Dish Du Jour- Taste of Queens and beyond

Out in the beautiful borough of Queens is this yearly tasting event. All inclusive of food and wine representing Queens and it's international flavor. Set in a large and slightly tacky catering hall(which adds to the charm and uniqueness of the event) taste of Queens was not as innovative as last year's. The theme of the meatball and a contest for who makes the best limited the food choices as many vendors served meatballs. Some food standouts were the meatballs from Bar Stuzzichini(from Manhattan) lovely Andulusion gazpacho from 718 in Astoria and authentic Italian food from Manetta's in Long Island City like stuffed mushrooms with sausage, and stuffed artichokes with black olives. Desserts like gelato from Ciao Bella and some local bakeries could have been a little more imaginative. Magic Hat, Brooklyn beer were a lovely presence as was Maker's Mark and specialty rum drinks.

Taqueria De Los Muertos

Taqueria de los Muertos is a small spot on the edge of Prospect Heights. What distinguishes this gem apart from the others is the freshmade authentic food and cute decorations like tiny skulls surrounding the perrimeter reminding you it is the taqueria of the dead. The brunch item pictured above of breakfast enchilada for $12 includes the entree as well as coffee or tea and an orange or mango juice. This enchilada was a flavor fest of eggs, shrimp, cactus with queso fresco and mole poblano- yummy. You can also order off the regular menu which I have and it is also reasonable and tasty. The deluxe burrito with your choice of meat- I ordered turkey, choice of beans(love that) I ordered pinto, plus chease guac., rice with pico de gallo and sour cream is $7.50. You can also order your burrito desnudo style which is without the tortilla and those look yummy. Tacos, tostadas, quesadillas and burritos are all made fresh to order at this slice of Mexican heaven. Service is amatuerish here though the great food makes up for that.
GO!

Co.

Co. hit the mark with it's current location on 24th. and 8th. Ave in a spot foremerly occupied by a Twin Donut. Mostly communal seating is the only downside at this restaurant opened by the guy who started the Sullivan Street Bakery. Co. aims high culinarily and reaches it's goals. For appetizers, we ordered olives, eggplant on toast and an escarole salad and a salami from California. The escarole salad with capers, croutons and a lemony olive oil dressing was a standout. The ham and cheese pizza with gruyere, buffalo mozzeralla and procuitto with it's charred crust and out of the oven heat was simply killer as the owner is a breadmaker and the dough made all the difference. For dessert a banana split with homemade gelato. Blood orange and chocolate gelato over bananas and smothered in marshmellow sauce and hot fudge with candied walnuts. Perfetto!

MUST GO!

Rios Churrascaria

Rios Churascaria opened quietly at the old Porcao space on Park Ave. South. Soaring space, churascarias are the ultimate activity food. A huge salad bar pales compared to the old Porcao. Some options look a day old. Nicely cooked pork ribs were the star of the salad bar. The meat service was dissapointing with lots of varieties though most was overcooked and flavorless. It took several requests to get extra cheese bread and fried bananas. Given the prices I would say this is a fun space though better churascarias are found elsewhere.

SLOWGO!

James Beard House

Al Safa Restaurant

Looking for more Middle Eastern adventures, I wandered down 5th. Ave and stumbled upon Al Safa restuarant. This corner spot is Lebanese and boasts pictures of the country under the counter. The distinction at Al Safa are the tiny pies baked here(pictured above). Lahmajeen with ground meat, onion, green pepper, tomato and spices, the ubiquitous spinach pie as well as pizza looking pies. I tried the cheese pie which is small with edges darkly baked with mozzarella cheese and spices in the middle.
Dishes of tiny roasted potatoes with lemon and spices and fried eggplant were among the appetizers. I also ordered the deep fried cauliflower which were juicy deep fried vegetables and the Lebanese garlic sauce. Different from Turkish it is a billowy fully potent garlic sauce which went perfectly with the cauliflower. The mini cheese pie was delish and the cheese tasted feta like. Other stews viewed while a middle eastern woman ordered looked great as well. Bathroom in basement.
Go!
Click here for restaurant link.

Salumeria Rosi

Craving cured meats on the Upper West Side, this small market sells good quality pork. The marketplace also bakes it's own procuitto bread, properly darkly baked and absolutely the tops I have tasted. The doughy little ricotta bread on the right is original and super tasty with pasta or delightful dipped in olive oil. The attached restaurant offers small dishes and accompanying wines. Next store is the latest branch of Jacques Torres chocolate to sweeten up your taste buds after all this savory stuff.
GO!

