KIMCHI TACO TRUCK

It was past 12:45 in the afternoon, on my way to an important appointment when whoa!  a  food truck I haven't seen in the area where people were lined up.  A line is always an indication that food must be good.  So, I stopped to look and was happy to order tacos to go.

Kimchi Taco Truck's Menu
Kimchi is a spicy pickled cabbage prepared the Korean way.
They also offer bowls with kimchi and the barbeque, tofu and falafel for vegetarians



Operating from a truck, they are usually at the corner of 47th Street and Lexington Avenue on Mondays from noon till 3PM.

I ordered 3 tacos for $7 and selected 1 beef and 2 pork with kimchi and some sour cream
Bought it to go and proceed to my appointment which I ate afterward.

kimchitacotruck.com
NOTE:  If you follow them, you would know where to find them.  Some days, they are in SoHo and other days they are on Sixth Avenue.  One of the ways to follow them to know where they would be is to go to their website.

Previously, I shared my fish recipe with you which has a Spanish and Asian ingredients to create the dish.  I guess, Korean and Mexican combined cuisine works!

FISH DISH

This is a fish dish. It's versatile because you can use practically any fish.  It could be a whole fried snapper, sliced halibut steaks, and in this case I used fillet of blue fish.

Blue fish is mostly found in the Northeastern seaboard.  You can even fish them out from the ocean just by the beach.  We did this one day and caught 5 of them.  Their meat is dark.  A very fresh blue fish does not taste very fishy.  They are very economical.  I have cooked this using halibut steaks, or milk fish.

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb fish fillet or 1-1/2 lb whole firm flesh fish
1/2 cup sunflower or safflower oil for frying
1/3 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2-3 cloves of minced garlic
1/2 c onion, sliced
3-4 tomatoes diced
1 inch peeled ginger sliced or minced
1 TB Japanese Miso paste (red or white)
2 TB Chinese slated black beans
1 TB sugar
2 TB apple cider vinegar
3 TB peanut oil or grape seed oil to cook the sauce in

Slice the fish in serving portions or fry whole if  small enough to fit the pan.
Combine the flour, salt and pepper in a plastic bag.  Drop in the fish and shake the bag to coat fish and then fry like demonstrated below:

Fry the fish about 3-4 minutes on each side, then set aside.

Pour off the oil and add in the grape seed oil (or you can use peanut oil).  Add in the minced garlic, ginger, and onions.  Saute it for about 5 minutes until the onions are limp and translucent.  Add in the tomatoes and saute for a minute.  Add in the vinegar, black bean sauce, miso paste, sugar, and cook slowly for about 5 minutes.  Add back the fish and coat with the sauce.  Continue to cook for another 5 or 10 minutes.
Then serve with fresh cilantro.  Serve with rice and vegetables on the side.  Serves 2-4 people.

Healthy Thanksgiving Options | Yahoo! Health

Healthy Thanksgiving Options Yahoo! Health




I know some people who do not like turkey. The Pilgrims did not have turkey, therefore, go have a duck, goose, elk or anything else for Thanksgiving!

INDIAN FOOD from The Masala Wala

I stumbled upon a new Indian restaurant in the Lower East side of Manhattan as I did my open house tours.  The place is called The Masala Wala.  The owner who hails from Calcutta, India has had 25 years of restaurant experience.  They wanted to create this cafe as a tribute to the South-Asian (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and neighbors) street cuisine.  Meaning, food sold in public market/street by vendors from a stall.

This little place packs a great curb-appeal on a busy street.

As I spoke to the store Manager, he explained that they had just opened 10 days ago.  Upon seeing the photo of the featured dish, I decided to have lunch here.  The price seemed very affordable and the presentation on the photo looked good.

I selected this great dish MasalaWala Biryani.  Basmati rice cooked with saffron and fresh spices.  It also contained some slivered almonds, golden raisins, some crispy noodles on top and large chunks of lamb.

The dish i s served in an eco-friendly plate made of real banana leaf that's been dried and imported from India.  With its texture, I inquired if they washed it.  I was informed that it is thrown to be recycled.

I chose the Biryani Bowl from the "Build-A-Bowl" column where one can choose either vegetable, paneer, chicken, lamb or shrimp as protein.  It was served with Raita (a yogurt sauce with slivered carrots and other spices) and pickle (tasted like Indian chutney) which had some spicy peppers.

The sauces that came on the side.  Raita and pickled peppers and...

As you enter this small restaurant, the setting is modern, clean, and well-lit.

