Momofuku Nishi, New York

I had two nights in New York.  My arrival night, for a variety of reasons, lead me to Xi'an Famous Foods, for fast casual Chinese cuisine that I didn't exactly love.  But for the second night, I was ready, and secured a reservation at Momofuku Nishi for myself and co-workers.  It was the perfect venue, as it is located right down the street from our office.  This meal was much more impressive, as I hoped.

Momofuku is a empire of restaurants, built by chef David Chang.  It started with Noodle Bar in 2004, and just totally took off from there.  I think they have a dozen or so establishments at this point, mostly in New York, but also in Sydney, Toronto, Washington, DC and soon, Vegas.  Each restaurant has a distinct concept, but all are Asian fusion of some form, ranging from the ramen at Noodle Bar, to casual fried chicken sandwiches at Fuku, to the fixed menu at Ko.  And of course, there is also Momofuku Milk Bar, a chain of bakeries featuring shockingly good cookies, amazing soft serve ice cream, cakes and truffles, and more.

Dinner @ Momofuku Nishi.

This visit was to Nishi, the latest establishment in the Momofuku chain to open in New York, in Chelsea.  The concept is Korean Italian, focusing on noodles.  Like I said, fusion.  It opened only in January 2016; my visit was in October, 10 months into its run.

Many initial reviews were lackluster, from critics and diners alike, although professional critics seemed far more harsh than average Yelpers.  Critiques ranged from the uncomfortable seating and horrible acoustics, to the concept itself, to high prices.  None of which I can really argue with.

However, I'm still glad I went.  And I'd gladly return.  Because while there are plenty of flaws with Nishi, there are also butter noodles.  And they were worth it.

The Setting

The dining room at Nishi is basically the opposite of inviting.  When we walked in, I looked around, and realized there wasn't a single table that looked comfortable to dine at.  There was certainly no soft glow to this room.

The entire space had a harsh, uninspired feel to it.  The floor was made of hard dark grey tiles, the walls were painted a matching dark grey with blond wooden planks on the bottom, which matched the simple wooden furniture.  The only interesting decor element were paintings on the walls.

Seating.

The majority of the room is filled with long communal blond wood tables, low-ish to the floor, with backless matching box seats.  Most groups are seated here, even if they have reservations, alongside other diners.

There are only two private tables for 4.  These are higher, with backless stools and hooks for purses, and we fortunately had one of those.  Since there is little room to put anything down, and you can't hang a jacket over the back of your chair, coat check was offered the moment we sat.  We were given little paper numbers, which we then had to call someone over to retrieve when we were done.  Seems like they could streamline this process a bit, given that they take the coats from the tables and bring them back there, did they really need to have us hold onto the coat tags?

The seats were as uncomfortable as they looked.  We didn't feel compelled to linger around for sure, and even opted to go elsewhere for dessert (ok, to be fair, that is because the Milk Bar a few doors down had a new seasonal soft serve flavor, how could we not check it out?)

Place Setting.

The tables were set with equally simple, er, boring, plain white plates, white napkins, water and wine glasses.  Since the entire menu is sharing style, these were our share plates.  We were offered a new set in-between two rounds of food order, which we accepted.

Interestingly, there was no silverware laid out, but the server brought it once we ordered.  We were provided with individual silverware only, never any serving utensils, a bit awkward since it was all family style.

Drinks

As soon as we were seated we were offered water, still or sparkling, house-made.  We opted for sparkling, and water was poured for each of us, and a full extra jug was left on the table.  Major points for having house sparkling water, as I love sparkling but hate paying $$$ for water, and major points for leaving us a full bottle, so we could refill as needed.

Drink Menu.

I looked over the drink menu in advance online, so I knew I wanted a cocktail, but I still had a hard time deciding between the cocktails.  So many of them had interesting elements.  The drink menu also had several wines by the glass or on tap, beer, and soda, including housemade sodas.

Several of the others opted for housemade sodas, available in ginger, fennel, or poblano-lime flavors.  I tried both the ginger and the fennel, and they were certainly interesting, refreshing drinks, and a unique option for those not seeking alcohol.

Poblano Sour - mezcal, thai basil, jalapeno. $17.

For my cocktail, I settled on the poblano sour, as it sounded both refreshing (basil!) and interesting (jalapeno!).  It arrived right after our first appetizer, not quite ideal, as I wished I had time to sip it before.

It was ... well, certainly sour as named.  But I didn't taste the basil, nor the spicy jalapeno.  No spice, no refreshing quality.  Instead, it was somehow quite bitter.  Yes, sour and bitter.  Not quite what I had in mind.

It was also very small, if you can tell from the photo.  This was the drink as it arrived, small glass, not very full.  Maybe this is standard in New York, but $17 for a very small cocktail seemed quite high.

Food

All dishes are served family style, and brought to the table as they are ready.  We were never provided any serving utensils, which was particularly strange when sharing a plate of pasta.

Food arrived in a timely manner, with good pacing, generally brought out by different staff members than our original server.

Savory Food Menu.

The menu is broken into 4 categories of savory food: appetizers, noodles, entreés, and side dishes.  Interestingly, there are only 2 entreés on the menu (pork and cod), both of which we skipped, since I knew the noodles were more worthy of our stomach space.

Our initial order was intentionally light, as we planned to order more based on how we were feeling.  Our server had no problem with this, and left us a menu to continue pondering.

Appetizers

Appetizers make up the largest portion of the menu, with 9 items, mostly all cold dishes, including salads, raw seafood, and vegetarian items.

 Papaya Salad –  miso, toasted rice.  $12.

For our first round, we selected the papaya salad to have something lighter and refreshing alongside the heavier noodle dishes.  We had several options for a lighter dish, but the miso and toasted rice sounded unique, so we picked it.  Really, how do you turn down miso?

It was the first dish to arrive, before our drinks even (although my cocktail was only 2 minutes behind).  As with all dishes, no serving utensils were provided.  Since this was our first dish, our utensils were all clean, and this was fine.