Momofuku Milk Bar

The wow factor at this modern cutting edge bakery is the intoxicating smell as you enter. Experimental, innovative baked goods are consumed standing up at David Chang's Milk Bar. Banana cake, banana cookies, and the ever popular crack pie. The baked goods look unusual compared to a more traditional bakery. I have tried the banana cookie which for $1.75 was very good. The properly darkly baked breads while looking lovingly baked at $9 are prohibitive. Soft serve ice-cream flavors currently serving chocolate malt and graham cracker along with extra add-ons. The chocolate malt is a tasty treat served in a plastic shot glass. The hazelnut crisps, I added on lacked flavor and tasted greasy.
GO!

Primehouse

Restaurant week lunch is $24.07 and this is the second year I have eaten here for that event. There are three courses for the restaurant week special, an appetizer, entree and dessert. Now Primehouse is part of the restarant conglomerate B.R. guest and that means great service and very accomodating staffers. The space istself is large airy on a corner with a hip, modern decor. The food here is well done. You start with a wheel of bialy like house baked bread, one plain and one with olives. Delish with whipped butter. I had the cerviche which was shrimp marinated in citrus and olive oil with tiny pieces of orange. Absolutely phenomenal flavor. For the main, I had the short ribs braised in a red wine reduction with Winter root vegetables. Wow- super taste and the veggies like parsnips and carrots are perfectly cooked. The dessert was a chocolate raspberry torte which was layers of chocolate cake and raspberry mouse with housemade raspberry vanilla swirl ice-cream. The other dessert of lemony creme brulee with cookies was good, but the superstar dessert was the chocolate raspberry torte, two of my fave flavor combos.
GO!

Butter Lane

So many cupcakes, so little time. Another cupcake joint on East 7th. Street. What sets this spot apart is that the cupcake people are friendly and best of all you can take advantage of the frosting tasting, yes they are on the counter so you can try before choosing your cupcake of choice. I ordered a banana with cream cheese frosting which was full of pieces of banana, dense and sweet. Nice light and sweet frosting. The chocolate frosting and vanilla cake, I enjoyed with coffee the next morning was made with a dense, dark chocolate. They also serve a french chocolate frosting which is lighter and sweeter than the American chocolate, I had.
GO!

Alloro

Mangia e parla en Italiano at this once a month class held at Alloro Restuarant. The class is $60 and includes some conversation a three course meal plus a glass of red wine. The amount of language was minimal, but the good company,super nice hosts and wonderful authentic food made for a great evening. You are given a choice of three appetizer and three entree items and following three dessert items. For the first course I ordered a multi-layer flat bread over an artichoke salad with bacon gelato on the side. The salad was tasty, and a nice balance with the flat bread and savory bacon gelato. My friends appetizer of eggplant parmigiana with a mozzerella ball was delish. For the main, I ordered the chocolate gnocchi with wild boar ragu which was a rich dish. My companion's main of al dente saffron rissoto with licorice was again delish. Desert was a choice of ricotta cheese cake or coffee mouse filled cannoli. My lemony ricotta cheese cake with cinnamon ice-cream was spot on. Either for dining or speaking and dining Alloro is molto bene.
GO!

Point Brazil Restaurant

Obrigada for this cute corner joint on 31st. Street one block off the hub of Broadway and Steinway. Too snowy to explore further, this crowded little joint looked like there was good food and beckoned me in. This is a self-serve churrascarria one of several in the nabe. The buffet hosts Brazilian specialties such as tiliapia in a coconut cream sauce, potato salad, white rice with black beans with sausage(fejoidish dish) okra, a torta with chicken, and beans with seasoned yuca flour with sausage and much more. Just the buffet is $4.99/pound, but the buffet with carne sliced by the meat man is $5.99/pound. There were approximately 8 different kinds of meat featured here. Skewered meats salted and cooked include top sirloin, chicken wrapped in bacon, linguica(brazilian sausage), pork spare ribs etc. The meat server was accomodating as I asked for fatty pieces of top sirloin. Salty, fatty goodness that went perfectly with the selections from the buffet. All washed down with a combo of guava and passion fruit juices. I was offered a tropical dessert of coconut pineapple cake and tasted homemade and was indeed made by the owner's sister. This family owned churrascaria cares about their food and customers. Clean, big bathroom in the rear.
GO!