Pisticci - Italian restaurant in Harlem

Pisticci is one of those spontaneous find.
On our way back from New Paltz one Saturday evening, we wanted to find a restaurant for dinner along the way.


We found this restaurant from google map.
The menu looked interesting, so we decided to check it out.


The restaurant had a cozy, homy and relaxed atmosphere.  It looked adorable.


I seldom come to this part of town, and was really surprise to find this restaurant in Harlem.


Strawberry Burban
These days, I am drawn to burban cocktails. It's almost like strawberry mojito.  


Special: Arugula, mango, fig, heart of palm salad with balsamic
I LOVE this salad.  The combination of different ingredients just worked perfectly!


Steamed mussels in white wine & parsley
This is a safe dish that can not go wrong. 


Orecchiette broccoli robe - bitter greens and peperoncino in white wine & garlic broth with spicy sausage
OMG - I do not know how to describe how much joy and satisfaction this dish brought me. 
The white whine wine & garlic broth was EXACTLY what I was craving for.  
The spicy sausage gave the dish the extra kick and the pasta was cooked just perfect.   
I savored every single bit with a big grin on my face.


Fettucine ai funghi - homemade fettucine with a trio of wild mushrooms.
Another great pasta dish that was richer and creamier.
Once again, the pasta was cooked just right. 


Coconut Cake
We ordered this dessert because we really enjoyed the coconut cake at Jestine's kitchen in Charleston, South Carolina.  
It was a good cake, but it was not from Jestine's kitchen.



While I was eating my delicious pasta half way through the dinner, I was already thinking about which friends of ours that I would love to bring here and share the experience with.
I love trying new restaurants in NYC, but not many of them that I have burning desire to re-visit.
Pisticci is one of those restaurants that I know I will come back again and again.

Suger Freak - Louisiane cooking in Astoria

Discovered this newly opened restaurant when we hung out with our friends who live in Astoria,
and you know how much I love my southern cuisine.


So we came out to Astoria on Saturday evening to check out Sugar Freak. 
The restaurant had a lovely space and charming decor.
(Forgot to the memory card for the camera, so the cellphone photo would have to do.)


Gumbo soup- chicken and Andouille sausage stew over rice.
I love gumbo soup.  It reminded me of Chinese Congee with more intense flavor.

Broiled Shrimp with okra rice
The shrimp was unbelievably delicious, but portion was small.


Buttermilk Fried Chicken with collard green
Fried chicken was such a safe bet.  It was good, but not great.  
I would get something more exciting next time. 


Mud Pie - mix of banana, pineapple, and raspberry pie.
It balanced sweet and sour flavors, creamy and crusty textures.



The restaurant only opens for dinners from Thursday to Sudan.
The price is very reasonable, and the atmosphere is relaxed and homey.
Another great addition to Astoria expending dinning scene.

Xi'an Famous Foods (西安名吃) - various locations

The weather was horrible last Sunday.  It was windy and raining non-stop.
H & I stayed home in our pajamas until late afternoon when I got a bit antsy and wanted to go out for some fresh air.

Xi'an Famous Foods came to mind since I saw this eatery appeared on two TV shows on Travel Channel.
It is a regional Chinese food specialize in hand pulled noodles.

After I did some Google search, I was glad to find that the chain eatery had a few locations,
and the closest one to us was in Flushing.


The eatery was a hole in the wall kind of place in the basement of a food court that made me feel like I was in China. Actually all the food stalls in the food court served some intriguing regional Chinese food and looks as authentic as they can be. It was quite an exciting discovery.


Tiger vegetable salad - cilantro, scallions, and red pepper with vinegar.
The salad was a good change of flavor to our palates with the other heavy and spicy dishes we ordered.


Chang-an spicy tofu
It looked much spicier than it tasted.  The tofu had a Greek yogurt kind of creamy texture. 


Lamb pao-mo soup -  mild lamb soup with chunks of hard bread.
It is really strange to say, but the soup was both heavy and light.


Spicy and tingly beef hand ripped noodle 
Both H & I loved spicy food and can handle a lot of heat, so we LOVED this dish. 
We loved the texture of the hand ripped noodles and the slow cooked beef was so tender.


Xi'an Famous Foods is not for everyone.
If you are not an adventurous eater, this is not the place for you.

Every dish in this eatery has abundant flavor that if you are craving for something exciting,
you will definitely be satisfied walking out of the place.

The place is also recession proof. Four dishes and two drinks only set us back 20 bucks.

If you do come, remember to try some of the unique home made drinks.
They will taste so good paring with all the spicy food that you eat.

Villa Pacri - Italian restaurant in Meatpacking District

I could go months without Italian food and then all of a sudden, all I wanted was pasta.
The last time I had Italian was at Vesta in May, and I have been craving for Italian lately.
 
For my birthday this past weekend, another couple joined us for dinner at this beautiful Italian restaurant, Villa Pacri, in Meatpacking District.



My girlfriend's first reaction was, "It reminded me of your apartment.",
which made me happy because I loved the restaurant's decor.


La Burrata: Puglia Region Burrata, Organic Cherry, Tomato, Basil
It's an imported Italian cheese with cream. The burrata was OUT OF THIS WORLD delicious!


II Prosciutto di San Danielle: San Danielle Prociutto 24 months
Prociutto is my favorite kind of cured meat. 


I Ravioli: Sardinia Sheeps Milk Ricotta, Ravioli, Black Truffle
Once again, the ricotta cheese was AMAZING.
I barely could taste the black truffle, and the portion was really small.


