Fridgin’ Out: Married People

Newlyweds Beth and Darren just bought a really dope, spacious 2 bedroom in the Upper West Side, right off of Central Park West. That’s Park with a capital P. Married people like to live near Central Park so they can say things like, “We just went running in the Park” or “We just got back from walking dog’s name here in the Park”.

I live about an hour away from the Park, which conceivably says everything about me.

Beth’s fridge is heavily stocked with just about anything you want, all from Fairway (the only other reason to go to the Upper West Side). To save money, her and Darren have a pact to never go out for lunch or dinner except for special occasions. Good for them!!! I’ve made that pact with myself too. Um, yeah.

So what do married people have in their fridge? Let’s find out.

Married people get their groceries delivered from Fairway. Dreamy.

Freezer: many frozen pizzas and fruit. Married people keep bags and bags of frozen fruit around so they can make smoothies with the blender they got from the bridal registry. They spike it with rum when they want to live on the edge a little.

Married people freeze their glasses for beer.

Beth, not married people, freezes her bananas before they rot to oblivion. She does this so she can make her husband banana bread in the middle of the night.

Fridge: I told you it was crazy stocked.

A single Bud amongst the condiments in the fridge door. Love it.
C’mon guys, this is so 80s.

Married people make their own salad dressing, and keep them in cute jars.
Married people put their eggs where they are supposed to go.

Two huge grapefruit, a bottle of bubbly, and a can of whipped cream, all in one shot. There were a total of 3 bottles of champagne in their fridge. Married people like to have it around for when people “drop-in” unexpectedly.
Bags of flour tortillas for midnight snackysnacks. I used to live with Beth in college, and let me attest that she makes bombass quesadillas.
Cheesefest! Married people like to experiment with expensive cheeses I’ve never heard of before. But I love Beth cause she keeps it real and will never abandon Velveeta. EVER.

Something they got from her neighbors as a welcome gift. It’s an Indian sweet that comes in a tin can and sounds really good. Soft cheese balls! Let’s see how long it takes for them to open this. A year? 3 years? I bet Darren throws this out while Beth is not looking when they move out.

Organic tofu!

“Honey, what kind of sandwich do you want for lunch today? Roasted turkey or smoked turkey?”

Roasted bell peppers.
Married people eat their vegetables.

Their fridge was a bit bizarre- a piece of styrofoam divided it from the freezer.

Also, apparently the fridge gets so cold that food labels get stuck to the sides and won’t come off.

Married people will bake you cookies (two different kinds!), when you come over for dinner.

Married people sip wine from fine crystal glasses they got as wedding gifts. Why anyone would let me go near their crystal is beyond me.

Alright so we’ll stop there. Just a little glimpse for all you single folk of what married life is like. Or at least what’s in the fridge. Getting married has never been high on my list of things to do, but this actually doesn’t look so bad. Especially if I can get a high-powered blender out of it.

*What’s in your fridge? Email pics to umamimart@gmail.com

An aside from Beth:
“We actually already opened and had some of the Gulabjaman, they are cheese balls- how would you think I wouldn’t try them? :)”

MY BAD!!!

2nd Annual Persian New Year Feast

Sepi (aka Jon Sublet) hosted yet another magnificent Nowruz feast last night. Persian New Year was official as of 2am (Thursday 2am), and you know that Iranians- in Tehran, in the OC, the world over- are going to be celebrating all weekend. There will be no limit to the amount of alcohol, food and love that will be consumed. Oh, the debauchery.

Frank, Sepi’s awesome dad flew into NY this week to help us celebrate, and barely left the kitchen in the 5 days he’s been here, cooking for the big night. Aw… now, that is LOVE. All I have to say is that the FOOD ROCKED! I love me some tadig.

Here it is, the 2nd Annual Apt 266 Persian New Year Party. We love you Frank! Happy New Year everyone!

Post for the 1st Annual Persian New Year Feast here.

A Night Out at Babbo, Pt. II

Preface:
A Night Out at Babbo
California Soul: Osteria Mozza (LA)

To celebrate Christi’s bday the other night, we went to Babbo. I would be too embarrassed to blog this–regularly patronizing such the hype machine that Batali is–but the food was just too good not to share with you.

We walked in without a reservation- figured we would get there around 6:30 and take our chances. The guy at the front, who was there the last time I went, is a gentile fellow, and told us to wait for seats at the bar. Fine. We ordered drinks, we waited. “What’s the Frequency Kenneth?” blasted in the background. Oh, Mario and his music. We loved the Mode though. Violator!

