Mozzarella making class at Murray's Cheese, Bleecker St

When we go on vacation we like to do local cooking classes and there seemed to be no reason to keep this just to travel time! NYC is filled with cooking classes, especially one shot items designed for couples and friends to have a fun  night out. 

Murray's Cheese is a legendary cheese monger in Manhattan's Greenwich Village that seemse to stock just about every cheese I could think of to order and every accoutrement one could see fit to add to a cheeese board. They also offer high end food products like small batch meat and dairy, imported pastas and charcuterie and a lot more. 

We were here for the class though! Now we expected a cheese making adventure but what I wasn't expecting was a tasting and drinks before hand. This turned out to be a really excellent deal with bottomless Prosecco and Red Wine and a table full of nuts, pickles, dried fruit and bread. 

Here you can see my tasting board with a variety of mozzarella products - plain curds, fresh mozzarella, buffalo mozzarella, burrata and smoked mozarrella. 

The teacher walked us through tasting notes of each item provided while everyone sipped wine. Then there was as small break while the cheese making portion of the event came up. 

Here you can see the cheese curds and hot water that form the basis of the Mozzarella; the process is surprisingly simple and easy to do at home. It mostly involves pulling hot salted cheese curds and then forming into a ball of cheese. If you want to try it at home then Epicurious has a great guide to the process. 

Here's my completed Mozzarella balls, to be honest I wish I'd ignored the instructor and made one large ball of cheese instead of two but the results were still delicious.

This class was the gift that kept on giving! First of all we had 4 balls of fressh Mozarrella to use up so we made home made pizza and caprese salad later in the week. Hmmm!

They also sent us home with an extra box of cheese curds, now... we were meant to use these to practice making more cheese but husband requested poutine instead. Honestly New York is filled with high quality fresh mozzarella and no poutine so I felt like this was a great choice!

The class was fun and an easy event to fit in after work since it only added up to a couple of hours and included both nibbles and drinks. They offered a discount voucher for the cheese shop that we abused thoroughly. All in all an excellent night out and a memorable date night; the store offers a large range of classes for tasting and making and we'll definitely be back.

Murray's Cheese Making Classes 

https://www.murrayscheese.com/current-events

Foodie mecca offering an array of fine cheeses plus breads, cured meats, olives & other deli items.

254 Bleecker St

New York, NY 10014
Phone: (212) 243-3289

Review: Junior's Restaurant and Bakery, Brooklyn

Do you have a "go to" place that you take your partner *all* the time? Junior's very quickly established itself as our regular date night haunt when we moved to NYC. Junior's is everything I want in an iconic East Coast diner; good quality comfort food served just right. There's even quirky sitcom-esque regulars like the jovial middle aged preachers that meet there every Friday night dressed in brightly coloured 3 piece suits. Conveniently it is also right next door to the local Alamo Drafthouse, the only cinema chain worth going to in the US. 

Junior's is famous for having (deservedly) the best cheesecake in New York. If you're looking for that iconic, creamy but light classic dessert this is the place for you to go. This is a cheesecake so good you can buy it mail order from the home shopping network. Be warned though the servings are huge, if you're in it for the cheesecake consider skipping the main meal. 

One has to assume that the Cheesecake Factory stole their format from Junior's. Huge platters of food, amazing cheesecake, friendly family atmosphere. It doesn't seem to be hurting them though, with two bustling restaurants one on Times Square and the original in Downtown Brooklyn.

Free pickles and bread are served with every main meal



Potato pancakes with sour cream $5.95USD

The large Jewish population in New York provides an endless array of pickles, deli food and delicious latkes. These potato pancakes are made with mashed rather than grated potato which is a shame but they are very generous and delicous. 

Cheeseburger with Fries and Onion Rings $11.50USD

A classic thick handmade chuck burger cooked to your liking with American cheese and salad. Served with your choice of fries or onion rings. Pickles and sauces on the side so you can mix to your pleasure. An American classic done just right.

Brisket Melt With Fries $18.95USD

They offer a range of hot sandwiches like a brisket melt, cheesesteak and multiple kids of reubens that are all excellent with chewy bread and melt in your mouth meats. Deli sandwiches like pastrami, corned beef, ham and salami are also available with  your choice of cheese and sides. 

