Chicken Scarpiello

If you read my blog, you know that one of my favorite dishes is chicken scarpiello. I was recently in Vegas and was lucky enough to go to Rao's, where I think their scarpiello is the best. (Rao's, Las Vegas). Inspired by that trip, I added a chicken cut in 8ths to my weekend FreshDirect order and planned to make it. I looked up a bunch of recipes to compare.  I knew the basics, white wine, sweet and hot pickled peppers, fresh peppers, etc., but wanted to see the specifics. Gramercy Guy suggested the obvious, which I totally over looked, check out Rao's site and see their recipe. I cannot take any credit for the this recipe and the only change I made was to go heavier on the hot peppers. 

 

I don't think it was as good as Rao's but it was a great first attempt. I know what tweaks I want to make, for next time, to make it better. Pretty soon, mine will be as good as theirs. Move over Rao's...soon I'll take limited reservations and Gramercy Girl's place will become the hardest reservation in NYC. Who want as resy?

The Breslin, NYC

Last night was supposed to be our monthly meeting of Burger Club but we failed to get a quorum so it ended up being another dinner with the Georgia Peach and Thyroid Storm. Not being Burger Club also meant that all entrees on the menu were available. That being said, 3 of the 4 of us ordered the burger, sometimes we lack creativity.  

The Breslin does not take reservations, unless you’re staying at the hotel. When we arrived, the joint was jumping but luckily, we only had to wait about 45 minutes. Not too bad plus you can have a drink at the bar while you wait. You can also order food in the bar area, if you can snag as seat.  We were seated in a great booth decorated with elks and a hawk chasing a rodent. Sure made me hungry, or maybe in the mood to hunt, if only I knew how. 

I eat a lot of things that I love, but few things that I think of as life changing. The scotch egg at The Breslin was my first scotch egg and my life has been changed. A scotch egg is a soft boiled egg wrapped in sausage then covered in breadcrumbs and deep fried. My only regret is I shared mine with Gramercy Guy, I could have eaten about 3 of these.  If I start a quest to find the best scotch egg, The Breslin will forever be the gold standard.  The Tuscan Kale (kale is the new spinach) was like a Caesar but gamier. 

Scotch Egg

Scotch Egg from the inside

The lamb burgers were really good. They were juicy and served with a slice of feta which added a nice saltiness. The thrice cooked chips were thick fries that were well done, delicious, and not very greasy.  Gramercy Guy had the dorade with cockles and beans. He really enjoyed it, but I found it to a be a little fishy for my taste.

The Dark Chocolate Tarte for dessert had no chance against the four of us. I couldn't even get a photo before it was gone. This was all I can get.

 

If that's not a rave review, I'm not sure what is. 
The cookie plate was just eh. If I was going to suggest two desserts, get two chocolate tartes.
 

I've said the scotch egg was life changing. What food have you had that changed your life?

MNPC: Don Antonio, NYC

Went to Don Antonio Wednesday night with the MNPC (Monday Night Pizza Club). We were very excited to try Don Antonio, it is owned by the folks behind Keste (a fav of the MNPC) and the owner of one of the oldest pizza places in Naples. Don Antonio also brings pizza to the pizza wasteland of Midtown West. This was our first trip to the neighborhood in the 3+ years of the MNPC. How could it be bad? 

We got there on the early side, fearing a crowd and long wait. We were wrong, other than the crying baby, there were only a few tables. When we were shown to a table next to the men’s room, LGFEO asked for a different table (there were at least four other 4 tops available) and were told gruffly that we should take the table we were shown to. Thank goodness there was a 2^nd door to the men’s room providing us with a buffer.  But what was the big deal about another table?  However, after that, everything was much better. Our waiter was great, walked us through the menu, spurted off a nice list of beers available off the top of his head and paced our meal perfectly. We always like to order all our pizzas and then ask to be served one or two at a time, ensuring that the others won’t get cold while we eat. 

