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Puerto Rico: Dragonfly

Calle Fortaleza 364
Old San Juan, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Tel: +1 787-977-3886

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, January 20th

The Victims: Julie, Feathers, Erin, Molly, Jean, Geoff, Christine

The Damage: $75 USD each

The Background: I am in Puerto Rico for work. I work for the best company in the world.

More Background: Being me, I did a little research on where to  eat in Old San Juan before boarding our very fantastic Virgin flight. Love Virgin, seriously. Recent reports on Chowhound mentioned Dragonfly over and over again, so I persuaded the gang to give it a shot. Yes, the concierge said it was impossible given the festival going on in town and Dragonfly's no reservations policy, but being inherently optimistic people, we were not deterred and in fact scored the largest table in the restaurant and were seated immediately. Two of our fellow patrons even treated us to a little show! It was our night.

The Drinks: An ominous sign of the days to come. There were many, and they were very fruity and very delicious. I tried the Mojitini (a mojito martini), the Triple X (just a sip!) and I capped it all off with some sparkling wine. I was not alone.

The Starters: Molly hooked us up with sushi rolls and edamame. Feathers was kind enough to share her ceviche, which was served with really cool wonton chips. Good stuff. Really good stuff. Now, the restaurant was a bit dark so I can't really tell you what was in the ceviche, but boy did I enjoy it. (Described on the menu as Ceviche de rodaballo con ginger, leche de coco y scallions.)

The Service: Ted was great! We even went back to visit him on Tuesday!

The Mains: I had the rock shrimp tempura tacos with sweet ancho mayo and fresh lemongrass salsa. 2007 is seriously off to a great start. I was so very happy with my meal. Everyone was very into sharing, so we passed around our plates and I tried...

• Seared tuna in a szechuan peppercorn sauce
• Saffron Basmati Rice with Chorizo estilo Stirfry
• Wassabi Croquetas
• Asian marinated churrasco con dragonfries

Lovely, all of it. Really. I particularly liked the wasabi croquetas. (If you haven't guessed, Dragonfly is Asian-Carribean.)

The Dessert: I demured, but my colleagues licked a couple of bowls clean.

The Verdict: Loved Dragonfly, loved Ted, loved the Mojitinis. Loved the atmosphere. Loved the lighting. Only drawback--the loo could have used another toilet.

Coming Soon to a Tesco Near You?

JFK Airport
NY, USA

Date of Last Visit: Thursday, January 18th

The Damage: $4 USD

The Verdict: Delicious! But remember I'm a girl, and an American one at that, so my opionion is inherently biased when it comes to the subject of light beer.

I don't think we'll ever see it on the shelves at Tesco.

Totally Shameless: Krista in Londonist!

You could, if you're not doing anything, read a little something I wrote over here.

Finally: Hawksmoor

157 Commercial Street
E1 6BJ
Tel: 020 7247 7392

Date of Last Visit: Friday, January 12th, 2007

The Victims: Mark, Jeff

The Damage: £47 each, with one cocktail and one dessert wine each.

The Background: Mark moved to London a few months ago...funny how life works...one day, you're hanging out at the local Starbucks every night until 2 or 3 in the morning, valuing a Swedish mattress company, and then next thing you know, you're both working for the same company, and in a foreign country no less. Jeff is another one of our classmates, and being as Mark is a bachelor these few weeks, dinner was on order. I have been dying to try Hawskmoor forever, and being City folk, it was a convenient local option.

The Entrance: Totally not what I expected. Hawksmoor is casual, but not. But then again, it is. I had white tablecloths in my head, and there were none to be had. I was glad.

The Cocktails: We were immediately approached for cocktails, and our server did a really nice job of explaining a couple of them--I fell for the one with champagne and strawberries, but sadly cannot remember the rest of the ingredients. Our server faltered a little on Jeff's request for something fruity with rum in it, but the resultant mix (chosen by the bartender) was fantastic and I was jealous. Now here's the rub...I can be very patient when I really want to, particularly when I'm having a nice time like I was on Friday night in such good company. And I understand that cocktails can take forever to make.

