The French Culinary Institute of New York

**carafe of sparkling water** 

I've walked by the doors of the L'Ecole the restaurant run by the students of the  French Culinary Institute too many times to count. Every time I'm in NYC, I make a habit of going to SOHO and as a result I pass by this school usually on my way to chinatown to grab some much needed food to refuel for more shopping. This past Saturday the weather was cold, rainy, windy and all around terrible. I ended up outside the doors of L'Ecole in dire need of some warmth and food.


They offer prixe-fix meals throughout the day. Brunch and dinner on the weekends and lunch and dinner during the work week. For $19.50 we decided that it was an affordable escape from the wintry weather. The menu offered a little for everyone. Clearly French bistro inspired there were a few non traditional french items but we stuck with the classics. Here's a tip for people who like sparkling but hate to pay the premium. The school offers flat or sparkling filtered water as part of the prixe-fix price. So feel free to order the sparkling. (I ordered it without knowing it was complimentary and my brunch companion who is notorious for being extremely budget conscious almost vetoed my request for sparkling before our waitress informed us that it was complimentary)

 **my burger**

I ordered the seasonal salad hoping for heaps of cauliflower and butternut squash. Instead it was a bed of frisee with a bit of baby arugula some walnuts and a sprinkling of squash and two florets of cauliflower. I am not a big fan of frisee. I don't mind bitter greens but I find frisee to be a bit dry and hard to handle. The curly leaves spring out from my fork in all directions and I find it's always a struggle to get it into my mouth neatly. The salad was a bit disappointing however my brunch companions liked their choices. The terrine was yummny and the butternut squash soup was rich, creamy and comforting. 

**duck confit**

 

I was happy when we moved past the first course and were presented with our entrees. I ordered the burger medium well and it arrived on a brioche bun. Yay! i love brioche buns for burgers. I hate when the buns overpower the patty and with the delicate nature of brioche that's hard to do.  The fries were a bit over salted but well prepared. My other brunch companion got the duck confit and that looked well executed - crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. Brunch at L'Ecole was definitely the right move and at $19.50 a very affordable option.

El Zarape Taqueria

I've recently been getting sudden cravings for  Mexican food. Not that Tex Mex stuff they serve at Taco Bell and Qdoba but the real authentic stuff that real authentic Mexicans eat. I don't really know when it started but I've been finding myself eating tacos at least twice a month. 

Most recently I stumbled across El Zarape located in the Passyunk Square area. This place is located directly across the street from that hipster haven Cantina Los Caballitos and is not as sleek or eye catching but I have to say that to food is good. They serve you fresh chips and salsa not unlike what you get from La Veracruz but in addition to the red and green salsa you get a side of refried black beans. The beans are GOOD.

 red & green salsa with chips and refried beans

I ordered the Taco's Al Pastor (my all time favorite) and my lunch companion went with the zucchini blossom quesadilla. My tacos were awesome. It had just the right amount of onion and pineapple mixed in with the juicy pieces of pork. The quesadilla was OK. It was made with flour tortillas which I'm not a huge fan. They weren't terrible...just nothing special. 

   

tacos al pastor

 

 zucchini blossom quesadilla

Dmitri's - Fitler Square

glass of the house white

When I think of BYOB's, Dmitri's is always on the top of that list. The location in Queen Village has been popular for years and has been a favorite of mine for as long as I can remember. I've eaten many meals at the bar, squeezed in shoulder to shoulder with my dinner companion and other patrons. This cramped, loud little restaurant makes no apologies for these inconveniences. You either love it or hate it and I happen to be someone who loves it. They serve seafood that is fresh and simply prepared. No foams, no gelee, no freeze dried anything is served here. Just honest to goodness fresh fish, shellfish and a few Greek inspired salads and dips. So given my partiality to this tiny little gem of a restaurant, is it any wonder that I never remember that there exist a sister restaurant in Filter Square?

appetizer sampler

 

sauteed mussels

I finally ate at Dmitris 2  one Friday night and boy was I surprised. This one is not a BYOB like the in Queen VIllage but the menu is more or less the same. They offer a few different items such as the appetizer sampler dish which included a cucumber salad, the beets, and variety of the dips and along with wedges of the grilled pita. I love eating the pita dipped in the olive oil with just a splash of the Tabasco. There's just something about that combination that just makes my tastebuds sing. It is a great starter and more than enough for 2 people. We ordered that along with the sauteed mussels (my favorite) and then one platter, which was the tilapia special (broiled tilapia filets in white wine) and since this was not a BYOB we each ordered a glass of the house white. It was the perfect dinner. The atmosphere was lively, but not as cramped as the Queen Village location and the food well executed. I was pleasantly surprised by how much i enjoyed myself. If you find yourself wandering about Filter Square/Rittenhouse Square looking for a non-pretentious and affordable dinner spot you should check out Dmitri's on the corner of 23rd and Pine.

Soho Cafe

There are two things that I love in life right now. Yakitori Boy and BonChon chicken. And these things came together unexpectedly last Wednesday - the day before Thanksgiving - the biggest party night of the year!

A large order of wings

We started the night out at Bonchon for dinner and Cafe Soho did not disappoint. This little restaurant located near the corner of 5th and Cheltenham Ave started serving korean fried chicken a little over a year ago. If you've never had this type of fried chicken, I would highly recommend it. They're like buffalo wings but crispier and and flavor is more rounded. I like both the spicy version (the heat in these wings are masochistically hot) and I like the soy garlic. Eating this fried chicken goodness requires strategy that I'll share with you. In order to keep the heat from the spicy wings from getting to you, you have to alternate between the spicy and soy garlic and drink the beer. Also try to keep the contact with your lips at a minimum otherwise the heat from the spicy sauce will make your lips burn and go numb. I know it sounds terrible and quite torturous but believe me it's well worth it. These wings are addictively good.

Deep Fried Turkey Goodness

Like every other food obsessed American, I often prepare for Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday, by watching the Food Network and most importantly their Thanksgiving Specials. For the last few years I've been toying with the idea of a deep fried turkey. I mean who doesn't like fried food? In the past, turkey has always taken a backseat to the sides served at dinner. We made a turkey because it was expected not necessarily because of the way it taste. Over the years, my mother and I have tried every "trick" in the book to try to make this large heavy breasted bird succulent and juicy. We've brined, injected, massaged, basted, tented and in the end just prayed that the white meat would be juicy and the dark meat cooked. Eventually after years of tweaking our technique, we found that brining and rubbing butter on the bird was the best we could do to prevent it from going dry in the oven.

This year, out of the blue, two weeks before Thanksgiving, my mother informs me that she wants to deep fry the turkey. I was delighted and honestly a little scared. I saw the deep fried turkey special by Alton Brown and watched as they lit a fryer contraption on fire when they plunged the bird into the fat. As soon as the words, "Deep Fried Turkey" came out of my mother's mouth I kept seeing images from that turkey inferno in my head.

Despite my fear, we went ahead and purchased the fryer from Lowes Hardware and hoped for the best. As you can see from the picture it turned out well. We brined the turkey overnight as usual and instead of roasting it for hours it only took about 50 minutes in the fat and out came a golden crispy juicy bird. It was by far the tastiest and juiciest turkey we've ever made. Deep Fried Turkey is awesome! Happy Thanksgiving!