I was recently in San Francisco when I stumbled upon Urban Picnic, an eatery near Union Square that serves up ‘healthy global inspired’ food. There were plenty of delicious-sounding items to choose, ranging from salads to noodles to sandwiches. It’s a been awhile since I’ve had a banh mi, so I went for the ‘Korean BBQ Beef Short Rib Banh Mi’ – and it was supersonic!
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What’s a banh mi? Literally, it’s a Vietnamese baguette but the term is more commonly known for the sandwich in which the baguette is a part of. Typically, the sandwich will include meat, daikon, carrots, and cilantro.
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Urban Picnic’s banh mi tasted very fresh and was bursting full of flavors. Aside from the savory, sweet, and salty BBQ beef short ribs, there was also some great crunchy texture from the jalapenos and pickled veggies. The baguette had an inner coating of Sriracha mayo (hot chili sauce) that added a refreshing kick which helped tie all the flavors together. Who can resist Sriracha? I also added some extra Sriracha and a squirt of lime to my sandwich, just to push it a bit over the edge. Delicious!
Urban Picnic is located on 135 Kearny St. (b/t Post & Sutter) in San Francisco, CA / Phone Number: 415-433-1233
I confess: I’m a brunch whore. I spend many weekends researching what brunch menus are lurking around my neighborhood. My favorite meal of the day is breakfast, so a nicely balanced brunch menu really get’s me going. A perfect brunch menu will have a variety of sweet, savory, and unique twists on breakfast items based on the restaurant’s regular menu and style. In today’s case, I stumbled upon Taboon in Hell’s Kitchen. I’ve biked passed this new-ish (opened in summer 2011, I think) restaurant on several occasions and have always curious been about it. We decided to check out Taboon for Sunday brunch on Labor Day weekend and it was major hit!
Taboon’s brunch menu had all of my favorite brunch staples with a middle-eastern mediterranean spin on them (dubbed ‘middleterranean’ by New York Magazine). The middle-eastern influence is very subtle and that’s what makes everything seem so perfect. I ordered the crab eggs benedict and instead of the typical english muffin and fried crabcake, I was served real crab meat (big chunks!) sandwiched between two very delicate pieces of puff pastry and spinach, topped with a perfectly seasoned hollandaise sauce. The end result was a decadent, flavorful, and surprisingly light version of my favorite brunch entree.
To compliment my eggs benny I opted for the $18 bottomless mimosa. Best decision I ever made. This brunch special is only available on Sunday’s during brunch (11am-4pm) and is well worth the price. Those mimosas kept on coming, we never had to ask for a refill!
The decor and service matched the amazingness of the food. The restaurant looks nothing like what I expected from a middle-eastern inspired place. There are no hanging string lights, no colorful beads, no dark red tapestries – nothing cliche exists here at Taboon. Instead, the decor makes you feel like you are dining at a breezy yacht club or a Hamptons getaway. Clean, bright white colors and rustic furniture make you feel cozy and at home on 10th Ave, located between the ‘backstage’ area of the theatre district and the Hudson River, away from all of the tourists and hustle & bustle.
Our server was very welcoming and offered plenty of options for my brunch date, as he is a vegetarian… the kind that doesn’t like to eat eggs. The server offered up variations on some menu items and pointed out which of the brunch menu items were already made without meat or eggs. My date ended up ordering the French Toast, which was divine. Coated with shredded coconut, embracing a layer of tart blackberry jam, topped with vanilla bean ice cream – otherwise known as a ‘flavor explosion’! You really felt and tasted the different layers of flavors in this French Toast – yum!
So, if you’re ever near Hell’s Kitchen and looking for a perfect place to have a delicious brunch and yummy cocktails with friends, I HIGHLY recommend Taboon. Stay tuned for a dinner review, as I’m sure I will head back over again soon!
