Craving for something different?

For 18 years of my life, I nearly ate Chinese/Burmese food every single day. Every single day. Granted, my mom's cooking is delicious- I do sometimes like variety and always jump at the chance to eat something different! However, something that I will always be craving are these: What are they, you ask? Dumplings of course! Oh, but not just regular dumplings- Joe's Shanghai's Soup Dumplings! So most of us New Yorkers know what these special soup dumplings are- and most of us have had them! But for those of you who have never been to Joe's Shanghai, you must definitely make a visit. The soup dumplings are it's staple. I brought Eric there one day and he loved them! Being a lame ol' white boy who runs away at the sight of anything ethnic (haha), Eric loved these dumplings and couldn't get enough! Small, hot dumplings filled with pork and soup these dumplings are far different from the ones you normally may think of!!

How do they get the soup in there?? I have been trying to figure out the secret for years! I finally realized one day when my dumpling got cold and it became gelatinous! Alright, sounds gross that your soup is really gelatin, but boy is it delicious!

Once you bite into these meaty morsels, be careful not to get the soup everywhere (as I normally do- sadface). Hot, steamy and incredibly satisfying, the soup dumplings (available with pork or pork topped with crabmeat-which is what I usually get) are incredible and definitely a must. There are a few other locations around Flushing that sell soup dumplings, but they do not hold a candle to Joe's Shanghai's- definitely the best one out there! Craving for something different? Well look on farther than Joe's Shanghai! With multiple locations in Manhattan and Queens- you don't have to look far! :)

Food: A (for dumplings) B+ (for everything else)

Service: C+ (Flushing location)

Ambiance: B-

Price: $$

So there it is, you strange vegetarians!

I've been noticing a pattern with my habits lately- I seem to be finding that my most favorite restaurant experiences have been with the Big Burrito restaurants- I'm not sure if this is a coincidence or not- but I have to say that they did it again! I must have had one of the best brunches that I can remember at Eleven- another Big Burrito restaurant.



Living in New York (ok, who am I kidding, New Jersey-but we can pretend right?) and being a native New Yorker, I figure that my best meals would be in this great city- and surprisingly it's not. It's either because a) I started this blog before I got the chance to explore New York when it was warm (since I am a hermit during the cold seasons) or b) New York food doesn't hold a candle to Pittsburgh food.

Since we all know that option b) is absolutely false- I figure that I am going to be in heaven when spring (real spring) time comes and I get to explore New York a little bit more. I can't wait!

But for now, I would have to say that Eleven in Pittsburgh was the best brunch I can remember- and that's saying a lot!

As mentioned in my last post about Lidia's, Eleven is right next door (located on Smallman Street) in the Strip District. Eric and I decided to go there Valentine's Day weekend. It's actually easy to miss if it wasn't for the valet sign (oh yes, they have valet!) but thankfully we were able to stop by right before I had to leave for my flight!

I've been to Eleven before, with Eric of course, and had a great dinner there- and I was excited to try the Sunday brunch menu* after the poor experience at Lidia's the morning before. What a treasure!

*The menu listed online is a little different than what is offered- just by a few dishes

The menu was so overwhelming- with the abundant choices available, Eric and I really had a hard time choosing. The brunch pre-fixe menu ($25) comes with an appetizer and an entree and an alcoholic morning beverage/cocktail (mimosa, bloody mary, etc.) of your choice- absolutely worth it. You can also order things a la carte if you're not that hungry, but I would say that $25 goes a long way!

Eric and I finally decided on our meal choices and couldn't wait! Eric got a special granola with yogurt, with pears on top as an appetizer and decided on the Smoked Lamb Huevos Rancheros as his entree. I decided to get the Crab Cake to start and the Rock Shrimp Spaghetti as an entree *both are not listed on the menu provided above*

Eric's granola with yogurt and pears

Smoked Lamb Huevos Rancheros

Crab Cake

Rock Shrimp Spaghetti

Eric very much enjoyed his meal- his sweet, crisp pears paired great with his tart yogurt and crunchy granola- so light and refreshing! His Huevos Rancheros was amazing- they did not skimp on the lamb at all! Full of that smokey flavor- it was very Bobby Flay-esque, which made it even more appealing to Eric.