The pizzas were really good, but not amazing. We all found the hot sopressata to have a strange taste. But maybe that’s just what good sopressata should taste like. All said, I would go back, if I was in the area, but given the choice between Keste and Don Antonio, I would pick Keste. 

Buratta Roberto, topped with house-made buratta

Diavola, with hot sopressata

Antonio Starita's Specialty, fried then topped and baked

Vesuvio, stuffed Pizza) inside: fresh ricotta, homemade mozzarella, salami. on top: tomato sauce, italian ham, mushrooms, basil

The Stuffing

Ironically, we ordered a pie what we believe is named after Mt. Vesuvius, and were seated next to this painting

Have you had good pizza in the New York area? What's you're favorite?

The Mussel Pot, NYC

I love mussels. I cook them at home and I order them out. When NYC started a slight mussel boom, I was excited. I have been to The MusselPot a few times and enjoyed it, so when Travel Zoo had a special I didn’t hesitate to buy it. The Georgia Peach bought it also, and we went the other night. I booked our reservation through OpenTable and noted that we had 2 Travel Zoo vouchers. I didn’t hear anything back from the restaurant, not even the usual phone confirmation. When we arrived, we were told in order to use the vouchers, I couldn’t get the OpenTable points. Fine. Then when we were seated, our waiter told us we couldn’t use 2 vouchers at one table, he spoke to the hostess. We were told it was the Mussel Pot’s policy of only 1 voucher per table. We asked about separate checks, that wasn’t an option. So to solve this problem, we were asked to move to two separate tables (which we pushed together), and got a new waiter (our drinks were already served).  Problem solved.  

This wasn’t our first attempt to use the voucher either. In February Georgia Peach made a brunch reservation via OpenTable and called to ask if the voucher could be used at brunch. The voucher covers 2 soups or salads, 2 mussels, 2 sides…perfect for brunch. However, she was told they stopped serving brunch, although they hadn’t updated Open Table or their own website.  Moving on. 

After the voucher debacle, dinner was just very ok. Gramercy Guy had the Cream of Broccoli Soup which he said was salty but not to the point where he didn’t stop eating it. I had the Spinach Salad which was huge, but I wasn’t a fan of the dressing which seemed very gritty so I picked out the undressed spinach leaves and some pine nuts. 

For mussels, I went simple with the Provencal which was good, but I had many empty shells and no extra sinkers at the bottom of the pot. Gramercy Guy had the Louisiana which is like a gumbo with mussels. He thought it was good. Georgia Peach also had the Louisiana and Thyroid Storm had the Lobster Bisque, he found the Louisiana a bit too spicy for him. I got Broccoli for my side, which was good and garlicky and Gramercy Guy had fries. 

Provencal

Louisiana

 

 

We opted to go to Cones for dessert. 

Bottom line, after this experience and just ok food, I will not be back. The hostess made us feel like she was doing us the favor by accommodating us and there are better mussels all over the city. There are two Flex Mussels which in my experience is far superior in service and food.  The Mussel Pot should try Flex and work on emulating them.

Andre's, Las Vegas

Trying new restaurants is a hobby of mine, if you couldn’t tell. While doing research for this Vegas trip, I came across Andre’s in the Monte Carlo. It’s Michelin rated, the menu looked great and the location was perfect. After a few long days in Vegas, staying in the hotel on our last night was a great option. 

When you cross the casino floor to get to Andre’s, you wonder if the noise from the party pit will be bothersome, that is, until the hostess opens the doors to the dining room. This was a really impressive room, it's dark and sexy in browns and blues with touches of purples and grays. High banquettes line one wall with tables around the room. We were seated in a banquette and conversations around us were so muted that if we didn’t see the staff attending to other tables, we would have thought we were alone.  The room left us with quite the first impression. The music was great too, I think I knew every song, but I've been told I'm somewhat of a music savant.

