AlwaysPartying: National Lobster Newburg Day
Arthur Bovino — March 25, 2010
Delmonico’s Lobster Newburg.
Today, March 25th, is National Lobster Newburg Day, the celebration of a classic American dish that features lobster in a creamy sauce made with butter, cream, cognac, eggs, Cayenne, and nutmeg. It is said to have originated with a sea captain named Ben Wenberg. Supposedly, in 1876, Wenberg shared his recipe with Charles Delmonico, the manager of Delmonico’s Restaurant, where it is still served today.
Click here to learn more about Lobster Newburg, and another classic, Lobster Thermidor.
Featured Restaurant: Luke’s Lobster
GutterGourmet — November 12, 2009
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The “A Taste of Maine” Platter with Lobster Roll, Crab Roll, Shrimp Roll, and Empress Crab Claws.
Sandwiched in between Caracas Arepa Bar and Caracas Arepa Bar To-Go on East 7th is Luke’s Lobster (view). No bigger than a shack with a small counter and eight stools, Luke’s mission is to make the lobster roll as accessible as the hot dog. With lines out the door, and very reasonable prices ($8/small lobster roll, $14/full roll), they may well succeed. Their slogan is “From ME (Maine) to You,” literally. The lobster meat is vacuum-sealed from when it leaves Maine to the time that it hits your roll.
The ‘A Taste of Maine’ consists of a small lobster roll, a small crab roll and a small shrimp roll with a pair of tiny Empress Crab Claws. Unlike the ones on ice at the holiday party, which taste like Sarimi and require a thorough dunking in cocktail sauce, these claws are so sweet that they are reminiscent of their larger Floridian Stone Crab cousins. The crab roll was more of the fresh crab. The shrimp was sweet like Ama Ebi. The lobster roll was all claw and knuckle meat—among the best New York has to offer. All the rolls are soft, toasty, top-split hot dog buns. If there was any mayo or filler, we did not see or taste it. A bag of potato chips and your choice of six organic Maine Root sodas (Blueberry, Ginger Brew, Sarsaparilla, Root Beer, Orange or Lemon Lime) to wash it down— all for 20 bucks.
AlwaysLearning: Old School Lobster Dishes
The Gluttoness — October 22, 2009
Left, Hotel Griffou’s Lobster Thermidor Fondue. Right, Delmonico’s Lobster Newberg.
Even just steamed and dipped in butter, lobster is supremely delicious. But some classic preparations, often overlooked, really up the ante. And with the decadence of these dishes, comes the rich history of their beginnings. Here’s a look at two old school lobster dishes at Hotel Griffou and Delmonico’s.
DishDoppelgänger: Avocado Roll
The Gluttoness — September 24, 2009
You know you’ve been caught looking at celebrity look-alike features in tabloids on the supermarket line or when surfing online. Well, we’re applying the concept to well-known dishes and others that resemble them. And why not, for those of us interested in food, Thomas Keller’s Oysters and Pearls dish is just as iconic as Jay Leno’s chin. As soon as a doppelgänger dish emerges, you better believe we’ll spot it.
Eleven Madison Park’s Hawaiian Prawns: Roulade with Avocado, Lime & Yogurt.
While undoubtedly the most beautiful of this group of dishes, the Hawaiian Prawns inside Eleven Madison Park’s (restaurant page) avocado roulade weren’t seasoned enough to stand up to the luscious draping of avocado. The richness of the slivered fruit overpowered the subtle flavors of the stuffing, and an accompanying yogurt sauce only enhanced the palatable creaminess. While the sensual mouthfeel was attractive to the tongue, the flavors weren’t intriguing enough to keep your mind interested.
HungryHamptons: Clam Bar at Napeague (Montauk, NY)
Arthur Bovino — September 10, 2009
Fried Clam Roll ($6) from the Clam Bar at Napeague.
Restaurant: Clam Bar at Napeague (view site)
Address: 2025 Montauk Highway (Route 27), Montauk, NY 11954 (view map)
AlwaysHungry Grade: A-
AlwaysHungry Recommends: Lobster Roll, Fried Clams
Hours: Late March to Thanksgiving, daily, 12pm-8pm.
