Tag Archives: chocolate mousse

Tenpenny- A surprisingly great meal near Broadway

23 Apr

We live near Broadway, so we go out in the area more than most.  The Broadway/Times Square area is not known for having great food. There are some gems, but almost the entire area is over priced, over crowded, and underwhelming.

We were looking for another hidden gem so I pulled open my Immaculate Infatuation app and found their recommendation for Tenpenny. They had a reservation at the right time (and wound up being pretty empty at the early, pre-theater hour we visited) so we went for it.  It is also within walking distance of Grand Central station, so it’s located near a lot of places where I am frequently asked to find restaurants.

Tenpenny is located in the Gotham Hotel on 46th Street. The restaurant has a great feel and you certainly wouldn’t believe you’re right in the middle of all the city action here.

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There is a skylight in the back that offers a lovely NY high rise view and lots of sun light on a nice day like when we went.

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Immaculate Infatuation also had mentioned crispy artichokes (which are one of my favorite foods ever), however, they were not on the menu this time. ::sad face::

The bread was a really nice crispy crust and fluffy inside. And I really enjoyed the garlic and rosemary sliced into the olive oil. (The other was red pepper flakes, so I had to stay away).

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We tried the OPP or “Other People’s Pinot.” It was a Pinot Noir and we really enjoyed it.

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It was from a winery called Mouton Noir and I really enjoyed the cap.

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We decided to start with the crostini and we tried the smoked salmon & dill creme fraiche crostini and the crispy pork belly, spiced yogurt & fuji apple crostini.  The smoked salmon and dill one was okay (though I’m not a huge fan of salmon) but I really enjoyed the crispy pork belly.

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The bread on both was fantastic and I really enjoyed the pork and apple combination on the second one.

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Mike went with the Lamb Porterhouse which was cast iron seared Colorado lamb with house butter. It had a great lamby flavor that we both really enjoyed.

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I chose the Heritage Pork Rach which was house brined, pan seared, and served with bourbon pork jus.

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There was a really nice sear on the chop and it was surprisingly juicy and tender all throughout. The bourbon jus was also a really great compliment.

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It also came with a small onion tartlet that I really enjoyed. The onions were perfectly caramelized and the pastry itself had great flavor.

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Tenpenny serves their entrees as mostly just the meat, so you do need to get a side on its own (which definitely puts the meal further into the pricey category). We chose the brussels sprouts. They were delicious and the way we like them (with pork) but weren’t as crispy as we like. We are quite particular about our brussels, however!

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We then decided to try some dessert, and we started with 2 glasses of after dinner drinks. I chose a dessert wine and Mike got a port.

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Mike chose the pecan pie with cinnamon gelato and caramel sauce. This was quite good.  The pecans were nicely cooked without being over sweet, and the  pastry was a nice compliment to the sweetness.

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I went with the chocolate caramel mousse with espresso anglaise and toasted hazelnuts.

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The mousse was the perfect texture with the crisp chocolate on top and cookie-like crust on the bottom.  Really nice dessert and looked beautiful.

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Overall, Tenpenny was a great find. A bit expensive (especially since the entrees don’t really come with any sides), but the quality is there to make it a worthwhile place to eat and worth the midtown price tag. It’s hard to get away from a costly meal in that area of town, but with the others being much lower quality, I think Tenpenny is a great place to go.  All our food had great flavor and was cooked and presented with obvious care. It’s also just a nice place to spend an evening. We sat and leisurely enjoyed our meal and drinks.

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

 

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Homemade Chocolate Mousse

24 Apr

Certain recipes instantly go into the “filed for life” box.  This is one of them.

I love chocolate mousse when it’s good. But so many times it’s just not.  It’s not chocolaty enough or it’s gritty or it’s sickeningly sweet.  This mousse is just perfect. And much easier to make than I anticipated.

I found this recipe on AllRecipes.com. Step one: whip cream to form light peaks.  You would think that I have done enough homemade schlag in the past to know better than to leave the mixer unattended while whipping, but alas, I wound up with some stiffer peaks than I anticipated. Luckily, this didn’t impact the recipe from what I could taste.

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This recipe especially caught my eye because Ghirardelli is my favorite chocolate to bake with. Hands down, changing to these chips made every recipe better. Every time I run out and use Nestle’s or Hershey’s, the taste difference is noticeable and if I’m making anything with melted chocolate, these cheaper brands just don’t temper as well, come out as smooth and uniform, nor taste anywhere near as good.  Lesson for anyone new to chocolate: Spend the extra $1 on the good chocolate chips. It’s worth it. Case in point, these melted perfectly smoothly in my double boiler (metal bowl placed on top of a pot with simmering water… hint: make sure the bowl is bigger than the pot so steam doesn’t work it’s way out of the pot and into your chocolate).

