kyotofu

 A weeklong craving for desserts and health food led my sister, my mother, and me on a thirty block trek to Kyotofu after our first family outing in the longest. The Japanese dessert bar and bakery withheld a modern dining room enclosed by a massive two story ceiling and inviting white, cushioned seats. We would soon find out that in its timid kitchen lies some less-than-mediocre savory dishes, perhaps to magnify our satisfaction with the desserts after a line-up of bland, ordinary starters and mains.

I ordered curry rice with additional kurobuta (pork) sausage topping (2 dollar supp.), which the waiter made sound like something special but was nothing more than startlingly pink hot dog meat. The curry was essentially MSG-saturated instant curry. Luckily, such a curry is comforting, and we quickly finished the bowl due to the long wait (despite the rather empty dining room.)

The arugula salad was light and barely filling. The scoop of fresh delicate tofu on top was delicious with the sesame soy dressing, but the greens were almost inedible due to the lack of fat and acidity in the dressing. The sweet soy highlighted the bitterness rather than the pepperiness of the arugula. The cold "caramelized" onion bits were completely tasteless and burnt.

 The almond brioche came with shots of creme anglaise, fresh strawberry jam, and bacon.  The brioche was flaky and soft and made for a nice starter although there was a curiously strong almond extract scent encircling our table after this dish arrived. My sister, a bread fanatic, eagerly sopped up the jam with the remaining bread while my mom, when the waiter turned his back, mischievously took the shot of creme like one would take a shot of alcohol. 

                             

To start off dessert...

The green tea brûlée, with ginger pear sorbet, had a smooth creamy texture but the green tea flavor didn't come through entirely. The sorbet had a very strong ginger essence and seemed like it could've been a separate dessert on its own. 

The kuro goma sweet tofu, or black sesame tofu "panna cotta" was the agreed favorite. This is what this place should be, and is, known for. The tofu, which came slightly sweetened, was accompanied by a shot of hijo-cha (green tea) syrup, although the subtle tea flavor got lost in the creamy nutty custard. I nibbled on the the crisp white sesame cookie between mouthfuls of silky deliciousness. 

The white sesame and strawberry soymilk soft serve came with miso caramel, green tea mochi, and granola. None of the toppings were special, especially the stale mochi, but the delicately flavored soft serve stood on its own. "Nothing you can't get at an ordinary ice cream shop,"commented my mother, who seemed to enjoy the granola more than the ice cream itself. 

 

We all enjoyed the latter half of the meal, which ended with complementary buttery black sesame short bread cookies. Even my mother, who was never fond of sweet things, enjoyed the recurring flavor of sesame and the desserts overall. The entrees were disappointing and unsatisfying and the complementary blood mary cocktail was watery. I will be back next time I feel like splurging on dessert while comfortably seated in a spacious dining room on plushy white cushions. 

Kyotofu
705 9th Ave
New York, NY 10019

prune

Walking down 1st street through the stifling humidity and incessant rain several afternoons ago, I halted midway down the block, the bright hot-pink decor and awning of Prune restaurant having caught my eye. I was headed elsewhere for dinner, the humble, eclectic menu almost persuaded me to change venues, but plans are plans. I returned today for lunch, hoping the meal would justify the 100 minute commute there. The 30-seat space was charming with the simplicity of its decor, rusticity of the mismatching tableware, and eccentricity of the hot pink strewn around the restaurant. I sat there next to the open kitchen as I contemplated on what to order, feeling like I was dining in a modest cottage from some Disney movie.

The first of two entrees was a buttered brown rice dish with sautéed rock shrimp. The chiodini mushrooms heads buried under the generous pile of shrimp was a nice surprise. The pork cracklings, to my disappointment they lacked any form of flavor or appealing texture. 