The old-fashioned, red and white Clam Bar at Napeague on Montauk Highway on the narrow tract between Amagansett and Montauk has been owned and operated by Dick Ehrlich since 1981. It’s the picture-postcard place to stop in the Hamptons for a bite to eat after a day of driving around with your music blaring, the top down and your cheeks flushed pink and freckled with sun. Even if this roadside seafood shack didn’t serve good fare, you’d almost have to stop there and take a picture with your girlfriend for no other reason than the one sung about in that old Kinks song.
But there’s nothing to prove at the Clam Bar. Its fish and shellfish are from local fishing boats and baymen. You can eat freshly shucked clams on the half-shell with local white wine from Duck Walk Vineyards or local beers from the Blue Point Brewing Company while sitting at the bar or be waited on by one of the efficient servers at a yellow and white parasol-shaded table.
The menu is thorough and reasonably priced. You’ll find: Cajun Popcorn Shrimp ($6.50), both New England and Manhattan Clam Chowder ($4.50/cup), Steamed Mussels or Lobster, Crab Cakes, as well as all manner of fried fare (whole clams, shrimp, oysters, scallops, clam strips and chicken nuggets). There are also grilled fish specials like Tuna, Swordfish, Shrimp, Salmon and Mahi Mahi. The Lobster Roll is good— better than the one available at the nearby stalwart, Lobster Roll (aka Lunch).
Still, the best thing to get at the Clam Bar at Napeague are the fried clams, which are great. It’s a high quality stop, a great place to sit outside and soak in the summer, or what’s left of it.
The menu: from Spicy Crab and Sweetcorn Chowder ($6.50) and steamed lobster to hamburgers.
Lobster Salad Roll, Market Price.
Crab Cakes, $7/2.
HungryHamptons: Gosman’s Dock (Montauk, NY)
Arthur Bovino — September 02, 2009
Top, Lobster Rolls, Fried Clams & French Fries. Left, Gosman’s Fish Market. Right, Gosman’s Topside.
Restaurant: Gosman’s Dock (view site)
Address: 500 W Lake Dr, Montauk, NY 11954-5152 (view map)
AlwaysHungry Grade: C-
AlwaysHungry Recommends: Bring Martin’s Potato Long Rolls and “Fantastic Lobster Salad” from Sable’s to make your own lobster rolls and just have drinks Topside at sunset.
Hours: Topside, daily, 12pm-10pm
If you spend time in the Hamptons during the summer, you can’t really call the season complete without a visit to Gosman’s Dock. The Gosman family, fishpackers for the Fulton Market back in the mid-20th century, founded it in 1943. Robert and Mary Gosman started it as a chowder stand that specialized in lobster rolls in 1950. From there, they gradually added components, culminating in what is now practically a compound with four different spots to eat (the Restaurant, the Inlet Cafe & Sushi Bar, the Clam Bar and Gosman’s Topside). Then of course there’s a bevy of stores that qualify somewhere between kitsch and quaint, and Gosman’s Fish Market, which sells fish straight from the dock where local boats unload their fresh catches.
Unfortunately, the food doesn’t measure up to the fantastic location, at least the lobster rolls and the fried clams don’t. Gosman’s lobster rolls are different both in style and presentation from those we’ve become accustomed to in the city with the proliferation of the Pearl-style. This roll is more akin to lobster salad, in fact, that’s how it’s described on the menu: Fresh Lobster Salad on a Roll. The salad is served in a large, rounded scoop on a traditional hot dog bun. At $16.95, it’s cheaper than most of the ones you’ll find in Manhattan, but in this case you miss what you don’t pay for, the meat is ground and watery. The fried clams are chewy and rubbery.
You would be better off buying whole cooked lobsters at Gosman’s Fish Market or even better, picking up Martin’s Potato Long Rolls, and a pound of the famous, “Fantastic Lobster Salad” at Sable’s (a reasonable $34), and enjoying an end of summer drink Topside as the sun goes down.
