Torrisi Italian Specialities also has a prix fixe dinner that people are raving about! It’s a $50 prix fixe and the courses change daily. The lunch menu is a walk-in sandwich place – but includes specialities such as their roast turkey sandwich and their eggplant parm!
Hello. I’m Joanna.
I use “Joannie” because of my mom. My mom rarely ever says my real name. I probably haven’t heard her use “Joanna” in a couple of years now even though I speak with her on the phone pretty much every day. Yeah, I know, so what does she refer to me as? Well “Joannie” for one. Sometimes she says “kitten” (mao-mi) in Mandarin Chinese or “fuzzy fuzzy” (mao-mao – another embarassing nickname). I honestly don’t know why she never says my name, but it’s ok, that’s how “Joannie” was born!
Well, I’m a foodie. Yes I know, I’ve gone a little crazy with the photo posting, I’m experimenting with this new layout and how I will introduce you to my first love… yes, I am referring to food.
My Food Adventures.
I am from a food-oriented family. My grandma is a famous for her cooking in Taiwan (well, in some circles, but our family is weirdly famous in Taichung). My mom had a one-time stint as a chef. My dad’s sisters own a little hole-in-the-wall in Taichung that makes traditional Taiwanese foods. So I grew up around food and I love food photography. I don’t care if some people abhor the fact that people take photos of their food, but when I look at my food photos, the memory of the smell and taste come to mind and I can relive those moments.
So here are my first 5 photos:
I went to Stephen Starr‘s Granite HIll located in the Phildelphia Museum of Art. Granite Hill is a wonderful museum restaurant. Not only was the menu reasonable, the range of dishes had me at indecision. I did come to my senses and chose, The Hill Burger, while my friend chose the Warm Shrimp Salad. The Hill Burger was wonderfully complimented by their Pommery Moutarde de Meaux which was available on every table. The Warm Shrimp Salad was a bit too drenched in the lemon beurre blanc, but the flavors were excellent.
The Hill Burger
Charbroiled special blend beef, melted fontina, fried onion, truffled sesame bun & twice-fried Kennebec potatoes $14Warm Shrimp Salad
Mesclun greens, fines herbes, shaved fennel, avocado, lemon beurre blanc $17
The taco photo is from the famous Country Boys (aka Martinez Brothers) Taco Truck. They have a location at the Red Hook Mercado, an open lot turned into a small open bazaar. There are 2 food stands along with 2-3 small stands selling jewelry and other handicrafts. There I had two very juicy pork tacos with all the fixings. A little spicy for me (I practically drank all of my friend’s water), but great for those who can handle the heat (I’m sorry! I’m a wimp!).
The latte and dessert photo are from a random spot on the Upper East Side called Terramare. No, I would not recommend going there, but it did give me my first taste of “Nonna Della Torta.” It’s a traditional Tuscan dessert w/ a pastry outside and inside can be either lemon curd, ricotta w/ lemon zest, and can be topped with anything such as pignoli nuts (my favorite!). It’s a wonderful dessert and I would like to try variations of it on my future trip to Tuscany (aah, a girl can dream, can’t she?). Oh yes, and the latte. My friend received her latte and found a surprise – a face! So hence the photo, nothing special about it besides the face!
Hopefully there will be more exciting food adventures in the future, but I’ll try to post detailed posts with photos, links and descriptions. Til then! Happy Food Adventures!
This place used to be known as King 5 Noodle, but now there’s only a sign labeled “牛肉麵” or “niu rou mien” in Mandarin Chinese. The best way to describe where this is located is: “It’s on Prince St in Flushing next to Sentosa.” Somehow, everyone knows what that means (well, I did not, but now I know). A giant bowl will put you back about $6.
En Japanese Brasserie is a little bit off the beaten path (it’s not near any subway stations), but well worth the trek out to the far side of the West Village. I have heard their salmon stone bowl – only served during dinner – is hands down one of their best menu items!
Location | New York, NY
The New York Brewfest was on Governors Island. The website describes the event as:
NY Brewfest is a craft beer sampling event sanctioned by the New York State Brewers Association. A commemorative 4-ounce glass is given to all attendees at the Information Booth/Entrance. Admission allows samplings from over 300 styles of handcrafted beers from more than 100 breweries. Great local foods will be available for purchase, and New York bands will perform throughout the evening. The event is a venerable gumbo of the Empire State’s creativity.
Cheers!
Needless to say, I was sold. I actually had a “Connoisseurs’ Pass” which allowed an extra hour entrance to the event (well worth it). We had free reign over a lot of booths and A LOT of beer.
