::PepperBlog::
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ma*ya hurapan kitchen
location: 234. e 4th Street. new york. ny
phone: 646.313.1987
pan-asian/thai, tapas, cheap, chic ambience, decent staff
last night, after a long time, i decide to break out of my cooking frenzy to try something "outside". picked maya hurapan (mr. harapan is the exec chef) in the east village/alphabet city area. it was particularly warm night of the winter and had much excitement sitting by the window. the menu was a tad different from other thai eateries because it had more than the red, green, and penang curry.
we ordered a bunch of tapas (served thai style), appetizers, and shared an order of thai barbecued pork chops served with a side of mango/red onion salad. of all the orders, an appetizer - roti canai (yes, its malaysian) stood out with colors and taste. the pork chops entree was good, but some portions were juicy whilst the others were not as much! Hmmm... wonder if its the same pork, or different. i think i ordered the wrong drink for the night with a ginger saketini that came out bland. for some reason i expected it to be a tad sweet. maybe i was daft in ordering it! we topped it off with fried coconut ice cream in a mango sauce (or puree?). i thought the ice cream would be made of coconut, but actually, the batter was coconut-based, while the ice cream per se was vanilla, i think. the service staff were agile and friendly. overall, the food was very good, and i would definitely go there. but a little bit of help in ordering drinks for the food would be good. also, i did not understand why they would have free coupons for larry flynt's hustler club. in any case, it was a welcome break to get out and catch some nice weather.
fyi there're a bunch of bars around the neighborhood including le souk. noticed some off the wall theater as well!
location: 234. e 4th Street. new york. ny
phone: 646.313.1987
pan-asian/thai, tapas, cheap, chic ambience, decent staff
last night, after a long time, i decide to break out of my cooking frenzy to try something "outside". picked maya hurapan (mr. harapan is the exec chef) in the east village/alphabet city area. it was particularly warm night of the winter and had much excitement sitting by the window. the menu was a tad different from other thai eateries because it had more than the red, green, and penang curry.
we ordered a bunch of tapas (served thai style), appetizers, and shared an order of thai barbecued pork chops served with a side of mango/red onion salad. of all the orders, an appetizer - roti canai (yes, its malaysian) stood out with colors and taste. the pork chops entree was good, but some portions were juicy whilst the others were not as much! Hmmm... wonder if its the same pork, or different. i think i ordered the wrong drink for the night with a ginger saketini that came out bland. for some reason i expected it to be a tad sweet. maybe i was daft in ordering it! we topped it off with fried coconut ice cream in a mango sauce (or puree?). i thought the ice cream would be made of coconut, but actually, the batter was coconut-based, while the ice cream per se was vanilla, i think. the service staff were agile and friendly. overall, the food was very good, and i would definitely go there. but a little bit of help in ordering drinks for the food would be good. also, i did not understand why they would have free coupons for larry flynt's hustler club. in any case, it was a welcome break to get out and catch some nice weather.
fyi there're a bunch of bars around the neighborhood including le souk. noticed some off the wall theater as well!
frankie and johnnie's steak house
location: 269. west 45th street
phone: 212.997.9494
steaks, veal and chops since 1929
This is very new concept to PepperBlog. This is a guest entry... from a good friend, Harley Mason from TX, who visited F&J's Steak House last night for dinner whilst he's in town for business. Since he knows that I blog about NY restaurants, he contributed this posting! Unfortunately, we do not have a picture for this blog. But the details are so vivid, you can imagine it. Had PepperBlog been a money-maker, Harley would be my writing partner! Enjoy the post... the punch is in the end, but you gotta read through!!
