Rayuela

To make up for the inactivity the last few weeks on this blog, I am giving you several posts this week.  This is a restaurant review for Rayuela.  Rayuela is one of the options for Restaurant Week this summer.  Restaurant Week, where you can get 3 course for $35 at select NYC restaurants, has been extended for another week so there is still time to make a reservation.

This was one of the best Restaurant Week experiences I have ever had.  Rayuela is a Latin Caribbean fusion restaurant, that does fusion at its best.  Using lots of fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs, even in their cocktails, creates many levels of flavor.  Using fresh sage leaves in Vodka Cocktails and fresh rose petals in a Champagne cocktail create drinks that are deliciously balanced as well as aesthetically pleasing.  While enjoying your Coming Up Roses Cocktail or the wonderfully refreshing Pina Agave (fresh pineapple, cucumber, lemon, agave nectar and white tequila), you are served a cheesy dense bread with roasted garlic and olive butter.  There is a real olive tree in the bi-level restaurant.

The Restaurant Week menu had varied choices, including vegetarian options.  The vegetarian appetizer was a wonderful beet salad, with spinach, grapefruit and goat cheese.  However, the best appetizer option is the Caracol con Curry y Fufu - Curried Conch on a sweet plantain shell with pork belly.  The curry was mild and complemented the flavors of the conch and plantain wonderfully.  The pork belly was delicious with a crispy skin, however, it should have been cooked for a longer period of time.  It was not as tender as it should be.

The best of the main course options is the grilled swordfish in an aji-amarillo mango saffron sauce, serve with a mixed rice that included chorizo, shrimp, mussells and eggs.  The lamb main course in a rose infused tamarind sauce had many levels of flavor, but again, I thought the lamb should have been cooked to a more tender state, but the fish was cooked perfectly.

Desserts were good, but nothing outstanding, however, the peaches complemented the Red Velvet Cake in a unique way.

After the 3 courses and the most amazing complimentary Gazpacho made with Chilean papaya and saffron, we were content after the meal.  This was one Restaurant Week dinner that I did not feel hungry just a few hours later, due to the usually small portions.

Friendly, attentive staff with a great LES vibe, the only thing lacking was a little more thought into the desserts.

For interesting flavors and Fusion Cuisine at its best, I suggest an evening at Rayuela!

Chef Mireille
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Bhuna Gosht (cookbook recipes)

Hello Fans of Global Tastes & Travels:

It has been a few weeks since a blog posting. Please accept my sincerest apologies.  A summer full of lots of culinary events has kept us quite busy.  Hope you are all staying cool in the extremely hot temperatures we have been having or extremely cold temperatures, if you are in Argentina!

My first task is to resume our Cookbook Recipes series, so here is a second recipe from The Great Curries of India.  This is a homestyle recipe using whole spices.  Please note these whole spices are to be discarded, as you eat.

Bhuna Gosht (Delhi-style Lamb Curry)
1/3 cup oil
2 bay leaves
1 black cardamom
1 cinnamon stick
10 peppercorns
4 cloves
1 1/2 onions, very finely chopped
1 ounce fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (original recipe had 2/3 ounce)
3 green chiles, chopped (original recipe had 1/4 ounce)
2 1/4 pounds lamb
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coriander powder
1 teaspoon cayenne powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 tomatoes, pureed
1/3 cup plain yogurt
salt, to taste
1 tablespoon chopped coriander

Heat the oil in a large pot with the bay leaves, cardamom and cinnamon stick,  When the leaves begin to fry add the peppercorns and cloves, and after a minute put in the onions and saute until lightly colored, about 15 minutes.

Add the ginger, garlic, green chiles, lamb and 1 teaspoon salt and stir-fry over a low heat for 20 minutes.  during this time stir every few seconds, scraping the spices off the bottom of the pot.  Add 2 tablespoons water whenever it gets too dry.

Then add the turmeric, coriander, cayenne pepper and garam masala powders and stir continuously for 5 minutes, adding 2 tablespoons water.  Add the pureed tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add 4 cups water and simmer for 15 minutes.  Whisk the yogurt and add to the pot.  Cook over gentle heat until the lamb is tender.  Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves.

I found this recipe to be inaccurate in regards to timing.  It needed more liquid to be added and cooking for about 40 minutes, instead of 20 for the meat to be tender. For this reason, I give this recipe a C, but in terms of flavor once you make these adjustments I give it an A.

I suggest you trying this recipe with these changes and please let me know your feedback.


Chef Mireille
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Talk of the Town (the unsung hero)

Due to the amount of Chinese people in the world, there are Chinese immigrant populations in practically every country.  I was surprised to see them even in the little island of Dominica.  In the capital of Roseau, practically every variety store is owned by the Chinese and of course, there is a Chinese restaurant.

In many of the countries where the Chinese are, they have merged some of their cooking techniques and flavors with those of the local community.  Hence, we have Cuban Chinese Food and Indo-Chinese food (from India), just to name a few.  There are quite a number of Indo-Chinese restaurants in the NYC area.  I always find the most authentic cuisine is usually located in the outer boroughs of NYC, rather than in Manhattan.  The best Indo-Chinese food restaurant in the area is Talk of the Town. 

They may not be the Talk of the Town, but that is only due to location.  Located on the outskirts of Jackson Heights' Littel India, you will not find this restaurant, unless you go looking for it. Located on 72nd Street and Broadway, away from the busy foot traffic of 74th Street, this is not a restaurant you will just stumble upon.  However, every visit I make to this place, I enjoy it even more.  Talk of the Town is the absolute unsung hero of Jackson Heights.

This Halal Indo-Chinese restaurant is very clean, even the restrooms.  They already get brownie points for this, especially in this neighborhood.  However, the main reason to go is the food.  The chili okra appetizer is bursting with ginger, chili and coriander - spicy, tangy and sweet at the same time. The okra is not crispy as indicated on the menu, but they are firm.  Because of this, the okra does not have the sliminess that many complain of, when eating okra aka bhindi.  This reminds me of Indonesian food with their use of soy, chili and other spices.  It tastes like Kecap Manis (the sweet soy sauce all-purpose condiment of Indonesian cuisine).

The Chili Chicken is wonderful.  On first appearance, it looks like a chicken dish you might find in a Chinese restaurant with chicken and huge chunks of green pepper in what looks like a soy based sauce.  One bite and all your pre-conceived notions are laid aside.  Bursting with spice and many levels of flavor, this is no Chinese restaurant chicken!!!

They also serve traditional Indian dishes like Vindaloo, Biryani and the ubiquitous Chicken Tikka Masala, which are prepared with the same mastery as their Indo-Chinese entrees.

Also not to be missed is their Lemongrass Cooler, cool and refreshing on a 103 degree hot summer day. And they make the best Falooda (sorry for the dark photo) I have ever had - the perfect balance of rose syrup, ice cream and vermicelli!

So far, everytime I have received complimentary ice cream.  I don't know if this is standard practice or because my visits usually include at least 5 people in our group? 

You will probably be one of the few people in the restaurant when you visit, but don't be alarmed by the lack of customers.  The other people just don't know about the best kept secret in Jackson Heights!!!


Chef Mireille
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