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Chelsea NYC

June 7, 2013

Trailer Park BurgersTrailer Park Burgers

Tiny New York Kitchen Goes To Koreatown

April 16, 2013

Koreatown 1Koreatown 2Koreatown 3Koreatown 4Koreatown 5Koreatown 7koreatown 11Koreatown 10Koreatown 8Koreatown 9

 

Tiny New York Kitchen Goes To Koreatown

Last week Tiny New York Kitchen took a little trip to NYC’s Koreatown.  I had a west coast girlfriend come into town and was thinking of things to do and hadn’t been to Koreatown (West 32nd Street) for quite a while and figured that it was about time to pay my respects.  First we went for Korean barbeque at my favorite place, Wonjo.  I made sure that we got there a bit early to beat the inevitable rush.  We had delicious marinated meat that was cooked on the table grill.  We had the usual sides of kimchee, tofu, little dried fish and all sorts of things that were quite interesting.  I also ordered fish stew and a side order of vegetable tempura.  Everything was delicious and what was not eaten was brought home for the next day’s lunch.

After making our way through the waiting crowd we finally left Wonjo stuffed.  Being stuffed didn’t stop us from walking a few doors down to the Korean bakery, Paris Baguette.  Don’t ask me why in the hell it’s called Paris Baguette because it’s a cafeteria style Korean bakery.  We picked up our cafeteria trays and giant metal tongs and helped ourselves to a strange, but delicious, array of desserts.  The place was packed with mostly Korean people doing the same thing.  We got in line, paid and took them to go because we had one more place to go.

At this point it was about 9:30pm and our final stop was, Zen Spa, a 24 hour Korean spa that was cheap and bizarre to say the least.  I had been to two other 24 hour Korean spas before and just found out that one of them is a gay sex place so I crossed that one off the list. We showed up at the “spa” and the place wasn’t very busy at all. The front end was a nail salon and I was looking around for where the spa part might be.  We were shown to the tiny back area where we were given robes to put on and then promptly taken away never to be seen again. We were shoved into a sauna until I was burning up and poked my head out to see what the heck we were doing next. These two short Korean women, wearing matching black sport bra outfits, brought us into a room with two side by side plastic covered massage tables.  We were still buck naked and they had us get onto the tables and scrubbed us raw and then threw buckets of water on us.  This was the exfoliation treatment.  They scrubbed every inch of our bodies and I am NOT exaggerating one iota.   The tables were so slippery and we were sliding all over the place.  When I was told, “you turn over now,” I swear I was going to go flying across the room.  When they were nearing the end of the exfoliation treatment they were slapping our butts like they were spanking us.  I don’t know what that was about.  They shoved us back into the sauna until I couldn’t take it anymore and popped my head out.  We still had no robes or towels and it’s a good thing I’ve known my friend for many many years.  My woman says, “You ready now?”  I replied that we were ready for our massages.  We were taken back into the same wet room and put back onto the same tables where the women were up on the tables massaging us with their knees and elbows.  Actually felt pretty good.

Finally the treatment ended with a “facial” of cucumbers and hair washing.  The cucumber stuff was weird and didn’t seem to do much, but the hair washing was kind of nice.  We laid there and they washed and conditioned our hair with vigorous hands.  Then they threw more buckets of warm water over our bodies.  The very last thing they had us do was sit up and handed us cat bowls of milk to put our faces into.  I don’t know what that was supposed to do either, but I am sure it had some purpose.  Finally we were handed a towel each to dry off and get our clothes on.  I tipped the ladies quite well and luckily it was a nice evening out as we walked back to my apartment with wet hair at midnight.

 

Fresco Trattoria

January 25, 2013

Fresco Trattoria

I love this place.  I repeat I love this place.  I discovered Fresco Trattoria about a month ago and I am really glad that I did.  Making my Friday night trek from the city, my husband and I had gone to a French restaurant, in Wilton, earlier in the evening only to be rudely turned away.  I had remembered that someone told me about a new restaurant in Georgetown that was really good and worth checking out.  We were tired and it was late, but we decided to give it a go.  What a surprise to find such a local treasure.  Fresco Trattoria is an unpretentious Fairfield County treasure. 

When we walked in we were promptly greeted and seated.  Our server came over immediately and was extremely attentive.  We reviewed the menu and were pleasantly surprised to see a wide array of authentic Italian food along with some nice creative salads.  We were very hungry and I had heard that the restaurant had installed a wood –fired pizza oven. Always enjoying leftover pizza for the next day we ordered a pizza, salads and great pasta entrees.  Everything was so delicious that we ate everything including the entire pizza. 

During our meal the chef, Michael Pellizzari came to our table to inquire how our meal was.  We certainly couldn’t complain and enthusiastically nodded our heads with mouths full.  Next one of the owners, Frank Lombardi, came over to see how we were doing and chatted for a bit. Talk about a complete 180º from the previous Wilton restaurant that didn’t seem to want our business. 

I am so happy that we found Fresco Trattoria.  What a great local place to go to.  Everything is homemade including the sauces.  You can taste it too.  The prices are very reasonable; the portions are generous and best of all you can tell that the owners and chef love what they do. They have a full bar with a decent wine list as well. I live in New York City during the week and am spoiled by all of the great high end restaurants.  I typically don’t rave about many restaurants, but Fresco Trattoria is truly a special place. 

