Roll call

Dosa Cart - If you're an NYU student and still haven't been to the dosa cart on Washington Square South, shame on you. I like the masala dosa (lentil crêpe with spiced potatoes inside), which comes with coconut chutney and a mini soup thing ($5). If you ask for it non-spicy, he'll give you the "sweet" sauce, which is actually a little spicy itself, and it's better than getting the spicy crepe (chili powder added to batter). He makes the crepe right in front of you, so it's still crispy when you get it. I've tried the special pondicherry, in which he adds veggies to the potatoes, but it wasn't as good as just potatoes.

Udon West - When I was younger, I hated on Elvis, tofu and udon. I still dislike tofu, am starting to appreciate Elvis, but sometimes I really crave udon. The thick, chewy noodles (like homemade Italian pici, if you've ever been to Tuscany) in a meaty chicken broth make for a great comfort food. I would advise against getting tempura or fried chicken with it, as it makes the soup a bit greasy and the crunch turns to goop. I'm good with just plain udon, but if you're up for splurging on the nabeyaki udon ($11), the chicken and soft-boiled egg are pretty tasty, but ask for the shrimp tempura on the side.

Doughnut Plant - Overpriced, but admittedly delicious donuts. The tiny crème brûlée was $3, but the custard inside was wonderful. The $2.25 cinnamon bun was eh, but the $2.25 vanilla glazed donut really brought out their strengths. It had this great spongy, chewy texture that I've never had in a donut before. For the adventurous, there's also a peanut butter & jelly donut.

Hester Street Fair - Established in 1895 but just reopened this past Saturday, the fair models itself as a smaller Brooklyn Flea. Overpriced crafts and "street gourmet" food galore in a cramped space off Hester and Essex. I bought a tiny bag of chocolate-covered bacon for $5, and it was okay. The sold-out pulled pork and some giant mouthwatering omelettes intrigued me, and I might come back for that, just because I didn't catch the name of the vendors, who have their own permanent outposts somewhere around the city.

Recent eats

S'MAC - 12th St. and 1st Ave. - After many misguided attempts to force myself to love the Parisienne (brie, figs, shiitake mushrooms), I have finally realized my true calling is the lowbrow Alpine (swiss and slab bacon). The sampler with 8 kinds of mac is worth trying at least once, just so you're familiar with all the options. Next time I'm having the Buffalo Chicken. Note: With all the cheese it's really rich, so a "Nosh" is more than enough for one person.

Red Bamboo - W 4th St. btw MacDougal & 6th Ave. - My meat-loving friend once said this restaurant could turn him vegetarian. I had the soul chicken sandwich, which was tasty and I really liked the teryaki "chicken" skewer that came with it. The chicken on the skewer had chicken texture but an aftertaste of tofu, and the sandwich chicken was somewhere between chicken and crab cakes. But I love crab cakes, so I was down with that. Service was meh, but my only real complaint is that all vegetarian restaurants are more expensive than meat dishes at regular restaurants. What's up with that? I'm talking to you, Angelica Kitchen.


Porchetta - 7th St. btw 1st Ave. & Ave. A - The pork was definitely more tender this time around. I still think it could use a sauce (they carry sriracha in-house). They have a "porchetta salt" that's sea salt with garlic, rosemary, fennel and other things which probably would have been good on it, but I was too lazy to get off my stool and get a mini-spoonful. You'll realize the true extent of my sloth when you visit the place and realize how tiny it is. The potatoes with burnt ends were well-seasoned but unspectacular; same with the cooking greens. I wish I had seen the specials earlier, I'd like to try the ragu on ciabatta and the asparagus with soft boiled egg. They update their specials on Twitter sometimes.

Park & Slope

Since my mom is planning to move to Brooklyn this summer, I thought I should check out some potential neighborhoods. Park Slope was first on my list.

My first time in Park Slope treated me well. It wasn't nearly as picturesque as I'd expected, but the neighborhood seemed friendly and it was nice to not see any buildings taller than six stories.

It was a gorgeous 65-degree day out, so we decided it would be a good day for lying in the sun in Prospect Park. The trees were still barren and the reeds were brown and dead, but we found a nice patch of grass to lay out a picnic of cheese and crackers with beer and wine.

When it started getting chilly, we headed to Peppino's for some pizza, and it didn't disappoint. The Diavola (sausage, mozzarella, basil and olives) was fresh and tasty.

Simple spaghetti

I've been meaning to post about this for a while, but my kitchen is ugly and I can't get pretty pictures. I tried this simple recipe from cooking blog Smitten Kitchen for spaghetti sauce made of tomatoes, butter and onion and, with a few modifications, it was delicious. Twice.

I added half a clove of minced garlic ground into a paste, salt and pepper when it was almost done cooking. If I'd had a handheld blender, I might have used it to make the sauce a little smoother, as the tomatoes didn't really want to mash as much as I'd have liked. I also took the stewed onion after it was done, cut it up into bite-sized pieces and added it to the sauce for some texture. (This step may not be the most efficient idea; maybe it would be better to cut it up beforehand and let the pieces cook in the sauce.)

My favorite thing about this sauce is that it only really takes three ingredients: canned peeled tomatoes, BUTTER and one onion. It wasn't clear from the recipe whether to drain the tomatoes before adding to the saucepan, but I just spooned them out of the can, leaving the water or whatever they're stored in.

Smitten Kitchen's version:

My version:

For more pictures of the cooking process...

