The Koons exhibit only had three pieces, and I thought the balloon dog would be ENORMOUS. I was just a little disappointed. The superhero exhibit, on the other hand, was fascinating, I just wish I wasn’t too lazy to sneak pictures; there were guards everywhere! They actually had the costumes Christian Bale, Tobey Maguire, and Michelle Pfeiffer had worn in the films (if only I could’ve touched the Batman suit!)

Afterwards we wandered around Soho, stopping at the official MUJI store and CB2, a crate and barrel lookalike, where I got a porcelain cup for 2 dollars and a funky stainless steel snack bowl.

The best of the day though…was food related, again. Between Soho and Wall Street, we got lost several times in Chinatown and Little Italy while also trying to look for Prune, a restaurant favored by chefs and New Yorkers for its adventurous and authentic French food.

Alas, by the time we realized where it was, we were too far…so we walked all the way down to Vesey and the Path station (it seems that everytime I go to NYC lately I do more walking than anything else…even eating!)

Anyway, we finally found our way to Brasserie Les Halles, where Anthony Bourdain was executive chef before becoming the celebrity that he is now, and since it was Memorial Weekend, the restaurant was almost empty. Perfect. Pics below; notice the gorgeous French Onion soup.

The soup was by far Laura’s favorite dish while I was perfectly happy with my duck, which was crispy, fatty, and not at all dry (which is what I usually fear). I’m not a big cheese lover so a few bites of the soup were enough for me, but Laura kept going at it until there was barely anything left in the bowl. What I also noticed was that the chefs at Les Halles certainly know their potatoes. The mini homefries, the mashed potatoes, the chips were all crispy, lightly salted, and delicious. And I kept sneaking furtive glances at the Frenchman next to us munching on french fries (supposedly the best in New York) and a giant bowl of mussels. The crunch of the fries coming from him was unbelievable. Note to self: order that next time.

So…one new year’s resolution accomplished. It’s taken almost half a year; let’s hope I achieve the others in a shorter amount of time.

We visited Chelsea Market, walked down 14th to Union Square (hoping for some good finds @ filene’s), made our way through a heavily congested farmer’s market, oohed and aahed at the cute tableware at Fishs Eddy and trekked to Madison and 23rd, home of the famous Shake Shack, before working all the food off by visiting the MoMA.

The last time I visited the Shake Shack, I waited in line for about 20 minutes. This time, the line swung all the way around the park to the point where Cathy and I were evaluating our progress by strategically placed tree trunks and the posters for “shack-xercises.” It took us an hour to order our food and only about 10-15 speedy minutes to actually get it, but as always, it was worth it.

The burgers were amazing…perfect meat:bun ratio, juice:flavor ratio, and the fries, crispy and lightly salted, just the way I like. I remember the hotdog being bigger and more topping-filled last visit, and this time it was too salty for me. I finally tried their custard as well; it was good we got a small because the chocolate chunks were extremely rich and the custard incredibly dense. We finished everything else but the dessert in about 20 minutes.

To me, the Shake Shack still provides the city’s best burgers and fries. While we were waiting in line, a woman behind us also recommended the Corner Bistro, a place I’ve heard about through NYmag and seriouseats. And even though I’m always open to new and cheap places to eat in New York, I’ll definitely be a bit biased when I do try Corner.

Chelsea Market
75 9th Avenue (Between 15th and 16th Streets)
Mon-Sat 7 am to 9 pm, Sundays 10 am to 8 pm
www.chelseamarket.com

Shake Shack
Madison and 23rd (Madison Sq. Park, Southeast Corner)
11 am to 11 pm
shakeshacknyc.com

Fishs Eddy
889 Broadway and 19th St.
www.fishseddy.com

The first one: Spinach sauteed with garlic (adapted from Jen Yu’s kong xing tsai recipe @ Use Real Butter)It may seem like a helluva lot of spinach, but when this starts wilting in the wok, the volume is going to shrink to a fraction of its original size. Try it and you’ll know what I’m talking about.
Didn’t I tell you?
There really isn’t a dish easier than this. Or tastier.

Ingredients:
2+ lbs of spinach
2 tbspns vegetable oil
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
pinch of salt, or to taste

Wash spinach thoroughly and drain. Use the entire length of the stalk, all you need to cut off are the bottoms. You can either leave them long or as I’ve done, cut them into thirds or whatever.
Heat oil over high heat in a wok or fry pan. Add garlic, sautee until it becomes fragrant but not brown. Add greens, sautee, season with salt. Keep adding spinach and seasoning until nicely wilted.
*You can use other greens too. As mentioned above, the original recipe used kong xing tsai, which I’ve never ever seen before at the supermarket.

Dish 2: Spareribs with black bean sauce
A common dimsum choice. Also easy to make.

Ingredients:
1 lb of spareribs
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
1 tbspoon of ginger
2 tbspns of salted or fermented blackbeans (or you can use black bean sauce, same amt)
1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce
1 tbspn of constarch
1 tbspn sherry or chinese cooking wine (I used the latter)
*keep in mind, that for all recipes (not baking ones though), these are all rough measurements.

You can tweak it a little here and there according to personal preference. That and if you’re too lazy like me to actually measure everything with those annoying little spoons.
Cut spareribs into 1 to 2 inch pieces. Trim off any excess fat. Wash and rinse the black beans 2 or 3 times (these are really really salty and you want to control the amount of salt going into the dish). Mash them with the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, cornstarch, and cooking wine. Mix with spareribs. Steam on a wok or giant steaming container for 30 minutes.
If you can, you might want to marinate them about 30 minutes beforehand before steaming. It’ll give the flavor more depth.
Here are the little buggers before steaming.
When I was still living at home, we’d have these dishes about 1 every two weeks. Funny how I never bothered to watch my parents make them. Sure won’t forget them now though.

home, happy, and hungry.
]]> http://cocoamlle.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/69/feed/ 0 cocoamademoiselle http://cocoamlle.wordpress.com/2008/05/06/death-by-chocolateliterally/ http://cocoamlle.wordpress.com/2008/05/06/death-by-chocolateliterally/#comments Tue, 06 May 2008 03:53:00 +0000 cocoamademoiselle http://cocoamlle.wordpress.com/2008/05/06/death-by-chocolateliterally/ Continue reading →]]> Ok…maybe not the best thing to give your mom on May 11th, but you have to appreciate the wittiness of the name: mori ex cacao, “death by chocolate” in Latin.
You can buy them individually from Charles&Marie as the Soup du Jour (but you only have 20 hours left!) or from Valerie Confections directly in a set of three.

Flavors:
Scorched caramel: Organic cream is slowly combined with sugar over an intense flame, until the deep amber confection appears. Decadent.
Bitter Brandied Cherry: An exquisite and unusual confection of indulgent bitter chocolate, Kirsch-perfumed ganache and succulent sour cherries steeped in liqueur, finished in porcelain white cocoa.
Curious Chili: An eccentric array of chilies and spices are combined with the deepest chocolate into an exotic and exciting sensation, with a heat that lingers long after the chocolate is gone. An extraordinary experience.

Let me know if they taste deadly as they look.

Valerie Confections
Charles&Marie

So, sometime before I leave I have to pick up my certificate aaaaaand my monetary prize! That’s right, I get moolah! Maybe I can save it towards that new camera I’ve had my eye on. (Canon Rebel XT with 50 mm lens). You know, the one that would make me an even better food journalist? (hint to parents)

HAHAHAHAHA. anyone who has seen platoon will understand. and for some reason…i’m craving chocolate alluva sudden.