Well, we waited, and we waited, and we waited. And neither our drinks nor our server were anywhere in my line of sight. Finally, I took myself up to the bar and noted that we had ordered our drinks ages and ages ago, but none had arrived. Apparently, I was talking to the barback, because he just looked at me and said nothing and continued cleaning his glasses. (I didn't know he was "just" the barback.) The other gentleman took notice and promised to send the drinks over right away, and he did, but I was still a little miffed. I forgot this soon enough, but not really.

The Starters: We split orders of ribs and three jumbo shrimps (casings and all--2007 is they year I learn how to work for my food). Good stuff. The size of the portions don't really lend themselves to sharing unless you are a very small and dainty person (which I am not). Zum Beispiel, the normal order of shrimp was two to a plate. We bumped it up to three.

The Mains: I wanted the hanger steak, but it's only served rare, and I wasn't sure I could do that. I like a little blood, but not so much. So I went with the rump, medium rare. It was really really nice. All of the meat at Hawksmoor comes from The Ginger Pig at Borough (do they have a Web site, anyone?) and it's pretty suberb. Nicer still were the sides of triple-cooked chips and most particularly, the macaroni and cheese--it was really excellent Really. The creamed spinach was okay--mostly because I missed the separate bowl of cream they delivered to the table, so I ate my spinach creamless.

The End: We ordered some dessert wine, which they were out of, but the server--the same server who neglected our cocktails--redeemed himself by bringing over a 1/2 bottle of something orange. (As you can guess, this very limited description is exactly why I am not a professional. All I can remember is that it was orange and it was a dessert wine. Nothing else. Schade.) We went for all the ice cream on the menu--the sundae and also the apple tarte--and had a very enjoyable ending to a very tasty meal.

The Loos: Could use a woman's touch. I was disappointed in the design and the cleanliness. They can do better. Much.

The Verdict: Despite the service mess up with the cocktails, I would definitely go back. Great atmosphere, great food.   

Gastro: Bumpkin

209 Westbourne Park Road
W11 1EA
Tel:  020 7243 9818

Date of Last Visit: Sunday, January 7, 2006

The Victims: Feathers, Julie, Kellie, Anna

The Damage: £37 each + £25 for the Secret Santa

The Background: It was  time for our Secret Santa. Feathers, the master organizer, had set us upon Elfster late last year, proving yet again that on the Internet, there's a job for everyone. A Secret Santa Web site? Yes Virginia, it exists. The goal was to do a little gift arbitrage...we had to spend £25 each, and well, if you were smart, you'd spend it in the U.S. Like I did!

The Approach: First to arrive, I hung out at the bar and enjoyed a nice glass of Sauvignon Blanc. It was very light. It was so pure and clear looking it was almost like they had added water to it while I wasn't looking. (I'm sure they didn't. They look like nice people.) I also enjoyed the wallpaper, because Bumpkin has the coolest wallpaper I've ever seen. Especially in the loo. (Note that my tastes are not shared: read this ("too loud"), and this ("statement"), and this ("hideous").

The Starter: While I was in the loo enjoying the wallpaper, they delivered a fantastic platter of bread and pork belly and apple chutney to our table. I was so happy. It was great.  The pork belly was like pork tuna fish (solid, not chunk lite) and I mean that in the best possible way; i am a huge tuna fish fan, but I am prevented from enjoying my passion by my mother who insists the mercury will kill us all. You know I love freebies of the edible variety--Yes, I know they're not really free--so this went over well.

Tap Water Test: Passed! With lemon slices. I don't think they were too happy about it, but they did it with a smile. A small smile. Julie still got in one bottle of sparkling, so we were redeemed.

