MEXICAN: Rosa Mexicano (Union Square)
The guacamole is made at your table on a trolley wheeled out with all the ingredients that are smashed in their mortar and pestle which they replace with a wooden spoon. It can be custom-made to your liking at your desired level of chilliness. It is served in the mortar and they always seem to get the balance of ingredients just right. A single serve feeds 3 with a bowl of their house-made tortilla chips ($12). I ordered from the Ensaladas section of the menu for a weekday lunch and had one with grilled tuna loin ($17) that was cooked rare with similar sized cubes of jicama, mango, pineapple and cucumber. All the ingredients were fresh and tasty but the lack of a flavorful dressing to bind the ingredients meant that the dish as a whole was underwhelming and also over-valued.
INDONESIAN: Selamat Pagi
The owners of the famous Van Leeuwen ice cream trucks opened this restaurant that specializes in Balinese dishes in Greenpoint not too long ago. They've done an impressive job on making a small space feel cosy yet not overly done up and sort of shabby chic which is so very Brooklyn these days. There are several bar seats and lots of tables of 2 or 4. The menu is extensive but we went straight to entrees and shared the national dish, Nasi Goreng and a caramelized palm sugar fish fillet. The Nasi Goreng ($12) was a fried rice dish with shredded vegetables served with a sunny-side up egg, prawn crackers and salad on the side. Once the yolk was broken and it was all stirred up, it was a hearty and warming dish but lacked the fragrant punch I expected.
The fish ($17) was a pretty small fillet that had been pan-fried so that it was juicy and tender with a wonderfully gooey 'caramelized' sauce as promised. It was served with a hard-boiled egg cut into two atop a tomato based sambal sauce that was as spicy as it was piquant. There were a side of stir-fried Asian greens with deep-fried garlic chips and two pieces of roti that were deep-fried and like eating cardboard. They were not the fluffy and light roti that I'd been accustomed to at Malaysian places. Overall it was a wonderful and preferred dish.
Of course, we ended the meal with a trio of ice cream flavors of the day which were strawberry, palm sugar and Earl Grey, all of which were distinctive and full-bodied just like us by the end of the meal!
BBQ/Asian - Fatty 'Cue
This place specialises in BBQ meats and pan-Asian cuisine since the American, Brooklyn-based chef spent some time in Malaysia. Between 5, we ordered these appetizers: 'chicken and eggplant' - eggplant was slightly undercooked so that it had a tinge of sourness but the smoked chicken was ridiculously tender, 'shaved vegetables with smoky dip' - radishes, fennel and even raw potato were all so crunchy and soaked in brine to bring out texture and flavors that worked well with the creamy dip, 'duck larb' - best dish of the night in my opinion and served sang choi bow style with lettuce cups to wrap it up in. For entrees we shared the 'BBQ Korean short rib' that was huge with chewy not soft meat but well-charred burnt bits for crunch and served on the most moreish sticky rice with a sweet, fish sauce like dressing. We also had the 'bacon and clams' which infused well in a broth with shaved onions and ginger for more spice. The sides of coleslaw (forgettable) and smoked potato mash (memorable) rounded out the meal.
The highlight was dessert. They were outstanding although they only had 2 of the 3 on the menu so we ordered both. Chocolate Thunder (pictured below), chocolate peanut crisp, ganache, devil’s food cake, milk jam, malt cream, marshmallow ($12) and Coffee & Doughnuts, coffee cream, doughnut balls, ginger sugar ($8)
KOREAN: Hanjoo
Hanjoo is a Korean restaurant in East Village that has Korean BBQ and a range of other dishes. Between two, we shared 1 appetizer and 1 entree since the servings of the BBQ meat were large. The Korean pancake with vegetables ($13) was the size of a large plate and was crispy on the edges with a nice and gooey center just as it should be. The Bulgogi ($27) was cooked in the kitchen rather than in front of us since we only ordered one serve (this happened at another Korean BBQ restaurant in West Village so it may not be uncommon). It came out with big lettuce leaves to wrap up the tender and flavorsome meat and the usual bunch of vegetable side dishes that each had a distinctive taste and texture although none stood out. There's no wait even on a Saturday night if you're willing to have an early dinner around 6.15pm as we did before a show at Joe's Pub at the The Public Theater.
Middle Eastern: The Hummus & Pita Co
It's simple really. Pick a style (pita, plate (that comes with 2 add ons), platter (comes with 3 add ons) or roll), pick a filling (falafel $4.95 or a range of meats priced above that), pick your add ons, pick your salad toppings (free and include lettuce, carrot salad, olives, pickles, etc), opt for hummus or other saucse and you're done! It may at first seem like there are lots of choice to make but it's worth it. The result in a customised meal with fresh ingredients that are much better than you would expect from a standard kebab, grill or falafel place.
I opted for the falafel bowl ($6.95) that came with 5 plump balls of warm although not hot since they were not fresh from the fryer but given the turnover and ensuing line, I imagine they're always fairly hot at lunch time. I selected the beet salad and Spanish eggplant, both of which I would highly recommend even if the latter lacked seasoning. I had all the salad toppings which counter-balanced the heaviness of the add ons and falafel and also gave me more things to dip that creamy hummus into. The highlight was the hummus which is the way it should be given the name of this place. A delicious find!
Next stop: A fusion place that is also one of New York's most famous and sought after tables!
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