Mustard's

10/6/2009
Napa Valley, CA: 7399 St Helena Highway - (707) 944-2424
Rating (1-10): 9
Price: High End

"Napa Soul"
Mustard’s is the kind of place that makes you want to love it, as soon as you walk in the door. To be sure, the restaurant’s reputation precedes itself, so it has an advantage because you’re already primed and ready to have an experience you’ll really enjoy. But at the same time, it's also extremely difficult to deliver on such expectations. Mustard’s succeeds, and almost effortlessly, it seems. This “truckstop deluxe” Napa institution is good for any occasion and offers an appetizing, fun, inventive menu to challenge the palette and deliver good old home cooking satisfaction at a fair price.

Mustard’s sits on the busy thoroughfare, Highway 29, neighbors with various wineries between Napa and St. Helena. Next to the restaurant is its garden, which is the source for the restaurant’s goods and which you are free to explore. It is these surroundings and Chef Cindy Pawlcyn’s laid back and playful sensibilities that define this restaurant. Long before organic/local became the hip new fad, Mustard’s was living it. Here you’ll find top notch cooking driven by the environment, not overfussed but maybe with a couple curveballs.

The salad is a statement: just a pile of dressed leaves, with no fixins or toppings (except a lady bug that we spotted). It’s almost as if to say, “Here it is, there’s nothing we need to do to it because it’s already just the way it should be.” The leaves are crunchy, vibrant greens and yellows with a bitter bite. It’s not going to blow your mind but there’s something to be said for a salad that can stand alone, without dried fruits, toasted nuts, cheese, and fifteen vegetables tossed in a complicated vinaigrette.

The tamales are served with a green lime sauce and trumpet mushrooms. Tamales always sound delicious to me but they certainly don’t always come out that way; often it’s the texture or pasty, plastic look or perhaps just the non-corn flavor of the corn. In my view, what’s appealing about tamales is that they concentrate the awesomeness of corn: texture, sweetness, flavor. You should feel like you just at 6 ears of corn in only a candy bar-sized portion. Mustard’s tamales do just that and their saltiness is balanced by the sauce’s acidity and crunch pine nuts. The earthy mushrooms reinforce each satisfying bite.

The Mongolian pork chop is among the most popular entrees at Mustard’s and deservedly so. It's the best pork chop I have ever had. The chop comes out looking just about as any piece of meat could be, with grill marks and a carmelized sheen, dabbed with the house-made Dijon mustard. The pork sits next to pickled cabbage and a hefty portion of buttery, garlicky mashed potatoes. The meat is incredibly juicy and flavorful, the mustard is nice and sweet, and the sides alone would satisfy me for a meal. If there was anything I could change about this dish it would be…nothing.

The pumpkin ravioli entrée was on its first day on tour, a preview for the fall season. It’s a pleasing dish to look at – big plump ravioli topped with cubed butternuts squash, nuts, an array of mushrooms, greens, and a broth. If you love hearty, fall vegetables – squash, pumpkin, mushrooms – this is one you’ll want to try. Dip your bread in the broth as you’re finishing up. The dish was a little undersalted but otherwise, quite satisfying.

In terms of ambiance, it’s pretty much what you’d expect – friendly, unpretentious, professional. A smiling bartender offered to take a picture when we were looking for someone to help us out. Our server talked excitedly about the dishes. The atmosphere was boisterous but controlled and the playlist was fun. White tablecloths and crisp white server uniforms add just a bit of that formal touch. In every sense of the word, Mustard’s demonstrates good taste.

If you’re visiting the Napa Valley, it’s likely you’re going to get a long list of “must-go” recommendations from friends. Mustard’s will probably be on pretty much everyone’s list – there’s good reason for it. It truly is a must go.

