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Dish Buzz - Nolita House

January 29, 2010 East Village by neighborbee

If I had not been planning on hitting Nolita House, I might have walked clear by the entrance. It's almost lost amidst some serious scaffolding. While not so attractive at the moment from the exterior, lurking inside is a cozy brunch spot you should not miss.

However, I will warn it was definitely one of the noisier brunch locales I have tried so if you have a pounding headache, need to have a deep conversation, or are bringing perhaps more audibly sensitive guests with you, I might recommend you hold off on this one.

All entrees come with a complimentary mimosa, glass of sangria, soda, or juice. Their sandwiches that passed by looked quite good, and the fries can't help but look good when opting for a 2pm brunch. Their salad portions were also quite generous.

Mac 'n Cheese, Nolita House Being so late, I even skipped my typical sweet faves (waffles, pancakes, or french toast) in favor of trying Nolita House's much-appropriately-hyped macaroni and cheese. It was made using gemelli pasta and came with a large helping of panko bread crumbs crowning the dish. And I can vouch, this one reheats nicely.

My sister's vanilla bourbon french toast (seriously?!?) was amazing. The summary on the menu on their website really says it all... "brioche soaked in vanilla bourbon custard, rolled in French crepes with nutella maple syrup". I was intriuged seeing as it was rolled in crepes. Would it be soggy? I've had cornflake crusted french toast, but never something as potentially soggy as crepes. Verdict? Definitely a keeper (albeit a bit on the sweeter side for those of you who are more savory brunch-goers).

Only thing I was not quite sold on was their biscuit. It was a very flat thing, quite wide in circumference. When I split into it with the knife to add in the butter and orange marmalade, it crumbled like crazy. I've still yet to find some amazing biscuits in the city, with Clinton Street Baking Company being the best I've had to date.

Nolita House Brunch runs both on Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 4pm. They claim it's a bluegrass brunch. However seeing as they were blaring Red Hot Chili Peppers while we were there, I am unsure if we just caught them on an off weekend or if that's more of a nod to their cuisine. Regardless, service is good and it's defintely one to try. It was quite crowded when we were there, so I would recommend reservations.

Nolita House - 47 East Houston Street (between Mott and Mulberry) - 212.625.1712

Tags: Dish Buzz, food, neighborbee, East Village, Nolita, Retaurants

Hive Cooking: How to Please a Health Nut (And You Too)

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Hive Cooking: How to Please a Health Nut (And You Too)

January 27, 2010 Manhattan by neighborbee

: As tasty and colorful a breast as you'll find on Melrose. (With sides. Minus "enhancement.")

To focus on one ingredient and one New York purveyor of said ingredient in each posting was what I intended for this blog. Well, three postings in and I’m already going to renege on that promise. Instead, I’m writing about how to make a meal to please the health-obsessed but not totally palate-challenged, in this case my dad and stepmom.

My excuse for this bit of divergence is that for the past week I was back where I grew up in Los Angeles, California. Yes, while you were here in New York suffering through the coldest weather in two years, I was out in a record high 87 degrees under a sunny sky, perusing farmer’s markets (in contradiction of my earlier advice, but hey- I was on vacay!) filled with some of the best citrus I’ve ever had (mandarin oranges, blood oranges, Satsuma tangerines, Oro Blanco grapefruit, pink navel oranges, to name a few). Now, if you’re me, faced with superlative perfect fruit, you don’t do anything with these. You enjoy them as unadorned as possible.

So instead I made a meal as a thank-you to my dad and stepmom. Being the health-nut Angelenos they are, my task was to find a tasty way to cook that bland staple-- boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

The deal with these is: You don’t want to overcook the breasts, making them dry and flavorless, but to get good flavor you’ll want a bit of brown on the outside. Traditionally, the response to this conundrum is to drench in breadcrumbs and pan-fry. But there’s another way: broiling. After merely a couple of minutes per side, the high heat browns but does not dry.

You can make the chicken on its own, or follow the full recipe that uses eggplant in an asian-inspired way. Pair as I did with roasted root vegetables (an upcoming post) and quinoa for a colorful and surprisingly good match. I like to think of it as a Cal-Asian fusion meal done right.

Here’s the recipe, with a couple small changes, from Mark Bittman. In the last step I topped a couple breasts with a touch of cumin and honey, as added insurance against blandness. Either way, it’s likely to wow a picky eater without much effort.

Honey-Cumin Chicken Breast With Eggplant, Shallots and Ginger

(Chicken a la L.A.)

