Revisiting Kimchi Taco Truck For Their Kim-Cheesesteak
Pork kim-cheesesteak.
It is an unholy thing, this. It even looks wrong.
It is a very strange, ingenious amalgamation of flavors.
Last time I was at the Kimchi Taco truck, I decided I would try the Kim-cheesesteak, since it seemed inspired.
At their suggestion, I got the pork kim-cheesesteak with Cheez Whiz.
There is the Korean BBQ note, the Kimchi note, but both are pretty much whipped by the Cheez Whiz, which adds the fat American cheese-esque flavor we all know.
Cheez whiz spreads into a low film.
It is small in stature but I’m glad there wasn’t more of it, as the whole thing comes off as an exercise in excess.
I got the pork. Again, the protein flavor registers as barely there compared to the Kimchi and the Whiz. The Whiz, by the way, succeeds in coating the bun in thin layer of vaguely slimy (albeit delicious) goo. It makes the sandwich hard to handle.
There are spicy and sweet sauces available, and I was lucky about to sample both. The spicy isn’t very spicy at all, but it does lend a hefty smoke note to the proceedings.
Smallish, but hefty.
The bread itself is of course sweet. With the pork, which was advertised as spicy but in fact quite mild, and the Whiz, there were plenty of sweet notes to pick up. The sweet sauce adds a faint sesame/peanut hint.
I think they are on to something here, but wanted to withhold judgment until I sampled the beef/Provolone variation. My hunch was that it would allow the Korean flavors to shine through a bit more. I went back a week later to test the theory.
Beef kim-cheesesteak.
I was right – that combination does allow the Korean flavors to shine through a bit more – but only a bit.
I’ve learned that when you order a Kim-cheesesteak what you get is a cheesesteak with some faint Korean inspiration/hints, not a Korean BBQ sandwich with hints of cheese.
The spicy sauce (not surprisingly) wakes the whole thing up.
There's the beef. Provolone seems a light touch.
Turns out the cheese and bread flavors are ultimately too dominant, in my opinion, to let the Kimchi shine through. It is tasty, but I think you should get it if you’re looking to scratch your cheesesteak fix, not your Korean BBQ fix.
Having been going through their menu a bit now, I think I’ll stick with their Korean tacos for now, or perhaps the bowl (yet to sample that).
Kimchi Taco Truck
Travels around NYC, for more information check their website www.kimchitacotruck.com
When you first walk in, it seems quite cozy.
So it goes without saying that if you’re a food blogger chances are pretty much excellent you’re a foodie. And I believe New York is a heaven for foodies, because it is filled with so many wonderful places to eat. And what is especially rewarding is that pretty much anywhere in town you can find really good food, and occasionally truly great food. One reason I love living on the Upper West Side is there are some tier one places that don’t uniformly charge tier one prices. Granted, you can dent your bank account (especially on wine) if you want to, but… .
The menu... .
So let’s talk Telepan. It’s a swanky restaurant that generally gets raves and I am about to praise my recent meal there too. They offer a 4 course meal for $55 ($101 with wine pairings) or a 5 course for $65, or $121 with wine pairings. Considering how easy it is to blow $100 on a crap meal in NYC, this is a great offer.
We couldn’t get a reservation but lucked out and were able to sit in the lounge. As it happens, the lounge is quite brightly lit, which is good if you’re food blogger and want to take pictures of what you’re eating.
I opted for a four course meal and my wife ordered a la carte. For me, it was the egg in a hole to start (I love breakfast food as appetizers), lobster bolognese for a second course and heritage pork for a third. For the missus, she selected the trout blini (a house specialty) and chickpea pancakes.
Home-made cheese puffs.
You’ve got to love a restaurant that starts with a tasty amuse bouche. I know, I’m easy, what can I say. But a delicious amuse bouche makes so much sense to me as a way to start off a delightful: it says “Wake up! Delicious food is coming!” Ours was a cheddar cheese puff. It was very mild and warm.
Trout blini. A work of art. And delicious!