It looked unlike any papaya salad I had ever seen before.  To be fair, I basically only know one style of papaya salad, Thai som tum, made with shredded green unripe papaya, green beans, tomato, peanuts, etc in a fish sauce sauce.  This ... was not that.

The papaya was not unripe green papaya, rather, it was ripe orange papaya.  On top was something else that I never identified, maybe jicama?  Maybe it was unripe papaya?  Anyway, the papaya was juicy and refreshing, but the dressing, whatever it was, was far too tangy.

I love miso, but I didn't actually taste miso in this.  I expected the toasted rice to perhaps be crunchy bits of toasted rice on top, but, I never found, nor tasted, anything that I would identify as rice either.

So .... no miso and no toasted rice elements that I could identify, and very dressed in a far too tangy dressing.  I did not like this dish, my third pick of the night.

Warm Beets – walnut bagna cauda, chervil. $13.

In our second round of ordering, the group wanted more vegetables, so the beets were ordered.

Since I don't care for beets I skipped this, but I think I heard some grumbles about it not being warm, and no one seemed particularly eager to finish this dish.  I tried a walnut, but, yeah, not much to say there.

Sides

There were 3 options on the menu for side dishes.  The first is bitter greens in XO sauce which sounded like a good pick for a veggie if we hadn't already gone for the papaya salad, next was a fried potato dish that didn't seem like a good compliment to our upcoming pastas, and, finally there was a squash pancake, that I strongly advocated for ordering.

I found it hard to understand why the sides were considered sides instead of apps.  If noodles are your main, is a fried veggie pancake really a side?  Also, our side dish also arrived exactly one minute after our appetizer, and 10 minutes before our noodles, so, if it was a side dish, it was a side to our appetizer ...

Squash Pancake & Onion Vinegar. $13.

Any momentary disappointment I had with the papaya salad was replaced the moment I cut off a chunk of the squash pancake.  Ok, the moment I ate that chunk.

The "pancake" was large, nearly the size of a dinner plate, garnished with only a few slices of some kind of red pepper.  No drizzles of sauce, nothing fancy.  I wondered if there was supposed to be a side of the onion vinegar from the description, but no other photos I saw of it included a dipping sauce, so, I guess not.

I didn't really taste any vinegar inside the pancake, sticking in theme with the papaya salad of me never discovering the other elements that were supposed to be part of the dish.  Unlike the miso, I didn't miss it here, although I'm sure a little more tang would have amped up the flavor.

The pancake was made of thin slices of assorted winter squashes.  It had a nice char on the outside that imparted a phenomenal smoky flavor.  It was crispy where it was charred, but then the squash slices were soft.  The textures made it very enjoyable.

I really liked this, as it was a fairly unique item (at least, I haven't had a squash pancake before like this, I've had shredded zucchini pancakes, but that is totally different.  I also adore winter squashes, and I really liked the smoky flavor.  My second pick of the night, and I'd gladly get it again.  One other diner however did not like it, and the other two had no strong opinions.

Noodle

The next section of the menu is noodles, with four options.  One is the dish that is likely considered Nishi's signature: butter noodles.  I believe this has been on the menu since Nishi opened.  It gets lots of raves, which I quickly understood once I tried it.  The other dishes are less iconic, but still sounded interesting, although all get mixed reviews: spicy beef, chili squid, and jajangmyeon (a classic Korean Chinese dish).

We opted for two noodle dishes, both of which arrived about 10 minutes after our apps/sides, and, as before, no serving utensils, which was more awkward with noodles and our dirty personal utensils.

Butter Noodle – chickpea hozon, black pepper. $19.

Ok, first, to step back before I get into the actual review.

Let's start with the description.  "Butter noodle", ok, that part makes sense.  "Black pepper", also, known item.  But what about "chickpea hozon"?  Chickpea sure, but, hozon?  I hadn't heard of that. Don't worry, you aren't lacking culinary knowledge here either, it turns out, the Momofuku restaurant group invented hozon, so, unless you are a Momofuku fiend, there is no way you'd know what this is.

So, what is hozon?  Hozon is "traditional miso made with non-traditional ingredients" or "a fermented, stone-ground seasoning made in the style of miso paste."  The name comes from the Japanese word for preserved, as hozon is made using fermented nuts, seeds, and legumes (but not soybeans like regular miso).  Momofuku produces several varieties in addition to the chickpea hozon used here, and you can purchase it, and other signature Momofuku staples like ssäm sauce, bonji (uh, soysauce minus soybeans), and their vegan xo sauce.

It also turns out that the dish was recently renamed to Butter Noodle, and had been titled Ceci e Pepe before, a play on Cacio e Pepe clearly, but, I'm guessing that most folks don't know that ceci means chickpea, and even if they did, does "chickpea and pepper" really sound that good, particularly compared to, uh, "butter noodle"?  Yeah, I see why they renamed it.  Still, if you think of classic cacio e pepe, you'll see why they had gone with that name originally.

Ok, back to the dish.

It arrived hot and fresh, which was impressive, as pasta doesn't hold heat long.  Plus one point for that.  Like the pancake, there was nothing extra on the plate, just a mound of pasta, covered in pepper.

And what glorious pasta it was.  The pasta was expertly cooked, perfect al dente.  Plus one point.

The sauce was heavenly, and somehow managed to completely coat, and cling to, the pasta, without leaving a pool on the plate.  It was crazy rich, which I guess makes sense given that it is a butter base, but to be honest, it didn't taste buttery.  Nor did it taste like chickpeas, which I slightly feared as I don't like chickpeas.  What *did* it taste like then?  Well, uh, cacio e pepe.  Although entirely cheese-free.  Speaking of the pepper, there was lots of it, and it was slightly spicy, which gave a great kick.

