Carnaby Burger Co.

When you walk by Carnaby Burger Co., which is just behind Carnaby Street in London, you'll probably walk right by it. It's not small, but if you don't see the name you might not realize it's a burger restaurant--it looks more like a cafe. Trust me, it's a burger joint. And it's the best burger joint I've been to on this side of the Atlantic.

"What makes it so great?" you ask. Well I'll tell you:

1. The Service: We met the owner outside the restaurant as we were about to walk right by it. We read the menu briefly but barely noticed the burgers and decided that a burger joint that served that much non-burger food couldn't be that great. Marcello, a very nice Italian man and the owner, asked us why we were leaving. We told him it was just very hard to tell it was a burger place. He told us that they'd relocated to that location only a few days prior and they were working out kinks (like a new outdoor menu--the old one had been larger and the burgers were more prominent). He convinced us to try it out. That's what I like to see in an owner: hands-on-ness. The staff was friendly, helpful, and attentive. I thought it may have been because the owner was there, but I went back at a time when it happened that the owner wasn't there and the service was just as good.
2. The Ambiance: The decor is fun and one wall is papered with wallpaper that looks like book covers--how could you not like that?! The seating in the back is light and bright with a conservatory like roof that, I'm sure, will be lovely in the summer. Even the ladies room is well finished. The music is a good volume (not intrusive but not so quiet that you have to strain to hear it) and is primarily classic rock (for example Meatloaf was playing last time I was there--I think it's fitting for a burger place, don't you?)
3. The Sides: You really can't eat a burger without fries or onion rings. Theirs do not disappoint. The first time I went, my mom and I split posh fries, which are thick cut fries topped with a sweet chilli sauce and guacamole. Delicious! The second time we went, we split onion rings. They were the best onion rings I've had outside of a NYC diner.
4. The Other Food: I'm not sure this counts as I personally have no ordered non-burger food, but I saw a plate of pasta go by the table and it looked good. If it helps, I promise I'll go back with my pops (who doesn't really like red meat) soon and taste whatever he orders. Aren't I a generous and self-sacrificing person?
5. The Burgers: Obviously this is the most important part--if the burgers at a burger joint aren't good then it really doesn't matter if everything else is. Happily the burgers are superb! The first time we went my mom and I were boring and both ordered the same thing: a BBQ burger. This is a perfectly cooked (read: not shoe leather like everywhere else in the UK) beef patty topped with cheese, bacon, and BBQ sauce on a hearty (but not overwhelming) bun. The patties are not only perfectly cooked, they are hearty enough to stand up to the delicious and strongly flavorful toppings. The burger is served with a couple of those delicious onion rings I mentioned. The second time we went, we decided to split our favorite BBQ burger and try something new. We opted for the Tex Mex burger--a burger topped with bacon, guacamole, and jalapeños. I admit it was a little too hot for me, so I picked off some of the jalapeño slices, but it was perfect for my mom who has a higher tolerance for spicy food than I do. Honestly, they are the best burgers I've had in the UK and probably the best non-traditional burger I've had anywhere.

You don't have to take my word for it. If you're in London, go there now! If you're not take a gander at these photos. I took them on my iPhone, so they really don't do the food justice, but I still think they get the deliciousness across well!

The BBQ Burger: they cut it in half so we could split it

The BBQ Burger, un cut: you can see the yummy bun better here

The Tex Mex Burger

The Incredible Onion Rings

The Posh Fries

Le Petit Boulanger

This is a little bakery in the Abbeville Village area of Clapham, in south London. It is a really cute place with a lovely selection of French pastries and bread. We tried all three croissants--plain, almond, and chocolate. The almond was a little bit too sweet for my taste, but the other two were delicious!

The photo on the top right shows their cookies, which look a little large--I tend to not want a giant cookie, I'll eat the whole thing, but a small one would satisfy me just as well--and perhaps a little dry looking--but I like chewy cookies rather than crumbly ones, so again that's just me.

The photo on the bottom left shows their delectable looking bread selection. I'll never get over the fact that in England they barely ever use cases or at least partitions to prevent people from touching or sneezing on the food--I think it's a little yucky, but I'm also a bit germophobic. Regardless, that's not really Le Petit Boulanger's problem and it does look lovely and works with the French countryside look of the very small cafe.