 

Ross, our waiter told us that Chef Andre also owns Alize at the top of the Palms. He used to own a free standing restaurant, also called Andre's, downtown for almost 30 years, but that recently closed. The extensive, mostly French wine list and cocktail menu are presented on an ipad. I went with a Willy Nilly, how can a drink with that name be bad? It was delicious. Gramercy Guy had the Bloody O Cosmo, mine was better.  After determining that we’d both go fish, the sommelier helped us pick out a nice bottle of white.

Dinner started with an amuse bouche of frois gras in the shape of a club. For me, it was the perfect creaminess and gaminess that I like. Best part was it did get me excited for the meal to come, my bouche was amused.

Melange of Greens (mine)

Onion Soup (Gramercy Guy's)

Pear Sorbet (Palette Cleanser, with a layer of ice just like an old school pudding pop)

Scallops & Prawns with Saffron Gnocchi (mine)

Pepper Crusted Yellow Fin in a Curry Sauce with Potato Fondant

 

House-made Chocolates, compliments of the pastry chef

The service was exceptional and the food was superb, our only problem was we had a late lunch and then our new friends from Seattle and Puxatony, PA brought us In-N-Out Burger which is my fast food kryptonite so we couldn’t eat most of our dinner. Ross even asked politely if everything was ok with our meal and we told him about the late lunch. I’m not sure he believed us.

Enough people know about Andre’s, so it can't be classified as a hidden gem, but I will tell you that I think it’s a MUST.

Rao's, Las Vegas

I know I have said that when I travel I prefer to go to places that I can’t when I’m home. Rao’s NYC might be the toughest reservation on the planet; Rao’s Las Vegas is much easier. It’s the same family who owns it and not a private equity or franchise like some other big name ‘chains’, from what I understand. When we checked in with the hostess, she did give me advice on how to get into NYC and I will let you know if it works.  Rao’s is an old school, family style Italian restaurant. Keep that in mind when ordering or you’ll end up with left overs for days, or so full you may explode. Many of the pastas and salads can be halved (which isn’t noted on the menu).

 

We started with a roasted beet salad. It was your typical beet salad with arugula. Gramercy Guy and I disagree though; I think the beets were from a can and not roasted in house. 

One of my favorite dishes ever is chicken scarpiello or sometimes called country chicken. It’s chicken on the bone with sweet and spicy sausage and onions and peppers. I get it often when I see on a menu. The Rao’s version is exceptional.  I don’t even need to look at the menu, I know I will always get this.

We did try a new pasta this time, the ravioli purses which had pear and ricotta in a butter and sage sauce with dried cranberries. They were really, really good. Happy we only got a ½ order because otherwise, I wouldn’t have eaten my chicken. They had a nice sweetness that I think in a strange way would work well as a dessert. How great would pasta for dessert be?

For dessert we got the profiteroles. They looked amazing and were huge, but I wasn’t impressed. Maybe it was my fault for getting a French dessert in an Italian restaurant, the puff pastry was chewy and there was way too much chocolate sauce which was cold. I like it when they drizzle warm, semi-sweet chocolate right on top so the chocolate and ice cream melt together. This dessert misstep will not stop me from going back to Rao's in the future.

Have you been to either Rao's? Can you get me into the NYC restaurant?

Todd English P.U.B., Las Vegas

March Madness is truly madness if you’re looking for a spot to sit at any Vegas sports book after 8AM. So, Friday morning, we got our bets in and headed to find a comfortable place to get something to eat and watch some games. Walking around, we ended up at Todd English P.U.B., which had everything we wanted; seats at the bar, breakfast options, and TVs showing the games. This was one spot, I was glad we stopped in, I had one of the best bloody mary’s, ever, spicy, with the right mix of vodka (Hangar One) and tomato juice and the perfect garnish of pickled carrot and a block of cheddar cheese with some pickled string beans, all with a salt and peppered rim. Delightful. One of those babies and that’s all I needed for the afternoon.  Breakfast was good but a little salty for my taste. There were a few brunch options, I got the bacon, egg, cheese sandwich (bacon on the side) and Gramercy Guy had the English breakfast, fried eggs, bacon, toast and beans. These beans were the show stealer. I traded my bacon for the beans and thinking about them now is making my mouth water. There was meat (I was told from the bar tender, it’s what’s ever left on the cutting board) with the right balance of smoky (probably from the meat) and sweet. Had I known how good the beans were, I would have swapped the fries I barely touched for more beans. And you know what they say about beans being for the heart. So really this was a perfectly balanced meal between the beans and the tomato juice.