I really enjoyed this, and 3/4 of us rated it the top dish of the night, hands down.  I'd gladly get it again.  Which, uh, we did, as soon as our server came back.  Literally.

Butter Noodle - plus Burgundy Black Truffles. $19 + $30 truffle supplement.

When we ordered our second batch of butter noodles, our server innocently asked, "would you like to add truffles to that?"

We all kinda looked at each other and shrugged.  One person asked if it was real truffle not truffle oil.  The server confirmed it was.  We had the choice of Burgundy black truffles for $30 or Alba white truffles for $60, or, no truffles for $0.  But you know what happens when you give people 3 choices ... they pick the middle one.  Which we did.  Black truffles it was.

Our second batch came about 10 minutes later, alongside the beets that we ordered then as well.  The truffles were added in the kitchen rather than table side, but we all acknowledged that it was a fairly generous portion.

The truffles were, well, shaved truffles.  Earthy and tasty, but actually just not necessary in the dish.  I quickly wrote in my notes that the truffle didn't add to the dish.  Others, unprompted, expressed how "meh" they felt about the truffle addition too.  We could have had 2.5 orders of the noodles for the price of one with truffles, and clearly, we all just wanted more noodles.  One diner even went so far as to say "the truffles made it worse".

We were glad we ordered a second batch of the glorious noodles, but next time, I'd leave off the truffles.  I must admit though, they sure made for better food porn.  Way to go on the upsell, server!

Spicy Beef – shells, mint, crispy shallots. $21.

Our final dish was spicy beef noodles.

Like the butter noodles, the pasta here was perfectly cooked al dente, in this case, ridged, curved shells.

The shells were tossed in what tasted like a tomato based sauce, with chunks of beef.  There was some slight heat to it, mostly only on the finish, not really enough to classify as "spicy" in my mind.  I didn't like the flavor of the sauce, I can't pinpoint it exactly, besides that it was just a very strange flavor.  I'm guessing there was some Korean flair in there that I just didn't care for.

On top was tons of crispy shallots, delicious crispy shallots, but I actually felt like there was too much.

Overall, I really didn't like this, my least favorite of the night, although the one person who didn't list the butter noodles as his top choice said this was his favorite, so, clearly, some people like this dish.  I do give points for the cooking of the pasta though.

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JetBlue Flight 534, SFO-BOS, Mint

Original Reviews - 2016

I finally flew JetBlue Mint.  And with that ... I'm pretty much ruined.  Even for transcon travel.  Doh.

October 2016 Feast!

I'll get to all the details next, but, the short version is that I flew the SFO-BOS route twice in Mint, and had a great experience both times.  The the food is actually interesting, you get to create your own tasting menu from small plates, and they have ice cream.  Quality ice cream.

On both flights, the FAs were ridiculously friendly.  They asked each passenger if it was their first time in Mint, and provided an introduction to the seat if so, pointing out little storage areas, where to plug things in, etc.  I haven't even had such a thoughtful welcoming experience in international first class!  Even the gate agent greeted me by name.

December 2016 Feast!

My first experience, in October, was so good, that I choose to repeat it when I flew home for the holidays, in December.  I've consolidated both reviews here, since it was the same route, just two months apart.

The Seat & Amenities

The cabin holds 16 people, in 6 pairs of 2 and 4 single "suites".  All seats are the same price, and are available first-come, first-serve.  Unfortunately, the singles were already taken when I booked my first Mint flight, and I wasn't flying with a companion, so I was seated next to a random stranger.  On my second flight, I was able to score a coveted single suite, and it was ridiculous.  The thought that kept going through my head was simply, "How is this real on a transcon flight?"

Foot Cubby, Entertainment Screen.

The seat transforms into a fully flat bed, with a very spacious foot well where it converts.  Seriously, you could hide a second passenger in there.  On my first flight, I was told that I could not use that space during takeoff for a bag, so, there was actually no where at all for a bag during takeoff.  The FAs collected all bags as we were headed to runway, and handed them back once underway.  A bit annoying, and really, that area seemed more secure than many other seats I've been in where under footrest storage was allowed ...  On my next two Mint flights, they had no problem with me using this space though, so, not really sure what the official policy is.

Above the foot area is a large screen tv (touch screen, or controlled by remote), under which is a small compartment to stuff a couple smaller items (I used it for my magazine, gum, and little things I wanted access to during the flight).

The entertainment center features SiriusXM satellite radio, DirectTV (huge lineup, way better than Virgin America), and a handful of movies.  The touch screen worked well, and the remote was very easy to use.

Headphones were provided once we got underway.  They weren't particularly nice, the only negative I have to say about the flight.

Seat Controls, Remote for Entertainment Center.

Next to me was a shared armrest with a control panel for the seat and a remote to use with the entertainment center.  The tray table also came out of this area.

When put into "Relax" mode, the seat wasn't really comfortable for me.  At least, not for sitting up and using a laptop.  Maybe it was better for watching tv?  I could easily adjust it though, and was able to find a fairly comfortable position.  The storage space around the foot part was a bit annoying though - even when just mildly reclining with foot rest extended, there was no longer space for my laptop bag in front, although then there was space under.  So I had to move my bag back and forth, remembering to move it before using the control and having it get stuck.  Minor design flaw.

We were also provided with a blanket, pillow, and eye mask, since I guess you could sleep (although that made no sense given my afternoon flight times).  The pillow was nice behind my back in the seat.  The blankets were needed though, as it got FREEZING immediately after takeoff on my first flight (not a problem the next time).  The FAs walked around reassuring everyone that it would warm up, explaining that it was just due to the "design of the aircraft".  It was really ridiculously cold for a few minutes!

Power, Water, Light, Phone Holder.

Next to my seat was a water bottle holder, which came stocked with a bottle of water.  I appreciated having water available from the start of the flight.

Power options included both USB and regular US power, in an easy to reach spot.

I loved the little phone holder located here.  It had a net so it could fit a variety of phone sizes.  Super convenient.

