Top 5 American Comfort Food With A Modern, Elevated Twist at Del Frisco's Grille in NYC

1. Cheesesteak Eggrolls

A fusion of America (Philly cheesesteak) and China’s (eggrolls) signature dishes, the Cheesesteak Eggrolls at Del Frisco’s Grille is an absolute must. Perfect for sharing, the crispy eggrolls are stuffed with savory cheesesteak and drizzled with sweet and spicy chili sauce and honey mustard.

2. Jumbo Lump Crabcake

A fist-sized crabcake, made with lump crab meat and topped with micro greens, sits on top of spicy cajun lobster sauce that is both rich and creamy. Unlike other crabcake, this one is as pure as it gets - real, sweet and juicy crab meat without the unnecessary, extra fillers.

3. Filet Mignon

Del Frisco’s Grille lives up to its reputation as America’s greatest steakhouse by serving one of the best filet mignon ever. Cooked perfectly rare (you can, of course, request it to be cooked any way you want), the filet mignon has beautifully pink center with grilled edges. The absolutely juicy steak that just melts in your mouth is topped with peppercorn for additional flavor.

4. A Trio of Vegetable Sides

The sides at this steakhouse is as delicious as the main course itself. The crispy sweet potato fries, pan-braised wild mushrooms, and shaved brussels sprouts with bacon all complement the steak well.

5. Coconut Cream Pie

Inspired by Boston cream pie, the Coconut Cream Pie is presented just as the name suggests. On top of a mound of fresh cream are toasted & fresh coconut flakes and white chocolate shavings. The pie is surrounded by crunchy crust made with Nila crackers, which is much sweeter and has more vanilla flavor than other typical crusts.

Eclectic French-Cuban Cuisine at Chez Henri

Chez Henri offers a dynamic fusion of French and Cuban cuisine. Since it opened its doors in 1994, Chez Henri has received wide acclaim in the culinary world, having won several Best of Boston awards like "Best French Restaurant," "Best First Date Restaurant," and "Best Fusion."

The Pan-Roasted Long Island Duck Breast with a Rhubarb Ginger Gastrique, Citrus Salad, and Yuca Roesti. The duck breasts were sliced bite-size for the convenience of consumers. Instead of the ubiquitous mashed potato, the mashed yuca added nice color and different flavors. The salad on the side was a bit bland.

Criollo Bouilabaisse, or Latin-Spiced saffron fish stew with fresh New England shellfish and a chipotle-garlic rouille. This dish is a seafood lover's dream, with lots and lots of clams, mussels, shrimp, fish, etc. The broth had pretty strong tomato taste with hint of spices.

The Braised Lamb & Goat Cocido with handmade pasta and West Indies spices. This dish was also broth-y, with a handful of pasta in the middle with braised lamb and goat surrounding it.

Steak Frites...what an All-American dish. It had a chunk of grilled NY sirloin with crispy fries and green peppercorn-dijon cream sauce.

Finally, the dish that I settled for was the special of the night: Red Snapper filet steamed in banana leaf with coconut rice and shrimp-mango escabeche. To be honest, I was a bit shocked to see fully-scaled red snapper underneath the banana leaf. I couldn't really taste the scent from the banana leaf. Also, the coconut flavors in the rice was a bit too strong.

Presentation Matters: Gnocchi and Duck Dish at Chez Henri

You would be immediately censured as being too shallow if you judged people based on their looks. But when it comes to food, I am a firm believer of the phrase that prettier food tastes better.

One such restaurant that focuses on the quality of presentation as well as the taste is Chez Henri, which offers a dynamic fusion of French and Cuban cuisine. Since it opened its door in 1994, Chez Henri has received wide acclaim in the culinary world, having won several Best of Boston awards like “Best French Restaurant,” “Best First Date Restaurant,” and “Best Fusion.”

Upon entering the restaurant, my dining partner and I were greeted by a hostess who seated us on a candle-lit table. Other than the fact that the dim lighting made it hard for me to read the menu, the ambiance radiated warmth and comfort.