It’s really cramped when you walk in, between the bar and the dining room. Servers taking orders, delivering food. Some drunk asshole totally fell into Christi. It was kinda funny. Anyway, standing there in the middle of all this commotion is not fun. But you gotta suck it up for the ultimate prize.

Just about an hour later, we actually got a TABLE! Right by the bar, tucked into a corner. It was romantic. The world doesn’t need another Babbo review (or a second one from me- you’re over it), but just let me show you the pics.

Babbo salumi: assorted meats cured in-house. Marinated onions (sweet) and olives. This was better than the Armandino salumi I got last time. Christi liked the veal (?) tongue. The “fatback” pictured below, is just cured pork fat! Like white sheets blowing in the wind. It was super intense- like nothing I have ever tasted. It was good with the onions.

Grilled octopus with “Borlotti Marinati”: this was pretty awesome. Better than what I had at Mozza. Drizzled with this limoncello vinagrette, and sprinkled with some candied orange rind or something, on a bed of white beans. SO GOOD. It was too “oceany” for Christi though. I loved the tentacles.

Our server was super great- Travis. Props to this guy. He totally arranged the order of our dishes and suggested good, cheap wines. We asked him for his recommendation of a pasta, and he suggested the black pasta. BINGO. This was definitely my highlight of the meal. (At this point I was pretty boozy, and abandoned my camera inhibitions and started shooting with flash. Tacky!). They are also nice about splitting the orders for you.

Black spaghetti with rock shrimp, spicy salami calabrese and green chile: I have nothing to say except GET THIS DISH.

Mint love letters: just as good as the first time. Surprisingly hearty. A good way to end a meal.
When all is over, this is my side of the table, vs. Christi’s side. Basically, you can’t take me anywhere.

But then, this guy comes and magically puts a napkin over the table to make all my spills disappear.

So it’s official- I am obsessed with Mario Batali’s food. All the hype… well, it’s all true. Batali is an ace. Classic and straightforward. Consistent. Casual and reasonably affordable considering it’s a white table cloth joint. Our meal, all of this, plus 2 quarter things of wine, 2 glasses of sparkling wine, and a bottle of fizzy water was $140 total. You could spend as much at Lupa, his even more casual joint around the corner (I am not a fan of Lupa). You would no doubt spend even more in the shithole tourist traps in Little Italy.

As someone who spends her entire income on eating in NY (after rent), I’m telling you: surrender to the hype. Splurge a little. Wait an hour for a table.

Babbo
110 Waverly Place
New York, NY 10011

Get DirectionsT: 212.777.0303

Cupcakes Amongst Tragedy

Walking down towards work yesterday, I was rerouted several blocks due to the horrific crane incident on Saturday. 52nd was blocked off completely to 3rd Ave., and 2nd Ave. was a mess of dust and debris; firefighters and cops running around with walkie talkies; St. Patrick’s Day freaks; and tourists and NYers stopping to look at the crumbled buildings and now vacant lots.

It was a devastating sight.

Buttercup Bake Shop on 2nd Ave, offered their soul-satisfying cupcakes and coffee for free out in front of their shop. They said it was for St. Patty’s Day, and it shed a little bit of light onto those 5 blocks, bringing together the community in these moments of tragedy.

RIP.

California Soul: Joy Luck Place (Cupertino)

This post is dedicated to Hua and Wangster.

Whenever I go home, I gotta get my dim sum fill. My mom thinks this is so bizarre, cause she knows I always go to dim sum in NY. But it’s just different in the Bay somehow- dare I say better? I don’t know what it is- but I will say that dim sum hasn’t gotten any better for me than since we went to Ocean Jewel in Queens. That was almost a year ago.

So there’s this little place in Cupertino called Joy Luck Place in this all-things-chinese mall where there’s a Ranch 99. There’s a serious cult following- you wait a minimum 30 minutes for a table. That’s minimum. And ridiculous. But worth the wait.

Here she comes…

All my must-haves:
Shiu mai-

Meatballs- kinda a new obsession I share with my dad. Hideko is not into this.

Shao lom pao (soup dumplings)-

Pan fried shrimp and chinese chive dumplings. YUM.

All time favorite- pork spareribs.
Congee

Shredded chicken chow mein with chives and bean sprouts, American style.
Pea shoots.

