happy Father's Day to my dad who has inspired me in and outside of the kitchen. Who will do anything to see my dreams come true (which he has... i.e. I wouldn't be in NYC without him) and is the best chef I know. He cooks with love, passion and is always wanting to learn more. My favorite foods are home made by my dad and no one can do it better. He has spoiled me with taking me to amazing restaurants, teaching me to explore all types of cuisine and teaching me his skills (or tries to and I don't pay attention). I wish I had some cool vintage-y photo of my dad in the kitchen, but since I'm not home I'll have to make due with photos of some of my favorite dishes cooked by my dad.


(My dad at Five Guys for Dad's Day at Purdue)

Thanks dad for all the support you give me even when no one believes I can do it. For all the inspiration in the kitchen and giving me my love and passion for cooking and eating. And thank you for cooking me amazing food and taking me to great restaurants (even with the disapproval of mom :))


My dad's homemade Bolognese- he taught it to me and I hope I can pull it off. Nothing beats the smell of all the vegetables and herbs when he cooks it.


The large amounts of ramen I request.


Here with his homemade pork belly. Amazingggg!


With leftover steak.


My dad does not make me salad, but he makes an amazing roasted chicken that I request everytime I come home. It makes great leftovers that I put on salads.


The best breakfast maker ever (egg, sausage, spinach; potatoes in the background). Special Sundays called for frittatas or lox and bagels.

Last but not least... my dad makes the most amazing steaks ever. Who needs to go to a steak restaurant and spend $60 or more, when I can eat it perfectly cooked at home and have leftovers?

Birthday Treats.

So after an amazing dinner at Maialino for my birthday, dessert was still my pick. I'm usually not a big fan of dessert, but it was my birthday and I wanted to be able to indulge.

I picked Momofuku Milk Bar because I have always been so intrigued by the Momofuku (Lucky Peach) empire of David Chang. Since it was my "birthday," I decided to celebrate my life through sugar. I ordered the cereal milk soft serve and the crack pie. When David Chang means cereal milk... he means cereal milk. It literally tasted like the milk you drink after your done eating the cereal, but in soft serve form. It was quite refreshing, but I understand the small serving because personally it isn't something I could eat in large amounts, but still so interesting and David Chang innovation-esque. It's something you can't find anywhere else (including the rest of his desserts!) I hope to explore the Momofuku empire some more...

The crack pie was seriously like crack. I've never tried crack before (aren't you proud mom and dad), but I'm sure this pie is just as addicting. I can't really describe the taste, but it's something you want to just keep eating. You can taste the sugar, (large amounts of) butter, brown sugar and love that goes into this pie and you just want to keep on eating it. Its really indescribable, something you need to try for yourself and of course, become addicted.

This is a short post, but speaking of desserts: my cousin and recently stopped by Grom after a pizza dinner. I have read that Grom was listed as one of the best gelato in this city so naturally I had to try it. I eat everything and say it's research for "my blog." So even if no one reads this, it's here for a reason! I ordered the tiramisu gelato. Not only had I been craving tiramisu, but the names of the flavors were in Italian and I obviously can't read them and along with my bad eye sight, I could hardly read the descriptions (that were in English). I went with the tiramisu, but I was very happy with the results. My cousin ordered one of the three chocolate flavors... in confusion.

The tiramisu gelato included espresso coffee, biscuits and Teyunachocolate chips. I'm not sure what Teyunachocolate chips are, but they were damn good. I remember biting into the chocolate chips and thinking how chocolate-y and flavorful they were. They fit perfectly with the creamy coffee gelato and the great chunks of biscuits. Great textures all around.

So now I'm pleased and a little embarrassed to say I have eaten ice cream/soft serve/gelato from three of the best ice cream places in NYC. Otto, Momofuku Milk Bar and now Grom. I'm trying to hunt down the Coolhaus truck next for an ice cream sandwich. Hey, it's summer!


Cereal Milk Soft Serve.


Crack pie.


Grom. The confusing chocolate to the left, my tiramisu to the right. This is making me crave right now.

Coolhaus ice cream sandwiches, I'm coming for you!!!

1/7 Seven Deadly Sins.

If I had to pick one of the seven deadly sins that I am the best at, it would be gluttony (I would pick wrath for when anyone wakes me up from a nap...). I'm really great at over stuffing my plate, eating too much, usually going back for 2nds, 3rds, and pushing my stomach to the limits. The title of my blog says it all: Indulging Myself One Bite at a Time. Hey, I may even want to change it to [Over]indulging Myself One Bite at a Time.

