Tuesday, April 27, 2010

A Quick Bite at La Parisienne

Diva1, famished, on her way home, stopped in for a quick dinner at the friendly-looking restaurant-diner, La Parisienne on 7th Avenue not far from Central Park.

It did seem like a good idea at first: Diva1 was quickly shown to the one booth not yet occupied, handed the menu, asked if she'd like something to drink (yes, please, a black coffee) while a glass of iced water was placed before her. So attentive. So efficient. And Diva1 does like a place lively with folks eating & schmoozing.

There were plenty of burgers on offer, which were tempting, but Diva1 has been watching her scale march relentlessly upward this past year, so when she spotted a grilled chicken special on the menu, that's what she ordered.

Waiter: The sandwich?
Diva1: Oh. The grilled chicken special. If that's a sandwich, I guess so.
Waiter: Raises eyebrows, gives withering look to Diva, scratches on his pad. Will that be all?
Diva1: Hm. It comes with french fries?
Waiter: French fries.
Diva1: That's all then.

Reader, it was a sandwich, of the open variety, a hunk of grilled chicken lying unadorned atop a toasted burger bun. French fries, a slice of tomato and a lettuce leaf shared the plate.

Waiter: Would you like some cole slaw or pickles?
Diva1: Pickles would be great, thanks!

And so arrived a small plate bearing two nondescript limp pickle wedges.

The first disappointment was the french fries: pale, mealy, no crispy goodness whatsoever. Still, the Diva was hungry, and they were not, after all, inedible. She did not eat the sandwich as a sandwich, opting instead to eat the chicken by itself and treat the bun as a side of bread. The chicken wasn't horrible, but was on the dry side, and not quite flavorless, but almost. The tomato slice was large and juiceless, the lettuce leaf crisp and delicious. In fact, that lettuce leaf and the toasted bun were the best things about this meal.

After all that, Diva1 was going to forego any thought of dessert, but on the other hand she thought ... well, she's unsure just what she was thinking ... she ordered apple pie. Which arrived cold. And, like the tomato, juiceless.

La Parisienne. Diva1 has never been to Paris, but she imagines that no Parisian would want to be associated with such a meal. Sighing deeply, she left a now empty restaurant (no, it was not closing time), belly full but heart heavy: it had seemed so promising. Alas.

La Parisienne Coffee House on Urbanspoon

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Breakfast(s) at the Nevada Diner, Bloomfield, NJ

A Diner Diva should actually eat in a diner now and then, and lucky Diva2, she had to be in Bloomfield a couple of times recently at breakfast time. The bus from NY goes right down Broad St. past the Nevada Diner, so these were my chances to check out said diner. At home I eat a light breakfast, nothing too fancy, but when I'm in diner territory the sky is the limit.

On my first visit I had a the ND's version of a Toasted Bagel All the Way and it just hit the spot; it's a bagel with lox, cream cheese on the side, and lettuce, tomatoes, onions and olives. There's not too much I can say about this; this was filling and just what I wanted and it was about the same as any other diner in the NY area would offer. Nothing to rave about, but no complaints either.

On my second trip I went for the Stuffed French Toast with a side of bacon. The French Toast was 2 big pieces of Challah Bread stuffed with fresh strawberries and blueberries. There was a big dollop of butter, with chopped pecans, on the top and maple syrup came served, not in a plastic pack, but warmed the way it should be in a nice little pouring jar. The serving of bacon was big (I think at least 6 pieces), it was nicely crisped all the way through, and it was the perfect accompaniment to the French Toast. This was a winner in my book and with a couple cups of tea I was a happy camper.

If you happen to be in Bloomfield, do stop in and give this diner a try. I will be back again the next time I have to be in that neighborhood.

Nevada Diner on Urbanspoon

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

A Trio of Lunches in Forest Hills

Lunch #1: Pinang, the Malaysian/Asian fusion restaurant on Queens Blvd. Diva2 knows precious little about Malaysian cuisine, but she comes here on occasion with a friend after the movies. The friend always, always orders the Spring Roll appetizer and the Chicken Satay appetizer and announces herself as satisfied with this. Diva2 always goes for something more substantial (but safe) like Pad Thai. These are good choices all, but a little skimpy on portion size.

Therefore, I decided to check the place out at lunch to see what the Mon-Fri lunch special was like. It's priced according to the main dish and includes choice of soup (wonton or something I don't know at all, called, I believe, Tom Tam or Tom Yum) and dessert of the day. I chose Wonton Soup and Mango Chicken. In due course the chicken arrived, without the soup. I had to send the waiter back for the soup and it was undistinguished when it came; in fact, the wontons were terrible - small and hard with no filling that I could discern. The chicken dish, on the other hand, was quite tasty - hot and spicy, but not overpoweringly so, and served with a generous portion of rice, all of which was needed to absorb the sauce. The dish had lovely strips of chicken, red and green peppers, onions and mango. I never did get my so-called dessert of the day; the waiter never offered it or brought it and I was full from the main course, so I didn't really need it.