JG Melon

6/24/2009
Upper East Side: 1291 Third Ave (near 74th St) - (212) 744-0585
Price Range: Cheap Eats
Rating (1-10): 9


If you’re in the mood for a burger, look no further than JG Melon. By now, this classic Upper East Side establishment isn’t new to the scene but it keeps up just fine with anything that is. The burger has a deliciously juicy, meaty flavor and comes in a refreshing refined portion-size: plenty enough to satisfy the hunger and yet not disgustingly huge and impossible to bite into. Added to that is an undeniably New York character which sets the mood not only for burger eating but for casual relaxation and the enjoyment of feeling like you’re in the lifeblood of one of the greatest cities in the world. It’s the kind of place you could rock alone but probably better enjoyed with a friend or two. The confines are small and the place remains popular, so you might expect a wait, but then again, a beer scrunched up at the bar might just be part of the experience.

JG Melon is known for the burger and rightfully so. “The best burger” is a hotly contested topic and its ultimately subjective (as many food matters are), but certainly, there has to be something said for a place that can deliver a burger that can compete using a simple list of components – chief among those beef. For example, these days it’s not uncommon to find bacon, brisket or other fatty meats mixed into the patty – delicious no doubt, but sort of cheating. While I’m not sure exactly what is in the JG Melon burger, the bacon is only served on top, and the highlight ultimately remains the beef flavor. If you want bacon flavor to take it to the next level, the baconburger is superb, and the crispy bacon matches the softly-packed patty tremendously well.

The restaurant is also known for its cottage fries, which are small disk-like fries. They were soggy and flat in flavor. They didn’t appear to be salted prior to arrival at the table, which is fine since there is salt on hand – but a few dashes of decent salt right out of the fryer would go a ways to add taste. Passable potatoes perhaps, but passable on the menu as well. It seems like something a burger joint should do better.

Though there is talk of shaky quality of service at JG Melon, it was perfectly pleasant, friendly and prompt in this experiment. While outright rudeness is never excusable, there’s a certain no-frills, borderline gruff, style that you gotta expect at a place like this. In fact, it’s something that can even be strangely entertaining and fun. It’s a bar and a burger joint, after all.

The décor is as much a part of the experience as the food. The pictures, drawings, mirrors and other framed décor is clumsily packed onto the walls, giving it a classic New York feel that’s also original and un-manufactured. The atmosphere is lively and loud, with a packed bar area and tightly seated back eating area. While the establishment is not as old as a McSorley’s or Old Town, you get that old school feel , one that is often imitated but rarely feels like the real thing. It’s places like this that are guardians of a distinctive city culture – New Yorkers and the restaurant itself should take pride in it.

Whether you’re looking for a great burger, good brunch, New Yorky experience, or just a beer, pop in to JG Melon (no reservations).

Blue Hill at Stone Barns

10/19/2008
Poncatino Hills, NY: 630 Bedford Rd - (914) 366-9600
Price: Break the Bank
Rating (1-10): 10


I think the most appropriate word to describe Blue Hill at Stone Barns is ‘idyllic.’ It says something when, even after waiting on your reservation for two months at an already hyped restaurant, it utterly blows you away. If you have the opportunity and a bit of a budget, go - and make it an all-day affair. You’ll enjoy fresh varieties of food you never knew existed, presented delicately, playfully, and tastefully. You’ll learn about what you’re eating and where it comes from. You’ll be coddled by an army of smiling, earnest, and comfortably formal staff. You’ll see where everything comes from as you stroll the sprawling countryside before or after your meal. For a day, you’ll feel like a Rockefeller.

Of course, Blue Hill at Stone Barns has the unfair advantage of being situated on a picturesque upstate Rockefeller upstate. For a chef, for a restaurant, I could not imagine a more ideal setup: a fully functional farm to source natural, seasonal, and ridiculously local food, well-financed backers, a campus of beautifully preserved old stone structures, and a food-aware clientele. But they seem to have found the perfect chef for this set up: Dan Barber, who has become something of a hero within the local, natural food movement. Chef Barber splits his time between his restaurant in the Village and this restaurant and despite his rising national celebrity, he’s actually here, in the kitchen.

