Cafe Mogador

Dinner by candle light...very romantic. Dinner by candle light with friends...very fun! I love Williamsburg, Brooklyn, but don't get our there often during the Winter months. The commute is long and the cold weather honestly just deters me from straying too far from home. 

Friends of mine, Elas, were playing a show at St. Balmain. We decided to make a night of it and ventured out early for dinner. I discovered Cafe Mogador during my first year in NYC. I frequented their East Village location often for both brunch and dinner. Recently, they opened a spot in Williamsburg. 

Their menu is jam packed with Mediterranean and Moroccan cuisine that is unique and also traditional. They have a set menu with favorites like Cous-Cous, Salads and Platters, Tagines, Bastilla and Grilled Meats. They also have a number of unique entrees to try if you want to stray from the traditional route. 

I can not go to Mogador without starting with the Hummus Plate. The freshly baked pita is always warm when it hits the table. 

Mer got the Greek Salad with Grilled Chicken. The vegetables are all organic and the meats are free-range so everything is fresh and vibrant. 

For the more indecisive person, the Mixed Platter is a great option. You get a little bit of everything - hummus, eggplant, tabouli, tahini & arabic salad. 

The Tagines are a hearty and warm option on a colder night. I gobbled up the Chicken Tagine Casablanca. It is served with rice and the meat is so slowly stewed it falls off the bone. 

After dinner we hurried over to St. Balmain and Joey Diamond's to hear Elas perform. Elas are an indie folk sister duo originally from Brazil. Their music is full of harmony and toe-tapping melodies. They are planning on releasing their first EP this summer. 

St. Balmain is currently only open for breakfast and lunch but will resume dinner hours come warmer weather. Also, don't forgot to check out Joey Diamond's for an excellent nightcap. 

Bon Apetit.

Naturally Ginger

Tessa

Uptown Manhattan has taken on the sad reputation of being a "food wasteland". Though many try, none seem to come close to the finer fare of downtown (some critics say). 

Enter Tessa. A shinning star of a restaurant on the Upper West Side. This culinary treat has both the taste and price tag of a downtown delight. 

Mom came back in town and I knew we needed to give it a try. 

The interior from decor to lighting oozes Soho chic. 

We shared a French Chardonnay that paired perfectly with the meal.

 

Olive Oil or Butter with your Bread? Can't decide, why not have both. 

 

First, we shared a couple salads. Here is the Cauliflower Salad - a variety of blanched cauliflowers mixed with golden raisins, pickled red onions, roasted almonds, and a coriander vinaigrette. 

The second salad was the Tessa Mixed Salad special. This was a compilation of baby kale, tomatoes, pecan, acorn squash, pear and a maple mustard vinaigrette. 

Onto the entree. Mom did not want to share so we ended up getting the same dish. I could not resist, it sounded too delicious.  

Here is the Pan Seared Arctic Char. Arctic Char looks similar to a salmon but does not taste like it. They placed the beautifully seasoned filet over spaghetti squash and chunks of butternut squash. The plate was decorated with oyster mushrooms, butternut squash puree, baked kale and topped with a variety of herbs.

Tonight I could not resist dessert. This is their Dolce De Leche Cake with pistachio ice cream.

I thoroughly enjoyed my meal at Tessa. I have to disagree a little with critics that Uptown Manhattan is a "food wasteland", but we do have a long way to go. Hopefully Tessa is the beginning of many more culinary treasures to come.

Food in Flushing

FINALLY! Another blog post. To be honest, life has been busy beyond my understanding lately. I am being stretched, pushed and grown more than I ever have. The blog has taken a bit of a backseat, but I will not give it up. 

This Friday I joined some friends for a food tour of Flushing, Queens. Trusting my foodie friends the Ng's, I accepted the challenge.

After a quick ride out on the 7 train, we were deposited into the Asian epicenter of New York. Kevin's first stop on the tour was a food truck. It was referred to as a taste to wet our appetite before the main courses. Out of meat, we opted for, what I referred to as, Spicy Squid on a Stick.

 

Not a lover of "street meat", I decided to trust Mrs. Ng that the food would not make me sick.

 

It was enough food for an entire meal, so I only had a few bits, but it was surprisingly delicious.

 

Next we ventured to Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao. After a bit of a wait we enjoyed the holy grail of Soup Dumplings.

 

 

Traditional or modern, I couldn't decide.

 

First came a lovely Cucumber Salad drenched in garlic. 

 Next came Jelly Fish. It was mixed with some cabbage. Not my favorite texture.

Finally, the Soup Dumplings. We enjoyed a mixture of pork and crab. The way to eat a Soup Dumpling is to gently place the dumpling on the soup spoon and poke a hole with a chopstick at the top. Sip out the broth and then enjoy!

 

Our next stop was just down the street at Fu Run. Every restaurant is within a four square block of the subway stop. Here we enjoyed a variety of proteins. 

 

 

More tea.

 

More beer.

 

More veggies.

This is a fish dish. Very very spicy packed with bean sprouts, scallions and bok choy. 

This is pork. Very little meat, but very tasty.

 

And here we have the Lamb dish. It was covered in a thick layer of spices. 

 

Overall it was an incredible tour of Flushing. I don't know that I would ever venture out by myslef, but it is a fun option for a night out with friends. I spent a total of $23 all night. I returned home full and satisfied. If you love Asian cuisine, I highly recommend taking a trip on the 7 train out to Flushing for an excellent and affordable meal.