NY Dining, Winter 2025 Edition

I can't believe I just had to type 2025!

And yes, despite the extreme cold that's been hanging around in the mid-Atlantic region, I packed my stuff and headed to my personal Disneyland, my happiest place on Earth--New York City. And I ate some stuff. But not as much as usual. Still, stuff. Allow me to share my musings on my dining experiences.

My first meal of the trip was a Monday lunch. I briefly contemplated two courses at Cafe Carmellini, but decided the handsome amount of money that would involve should go toward a bottle of perfume. My main agenda for the three day excursion revolved around visiting various perfume shops, with the intention of making at least one fragrant purchase. (I made five.)

One of the stops on my list was The Maker Hotel shop on 16th Street, so for the sake of convenience, I ate lunch next door at The Grey Dog Chelsea.

Guacamole toast? They were very generous with the toppings.

The avocado toast sounded good. What I wanted was a nice piece of seeded multigrain toast topped with several slices of perfectly salted avocado and a fried egg. I got the bread, but the avocado was excessively lime-y, rather mashed, and much more like guacamole than I was in the mood for. My over-medium eggs were perfect though, and the side of home fries was tasty enough though completely unnecessary. (I can't put away as much food as I was able to in the past.)

I had popped into Levain Bakery before lunch to grab a gluten-free cookie for later. It was one of their typically behemoth, scone-sized, lumps--which is really quite delicious when made with gluten. And not at all delicious when made with gluten-free flour. It tasted...gluten-free, which can be a rather sad flavor when one is used to the taste of wheat flour. 

That evening, I had dinner at the bar at Zaytinya. One of Jose Andres' original DC concepts, there is now a location not far from my usual hotel. Since I had passed on a spendy lunch and was disappointed with what I did eat, I thought I'd splurge on something that was bound to be delicious. After all, one of my favorite meals in NY is pretty much anything at his Hudson Yards food hall, Little Spain. Especially the eggs with morcilla (blood sausage). Incredibly, I found everything at Zaytinya to be...meh. The za'atar margarita seemed a little saltier than a normal marg, but it didn't scream of za'atar. The scallops were a relative bargain at $23 for four fat ones, but the rather flavorless apple cacik (the Turkish version of tzatziki) really didn't work for me, and the promised "sesame rose spice" was undetectable. I hoped the smoked beet salata would remind me of the incredible beet and pistachio salad I had eaten last summer at a local French restaurant. It did not. There was too much arugula and the honeycrisp apple chunks had zero flavor (and was probably the same kind of apple included in the scallops' sauce). The beets themselves were fine, though I'd have preferred more of them. Finally, though I didn't need a third dish, I ordered the brussels sprouts because the waiter was still looking at me expectantly. I requested the garlic yogurt to be served on the side (and should have done so with the cacik) as I am lactose-intolerant. The sprouts were nicely crispy, but were otherwise rather boring. A disappointment.

My palate fared much better on day two, which I started at Dominique Ansel Workshop. A perfectly fluffy and tender French omelette filled with Boursin cheese and nestled into a crisp croissant made a perfect breakfast, especially paired with a big cup of La Colombe cafe au lait d'avoine (oatmilk). 

scallop toast

Later, I met up with my friend Daisy, whose company makes even the most delicious meal that much better than it would be without her. We dined at Chinese Tuxedo, a contemporary Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. Among the dishes we sampled were the braised black pepper oxtail bun, crystal shrimp spring roll, and scallop toast from the dim sum menu (all fantastic)...

...and the Johny fried rice with shrimp, char siu, and pork floss, the stir fried Snake River beef sirloin with kampot pepper, and the stir fried iceberg lettuce. Again, all fantastic. I'd eat there again.

Mealtime with Daisy usually means multiple stops, so after walking a bit, we took a cab up to Koreatown and had a few super crispy wings at Turntable on 33rd Street. The flavors were bright and the texture appealing. In retrospect, these wings were the culinary highlight of my entire trip.

