Dining in the dark: Jadis

Sometimes I hate it when the lights are too low in restaurants, but at Jadis, not being able to see my meal in full brightness didn't detract from my enjoyment of the food at all.

TC and I had tried to have dinner at Freemans, but on a Friday night at 8 pm, even a table for two meant an hour-long wait. Unwilling to stand around and without enough time anyway before the 10 pm screening of Planet B-Boy at the Sunshine, we headed to nearby Jadis instead, a charming, mellow wine bar that I been to once before.

We started with two appetizers, the mini crab cakes and the mixed quiches. The crab cakes, which came with some kind of mustard aioli, were meaty and greaseless, and the dipping sauce was good enough that we were dipping our forks into it and eating it plain even after the crab cakes were gone. The quiches (both Lorraine and Savoyarde varieties) were good too, though they would have benefited from a real pastry crust rather than the phyllo cups they were prepared with. Both appetizers, at six and five dollars respectively, were bargains.

My salad seemed to be a bargain as well, at twelve dollars for the huge pile of duck confit over spinach, dried plums, and sautéed shallots that you see above. Unfortunately I found the confit to be a little dried out. Actually, every time I've had duck confit shredded like this it's been dried out, so either this is how it's meant to be or I've been getting shoddy duck.

We ended with two desserts, the crème brulée and the chocolate fondant, which boasted a molten, liquid center. Both were well-done versions of classics, and we finished most of each even though we were pretty full. After a mug of good coffee, it was just about time for us to head to the theater.

Jadis is a great option for dates or catching up with friends, as its peaceful, welcoming atmosphere and good selection of inexpensive food and wine make it easy to linger. Deep couches in the back and a bar at the front are conducive to orchestrating a change in scenery from the table, too. If I ever find myself in the area with a good book to read, I just might settle myself down for a while.

Korean confections at Koryodang

Passing through K-town on my way from a doctor's appointment, I spotted these racks of breads and pastries being wheeled into Koryodang. It was a typical 32nd Street scene otherwise—jammed with middle-aged Koreans, young Korean-Americans, tourists of all shapes from Hotel Stanford, shoppers filtering in from Herald Square, and businessmen and women from the office buildings above. But the racks, the racks had a presence of their own.

I followed them into Koryodang, where I surveyed the long shelves of sweets and baked goods. The items at this Korean mini-chain always seem overpriced, especially compared to the prices at Chinese bakeries, but its convenient location in the middle of K-town ensures that I pop my head in from time to time. I usually don't buy anything, but maybe it was seeing all those pastries in the sunlight just earlier—I left with not one but two confections sitting in my bag.

Back at my office, I tried a bit of each. The shortbread cookies were superior to the almond bar; the caramel nut topping on the bar was chewy and too sweet and the bottom crust was dense and heavy. The cookies, on the other hand, were excellent: buttery and just sweet enough, savory with toasted almonds, and with a good, rich snap when bitten into. I'll always mourn the fact that there are no Chinese bakeries close to where I work, but in the meanwhile, Koryodang will do.

Surprise sidewalk tamales

There's a woman I occasionally see on my way home, coming down from the 36th Avenue train station on the northeast side. She stands in the shadow of Food World supermarket, around the corner from its entrance and close to the bottom of the subway steps.

Whenever I manage to catch her, maybe once a month or so, I walk right up to her and she looks at me with a face that says she's not sure I know what's she's there for. But once I point and say, "Tamales?" she breaks out into a smile and cracks open the lid of her cooler, revealing the dozens of tamales stacked within, neatly wrapped in foil and somehow always piping hot. I always get two: one for my dinner, and then another to bring for lunch the next day (or to eat for breakfast, if I'm in the mood). Sometimes the savory cornmeal dough hides pork in a spicy green sauce, other times chicken in a milder red sauce, and once the tamales were filled with cheese and long green chiles. Whichever version they are, all are fresh and flavorful. I don't know the woman's schedule, or if she even has one, but I'm always happy to see her standing at the bottom of the steps.

Eats and sweets at Kaleidoscope, Chikalicious Puddin' Bar

EK was in town for several days, and for dinner with MH and I, she suggested Kaleidoscope. Above is my order of "East Indian Rice Sticks," which was sautéed with "shrimp, red onions, spinach, yellow split peas, and cashew nuts in a cilantro turmeric wine sauce." The description doesn't mention the yellow raisins in there, which some people don't like, but which for me usually adds a welcome, subtle sweetness to fried rice or noodle dishes (as in the Golden Needle fried rice at Canton Gourmet).

The shrimp was of decent quality and quantity, but despite their fierce coloring the noodles themselves were a little on the soft side and tasted both bland and wet. The different textures and flavors just didn't come together. All in all I'd call the food at Kaleidoscope serviceable but not really outstanding; it's one of those places that reaffirms my belief that places trying to cover a variety of cuisines may be better off focusing on doing one of them very well.


