Taj Restaurant - Stay Away!

Taj Restaurant

http://www.yelp.com/biz/taj-restaurant-new-york

East Village

310 E 6th St

Easily the worst Indian Food I've had in a long time.  It wasn't even cheap.  Lesson learned: do not go to random restaurants in New York - always do your research.

Black Cat

Black Cat

blackcatboulder.com

Boulder, CO

1964 13th St

To celebrate ten years of being together, Suzanne and I went out to Boulder's finest, Black Cat.  The tasting menu was recommended to us so we went for it.  It claimed five courses but it turned out to be seven.  We started with a cup of butternut squash soup with paprika oil.  Second was a slice of goat cheese, that was more like brie than the standard soft goat cheese, with lavender honey, bitter greens and blood oranges.  Third was a spanish dish similar to shrimp ceviche, except that it was marinaded in vinegar instead of citrus juice.  I can't remember the details of the next three dishes but I do recall that they involved duck, lamb and polenta.  Last was an apple crumb tart with cinnamon ice cream.  I should have written this entry right after going so I could gush over every detail.  I will summarize by saying it was probably the best meal I've ever had.  It was also the most expensive meal I've ever had, but it was totally worth it.

Artichoke Basille's & Wichcraft

Artichoke Basille's Pizza & Brewery

nymag.com/listings/restaurant/artichoke-basilles-pizza

East Village

328 E 14th St

After a jug band show on the LES last week with Max & Susan we all admitted that we had not really eaten dinner before heading out.  Max decided it was time for Artichoke.  We caught a cab up to 14th and 1st (it was really cold) and found the humble store front full of other late night diners.  I was told that the spinach & artichoke pizza is the classic must have.  I went for a slice of that and split a slice of the crab with Max.  This is not pizza for the faint of heart.  The crab actually was a pretty standard white pizza with tasty crab meat.  I would definitely have this again.  The spinach & artichoke was probably the most filling slice of pizza I have ever had.  I couldn't stop thinking that they had somehow transformed a bowl of cream of spinach soup (with some artichokes thrown in) into a slice of pizza.  It was good but it came with a price.  Not sure I'm going to go out of my way for it but if I'm in the hood, I'll definitely have another slice of the crab and perhaps I'll ask for a bite of someone else's spinach and artichoke.

Wichcraft

www.wichcraftnyc.com

Greenwich Village

60 E 8th St

I'd heard a number of good things about Wichcraft recently and finally today I made it over to see what it is all about.  Someone smiled and said hello when we came in.  It felt earthy yet modern with a bit of chain-like sterility.  And indeed it is a chain.  The menu offered lots of somewhat unusual options.  It all sounded really good.  Oddly, some sandwiches were nearly $10 while others were less than $6.  Looking at the ingredients I couldn't figure out why there was such a range.  When I got up to the counter to order, I asked about the price differences.  They didn't really know.  I gave them my two top options and asked if the more expensive one was a bigger sandwich.  They said no, actually it is smaller.  Well that was confusing but easy.  I got the cheapest sandwich on the menu and it was fabulous.  It was a white cheddar, smoked ham and pear sandwich on almond cranberry bread grilled panini-style.  Delicious.  And less than $6.  I also got a chocolate cream sandwich for dessert.  Yum.  The cream between the two chocolate cookies was rich and full of bits of dark chocolate.  I am definitely going back.

Japonica

Japonica

www.japonicanyc.com

Greenwich Village

100 University Place

Naomi and I were eager to grab some sushi the other night and I was in charge of finding a place.  I went through the Zagat guide that John and Nina gave to me for my birthday and found a bunch of promising places close to home.  Aki and Tomoe look really good and are close by but they are both described as small with a potentially long wait.  We were getting a late start on the evening so we decided to go for Japonica because it appeared to be almost as highly rated without the potential wait.  We were seated immediately.  Staff were friendly and helpful (they were honest about the hotate not being fresh).  Naomi ordered oshinko to start.  One of the picked vegetables was super salty - all were very tasty.  We ordered some maki and mostly nigiri.  The rolls were about $6-7 and the nigiri was about $5 a piece.  That sounds steep but you get huge pieces, easily twice the size at a cheap sushi place and the quality was outstanding.  Yes, we dropped about $90 between the two of us but it was worth it.  I'd definitely go back.

Ghenet Ethiopian Restaurant

Ghenet Ethiopian Restaurant

www.ghenet.com

Soho

284 Mulberry St

After Dharma Punx on Tuesday I went to this hidden restaurant on Mulberry Street between Houston and Prince.  Mulberry is a very small street and a bunch of scaffolding on an adjacent building makes the restaurant essentially invisible from Houston.  Despite this, there was a small crowd of folks eating there, including my old music friend Matt Hunter.  Pleasant surprise.  We had a big group so we ordered a couple veggie combos and one really tasty chicken dish (that Rachel ordered - I think it was Doro Wett).  All in all is was good but not great.  The chicken aside, I'd say most of the veggie dishes did not measure up to what I've had at nearby Meskerem (nymag.com/listings/restaurant/meskerem-ethiopian-restaurant02).

Restaurant Week

Restaurant week is coming up.  You can browse and book on opentable.

Angelica's Kitchen

Angelica's Kitchen

www.angelicakitchen.com

East Village

300 E 12th St

My sister and I went to Angelica's kitchen today on my friend Dan Richter's suggestion.  It is self-described as organic plant-based cuisine.  They don't take reservations but it wasn't a problem, we were immediately seated upon arrival.  Service was excellent.  Arty modern hippy decor.  I liked the functional coat hooks above every table.  Nice touch for winter dining.  We weren't super hungry so we ordered kind of light.  The menu had lots of interesting looking dishes.  I had the 'lunch deal', which included a cup of borscht, two slices of whole wheat sour dough bread, a carrot spread and a 'simple salad'.  The borscht was the least traditional but perhaps the best borscht I've ever had.  It was heavily spiced (not sure what spices tho) and lacked the sometimes overwhelming sweetness that beets usually give to borscht.  It apparently had tofu sour cream in it and I'm guessing that was mixed in.  Yum.  The bread was hearty and thick.  I only ate one slice because it really filled me up.  The carrot spread went really well with the bread.  The 'simple salad' was anything but.  Hardly any lettuce in this salad.  Mostly shredded cabbage, beets and carrots with sprouts and a few other finely shredded vegetables.  Definitely one of the better salads I've had in a while.  Katie had the miso soup and corn bread.  She raved about the soup.  I tried some of her cornbread.  Very moist and hearty.  Almost like a wet fruit bread.  Enjoyed it but could not imagine eating two slices of it.  I think we ate for less than $20 and had some left over bread.  I am looking forward to returning here soon.