LON: Afghan Kitchen

Right next to the same-old, same-old constituents of 'Supper Street' is the tiny 'A.K.' (I liked it so much that we're already on to nicknames).

£9/head gets you a long wait for a communal table but also friendly service and large portions of what seems home cooked Afghan fare. Now I've never been to Afghanistan, and don't foresee such a trip happening, but surely this is how it must be back in the Motherland! Yogurt drenched roasted pumpkin with chilly oil, chicken in yogurt sauce (even for someone who despises chicken), and fresh baked bread. The bread! Go here just for the bread. One serving is enough for two medium sized Europeans or one American child.

Go early or book. Ask for a seat at the table downstairs so that you can catch a glimpse of Islington's Intellectuals walking by. 35 Islington Green, London N1

NYC: Ippudo -Japanese Noodles and Pork Buns

Ippudo is by far my favorite ramen noodle joint and pork buns in all of NYC. I started going here when they first opened--back when they used huge chunks of flavorful pork belly in the pork buns and when you order a bowl of ramen noodles you could order extra pork belly which would also be a huge chunk.  But times are tough and the pork belly has gotten a bit thinner, still it's still awfully good!  Keep an eye out for a future Momofuku posting.

Keep in mind that you'll likely have to wait for a table for at least an hour.  We went on a Friday at about 6:30pm.  If you go between Monday and Thursday, they have beer specials: 2 for 1 until a certain time - maybe until 7pm.  If you go early enough when dinner first opens, you might get lucky and get seated right away (if you have only a couple people in your party).  Otherwise, just lean up against the bar and have a drink.  I unfortunately had two Kirin's at the bar, so by the time we sat down to eat, I was already a bit tipsy.

We ordered a couple Hirata Pork Buns at the bar, so we ordered the "Tofu Hot Pot" (I can't find their Japanese name from their menu online) when we sat down at our table - this is so amazingly awesome!  I haven't ordered this in a while, b/c we usually order the pork buns for our appetizer instead, but I guess that's another good thing for the wait...eating pork buns and overhearing a first date next to us ; )

We've been to Ippudo many times and Ethan and our friends often try all different kinds of ramen noodles, but from our experience and opinion, the Akamaru Modern Ramen Noodles are the BEST.  Akamaru Modern is described as "'the original tonkotsu' soup noodles with Ippudo's special sauce, miso paste and fragrant garlic oil, slices of simmered berkshire pork, cabbage, onions, kikurage & scallions".

I love how the bar countertops are made up of square bunches of ramen...very creative.

A bite out of my pork bun

Tofu Hot Pot in action

Akamaru Modern Ramen

Ippudo

65 4th Avenue (between 9th & 10th Street) (map)

New York, NY 10003

(212) 388-0088

NYC: The Barn at Bedford Post Inn (Brunch)

Janet:

I've had my eye on Bedford Post Inn for some time now and finally, Yumi and I booked a morning of Yoga followed by Brunch in the Barn. I really wanted to spend the night at the Inn, but at $400 a night, it's a bit out of my price range. It was a beautiful 50 degree, blue sky day. Yoga in the morning was a great way start to the day. The class we took was called Iyengar yoga...I don't do yoga enough to really know the difference between all of the yoga styles, but it was really good and I can't wait to go again. Bedford Post is only about 45 minutes from Manhattan.

The Barn was really quaint and rustic. It's still a bit too cold to be eating outside, but that's why we need to go back there so we can enjoy it all over again once the weather is a bit warmer. I ordered the spicy grilled chicken sandwich with a side of applewood smoked bacon. Yumi and I shared a side of herbed french fries. The fries were NOT that good. They weren't soggy, but they weren't really crunchy either and they just missed flavor.

Dessert...yes, we ordered dessert after brunch, we shared a warm chocolate brownie with stracciatella gelato.

Yumi:

I had the poached eggs with polenta, which was really good, but really rich so I couldn't finish it. The best part of the visit was the snacks that we picked up after brunch. I got the vanilla cupcake and an apple strudel. The cupcake was moist with just the right ratio of cake to frosting, and the apple strudel was just sheer bliss. The apples were cooked to perfection with a hint of lemon.

Spicy Chicken Sandwich

Warm Brownie sunday with Stracciatella Gelato

Here are some other pastries from the Barn:

Bedford Post Inn

954 Old Post Road (map)

Bedford, NY 10506

Orange Bleue (The Museum of Modern Art, Hayama)

Ok. Who said restaurants in Musuems are usually, real expensive and all stale? This is my first restaurant that I am posting from Japan and I wanted to post a restaurant that is one of my favorite!

Last weekend, I needed to just get out of the city!! Crowded roads, people everywhere. Took a friend and my son, hopped on the car and just drove south! We went to Hayama which is one of the oldest resort area close to Tokyo, about an hour drive to The Museum of Modern Art. Ok. I am sorry.. I have never actually been in the Museum....but I heard its nice!