The house-smoked trout was very sour (black radish sour cream) and a deep smoke flavor. Some lemon cuts the strong flavors and adds effervescence. Of the two starters, it was the more appealing, as it turned out.
Egg in the hole with mushrooms.
The egg in a hole seemed more suited as a hangover cure. It was quite runny, and the strong mushroom presence (and flavor!) seemed a bit excessive. The toast was nice and crunchy and good for sopping up all the egg.
That faintly runny glob is an egg white, barely barely cooked.
I was mystified by the slow-poached egg preparation. It seemed to barely have congealed – some technique there. All in all the dish was hearty and runny, with the mushrooms adding an earthy heft.
Lobster Bolognese. Looks lovely, no?
We then sampled the lobster bolognese, and at this point I was beginning to notice something in common with the other dishes: a sour theme! The lobster bolognese had a very sour attack when you bit into it, which I couldn’t quite understand. After the initial sour blast came a heartiness lent by the spaghetti and rich lobster.
The lobster was surprisingly a touch tough.
The lobster, by the way, was a slight bit tough. The spaghetti itself was beautifully prepared to al dente perfection. All in all, though, I felt as though the dish was very ambitious, but the ambition was somehow outstripping the execution. That sour flavor… what was going on? I expected it to be richer and heartier.
Chickpea pancake from Telepan.
The chickpea pancake was surprisingly rich. The texture of the pancakes were delightfully soft. The carrot flavor added a sweet, yet despite the intense richness of the flavor there was something vaguely healthy-seeming about the dish.
Heritage pork, with bacon and sausage.
The pork was also interesting – a “moderne” take on the staple. Southern cooking meets haute cuisine. It included several different preparations of pork, including some sausage, and some bacon, served over a slaw.
Surprisingly fatty bit of pork there... .
You can see the fatty bit of pork I got. I was a little surprised by that. The bacon was like candy, albeit surprisingly a bit chewy. Had it been caramelized? The slaw (actually salade lyonnaise) was quite pleasant.
Gianduja = hallelujah.
For dessert we shared an insanely delicious gianduja. As you can see it is like a toy. You assemble your own spoonful. The flavors included chocolate, peanut butter, the ice cream lent a cool temperature to the experience, and the crunchy undercoat was delightful.
Ok, so it wasn’t perhaps the best dinner I’ve ever had at Telepan, but we got out of there paying just $147 for all of that extremely high quality, artful food and two martinis besides. In other words, it is priced just right, and is probably a bit of a steal when you consider the quality of what you’re getting. I will definitely be back.
Telepan
72 West 69th Street New York, N.Y. 10023 212.580.4300 www.telepan-ny.comPio Pio Offers A Bargain Chicken Dinner
Outside Pio Pio.
There’s a Pio Pio Salon on the Upper West Side, which is part of the small chain of Pio Pio joints. I had been there once before, and recalled having a fantastic, festive time. It had been quite a while, and the missus hadn’t ever been there. Reckoning we’d do something a bit different, we gave it a run.
Inside, the band getting set to play.
I have to say I was struck with a slight twinge of anxiety almost immediately upon walking in. Why? I saw a microphone and sound equipment set up, and while the place has some space, it seemed hard for me to believe it was large enough to have whatever music that was about to be playing not be oppressive. But more on that later.
As far as decor goes, it’s a dark sort of place that seems like it is caught between what it is and what it wants to be. At first glance it seems sort of dark and perhaps classy but that image fades fast when you look closer. There’s white paper atop the white tablecloth on the table, and I quickly found out why: the place (despite aspirations to be more) is essentially a chicken shack.
Sangria at Pio Pio.
We started out with some sangria, which was very very sweet. Almost like a soda in its intensity of sweetness.
While the waiter did encourage us to try something other than the chicken, if you look at the menu, it just doesn’t make much sense to try anything else. I mean, the Peruvian Combo – a whole chicken with avocado and fries – is $26. That’s an ample amount of food for two people. Other individual plates – like the Lomo Saltado (beef saute with peppers and onions) are $18 and up. Why would someone spend double when you can get a whole meal for two for $26? So, like I say, the menu drives you toward the chicken, especially if you’re cost-conscious.
