Charlie Palmer at The Knick

6 Times Square

New York, NY 10036

212-204-4983

I went out to dinner with my partner to Charlie Palmer Restaurant located at the Knickerbocker Hotel. Upon entry of the restaurant we were greeted by the GM and escorted to our seats, by a lovely host. The host was ready to take our orders, but I could not decide because everything sounded so appetizing. I asked for her recommendation and she suggested I try their limited special Squid Ink pasta with shrimp and mussels in a light tomato & wine sauce. Because of the hostess’s enthusiasm and description of the menu, I could not resist and proceeded with the order. As we dined on appetizers, the chef came out to greet us and confirmed the menu.

When the food was served, I thought the color was dramatically black and unique. The display was very appealing and well adorned with garnishment. As I began to eat, the texture was in between soft and slightly chewy, but did not require me spending a lot of time chewing. There was a rich burst and briny flavor with underlying hints of the sea. Squid ink pasta pairs exceptionally well with most seafoods and is a dish most commonly found in the Italian region of Sicily. The ink comes from cephalopods such as octopus, squid and cuttlefish and is used to make a dramatic-looking sauce, rice, pasta and bread dishes. It adds a black sheen to foods and deep flavor. It is contains a wide range of nutrients, antioxidants, proteins, minerals and amino acids.

Overall, I had a great experience with squid ink pasta and it is a dish I will have again and I recommend everyone to try if they haven’t. 

Artopolis Bakery

23-18 31 StreetAstoria, NY 11105

(718) 728-8484

Baklava? What is that? It was the first question I asked during a class trip to Astoria, Queens. On the day of the trip, we made a last stop at Artopolis. It is a traditional bakery that offers a variety of fine quality Greek pastries, cakes, bread and cookies. My classmate who is of Greek descent was kind enough to explain what Baklava is. I said it sounds interesting and definitely worth a try, so I purchased an almond baklava. Originated from the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century, Baklava is a rich, sweet pastry, made with layers of phyllo dough sheets. It is filled with chopped nuts, including pistachios and walnuts. It is sweetened and held together with syrup or honey.

After sampling the baklava, I found it to be tasty but also overly sweet and sticky due to the drizzled syrup or honey on the outer layer. There was a mild textured crunchiness from the almonds and moistness on the inside. Because of the sweetness I took small bites at a time until it was finished and immediately had a bottle of water right after.

Baklava is possibly one of the sweetest desserts you will ever taste because it is filled with butter and sugar with a final touch of syrup or honey. Although I have a sweet tooth, I have to admit baklava is extremely sweet for my taste and it is not a pastry I will consume everyday.

Another food that I never tried is blood sausage. Blood sausage is popular in Asian countries and some parts of Europe. The one I specifically bought is inherited by Tibetan cuisine and it is called gyurma. Gyurma is made out of beef,spices onions and yak’s blood. It had a really dark almost jet black color to it. This color is made from the yak’s blood. Unfortunately, I found this to be appalling and a disappointment to my expectations. As I ran my fork through a piece, the filling crumbled apart. It had the consistency of dog food with the thick casing still intact. The taste was not terrible but it was not the best. I didn’t get any spices as I imagined. All I tasted was an oniony flavor from the scallions that were part of the filling.On the side, there was an orange sauce that tasted like watered down tomato sauce. Instead of making the sausage better, it possibly made it less appetizing. I could not get myself to eat it. The texture threw me off. Interesting but not for me!

Vegan bratwurst is on the menu in Black Forest Brooklyn! The vegan wurst is a blend of smoked peppers, onions, garlic, cumin seeds, and oregano. The visuals of it looks exactly like a regular wurst, the texture felt like a tofu or seitan sausage. It definitely tasted a lot like peppers, cumin seeds, and onions, which is a lot of delicious flavors in one wurst. The bun given with it was not fun or special, it was also topped with saurkraut that gave it freshness, and a side of mustard which gave it a spicy punch that I loved. All in all I would reorder this again to support plant based menu items because it is the best for the environment. I wouldn’t miss meat with this vegan wurst!

One of my favorite starches in the world + one of my favorite fruit in food…. lemon potatoes! I’ve never had this dish before and let me tell you, I AM OBSESSED NOW! Seeing this on a menu in a Greek restaurant fascinated me, so I ordered it. The lemon flavor was powerful but the creaminess of the potatoes made it all work. The potatoes were quartered so they were still in large pieces, skin still left on which left a rustic image to me, and they were oh so delicious! I am so happy to have stumbled upon this potato dish because I got to say this is probably my favorite preparation of potatoes… even more than chips and fries.. which says a lot! 

I tried a cactus(nopal) taco and an adobado (marinated pulled pork) taco on corn tortillas from a place called Los Tacos located in the Chelsea market. I never had cactus before and I do not remember having adobado which is a Mexican-style marinade that is usually made out of red chile. I also helped myself to a couple of wedges of lime, pico de gallo and two hot sauces. One of the sauces were a little bitter spicy but the other one was sweet but also spicy. I am not sure what were in the salsas but the green one (sweeter one) reminded me of pepperoncini peppers. The pork taco was accompanied with strips of pineapple which helped cut through the greasiness of the taco. This taco was not new t me so there was no surprise.

I went to try cactus out of curiosity. I am not sure how to feel about the cactus taco nor do i know how to explain. However, it resembles aloe vera as well as okra. The appearance reminds me of aloe vera and the slimy texture reminded me of okra. The taste is bland and is barely noticeable due to the strong flavors of the guacamole and cilantro. As I bit into the cactus, it had a weird crunch to it. The crunch was sort of like biting onto an undercooked starch such as a potato or a carrot. A squeeze of lime on both tacos made all the difference in the world. I believe it is very necessary to add a generous amount of lime as it brings out the flavors of the ingredients and freshness.

The top part of the picture is the adobado taco and the bottom is the nopal taco topped with guacamole.

Last week, we finished our trip to Williamsburg in an icecream shop named Odd Fellows.  I sampled the toasted sesame nutella flavor and I like it so I bought a small cup. The texture was creamy and the ice cream was tasty. Personally, I believe the sesame was a bit overpowering and not enough nutella flavor. A little bit more nutella flavor and it would have been perfect. There was also hazelnuts which I also enjoy. The sesame and nuts gave a crunch to the ice cream I never had sesame in ice cream before but I thought it worked well. It reminded me of a sesame candy bar.

In New Orleans our uber driver told us we had to go to this restaurant call Dunbar’s famous creole cuisine which was out of the tourist area and where the locals went to eat. He told us to try the seafood gumbo. i was a little sceptical because it had okra in it and i’ve had a horrible experience with  it when i was younger but the whole point of the trip was to try new foods and experience new culture . white rice was at the bottom and in the broth it had shrimp, oysters, crab legs, crab meat , clams, sausage, veggies and okra. I thought the okra would give it a slimmy texture but it just thicken the broth and the all the Cajun spices made it that much better. I kind of wished the bowl was bigger.