In the spirit of celebrating our nation's birthday this week, I thought it made more sense to finish off this week writing about the U.S. instead of other countries, say, like Italy. So, even though there are still a couple posts left in the Spontaneous Weekend Trip to Rome series, I am ending this week by sharing with you a couple sneak previews from my next travel series: Eating The Big Apple.

I was lucky enough to visit New York City three times these past six months. Two were business trips for work, but one was a completely unexpected trip to the Saveur offices in Manhattan to celebrate my Best Food Blog Awards win (thanks again all for your support!).

New York is fun because you never know who you might encounter.

Like these men, who I saw in the window during a random morning stroll to the new Bouchon Bakery in Rockefeller Center.

Or this celebrity chef, who was wandering around saying hi to guests in his own restaurant. Of course I had to ask if I could see the kitchen.

Celebrities aside, there's still the never-ending diversity of interesting and really good food in New York, which is what I spent most of my time exploring.

Gospel Sunday brunch at a well-known Southern restaurant in Harlem, famous for its ultra moist and buttery cornbread (among many other things!).

Trying out Shojin Ryori (traditional Japanese Buddhist cuisine) at a two-Michelin star vegan Japanese restaurant by a new executive chef.

Our first time witnessing and tasting homemade soba noodles.

Discovering our current all-time favorite Italian restaurant in the entire U.S. - right here in New York.

Finally trying hand-pulled noodles from Chinatown.

A fantastic Italian find that pushes the envelope just a bit to serve creative dishes sprinkled with a touch of inspiration from other cuisines (like the bagel + lox inspired starter above).

After waiting in line for 45 minutes, tasting for the first time noodles from the ever-famous Japanese ramen chain.

Having drinks with Bryan's cousin at a cool, Japanese bar hidden behind an unmarked door of a normal Japanese restaurant.

The view from my train leaving New York.

Can't wait to share with you about these restaurants.

And just curious (I always love sharing celebrity stories) . . . what celebrities have you spotted or met before?

The post Eating The Big Apple appeared first on Tiny Urban Kitchen.

I received a present from Bryan from his trip in New York! What could be inside that box?

I know Bouchon is a famous bakery cafe opened by Thomas Keller, one of the most famous chefs in America.I excitedly opened the box.Could it be???

Are they French macarons? (not to be confused with the unrelated coconut cookie, the macaroons). I love French macarons! (uhh . . just look at my profile pic) There were three different flavors - vanilla creme, blueberry cheesecake, and caramel. The person who worked at the bakery said they would last 2 days in the refrigerator. Up to this point, they had only sat on an airplane for about an hour. I quickly tasted each one. Mmmmm . . .

Man, were they good. My favorite was the vanilla creme, with the caramel a close second. I had to stop myself from eating all three in one sitting (well, except for the blueberry cheesecake one, which I actually thought was too sweet).

If only I didn't have to go all the way to New York to get these . . . .

Just to let you know - I've made plans with a friend to try making French macarons pretty soon. I'll post the results of that experiment, probably sometime in the next two weeks. Meanwhile, you can enjoy this post from the Cooking of Joy.

Update!  I've made the french macarons!

The post Bouchon Macarons appeared first on Tiny Urban Kitchen.

Masaharu Morimoto.

An original Iron Chef from the hit Japanese show.  Trained in Hiroshima, both as a sushi chef and also as a kaiseki expert (fancy Japanese multi-course set menu experience).  Worked as the head chef at Nobu before opening his own restaurant, Morimoto, in Philadelphia in 2001.  And in 2006, opened a second one in New York, right in the Chelsea Market building (which, by the way, is a destination in and of itself for any food enthusiast who loves to explore interesting food markets).

Of course, we opted for the omakase ($120), the best way to experience this Iron Chef's creative energy.

Upstairs you have the massive sushi bar that wraps around on three sides.  Sushi is flown in four times a week from Tsukiji Fish Market, the largest fish market in Tokyo.

Downstairs you have the cool swanky bar.  At 7pm (which is when we arrived) the bar was relatively empty.  Within an hour or so, the place was bustling, crowded, full of people chilling on a Saturday night.

Morimoto has partnered with Rogue Ales in Oregon to produce a line of beers.  This hazelnut beer was actually really good!

The Omakase (Chef's Tasting Menu)
You'll have to forgive me for not knowing the names of everything I had.  As this is a chef's tasting menu, nothing is written down. I'm basing this from memory, which is shady at best.

Enjoy!

We started out with a beautiful toro tartare and osetra caviar creatively spread out inside a small, flat wooden box.  On the bottom, several sauces with which to experiment: wasabi, sour cream, nori paste, chives, avocado, and natto? (I can't remember the last one).  I love toro, and therefore it was not difficult to absolutely love this starter.

Whitefish carpaccio tossed in a light, soy-sauce based vinaigrette.

Yellowtail Pastrami with almond foam and microgreens.

House-smoked Salmon "ravioli" with salmon roe, Japanese sweet yams, and yuzu foam (I got this one).

Kumamoto oysters and fois gras and uni (sea urchin) (Bryan got this one).  This dish was amazing and had a beautiful mix of flavors. Both Bryan and I agreed that this dish tasted a lot better than my smoked salmon ravioli.

Assorted Sushi: I actually thought the sushi was only OK.  It might be because I did not love the particular pieces they brought out.  Personally, I much prefer the sushi both at Sushi Yasuda and Kyubei.

Free random appetizer The service was actually really slow the night we went - we were there for over three hours, and we only had 7 courses.  That translates to ½ hour a course!  At the end of our meal, the waitress even admitted that the kitchen was a bit "off" that night.  The above dish is something I think we got by mistake. It's just a little appetizer of mushrooms and cooked fish.  I actually thought it was pretty average (the fish was really hard - like overcooked swordfish!).  Oh well, it was free, I guess, but it lowered my opinion of the kitchen just a notch.

