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From the city of the melting pot and beyond, this is my bird's eye view on food. As a foodie, my choice for discussion will always be food related; either through my own preparation; or restaurants that strike me for its: 1) taste, 2) presentation, 3) value or creativity. Food is beautiful. And sharing its beauty delights me. I hope that you enjoy and learn something new each time you view! Join me!
This is a very easy and great idea to make for any side bread or accompaniment with cold cuts or cheese. The trick is to find the right crusty bread from a good baker or boulangerie.
In this video I am using this Pan con Tomate as a Spanish-style tapa.
TAPAS: There have been a few stories how tapas evolved. One of them revolves around using a piece of meat to cover the bottle of wine so the smell doesn't go out.
Whatever the version of its origin, tapas in spain means bar hopping and eating small appetizers with a glass of drink.
Below is something I personally could serve or eat originating from a tapas idea. Please watch the short video below.
If you should have any questions, please feel free to ask.
Sometimes, I would use prosciutto in place of the marinated sardines, marinated anchovies, Jambon Iberico (a special Spanish ham), or Prosciutto.
If you don't live in NYC, you can search Amazon on the right hand side for marinated anchovies, marinated sardines, Jambon Iberico or Jambon Serrano.
www.despanabrandfoods.com/ 408 Broome St (between Cleveland Pl & Centre St) New York, NY10013 Neighborhood: SoHo
(212) 219-5050
We stumbled on this Japanese restaurant after we watched an off-Broadway play on Spring Street and decided that we could no longer wait to get home and eat. This part of SoHo is almost a mecca of restaurants to choose from. We headed first to our favorite sushi place. Although it was Thursday, that was jammed with people waiting. We considered another sushi place but made the wrong turn so we opted to try other options only to find out the wait would be 2 hours inspite the fact that it was already 9:30PM. Thus, as we were heading for the next block, we stumbled on this place - Ushiwakamaru which was about 3 steps down from the street level.
We took a quick peek and immediately fell in love with its clean decor and a room full of people; yet enough to accommodate two more famished walk-ins like us.
I opted for the set menu because it had the kinds of seafood I like as I compared it with the ala-carte pieces of sushi. I chose the NAGIRI because of its description. I had requested to have the seaweed salad in place of the regular salad that came with the order. Paying a little extra for it, to replace the regular salad the dinner came with. It was still less expensive than ordering it on the side.
Above, I watched the sushi being prepared. On the left is the first part of the Nagiri I ordered. It came with Torro and Ama-Ebi. There was also seared tuna, salmon and fish that lay over some finely minced greens
On the right are the pieces included when you order the Nagiri. Minced torro with minced scallions, uni, caviar, egg and eel.
Not to be missed: Assorted seaweed salad with citrus dressing that you pour over.
Tertulia is a Spanish Taverna by Seamus Mullen formerly from Boqueria (another Tapas place located in Chelsea area). Tapas in Spain are served in little plates meant to be shared. I enjoy eating Tapas because you get to try various dishes prepared by the restaurant. They are like appetizers that keep on coming.
The atmosphere is casual and the food is very well orchestrated using fresh and good ingredients. It is easy to get to because there are many subway lines that stop around the block including buses. Centrally located within Greenwich Village and where West Village begins.
They are open for lunch, dinner and best of all weekend brunch which is my favorite as they serve churros y chocolate. Their churros are like the ones I grew up with, thin as my finger and dipped in rich dark thick chocolate drink. If it got any thicker, it would be called a dip, but it's still a chocolate drink in a cup.
My favorite churros with chocolate - only served on weekends!
The restaurant photo taken from the Bar area.
Behind the seats is the open kitchen where you can see the Chefs prepare the dishes.
We loved the shisito peppers sauteed and salted. Some of them are a little spicy; but in general they were not. It's a good source of vitamins and a vegetable to order on the side to be shared.
This egg appetizer was one of the tapas we ordered which we divided to share
LEFT: This was the Serrano ham with citrus
Deviled eggs with smoked fish dusted with smoked pimenton
Not to be missed: Paella (Asturias Style) They love the crusty rice that you have to scrape off the pan. The green things you see are shaved asparagus. The rice contain some mushrooms with grilled chicken on top.
Served with grilled lemon for easy squeezing and flavor
Above is the sauce and lemons that accompany the Paella dish
Above, I watched the sushi being prepared. On the left is the first part of the Nagiri I ordered. It came with Torro and Ama-Ebi. There was also seared tuna, salmon and fish that lay over some finely minced greens
On the right are the pieces included when you order the Nagiri. Minced torro with minced scallions, uni, caviar, egg and eel.
The restaurant photo taken from the Bar area.
We loved the shisito peppers sauteed and salted. Some of them are a little spicy; but in general they were not. It's a good source of vitamins and a vegetable to order on the side to be shared.
Not to be missed: Paella (Asturias Style) They love the crusty rice that you have to scrape off the pan. The green things you see are shaved asparagus. The rice contain some mushrooms with grilled chicken on top.