Lazy Sunday

Great selection of $2 draft beer: Blue Moon, Brooklyn Lager, Sierra Nevada and Guinness. This was after delicious $5 pad thai at Cafetasia on Avenue A between 5th and 6th this past weekend. That's dessert -- tempura-fried bananas drizzled with honey and accompanied by vanilla ice cream.

Edit: They're not offering this Grand Opening special anymore, but happy hour is from 12-7 and about a dollar more than the deal I mentioned above.

Weekend foodventures

This Little Piggy Had Roast Beef - The best beef stew ever comes with a mini-loaf of bread, all for $3! It was chunky, perfectly seasoned and full of veggies. The roast beef "This Way," with Cheez Wiz on a roll au jus, needed a little salt, but was soft and delicious nonetheless.

Tarallucci e Vino - A bit out of my price range, but this bakery has amazing, unique pastries (and quiches and panini to boot). I had the crème brulée in a chocolate crust, which I'd never seen before. It was less custardy and more saucy than I'd have liked, but was perfectly burnt and vanilla-fied. I would definitely come back and try a pain au chocolat or quiche.

DC eatery roundup

There's nothing like Spring Break and visiting family that pays for all your meals. Is it just me, or are ethnic restaurants in the DC metro area suuuper swanky? At least compared to the NYC holes-in-the-wall I'm used to. Maybe I haven't seen a representative sample.

Four Sisters in Falls Church, VA - The Vietnamese pork short ribs with black pepper sauce in clay pot were amazing. They just fall off the bone; every bite is so tender. Great with rice. Their phở is only okay, but I appreciated the combination of eye of round steak and well-done flank steak. Usually I shy away from ordering phở because I can never decide which combination of meats I want, and I'm not a huge fan of tendons and tripe. The crispy pork spring rolls were fantastic, but the fresh garden rolls with shrimp were pretty meh. I've also had the lemongrass chicken, which is pretty good too, though the portions were big so we ended up taking most of it home.

Kabob Bazaar in Arlington, VA - Excellent Persian kubideh kabob with rice (which comes with butter so you can make the rice extra delicious). The kashk-o-bademjan a little bland and not as good as my friend's mom makes, but I love me some eggplant, and it was pretty tasty with the warm, soft pita. It came with "sour cream" on top, but it tasted gamey, like goat's milk, so I'm not really sure what was going on there. The tzatziki-type sauce that came with the pita was great (yogurt-y, dill-y, even a little spicy).

Brabo Tasting Room in Alexandria, VA - The "informal" cafe next door to fancy Brabo restaurant served us a very satisfying meal. The mussels in white wine garlic sauce with shallots and parsley were perfect: loads of big fat mussels in a cheesy sauce that we mopped up with warm bread. The tart with fresh mozzarella, prosciutto and basil (like a flatbread) was okay, if a bit salty for my taste (though I love fresh basil). The five onion soup with gruyère crouton (French onion soup, basically) was good, and I liked the ample amounts of soft onions with some crunchy-soggy bread bits in the soup. I prefer my boyfriend's homemade soupe à l'oignon though.

Also great, although I didn't get a chance to eat there this time around: Tandoori Nights in Arlington, VA. Good lamb curry, garlic naan, and chicken tikka masala.

Why can't we just have two seasons: spring and fall?

The transition from winter to spring is my favorite time of the year, whether in New York, Paris or Sacramento. I'm a summer baby, and autumn's last hot August nights before school started used to be my pick -- not to mention I get one excruciating week of hay fever every April.

This weekend was such a nice break from the snow and sleet that I almost felt like I should be wearing shorts. But only almost. I took a walk through Central Park on Saturday, which surprisingly still has blocks of ice lying around. There was man beautifully playing a cello under the bridge by the Met, and the acoustics right where he was sitting were so hauntingly perfect.

Sunday was supposed to be my "hole up in the library so I don't fail midterms" day, but the sun and 55-degree weather were just beckoning me out to play. I scoped out potential brunch spots in the East Village (the last Sunday trying to find somewhere without an hour-long wait was just painful) and stopped for lunch at Punjabi Deli, which had pretty good chicken tikka masala. I was a little disturbed by the way he microwaved the food in a styrofoam container though (as are Yelpers, it would appear).

I'm excited for the winter chill to wear off so I can bask in the spring sun and warmth, probably in Sheep Meadow with all the other students in the city, once late March and April roll around.

A couple quick tips

I had Dominican food for the first time last Thursday at this great little Hell's Kitchen diner-style restaurant called Lali. Full disclosure: the restaurant is run by the friend of a friend who served us delicious Dominican dishes (couldn't pass up the alliteration) on the house. But don't take my word for it: Yelpers love Lali, too. My favorites were fried plaintain (maduro) with garlic sauce and the chicken empanada. We also had pork tenderloin marinated in Pepsi, Dominican lasagna (mashed plantains topped with beef and cheese) and cassava, the starchy, potato-like tuber that tapioca is made of. Next time I've gotta try the classic chicken and rice.

After having previously written off Cafetasia on 8th Street as an overrated NYU freshman hangout, I recently returned for dinner and everything was AMAZING. Everybody knows about the $8 lunch deal (formerly $7), but I always found the portions a bit too small to be satisying. The dinner menu, however is a smorgasbord of tasty, innovative dishes that epitomize Asian fusion. I shared the appetizer sampler (3 for $11) with chicken satay, calamari fritters (breaded not battered!) and cheese & crab rangoons (basically fried wontons). Then I split the crispy filet of flounder with garlic-butter sauce and roast potatoes, which also comes with rice. It reminds me of Chinese home cooking with a modern twist.

(Photos via Yelp)