BirchBox, Women's.

Once underway, the FA came through distributing BirchBoxes, different versions for men and women.  BirchBox is a subscription service, where you pay a monhtly fee and get a box of 5 assorted beauty related samples delivered to you.  A bit random to get on our flight, as none were really travel related (aka, not hand lotion, lip blam, etc), but, a nice perk.

BirchBox, Women's: Contents.

Sadly, the BirchBox partnership ended in November.  On my subsequent flights, I was provided a Hayward amenity kit.

Food & Drinks - October 2016

Pre-departure

As I settled into my seat, the FA stopped by to introduce me to my seat, explain the features, hand me a menu, and offer a pre-departure drink.  Rather than the standard water, orange juice, or champagne, she offered up their signature drink, the RefreshMint, available both with and without vodka.  I opted for with.

RefreshMint.

"Honey infused limeade with vodka and mint, garnished with a mint leaf."

Soon after, my drink was delivered, in a plastic cup, but a stylish one.  It really was refreshing and quite delicious, although honestly it tasted a bit watered down.  Probably not a bad thing.

Between the seats was a small space to set drinks, but they could not go side-by-side, which created some awkwardness with my neighbor, as he kept forgetting which was his and which was mine.

No welcome snack came with the drink.

Menu

Food Menu.

The menu was available online (on JetBlue's own site) before my flight, so I was able to check out my options in advance.  I really appreciated this.  

The lefthand side of the menu explained the dining philosophy, the partnership with Saxon + Parole (New York City restaurant), and the wine partner, Jon Bonné.  On the right was the meal options, with a single starter, choice of 3 (out of 5) small plates (2 cold, 3 hot), and fruit and ice cream.

The full menu:

Welcome Taste

It’s app-y hour!

Eggplant mousse: With pickled onion & eggplant relish, served with taro chips

Delish Dishes
Step up to the plate(s) & choose three. Please note: The first two dishes listed below are chilled. 

• Baby gem Caesar salad: With haricots verts, parmesan cheese, chives, sourdough
• breadcrumbs & yuzu dressing
• Mediterranean roasted cauliflower: With pickled red onion, cilantro & pistachios
• Braised chicken & Swiss chard: With parmesan polenta, roasted chanterelle mushrooms, quince chutney & crispy chestnuts
• Pan-fried halibut: With fingerling gratin, sautéed white asparagus, red pepper sauce
• & beet chips
• Ribeye & horseradish mashed potatoes: With broccolini, roasted carrots, shallot & bordelaise sauce

Sweet Bites
Don’t desert dessert—enjoy both options, along with a hot espresso drink.

• Seasonal fruit salad
• Organic ice cream: Blue Marble Ice Cream, Brooklyn, New York
• Cappuccino & espresso: Brooklyn Roasting Company, Brooklyn, New York

When You Re-Treat
An edible parting gift – worth the wait!Freshly made confections: Mah-Ze-Dahr Bakery | A Colicchio Discovery, New York, New York

I also could have pre-selected a special menu (again, all details available online!), in addition to the standard vegetarian, gluten-free, low-calorie, kosher, etc menus, they also have a "Plane Eats" menu for those who want ... simpler food.  For my flight, that was mac and cheese, a cheeseburger slider on brioche, and veggies with hummus for the small plates, and a cherry tomato, mozzarella, and basil skewer for the appetizer.  I wished I could pick just the mac and cheese from that menu!  I don't really understand why they don't mix all the options onto one menu?

Anyway.  Once we took off, our orders were taken at our seats.  I went for the two veggie options and the chicken, which I know sounds strange since I hate chicken, but I liked the sound of the sides that came with it (cheesy polenta, roasted mushrooms, chestnuts ... all great things!).  If I intended to actually eat the main protein, I probably would have gone with the halibut, since I love halibut, but I assumed it would be dried out and fishy on the flight.  And while I didn't want the ribeye, horseradish mashed potatoes and a shallot bordelaise sauce sounded pretty great.

Drink Menu.

For drinks, in addition to standard soft drinks, coffee (Dunkin' Donuts), espresso drinks (Brooklyn Roasting Company), and tea (Teapigs, no roobios), we also had a single champagne, two white wines, and two red wines, several beers (including a cider (!) and a seasonal OctoberFest beer), and standard liquors.  I was impressed with the quality of the options, particularly the coffee and tea.

I had my share of sparkling water and Sprite Zero throughout.

Calera Chardonnay, 2014, Central Coast.

Josh Jensen’s Chardonnay is a study in balance and pleasure, ripe and complex. Made from a selection of top California vineyards, from Santa Clara to Santa Barbara, it’s redolent of ripe citrus fruit, with an aromatic lift -- think lemon verbena and warm winter spices.

I had no idea which wine to pick, so I just asked my FA for a recommendation.  She said the reds run out all the time and are big hits, but, she prefers the chardonnay.  That seemed like it would go better with my meal, so, I opted for it.

It was ... fine.  A bit harsh, not really as buttery as I'd like, but, fine.  A generous pour.

Welcome Taste: It’s app-y hour!

The "Welcome Taste" was delivered with our drinks.  No option here, besides if you wanted it or not.

I was in the last row (row 5), and our cabin was full, so service took a while.  The entire economy cabin received their drinks and snacks before I got anything.  Given our substantial delay, I was pretty much starving at this point.

Eggplant mousse with pickled onion & eggplant relish, served with taro chips.

I love, love, love taro chips, so I was pretty delighted to (finally!) get the starter.  The taro chips were as expected, pretty good, crunchy, slightly salty.  I devoured my little bag (how cute) in about 2 seconds flat.

The first one I dipped generously in the dip.  The dip ... I did not like, although it was very nicely presented.   Creamy eggplant mousse in the bottom that was too tart for me, with the pickled onion and eggplant relish that was even more tart and too acidic as well, plus some tiny little tomatoes.  The flavor profile and acidity was just all off on this.