AlwaysInformed: Lobstah Feast Friday at Rocky Sullivan’s in Red Hook
Arthur Bovino — August 31, 2009
Two of Red Hook Lobster Pound’s 1½lb lobsters. Bottom left, Susan Povich of the Lobster Pound. Right, Rocky Sullivan’s.
One thing that offers solace to hungry, rain-dampened people is a dry, friendly pub serving damn fine bar pizza and fresh Maine lobster. We forgave Rocky Sullivan’s (view site) for setting their TVs on another Mets loss instead of the Yanks’ extra inning, walk-off homerun victory because of its new affiliation with Susan Povich and Ralph Gorman of the Red Hook Lobster Pound (view site). Rocky’s will host the Pound’s Lobstah Feast every Friday through the end of the year. Starting at 6pm, $23 gets you corn, coleslaw or potato salad, a 1½lb lobster and dessert, first come first serve.
HungryHamptons: Westhampton Beach Farmers’ Market, Stall by Stall
The Gluttoness — June 19, 2009
Crabs from Seatuck Fish Co.
This past Saturday was the debut of the Westhampton Beach Farmers’ Market, and the 24 stalls had the parking lot behind Waldbaum’s bustling with fresh produce, fruit pies, chocolate fudge, homemade pasta and preserves. While Montauk Highway is riddled with roadside stands, this pop-up farmers’ market is known as one of the best in all of the Hamptons.
Highlights included Blue Duck Bakery’s sweet and sour cherry pie, Papa Pasquale’s burrata and homemade Lobster Ravioli, Horman’s spicy pickles and Seatuck’s bucket of live crabs (shown). The market is sponsored by the Westhampton Beach Historical Society, and will operate every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. until mid-November.
HungryChefs: Chefs Love Lupa, Mixed on Hot Dogs
The Gluttoness — June 11, 2009
Roasted Pork Shoulder “Gyro” with Pickled Cucumber & Yogurt from Anthos at Street & Savory
Some of the country’s best chefs attended Citymeals-on-Wheels’ Street & Savory Tasting Event. We’ve already brought you pictures of all the dishes and rounded up our favorite plates, but we were also able to speak with the chefs.
Our questions were obvious: What are you AlwaysHungry for? Which New York City restaurant do you crave? And in keeping with the night’s theme: what would you serve if you opened your own street cart? Some chefs took the easy route, promoting dishes they had prepared for the evening, others were quite creative with their responses.
FirstLook: SHO Shaun Hergatt
The Gluttoness — June 08, 2009
It’s rare that I’m speechless, but last Thursday night’s preview dinner at SHO Shaun Hergatt stunned me into my first satisfied oblivion of 2009. Executive Chef Sean Hergatt has spent two years turning the concrete canvas within The Setai New York into a modern Asian masterpiece with simple elegance and ruby red accents. An expansive glass wall separates diners from the theatrics of the grand kitchen and many of the tables face Hergatt’s “stage” where he commands his dutiful “players.” You witness meticulousness then taste it.
The striking décor is matched by the drama of SHO’s impeccable food, which the chef described as “Asian-accented, modern French cuisine.” Hergatt is a brawny Australian with a sweet smile—the unexpected artist behind brilliantly feminine dishes that are as artistically inclined as they are sophisticated in flavor. There’s a continual dance between delicacy and decadence. Riveting taste always wins, but it’s the manner in which it’s achieved that is so interesting.
Duo of Canapes: Crêpe w/ Tobiko & Sour Cream over Lime & Sesame Seed Tuille w/ Whitefish Tartare
Two velvety crêpes were filled with tobiko and sour cream, then tied in purses, served over thin slices of lime and topped with gold leaf. Two sesame seed tuilles were rolled like cigars and stuffed with whitefish tartare. There was an impressive equilibrium between the rich insides and the subtle exteriors.