True to its mission, all parts of Blue Hill at Stone Barns work in rhythm with nature, a restaurant within a broader ecosystem. No wonder Chef Barber is so admired in the eat fresh, eat local Alice Waters movement. You don’t need signs telling you it’s “All Natural” or “100% Organic” or “Certified Free Range.”

That’s all a given. The restaurant fits so seamlessly into the farm, and follows and maximizes the environment it’s in. Somehow, being here brings a calm over you, some kind of Update New York Zen.

There are many wonderful restaurants in NYC with the same food philosophy as Stone Barns, but you just can’t get a truly living-off-the-land kind of experience in the Village, not even at Blue Hill’s NYC outpost itself. One server offered to go pick tea leaves to make tea for a nearby table. Kind of says it all.







It’s almost intimidating to walk into a place with such a depth of knowledge about the production and preparations of food and ingredients (in fact, it’s a learning institution than runs tours and educational programs for children and various groups). But it’s not in a snobby way, it’s just what they do and love.

For brunch, Blue Hill offers a tasting menu of several courses that aren’t laid out on the menu. Instead, the server asks some questions to gauge your preferences, eating restrictions, and adventurousness. And then the menu shifts, so what one table gets will probably differ from what the next table gets. It’s flexible, personable, and fun.

Our first dish was a roasted eggplant broth mixed with various wild mushrooms, a deeply yellow, creamy poached egg, and a type of spinach. The mushrooms are the main feature – large, earthy chunks in a savory, slightly acidic yellow broth. Next up, freshwater, smoked eel in a Manhattan-style chowder with miniature cubed vegetables – carrot, celery, garlic, potato, maybe more, in a bright orange tomato broth. The veggies are crunchy and slightly sweet, and the eel, which is caught in northeastern streams, is a bit tough because at this time the eel are spawning, working hard, getting tougher. It’s a smoky, gamey, and oddly appealing.

A pork plate followed, with braised pork belly glistening with fat, pork sausage that reminds you how meat is supposed to taste, roasted mini apple (who knew?), apple puree, pork jus, and fresh collard green leaves. This is a pork lover’s dream but – and this is a small matter - a tad too much sweetness from the apple. On the next plate sat a fat chunk of braised lamb’s neck with jus, a squash blossom, and an assortment of shell beans – rich, salty almost corned beef flavor, layered with fat. The dish is wonderful to look at. But our (only) criticism was the choice of fat-laden braised meat dishes in two consecutive courses, which is a bit heavy.

For dessert, we got three plates for two people: a play on strawberry shortcake with mini strawberries, citrus, cream between two blinis, and vanilla bean ice cream and yogurt on the side; pumpkin and chocolate cake with a righteous piece of pumpkin, and ice cream; and an apple dessert layered with meringue and ginger ice cream on the side. This is some of the best dessert I’ve ever had with elements that blend beautifully together. The strawberry and the apple desserts were my favorites.









We enjoyed the meal along with several cups of tasty Brazilian bean coffee over the course of three swift but careless, leisurely hours. Blue Hill service is impeccable and friendly, and it seems like the staff flash a warm smile whenever they pass by your table. They clearly love the food and the mission here, and are happy to discuss the backstory of where it all came from, who is responsible for cultivating it, etc. It’s ‘you can do no wrong,’ bend over backwards, ‘no request is unreasonable’ kind of service. Their attention to detail and conversational manner add to a brand of hospitality befitting of the atmosphere. (And one thing I noticed – no ice in the water! Ice often makes water too cold and also clumsy to drink. Here, they don’t pour ice in your glass, a novel, smart idea.)

The entire estate is tastefully decorated with clean lines and modern furnishings while retaining the rustic outdoor feel. We sat in a banquette that looks out across the rest of the dining room which is surrounded by windows that stream in sunlight and surrounding scenery. The dining room features high ceilings, exposed buttresses, and great people watching as well as food spying on other tables. It’s comfortable and classy, clean and efficient. You want to be here. All told: the cost per person was $77. By any standard, this is more than fair.

