What I loved and/or really stood out last week in food & drink  (4/29 - 5/05)

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There was a great article in the WSJ last week about how 26th Street has become the city's newest "restaurant row."  And rightfully so; within the past year, Maysville, Grey Bar, Hanjan, The Flatiron Room, Melt Shop, and Toshi's Living Room have all sprouted up like the spring tulips on Park Avenue.

Hanjan held the top spot on my list of "restaurants to try on 26th Street" since it opened its doors in December.   Aside from the fact that I've been on a Korean-food kick/bender, I was also really impressed by the restaurant's creative cocktail list (a far cry from the beverages one might find on most of the menus in "Korea Town")...

Housed in a space that, just months prior, was a less-than-sexy Indian take-out joint, I was floored by the transformation...

From this...(note the discolored, McDonalds'esque floor tile!)

Photo credit: Midtown LunchTo THIS!

Photo credit: nycgo.comAfter months of anticipation, I met Linda for dinner at Hanjan.  While she began with a glass of wine, I chose to kick things off with a sassy bourbon cocktail that was married with jujube, lemon, fresh mint, and peach bitters. 

For our meal, we decided to split multiple plates, including:

Perilla Jeon w. Shrimp and Pork  Instead of being enveloped by dough, the contents of this dumpling are surrounded by a Perilla leaf, then deep fried.  Unapologetically unique and positively delicious!

Hanjan: Perilla Jeon w/ Shrimp and PorkBBQ Galbi Skewers  Marinated beef short rib skewers are accompanied with lettuce-cup wraps, scallion salad, and ssamjang. 

Hanjan: BBQ Galbi SkewersScallion Pancake (sans the local squid, which is typically combined with the scallion in the pancake batter)  Whole scallion nibs, each about 1" in diameter, are lightly bound by Korean pancake batter and fried to beautiful golden brown.   

Hanjan: Scallion PancakePork Fat 'Ddukbokki' (sans fish cakes, which are typically incorporated within the dish)  Gummy, cylindrical rice cakes are tossed in a spicy sauce and accompanied by an undercooked hard-boiled egg with a molten center.

Hanjan: Pork Fat 'Ddukbokki'Radish Kimchi & Brisket Fried Rice  Everyone's favorite side dish, fried rice, is combined with tangy radish kimchi and smoky beef brisket, before being crowned with a perfectly-cooked sunny-side-up egg

Hanjan: Radish Kimchi & Brisket Fried RiceHanjan - Korean cuisine - 36 W. 26th Street - NYC 10010

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I've captured some great tagging of late...!

A graffiti artist with style. I love it!I love Spanish cuss words. ...

Ever since I started working in Tribeca, all everyone seemed to talk about was the "magical Japanese curry at Greenwich Grill."  But Greenwich Grill?  Really?  Wasn't that the place that DeNiro - or some other actor - owned?  I thought it was a steakhouse?

Man, was I wrong...Turns out, Greenwich Grill prides itself in serving "Tokyo-Italian" cuisine.  To be honest, the products of whatever Italy and Tokyo could possibly conceive didn't sound particularly appetizing.  But, at the end of the day, all I cared about was getting my curry on.

Fellow cowowrkers, Phil and Sunwoo, agreed to accompany me to lunch at Greenwich Grill. 

Greenwich Grill: Menu coverAfter placing our beverage orders, we were promptly served a basket of the most delicious, pillowy-soft focaccia bread.

Greenwich Grill: Focaccia breadSince Sunwoo is a pescatarian, it wasn't in his best interest to order the curry, as the sauce is beef-based.  Phil and I, on the other hand, each ordered the same version:  Ebisu Curry (Japanese-style beef curry over white rice) topped with a sliced pork cutlet. 

Greenwich Grill: Ebisu Curry with pork cutletUnbelievable.  Precision.  Umami.  Those are just a handful of the words that I would use to describe this dish.  Imagine, if you will, beef pot roast, only with smaller cubes of meat, carrots, and onions.  Instead of a soupy "stew" base, think of something more along the lines of a thickened au-jus with a burst of curry flavor.  Served alongside white sticky rice, then topped with a sliced, panko-coated, fried pork cutlet that's moist, juicy, and whose crust adds an unexpectedly pleasant "crunch."    

Greenwich Grill - "Tokyo-Italian" cuisine - 428 Greenwich Street - NYC 10013

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I'm a total Mad. Sq. Eats whore.  I become giddy when I learn of the newly added vendors to the mobile culinary "festival "and cannot help but relish in the fact that the whole shebang is located just a stone's throw from my apartment. 

Instead of making a bee-line for the Momofuku Milk Bar kiosk (I'm obsessed with their 'birthday cake truffles'), I decided that I was craving an ice cream cone, instead.  I approached Dreamscoops with the hope that they carried salted caramel.  I was in luck. 

I was handed an artisan waffle cone filled with two ample scoops of salted caramel ice cream.  With each lick, I could taste the incredibly rich and buttery milk and cream and, better yet, the gooey ribbons of sweet and salty caramel.  Outstanding - handmade - and worth every damn calorie.  

Get.  Here.  Now.

Dreamscoops - ice cream - mobile/nomadic & temporary locations in NYC

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A couple of weeks ago, I took Lucy, my pup, for a walk after work.  As we meandered through Madison Square Park, Lucy, the friendly gal she is, approached a much larger dog.  Classic case of "Napoleon complex."  They greeted eachother in the typical way that canines do (butt sniffing), and I started chatting with the owner.  Minutes later, we were approached by a woman walking an adorable toy poodle puppy that must have been about 3-4 pounds.  Lucy and the bigger dog greeted the poodle, while the three of us chatted.  Out of nowhere, the big dog dipped down and snatched the poodle in his mouth.  I don't know whose yelps were louder, the puppy's or his owner's.  The bigger dog would NOT let the puppy go, no matter what we tried to do.  The owner begged for someone to get the water bottle out of his bag and pour water in the bigger dog's face (apparently dogs hate this?).  In a desperate move, I forefully tried to pry the larger dog's mouth open, and was bit (yes, I later got a tetanus shot).  This whole showdown lasted for approximately 2-minutes, before someone, in the crowd that had gathered, hit the bigger dog in the snout, which somehow made him release the poodle.  The puppy's owner was hysterical, so I grabbed her - delicately picked up her pup - and Lucy - and rushed to the nearest vet. 

To make a long story short, the first vet center gave the injured puppy a shot to ease his pain and sent us to a 24-hour/emergency pet hospital.  After two surgeries (one from the puncture wound and another for the hernia that he gave himself from all of the stress) and $6000 in medical bills later, I'm proud to report that Pomme, as his owner calls him, is alive and well!  

Because of the traumatic experience that we shared, Pomme's owner and I have become friendly.  On Sunday, we met from brunch at Dos Caminos (in honor of Cinco de Mayo and because they have outdoor seating), and lovingly watched on as our dogs reunited for the first time since that tragic evening.  United by an ugly event that, fortunately, had a very happy ending, the four of us will be forever friends...

Lucy (white) + Pomme (multi-colored)...

Until we eat again,

The Lunch Belle