serge eats

May

05

2010

i love it - 1 star for pulino’s

Hello friends, how goes it? Yes I know I haven’t been posting much. What can I say? Life and it’s responsibilities beckon. But I had to share this link after my recent dining experience at Pulino’s.

Pulino’s is Keith McNally’s latest restaurant in downtown Manhattan. It’s his take on the rage du jour - Neapolitan pizza. And obviously it’s packed. EVERY NIGHT. Good for Keith. I’m psyched for his success.

With that being said, two weeks ago I went to Pulino’s on a beautiful Wednesday evening. When I got there, I was told the wait for a table for two would be 30-40 minutes. Normally, that’s my maximum wait for a table anywhere in the city. Not because I’m hot shit but because there are so many good restaurants here that waiting for a table at a specific restaurant really need not happen.

So the initial 45 minutes go by. I meander over to the maitre d’ and ask how much longer he’s thinking. Ten minutes he tells me. To make this long story short - we wound up waiting one hour and 40 minutes for our little perch of a table.

The problem in this isn’t that I waited that long. I could understand if they told me my wait would be around 90 minutes and then I chose to wait this long. The problem is that these idiots told me my initial wait would be 30-40 minutes. Had they told me it would have been over an hour, of course I would have gone elsewhere. Like I wrote earlier, there’s just no need to wait that long for a table in this city. Topeka we are not. But they lied to me. They fucked me. AND I WILL NEVER STEP INSIDE A MCNALLY JOINT AGAIN.

That’s why I love this ONE STAR NY TIMES REVIEW so much. HA!!

UPDATE: And I forgot to mention another reason you need not EVER eat at Pulino’s: KESTE!!!!! Keste is the best Neapolitan pizza parlor outside of Naples. And I’ve never waited longer than 15 minutes for a table there.

posted 2 months ago

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May

01

2010

poutine - a little taste of quebec here in nyc

The rents recently had the pleasure of spending a long weekend in Quebec City. They ate. They drank. They had a great time.

As for me, I have the pleasure of having some very thoughtful parents and it was in my honor that they brought back a bag of cheese curds and a St. Hubert melange a sauce aka sauce packet of poutine gravy.

Twas a ridiculously simple process. Slice up some russet potatoes that I bought from the farmer’s market this morning. Soak them in salt water for about 10 minutes to remove all that mucky starch. And then I fried them up in a mixture of safflower oil and vegetable oil (it was all I had).

It took about 14 minutes on medium-high heat to get them to the desired golden crispness. And then it was devoured. Quick. Merci Mere et Pere.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm

posted 3 months ago

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Apr

17

2010

mmmmm. home made langostino tail roll on toasted challah. SO GOOD.

posted 3 months ago

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Mar

24

2010

Ham sandwich from No 7 Sub

posted 4 months ago

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Mar

24

2010

At No 7 Sub in the Ace Hotel

posted 4 months ago

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Feb

20

2010

Croque Monsieur at tartine

posted 5 months ago

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Feb

09

2010

Margerite pizza at Keste

posted 5 months ago

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Feb

07

2010

Swedish Toast Skagen

A few summers ago, I had the pleasure of spending a few weeks in Sweden. I spent my days and nights getting to know Stockholm, Nynasham and Gotland. Needless to say, I loved everything about the place. From the cleanliness of the city to the bucolic beauty of the countryside.

But what I remember most vividly are the tasty toast skagen sandwiches that were the staple of every cafe and restaurant we went to. The dish is quite simple. Sweet seasoned shrimp + baltic toast + red caviar = toast skagen. Add in a tasty lager and it’s a great way to while away the afternoon.

Back here at home in New York, we’re currently in the middle of Maine’s sweet shrimp season. They’re tiny and sweet and can be eaten raw. They’re delicious and are the equivalent of candy in the crustacean world. And they’re, more or less, exactly like the shrimp used in Swedish toast skagen.

I took the 4 train to Grand Central and went to Wild Edibles in the market there. Wild Edibles is one of the few vendors here in the city who sell these sweet buggers in season.

Today, they only had the peeled variety which was fine by me. Less work. Read the fine print in the photo above - “Just half a minute in boiling water.”

Folks, that’s IT. They don’t need a second more of cooktime.

I boiled a pot of heavily salted water. In there, I threw in a few bay leaves and peppercorns. And then I plunged the shrimp in for a quick 30 second bath.

After the bath, I put the shrimp on ice in my fridge to cool them quickly.

While they cooled, I diced half a red onion and finely chopped about a teaspoon or so of fresh dill.

After about fifteen minutes in the fridge, I took the shrimp out and, in a mixing bowl, combined them with the dill, red onion, about a tablespoon of mayonnaise, juice of half a lemon and some salt and pepper.

A few minutes later, I was enjoying an incredible home-made toast skagen.

I used a sunflower rye for one and a challah for the other piece of toast. I know traditionalists may scoff at my use of non-white bread. But this is what I had handy and it didn’t disappoint. I also didn’t have any caviar but to me, that’s a secondary ingredient. The shrimp was the star of this show.

I ate happily while memories of the Baltic coast flooded my palate.

posted 5 months ago

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Feb

06

2010