Just walk through the Musuem and you will see "Orange Blue". What is great about this place, is of couse the food, but it's the view! There is this terrace seat where you can sit and there is nothing else blocking the view. You see Mt. Fuji, the ocean and blue sky! We were having lunch at another place so, we had only cake and coffee last weekend, but it was so good! Need to go back for brunch!

Restaurant "Orange Bleue" 2208-1 Isshiki, Hayama, Miura, Kanagawa 240-0111, Japan
The Museum of Modern Art, Hayama 1F
TEL:046-875-0919
http://www.moma.pref.kanagawa.jp/en/public/Restaurant.do

NYC: Shake Shack (Upper West Side)

I've been dying to try Shake Shack for  years!  I have no idea what's taken me so long to go, I mean, the main midtown location isn't too far away from my office...maybe it's the wait, maybe the hype.  Well, I have to say that it is definitely worth all the hype.  Ethan and I finally checked it out tonight for dinner and I was in heaven!  I can't wait to go back again.

Let me start with what makes this place so good...to me.  I'm obsessed with burgers.  It's my biggest weakness and if there's only one thing I could eat for the rest of my life, it would be a bacon cheeseburger.  Anyway, the Shake Shack burger not only uses really good quality ingredients but it has the perfect bun to meat ratio.  I was pretty happy that they use American cheese for their burger - it's my favorite choice of cheese for burgers.  It's not overpowering, or greasy, but creamy and melts just perfectly.  I (being the piggy that I am) ordered the Double ShackBurger (American cheese, lettuce, tomato and Shack sauce).  Ethan ordered the same thing but with a single patty.  I think the next time I go, and I'm starving, I'll get two Singles.  The fries come separately, but what's a burger without fries?  And what's a burger and fries without a shake?  I ordered a strawberry shake and Ethan ordered a chocolate malt.  He wasn't that impressed with the malt since he said he couldn't taste much of the malt powder.  Mine was excellent, no complaints from me.

This past Summer when we were in Colorado, we went to a burger joint called Lark Burger which was also really good.  They were actually comparable tasting burgers.  The size is a bit deceiving (both the LarkBurger and the ShakeBurger), but with the fries AND shake, it's quite filling.  A great recommendation from my brother.  The next time we're out there, I MUST get another LarkBurger.

Single ShackBurger on the Left and Double on the Right

ShackBurger - Double

Yummmm...mmmm...mmmm

Strawberry Milkshake

Shake Shack (map)

366 Columbus Avenue (at 77th Street)
646-747-8770

NYC: New Leaf Cafe

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and I had to get out of the apartment.  Ethan (husband) and I went for a walk to the Cloisters, then grabbed brunch at the New Leaf Cafe.  I've been here once before with a couple friends and the only thing I remember was that it took way too long for us to get our food.  This time around the service was very fast and I was quite pleased with the food (at least my food), maybe because it was just the two of us.  There is an outdoor area which is a great place to sit on warmer days.

Brunch came with a complimentary glass of fresh squeezed orange juice or grapefruit juice.  I ordered the Croque Monsieur smoked ham, gruyere, brioche, bechamel sauce with two eggs sunnyside up.  It was good and filling...I probably didn't need to get the two eggs since I'm sure the sandwich alone would have been more than enough.  Ethan ordered the German Style Baked Apple Pancake with Vermont Maple Syrup. The pancake looked pretty but didn't really have much umph.  It looked like they forgot to fill in the pancake with....food.  For $18, it's definitely not something to get again.  Luckily I was feeling generous, so I shared my sandwich.

Aside from the food, I really enjoyed the photographs of squash all over the restaurant.  It wasn't until we were walking out, that I noticed they displayed the book which all of the photos were based.  The book is called "The Compleat Squash: The Passionate Growers Guide to Pumpkins, Squashes, and Gourds".

The New Leaf Cafe

German Style Baked Apple Pancake

Croque Monsieur with two eggs sunnyside up

The New Leaf Cafe (map)

1 Margaret Corbin Drive

212-568-5323 

NYC: Obao Noodles & Grill

We tried Obao on a Thursday night and it was in general pretty good and as to be expected. I wasn't feeling overly ambitious today, but something asiany sounded perfect. A definite good place to go if you're in midtown, but I wasn't crazy for it.

For our appetizer, we ordered the pork belly skewer. This was pretty tasty with a nice sweet taste. I'd order this again if I wasn't on a diet.

For dinner, I ordered the grilled pork & shrimp cucumber salad, herbs and lime dressing with a fried spring roll. This was just what I wanted and I was really happy with this dish. The Laksa was a disappointment. One of my favorite Singaporean dishes and it was totally NOT even close to authentic. I would try something different next time, if there is a next time...

Grilled pork & shrimp left and Singapore Laksa on the right

Obao (map)
222 East 53rd Street (between 2nd & 3rd Ave)