The best part is not the food or the decor, but the people. I happened to meet the chef/owner just after Le Petit Boulanger opened a few years ago. He was very nice, helpful (I was visiting and looking for cream of tartar or a substitute for it), and actually guided me to apply to the FCI--I have to that him for that. When I went back recently he wasn't there, but the staff was polite and professional. Overall a really nice experience--perhaps I should go more than once every 3 years.

Popbar

Look at all those Popsicles!

This restaurant, in the West Village, is so cute. All they sell is artisanal gelato and sorbet Popsicles! For a small additional fee you can get unlimited "dippings" and "poppings." The dippings are dark, milk, and white chocolate. The poppings are chopped nuts, coconut, and sprinkles. The basic procedure is: pick a pop, add dippings and poppings, and eat. Ice cream on a stick--what's not to like?! I love the idea of upgraded childhood favorites. Who didn't love licking a Popsicle or ice cream bar pop when they were little? At a certain point you felt as though you have gotten to old to eat them, right? Well with these you are never too old. Their gelato and sorbet are high quality and all made on site. And poppings like pistachio can't possibly be too childish. The staff is friendly and don't make you feel like a vacillating, indecisive idiot when you can't decide what to have. After all there are so many choices; what flavor pop--and all 15 or so flavors look too delicious not to eat--what dipping(s) and what toppings. Think of all the combinations!

Now for the important part: what I ate. I decided to try one sorbet pop and one gelato pop. For the sorbet I had a strawberry pop--you can't go wrong with strawberry--dipped in white chocolate and coated with shredded unsweetened coconut on one side and chopped pistachios on the other. Everything about it was good! The sorbet was intensely strawberry flavored, the white chocolate wasn't too waxy, and the coconut and pistachios went wonderfully with it. The texture of the pop was on the icy side, but it's sorbet so that was to be expected.

Look at the color of that peanut butter gelato, perfection.

The gelato pop was one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten. Okay, probably not ever but at least it's the best gelato I've had in a while. I went for peanut butter gelato. The gelato was creamy and pungently peanut buttery. Not peanutty, peanut buttery--yes there is a difference. It was like eating frozen peanut butter on a stick, dipped in dark chocolate and covered with chocolate sprinkles. Yum! I'm not sure I'll be back anytime though, because it is a schlepp from where I live. But I did have my eye on the kiwi sorbet pop, so I might have to schlepp for that.

Epicerie Boulud, update

I am standing at Epicerie Boulud with my new iPad (I'm very happy!) and am sorely disappointed by their croissants. I've never bothered to get their pastries, since they are tiny and expensive. But they look delicious and I've heard excellent things about their croissants. I was in the mood for a pain au chocolat, so I caved in and bought one. It did satisfy my craving, but for the price and the fact that it was from one of Daniel Boulud's restaurant it wasn't great.

It looked large and puffy, but in reality the size was from giant air pockets, rather than a network of small/medium ones. This shows that the dough was either not folded/shaped properly or over proofed. Also the chocolate batons did not run the full length of the croissant and were far sweeter than I'm used to--I think it must have been milk or very light semi-sweet chocolate.

Had I found this at a little local bakery I'd have been happy with it, but given the big name behind Epicerie Boulud, meh. Not to toot my own horn, but mine are better. (Possibly because the recipe and technique I learned were from Jacques Torres, who makes the best pains au chocolats I've ever had.)

On a positive note, I had the pulled pork sandwich, which was delicious. The roll, the coleslaw, and the pork (with its sweet and sticky sauce) were all excellent. Obviously it was not traditional Carolina pulled pork, but that's okay, I wasn't expecting southern barbecue at a French restaurant.

Regardless, the mediocre croissant will not stop me from going back, but I certainly won't be bothering with any more of their baked goods. If I want sweet when I'm there I'll stick to their delicious gelato and sorbet.

Shake Shack (at 77th and Columbus)

Two Double Shack Burgers:
one for me and one for my mom

Danny Meyer does it again! I haven't eaten anything here that I haven't liked. I always get a double shack burger with everything on it--everything being cheese, tomato, lettuce, onion, pickles, and sauce. The sauce is somewhat akin to the sauce on a big mac, but better.

