Eating Around NY, Part 4: Saving The Best For Last

Last Friday was a good eating-in-NY day.

For lunch, my mom and I checked out the delicious Mingala Burmese. We started out with Golden Triangles: curried potatoes in a crispy shell served with a tangy sauce.

The triangles themselves were a bit bland but sauce was terrific!

I ordered the Classic Myanmar Phe-Htoke: dumplings (these were pork and shrimp) sauteed with basil leaves and lots of veggies in a basil sauce.

The Myanmar Phe-Htoke had a bright, fresh flavor; I couldn't believe how good it was.

My mom ordered the Chili Chicken with Broccoli. It wasn't as firey as we thought it would be -- more of a moderately spicy kick -- but it was also fantastic.

The Chili Chicken was especially good served over coconut rice -- the heat played off the rice's sweetness nicely.

But the good eating didn’t stop there. That night, I met Mary from The Sour Dough for dinner. (Let me repeat: I finally got to *meet* Mary – in the flesh– yay! ) If Mary will let you – and she’s a busy, successful woman so there’s a waiting list -- you should take the opportunity to spend an evening with her; it’s fabulous.

We started out with cocktails and appetizers at Tom Coliccho’s Craftbar. I ordered a Craftbar cocktail, which was delicious but, sadly, I can’t remember what was in it – prosecco and strawberry puree? Mary had a“Q,” a refreshing conconction of Lillet, Hendrick’s Gin, Lime, Cucumber, Prosecco.

We also ordered a White Bean and Garlic Crostini, topped with Capers and Anchovies (pictured above) and an amazing Pecorino Fondue, studded with pieces of pepperoncini and topped with Acacia Honey and Hazelnuts (pictured below).

The crostini was good but the Fondue -- a tantalizing combination of salty, sweet, spicy and nutty --was heavenly. If you go to Craftbar, do not miss the opportunity to order the fondue.

From there, we cabbed it over to Bar Q for dinner. Of course, that didn't stop me from ordering another appetizer.

Pictured above is Bar Q's Spit Roasted Pork Belly with Kimchee, Takuan and Steamed Buns. It was a damn fine appetizer, although I would have liked the pork belly to be a touch more moist. (The skin, however, was a crackly perfection.)

For dinner, I had the Grilled Eggplant with a Sweet Miso Glaze. It was slightly sweet and, somehow, creamy -- delicious.


Our final stop was dessert at Chikalicious ... details to come!