My friend Claude and I have been trying to meet up for some Pho which is a traditional Vietnamese noodle soup dish, consisting of rice noodles in a clear beef broth. He had sent me an email with the name of a place he wanted to try, but we both misplaced it, so after some searching on menupages.com I found what I hoped would be a good place to try. We went out last night (July 3rd) to a place in Chinatown called Pho Tu Do (there are different accent marks that go on some of these letters, but I don't think they are available to insert) at 119 Bowery (bet. Grand and Hester Streets). Phone number 212-966-2666. Claude's train was delayed, so I wandered about Chinatown taking a couple of pictures along the way.
As I walked along Hester Street, I noticed as one gets closer to Broadway, the neighborhood has more of Little Italy's influence, but as one walks east, the Asian influence is more prevalent. I saw this sign and thought to myself, "Now there are some breakfast items I don't see everyday!". Pork blood and fish heads, interesting.
Outside Pho Tu Do. I went for a somewhat wider shot of the sign to include some of the bustle of the streets. Vendors of all sorts selling just about anything.
The menu. So much to choose from. I could eat here every day for a month and still not get through the menu!
Some of the menu items are pictured along with their corresponding menu number, very helpful. I wish they had a separate picture menu like Sripraphai had in Queens. It's always helpful for newbies like me to see what I'm ordering.
An order of Goi Cuon ($3.75), summer rolls with shrimp and vegetables. # 30 on the menu. These were filled with shrimp, noodles (I think), lettuce, green onions and basil and wrapped in rice paper. I much prefer these to fried rolls as they have a wonderfully fresh flavor to them.
The chopsticks container for the table. This reminded me of the straw holders I've seen in some older diners.
The summer rolls came with this peanut dipping sauce which added a nice crunch, saltiness and sweetness (especially when mixed with some hoisin sauce).
My pho bowl, called Pho Tom Thit ($5.95) was a noodle soup with shrimp and pork. # 20 on the menu. It also had red onions, green onions and cilantro. I had forgotten that cilantro is a big part of Vietnamese cuisine and I would have asked them to leave it out. I picked around it as best I could. Many phos actually cook the meat using the residual heat of the broth. The first time I had pho in Boston, I had it with sliced beef and it was very thinly sliced, placed in the brother raw and it cooked by the time it had gotten to the table. They may have done this with the pork on this evening. I think the shrimp were already cooked.
I've always thought of pho as Vietnamese comfort food, much like Matzo ball soup in Jewish cuisine and menudo in Mexican cuisine. This was really good: the rice noodles were nice and soft, the broth was very warm, savory, yet with a slight sweetness to it, the shrimp was full of flavor and the pork was very tender. Much slurping took place and very comforting indeed. Our pho bowls were the small size, hard to believe as they looked like the size Elaine used for her "big salad" on Seinfeld!
I wanted to be regionally correct and decided to try a Vietnamese beverage. I was too timid to go for the Durian shake, so I opted for a jackfruit shake ($3.00) instead. #35 in the beverages section of the menu. From what I understand, jackfruit is native to a few Asian countries, has a not too pleasant smell on the outside and can be difficult to handle.
The taste, to me anyway was a cross between an apple and a banana. This was served ice cold and had lots of pulp which made the texture very much like a slushee which I loved. The apple-banana flavor was just right, not too sweet and quite refreshing.
The condiments for my pho: lime, sprouts and lime leaves. I tossed in the sprouts for some crunch, a couple of squeezes of lime and I let the leaves steep in the broth, though I didn't notice if they made any difference in taste.
Claude's pho called Pho Carry ($5.95). #22 on the menu. It's described as combination rice noodles soup with curry chicken. This was very tasty with chicken, potatoes, coconut milk, curry and rice noodles, red onions, green onions and cilantro. Spicy, but not overly so.
A shot of the restaurant from our table in the back.
The sauces provided on the table: hoisin and sriracha (spicy pepper sauce).
Claude's saigon beer. He liked it, but I forgot to ask him what kind of beer it was or what he would compare it to.
Each table has a plastic storage box of condiment dishes and soup spoons. A nice touch.
Very were very nice to let me take plenty of pictures and I really liked this display behind the register. Especially the clock in the shape of Vietnam.
