The Fat Radish

The Fat Radish

17 Orchard Street

New York City, NY 10002

(212) 300-4053

We weren't sure what to expect, but I had seen so many lovely photos of the restaurant and now I knew why. We walked in to a small foyer decorated with bikes, wine bottles, plates, plants, and bouquets. White subway tiles alone one wall with a large sink and cabinets. Opened shelves, exposed brick, and chalkboards. The bar appeared as we ventured in with swing-out chairs and then a simple and airy dining room. There's some natural light from the sun roof, window shutters, and easy lighting along the walls with greenery peeking in. Everything looks rustic, casual, and fashionable. At one point, Howard mentions that it does feel like we're eating in an enclosed park or garden.

The food here is known to be created with well-sourced, seasonal ingredients and there isn't any particular focus as we spot naan, curry, and soba among scotch egg, celery root pot pie, and kale Caesar salad.

Service wasn't the greatest. We stood by the bar, unsure if we were supposed to grab a table ourselves or if we were to be seated. Even though the bartender spotted us, she made no effort to help or call someone over. Finally, one of the servers came over to seat us and later came back with the menus. Things started to get better once we ordered as our meals, I even spotted a few smiles from our server. Then the food arrived!

I love seared tuna salads so I went ahead and ordered the Seared Block Island Tuna with watermelon, cucumber, and thai chili vinaigrette. This was light, refreshing, and delicious. I enjoyed the sweet flavours from the watermelon, the crunch from the cucumber, and the sweet and salty vinaigrette with just a little kick of heat. My only quibble would be that the presentation could have been improved on and that the tuna could have been cleanly sliced.

Howard ordered the Bacon Cheeseburger with duck fat fries and house pickles. The burger was pretty good, I was lucky enough to have a bite of it - just one before it was quickly taken away from me. But those fries! I liked the fries the best! Fries, wedges, whatever you want to call them, I enjoyed stealing about half of them and dunking it in the upside-down white top hat ketchup holder.

A lovely spot for lunch or brunch, the Fat Radish turned out to be the first restaurant where Howard and I ate as an engaged couple! To celebrate, we clinked our glasses of water together. Of course, I had no idea this would happen when I made the reservation the previous week!

ABC Cocina

ABC Cocina

38 East 19th Street 

New York City, NY 10003

(212) 677-2233

For our next day in the city, I had made lunch reservations at ABC Cocina. Originally, I wanted ABC Kitchen, but I couldn't get a reservation because it was fully booked! This probably worked out for the best and it didn't matter in the end because we really enjoyed the atmosphere in the adjacent restaurant and the food was great.

We walked in and told the group of hostesses that we had reservations and were welcomed to wait at the bar as they set up our table. The dining room was quite full as we wondered where we would be seated. The back of the restaurant was divided with what we presumed to be ABC Kitchen on the other side. Sitting at the bar also allowed you a glimpse of the open kitchen in the corner.

I was really looking forward to this meal since it was our first experience at a Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant. We've tried some of his recipes at home before and I like how he has light preparations and incorporates Asian flavours into his food. But, we were here for Latin inspired food!

These are one of those times that I wished that my descriptions matched those of the great food writers out there so that I could properly praise the dishes we tried.

To start, we had peekytoe crab and corn fritters with chipotle mayo.

I cannot get enough of tacos and ordered the crispy fish tacos with aioli and cabbage-chili pickle. Howard's parents make great pickled cabbages but we would have never thought to use it in a fish taco! Loved the idea and also noted that they did not go easy on the heat, we liked the spiciness of it.

This crispy chicken salad with summer vegetables and spicy mustard vinaigrette was surprisingly good! Popcorn-sized chicken tossed in fresh greens, the perfect summer salad!

This deceptively simple dish was the star of our meal. Sweet corn with queso de mano cheese and lime. It was so good.

Finally, we tried the chipotle chicken tacos with grilled jalapeno salsa. Also spicy, this taco helped end our delicious meal.

I have to say, we look forward to returning some day or trying another Jean-George restaurant! Or better yet, open up a place in Toronto!!!

Lafayette Grand Café & Bakery

Lafayette Grand Café & Bakery

380 Lafayette Street

New York City, NY 10003

(212) 533-3000

As one of the most talked about restaurants this year, we made reservations to eat at Lafayette on our second day of vacation. This place was pretty grand for New York standards, the restaurant was large with ample seating on the main floor and up by the windows. The patio was open and filled with guests as it was such a lovely day.

There's a beautiful bar...

and a spacious dining room. No elbow to elbow sitting with the people at the next table! We were seated in the banquettes by the large windows.