Afterwards we hit up Chikalicious Puddin' Bar, just a few doors down. Between the three of us we got all of the varieties offered: Brioche Bread Puddin', Adult Chocolate Puddin', and Vanilla Custard Steamed Puddin'. These were puddings of the British variety, meaning steamed, boiled, and baked sweets with sauce poured over them, instead of soft mounds of creamy pudding (like I was going for here, but failed at). I was surprised to see that the dark chocolate pudding was thick enough to be scooped out like ice cream, and that it also had a similar texture. It had a nice bitter edge though, which I enjoyed: adult, indeed. The bread pudding and the steamed pudding were both okay—the former was cold and the latter was hot, but had both been the same in temperature, I feel like they would have been similar.

Everything was tasty enough, but nothing that I would crave or return for (I suppose that sort of sums up the entire evening of food). Well, at least it was good to spend some time catching up with the ladies.

Truckin' it with Wafels & Dinges

What's not to love about a food truck? Especially one that gives birth to waffles?

Wafels & Dinges is one of a trio of mobile sweets-vendors that roam around the city, the other two being the Dessert Truck and the Treats Truck (neither of which I've tried). I was making a quick run to the Trader Joe's in Union Square during the late afternoon, and spotted the mustard-yellow vehicle parked right in front.

The menu boasts that their leige waffle is "packed with sugar pearls," and since I had just gotten a packet of pearl sugar from Ikea (thanks AT), I decided to see what something made with the stuff was like. These were pre-made, so when I placed my order, the vendor took one from the stack to heat up on the iron.

The waffle was dense and sweet, and being crisped-chewy-dough-with-powdered-sugar-on-top, made me think of MH and I's beloved beignets. It seemed like it could have been hotter and with a better crust, but I don't know anything about what liege waffles are supposed to really be like. In any case, I enjoyed the mild crunch of the sugar pearls throughout the waffle, and it was gone by the time I made it back to my office.

Shrim-pea dumplings, Sichuan spice, and cookies of fortune

Shrimp and snow pea leaf dumplings, from Chinatown Brasserie, served at the Asia Society's "Beyond Shark’s Fin and Fortune Cookies: Exciting Journeys in Chinese Gastronomy" event. JSK managed to score tickets from our former high school classmate Jennifer 8. Lee, whose book The Fortune Cookie Chronicles seems to be showing up everywhere. After listening to both Jennifer and Fuchsia Dunlop talk about their respective adventures with Chinese and Chinese(ish) food, we retired to an upper level for book signings and dim sum.

Don't the dumplings look sort of like impaled frogs? Was this intentional? No matter—they were delicious.

I haven't read The Fortune Cookie Chronicles yet—my joint-custody copy of the book is with JSK right now—but from all that I've been hearing and reading, it promises to be fascinating. I did read Fuchsia's memoir though, which was enlightening and pretty amusing, and made me want to seek out Sichuan food every time I read a chapter. Spicy and Tasty, anyone?

(E)wards

So Jessica at FoodMayhem awarded me with an "E for Excellent" nearly a month ago, and because I am a complete delinquent I am only managing to acknowledge this now. (Jess would never let this happen on her blog, as she somehow manages to throw up several detailed, timely posts a day even while planning a blow-out wedding.) Thanks, girl! And in the spirit of this (e)ward here are three of my picks, in no particular order:

The Kitchen Sink: Along with the gorgeous photography, what I love about Kristin's site is that almost every one of the recipes seems delicious, interesting, and completely accessible. I find myself bookmarking probably 80 percent of her posts, so that I can go back to them at some point to try them out.

A Passion for Food: Kathy's clear enthusiasm and joy over what she eats and experiences is lovely to read, and half the time after she posts about a place out I feel compelled to immediately go there myself. It helps that she runs around in roughly the same areas that I do—um, as in all of New York City, practically no borough left untouched, and then some.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks!: Beautiful, step-by-step photos of un-pretentious recipes are what make me visit Ree's site regularly. I also love the humorous commentary she injects into each one of her posts, as well as her backstory ("I attended college in Los Angeles and wore black pumps to work every day. I ate sushi and treated myself to pedicures on a semi-regular basis.... Now I live in the middle of nowhere on a working cattle ranch").

Happy reading folks!

Just don't steal my outlet: Think Coffee

One of my favorite places to camp out when I need to write or work on freelance is Think Coffee. First introduced to me a few years ago by RT, Think's list of charms is long: lots of tables; tons of electrical outlets; free, stable wifi; good, environmentally conscious coffees and teas; tasty, inexpensive food; a nice vibe and philosophy; and open late (until midnight every day). The only drawbacks are that it tends to get jammed up with NYU students, and sometimes there will be random bands playing which can be either a blessing or a terrible, terrible curse. Also, occasionally I'll be working at one of the back tables and then be forced to clear out for an art show or a reading (I do like that Think functions as a community center as well as coffee shop though—I've even shown jewelry at one of their craft and design fairs).

Their pastries are mostly ehhh, but their soups, salads, and sandwiches are generally pretty good and sometimes even fantastic. Above is a grilled chicken breast panini with sliced provolone, tomato, and aioli, served with a mesclun side salad. It's enormous, and since it's also quite rich, one split between two people (perhaps with another salad, like their beet, goat cheese, and walnut version) would make a perfectly filling meal.

Sometimes I hesitate to share favorite haunts on the internets lest they become even more crowded, but Think recently opened a second location. So for a great place to chill go to Think: It's on Bleeker. There's no coffee shop on Mercer, oh no.