Chopped Steak with Double Coleslaw $20.95USD

When you're limited to gluten free or low carb food diners can seem like they offer only egg dishes. Not Junior's though! This chopped steak dish is a large formed meat patty with gravy and peppers and onions; in Japan they call this dish Salisbury Steak and I've always been a huge fan. This one is moist and the gravy is delicious. By default it comes with mashed potatoes and more gravy.

Goulash and Buttered Noodles $22.95USD

Perfect for the brutal New York winter this goulash is warm and hearty. A little spice but not too much on buttered noodles with sour cream and peas. 

Roast Turkey Platter $23.95USD

Roast turkey has always been one of my favourite dishes and I've always bucked against the idea that it should be just a holiday food. The roast turkey platter at Junior's fulfills all of my desires. Rich moist roast turkey, chestnut stuffing, gravy, mash, vegetables and cranberry sauce. Like a holiday in your mouth. They also offer the roast turkey and gravy on an open faced sandwich if you can't face an entire roast dinner with all the sides.

Classic New York Cheesecake $7.50USD

In New York you see a lot of people claim they're the "best" of this or the "highest rated" of that but the Junior's New York Cheesecake is the best cheesecake in NYC. It's repeatedly rated this way and for a reason. Creamy, tangy, not too heavy, not too sweet, the classic recipe that others try to emulate. Worth every calorie.

Sugar Free Cheesecake  $7.50USD

For those of us who watch our carbs or the diabetics the sugar free cheesecake is every bit as good as the original. The cake is baked with sucralose (Splenda) and so lacks the browned top of the sugar filled version  but has the same creamy texture and taste but with less calories, carbs and no biscuit base. This makes it a good gluten free option as well.

Lemon Meringue Pie $6.95USD

They also offer a range of delicious pies including classic American apple, cherry and Lemon Meringue. All are excellent with thick gelatinous fruit fillings that aren't too sweet. Layered cakes like chocolate fudge, coconut, red velvet and carrot cake are also available. The portions are big here too though so think about skipping a main meal if you want a sweet treat. 

Junior's is one of those classic NYC establishments that has been doing thriving business for decades for a reason. Good food, good prices, friendly staff. After a long day of site seeing the continuous refills and giant plates of food are very welcome. Every dish we've had here has been good, you really can't go wrong. If you have fussy kids or a craving for something simple this is the place to go.

Junior's Restaurant and Bakery

https://www.juniorscheesecake.com/blog/restaurants/brooklyn/ 

386 Flatbush Ave Ext

Brooklyn, NY 11201

Family friendly comfort food classics

Come for the cheesecake, stay for everything

Review: Hill Country BBQ Market, Brooklyn New York

One of the best things about moving to Brooklyn has to be affordable living space so that we could have a guest room. This has lead to a regular queue of visitors from Australia wanting to experience the delights of the US. 

What more do you want out of a trip to the US than BBQ? Hill Country has become our stable meat fest for visitors. The Brooklyn venue has live music on Friday and Saturday nights and is conveniently located steps from the Jay St Metrotech Subway. 

We mostly stick to the combination meal of "Cue and 2" which is 2 Meats and 2 sides for $23USD  but there's plenty of add ons if you can stomach the load. The 2 sides does not include the Cornbread which comes included with the meal deal and served with honey butter. You can get another meat for an extra $4USD but even my food loving husband can't finish it.

Chopped Brisket and Spicy Hot Link with Coleslaw and Beans

In America baked beans are a BBQ food, which I find kind of weird coming from the Commonwealth, but it's delicious and includes chopped meat. Hmm. Notice the Brooklyn hipster Mason jars full of cheap beer.

Smoked Jalapeno Hot Link

Moist Brisket with Mustard

Chopped Pork Open Sandwich $10USD

If you can't face a whole meal I recommend their chopped BBQ sandwiches for $10. A smaller serve of meat with pickles, onions and a bun. No sides. 

I love the super casual Texas style eating here. Get a tray and see the meat man, he'll give you a card with a barcode for your order, work through the sides and drinks options like a cafeteria. Seat yourself and gorge. The music is great fun but it's also not jarring so you can easily have a conversation with guests and not worry about it. There's a casual bar and table service for drinks and you can even reserve a table for busy Friday nights using online services like Open Table. Highly recommended. 

