An Eating Experience at Ali's Kabab Cafe

pictures from @jaymc

Last weekend a bunch of us went to dinner with Jan (@jaymc) to achieve one of his 101 Goals in 1001 days: Eat a dish made with animal brain. The restaurant he found to achieve this was Ali's Kabab Cafe in Astoria. Given the goal and the random hole in the wall place we ended up at, I had low expectations for actually enjoying the meal. By the end, though, I can say that Jan's adventure gave me one of my favorite (and most delicious) eating experiences in a while (minus the brain, which I'll never do again).

What makes the Kabab Cafe so great is the personal experience with Ali and his cooking whims. When we sat down, Ali came over to say hi and to introduce himself & his restaurant. He asked if we would like to start with some platters to get an idea of his flavors, while we think of what we might like. He also asked if we had any particular allergies or aversions, or if we were open to sampling his fair. The first few dishes were minced lamb & egg, fava bean falafal & hummus, and an avacado apple salad. After we began eating, Ali returned to ask which meats we'd prefer, and if there were any particular tastes we were interested in. We asked for pomegranate, lamb, and chicken; he came out with marinated lamb chops & chicken, both made with variations of pomegranate, and a plate of mixed vegetables & rice. All of the food was incredibly delicious.

I really loved getting to speak with the person cooking the food, and getting to eat the dishes he really wanted to make. I didn't have to worry about what to order, and I got to be suprised by the flavors with each dish. I would gladly return and expect a different but equally delicious meal.

Oh, and the brain dish? I can say I tried it and cross it off the list, but I won't be doing it again.

[my review on Yelp] [Kabab Cafe on the Map]

My Favorite Coffee Spot Right Now in New York City

Abraço  

Category: Coffee & Tea 
Neighborhood: Manhattan/East Village

 3/1/2009 

One of my 2009 resolutions was to spend less time in Starbucks and more time in local coffee shops.  In pursuit of the best true coffee spot, I landed at Abraco.  Abraco is a whole-in-the-wall spot that, from what I can tell, always has the jovial gray haired neighborhood man acting as Barista.  There's room for maybe 6 people to stand by the window after ordering, and a small bench and standing table as well.  There's no wi-fi, no casual place to read, and few food options (though the cookies and small sandwiches look good).  It's all about the coffee.  I can only speak to the latte's, but they're the best I've had hands down.  They're rich and creamy - fresh ground beans, made to order.  There's no option for caffeine free.  it's delicious till the last drop.  It's one of those out of the way secrets on 1st Ave that you would walk past 5 other coffee places to get to, and it's worth it.

[this and other reviews can be found on my Yelp profile]

Eating Brunch at Prune (Review)

I don't remember how I ended up hearing about Prune - I had written on a piece of paper on my desk at some point to try it, and finally this morning we decided to head down to 1st and 1st and give it a shot.  There was a was, but the uniqueness of the menu gave me enough incentive to stick it out for 45 minutes - and I'm glad I did.  For a brunch place to be worth the wait and the higher cost, the dishes have to be something different than you would get at the place on your corner, and Prune rises to the occasion.  We tried the Fresh Ricotta (w/ figs, raspberries, and merveilles - probably makes more sense as a group appetizer or side dish), the Dutch Style Pancake (cooked in an oven to crisp the outside and leave the inside like cake), and the Spaghetti a la Carbonara (mixed w/ egg, bacon, and pepper.. not very eggy and much more addictive than I expected).  All 3 dishes were delicious, and were different than any dish I had eaten before.  I will definitely be headed to Prune again (though earlier in the morning to try to duck the wait).