This "trait" (for someone who likes to eat, I wouldn't call it a sin ;)) is shown best at a place like Maoz Vegetarian. While it prides itself on being healthy and light, it also creates a dangerous zone for people like me. It's pretty much a buffet line where you can order either a falafel sandwich or salad and go down the salad bar and stuff as much as you can in your sandwich or salad. Maoz has a 10% coupon for Mondays for their salad meal (I am also a sucker for any promotion!). I've heard pretty good things about Maoz too, so I was excited because of my new found love for falafel and all these Middle Eastern foods. I'm pretty obsessed now!!

You receive a container of lettuce and five falafel and then down the line you go, plus two add-ons that are included in the meal. I picked hummus and fried eggplant. The salad bar includes various salads like baba-ganoush, vegetable salad, coleslaw, red cabbage, beet salad, chickpea salad, corn salad, olives, tabouli, broccoli and cauliflower, (plus a lot more but this is what I got) and then various sauces (I'm obsessed with the garlic sauce). You bet I stuffed every type of salad and sauce in my box. I think the employees were pretty impressed.

All in all, I liked Maoz. Every bite you have something a little different and everything tasted fresh and clean. I especially liked the chickpea salad, beet salad and their hummus. It added such a creamy texture to the salad, so you didn't even need any type of dressing. Their falafel was pretty good too, crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. Even with the coupon, my meal was still $10, but after I polished the WHOLE thing off (more gluttony), I didn't even notice that it was dinner time 5 hours later. This can definitely fit as two meals. So Maoz, watch your buffet line because next time I come back, I'll be figuring out how to stuff way more stuff into my salad box (muhahahaha).


Gluttony at its finest. Currently making evil plans on how to stuff more next time... uh yeah the lettuce is down there somewhere.

The Older I Get...

The older I get, the better food I eat. Though getting older is not always my favorite thing, I try to look at the positives. I can now enjoy food that I could never enjoy if I was younger. Whether it's not being able to afford to eat at fine dining restaurants or not understanding how good food really is, it's something I am able to discover with age and I'm excited for that part of growing up. I recently celebrated my 23rd birthday and got to pick a restaurant of my choice for when my dad was in town.

I picked Maialino, Danny Myer's restaurant in the Gramercy Park Hotel. I had read really good reviews about the place and wanted to check out something new. It is a Roman-style trattoria with Roman-style cooking from Executive Chef Nick Anderer. When arriving, I instantly saw how beautiful this restaurant was with its rustic and checkered decorations. I felt more rustic country than in Rome though. Our waitress was very nice and informative and explained everything thoroughly. The menu includes a lot of small plates and a few specials that you share with either 2-4 people. I loved all the small details that totally ties the restaurant together like the water was served in glass bottles, waiters and waitresses in plaid button-ups and wine lists on clipboards. After much deliberation, we decided to order the Polipetti Affogati (seared octopus, ramps, black olives), Spaghetti alla Carbonara (black pepper, guanciale & egg), Maialino Al Forno (the special-suckling pig and potatoes for two) and a side of Rapini Strascinati (charred broccoli rabe, garlic & chili).

I was very excited for our meal. I seem to have a weird obsession with pork lately (as seen in Seattle and at Ippudo). Right when our waitress announced the Maialino Al Forno special for two people (it usually serves four), my eyes lit up with delight so we knew we had to order it. The octopus came out first. Before ordering, I asked if the octopus was chewy because with my jaw problems, I can't eat anything that needs too much chewing. Our waitress said no (and this is one of her favorite dishes) because the octopus is first braised and then cooked in a way so the outside is cripsy. This is exactly how it came out and I loved the texture of the octopus. The outside had a little crunch to it especially on the tentacles, but the meat was soft and flavorful. Plus, the sauce was great and so were the touches of little greens. This dish can make anyone an octopus fan! Next was the Spaghetti alla Carbonara which can come in so many different forms, so we wanted to see how Maialino does it. The sauce was great-the egg yolk and cheese, plus the guanciale (unsmoked Italian bacon) was perfection. Even dunked in all the sauce, the bacon was still crispy and flavorful. One little problem my dad and I found was that the pasta was a little al dente/under cooked, but that just maybe their style of cooking the pasta.

Lastly was the Maialino Al Forno and side of broccoli rabe. The suckling pig was paired with rosemary potatoes that were cooked and drowned in the pig's drippings. This was seriously heaven. Even though the potatoes were drowned in the drippings, they were still perfectly crispy and tasty. The pig itself was great, the meat was flavorful and tender and just fall-off-the-bone without the bone. One awesome part was the skin, it was like a chip, but with extra fat and flavor :). I have always been a fan of broccoli, so I of course liked the broccoli rabe. It's a twist between regular broccoli and Chinese broccoli.


