Jenn "Carb Zombie" L.'s Profile

When Kutsher's Tribeca first opened their doors, I couldn't hear enough stories about the original Kutsher's retreat from my coworkers who had grown up going there every summer. Well... all of that talk really gets a girl riled up for some delicious food, so I dragged a couple different groups there.

SERVICE at Kutsher's is about as slow as a sloth crossing the road (the sloth might actually beat the service), but if you have the time to sit and enjoy, the food is fantastic - especially if you stick to the classics. I'm curious how the service is if you just sit at the bar. Perhaps I shall do that after work one night. The DECOR is a combination of kitch with upscale with a bit of 70's inspiration thrown into the mix. **Keep in mind that the restaurant is located in Tribeca and thusly includes a price tag to match.**

The MATZO BALL SOUP will leave you wanting nothing else. The broth is flavorful and there are a couple thick noodles nuzzling up next to your matzo ball. I can't lie, it's hard to leave me unsatisfied with a good matzo ball soup. Another classic, the POTATO LATKES, will tingle your taste buds just fine, but the serving portion will probably leave you wanting more. Probably the most ambitious of the appetizers that I tried was the WILD HALIBUT GEFILTE FISH. I can't lie... I don't know how this dish is traditionally served, but I was wildly happy with my plate.

Entree-wise, it really doesn't hurt to go for the classics. The KT PASTRAMI will rival a lot of the "famous" NY delis (although it doesn't quite match the deliciousness of Katz's), and the SMOKED TURKEY REUBEN might dribble out of your mouth a little with your drool if you don't watch yourself. The entree that left the most "meh" on my tongue was the WILD MUSHROOM & FRESH RICOTTA KREPLACH. While tasty, the flavors became muddled by the time you had finished the plate.


tl;dr - Slow service. Pricey. Solid, okay Jewish food.

Five dumplings for $1. Let's be clear. You CANNOT beat Prosperity Dumpling - in either price or flavor. Other dumpling places shouldn't even try.
It's like trying to beat Superman in a race around the world - where you're on foot.
Or fighting a hundred-thousand pound kangaroo - with a toothpick.
Or challenging Wile E. Coyote to actually catch the Roadrunner - without ACME's help.
You just aren't going to win.

Not only are dumplings only five for $1, but you can order ahead of time in bulk! As I'm on the social committee at work, we wanted to do something to help celebrate the Lunar New Year (albeit, belatedly). Somehow, we came up with the brilliant idea of ordering dumplings for the office - specifically Prosperity Dumplings (because I wouldn't tolerate anything less). Cut to me hailing a cab to take three HUGE boxes to the office. They were filled to the brim with 500 dumplings, 50 sesame pancakes, and all the fixings - for only $160. Yes. Only $160. Ridonkulous, isn't it? Don't you kind of wish you were my coworker now?


tl;dr - Five dumplings for $1. Cheap option for office parties, but no delivery. CASH only.

In the distant dregs of Manhattan, way up by Columbia University, lies a new ramen house - Jin Ramen. Jin has been garnering a lot of attention from ramen lovers, and with good reason.

Let's take into account that this is all the way in Harlem. It's not worth trekking from lower Manhatten, but if you're craving a bowl of ramen, and you're uptown on the west side, Jin is worth stopping in for a bite. The storefront is hidden directly next to a subway exit - so much so that if you're on the east side of Broadway, you'd never know that it was there. Like any great ramen shop, Jin Ramen has a bar that you can sit at while watching the chefs plate together your meal. You know what that means, right? It's one of those places you don't mind eating at alone. (Smiles!)

The Kani Salad is a combination of imitation crab, cucumber and kelp mixed with a spicy mayo dressing. It's a delicate combination of richness that will make your taste buds squeal with delight. The Miso Ramen is different from most of the other ramen that you will encounter. The broth is a blend of chicken and pork stock - common enough. However, in addition to the typical ramen toppings that you might find somewhere else, the Miso Ramen is served with a spicy bean paste, butter and corn, leeks, scallions, bean sprouts, chicken sausage, bok choy, sesame seeds, nori roasted seaweed, and pork belly. Instead of the typical ramen noodles, you'll find that the noodles served in this ramen are thick, curly, slightly chewier, and yellow.

Burrrrrrito. Burrrrrrrrp. Burrrrrrito. Burrrrrrrrp. Burrrrrrito. Burrrrrrrrp. Burrrrrrito. Burrrrrrrrp. Burrrrrrito. Burrrrrrrrp. Burrrrrrito. Burrrrrrrrp. Burrrrrrito. Burrrrrrrrp.

Muchas gracias por la clase de hacer burritos.

Fill. Roll. Fold. Wrap. It had never occurred to me that burrito making could be a class since I've just naturally picked it up from eating so many delicious burritos in my southern California lifetime. But a mission burrito is a special thing, so I guess people DO need burrito making classes!

