Throwback Thursday – Élan

Posted on March 4, 2016 by Tablespoonsandteaspoons

Recently I have received information from various sources of restaurant closings in New York City. One of them was a restaurant that was on my list for NYC restaurant week to go to, but unfortunately was booked for the days that I am available to go. The name of this restaurant is élan and I finally made the effort to explore the restaurant on what I thought was the last day. The restaurant was only serving a prix fixe menu – 3 course meal for $40. I had the privilege of meeting one of the owners – George. George informed me that they are extending business until the end of the month hopefully. Meg, my server for that evening was good, but she could be better. She neglected to inform me of the other specials that was off the menu that evening. However, her accommodation and hospitality towards was good. Meg provided a great sales pitch on the popular dishes to try and her recommendations were on point.

Three course menu options

Sea Urchin Guacamole

The first dish I ordered was the Sea Urchin Guacamole. The dish caught my eye and I was immediately curious. I asked Meg, my server, about the dish and she highly recommended it so I went with my gut plus her approval and ordered it. The dish was beautifully presented, approximately 1 cup of guacamole with a sea urchin in the middle surrounded by taro chips heavily seasoned in sea salt. Personally I am not a salt fan, but the dish was well balanced. The saltiness of the taro chips complemented the acidity and sourness of sea urchin mixed with the guacamole. I devoured the dish.

Complementary house made everything pretzel w whole grain mustard butter.

While feasting on my appetizer dish, Meg served me a house made everything pretzel with whole grain mustard butter, which was delicious. Hands down.

Striped bass in red wine butter sauce with house made fried sage potato chips and snap peas.

For the main course, I followed Meg’s recommendation of the chef’s special of the day dish, which was off the menu. I ordered a striped bass, which is pan seared star bass on top of a delightful red wine butter sauce. I loved the red wine butter sauce. The fried sage potato chips were cleverly made, a piece of fresh sage leaf sandwiched in between two very thinly sliced potatoes and deep fried. The dish was beautifully presented and tasted even better than the guacamole appetizer.

Enjoyed my meal with a 30z sherry wine

After reviewing the drink list, I came across this sherry wine that cost only $6 I had to try it. The sherry wine was just right for my tolerance and went well with what I ate so far.

Milk chocolate mousse with passion fruit

For dessert, I decided to once again follow Meg’s recommendation of the milk chocolate mousse. George, one of the owners, served me the dish. The dish hit the spot. It had the right balance of the natural sweets of the passion fruit with the milk chocolate. What I learned is that this was the first day that they were serving this dish and I was satisfied. I would definitely order it again.

Overall this was one of best prix fixe meals I have had in a while because every dish tasted better and better. The food experience left a lasting impression and I am sad that this place was closing. I told three of my friends and convinced them to come to this restaurant. Therefore, I will definitely be returning. Hopefully, they will extend their business until the end of the month.

Throwback Thursday – Budget Date Night – Himalayan Yak

Posted on February 19, 2016 by Tablespoonsandteaspoons

Happy Thursday!! A few weeks ago decided to finally try Himalayan cuisine. I went on a date at Himalayan Yak located in Jackson Heights, Queens. This restaurant is an eclectic mix of Chinese, Indian, Nepalese and Tibetan cuisine. Side note: this restaurant was on the scene of ABC TV series Ugly Betty.

The first dish we ordered were “Momos”, which are Tibetan dumpling made of a thick dough containing meat and vegetables. There are also vegetarian momos as well. We ordered the steamed momos, one set comes with pork and vegetable ($7) and the other only had vegetables ($7.95). The food is served with julienned pickled carrots, which were spicy along with three different sauces equivalent to condiments from an Indian restaurant. These momos were good and the consistency of the dough makes it really filling. It is definitely a great starter and safe dish to try.

Momos – Tibetan dumplings

In addition to the momos, we decided to go adventurers by entering the world of “Yak”. Yak meat is one of the healthiest and leanest meat (95%-97% lean), almost as equivalent as grass fed beef. It is also low in fat and cholesterol than beef, skinless chicken breast and even salmon. It may help with lower risk of heart disease and cholesterol. However, my date was not there yet so we compromised with yak cheese ($6.50). Given the price of the cheese we were anticipating a huge platter, but it did not appear that way. This serving plate below looks small, but the texture of each piece of cheese was insulating and filling. On a tasting level, it was equivalent to aged cheese that was overpowering, but the apple slices complimented the strong aftertaste. Yak cheese has several health benefits since it is derived from grass fed yaks in the mountains of Nepal, the cheese carries more omega-3 fatty acids especially alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which help fight heart disease, diabetes, some cancers, and even body fat gain.

Yak Cheese

Finally, my adventurous Himalayan food journey did not end and talked my date into ordering the Nepalese dish – Sandeko Bandel ($6.95), which is smoked wild boar topped with lemon juices and spices. The dish looked and tasted like bacon – to die for –

Wild boar is another piece of lean meat, but it is expensive to cook. However, it has health benefits such as low calories, less fat, less saturated fat, low cholesterol, and higher protein content than beef, lamb, pork and chicken.

Sandeko Bandel: Sliced smoked wild boar topped with lemon juices, chili powder and Sichuan pepper

Overall service was good, food was very good especially if one is on a budget. Personally I would return to try their other dishes especially the Thali, Ngopa, and more yak. If one wants a cheaper meal, go during lunchtime, and if you check in on Yelp.

Throwback Thursday – Signature Series

Posted on January 29, 2016 by Tablespoonsandteaspoons

Last week I came to support David Burke’s (@ChefDavidBurke) Tip To Tail Dinner at BLT Prime (@BLTPrime) for #E2SignatureChef Series. The $175+ dinner per person was a huge splurge for me but I was willing to spend it in support of a great chef and friend. The overall theme of the meal was beef.

Beef is a nutrient rich food containing lots of protein, zinc, phosphorus, iron, selenium and B-complex vitamins (Vitamin B12, Niacin,Vitamin B6 and Riboflavin).

Health benefits of consuming just 3 ounces of lean beef include:

Builds muscles
Provides energy
Maintains immune system
Cognitive health
Heals wounds
Prevents anemia
Contributes to healthy skin and vision
May help prevent strokes and heart disease

Below are pictures of the delightful tastes of the dishes made by David Burke. Personal favorites of this meal were the rocky mountain oysters, tongue pao, ants on a log, aged steak and filet mignon.