Rice to Riches (Nolita, New York)

37 Spring St. (between Mott St & Mulberry St)

New York, NY 10012
(212) 274-0008
www.ricetoriches.com

With all this craze about rice pudding for dessert, I had to stop by Rice to Riches to see what the hype was about. This clean and futuristic-looking dessert shop in Nolita features rice pudding in custom-made plastic containers with matching spoons. (These containers aren't very Earth friendly so take it home and reuse them). The small size can be filled with two flavors, while the large container is ideal for taking it home. Rice to Riches was also featured in Hitch where Eva Mendez confesses her affection for Will Smith to her best friend over a bowl of rice pudding.

The place is really sleek and clean, but prepare to stand as there is only a small booth area and few counters to stand around.
This is the "Raspberry Statement"...Not a very appealing look, but somewhat tasteful. I'm not a rice pudding kind of person so I could be biased. The first few bites were okay, but after awhile, it got too rich and heavy and I could not finish the bowl.
A cute sign in their bathroom....
If you like rice pudding and adventurous in discovering different flavors, you should check it out. We met a couple from Connecticut who always come here when they visit Manhattan. But I probably couldn't come back here. The dessert was much too heavy for me...Good to share with someone though.

Momofuku Ssam Bar (New York - East Village)

207 2nd Ave.
NYC, 10003
212-254-3500
www.momofuku.com/ssam
(corner of 2nd and 13th)
Chef: David Chang & Joaquin Baca

Momofuku was our first meal upon arriving in New York. We walked in around 10:00 PM and it was still packed. Luckily, seats at the bar opened up shortly. The restaurant exuded a very simple and minimal look, bringing focus to the food itself. "Momofuku" means "lucky peach" and "ssam" alludes to anything that is encircled or wrapped. As a "meathead," David Chang experiments his menu with offal and pork. (To learn more, read "you know when you're a meathead when...")

We started out with a few of the beau soleil oysters from Canada with a kimchi consommé. Unfortunately, I think we were starved at this moment and forgot to take a picture of it. The oysters itself were very fresh and the kimchi consommé had a very subtle but present kimchi taste to it.

Steam buns with pork belly, hoisin, cucumber, scallions - One of Momofuku's signature dishes is the steam buns with pork belly. We had to order this dish to see what the hype was all about. The pork belly was tender, succulent, and fatty. Other than the high quality of the pork belly, this dish was fairly standard. The both of us enjoyed this dish but neither of us were wowed by it.


Crispy pig's head torchon with sucrine and spicy mustard - When I first saw this item on the menu the first thing that popped into my head was pig's head? I was thinking about how this dish would be plated. As a pigs head on a dish? I asked the waitress about the dish and she assured me it wasn't a pig's head on a dish. This was my favorite dish that we ordered that night. The torchon had a nice crunchy coating on the outside and on the inside a tender meaty mixture. The torchon was served with spicy mustard and plums that complemented the torchon very nicely.
Spicy pork sausage & rice cakes with Chinese broccoli and crispy shallots - This dish was textural heaven. The shallots had a crunchiness to it, the rice cakes had a crispy outside and the glutinous inside, and the Chinese broccoli still had a nice firmness to it. The dish was indeed spicy but not overwhelmingly spicy. Brooklyn Pennant Ale - Since we just arrived in New York that night, we had to make ourselves feel like New Yorkers by ordering a Brooklyn Pennant Ale. I have no idea whether or not New Yorkers drink this stuff, but I found it to be very good.
Our one regret while dining at Momofuku Ssam Bar was that we couldn't order more items from the menu. We arrived there fairly late and it was just the two of us and only so much our bellies could fit in. The atmosphere at Ssam Bar is very laid back with no pretentiousness present. We would definitely like to try David Chang's other restaurants next time we visit.

JOE'S Restaurant (Venice, CA)

http://www.joesrestaurant.com/
1023 Abbot Kinney Boulevard
Venice, California 90291

This restaurant features French-California cuisine. Its Brunch menu comes with an additional choice of
-Granola with Dried Fruit, Toasted Almonds With Spiced Milk
-Seasonal Fruit Plate with Honeyed Yogurt Sauce
-Mixed Green Salad - Peas, Carrots, Artichokes & Fennel, Pickled Onion Geleé
-Kevin’s Soup of the Day
Super Nutty Granola with Dried Fruit, Toasted Almonds With Spiced MilkLamb ragout over pappardelle pasta

Rösti Potato with Scrambled Eggs & Smoked Salmon, Crème Fraiche, Caviar