Friday, 2 May 2014 – Dinner

 

What did I eat? Korean BBQ

Where from? Mapo Korean BBQ

How much did it cost? $120 for three including tax/tips (ouch!)

How was it?
We heard about this place from a few of our Korean friends who said this was the best BBQ in town. I’m used to my usual K-Town joints or my favorite AYCE Korean BBQ place, Picnic Garden. Mapo is a tiny place with no more than 10 tables. The waitresses were super friendly and had phenomenal service. The grill is unlike other places; they use actual charcoal in the middle of the table. It’ll be good in winter but I can’t imagine how hot it’ll get in the summer.

Now for the food. An order of beef is barely enough for one person. We ordered 2 orders of marinated beef. This is not a cheap place!! $35 for an order of beef which will barely feed me. We also ordered a kimchi jigae. Although the beef was expensive, it was worth every penny! Man… I have never had such good beef at a Korean BBQ place. It was so tender and juicy. AMAZING!! Moreover, the charcoal just adds to the flavor. Next time I go though, I’m going to take a pile of cash and just order like 3 orders of beef for myself! The kimchi jigae was something to write home about too. It’s got a real sour kick to it which I enjoyed thoroughly. I don’t remember other places having noodles in their jigae but these guys had some noodles also which was great. The side dishes were plentiful too, but it’s the usual stuff – fish, pickles, that fluffy steamed egg thing, etc.

The only complaint is the price. Then again, I’ve raved about the meat so it’s probably worth the price you pay. I would expect to spend between $40 and $50 per person here and for some people, that may be a bit much considering it’s not an all you can eat place.

Rate it!
8/10. I really want to give it a higher rating but the value is just not there. Solely on the BBQ, I’d give it like 11/10 but for value it’s like 5/10.

Sunday, 13 April 2014 – Dinner

 

 

What did I eat? Steak and sauteed mushrooms

Where from? Made it myself!!

How much did it cost? Under $10

How was it?
I bought this new cut of beef from the Asian grocery store – something loin related. Fantastic for grilling and the marbling is perfect too. It also helps that it’s about $5 for 2 strips so it’s really not expensive. I stay away from buying expensive meats when I grill because I don’t think I can control the heat too well on the gas grill and I tend to overcook the meats a lot. Although I am realizing that the thicker the cut, the better I can grill. I used the Chicago steak seasoning rub from Penzeys spices.

The mushrooms were just small portabella caps sliced and sauteed in butter and Worcestershire sauce with a bit of paprika. I think I used a bit too much butter this time since I ran out of olive oil. That made the mushrooms a bit rich but then again, you can never go wrong with excess butter!

The steaks turned out very well. The triangular piece wasn’t the loin but I think it was a London broil. All of the meats turned out very well. Check out the pink center in one of the photos. I’m only buying those loin pieces now since I can cook them to my taste very well.

Last photo is some noodle salad which the wife made and insisted I add it to this post.

Rate it!
9/10. Would have been a 10/10 meal had I made some mashed potatoes paired with a glass of sparkling apple cider.

Friday, 21 March 2014 – Dinner

What did I eat? Brazilian BBQ

Where from? Brazil Grill

How much did it cost? $90 for two (using Groupon deal, plus tax/tip)

How was it?
Before I begin about the food, I should clarify the Groupon deal bit. The Groupon deal said you get a meal with 2, a value of $120 for $60 and it includes 2 all you can eat rodizio, 2 desserts and a bottle of wine up to a $35 value. The tax and tip came up to around $30 so the meal for two basically ended being $90. The Groupon deal is not so bad but I personally would have just gotten the regular priced AYCE rodizio since I don’t drink. Plus the wine they gave was a $5 bottle.

The food was fantastic as usual. The best piece was the top sirloin (middle right pic). The layer of fat surrounding the meat was heaven! Add the saltiness and the blood oozing out, it was amazeballs! My least favorite was the sausage and maybe the chicken. The beef and pork cuts were succulent and just to my level of rarity and saltiness. The meal also comes with an order of fries, rice and beans. I would skip out on those and just binge on the meat.

Rate it!
9/10

Saturday, 25 January 2014 – Dinner

 

 

What did I eat? Grilled cornish hen, BBQ spare ribs, brisket, baked beans, collard greens, mac & cheese, banana pudding, German chocolate cupcake

Where from? Hill Country

How much did it cost? Birthday dinner so I’m not disclosing!