The next morning, I had a nice breakfast at The Harold, which is conveniently located near my hotel. I ordered the wild mushroom scramble, which was had to include 3-4 eggs and a good half pound of mushrooms. I knew there'd be toast, but not the rosemary potatoes. They're delicious, but made for far too much to eat in one sitting. Next time, I'll ask them to omit the 'taters. 

For a snack, I enjoyed a Midnight Dream (black sesame, espresso, oatmilk) at Elorea, a cute Korean perfume shop with a coffee bar at the back. (I will be going back someday to make a fragrance purchase.)

Finally, I had an early dinner/late lunch at Parm. This is their eggplant parmesan on a sesame seed roll. My server said it was his favorite thing on the menu, and suggested I get the hoagie-sized version so I could take half home for later. I stuck with the small. It was good, but lacking in textures other than soft. I've mentioned this in the past, but I really miss my mother's fried eggplant. But maybe I'm just obsessed with the memory of the flavor of Progresso Italian Bread Crumbs?

The Grey Dog

242 W 16th St, New York, NY 10011

thegreydog.com

Levain Bakery

2 W 18th St, New York, NY 10011

levainbakery.com

Zaytinya

1185 Broadway, New York, NY 10001

zaytinya.com

Dominique Ansel Workshop

17 E 27th St, New York, NY 10016

dominiqueanselworkshop.com

Chinese Tuxedo

5 Doyers St, New York, NY 10013

chinesetuxedo.com

Turntable

20 W 33rd St, New York, NY 10001

turntablenyc.com

The Harold

1271 Broadway, New York, NY 10001

theharoldnyc.com

Elorea

41 Spring St, New York, NY 10012

elorea.com

Parm

248 Mulberry St, New York, NY 10012

parmitalian.com

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Empellon

I was in New York recently where I embarked on an eating expedition with my intrepid friend, the fabulous Daisy Bow. Together we ate a number of delicious things that I will write about later. Right now, I want to talk about a restaurant I visited on my own: Empellon, in midtown Manhattan. 

Empellon is one of five Mexican-inspired restaurants by former pastry chef Alex Stupak. I dined at Stupak's 4th Street Taqueria in 2015, and had been pretty pleased with the food. In reading back over that post, I discovered that I had tasted one of today's dishes in the past. Was it as good as it was 7 years ago? Read on, friends, read on.

After eating mostly inexpensive comestibles over my last few trips to NY, I thought I might treat myself to something pricier. Several of the most memorable meals I've eaten in New York were at high end restaurants--Babbo in 2004, A Voce in 2012, The Bar Room at The Modern in 2011, and Le Bernardin in 2014. In each case, while the food was very good (excellent at times), the service was exceptional. And that was truly what made each meal magical. Rather than magical, my meal at Empellon was meh.

The $42 3-course prix fixe menu sounded good to me, and I started with the "lobster salad with chilled masa savarin." The salad incurred an upcharge of $4 but this was a splurge so I splurged. I'm not sure if there was a mistake on the menu, or if the kitchen doesn't know what a "savarin" is, but what I received was not a ring-shaped, booze-soaked, yeasted cake. It had more of a custard-like texture. Perhaps it was actually a sabayon, firmed up with gelatin (in which case it was no longer a sabayon)? Or a type of savory flan? In any case, it was ring-shaped, and it was flavored with masa. The center of the ring contained a spicy sauce of unknown origin. And around the mysterious custard-like object were corn kernels, slices of not particularly spicy capsicums, raw onion, and nuggets of lobster. On the whole, it was a tasty dish, though it was a tad overseasoned.

On the opposite end of the spectrum were the pastrami tacos with sauerkraut and mustard seed salsa. Back in 2015, I bartered one of my brussels sprout tacos for one of my husband's pastrami-filled ones and was delighted by the flavors. This time, not so much. The beef was tough and underseasoned, the sauerkraut was barely tangy, much less sour, and the mustard seed salsa provided nothing but texture. The meat in the second taco had a bit of fat, which made it more palatable, but the dish was pretty bland overall. Where was the peppercorn-and-coriander hit from the meat? Why was soggy cabbage considered sauerkraut? Why was this dish more sad than clever?

