Rockwood Music Hall and Other Stuff

Jason was super busy at work yesterday so I was the one tasked to find something interesting to do. He nixed my first idea to play chess because he wanted to relax after work. So I scoured Citysearch to find something else to do and came across Rockwood Music Hall.

I met up with him on the corner of 6th and Houston. It's a bit of a walk from there, but it was nice to get some fresh air. We made a pit stop at Puck Fair to relax and talk some more before heading over to Rockwood. I've always liked Puck Fair especially when it's not super crowded. To continue my learning quest of German beer, I ordered an Aventius Wheat Doppelbach. Man, that's a good beer. It came in a pretty big bottle and unfortunately had to cut myself off after one.

We ordered the shrimp quesadilla app which looked a little lame when it came out because there were only two pieces. Basically they folded the tortilla over so it was a semi-circled shaped quesadilla. It looked more like a big taco. Jason and I both had a piece and man was it good. The thing was loaded with shrimp and dripping with oily goodness. There wasn't a lot of cheese, but no matter, I prefer it loaded with shrimp than cheese any day! The tiny bit of guacamole served with it was good too. Very limey.

Now on to the best part of the evening. Thanks to me, we listened to a lot of good live music last night. Rockwood is a small bar that has bands perform and each band performs for about an hour. The stage takes up about 1/4 of the place. Which doesn't say much about the size of the stage or the place, because they're both pretty small. A cool thing you don't see much is that they have a piano on stage and the performances are usually, if not all, acoustical performances.

We stayed and listened to three performers. We caught the end of this guy's set. I don't remember his name but it doesn't matter anyway. He wasn't great. Swamp Cabbage was next. There was a bassist, drummer and the lead singer who played the electric guitar. They played bluesy type music and was damn good. Even better was the guy that came on after. Kevin So. A chinese guy that can not only sing, but play the guitar, harmonica and piano. We'll definitely check this guy out again sometime. And will definitely head back to Rockwood. Hopefully last night wasn't a fluke with good performers. I think this can become one of my favorite places.

After So's set, we headed out to get some grub. We walked by two Indian places with crazy lights strewn all over. At first, I thought it was one restaurant and as we walked up the stairs, the two waiters who were standing outside were from the competing restaurants and were trying to convince us to go in to their's and not the other's. On his way up, Jason asked the waiter if the food was made spicey and went with the guy he directed his question to. So we wound up in Panna II. They brought out that crispy bread thing and the three usual sauces, the green, the brown, and the onions in red sauce. I don't know Indian food that well, so I don't know the actual terms for these things.

We ordered a garlic naan, chicken vindaloo, shrimp korai, and alu mottor gobi. Everything seemed to be watered-down. One thing I like about Indian food are the rich, spicy sauces and while Panna's sauces were spicy, they weren't very rich. The shrimp korai was the best out of the bunch because it was the spiciest and had the thickest sauce. The other two dishes were a bit disappointing. The sauce and spiciness wasn't up to par with other Indian restaurants I've visited. The naan, however, was pretty good. It had a good garlic flavor, surprising since I didn't spot any garlic chunks. I haven't seen prices so low on a menu in a long while. But when you see the portion sizes, you'd think it's robbery if it cost any more.

ICE Red Wine Workshop

For Amy's birthday, I took her to the Red Wine Workshop at the Institute of Culinary Education. It was a pretty informative and entertaining class. The instructor, Willie Gluckstern, was very knowledgable and made the class fun with his quirky sense of humor. It's a class that focuses on pairing wines with food. We had seven different food tastings and four different wine tastings with each course. Pretty decent amount of food and even more decent amount of wine. Unfortunately, there weren't any really nice wines served. The instructor says it didn't matter for the purposes of the class since the main focus is to differentiate what makes it good with food.

One of the first things he said in class was red wine isn't the best wine to have with food. White is. What? What happened to white with seafood, fish and chicken and red with meat? And isn't red always generally better? Those white wine drinkers don't have enough of a sophisticated palate to enjoy the wonders of a good red. Yah well, I guess according to this guy I'm not the sophisticated one. Anyway, despite all that, I am still a proud red wine drinker. Red to me just tastes so much better.

The main thing we learned is light wines go better with food. Which is why white wine is better and according to the dude, white wine has much more complexity than red. But since we're in the RED Wine Workshop, we'll have to stick with tasting the bad stuff with our food. In each flight, there usually was a lighter red and a heavier red with higher alcoholic content. It really was a good way to figure out what went well with the food and what didn't. And sometimes, the lighter red did go better. And other times, they all tasted good. So if you must order red with your meal, order a light red that won't detract from the flavors of the dish. But what if you start drinking before you even place your order? What then? Get two bottles of wine? A heavier one for pre-food and a lighter one for during food? I'm going to have to get a big raise before I can afford ordering two bottles with my meals.

