Korean Pro
This hole-in-the-wall is Korean Pro.
By now, you’ve doubtless come to know of my true appreciation for the folks at Midtown Lunch. What can I say? I work in Midtown, and those folks are on top of the scene. And once again, they inspired me with a write-up of a Korean tacos at Pro Hot.
Looks like a good offer to me.
What’s not to love about what’s on that sign? Talk about a chocolate/peanut butter moment. I love tacos. I love Korean BBQ. I also like cheap eats! Fabboo. But what lurks within?
Dishes are set up on a hot metal counter and kept warm.
Inside the modest, orange-walled space are a few hot counters, where packaged meals (presumably having just been prepared in the kitchen) are arrayed. However, the tacos are made to order. I opted for one galbi, one spicy chicken.
Looks pretty good, no? That's the spicy chicken on the left, btw.
For $4.99, that’s not bad, portion-wise. It looked pretty fresh and tasty to me.
The Galbi taco. Yum.
I started with the galbi. It was very tasty, with a surprisingly good smokiness. I tried applying some of the cilantro(?) sauce, just for the heck of it, and it was surprisingly zesty.
Side order of pork dumplings.
I’m not wild about the presentation of the pork dumplings (wrapped in cellophane and all that). I also have a slight thing about cellophane touching the food. Somehow in my minds eye I always imagine it leaches the flavor out of the item – or makes it taste “airplane fresh.” But that’s my own issue. Either way, these were in fact very tasty, but by the time they landed back at my desk merely tepid. I fear that just about anything you’d get from Pro’s table might also suffer from that affliction: tasty, but tepid. And a tepid dumpling can be a bit tough and chewy.
The spicy chicken taco adorned with tasty veggies.
The chicken was good and spicy. Not “break out in sweat” spicy, but “get a little misty” spicy.
All in all, the meal was a bit heftier than I usually eat these days, and clocked in (all totaled) at around $8. I felt it was well worth it, and would be happy to go back. I confess the boxed lunches are less appealing to me than having something made to order, especially since the Bapcha cart can make it fresh, but nonetheless, I am susceptible to the craving for delicious Korean food from time to time. Next time it comes up, I’ll feel fine about going back.
Korean Pro
62 West 56th Street New York, NY 10079 (212) 397-9104 www.koreanpronyc.comTrying Tri Tip
Tri Tip Grill in Rockefeller Center.
Once again steered by the folks at Midtown Lunch, I decided to try Tri Tip Grill, which they had been raving about on that blog. It’s in the downstairs food court.
Each sandwich is made to order, so after making your selection there can be a bit of a wait – I can imagine that wait could be more significant with a longer line. As you can see, though, there wasn’t much of a line when I arrived.
For my first order, I asked the nice woman behind the counter what was popular, and wound up getting their “Big Buck Tri Tip” sandwich.
The Big Buck Tri Tip sandwich.
As you can see, when I unboxed it back at my desk, it was looking pretty sexy. According to their website, it’s 6 ounces of thinly sliced tri tip, caramelized onions, and it comes with an au jus dipping sauce. That explains the massive bun, which you can see below.
To quote the famous Wendy's commercial: it's a very big bun.
Now as part of my diet, I am generally avoiding the dread white flour, and therefore things like buns, bread and pasta. Look at the size of that bun: it’s very substantial. However, I have to give them credit: it is the perfect texture for sopping up the au jus without disintegrating or dripping. It acts like a sponge and in fact is delicious and tasty. However, no-one gets this sandwich for the bun – it’s all about the meat. The meat is very tasty and well prepared.
The meat is very tasty and well prepared.
Admit it: the meat looks pretty good. That’s because it is. Tri Tip takes its name from the cut of beef they favor. Again, according to their website, theirs comes from Certified Angus Beef and is aged for 21 days before being marinated, seasoned, charred and smoked. I found it to be fresh and tasty, a bit salty, but having a wonderful tender quality. Cut so thin, you occassionally run into a slight “stringiness” issue, but very rarely. The caramelized onions were what you expect.
Now, looking at the portion sizes, I realized that spending too much time at Tri Tip would be a great way to utterly destroy whatever progress I’ve made as a result of this diet: even their salads looked pretty massive. At $7.99 for the Big Buck, I didn’t feel particularly ripped off at all. It’s plenty of food for lunch.
I’ll go back again when I’m a little more flexible about my diet – the Roadhouse Buck (tri tip cut thick, ranch sauce, onions and bleu cheese) sounds delightful. All in all, it’s a good spot, especially if you’re in the mood for some tasty beef goodness.
Tri Tip Grill
Rockefeller Center, Concourse Level New York, NY 10112 (212) 664-1003 www.tritipgrill.comRed Hook Lobster Pound
The Red Hook Lobster Pound. Note the line.
As you already know, I love me a lobster roll. Nom nom nom. Not much better. A few weeks ago my cousin surprised us with a delivery of the savory Red Hook Lobster Pound lobster roll all the way from Red Hook. It was so tasty we opted to Zipcar out to it to have it fresh off the grill.