And here I must ding the service at Empellon. Generally, at a restaurant with these prices where food is not served family-style, I expect courses to arrive serially. However, I was about 2/3 of the way through my lobster salad when a runner appeared with my tacos. This put me in the position of having to decide between finishing my lobster dish before starting my tacos, as god intended, or to start on the tacos so they wouldn't get cold. But that might signal the wait staff to attempt to wrest my unfinished lobster away, which would earn them a literal slap on the wrist. Meanwhile, my waiter or captain or whatever one calls them these days (they do not serve, they merely take orders), was standing off to the side, gazing upon the dining room as might an overlord. Did he notice that my entree course was fired too soon? Did he care? I know he knew I wasn't dining on an expense account and may well have been...a tourist! (horrors!) but I think he could have been more solicitous. 

For dessert, which came at the proper time, I had the sour cherry flan with chicory caramel and a cup of decaf. The flan was fine. Not as good as my friend Melinda's flan, but then nobody's is. I enjoyed the sour cherry topping, but couldn't really pick out the chicory in the sauce. But it was fine. 

When he presented the check, I noticed that Mon Capitaine did not charge me for the coffee. He nodded when I pointed out his omission, rather than thank me. Which would have been below his station. 

Positives about the meal: the dining room was full of natural light and the seating was comfortable. The portion size was just right for someone not planning to eat again for the rest of the day (like me), but I imagine the 3-course lunch might be a bit much for someone going back to the office. The lobster was perfectly cooked, the tortillas were sturdy and didn't disintegrate under the weight of the generous portion of meat, and the cherry flavor of the flan was quite nice. But still--a solid meh.

It's less-than-perfect meals like these, however, that really allow me to appreciate an exemplary one. Or even just a good one. 

Empellon
510 Madison Avenue, 

New York, NY 10022 

(212) 380-1215

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!

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Nova Crisp Grain Free Cassava Chips

Another of my favorite products from the 2021 Fancy Food Show is Nova Crisp Cassava Crisps. I have been eating (almost entirely but not quite) gluten-free for two years now and find myself craving crispy things all the time. I love potato chips, but there are only so many chips this gal can eat! I already love cassava, and use cassava flour in baking all the time, so when I found these chips...wow! I was so excited! Nova Crisps are gluten-free, kosher, non-GMO, vegan, and air-popped, not fried. And they taste so good.

They are indeed crisp, and have a cool dish-shape, which  makes them the perfect vehicle for dips and
toppings. I've even used them to make mini ice-cream sandwiches! (I recommend the Sea Salt flavor for this...not sure the Maui onion, BBQ, or Vegan White Cheddar would work.) 

I've also used Nova Crisp Cassava Crisps on a charcuterie plate, as they are great with cheese, cured meats, and whathaveyou, but my favorite application has been as a vehicle to get things like tuna or egg salad into my mouth. 

I call these little guys, "Banh Mi Bites" because the flavors and textures reminded me a bit of one of my all-time favorite sandwiches, the Vietnamese banh mi. The tuna is spicy, with the natural fishiness of the fish standing in for fish sauce; the broccoli slaw provides a similar texture to the customary pickled carrot and daikon. You could probably use plain tuna mixed with mayo with added lime juice, garlic, and a bit of sugar to mimic the flavors of Vietnam's favorite dipping sauce, nuoc cham. Add fish sauce, too, if you want more umami, and hot sauce or a slice of fresh jalapeno for heat. A little diced cucumber wouldn't be out of place on these, either. 