Hill Country BBQ Market

http://hillcountry.com/nyc/menu/

345 Adams Street (on Willoughby Plaza)Brooklyn,
NY 11201

Casual Texas style BBQ in an urban setting

Review: Nana Ramen, Brooklyn

Well it's been snowing up a serious storm in NYC this week so we were happy to hear the latest chapter in the Brooklyn gentrification odyssey is an authentic ramen restaurant in Bed Stuy.



Nana Ramen lovingly blends authentic fresh noodles and tonkotsu broth with Brooklyn filament bulbs and hipster beards with great results and I'm pretty sure we'll be regulars from here on out.

Chicken Karaage $7USD 

This is an excellent rendition of a ramen house staple. The chicken is juicy and the batter is light and lacks any trace of oil. The pieces are well sized to really maximise on the delicious sesame karaage batter as well. Served simply with a spicy mayo sauce and lemon slice. The serving size is actually a little larger than pictured, we couldn't help ourselves on arrival and ate two pieces before we remembered to take photos. 

Agedashi Tofu $7USD 

I really liked the presentation of 4 squares each with traditional agedashi toppings on them (ginger and daikon, scallions, seaweed and katsuoboshi), you could easily combine on a single piece if that was more to your style. The coating was light and the frying didn't make the dish too heavy, the real star though is the broth which is a fantastic sweet soy broth. My only wish is that this had been silken tofu rather than cotton tofu but well ... you can't have everything for $7 in the back streets of Brooklyn!

Spicy Miso Ramen $13USD

Built on a tonkotsu base with thinner style noodles this dish comes with egg, scallion corn and chashu pork. The spicy mix is interesting and deviates slightly from a traditional Japanese mix but is nonetheless delicious particularly with the creamy tonkotsu. The chashu is particularly excellent tightly rolled and well seasoned. 

Black Tonkotsu $13USD

Black garlic oil tonkotsu is an unusual ramen to appear on menus particularly in the US so I was very intrigued and boy did they deliver. Thick fresh chewy noodles are in a super creamy tonkotsu broth topped with a healthy splash of roasted garlic oil. I ordered mine with extra egg and fresh bamboo shoots. This was the perfect dose of warm soup belly in the NY winter weather. My only complaint is that the bowl could have used more soup, but since this is an option for ordering then I will just get a larger serving in the future. 

I'm super excited by the arrival of this business in walking distance of my house and will be definitely eating my way through the menu. They have a tan-tan-men which is my all time favourite and a curry ramen as well as a Tokyo style shoyu with tsukune that has me intrigued. For appetizers there are home made gyoza and takoyaki amongst others to explore. 

Like any new food business in Brooklyn Nana Ramen is currently being loved to death by the local hipsters so expect to wait for a while or go at unusual times. Our plan of going for a walk in the snow when most people were hiding inside paid off and we immediately got a table. Service is friendly but basic, cash only so stock up on the way. 

Nana Ramen

https://www.facebook.com/nanaramen/

330 Malcolm X Blvd

Brooklyn, New York 11211

Authentic ramen in Brooklyn, simple but definitely worth a stop

Review: Xi'an Famous Foods, East Village NYC

One surprise that hit us when we moved to  the Bay Area was how Americanised a lot of the Asian food was. After moving to NYC we found a heavenly array of very authentic and reasonably priced Asian foods. Xi'an Famous Foods offers one of the things I missed most about home - reasonably priced hand pulled noodles. 

Xi'an Famous Foods has several restaurants in Manhattan and Brooklyn but I tend to favour their restaurant in the East Village since it's close to a number of businesses I frequent and around the corner from a delightful Italian cake shop (more on that later).

The food is decidedly cheap and cheerful but delicious spicy Western Chinese food. The noodles are all made on site and if you're lucky you can catch glimpses of the cooks making them. 

Being Manhattan the restaurant is reasonably small and New Yorkers have no patience for those who lose them a New York Minute. Be prepared to order if you step in line, don't take a seat until you get your food, clean up your own station and be prepared to get up as soon as you've finished. Those who do not follow the unwritten rules will get passive aggressive interruptions by people waiting to eat. 

