Dining in missKorea BBQ in NYC

During my one week stay in NewYork city in October 2015, we went to miss Korea BBQ for lunch. My brother and his family are regulars there and they assured me that it was the best restaurant in the town.

I was not disappointed.

How could I be when missKoreaBBQ is named as NewYork City’s ‘Best Korean BBQ Restaurant’ at 2015 Times Square Asian Food Festival

It was freezing outside, and my brother dropped me at the end of the lane, and went to look for a parking place, we walked at a fast pace, stopped to look closely at the attractive food dressing in the window and entered the warm restaurant.

Halloween was just round the corner during that time, so this restaurant too was in Halloween mood

We seated at the far end, cuddled around the fire place that was at the centre of the table. The beauty of Korean cuisine is that the food is cooked at the table itself and you nibble on food straight out of the hot pan.

The romance starts as soon as (banchan) small side dishes start appearing on the table, among which there are lettuce, cucumbers, peppers, green onion salad (called paieori) and sauces.

We started to nibble on side dishes when the waitress arrived, placed a big shiny pan on fire place in the centre of the table. She puts the oil and then the marinated meat and mixed vegetables, stir fried the veggies as we sat munching on delicious kimchi pancake, that was served on our plates. I would highly recommend these pancakes for its texture and flavor.

Soon the pan fried pork belly with vegetables ( Ohsum Bikkeum) were simmering on the center tables and we began to pluck out the pieces of the cooked pork and vegetables straight from the pan. Hot and spicy, they tasted so good.

Kids wanted to eat Yakshu Bulgogi. This is the most popular variety of Korean bbq. Before cooking, the meat is marinated with the mixture of soya sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic and pepper. A perforated dome griddles are place over centre fireplace at the table, and meat is roasted over it, while the soup and juices slide towards the cupped edges. You take the pieces of cooked meat, dip into the sauce and savour it.

Since they ordered beef, I did not eat it, but from the contentments (of oohs and aahs) from the girls, I can assure you that it must have been quite tasty. I was then informed that it’s most famous dish ‘Bulgogi’ had won ‘The Culture Trip’s New York Local Favorite 2015 Award.

Steak was another dish I missed out although it looked juicy and tender. There were roasted vegetables like apples and corn paired with this dish.

A vegetarian dish was made for me on another table, I did not watch her make but the sauces were sacculent and tasty

We were in the restaurant for over two hours, eating at slow pace, enjoying every moment. It was warm inside and the food was hot, spicy and tasty. When we got up to go out, we was greeted with strong gust of icy wind, we then realized, that choosing Korean cuisine was a wise decision on a cold day like this…….

East Meets West: Chai Pani at Decatur in Atlanta

You would think you were on Mumbai streets when Vada Pav makes its appearance on your table, but this is the creation of Mehrwan and Molly Irani, who have imported the idea of street food of India and have given a new twist. For Non-vegetarians, there was Bengali Fish fry sandwich, crispy and spicy.

Here the Indian street food becomes an art and you see it everywhere, in innovative Indian street food, in the ambience, the bright vibrant colors in the loud shades of bright green, orange, blue and red, on the walls, the pictures of common man in India and also of bollywood stars.

A favorite indoor game (enjoyed in Indian homes) Carom Board sits in the waiting lounge at the entrance, so while you wait for your table, you could pass your time over a game of Carom.

The bar area dominates the major part of the restaurant and serves some exotic drinks, blend of Indian flavors with Vodka, Whiskey or Gin. The mural at the bar are artistically done, with Indian script in bold.  A traditional Indian music in the background completes the picture. 

However, this is a restaurant on the other side of the world, far away from India, in a smaller suburb of Georgia, A restaurant with Indian concept and is called Chai Pani.

Chai Pani, (that literally means ‘tea and water’ in English and is aso used as slang for ‘bribe’ that we would give to an officer in India in return for a favor) is the hip spot in Decatur at Atlanta that serves Indian food in american style

I enoyed the American style french fries, topped with Kheema and cottage cheese, the crispy french fries (fried to perfection) and mince meat cooked in Indian spices made perfect combination of East meeting West.

And chicken fritters, chicken (marinated in salt and pepper) and deep fried in gram flour batter, it was very different from the chicken nuggets that you would find at MacDonalds, and yet so similar

The street food of India has been amalgated to suit American palate and this concept is very appealing, the restaurant was packed with Americans who enjoy different taste. Some of them have never been to India but still they seemed to enjoy Indian cuisine.

The menu had some interesting listings, and the speciality of the day changes everyday. On the day I visited, Papri chaat  was the day’s special. There was also Thali listed on their menu that had traditional Indian meals like you would find in many restaurants in India.

I was happy too to find my traditional Indian cuisine on foreign soil and happily munched on aniseed sweets on my way out……

I begin my stay in Chicago with Lou Malnati

My cousins came to pick me up from airport, we dropped the luggage at home and then headed straight for lunch to the Lou Malnati’s that has the best creative pizzas in Chicago.

Pictures, pictures everywhere, most of the walls of the restaurant were adorned with memories and one wall was dedicated to basket ball players displaying autographed basket balls

But we were there for special Malnati salad that the place is most famous for, a delicious green, crunchy, sweet and sour salad of romane lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, mushrooms, crumbled salami, gorgonzola cheese and sweet flovors of vinegar and romano cheese.

My family ordered deep dish pizza and I wondered what was so special about it till it arrived at the table. It was extraordinary…Chicago style pizza that had thick layer of mozzarella cheese on a thin crust with ingredients like mushroom, onions and sausages sunk into the layers of cheese. The pizza was then topped with fresh tomato sauce, and sprinkled with cheese and spices, every bite so juicy and delicious.

First day in Chicago and I had already tried the best pizza in town…before I could even unpack my bags.

Farmhouse

Junk food is out as more people start on healthy eating. Youngsters nowadays prefer fresh food to canned food and they have become more inclined towards organic food. Be it India or around the world, people are getting more aware of healthy eating. I have come to spend few days on the other side of the world. Here I am visiting my sister in Chicago.

When my nephew told me that he owns a restaurant, I was excited and wanted to visit immediately. He drove us to his restaurant at 228W Chicago Ave and proudly introduced us to most impressive farm themed hangout called Farmhouse.

It was late afternoon and the weather was quite pleasant. Many people sat in the patio to enjoy the meal.

But we walked indoors to enjoy the meal. The ambience is beautiful. A small room called pickle room had different pickle bottles in the room.

Another smaller room had a cozy setup with seating for fifteen people to enjoy a private dinner

A long bar with high chairs occupied the large part of the room where people could enjoy food with hard drinks.

The rest of the restaurants in the large room had seating arrangement in such a way that each table had their own privacy.

We ordered crispy cheese balls, salads and pizza. The USP of this restaurant is the freshness of the food. The restaurant has the finest ingredients from the surrounding Chicago area and nearby states. It encourages the fresh farm products, thus supporting the local farms for cheese, wines, greens, breads and meat.

No canned food is used at all; even the tomato sauce and the dips are freshly cooked. The food had the most unique taste.

Dessert is to die for. The strawberry and cream burger was melt in mouth, delicious dish. I just loved it and couldn’t resists eating even though I am always watching my diet

One floor up, and there was a large room, big enough for a private party or some social meetings. If I were to stay in Chicago, I would love to host open mike poetry performance in this room like we do back home in India.

So very proud of my nephew for owning such a beautiful restaurant where health come first and dining is a great experience….