Considering that this lunch was priced at $6.50 plus tax and tip, I can't really complain. However, the waiter clearly was out of his element and the place was not full at all; I'd hate to think what would happen if the waiter had been really busy.

Verdict: Pinang is a perfectly acceptable place to stop in for a quick lunch in the area, but I don't think it is going to set the world on fire. This will be an occasional stop for me, but I won't become a regular.

Pinang Malaysian Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Lunch #2: Baluchi's, the Forest Hills outpost of this Indian chain, also on Queens Blvd. Baluchi's has a Mon-Fri lunch special - 50% off on any in-house item ordered. This does not apply to takeout. I find the food here to be decent, but overpriced, especially since it is all a la carte. I only go here for lunch, since 50% off makes a big difference. I opted for Goan Shrimp Curry accompanied by Rice and Raita.

The shrimp curry was a wonderful surprise: 5 big plump pieces of shrimp in a lovely sauce that was reddish in color, but not from tomato. The color must have been from the spices used as the sauce was listed as having lime and coconut milk but not tomato. It was not a hot and fiery sauce, but a sweetish one - cinnamon, perhaps? The dish went very well with the rice and raita. At half price off this came in around $10.00 - $10.50 plus tax and tip.

Verdict: Again, a perfectly acceptable place to stop in for lunch, but not for dinner, as the cost mounts up very quickly. This place was also not busy. Neither Beluchi's nor Pinang can seem to attract any kind of a crowd at lunch.

Baluchi's on Urbanspoon

Lunch #3: Corfu Grill, a Greek restaurant on Austin Street in the heart of the Forest Hills shopping area. I had been here several years ago and had ordered the falafel. It was the worst falafel I have ever eaten in my life, hard and totally undigestible, so I had written this place off after 1 visit and had never gone back. However, I keep getting good word of mouth on this, so I decided to give it another shot and check out its Mon-Fri lunch special.

For the lunch special you get a cup of soup, pita with tzatziki sauce, a choice of rice, hand-cut fries or lemon potatoes, a salad and your choice of main dish. Main dish could be Spinach Pie, Dolmades, Souvlaki, Gyro, Moussaka, etc., etc., etc. I went with Spinach Pie and I chose the Lemon Potatoes.

First came a bowl of out-of-this-world Chicken Soup, loaded with rice and chunks of carrots and tasty, tasty, tasty. My only complaint, and you are going to laugh, was the square soup bowl. My spoon kept hitting the corners of the bowl and making a racket. Diva2 Moment of Epiphany here; soup bowls are usually round for a reason. They are less noisy.

Next came the main platter with a triangle of spinach pie that was warm and flaky, three big wedges of potato, warm and soft pitas, a tangy tzatziki sauce and some Greek salad. This was all basically good, although the lemon potatoes had too much rosemary on them and no discernible lemon taste. Also, the olives on the Greek salad were mushy and straight out of a can - undistinguished to say the least. The salad was also a little soggy with too much dressing.

HOWEVER, and this is a big, big however, this whole meal was priced at $6.00 plus tax and tip. I cannot stress what a bargain this was; I had a bowl of soup and a platter loaded with food for a ridiculously low price.

Verdict: Corfu Grill is a diamond in the rough, a few misses but overall the best bang for my buck that I've encountered in weeks. The neighborhood knows it too; there were seats when I arrived at 12:30, but by the time I left every seat was taken and hungry eaters were pouring in the doors. Give this place a try; I know I will be back checking out other items on the menu. Just avoid the falafel when you go.

Corfu Grill on Urbanspoon



Saturday, April 3, 2010

The Divas Do DUMBO (with photos)

The 2 DinerDivas began their Down-Under-The-Manhattan-Bridge-Overpass Good Friday in Brooklyn Heights at Diva1's nabe-fave Montague St. diner, The Grand Canyon, home of the 7 oz. burger. But this was breakfast.

At 9:30 a.m. the place was filled with a good-sized breakfast crowd but still there was a comfy booth available with chairs nearby to spread our things out on as we placed our orders: a brunch-worthy Monte Cristo and tea for Diva2, a Belgian waffle and bacon with black coffee for Diva1.