Click here for AlwaysHungry's full First Look at Sho Shaun Hergatt >>
Dine Around Downtown: Steak Sandwich Face-off
The Gluttoness — June 03, 2009
Fifty of downtown’s best restaurants served up their signature dishes at Chase Manhattan Plaza yesterday for the Downtown Alliance’s 11th annual Dine Around Downtown. A live jazz band entertained the sea of hungry diners who sampled the $3 and $6 plates. With all the lobster (rolls, bisques and BLT’s) and meat (burgers, beef ribs and steak sandwiches) it almost seemed like a surf and turf event. But it was the trio of steak sandwiches that demanded our attention and comparison.
Click here to find out who had Dine Around Downtown's best Steak Sandwich >>
Dish by Dish: L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon
Jeff Zalaznick — May 18, 2009
Les Burgers
Beef & Foie Gras Burgers with Caramelized Bell Peppers
It seemed as if I had missed the work of Chef Joël Robuchon when he closed, Jamin, his small, three Michelin-starred restaurant in Paris. I had never been. The food became something that I dreamed about, his famous mashed potatoes, purée de pommes de terre, haunted me in my sleep. Lucky enough, my prayers were answered, and six years after retiring, Robuchon’s L’Ateliers began popping up. First in Tokyo, then Paris, Las Vegas, and finally at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York City.
They could not have found a better home for L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon. The bar at the Four Seasons has always been a power drinking scene, but it had never really had the food to go with it. A Michelin-rated restaurant where one can order Asian and French influenced cuisine from one of the world’s most renowned French chefs seemed to fit the bill. As the location will reinforce though, this restaurant blurs the distinction between bar and restaurant, just as it does between bar food and fancy french. Over half of the menu is offered as small plates, including a game-changing rendition of sliders topped with seared foie gras (pictured above). This dish could be interpreted as a symbol for the restaurant as a whole.
The remarkable presentations, ingredients and flavors of Chef Joël Robuchon’s cuisine consistently impress, and since they opened in 2006, there is no question that L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon is one of New York’s best restaurants. It is what it’s supposed to be—excellent— and it does what it’s supposed to do: fine dining with out the fancy. It could be that you can sit at one of the twenty bar seats and watch Robuchon-protegé and genius in his own right, Yosuke Suga at work, or it might be that you can order an entire meal as tapas, but either way it is incredibly successful at making you feel comfortable eating foie gras in your jeans. And everyone is served a dish of mashed potatoes alongside the meal.
The world has gained more Ateliers (London and Hong Kong) since, and there is another one planned to open in Philadelphia in 2010. If you have one in your city, and enough money in your wallet, go there now.
Signature Small Plates: Les Burgers (Sliders), L’Anguille (Caramelized Eel Layered with Smoked Foie Gras), Le Calamar (Sautéed Squid with Violet Artichokes & Chorizo in Tomato Water)
AlwaysHungryNY: The Cardinal Club
The Gluttoness — May 11, 2009
Ever invited friends over for dinner, cooked them a fantastic meal and bathed in their rave reviews, seriously considering charging for your food as they suggest? We recently dined at the home of one entrepreneurial couple who followed through on the idea. You may have heard of this before. The New York Times called similar dinners, anti-restaurants. The couple, Simon & Paula (both 27), who prepared our meal, call their kitchen turned restaurant, The Cardinal Club. Running a dinner club was a natural evolution considering the couple’s passion for food and the hosting capabilities their garden apartment allows them. Inspired by Spring and an incredible meal that Jeff had attended at the club the week before, he insisted that the CORE return to experience this special place.
The couple named their dinner club for the cardinals that frequent their backyard. They transformed their ample garden into a clandestine dining sanctuary where friends can enjoy a leisurely meal in a homey, relaxing environment—an amazing alternative to the chaos of dining out in New York City. The warm glow of the romantic garden was compliments of Christmas lights and candles. There were plants, trees and flowers, but also fresh herbs, grown for use in Cardinal Club meals. Inside, a vintage record player spun an eclectic mix of tunes, from South African jazz like Startime with the Dark City Sisters to Ghostface Killah’s Supreme Clientele. You couldn’t help but instantly feel blessed to be aware of this hidden gem.