Everything they make is done with high quality, fresh ingredients, which greatly improves the flavor of the food. Nothing tastes like fast food, not even the burger patties which are more flavorful and much leaner than most. The flavor is enhanced by the cooking technique; they sear the patties so that it is sweetly caramelized and almost crisp.

Shroom Burger

For vegetarians, there are shroom burgers. Basically, it's a portabella mushroom that's stuffed with cheese and breaded. I've never eaten it, but I've been with people who have--they both said it was delicious.

Cheesy Fries!

Of course you have to have fries with that. There's a choice between plain old crinkle cut fries--made with Idaho potatoes and nothing else (except the frying oil, obviously)--and cheesy fries. The cheesy fries are their normal fries with copious amounts of melted cheese (American, I believe). Gosh they are good.

They have milkshakes made with their frozen custard. These are very good, but not the best milkshakes I've ever had. The frozen custard plain is delicious. It's basically very rich soft serve ice cream. They have special flavors every day as well as the classic chocolate and vanilla. Both the regular flavors are excellent, especially when swirled with toppings and sauces to make a "concrete". The special flavors, a different one for each day of the week and changed monthly, have always been delicious. My favorite was coffee and donuts; coffee frozen custard with chunks of plain, sweet, cakey donut. Could it get any better?!

There are only three bad things I have to say about Shake Shack and none of them are all that bad. First, the service can be hit or miss, but it's counter service so that's not the end of the world. Second, the prices are steep for counter service. Then again, the food is high quality and it costs less than burgers at sit down restaurants. Third, it's impossible to find seating and the line is almost always out the door; and kI suppose that's a good thing if you look at it from the restaurant's point of view!

Epicerie Boulud

Daniel Boulud opened Epicerie Boulud this past summer. I am very happy about this addition to my neighborhood. Basically this is a restaurant that only serves take away--they have bar height tables inside and outside under a breeze way, but no chairs. It is, like all of Daniel Boulud's restaurants, French food done right. Epicerie Boulud boasts an oyster bar, the DBGB dog from his midtown restaurant named for the famous comedy club CBGB's, some staple French pastries and bread, sandwiches, soups, salads and other vegetable dishes, a daily hot meal, some charcuterie, coffee, and gelato.

I don't particularly enjoy oysters so I can't comment on the oyster bar, but I have sampled a bit of everything else!

The DBGB dog is excellent. It's more of a beef sausage than a hot dog, but that's really not the point. The point is the toppings and the roll. The dog/sausage sits in a brioche roll and is topped with a zingy but not spicy mustard/mayo/ketchup sauce, pickled relish of a variety of vegetables, and sauteed onions. I always get a bag of the gaufrette potato chips on the side. 

The other sandwiches are more along the lines of traditional French fare. They include a wonderful ham and butter on baguette, a delicious turkey BLT club with avocado and fried egg, and an excellent lobster roll. The one problem with all their sandwiches--including the numerous other ones which I have not tried--is that they are quite expensive for the size. I know that they are pricey because they are made with high-quality ingredients, but the mark-up is a bit on the steep side. 

Their salads and cold vegetable dishes are again overpriced for the quantity, but delicious and made with quality ingredients. Their beet and blue cheese salad is one of my favorites.

The hot meal is very good, although I've only tried it once, so I can't comment on how consistent it is. The soups are delicious, both the hot ones in the winter and the chilled ones in the summer. They recently started serving quiche, which is delicious.

The coffee is excellent; their iced tea is so-so. They serve wine as well. I've only tried one or two of their reds and I was quite impressed.

Their baked goods, such as macarons and various tarts, look delicious but I've never tried them. Honestly they are very pricey and I can make fancy French bakery items at home. Their gelato, on the other hand, is completely worth the price. Firstly, it isn't much more expensive than any other ice cream place in the city and, secondly, it's delicious. I've liked every flavor I've tried, unfortunately they keep rotating out my favorites (such as mint chip). The only real problem with the gelato is that some of the staff give tiny scoops and leave off the free wafer cookie (and give you a nasty look when you ask for it) that are barely worth the price while others give nice, substantial scoops. You have to know who is at the counter and only go when the stingy people aren't there.

