zawEats

more tacos and booze

Zaw — Tue, 10 May 2011 16:17:54 +0000

Since I was in the Chelsea neighborhood, I thought I’d stop by Chipotle for a drink and try their menu. You might be wondering why I would be eating at Chipotle at all places when I’m in mothereffing New York City. Well Nate Appleman, James Beard Award winner and of Food Network (Next Iron Chef, Chopped, etc) was hired by Chiptole to work at this location and to use it sort of as a test Kitchen. For one thing, this location is one of the few that serve margaritas. Another difference is that they have a flaptop instead of a grill that is standard at other Chipotles. I would presume that since Nate Appleman has a hand in the operations, the meats at this place might undergo a different preparation. When I went, they had chorizo as an option in addition to their regular menu. The chorizo had nice char and spice but I thought it was way too salty. That was the thing that killed it for me. Then again I might have been overloaded from salt with the Patron margarita.

Tasty margarita but the salt killed the tacos.

By the way, if you are a fan of Chipotle, you should move to Manhattan. There are dozens of them there! I could’ve sworn I saw a Chipotle on every block. I think Denver might have Manhattan beat on the number of locations but Manhattan has to have the highest Chipotle-per-area density in the US.[see Figure 1]

Figure 1. Chipotle locations in Manhattan

Bo Kho!

Zaw — Sun, 08 May 2011 12:43:53 +0000

Here’s some Bo Kho I had at a noodle shop in Chinatown NYC. I was originally hoping to get a nice bowl of ramen at Ippudo (rated one of the top ramen shops in NYC) but my aunt took me here instead. I can definitely say it was well worth it at only $5 for the bowl, while ramen would’ve cost me $15. This was my first time eating Bo Kho as well. I wasn’t sure what sort of flavors to expect but it was kind of like a french beef stew with Vietnamese flavors. I liked that the noodles were freshly made as opposed to dried.

Tender beef tendons. Yummy.

Vietnamese egg rolls and fried stuffed bean curd.

So goooooood. I’m going to try to make this very soon. I think the wide rice noodles are a perfect fit for this dish. My aunt says she prefers egg noodles but I never like egg noodles in anything but wonton soup.

sawadee krup

Zaw — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 01:00:21 +0000

This is an oldie. Almost two years ago. Gan made this “fried rice” with sausages,green peppers, cauliflower, and brown rice. He also decided to cook it in a stock pot so it wasn’t really fried rice. If you’re reading this, IT WAS DELICIOUS. *cough*

He redeemed himself with the beer battered fried chicken and fried potatoes.

tacos y cerveza

Zaw — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 02:33:14 +0000

My favorite tacos and my favorite beer. What else can I ask for?

Campechano tacos. Grilled steak and sausage with onions and cilantro served on fresh-made tortillas. These were so good, the meat was nice and caramelized.

Fresh, warm chips!

Bell’s Hopslam is now my favorite beer. Unfortunately, it is only offered once a year. It really went well with the spicy food. It wasn’t as bitter as I thought. The honey used in brewing the beer really balanced it. The aromas were crazy awesome. There’s a lot of citrus and tropical fruit smell coming off it. I can’t wait till next year so I can get more of it.

Dinner tonight

Zaw — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 00:56:51 +0000

First, let me tell you that this is the only acceptable way to eat broccoli. Cut the broccoli into florets as you desire. You can wash them if you want but you want the broccoli to be dry when you roast them. Toss the broccoli in a tablespoon or two of oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast them in your favorite roasting pan at 450 degrees until brown. I’m using my favorite cast iron pan!

Look how delicious that looks. The roasting makes them tender and caramelizes the florets. How can you make this any better? Add some parmesan cheese or lemon zest.

Yes, I ate them all.

Salt and pepper shrimp!

Zaw — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 02:31:05 +0000

One of my favorite things to eat. Head, shell, and tail. A good Chinese seafood restaurant will have a live tank with shrimp, they’re pretty small since the shell will be more delicate and it’s easier to eat everything. The ones I get from the store near me are from the Gulf of Mexico. They’re a little bit bigger than the ones that restaurants serve. Not a problem for me, I just want some shrimp!

The first thing you want to do is take a pair of kitchen shears and trim the antennae, rostrum (the pointy part on the head, be careful not to stick yourself), and the eyes if they make you queasy…

Then just dust the shrimp with some flour (rice, all-purpose, either will do), salt, and pepper. Be liberal with the pepper. You can use a zip-loc bag or a plastic container and tumble the shrimp with the seasonings.

Then fry the shrimp in some oil, something neutral like vegetable or peanut oil until the outside turns pink. This and the carry over heat is enough to cook the shrimp all the way through.

You can serve them as is with rice or if you’re a little more adventurous, you can make a quick aromatic stir fry (garlic, chives, green onion, diced onions, chili peppers, whatever you have on hand) and toss the shrimp in it to get the oniony, garlicy, spicy aromatics on the shrimp.

I had some garlic, chives, and onions on hand so I quickly sauteed them and topped the shrimp.

Some people will peel the shrimp or take off the heads but that ruins all the fun of eating the shell and crunchy heads.

mmm

Zaw — Sat, 15 May 2010 07:24:05 +0000

My dream is to currently eat at:
Urasawa (Beverly Hills, CA)
Alinea (Chicago, IL)
Le Bernardin (New York, NY)
I think I can accomplish this while I’m attending grad school for the next four years.