The Mains: Let's see--three roasts and Yorkshire puds, one lamb, and one spinach and mushroom pie. The lamb (Anna's selection when faced with no chicken at 3 p.m.) looked very gourmet and well-presented from a distance, but piddly in comparison to the serving of beef. The spinach pie looked lovely, but the inside was full of soupy creamy stuff. It was just a little too soupy for me...Feathers liked it though, proving yet again that everyone likes what THEY like. The roasts--thoroughly enjoyable. Mine was nice and roasty on the outside, charred and delicious, as if it had been through many rubs. Best of all was the serving of family style potatoes, parsnips and carrots, and a green bok-choy like vegetable that I should probably know but I don't.  Really really good. Loved it. Loved the potatoes best again. They were baked and then a little fried I'd guess. But just a little. Lovely.

The Verdict: I really liked Bumpkin. I liked the service (professional and friendly--good balance), I really liked the food (especially the freebie pork belly), and I dug the music, particularly at the end when they played Cat Power's The Greatest, only my favorite CD these days. (Did they know I was there?) The only downer was that the crowd was very well-groomed, and I was (am) not. 

Vietnamese: Viet Grill

58 Kingsland Road
E2 8DP
Tel: 020 7739 6686

Date of Last Visit: Friday, 6 January 2007

The Victims; Ben, Gerry

The Damage: £18 each. With beers.

The Background: It's a Friday and I'm been dreaming of Vietnamese food all week. I am not quite sure why, but I just keep thinking of all the places on Kingsland Road and how, after all these years. I've only tried two of them! I suggested an outing to Ben, and he and Gerry are game. So off we go.

You Should Know: Viet Grill and Cay Tre are related. I asked our server how, and she said the cooks are friends. I am sure there is more to this story, but that's all I got. Viet Grill is bigger that Cay Tre, and a little more modern and--if I may say so--even a bit cleaner. There's a big room downstairs too. Looks like these guys are betting on the 2012 Olympics, because the place is pretty big for Kingsland Road foot traffic.

The Starters: Ben and I split the combo platter, which I thought was a great deal at £4.95 a person. It came with the beef wrapped in leaves, which I love, along with spring rolls (not the deep fried kind), fried spinach, some other rolls, and four chilli spareribs, which were awesome. I would go back for the chilli spareribs.

The Mains: Our sever recommended the catfish and it looked lovely when it arrived at the table. It was served whole, head and all. Our server helpfully deboned it for us (I made mental notes for next time).

The catfish was tasty. I loved the skin...it was crispy and almost barbecue-like. But you know what? It was a little dry. This didn't stop me from eating it, but I just wish it had been a little moister. Ben's duck in jalapeno sauch...hmmm...not what I expected. (And yes, I suppose part of me was expecting little pancakes.) Truthfully, I didn't like it. I like duck, but not this kind. Stringy slices were swimming in a bland (bland as in bad, not as in fresh-and-springy-bland) sauce and just looked blah. Gerry, on the other hand, had a delicious-looking bowl of veggie pho. I have problems with pho because I usually slurp the broth all over myself, but I was just a little jealous.

The Verdict: Viet Grill was off to a good start, but I'd go somewhere else on Kingsland Road before I go back. Or, well, I'll just go back to Au Lac for the pancake. (Interestingly, Viet Grill has their pancake on the menu under "Vietnamese Pizza.")

Pick me, pick me! Vote for Londonelicious!

Ah, jetlag. A terrible beast. So imagine--you get into bed at 10 p.m. and you read for a while, and then you turn off the lights and you try to go to sleep. But you can't sleep. You just can't. So you check the site traffic on your blog. And you discover...

Well Fed has just nominated you (yes, YOU) in its "Best Food Blog-City" category. And you're the judges' wildcard! Crazy!

Just to keep you grounded--do you remember what you were doing last night? You were watching Tivo'd copies of Wife Swap on your new 160 GB hard drive connected to your TV and eating a frozen meal from Waitrose.

Are Americans allowed to be chuffed? Heck, I don't care. Cuz I am. Vielen Dank. And shamelessly, if you are ready and able to throw a vote my way, please do!