Taboon 773 10th Avenue – New York, NY 10019 - (212) 713-0271
If you’ve ever been lucky enough to spend some time stuffing your face in any of Europe’s pastry shops, you probably know that over there, Belgian waffles (aka gaufres de Liège) bear very little resemblance to American-style Belgian waffles. European waffles are smaller in diameter, but thick and sweet with a crispy outside, subtle caramel flavor and crunchy little bits of pearl sugar crystals within a soft interior. Denny’s this ain’t. And instead of eating them for breakfast, Europeans snack on these in the afternoon or after a meal for dessert. And syrup? You might as well put ketchup on it (perish the thought).
Needless to say, REAL Belgian waffles are almost impossible to find in the USA, so when I spied this box in the Gelson’s freezer section I had to restrain myself from jumping up and down while shoving one of each flavor into my cart. Chocolate was really just the obvious choice, but on future visits I will require trying the other flavors (for research purposes of course): maple, vanilla and cinnamon. I’ve eaten about half the box at this point, prepared different ways, and toasting is absolutely the best method of heating these little suckers up. And they are so. freaking. delicious. Just like their European counterparts, each one tastes like brown sugar and caramel and yeasty pastry and sunshine and cobblestone streets and jaunty scarves, with warm chocolate as a bonus. Simply open the box, toast one up low and slow until the warm scent becomes completely irresistible. Enjoy!
I hit up the PARKED Food Truck Festival on Saturday with Hungry Friend reader and long-time partner in crime, Marisa (@ri5a). We arrived at the South Street Seaport in lower Manhattan with zero expectations and planned to slowly eat our way through the long queues to serve as our early dinner for the evening. The 20+ food trucks parked along the promenade consisted of ice cream sandwiches, grilled cheese, a handful of korean taco clones, mexican, indian, shaved ice, vegan fare, burgers, japanese small bites, pizza, cannolis, french fries, and more.
The lines were long and patience isn’t my strong suit, so after surveying each and every truck menu, we ended up only trying two trucks:
BIG D’s GRUB - Ordered the Korean bulgogi taco, described on the menu as ‘fire meat’ – lean beef marinated in soy sauce, garlic, sesame seed oil, served with spicy kimchi puree, zesty scallion relish and cool, rich crema. Marisa and I shared the same thoughts on the taco: meat was tender, but not as spicy as described. Overall fresh and yummy, definitely worth $2.50. We also had a side of fries, which were dusted with Old Bay Seasoning and Sazon. Those were delightful, especially with the dipping sauces, spicy mayo (mayo + Siracha) and Big D’s special sauce.
Bulgogi Taco
Gorilla Cheese – Here were tried the #2 Grilled Cheese sandwich made on French bread with cheddar, bacon, tomato. Although these truckers explicitly stated that this sandwich was not made on a baguette, I was still expecting some sort of French breadiness to be involved, but this was more or less just sliced white bread. That being said, the bread was toasty and sliced thick and full of buttery goodness. Cheddar was creamy and sharp, but the bacon was lacking – skimpy and thin, no crispiness or texture. For a mobile grilled cheese concept, this hit the spot but it’s not worth $6.50. Skip the long line and make this at home instead.
#2 Grilled Cheese
Exhausted from the crowds and long lines, we decided to finish off the warm summer evening with a pitcher of sangria and salad at UNO Chicago Pizza. Growing up in the burbs, I’m a sucker for suburban chain restaurants and I had no idea we had an UNO right here in NYC! Mental note taken.
This morning I had the pleasure of tasting my very first pluot. I brought this pluot to work today as my mid-morning snack and everyone who spotted me eating it couldn’t help but ask… what the heck is that?!
What is a pluot? Quite simply, a pluot is a hybrid of a plum and an apricot.
I discovered this fruit while browsing Fresh Direct for my weekly grocery order. I love plums and like apricots so trying this seemed like a no-brainer. The fruit is very juicy, sweet yet tart, and shares the same skin texture as a plum so it’s very easy to bite into. Yum! I’m definitely a pluot fan now and will continue eating these as often as they are available (seasonal, May to September).
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