24/7 Dining at Coppelia

I live off the A train in Brooklyn. Late at night, after a long night partying with friends in Manhattan, I usually forsake the $30 cab in order stumble back to the West 4th Street station to ride the train. Now I have a reason to head a little further uptown to 14th Street (and blow that $30 I could have spent on cab fare), where chef Julian Medina of Toloache and Yerba Buena has opened Coppelia, a pan-Cuban diner which intends to fulfill all of my late night dining needs. After operating for over a month, Coppelia just recently fulfilled their original guarantee, and is now open 24 hours a day.

Hazy yellow light accentuates the comfortable, pastel-colored booths in what seems like an optimal place to sweat off an evening's worth of drinks while eating from large plates and an even bigger menu.

JBF LTD: David Kinch and John Paul Carmona

While it was the Chang and Aizpitarte dinners that garnered the majority of attention from the food paparazzi, it was the JBF LTD dinner with David Kinch and John Paul Carmona of Manresa that excited me the most. Last Spring, MW and I were fortunate enough to visit Chef Kinch's restaurant in Los Gatos and considered it among the very best meals that we've enjoyed. Nothing has changed since then, and this meal only strengthened my initial belief that Kinch is one of the most important chefs in America.

JBF LTD: David Chang and Iñaki Aizpitarte

Easily the most anticipated of all the JBF LTD dinners was the collaboration between David Chang and Iñaki Aizpitarte. Known in food circles as culinary rogues, Chang and Aizpitarte represent a new wave of chefs who are pushing the culinary envelope and are unafraid of challenging their diners. Listed as the world's 9th best restaurant by S. Pellegrino (tops among all French entries), Le Châteaubriand has established itself as one of the preeminent destination restaurants despite Aizpitarte's rigid take-it-or-leave-it five-course prix fixe menu. Likewise, with his infamous reservation system, dislike of stools with backs and award-winning food, Chang is a kindred spirit.

JBF LTD: Jon Shook, Vinnie Dotolo and Frank Castronovo, Frank Falcinelli

Known for their uniquely "meaty" approach to food, I was intrigued when the JBF LTD announced a series of meals featuring Los Angeles chefs Jon Shook and Vinnie Dotolo of Animal and Son of a Gun. But after I noticed they were scheduled to cook alongside the Franks of Frankie's Spuntino and Prime Meats, I was determined to get tickets. Having heard good things from a co-worker who attended an earlier meal with the Animal guys, I was looking forward to this collaboration.

Brunch Bets: Doughnut Plant

There's few things better than freshly made doughnuts in the morning, and while I don't typically make it a habit of enjoying them too often, I thought it particularly prudent to feature the doughnuts of New York City's Doughnut Plant. Owner Mark Israel takes doughnuts seriously. Just how seriously? Well, he starts by using the same recipe developed by his grandparents before incorporating the freshest seasonal ingredients into his batters and glazes.

JBF LTD: Laurent Gras

With food trucks becoming a fixture into the New York dining scene, it seems as though yet another L.A. food trend has found its way to the Big Apple. They're called pop-ups, and much like food trucks, it appears the concept just might stick around. Roughly defined, a pop-up is a temporary restaurant installation, with "temporary" being the operative term. Chef Ludo Lefebvre popularized the form when his LudoBites restaurant literally "popped-up" six times in five different locations, quickly selling out on each occasion. Naturally it was only a matter of time before pop-ups started appearing in New York. And, after the success of John Fraser's What Happens When, it was all but assured that more would soon follow.

RUB: The Gargiulo Burger

It's been too long since I've had a RUB burger. Last night, I finally made it back with a large group of friends. We tried everything from burnt ends to smoked Sichuan duck and ribs, but as always, it was the burger that stood out.

Behold the "Gargiulo Burger," inspired by the burger served at Brennan & Carr. Between a kaiser roll is RUB's fantastic patty topped with roast beef, sauteed onions and cheese sauce. Finally, the whole burger is dipped in beef jus.

Oddly sensual, and dripping with meaty juices, the burger was much easier to eat than it looked, even when split in half. I shared one with Steve (along with a RUB burger). The cheese sauce was subtle, but the onions and roast beef highlighted the patty.

Of course, now I have to try the Brennan & Carr original.

Obligatory RUB Burger Post

Hey so sue me, I wanted to watch the US Open and catch some of the Jets/Ravens game after work. It just conveniently happened to be the Monday night when RUB BBQ serves their burger. It was also only a 15 minute subway ride. Really, I had no choice.