A closer shot of the clock.
After we finished our dinner, we made our way to the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory to sample some flavors. I saw this place and had to get a picture. Check out the photo below.
Now you just know this meat was prepared on site. Duck, spare ribs or chicken anyone? Mmmm, crispy and juicy!
Outside. There was a huge crowd milling about, but thankfully, most of them were already eating ice cream.
Claude went for the Green Tea ice cream. I haven't tried this one yet.
I sampled some of the Coconut Fudge and Zen Butter (peanut butter ice cream with toasted sesame seeds). I liked both of them, so I ordered a small cup with a bit of each. While this was very rich and creamy, I have to say I was somewhat underwhelmed by the flavor. The Zen Butter really didn't have much of a peanut butter flavor to it and the sesame seeds could have had more of a presence. The Coconut Fudge looked pretty good at first and the first two spoonfuls had good fudge flavor with a nice subtle cococut background to it, but it all seemed to fade away about 1/3 of the way through it all.
I'm not sure if I should have just gotten one flavor and maybe combining them muddled everything. I might try them again, but I would certainly go back to try more of the unusual flavors they have and definitely to get some more of their incredible Almond Cookie and Pumpkin Pie flavors!
A couple of weeks ago, I went for a long stroll from the South Street Seaport area up to Greenwich Village and back. I stopped in Little Italy and Chinatown along the way. I peeked in a few Italian provisions shops, but didn't see anything that really called out to me. I did stop in a bakery on Mott Street for a couple of baked Roast Pork buns, one of my all-time favorite Chinese baked goods. I wish I could remember the name of the place as they were delicious. Truth be told, I was on a mission to try a place in the East Village I hadn't been to in a year or so.
This is Caracas Arepas Bar at 91 East 7th Street. Phone number 212-529-2314. The website is
www.caracasarepabar.com 
Outside Caracas. This is a Venezuelan eatery that has been around for a few years making very tasty filled arepas. An arepa is a Venezuelan specialty made out of corn flour and usually cooked on a griddle similar to a cornmeal pancake. They are then split open like a small pita and stuffed with a variety of fillings. Caracas' arepas are not of the sweet variety, which I think is a good thing.
My arepa, the De Pabellon! ($6.75) This is an arepa, stuffed with shredded beef, black beans, sweet plantains and aged cheese. Everything about this works and works together in perfect harmony. The chewy yet slightly crispy arepa serves as a wonderful canvas for all of the bold flavors: the richness and savory/sweet dance of the beef, the creamy black beans, the soft and sweet planatains and the salty crumble of the cheese.
Yeah, I really dig this! It's a bit pricey for the size, but I usually have it as a treat to myself once in a while. I've not yet tried anything else on the menu, but there are many things on the menu that may be calling my name in the near future!
The menu on the wall, in Sapnish only. They do have paper pocket menus that are in Spanish and English and the staff is bilingual.
I love this sign above the order window!
A lot of permanent art on the walls and a religious slant to them as well.
The seating area. This truly is one small restaurant. I like eating here to listen to the music they play and to admire the scenery inside. Of course, takeout is always an option and it is a food made for eating on the go. A word of caution though, the arepas with a lot of filling, such as the De Pabellon, can be very messy, so get lots of napkins!
Their closet, er, kitchen. I was amazed at how small this kitchen is when I first saw it! Big flavors from such a small place. I'd say this is a must stop if you're visiting NYC and want to taste some incredibly delicious (I'm guessing authentic Venezuelan) food.
Recently, I made stops at two places for some terrific Roadfood in the city. My buddy, Lawrence (NYCFoodGuy), put me on to Levain Bakery at 167 W 74th St. off Amsterdam Ave. Phone number 212-874-6080 and they close at 7PM. I was working in midtown and took the #1 train 3 stops to 72nd and Amsterdam. However, I had it in my head that they were ON Amsterdam and proceeded to walk all the way up to 90th Street until I decided to ask for help. I went over to Broadway and walked down to Barnes & Noble where I consulted the Zagat guide and realized the error of my ways.