Harley writes: As I left my hotel room, I asked one of the hotel staff, where I could find a good steak within walking distance. He referred me to Frankie and Johnnie's at 269 West 45th Street. A narrow staircase led upstairs to this little restaurant, serving steaks, veal and chops since 1929. I was ushered to a small table up against the wall, with a starched white table cloth and pressed white napkin. This was one of those places where you eat with your little pinky in the air. The restaurant was filled with other men and women, laughing, talking and all seemed in order. I was immediately impressed with the service from the waiters who were about 40 years older than the average waiter I see back in Texas, and all dressed in dark suits. The waiters stood by in the shadows, watching their respective tables for the slightest indication that service was needed. Since I'm a meat-eater from the Great State of Texas, I found the Filet Mignon on the menu, with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus. It was the perfect way to end the day. I topped it off with a glass of Merlot. If I had been in Texas I would have had a beer, but this was one of those fancy places. The filet found its way to the table first, followed by the garlic mashed potatoes. As I picked up my knife and fork, the asparagus arrived at the table, along with a most unwelcome guest - a half-inch long German cockroach! I don't know where the little booger came from, other than it appeared when the waiter was moving items around on my table to sit the asparagus down. I figured it either hitched a ride to the table under the asparagus dish or somehow clung to the waiters sleeve as he came from the kitchen. Either way, it ran wild when it got to my table! I grabbed my steak plate and backed away from the table as it fled right towards me - I had visions of it leaping into my lap, and then everyone would have seen one mad cowboy doing the hootchie-kootchie across the dance floor. I considered standin' up for a brief second, but the waiter grabbed a napkin and tried to squash it. The pesky little critter ran over the edge of the tablecloth and made a free-fall to the wooden floor below, where its color blended in perfectly with the hardwoods. I then began trying to stomp it with my shoe, and finally I must have winged it, because I was able to zero-in on it and mashed it flat on the floor. There is only a stain there now - where he sat for an instant too long. I'll probably have nightmares about it tonight. I hate roaches and this was hands-down the worst experience I have ever had at a restaurant - anywhere. I could only imagine one worse outcome, and that would be if I found half of a roach on my plate. Being a native Texan, I ate my steak anyway. No reason to throw away a good piece of meat, even though it was tougher than normal and way too dry. My waiter apologized for the roach event, but confessed to me that this was not the first time it had happened. I asked, "Are you serious!?" and he shook his head affirmatively. Personally, I ain't goin' back to Frankie and Johnnie's.
location: 269. west 45th street
phone: 212.997.9494
steaks, veal and chops since 1929
This is very new concept to PepperBlog. This is a guest entry... from a good friend, Harley Mason from TX, who visited F&J's Steak House last night for dinner whilst he's in town for business. Since he knows that I blog about NY restaurants, he contributed this posting! Unfortunately, we do not have a picture for this blog. But the details are so vivid, you can imagine it. Had PepperBlog been a money-maker, Harley would be my writing partner! Enjoy the post... the punch is in the end, but you gotta read through!!
Harley writes: As I left my hotel room, I asked one of the hotel staff, where I could find a good steak within walking distance. He referred me to Frankie and Johnnie's at 269 West 45th Street. A narrow staircase led upstairs to this little restaurant, serving steaks, veal and chops since 1929. I was ushered to a small table up against the wall, with a starched white table cloth and pressed white napkin. This was one of those places where you eat with your little pinky in the air. The restaurant was filled with other men and women, laughing, talking and all seemed in order. I was immediately impressed with the service from the waiters who were about 40 years older than the average waiter I see back in Texas, and all dressed in dark suits. The waiters stood by in the shadows, watching their respective tables for the slightest indication that service was needed. Since I'm a meat-eater from the Great State of Texas, I found the Filet Mignon on the menu, with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus. It was the perfect way to end the day. I topped it off with a glass of Merlot. If I had been in Texas I would have had a beer, but this was one of those fancy places. The filet found its way to the table first, followed by the garlic mashed potatoes. As I picked up my knife and fork, the asparagus arrived at the table, along with a most unwelcome guest - a half-inch long German cockroach! I don't know where the little booger came from, other than it appeared when the waiter was moving items around on my table to sit the asparagus down. I figured it either hitched a ride to the table under the asparagus dish or somehow clung to the waiters sleeve as he came from the kitchen. Either way, it ran wild when it got to my table! I grabbed my steak plate and backed away from the table as it fled right towards me - I had visions of it leaping into my lap, and then everyone would have seen one mad cowboy doing the hootchie-kootchie across the dance floor. I considered standin' up for a brief second, but the waiter grabbed a napkin and tried to squash it. The pesky little critter ran over the edge of the tablecloth and made a free-fall to the wooden floor below, where its color blended in perfectly with the hardwoods. I then began trying to stomp it with my shoe, and finally I must have winged it, because I was able to zero-in on it and mashed it flat on the floor. There is only a stain there now - where he sat for an instant too long. I'll probably have nightmares about it tonight. I hate roaches and this was hands-down the worst experience I have ever had at a restaurant - anywhere. I could only imagine one worse outcome, and that would be if I found half of a roach on my plate. Being a native Texan, I ate my steak anyway. No reason to throw away a good piece of meat, even though it was tougher than normal and way too dry. My waiter apologized for the roach event, but confessed to me that this was not the first time it had happened. I asked, "Are you serious!?" and he shook his head affirmatively. Personally, I ain't goin' back to Frankie and Johnnie's.
