Restaurant Review: Slightly Oliver

Last night was Valentine's Day. So OF COURSE I went to a romantic gastropub with one of my best friends to have lots of punch and eat some food. Isn't that what everyone does on Valentine's Day? No? I'm confused.


Anyway, it was Valentine's Day and my boy lives in a different city and Mills' is single so we decided that the best idea ever would be for the two of us to go out, eat some delicious food at a non-romantic locale and drink...a lot. I must say that I believe we succeeded.

Gael Greene, the Insatiable Critic, wrote a review of Slightly Oliver, a cocktail-themed gastropub that opened only 5 blocks from my apartment, that was glowing. Obviously it had its flaws, as it is new, but overall her review was extremely positive, and being the (slightly obsessed) fan that I am, I had to try it. 

Now any legitimate person who goes to a cocktail bar obviously has to order a cocktail first. The cocktail menu is split into classics (prohibition style drinks like their signature negroni or apricot-infused manhattan), "tasty cocktails", punches, and beer and wine. Being the drunkard that I am, I of course ordered a punch. After reviewing the menu I decided on the Bollywood Punch--Jamaican Rum, brandy, oranges, cardamom, rosemary and agave. It was very good, except when I got to the end and there was a nice chunk of cardamom waiting for me. Not quite a pleasant surprise. Oh...and the glasses were miniature. No joke.

This glass is only about 5 inches tall. Very small. Not worth the price, methinks. *sigh*

When we sat down Mills ordered a punch as well (good girl!) called the Goblin Punch. Her punch was a mix of gin, white lillet, celery water, green fermented grapes, kiwi, green apples, English cucumber, sage and peppercorn reduction. To be honest, it kind of tasted like a really watered down green smoothie. It just tasted a little...vegetabley. It was good, don't get me wrong, but...vegetabley.

mmm flatbread. Seriously who doesnt like flatbread. Although maybe restaurants should just call it what it is...pizza. Cause seriously, who doesnt like pizza?

In addition to having "loving to drink" in common, Mills and I also share a mutual "love to eat". So entrees would simply not satisfy us. Plus it was Valentine's Day, so obviously we had to be romantic and share an appetizer. Since Mills is a vegetarian (YES! I am actually friends with a vegetarian. And I like going out to eat with her.) we decided to get the vegetarian flatbread with oven-dried tomatoes, oyster mushrooms, feta and an herb vinaigrette. To be honest...it was delicious. We gobbled that shit up.

I'm not sure why this picture is sideways, but Blogspot clearly hates me today. It still looks good though, no?

 Because I clearly don't respect vegetarians (just kidding!), I ordered a plate full of meat. But seriously, I actually did--I ordered the short ribs, which Gael Greene waxed poetic about in her review. The short ribs were served with celery root puree, braised leeks and an apple gastrique. In all honestly, they were delicious. The bones were removed so I didn't have to eat around that, the leeks were tasty and the cipollini onion nuggets were a pleasant addition. I would definitely eat this again.

Pretty appetizing looking for a plate with no meat on it, eh?

Amelia, being the herbivore that she is, ordered the swiss chard and ricotta ravioli. To be honest, it probably clogged her arteries with the amount of butter and cream in one sauce, cause I'm pretty sure my one bite did. She said she was happy with it, but that the sauce was a bit greasy. Note to Slightly Oliver--just because it has butter in it, does not mean a sauce will be automatically delicious. Taste that shit before it goes out. That's a small issue that could have easily been corrected.


Even with the greasy sauce, our meal was pretty good for a place that focuses on cocktails. Our cocktails were pretty good, but not amazing. Overall...there's a possibility I'd return, but that's mainly because its only a few blocks away and most of the places around me are wine bars. If you don't live in the UWS, I definitely would not suggest you travel to try it.


But then again, if my review has convinced you that Slightly Oliver should be your next dining destination, you can find it at 511 Amsterdam Avenue, between 84 and 85, or online at slightlyolivernyc.com

Restaurant Review: The Smith

Last weekend the boy came up to NYC for his birthday and we seriously had a fatass weekend. We ordered about $120 worth of sushi on Friday after he arrived then went to the Rusty Knot for his "surprise" party (which would have actually been a surprise if only his friends werent complete idiots...). On Saturday we started with a fabulous brunch at The Smith in the East Village, followed by a wonderful discovery of Trader Joe's wine shop (sorry wallet) and for dinner I dragged him back to Schiller's so I could re-try their food when I wasnt annoyed. I wrote Schiller's Part 2 earlier this week, so check it out.