Spicy and Tingly Beef Hand Ripped Noodles $7.50USD

Chewy delicious hand ripped noodles are stir fried in a numbing chili spicy oil that is not for the feint hearted. Try the mild first before attempting hotter! The noodles are served with vegetables and fatty meat.

Spicy Cumin Lamb Hand Ripped Noodles $8.25USD

Spicy Cumin Lamb Burger $4

Both the lamb noodles and the lamb burger contain a cumin drenched dry lamb with vegetables. The burger is on a mantou style bun grilled on a flat top until crispy. The noodles are stir fried with more of the cumin, vegetables and chili oil. 

Mount Qi Pork Hand Pulled Noodles $7.00USD

Pork Zha Jiang Hand Ripped Noodles $7.00USD

Spicy and Sour Lamb Dumpings $7.00USD

The Mount Qi pork is cubes of pork belly grilled with noodles and a slightly less spicy sauce. The Zha Jiang noodles feature ground pork fried in an umame soy bean sauce, deeelicious! The spicy and sour lamb dumplings are stuffed with a ground lamb filling and served with vinegar and soy.

Close up of Pork Zha Jiang Hand Ripped Noodles $7.00USD

This is easily my favourite dish on their menu and reminds me of a dry tantanmen without the sesame. 

Go in expecting exactly what it is - a cheap limited menu of food made extraordinarily well. Not pictured are the noodle soup versions of each dish. Everything they make is excellent. Make sure to eat in, the delicate nature of the noodles does not survive delivery or a walk home. Cold drinks are available like Chinese teas and Coke products. 

I really rather wished they offered condiments,, I keep wanting black vinegar to cut through the oil. Also the chopsticks they use leave a lot to be desired and if you're willing to endure the odd looks of your fellow diners I would recommend bringing some of your own from another restaurant or home. Still this is one of my favourite cheap food desinations in NYC, try it out.

Xi’an Famous Foods

http://xianfoods.com/menu/

81 St Marks Pl

New York, NY 10003

Ph: (212) 786-2068

Cheap and cheerful artisan noodles, good for the spicy food lover

Chelsea Market, New York City

Well things have been very busy recently for me, we got married and have been traveling for the honeymoon. Expect a lot of catchup and a lot of travel posts over the next few weeks as we've been eating and drinking up a storm. 

One of the great pieces of food tourism in the US are all of the inner city gourmet markets available to the urban foodie. Chelsea Market is one of the classic food destinations in New York City and conveniently located near my office! 

Chelsea Market is a combined food business and office space between 9th -10th Avenues and 15th - 16th streets taking up the whole block in a gorgeous 19th century brick building.  If you're expecting a farmer's market you'll be disappointed, instead it's more like a food hall and specialist food vendors. Some serve hot meals and sit down dining, others sell kitchen equipment, spices, rare ingredients and all manner of things for the foodie. 

On weekends and at lunchtime the place gets packed to the rathers with wide eyed and hungry shoppers. If you're a tourist in New York think about heading down during mid morning to get fresh options and plenty of space. For the best place to eat a picnic lunch of tasty morsels bought in the Market don't fight over the few seats in the building itself instead head outside to the High Line which runs along the 10th Ave portion of the building. 

There's plenty to be explored but here's some of my favourite stops at Chelsea Market, go check it out yourself!

Spices and Tease has every herb and spice you could possibly need in bulk and in fine quality. Expensive or hard to find ingredients for European, Asian and Middle Eastern dishes can be easily found. If you're interested in trying out an exotic dish but never could find saffron, sumac or oaxaca then this is a place for you to enjoy a global taste mission all in one place. 

If you've been in the US for a while the thing that you miss the most (yes, even more than the coffee) is the bread. New York is one of those exceptions that proves the rule - the bread is amazing and the sandwich shops endless. There are numerous places tht you can get a great lunchtime sandwich in Chelsea Market in Italian sub or Jewish deli styles. This display case of ready to be pressed panini is from Buon Italia.