When you get your check, he attaches a gadget to his iPad and sign the check with your finger directly on the iPad. The receipt is sent directly to your email.  Paperless!

The Masala Wala does not only have biodegradable plates but paperless receipts!

The Masala Wala also serves beer and wine.  I did try their MasalaWala mango lassi.  It's a yogurt drink with mango, rose, and salt.
THE MASALA WALA
http://www.themasalawala.com/

http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2011/10/the_masalawala.html

179 Essex Street
New York
(212) 358-9300

First Look at the MasalaWala, Now Serving Desi Street Food on the Lower East Side

First Look at the MasalaWala, Now Serving Desi Street Food on the Lower East Side

6 must-haves for mortgage approval | Inman News

6 must-haves for mortgage approval Inman News




If you are interested in Buying, Selling or Renting - contact me! Get pre-qualified before you house hunt and get that kitchen to cook in!

Il Laboratorio del Gelato - ICE CREAM

They make the ice cream right here where you can buy it too.



Sorbets beyond dessert!  Like wine, sorbet ice cream and gelatos can creatively be paired with appetizers and main dishes.  I've covered some favorites ice cream spots to go to in New York City; however this time, I'm featuring Il Laboratorio del Gelato because they're the only place I know that make sorbets of unusual flavors.  Not only do they taste good, but you can use them creatively at home on dishes.

You too, can now serve like a 4-5 Star restaurant right from your own home.  Yes, you can make your own sorbet to compiment the dishes. If you live in New York City, you can buy a small cup or a pint of any of these incredible flavored sorbets and ice cream to compliment your dishes.  It's not just for dessert.  For instance, this cucumber sorbet below:

This cucumber sorbet can be scooped over gazpacho before serving.

It's Fall and almost Thanksgiving Day!
How about making a baked alaska with this sweet potato gelato?

To the right is the pumpkin ice cream which you can serve as a dessert.
Instead of pumkin pie, scoop it on a store bought pie crust or graham cracker crust with toasted glazed pecans.

Above, the green mint ice cream can pair well with dark chocolate cake!
Or maybe scooped on top of a lemon tart or lemon bar.

How about the Pink Peppercorn flavor sorbet, to go with a small bowl of shrimp salad as an appetizer

Ginger ice cream on the left can be served with molasses cookies or with chocolate sauce!

The basil ice cream above could go on top of sliced tomato salad with soft mozzarella, drizzled with olive oil.

Butternut Squash on cold carrot soup or a good first course or amuse bouche with a little ginger sorbet on top.
Or maybe serve it to a finicky todler so he/she can have some vegetables.  It's delicious!

      Celerty sorbet could be served on top of a cold vichysoise soup or maybe borscht?!

Above, cantaloupe sorbet, is one of my favorites. I like it just the way it is.

On the left is honey crispy apple.  You can serve this in a tart cup.  Drizzle it with some maple caramel sauce!  A lighter finale at the end of the meal on Thanksgiving Day!

Green Grape Sorbet!  Can be served with a light slice of cheese or paired with a duck terrine

In my case, I just wanted to have one of these sorbets (before lunch) so I ordered the 2 flavor cup and chose the cucumber and ginger flavors.  Heavenly!
Note: Although they make these unusual delicious flavors of gelatos and sorbets, they do carry the usual and conventional flaors like Coffee, Chocolate etc...

IL LABORATORIO DEL GELATO

188 Ludlow St (at Houston St) Lower East Side40.722073-73.987230

Il Laboratorio del Gelato

New York NY

(212) 343-9922

http://laboratoriodelgelato.com/

Subway: F to Lower East Side–Second AveGet directions

Mon–Thu 7:30am–10pm; Fri, Sat 7:30am–midnight; Sun 10am–10pm

Average scoop: $4.25 AmEx, MC, V

Miss Lily's - CARIBBEAN LUNCHEONETTE

Is Miss Lily's Jamaican or Caribbean food?  Whichever it is, I found it good.  The first time I tried it was for brunch.  We had their pancakes and their special Jamaican breakfast.

Remember, I'm jaded by regular menus.  To me, this has something new and therefore excites me!

Of course I would like to try the coconut pancakes.  I'm so glad I did!  They're light and worth getting.  It also gives me an idea on what to do with my pancakes at home.  Eating out is a learning curve.  If you know how to cook, you'll get more ideas on what to prepare at home.  Eating out is an education all to its own!

Miss Lily's version of Huevos Rancheros.  It's a good presentation.

A must have:  a mug of cappuccino!