Interior of The Smith (East Village), courtesy of thesmithnyc.com

We arrived at The Smith to a crowd at the door. We'd just gotten out of a $20 cab from the UWS side and I was dreading walking in the door...so I sent K in (seriously, what else are they for?). I was happy when two seconds later he poked his head out to say our table was ready. Yay restaurants that actually SAVE tables for people with reservations!

Obviously the first thing we did was order drinks. I ordered a bloody mary and he went with a mimosa...and then joked about how manly he is (but seriously, is there anything funnier than a 6' guy drinking out of a champagne flute? i think not). I'm not sure what got into my head that I wanted a bloody mary cause, well, to be honest I dont even like them. So that lasted all of 2 seconds before I stole his mimosa and he settled for a beer.

Drunk night + pretzels in morning = happy couple.

Since we managed to refrain from drunk eating the night before, we had not eaten for 15 hours...which is obviously WAY too long for me. So when we ordered our drinks I also ordered the baked pretzels with honey mustard. I have to say, one of the reasons I really like pretzels is because of the salt. I'm one of those people who will pull apart a pretzel so I can eat the salty parts and leave the plain ones. These pretzels...not salty. And yet, so delicious. The honey mustard was awesome--honey upfront with a little kick at the end.

Half eaten. Whoopsies. I was hungryyyy.

Little known fact about me--I always order steak frites at brunch. Always. I'm kind of a connoisseur (by the way, the BEST steak frites ANYWHERE on the eastern seaboard is at Parc in Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Square. To die.). This steak frites was good...the chimichurri sauce it came with though, not so much. It was...odd. Seriously weird. It was delicious, but just did not go well with the steak. I would have loved to drizzle that ish over a good piece of halibut or sole though. That would have been delicious!

Sadly, I do not have a picture of what K ate. Mainly because his fat ass ate it before I had a chance! He would like for me to report, however, that the "country breakfast", which included scrambled eggs, cheddar grits, grilled ham steak, biscuit and gravy, was absolutely delicious. He also blames my friend A for talking so much about grits in our 3:30 a.m. cab the night before for basically making his breakfast decision for him.

All in all, I was very happy with the Smith. Would I go back? No, but that's mainly because it's hard to get to from the Upper West Side--there's no good subway and cabs are, as I reported, about $20. If I lived in the UES or downtown, I would definitely frequent The Smith for brunch, and if their brunch was any indication, for other meals as well.

If you'd like to visit one of The Smith locations in NYC, check out thesmithnyc.com. I personally have heard mixed reviews of the midtown version so recommend you visit The Smith-East Village at 55 Third Ave. And enjoy!

Salmon with Avocado and Tomato Relish

I have a renewed obsession with Martha Stewart. As you may remember from verrrry old posts, my family used to call me Mini-Martha cause I was obsessed with her craft ideas, decorating tips and recipes. And then...she went to jail. And i was like, wtf martha--how could you do this to me? My love was tarnished and it faded.


Well...until I started watching her on the Today show. It seemed like she was on every week. Was she trying to tell me something? Was she trying to reignite our flame?


Well...maybe. Or maybe the Today Show is just a great place for people who are their own brand to expand their reach. Either one. But anyway, my love for her was reignited and I began to stalk her fabulous website, marthastewart.com. While there, I found a delish looking recipe for Salmon with Sweet Corn, Tomato and Avocado Relish. Sadly it's February, and sweet corn is nowhere to be found. So...I improvised.


Salmon with Avocado and Tomato Relish

Ingredients:


Salmon fillets; 4-6 oz. per person (I prefer skin off, but that's cause skin kinda creeps me out unless it's on snapper)
2 vine-ripened tomatoes
2 avocados
1/4 red onion
Cilantro
Lemon

Directions:


1. Marinate your salmon for about 30 minutes. I made my own marinade, but you can use a bottled one. If you do, I recommend Whole Foods brand tropical marinade or Lawry's Hawaiian. It's good, a bit fruity with hints of pineapple, but not overwhelming. I've used both on salmon as well as white fish and have never thought it over took the flavor of the fish. I was cooking at my parents, so I had to make my own--I used soy sauce and lemonade.

