Tag Archives: restaurant reviews

Bahn Mi from Paris Sandwich

14 Apr

Bravo me! Two Weight Watchers home cooked dinners down and you’re on a roll… then everything came to a screeching halt… I was on jury duty… downtown… in Chinatown. I hardly know where to eat down there to begin with, let alone on Weight Watchers. I had heard such great things about Paris Sandwich’sBanh Mi from FeistyFoodie. I was bummed that I was finally in the area and would have to forgo for this new diet.   I decided to go with the mindset, however, that you can eat anything as long as you track it and account for it with eating less at other times.  So I snuck open the iPhone app while hearing a slow case and calculated the points.  I was thrilled that it was only 10 points.  That left me with 12 still for dinner (after my 2 points used at breakfast on my yogurt).

Paris Sandwich (on Mott between Hester and Canal) was quintessentially Chinatown.  Women barking at patrons who were completely overwhelmed by a menu they could hardly read.  I tried to ask if there were any peppers in the sandwich or if it was spicy… and the answer wasn’t convincing. So I ordered and crossed my fingers.

They seem to have bread pre-made that they then put through a toaster and add the items.  I went with the grilled pork and it comes with cilantro, Japanese mayo (which looks more like butter and I’m not sure what it adds to the flavor… hmmm), carrots and daikon. (And you can add jalapenos to the sandwich I believe)

All of these flavors just combined to perfection. And the bread was delicious… though messy. Luckily I ate this outside as afterwards I was covered in crumbs! Wouldn’t have had it any other way.

If you are ever in Chinatown and not so keen on dim sum, definitely try the Banh Mi from Paris. It’s delish!

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

City Crab & Seafood Co.

9 Apr

 

Going a bit out of order here… this was pre- Weight Watchers.

****

Thanks to Groupon, I had a $100 coupon for City Crab (on Park Ave at 19th Street) that I bought for $50.  It was nearly expired, so Mike and I went after work one day.  I’ll spare the suspense here, as my drink was certainly my favorite thing that evening.  It was a toasted coconut martini with pineapple juice, coconut rum, something else, and shavings of toasted coconut on top.  It was SOOO good.

Mike and I split the crab, spinach, and artichoke dip.  It was good but not much more than good.  It wasn’t quite crabby or artichokey enough.  I wanted more.  Bigger chunks of the good stuff.

Mike chose the baked stuffed shrimp imperial.  I couldn’t try them because of the peppers, but he seemed to enjoy them, though without much enthusiasm.

I chose the Down East Lobster Bake which had mussels, clams, corn, and steamed new potatoes.  I guess the best I could say is that it was good, but bland.  I can honestly count just two times I’ve had lobster that was really GOOD outside of Maine.  I guess I was just spoiled in that respect.  I’m used to my lobsters being pulled right out of the ocean for me.   The mussels and the clams weren’t all that better, and even the corn just didn’t have the great sweetness I expected.  It was disappointing, but not bad.  Just… nothing special.

 

Blurry zoom-in:

For dessert, we split an oreo mousse cake of some sort… it was good, but… again… bland. 

Overall, City Crab was just wholly under-whelming.  Nothing was bad, per se, but nothing was even noteworthy enough to make me come back, besides the drink. 

Total Nom Points: 5 out of 10

Korean Lunch Near Union Square

7 Apr

Still going out of order… this was obviously PRE Weight Watchers. =)

****

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love Korean food (thank you to the amazing Esther)!  When I found out that there was a well liked Korean lunch spot right near my office, I was pretty excited. DoSirak (on East 13th near University Place) is small but not cramped. 

Their menu, as most Korean menus I have seen, is not too easily read by those not fluent in Korean.  So on this,  you’ll have to trust me… get the Bibimbop. The base of this dish is rice and it’s served in a hot stone bowl that crisps up the rice to a near burnt but still delicious texture.  Then there are sauteed veggies on top, usually some sort of meat (or tofu), and a fried egg.  The whole thing is mixed together into an absolutely delicious assortment. And DoSirak tasted incredibly fresh and the portion was HUGE. Plenty for two meals.

I prefer the bulgogi version as the sweet marinade for the beef brings joy to my heart.  If you love spicy, I hear the ones with kimchi (spicy pickled veggies) there are delicious.

Total Nom Points: 7 out of 10