The Corner Shop Cafe

After a long, trying day at at school, I was in desperate need of some form of respite. Now, if I was asked what paradise would be for me, I would probably say anything that involved Corner Shop's cheeseburger. While I don't have the Corner Shop's history memorized, I do know that it was the idea of seventy four year old Carlos Green after going through a tough divorce with his wife, and needing somewhere to express himself creatively. Just kidding. All I know is that it has a really great burger made from grass-fed beef, and I always enjoy myself there. Anyway, as we entered the restaurant, I noticed that it was rather empty, unlike other times when it had been packed full. However, we were also eating abnormally early at six thirty, so that could have been the cause as well. We did not wait as we called the waitress over to order. I was very specific as I asked for a medium rare cheeseburger with provolone and mushrooms, as well as plain french fries. Despite the small number of customers, the kitchen still succeeded at failing to bring our food in a normal amount of time. However, it was worth the wait. The juicy meat flowed into a mouth followed by a cascade of cheese and mushrooms. The texture was great, and it satisfied everything I ever imagined in a perfect burger. It was one of the best burgers I've ever had. I give the Corner Shop a 9.1/10. Happy Thanksgiving to all my loyal readers!

Sorry

To all of my faithful readers,
I apologize for not posting in a while. Due to the stress of my bar mitzvah (November fourteenth), high school applications and school work, it has been extremely difficult for me to post recently. Expect posts of The Corner Shop for NYC people, and The Bear for Woodstock people.
Thanks for bearing with me,
The food vigilante, Julian

Momofuku

While art may not be my favorite class, I still like my art teachers. So, when they asked me to go with them to Momofuku, I happily obliged. Even though it took more than a year in the making to make that plan be realized, it was worth every minute of the wait. As the wind blew against my face, I finally saw my visual arts teacher, Carin, approaching me. As we hurried to the restaurant, located on first avenue and 11th street, I pictured all of the delicious food that we would be enjoying in less than an hour. After walking for an extremely extended period of time, we finally met up with my old art teacher Melissa, and her friend Ari. We entered the densely packed restaurant, the warm air compensating for the cold, the wafting smell of noodles drifted into my nose. We sat down at our crowded table, and immediately ordered our meal. Some of the items on our list included steak tataki, sliced fluke, roasted pesto cauliflower, seared scallop, chicken buns, pork buns, rice cakes, chilled spicy noodles, and ginger scallion noodles. We finished it off with angel food and strawberry lemonade soft serve. It was a lot of food. We ordered the prix fix menu, along with about twelve other courses off of the menu. My favorite course was the chilled spicy noodles. With all of the other dishes, the serving was immaculate and beautiful, but this dish was sloppy and undecorated and messy, which made it so much better. It had spinach and nuts and sausage all mixed in with it, and it was a perfect blend of spicy and cool. The other noodle dish was loaded with vegetables, which made it healthier, but less enjoyable. A few high points of the meal were the pork and chicken buns, which were both very intense, and the steak tataki, which was grilled to perfection. I really enjoyed Momofuku because I got to enjoy some time with my teachers, and also because I got to experience a new restaurant. While the service is cold, and the decor a little bland, I still feel that Momofuku deserves a 8.7/10.

Knickerbocker Bar and Grill

There are many options for a midday lunch in New York City. You could run into a cafe to grab a bagel and some chips, or you could go to a sit down restaurant and be gluttonous. Since it was raining, my friend Will and I, inadequately dressed in shorts and T-shirts, had to run to my dad's office, our stomachs incessantly reminding us of our hunger. After what was supposed to be ten minutes of work, but ended up being an hour, we departed swiftly into the swirling mist and rain that some call University Place. Forty-nine seconds later, partly drenched, we stumbled into Knickerbocker, one of my dad's favorite restaurants. My dad had already promised me a hamburger, so I didn't even have to glance at the menu, but I did, noticing there was a variety of choices: seafood, steak, pasta, burgers, you name it. Then, after ordering with our Kristen Wiig look-a-like waitress, we noticed something life changing was taking place at the very same time. The people next to us had ordered a mouth-watering chocolate souffle, and we ordered one on the spot, even though it was three o'clock, and I rarely even get dessert. Our bacon cheeseburgers arrived, beautiful, and fresh. We devoured them and the fries, but knowing that, even though the burgers were amazing, they would not be the high point of the meal. Out of the abyss the waitress arrived, every step resonating in my head, just waiting for the delicious chocolate, whipped cream and more chocolate to reach my salivating stomach. The chocolate sauce was gently poured over the souffle. The whipped cream softly spooned over it. Then all madness erupted. In less time than it had taken us to run to the restaurant from my dad's office, the souffle was gone, and still-hungry spoons were leading the rescue parties for last bits of cream and chocolate sauce. While we may have been pigs, and we may have gotten fat, this was still one of the top 10 meals of my life. Knickerbocker definitely earns a 9.2/10.