Today's Special: Steak
The steak was juicy and flavorful. 


Today's Special: Grilled whole fish, Branzino
I was debating between Branzino and seabass.  I had to say this was might be my least favorite dish today.  It was not bad, but it was nothing exciting either.


I Bomboloni: Warm Ricotta Bomboloni, Hot Chocolate Bicerin
The best way to describe the dessert was fried donuts with different dipping sauce.And yes, they were good.



BONUS!
It was a rare beautiful summer night with gentle breeze and zero humidity.
We took a stroll and went up to the top floor of Standard hotel for a drink.


The bar was ultra-groovy with 80's vibe and amazing view overlooking the Hudson river.


It is the kind of bar that you want to take the out-of-town guests to,
and wow them with what New York City has to offer.


It was a lovely evening and great way to end a night!

Ninth Ward - New Orleans bar in East Village

H & I were on our way to try a new restaurant when we came across to Ninth Ward.
A New Orleans bar serving southern food.


Southern food is my favorite American regional cuisine.
Without hesitation, we abandoned our original plan and walked into the bar.


There was a small outdoor garden in the back that was pretty packed with the happy hour crowd.
We decided to sit in the cozy booth in the back. 


First order of business: give me some Hurricane!


Fried pickles with Gribiche (Herb & Caper Mayo)
Something I have never tried before.  
The idea of it was really strange. But it actually tasted good!  I would so order it again.


Buttermilk fried chicken with Nola sauce, slaw & abita beer biscuit
I must say that I had better fried chicken before. 


Gumbo with chicken, andoulle & shrimp
On the other hand, Gumbo was awesome!
Loved the spicy andoulle sausage, the rich flavor, and the grilled toast.


Beignet
We knew that there was no way the beignet in Ninth Ward was going to live up to our expectations. 
There is only one place to eat beignet, and that is Cafe du Monde in New Orleans. 
However, we had to have it for sentimental reasons, and I still enjoyed it!



Ninth Ward is an interesting bar with creole decor and cool vibe.
The food is decent and the price is very reasonable.
Come have a drink when you are in East Village. 

BIerhaus - German beer garden in Midtown East

H came to pick me up from work one Friday afternoon,
and I asked him to wait for me at Bierhaus, a new beer garden near Grant Central Station.


It was quite surprising to have a beer garden in midtown Manhattan on the second floor of a regular block.
All the after work crowd were there and the place was pretty noisy.

The unexpected authentic decor and the Bavarian folk band caught us by surprise.
We were a bit suspicious and worried that it would just be one of those "theme restaurants".


However, when H was able to order food in German with the waitress dressed in Dirndl, we were sold!


Wienerschnitzel – Breaded pork fillet. Served with potato, red cabbage and cucumber salad.
It was good as any. 
The only bone that H had to pick was that the salad should be placed in a seperate plate
so the sauce would not soak the breaded pork fillet. 


Bavarian cream – A Bavarian cream custard with chocolate sauce and powdered sugar.
Enjoyed every bite of it. Similar to the cream puff.


More beers please!


Bierhaus is a fun place with a lot of energy. The crowd and noise are just part of the whole experience.
It is a great place to go when you need some beer therapy after a hard day of work.

Freeman -- American Cuisine in the Lower East Side

You can not judge a book by it's cover, but can you judge a restaurant by it's facet?


Some restaurants are love at first sight for me without tasting their food: One if by land, Mari Vanna, Lady Mandl's tea salon to name a few.
Freeman was one of them.


Unfortunately, I forgot to bring a camera with me this time.
The cellphone pictures will have to do.
 

Fried Vermont Quail with warm cabbage slaw
Anything fried always taste good.  The crispy skin & breading had a lot of flavor.
The crunchy cabbage slaw added an interesting contrast in texture and flavor. 


Steamed Prince Edward Island Mussels in Hefeweizen broth with garlic aioli, toast
Sorry, I totally forgot to take the picture until we almost finished the dish.
Steam Mussels was an easy dish and could hardly go wrong, loved the grilled toast.


Pan Roasted Arctic Char with stewed leeks, beet chips & meyer lemon salad
I was curious about arctic char since I did not come across to it often. Turned out, it was very much like salmon, but lighter. 
The dish was executed perfectly. The skin was crispy and the meat was moist.
The stewed leeks, beet chips, and meyer lemon salad was so good that it really made this dish special.


Seared Filet Mignon with sweet & sour onions, mashed potatoes in horseradish cream
Another dish that was executed well. The sweet & sour onions and mash potatoes were excellent!
 

Sauteed Swiss Chard
Again, we ordered this side dish because Swiss Chard was not something we cooked or came across often in restaurants.


Apple Cobbler with vanilla ice cream, caramel & seasalt
Our waiter's recommendation. I loved warm dessert.  IT felt homey and comforting. 


Okay, maybe I am not completed objective when it comes to judging a restaurant. 
Freeman would probably have to do terribly wrong for me to not liking it.
However, not only did I enjoy the ambiance and the food; the service was also worth noting.

I loved when I went to a restaurant, the servers could give me concrete and thoughtful  inputs when I asked for recommendations, not just gave me the standard PR answer:  "They were all good." 
Our server at Freeman was attentive and knowledgeable that made our dining experience even more pleasurable. 
 
Freeman is a great restaurant for a romantic dinner.
It can also be perfect for a few friends hanging out at the bar with drinks & appetizers. .