Hand pulled noodles pulling in customers

Vegetable noodle soup with added pickled cabbage, hot sauce, and vinegar.

A good Korean seafood pancake for $5.

Sik Gaek
40-01 149th Pl.
Flushing, NY 11354

Don’t let the name fool you, Sik Gaek (sounds like Shik-Gehk) is a seafood restaurant named after a Korean manga and movie of the same name.  History lesson aside, Sik Gaek is a much like a boisterous restaurant typical of what you would find in Seoul.  Any food shyness must be left behind as you dive into a giant pot of various creatures from the sea swimming in a spicy broth all the while toasting korean beer and fermented rice brew.

Gather 4 seafood lovers and order the haemool jung gol (seafood hot pot) filled with:  lobster, clams, crab, sea snail, abalone, mussels, octopus, squid, razor clams, udon noodles, rice cakes, and sprouts.  Phew, not for the faint of stomach.  All the ingredients were super fresh and some were still alive.

A spicy steaming bowl of unkosherness.
How to order the way a Korean would:
1.   Order both OB beer and makkoli by the bottle (impress others with your Korean drinking ettiqutte).
2.   Drink and repeat step 1.  Also, order food if you wish.
3.   Get the seafood hot pot, and request the squid be served live.
4.  Ask for a hot pot stir fry with the leftovers and rice.
5.  Repeat step 1.

Can you spot the 4 Koreans in this pic?

But since my friend already went there before on a prior business trip, we decided to go again.  We opted for coconut shrimp for an appetizer and shared a bucket of lobster and crab legs. The coconut shrimp was just okay, although my friend really seemed to have enjoyed it.  The lobster tails were small but that was almost expected. If you like butter with your steamed seafood, then you would like the crab legs since they already came out buttered and oily.

Each bucket pretty much costs $30 on average, whether you just get the crab bucket, crab and lobster bucket, shrimp bucket or a combo of it all. The bucket and appetizer were enough for the both of us as we weren’t that hungry.  Add a bottle of Corona to that and I was completely full.

I don’t really see myself coming back here unless I had to eat by the airport and had plenty of time to kill. (During dinner time, you will have to wait 30 min. on average) You can find fresher crabs at Joe’s Crab Shack and luckily there are a few here.

But I’m looking forward to having some good, fresh seafood here in landlocked ATL and will definitely update you when I find it.

The good: We didn’t over order.

The bad: There is good dodgy, like Pocha 32, where you drink and eat out of tin bowls and cups…and then there is bad dodgy.  This is the bad, dirty kind of dodgy place.

The ugly:  Valet is the only way to park here. It’s lame, especially for a dodgy place.

Spondivits                                                                                                                                        1219 Virginia Ave                                                                                                                     Atlanta, GA 30344-5211

-xteethx

Luckily I found my favorite barbecue place today. Forget Fat Matt’s. Just the fact that I’m updating this blog should tell you that the restaurant I’m about to write about is good; like I-can-stay-here-in-Atlanta-just-for-this-restaurant good.

It’s called Heirloom Market and it looks like it’s a hole-in-the-wall in the most random place with nothing else around. But it was already hoppin’ and busy by the time we got there at 12:10, ten minutes after it opened.

I honestly didn’t know what to expect, being that one of the chefs is a former Korean pop star, Lee Jiyeon. (Sadly that is the reason why I went.)  But the fact that it was already that busy on an early afternoon was a good sign.

I opted for the two meat combo deal that comes with a side.  I chose the brisket and ribs and the fried okra.  It was $13.50 but it ended up being two meals since finishing it in one sitting would’ve made me feel dirty.

Brisket, ribs and fried okra. amen.

The brisket and ribs were so moist, juicy, and tender. In my opinion, it’s probably best eaten by itself without any sauce. But if you find the ends kind of dry, there are a few sauces to choose from.  I thought I would like the Korean barbecue sauce the best being that I have a Korean palate but the table sauce was tastier; it’s like A-1 but even better.  I didn’t like the Settler sauce as much but if you like vinegar with your meat, then that would be your sauce.

And seriously, the fried okra was off the hook; don’t ask me why.  Just get it.

For you yankees, that is what fried okra looks like.

In the middle of my meal, the line was already out the door and people were parking on the grass because there were no spots  left.  It’s a small place so it’s probably best to do take-out.

