想飛 I WANT TO FLY

這幾天在網路上看了舒國治的台北小吃札記內容連載，看得我心神嚮往，恨不得馬上飛奔回台北按圖索驥一家一家吃到底。想想紐約好吃的東西也很多，不如我也來記載我在紐約吃到的好吃的東西吧。以前一直想當美食家，大學時還差點應徵民生報的美食特派員，現在在自己blog上能對餐廳品頭論足一番，也算是半圓了當美食家的夢吧。
好吃的拉麵店
1. Ippudo (一風堂) (65 4th Ave., NY)
推薦赤丸拉麵，以豬骨頭為底的湯頭，再加上一小坨紅味噌，第一次讓我把碗裡的湯全部喝乾。這是我在紐約吃到最好吃的拉麵，剛開張的時候沒有排隊等個一小時是不會有位子的，連老外都很愛。

前天傑克小弟從Maryland來紐約拜訪，並帶來了六隻龍蝦當伴手禮(還是活的，真感動）。記得以前住在波士頓時只要有朋友來訪，我一定會去超市買龍蝦招待朋友，請魚販幫我蒸熟，帶回家後只要拿菜刀拆解龍蝦，並備好醬油加蒜頭，就是美味的龍蝦大餐了，比較起在大餐廳裡吃奶油龍蝦，自是經濟又實惠。離開波士頓後，就再也沒有去超市買龍蝦犒賞自己或朋友了。雖說以前由於招待龍蝦太多次，幫大家支解龍蝦的重責大任總是落在我身上，因此我拿起菜刀支解龍蝦的手法也算是利落。但在傑克面前完全是小巫見大巫。傑克在餐廳工作，據說每天要砍殺五百隻以上的龍蝦，所以看到他指揮室友準備大鍋蒸龍蝦，並且還親自為我跟室友操刀把龍蝦的身體肉大腿肉取出，自是感動異常。
outcome：我與室友各豪爽地嗑掉兩隻半龍蝦（哎哎，想當初以前我的最高紀錄是一隻半），還喝光了龍蝦腦髓，膽固醇指數升高百分之兩百。
第二天，我們三人去了每次傑克來一定會去朝聖的蕎麥屋（Sobaya）。我們每人各點了蕎麥屋的lunch set，我吃完主食seared tuna再加上蕎麥麵已經很飽了。但我們的午餐沒有就這樣結束。因為室友從來沒有去過今年開張的日本拉麵店一風堂（Ippudo），所以我們三人又決定續攤。
Ippudo是我在紐約找到最好吃的拉麵店，只是晚上來都要等一個小時，年紀愈大就愈不能接受吃個東西還要等這麼久，還好這次中午來我們沒有等就有位子了。這次我們決定只點兩碗他們的招牌拉麵白丸拉麵及赤丸拉麵，三人分食。白丸拉麵及赤丸拉麵的湯底都是大骨頭湯，只是赤丸拉麵的湯底少了白丸裡的紅薑，但多了紅味噌，比較得我心。跟著拉麵lunch set一起來的，是沙拉，還有兩碗白飯，一碗淋有pork belly碎肉，另一碗是明太子。傑克又問我這家店的appetizer如何，於是我們又點了炸雞塊及pork belly。傑克把他的白丸拉麵及明太子蓋飯吃完後，就宣稱他不行了，沒想到店員說他們沒有外帶用的餐盒，我們很驚訝地面面相覷，室友沒辦法只好把大家都吃不下的炸雞塊清光。
我自然是吃了一點拉麵後就飽得不像話了，不過珍珠奶茶店仙跡岩就在附近，焉能錯過這個機會？喝下兩口熱珍珠奶茶後，終於壓倒最後一根稻草，記憶中似乎從來沒有因為吃過飽而感到這樣不適….orz
晚上七點多，我跟室友送傑克去機場check in行李，在等上飛機前，自然得先吃點東西填飽肚子（as if 我們的肚子還沒有填飽….），於是我們又驅車前往Flushing的黃金商場朝聖。我因為看了New York Times關於Flushing的介紹，才知道黃金商場地下街有幾家來自大陸各省的小店。在紐約可以吃到道地的各省大陸美食很難得，所以光是這個星期我就分別帶了不同朋友去了五次。我們先帶傑克去嚐嚐西安的涼皮（像粿條一樣Q的麵。滑頭的老闆從來沒回答我這是什麼做的）、孜然炒羊肉（不推薦）、還有羊肉龍鬚麵。吃完後續攤去溫州朱記，我們點了一碗骨頭湯錦粉麵、一個麥餅、十二顆錦粉餃、十二顆煎餃。骨頭湯錦粉麵是由大豬骨頭熬成的中藥湯，碗裡慣例都有兩個大骨頭，老闆會提供塑膠袋手套供客人拿起骨頭啃，及吸管讓客人可以輕鬆地吸食骨髓。錦粉麵是由地瓜粉作成的麵，像粿條一樣透明軟Q。麥餅裡面包的是碎豬肉及酸菜，錦粉餃是由地瓜粉作成的餃子皮，相當軟Q。由於今天是第四次來朱記要點毛芋錦粉麵但毛芋又賣完，老闆覺得愧對於我所以今天的骨頭湯裡竟然有四個大骨頭，還贈送私人珍藏的冰淇淋！就這樣我們吃吃喝喝到十點好不容易送傑克上飛機，才各自抱著飽受狂吃狂喝摧殘的胃回家，結束了兩餐四頓的一天。