After our meal, we took a kitchen tour, saw the herb garden, and the wandered surprisingly freely around the grounds and adjacent state park. You want to see where the pork comes from? Go check out the pigs. Beef? Cows. Arugula? Greenhouse. Chicken? Chickens. Honey? Bee farm. You get the idea.

Maybe it's the whole idea of going to Stone Barns and being in this setting that predisposes a visitor to being utterly taken by this place. That may be why I walked away with almost no thought to how it could have been better. One thing is clear: Chef Barber’s life is not bad. During our post-meal exploration of the Stone Barns grounds, he jogged by us down a winding path with fall foliage colors in the background – probably catching a breath of fresh air before heading back to his culinary playground to plan what items to showcase at dinner. You should really see it for yourself.

Barrio

8/9/2008
Park Slope: 210 7th Ave (and 3rd St) - (718) 965-4000
Price: Mid-Range
Rating (1-10): 7


If you find yourself strolling around the Park Slope neighborhood or vicinity, you should stop by Barrio for a relaxed atmosphere and solid Mexican food. I thought a rating of 7 might be high but in the end, decided it fair considering for the atmosphere, the quality of the food, and the value.

The food is fresh and light - a pleasant change from other Mexican joints that, though satisfying, leave you feeling like jabba the hut. I enjoyed the flavors in all of the dishes that I tried - and the variety of flavors in particular: delicious calamari-conconut flavored rice with spicy grilled shrimp; a "chile arbol" peanut mole, which tastes strongly of peanut and goes with a roast pork; or a chicken enchilada in a red salsa puree with more typical heat and a bit of tanginess. The seasoned doesn't burn your mouth out or go crazy with one element - sweet, sour, spicy, etc - and offset the balance - in fact, the food both in taste, freshness, and composition achieves a nice balance.

The fish tacos appetizer - though small in portion - were light and pleasantly simple, letting the ingredients be themselves with cilantro, cabbage, and citrus. The Yucatan shrimp dish were meaty, juicy (and not rubbery), strongly seasoned, and nicely charred. And the chicken enchilada was gone in about 5 minutes - the cheese (a crumbled queso fresco), raw onion, red salsa sauce, along with the chicken and tortilla were simply a great combo that and no part of it was unpleasant.

Improvements could be made - such as the addition of a starch to the Puebla pork dish, which would have been better served over rice to catch some of the pork juice and sauce. And I do wonder about the authenticity of the menu - some of the stuff they could do without like the chile caesar salad or granola and yogurt served at brunch. The concern is not only that it makes it disappointingly generic, but also might bring into question the ability to produce real Mexican food. It strikes me as a lack of confidence to stick with one true theme.

As enjoyable as the food at Barrio is the atmosphere, particularly in the warmer weather with all the open windows and a large outdoor eating area, looking out onto the stoller-filled, but pleasant and spacious intersection at 7th ave and 3rd st. With relaxing music (which I can't name) playing through the speakers and friendly, personable, unpretentious servers, the ambiance is calming and struck me as a place you could come back to consistently, for casual dinners, dates, or just to chill and grab a quick drink or bite. Although the owners seemed to have gotten it right with a lot of things about Barrio, the color selection of the exterior awning is a bit odd - bright orange and pink. On the one hand, its loud and vibrant and is about energy, but it's a bit of a shock. They say that people go crazy sitting in a red room - sitting under the awning outside on a sunny day might be a good place to conduct that experiment. I opted to sit inside given the heat lamp-like glow. I'll go when it's nighttime.

When I first visited Barrio, the service was a bit cluttered since it was one of the first weeks of operation, but they have since gotten into rhythm and continue to be a friendly establishment. Although it is possible to rack up a hefty bill here, especially if you get into the drink menu, there are more than enough very reasonable items so that you don't get to the cusp of feeling a significant pinch on the wallet. Given the fun atmosphere, good value, and quality of food, I wouldn't be surprised if Barrio starts to build up a contingent of neighborhood "regulars." I'm considering it myself.