I realize there is nothing really Korean about the barbecue, unless you chose to smother your meat in the Korean sauce and unless you chose some Korean sides.  It really is just Texas-style BBQ; in my opinion anyway.

Looking at the Yelp reviews, you’ll see everyone, save for two ignorant people, gave it four or five stars.  I will definitely be back to try the chicken.

The good: I can only vouch for the brisket, ribs and fried okra for now.

The Bad: the limited parking spots and seating

The ugly: Animal fat solidifying in my arteries and adding to my cellulite

- xteethx

Totto Ramen
366 West 52nd St.

The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and somewhere a cauldron of pork broth was whistling.  I awoke that morning with a feeling that it was going to be a good day.  Little did I know I would experience a life changing food moment.

Seared tuna with soy ginger bonito wasabi dressing.

Totto Ramen follows the typical NYC ramen restaurant format: few tables, bar seating, and open kitchen.  This dimly lit below street level ramenya looks unremarkable with its chalk board specials and hand written menu highlights adorning the walls.  But, if a restaurant is selling hot soup on a hot June afternoon and has a wait, I suggest you get in line.

Miso ramen.  Me so hungry.

Totto may have the best ramen in New York City.  Lofty words I know.  The miso ramen is on par with my current favorite, Minca, and depending on my mood, it may indeed be #1.  The menu describes it:

The finest Koji Miso and ground pork in a scoop atop slightly wavy noodles in original Paitan soup.  Topped with a seasoned hardboiled egg, scallion, bean sprouts, onion and char sui pork.

Wavy noodles are where it’s at.

Totto nailed all three  aspects of the ramen trinity:  soup, noodle, and topping.   While Minca has a knock your socks off don’t bring home to mama kind of miso broth, Totto has a respectable and multi-layered flavor that your parents would well approve of.  The ramen is so good you may think of how you can propose to it.  (Though it will never work out because of the cultural differences).  How could you resist the wavy noodles; cooked to chewy perfection and abundantly swirling the bowl with every scoop.  They hypnotize you with their undulations above and below the rich, and flavorful broth.  Finally, the toppings.  Straightforward blend of sprouts and green onion supporting the star of the show:  the roast pork.  You get 2 richly cut portions of roasted pork, feathered with slight char and containing the stratified layers of flesh, fat, and cartilage.  Pork perfection.  I can’t describe it any other way and undoubtedly the best char sui I’ve ever eaten.  Kuboya comes close in flavor but lacks in portion size.  With Totto and Minca straddling both sides of the island, always being within walking distance of a great ramen bar is one step closer to NY reality.

Char sui is Japanese for “I’ve died and gone to pork heaven”

Good
The #1 miso ramen in NYC!  or  The #1 miso ramen in NYC?
This is what a ramen restaurant should look and feel like.  (cough) Ahem. Ippudo.
Fast friendly staff.

Bad
If I had to be critical, the hardboiled egg.  Not horrible, but I am a fan of gelled creamy yolk.

Ugly
Small place so the wait gets loco after 5pm.

-bru, Chief Ramen Officer

Eatclub left with round bellies wanting to maintain the food buzz.  When you want to go on an all-out eating bender, a Saturday afternoon in the city is like no other.

Wafels & Dinges
Riverside Park

Waffle, speculoos, and ice cream = an innocent looking but powerful dessert.

Face to the water, back to the highway

Pier 1 Cafe
West 70th St. and Hudson River

Go there for the great Hudson views and plentiful patio seating.  Stay a while with friends and enjoy the great brew selection (Coney Island Lager) and mango pina coladas.  Skip the burger but try the other dishes of their surprisingly refined fare.

A light liquid lunch

TKettle
26 St. Mark’s Place

Bubble milk tea and basil popcorn chicken.  Yes, those are real authentic foods from the same culture (Taiwan).

Kenka
25 St. Mark’s Place

A St. Mark’s must visit for Japanese tapas/drinking bar.  Raucous with equally audacious choice of decor, they serve inexpensive Japanese drafts and some crazy menu items.  Good times are always had here.

Artichoke
111 Macdougal St.
(3rd and Bleeker)

Artichoke slice needs a hearty Coke

The pizza surprise in the village. $4.50 gets you a monstrous artichoke slice that will stop you in your tracks and make your pupils dilate.  Very good.

Mamouns
119 Macdougal St.

