Giving Pure another try

This past week, my dad was in town for vacation, so many delicious meals were eaten, and many Broadway shows were seen (Book of Mormon = Best. Show. Ever). The first of said delicious meals was pre-theater, which always makes for a curious conundrum-- it's gotta be relatively quick, something yummy but not too fussy. For some reason, I steered us toward Pure Thai Shophouse.

Now, I know things hadn't gone so well the last time, but I'd had a craving for their dumplings (which I knew were the same as the ones at Land) for a while, so on we went. We were perched at a semi-communal table in the back on the same uncomfortable backless stools; peppy emo-rock blared all around us. It took a while for the server to take our order, but once she did, the food arrived quite quickly.

They had the same awesome crushed ice in their drinks. It's just a really cool touch, I think.

Extra nice with crushed ice

And then, the food: Dad got chicken pad thai, which he really enjoyed. It's a well-sized portion, too: not too large, but not so small that you're still hungry at the end.

Pretty pad thai

We shared an order of the vegetable dumplings. They're exactly as I remember them, and damn, those dumplings are good. Though I ordered an extra cup of dipping sauce, I still would have liked more sauce, but even with the sauce rationed the dumplings were their same peanutty, hearty, mushy-in-a-good-way vegetabley selves.

Hello again!

And I got the papaya salad, vegetarian-style, once again. I noted on the receipt that they actually make it without fish sauce-- not just without the shrimp-- when you request it vegetarian, which is really thoughtful. And again, the salad was decent but not stellar, and again it was mouth-searingly spicy despite my request for mild. It actually hurt to eat this. Hurt so good? Kind of.

Crazy spicy

And there we were. I'd say that we had more success this time-- those dumplings really elevate Pure's game. This past visit converted me from a Pure skeptic to one who appreciates having Land-style dumplings a little closer to home.

Pure Thai Shophouse
766 Ninth Avenue, between 51st and 52nd Streets
212-581-0999

Excitement to come

A bit of silence on my part this week, I know, but lots of posts to come. And for a taste of what's on tap, hear this:

In my wine century club question, I am currently at... drumroll please... NINETY-NINE wines! That means one more wine (and I've been saving a good one, promise me) and I'm done, done done! Stay tuned...

Bathtubs of wine and inadvertent art at Casellula

Last Sunday, I met up with AS at Casellula for a drink, a bite, and a chat session. It was pouring sheets of humid, chilly rain, and Casellula was warm and dimly lit and inviting, so the scene was right.

As you may know, I'd been to Casellula before, so there weren't all that many surprises. But what did make an appearance were huge, bathtub-sized glasses of wine. Seriously-- props to Casellula for extremely generous pours; I'd estimate each glass of wine was really the size of two (or more) regular glasses. AS got the pinot noir, which she praised as interesting and a bit different from what she'd expected. I got a glass of the goldmuskateller, a wine I'd never had before. It turned out to be truly delicious-- ever so slightly sweet, alluringly fragrant, and all around addictive. If I ever see this intriguing variety on a restaurant wine list, I'd definitely order it again.

Unusual...

Goldmuskawhat?

To go with our wine, we ordered a dish of olives. This was the standard tasty marinated mix with a good variety of the glossy, salty orbs. At one point I managed to spill about half the cup when attempting to spear an olive with my fork; fortunately, in my infinite talents, my spill turned out to be extremely artful. Behold, a food installation:

So artistic!

AS also indulged in a beet and brussels sprout salad. While the salad was tasty, particularly with the flavorful pecorino cheese, it took a few bites to realize that the bed of shredded lettuce was actually the sprouts. Given that brussels sprouts can be so delicious when caramelized and roasted, raw, shredded sprouts seem a bit of a waste, no?

Looks like shredded lettuce

We had quite a good time sitting at the bar and watching the cook assemble the appealing dishes, from cheesy panini sandwiches to huge slices of kumquatsicle cake (yes, really), in the tiny "kitchen" workspace. And we had quite a good time drinking our wine and eating our food. What's not to like?

Casellula
401 W. 52nd Street at 9th Avenue
212-247-8137

Ruby et violette ushers in a new phase of existence

Readers, you know that I am nothing if not honest. On Life With Food and Drink, I give you the truth, the honest truth, nothing but the truth, so help me (restaurant) God(s). And so here's another bit of unvarnished truth: I've made a mistake. A huge mistake.

I've lived in Hell's Kitchen for almost four years now, if you include a summer before I moved here officially. And all that time I've been erring. Badly. Because here's the situation: Before last week, I'd never been to Ruby & Violette, a little cookie and ice cream shop a mere TWO BLOCKS from my apartment.

What a fool I've been. Sure, it's unassuming, a tiny sunken storefront that looks like a cross between a '50s soda shop and Alice in Wonderland's living room. There are a couple tables and a counter, and that's it. Except that's not it: Behind the counter lies some of the (if not THE, point-blank) city's best ice cream.

