The dining wishlist

momofuku, originally uploaded by roxydynamite.

Working at a newspaper can be a cool for various reasons. A new one presented itself last week when Rocco DiSpirito stopped by to whip up some lunch in the food department's test kitchen. He's promoting his new book Rocco's Five Minute Flavor : Fabulous Meals with 5 Ingredients in 5 Minutes". He came in well before my shift started, soI didn't actually get to see him cook. But I did get to sample the food. Now, it was a few hours after it was prepared, so maybe I should be kinder. This book is marketed to the home cook, with quick, kid friendly recipes. I sampled a sausage dish with green beans and beets. It was okay. I thought there would be more dimensional flavor. The other dish he prepared was a pretzelized chicken with a cheddar horseradish sauce. By the time I got to it, the chicken wasn't crunchy. The sauce came from a jar and it tasted like it. The photographer that shot him in the kitchen shared his dish with me and shushed me as I commented on the food. Obviously, he was won over more by a personal experience with Rocco. The food didn't bowl me over. Check out the article for what our food writer thought about his visit to our kitchen.

A recent meal that did wow me was a lunch at Momofuku Noodle Bar. The Bad Girl Posse stopped in during CMJ week. We were thoroughly impressed. JPo and I both had the dish pictured above. This meal is bliss in a bowl. If you are a fan of bacon or pork, you HAVE to try their Berkshire pork. It's awesome. Next time, I'll try the ramen noodles they are best known for. I'm a sucker for grits, so I tried this dish first. I was happy to see Momofuku squeak in at number 101 on Adam Platt's 101 Best Restaurants in New York magazine a few weeks ago.
Since then, I've been poring over the list. I've got my own list of restaurants I want to try. I've pressed my nose the the glass at Platt's #99 Chikalicious on several occasions. The tiny bar fills up fast and always is sold out by the time we stop by. Next time we feel like skipping dinner and just having dessert, we'll call ahead for a reservation. I'm intrigued by the buzz about #90 Prune. Sweets is a dairy junky, so we should indulge in a visit to #63 Artisinal Fromagerie and Bistro run by the "cheese nerds" and Martha Stewart's of the moment fromagers. Platt says #53's Mas (Farmhouse) "seems to send a certain type of discerning female diner into paroxysms of delight." Need I say more?
I've been longing for a special occasion to merit a trip to #42 Spice Market. Sweets surprised me and made a reservation for this Saturday, our one year anniversary. Which is a pretty special occasion! If I had to choose one cuisine I can not live without it would be Indian. Devi, #28, sounds like a big step up from my usual 6th St haunts.