It was at about this time my fears about the microphone were realized: Peruvian pipe music. My wife and I both were rolling our eyes. Look, it’s nice and everything, but what is it about Peruvian pipe music? It is both universally appealing and ubiquitous – seems like any major tourist attraction in the world has a Peruvian band at it – but we were not enjoying it (and the synth drum track) with our dinner. As my wife pointed out, it made it seem like we could’ve been eating in the subway anywhere in the world. Well, at least it kept us drinking.
The Peruvian Combo. Quite a bit of food.
So along came the meal, and it looked pretty promising. As you can see, it’s a whole pollo a la brasa (marinated rotisserie chicken). It looked pretty choice. But I was a little surprised.
The chicken. Juicy, but not super tender, oddly.
The chicken was tasty (the skin the most flavorful part, where you could perhaps pick up a lime note amid the salty, fat flavor). The Peruvian spices and flavor were basically engaging, though the chicken was not quite as tender as I expected. The whole thing made me have a serious craving for that Costa Rican specialty Salsa Lizano.
Not quite Salsa Lizano, but... .
They must’ve known about this issue because they serve it with a green sauce themselves. The sauce added chilies and an effervescence, helping to wake up the chicken. Let’s face it: chicken tastes like chicken, and this preparation while making it fine didn’t make it (in my opinion) particularly special. Frankly I think I prefer the pollo a la brasa at Flor De Mayo.
The salad wasn’t particularly interesting, it was refrigerated and generally meh.
Crispy, peppery.
The fries were good and hearty, surprisingly crispy too. They had a faint pepper note.
Brilliantly, they offer a wet nap at the end of the meal, which was needed for sure.
The whole meal clocked in at $52 – $26 for the chicken for two and $26 for the pitcher of sangria. All in all it was too much food and we took some to go.
I’m not going to knock Pio Pio. The chicken was tasty, and the bang for the buck is certainly impressive. But it didn’t especially wow me, and the Peruvian pan/synth music was a bit much for me. I may go again, but won’t especially miss it if I don’t.
Pio Pio Salon
702 Amsterdam Avenue New York, N.Y. 10025 212.665.3000 www.piopio.comZabar’s Croissant: A Gourmet Breakfast To Go
That golden, flaky, buttery croissant pastry is delightful.
During recent jury duty it quickly became necessary to grab something early in the morning that I could take on the run. I’d have to be downtown at court anywhere from 9:30-10:30, and I am well accustomed to having to be at work much earlier than that. The suddenly late start threw my rhythm off. Suddenly I had some time to eat something, but not enough to really indulge in a sit-down meal. I used the later start to sleep in – who wouldn’t?
A fairly typical scene at the cafe at Zabar's. Line is long, folks are reading.
Since my usual oatmeal wasn’t going to work (no place to sit and eat), it was necessary some days to get something handy like a bagel or some such. So I stopped in at the cafe at Upper West Side institution Zabar’s, and got myself a decadent ham & cheese croissant.
The narrow table is usually filled with coffee drinkers.
They are served hot, and if you want you can get them to go in that bag with the metallic lining to keep them warm. I generally opted to devour them then and there, as they only last a few bites.
It's like a pinata: nothing suggests the goodness inside.
The croissants are pre-made, as opposed to sliced right there and stacked with the ingredients. No, the ham and cheese is encased in them like a pig in blanket. Despite this, the pastry remains quite flaky. Although the cheese is Swiss, it tastes much more like Gruyere, but perhaps that is because it is competing with the rich, buttery pastry and the fatty flavor of the ham.
The ham is just a bit thicker than you'd think. The pastry is terrific.
As I mentioned they are gone in just a few bites, and you could easily think of devouring two or three of them, although calorie-wise that has got to be a disastrous idea. They clock in at around $3.30 each and are delicious. For a quick, gourmet breakfast to go, they work well.
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