SFW fish porn coming up courtesy of Staten Island’s first Omakase, Omakase Ichi on Amboy rd. Opened three months ago, 5 minutes from my house. We’ll see (and hope) if it lasts until our next anni, but this was a nice experience. Probably my first proper Omakase.
A few duds like the uninspiring raw shrimp. I dont particularly care for raw shrimp overall unless I’m on the coast of Sicily or Puglia. I wished the coconut pudding was more liquidy and complex (even though I finished mine and hers and liked it enough), or maybe the Wagyu have less delicacies on it.
But the majority of the bites were quite good. Highlights were the Tuna Belly, King Salmon, Tuna Tartare roll on popcorn, Scallop, Miso soup with mushroom and scallop. Playful presentation, a lot of texture, colors, truffles. Really enjoyed this overall.
imo, absolute > utopia. and much as I don’t like the fairway on the ues, their Scottish salmon thinly sliced at the counter on a tal’s e86th st bagel is hard to beat.
The one I am thinking of was in Tribeca a bit east of Hudson. The woman who owned it was Yaffa. I think she was from Algeria. Had a great French bistro style menu. Used to go for lunch when I had such a thing as a lunch hour.
there is so much to see and do in Argentina - my more than 3 week visit was to Patagonia then Iguazu, with only a couple of nights in BR. Did not get as much of a chance to experience food there but had a couple of mediocre meals. the best food we had was meat based dishes out in the hinterlands - Bariloche, San Martin des Andes, El Chalten etc, mostly very simple cuisine but the best meat ever. with a good marinade and fire…at a good price. I did not like any of the Italian dishes I tried, in a few tries. Mushy pasta, the cheese was not quite right…good fish in Iguazu, from the river and the sea. I am way behind (almost a year) on trip reporting, to the Dolomites, Argentina, Turkey and Greece - need to finish up before I forget everytihng.
Two NYC barbecue places worth considering are Fette Sau in Williamsburg and Royal Rib in Bed-Stuy. Fette Sau is a Texas-style place, not in the league with Hometown but still very good (and a lot cheaper).
Royal Rib is an long-time Bed-Stuy tradition. It closed for a while a few years ago and when it reopened, it was a major event, complete with long lines of residents who had eaten there since they were kids and coverage by the NYT et al. It has very irregular hours and, according to Yelp, terrible service, but Toni managed to find it open one day last summer. I didn’t have high hopes for it, since many old-time urban barbecue places have very little smoke and way too much sweetness in their sauces. But it was a pleasant surprise, very definite smoke flavor and pulled pork I’d call Carolina-style, even though it was almost soupily moist. Respectably good real barbecue, which isn’t always easy to find. Good collards too.
Not the most photogenic takeout order Royal Rib, but solidly good.
That can be the case, but I’ve had some really fine barbecue that focuses on the quality of the meat. That’s probably one of the biggest distinctions between Memphis barbecue and the new wave of Texas-style barbecue places.
The beef rib drives the price way up at Hometown. That’s true in Texas as well, where beef ribs cost probably double or triple per pound than anything else on the menu. Not sure shy.
At the risk of prolonging an off-topic discussion, I will mention that Sam Jones’ flagship restaurant in Winterville, NC was one of the most underwhelming of the famous barbecue places I’ve eaten at. Really weak.
Because the price of raw beef ribs is super high and always has been and you pay for mostly bone, just like a rib tomahawk. Some people enjoy paying for the fat and bone they throw in the garbage.
Unless they have both radically changed over the years neither is a place I have ever had a good meal. I’m glad to hear such positive reviews.
The cuts, rubs, sauces, sides and cooking techniques at Fette Sau have never appealed to me despite their popularity. Probably my least favorite bbq spot in the city ever, except for Beast of Bourbon. I acknowledge that I am truly in the minority, but I honestly do not understand what people like about it.
