Kosher

As Brooklyn Restaurant Week approaches, the perennial “Kosher” anxiety reared its ugly head: will there be sufficient vegetarian/Kosher-friendly options on the menu? Can the chef prepare my butternut squash risotto with vegetable stock? Will a seared skate wing and poached langoustines be the only two seafood choices? Aiming to provide a (generally conservative) cross-section of a restaurant’s regular menu, dining at a participating restaurant during Restaurant Week can be a gamble. Thankfully, Applewood afforded three courses of veggie-friendly cuisine, although some of the dishes failed in concept and/or execution.

After washing my hands with a soft, fresh towel (no rough paper towels here; it’s all about the little things in life!), I returned to the table and reviewed my choices for dinner. Two options for the first course: a generic salad of mixed greens, pistachios (it should be noted that ingredients take on a Hindu-like quality here, reappearing in various forms across dishes) and a citrus vinaigrette, or a cream of butternut squash soup topped with freshly grated nutmeg. It was the first of a string of warm spring days, so I settled for the salad, unexciting as it seemed, in place of the iconic winter soup. However, a minute or so after placing my order, the very same salad arrived at an adjacent table; it resembled a lifeless heap of green rags drenched in a dull yellow liquid and studded with crushed chartreuse pebbles! I quickly weighed my options: Soup? Salad? Soup? Salad? Luckily for me, it wasn’t too late to switch my order (wish I could say the same for a certain Mr. Griffin). I requested a substitution, and my bowl of smooth, buttery golden goodness soon arrived. Perfectly aerated and pureed—perhaps even passed through a chinoise—the soup rivaled in texture a celery root velouté I recently had at a certain haute cuisine française establishment on the Upper East Side. The cream-to-squash ratio was just right, and the nutmeg added a welcomed spicy note.

Content with my first choice, I moved on to the second course, a porcini mushroom risotto. Those who abide by dietary restrictions can appreciate the sheer elation I experienced upon learning the risotto was prepared with a mushroom—not beef, chick, or veal—stock! The risotto, topped with a generous dollop of chèvre, lacked the creaminess typically associated with the dish: the Arborio rice kernels were on the crunchy side. Also, I counted a whopping four porcinis in my entire bowl! I contemplated sending it back, but decided against doing so, as I couldn’t refrain from dipping slice after slice of crusty French bread (served with a luscious garlic creamed cheese and duck paté) into the residual broth (shouldn’t that have been absorbed by the rice?? Perhaps an explanation for the crunchiness…). Despite the lack of porcinis and the rice’s disconcerting texture, the dish was perfectly seasoned and satisfying.

Before moving on to dessert, I partook with the rest of the table in a well-balanced selection of four cheeses—a steal for $12! I was initially drawn to the apple and quince strudel but, sadly, a bacon streusel (I’m sure the smoky-sweet combination is divine!) adorned its surface. I settled for the second option, a pistachio-topped (making their second appearance) cherry rice pudding. The dish was artfully plated—a delicate liqueur glass filled with pudding and topped with pistachios placed atop a plate dusted with finely-ground pistachios and adorned with desiccated cherries—but its flavor was off-putting: the mélange of sweet rice, sour cherries and salty pistachios just didn’t mesh well.

While my meal wasn’t stellar, my fellow diners were very pleased with their selections (see my counterpart’s comments; the duck looked FANTASTIC). The restaurant has received much positive press, and I intend to dine there in the future, free from the constraints of Restaurant Week.

Reccomended Dish(es)/Butternut Squash Soup

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Un/Kosher

Although a daily changing menu may make a review of this restaurant hard to peg down, my experience was pretty inspired. While the menu may change night to night, the general oeuvre of each dish stays the same.

For example, on the night we went the perfectly seared diver scallops were served with a side of mascarpone polenta and a smear of red beet vinaigrette across the plate. As of writing this post, the dish is now served with roasted oyster mushrooms, an olive tapanade in parsley oil.

The dishes themselves, for the most part, are well executed. The rabbit galettes were dry and less flavorful then the rest of the dishes. However, the duck breast was served slightly crispy on the outside, yet moist and rare on the inside. Most dishes generally involve the mixing different types of meats and shellfish which means that it was amazing. Prices are high for the area, but its well worth the trip. I also have to say that I did the restaurant week menu, so my experience was slightly limited which makes me want a return trip as soon as possible.