How was it?
Going to be a short review since I have many posts to put up before going on vacation. Hill Country has gone down since I last came here. Either that or other BBQ joints in NYC have improved. We came here for a friend’s birthday since they were able to accommodate a large crowd. The place is as crowded as ever, and there’s live music too. The service was very good in my opinion.

The brisket wasn’t that great; the lean one was too lean and the moist one, too fatty. The chicken was so so; nothing to write home about. The ribs weren’t as tender or juicy; they had some sort of seasoning on it, which made it taste almost like Chinese style spare ribs. The mac and cheese was quite good; it was more like penne and cheese. The baked beans are acceptable but could be sweeter and softer. The banana pudding was probably the best part of the meal.

Rate it!
7/10

Thursday, 16 January 2014 – Dinner

What did I eat? Grilled spare ribs, sticky rice, kimchi

Where from? Homemade ribs, sticky rice from Tuk Tuk, kimchi from the deli

How much did it cost? $6 for the sticky rice, $6 for the kimchi, probably around $10 for the ribs and marinade

How was it?
THAT WAS A GREAT DINNER! FANTASTIC! AMAZING! SUPERB! MAGNIFICENT!

Once again, we didn’t have any food left so I took out the ribs the night before and liberally soaked them in the Korean BBQ marinade, while it was thawing in the fridge. Previous attempts at grilling these ribs have turned out to be a bit disappointing since I end up burning them. This time, I kept a watchful eye on the grill to make sure there weren’t any flames flaring up and engulfing the juicy ribs. And GREAT SUCCESS! The ribs were grilled to perfection. Although I think if I had wrapped the ribs in foil and grill them for a bit before charring them later, it might have been better but regardless, these were splendid.

The kimchi was a disappointment though. I don’t think it’s been fermented sufficiently as yet. It lacked the sharp flavor and I was able to taste the napa cabbage more than I’d have liked. I’ve saved it in the fridge in hopes of the flavor building up over the next week or two.

The sticky rice was too soft for my liking but it was acceptable. The ribs and the sticky rice went together like Gary Neville and David Beckham in the heydays of Manchester United.

I’ll definitely make this again in the future. I have half bottles of Korean BBQ marinades left in the fridge.

Rate it!
10/10 for the ribs (first 10/10 of the blog), 4/10 for the kimchi, 6/10 for the sticky rice

Saturday, 11 January 2014 – Dinner

    

What did I eat? BBQ spare ribs, brisket, burnt end baked beans, Coca Cola. Chocolate souffle with raspberry sauce.

Where from? Mighty Quinn’s Barbeque and Cha-An Tea House

How much did it cost? $24 and $12

How was it?
I’m on a journey to try out every barbeque restaurant in NYC. My favorite placed, RUB, closed down last year and I’ve been trying to find suitable replacements. So far, there have been plenty worthy competitors.

I came across Mighty Quinn’s via Immaculate Infatuation; the restaurant was rated one of the site’s favorites for 2013 so I decided to give it a shot. I decided to venture out with a buddy of mine who never fails to join me in my quest for the best BBQ in NYC. Plus, being a wet Saturday night, I figured the crowd wouldn’t be so bad.

I ordered ribs as usual and was contemplating about getting burnt ends, but instead, went with an order of brisket. As in all BBQ joints, my trusty side order is always baked beans. The burnt ends looked very different from what I was envisioning; they looked more like pulled beef, as opposed to chunks of meat. The brisket was super tender, in fact, it was too fragile in my opinion. The ribs were fantastic though. I normally don’t like the ribs already covered in sauce but I was OK with these being sauced. The baked beans were GREAT! Massive chunks of burnt ends, tossed together with beans; it could be improved by adding a tad bit more sweetness. Oh and everything pairs very well with a glass of Coca Cola.

After dinner, we decided to hit up my regular East Village dessert spot – Cha-An Japanese Tea House. I had my usual fare of chocolate souffle with raspberry sauce. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo before I dived in so you can see the remainder. I’m not a fan of the raspberry sauce since I find it too sour and messes with my chocolate flavor. However, if you get some green tea ice cream, douse the ice cream with that sauce!

Rate it!
8/10 for the ribs and beans, 7/10 for the brisket, 7/10 for the dessert