Clover Eats!
Sharing restaurant experiences through photography!
Snapshot: Proof in Newark Airport
We came across this great setup in the Newark Airport. Proof had iPads at each seat, from which you could browse internet, put in orders, call for help, and even pay! This is what all restaurants should adopt! I hate waiting for the bill to come back, or for the waiter to come take our order. Let this be the future! Otherwise the food was pretty mediocre, what you’d expect from airport food, but the setup, the setup!
Check them out on Yelp!
CloverTravels: Nobu in Atlantis, Bahamas
Nobu is one of Atlantis’ restaurants, located right off of the casino. On our first day, we made the mistake of going to the Marketplace buffet for dinner; at a whopping $60/person, we were subjected to buffet food that was worse than that of my freshman dorm dining hall’s. Nevertheless, determined to have at least one good meal, we grit our teeth and laid down our room card. Maybe it was our incredibly low expectations, but Nobu greatly surprised us. The fish was consistently tender, and changed up in fun, unexpected ways, for example, wrapping a piece of nashi pear and soaked in truffle yuzu sauce, yum! Or lightly seared and paired with scallion and sesame. The tamago here was also a pleasant surprise – it was delicious and perhaps the lightest, fluffiest tamago I’ve ever had. As you can see in the photos, we ordered it three times. My Grapefruit on the Rocks cocktail was also refreshing and strong. Dessert was also surprisingly tasty. Of course, this all came at the cost of $100/person, but it was nice to know that it is at least possible to get good food in the monstrosity that is Atlantis. Check them out on their website!
CloverTravels: Twin Brothers in Nassau, Bahamas
Twin Brothers was recommended to us by several people we encountered on the island. We walked from downtown Nassau to the Fish Fry area to see what all the fuss was about. There are several restaurants all lined up next to each other, all with pretty similar offerings. As we got closer, a stranger tried to steer us to another restaurant, telling us that since Twin Brothers got so popular, they got lazier and stopped using fresh fish. We went ahead anyway. There’s another location right next to the bridge to Paradise Island, where I literally saw the chef lean over the edge of the restaurant, which was over the ocean, and pull out a conch that got chopped up and put into my conch salad. That was both cool and kind of gross. My ‘cocktail’ was basically sugar from a slushie machine with some alcohol poured in. Fred reported that his fish was okay, and both of us thought the conch fritters (deep fried conch) were nothing too special. Anyway, now we experienced it, hooray! Check them out on their website! Here are some other photos from our trip.
This local beverage tasted like bubbly sweet potatoes!
This horse had a straw hat!
We got to feed some lories!
Sweet, sweet coconuts!
CloverLoves: Ordinary in New Haven
Untitled #2 (bourbon, peach oolong sweat tea, grapefruit) and Manaplan (rum, suze, strawberry baslsamic shrub, grapefruit and mojito mint)
Smoked pulled pork with chipotle cider vinegar BBQ sauce
This restaurant should have been called ‘anything but’ – the atmosphere is absolutely fantastic. Even though we stopped in on a blustery fall afternoon, it immediately felt like we were in a ski lodge at night, with the jukebox playing all the right tunes. Our drinks were on point, sophisticated and complex and lovely. There was also a huge selection of liquors that we didn’t dive into. The food, too, was simple yet elevated – grilled cheese is no longer just a childhood snack, but something to wonder at and indulge in. The pulled pork was tender, succulent, bursting with flavor, and the pickled veggies went perfectly with the meat. The bartenders were also fantastic, checking in on us frequently and excited to share the menu with us. What an amazing experience! Check them out on Yelp or at their website!
Grilled Cheese with Pulled Pork
CloverSnacks: Grace Street in NYC: Ktown
Our friend Jenny made us promise to save room for dessert. Grace Street was also completely packed when we stopped by after dinner, even requiring a wait. I’ve never heard of a little dessert cafe requiring a wait before, but after the amazing experience we had, I can now understand why. The shaved snow had fantastic texture – it’s so fluffy and light, like freshly fallen snow that vanishes on your tongue. The delicate folds were sweet but not overly so, and absolutely heavenly. I also really liked the honey tapioca that came with it. If I hadn’t been so full from the full day of feasting, I would have loved to try some of their warm treats, like doughnuts or other pastries. Next time! Check them out on Yelp or at their website!
CloverEats: BCD Tofu House in NYC: Ktown
There was already a 45-minute long wait for a table for five when we arrived in K-town. Luckily, there were plenty of adorable Korean beauty shops around on the same block for us to check out while waiting for our name to be called. It was packed, granted, it was a Saturday night, but there were plenty of other restaurants around that didn’t have as massive a wait. The restaurant also broadcast clips from food shows featuring it, and watching the tofu being made only made us hungrier.
Everyone gets a little fish to eat! I’m not one for fish and so passed this off to my friend, but she said it was fantastic. The banchan are also quite interesting – you’ve got the traditional kimchi dishes, and also an interesting macaroni and raisin pasta salad? They were quite good about refilling our dishes, which is something that a lot of restaurants aren’t so quick on.
