5 Wonderful Things I've Eaten Around NYC Lately
A classic Moroccan tajine, a bargain chirashi, a perfect banh mi, and more
You won’t be surprised to learn that everything I eat doesn’t make it into a review, round-up, or trend piece. In fact, many of the best things occur in random meals in places I dashed into on a whim. Here are best things I’ve eaten since the last edition of this column.
Chicken tajine at Moroccan Bites by Siham
The dish that most perfectly defines Moroccan cuisine is this chicken tajine. It’s traditionally slow-cooked in a vessel with a conical ceramic lid that seals in flavors. The olives add a briny astringency, and though the dish is garnished with a fresh lemon wedge, a mellowed tartness comes from salt-preserved lemons, tasting of a desert oasis. The serving ($17) is big enough to be shared by two. 37-08 28th Avenue, Astoria
Buldak dumplings at Golden Hof
Buldak means “fire chicken” in Korean, and these dumplings are stuffed with a combination of poultry and ground pork, which would make for tasty dumplings if left there. But Golden Hof — an offshoot of Chinatown’s Golden Diner — shoots the massive dumplings ($23) into lunar orbit with red hot oil and finishes them with a cascade of melted truffle pecorino. The result is super-gloppy and bursting with tastiness. 16 West 48th Street, Rockefeller Center
Shredded pork with celery and dried bean curd at 62 Secret Kitchen
Modern Chinese restaurants are sailing into the metro area so fast that it’s hard to keep count, and many of them offer unique dishes from Shanghai. This warm salad ($18) is based on mellow gnarls of poached pork tossed with slender pungent Chinese celery and pressed and preserved tofu that asserts itself, rather than settling into the background as bean curd often does. What is the “secret” part of the restaurant’s name? Its location in an obscure corner of Jersey City behind the Colgate clock. 62 Morris Street, Paulus Hook, Jersey City
Chirashi at Osakana
An offshoot of Brooklyn’s Okonomi, Osakana doesn’t quite qualify as a restaurant, calling itself a Japanese fish market and education center. Step inside and see a handful of sushi chefs carving away for delivery and catering gigs; indeed there’s no place to eat inside, not even a standing shelf. As a result, there are some amazing deals on high-quality sushi assortments, the best of which may be the basic chirashi for $20, which I ate standing on the sidewalk outside. 42 1/2 St. Marks Place, East Village
Bahn mi #1 at Little Thanh Da
This narrow stall is an offshoot of Thanh Da, the oldest Vietnamese restaurant in Sunset Park’s Chinatown. The Vietnamese sandwiches, seven in number, are its main offering, made on crusty demi-baguettes, and running to old country favorites like sardines and Vietnamese meatballs — both great choices. But my recent order was #1 ($9), loaded with pate, pork BBQ, cha lua, and some high-quality ham, with a delicious edge of fat that melts into the bread as you bite into the warm sandwich. 5624 Eighth Avenue (entrance on 57th Street), Sunset Park
"Which I ate standing up on the sidewalk outside."
Made me grin madly. Which I needed.