2. While the fish is marinating, turn your oven on to 350 and move your oven rack until it is about 1/3 down from the top.


3. Once the fish has marinated, put the pieces in one layer in a baking pan that has sides, so you can add the marinade to the pan. Put the fish in the oven--depending on how your oven is and how well-done you like your salmon, cook for between 10-20 minutes. My parents oven is electric, so it took longer than my gas one at home. I like mine slightly pink and my mom prefers cooked through, so I cooked it for about 20 minutes; at home I normally have it in the oven for about 12.


4. Depending on what side dishes you are serving, start work on those while the fish is cooking. I made jasmine rice, which is a delicious addition to fish, which takes about 30 minutes, so I started it slightly before I put the fish in the oven. The other side I had was broccoli, which I "steam" in the microwave (what?! You expect me to cook everything? The microwave is the greatest invention ever and I will take on anyone who says differently). That takes about 3 minutes so I didnt worry about that.

5. Put together the relish. Dice your onion and tomato, removing the liquidy inside (I'm sure there's a formal name for it, but I dont know it so "liquidy inside" will have to do). Then cute your avocado--it's easiest if you use a knife before removing the avocado from its shell to cut into the size pieces, then use a spoon to remove it all from the outside. Last, dice up your cilantro. Combine all in a bowl, halve your lemon and squeeze the juice on top.


6. When the fish is done, put it on a plate and spoon your relish over it. Then enjoy!!!




The final plate. YUM!

Restaurant Review: Schiller's Liquor Bar

So I gave in and tried Schiller's again. (as some of you may remember, the first time I went with A. and D., we had an 8:30 reservation and finally sat at...9:55. As you can guess, I was not a happy camper...)


Yes, I opentabled it. Again. This time they actually sat us at our reservation time. Not really shocking since it was 6:00 (K and I had a party to attend that we had to get dressed up for, so an early dinner followed by fanciness ensued).


I wanted to hate it. I really did. I was still QUITE annoyed about the last time I was there. But it's hard to be annoyed when I got an entire bottle of wine for $22. It was the cheap one this time, but it was delicious.

Our "cheap" bottle of wine was an Italian Montepulciano

This time I successfully took pictures of both of our meals. I guess when I'm not distracted by my annoyance of being sat an hour and a half after my reservation I actually remember that I have a restaurant review blog and that photos are kind of a necessity.

We started with oysters (of course...every time I eat ANYWHERE with K that offers oysters, he always orders them). In fact, the first time I ever tried oysters was with him about 6 months ago, which is kind of surprising cause I pretty much eat anything. So now he thinks they're "our thing" and he has good taste in oysters so I dont do anything to ruin this idea. Sorry about it.

Steamed mussels...YUM. Burnt fingers from the mussel pot...OW.

I, of course, ordered the delicious mussels again. And, again, they were banging. As were the fries. Seriously, I would take a $20 cab here and a $20 cab home JUST FOR THE MUSSELS. They are TO DIE. Get them. Right now.


Why are you still reading? I'm serious. Go.

Fish and chips, with the famous chips. K thought they were as good as I told him. Victory!

Since I had been raving about the fries all day, and K knows damn well that I am not the best at sharing (just kidding, I'm actually surprisingly good at sharing. Mainly cause I want to try the dishes of other people at my table. It's kind of selfish, but it comes across as very giving), he ordered the fish and chips. The fish was perfectly fine, not as good as something you could get in England or anything like that, but he got what he wanted--fries. And damn those fries were good.


Ok, ok, I revise my opinion and say go to Schiller's...but only if you order cheap wine and mussels. Trust me, it's for the best.

Italian Stuffed Artichokes

I have a confession...artichokes are tearing my family apart.


Ok well maybe that was a bit dramatic but...my family is definitely at odds over whether artichokes are delicious freaks of nature or have a taste that resembles grass, except not as good. In the one corner is my Italian mother, who grew up on artichokes and considers the perfect start to a meal to be artichokes hearts and the  perfect end to a day eating stuffed artichokes. In the other corner, standing for Irish men around the world, is my father, who grew up eating questionable meat in shepherd's pie and who's favorite type of meat until he was a teenager was Spam. Not that I have anything against Spam. In fact, if you're ever in Nashville, there's a bar downtown that sells the best fried spam sandwich. But I digress.