Speaking of the staff, some of them are wonderful, some are not. The manager (at least I think he's the manager) is snooty and unhelpful. My biggest problem is that I go very frequently and most of the staff never recognize me. I don't expect them to know my name or my usual order (especially because I don't have a usual order) but I'd like a glimmer of recognition--at least they are typically nice. Of course a few people there are very nice and not only know I'm a regular but also as about my mother (she frequents it as well, often with me) and my dog (who comes with me sometimes since they have outdoor tables.)

All in all, it's well worth a visit, just be prepared to spend quite a bit, especially for a place without chairs. 

Macaron Cafe

Clockwise from cut macaron: caramel, coconut, creme brulee, mocha

I believe that they opened a week or two ago, so perhaps that's why the waitresses in cute pink dresses (that put me vaguely in mind of candy stripers' uniforms) weren't quite as efficient as they were enthusiastic. They seemed happy to have a customer (I was not the only person there, so I'm not sure their excitement was justified) but not entirely sure what to do once they had one. They were nice enough (and kept the water glass full enough) to make up for the fact that they couldn't figure out the bill.

The salads looked nice and the sandwich selection was relatively broad considering the place is devoted one type of cookie. I was with a friend and we split two sandwiches that were nice but nothing too impressive. One was a goat cheese, apple, raisin, pine nut, and mustard sandwich; the other was brie, apple, raisin, and mustard. I knew these would be same-y but they sounded good. Both had a very reasonable amount of cheese--both good quality cheeses--and apple. The mustard--a honey dijon, I believe--was very nice. The raisins were odd with the of the sandwich, I picked most of them off. My real complaint was that both of the sandwiches were on the same bread--an overly crusty (and perhaps faintly stale?) baguette. That's alright, I was hungry and despite the fact that I was underwhelmed by the sandwiches I ate my whole portion. Anyway, I was there for the macarons.

Their selection of macaron flavors is impressive. Not wanting to spend to much, my friend and I agreed to split four different flavors. We opted for more traditional flavors, partly because we didn't want to be too adventurous at $2.50 a pop and partly because (at least for me) I like trying the normal flavors to judge the item on its merits before trying unusual flavors that might distract me from deciding if the texture of the meringue and nut flour based cookie is how it should be.

Allow me to make a few generalizations about the state of their macarons before discussing the individual flavors. First, the ratio of filling to cookie is quite good. Second, most of the macarons were beautiful colors that worked perfectly with the favors, but there were a few (like the turquoise vanilla) that were too bright for no apparent reason. I saw no apparent reason, because I'm fine with, say, cassis being chartreuse because the color makes sense...I just don't think you should dye them completely random colors. Third, the surface of the cookies were not smooth. The surface of the macaron cookie should be beautifully smooth, almost shiny, with no texture or color variations. This is easier said than done, trust me. Theirs were very bumpy; presumably because their soft ball sugar was cooked too hot and hardened in little pieces when it hit the cold meringue or it crystallized when cooking and was grainy. This wasn't just a problem with one flavor, it was across the board. I guess it wasn't a mistake with one batch and was, rather, a conscious choice...I can't imagine why. Happily, that didn't mess up the texture of the cookie too much, so it was more an aesthetic issue than anything--although that could be a happy side effect of the humidity of an NYC August, which makes macarons (and most sugar-based things) slightly soft. Fourth, they should probably have a little more height than they did. I'm assuming this problem was linked to the problem with the graininess but it may have been the humidity.

Now for the flavors. My friend and I opted for somewhat traditional flavors, as I mentioned above. We had coconut, mocha, caramel, and crème brûlée. From my least favorite to my favorite:

My least favorite was the crème brûlée, there was something odd about the flavor. I can't put my finger on it exactly--there was something slightly acidic and bitter, almost like verbena, behind the sweet taste of the eggy filling. The filling, at least, had a lovely light and creamy texture to it.

The caramel, unfortunately didn't work terribly well either. The taste was good and the cookie was fine but the filling was bad. They were going for a straight caramel filling, not a cream or ganache filling. That's fine, the problem was the caramel was far too though. They should have made it more of a caramel mou, because as it was it was hard, but not brittle, and so sweet that it hurt your teeth a little. Shame, it had a lot of potential.