I ordered the East Coast Halibut with sweet corn and sauce poivrée. I liked the corn, mushrooms, and tomatoes more than the fish itself, but can say that while the halibut was nicely cooked, there just wasn't a lot of flavours.

Howard tried the Dry-Aged Strip Steak Frites with béarnaise butter. I was more interested in his shoestring fries, yum! The steak was medium rare as ordered and satisfied his craving.

One of the main reasons I wanted to eat here was the accompanying bakery.

Right near the entrance of the restaurant, you can come grab-and-go or quickly eat at the limited seating in this area.

Have a look at those tarts! Fresh Fruit, Honey-Spiced Custard, Raspberry and Pistachio, Double Chocolate and Caramel Pear, and Passion Fruit Cheesecake.

As for the éclairs, they had Lemon Meringue, Chocolate, Butterscotch Coffee, and Peaches and Cream that day.

What about the petits gâteaux? Blond Desir, Accro du Caramel, Yoshi, Charlotte Noir, and Dauphine.

To start off our macaron tour this year, I knew we'd have to make the difficult choice of choosing which flavours to eat. They had Blueberry, Passion Fruit Caramel, Birthday Cake, Chocolat, Lafayette, Strawberry and Black Pepper, and Pistachio Cherry.

We went with Lafayette, Passion Fruit Caramel, and Birthday Cake. The Lafayette was chocolate and lemon, we liked the pairing of their namesake macaron. The Passion Fruit Caramel was also delicious, but we were not fans of the Birthday Cake macaron. I don't recall it tasting like confetti cake, it was just unpleasant. Some of the macaron shells were also hollow, so they lost some points for us.

Even though we were full from lunch, we couldn't resist trying the Yoshi since it reminded us of Super Mario. A Jasmine tea mousse with apricot compote and a petit beurre base, this was a very creamy cake, I don't think you could finish it alone in one sitting, so I'm glad we shared it.

We might return to try some of the other items on their lunch or dinner menu, but we wouldn't return for the macarons.

Butter Baked Goods

Today is Chocolate Cupcake Day. Yes, it's a thing. Chocolate cupcakes are our favourite, they're easy to make, stay moist, and you can pair it with almost any flavours and it still tastes great. Or, you can add a hint of salt with it if you want to cut the sweetness. Basically, we find that chocolate is versatile (we're sure others agree)! To help us celebrate this national holiday, we enlisted the help of Butter Baked Goods.

Butter Baked Goods
Nostalgic Recipes From a Little Neighborhood Bakery
Written by Rosie Daykin
Photographs by Janis Nicolay
ISBN 13: 9780449015834
ISBN 10: 0449015831
Publisher: Appetite by Random House
Hardcover: 272 pages

Butter is a bakery in Vancouver, opened by Rosie Daykin (an interior designer), in 2007. Her vision was to restore the nostalgia of homemade baked goods. We think she succeeded from viewing photos of the bakery online and flipping through her cookbook. Pastel pinks, greens, and blues, Butter Baked Goods is like a chic grandmother. The cover alone gives me cake stand envy. That rose wallpaper you see in the background? Endpapers. And there's a soft green ribbon that serves as a bookmark, which I know that they use to tie up their treats with.

There's nine chapters of treats: muffins, scones, cinny buns and loaves; drop and sandwich cookies; rolled and cut cookies; bars and slices; butter creams and frostings; cakes; cupcakes and whoopie pies; pastry, pies and tarts; and confections. The recipes go by measuring cups and spoons, so the only thing I would wish for would be the weight measurements beside the ingredient list.

Recipes I'll want to try: Pineapple Coconut Scones; Apple Bacon Cheddar Scones; Banana Chocolate Loaf; The Gingerstamp; Smartie Pants Bar; The Campfire Bar (makes me want to go out and purchase a better kitchen blowtorch); Butterscotch Crispy Bar; Triple Lemon Layer Cake; The Quintessential Butter Tart; and Butter's Famous Marshmallows.

I also want to give a nod to Janis Nicolay and Kelly Hill. The photographs are lovely, delicious looking and the layout and design is beautiful and thoughtful. There's a photo for every recipe and even some for process and procedures. Overall, this would be a great gift for those starting out in the baking world.