My brother and I fall in the middle of this spat...but definitely side with my mother. My mom actually tricked my dad so badly--believe it or not, their bed has artichokes on the four posts. No joke. She told him they were upside down pineapples, but they're not. They're artichokes. (Sorry for ruining the secret Mum!)


Anyway, my mother makes THE BEST stuffed artichokes. My mom, brother and I can sit and each eat 3 in one sitting. My dad, on the other hand, can't even watch us eat them. Oh well...his loss.


Italian Stuffed Artichokes

Ingredients: 


4 large artichokes 
2 cups soft Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese 
2 garlic cloves, minced 
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Directions:


1. Using a sharp knife, cut the bottom of each artichoke so it can sit upright. Then, using kitchen scissors, snip off the tips of outer leaves. 


2. In a small bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, cheese, garlic, seasonings and olive oil; mix well. Gently spread the artichoke leaves apart and fill with the breadcrumb mixtures.


3. Stand artichokes in a Dutch oven; add 1 in. of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30-35 minutes or until leaves near the center pull out easily.


Let me know YOUR opinion on artichokes!

Roasted Vegetable Couscous

Welcome to the new and improved Sea Salt n Pepa blog! I've deleted a number of recipes prior to this post so this one may seem like it comes out of nowhere...It does not, I assure you. 


For all my new readers, welcome! I hope you enjoy my recipes, my photos and most importantly, my stories! Food and sharing stories have always gone together, as you know, and that heritage is what encouraged me to begin my blog. I want to share my recipes with you but also share my life. I hope you enjoy getting to know me!

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As many of you know, as much as I like cooking...I'm also pretty lazy. Especially when I get home from work. The last thing I want to do is spend hours cooking. On the weekends, absolutely. My favorite thing to do on Sundays is cook a huge Sunday dinner. Monday night? Not so much. That's why so many of my recipes are quick and easy. This is especially true for meals with seafood, as it cooks extremely quickly. A Sunday roast takes hours, a Monday salmon...not so much.


I've been getting in to Meatless Monday. For one, I'm a huge animal person (one time, in college, I actually joined PETA. No joke. Then I realized I wouldnt be able to wear fur, so I quit that real quick. but still. Have you ever seen those videos? So.sad.) and for another, I want to help with global warming. As much as I love 80 degree temperatures in February, I much prefer not having polar bears go extinct in my lifetime. Yes, Al Gore got to me. Damnit!


So this recipe fits both qualifications for a Monday night dinner--its quick and its vegetarian. And by quick, I do mean...10 minutes. Yep. You're welcome.


Roasted Vegetable Couscous 

Ingredients:


One box of plain couscous
One summer squash
One zucchini
One red pepper
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Directions


1. Preheat your oven to 400F.

2. Chop your zucchini, squash and red pepper into bite size pieces. Drop these into a roasting pan or on a baking dish. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 30 minutes.


3. In the last five minutes of the vegetables roasting, cook your couscous to the box's direction. The kind I use is very simple--boil water, add a bit of olive oil and salt, drop in the couscous, turn off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes. !

4. When the vegetables are finished roasting and the couscous is done, simply mix these together in a bowl.


This is a perfect vegetarian meal or even just a side dish. You can save in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Restaurant Review: Craft

I'm no stranger to fancy restaurants. I'm also no stranger to celebrity chef's restaurants--I've been to Bobby Flay's Bar Americain and Mesa Grill, eaten Morimoto in both the Philadelphia and New York City, Alex Guarnaschelli's Butter, numerous restaurants by Mario Batali and Lidia Bastianich, Kefi and Fishtag by Michael Psilakis, and an unconscionable amount of Danny Meyer's and Todd English's restaurants.


Yet I have never had quite the phenomenal experience that I had last night at Tom Collichio's craft. It was basically perfect, in every sense of the word--from the room, to the waiter, the drinks and the food. It was clear that each element of the restaurant was specifically chosen and the end result was as close to perfection as I've had the opportunity to experience.

My dad and I began the night, as always, at the bar. He had a perfectly mixed grey goose martini, straight up with a twist (extremely light on the vermouth) and I had glass of Syrah, slightly cooled at the perfect temperature. We also had a chance to watch the master bartenders make some pretty cool cocktails--the Firefly, by far the most interest to watch, which is made of gin, lillet blanc, absinthe and apricot brandy, and then set on fire. 

