Junior's NYC

I frequently tell people that it's a good thing I don't have a TV/cable, because if I did, I would watch food network all day long and get even less work done than normal. (sounds impossible, right?)

Anyway, back at home, where we do have cable, I watched a bunch of Throwdown! with Bobby Flay, which is an interesting show with really silly intro bits. One of the places mentioned happened to be Junior's, a NYC-only chain that specializes in cheesecake. Obviously, I had to try it when I was in NYC over winter break.

As a big chocolate fan, I had to get the Devil's Food Cheesecake, of course. You can get these whole or by the slice. It looks like you can even order online from the website and have it shipped (2-day shipping is the default). Anyway, this is what we got:



It was a lot "taller" than I expected. It was a very filling slice, as only a few bites of the chocolate and cheesecake parts were enough to fill me up. The texture seemed overly resistant to me (unlike say, a warm, fresh-out-of-the-oven cheesecake or chocolate cake), possibly due to the cold weather or it being just taken out of the fridge. I suspect the texture would improve if you let it sit for a while. Anyway, I am interested in trying Junior's again the next time I'm in town, as the flavors were excellent. Somehow, the texture just didn't do it for me this time.

BTW, we went to the Times Square restaurant; there's also one in Grand Central Station and one in Brooklyn.

Junior's
(Times Square)
West 45th (between Broadway & 8th Avenue)
212.302.2000

(Brooklyn)
386 Flatbush Avenue Extension at Dekalb Avenue
718.852.5257

(Grand Central Station)
Main Concourse near Track 36
212.692.9800

Lower Level Dining Concourse
212.983.5257

Yum Yum 3 or (Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum)

These restaurant posts are no longer in chronological order, but what do you care? They're 2 months late anyway!

So I was in NYC and called up some friends to have lunch. Due to various miscommunications, sicknesses, etc., it ended up being a cozy lunch with two Techer friends, E and Y. Luckily, Y. knew his way around and took us to Yum Yum 3.

It made us wonder about the status of Yum Yum 1 and Yum Yum 2. *shrug*

Anyway, we got the lunch special, which consisted of a choice of soup, an entree, and a dessert or drink.

I went with the Thai Iced Tea

the coconut soup (Tom Kha Gai?):

and the Spicy Basil Noodle:

while E had the Pad Thai:

and Y had some sort of spicy stir-fried chicken with green beans (Pad Prik King?):

The food was okay: the Thai Iced Tea was very sweet: much sweeter than I am used to, so it was a bit surprising at first. I gradually got used to it, since I don't have any particular aversion to sweet drinks while dining. (Probably the ice melting helped to dilute the sweetness a bit.)
The coconut soup was rather sour for my tastes. It masked any flavor that might have been apparent in the broth. For this type of light soup, I think there should be a strong broth flavor with subtle hints of other flavorings (maybe lemongrass, leek, etc.), and then any flavorful component should be a solid object, like the mushroom or chicken.
The noodles were good. It wasn't overly greasy, and I am a big fan of spiciness, basil, and broccoli (either separate or combined).

Overall, I would say this is a decent place for a quick and cheap Thai meal, although one would think it rather upscale from the plating. However, the flavors, as a whole seem rather muted; neither the in-your-face goodness of homestyle cooking but not the fanciful combinations of a high-end place. It felt very much like some sort of Americanized Thai food, though the chef apparently was born in Thailand (but emigrated here at 20).

Anyway, I don't remember the exact price of the lunch special, somewhere in the $6.95 ballpark. I think you can get a pretty good indication of the restaurant by the last line in the "Story of us" page on their website: "Our special is a five-course prix-fixe meal for $13.95."

Apparently those five courses (dinner, of course) are:
Soup
Spring Roll
Salad
Entree
Dessert

I wouldn't exactly call that a prix-fixe so much as the dinner special, but hey, whatever floats your boat. I should suggest to Sammy that he call his bento a seven-course prix-fixe:

1. entree
2. california roll
3. miso
4. rice
5. tempura
6. salad
7. ginger

Yum Yum 3 Thai & Vietnamese Restaurant
658 9th Avenue (corner of 9th and 46th)
New York, NY 10036

Joe's Shanghai

Yes, I know, what a horrible name/translation for a Chinese restaurant. I guess, in some ways, it is similar to the food, really really excellent along one dimension and failing past mediocrity in others.

Some of you may know that I am a big fan of XLB. I think that's an acronym I picked up from Kirk. Anyway, Joe's Shanghai is well-known for their ridiculously good XLB. Seriously, Din Tai Fung had better hope to God that Joe's does not expand beyond its three stores in the NYC area. (BTW, we stopped by the Chinatown shop, but they also have one uptown and in Flushing, Queens.)

Before I begin my love poem, have a picture first:Leaving aside the issue of "does size matter", one must admit that 8 of these gigantic XLB for the low price of $4.65 is a f***ing steal. And as a side note, I should mention that my mom first ordered the version with crab meat, which had a strange taste. Also, it costs more. (crab is expensive?) However, I successfully argued that XLTB was significantly different from standard XLB. (After all, why does XLTB sell out so quickly at Dumpling House when XLB does not?) So what you see here is one of eight XLTB that we got. Yes, that IS a standard size Chinese-style soup spoon.

The broth you see starting to spill out is mostly from inside the XLB with a small amount of vinegar: as you can see the XLB is still quite plump, indicating quite a bit more broth inside. And the broth is soooo good... Such a perfect flavor. It's hard to compare the quality, but all the ones I had were as expected, rich and juicy, perfectly flavored pork inside, complemented by just as much vinegar and ginger as you desire. The wrapping was also done excellently, thinnish on the bottom, having soaked up so much broth on the inside, and yet the top part was dry and easy to grab with the metal tongs, indicating a very well balanced thickness that allows for comfortable eating while preserving the broth inside from spilling because the wrapper was too thin. Tastewise, I would say that Din Tai Fung is comparable in flavor, but Joe's wins along multiple fronts: broth quantity, overall size, and price.

If you ever stop by NYC and you don't have an aversion to XLB, I highly recommend you spend a paltry 5 bucks and grab yourself and excellent meal. Heck, it's cheaper than a decent combo at McDonald's.

My one and only complaint about Joe's (and a rather large complaint at that) is that the rest of their food ranges from mediocre to Teh Suck. The noodles we ordered (Shanghai Fried Flat Noodle, I believe, based on a suggestion from a review my Mom read) were mediocre: just soy-sauce flavored that could've used some more nutty flavor or veggies or Something. The fried rice we ordered for my brother was just crappy: cold, bland, mostly rice, with very little veggies, egg, or chicken. I made better fried rice the first time I made it. (And now my fried rice is even better still, tempered by years of cooking experience and knowledge of seasonings.) I should also mention that the noodles and fried rice were priced at $6.95 and $7.25 respectively. So with 8 XLB at $4.65, why would you want to order anything else? Get your variety some other day.

When we went, we managed to find a spot splitting a large table with two other small parties. However, as we left the place, there was a large line, so I suggest going early to grab a comfortable spot during the lunch time rush. Of course, the non-Chinatown locations might be less crowded, but I find that somehow hard to believe...

Joe's Shanghai
[chinatown]
9 Pell Street (off of The Bowery)
New York, New York 10013

[uptown]
24 W 56 Street
New York, New York 10019

[flushing]
136-21 7th Avenue
Flushing, New York 11354