Beautiful decor.


Very elaborate bread basket, with my dad in the background reading the wine list (on a cute clipboard!)


Polipetti Affogat-Octopus salad.


(taking lots of different views for each dish).


Spaghetti alla Carbonara.




Maialino Al Forno with the best potatoes ever.


If I could eat this everyday...


Broccoli Rabe.


In the middle of the restaurant- an open area with breads, desserts, etc.

All in all, couldn't ask for a perfect birthday dinner. I would love to come here again and enjoy more of the small dishes and would totally get the Maialino Al Forno again. I wouldn't mind being taken to nice restaurants every so often :). Next will be my birthday dessert at Momofuku Milkbar!

p.s. if my parents only knew how much I spent at Trader Joe's today for my first grocery store visit for my new apartment, they would kill me. Good food this week, instant noodles the next... Sorry budget!!!

Words to Live By...

"I have a solid rule: If I see a line for any food place anywhere, I get in it. And so I saw this line, and I got in it." —Gilt Taste's Ruth Reichl (Grub Street).

Something that I live by as well.

B & B.

New York is littered with restaurants all claiming they are the "best." Best pizza, best falafel, best Chinese, best burger joints are on every corner of the city and beyond. While I'm not trying to eat the "best" every time I dine out, I am looking for quality and delicious food (especially at these prices!) My dad came into town, which means lots and lots of posts to come and me trying to cleanse my body of all the delicious (but fattening) food we ate... Anyways, while my cousins and I couldn't decide what to eat, my dad requested somewhere with a good burger. Sounds simple right? I think wrong because many restaurants can screw up a burger. Luckily, my cousin knew of a place right by his apartment (again, he never fails!).

We went to B&B (Burger & Barrel) on West Houston Street. It was dark inside, but has a great gastropub vibe that seemed upscale, but where you can also relax and enjoy a beer and food. They also have other tasty looking food on the menu like fried chicken, steak, pork chop and various small plates to share. We started with warm shrimp and artichokes (leeks, tomato, onion, basil). One of my favorite food combinations are shrimp and avocado, but I love artichokes as well. The shrimp were perfectly cooked in a flavorful sauce that was constantly dipped in with the bread provided.

All four of us ordered a different burger. One of my cousins ordered the B & B Classic (lettuce, tomatoes, sliced pickles, american cheese), the other cousin ordered mushrooms and gruyere, my dad ordered the Bash Burger (caramelized onion, bacon jam, american cheese-also a "2009 NYFF Award Winner) and I ordered the Puebla Burger (roasted chili, red onion relish, queso fresco). Not only do I enjoy a juicy burger, but that the toppings accent the juicyness. After enjoying green chiles on my Grill 'Em Burger in L.A., I wanted to try this combination again. The burger was cooked well and I really enjoyed the ingredients accenting the meat and its tenderness. The queso fresco cheese was nice and gooey and stretched out when I took a bite. I also had half of my dad's Bash Burger and who doesn't love the combination of bacon and caramelized onions? Though it is a bit pricey ($14 for burger and fries), it is the quality of the burger that matters and this is definitely worth the price and knowing you'll get something good.


It was a dark place with only candlelight and my iPhone to try and get some pictures! Shrimp and Artichokes.


My Puebla burger with substituted sweet potato fries. I strangely don't like baked sweet potatoes, but love sweet potato fries. I guess it's really true: everything is better fried.


My cousins mushroom and gruyere.


Half of my burger and half of the Bash Burger. I wanted to showcase the pink insides with the perfectly gooey cheese, but the lighting is bad!

I'm always a happy camper after a good burger :)!

Dinges.

This post is dedicated to my cousin and dinges lover. He never fails when taking me out to eat, so I knew this was going to be great pit stop. It was the Wafels and Dinges cart. I was first really confused at what it was when I read it on the food blogs, like what the heck is a dinges??? My cousin responded with: I'm not really sure, but it's pretty damn good. But he said the dinges is what they call the toppings to put on the wafel.

There are different kinds of wafels, but all they had was the liege wafel that night, which is more soft and chewy while the other one is light and crispy. Nonetheless, picking the dinges' is the best part. We went off my cousin's favorite combination: spekuloos spread, bananas and vanilla ice cream. I agreed, but added nutella on top as well :). Spekuloos is...actually I'm not quite sure, but it's probably the best thing next to nutella. I would eat it out of a jar if I could (they sell it individually, so maybe I will in the near future). Their website describes it as "that looks like peanut butter, but it tastes like traditional Belgian gingerbread-cinnamon cookies." Yummy. The wafel was warm and chewy with the edges being the best part-like almost every desert. Paired with the all the toppings, it's pretty much heaven on a wafel. I love that the warm nutella froze over the ice cream and the cold ice cream contrasted with the chewy wafel so well. And the spekuloos-you just have to try it!