Shortly thereafter we were led to our table. One of the small things that made this restaurant just a bit smoother than other experiences was that we did not have to settle up at the bar--our bar tab simply transferred over to our table. Yes, it is a little thing, but it is also something that just makes your time there a bit easier for you.

Now the menu at craft is a bit...unusual. It is all a la carte and, if you are interested in a dish, you basically have to ask how it is prepared. The menu simply lists the ingredient and the cooking technique--no word on if there is a sauce or how it is prepared.

Selection of oysters

Of course, the two of us started the meal with an appetizer. Since oysters are my new favorite (semi-healthy, although that was a pretty gross discussion as I found out that you can get hepatitis from oysters, but I digress) appetizer, I ordered one of each kind offered: Beau Soleil, Blue Point, Naked Cowboy and Hama Hama. When they arrived, there was not a cocktail sauce in sight!! Quite unusual, and again, quite pleasant as the sauce was delicious.

So, for those of you who don't know, my dad has, in the past year, lost a ridiculously large amount of weight, started to eat healthier, and well...climbed a couple of mountains. Like...20,000 foot mountains. And works out every single day for hours on end. Yeah...I am adopted. It's become clear to me. Again, I digress--after looking at the menu and eying me over the top, I reassured him that i would not reveal to my mom (hi freddi!!) what I KNEW he was going to order to start...bacon. Crispy, fried, delicious bacon. And oh.my.god was it delicious and fatty and I could basically feel my arteries hardening, yet couldnt bring myself to care enough to stop eating because then the deliciousness would end. It was...amazing, but that word hardly begins to describe. Let's just say it was crispy fried bacon, and those of you who know what I mean, know what i mean.

Crispy.Fried.Bacon.Deliciousness.

Photo courtesy of Tom O'Brien who, without glasses on, is practically blind. Apologies for him.

Moving on to our entrees: I followed the fabulous advice I got from my delightful friend and colleague Kris and ordered the scallops--roasted and served with vermouth butter. They were perfectly cooked, just crispy on the outside and splendidly soft in the middle. My dad ordered the halibut, which is slow braised, did not come out hot, but was melt-in-your-mouth soft. It was phenomenal. 

As these were a la carte, we ordered sides to share. The pureed potatoes are conceivably the best potatoes I've ever eaten, and from a person who's last name is O'Brien, that's a huge compliment. As I ate, I was positive that at least a pound of pure butter went into the potatoes as they were so soft, but was pleasantly surprised that the butter did not overpower the flavor of the potatoes. After discussing with the waiter, I was reassured that, in fact, I was not continuing to clog the arteries that were sorely tested by the crispy bacon but instead, that the potatoes were made with only a negligible amount of butter (which in restaurant-terms is still more than I would use, but less than I expected) and, instead, the potatoes were pureed by adding extra virgin olive oil extremely slowly at the end. My dad and I resolved to try this technique at home immediately.

Besides the potatoes, we ordered Hen of the Woods mushrooms, which were good, but could not stand up to the deliciousness of our other food. We also split pea and bacon risotto, which was cooked to perfect and had the delightfully smoky taste of bacon. 

I adored how all of our food was served--even our entrees, which were, as I've said, a la carte, were in serving dishes and placed in the middle of our table. For most people, it would be the perfect way to share...for my father and I, it ended up as dueling forks, but nevertheless it was much easier to steal bites of his halibut while dodging his tines than when reaching across the entire table. Although, I must boast, I have become extremely proficient at stealing food off of his plate. Not that we don't share...which we do...normally. But this food was not normal, and we were not going to give up any deliciousness that was not hard won.

I must apologize for the lack of pictures, as I was too busy shoving my face with the best food of my life to waste time pulling out my camera. And I'm sure, from that statement, you can guess that i HIGHLY recommend craft, would die to go there again (and probably die if I were the one receiving the bill-thanks again dad's company!) and will walk by the restaurant longingly for the rest of my days. GO THERE. Seriously. This is not a joke. GO.

To visit craft, which...you better be...you can find the restaurant at 43 East 19th St, right off of Park Ave, and online at craftrestaurant.com. For those of you on a a slimmer budget, I also highly recommend craftbar, which can be found around the corner from craft at the corner of Broadway and E 20th.