Northern Spy Food Co.--East Village

Northern Spy Food Co. opened up a few months ago in the East Village and it looks like it's trying to cultivate a neighborhood reputation for being an alternative to locavore competitor, Back Forty. Steadily, over the last few weeks, the customer base has grown everytime I walk past the place.
The handcrafted and cheerful appearance of the restaurant's interior, the rough-hewn tables and benches, and the plethora of rustic design touches are characteristic of the farm-to-table ethos that this restaurant espouses.

Although their breakfast/brunch menu seemed more interesting, today, I decided to pay a visit for lunch. The choices on the menu are not as extensive as Back Forty --which is a good thing--reflecting hearty, simple food (served EVERYWHERE I go these days). I had the roasted chicken with brussel sprouts and carmelized leeks. The plate arrived somewhat sad and soggy looking. Served on the bone, the chicken breast meat was juicy and tasty, but the dark meat wasn't fully cooked to my liking. I also prefer the skin on the chicken to have a nice, seasoned, crispiness to it, which mine lacked. The brussel sprouts were overcooked and mushy, reminiscent of a bad side dish from the 1950s. The leeks were slightly slimy and also overcooked. I could tell there was flavor in each vegetable dish, but it seemed like I was served yesterday's nuked leftovers.

I am going to give this restaurant another chance for brunch, because it's so close to my apartment and the staff was so nice. Here's hoping to a better brunch experience!


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Vittles for the Week: Cocaine Smuggling, Beef Sundaes, and Low-fat Fries

And a cherry tomato on top!

• Bait and Switch: You think you are all set to have a gloppy chocolate sundae, then, OH SNAP!, you just shoveled mashed potatoes and beef gravy in your mouth!
  

Via: This Is Why You're Fat

• Top Peep: The Washington Post Peep Contest. Winner revealed.... 
  

Via: The Washington Post

• New artisan-focused food site: Foodzie! Is it possible to make a living at preserving rhubarb jams? 
  

Via:  Cool Hunting

• Cocaine in my Ampalaya!: Plastic bags of "white powder" were found inside of bitter melons bought by unsuspecting produce buyers in Queens.
  

Via: The New York Times

Gothamist

• Top Chef News:  More shameless merchandising ....
  

Via: The New York Times

Yum or yuck? 

• New Genetically Engineered Soybean Oil with Zero Trans Fats:  This article makes claims that this new oil could revolutionize frying, but have you seen Will Smith's  cautionary tale,  I am Legend??!!  Tread VERY carefully.... 

Via: USA Today

Enjoy! 

Comment Card: Allen and Delancey

My friends visiting from Italy accorded me carte blanche to set the agenda for their last night in New York. The pressure was on to select a reputable American restaurant that had some buzz around it, surpassing the caliber of food that they had encountered so far, and representative of the best of Manhattan's restaurant culture. Yikes.

Allen and Delancey seemed to be the right choice--favorable write-ups, farm-to-table approach to food, and zippy LES location. A new head chef, Kyle Bailey (formerly of Stone Barns and Cru), was running the kitchen and had created a new menu. I was eager to sample the menu and see what all the hullaballoo was all about surrounding Allen and Delancey. Apparently, so was PADMA LAKSHMI, the extraordinarily tall and beautiful hostess of Top Chef. I really do hate being such a Top Chef star fucker, because my friends never seem to share the same enthusiasm at the actual sighting.

Me: OH MY GOD, There's PADMA! She JUST walked past our table.

Friend: Uh, who?

Me: You know PADMA from TOP CHEF!! She's the hostess of the show, Indian, tall, enormous scar on her arm, wrote Tangy, Tart, Hot and Sweet...(Me droning on some more...)

Friend: Oh, yeah.

Me: You know, reality TV, cooking competition! They must air the show in Italy...

Friend: Yes, I think I've seen a few episodes.

Me: THERE SHE IS!!

Friend: Oh, yeah. I see her. Ho hum.

I've spotted Padma twice now (New Museum), Sam (Concert in Brooklyn), Mark (Season 4, Public), Ilan ( Casa Mono). But I digress, back to Allen and Delancey...

The restaurant space has a rustic charm, designed in the manner of an old Vermont barn house, festooned with antique relics, fresh cabbage roses, and oil portrait paintings. The mood was warm and inviting.

My friends, Federica and Daniele, ordered the polenta and foie gras for starters, and the Arctic char and veal for mains, respectively. The char is supposed to be one of the highlights of the menu, based on reviews I've read, however, Federica thought the fish was too dry.

This is what I ordered:

Hamachi Crudo, Grapefruit Beads, Pickled Fennel, Mint

Prosciutto Wrapped Veal Loin, Sweet Breads, Brussels Sprouts, Gratín

Sweet Cream French Toast, Maple Ice Cream, Bacon Caramel, Caramelized Banana

First, the bread is very good. One of the rolls had a savory, smokiness that was heavenly!

The Hamachi starter was luscious and well seasoned. The high oil content of the Hamachi (yellowtail) gave it a wonderfully, buttery texture, and the the acid and flavors of the grapefruit, fennel, and mint complimented the fattiness of the fish.

The veal was tender and cooked perfectly. There was a pumpkin or butternut squash puree and sauteed leaves of brussel sprouts that surrounded the plate, the sweetness of the puree and the saltiness of the brussel sprouts (not sure how they were prepared) brought out the flavors of the veal. Really delightful. The sweetbreads were also quite good, creamy and delicate.

I ordered the dessert because the bacon caramel caught my eye. Eaten alone, without garnish, the french toast was a bit hard. However, once fully soaked with the caramel sauce, or eaten with the ice cream and banana, the french toast softens to become a playful dessert that is really tasty and fun.

Wrap Up...

Food: Delish

Service: Pretty good

Ambiance: Rustic charm

Price: Beau coup bucks ($100/person) Includes 20% tip and a bottle of wine

Allen & Delancey

115 Allen Street New York, NY 10002
212-253-5400

Via Time Out

Via Gothamist

Alice Waters and Chez Panisse: Book Recommendation

For Christmas, my cousin gave me Thomas McNamee's book titled, Alice Waters and Chez Panisse:The Romantic, Impractical, Often Eccentric, Ultimately Brilliant Making of a Food Revolution. Truth be known, I didn't know who Alice Waters was (ack!) and only vaguely knew of the gourmand's nirvana, Chez Panisse, located in Berkley, CA, outside of San Francisco. I used to travel to San Francisco for work, but only experienced the region mostly through the confines of soulless, corporate hotel rooms and early morning van trips to Silicon Valley (made interminable by the unnerving merriment of eager work colleagues). I suffered through bland buffet dinners, tolerable room service and twizzlers on the road, I never experienced what is called "Californian Cuisine" the movement , or result of the "food revolution" that Alice Waters led by way of her highly renown restaurant, Chez Panisse. Peppered with gossipy tidbits of behind the scenes kitchen shananigans and power struggles between chefs and restaurant owners, this book mostly tells the story of an ordinary woman with no real, classical food training, who had a dream to start a restaurant commited to utilizing fresh, local, seasonal ingredients, reflecting her tastes and appreciation for French food aesthetics. Her passions and dedication, along with the talent and collaboration of her colleagues, availed to Waters the realization of her dream. I took the book with me to read, while I was in Argentina--a place known for its exquisite beef and excellent Malbec wines. When I sat down to eat, I started to question the origins of the ingredients in the dishes and really started to taste food and wine in a completely different way. An entertaining and inspiring read for anyone interested in starting a business, restaurant culture, and locavore cuisine.