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AllRecipes is my favorite recipe site because of the dedicated readers who leave comments on the recipes. Thank goodness for them!  While certain times I don’t follow their advice and end up with a mess, this time, they guided me in the right direction, because while the recipe calls for 4 eggs, they really meant 4 egg WHITES.  Big difference.  The egg whites fluffed up perfectly with the sugar.

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I think the next ingredient is where this recipe really takes on a new level.  1/4 cup of coffee added to the recipe gave it a richer flavor that also countered some of the sweetness without making it taste less chocolaty.  A few people mentioned that they left out the coffee and regretted it later.

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You stir the coffee into the chocolate and then quickly add the eggs and fold in the whipped cream. I was nervous that the chocolate would bind upon adding the coffee (chocolate basically turns into an ugly mess when it’s mixed with water), but working quickly left me with a perfectly smooth and delicious mousse.

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Any elegant chef might pour these into a martini glass or mason jar to present, but I had to make them transportable to offices, so I went with Dixie cups.  Keepin’ it classy.

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I also wanted to top each with whipped cream, but whipped cream won’t stay fluffed overnight, so I added a tiny bit of gelatin to my whipped cream for the first time to stabilize it and, surprisingly, it worked. And it still tasted great.

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This recipe was perfectly delicious and surprisingly easy to make. I highly recommend this as a crowd pleaser (and impresser!)

Ghirardelli Chocolate Mousse
  
recipe image
Rated: rating
Submitted By: Ghirardelli®
Servings: 8
“Serve this simple chocolate mousse in a martini glass for a fancy presentation. A dollop of whip cream adds an elegant touch.”
INGREDIENTS:
10 ounces Ghirardelli 60% Cacao
Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup coffee, hot
4 eggs, room temperature (JUST THE WHITES!)
2 tablespoons sugar
DIRECTIONS:
1. Whip the cream to form light peaks. Set aside in the refrigerator. Melt the chocolate chips in a large mixing bowl set over barely simmering water. Meanwhile, whip the eggs with the sugar until very fluffy and thick, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir the hot coffee into the melted chocolate chips. The mixture will start to thicken, so work quickly. Quickly stir in the beaten eggs, then fold in the whipped cream. Pour or spoon mixture into cups or bowls, and chill until firm, about 2 hours.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2012 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com 4/22/2012

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Mermaid Inn

20 Mar

I absolutely love oysters.  In fact, one of my favorite things even as a little kid were those cans of smoked oysters. (Yes… I have been a foodie practically since birth… and also a very, very strange child).  I had been hearing great things about the Mermaid Restaurants and their oysters. Not only were they rumored to be very tasty, but they have a “Happy Hour and a Half” every day from 5:30pm – 7pm with east coast oysters for $1 and west coast for $1.75.  Awesome deal.

As if that wasn’t enough to sway me, Blackboard Eats put out a special that took 30% off the bill. It didn’t include the Happy Hour, but hell… 30% off is pretty damn great. And finally it motivated me, with a deadline, to try it out.

There are three locations: The Mermaid Inn on the Upper West Side (Amsterdam between 87th and 88th), The Mermaid Inn in the East Village (2nd Ave between 5th and 6th), and The Mermaid Oyster Bar in Greenwich Village (Macdougal between West Houston and Bleecker).

We stopped into the one on the Upper West Side and were immediately warmly greeted and shown to our seat.  With 30% off, we decided to go whole hog… err… fish… and try out a number of yummy looking items.  I gave my usual peppers allergy warning (“I am allergic to peppers. The vegetable.  Black pepper is fine but anything made from the vegetable is a problem: Red, green, yellow, chili, jalapeño, red pepper flakes, paprika… old bay.”  I am so sick of saying this… but… c’est la vie).  He wrote it down and very diligently confirmed what I could and couldn’t have.

First, we started with the Grand Platter: 12 oysters, 6 clams, crudo, shrimp cocktail, and 1/2 chilled lobster.

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All the oysters were fantastic, but I decidedly have a preference for West Coast oysters.  Shhhh… don’t tell.

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The lobster was pretty good, but I am a total lobster snob after spending so much time in Maine. It’s just NEVER as good.  Do lobsters lose something the moment they cross the bridge out of Maine? It’s a phenomena I cannot explain.

