Co Ba Vietnamese

Vietnamese has been on my mind for a long while and oddly enough, in a town full of Asian dining trucks/malls/restaurants, Vietnamese has not really had a presence in the New York dining scene.  To my surprise, Houston is the most densely populated city with Vietnamese people.  Luckily, there is a restaurant near my apartment in Chelsea that seems to be undiscovered.

Suon nuong – finger-lickin’ lemongrass baby back ribs and the meat falls off the bone, topped with crushed peanuts with short grain semi-sweet rice cakes.

Muc chien don – chili-pepper fried calamari with tamarind-lemongrass sauce and just a touch oily.

Banh uot thit nuong – honey glazed pork with Vietnamese ham served over rice ravioli with basil, cilantro, cucumber, bean sprouts, crispy shallots and chili-lime sauce. The ‘ravioli’ were rice ribbon nests and the chili-lime sauce wasn’t saucy in the slightest, but more of a vinaigrette. This is a must!

Com tho ga – clay pot baked ginger chicken with shitake mushrooms and onions over rice. This dish is perfect to edge you into fall with its heavy pepper undertones.

SHUTTERED Catalan (Fork in the Road: Houston, TX)

Roasted Berkshire Pork belly with Steen's pure cane syrup - the perfect fat-to-meat ratio and enough for an entire meal

Arborio-dusted calamari with jalapeno lime dressing - calamari was oily and the dipping sauce, too acidic

Baby arugula, roasted hazelnuts, can vinaigrette, spicy fried oysters - these plump oysters were lightly breaded & deep fried

Spice roasted Grouper, local sweet carrot, crabmeat

Seafood Stew: Local fish, clams, shrimp and calamari - extremely bland flavors

Blackened snapper over a 'crawfish boil' - the flavors worked well together, although the pepper overwhelmed the dish a touch

Lamb chops over white beans cooked down with lamb shoulder and Morcilla

Berkshire pork chop, sweet potato and Texas apple hash demi

Bacon & goat cheese grits

Redneck Mac & Cheese

Every main course's meat was tough, particularly the chops. While Catalan falls short in the entree category, it succeeds with small plates and sides; and honestly, most of the small plates have portions big enough to be considered entree-size.

Kudos to the team for their use of farmers that supply the menu!

Catalan 5555 Washington Avenue

A Fork in the Road: Huckleberry (Los Angeles, CA)

One of the best breakfasts I've ever come across is at Huckleberry in Santa Monica. The vibe feels pretty typical of a Southern California establishment: large, raw space with natural sunlight, people just finished working out and healthy, fresh food. While standing in line waiting to order, the breads, pastries and desserts looked the quality of a Parisian patisserie.

Erin told me I HAD to order the poached eggs with market vegetables, but because I'm used to ordering much heavier, I chose sunny side up eggs on rustic bread with Niman Ranch bacon, gruyere and crispy arugula. Once the yolk bleeds down the face, the colors become a striking blend against the green, white and brown. This tasted almost as good as Thomas Keller's BLT Fried Egg Sandwich looked in the movie, Spanglish.

As tasty as the sandwich was, I wish I had ordered the poached eggs and vegetables. A tip of the hat to Josh & Zoe Loeb! The combination of corn, snap peas, orange cherry tomatoes topped with pesto and breadcrumbs is exceptional! This wasn't a protein and vegetable that I thought would work well, but happy I was proved wrong. Sometimes simple just works.

I can count on one hand how many times I've had dessert at 8am, but this chocolate pudding was heavenly. The texture was velvety with a touch of cocoa and dollop of unsweetened whipped cream.

It's safe to say Huckleberry is there to stay...and I will be returning every chance I get.

Huckleberry 1014 Wilshire Boulevard Santa Monica, CA (310) 451-2311

nOOdles

Who would have thought some small place on Carmine with the generic name Noodle Bar would be great?
These guys definitely know their noodles and spices. No way, no how are they shy with spices.
We started off with some Sichuan-peppercorn crusted calamari with wasabi aioli. Calamari was more flash fried than deep and the wasabi aioli made the dish hit home.

Now I noticed everyone was ordering pad thai with coconut shrimp, and yea, it looked good, but come on...Every table?!? We went with Bee Hong Goreng (rice vermicelli, egg, bean sprouts, Chinese chives, shredded snow-peas) with nice, plump shrimp; and Tom Yum Bouillabaisse (rice vermicelli, Manila clams, squid, shrimp, scallops, hot & sour broth). This stuff already has major taste, then throw a little sriracha sauce on and Holy Mackrel! Go without the side of soggy kimchee...2 beers, app, 2 noodle dishes and kimchee = $44

26 Carmine Street between Bedford & Bleecker
www.noodlebarnyc.com