To keep the Cardinal Club private, Simon and Paula (both graduates of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts), only serve one party per evening (up to 6 guests fit comfortably) and all groups must be recommended by former diners. Diners can choose to have three to six course menus. The cost per person is: $50 for three courses, $60 for four courses, $75 for five courses and $90 for six courses. Every menu is ingredient-driven and relies on French execution. The dinners are always BYOB, so we brought two different sangrias, made using AlwaysHungryNY recipes.
Simon, our cook for the evening, acquired his culinary experience at one of the first acclaimed French restaurants in the Southwest, Vincent on Camelback, in Phoenix, Arizona. Simon learned a lot while working there under Chef Vincent Guerithault, but he is still largely self-taught. He has an impeccable knack for combining seasonal and seldom-used ingredients. He thoroughly sources ingredients from the Union Square Green Market, specialty restaurant suppliers and renowned purveyors. He gets his meat from Esposito’s Pork Store, and his fish from The Lobster Place, for example.
Paula, our Argentinean-bred hostess served us consummately—lighting candles and refilling drinks. She even went the extra measure by serving things on a silver platter. While she doesn’t participate in the cooking, her South American background surely influences his cuisine.
AlwaysPartying: Fiamma Las Vegas Preview
The Hungry Goat — March 26, 2009
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The New York dining scene may have lost Fiamma and the much-praised cuisine of Chef Fabio Trabocchi to the economic climate, but Steve Hanson wants us to know that the chips are still rolling in to Fiamma at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Executive Chef Carlos Buscaglia was in town yesterday to whet the media’s appetite with a preview of the restaurant’s upcoming spring menu. Held at the former Fiamma location on Spring Street, which now operates as a B.R. Guest event space, Chef Buscaglia impressed with a host of delectable, beautifully-presented tastes. Most impressive were the signature handmade gnocchi with Maine lobster and black truffle crema, a luscious foie gras mousse drizzled with honey, and a perfectly seared diver scallop over fava bean purée.
Lobster Roll Wars: A Blind Taste Test
The Hungry Goat — March 25, 2009
The story should be familiar by now. Chef opens restaurant with partner. Partner leaves to open similar restaurant. Chef gets upset. Chef hires new sous-chef. Sous-chef leaves to open similar restaurant. Chef gets angry and sues.
When Chef Rebecca Charles opened Pearl Oyster Bar in 1997, the “clam shack” concept became the ultimate in casual-chic dining, and Pearl’s signature Lobster Roll became the new upscale comfort food darling. Three years later Mary’s Fish Camp, another lobster roll-serving seafood haven debuted, this one from former Pearl partner Mary Redding. Similarities between the two did not go unnoticed. Then, in 2007, déjà vu struck twice when Charles’ longtime sous-chef Ed McFarland opened Ed’s Lobster Bar, a restaurant so much like Pearl in almost every way—from the décor to the menu—it had Charles crying plagiarism. Her intellectual property lawsuit was the first of its kind in the restaurant industry (considering the striking resemblances in design between newcomer Harbour and Lure Fishbar it may not be the last) but was eventually resolved out of court.
Now, the dust has settled. And while all three lobster rolls are left standing, the question remains: whose is truly the best? We’ve heard from customers and critics, but what about an insider’s perspective? How would a chef who has worked at one of these restaurants, who has made hundreds of lobster rolls every day, rank them? AlwaysHungryNY sought out an honest answer. We found a chef who agreed to do a blind taste evaluation of each lobster roll on the condition of anonymity.
To conduct our experiment, the lobster rolls were placed on identical plates without their usual accompaniments. Fries, garnish, pickles, lemon wedges, they were all removed to eliminate any potential clues. Would our chef be able to distinguish the rolls by sight? By taste? Would the recipe, made time after time, be immediately recognizable or would the difference be so negligible that it made telling apart Pearl’s, Ed’s and Mary’s impossible?
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