Krista

P.S. To clarify, go here to vote: http://wellfed.net/2007/01/03/top-5-best-food-blog-city/

Dumplings Galore!: Dragon Castle

114 Walworth Rd
SE17 1JL

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, December 30, 2006

The Victims: Echo, Bill, Wei, Niculie

The Damage: £12 each. Just tea.

The Background: I'm a sucker for what I read online. And Dragon Castle has been everywhere. TimeOut. The Times. Chowhound. Giles Coren has been there at least twice. Fay Maschler. Jay Rayner.  Combine this with my mother reminiscing over Christmas about her best meal ever--dim sum in 1998 with moi at a Hong Kong hotel that we can't remember the name of (somewhere in Tsim Sha Tsui)--and I knew it was time to make the pilgramage to pictueresque Elephant & Castle.

The Arrival: I tried to enter by the big red doors. Apparently, these doors only function in emergencies. They were huge. I felt like an idiot. Wei pointed me to the real glass doors and we were shown to the couch while we awaited the rest of our party.

Niculie was running a little late, so we snagged a table and let Wei commence ordering. I was immediately smitten with the very attractive prices. £1.90 and £2.20 for most of the dumplings and fried dishes. Lovely.

The Food: And so began the parade. There  were more dumplings than I could shake a stick at. (Anyone know what that means, btw?) Some were delicate and translucent, some were meaty and sticky, others were salty (in a good way) and spicy and satisfying. My favorite was the one with turnips and peanunts in it. And the lotus leaves (at least I think they were lotus leaves) wrapped around pillows of sticky rice. Oh, and the big container of seafood rice. I demured on the chicken feet...been there, done that many ages ago and found it an incredibly bony experience. All of this was accompanied by pot after pot of tea. Lovely.

The Verdict: I'd go back. Now Wei tells me that he feels that the dim sum at Jade Garden still the best, but not as nicely priced. (If you figure we spent £12 per person and didn't finish all the food, well, you can hopefully appreciate the prices at Dragon Castle.) So one of these days, I'll be back, but I'll probably try Jade Garden first.   

Chinese: Laureate Chinese Restaurant

64 Shaftesbury Avenue
W1D 6LU
Tel: 020 7437 5088

Date of Last Visit: Friday, 29 December 2006

The Victims: K&A

The Damage: £27.40 each

The Mark Up: We paid £21 for a bottle of Hilltop Shiraz from Chalkers Crossing in Australia. (I unfortunately didn't write down the year. I'll get this right eventually.) Now, we're not in Australia, but the 2003 appears to be going for $26 AUD there. That's roughly £10.50 over here. 

The Background: We were so very hungry. We had tried to have dinner at Cork & Bottle, but they were out of everything we wanted, and we (OK, maybe just me) wanted to go. So we wandered over to Chinatown for some Crispy Duck. A mentioned that he'd been to a good place about a year ago, so we headed that way.

The Starters: We quickly sent in our order for chilli and salt spareribs, chicken satay, and some vegetarian spring rolls. The food quickly arrived, and our waiter quickly disappeared. (We had still to place our orders for drinks and mains.)

The spareribs were good, but gosh darnit if they weren't deep fried somehow. So too the chicken satay. Maybe not deep fried, but fried somehow. And the veggie spring rolls--one day, I will prove that every veggie spring roll com es from a factory in Cleveland, Ohio. Thinking of the Laureate, I imagined a big box of frozen everything somewere in the back of the restaurant. Why can't food be fresh? When did we become some removed from our food supply? Why? Why?

The Mains: Our server finally resurfaced and we placed an order for 1/2 a crispy duck, some Kung Pao Chicken, and some fried rice. You know I love the crispy duck. I asked another server to explain the difference between crispy duck and Peking duck and she tried, and I was just not functioning and I couldn't understand a word she said. I didn't feel THAT bad because K&A didn't understand either. The only part I got was that crispy duck isn't the duck that hangs in the window. That's Cantonese.

The End: I saw some people get orange slices, but not us.

The Verdict: Eh. I've had better duck.