Rice

292 Elizabeth St, Manhattan (also Dumbo and Ft. Greene locations)
www.riceny.com


Oh my! I've been away too long.

But Rice brought me back. I love this place. I've only been to the Nolita location, although my friend Kristy lives right around the corner from the Fort Greene one (call me!). I was introduced to Rice by Anna, and most recently took my sister Liz to show her one of my favorite corners of New York. It doesn't hurt that I saw Moby the first time I went in...but enough name dropping, let's get down to the food.


I must admit I've only had the vegetarian meatballs, because they are so good I can't fathom trying anything else. The first time I went I ordered the thai black rice with edamame (at an additional charge), although I've since had the meatballs (seasoned tofu balls) with brown rice and still love them. The small size is enough for lunch, unless you are super hungry. I order the sweet rather than spicy sauce (sweet is still a tad spicy), and you get a fun sauce caddy so that you can add spiciness or soy sauce as you wish. I also sampled Liz's black beans and rice--a classic, like she said, although I must say Ryan and my black beans are rather peerless--and Ryan liked his pad thai...even though he was disappointed it didn't come with rice, but R's literacy is another blog topic.

Since we had a visitor (and my mom as absent patron), we decided to turn our humble lunch into a feast. Ryan had an iced Jack's coffee (yum!), and since Liz was fighting a cold, she and I each ordered tea and sampled the variety of honey test tubes (all great, but all just good quality honey at the end of the day). I loved my lavendar mint tea. And if beverages weren't enough, we each had a dessert--Ryan had the molten chocolate cupcake (warm and gooey and absolutely fantastic), and Elizabeth and I had the ice cream sandwiches (you get to pick three of four varieties), which are actually made with gelato. My favorite was an oatmeal cranberry cookie with ginger gelato--que magnifique! (I just had a mild panic attack when skimming their web menu, because it appears as if the ice cream sandwiches have been removed....let's all ask Santa to make sure they reappear if this is true. Seriously.) Strikingly spicy ginger candy also comes with the check, helping remind me that ginger is a favorite of mine (now where did I set that dark & stormy?).


All said, I'm sure I will return to Rice many, many times (the bottomless mimosa brunch, while lacking in actual rice, sounds fantastic), and if you take my advice, you just might spy a vegan electronic music nerd as icing on the....gelato sandwich.

4 petals
ethnic variety, affordable, veg-friendly, fabulous desserts

Photos by me (two top) and Liz (bottom).

Clover Club

210 Smith St, Brooklyn
www.cloverclubny.com


Speakeasy part two.

Earlier this summer Ryan, Sara, Bryant and I brunched at the Clover Club in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. We were delighted by the steampunk vibe, the dark wood and eclectic antique furniture. We were treated to a corner booth in the back room, which was empty except for us. Having read that the Clover Club is known for their cocktails, I sampled a Blackberry Collins ($9), and Sara had the Sloe and Low ($10). I'm no connoisseur and am new to gin drinks especially (having previously been a vodka grrl), but I can honestly say that was the BEST cocktail I have ever had. I dream about it at night, and on Saturday mornings I think longingly of revisiting Clover Club's liquid brunch. The blackberry-ness was perfect and rich and a beautiful color to boot. I also sampled Sara's drink, which was its own version of loveliness, but I would order another Blackberry Collins in a heartbeat.

Enough syrupy goodness. I loved my food--the special omelette ($10), which was asparagus on the day we visited. I even drooled over the jam that came with the sourdough toast. Everyone else liked their food although they weren't quite as enamored as I. It must have been something in the gin that colored my senses. Added to the steampunk vibe--illustrated a bit humorously when the staff attempted to pull out a hidden television to show the World Cup, yet it took about four employees to figure out how to turn it on--and I had quite a magical brunch experience.

But then I always was one for anachronisms, asparagus, brunch, and blackberries. Worth making the journey back to Brooklyn any time.

4 petals
fantastic cocktails, steampunk decor, tasty brunch options

Photo of Sara and I by Ryan Warner.

Tulcingo del Valle

10th Ave near 47th St, Manhattan
www.tulcingorestaurant.com


I might be a more devoted blogger if every restaurant was as inspiring as Tulcingo del Valle. Ryan and I met Demond at this 10th Avenue gem for a pre-show bite before Mrs. Warren's Profession, and it dutifully provided more than a bite--indeed, bites overflowing. (The play, by the way, was good, and I especially enjoyed Shaw's feminist monologues and the political undercurrent of the dialogue.) I never truly found a Mexican restaurant that satisfied my comfort-food-from-home cravings while in Boston (for gourmet Mexican, or fare from southern Mexico, does not taste of home). But now I can catch a train to Hell's Kitchen every time I need an enchilada fix, at least until I discover a place closer to my digs in Queens.

Tulcingo del Valle is a combination bodega/grocery/restaurant, with an extra dining room in an adjoining storefront (that was closed on the Sunday evening we visited). We sat next to soda refrigerators and under a TV that played telenovelas and world news in Spanish. The chips and salsa are not free, sadly, but are crunchy, fresh, and spicy; you'll have to go elsewhere for margaritas, but Tulcingo does serve beer, wine, and sangria (Demond had a Negro Modelo). We perused the expansive menu and were delightfully surprised by the size and quality of our plates: Demond had enchiladas Suizas with chicken and verde sauce; I had queso blanco enchiladas with mole; and Ryan had what he likes to call "the Mexican chicken," or the pollo a la mexicana plate. I loved the beans and rice, which came with a lump of guacamole, and even the mole was a bit spicy--much to my liking. Although I arrived hungry I couldn't quite finish my enchiladas, and I'm excited to go back and try many more vegetarian options. All three meals, plus appetizer, one Coke, and one beer, came to just over $50.

And the best perk? The check arrived, from our highly competent waitress, with three tiny boxes of Chiclets. ¡Dios mío! I might not have to move back to Texas after all.

4 petals
spicy, tasty Mexican; plentiful; cheap; off the beaten path (no tourists!); beer and wine

Photo by me.