Freshest and tastiest.  Fuggediboutit.

Best falafel in the city.  That evening, it was also the HOTTEST.

Eatclub spent the day celebrating, but mostly eating, with ML.  They organized a slew of vendors for an AYCE and AYCD ‘fest.  It was hard keeping up with fellow eaters as we devoured the best portable food Midtown had to offer while pretending to give competent reviews of taste, quality, etc.  We ate and drank our hearts out.

Certe’s lobster sausage sandwich with fingerling potato salad.  Oh you fancy huh?

Grilled roast beef from Tri-tip grill.

A tomato basil slice from Eddie’s Pizza cart

Ginger slush with mint courtesy of Kelvin

Ma Peche.  Bahn mi?  Oh my!

Lamb pita exquisitely cut on the bias.  Kwik Gourmet indeed!

Wafels & Dinges signature wafel

Biryani Cart’s Chicken Kati roll.

The master himself, Mr. Rahman from Kwik gourmet poses with yours truly

We enjoyed the opportunity to hit up carts that were Vendy award notables as well as venues that are open only during the day in midtown. All in one spot and all you can eat of course.  Some of the newer faces on the scene were knockouts.  Wafels & Dinges (pronounced ding + like the name “Gus”) had a delicious Belgian waffle topped with whipped cream and their homemade gingerbread sauce, Speculoo.  Dense and savory sweet with a crisp exoskeleton of caramelization, this small waffle satisfied like it were twice its size.  I predict Kelvin Slush as the beverage to watch this summer as they put a unique twist on the tried and true slushie.  Personally, it will replace the Korean frozen yogurt phenomenon going on, as my dessert of choice in NYC.  I’ll have the ginger slush with mint please.

The mexican truck, El Rey del Sabor was a let down.  The chicken, pork, and beef fillings were all bland with the only good thing being the actually hot salsa.  Super taco truck on UES is infinitely better.  Time to get another mint slush.  Biryani Cart offered a chicken kati roll that was mildly spicy but with almost too intense curry flavor.   Add to that a sweet and greasy paratha wrapper and this tiny roll is almost too intense to handle.  For me it was just too much going on.  Sip more of that slush to cleanse the palette.

Tri-tip grill presented their roast beef on a simple potato roll which was a carnivore’s dream come true.  Charred beef flavor was prominent and the time spent roasting all night paid off for the 3 dudes running the booth.  Congrats on a simple and well crafted sliced roast beef sandwich.  Time to refill that slushie.  Certe had a lobster sausage sandwich was as inventive as it was delicate.  Served on a crusty roll, the “sausage” was light and flavorful as well as alluring to the eyes.  Bonus points for charring grill marks and proportionately downsized shredded toppings.  Sip the slushie before it melts too fast.  Ma Peche showcased their version of a bahn mi with marinated lamb in a chewy dense baguette.  Intensely spiced and juicy, it was an interesting take on the classic viet sandwich.

It was my running favorite until I tried Kwik Gourmet’s lamb pita.  The humble cart with no line and stocked with 2 fully dressed chefs hurriedly prepping does not call much attention to itself.  After all, one passes by a cart selling some variation of lamb and pita on most every street in Manhattan.  They were the best cart there and I know I had to take a picture with lamb guru Rahman.  The run of the mill looking pita has in it the best cart cooked lamb ever.  Generous portions of marinated real lamb chunks in a warm supple pita with a rich yogurt sauce, it was better than the slushie I was habitually sipping.  And that says a lot.

DJ Slushy Jeffy and standing behind the Fresh Prince of Pway

Formaggio Kitchen
244 Huron Avenue
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
Saturday BBQ

Red Hook Brewery
1 Redhook Way
Portsmouth, NH 03801

The Clam Box
246 High Street
Ipswich, MA 01938

China Pearl
9 Tyler Street
Boston, MA 02111

The Bell in Hand Tavern
45 Union Street
Boston, MA 02108

Eagle’s Deli
1918 Beacon Street
Brighton, MA

Hanyang Supermarket
150-51 Northern Boulevard
Flushing, NY

Pho Vietnamese Restaurant
3802 Prince Street
Flushing, NY

Flushing Mall
133-31 39th Avenue
Flushing, NY

Geo Si Gi
15228 Northern Boulevard
Flushing, NY

Eatclub hit the pavement for some food R&D in the asian melting pot that is Flushing, Queens.  It’s no wonder the aliens from MIB parked their spaceships here, the aliens from China park their Camrys here too.