We were munching on slices of French bread when the waiter brought our entrees. Despite my aversion to cheese, I decided to get the Seared Ricotta & Semolina Dumplings ($24) because I was craving the chewy texture of gnocchi. What surprised me the most about the dish was its stunning presentation. 

About a cup of gnocchi in the shape of mini marshmallows was placed on the center of a white rectangular plate over purplish red puree of roasted beet and carrot. A sautéed medley of glazed broccoli, cauliflowers, summer squash, and carrots was served on the side to satisfy my daily servings of vegetables. 

The lightly seared ricotta sprinkled on top added light crispiness to the doughy gnocchi.

My friend’s entrée, Pan Roasted Long Island Duck Breast ($28), didn’t disappoint either. On top of the rhubarb ginger gastrique, or caramelized sugar sauce deglzed with vinegar, laid pre-cut slices of medium rare duck breast that were juicy without being too tough. 

A bed of citrus salad on the side with poached pear offered a little crunch from the arugula, while the mashed sweet potato found a perfect medium in texture between runny and coarse.

Indeed, the presentation of food matters, but I think the food at Chez Henri would have tasted great even if I had been blindfolded.

Located on Shepard Street near the Quad, Chez Henri (http://chezhenri.com/) is open for dinner seven days a week and for Sunday brunch.

NYC Red Farm's Asian Food, Too Cute to Consume

Because I live and work in Midtown, I haven't had much chance to explore other parts of NYC. Yet people have been telling me about all these great restaurants in the "southern" part of the city, so I decided to venture out one day after work to Red Farm, which serves an "innovative, inspired Chinese cuisine with Greenmarket sensibility," according to its website.

It was my first time at this cute West Village restaurant, so I asked the waiter for recommendation. Right off the bat, he suggested the Pac-Man Shrimp Dumplings ($12.50). I couldn't believe my eyes when the dish came to the table because the presentation was stunning and, quite frankly, too cute to eat!

As the name of the dish suggests, it had sweet potato tempura carved in the shape of Pac Man with blueberries for its eyes. Underneath the "Pac Man" was a generous serving of guacamole and two slices of cucumber.

There were a total of 4 dumplings in the shape of ghosts in the game. They were filled with juicy shrimps, and each dumpling were infused with flavors that ranged from lobster to leek to crab. My only wish was that the servings were bigger because my party and I gobbled up these "ghosts" within seconds.

Another dimsum that we ordered was Pork & Crab Dumplings ($12). We got four pieces of pretty large-sized soup dumplings with a side of ginger & soy sauce.

Perhaps it's because I had such phenomenal soup dumplings in Chinatown, but the ones in Red Farm did not live up to the expectation. The skin of the dumplings were a bit too thick, while the inside didn't contain as much juice and flavors as I would have liked.

The final appetizer we ordered was Kowloon Filet Mignon Tarts ($10). I must preface by saying that these petite tarts were the highlight of the night! We each got to taste one tart that was full of rich flavors.

On top of the crispy (and not fatty!) tart with corns and slightly creamy sauce was well-seasoned and marinated filet mignon with garlic flakes. I wanted to savor the tart without finishing it up in one bite. The filet mignon wasn't too tough and it was very juicy! I could probably eat this all the time.

After our three appetizers, the waiter brought the entree:  Lobster & Long Life Noodles ($39). I was really curious what long life noodles were, but they are basically chow mein noodles. The serving, as well as the plate it was served in, was quite large. It contained one whole lobster over a bed of noodles with mushroom and scallions.

I have to say that the main dish wasn't as good as the appetizers. Visually, the food didn't look that presentable as well. The lobster had lots of meat, but I sort of wished the meat had been taken out already so that I didn't have to deal with cracking up the shellfish. The lobster was also really starchy for some reason...

The noodle tasted really overcooked. It just disappeared in my mouth! If I could, I would just rename the dish "Lobster Chow Mein."

We were quite full by now and was about to pay for the food when the waiter told us that we have a FREE dessert on the house because we were asked to move to a different table during the meal. Even though we were stuffed, why not? We ordered Key Lime Pie & Lemon Sorbet.

The one scoop of sorbet had a little mint garnish on top. The sorbet melted too quickly while I was trying to pace it because it was too sour.