Reccomended Dish(es)/ Diver Maine Scallop appetizer & Roasted Duck

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Cuisine/ Rustic American

Price/ $$$

Location/ 105 11th St. Brooklyn, NY

The Un/Kosher 12 Course tasting menu for April 20th:

1. Fried Veal Sweetbreads with salted cucumbers and chili sauce from Momofuku Noodle Bar

2. Grilled Octopus and Fava Bean salad from Kefi

3. Pork and Shrimp Soup Dumpling from Grand Sichuan

4. Idaho potato gnocchi with veal short ribs, foie gras butter and prunes from Dovetail

5. Sauteed Filet of Brook Trout with it’s smoked roe, röesti potato (i.e. potato latke) and sorre from Annisa

6. Chicken nuggets and Small Cones with seasoning and honey mustard from Garden Catering (Greenwich, CT)

7. One piece of bacon from Ben and Jacks Steak House

8. A piece of grilled rib eye from Babbo

9. A side of french fries with pesto mayo and parmesean peppercorn sauce from Pomme Frittes

10. Grilled Cheese from BAMN!

11. Black and White cookie from William Greenberg Jr. Desserts

12. Olive Oil Gelato with rock sea salt and fresh seasonal fruits from Otto

Total Cost: $125 (approx.)

Number of Animals consumed: 9

Number of Preparations of a Potato: 4

Number of Heart Attacks: 3 (approx)

Un/Kosher

Why this amazing Chinese restaurant is so far away from Chinatown is beyond me. Located in the heart of Chelsea, Grand Sichuan cooks cheap chinese food with authentic flavors not usually found in your typical chinese food in New York.

I have been here multiple times and ordered many different items off the menu, and the only thing I haven’t clean the plate with was the beef tripe (because eating intestine really never interested me anyway). However, thats not to say that you shouldn’t order dishes that seem a bit odd. In fact, going for the more adventurous choices will definitely increase how delicious this place is. I would suggest ordering any dish off of the “fresh chicken” part of the menu (which makes you wonder what the other chicken is) or Chef Mao’s Home Cooking.

The tastiest dishes in this restaurant however are the appitizers. The Sichuan Cold noodle in a spicy, peanut sauce is a definate winner. And a trip to Grand Sichuan is never complete without an order of the pork and shrimp soup dumplings. Once you realize that soup belongs inside the dumpling, you may never want to go back to your dumplings floating in your soup.

Reccomended Dish(es)/ Smoked Tea Duck and Pork Soup Dumplings (some of the best in the city)

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Kosher

My friends continue to poke fun at my description of the “perfectly-breaded” and ethereal vegetarian General Tso’s chicken I stumbled upon in D.C.’s Chinatown several years ago–it rivals the real thing! When not in D.C. or Teaneck, N.J. (home to Chopstix, winner of the worst high school employer and best Kosher Chinese food awards), I frequent Grand Szechwan for authentic (and traditional—don’t expect any fusion or molecular gastronomic adventuring) moderately priced Chinese with plenty of vegetarian options.

While the veggie General Tso’s just doesn’t measure up (the texture and flavors are off; undercooked carrots and green peppers further detract), notable vegetarian dishes abound: scallion pancakes (crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside), sautéed string beans (long beans are often availible as well) in brown sauce (lanky wrinkled strands of green goodness; can’t comment on the Oyster sauce version), and tofu with mixed vegetables (silky tofu and an assortment of al dente vegetables bathed in a brown sauce; the occasional lotus root slices are always welcome). I preferred the fried vegetable dumplings to the steamed version, and both the veggie lo mein and mei fun rank up there with some of the best I’ve sampled in the city. I hope to review the fish dishes in the future (my un-kosher counterpart speaks very highly of them).

Be prepared to salivate while your dining companions relish in duck “soup dumplings” and succulent authentic General Tso’s, but take comfort in the fact that many of the vegetarian dishes rival their meat-infused relatives.

Reccomended Dish(es)/ Scallion Pancakes; String Beans in Brown Sauce

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Cuisine/ Chinese

Price/ $

Location/ 745 9th Ave
New York, NY 10019