I quickly discarded the dip, but really did love the taro chips.

Delish Dishes

Dinner service is designed as small plates.  The menu had 5 options: 2 cold, 3 hot, and I could pick up to 3.  Which of course, I did.  All were served together.

I liked that I had so much flexibility in my meal selection, and the options were fairly extensive: 2 veggie, 1 chicken, 1 fish, 1 meat, all with interesting sides.  Everything I had was well prepared and clearly a thought out dish.

Placemat.

After our starters were cleared, our tables were set with paper placemats before the trays were set down containing our selections.

Meal Tray.

Meal trays arrived with all three selections, plus salt and pepper shakers, a roll, and olive oil.

Bread and Olive Oil.

The roll was not warm, it was kinda hard, and very lackluster.

I didn't try the olive oil, but it was a cute little packet of oil that at least looked really fancy.

Baby gem Caesar salad with haricots verts, parmesan cheese, chives, sourdough breadcrumbs & yuzu dressing.

The first dish I went for was a  play on a caesar salad.  It was quite good.

The baby gems were fresh and crisp, and a nice change from standard romaine.  The green beans, er, haricot verts, were nice and snappy.  I really liked them at first, but near the end of the salad I was a bit sick of them.  I think there were just slightly too many beans compared to baby gems.  Still, an interesting addition to a ceasar.

I don't like sourdough, but I didn't detect any sourdough in the bread crumbs.  They added an interesting texture, quite different from croutons.  Since we had crunch from the beans, a crunchy crouton wasn't needed, so this was pretty interesting.

I really liked the huge shreds of parmesan, nutty and rich.

I didn't taste the yuzu in the dressing, but, the dressing was quite good, creamy, flavorful.

Overall, a very nice salad.  Fresh crispy veggies, flavorful cheese, perfectly dressed.  One of the best salads I've ever had on a flight, and really a nice spin on a classic.

Mediterranean roasted cauliflower with pickled red onion, cilantro & pistachios.

My next selection was the other chilled veggie dish, roasted cauliflower.

It was large chunks of roasted (orange?) cauliflower, over a paste I think made from pistachios, with pickled red onion wedges on the side, garnished with more pistachios and cilantro.

Unfortunately, I didn't like the spicing on the cauliflower, "mediterranean" spices.  The cauliflower was nicely cooked though, not mushy, and the portion substantial.  I think the spice blend just wasn't for me.

Everything else on the plate was tasty, I really liked the pistachio (?) paste under the cauliflower and the super tart and flavorful pickled red onions.  I added the red onions to my salad, which really amped up the flavor.

Braised chicken & swiss chard with parmesan polenta, roasted chanterelle mushrooms, quince chutney & crispy chestnuts.

And finally, my hot selection, the chicken.  It arrived piping hot, and stayed hot while I ate my cold dishes first.

This was more mixed together than I anticipated, but, I was still easily able to avoid the chicken, although, I'll admit, the chicken looked like it was probably pretty good if you like chicken, large chunks of mostly white meat.

On either end of the dish was braised swiss chard, which I really, really liked.  It was nicely cooked and seasoned, and I liked the slight bitterness.

Under the chicken, forming the base of the dish, was cheesy parmesan polenta.  I loved this.  Warm, creamy, cheesy, comforting.  Really the perfect thing to have on a flight.

Mixed in with the chicken was chunks of chanterelle mushroom, assorted sizes and parts of the mushroom.  These were only ok, a bit slimy, a bit too chewy.  There were also slices of chestnut, not quite what I was expecting (I'm used to chunks of chestnut, not sure why).  The chestnut wasn't "crispy" as advertised, but, it was fine.  I didn't taste much chestnut flavor though given the thin slices.

On top was the quince chutney that I didn't really like (I'm just not one for the spices that often go into chutney), and a fresh garnish of some kind of herb.

Overall, while I didn't actually want the chicken, there were some excellent components of this dish and I'm glad I selected it.

Sweet Bites

And finally, dessert, offered as our main trays were cleared.  I loved that the default option is to have both items, a fruit salad and ice cream, rather than picking one.  Unfortunately, the fruit salad contained watermelon, so I had to avoid due to my allergy.

Espresso drinks are also offered, shocking for a domestic flight.  They only had regular though, so I opted for decaf coffee, which was freshly brewed for me.  The espresso comes from Brooklyn Roasting Company, a partnership with a local New York business (their hub?).

Sea Salt Blue Marble Ice Cream.

"This buttery, decadent flavor blends organic caramel with sea salt from Brittany for a fleur-de-sel finish. The embodiment of "less is more", you won't find any corn syrup or artificial flavors here...just the best of Mother Nature."

Dessert was ice cream, from Blue Marble, another Brooklyn company.  I actually give JetBlue big kudos for this.  Why serve mediocre pastries or desserts when you can just have a fantastic ice cream option?  And fantastic this was.

The ice cream came as a individual serving in a cardboard cup.  No fancy plating, no toppings offered.  Minus a few points for that I guess, since other airlines (aka, AA) do make some pretty awesome ice cream sundaes in First Class.  But, the quality of the ice cream was so amazing, no topping were really necessary.

I had no choice of flavor, but they alternate between vanilla, chocolate, sea salt caramel, and seasonal specials.  I clearly lucked out, as we had the sea salt caramel.

It was just fantastic.  Delivered a bit solid, but I let it melt while my coffee was being brewed, and it quickly reached my ideal eating softness.  It was fluffy and melted really nicely.  Clearly premium ice cream.

The flavor was deep and rich.  Sweet, but not too sweet.  I didn't necessarily taste the sea salt, but, it was so good I didn't really care.

I loved this, and stopped just short of begging for a second one.

Decaf Coffee.

I believe the coffee was Dunkin' Donuts, as is served in economy, except it was freshly brewed, and served in a real mug.

It was fine, no decaf funk, but it did seem a bit watered down.