Why the car? Getting to the Pound isn’t easy. There’s no subway stop anywhere nearby – it’s in the middle of nowhere, as far as public transportation goes. The Pound has been getting a ton of press lately, rightly, because it serves an excellent product. Nonetheless, I was surprised by the line at the place, although admittedly we went on a beautiful Saturday.
Frank, who was one of the two owners of the place, was behind the counter, somewhat exasperated. He had sold 1,000 pounds of lobster the day before, a new record. Frank works hard: to get the lobster, he drives up to Maine, and competes (as he puts it) with “32 drunk fishermen” for the best lobsters. He likened it to being in a fight.
The Pound itself is quite small. It’s just a storefront, although there are some picnic tables next door. There are two large containers which store the lobsters. They sell a Maine-style roll (with mayo) or a Connecticut-style roll (no mayo, grilled). Guess what we got?
Mmmmm.... delicious.
If there’s a downside to the Red Hook Lobster Pound lobster roll, it’s that it’s gone in about 4 bites. It requires an act of physical restraint to slow yourself down while chomping into it. Guess it’s a good thing (if somewhat decadent) we got two each. They are served with a bag of Cape Cod chips and pickles.
Some details now: the lobster meat is very chunky, with discernable, recognizable parts largely intact in the roll. It’s served with some shallots(?) as a light garnish. We all noticed a slightly “fishy” quality to the flavor, but it wasn’t offensive. The roll is delightfully buttery. The sandwich is wonderful.
The Pound offers a few artisinal sodas to choose from, and a miraculous Whoopie Pie, which you should definitely get if you go there.
All in all, it is absolutely excellent. Highly recommended.
Red Hook Lobster Pound
284 Van Brunt Street Brooklyn, NY 11231 (646) 326-7650 www.redhooklobster.comQuality Meats
The Quality Meats storefront.
Graciously invited out to dinner by my brother and sister-in-law, we decide to meet somewhere in Midtown. She pitched Quality Meats, a spot I’ve used for the occasional after-work cocktail, but hadn’t tried for dinner. We said sure, and gave it a run. I probably should’ve looked into the restaurant a little bit before I arrived, because, stupid me, I was a bit surprised that it is a straightforward (if stylish) steakhouse. I suppose I should’ve known, based on the name of the joint… .
With four of us, we ordered quite a bit. For starters, we got the crab & avocado salad, chowder, a tomato/onion ring salad, and the charcuterie. The chowder was very tasty, buttery, and pleasant. The crab & avocado was a big hit – delicious, slightly creamy somehow. The charcuterie, which I’d had before, was delicious and reliable, though I found some of the pieces of meat had a peppery note. The biggest misnomer was QM’s attempt to label the tomato dish a “salad:” it consists of a serving of onion rings, bacon, bleu cheese and some tomatos. Where’s the salad in that?
The sirloin.
For entrees, we got the porterhouse (for two), baked oysters, and the sirloin.
One cute feature of Quality Meats is their method of serving steak sauce. It’s prepared from fresh ingredients at your table, like fresh guacamole at some excellent Mexican joints. I also have to say it is quite tasty – ordinarily I dislike any kind of sauce on my steak (tends to hide the flavor of the meat). However, the sirloin was quite salty, and the sauce really did help. It had a vague worcestershire kick, though perhaps that’s not quite right. Either way, it was very tasty.
I generally find ordering a porterhouse anywhere in New York City other than Peter Luger’s to be a waste of time and meat. I am pleased to report that the Quality Meats porterhouse is surprisingly excellent. They don’t char it the way Luger’s does, so the velvety, buttery texture of the meat – along with its terrific quality – really shines through. If I return to the place, I may actually order it. Either way, it was far superior to the sirloin. Don’t get me wrong – the sirloin was a very fine piece of meat, but just too salty.
Baked oysters
Just look at the baked oysters. What’s that you say? You don’t see any oyster underneath the toast? Well I didn’t taste any either. It was, in my opinion, a waste of oysters. The breading is tasty, but… .
Bubble and squeak.
For sides, the breading bonanza continues – fried asparagus (tasty), bubble and squeak (mistakenly brought to our table) was heavy and breaded, with a surprising cream topping. However, between the oysters, onion rings, bubble and squeak, and asparagus, I wound up thinking they should rename the restaurant “Quality Breading.”
The surprising star of the show.
On a whim, at dessert, I ordered the Old English lemonade: home-made lemonade with cucumber, mint and jalapeno. Holy moley, it was unbelievably excellent. It was clearly the best thing we had at the table, and a good portion for $4.50. Apparently they make them to go, so if in the neighborhood on a hot day, you’d do well to get one. The blend of flavors is magnificent: the lemonade is sweet (but not too much), the mint awakens it, the jalapeno pops against the cool drink, and the cucumber closes and soothes. It’s fantastic.
I should add that after the meal I had a moment of severe gastointestinal distress. However, my stomach had been upset earlier in the day, so I am not convinced it came from the meal, despite the immediacy of the attack.
All in all, I think I might try the place again. The porterhouse and the lemonade were very good.
ME LIKE EAT 