Gotta catch the dessert cart-

Hideko’s favorite- Rice cake filled with black sesame soupy deliciousness, powdered with this soy bean flour (kinako, in Japanese)

This place is Hua and Wangster’s SPOT. I personally might like Dynasty, in the late Vallco Mall more. But basically whichever you choose to go, you won’t be disappointed. I never thought I would be someone who would say this, but: they’re just so CLEAN!

Joy Luck Place
10911 N. Wolfe Road
Cupertino, CA
T: 408.255.6988

Fridgin’ Out: Marta in Madrid

Marta and I were lesbian lovers in a former life. We were probably the secret mistresses of Constantine during the glory years of Roma (he summoned for us from over the state line!), and hooked up after we had enough of him (we outed him. SCANDAL!). In this life, however, we have been downgraded to star-crossed lovers, as she is from Spain, and I from California. I do miss my Martita- she is like a sister to me. At least we fight like we are.

So what does my Marta have in her fridge this week? I am so stoked to show you. Marta is originally from Cadiz, in the south of Spain, currently living with her bf, Jose in Madrid. She works as some powerhouse career woman at a huge media publishing conglomerate. As you’ll see from her fully stocked fridge, she’s a badass.

Here it is, live from España! She has titled this “Wednesday in my Kitchen”– she even captioned the photos herself!

My fridge:

Very important for social life CERVECITA:
The real king of spain…
Picture is bad but this meat is great:

Little Italy

Hangover breakfast

Vinito blanco:

The best yogourts ASTURIANA

Strawberry forever

Aceitunas, esparragos, bonito…

After dessert NESPRESSO

*What’s in your fridge? Email pics to umamimart@gmail.com

Umamiventure #8: Puerto Alegre

We met up for our special SF Umamiventure on a sunny Saturday at Puerto Alegre (PA) in the Mission. This place has been around since 1970 (!). I was excited for a lunch of CalMex delights, but everyone else was unphased. To them, this was just another lunch, afterall. These people in Cali take their Mexican food seriously, but also for granted. It’s not fair. They’ll never understand what us New Yorkers have to go through for good Mexican (there’s one place on 101st and Amsterdam, but who wants to trek up all the way up to the Upper West Side??? Or the 7 to Jackson Heights? Forget it).

Started with a pitcher of their margaritas that Yelpers won’t shut up about (PA currently has 3.5 stars out of 329 reviews. Jesus). Petey and Stu had already had a pitcher by the time we got there, and were practically wasted. Point being that they were really good margs. Love me a perfectly salt-rimmed glass.

The Meal: on weekends, PA has a brunch menu, but thank god they also serve the regular menu. Ya’ll know how I feel about brunch- NOT a fan.

I think Alice got the combo plate- beef enchilada and chicken tamale, doused in red sauce. Yum

My enchiladas: this was definitely one highlight of my Cali trip. That mole was off the hook.

Andy and Jenny copied each other and both got the chilaquiles (my new favorite word. Say it: chi-lah-kee-less). I actually never had heard of this before, being the ignorant eater that I am (a deep fried burrito is a chimichanga??). So this dish is deep fried corn tortillas cooked in red salsa or mole. It comes with this cream stuff too that is pretty crucial- it’s simple and genius. Andy says that his friend makes this dish better though. Incidentally, I’m reading on Wiki that this is a common cure in Mexico for a hangover.

Stu got the Super Meat Burrito- no frills, they keep it real.

Petey: Huevos divorciados- an egg with red salsa and another with green salsa. Pete was not impressed- he’s from Santa Barbara so his standards are high. BUT, he did say that the salsa was “awesome”. I do believe that the quality of salsa says a lot about a Mexican joint, and coming from Pete, that’s high praise.

James: steak and eggs. He wasn’t into it- but let this be a lesson: BRUNCH MENUS BLOW.


I was super into the kitchy 70s decor. I’m sure little has changed since they opened in 1970.
Isn’t this picture dope? It’s mounted high up on wall behind the bar, and I can only assume that it’s the people who opened Puerto Alegre in 1970. Were you even born yet?

In the end, this place was totally average for these Bay Area folks. To me, my enchiladas were the best thing ever. Has living in NY for 6 years lowered my eating standards?? Something to think about.

When you ask any Californian where they go for their burritos, they will start a drawn-out soliloquy about their spot- everyone’s is different. Expect a heated debate. Love it.