Bryan's main course was pretty good.  Bryan got the "Surf and Turf" - Kobe beef and lobster.  This is actual Kobe beef (not wagyu) from Japan. Bryan thought that everything was perfectly cooked.  Of course, how can you go wrong with Kobe? (Kobe is an optional add-on to the normal omakase and costs extra.  Typically, it comes with normal beef)

I asked for something lighter for my main course (I really did not feel like eating steak), and they gave me this Ishi yaki buri bop (yellowtail bi bim bop) cooked tableside in a hot stone bowl.  When the dish first arrived I was really excited because of the beautiful raw slices of yellowtail (see top left picture).  Then the waiter started stirring everything around in the super hot stone bowl (top right).  Internally I kept thinking "Nooooo!!! Don't cook the fish!"  Alas, he finished mixing and presented my final dish to me (bottom).  **Sigh** the beautiful yellowtail was now clearly cooked all the way through.  The dish was still enjoyable, but I'm sure I would have enjoyed it more had the fish been raw.

We both ended with a nice, triple chocolate dessert.  I remember liking it, although I can't remember any particular details about it except that I enjoyed the interplay of textures between the creamy cold ice cream (or sorbet?) and the crunchy cookie below.

Overall thoughts?
Overall, Morimoto is worth visiting, at least once. The space, which cost $12 million to build, is a sight in itself. The food is inventive, beautifully presented, and, for the most part, pretty enjoyable - there are definitely some standout dishes. There's no doubt that the seafood is fresh and top notch.  I loved the raw fish portions of the tasting menu.  My favorites?  The toro tartare, the yellowtail pastrami, and the oyster and fois gras (amazing!).  It's not all perfect, though.  As I mentioned earlier, the timing of the kitchen was pretty off, and we often waited long stretches between courses. Also, some of the dishes, such as the ravioli and the mushroom/fish appetizer, were quite average.  Honestly, if you only have a few days in New York, there are probably a lot of other places I would pick over this one.  If I came back, I would likely skip the omakase and just order the dishes that I think I would love (e.g, raw fish appetizers like my first three courses!)

Other posts in this Big Apple Series
Per Se
Morimoto
Joe's Shanghai
Waldorf Astoria
Smorgas Chef

Morimoto
Chelsea
88 10th Ave
New York, NY 10011

The post Morimoto appeared first on Tiny Urban Kitchen.

The Waldorf Astoria hotel is one of the most famous and well known hotels in Manhattan.  This luxury hotel sits right on Park Avenue in Midtown, and is rich full of history. When in opened in its current location in 1931, it became the tallest building in New York.  The famous Waldorf salad was invented at the original hotel back in 1896 by Oscar Tschirky, the maître d'hôtel (dining room manager).  This simple salad, which at the time only consisted of apple, celery and mayonnaise, became a huge hit.  It has transformed over time, and now typically contains walnuts as well.

Countless celebrities and dignitaries have stayed or lived at the Waldorf Astoria.  In fact, every U.S. president since Herbert Hoover has either stayed in or lived at the Waldorf's towers.  The presidential suite currently goes for $7000 a night. This one-of-a-kind suite is filled with items donated by past presidents - everything from Kennedy's rocking chair to Regan's gold oval mirror.  Can you imagine what it must be like to stay in that room?

The Judge's Dinner is a huge event, but the Waldorf Astoria is a huge hotel and has a beautiful ballroom capable of hosting such events.  For the dinner, we sat in one of the upper levels overlooking the center stage, similar to the people you see in the photos on the lower ledge.

Esteemed judges sat in the front as Mario Cuomo, the 52nd Governor of New York State, gave a speech.

The food was only OK - I guess it's hard to feed thousands of people at once and make spectacular food. Though I was a little shocked that all the desserts had a piece of gold on top. I mean, how much gold did they have to use to feed so many thousands of people?  Must have been several grams or maybe even kilograms!

The Waldorf Astoria does hold a spectacular Sunday brunch for $100 per person (yikes!).  Although we did not actually try the brunch, Bryan managed to snap a few photos of it while I was checking out of the hotel.

Look at all those tiny cups full of fruits, salads, and other interesting dishes.  I bet they have Waldorf Salad!

And my favorite, the ginormous chocolate fountain.

I guess it's not every day you get to go to a black tie event at the Waldorf Astoria, so we had fun with it.  I even went and got my hair done.  I'm pretty sure the last time I did that was at my wedding, which is too many years ago!

Other posts in this Big Apple Series
Per Se
Morimoto
Joe's Shanghai
Smorgas Chef

The post Waldorf Astoria appeared first on Tiny Urban Kitchen.

I always love going to New York City.  There are countless great museums, amazing shopping, wonderful neighborhoods, and of course, the food!  I had a great opportunity a few weeks back to visit one of my favorite cities again, this time for a work event.  Bryan and I decided to stay the weekend to soak in just a bit more of what the city has to offer.

Here's a sneak peek at some of the posts you will be seeing next week as part of this Big Apple mini-Series.

The Waldorf Astoria Hotel - full of history, old world elegance, and beauty.

A fun lunch in a unique Scandinavian restaurant with New York food bloggers!

Some say these are the best soup dumplings in Chinatown.

An omakase at the original Iron Chef's restaurant.

Does this look familiar? We visited the New York flagship restaurant of this renowned chef.

Stay tuned as I go into detail next week about our experiences at some of these amazing dining establishments.  Can you guess where I went?

[Update: Posts in this series]
Other posts in this Big Apple Series
Per Se
Morimoto
Joe's Shanghai
Waldorf Astoria
Smorgas Chef

The post The Big Apple appeared first on Tiny Urban Kitchen.