View from the Governors Island Ferry
Now, I am not a very large person. Drinking a lot of beer, even out of a 4oz cup, was probably not a good idea for someone with little to no tolerance. I became incredibly hyper during this event.
At least we ate some food...
So, Greg decided it’d be good to feed me. What’s good at a Brewfest? Well, spring rolls, burger, and homemade chips. We even had some ice cream after. Well, after an hour or 2, Greg decided it was time to go so I followed him out as I was feeling pretty tipsy from all the alcohol coursing through my veins.
View from the island
I actually let him go home, while I stayed on the island and laid out on a blanket… and took a nap. I woke up later and actually took a long walk from Wall Street to SoHo (after getting off the ferry, that is).
Location | New York City
The weather was amazing this weekend. After a crazy night out with some good friends, I woke up early and headed to Brooklyn for brunch at Buttermilk Channel. I met up with Jiye and Christine and we were easily seated.
I actually didn’t know what Buttermilk Channel was known for, but their eggs looked amazing. I ended up order a spinach, goat cheese and mushroom scramble. It came with a biscuit and hash browns. I also ordered some bacon-encrusted almonds for the table (which turned out to be not so great).
Salmon & cream cheese scramble
Christine ordered the salmon & cream cheese scramble. Jiye ordered the salmon platter. There was also a (terrible) coffee cake.
After brunch, we went to Jiye’s neighborhood and hung out at Tazza and had something to drink.
Then I met up with Winnie at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. It’s currently cherry blossom season and we wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
Winnie & me in the cherry blossom promenade
They also had some beautiful tulips, especially the double tulips (which looked like a few tulips within each other).
Double Tulip
The gardens didn’t take too long to get through, about an hour and a half. After that we decided that we wanted to eat dessert – at Junior’s! So we took the subway and went to try out the famous Junior’s cheesecake.
I love cheesecake!
Winnie got the Devil’s Food Cheesecake and I got the Strawberry Cheesecake.
Overall, it was great weekend. May 1-2 is the Sakura Matsuri at Brooklyn Botanical, but I don’t suggest going (it will be PACKED). This weekend was packed… craaaazy. If you do go, enjoy!
Location | New York City
Bubble Tea, Boba Tea, Pearl Milk Tea (珍珠奶茶), whatever you may call it was invented in Taiwan sometime during the 1980’s. Very few people know that it was actually invented at one of my VERY FAVORITE tea shops in Taichung: Chun Shui Tang Teahouse (春水堂). Although there’s another tea house in Tainan (southern Taiwan) that also lays claim to inventing bubble tea, we all know that Taichung is superior (heh).
Chun Shui Tang originated bubble tea through experimenting with cold milk tea. If you ever have a chance to visit any of their locations in Taichung, please try their milk tea with small bubbles. You will get the frothiest milk tea imaginable, with perfectly cooked bubbles. Furthermore, their thick sliced toast with condensed milk or peanut butter is mouthwatering delicious for what it is.
Everyone should also try to cook the bubbles themselves! It’s really rewarding when you get the perfect consistency and realize that you can make your own instead of crossing your fingers you don’t get a bad batch every time you go to a tea shop in Chinatown and/or St. Marks.
Taichung is also known for their suncakes (太陽餅). They come in various sizes, but my favorite are the large suncakes. Flaky on the outside and soft, sweet and gooey in the center. Originated by a branch of the Lin Family (not directly related to me) there is a mile stretch of stores on the road into Taichung where you can find hundreds of variations of suncakes.
Suncakes
The oyster omelette is a food enjoyed all over Taiwan (and parts of SE Asia and China). I bring it up here because my aunts (on my dad’s side) run a restaurant that specializes in oyster omelettes. A mixture of egg, starch (to thicken) and small oysters then a nice sauce on top makes for a delicious snack! Top that with fried tofu or any other items and you have the perfect Taiwanese street food.
Another perennial favorite is stinky tofu. As awesome as it sounds (/sarcasm), it really does taste good. Because it is fermented tofu, you can literally smell it from a mile away. If you get your wits about you and suck it up, it’s worth a try. Really. Really, just plug your nose and eat it!
How does something so delicious looking smell so bad?
As I further my hunger… other favorites:
Radish Cake
I am so hungry as I read the Wikipedia article on Taiwanese cuisine (to remind myself of what else to write about). My goal is to eat my way to Taiwan. If I come back about… 20 lbs heavier, just be nice.