Hanyang Supermarket has a small food court.

Hanyang is actually a Korean supermarket but they have a small cafe in the back that serves typical Korean snacks.  The corndog is fried up fresh and is extra crispy with a corn-panko coating.  Soondae is a rice and noodle blood sausage and is excellent here.  I actually don’t like soondae but Hanyang’s version changed my mind.  The dukbuki tastes just like the ones served in Korean night markets, extra peppery chili sauce with tender rice cakes.  Definitely order all of these.

Marvelously crusty corn dog.  Order 1 at a time but why would you?

Korean street food:  soon-dae (blood and rice sausage) and duk-bu-ki (spicy rice cake).

Vietnamese restuarant called Vietnamese Restaurant.  Go figure.

We stopped by this restaurant for a snack but ended up eating an entire meal.  The food was that good.

A steaming bowl of curry beef stew.

Vietnamese grilled pork and egg rolls.

Vietnamese grilled chicken over rice.

Sophia’s furiously fast chopstick skills.  Woo-pah!

While not my first review of Flushing Mall, this was the first time I sampled their shaved ice.  It’s not super authentic or very delicious but what it lacks in freshness it makes up for in sheer sweetness.  It is crazy sweet, especially the faux fruit toppings.

Shaved ice with grass jelly, red bean, taro, and condensed milk.

Shaved ice with mango, passion fruit, jellies, and condensed milk.  Sweeter than pure sugar!

This is your face reacting to sweetness overload.

Geo Si Gi means:  caveman chasing wild boar with hatchet. (not really).

Braised pork neck bone.  How tasty does that sound?  Not very, but I don’t care, you must eat this if you like pork that is spicy, tender, and asian.  You get generous chunks of pork neck bones slowed stewed in a spicy broth with plenty of veggies and kimchi.  I could not eat this stew fast enough.  Literally, the tantalizing neck bones tease you as you slowly wriggle out each morsel of soft meat from every crevice.  Oh, and don’t be shy about using the vinegar dipping sauce, it ramps up the flavor to new heights.  At the end of the meal, ask the server to make fried rice with the left over broth, he will cook it for you right at the table before your eyes.

Gamjatang, spicy korean soup with aged kimchi and pork neck bones.

Fried rice made from leftovers of pork soup?  It’s true (watch the video).

Zen is located in the heart of St. Marks amongst the multitude of asian eateries; and much like the people, all the storefronts look the same:  yellow and foreign.  Step into Zen and you will be transported to a no frills NYC-style Japanese joint.  A dime a dozen or a yen a dozen rather.

A pitcher of Kirin draft will set you back $12, not too shabby.

Zen’s signature Tonkotsu Ramen ($8.50).

Another noodle waterfall.

Ramen is the reason Eatclub meets and ramen is what we ordered.  The waitress recommended the Tonkotsu ramen:  original garlic salt flavored noodle soup with meat, mushroom, egg, and baby bamboo (shinachiku).  Eatclub has eaten enough ramen to be critical and to be brief, this ramen was slightly above average.  The noodles were wavy and chewy, the best thing going for this dish.  The meat (charsui) was average, the egg was overcooked with a greenish tinge, and sadly the broth let me down.  Perhaps it was the garlic salt base but a ramen called “tonkotsu” has to deliver in-your-face porkiness.  Instead the soup was thin and bland, especially when compared to more complex blends such as the broths at Ippudo and Kuboya.  However, if I ever had a hankering for ramen in the East Village, I would consider going back to Zen, especially with good company and a thirst for Japanese brew.

Good
Noodles and beer. In that order.

Bad
Signature ramen’s soup was just meh.

Ugly
The storefront, it looks like a bad 3-D Japanese/English ransom note.

- ramen boy

An extra seat is available single ladies.

Baked storefront kind of reminds you of a chocolate cupcake.

Baked’s signature salty caramel cupcake.  Very good, especially the sea salt on top.

A pizza shop in the heart of a Hasidic Brooklyn neighborhood.

Dominick hard at work.

Artichoke garlic pie just out of the oven.

So it looks better if you were there so trust me when I say you MUST try it.

Making new friends and catching up with old ones over a few brews.