Monthly Archives: April 2012
BOHEMIAN NYC: the no phone number “secret” joint behind the butcher shop
Dear Food Diary:
A couple years ago, I had my first taste of Japanese Premium Beef and it was unforgettable. This high end/high quality butcher sells Washu-gyu beef (a black angus/wagyu cross raised in Oregon, using strictly Japanese techniques), think kobe beef of America.
Behind the spotless shop you’ll find their adjacent restaurant Bohemian, which has been on my list since ’09, so I finally set a date with StalkerBoy. After all this time, it might not be as “secret” anymore, but I was still excited.
They have a strict reservation by phone only policy, the problem is, their number isn’t listed anywhere! (In order to keep it “secret” they’ve respectfully asked everyone not to publish it, though if you dug a little on the internet you should be able to figure it out).
[DC] Cherry Blossoms, ROGUE 24 & P.O.V Rooftop
Dear Food Diary:
A carpet of pink along the monuments and an occasional whimsical pedal shower from the light breeze. Cherry blossom season is my favorite reason to visit D.C. It’s always so purty in pink, specially this year, since it was the 100th year celebration of this beautiful gift from Japan.
It has been a warm winter, so everything bloomed before April. We were lucky to catch the peak/late bloom during the last weekend of March, while we snatched Gilt’s ROGUE 24 deal, $100 for a progression of 16 courses.
The Plaza Food Hall: Poor quality control. Where’s Todd?
Dear Food Diary:
On one of our first dates, StalkerBoy took me to The Plaza Food Hall after a movie at the Paris theater. It was a memorable night, not food wise, but because it was April Fool’s day and I made a pretty mean (funny to me and only me apparently) joke on him (glad he’s still around).
A year later, we went back. And while I could hold my thoughts about mediocre over priced food for the night in the name of “reminiscing” (yes, this Chubby is a romantic at heart), I couldn’t overlook the poor quality control that was happening right in front of us. I was glad this was an open kitchen, actually more like thankful! But even so, the lack of passion for the food was obvious to the point where I lost my appetite, which wasn’t really missing out on much anyways…
Riverpark: Farm in the city to table with a view
Dear Food Diary:
When Riverpark first opened, I gathered my chicas and went for dinner. The space is a little hard to find, add to that a stormy night and it almost seemed impossible. The gps on my phone wasn’t showing it correctly and the cabby suggesting crossing the East River!!! We somehow found our way into the restaurant, tucked inside a spacious window covered building. Dinner was good but it didn’t blow us away… however…
Fast forward to a contrasting sunny day, month later… Glorious blue and white sky. A quiet view of the East River, relaxing and pleasantly chill. An amazing Brunch, plus a sneak peak at their innovative farm in the city. Naturally it moved up to be one of my new favorite brunch places in the city.