[from Yelp - my other Yelp reviews here]

Review: I eat delicious steak at Quality Meats

[cross posted on Yelp and Google Maps]

Quality Meats gets the one thing right its supposed to - the steak.  It's not a perfect restaurant by any means; it's overpriced (I was there on business), and certainly has a visiting audience of gold diggers, but the food was great and the steak was outstanding.  We started with a seafood tower, where the shrimp, lobster, and crab were delicious.  As someone who isn't always thrilled with seafood, I can honestly say the fish here was fresh and tasty.  I can't really remember the sides we ordered, so they were neither impressionably good or bad.  The steak I ordered was their blackberry fillet, marinated in blackberry sauce and covered in fresh blackberries.  Not only was this a unique preparation, but it was also outstanding delicious.  The meat itself was cooked perfectly - the right type of lightly crisp on the outside, and soft and pink on the inside.  I've been to many of the major steak places in New York City, and this was one of the best slices of meat I've eaten in 4 years here by far, a dish I can't say enough about.  Finally, I finished with the cookies & cream ice cream, which is home made daily with vanilla ice cream mashed with oreos and fresh soft baked chocolate chip cookies, served sandwiched between fresh soft baked chocolate chip cookies.  It was, as well, as good as it sounds.  All in all, if you have someone paying for you, I'd definitely go to here - I would be very happy getting the exact same meal again.

New restaurants I love in New York City

This Sunday I ate at two fantastic restaurants:

Flea Market Cafe for brunch
Il Corallo Trattoria for dinner

Both meals were delicious, and both were incredibly well priced. I've reviewed them on Yelp and on Google Maps, which is redundant, but I haven't given up yet on Google Maps as a community. Until I see a clear winner, I'll be double-posting.

Looking for great pizza places in New York City

I'm thinking of putting together a "Best Pizza in New York City" walking tour, in an attempt to try all (or as many as possible) of the great pizza places that I haven't gotten to yet.  I've set up a quick online form that you can enter the pizza recommendation in; give it a shot and your recommendation could make my Best Pizza of New York City tour!

Tell me what pizza place I need to go to

some of the recommendations that have come in so far (i'll publish the full results at the end):

If I write some restaurant reviews...

 

View Larger Map

If I write some restaurant reviews, where should I do it - Yelp?  Google Maps?  I've already been saving all of the restaurants that I eat at in New York on a few different maps (restaurants w/ reps, restaurants w/ Angela), but I think I'm going to start writing some actual comments.  Yelp is popular right now, and has a passionate community, but I'm guessing Google will slowly build out their maps as a social network, even more-so than they are doing now, and that will lead to more integration with online resources, and more traffic.  You can already see the profile being built out, as my first review, maps, and a profile, are all laid out together.

My first review is of Black Hound, an amazing bakery that Angela took me to.

Technorati Tags: black hound,restaurants,google maps,yelp,restaurant reviews

2nd Avenue Deli Opens and I'm There

Ari, Angela, and I made it out to the Second Avenue Deli Grand (re) Opening tonight - there was a line out the door when we arrived at 8PM, but after a short wait we were seated. We ordered the sampler - all the major meats and spreads - and bowls of matzoh ball soup. Everything from start to finish was fantastic amazing and this is likely my defacto "order in" spot now when I get stuck working late (as well as where I'm sure I'll be bringing every relative the next time they come).

2nd Avenue Deli Opens Tomorrow and I'll Be There

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The Second Avenue Deli re-opens tomorrow after a long hiatus. Instead of it's old spot on 2nd avenue and 12th street, it will now live on 33rd between 3rd Ave and Lex - right around the corner from me!  I love good deli, and will be one of probably many showing up tomorrow in anticipation of a delicious corned beef sandwich for dinner - welcome back and welcome to the neighborhood.

Mapping My New York City Restaurants

I've added a link to the restaurants I've eaten at in NYC over on the left so you can view suggestions in any location. Google Maps customized is also embeddable now, so here is a version of the map that you can explore


View Larger Map

Mapping all of the restaurants I've been to in Manhattan with Google My Maps

It's now really easy to create maps with marked hot spots, graphics, and pictures - Here I used Google My Maps to put together a visual map of the growing list of restaurants I've been to with Angela. If you search for a restaurant listing in Google Maps, you can just add the address via a link directly to your custom map, and it will import the address, a picture of the place if it is available, and allow you to edit the listing. Once you publish it to a link, any changes or additions you make will show up everywhere as well.

Where should we be eating next?