Banh Mi Bites

1 pouch Starkist Tuna Creations Bold Red Curry with Coconut, Thai Chili, or Sriracha style

handful broccoli slaw or cole slaw mix

mayonnaise

lime juice

salt

cilantro

cherry tomatoes

8 - 10 Nova Crisp Cassava Crisps, sea salt or Maui onion flavor

Put the tuna in a bowl and add the broccoli slaw mix. Stir in a teaspoon of mayo or so to make the mixture creamy and season with lime juice and a pinch of salt. Throw in a little chopped cilantro if you like. Mound the mixture onto the Nova Crisps, garnishing with a quarter of a cherry tomato and a little cilantro. 

Serves 1.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!

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La Calle

There are so many chain restaurants in the Inner Harbor area of downtown Baltimore, that when a locally-owned joint opens up, I get excited. Situated on a bland block of South Street, between Baltimore and Redwood, and a stone's throw from The Block, La Calle--"the street" in Spanish--is among the most exciting. While the name conjures thoughts of street food, the decor--some walls paneled, others painted the color of red mole, a full bar--suggest fine dining.

At this point, I've only ever been for lunch, so have not experienced the lobster empanadas or braised lamb shank barbacoa or chicken mole poblano, all of which sound amazing.

What I have had, so far, has been the shrimp ceviche, light and full of flavor (though the accompanying "sweet" tortilla chips are a little too thick and crunchy for my tastes).

Also a perfectly cooked, crisp-skinned, salmon that was so good I've had it twice. It was accompanied by tiny potatoes, tomatoes, and fava beans in an epazote lobster cream sauce. And it's $12. Honestly, both times it was the best salmon I've had in town in ages, hands down, and at a fraction of the price.

Several of my various dining companions went with tacos, and though I didn't get to try any of them, they looked uniformly tasty. That might be my next order, unless of course I finally go for dinner. The last time I was at La Calle, it was with Mr Minx, and he tried the al pastor torta. It's a nice big sandwich, as tortas usually are, filled with tasty and tender pork bits that I couldn't resist snatching off of his plate.

We also tried the flan, which was excellent--firm, very smooth, just sweet enough, and dusted with a smattering of sesame seeds. One of the best I've tried.

La Calle is a long walk from work for me, but well worth it. And of course if I'm feeling lazy, I can always take a bus. I'm already contemplating my next visit in a couple of weeks. Do go, because I'd love for this place to stick around for a long time.

La Calle
10 South St
Baltimore, MD 21202
www.lacallerestaurant.com

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!

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Pandemic Eats, Week 1-8, Home Edition

While we ate a lot of carry out and delivery food during the first 8 weeks of #stayhome, we also cooked regularly, too. Some of the food was completely from scratch, while other dishes repurposed restaurant leftovers. (I hate food waste, and you should, too.)

On the Tuesday of what would become Week One, I had tickets to The Band's Visit at the Hippodrome, and I had planned to take my friend Jeremy. The show was postponed pretty early on, so he and I made alternate plans. Those alternate plans were also changed by coronavirus. Plan C involved J coming over to make us Chinese dumplings, from scratch--wrappers and all. I was sous chef, and I am responsible for the horrible pleating on the dumplings. (I think we added too much water to the dough.) Still, they were delicious, particularly the fried ones.

I made gluten free apple pie for dessert, which we consumed with an Irish coffee on the side. Pierish coffee, as J calls it. It's not a thing, yet, but it should be.

My friend Laurie, @Baltimorehomecook on Instagram, started a project of making pasta and delivering it to folks. I can't turn down her homemade cavatelli, which I served with chopped up Italian cold cuts, spinach, parm, and fresh chives.

I was still attempting to continue Whole30 at this point, so these pancakes are made with Bob's Red Mill gluten free one-to-one flour.

Then I decided, since I wasn't losing anything, that I'd allow some gluten back into my life. Like the crust on this ham and brie quiche.

And the pumpernickel bread used for this toasted cheese sandwich served with a quick soup of canned tomatoes, cannellini, and stock, with fresh swiss chard.

Black bean soup with pickled watermelon radish yielded enough to stash a quart in the freeze for future eating.