Thanks Dos Toros for the delicious lesson!

It's no surprise that Rum in the Sun was a huge success, but we sure were glad that the skies stayed true to the "sun" part of the event. With Elite-only RSVPs, this was probably one of the more intimate Manhattan events that I've ever attended, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! As usual, it was a blast seeing some familiar faces, as well as meeting quite a few new ones.

The Starr African Rum cocktails were a delight with different concoctions from David Burke Kitchen (Sugar & Spice), Macao Trading Company(RedSTARR), Yuerba Buena (Latin Fizz), Bathtub Gin (Vivacity), Apotheke (Blue Mauritius), and 1534 (Les Comores Sour). I was truly torn between David Burke Kitchen's Sugar & Spice kick and the dazzling Les Comores Sour from 1534's Justin Noel. They tied according to my taste buds! The samples of food were positively amazing. I can foresee stopping by just for a happy hour snack of those lobster rolls. NOM!

The Treehouse isn't yet open (soon though! They are supposed to open at the end of the month), but I can see it quickly becoming a favorite location of mine. The atmosphere is super cute and is a relaxing outdoor area that I can see quickly becoming my "go to" summer spot for a pitcher of sangria.

I really do enjoy Kashkaval - not because in my head, I can actually pronounce it, but because they have some mighty fine wine, cheese, and various Mediterranean-style tapas.

The spot is tiny, unpretentious, and offers a reasonably priced wine for anyone's palette. It's probably one of my favorite spots in the Hell's Kitchen area. There are a couple of ways to dig in to your food of choice when you come to Kashkaval.
(1) Soup/salad/entree - pretty traditional
(2) Charcuterie with a selection of meats and cheeses
(3) Selection of Mediterranean tapas

I'll usually crave a charcuterie, but never end up passing up the Mediterranean food. Served with a side of sliced pitas, you'll get yourself a hearty platter of hummus, tabbouleh, brussel sprouts, tzatziki, and other various mushes and mixes. Oh my my my! Between all the dipping, stuffing of my face, and imbibing of the wine, I just can't help myself when it comes to Kashkaval - and odds are that you wont be able to resist the call of the platters either.

Quite frankly, the desire that fueled Harold and Kumar's infamous trip to White Castle confuses me. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great.

Despite the twenty million claims from (strangers and friends alike) that I would regret it while sitting en el baño, nothing of the sort happened. It was simply... meh. Flavor-wise, it's no surprise that everything tasted over-processed and bland. It's easy to see how this chain has quickly gained the reputation as the perfect food while you're sh--faced drunk or high, but I definitely don't see it in my future any time soon.

Not only did this event have not 1, not 2, but all 3 of the Yelp CMs in attendance, but there were some fabulous moustaches happening on the faces at Mustachio Bashio!

The spread was incredible! Delicious crab mac & cheese from Sweetwolfs paired nicely with the arancini (rice balls) and the calzone from Catania. We rounded our tummies out with sugary goodness from Robicelli's - the more to store away some fat for winter hibernation. After all - "Winter is coming."

It's always a pleasure to see friends who I haven't seen in what seems like forever. Shout outs to Ron C, Jocy C, Rich W, Rachel A, Radford T, John N, and the rest of the crew. Thank you thank you thank you to Peter D, Jane K, Jando S, and the rest of the Yelp team for putting together this event (and in such a gorgeous space too)!

All this AND it was for a good cause?! Yes, please!

Woof woof! Give me that sausage any day of the week!

All in all, this YEE at Bark Hot Dogs was a huge blast. One of the many reasons that I tend to like Brooklyn YEEs is that they're very intimate events. They are usually on the smaller side which allows attendees meet and greet with new and old friends alike.

The samples all had my stomach filled to the brim within the first 45 minutes of arrival. I really did enjoy the food - particularly the onion rings and the chili cheese dogs and bacon on everything (not really, but it could have been). Nom! I suppose that a major contribution to my food coma was the delicious Sixpoint brewed beer - a must try!

A huge thanks to Bark Hot Dogs, Peter D, and the Yelp team! And it was absolutely lovely to finally meet Jando in person. Yay!

You know when red flags start waving and alarm bells start going off in your head when you walk into a place? This was that kind of establishment. There was only one other party dining there. That being said, I made sure to order pretty "safe" items - vegetable tempura and a single roll. They weren't great, but they weren't terrible. The food ran strictly middle-of-the-road.

There's pretty much no atmosphere - no music being played, nada. In fact, we started playing music off of our phones because there was so little atmosphere.

But on to the whole reason my party had decided to stop into this shady looking sushi restaurant - HAPPY HOUR. Happy hour consists of $2 beer, hot sake, and wine (merlot, chardonnay, and plum wine). You know what that means, don't you? SAKE BOMBS all night long! (Well... until 9pm.)

I would go back, but only for happy hour sake bombs.