I made it Levain having walked about 36 blocks, so I didn't feel AS guilty when I picked up a Chocolate Chip Walnut AND a Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip cookie. Lawrence has been saying this is the best cookie he has ever had. They run $3.75 each, are monster sized and I have to say that I have not tasted a cookie any better in my life! Mine had just come out of the oven and were very warm and the chips were still gooey when I broke them open. The funny thing is that they are big mountainous cookies that look like they would get too well done on the outside before the middle is fully baked, but they obtain a wonderful crispness on the outside while being soft and moist (and fully baked) on the inside. The Dark Chocolate PB cookie doesn't have the crispness so much, but it is a sexy, sexy thing to behold! After a couple of bites, I managed to stumble to the train in a haze of chocolately goodness, not quite sure how I managed to refrain from pulling a "Cookie Monster" move on these cookies before getting home. Even more amazing is that they almost lasted through the night. But with some ice cold milk in the fridge, what was I to do, really?
Another must stop in the city. Not far at all from Zabar's, Gray's Papaya, H & H Bagels and a new location of Jacques Torres chocolate shop. There is also a really good place for a slice called New Pizza Town on the corner of 78th & Broadway. Not the best slice you'll ever eat, but good. And directly across the street from that is a Cuban-Chinese restaurant called La Caridad 78. I love that I can get Lechon Asado, maduros and Chinese fried rice at the same place! A great way to spend an afternoon on the Upper West Side!
I've been trying to find good eats in the midtown area of Manhattan near Broadway, not too far north of Times Square. It can be a real gastronomical wasteland. There are good Roadfood-y places to eat, but you have to be willing to do a bit of research, some walking and be cool with taking a few hits for the team as some of the places will likely leave you feeling like you kissed the frog and it didn't transform in to a princess!
Lawrence told me about a great street cart outside of Carnegie Hall called Carnegie John's on 56th Street near 7th Avenue. He is only open Monday through Friday, 11:30AM to 6PM and it's cash only. He has a pretty good variety of food including: rib eye steak, Italian sausage sandwich and shish kebab on a pita, but the reason I went was for the $4 cheeseburger. I ordered it with onions, lettuce, ketchup and mustard (I asked him to hold the tomatoes-I'm still a bit spooked by the recent scare).
He first char-grills it, then he finishes it on the flat-top griddle, giving it a crust. This was huge burger and positively a steal at $4! It's pretty close to medium well and yet it was very juicy and messy! Lots of napkins are required. The bun was just your average white hamburger bun, but this baby is all about the beef.
My last stop on this tour of sorts was the Daisy May's BBQ cart at 50th Street btw. 6th and 7th Aves. Their restaurant is located at 623 11th Avenue (at the corner of 46th Street) Phone number 212-977-1500. It's best to call ahead regarding the cart as I don't think it is there every weekday. I used to frequent the one on Wall Street before they stopped coming. I'm not a huge fan of their BBQ overall. The sandwiches they sell from the cart have meat that is already sauced and I like to sauce my own, thank you. However, they have a chili called "Bowl O' Red" Texas Style Chili ($7.00) that is out of this world. I have never been to Texas and have no idea how it would match up, but this stuff has got me awake nights for sure!
No ground beef here, it's all sirloin chunks in a thick, rich and spicy red...sauce, no brew, Hmmm...I'm not sure how to accurately describe the texture of the chili, but it has a creeping heat and an incredibly lush, rich mouthfeel that is utterly comforting! This is Roadfood that I would go out of my way for! It comes with small plastic containers of grated cheddar cheese, chopped red onion and sour cream and they do add rather than distract from the experience. Also on the side is a warm flour tortilla for dipping.
Only two drawbacks for me: 1.) I wish they had saltines instead of the tortilla, just my personal preference and 2.) I really loathe the plastic soup spoons that are available everyhwere in the city as the egdes are so sharp and I have cut the inside of my mouth on more than one occasion. Either go with a teaspoon or get better soup spoons with softer edges! There are probably about 5 different chilis that I have loved in my life and two of them are homemade. Daisy May's is one of those five.
P.S.-I didn't have the camera with me when I went to Carnegie John's, Daisy May's and Levain Bakery. I'll insert some pictures as I make return trips for more good eats! That's all for now. Happy Eating!!