So I made some chocolate and peanut butter cupcakes, only making slight changes here and there to make due with what I had in the kitchen. They might look different from the version in the cookbook, but we can attest to how yummy the cupcake itself is!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from Butter Baked Goods
(Makes about 28-30 cupcakes)

2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup of cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of smooth peanut butter (plus 1/2 cup more if you include the optional step)
1/2 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 cup of dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cup of whole milk
1 cup of sour cream
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1. Preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F) and prepare your cupcake pans by placing the cupcake liners in.
2. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl (preferably one with a spout).
3. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the peanut butter, unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium to high speed until light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one. Scrape the sides of the bowls as needed.
5. In a measuring cup, whisk the milk, sour cream, and vanilla extract together.
6. Turn the mixer to low and alternate adding the dry ingredients and the liquid ingredients. Begin and end with the dry ingredients in three parts, the liquid ingredients in two parts.
7. Using an ice cream scoop, fill each cupcake liner about three-quarters full. This part is optional (I skipped it), use a small teaspoon to push in 1 teaspoon of peanut butter into the center of the batter. Make sure it is fully covered by the cupcake batter.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted, comes out clean. If you included the optional step, don't insert your tester into the middle, do it on the side. Otherwise, you'll just hit warm, gooey peanut butter.
9. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.

The following recipes are not in Butter Baked Goods, but an improvised version since the original called for a peanut butter butter cream and a deep dark chocolate butter cream. I didn't feel like doing a double stacked swirl of frosting on the cupcakes.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting
(Makes enough to frost 18-20 cupcakes)

1 stick of unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups of icing sugar
1/4 cup of smooth peanut butter
5 (approximately 1/4 cup) Lindor Peanut Butter Milk Chocolate Truffles, melted
1 1/2 tablespoons of whole milk

1. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, icing sugar, and peanut butter together.
2. Melt the chocolate and peanut butter truffles over a double boiler or in the microwave at 10-15 second intervals. Pour into frosting and mix.
3. Add in the milk for a smoother consistency.

Chocolate Ganache
1/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate
1 tablespoon of whole milk

1. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave at 10-15 second intervals. Stir until smooth.
2. Add in the milk and mix until incorporated.

Crunch
1/2 cup of Rice Krispies

Final steps to assemble the cupcakes. Pipe the chocolate peanut butter frosting onto the cupcake, swirls look best! Then, create the chocolate ganache as you want to work quickly with it so that it doesn't cool and harden. Pipe zig-zags of chocolate ganache over the chocolate peanut butter frosting. Sprinkle Rice Krispies liberally over the frosting.

Eat! Howard's colleagues had the joy of eating some of our Chocolate Cupcake Day treats. I heard everyone from his department ate two and left only 10 for lucky passersby.

Thanksgiving Leftover Pizza

There's no rest for the full stomach! After Thanksgiving, I packed some of the leftovers from my aunt's dinner for the next day's lunch. What's a great way to use up all those leftover turkey meat and vegetable medleys? Pizza!

The small, tiny science part of me wanted to test the flours that the kind folks at Robin Hood sent us. So I took out some containers, labeled them, and mixed it with yeast, salt, and water.

Pizza Dough
(Makes about 1 large pizza)

250 grams of All-Purpose flour, Tastes Like White flour, or Omega-3 & Fibre flour
1/2 gram of yeast
8 grams of salt
175 grams of water

1. Sift the flour, yeast, and salt together. Add water.
2. Mix until dough forms. Knead it three to five times until combined and set in container.
3. Cover with plastic wrap, towel, or lid and let it sit in room temperature (away from cool breezes, open windows, or air conditioning).
4. Leave overnight for at least 18 hours.
5. Transfer dough to a floured work surface. Gently shape into a rough rectangle. Turn corners side down and mold gently into a ball.
6. Let dough rest, covered with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel for about an hour.
7. Carefully stretch dough into pizza shape (because it doesn't have to be a perfect circle) and place on parchment paper over a baking pan.

Look at the dough go! I woke up the next morning to a "pop" because the dough pushed the lids off! You'll notice that nothing happened with the Gluten Free dough, as it shouldn't because I didn't add xanthan gum (my bad).

Note the colours of the different pizza doughs. The All-Purpose one produced the largest amount of dough and it was also the most damp and sticky pizza dough to work with. Tastes Like White followed, the dough also being very pliable. The Omega-3 & Fibre dough produced a whole-wheat-looking colour and was drier and firmer. The texture was easier to shape if you used a rolling pin.

Just take out all the leftover food from the fridge. Pour some tomato sauce over the dough, some freshly sliced pieces of mozzarella, and pile on the turkey, broccoli, cauliflower, and peppers.

Bake for 15-20 minutes at 260°C (500°F) or until you notice the crust and toppings start to brown. The cheese should be fully melted and bubbling a little.

The Omega-3 & Fibre crust was easy to spot, darker in colour and firmer in texture. It almost tasted like whole wheat pizza crust to me.

The original All-Purpose flour and Tastes Like White performed similarly. Both were light and chewy and the salt in the dough came through. So depending on what you're looking for in nutritional value, you can easily substitute the two.

We hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner and next day lunch!

Disclaimer: The new Robin Hood Nutri Flour Blend varieties were sent to us for review. All opinions are our own.