Bowery Kitchen Supply has one of every gadget and plate you could possibly want as a cook or a host. Oyster shucking gloves, ginger microplanes, icing spatulas, sushi plates and cazuela de barros can all be found with a neat deli counter shoved in the back. Expect to part with some money particularly if you take even the smallest peek at the knives and copper pans.

The Lobster Place is an infamous seafood vendor with one of everything delicious you could put in your high end NYC dinner party. Maine Lobster and New England Oysters are definitely top of the list for the local seafood afficionado. 

Of course there's plenty of other places in Chelsea Market to grab a bite. Try Dickson's Farmstand Meats for hand crafted charcuterie or Lucy's Whey for artisanal cheeses galore. For a sit down meal try the legendary Morimoto or Buddakan for delicious Asian fusion meals or for a more casual affair take away a delicious Cambodian sandwich from Num Pang. 

There's also a display space for rotating exhibits and we're lucky to find on the day that we're visiting The Balvenie are doing a launch for the Rare Craft collection. We collect a tipple of the whole range and a free whiskey glass to take home.

As part of the campaign they've had many rare crafts made and are on display, nervously watched by their security and marketing team. Hand crafted instruments, boots, clothing, architecturally designed lamps and this exquisitely restored The Balvenie Morgan sports car are all on display.

You can easily walk the whole market in an hour if you're pressed for time or really take your time to poke and shop, eat and sip for 3-4 hours. Combine a trip to Chelsea Market with a wander around this trendy neighbourhood and stop at local eateries like Cafeteria or Murray's Bagels for lunch.

Chelsea Market

http://chelseamarket.com/

Gourmet food hall and restaurant destination
Free entry, spend to your budget including many cheap bakery options

Review: Shanghai 456, New York City

Finding regional Chinese cuisine is surprisingly hard in San Francisco so when we walked past this Shanghai (Hu) Cuisine restaurant we had to stop in. It was brunch time which means yum cha, pretty much my favourite meal of all time.

The restaurant was not large but it was packed to the gills. Encouragingly we sat next to an excited group of foodie Chinese women having a ladies lunch. Not only did they look happy as anything with their food but we caught each other curiously checking out what dishes came to the table and had to laugh... one of those happy moments that transcends language.

Green Beans $5.50USD

Green beans cooked with caramelised onion, shallots and garlic. It's usually a good idea to get greens with dimsum to offset the fatty heavy dumplings. The sweet onion was cooked to perfection.

Green Onion Pancake $2.50USD

Soft crisp shallot pancake is fried in crispy layers. These pancakes were huge and I admit we were unable to finish them despite being delicious. For $2.50 these aren't much more expensive than buying them from the bakery cold.

Pork Xiao Long Bao $5.25USD

Once can't eat at a Shanghai restaurant without ordering xiao long bao - a refined soup dumpling that fills with fragrant liquid when steamed. The secret to xiao long bao is making a jellied stock in the dumpling mix that melts when heated. This rendition was excellent, with paper fine pastry perfectly formed using a traditional 18 fold method.

Dumpling in Spicy Sauce $5.50USD

This dish was what made the stop worthwhile and I will be tracking it down again on future trips to New York. I assumed when I ordered it that it would come in a standard chilli oil and vinegar sauce. Instead hearty pork and shallot dumplings are boiled and served in a sticky dan dan mien sauce - a combination of ground sesame paste and chilli. If I could have I would have licked the plate... just sensational. At under $6 this is one of the best bargains in New York.

There's only so much two people can eat so sadly we didn't get to explore the menu as much as I would like but there were plenty of beckoning plates like pan fried breakfast buns, pancakes filled with beef, crab xiao long bao, beef soup, triple delights and sticky Shanghai fried meats. 

Shanghai 456 is one of those hole in the wall eateries that proves that good food in New York doesn't need to be all fancy menus and celebrity chefs... good simple food done very well makes this place worth a walk in Chinatown. 

Shanghai 456

www.456shanghaicuisine.com/ (currently parked)

69 Mott St # A
New York, NY 10013
United States
(212) 964-0003

No nonsense Shanghai cuisine and dim sum

Snapshot: East Village Dumpling Walk, New York City

This had started out as a post work trip to the New York branch of Ippudo Ramen but it was not to be. Their policy of no reservations meant that even leaving work early there was a 3.5 hour wait in the cold by the time we got there. 