I opted for the Jaquitos.  Jaquitos are tacos with very fresh cut up lobsters and spicy pickled vegetables in a tiny bowl to put on top of the lobster tacos.  That was a good choice!  There were other jaquitos to choose from but I liked this best!

Another favorite was the bowl of mussels with jerk sauce served with garlic bread!  Mmmmm!
I had to ask for more of the garlic sliced bread to finish the spicy jerk sauce in my bowl.

What I regretted to order was the callaloo - special for the night.  The vegetable is over cooked - but probably the way it should be.  It was watery so I had to spice it up with some jerk sauce.

MISS LILY

132 W Houston St, New York City NY10012 40.7277405 -74.001325

(At Sullivan St)

(646) 588-5375

www.misslilysnyc.com/

VANDAAG - Dutch - European Cuisine

THIS CLOSED

When my neighborhood place to have a brunch had an hour waiting line, I decided to head down East Village at Vandaag.  Earlier last month, I passed by Vandaag and picked up their loaf of smokey bread which was surprisingly eye-widening!  So, this was an opportunity for me to try having brunch at Vandaag.

For starters, we ordered a basket of their sweet breads.

The buns above were warm and still crisp on the outside.  Definitely fresh!  It was accompanied by 4 spreads you can use with the breads.  I tasted them all.  They were good but I preferred having the rolls by themselves.

The Brunch Menu at Vandaag where we selected our orders from.

I chose the slab bacon on the left with pear compote and mustard green.  I highly recommend this.  The slab bacon is so thick, it can pass for ham - a good ham.

On the right is the smoked mackerel with onion, skyr (Scandinavian cheese), dill, and green peppercorn.

Vandaag is spacious with lots of light at the corner of the street.  An excellent weekend Brunch place.
I'll try it for dinner some time.

VANDAAG
103 2nd Avenue  New York, NY 10003
(212) 253-0470
www.vandaagnyc.com/

FOODYHOLIC'S Choice

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• DORADO

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• SULLIVAN BREAD

  7/12/2013

  My staple in the kitchen:Strecci - plainFilone breadMulti-grain PullmanSour dough Pullman bread They supply top restaurants in the city.

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FOODYHOLIC'S Choice

• CULL & PISTOL

  7/13/2013

  An off spring restaurant from Lobster Place in Chelsea Market.  Lobster Place is a fishmonger so you can be sure…
• DORADO

  7/13/2013

  After we went to the fusion taco place in Chelsea Pier 57, I had to try this place on the…
• SULLIVAN BREAD

  7/12/2013

  My staple in the kitchen:Strecci - plainFilone breadMulti-grain PullmanSour dough Pullman bread They supply top restaurants in the city.

Subscribe to this Feed

FOODYHOLIC'S Choice

• CULL & PISTOL

  7/13/2013

  An off spring restaurant from Lobster Place in Chelsea Market.  Lobster Place is a fishmonger so you can be sure…
• DORADO

  7/13/2013

  After we went to the fusion taco place in Chelsea Pier 57, I had to try this place on the…
• SULLIVAN BREAD

  7/12/2013

  My staple in the kitchen:Strecci - plainFilone breadMulti-grain PullmanSour dough Pullman bread They supply top restaurants in the city.

Subscribe to this Feed

MEXICUE - BBQ served also as tacos

This is a tiny restaurant that opened recently at Forsyth Street bordering Chinatown and Lower East side.  Barbecue is their mainstay served as tacos, sliders or over rice.  Very affordable and very hip.  If you like tacos and sliders and a bottle of beer or wine, this is a decent place to go.  They have other branches, but because this is their most recently opened branch; I opted to eat at this site.

This is Mexicue.  It's a small place with a few tables mostly with stool chairs

On the left are the 3 tacos we ordered to try.
L-R:  Smoked Short Ribs, Smokey BBQ beans, Alabama BBQ Chicken

This is the Smokey BBQ bean taco

The sliders were: Burnt ends chili, Berkshire pulled pork, and BBQ brisket
And I liked all three of them.

A must try are these sides of Green Chili Mac and Spicy Potato Salad. We also ordered their Smokey Caesars Salad as our vegetables.  That had a spicy creamy dressing with fried Chinese noodles for crunch.

Their menu is very reasonable.  They draw crowds for small dishes accompanied by wine or beer.  We had Jarritos Mexican drinks instead.  I liked the Tamarind kind.

NOTE:  Because they border Chinatown area, they also serve the BBQ over rice with vegetables.  They fall under Rice Bowls category.

http://ny.eater.com/tags/mexicue

106 Forsyth, New York, NY 10002