The waffle arrived first, buried in what looked like at least 2 rashers of bacon, surprising Diva1, who had expected a couple of slices, maybe 3 at most. Plenty of butter and single-serving-containers of Kraft fake-maple-syrup accompanied the waffle. The waffle, buttered and syruped (and bacon put to the side), was delicious and properly puffy if a little on the bland side. The bacon, if a bit much, was nicely done, not at all limp and wimpy and not too crisp, either.

Diva2 drizzled a bit of the syrup on her Monte Cristo which she declared to be quite tasty while also noting it was a large-ish serving.

After downing our meal, we kicked back with the Friday New York Times crossword puzzle and readily proffered refills of our tea and coffee. In fact, we sat for quite some time puzzling over ... and finishing ... the puzzle without ever feeling rushed or in any way unwelcome -- quite the opposite, in fact, a neighborhood-diner-perk we appreciated and rewarded with a generous tip before leaving.


From there, we made our leisurely way through the Brooklyn Promenade, along Old Fulton Street, past the already lengthy line for Grimaldi's Pizza (we did not indulge), to the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory at the foot of Old Fulton Street to enjoy some fresh, handmade ice cream.

The line into this little shop, too, was out the door, but the ice cream -- a scoop of butter pecan and another of coffee ice cream in a waffle cone for Diva2, a scoop of butter pecan in a waffle cone for Diva1 -- proved well worth the short wait. Rather than take the cones outside to eat, we sat at one of the 3 tables. Diva2 declared the coffee ice cream had the absolute perfect coffee taste; and Diva1 echoed the sentiment, noting that the Factory had achieved pecan perfection without overwhelming the ice cream with nuts.

From the Ice Cream Factory, the Divas paid a short visit to part of the newly-opened Brooklyn Bridge Park, noted an upcoming appearance of the Young@Heart singers at Ann's Warehouse, peeked in through some doors at Jane's Carousel (to be ensconced at year's end in a new pavilion in the aforementioned Park), and stopped in for some Easter goodies at Jacques Torres Chocolates, where we admired the $60 chocolate cow and where Diva1 bought the irresistible dark-chocolate-dipped Tuxedo Peeps, a requisite dark chocolate rabbit, and 2 chocolate mud cookies, one of which Diva1 ate on the spot, the other of which she gave to Diva2, who devoured it later at home.


Diva1 just wants to say not only is the chocolate the absolute best in the world, but those Peeps are the Cadillac of Peeps. Clearly not something bought off the shelf in some drugstore, they were soft and sweet little marshamallow confection perfection!


Next on the foray into DUMBO was PS Books, where the Divas lightly grazed at the shelves then gratefully fell onto the store's comfy couch to rest and chat while paging through their selections.

Next thing we knew, it was after 3:00 p.m., and time for another eating adventure, this time at the newly opened Choice Market at the corner of Jay & York Streets. Once inside this roomy eatery, we chose drinks from the refrigerated case (some interesting, different choices among the usual Cokes), perused the menu, placed and paid for our orders at the cash register, then took our seats at one of the long communal tables. A waitress brought our orders to us when they were ready:


Diva2 declared the hanger steak delicious and done as ordered: pink and juicy. Asked about the side of mashed potatoes, she said they were fine and not at all watery, which is Diva1's usual complaint about mashed potatoes ordered out. Diva1 found the salmon burger to be lovely, garnished with fresh lettuce, tomato, and crisp sprouts. Her only question was that she thought she might have preferred mustard to the mayonnaise already on the burger -- but then again, maybe not. Anyway, she hadn't been given the choice, which she thought it would have been nice to have, especially at a place named Choice. The french fries were a real treat, served hot, outsides crispy, with a side of perfectly ordinary ketchup. Only thing was the fries came already salted, while she would have preferred to add her own salt; actually, she'd have preferred pepper, no salt. The portions were perfectly sized, appetites sated with nothing left on the plate.

All this was polished off with new-to-us soda choices: Fentiman's "botanically brewed" Traditional Ginger Beer for Diva1 and Fentiman's Mandarin and Seville Orange Jigger for Diva2. Diva1 definitely recommends the Ginger Beer to any true ginger lovers out there; Diva2 noted that even the Orange Jigger had a kick of ginger in it. These drinks added some decided tang to the meal!

The ambience here was casual, relaxed (as we had earlier at the Grand Canyon, we lingered here too after our meal, feeling welcomed and not at all rushed, the place busy but uncrowded), and all about good, fresh, well-prepared food. And only our earlier sweet indulgences as well as our desires to return home meant passing up the tempting desserts on offer here.

The Divas will definitely choose Choice -- and do DUMBO -- again.

Grand Canyon Restaurant on Urbanspoon
Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory on Urbanspoon
Jacques Torres Chocolate on Urbanspoon