I ordered the skate wing with lemon butter and capers. Although I  despise the unbearable richness of butter in pretty much any savory dish, I was craving fish and this butter was nicely balanced by the lemon. I quickly devoured the filet and moved on the the chilled peppery potato salad which had surprisingly authentic Sichuan flavor - black vinegar and all.

This was probably one of the most memorable desserts I've ever had; the freshly churned mascarpone ice cream was similar to a dense custard. The buttery, salty, caramel-soaked croutons gave loads of flavor and texture to the deliciously creamy mega scoop. 

Prune 

54 East 1st Street

New York, NY 10003

v-nam cafe

Rainy, depressing days call for comforting pho and banh mi sandwiches. After job interviews in Brooklyn, my friend and I took the train up to V-Nam Cafe, a small cozy venue owned by the father of a mutual friend, famous for its low prices and banh mi sandwiches. The menu wasn't extensive - just a small selection of simple, authentic Vietnamese comfort food.

I just had to get pho because it was available. The basil seemed almost dried and didn't add much flavor to the stock, which wasn't saturated with msg like other places. The noodles were overwhelming in quantity but cooked well. The beef however, came tough and dry and pretty much only the top three slices were edible without massive amounts of sriracha and hoisin sauce squeezed on my soup spoon.

The beef in the beef banh mi was so flavorful, sweet and garlicky, and had just the right chew for a sandwich. The baguette was loaded with picked julienned daikon (white radish), carrots, cilantro, sriracha mayo, jalapeno rings, and crunchy English cucumbers. It made for a refreshing yet savory bite with intense flavor, texture, and temperature contrast.

 The traditional banh mi, for around five bucks, includes all the vegetable fillings but the protein sandwiched inside is savory pork pate, similar to a sweet pork sausage. The fried egg (for an extra buck) adds a hot component to the sandwich and puts a comforting breakfast spin on it.

V-Nam Cafe
20 1st Ave
New York, NY 1003

revel

Last Sunday, my friend Sam and I headed to meatpacking for a post birthday brunch and to enjoy the amazing weather before the line up of thunderstorms. We had naively failed to make a reservation at Pastis, so we decided on Revel upon overhearing a local rave about the place and how often he comes, so we settled for a seat in the unwelcoming and empty front section; the infamous garden in the back was simply too high in demand and we were on the brink of starvation. 

eggs/ brioche/ truffles

 For these "scotch eggs", these eggs came poached, nestled in a toasted brioche slice (I asked for it without fontina). Even though I've done this probably a hundred times I'm always excited to pierce a poached egg and watch the bright yellow yolk ooze out. I was confused to find an extremely overcooked egg with rubbery whites and a hard, indestructible center that barely crumbled even as I kept poking it. I was bitterly disappointed, even angry. It was my first time sending food back. The bread for the re-make was barely toasted and sat atop lukewarm and bland home fries. The salad was underdressed with what tasted like cheap bottled balsamic dressing that reign the salad bars at my school's dining halls.

poached eggs/ smoked salmon/ hollandaise/ english muffin

 The Eggs Nova, was decent and hearty with the salmon although I found the hollandaise sauce to be lacking acidity.

blood orange sorbet/ vanilla bean gelato/ pistachio gelato 

This was the first of the complementary desserts for the poorly cooked eggs. The gelato scoops were decent and smooth in texture. The abundance of ice chunks in the blood orange sorbet indicated that the sorbet had clearly been sitting in the freezer for too long.

mint panna cotta/ chocolate sauce

  The flavor was delicate and natural, but the panna cotta itself was a bit dense. The chocolate drizzle was watery and tasted like the Hershey's chocolate syrup with which I used to top my sundaes in second grade.

Probably the only solid aspect of the overall brunch was the upbeat music. The weather did its part in easing our frustration- not only was the meal mediocre but we sat there for two hours, waiting for either the food or the check the majority of the time.We were probably better off grabbing sandwiches at the deli and eating on a bench somewhere.

Revel 

10 Little West 12th Street

New York, NY 10014