PUERTO ALEGRE
546 Valencia St (between 16th & 17th St)
San Francisco, CA
T: 415.255.8201

Past Umamiventures include:
Pacificana – 02/08
Jackson Diner – 01/08
WINTERMARKET – 12/07
Sripraphai Restaurant – 11/07
Taste of Jackson Heights – 10/07
Red Hook Ball Fields – 06/07
Ocean Jewel Restaurant – 06/07

"It’s Fried!"

Went to Elias Corner for Fish the other night- a reputable Greek seafood joint in Queens that Aya wrote about a few months back. It was awesome!

Aside from the soft, char-grilled octopus, the gooey garlic musselfest, and the plethora of grilled fishes we ordered (red snapper, salmon, the kickass monkfish), my favorite part of the meal was a little something our gregarious server plopped down on the table after our meal was over.

“This is on the house,” she said. Big smiles all around here.
“What is it??” I asked.
“It’s Fried!!!!” she exclaimed.

Best answer EVER! This plate consisted of beignet-like fried dough pieces, coated with a pint of honey. One word: orgasmic. It was sad when it all had to end.

Vestiges of our meal:
Red snapper- the head is the best part! David ate the eyeball. Then swallowed it. Brian freaked out.

Garlicy oozy mussels- very original.

I accidentally dropped a mussel into our carafe of white wine. How does one do that?? I finished it off anyway. No shame- it was fine. You figure that there’s wine IN the mussel dish, so why not the other way around?

Hyoe- we’re devastated you’re leaving the city, but happy we got to send you off with a good meal. You’ll be back though!

Elias Corner for Fish
24-02 31st St.
Astoria, NY11102
T: 718.932.1510

Afterthought: Andy just informed me that these fried donut pieces are called Loukoumades. Here’s the recipe. Yamahomo, get on it, pronto! These are heavenly!

California Soul: Osha Thai Noodle Cafe (SF)

After driving around for about 30 minutes trying to decide what to eat (pho? Thai? Burmese? Tofu House?) Alice and CJ took me to the original Osha in the Tenderloin, which everyone says is the best out of the other 5 Oshas scattered around the city now. I guess all the other ones are fancy, while this one is pretty gritty. We waited about 30 minutes for a table, at the bar next door (great bar).

You know when I told you in my last post that I tend to over-order? You ain’t seen nothing yet. CJ and Alice are friggin unstoppable– even I needed to put on the brakes at a certain point. CJ’s mantra, “No, we need more, that’s not enough.” Love it.

Yum Woon Sen: silver noodle with pork, shrimp, chili paste and red/green onions. So refreshing and tangy. Ayagwa’s version kicks ass too.

Dish of the Night: Fried fish cake patties seasoned with curry and green beans. All of us agreed that this was our favorite.

Spicy pan fried rice noodles with tomatoes, mushrooms, bamboo, chinese broccoli, bell pepper, onion, basil, chili and chicken.

Osha Noodle Tom Yum: shrimps, ground pork, fishballs, bean sprouts, fish cake, lime juice, and noodles. Now, you know I can eat noodles all day, everyday: ramen, soba, pasta, pho, wonton noodle soup, udon, blah blah. But if I lived in SF, I would go to Osha for this every week, no joke. I know this looks nasty (sorry it’s almost gone), but seriously, this stuff was surprisingly addictive. Noodles in tom yum? I was a skeptic, but now I’m a fan.

Green curry fried rice. Yum.

Spicy string beans with chicken. Too much chicken!!! But this one was supposed to be with shrimp. We ate it anyway.
CJ with our spread. Check it out! Um, this is for three people. We are so ridiculous.

The interior is pretty neat- bright lights, black walls. You feel like you’re in a black box performance space. Lots of loud techno. Here’s Alice. I miss her.

Funny thing about the Bay Area is that people are REALLY into Yelp. It boggles me. When we were trying to figure out where to go for dinner, CJ and Alice had an entire debate based on Yelp reviews. It’s nuts!! These Yelpers have so much influence! One of the Oshas has 3.5 stars out of 5, based on nearly 600 reviews!!! 600!

If I had to rate it, I would give this place 4.5 stars. 1/2 point deducted cause they only use white chicken meat, another 1/2 cause the music was too loud and intense, but a 1/2 point regained for being open until 1am!