I asked for sweetener, and was offered my pick of Sweet 'N Low, Splenda, or Equal.  So many options!  The sweetener came in its own little dish.

Overall, the coffee was fine, although not great, and a nice pairing with my ice cream.  If I was stuck with only vanilla ice cream, it would make for a fine affogado.

When You Re-Treat

An edible parting gift – worth the wait! Freshly made confections.

This was listed as the final item in my menu.  A bit vague, but, I knew to expect a little box with some baked goods in it, sometime close to landing.  Ours came after the captain turned on the seatbelt sign and told us to start getting ready for landing.

Like the ice cream and coffee, this was another New York local business that JetBlue partners with to provide goodies on the flight, Mah-Ze-Dahr Bakery, listed as "A Colicchio Discovery, New York, New York".

I was of course a bit skeptical of packaged baked goods, but, basically as soon as I arrived at my hotel, I broke into my box of goodies.  And ... good they were!

A little aside: Mah-Ze-Dahr Bakery started as a wholesale bakery, a favorite of Tom Colicchio and uh, Oprah.  In addition to providing 'Wichcraft, Tom Colicchio's casual restaurant, and JetBlue, with treats, they now have a storefront (as of Fall 2016).  They produce a wide variety of baked goods, like pies, tarts, and cheesecake, plus bars of all kids (including a signature Mah-Ze-Dahr Bar with a oatmeal brown sugar cookie base, pecans, chocolate chunks, and brown butter salted caramel!), a large range of cookies, scones, breads, coffee cake, doughnuts, granola, even confections like marshmallows, toffee, and brittle.

Sadly I knew a brown butter pecan tart wouldn't possibly be hiding in my little box, but it sounds like an improvement on a favorite of mine, pecan pie.  I sorta hoped for the marshmallows, or a chocolate choux, or even the blueberry coffee cake so I could have it in the morning as a breakfast treat.  Alas, my box contained the more expected offerings of a cookie and a bar, but, both were far more exciting than the basic chocolate chip cookie and brownie I thought might be waiting for me.

Butter Pecan Shortbread. Brown Butter Blondie.

My box contained a bar (brown butter blondie) and a cookie (butter pecan shortbread), each individually wrapped, and a little card for a free pastry at the newly opened shop in NYC.  Given that my flight was to Boston, not NY, this was a little strange, but a nice gesture.

Brown Butter Blondie:

"Whoever said blondes have more fun must have been talking about our blondies. Butter browned to toasty, nutty perfection is mixed with brown sugar to create a chewy, decadent bar.  Unadorned in its perfection."

I am not generally one for bars, particularly brownies, but blondies do hold a special place in my heart.  I see them as an improvement on both bars and brownies, as they are more doughy, and usually more like a huge, under-baked cookie.

This was quite good.  It was soft and very sweet, with a slight bit of crunch from the chocolate chips.  The flavor was fairly complex though, not just sweet, which I guess is the brown butter aspect.  I think it would be amazing warm with some vanilla ice cream ... which certainly gives me an idea if I'm ever flying Mint again, and the ice cream is just vanilla.  Perhaps I could ask for my treat at the same time ...

These are sold online also, $18.00 for 6.

Butter Pecan Shortbread:

Butter cookies taken to the next level studded with roasted, buttered pecans. Sweet salty perfection.

These were good.  A nice buttery shortbread base, and I liked the chopped pecans.

Sold online for $15 for a dozen.

Food & Drinks - December 2016

Two months later, when I flew home for the holidays, I saw a Mint seat at a rate that was too good to pass up.  Oh, and I got a single suite.  I told you, I'm ruined.

The food wasn't as good on this flight though.

Pre-departure

As before, I was offered the signature RefreshMint as I settled into my seat.  Since I loved it so much the first time, it was a no brainer to order it.  "With alcohol", my FA asked?   I smiled, and said, "of course!"

RefreshMint.

Honey infused limeade with vodka and mint, garnished with a mint leaf.

The RefreshMint was again great.  It really is refreshing, a bit sweet, a bit tart, and goes down quite easily.  I relaxed me into the travel experience nicely.

This one was a little less full than my previous one, but, not really a problem, I assure you.  I really like this signature drink.

Menu

Eastbound Lunch/Dinner Menu.

The menu format was the same as my previous flights: a starter, choice of 3 small plates from a list of 5 (2 cold, 3 hot), fruit and ice cream.  And as before, it was available online in advance, so I knew what I could pick from.

The options were decent, although I did almost decide to get the Plane Eats special menu, as it again had mac and cheese and a burger!  Instead, I did stick with the regular December Eastbound menu, as follows:

Welcome Taste

It’s app-y hour!

Goat cheese croquette With quince marmalade & watercress.

Delish Dishes
Step up to the plate(s) & choose three. Please note: The first two dishes listed below are chilled. 

• Kale & sweet potato salad With dried cranberries, toasted walnuts & tahini dressing
• Wheatberry & smoked almond couscous With feta cheese, golden raisins, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, mint & parsley
• Buttermilk fried chicken With a green cabbage & celeriac slaw
• Spicy zucchini arancini With roasted garlic sauce, basil oil & parmigiano-reggiano cheese
• Butter poached lobster With poblano chili basmati rice & pickled pepper rings

Sweet Bites
Don’t desert dessert—enjoy both options, along with a hot espresso drink.

• Seasonal fruit salad
• Organic ice cream: Blue Marble Ice Cream, Brooklyn, New York
• Cappuccino & espresso: Brooklyn Roasting Company, Brooklyn, New York

When You Re-Treat
An edible parting gift – worth the wait!Freshly made confections: Mah-Ze-Dahr Bakery | A Colicchio Discovery, New York, New York

Once underway, our food and drink orders were taken.  I easily picked the two chilled salads, but had no idea what to do for my third choice.  All sounded equally meh.  In the end, I settled for the chicken, even though I don't like chicken, so I could have the slaw that came with it.