Yield 4 servings

Time 30 minutes

Summary

Ingredients

8 ounces shallots (about 6 large)
1/4 cup neutral oil, like canola or grapeseed
1 to 1 1/4 pounds eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger or 2 teaspoons dried ginger
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts (4 half breasts)
1/4 cup or more minced fresh cilantro
Ground cumin to taste
Honey to taste

Method

- 1. Peel shallots. If they are small, leave them whole. Otherwise, cut them in half the long way. (Most large shallots have two lobes and will naturally divide in half as you peel them.) Heat the broiler or a gas or charcoal grill.
- 2. Place oil in a large nonstick skillet, and turn heat to medium high. Add shallots, and cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown. Add eggplant, salt and pepper, and lower heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until eggplant softens, about 15 minutes.
- 3. When eggplant begins to brown, add half the ginger, and cook 3 minutes or so more, until eggplant is very tender and the mixture fragrant.
- 4. Meanwhile, rub chicken breasts with salt, pepper and remaining ginger. Grill about 4 inches from the heat source for 3 minutes a side or until done. Top with cumin and honey and return to broil briefly.
- 5. Stir half the cilantro into eggplant mixture. Serve chicken breasts on a bed of eggplant. Garnish with remaining cilantro.

Tags: Hive Cooking, Chicken, Manhattan, Healthy Cooking, food, upper east side, upper west side, neighborbee

Beeline Interview: Not Eating Out In NY's Cathy Erway

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Beeline Interview: Not Eating Out In NY's Cathy Erway

January 26, 2010 Brooklyn by neighborbee

This post is from Serena Liu, former editor of neighborbeeblog.

Cathy's food blog is one of those blogs where I bookmark recipes and find inspiration. Beyond her recipes, I visit her blog often to discover local food events (Pig butchering class anyone? Yes, I am one girl who is down!), or learn about foraging food tours in NYC parks (It's completely safe, edible, and likely delicious!), or just get some gumption to cook a few more meals a week versus taking the lazy and often dissatisfying take-out route.

Name: Cathy Erway
Occupation: Freelance copywriter and sometimes journalist
Borough/Neighborhood: Brooklyn/Crown Heights

Tell us a little about your blog, Not Eating Out In NY (NEOINY), and the upcoming book you're working on: It's the true story of one woman's struggle to not eat out in the city that never eats in! Or something like that. But to get all deep about it, when I began the blog two years ago, I was inspired by a "media fast" that a professor in college made our class go on, who was inspired by Thoreau's wilderness retreat in Walden. The book will be a memoir about my experience rather than short snippets and recipes as seen on the blog.

What was the original idea behind the blog? To see if I could survive without eating out in New York! Of course, once that test had been passed, I wanted to see how much fun could be had that way, like throwing dinner parties, cook-offs, and eating strange and/or free things.

What recipe that you've concocted/tried over the past few years has surprised you? In a good way? My savory asparagus pie first surprised me because it came out really well; secondly, it's the dish that the most people have come up to me to say they've made themselves and loved it. I always wonder if people really make my recipes.

Anything surprising you've discovered in the 2 years you weren't eating out in NY? Or some of your favorite events (that you've either attended or sponsored)? That my peers have been so into the idea. I thought it'd be wildly unpopular and I'd be a social handicap, but more and more supper clubs and cook-offs seem to be popping up than ever.

We've noticed some styling frames on you. Where do you like to shop? Ha, those "styling frames" I've been seen sporting in photos -- I glued rhinestones onto black cardboard paper and cut out a cateye shape to put over my regular glasses for a fifties-themed party. I kind of hate shopping for anything other than food -- I am so bad at outfitting myself!

Favorite place to eat in the neighborhood: I've only eaten there once, but there's a little hole-in-the-wall Caribbean place called Balboa that has a rotating menu of no more than maybe two choices per day -- jerk one night, curry another. It's like walking into some lady's home kitchen. Totally delicious homestyle cookin'.

Little known fact about your neighborhood: That it's beautiful and friendly. Most people look at me like I'm about to die when I tell them I live in Crown Heights, or refer to the riots of the early nineties.

Favorite watering hole: Anywhere that's not too precious about it but has a good selection on tap. I love an unusual craft brew. The Diamond is good for that, so is 4th Avenue Pub. And a pool table is nice at times, too, as long as the crowd there is likewise non-religious and can handle a pesky, poor shot!

Best pizza in your hood: Gosh, I haven't tried. I don't think there's much to say for pizza around here.

If there was a movie of your life, what neighborhood would grace the opening scene? Some lovely street of Brownstone Brooklyn -- maybe Brooklyn Heights? I was born in New York and my parents would stroll me along the promenade until we moved out to smelly old Jersey some two years later (not that it really smells).

What is your all time favorite monster and/or horror movie? A toss-up between Cemetery Man, Carrie and Return of the Living Dead -- I am a geek for 80's horror! As for monsters, I always liked werewolves.

[You can also learn more about Cathy here, here, or here.]

Tags: 4h avenue pub, asparagus pie, balboa, brownstone brooklyn, carrie, cemetary man, Crown Heights, food blogger, interview, neoiny, noteatingoutinny, return of the dead, the diamond