This reminds me of the time Jason's dad took us to Per Se. We had a Barolo to start and the wine was great. He orders a second wine, a Chateau Margaux, and when I tried that wine on it's own, it didn't do much for me. (SHAME!) And I preferred the Barolo. I took another taste of the Margaux with food and that wine was so much better than the Barolo when accompanied with food. Since then, I've been more aware of how the taste of the wine changes when drunk with food. Usually it doesn't taste as good. Maybe because the wine tastes less sweet when accompanied with food?

The class was also a great way to pick up a few tidbits here and there. For instance, I now know 2003 is a bad vintage for European wines. Don't quote me on the reason, but I think it's because of the hot weather they had in Europe that year which caused the grapes to ripen too quickly not giving enough time for the skins to develop.

I also learned more about the wines I tend to prefer and the ones I don't. I tend to prefer to drink the heavier ones, but that's okay because I don't always drink wine with food. I believe the dude said anything above 13.5% should not be imbibed with food. I also learned I don't like to drink wines with herbal hints on its own, while with food, it tastes quite nice. Also learned that oak is the msg of wine. Oak isn't a good thing even though some play it up as a good thing. Hmm. Seems about it. Dude encourages us to try more wines and to open up several bottles and do the same taste test when we have our meals at home. There's an idea. But I really don't know what I'm getting myself into until after I've purchased a wine. How do I know what's good and what's not by looking at a wine list? or strolling down the aisle of a liquor store? That's another course to take, I suppose.

Jersey Chain/Mall Dining

Jason and I decided to hang in Jersey last Friday. So we decided to go crazy and head out to restaurants at the mall which is a bit farther than our normal Jersey standbys. I never learned the name of this mall, but it's right off of Rt 4.

We started off at McCormick and Shmicks with Malpeque oysters and popcorn shrimp. The oysters were fresh and hit the spot. As I was eating them, I couldn't help but think of the recent post on Chowhound.com about how others eat oysters. Some chew and some just swallow. I'm a chewer and I don't get the whole swallowing business. How do you taste an oyster without biting into it? I was going to just swallow one and see if I really am missing out on something. But once I got one of those suckers in my mouth, I couldn't bare to waste it and just chewed and chewed and chewed to my heart's content.

The popcorn shrimp was a huge disappointment. It looked and tasted like they were reheated in a microwave. A big disappointment since we could've just as easily gone to the Crab House near Jason's and had their awesome buffalo shrimp.

After McCormick's, we hopped over to Houston's for a few drinks. That place is always packed. I spotted a guy at the bar eating a plate of ribs and they looked oh so good. Our last meal there was less than stellar, but looking at those ribs made me salivate. We weren't in the mood to eat there that night, but one of these days I'd like to go back and get me some of those ribs.

I started to get hungry so I suggested we hop over to the Cheesecake Factory. There was a 45 minute wait so we patiently waited at the bar where Jason guzzled down a few beers and I sipped on a diet coke. Sucks to be the driver.

After reading through the massive menu, Jason decided to start with a ceasar salad and based on our waiter's recommendation, ordered the Ranch House Burger. Our waiter claims he's had every burger on the menu and that was his favorite. It's a burger with chopped steak on top, mushrooms, onions, bacon, cheddar cheese and a side of ranch dressing. Not sure how you can get a burger like that wrong. All those toppings sound awesome. Who's heard of chopped steak on top of a burger? Turns out to be a great suggestion because Jason loved it even though it was over done. He even thinks it's one of the best burgers he's had in awhile. Unfortunately, the fries served with it tasted like it was sitting out too long.

The menu states that they have their own twist to the traditional ceasar salad. Jason wonders what makes their version different and asks the waiter. Surprisingly the waiter was able to answer without hesitation. Apparently the dressing is made with anchovy paste and garlic and has got a bit of tang to it. I really liked the tang, but Jason thought they needed to cut back on the tang a little. At least we both agreed it was a good ceasar salad.

For my main, I opted for the Seared Tuna Tataki Salad. I had this while I was away at training in Wayne, PA and it was one of the best meals I had there. So, I decided to order it again. The version at this Cheesecake Factory wasn't as good, unfortunately. The tuna wasn't as fresh and the salad had a bit too much oil on it. It was still enjoyable though. It just didn't leave me craving it again like the one in Wayne had.