Top: mocha; bottom: coconut

The mocha macaron was very nice. One cookie was chocolate, the other was coffee, which I think is very cute, and they were held together by mocha ganache. It had a strong coffee taste but that didn't overpower the chocolate. The cookie was a bit chewy and the ganach filling could have been slightly creamier, but overall quite nice!

The coconut macaron was far and away the best! The cookie was nearly perfect, the cream was light and fluffy and the whole thing was strongly coconut-y without getting soapy (as I find some very sweet coconut flavored things can be). Yes, Laudree's are better, but these were excellent and I didn't have to flips to Paris to get them (yes, I know there is a Laudree in NYC but it isn't nearly as good as the original).

Overall, I'm not terribly impressed by the macarons, which is a pity since the place is called the Macron Cafe, but I can overlook that since the other food was yummy and the staff was nice. I'm not sure I'll go back, there are too many other places I want to try, but I'd recommend it if you happen by it and are hungry.

Francois Payard Bakery

I've met Chef Francois Payard, but I'd never been to his bakery. I decided that was silly and headed over to the shop he recently opened near me. I had heard excellent things about the roulades, so my friend who I was with and I split a piece of coffee roulade. It was delicious! The cake was tender and flavorful. The cream, which I believe was an enriched pastry cream, was incredible and had a perfect, rich, creamy texture. The glaze was on the sticky side and, like everything else, pungently coffee flavored. The macarons were a bit chewy and damp, but they were stuck to the outside of a cake and it was the end of the day.

By the way, the staff was very kind and professional. In addition, we were there at closing so they gave us each a baguette. Obviously they couldn't sell day old baguettes but no point in tossing them, so we got delicious baguettes for free! Very good customer service. I shall have to go back. Plus I want to try the chocolate raspberry roulade, it looked delicious and that is one of my favorite flavor combos.

Brunch at Bar Boulud

The prix fixe brunch at Bar Boulud is a good deal, especially for NYC. It is $32 for four courses, though I'd really call it three and a half given the diminutive size of the first course. I went here with my mother, aunt, and uncle. We had a lovely time and all of us enjoyed all our food--and I got to taste what everyone else ordered. Anyway, the prix fix brunch comes with American coffee, which they refilled quite frequently, or tea for a supplement. It's always cracked me up that places charge more for tea when it's just unlimited hot water and one tea bag, but I digress.

The first course is termed "pastries" but we all only got one very small viennoiserie. I had a pain au chocolate, as did my mom. My aunt had an apple croissant, according to her, delicious. My uncle had a raisin danish, which was also lovely. 

For the second course I ordered the creamy grits with rhubarb compote, a maple whisky sauce, and pecans. Oh my goodness it was good. The grits were the perfect texture; not clumpy but not at all runny--I suppose calling them creamy about sums it up. The rhubarb compote was excellent, with just a hint of tartness which complemented the sweet sauce nicely. My only problem with the compote was that I'd wished there had been a bit more--not too much more or it would have overwhelmed the dish, but a bit more would have been nice. The sauce was quite sweet, but very thin and not syrupy so it did not overpower the mild flavor of the grits. The pecans worked well and added a nice crunch, however there was something slightly incongruous about them...maybe they needed to be toasted or perhaps chopped a little bit finer, they just seemed a little too strong as they were for the dish.

My mom got the grits as well. I wanted her to get the sheep's milk yogurt, granola, and berries (a former classmate of mine at the FCI told me they import their strawberries from Italy and I don't think I've ever eaten an Italian strawberry) so that I could try it but she wanted the grits and I didn't want to taste those strawberries enough to give up the grits. My aunt and uncle both had the potato soup with smoked haddock. They wouldn't let me try their haddock or croutons, apparently they were just too good to share, but I had a sip of the creamy potato broth--it was incredible. The taste was strongly potato-y, perfectly spiced, and wonderfully smooth.

For the third course we were very boring...the three of us ladies all got the croque madame and my uncle got the more manly croque monsieur. For those of you who don't know, a croque madame is a croque monsieur with a fried (typically sunny side up) egg on top. I'd heard about the croque monsieur and madame so I was always going to get that. The fact that everyone followed suit is perhaps due to the fact that, while delicious sounding, the other third course items were easier to come by at other establishments (brioche french toast, for example) but it's nearly impossible to find a proper croque monsieur. Happily, these were proper croques! My croque madame was cooked perfectly. The ham was excellent quality, the cheese was delicious, and the béchamel sauce on top with browned to perfection. The egg on top was perfect as well; the yoke was runny but the white was cooked as throughly as it can be without overcooking the yoke or making the white like rubber. We all cleaned our plates. Well that's not entirely true, I left over a bit of the side salad. It was nice with crisp mixed greens and a light vinaigrette, but I needed to save room for dessert.