Osha Thai Noodle Cafe
696 Geary Street @ Leavenworth and Jones
San Francisco, CA
T:415.673.2368

California Soul: Swan Oyster Depot (SF)

They say the sun comes up every morning
And if you listen oh so carefully
The winds that ride on the high time
Whistle in melody
And so the people started to sing
And thats how the surf gave birth untold
To California soul, California Soul
– Ashford & Simpson

You know what the surf all along the west coast gave birth to? Absolutely the best oysters in the world, hands down. No joke- I’ve had oysters in many towns, in many countries, and I’m confident that this is true. There’s something in that Ocean, we’ll call it Pacific Soul–when it brushes up against Washington, Oregon and down to California, it creates these divinely luscious slurpable gems.

As soon as I got into San Francisco, Vanessa swooped me up and we headed towards California and Polk for the Swan Oyster Depot. Jim told me about this place, and I’d been dying to go. This seafood joint has been around since 1912 (!), and opens at 8am, closes at 5:30pm- I’m guessing the odd hours is to cater to local fishermen for before or after their shift.
We got there around 12:30pm and there was already a long line out the door. It was a mixed bag of tourists and regulars- the regulars got special treatment and got to drink in line. I want to be a regular!

There’s a fan above the doorway- bizarre but great.

All of the day’s selection displayed in the window. Gorgeous! Look at all those colors. All the guys behind the counter would run back and forth when making your food.

The Depot literally is just one counter, seating maybe 20 people. No frills here, just a lot of history. Men old and young work behind the counter. They were all super knowledgeable about their seafood.
We waited maybe 30-40 minutes in line. Here’s our guy- I think his name was Jeff??? Shame on me for not remembering- he was seriously the sweetest. He’s been there for at least 20 years, which is awesome (on their postcard, they have a pic of him when he still had hair. Aw). He also had a huge crush on V, which meant he showered us with attention. We like that.

He put our purses behind the counter. Seems to be a ritual of sorts.
Alright, the meal. Er, feast. God we ordered too much… you may have noticed that I always over-order. People get really annoyed at me for doing this, but V is the perfect eating partner cause she eats as much as I do, and is experimental. Neither of us have any shame. That’s my kinda girl.

“Jeff” really helped us construct our feast- we just gave him an idea of what we wanted, he suggested, we complied. No one should know what you should be eating better than the guy behind the counter (that goes for any place in general).

First up, OYSTERS! We got a dozen assorted (Drake’s Bay, Kumamoto, Olympia, Miyagi). In practice, I will only eat west coast oysters- there’s such a wide variety of flavors, sizes and textures just from up and down the coast, that is far superior to east coast oysters. I can’t explain what it is, but I think it’s the Pacific Soul.
Next- 1/2 dozen cherry stone clams. I love these cause they’re chewy, juicy, and for their delightful fleshy colors. V was not a fan though.
We got a bowl of the clam chowder to share- it was literally so runny, we were confused. But seriously, this was one of the best clam chowders I’ve ever had. Basically water and clams, and maybe some butter and milk, but mostly just clam juice. It was surprisingly refreshing and flavorful.

Big bowl of oyster crackers- just dig your hands right in!
V wanted scallops, so scallops “Jeff” gave us. He offered them raw sashimi style, or lightly marinated with olive oil, capers and red onions. We opted for the latter. Here he is squeezing lemon over it.

It was such a nice looking dish- and the mushiness of the scallops were perfect with the crisp of the onions. Flavor explosion!

At this point, we were pretty stuffed- “Jeff” kept checking in with us, every time he came back he thought we would be done for sure. NO WAY. He was really good about pacing our meal. He raised his eyebrows when we told him we wanted to finish with the crab salad. And another beer please! They have Stella on tap!

Seriously best crab salad. Their louis dressing is crack in form of a chunky orange cream sauce. Look at these fat pieces of crab!!! It was unreal.
5 courses, 2 beers, 2 hours later, we finally gave up. We surrendered our gluttony-I was sad that it was over. But we had so much fun! Until poor V started having some issues… FYI- Barney’s and Nordstrom downtown have really nice public bathrooms. Note to self- stop while you’re ahead.

V- SORRY!!!! But don’t ever stop eating with me!!!

Swan Oyster Depot
1517 Polk St.
(between California St. & Sacramento St.)
San Francisco, CA
T: 415.673.1101

View of the Bay Bridge on a gorgeous February day. The fog lifted for maybe an hour.