Fresco Trattoria is open, Monday through Thursday, 11am to 10pm, Friday and Saturday 11am to 11pm, and Sunday 5 to 10pm.  The address is 22 Main Street, Redding, Connecticut 06896.  Their telephone number is 203-544-9447.  You can visit Fresco Trattoria on the web at http://www.frescotrattoriaredding.com/ or

https://www.facebook.com/FrescoTrattoriaRedding.

 

Greenwich Food & Wine Festival

October 6, 2012

Tiny New York Kitchen attended the Greenwich Food & Wine Festival today.  What a wonderful event!

http://greenwichfoodandwine.com/chefs.html

http://greenwich.patch.com/articles/mighty-tasty-the-2012-greenwich-food-wine-festival#photo-11629583

 

 

Packing A Picnic & Serving Food Outdoors

September 3, 2012

Packing A Picnic & Serving Food Outdoors

Packing A Picnic

*Pack lots of extra drinks in a cooler.  When it’s hot outside picnickers get thirsty.

*Pack sweet treats.  Bring fresh fruit such as berries and melon or cookies instead of ice cream.

*Keep prepared foods in the refrigerator until it is time to pack them up. 

*Bring a soccer ball, football, baseball & mitts or a Frisbee.  If you live close to the park either walk, rollerblade or ride your bikes. 

*Pack sunscreen!  Even when it is overcast or if you’re lying in the shade make sure to wear sunscreen.

Serving Food Outdoors

*When taking foods on a picnic make sure to keep perishables in the cooler with either ice or freezer packs until serving time.  Make sure that the food is cold BEFORE it goes into the cooler. 

*Pack just the right amount that you and your picnickers are going to eat.  You don’t want to bring leftovers back home.

*If you are driving to your picnic don’t put your cooler and picnic basket in the hot trunk.  Instead transport your picnic in the air-conditioned car.

*At you picnic site, keep the cooler and picnic basket in the shade.  Open the cooler as little as possible. 

*Never leave foods at room temperature for more than 2 hours.  If the temperature outside is over 90°F, perishable foods should be left out no longer than 1 hour.

*If you buy a lot of take-out foods, such as fried chicken or barbecued beef, make sure to eat the food within 2 hours of pickup.  Otherwise, buy the food in advance, refrigerate and reheat just before serving. 

*Keep desserts made with whipped cream, cream cheese or dairy products refrigerated until you are ready to serve.  Store any leftovers in a refrigerator or cooler. 

*When preparing food outdoors, away from home, make sure to bring a jug of water, soap and paper towels for hand washing.

My Birthday Picnic Basket

September 3, 2012

Birthday Picnic Basket

My Birthday Present! I have wanted a decked out picnic basket for years! One of my favorite things to do is travel around the U.S. and Europe packing little picnics. Now I can do it in style!

Today is Labor Day and I am going on a picnic with my new picnic basket.

The menu is:

Fried Chicken

https://www.tinynewyorkkitchen.com/olympic-fried-chicken/

 

Green Olives

Boston Baked Beans

https://www.tinynewyorkkitchen.com/boston-baked-beans/

 

Picnic Perfect Pasta Salad

https://www.tinynewyorkkitchen.com/picnic-perfect-pasta-salad/

 

Fresh Blueberry & Mango Cake

https://www.tinynewyorkkitchen.com/fresh-blueberry-mango-cake/

 

New Canaan Farmers’ Market

July 8, 2012

New Canaan Farmers’ Market

I love going to farmers' markets, especially good ones. It's the closest to "farm to table" that I can get without growing my own fruits and vegetables.  Yesterday was my first visit to the New Canaan farmer’s market.  It’s a good one!  I picked up beets, radishes, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peaches and plums.  Everything looked great and even though the vendors were busy they were very friendly and seemed happy to be there.

New Canaan Farmers’ Market

Saturday 10am to 2pm

May 12th Through October

Old Center School Parking Lot

South Avenue & Maple Street

www.newcanaanfarmersmarket.net

 

 

17 Things To Do With Homemade Ricotta

June 3, 2012

17 Things To Do With Homemade Ricotta

 

Now that you’ve made your Homemade Ricotta what are you going to do with it?  Here are 17 things to do with that delicious Homemade Ricotta.

 

  1.  Make a Cheesecake
  2.  Fill Ravioli
  3.  Eat Warm Drizzled With Good Quality Olive Oil
  4.  Make A Tart
  5.  Toss With Penne Pasta And Quickly Cooked Tomatoes
  6.  Savory Bruschetta – Toast Or Grill SlicesOf Italian Bread.  Top With Sun Dried Tomatoes, Ricotta, Fresh Basil Leaves,   Salt & Pepper
  7. Eat For Breakfast With Milk, Honey And Nuts
  8. Enrich Egg Dishes
  9. Make A Fruit Dip By Blending Cocoa Powder, Ground Cinnamon And Sugar
  10. Layer In Gratins And Lasagna
  11. Top A Dish Of Cavatelli
  12. Stuff Pasta Shells
  13. Bake In Pancakes
  14. Enrich Sauces
  15. Sweet Bruschetta – Spread On Thick Slices Of Italian Bread And Top With Jam Or Fruit For Breakfast Or A Snack
  16. Use In Italian Meatballs
  17. Use With Fresh Berries

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