Tonight's special was the fried green tomato burger served with arugula, red onions, remoulade and munster cheese.

Even with the arugula, it needed more bite (swap one of those fried tomatoes with a fried pickle and I'm sold). The fried tomatoes were awesome though, with the crust clinging perfectly to the firm fruit (yeah- that's right). Not sure about the munster-- always the most inoffensive of cheeses. Solid, but no bearnaise burger (the very thought of which still causes me to salivate uncontrollably).

On a slight tangent, I tried the burger at Molly's Shebeen for the first time on Friday night. All I can say is that it's a fair burger far overrated by the one-of-a-kind pub atmosphere. Truly a great place to get housed on Magner's for no good reason.

Banh Mi Burger at RUB

I told myself I was just going to make a simple, light dinner last night, but the siren call of RUB's Monday burger special proved to much to overcome (as usual). After a few phone calls, and one extreme cop-out (you know who you are), The Quaker and I met at RUB at 7 to partake in this week's special burger: a banh mi burger.

After our usual order of chili cheese fries, our impressive looking banh mi burger arrived.

The sandwich contained all the typical accompaniments to a banh mi: cilantro, pickled daikon and carrots, a tasty (but slightly under-funky) housemade paté on top of a crusty bread. The bread itself was more akin to the bread used in the Momofuku banh mi-- slightly crustier and a little thicker. I had no problem with this, since a typical rice flour baguette probably would have collapsed under the circumstances.

The patty, besides having the normally excellent sear, contained shallots, garlic, fish sauce, peanuts and coconut milk. Taken together, it tasted quite faithful to an actual banh mi. Unfortunately, it was missing the final ingredient that would have taken this sandwich (wouldn't call it a burger) over the top: heat. I wanted at least a few fresh, sliced jalapeno or birds' eye chiles, or even the less authentic sriracha, in order to hit every flavor note imaginable.

Regardless, I would order this again (if that were possible). The Quaker suggested making one myself, but I think it would be easier to make my own patty then head to Banh Mi Saigon and slap it between a number 1...

Bonus picture of the original RUB Burger after the jump.

Another RUB Down

I can't stop thinking about the special RUB Burger I ate last night. I convinced The Quaker, who had already eaten a burger for lunch, to come with me to RUB (such is its pull) for the special of the week Bearnaise burger, which, as you might imagine, was doused in Bearnaise sauce.

No pictures this time, see here for more pictures from our previous visit.

I can still taste it right now. I've raved about the crust, whose flavor is accentuated by a small amount of aged meat, but the tarragon and vinegar in the Bearnaise (which I love with a good dry-aged steak), when mixed with the meat juice from the burger, were in perfect harmony. The Quaker was initially skeptical about the potential quality of the sauce, but we both agreed that it was delicious. We split the Bearnaise burger along with a RUB Burger and some chili cheese fries, which were made with crispy fries and a high quality chili, but cost $8.50. Regardless of the price ($7.50 for the Bearnaise Burger), I could have eaten three. Thinking of the sauce mixing with the burger juice makes me want to attempt Sauce Foyot, which is a Bearnaise with concentrated meat stock added.

I told the waiter how much I liked the burger as he was clearing our paper plates, he said: "I love the chef's Bearnaise." It sounded weird, but I have to agree with him.

RUB Burger Update

After the first time I tried the RUB Burger, I wrote that it was one of the best burgers I'd ever eaten. A second visit confirmed its greatness. This time we have pictures:

The RUB Burger in all its glory

Served with pickles, caramelized onions and velveeta cheese.

All pictures by the DegustationAsian.

In Search of the RUB Burger

As a deeply religious burger lover with an abiding faith that enlightenment can come only through the smashed sectarians, I've been essentially a sinner in my own eyes for not yet trying the RUB Burger. While I've eaten at RUB BBQ in the past, it was long before they introduced the new burger. These burgers are cooked per the smash method that I've previously described in detail (with a few differences in technique), except they have clearly taken the next step with their freshly ground beef, a special blend which includes a little bit of dry aged beef. Adding to mystique, they are served on Monday nights only, from 6-9p.m. See here for a picture of the RUB Burger as well as other famous NY smashed burgers. Besides the RUB Burger, there is a hamburger and cheeseburger, as well a new regional burger special served every week. Previous burger specials have included: the butter burger, a pimento cheeseburger, a goober burger, and a chili burger. This week, the burger was the Minnesota specialty, a "Jucy Lucy," which is a burger filled with molten hot American cheese.