It's good not to have to work during the NYC's winter restaurant week, and it is also good to have a friend who knows where to eat. This new friend that I've just met seems to know every restaurant in New York and can immediately analyze the goods and bads of each and every restaurant which we passed by. We ended up with having food at this restaurant:
Perry St
176 Perry Street, NY
This is one of the restaurants opened by Jean-George, one of the world's famous chefs. It is located in West Village and is rated one star from Michelin Guide. Though fancy and modern from the outside, the price isn't too crazy. It is said that Perry St serves "contemporary American food", but I still have trouble understanding what that means. Anyway this is really a nice experience. They have good cocktail too.
Here is what I had:
Appetizer:
Cream of Tomato Soup
Sourdough, basil and cheddar
Entree:
Grilled Tenderloin of Steak Beef
Herbal Spinach and Liquid Gruyere (By having it medium rare, I like it for it is crispy from the outside but tender and flavorful in the inside)
Dessert:
White Chocolate and Meringue
Yuzu Sorbet, Mint (I love it very much. It practically melted in your mouth)
After having good food, going to a jazz bar seems like a great idea. Smalls offers a small, cozy place for the jazz musicians and jazz lovers. Compared to the over-priced and over-rated jazz clubs such as Blue Note or Village Vanguard, the jazz band at Smalls offers better music, and for only $20 per person, the music runs all night and you can stay as long as you like. Definitely a good place to revisit!
If interested, here is a list of jazz bars in NY to visit:
http://www.ny.com/clubs/jazz/

Finally I had the chance to revisit one of my favorite dessert shops Chikalicious in Manhattan. The shop was closed on my last night before I flew back to Taiwan 2 years ago, and I had to go back to Taiwan with regret. So this place is definitely a must go for me.
Chikalicious is a small dessert bar which features a prix fixe 3 course dessert that comes with Amuse (similar to the appetizer in a formal meal, it is usually gelato), a choice of menu (the main dessert), and Petite Fours (the last dessert) for US$12. By sitting at the bar you can see how the dessert chefs prepare our dessert, and it is quite a performance. You won't be having the same thing because from time to time the chefs try to change the dessert menu, so it is also quite an adventure for you don't usually know what you will get. Expect to have a 30 min wait because the shop is really popular!
The Amuse: vanilla sorbet and pumpkin cubes

Main dessert: brown sugar cream and grapefruit sorbet
Main dessert: steam rice pudding (I don't recall what the name is)
Main dessert: warm chocolate tart with red wine sauce (this one is always on the menu)
Petite Fours