A Week of Eating

It actually surprises me too that I do not weight 400 pounds. It takes sheer will power to not go out and eat every little thing on my plate. I do love going out, trying new places and eating good food so at the end of the day I am thoughtful about what I do eat.

I had lunch with a friend and we met half way which was on 48th and 9th. Not an area I frequent but gave me a chance to check out Taladwat. I had read a review in the New Yorker, kept in a pile of “things I want to try” that I had recently thumbed through to make a list. What a winner! Authentic, pure, clean, multi-flavored Thai Food. We had the daily special dumpling to start. Delicious soft dough wrapped around mixture of chopped peanuts, tofu, vegetables and spinach served with a soy dip. Delicious.

Dried green curry beef, Kaffir chicken and sauteed greens split between us both. Each of these dishes were layered in a variety of flavors from bean paste, chili sauce, lime leaf and coconut milk.

My absolute favorite for dessert is sticky rice and mango and this lived up to the hype. I am psyched to return.

We did return to HaSalon but prepared for the evening ahead. We went with a group that loves to party which is what you need. The food there is also spectacular. One of the powers of HaSalon is you burn off your dinner dancing so by the time you leave it is a win/win. This pounded beef carpaccio over wax paper and covered with shaved Parm and salt melts in your mouth. Pull a piece off and stick it in your mouth. The simplicity of the food here is why it tastes so damn good. It isn’t easy to do perfect simple food.

My traveling buddy (and martini buddy) went to Mitsuwa for a few hours to do a bit of shopping and eat the wares. It is a quick trip into a different planet with amazing things to buy and eat. I was amazed on how much growth has gone on in that area too.

Frankie’s has a spot every year at the Frieze. The Frieze was definitely paired down this year which is a good thing. Less insanity. There is something insanely civilized about sitting down for a proper meal with wine at an art fair. The thinly shaved fennel, celery salad with shaved Parm is the perfect spring salad.

I had a hankering for pizza after TEFAF. I love pizza but very rarely partake but I have been thinking about it for a week now so it was time to dive in. We were uptown and were not going to Brooklyn, so where to go? After a serious search for the top pizza spots on our go to references we ended up at B Side just outside the theater district in Hell’s Kitchen. What a find! They have a wood fired oven. We had the Killer Bee without garlic. Thin crust with thick airy almost burn ends as the base with mozzarella, tomato, sopressata, honey and chili. Wow. Strong choice.

This town is really quite delicious.