Instead we decided to do a little walking tour of the best of the Village's Asian eats, buying small plates at three fantastic eateries in the neighbourhood.

Mimi Cheng's Dumplings

Mimi Cheng's reminds me of hole in the wall eateries in Asia, a small menu done very well with a quiet Chinese grandma folding dumplings in a corner. The decor is what you might politely call "minimal" a few row tables and some stools surrounded by blackboards harking prices. 

The Reinvented Classic 6 for $8USD or 8 for $10USD

A classic guotie (pot sticker) stuffed with pork, boy choy and cabbage. The wrapper is delightfully thin and folded to in a classic style fried or steamed to order. 

The Mimi Cheng  6 for $8USD or 8 for $10USD

A lighter Chicken and Zucchini stuffed dumpling is folded into a dim sum triangle shape using the same dumpling wrapper as the classic. 

Seasonal offerings are made daily and once sold out gone forever; I was very sad to have missed the Autumnal Thanksgiving Turkey dumplings. Still their standard jiaozi and their delicious "secret sauce" take on  Chinese spicy sesame dipping sauce are well worth a stop.

www.mimichengs.com

179 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10003

Momofuku Ssam

David Chang is one of those celebrity chefs whose popularity I think is over rated; sure he's brought modern Asian Fusion cuisine to the New York scene but as a long time Sydney resident this is hardly ground breaking to me. Still if you're willing to brave the wait there are some delicious dishes on offer.

The hostess is like something from a New York sitcom trope barking orders, turning away even the wealthiest of clients and ruling with an iron fist (and an iPad checklist). They've vastly improved the experience since my first trip to a Momofuku restaurant though. Diners names are taken and a time to seating given. Rather than standing in the cold or jammed into the vestibule, as in the past, we were given the opportunity to wander off and texted when our table was ready. 

Most of the Ssam menu focuses on Asian influenced dishes and barbecue but I'm here for the Bao.

Buffalo pork buns – crispy pork belly, hot sauce, blue cheese

Pure fusion madness that just works. Crispy fried pork belly is paired with one of those ultimate New York flavour profiles - Buffalo hot sauce, crumbled blue cheese and red cabbage coleslaw. Everything is served on a soft folded mantou bao, a sweet wheat dough known to most from char siu bao. 

Steamed buns – pork belly, hoisin, cucumber, scallion

Soft slow baked pork belly matches perfectly with sweet sticky Hoisin sauce, scallion and freshly made pickled Cucumber. 

momofuku.com

207 2nd Ave

New York, NY 10003

(212) 254-3500

BaoHaus

BaoHaus was the absolute star for me on this trip. We took a chance on it while we waited for our seats at Momofuku Ssam and honest... it was so good it made Chang's offering disappointing in comparison. The brainchild of internet darling Eddie Huang BaoHaus offers casual Taiwanese American eats.

The restaurant is totally ghetto - covered in graffiti and staffed by super excited urban warriors. Korean and American hip hop streetstars smile and push fried chicken on you gleefully. The staff are all super invested in the business and took the time to chat not only about the food and the restaurant but about our travels and planned New York dining. I can't remember the last time I visited a business with such excited staff and their excitement was infectious as well as being well founded.

Sometimes the simple things are absolutely the best and if you're more interested in great food than status BaoHaus is the place for you.

Chairman Bao  $8USD

 Berkshire pork belly is braised in a soy and all spice mix served with  relish, crushed peanuts, red sugar, and cilantro. The peanuts and cilantro offer an almost Vietnamese taste to offset the Taiwanese lu rou fan pork. Absolutely amazing, pure genius in taste matching and completely unique to my experience.

Birdhaus Bao $8USD

Soft, moist, brined chicken is breaded in a southern style batter served salted with a mouthwatering citrus aioli and more nuts and cilantro. The fried chicken and mayonnaise is unsurprisingly quite heavy on the stomach (and the waist) but entirely worth it. If I could reverse engineer their aioli recipe I would be one happy cook. 

baohausnyc.com

238 E 14th St

New York, NY 10003

 (646) 669-8889