The concept behind Ruby & Violette's ice cream is cookie dough-- each flavor is packed with chunks of their creative cookie dough concoction. And by chunks, I do mean chunks, each a bit bigger than a Starburst and just as chewy and dense. Oh, and there are large chocolate chips in most of the flavors too.

I tried the Friday Night Foosball flavor, with peanut butter ice cream and Chex-mix packed cookie dough and some Chex mix pieces sprinkled in throughout. It was a rich, peanut buttery blast.

Oh, and each taste is like three bites in itself

But my first taste, and my ultimate selection, was First Kiss, a caramel ice cream with dark chocolate chips and hunks of sea-salt-flecked dark chocolate cookie dough. The caramel flavor of the ice cream was cool and pure and perfect in combination with the incredibly rich cookie dough and the snappy dark chocolate pieces. One scoop of this is enough to fill the hungriest belly.

A tall cup and a classy-looking silver plastic spoon

Oh, and if they happen to offer you a "taste" of their brownie while you're waiting, don't turn it down. It just may be damn near the best brownie you've ever tasted, fudgy and melting, simultaneously rich and light, a texture alchemy that doesn't seem possible.

Brownie bite

I just spent the last four years without this ice cream, and now I have a whole heck of a lot of catching up to do. Don't make the same mistake I did.

Ruby et Violette
457 W. 50th Street, near 10th Avenue
212-582-6720

A gelato nightcap at Capogiro

After my salt fest at Gia Pronto in Philadelphia, I still had a few moments before I had to take off for the train station. And if you've been reading this blog for any amount of time at all, you'll know that that can mean only one thing: time for dessert! So out I went, walking up Walnut Street, until I found the University City location of Capogiro Gelato.

I've actually had Capogiro before, bizarrely enough, at the NYCWFF a few years back. But I've never been to their stores, since they're mostly located in Philly. This time, I plunged into the cafe/coffee shop-type shop and made a beeline to the gelato case.

The guy behind the counter was truly patient with me as I tried nearly every flavor. Finally, I made my way over to the table with a small cup of half Thai Coconut Milk, half Hazelnut gelato. I was five dollars poorer, sure, but I was also happy as a clam.

A tower of tastiness

The Thai Coconut Milk was an intriguing flavor. It tasted like coconut, of course, but it wasn't the bold, in-your-face coconut that a plain "coconut" flavor would bring to your mouth; it was more, well, milky, a bit smoother, a bit subtler. The Hazelnut was all nut, though, silky in texture and tongue-coating in nutty flavor.

The small may be pretty small, but I struggled to finish it-- palate fatigue set in near the last few bites, with all that rich milkiness sating me (for the time being, at least). Capogiro may not be the absolute best gelato I've ever had, but it's good stuff, and their interesting flavors keep the gelato-complacent on their toes. If I'm ever back in Philly again, you can rest assured I'll return.

Capogiro
3925 Walnut Street, between 39th and 40th Streets
Philadelphia, PA
215-222-0252

Traffic plugging along on 9th Ave

Traffic, the east side bar that's opening a new location in Hell's Kitchen at 9th Avenue and 48th Street, has begun to strip down the impenetrable plywood that's covered it for months. Behold, some garage doors:

Now the plywood is BEHIND the garage doors...

But don't be fooled-- a peak inside reveals that they still have a loooooong way to go on the interior. Wonder when they'll open? Hmmm...

Getting salted in Philadelphia

Last week, I went on a whirlwind down-and-back day trip to Philadelphia for a quick school visit at Wharton. (Yes, it is b-school application season, and this year my hat is in the ring...) After wandering around the campus, attending an information session, and meeting up with a friend who's a student there, I had about two hours before my train back to NYC. So what to do, what to do? Eat, of course!

First, dinner. Word on the street (Internet) was the Gia Pronto was a good place to get a salad. So with the help of a campus map and a decent sense of direction, I soon found myself at this typical take-out salad, sandwich, and soup joint on Spruce Street.

I went for a make-your-own salad, peering over the glass barrier to choose from the range of high-quality but expensive ingredients. Into my arugula base went organic beets, grilled portobellos, and capers for good measure. I asked for balsamic vinegar on the side, but I suspected I wouldn't need it due to the mushrooms' marinade and the capers' brine. And I was right, kinda.

I took my salad back to the Penn bookstore and dug in. It's a big portion, to be sure, and they give you a big ol' scoop of each of the ingredients. The problem with this salad was evident upon first bite: it was a complete and utter salt bomb. A huge scoop of capers made it salty, no doubt, but I had anticipated that; what I hadn't counted on was the fact that the mushrooms were also unbearably salty on their own. I pondered for a moment whether the salad was edible, and I decided that if I ate it quickly and tried not to focus on the salt, it was. So I ate it.

Boo.

I was disappointed, though. The ingredients seemed well-prepared aside from that, and the greens were fresh. Why dump a ton of salt in your mushrooms, though, Gia? Why? If that hadn't been the case, even with the capers I think this would have been a good salad. It coulda been a contender...

Gia Pronto
3736 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA
215-222-7713