The Breslin

Om Nomz Hero note to Self: be suspicious of people that do not like chicken liver

I remember The Breslin is one of the first places that I started geeking out about. I remember following the opening of it and finally, I decided to hit it up before hopping on the train to Penn Station. April Bloomfield has basically capitalized on the food space in the Ace Hotel with both the John Dory and The Breslin both being located there and are complete opposites of each other one is seafood focused and the Breslin is a temple of meat. The Breslin accomplishes creating that pub atmosphere without the smell of stale booze. Unless sitting near the window it is quite dark in there and the space makes me feel like I should be trying to recruit a team of some sort to commit illegal activity.

Chicken Parfait

The menu is meat-centric has a concentration on offal and charcuterie more so than the Spotted Pig in my opinion. The snacks here are not to be missed, from scotch eggs, which they were doing before it was on every menu to boiled peanuts. However, the must get snack, if not dish is the chicken liver parfait with Madeira jelly. This has easily made the list (because creating lists is cool) of my favorite dishes in New York. The chicken liver parfait is smooth, creamy and light and makes me think of those Philadelphia cream cheese commercials where they talk about the lightness of their cream cheese. It is like that but instead of cheese, it is awesome chicken liver. The Madeira jelly that is on top of it is a perfect contrast to the richness of the chicken livers. I am not ashamed that I scrapped that ramekin clean. 

I was aiming to eat light, but that obviously failed with the previous order. I also had the steak tartare with ramps, I mean; steak tartare is kind of light right? It is not cooked! I do not go crazy over ramps like some people, but I do like them and in a steak tartare, the garlic-y bite was great and house fried potato crisp were a nice addition.  

The lamb burger is probably one of the best burgers in New York and when I say best, not just best lamb burgers, burgers in general. The lamb burger here is better than half the burgers in New York and sorry to say, it is better than the burger at the Spotted Pig. The lamb burger is cooked medium rare and topped with some red onions, feta and served on a ciabatta roll. I love it when you slightly press down on the burger and the juices leak out, like a heart pumping blood. As far as I am concerned, that is the sign of a well cooked and delicious burger. The fries or chips, because it is going for the English pub feel were just as good as the burger. The chips are cooked three times, and the result is an ethereal light and crispy chip. If you come here and do not have an order of chips or eat them, you just wasted a meal. The cumin mayo was a perfect dipping sauce and had a light smoky earthiness to it.

Back when I went to The Spotted Pig, I had issues with the service, yet here at the Breslin, I had the complete opposite experience. 

The service was prompt and professional and made me almost wonder if the Breslin and the Pig were owned by the same people. My experience at the Beslin was great and heading back there is only a question of when. I like it that though April Bloomfield has three places currently, each of them have their own personalities but still able to execute great food.

The Breslin

16 West 29th Street

New York, NY
http://thebreslin.com/ 

Xi’an Famous Foods

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: What sounds more appetizing? The Chinese name of a dish or the literal English translation of the dish?

The cold weather is coming in which means that lines at ice cream shops are shorter and eating bowls of hot noodle soup hits the spot. I remember when I was little and I attempted to describe the pure awesomeness of noodle soups to my very Caucasian friends, they looked at me like I was nuts, soup and noodles? Isn’t noodles suppose to be smothered in a red sauce or cream? Soup? What is this weird Asian kid thinking? Well guess what guys, while you were stuck at home eating cans of watery condensed chicken noodle soup, I got legit noodles that it was okay for me to slurp and actual bits of meat and soup…who is the weird Asian kid now? (still me I think)

Lamb Noodle Soup

Lamb Burger-no supersize

Anyways, Xi’an Famous Foods that originally started off in a small stall in Flushing has invaded Manhattan in the past year opening multiple locations so you can get you Northern/Mongolian Chinese foods like Lamb face salad and hand pulled noodles without the 7 train trek. I can think no better way to beat the incoming cold than a bowl of lamb noodle soup from Xi’an. I went to the St. Marks location in the late afternoon and it packed. I opted to get my order to go. I got an order of the lamb noodle soup and the lamb burger. 

The noodles are made to order as well as the other menu items so it may take a while but the food is worth it. By made to order, I mean they are hand pulled before getting a quick dunk in boiling water. The noodles travelled well and still had a bit of chew to them when I finally started eating them. The broth was flavorful and meaty and although I decided to not get it spicy, it still tasted good, though I added a bit of sambal sauce in it and will most likely get it non-Gringo spicy next time. The lamb burger is a nice treat and is not really like a burger. If burger by definition is meat in between a bun then yes, it is a burger but not something you are finding at Shake Shack. The Bun is a Uighur flatbread that is split open and filled with shredded lamb that is heavily spiced with coriander, cumin and chili. The result is a robust and flavorful sandwich that will make a lamb eater out of anyone.

Xi’an Foods is not really a sit down and have a calm dining experience. It is the Far East version of a turn and burn operation, but like most turn and burn operations, they depend on volume and in order to get that, they need to turn out good tasting food which they are. Xi’an is also very Gringo friendly which they have pictures on the wall and vending machine lettering system so ordering is not hard at all. If you plan on eating there, just be prepared to get cozy with the people around you, and like always, slurping is okay.

Xi’an Famous Foods

81 Saint Marks Place
New York, NY 10003

www.xianfoods.com/