Welcome Taste: It’s app-y hour!

The "Welcome Taste" was delivered with our first round of drinks.  Again, no option here, besides if you wanted it or not.

Goat cheese croquette With quince marmalade & watercress.

I opted to get the welcome taste, even though it is goat cheese which I don't like, so Ojan could have it (and so I'd get a photo!).  I didn't try the goat cheese, but I did try the sauce.  It was quince marmalade, which reminded me of a mix between mango and tamarind chutneys (sweet and spicy).  I loved it, and I think it would go great with the fried cheese ball ... if I liked goat cheese.  I didn't see the watercress?

While this was a cute bite, I do prefer something to munch on, like snack mix, nuts, or the usual chips and dips that JetBlue has for Mint.

#allTheDrinks

For my drink, in addition to my sparkling water and Sprite Zero (which I mix together into my favorite concoction), I also opted for a glass of wine.  I love that my FA brought me both full cans and a glass for mixing, once I told her what I was up to.

On this flight, since I had one of the single suites, I had more than enough space to pile my drinks, so it was no problem to have a ridiculous collection of beverages lined up.

Brea Margarita Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, 2013, Paso Robles.

"Winemaker Chris Brockway relies on one of the Central Coast’s most special sites for Cabernet, an old, limestone-rich ranch at 1,000 feet elevation, cooled by maritime breezes. The result is sublime, full of hearty dark fruit but with a savory side — black mustard seed and bay laurel."

Since the wine list was the same as my October and November flights, and I tried the chardonnay and the pinot noir then, this time I went for the other red wine, a cab.

It was ... fine.  A bit too tannic and big for me.  But still not a bad wine.

Delish Dishes

Lunch/Dinner!

As before, my main order came with the 3 dishes I selected, plus bread and a packet of oil.

Kale & sweet potato salad With dried cranberries, toasted walnuts & tahini dressing.

The salad had mixed greens at the base, plus chunks of kale.  The greens were all very fresh and crisp.  I don't love dried cranberries/raisins/etc, but they did provide a sweetness, tartness, and chew that I liked.  The walnuts were a nice crunch.

The dressing wasn't quite what I was expecting.  I thought it would be thick, and that I'd taste tahini.  But ... it was a thin vinaigrette that I really didn't taste much.

The sweet potato chunks were interesting, in that they were inconsistently cooked, but in a way that worked.  Some soft, some crisp, which just added some interest to it.

Overall, my favorite of my small plates.

Wheatberry & smoked almond couscous With feta cheese, golden raisins, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, mint & parsley.

They took some liberty with the term "couscous" here.  They just meant a grain salad ...

The wheatberries were well prepared, slightly crisp.  However, I'm not the biggest fan of feta, and that flavor overwhelmed.  I did like the sweet juicy golden raisins, and was impressed by the very fresh parsley and mint garnish.

Buttermilk fried chicken With a green cabbage & celeriac slaw.

This I ordered for the slaw.  I did try the fried chicken coating, but otherwise, gave it to Ojan.  The coating was ok, crispier than I'd expect on a flight, but, it didn't have any seasoning or real flavor.  And no sauce to dip the chicken in.

The slaw was kinda funny, served in a little plastic container on the side.  Given the nice plating of the other elements, it was a bit strange.  It was fine, fresh enough, crispy enough, not overdressed, but again, not very flavorful.

Sweet Bites

Dessert was offered after the meal, fruit salad and ice cream as always.  Since I have a melon allergy, no fruit for me.

Sea Salt Caramel Ice Cream.

"Smooth caramel and French fleur-de-sel infused grass-fed dairy for this simply decadent treat."

I was hoping to get to try a new flavor of ice cream, but it was sea salt again.  I'm not really complaining though, because the sea salt was great last time.

With my own toppings!

And ... because I'm crazy, I brought my own toppings - sprinkles and chocolate pearls to add on top.  My FAs loved this.

The ice cream was again great, but needed significant time to get melty how I like it.  But it did melt nicely, and I just love the sweet butterscotchy flavor to this ice cream.

When You Re-Treat

An edible parting gift – worth the wait! Freshly made confections.

My parting gifts were also exactly the same as my previous flight.

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Xi'an Famous Foods, New York

In November 2016 I visited New York for the first time in years.  The first place I went to eat is far from where you'd ever expect.  I went to Xi'an Famous Foods, a fast casual chain restaurant serving Chinese food.  Um, yeah.  Yes, I was in New York for only two days, and this is what I choose for my very limited number of meals I'd have in the city.  And no, it wasn't because I like Chinese food, if that were the case, presumably I would have reviewed other Chinese restaurants by now.

There were reasons why we wound up here, I assure you.  A complicated set of constraints around timing, pricing, and location of the 4 other people who were going to meet up to dine with me.  A cheap casual place was needed, and Xi'an came recommended to me by a friend who used to live in New York (backed up by Yelp reviews, a Anthony Bourdain endorsement, etc).

When my friend first recommended Xi'an Famous foods, I looked up the website, and laughed when I clicked on the menu.  I was greeted by a popup warning.  Yes, a real popup, blocking my viewing of the menu.  The warning read:

"*WARNING: PLEASE READ
Food tastes best when fresh from the kitchen. When hot noodles cool down, they get bloated, mushy, and oily. If you must take your noodles to go, please at least try the noodles in the store or right out of the to-go containers when it's handed to you, so you can get the best possible Xi'an Famous Foods experience."

At this point, I was nearly sold, as I appreciated somewhere that tried hard to make you actually enjoy their food optimally, and told my friend that I loved the place already.

Xi'an Famous Foods is a family run business, and has only been around since 2005.  It is actually a fairly cute story, a family from Xi'an (a city in China), with a father who owned a bubble tea shop, and a son who got his degree is business, and decided to co-found a new business focused around food, rather than tea.  It clearly worked, as they now have 12 stores in New York, with most of the food prepared in a central kitchen.

