Oysters, Burger, and Beer Combo at Maritime Parc!

I saw an article listing the best restaurants in Jersey City and it mentioned the oysters, burger, and beer combo at Maritime Parc.  On Thursdays, they have a $20 special that gets you half a dozen oysters, beer or wine, and a burger:

They had a choice of four beers (Founder Reds Rye, Six Point Sweet Action, Lagunitas IPA, DogFish Namaste). I tried the Namaste but wasn't really a fan.

Complimentary bread with pickled veg and cheese: nice to start with the veg and cheese (they also gave us butter with sea salt)

Fresh oysters: unfortunately, they were not cleaned well - there were bits of shell and the oyster wasn't separated from the bottom shell. These were served with cocktail sauce and a cucumber mignonette

Scallop Burger: Corn Mayo, Bacon, Marinated Tomato, served with duck fat fries - this burger was really good, one of the best burgers I've had recently. This really makes me want to try more burgers in NYC to see how it compares to this one, but flavor-wise this was excellent.  The fries were also amazing.

Hazelnut Honey Cake, Mission Fig Preserves, Brown Butter Ice Cream, Fig Brûlée: amazing dessert - this was really well balanced between sweet and tart

So even though the oysters weren't cleaned that well, this is one of the best deals I've come across - I'll definitely come back to try the other burgers that they have.

Maritime Parc
84 Audrey Zapp Dr
Jersey City, NJ 07305
http://www.maritimeparc.com/

Ramen Obsession #4: Jinya Ramen Bar!

Like Bassanova, Jinya Ramen is another Japanese franchise with locations in the US and Canada.  But the main reason I wanted to try this place was that they had Brussels sprouts yakitori AND Brussels sprouts tempura (I'm currently obsessed with Brussels sprouts and have been cooking with them for the past three years). hey also have fresh garlic as a ramen topping for free (and they supply you with a garlic press!)


Chashu Pork Bun: really good - nice pork to bun ratio, very flavorful

Enoki Mushroom and bacon yakitori: delicious (pretty much what you’d expect)

Brussels sprouts yakitori, served with miso: DISAPPOINTING - the sprouts themselves weren’t seasoned and were undercooked. This could’ve been so much better if it was more charred or if it was glazed with teriyaki while being grilled.

Brussels sprouts tempura, served with truffle salt: good thing I ordered this as well since this was great

Jinya Tonkotsu Black - pork broth, pork chashu, kikurage, green onion, nori, seasoned egg, garlic chips, garlic oil, fried onion: the broth had a lot of depth, melty style pork chashu, good toppings – really delicious, the only thing lacking was the noodles, which didn’t hold up to the rest of the bowl

I also ordered extra chicken chashu since I don’t see this that often at ramen places. It came out served on the side – even though you get a lot for $2, it’s fairly dry – not recommended, I’ll definitely get extra pork next time.

Spicy Miso Tonkotsu – pork broth, minced pork, chunked pork chashu, spinach, cabbage, spicy miso, bean sprouts, green onion: I tried a spoonful of the broth and it was fine

One of the coolest things about this place is that they give you free garlic as a ramen topping AND they supply you with a garlic press!

Green Tea Mille Crepe with Azuki Cream, served with vanilla ice cream: ordered this even though we were all full – no regrets, this was really good

Jinya Ramen Bar

24 Greenwich Ave

New York, NY 10011

http://www.jinya-ramenbar.com/

Ramen Obsession #3: Bassanova Ramen in Chinatown!

I was curious about this place since the original branch is located in Tokyo and the chef was the one who created the ramen burger. Normally I order tonkotsu shio as a measure for ramen quality but decided to try the green curry ramen since this was their best selling dish:

Tondaku Green Curry Ramen: Berkshire pig Tonkotsu soup & Green curry soup, topped with pork chasu, grilled okra, grilled red pepper, grilled shrimp, fried garlic, and mesclun greens (I also ordered extra chashu)

The noodles were really good – this is the first time (besides Yuji Ramen) where I saw a noticeable difference with the quality of the noodles. They were a bit chewy and toothsome and held up to the temperature of the broth, which was robust but not overly assertive. All the individual components were great on their own and also worked well together (except for the mesclun greens which were kinda just there). The bits of shrimp and garlic was reminiscent of a belecan or XO sauce condiment, so some spoonfuls would have an extra burst of umami flavor.

Compared to other ramen it’s a bit pricier at $15 (they also don't include an egg with the bowl) but the noodles and broth are worth it.