We got this great drink, just labelled ‘Korean Rice Wine’ on the menu – it was creamy and sweet and surprisingly carbonated. It had a pretty low alcohol content around 6%, but was a nice refreshing drink to cut the hot meal with.
Most of us chose to get some variety of tofu soup, given we were at the Tofu House restaurant. The soondofu comes out so hot the soup is still boiling, and you are provided a raw egg to crack into your soup! This was delicious – the broth was complex and hearty, and the tofu itself had great texture. I’m not a huge tofu person, but this had me feeling warm and nostalgic.
There are so many choices I can’t even imagine how great it is to have so many options!
Check them out on Yelp or at their website!
CloverSnacks: Momofuku Milk Bar in NYC
The shop is quite trendy, although a little too dark and without anywhere to actually eat. There weren’t too many people when we arrived, but quite a line had built up by the time we were leaving. The crack pie was fantastic, buttery and sugary! It was definitely on the heavy side though; I don’t think I would be able to eat it more than once in a long while. The cereal milk ice cream actually reminded me a lot of Soylent. A tasty treat, but nothing as amazing as people make it out to be.
Check them out on Yelp or at their website!
Cereal milk ice cream!
Crack pie!
CloverEats: Harvest in New Haven
Spicy Salmon Tartare: jalapeno, lemon zest, baby arugula, house made chips
Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad: parmesan risotto cake, truffle vinaigrette
We stopped by Harvest for lunch and got the prix fix two course lunch for $18 each. Our appetizers/first halves were good – the spicy salmon tartare and the brussels sprout salad, but the second halves of the meal (fish of the day and BLT) were not as good. It was pretty slow because we went late in the afternoon, there were only a few other tables besides us, but we still ran out of water and waited quite a bit. Overall, Harvest is a nice spot, nothing amazing, but nothing as terrible as its current 3-star Yelp rating would make it seem. Check them out at their website!
Fish of the Day: saffron risotto, seared asparagus, herbed lemon butter sauce
Two Handed BLT: irish bacon, avocado, plum tomato, bibb lettuce lemon aioli
Some other shots from around town with the new Sony A6000. Have been having a case of sore neck from carrying the Canon 6D around all the time, decided to try mirrorless. So far, I’m loving the compact size, but of course I can’t expect it to perform at the same level as the 6D. Still, a nice compromise and step up from my iPhone camera, which is what I’d be using otherwise.
CloverSlurps: Ippudo Westside in NYC
Lady M Mille Feuille Crepe with pastry cream filling, house cranberry cream
Karaka-men “The original “Tonkotsu”(pork) broth with an added kick; thin noodles with Ippudo’s special blend of hot spices, topped with pork chashu, cabbage, sesame kikurage mushrooms, scallions, and fragrant garlic oil.”
Akamaru Modern “A more bold translation of the original pork broth; thin noodles topped with Ippudo’s secret “Umami Dama” miso paste, pork chashu, cabbage, sesame kikurage mushrooms, scallions, and fragrant garlic oil.”
Pork Hirata Buns
Ippudo Nigori “Cloudy, rich and creamy. From California.”
It was a weekday night and there was still a 40-60 min for two at Ippudo Westside. This didn’t bother us too much, as Ippudo has a great texting system where they text you when a table is getting ready for you. I loved the setup of a U-shaped communal table with wait staff going in and out. There were also a bunch of other fellow photographers, which is always nice. We started off with sake – Fred got the Ippudo nigori, described as cloudy, rich, and creamy – this was mild and delicious. I tried the Nanbu Bijin “Southern Beauty” that was a little too strong for me, with an aroma similar to baiju. The restaurant rings with Japanese phrases, from “irrashaimase” (welcome) to “arigatou gozaimasu”. For the ramen itself, I went with the most popular dish, the Akamaru Modern. The broth was delicious and flavorful, and the noodles were fanatstic as well. You can even ask for an extra serving of noodles by saying “kae-dama, please” but we were much too full to do this. The only thing is that we both asked for a boiled egg in our dishes but didn’t end up with any. We ended our meal with some fantastic Lady M mille feuille crepes, this was so good that we tried to go to the Lady M bakery for more but didn’t get a chance to make it up there. Overall, a great experience, the two of us spent $70. Check them out on Yelp or at their website!
CloverEats: Riko in NYC
Chica Morada – sweet Peruvian beverage made from purple corn
Half Chicken Combo – beans, salad, white rice
This great spot was just down the street from Penn Station. They are BYOB and there is a liquor store right on the corner, which was super convenient. The service was speedy and able to accommodate our group of six. I really enjoyed the Chicha Morada, a Peruvian drink from purple corn, which tasted sweet and fruity. The chicken was tender and flavorful, and the french fries were surprisingly tasty as well.
Check them out on Yelp!
Lomo Saltado – chunks of beef with onions, tomatoes, french fries
Ceviche de Pescado – spicy fish in spicy lemon sauce
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