Featured Restaurant: Khyber Pass
GutterGourmet — June 30, 2010
Lamb Shish Kebab with Tomatoes, Onions, and Brown Basmati Rice at Khyber Pass on St Mark’s Place.
If you’re like me, you organize your take-out menus by cuisine. If you’re a little more obsessive-compulsive, you might even alphabetize them. It helps with the following, nightly conversation about where to eat.
“Hey, honey, what kind of take-out do you want?” American? No. Japanese? Nope. Korean? Doesn’t cut it anymore. Mexican? Moroccan? Nah. Wait, I’ve got it. Pizza! Kidding. Just kidding. Recently, just as I was about to start over again, I noticed that I had missed something I had filed in the A’s: Afghani food.
AlwaysInvestigating: Duck, Duck, Gyro
The Gluttoness — September 22, 2009
For all intensive purposes, gyros and shawarmas are one in the same. When you’re starving on Lexington, eating the damn thing is more important than dissecting the distinctions, but they are worth noting.
Gyros are from Greece. The name refers to the sandwich itself, which is typically made of garlic and oregano-spiced ground pork (although it can be combined with lamb, chicken or beef), which is compressed into forcemeat before being spit-roasted. In Arabic speaking countries, shawarma refers to the meat itself, usually sliced lamb, seasoned with allspice and assembled in layers on a spit before being roasted. Ultimately, both preparations are sliced off the spit and served in a pita. While gyros are usually dressed with Greek yogurt or tzaziki, and shawarma typically takes tahini or tarator (tahini with garlic), neither is customarily stuffed with duck, yet some New York chefs are opting to put a gourmet spin on these street food favorites.
ilili’s Duck Shawarma with Fig, Green Onion and Garlic Whip.
ilili’s Duck Shawarma ($14.00) has the appearance of your typical Middle Eastern shawarma, except the fancy holder allows the wrapped pita cone duo to be delivered upright. Thin pita is grilled for a smoky exterior and the delicate crispness of the wrapping gives way to a generous portion of sliced duck. While some bits are plagued by fat and gristle, most of the medium meat had a gamey richness. In typical fashion, the shawarma’s sauce was characterized by garlic. The intensely seasoned garlic whip had the caramelized hue of roasted cloves. The creamy sauce controlled the flavor profile, its heaviness given relief by a plentitude of pungent green onions and a sweet speckling of figs.
Featured Dish: Cookshop’s Frozen Yogurt Parfait
The Gluttoness — June 22, 2009
There is nothing like dessert for breakfast and Cookshop’s Parfait with Frozen Yoghurt and Granola only furthers that truth. Yogurt and Granola is a staple combination on many breakfast and brunch menus, but Cookshop’s brunch item takes this classic to delicious heights. The conventional format is thrown by the wayside for a homemade Frozen Yoghurt. Greek-style yogurt is mixed with sweetened condensed milk, sugar and gelatin, then churned in an ice-cream machine for a creamy, decadent result. The frozen yogurt is accompanied by granola, Bosc pear, almonds and cashews. It’s like a breakfast sundae with a drizzle of sweet honey instead of hot chocolate sauce.
While not as rich as Cookshop’s rendition, other restaurants take a parfait approach to gourmet granola:
DB Bistro Moderne Yogurt & Granola Parfait ($8.00)
West Branch Yogurt, Granola & Fresh Berry Parfait ($9.00)
Telepan Yogurt Parfait w/Ronnybrook Yogurt, Granola & Seasonal Fruit ($28 prix-fixe brunch menu)
Cookshop’s frozen yogurt would make for a super after-dinner sweet, but Dovetail actually serves their Frozen Greek Yogurt Parfait ($12.00) for dessert. Topped with tangerine sorbet, this Creamsicle-sounding concoction would probably also be heightened with granola.
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 >>
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