Xi'an Famous Foods is credited with bringing the cuisine of Xi'an to the US.  While likely not strictly true, they did at least get it more well known.   The menu consists of cold noodles, hand-ripped noodles, dumplings, soups, and burgers (no, not American style beef burgers).  I have no idea if the cuisine is authentic, but, they say it is.  Each menu section has a letter (aka, "N" for "Hand-pulled Noodles", "B" for "Burgers", uh "C" for "Soup"), and each dish within each section has a number.  So "B1" is the stewed pork burger (B for Burger, 1 for the first dish listed), N4 is the stewed pork hand-ripped noodles (N for Noodles, 4 for the 4th dish listed), etc.  The numbers are not contiguous, indicating that they do not re-use numbers when they discontinue a dish.  The numbers were prevalent all over the menu, and were a bit distracting, but, I guess for a busy location, and an establishment serving unfamiliar dishes, people prefer to order by number?  The menu also included, in caps, several times "*WARNING -TAKEOUT NOODLES WILL NOT TASTE AS GOOD AS FRESH ONES."  I think everyone got the message.

We visited the Midtown location, picked for the location, and, uh, the fact that it was close to a Momofuku Milk Bar, where I was already planning my dessert.  This is a newer location, only open for about a year.  I failed to take photos, but it was a simple establishment, no frills, and no tables.  Counter seats only.  The seats all faced a brick wall.  This was a bit unfortunate, as our group of 5 had no way to really talk to each other, which sorta defeated the purpose of meeting up for dinner.  Oops.  The website mentions that this location has two kitchens to handle the lunch rush, so my impression is that it is designed for busy business lunch traffic, but, uh, aren't people supposed to eat the noodles there?

We ordered at a register, and were given a receipt with a number.  When our food was ready, our number was yelled out, and we were to fetch it from the front counter.  Utensils were self-serve, and all disposable (chopsticks, plastic forks, plastic spoons).  One diner grabbed a (sealed) packet of chopsticks, and opened it to find that it had only one chopstick.  He went to get another packet, and it too had only one.  This could have worked out actually, given his other singleton, but, the second chopstick was also broken.  I think they need to do some quality assurance on their utensils.

My friend said to always get a burger and a noodle dish.  Well, specifically, he said to get the B2 and one of {N1, N2, N4, Ns2}.  I took his advice to get a burger and noodle dish, but didn't actually pick the items he recommended.  And I didn't particularly love any of it.  Perhaps that was my bad though, for not picking what he clearly told me to?  

Chrysanthemum Tea. $1.75.

Iced teas were pre-packaged, available near the register.  Not something I'd normally get, but Ojan wanted tea, and this was the only not caffeinated variety.

It was actually the highlight of the meal.   Lightly sweetened, very refreshing iced tea.  I really enjoyed it and I'm glad he got it (and let me mostly have it all).

B1. Stewed Pork Burger. $4.

"Pork belly meat, stewed and diced with its own juices, then packed into a warm and crispy flatbread-like bun."

Xi'an Famous Foods has two burgers on the menu, B2 (Spicy Cumin Lamb) that my friend said to get, and B1 with pork.  I know I was told to get the B2, but really don't like lamb, so I got B1, even though I wasn't particularly excited by the sounds of it either.

It was certainly not what I was expecting given the title "burger".

The bun was nothing like an American hamburger bun.  I liked the bun, it was something like a cross between a (very large) steamed bun and a flatbread, and I do love steamed buns.

The filling however was fairly dry and just porky.  It desperately needed a creamy sauce, a crunchy pickle ... something.  Maybe this is just me who likes my "burgers" loaded with add-ins, but this was just really boring to me.  Another diner added sauce from the noodles to his, and that at least added some moisture and flavor, but it was still pretty lacking.

For $4 though, a quite reasonable price, better than the equivalent at a fast food restaurant.

N5: Mount QI Vegetables Hand-Ripped Noodles.  $8.50.

"Our wide hand-ripped biangbiang noodles mixed with a "ratatouille" of vegetarian ingredients including but not limited to carrots, potatoes, wood ear mushrooms, bell peppers, and seitan, with a spicy (unless requested as not spicy) and sour sauce."

I was also instructed to get a noodle dish.  My friend told me to get the N1 (spicy cumin lamb), N2 (spicy & tingly beef), N4 (stewed pork), or Ns2 (spicy & tingly beef noodles in soup).  Except, I didn't want any of those.  I didn't really want soup, so that ruled out Ns2.  I don't like lamb, so that ruled out N1.  I was already getting stewed pork in the burger, so that ruled out N4.  Luckily I had plenty of options (9 types of hand-pulled noodles alone), but I basically just wimped out and went with the vegetarian option.

The noodles were crazy long, and a bit hard to deal with without a knife.  Fork and chopsticks couldn't really cut through these.  I honestly think some of the noodles were several feet long!  The noodles were very nicely cooked though, not mushy, not undercooked.  Very well executed.

The sauce was flavorful but very oily.  I didn't find it particularly spicy, so I'm curious what the less spicy (and very spicy) versions are like.

The veggie mix was fascinating. There really seemed to be ... everything in there.  I found potatoes, carrots, celery, mushrooms, and cabbage, for sure.  I think I found eggplant.  And maybe turnips?  Lots of green onions.  Spongy chunks of what I guess was seitan, but seemed more like wheat gluten, and really did look like meat.  Digging through the veggies was a quest in amazement, I had no idea what I was going to find.  The veggies were all cooked perfectly, none too mushy, none raw, which was remarkable give how many types of veggies there were, and how they were all different sizes.

But, at the end of the day, I'm not really a noodles girl.  I can't really fault anything about the dish.  It was hot, the noodles and veggies were all prepared well, and there was flavorful sauce.  But ... I wasn't thrilled, and was eager to just move on to dessert.

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