Tuesday, November 27, 2012

The Smith (55 3rd Ave- East Village)





Steak and Eggs- sunny up eggs, home fries $18


Buttermilk Waffles- Strawberries, whip cream, maple syrup $14
Apple Smoked Bacon $5


The Smith located in the east village is always crowded around lunch time. Especially on weekends, there's always a crowd outside waiting for a table. If so many people are willing to wait during this chilly mid-autumn, soon to be winter weather, then the food must be good. Inside the restaurant, the ambiance is nice, there is intimacy for the costumers at their own tables, although it is a bit nosy because there are lots of chatters. 

The restaurant brings the vintage feel back with style. The walls are covered in black and white photos as well as the overall theme of the restaurant. Even their floor tiles are very old schooled but somehow everything just works well with each other. Very pretty and comfortable place. 

During warmer days, the restaurant opens up the windows at the front so when you walk by you can see the whole restaurant inside. It's as if you are eating on the sidewalk but you are still inside. 

"I went during lunch time so it wasn't too crowded. The food was yummy and hot and fresh for me," said Gizelle P. a recent registered nurse from Hunter College.

The Sunday brunch menu is great because you get the both of best worlds. There's the breakfast and lunch option so even if it is lunch time, you can still order breakfast. 

From the menu, we ordered the steak & eggs with home fries and buttermilk waffles with a side order of bacon. Maybe it was because we were super hungry, we cleaned our plates in no time. Nevertheless, the food was delicious. The whip cream on the waffles was the best part, it was sweet and it went really well with the strawberries. To maintain the flavor of the waffles, I did not pour much syrup on it. 

Personally I do not eat steak often or hardly ever at all, but the combination of steak and eggs are quite delicious I must say. The sunny side egg melts on the steak and gives it an authentic taste, plus the home fries just hits the spot. Everything together tastes amazing. 

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Portrait Chef Interview


Habachi Chef Interview from Danielle Yu on Vimeo.


The disastrous hurricane left many restaurants out of business for a couple of days, leaving thousands of people unable to travel to work. Fortunately after being closed for a few days, business is back in shape for Fuji Mountain. It is a hibachi restaurant in upstate New York, it is located in a decent but secluded area but since it is well known to many, customers drive a long way to dine here. The restaurant is spacious and beautifully designed. The ambiance is great with soft music playing in the background and watching the chef cook in front of the grill. Hibachi dinning is definitely an intriguing experience because all the chefs give a special performance of knife throwing and showcase their special skills.   Stevi Zhao was able to spare some time and share his experience as a Hibachi chef at Fuji Mountain. He has been working as hibachi chef for over 12 years and worked in numerous restaurants. In this short interview, he shares a little bit of his journey and perspective of Hibachi.