My dishes were amazing. The perfectly crisp crab cake was full of sweet jumbo lump crab meat. The best part about my crabcake? There was no breading! Usually, crab cakes have loads of breading (and/or other additions mixed in), which really just acts as a substitute so restaurants can skimp on the crab (yeah yeah, and for binding purposes, but who cares). But Eleven didn't have any- my crab cake was just pure crab meat that was perfectly seasoned! (and it didn't fall apart- which proves that breading isn't necessary to keep it together). Delicious!

The Rock Shrimp spaghetti cooked with leeks in a light broth sauce was also great- light and full of that delicate onion flavor the leeks provide definitely hit the spot. Not too overwhelming in flavor, or too heavy and rich, the dish was great! And it had lots of shrimp! Yum!

Something interesting to note- Eleven is fantastic with their vegetables! As mentioned before, I visited Eleven for dinner and marveled at their Chef's Tasting Menu (boy, do I love those) but what surprised me most is that they had a Chef's vegetarian Tasting Menu! I found it a bit strange and unusual, and really appreciated the fact that they were accomodating to those (weird) vegetarians! The menu looked amazing! I thought to myself that Eleven must also be amazing at their vegetable preparations/dishes to have a special menu in that manner, and my thoughts were confirmed when the amuse bouche was served- baked brussel sprouts (so much better than it sounds).

So there it is, you strange vegetarians! Looking for some fine dining in the 'Burgh and sick of having to settle for the generic vegetarian dishes on the menu? Eleven is the place to go for some contemporary vegetarian cuisine! Yum!

Another great restaurant, in Pittsburgh! What a delight- not having to worry about parking (thank you valet) and not having to ever return to Lidia's for brunch again, I would say that Eleven was the perfect ending to the weekend!

Price: $$$

Food: A+

Service: A-

Ambiance: A

*Dear blogger, I am very much sick of your spacing issues- please fix asap!!!

Skip the meal and go to Rivers instead

So.. this may be the first time I am doing this- but I think I want to retract my previous post on Lidia's. Over the summer, Eric took me to Lidia's for the first time ever on my birthday. He was really excited to bring me to a place that isn't 'fancy' but had great food at a reasonable price- and I too, was excited to try it.

I liked Lidia's so much that past summer, Eric and I decided to go back to Lidia's for their brunch menu a few weeks ago (when I went back to the Burgh to pay him a visit) and I was a little disappointed by my meal. To top that off, the week after (I drove back to Pittsburgh to visit Eric again), Shaman, Sundar and Jess decided that we should have dinner together- and we all decided to go to Lidia's again for dinner.

And now, sadly, I think I have to retract my post.

Ok, well to start off- I would like to say that Lidia's isn't awful- it's just not as good as I was expecting it to be- maybe my expectations were a little too high, or I was just drunk the first time I went...

So brunch at Lidia's is unique in that there is a buffet style appetizer portion and then an a la carte main entree menu to choose from. The buffet was great in that it had a lot of different options as well as a variety of desserts- but in terms of quality and flavor, it wasn't very happening. I found that my salads were overly seasoned and the other dishes just.. didn't taste good. The best thing from that table was the soup (Eric's favorite being the argula salad)

The appetizer buffet table

The dessert table

For my main entree, I ordered the crispy chicken livers while Eric got his classic Wild Boar Ravioli. My livers were good but there was just way too much of it- and the seasoning and method of preparation really just became way too overwhelming. I would not recommend this dish- even for the liver lovers.

Eric's wild boar ravioli were good- but I seemed to remember it being a lot better over the summer...

Crispy Chicken Liver

Wild Boar Ravioli

I was a bit disappointed after this meal- and became terribly disappointed after having brunch at Eleven the next day. At a fixed $25 for the buffet and the entree- I would say that this meal was definitely not worth it and I would go to Eleven (right next door) in a heartbeat, which has the same priced brunch menu ($25).

As for dinner....