Leftover pork tenderloin became an element on this salad, a riff on the classic nicoise, with a mustardy vinaigrette and potatoes. Cheese and nuts just because.

I found that beets make great lunch salads. I tried red, chioggia (candy stripe), and gold beets, and determined that the earthy flavor of red goes best with cheese (feta or bleu) and nuts (walnuts or anything else).

Turkey meatballs with creamy pesto were good for a couple of meals.

Ditto this pot roast, which we ate at least 4x.

I like changing up my daily lunch, so when I don't have leftovers to eat, I make something like this beet hummus.

I opened up a jar of Desert Pepper Salsa Rio and knew we wouldn't be able to eat the whole thing before it got funky, so I repurposed it as a soup with cannellini beans, leftover pork, and pickled onions. Cheese quesadilla on the side.

We've been eating a lot of potatoes, mostly baked. One time I got fancy and made Smitten Kitchen's cacio e pepe potatoes Anna. Pretty good, but next time I'll use butter instead of olive oil, for more flavor.

We've had Chinese carry out a few times, from Red Pepper Sichuan in Towson and Asian Kebab and Hot Pot in Lutherville. (They are owned by the folks who operated the late, lamented, Hunan Taste in Catonsville.) A ton of rice meant fried rice one night. I also repurposed some crazy spicy pig ears into this dish, and the avocado mellowed that heat out nicely.

I broke out my recipe for sriracha bouillabaisse one evening to use up a pack of frozen TJ's mahi mahi. With some rouille-coated toasts, it made a fine light supper on two evenings.

What have you been cooking at home?

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!



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Pandemic Eats - Week 1-8, Take-Out Edition

It's hard to believe that we haven't been able to dine in a restaurant for 8 weeks already. And things were looking up this year! Last year it appeared that we were overlooked for most media feedings, at least in local restaurants. (Chains like Fogo de Chao still liked us though.) This year seemed like it was going to be so much better. In March alone, I was to judge two food events and we had at least 5 invitations to media dinners. Then we were asked to stay home in order to flatten the curve, which doesn't really seem to be happening. While states are starting to re-open businesses, I'm betting that situation is going to revert pretty quickly once infections start increasing again.

In the meantime, we're trying to keep local businesses afloat by getting carry-out or delivery at least once a week. Here are some of the things we've enjoyed over the last 8 weeks.

We had to be in Dundalk in Week 1, and any trip to that part of town deserves a pizza from Squires. We also got crab soup. At this point, we already realized that it might be smart to order enough food to last for more than one meal. At least a dinner and a couple of lunches.

The following weekend, we visited our friends at Cajun Kate's in Wilmington. We brought home 8 quarts of various gumbos and some red beans, and enjoyed this catfish turnover with maque choux and deep fried mac and cheese in the car while we were there.

Red Pepper Sichuan in Towson got the call the following week. This was at least 3 meals.

After that was pizza, wings, and a Lorenzo salad from Earth, Wood, & Fire. Two dinners and a lunch.

Koco's pub came next, for crab cakes that we supplemented with homemade celeri remoulade. Just because. We also got crab soup for a later lunch.

One of our quarts of Cajun Kate's pork gumbo was called into service later that week. Thankfully we were able to get in and out of Delaware before Maryland put the kibosh on out-of-state trips.

We were contacted by Ledo Pizza and asked to promote their $5 calzones on Instagram. They threw in one of their famous square pizzas too. Neither of us had tried Ledo in the past, and we thought their unusual flaky crust was quite good. Two dinners and a lunch.

Silk Road Bistro's Uzbek cuisine, including chicken tabaka, kebabs, and a couple of salads, served us well for two dinners and three lunches.

My brother tipped me off to a place called Asian Kebab and Hot Pot in Lutherville. The place is owned by the former owners of one of our fave Chinese restaurants, Hunan Taste, that closed in 2018. The menu is different, featuring hot pot and kebabs rather than Hunan food, but still quite good. We'll put this place into our permanent rotation, hoping that they stay afloat.