(*Side note: I usually stay away from desserts because I'm not a big fan of sweets, but for some reason lately I've been all about the cakes, cookies, brownies, cupcakes, etc. I mean I haven't had any, but I have been craving some which is really out of the realm for me. And quite dangerous. So I was definitely up for a wafel).

So there is no doubt I'll be follow/stalking the @waffeltruck truck for their whereabouts in the city. Maybe a jar of spekuloos as an early birthday gift to myself? Yes please. There is also a truck hotline you can call. Wafels are available just at your fingertips! (BTW that number is: 1-866-429-7329). I'm thinking I should get a free wafel out of this loving review...??


Wafels & Dinges getting ready for an evening service.


Love the wafel decoration. Would look great in my room.


A little closer look.


A line is forming...


The wafel masterpiece! (liege wafel, spekuloos, bananas, nutella and vanilla ice cream)

OTTO.

I feel like I'm always apologizing for not updating my blog. It's not that I haven't been eating because I definitely have been eating a lot of great food in New York. I've just been so busy and tired. Not that anyone really reads this?? Hello is anyone out there?? I have a couple of great posts coming up. I've eaten at some great places and food trucks and I'm excited to share the food mecca that is NYC. Living here gives me the pleasure of trying so many different foods and eating at places that are famous for their craft. I am now a lover of falafel and cous cous and even sweets (I never thought I would see the day!). Weirdly I've been craving cookies, cakes, ice cream, pie, cupcakes, brownies, etc. and I have never had a sweet tooth. I have no idea why... this is not good for my body conscious self or my wallet! But I am enjoying every minute of it and every morsel I put in my mouth.

I met up with a family friend who took me to OTTO. It seems I have a slight obsession with the Batali family with all of my recent visits OTTO and Salumi. OTTO is opened by Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich. I read that OTTO is modeled to look like an Italian train station. They are known for their pizza and gelato-which is what my friend was craving when she picked out the restaurant. We went on a Tuesday night and wow was it crowded. We waited around 45 minutes for a table and the way they tell people their tables are ready is really clever and cute (and now I understand the train station theme). They give you a little slip (probably to resemble a train ticket) with a city in Italy and when your table was ready, the city would show up on a little board thingy that flipped the letters just like at a train station. Sorry that was a horrible description, but you'll see in the pictures below. (*forgot my camera so pictures taken with my iPhone=not great quality).

Once we were seated, we both devoured the bread and packaged breadsticks they gave us. Since OTTO is known for their pizza, we decided to just order two different kinds. My friend mentioned something about the Otto Lardo pizza. I was immediately intrigued because I know lardo is pretty much Italian cured back fat. I mean how can that not be good? The other pizza we decided on was the Fennel & Bottarga. I think we both were trying to feel better about balancing out the lardo with some fennel (kinda vegetable-y?).

I was confused when the Otto Lardo pizza came out. It was very plain looking but when you looked carefully, you could see a thin square of lardo. It doesn't need other toppings because the lardo has such a unique flavor that shouldn't be masked. Definitely something to try once, but not sure I would order it again. The Fennel & Bottarga pizza on the other hand was very good. It was full of flavor and the fennel gave it a nice texture, plus the freshness of the tomato, cheese and fennel were an excellent combonation. I kept wanting to eat that pizza.

Even though we were stuffed, we just HAD to order some gelato. You can pick up to three flavors and it was a tough choice. One of them had to be olive oil because it's one of their specialities, then we picked milk chocolate and hazelnut. The gelato was amazing, especially the olive oil. It sounds weird, but olive oil gelato is incredible a the sprinkle of sea salt. The gelato is creamy and rich and I wanted to lick the bowl and spoon. That's always a good sign.


Hey Mario!


So clever and fun to pray your city comes up next when the letters switch.


Lots and lots of wine.


A much needed glass + more.


Otto Lardo-yup those are lardo squares.


Fennel & Bottarga-this picture doesn't do it justice.


After this pizza, I want to try more dishes with fennel!

Last but not least...


The gelato, had already dug into the milk chocolate. The olive oil to the right, drizzled with olive oil and the hazelnut in the back. If you go to OTTO, the gelato is highly recommended!

So which Batali restaurant should I go to next...