I got the Almond Pesto Spaghetti (the same thing I got last time on my birthday), Jess, being the vegetarian, got the Cannelloni (*thanks for the correction Sundar), while the majority of the table went with the pasta trio. The pasta trio is one of Lidia's staples - unlimited portions of pasta, with 3 different preparations.

My Almond Pesto Pasta

The Pasta Trio

Jessica's Cannelloni

The majority of the table agreed that the pasta trio was good (for the price) but that the flavors and quality of the dishes weren't very impressive and a bit lackluster in terms of creativity (ok, i added that last part in)- but after having a few bites off Eric's plate, I was happy that I didn't go with that option myself! My almond pesto dish was OK. The best part being that there are a bunch of fried calamari and shrimp on top- I felt like the flavor of the pesto was too nutty- it just didn't work for me... (strange because I loved it last time....). Oh well. Jess said that her cannelloni was great and very heavy- but then again, she's a Fringe so I don't really trust/care about her opinion as it is most likely wrong. (Haha, just kidding Jess- I love you!)

At the end of the day- I had a good time with my friends but really wasn't impressed by Lidia's. I would much rather go to Eleven or just skip the meal and go to Rivers instead...

Food: B+

Ambiance: B+

Service: B+

Price: $$$

I mean come on- we're in New Jersey, not New York, people!

Ah, spring break. Sort of.

So obviously, being out in the real world, spring break no longer exists (unless you are Sundar and Shaman, of course). Sort of upset by this realization, Eric thought he'd cheer me up by spending his Spring Break with me- in lame ol' New Jersey.

I was super excited to see him and to think about all the fun things we can do in the city over the weekend, and the nice home-y activities we can do at home during the week! BUT he has the flu, which means two things: 1. I have to take care of a 200 lb baby and 2. I will also be getting the flu in the near future. Great.

Yesterday, we decided to pretend that we were both well and ignore the fact that Eric was still sick and that I am slowly feeling crummy and went out to try some sushi at Kiku Sushi!

Kiku Sushi, located on Burnt Mill Roads had great reviews and we were both excited to try their creations!

Eric's favorite sushi place back home in California is also called Kiku sushi, and so he was excited that there might be another Kiku sushi on the east coast that he would like to frequent.

When driving to the restaurant (as if you could walk to any where in New Jersey), it was at first hard to recognize; it looked like a home! We were a bit skeptical and sketched out by the location, but soon after entering the restaurant itself, we were pleasantly surprised by the decor!

Bright and well decorated (and clean, might I add), Kiku sushi seemed to be a new favorite. I had already looked at the menu online before hand, and I was excited to order my dishes and start my meal!

However, with Eric being sick, and me progressively joining him, my appetite seemed to wane and Eric and I barely ordered anything.

I got the Firecracker Roll while Eric got the Spicy Spider Roll and two orders of Toro and Yellowtail.

Eric's Roll and sashimi

Yum!

Firecracker Roll

So I would first like to note that I took these pictures on my new iPhone 4 (it is so much easier than dragging my camera around). Seeing as the pictures turned out pretty good, I'm excited to be posting more pictures of my meals- even when I do forget my camera!!

My firecracker roll was very interesting. Spicy Tuna on top of a spicy soft chell crab roll, the roll most definitely had a kick to it- and with my at-the-time delicate palette, it turned out to be too much to handle. I was, however, very intersted/happy that the spicy tuna wasn't the usual 'paste' that you think of but really a spicy tuna tartare!

Eric's spicy spider roll was also very spicy and he too could not finish the roll (we both ended up taking the rolls home). Eric commented that his sashimi was fresh (even though it was already 9pm) and he very much enjoyed the quality of the fish.



At the end of the night (and a lot of leftovers) we got our bill and were not pleasantly surprised with the price. Rounding up to a little over $60 for two rolls and 4 pieces of sashimi (and two miso soups), Kiku Sushi, I would say is ridiculously overpriced.

Perhaps I will one day take that comment back, when I return and order some other items off the menu (and actually finish them), but for now, I would have to say that Kiku sushi is not worth it.

Yes, the food and quality seemed good (not great, obviously) but the prices seemed a bit ridiculous- I mean come on- we're in New Jersey, not New York, people!



Food: B+
Service: B+
Ambiance: A
Price: $$$