This mall bar hopping thing in Jersey ain't so bad. Once in awhile, it's actually kind of fun. Decent drinks, decent food and no driving around for an hour looking for parking.

Lombardi's

After drinking in the Lower East Side last Tuesday, Jason and I hopped into Lombardi's hoping for some good pizza. After perusing the menu and pondering the choice of toppings, we decided to order the tomato and mozzarella salad to start and a pizza with mushrooms, meatballs, onions, garlic and ricotta. Mushrooms was my choice of topping and all others were Jason's. He's a glutton when it comes to topping his pizza.

The tomato and mozzarella salad was good. Nothing to write home about. Unfortunately, the same goes for the pizza. After we ordered the pizza, I noticed a review on the wall that recommended the pizza be ordered "well done". Doh! The review was right. I like my crust a little on the crispy side and the crust wasn't crispy at all. On the plus side, the crust wasn't soggy which sometimes happens with all the toppings we pile onto the pizza. There's really nothing positive to say. My first complaint was that the pizza needs more sauce. Jason disagreed. After having a second slice, I take my complaint back, but turns out Jason's second suffered the same consequences as my first... a lack of sauce. So the problem wasn't the amount of sauce, it was more the distribution of sauce. I also had a problem with the ricotta. I love ricotta, but I was expecting a layer of ricotta spread across the whole pizza. Instead, it was big globs of ricotta scattered around so you either had bites with no ricotta or bites with too much. The other toppings weren't impressive. They needed to pile on more mushrooms and the meatballs were a bit dry. Ironically, Jason liked the pizza despite agreeing with all my comments. Go figure.

The Weird Stuff at Shanghai Restaurant

The goal last night was to eat some "weird" stuff. We prepped our stomachs by having a few drinks at Double Happiness before dinner. It's a bit hard to find... nestled underground on Mott Street. The atmosphere was chill and laid back. Jason really liked the music played so chances are we'll be heading back to damage our livers some more. They have a sweet 2 for 1 happy hour until 7:30. Downside is a kettle and soda is a big whopping $9.

Shanghai Restaurant was our next destination. This is where our mission starts... to find and eat something unusual.

The meal starts off with a bunch of appetizers. Someone took charge and ordered crab and pork soup dumplings, duck's tongue, pig's tongue, pig's stomach, and chicken's feet. The crab and pork soup dumplings was the only normal dish ordered last night. But I can see it sounding odd if someone's never heard of them before. The dumplings were tasty, but just average. It needed a little more soup and wasn't nearly hot enough. I bit off the top of the wrapper and saw no steam come out. What a disappointment.

I'm not big on tongue and surprisingly, I really liked the duck's tongue. I've had duck's tongue at banquet dinners where it's served in the cold platter and I've never been crazy about it. I enjoyed the duck's tongue I had last night though. It was cooked in a wine sauce unlike the ones served at banquets which I think is prepared in soy sauce. The pig's tongue on the other hand was disgusting. I can't exactly describe the taste, but all I know is I didn't like it. I was in the minority because it seemed like most preferred the pig's tongue over the duck's.

The pig stomach was probably the best pig dish of the night. Which really doesn't say much because I hated all others. It didn't leave much of an impression. Just remember it being not bad but something I probably won't order again. The chicken feet was okay. Everyone who's had dim sum with me know how much I love those darn things, but the chicken feet we had last night were the worst ones I've had ever! That's over 20 years of chicken feet experience! What made them bad was not the lack of flavor, but the hardness of it. It was hard getting the "meat" off the bones. I like ones where you just suck on the bones a couple of times and the "meat" just falls right off.

Now onto the main meal. We feasted on sea cucumber, pork intestines, shrimp and kidneys, and eel. I feel like I'm forgetting a dish...

No one but the Asians liked the sea cucumber. Or I should say ate the sea cucumber. I didn't especially like it. The texture was a bit off. It was a little hard and a bit too slimy at the same time. The pork intestines and kidneys were foul. The shrimp and eel, the two most normal things ordered were the best.

In sum, I really didn't enjoy the meal. It was a bit too much for me to handle. I can tolerate one or two dishes of tongue and stomach, but not a whole meal of it. It seems like Shanghai Restaurant isn't too creative with their preparation of these dishes since a couple of them were served in the same sauce. The place didn't leave much of an impression. I doubt they're stellar at preparing the more normal dishes. But, it's a bit unfair for me to judge a restaurant based on this one "weird" meal.