The key lime pie was really sweet, especially the graham cracker crust. It had rich key lime flavors, and on top were swirls of meringue and three berries (raspberry, blueberry, blackberry).

Overall, I enjoyed my fusion-y experience at Red Farm. I loved that they offered us complementary dessert too...definitely giving it kudos for its service! Next time I visit, I will probably just stick to the
appetizers and some dimsums though!

 

Orientalian: Supreme Service and Food

Mom and I found a little gem in Myoungdong that not only serves delicious, healthy food, but also caters to the diner's need and provides great service.

Orientalian offers Asian and Italian fusion food that ranges from hot noodle soup to fried rice to pasta, most of which are cooked in an unconventional, fusion style.

Before we even settled on the menu, the waitress brought us sweetened black rice porridge. The porridge was sticky from the glutinous rice and a bit too sweet, but it was nice to sip on something while deciding from the restaurant's extensive menu.

Shortly after we finished the porridge, the waitress came back with another surprise! The four pieces of california roll was topped with something fried (I'm not quite sure what it was) and scallions. No where on the menu does it indicate that a bowl of porridge and sushi rolls accompany all dish, so these were certainly a nice surprise.

The sushi had a white and a black sauce drizzled on top. The white sauce was probably some kind of mayonnaise-based sauce, while the black sauce tasted like teriyaki sauce.

Inside the roll were ingredients in a typical California roll: sliced cucumber and imitation crab with mayonnaise. It's interesting how the rice has a purplish hue. Perhaps it's from the healthy black grain that they added?

I really loved that the fried thing on top added crunchiness to the sushi roll. The california roll tasted very simple yet delicious. I would be happy to have this as a main dish, even!

Our first main dish was called "Five Grains with Shrimp and Vegetable." When the dish first came to the table, I thought, "What is this? Where is the food? How do I eat this?" Certainly, it was a curious-looking dish!

I took the photos from a different angle, yet the dish was a mystery. I couldn't see anything from the vegetables on top!

Not just green leaves, there were also carrots, shrimp, and thin slices of scallop on top, as well as sliced mini tomatoes on the side.

The greens were so fresh!

Finally, you can sort of see the grains at the bottom. More than 10 different types of grains (according to the menu...I don't know why it's called Five Grains then) were seasoned in soy sauce and made into rice balls about the size of a baby's fist.

It's impossible to eat the whole thing in one bite unless your mouth is huge. The rice ball was seasoned perfectly with soy sauce and sesame seeds. Eating just the rice itself tasted so good! All the different grains added rich flavors. Eating the rice itself was very savory, but eating it with the vegetables on top added a new dimension of freshness.

Next was the dish that we debated on for nearly 15 minutes...the Sweet Pumpkin Pasta!

Normally I would have ordered anything "Squash" or "Pumpkin" at a heartbeat, but I was a bit hesitant about this dish because the waitress told me the sauce was cream-based. I asked if it would be possible to get it without cream, and she said they use the pumpkin puree and cream to get the flavors so she wasn't so sure. But I really didn't want to lose my chance at eating delicious pumpkin/squash. After a while, the waitress came back with great news that the chef would cook it specially for me! But she warned, "We can't guarantee that it will have the same creamy flavor." No problem for me! I don't like creamy stuff anyways.

When the dish came out, I was nervous that it would taste awful. But worry no more! The first bite blew me away. Instead of cream, the chef added honey for the similar sweet, thick flavor. The pumpkin was very sweet by itself, too.

Inside the half-bowl of squash were different types of pasta that was slightly undercooked, which is perfect because the pasta cooks by itself from the heat while it's in the bowl.

There were also mushroom, bell pepper, and other vegetables that were grilled beforehand for the extra savorniess, as well as black olives and fresh greens sprinkled on top.

Taking a bite of this dish was like being in heaven. So flavorful! Because there was no cream added to the dish, I didn't feel nauseous and my stomach didn't growl at me afterwards. Wow, I wish I could eat this dish all the time. I really loved the service at Orientalian, and how the chef was willing to modify his dish to cater to the diner's taste. And the result was very, very successful :)