Time for a February round-up - I ate out a lot this month, so gear up for a longer newsletter.
Overview
Classics: Tonchin, Wayan, Momoya!
Hits: Lamalo, Misi, Osamil, 19 Cleveland, Soothr
Below expectations: Jeju ☹️, Mint Heights, RedFarm
Other notable things: ie. not food related
Classics
We kicked off and wrapped up our February with Tonchin. I’ve been on such a Tonchin grind lately, I’m feeling like I’ll need to take a bit of a break soon to prevent burnout. But god, those chicken wings. We also did Wayan again for those lobster noods. Check out my last newsletter for more on both!
A new restaurant I’m adding to my go-to list: Momoya. I’m a big omakase girl, but the specialty rolls here are really, really good.
Hits
I went back to Lamalo, a middle-eastern restaurant in NoMad known for their dips spread. They line the table with the spreads and add these huge pita breads that you share/dip. The dips were good - the hummus and the labneh especially. While I probably won’t be going back here too soon, it was fun and good for small groups. I’d recommend focusing on the dips and spreads option instead of getting the kebabs (not as good, and it starts to get pretty pricey).
My boyfriend and I went to Misi for our valentines day dinner, and it was great - the ricotta toast lived up to the hype. It was light, creamy, and smooth. It pairs with some seasonal vegetable, which for us was roasted mushrooms. We also got the spinach and mascarpone filled tortellini, which was creamy, yet sharp, and a fantastic pairing.
I caught up with an old friend at Osamil for dinner & drinks, and while the drinks were great and the dinner was solid, I left feeling very oily. We ordered the kimchi fried rice, which I loved, and the fried chicken, which I wouldn’t order again. They fried the entire chicken, whole, which made for a nice photo, but made it a little awkward to eat and not very korean-fried-chicken-like. My friend and I had to awkwardly cut the chicken and get down and dirty while trying to catch up over the last year’s events.
A new Israeli place for us: 19 Cleveland. The staff and vibes are so fun and Tel-Avivian, and it’s a really cute/fun brunch place with a small group of people (I went with my boyfriend and his mom, who’s the most fun out of the three of us). The hummus was really good (stay tuned for a hummus round-up soon), as was the chicken shawarma.
I finally went to Soothr, which was fantastic. The drinks were so fun and delicious, and the food was awesome. We loved the duck rolls, the pork appetizer special, and the shrimp curry.
Below expectations ☹️
This first one’s tough - my lovely boyfriend got us reservations at Jeju by stalking Resy every night for weeks. When we finally got there, my expectations / excitement was set pretty high. But they raised the prices over the pandemic, and while the food was very good (especially the Toro Ssam Bap appetizer), there was something about a $50 bowl of ramen that just didn’t sit with me the right way. I got the Wagyu ramen, and he got the family ramen, which I actually enjoyed more. (Caveat: I’ve been trying not to eat beef, and this guilt over the Wagyu bowl may have detracted from my experience).
I’ve been trying to explore Brooklyn more lately, and while we were in Brooklyn Heights the other day, I tried this Indian place, Mint Heights. It wasn’t good, I was disappointed, and it reminded me again to be skeptical over google maps ratings. ☹️
Finally, I tried RedFarm again. I’ll be honest, I don’t know why people love this restaurant. The first time I went, I thought it was severely over-priced for what they offered. They basically just make dumplings multi-colored and put faces on their buns and then double the price? I wanted to try it again because I had a strong peking duck craving one weekend, and a quick google search told me that RedFarm was supposed to have good peking duck - but again, it was just underwhelming. It didn’t satisfy my craving and ended up being $70pp (and they wanted to charge us an extra $10 for a few more of the pancakes you use to make the rolls!). Also, I was one of 3 total asian people in the entire restaurant.
Other notable things
We went to a book talk by Ethan Hawke on his new novel (woah, right?) A Bright Ray of Darkness. It was a conversation between him and Zoe Kazan, and it was fantastic. I bought (a signed copy!) of the novel afterwards, finished it in a couple of days, and loved it. It’s about an actor whose high-profile marriage is falling apart, told from the lens of his broadway debut in Henry IV.
Afterwards, I watched Dead Poet’s Society. Again, I came in a bit skeptical, but it was fantastic. It was hilarious, adorable, inspiring, and so, so sad. It was one of the best movies I’ve watched.
I also watched The Worst Person in the World, and it was also such a hit!! Again - funny, clever, smart, poignant. Life is messy.
The Kanye doc-series. I like Kanye’s music, I’m skeptical at best about him as a person. The doc-series? Amazing. I cried, I laughed, I am so impressed with how well-done it is. I’ve been bumping College Dropout since. It’s been a good month for entertainment.
And that wraps up this week’s newsletter - next month, I’ll be traveling a ton (London, Budapest, Israel), so send over any recs you might have and stay tuned for some travel updates soon.
$50 for ramen is highway robbery 🙈