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The crudo was a delicious tuna with avocado… oh… and PEPPERS.  I took a bite and my mouth felt itchy… then a second later Mike pushed a jalapeño across his plate and told me to stop eating immediately.

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The wait staff was INCREDIBLY apologetic and immediately brought me out a FULL SIZE portion without peppers. And it was SOOOOOO delicious.

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We followed up our tower with lobster mac and cheese. This was perfectly cheesy (without being soupy) with great crunch on top and big full chunks of lobster meat cooked in.  The lobster in here was actually even more flavorful than the chilled lobster.  This was DELICIOUS.

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And then we had to try the lobster roll. The fries were perfectly average but the lobster roll was pure heaven… until… my mouth went on fire… and then the fire spread.

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Old Bay was lurking in every crevice of that sandwich… and was now burning every crevice of my mouth.  This was actually one of the worst burns I have ever experienced.  Because Old Bay is a powder, rather than burning a single spot like a normal altercation with a pepper might do, this spread across every part of my mouth and lips and hit hard.  I went immediately to the back and asked for a glass of milk (it is the only thing I have found that stops the reaction from spreading).  My waiter looked at me as if I had just told him that his puppy had died.  He sprinted into action, toppled over everyone in the kitchen, and ran back with a full jug of milk and a glass.  I went back to the table and a fresh lobster roll (sans old bay) was brought out.  And it was insanely good.  Perfectly buttered and crisped roll with perfect lobster meat.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t doing too well, so I asked for a glass of ice, which I proceeded to hold, embarrassingly, over my quickly inflating and blistering lip. At this point the manager came out and was beyond apologetic… mentioning that she was shocked to hear that the kitchen messed up not once, but twice, and that they had it backwards thinking my allergy was to black pepper, not the vegetable.  She immediately said they would be comping… the ENTIRE MEAL.  In my experience, it is really fascinating to see the difference in reactions I get from restaurants when peppers wind up in my food.  Many (too many) are totally indifferent or deny the hell out of it (“Oh it’s a jalapeño, not a pepper!“)  Some places comp the dish that was in error, or throw in a free glass of wine.  Frankly, I don’t expect anything. I would prefer the pepper wasn’t there in the first place, but accidents happen (it scares me to think what would happen if I WAS anaphylactic though).  I was SHOCKED when she said she was taking care of the entire bill.  And I felt awful. It wasn’t the waiter’s fault, and their care and attention was above and beyond.

It made what could have been an “I will never come back here!” boondoggle into an experience that will make me very loyal to this restaurant.  I can’t help but respect a place that takes ownership of its mistakes and goes above and beyond to compensate.

And just as I thought this restaurant had done enough to impress me, out came Fortune Teller Fish. Does anyone remember these from childhood? You put them in your hand and it tells your fortune depending on how it moves.  What a novel bit of nostalgia!

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And then… there came the chocolate mousse. Heaven.

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Beyond the above and beyond care for my allergy and comping the meal, the food here was sensational.  I was incredibly impressed and kind of wish I lived closer so I could be a regular at a place like this. Especially for those oysters!

Highly recommended.

Total Nom Points: 8 out of 10

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NYC Restaurant Week- Winter 2012: Barbounia

6 Feb

That Lori (from StuffIAte) and I decided to attend Food52′s Piglet Party to check out the Tournament of Cookbooks.  We didn’t know much about the event, but when we arrived, it seemed as though no one else really knew much about the event… even the organizers.  It said it started at 7, but when we arrived around 7:15, people were still setting up and there was no one really directing the flow.

There were a few stations with food and wine and then a bunch of cookbook authors sitting at a table, waiting to sign, but without any information about which cookbook they wrote.  And while I have a special place in my heart for cookbook authors, I haven’t memorized their faces.  So that was… strange.  There was no place to put coats and no one found a garbage can, so Lori and I wound up sitting at a table surrounded by other people’s garbage.  Someone was nice enough to say “thank you” as she put her garbage down next to us.  With that… we decided to cut our losses and head out to take advantage of Restaurant Week.  A quick search on the iPhone and we had a reservation for 10 minutes later at Barbounia, around the corner.  (What DID we do before smart phones? Really???)

I have been meaning to try Barbounia for quite some time (especially for brunch, which is supposed to be awesome).   But Restaurant Week seemed a great opportunity to check them out.

Here is the RW menu.

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The inside is beautiful.  Great arches with detailed lights.  It looks like it should be a good deal bigger, but it was somehow cozy in a very grand way.

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After ordered, we received a very warm, very fresh piece of bread.  The edges were especially delicious.

