Eating out was expensive, but delicious.

So, I've recently had the privilege of being able to spend a large portion of my christmas money on various and sundry meals about NYC. Apparently, I'm one of few doing such an imprudent thing.

There's been two places I've had really good food.

1) Daisy May's BBQ: Best BBQ in the city, three years in a row, so they and Zagat say. I'd have to agree. Their pork ribs are tender, but not squishy, and they have an excellent, excellent rub that they put on both types of their ribs. Smoky, meaty, spiced, and with a lot of meat to the rib, it was a good buy for a half rack, bourbon peaches, and mashed potatoes with red eye gravy. I went with a bunch of friends and we managed to get 2/3 of their sides between us. We missed out on cole slaw (Not something I'd get anyway), creamed spinach, and beans (which I really, really wanted to try).

Of the sides, I was really disapointed in the dirty rice and beans. I was expecting a proper dirty rice, something with bits of leftover ground pork or beef or chicken bits (meat and/or liver and other organs), but I ended up with a fairly unimpressive rice+beans+peppers. Kind of feh.

The cornbread fell a little short too. It was dry and didn't have any of the kick that I was expecting from a "spicy" corn bread. Then again, I'm a little desensitized to spice, so it might just be an oversight, especially considering the tastiness of the ribs and other sides

The peaches were great (sweet, a little buttery, with a very pleasant tang), as were the mashed potatoes, and the corn was definitely a unique set of flavors. Corn, cheesy, peppery. It was a nice side, and added a touch of creaminess to a smoky meal.

I have to applaud them on their sweet tea. Wwith fresh mint, it was a decidedly refreshing counterpoint to a meal rich with savory and smoky flavors. If I could get the mason jar of tea again, though, I'd take the mint out halfway down the jar. It makes the tea a little astringentand overminty once there's not a lot of tea left. 

2)Kyotofu: Excellent dessert, decent tapas, lots of tofu. The restaurant by looks not unlike a tapas bar. Dim, atmospheric, upscale, looking, the place does a really unique set of desserts. In a sense, it's not at all unlike Chikalicious, a second favorite, in that the desserts are high-end, slightly gimmicky, but extremely delicious. 

In my first try, I had their soymilk soft serve sundae, which was a fairly standard vanilla/chocolate swirl garnished with Mochi and served with a side of mixed berry compote and kuromitsu (japanese brown sugar) whipped cream. It was not unlike a regular sundae, but with a slightly heartier feel and slightly more complex palate than regular ice cream, with relaly really good toppings.

I went again last night and I had a chance to try some of their tapas. I didn't find them extraordinary, but they certianly were tasty and deifnitely uniquely presented. I had a 4 sampler of Lotus Root, Smoked Salmon Onigiri, Unagi in Phyllo, and a Curry Puff. I found all but the Unagi tasty. The unagi was suprisingly fishy, or at least the piece that I had was kind of much. I didn't really sense any major flavor differences once I bit into the bit of sansho pepper, Overall, the tapas were pretty good, but a little pricey (really, 4 dollars for a Beard Papa cream puff-sized curry puff?)

Their strawberry shortcake is probably the uniquely presented dessert I've eaten. In essence, it's presented like a Strawberry Shortcaketini,  Base layer of shansho-spiced shotycake, one layer of tofu cream, sorbet, strawberries, and some gelatin. In a sense, it's a lighter version of the classic strawberry shortcake. Less cream, more fruit, better presentation (though, that's not to say I  dislike the clean, This Is Cake look that a wedge of strawbery shortcake has.) It's nice, but the cake itself is kind of dense. It's got a nice peppery finish to it, with a good creaminess and strong strawberry flavor. It's good, but I'm not sure if it's worth the 12 dollar price tag.

Overall, Kyotofu has very well-executed desserts. I think some feel a little lacking, but their use of ingredients is typically above reproach. I have yet to try everything, truthfully, and I would like to get around to eating their soft tofu, since it's their signature dish. Still, it's a good place to try something more extraordinary than standard dessert fare.

What next? Dunno. I might try something vegetarian, or scout out a decent Indian restaurant that's not Indian alley, and not overpriced. Or, I might go on a crusade to find cheap Korean in Manhattan.

I still have htat burger tour of mine to design, and someday, I'll write about Ramen Tour NYC Version 0.1.