by Ahu Shahrabani
on February 20, 2012
8/10
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BXL is everything you would hope a Belgian pub to be – huge selection of fantastic beer, a menu filled with mussels and frites, and a lot of French and Dutch being spoken around you. Yes, BXL is in the middle of my most hated part of Manhattan, but once you spot the red Duvel sign, you will be surrounded by a boisterous Belgian crowd that is pleasantly free of fanny packs and ‘I <3 NYC shirts’.
Great selection of draft beers but you must try the Cuvee BXL – it’s their house beer and it’s amaaazing (coming from somebody who didn’t drink beer until two years ago, this means a lot). Served in a stemmed beer glass it has a slightly citrus taste, it is the perfect drink to accompany frites + whatever else comes on your plate. They also carry cult-favorite beers Delirium Tremens and Malheur 10.
Aside from the beer, the breakout star at BXL is the burger. BXL was recommended to me by my burger-loving friend and he I had to order it with bleu cheese. And it’s a brilliant burger – just the right amount of bleu cheese (aka a small amount, no repeat burger-explosion a la Plein Sud please), a small but round patty and a bun that is substantial enough to hold everything in (this is so key people! nothing worse than when stuff goops and falls out of the burger!).
The burger, served with salad, frites and Belgian mayo (YUM), is a steal at $13 for all that food. Pardon the darkness:
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| Such stuff / as dreams are made on |
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Go, now. One of my top 5 favorite burgers in NYC. Oh, and the beer.
BXL Belgian Cafe
125 West 43rd St, btwn 6th and Broadway
New York, NY 10036
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by Ahu Shahrabani
on February 19, 2012
I grew up visiting middle eastern markets in California with my mom and I thought I had seen it all… until recently. Sadaf (a beloved brand of Persian products) has started producing frozen Persian rice dishes. When I spotted these products in the freezer aisle of Kalustyan’s in NYC I thought hell had frozen over (ha!) but I was very pleasantly surprised. The line includes:
– Baghali polo with kookoo (fava bean rice with herb frittata)
– Kalam polo (cabbage rice)
– Chelo sefid (plain white rice)
– Loobia polo (green bean rice)
– Adas polo (lentil rice)
– Albaloo polo (sour cherry rice)
– Piaz dagh (fried onions)
– Bademjan sorkh shodeh (fried eggplants)
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| 6$ a pop seems expensive, but each container yielded 3-4 servings |
So far I’ve tried the kalam and baghali polo – and they were surprisingly delicious! If you’ve ever attempted to make Persian dishes, you know how laborious they can be. These ready-made rice dishes are a wonderful alternative for when you don’t have the time (or expertise!) to make them. Bonus: all of the rice dishes are vegetarian so friendly for all and you can add your own protein if desired.
Note: Sadaf also has a line of ready-made frozen ground chicken and ground beef kabob (kabob koobideh) that are great to have on hand in the freezer.
The Sadaf website at www.sadaf.com was recently overhauled and their online storefront is now much easier to use – I’ve ordered through their site many times and always been pleased.
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by Ahu Shahrabani
on February 15, 2012
7/10
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Blaue Gans is an Austro-German ‘wirtshaus’ in Tribeca that also doubles as a museum to vintage art posters!? Who knew! Blaue Gans is delightfuly unlike most other restaurants in Tribeca – unadorned food that brings new meaning to the expression ‘stick to your ribs’. I was born in Austria and I’ve never been (back) so for me this was a little trip to the birth-land.
The space itself is fabulous – one large room, vaulted ceiling and walls plastered with vintage movie and art posters.
Now, to the food. Vegetarians need not apply. The menu is very sausage-, schnitzel- and seafood-heavy. We tried the Wiener Schnitzel (a pounded, battered and fried piece of veal) that came with a refreshing potato salad. Next time I go back I’m ordering a side of just the potato salad – anybody else as obsessed with dill as I am will also love it.
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| I may or may not have had to crop out the chunk I took out of the potato salad. |
I had the Jager Schnitzel (pounded and pan seared veal with spatzle in a creamy sauce) – an extremely rich dish. Spatzle is not a very common menu item and I love it, so I make sure to order it whenever I can. The Bar Room at The Modern serves an amazingly delicate version of spatzle and each piece is the size of a pea, but I digress. My schnitzel was perfectly cooked and the spatzle was tasty, the only thing I would have changed was the amount of creamy sauce in the dish, it was a bit overwhelming.
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| Somebody throw that schnitzel a life vest. |
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A really neat restaurant in a great location. They have a full bar with a great selection of beers – I can imagine this is a great spot for dinner. I will definitely be going back, especially to try their pretzels!
Blaue Gans
139 Duane St
New York, NY 10013 – map
http://kg-ny.com/blaue-gans
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