Rino Ceronte

While some people believe that everything is better with bacon or butter, I personally believe that everything is better with garlic or mayonnaise. Therefore, when I noticed that the new sandwich shop, Rino Ceronte offered garlic and mayo mixed together as a sauce, I knew that I had to try it. Rino Ceronte is located right between NYU and LREI where I attend school. There are a lot of snack shops as well as smoke shops, so large variety of people shop there. It’s a great place to open a store because there are many hungry children released from school every day. The way that Rino Ceronte works is that you first pick your bread, white or whole wheat. Then you choose your protein; steak, chicken, mushrooms, shrimp or goat cheese. Then you choose from all of the sauces, of which I obviously chose the garlic mayo. After, you choose from a number of sides. Some of the sides include onions, olives, potatoes, cheese, pickles, jalapenos, and romaine lettuce. Some of the sauces that they offer include: mustard vinaigrette, lemon and olive oil, basil pesto and chili mayo. My main complaint about Rino Ceronte, of which I do not have many, is that they do not offer enough sides. My father’s only complaint was that the stools were too hard, and that there was not enough leg room. Some people can be a little picky. My usual choice for my sandwiches is chicken on wheat bread with garlic mayo, black olives, and Swiss cheese. While the sandwich can be a little too juicy, the flavors are very intense, and robust. I really love the food at Rino Ceronte because it is fresh, and tasty. I would recommend it for people who have about five to ten minutes to get their snacks, since it takes a little while. I love Rino Ceronte, and I give it an 8.3/10. Oh, and everything does happen to taste better with garlic mayonnaise.

The Farm to Table Dinner

There are many idyllic places to eat a meal, such as: a boat, a forest, Grandma's house, but in the midst of a beautiful field at sundown, has got to top the list. So there I was, late at night, enjoying a completely organic meal, with my family and our friends the Cohens. The idea of the meal was that all of the food that was eaten there had to be organic, and from a 100-mile radius of New York City, therefore, benefiting local farmers. The meal was held at Katchkie farms, somewhere in New York, though I have no idea where. My mom's friend Liz Neumark was hosting the party, and her catering company, Great Performances was cooking on location. The meal included: Katchkie Farm Icicle Radish and Coarse Sea Salt, Katchkie Farm Tomato Water with Basil Ice, Potato Cakes with Hudson Valley Foie Gras and Apples, Katchkie Farm Pickled Vegetables, Mixed Greens, Tomato Jam, Katchkie Farm Veggie Burger Bite, Zehr & Sons' Wild Mushroom Tart with Warmed Nancy's Camembert, Katchkie Farm Beet Salad, Fresh-Snipped Rosemary, Flecked Old Chatham Blue Cheese, Baby Greens with Hot Bread Lavash, Grilled Pigasso Farm's Chicken, Katchkie Farm Roasted Turnip, Tomato, and Eggplant Salad, Roxbury Farm Sweet Corn on the Cob, Tomato and Tarragon Vinaigrette, Roasted Samascott Orchard Peach Tart Tatin, and Milk Thistle Farm Cinnamon Ice Cream. As you can see, it was a very comprehensive menu. All were excellent, but my favorites were the potato cakes, and the wild mushroom tart. Even though the tart was overwhelmed by the enormous amount of dough and eggs in the tart, the mushrooms had a very nice flavor. The ambiance of the meal was very nice, and the location was beautiful. We were able to explore the garden, tasting as we went. As the sun began to set, people began to leave the meal. I looked back where the 130 people had been before, and I remembered the highlights of the meal; the juicy, tender chicken paired with the buttery corn on the cob. The peach tart covered in cinnamon ice cream and blackberries, the cool beet salad paired with the warm Chatham bleu cheese. My mouth watered for more. One other highlight that had nothing to do with the meal was that we got to talk to an original Woodstock festival attendee, and I could relate between his story, and the book written by Michael Lang about the same exact thing. We left in the pitch black darkness, having eaten a meal in a field of dreams. I give the 100 Mile Menu dinner a 8.4/10.

Here's a link to their web site in case you want to enjoy one of these Farm to Table dinners yourself. http://www.100milemenu.com/index.htm