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I ordered the Grilled Oysters on half shell with tomato confit, fennel pollen hollandaise and parmesan crumble.  Since it was Restaurant Week, I was expecting 1 or 2 small oysters.  I was very surprised when it was 3 giant oysters. And they were DELICIOUS.  The top was like mild melted cheese that complimented the oysters without taking away from the flavor.  Really enjoyed this.

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Lori got the Roman salad with romaine hearts, artichokes, fennel, celery, shave pecorino cheese and bresola.  She seemed to enjoy it very much.

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For entrees, I got the duck confit.  It came with overnight braised farro, medjool dates, baby carrots, turnip with date syrup and 5 spice sauce (luckily, not one spice included peppers).  This was cooked to perfection, full of flavor, and falling off the bone.  The faro was ehh, but the sweet sauce was so good that when using the faro to sop it up, became mouthwatering.

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Lori got the grilled pork (which doesn’t appear to be on the menu that is posted).  I believe it came with Israeli cous cous, cipolin onions and black trumpet mushrooms. I though her dish was really outstanding.  The pork was a perfect blend of meat and fat so it was succulent, and the sauce it had was delicious.

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For dessert, we both opted for the dark chocolate mousse (also not on the posted menu) which came with a salted caramel sauce.

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The mousse itself had GREAT flavor.  Perfectly bitter sweet with chunks of chocolate.  When you hit the flecks of salt, it took the flavor to a whole different level. Unfortunately, while the flavor was great, the mousse itself was a bit gritty.  Tasted like the chocolate broke.  But it was so good in taste that it hardly mattered.

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Service was very good.  Our waitress was attentive without being overbearing and didn’t treat us like Restaurant Week lepers (an all-to-common theme during RW).

Overall, our meal here was surprisingly delicious.  I was impressed that a meal this good (and this big in portion!) had flown under my Restaurant Week radar.  They deserve accolades for serving food proportionate to their regular menu, and fantastic in ingredients and flavor.  They don’t skimp, and for that, they will earn my loyalty and I will be back.  A great execution of Restaurant Week.  Gave us just enough great food to bring us back for more.

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

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Wrap Up: NYC Restaurant Week Summer 2009

3 Aug

Restaurant Week is something I do look forward to, even if we have a love/hate relationship.  I understand that many restaurants hate it because it forces them to serve sub-quality food to, what I have heard us being referred to as, “riff-raff.”  (Nice).  Now while I understand 3 courses for $35 ($24.07 for lunch) means that the ingredient cost usually outweigh the profit, however, I know I have proved many times that I can cook a damn good meal for less than $35 per plate (Hell! Less than $20 per plate!)  I also always buy a bottle of wine (usually one more expensive than I would otherwise) and if I get to sample a meal that is outrageous, I will go back, and probably bring my reps with expense accounts.  Now I know some people will go there, be rude, take up tables, not tip well, and probably never come back… but for those of us who can’t afford the BEST meals in the city every day, it’s a nice treat to get to sample for an affordable price. 

I try to do some research before I make the reservations to make sure that I go to the places that have already been tasted and approved by fellow food lovers.  I’m not overly concerned with size of portion (I could use a little portion control anyway!) however, I want to have food that is delicious and a reasonable selection of what’s actually on the menu.  This year my Restaurant Week research informed me that the two places (that had openings) we wanted to try were Delmonico’s and Aquavit. 

Our first stop was Delmonico’s on a Thursday evening (65 Beaver Street at the corner of William).  I usually don’t travel much to the Financial District, and I think I’m always pleasantly surprised when it takes me less than 20 minutes from Times Square (my office) to get there.  It was pouring, but the glow of the NYC rainy streets and the umbrellas gave the great restaurant entrance an old New York feel, which was quite appropriate.  (Turns out Delmonico’s has been around since the 1820s).

The restaurant itself was beautiful inside.  The first thing I noticed on the wine menu was that they had a Vouvray (by the glass).  My favorite wine in the world is a Vouvray (first tasted on Valentine’s Day 2008, and always proves very hard to find).  This one did not disappoint, but it wasn’t quite the amazing Domaine Du Viking 1999/2000 I have fallen in love with.  I was still thrilled to have it though!

I had a toss up on the appetizer selection as there was a pasta with artichokes listed, however, I went with the lobster bisque, since it’s something I don’t eat very often.  This one was great, though not in the top 5 (maybe even top 10) in my honest opinion.

Mike went with the iceburg wedge and the blue cheese was exceptional.

