ME LIKE EAT is glad to once again present to you guest contributor Hugh, this time exploring the ins and outs of one of the fanciest restaurants in town: Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Nougatine. Incidentally, here’s our review of JoJo, his original NYC restaurant.
This can be a dreary time in the big city. The good cheer of the Christmas Season is past, football season has ended, and Spring is not yet imminent. The City is bogged down in cold, snow, slush and muck.
A great thing about this town is that on the darkest, coldest night, there is always the opportunity to touch – or at least taste – greatness. One minute you are freezing out in the frozen wind and dodging deep, slushy, puddles. The next minute, you can find yourself in Nougatine.
Jean-Georges Vongerichten is a great American success story. He has great taste. He is a great chef. He seems to be a great business man. He has restaurants in the Bahamas, Vegas and in Shanghai.
At the heart of his empire is the restaurant which bears his name, Jean-Georges, located in Columbus Circle. It is consistently one of the best ranked New York restaurants in the Zagat ratings. It has also been awarded three Michelin Stars.
Shrimp salad.
The problem with the place is that it is one of those absurdly, obscenely expensive restaurants. There are quite a number of them in this town. So for most of us without limitless, blind expense accounts – or seven figure bonuses – it is a place consistently beyond reach.
But Jean-Georges – in his wisdom – offers a democratic option for the unwashed. There is a three course prix fixe lunch for 20-something bucks at Nougatine. The price has been increasing slowly, but gently, over the years. It is one of the best restaurant deals in town.
Spunto Pizza Slices Are Thin, But Not On Flavor
A pie from Spunto. To quote Monty Python: wafer thin.
Previously on this blog, I’ve discussed the importance – and difficulty – of getting good, crispy thin crust slices of pizza. I’ve been exasperated as to why that has become so hard to find in this town nowadays. Most of the chain spots – and many of the indies – seem to favor a bland, soggy mush with the flavor and consistency of sucking on a damp mop. We’ve even had a guest blogger discuss the significance of the NYC slice.
The storefront.
Spunto seems to have taken obsession with crispy thin crust pizza to a whole different level, however, and I am not sure how I feel about it.
At the counter. How can they let them sit? They must lose their heat immediately... .
As you can see in the picture, the width of the crust on a typical Spunto pie comes in at somewhere between half an eyelash and a fingernail. I mean, I love thin crust, but this is more like cracker-thin crust. So how is it?
The crust may be thin, but it is sure crispy. And strong.
Well, I’d say it’s quite good. Spunto enjoys a good reputation, and had been on my radar for a while, so I was glad to check it out. But I don’t know if past its gimmicky razor-thin crust there’s enough to justify going out of my way for – especially since there are other killer pizza spots relatively nearby downtown.
Don’t get me wrong: it has a very good sauce, and good cheese… but it’s no Lombardi’s (or Sal & Carmine’s, or Joe’s). I feel more as though Spunto has a basically good slice and a better gimmick.
If you’re really trying to cut the carbs while enjoying pizza flavor, it is probably a damn good option. If you’re looking for killer NYC pizza, I’d have to say go elsewhere.
Spunto Thin Crust Pizza
65 Carmine Street New York, NY 10014 212.242.1200 www.spuntothincrust.com
Levain Cookies Are Excellent. Yes, Please!
The window of Levain. Crowds within.
In my previous post on Insomnia Cookies, I mentioned I would get to my preferred vendor of specialty cookies. There’s none better that I know of in New York than Levain.
Not everyone could fit in the shop.
Obviously, I am not the only person to have figured this out. A trip there this weekend left me stuck behind a large crowd gathered at the shop. In fact, it was the most people I’ve ever seen there at one time.
Trying to get a cookie. Mob scene!
The shop itself is tiny, rivaling Underground Lunch in its diminutive stature. It’s difficult for three people to stand at the counter, let alone the large clutch of people that were there at this occasion.
Now that's what I call a cookie... .
The cookies are worth it. Look at them. They are as big as your fist. If you get them when they’re fresh out of the oven, they are also warm and easily breakable. Like everything else, they harden up a bit over time. One cookie can easily serve two people.
Om nom nom nom...
So if you’re looking for a good specialty cookie, start here. They’re awesome.
Incidentally, they come in four flavors (oatmeal raisin, dark chocolate chocolate chip and dark chocolate peanut butter chip), but I stick with the chocolate chip walnut, myself.
Levain Bakery
167 West 74th Street New York, NY 10023 212.874.6080 www.levainbakery.comInsomnia Cookies. Next Time I’ll Sleep In.
The storefront. A promising name, I'll grant you... .
After leaving the wonderful Luke’s Lobster recently, I noticed a new shop caddy corner to it: Insomnia Cookies. Of course, it was necessary to try it.
I wish I could say I was pleased. Alas, I was not. Ok, I get it, the whole business model is apparently dedicated to catering to college stoners at 2 am (hence their name).Unfortunately , for the more sober amongst us, the result is much less impressive.
That crappy little boom box should not be cranked up. No.
First of all, there was the noise factor. Like most Americans, I am impressed with (and broadly a fan of) Usher. However, I am not a fan if being subjected to blaringly loud remixes of his vocal stylings when I walk into a cookie shop and am made to stand on line for a damn cookie. Turn the music down a bit, please, your storefront does not have club-like speaker systems, no matter how high you turn up your crappy boom box.
The selection. Looks promising as well. How could this go wrong?
However, I will put up with all sort of difficulty for good food. Alas, the cookie disappointed.
Serving 'em up.
Let’s start with what was good. The cookies were warm, which is very nice. They were a decent size. They seemed fresh. All good. Best gimmick of all: late-night delivery. I guess they know their target audience.
The chocolate chunk was gooey enough to spread onto fingertips.
However, they went wrong at the flavor. They had a pectin, artificial note to them. Perhaps they were oversaturated with brown sugar, I am not sure. All I know is that they were not full of cookie goodness. They were pleasantly warm and gooey, but just not fresh and cookie enough. Granted, I am probably being unreasonably harsh, as their cookies clock in at $1 each, which is a pretty good deal.
That said, I’ll go elsewhere for my specialty cookie fix. I hope to be able to give you a few suggestions as to where, exactly, soon.
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