We ordered a dozen bagels and some veggie cream cheese from Bottom's Up Bagels and were pleased to finally find a place that made a proper chewy bagel. We put most of them in the freezer to enjoy later (and we're down to our last 3 already!)

Mr Minx was craving burgers, so we grabbed a couple and some poutine from Clark Burger. I think these burgers taste better at home than perched on an uncomfortable stool in their tiny joint on York Road. While this was only one dinner's worth of food, sometimes ya gotta make sacrifices.

Gypsy's Truckstaurant supplied us with wings, a lamb gyro, and crab cake tacos. for a dinner and a lunch.

We even scored half dozen free donuts from Donut Alliance. The bananas foster one in my hand was my fave, though I also really enjoyed the birthday cake one. The icings have real flavor, unlike those at some other places that will remain nameless. And yes, we ate all 6 on the same day. Donuts get stale, you know.

What have you been eating these last 8 weeks?


* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!

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Flashback Friday - Au Bon Pain UMMS

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on July 12, 2011.

-----------------------------------------

Thai  peanut chicken wrap

When it was announced that Au Bon Pain was taking over the space at UMMS that for many years was inhabited by a Donna's, I greeted the idea with enthusiasm. Sure I was annoyed that a nationwide chain would be replacing a branch of the home-grown roasted vegetable maven's popular coffee shop, but after 12 years, I was tired of the food's high prices and the employee's attitudes. The folks at Au Bon Pain have so far been nothing short of courteous, and dare I say it, downright pleasant - always a good thing to encounter first thing in the morning, pre-caffeination.

While this neighborhood is already rife with restaurants that offer sandwiches, I was mostly excited about Au Bon Pain's array of fresh pastries and hot soups that would now be available to area diners. However, it's summer - too hot for soups - so I have stayed with sampling sandwiches for now.

On a recent weekday not long after Au Bon Pain opened the deli side of its operation, I tried the Thai Peanut Chicken Wrap (all natural grilled chicken, field greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, fried wontons, and Thai peanut dressing). The chicken, despite being white meat, was fairly moist, and I liked the inclusion of field greens rather than romaine or iceberg. The sandwich was crunchy and fresh tasting and the plethora of vegetables made it seem actually somewhat healthy. My only complaint - and it's a big one - is that they omitted the peanut sauce. Without the sauce, the sandwich was overall on the dry side. I'll chalk that up to being so new.

On my second try, I got the Roast Beef Montana, which had roast beef, an herbed cream cheese, and oodles of spicy brown mustard on a toasted cheese baguette. While mustard on roast beef violates Minx's Rule of Meat and Condiments (mustard on pink cold cuts, mayo on gray or white ones), the beef was pink enough to nearly qualify. As with much deli roast beef, it was kinda rubbery, but it tasted fine. Could have done with half the mustard, but maybe they were trying to make up for the lack of sauce in my Thai peanut wrap. The marinated red onions, however, were a nice touch and I wish there had been a wee bit more of them.

Finally, on an afternoon during which I was a bit pressed for time, I tried a Mediterranean Wrap (field greens, roasted red pepper hummus, feta, tomatoes, Kalamata olives, cucumbers, and sun-dried tomato relish) from their Grab N Go section. The wrap was not soggy in the least and boasted a filling heavy on cucumbers and olives with a bit of zesty sun-dried tomato flavor. The hummus was barely detectable, and then only as a texture. Not bad at all, and definitely a quick way to get in and out of the busy restaurant at lunchtime.

While the selection of sandwiches isn't groundbreaking or anything, and the chicken salad isn't half as good as that served by the hospital cafeteria (made by Aramark!) I think ABP fills a need for those of us in a hurry or who want a chocolate croissant or giant pecan roll for breakfast.

Au Bon Pain
UMMS
22 S. Greene Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
(800) 825-5227

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