Mike and I both ordered the fillet that billed itself as “served with accompaniments.”  This turned out to be 3 strips of root veggies and 3 string beans and a pile of mashed potatoes.  Now there was nothing really wrong with the entree, however, it just wasn’t what I thought it would be.  The presentation reminded me of a wedding, and I just couldn’t get that association out of my head.  The potatoes were just okay and the 6 slices of veggies seemed very sparse and bland (especially seeing as though veggies are typically a thing restaurants can doll up inexpensively to make the plates look better for restaurant week).  The meat was good, but not exceptional.  I had no “wow” moments at all.

Until dessert…  and even then it was only a mini wow.  I should have gone with my gut and tried the Baked Alaska on the regular menu, however, I was quite pleased with what we did get.  I believe mine was called a “Yankee Doodle” Cake and resembled a homemade hostess cake with a rich chocolate outside and drizzled with caramel.  It was good, but forgettable.

Mike had a panna cotta parfait.  The blueberries smelled heavenly, but the parfait itself was somehow lacking to me.

One other thing of note: The service was so quick that it honestly felt rushed.  I couldn’t imagine that they can cook fillets made to order in under 15 minutes, however, I’m pretty sure that’s about how long it took to get through the app and then immediately be served the steaks. I love good service, but this was so quick I hardly had time to sip my wine between courses. Also, the restaurant was not full (and I noticed those around us ordered off the Restaurant Week menu as well, so they may not have even been there at all otherwise).

Total Nom Points: 6 out of 10

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Our next restaurant week stop was Aquavit Cafe (aka AQ Cafe) which is the more “casual” version of Aquavit Dining Room (we tried for the dining room but they didn’t have an open reservation.).    AQ Cafe is located at 65 E. 55th Street between Madison and Park Aves.  Aquavit came as a recommendation from the incomparable Lori (a fellow food lover and blogger), who went there for Restaurant Week this past winter.  The restaurant’s chef is Marcus Samuelson. 

I liked that rather than the usual bread, we were started with popcorn that had fresh shaved parmesan and what I think was dill on it.  Unfortunately, the popcorn tasted as though it had sat out in a humid room for a bit, but I love popcorn even when it’s stale, and the cheese really was delish on top.

We decided to try the flights of Aquavit.  I’m not a fan of vodka nor licorice (two comparisons I’ve heard to the taste), however, since it was the namesake of the restaurant, I figured it couldn’t hurt.

We each picked three.  I went with Blueberry & Elderflower, Coconut & Espresso, and the Lingonberry sampler.  Mike chose Fig & Cardamon, Pear Vanilla & Black Pepper, and Pineapple & Thai Basil.  I definitely chose the winning flight, as I thought all three of mine were better than all three of his.  The ultimate winner, however, was the Coconut & Espresso, which would probably be the only one I’d reorder.  Overall, I think Aquavit just isn’t for me, but it sure looked pretty:

I started with the Herring Plate.  It was really great, and each piece of herring was either in a different sauce or had a different topping.  I’m still not sure what all of them were, except I can guess that one was roe, one was something sweet and fruity (pear maybe), and one was scallions. The fourth one I was clueless about, but I enjoyed.  I would have liked a little information on what I was eating exactly, but it didn’t deter from my enjoyment.

Mike ordered the chilled corn soup with smoked salmon and beets.  He had never had cold soup before and this was an instant turn-off for him.  Personally, I like cold soup, although this one could have benefited from a bit more flavor.

I went with the exact same entree I got as Smorgas Chef a few weeks ago (I heard that branch is now closed!) except this one was hands down better in every way.  The potatoes were more potato-y, the lingonberries were perfectly sweet, and the meat balls had a perfect flavor and were even more tender.  Not to say that Smorgas Chef wasn’t good, but it was too easy to see a difference since it was so recent.

Mike went with the Herb Roasted Chicken with green beans, corn, and mushrooms.  The corn mush on the bottom was yummy, but the chicken was a bit too dry and flavorless.  Surprising.

Desserts stood out bar none. I had the chocolate mousse with peanut powder and grape sorbet.  I wanted to lick the plate.  There was something a bit off with the texture on the bottom of the mousse, but I value taste more than texture.

Mike’s dessert was even better.  He got the “Arctic Circle” which was a goat cheese parfait, passion fruit curd, and blueberry sorbet.  The whole thing was great, but the sorbet was sensational.

The service here was quick but didn’t feel rushed.  I liked the atmosphere as it was open without being load and nicely decorated.  The idea of specialty flights of aquavit was also quite nice.  The entrees were very variable for us, and I would probably award a 7 to mine and a 6 to Mike’s, however, the desserts pushed this one out in front.

Overall Nom Points: 7 out of 10

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