Fried Chicken and Beer

Tebaya as seen from outside

Sometimes all you want is a quick, tasty, greasy nosh that will shorten your life.  Preferably washed down with beer.

Enter Tebaya!   Tebaya, whose name literally means “Fried chicken wing restaurant” in Japanese, is a little walk-in joint in Chelsea that offers just that experience. They take fried chicken seriously at izakaya, or pubs, in Japan.  Kara-age and Tatsuta-age are two examples, one of which you should be able to find at any good izakaya.

Tebasaki kara-age, however, refers to the wing itself and the Japanese Wikipedia entry on tebasaki gives the history of how it came to join the Japanese pantheon of great eats.  The beloved Japanese style fried chicken wing was invented by accident one day in Nagoya when a man named Otsubo couldn’t get any chicken thighs delivered to his restaurant and was left with just the chicken wings he was planning to use in making dashi, or stock.  Unable to close the restaurant, he worried about what to do until eventually deciding to go with the chicken wings.  Substituting them for the chicken thighs which were used in making the (I’m not making this up) Tarzan-yaki or Fried Tarzan dish that was popular at the time, Otsubo got rave reviews from the customers and ended up putting it on the regular menu.  Such is the story of many wonderful foods, isn’t it?  Created by blessed accident.

Otto Enoteca Pizzeria

If there’s one thing last night’s dinner proved about Otto Enoteca Pizzeria, it’s that this place is all about consistency: consistently crowded, consistently fun, and, of course, consistently good food.

It’s the kind of place you should come to with friends. Otto is really designed for groups, both in its layout (a huge back room with plenty of tables that fit six or even eight people) and it’s style of food. This restaurant is all about small things — lots of antipasti that are passed from person to person, hunks of cheese from both Italy and the U.S., and pizzas sized so that you can order at least two.

Small is good, because it means you and your friends can have lots of tastes of lots of food. The tables at Otto quickly turn into a frenzied mess, like in the photo above from last night, with plates and bowls of food scattered around, and all our hands reaching back and forth between each other, each dish passed around again and again.

We started off last night with prosecco, which is Italian sparkling wine, and a trio of olives out in the bar, while we waited for others to arrive. The bar area might seem a bit unusual — aside from the stools at the counter, there are no chairs, and only high tables around which people stand. This is an ode to the ways things are done in Italy, where you’ll find no chairs in most bars (ah, memories of grabbing due macchiati in Roma…)

Once we moved inside, the eating began. We had a selection of vegetable antipasti: eggplant caponatina, brussels sprouts “con vin cotto,” autumn vegetables “con aceto.” A plate of prosciutto and a plate of “sopressa,” house-cured (I think?) salami (which was out of this world!). Also a selection of seven cheeses from their list, including a Coach Triple Cream, a pecorino, a very creamy taleggio, and, everyone’s favorite, ricotta (which, combined with their truffle honey, is amazing).

We then moved on to the hot plates. Two pastas — “rigatoni con sausage and escarole,” which had a bit of heat, and “linguini con cavolo e speck,” which, with the cheese in it, had an almost carbonara-like consistency. Both were definitely porky goodness on a plate.

And finally, two pizzas. One “pepperoni,” which is a spicy salami, but not the one you’re thinking of (hint: it’s much better), and an “aglio, olio, and peperoncini,” which is simply olive oil, garlic, and red chilies. Both are thin-crusted, and nice and charred on the bottom. Otto does pizza right.

Actually, that wasn’t the finale, because you cannot go to Otto without trying the thing that put them on the map — olive oil gelato. Now, if you’ve never had it, your likely reaction to hearing this is, “Huh?” But, I can attest: Once you try it, you will be forever addicted.

I’ve eaten at there a lot. Seriously. A lot. And, as I said before, if it’s anything, it’s consistent.

You can always count on a great night of eating at Otto.

Otto Enoteca Pizzeria
One Fifth Ave
NYC

- Carlo

One Stop Shopping

When I think of department store restaurants, my mind casts back to the days of eating hamburgers as a child at Mass Brothers, the venerable and now defunct store that used to reside in downtown Clearwater, FL. It was not exactly a Mecca of fine dining. So when some friends suggested lunch today at Nordstrom’s in-store cafe, I was willing, but not expecting much. Of course, since I have had High Tea (and viewed the god-awful memorial to Dodi and Di) at Harrods you’d think I would have remembered that high end is high end, even if it is a department store offering food. The fact that they have their own, quite lovely cookbook being sold in the cafe was a clue that I was in for a more pleasant experience than I’d been expecting.

Nordstrom's Cookbook

The Café Bistro was actually hopping when I arrived. I was the first one there and having been told to grab a table by my friends, who were circling endlessly around the Tampa Airport, having been caught in the “junction of doom”, I went in and got in line. You have to order your food before getting a table, which created a slight problem as my friends came in just as my food arrived. Still we were all settled and eating in fairly quick order. I was extremely impressed with the quality of the food. I ordered a cup of the Bistro Crab Bisque, which was rich, and creamy and came with a small thin slice of garlic cheese toast and a drizzle of red pepper oil. Being a total Bisque-hag, I tend to be picky, but very enthusiastic when I find good bisque. I was enthusiastic about this one, let me tell you.

Bisque Love

I ordered the Oven Roasted Scallops for my meal. They came on a bed of toasted couscous, edamame, seared sugar snap peas and roasted shiitake mushrooms, all sitting in a light but sweet ginger soy broth. The entree was light and flavorful, the scallops could have been cooked a little less, but were by no means tough or over cooked. Basically it was an excellent meal.

Oven Roasted Scallops

My friends, both celebrating birthdays, finished with a lemon angel food cake, light and popping with fresh lemon zest, sitting in a bed of blackberry sauce and fresh berries. So ok, I have learned my lesson, department store and good dining are not mutually exclusive.

Lemon Cake

This is not a cheap place for lunch (well Duh, the store is hardly bargain basement). But it’s a lovely choice for a special treat.

–K