restaurants

week 7: lederhosen

in , ,
subtitle: your spätzle are rubber bands, so let's drown our sorrows.


one of my very best friends, rob, is a near-pescetarian. 
meaning, 
he's a vegetarian,
but he eats fish.
and the "near" part because,
one day a week,
he indulges in the land animal.


and so i knew we would be perfect valentines for each other when he professed his affection for me by saying,
"i'm saving my meat day for you, baybay"
that's true love, if you ask me. 


so, obviously, it was either burgers or schnitzels.
and it just so happened that i was due for a schnitzel.


and so the rob and i navigated about the tiny streets of the west village
until we happened upon
lederhosen
...hidden in a little basement of one of those beautiful west village townhousey things. 


it was so much like entering a german beer house,
that rob and i actually broke out in our best german talky
{we are, after all, scholars of the language}
we were immediately hushed up by our 
sassy "i left germany for a reason and don't want to sprechen the deutsch with you" waitress.


sure, frau, sure.


ok,
so i got:
chickens schnitzel
+
spätzle
+
can you substitute that pickled stuff for more spätzle?
no.

{clockwise from top: pickled shit that no one really eats anyways, 
rubber patty, 
rubber bands}


rob got:
pork schnitzel
a la holstein = with an egg on top
+
taters
+
pickled shit


ditto on the rubber.




i'll spare you details,
but the evening was saved by four things:


1. the massive mural of pretty germany mountains,
complete with scaled down painting of neuschwanstein,
and cows.
2. the happiness and beer-garden-y ambiance that would make it a very pleasant place to trinken a bier with friends.
{a.k.a. i'd go back to this place, but only after dinner...}


3. my pretty jimmies heart that i crafted in my milk during dessert at milk & cookies.
4. rob {duh}




i mean,
a bad schnitzel had to happen sooner or later.
good thing i have 45 more restaurants to go!!




xoxo




yeh






lederhosen is located at bleecker and grove in the west village.
milk & cookies is located at commerce and 7th ave in the west village.







cake for valentine's day!

in ,
more than roses,
more than smooches,
more than chocolates,
even more than drumsticks painted with little red hearts by your high school boyfriend,
valentine's day is about one thing:
almond cake.
sorry, mushy people.
{kidding about the drumsticks though, they were awesome}

since before i could eat,
my family has been making this cake every year for valentine's day.
and so that is what i did today.

and despite the fact that my closet-sized kitchen lacks a kitchen aid,
{a.k.a. means to whip egg whites sans manual labor},
it came out just as i remembered it when i was a wee one...
when the other awesome thing about this day was collecting candy and little power rangers cards from all of my classmates.

i hope you all had wonderful valentine's days!


xoxo


yeh

the breslin

in , ,


since when did everybody in the world become vegetarians?
did i miss the memo that you're not supposed to eat dead anymore? 
why do i feel like i just denounced gay marriage when i take out my turkey sandwich for lunch?

raise your hand if you take bacon in your mac and cheese,
if you can't have pancakes without them being rolled around sausages,
and if you go to baseball games just for the hot dogs.
*raises hand*

i'm so happy to have found
to renew my faith in carnivores.

and to remind me that, no, meat eating is not dead.
{no pun intended....}

...

 unaware of what being attached to the ACE hotel really meant,
i expected white table cloths and cordial waiters in all black,
but was pleasantly shocked to find a quirky, two story, vintage-y establishment
run by kool kids in tight t-shirts and jeans.

the moments where i
[a] opened the menu, and
[b] dropped my jaw
were simultaneous.

"i know, it's like porn!" said my new best friend, the waitress.

the amuse bouche was caramel corn.
I KNOW!
not like those balls of cardboard you got on halloween.
this was freshly popped,
with homemade caramel,
and roasted nuts.
...light, crunchy, melt-in-your-mouth heaven.
cracker jacks on crack, if you will.

but,  nothing could prepare me for what was about to happen next...

the appetizer.
{i'm hoping that adding a period after the word makes it sound all a bit more grand and intimidating}

cotechino
with lentils and a terragon and shallot dressing

a house made pork sausage,
herbed uniquely and to PERFECTION...
 piping hot, 
fried
 meaty goodness. 
you could linger on one bite forever.
this honestly has to be one of the best things i've ever eaten.
the main course
came close though...
house made sausage
with polenta and parmesan


&


taglietelle
with pork ragu and rosemary


{pictured is the former}


i almost bit the pops' head off when he tried ordering the halibut.
i told him if he didn't get the sausage, i'd disown him as a father 
{i had already decided on the taglietelle}
and, luckily, ms. waitress was on my side {YES!}
because the sausage was {and pops soon agreed}
amazing.
ok the sausage itself was fine,
but a perfect forkfull of just the right proportions of it and it's friend, the polenta, was just 
deliciously comforting. 
the tanginess of the parmesan meshed so well with the sweet polenta. 
i needed one of those four foot long forks to keep reaching across the table to pops.


the taglietelle 
was very very good. 
i can't say much about it,
because by the time i had finished it
 {in all of two bites :-(...}
i had forgotten to think about it.
oops. 


it was an almost offensively small portion.
but
that's ok
because it gave the pops and i reason to order the
thrice baked chips
served with cumin mayo and spicy pickles
that yelled from the menu,
"eeeeat me!!!"
they were quite tasty.
similar to pommes frites,
but a bit crunchier.


i tasted one of the pickles that came with it.
{i've never had a pickle}
it was fine.
sorta weird.
kinda pointless?
what's the point of a pickle?


whatever, it's time for
dessert
donuts!
ciabatta donuts with navan and banana ice cream
{banana ice cream on the SIDE thank heavens... bananas give me the heeby geebies}


&


chocolate stout syllabub
 with bubbled caramel and crème fraiche 




donuts! can we talk about donuts?!
in 6th grade i once ate an ENTIRE box of krispy kremes in once sitting.
and well, THESE WERE BETTER!
april, these ciabatta donuts are just genius!
they're chewy! sooo chewy! 
and not too sweet, so i could go on and on eating them.


..."syllabub"
is like a fancy word for mousse?
that, too was über tasty. 
the caramel was a bit salty,
and the crème fraiche light,
and the chocolate pearls on top hilarious and charming.


both of the desserts were way satisfying.


actually,




the whole meal was wayyy satisfying. 
i give it like seven thumbs up.
it was so creative. 
not in an out sort of way,
but in a.. this makes so much sense sort of way.


next time i have carnivorous friends visit from out of town,
i'm taking them here.


i mean,
those brits, they just know.


xoxo




yeh






the breslin bar and dining room is on west 29th street, just east of broadway