Bassnova Ramen
76 Mott St
New York, NY 10013

Ramen Obsession #2: Ramen-Ya!

Continuing the trend on ramen - I decided to check out Ramen-Ya in the West Village.  Reviews on Yelp looked promising and the weather is perfect for ramen right now:

Tonkotsu Shio Black - tonkotsu broth topped with chashu pork, kikurage mushrooms, nitamago (seasoned egg), scallions, and black garlic oil (I ordered extra pork as well): the black garlic oil is fantastic and the broth is really good. Even when you get towards the bottom the broth stays consistent (unlike other ramen spots where the flavor sometimes gets too concentrated/salty). My only complaint is that the chashu pork here is more of a grilled style - I personally prefer the melty kind

Ramen-Ya
181 W 4th St
New York, NY 10014

Ramen Obsession #1: Hinomaru Ramen in Astoria!

Ever since I watched David Chang's Mind of a Chef on Netflix, I've been OBSESSED with ramen.  My brother had recommended Hinomaru Ramen a while ago and now was the perfect time to try it.

Buta Kimchi - pork belly with sauteed kimchi, topped with bonito flakes - pretty simple dish but very good, this would be perfect over rice

Crispy Fried Pig Ears - we were deciding between this and the fried chicken cartilage - the pig ears were excellent, really crispy and spiced nicely

Rock shrimp tempura, spicy mayo and sweet corn - the shrimp was exactly what i wanted it to be, and the corn adds a nice touch

Hinomaru (New York Style) Ramen: Creamy pork broth w/chashu, kikurage, scallion, menma, bean sprouts, fish cake, nori, fire ball - the fire ball is their signature topping (miso paste with different hot spices)- personally, I wouldn't use all that they give you since the extra miso throws off the salt levels in the broth (which I liked as is)

Uni Ramen w/ Parmesan Cheese, topped with Shiso and Nori: this was definitely what I was looking forward to the most when I checked Hinomaru's menu online. I wouldn't really call this traditional ramen since the broth was used sparingly and seemed more of a dipping sauce (it sorta reminded me of a ramen broth based soupy alfredo sauce). Interesting dish, glad I ordered it

Chicken Ramen: chicken based broth with chicken meat ball and poached egg - the broth tasted really clean, this seems like something you'd get if you went to a Japanese family's house for a home cooked meal

HinoMaru Ramen
33-18 Ditmars Blvd
Astoria, NY 11105
http://hinomaruramen.com/

AWESOME Colombian Style Hot Dogs at Los Perros Locos!

Bought a groupon for Colombian style hot dogs at Los Perros Locos in LES – these are by far the best hot dogs I’ve had and one of the best groupon purchases I made.

Mas Perfecto: five different salsas, melted mozzarella, deep fried bacon cubes, apple chipotle slaw, crushed chips, and quail eggs

Amerro-Perro: Beer + cocoa infused beef chili, shredded Vermont cheddar, chipotle kraut, crushed Fritos, chipzana sauce (chipotle + apple)

Chimi-Churi-Chori: Chorizo, grilled provoleta, homemade chimichurri, aji panca aioli, crushed potato chips

Salchipapas Locas: waffle fries, hot dog, salsa rosada, salsa verde, with tricolor marble potatoes, chorizo, fried bacon, chipzana sauce

Los Perros Locos
201 Allen St
(between 1st Ave & Stanton St)
New York, NY 10002
www.losperroslocos.com/

Vegetarian Meal at Westville!

I've heard a lot of hype regarding Westville and stopped by for dinner since I was in the area.  Westville is supposed to have an amazing selection of market fresh vegetables so I was really looking forward to trying their Brussels sprouts.   For $15, you get to choose four of their vegetables:

Brussels sprouts w/ honey dijon, cauliflower dijonaise, grilled oyster mushrooms w/ chimichurri, and roasted fennel w/ parmesan - for $15 this is a huge amount of food.  The oyster mushrooms were the best thing on the plate - well seasoned, tasted delicious. The cauliflower was great as well, and the fennel was good for what it was. The sprouts, sadly, were incredibly under-cooked (it took a lot of effort to cut through with a knife) and under-seasoned (not a hint of honey dijon at all). I'm not sure if it was just an off night for them since all the other veg were good, but I was really disappointed (though the mushrooms made up for it).

I've heard too many recommendations for this place to not try the sprouts again, so hopefully the next time they'll be great.

Westville

246 W 18th St

New York, NY 10011

http://www.westvillenyc.com/