The final course was not at all a let down, though dessert after breakfast never really could be a let down. There were three options, a clafoutis du jour, a sundae du jour, and a poached meringue. I'm not a huge fan of poached meringue--something about the texture--and after I mentioned that no one at the table decided to be adventurous and try it. My aunt and uncle both had the clafoutis, which was made with sour cherries--the traditional fruit for clafoutis--and had a delicious creme anglaise sauce and toasted almond topping. It was very nice. I'm not a clafoutis fan, but they both loved it. My mom and I both had the sundae. It was amazing. The waitress was quite soft-spoken and I couldn't quite hear what the sorbet was--I heard "sour" and "sorbet" but there was a word in between that none of use could catch. The what-ever-it-was sorbet was served with creme Chantilly, vanilla tuiles, and pistachio crumble. I believe the ice cream was a sour yogurt sorbet, though I could be wrong. Whatever it was, it was deliciously tart but not too sour and quite refreshing. The "served with vanilla tuile cookies" was a bit of a joke, there were three hippen batter tuile cookie dots that were smaller in diameter than a dime. That said, they were yummy. The creme Chantilly was surprisingly thick and rich, I'm wondering if it was stabilized with gelatin. By the way, that isn't a complaint, just an observation. The best part was the crumble. There were whole chunks of pistachios in a streusel-like, buttery, nutty crumble. Happily they were not nearly as stingy with the crumble as they were with the tuiles. This wasn't my favorite dessert but it was delicious and light (which is nice after a large and filling meal). More to the point it was an excellent end to an excellent meal.

The service was excellent. It is a little slow at times, for example the coffee came well after they'd served us our pastry. On the flip side, they don't rush you through courses or out the door at the end. They weren't perfectly attentive with keeping our water and coffee full, but then again I was drinking water like a fish (though fish don't drink water, I suppose) so they probably just couldn't keep up.

Overall an excellent experience for a (relatively) reasonable price. A great place to bring family from out of town if you want to impress them or just a nice place for a bit of a splurge. I'm not sure I'll be going back for brunch anytime soon--there are at least four other places I have to try first and I don't go out to brunch very often--but I'd definitely recommend it!

The Big Gay Ice Cream Shop

I'd already started eating it, then remembered
I should take a picture, oops!

The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck is quite famous and has made numerous appearances on the Food Network. Recently--within the last year--they have expanded from being a food truck to being a food truck and an actual store front. That is excellent news, because it meant I could just stop by one long weekend when I was craving ice cream. I went with my mom so we got two different things and split them. I got the Monday Sundae which is similar to their famous Salty Pimp, but with more chocolate. It's a waffle cone, lined with nutella, filled with chocolate-vanilla swirl ice cream, drizzled with salted dulce de leche sauce, and topped with whipped cream. The way the salty-sweet sauce mixed with the sweet vanilla ice cream and the chocolatey chocolate ice cream and nutella was perfect.

My mom got the mermaid. It is a cup of vanilla ice cream, with graham cracker crumbles and lime curd. The great thing is that the graham cracker crumbles and lime curd are mixed throughout the cup in little pockets between the creamy swirls of ice cream. You think you must have gotten the last taste of that tangy and sweet curd when suddenly your spoon hits another well of limey goodness.

Their ice cream is all--or at least mainly--soft serve. But bears no resemblance to the airy and overly sweet soft serve you get at a Mr. Softie truck. It reminds me of a slightly less rich version of the soft serve you can get in Cornwall, England where the cream is wonderfully thick, so the ice cream is incredible.

I loved both desserts I tried and will have to go back and try more. The oink-wich (as I believe it's called) sounds strange but remarkably appealing and their daily specials look like they are delicious--when I went it was a red velvet sundae, which was cream cheese ice cream with chunks of red velvet cake. I hope that have that again next time I go, because I definitely want to try it!