The cool thing about Todd English P.U.B. is their drink challenge. Along the bar, there are many hour glasses that flip; they are timed for 7 seconds. The challenge: if you can drink a pint of beer before the time runs out, it’s free. I knew I wasn’t up for the challenge but watched many people around me do it, some more than once. Matt, the bartender, guessed that about 80% of the people who try actually succeed. Not too bad. Do you think you can do it?

Mastro's Ocean Club, Las Vegas

I was introduced to Mastro’s by the Pencil Pimp. He had nothing but good things to say about it, so last year, we gave it a shot. Mastro’s is the perfect hybrid of really good seafood and classic steakhouse.  When you walk in the first thing you smell is the juicy steaks coming out of the kitchen. This was our second time here and I’m not going to lie, I was a little worried that it wouldn’t be as good as I remembered. Lucky for us, it was just as good. I remembered that they had a nice wine list and they still do. Gramercy Guy was able to get Darioush (one of our favorite Napa wineries) by the glass, which is really hard to find. 

While our waiter was walking us through the menu, some specials, and suggestions, I zeroed in on a salad called, the Spicy Mambo, which is a take on a Caesar salad, without croutons but has horseradish and blue cheese crumbles. It was really tasty and I’m looking forward to going home and adjusting my Caesar dressing recipe with some fresh horseradish. 

A secret menu item is the Mastro's Mash. It used to be on the menu but has recently come off, if you ask, they will make it for you. It's like a loaded baked potato but mashed. We also got sauteed spinach, don't forget your greens.

Spicy Mambo Salad (and this is only a 1/2 portion)

Red Snapper Oreganata

Bone-in Filet

The design of Mastro's is really amazing, they have what they call a 'tree house', a wooden structure that has two levels. The bottom is the Crystal's information desk and the top level is the Mastro's tree house. When we booked our reservation, we requested a table in the tree house. Once you step inside, the atmosphere totally changes, the band (which is really good) gets muffled and it's very relaxing and feels almost private (there are about a dozen tables).

View from our table

Tree house, full view

My advice for anyone going to Mastro's...share...the portions are huge and unless you have a place to store your left overs, it will all go to waste. Also, the pretzel rolls in the bread basket are amazing.

Jaleo, Las Vegas

There are so many places to eat in Las Vegas that you will never run out of options, however, many of them are just outposts of New York restaurants and why go away and eat at the same places you can at home? I like to try places that I don’t have the opportunity to at home. Jose Andres’ Jaleo is not in New York and was recently listed in the top 100 restaurants in the country. Having been to many places on the list, Jaleo was the first reservation we made for this trip. 

Jaleo is served tapas style and has many modern takes on old classics some were exceptional (the chicken wing special with sherry reduction and a blue cheese)  others fell a little flat to me (patatas bravas) and others way over salted (lobster paella). The best part of Jaleo was the table seated next to us. Terance and Alfonso, two brothers from California. We shared some food with them so we were all able to try some bites of food we otherwise wouldn’t have ordered.  Boys, don’t forget to get in touch when you come to NYC!

Delicious Sangria

Pan Con Tomate with Serrano

Manchego and really great raisins

Patatas Bravas

Wings with blue cheese on the rim (the best thing we ate here)

Paella

All in all, Jaleo was just very ok, and in my opinion, not top 100 restaurants in the country good. I don't think Jaleo will be on the list next time I'm in Vegas. That being said, there is another Jose Andres that I will give a try, China Pablano. 

Have you been to any of the Jaleos, do you agree with my review?