Jessica's Dinner Party

by jessica yoon

bakeries & restaurants

Gam Lo Dang, Buddhist Temple Food

I think we can all agree that the day after Thanksgiving is a day of rest, that is in terms of cooking.  So, instead of a recipe I thought I’d post about an interesting restaurant I went to a few days ago.  The restaurant, Gam Lo Dang, 감로당, specializes in sachal, 사찰, food, which is Buddhist temple food.  Buddhist monks are vegetarians and use all natural and sometimes unusual ingredients.  Seasoning is usually done minimally and the flavors are more subtle than strong.  I enjoyed trying traditional Korean dishes from a Buddhist monk’s palette.  It’s interesting to recognize the heart of a dish but taste it with different flavors.

Rice Porridge and Non-Spicy Kimchi naturally died a lotus pink.

Grilled mushrooms, lotus root, and hemp served on a plate of pine needles.

Fried tofu served with a non-spicy red sauce….

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The Chocolate Room

Valentine’s Day is not for another few months but thoughts of love and cupid filled my head when I went to the Chocolate Room in Park Slope.  It’s a very cozy but not crammed spot in Brooklyn and feels like the perfect date spot.  Too bad I didn’t go with a boyfriend, a lover, or a secret crush, because it would have been very romantic, a piece of dark, chocolate cake and spoons knocking together. But!  I went with a very, very wonderful friend and had a fabulous time.  So, I guess a boy wasn’t very necessary at all!

I like chocolate, but wouldn’t say I’m a chocoholic. However, for the Chocolate Room I might convert.  Each dish had just the right amount of sweetness and cocoa intensity.  There was sophistication but also homey, comfort as well.  When we sat down we were welcomed with a little taster of a dark chocolate sorbet.  I like to say that I like dark chocolate, but secretly I prefer milk.  The sorbet was exceptional though, refreshing with just enough of cocoa aftertaste.  It made you yearn for me.

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Otto Pizzeria- Mario Batali’s Best?

I don’t eat a lot of pizza, but I crave it often. In New York City, there is a pizza place practically on every block.  I’ve been to many of the well known, highly rated pizza joints but have not yet found the one favorite place.  There are a few places that I think could be the one, but I feel like I have to check out a few more contenders before I can be sure.  It’s so easy to eat pizza here because many places sell them by the slice, but for me, I like to share a big pie and enjoy it with someone else.  To me, pizza is a group oriented activity.  When I think of sleepovers, study groups, and pool parties, pizza is always there.  Maybe that’s why I don’t like getting a slice by myself.  It makes me feel a little bit lonely.

 

 

A few days ago, a couple of my old friends and I had a mini reunion.  Some of them just recently moved to New York and others were visiting.  It was a really great opportunity to catch up and a good group to enjoy pizza with.  There were hundreds of pizza joints to choose from, but I decided to go with Otto Enoteca Pizzeria in Greenwich Village.  I have long been a fan of Mario Batali’s and love his restaurant Lupa.  But, I think my expectations were a little too high.

From the beginning, something was a little off.  Our waiter was very unfriendly and rather grumpy.  I’m usually not one to be really critical of the wait staff because I know, from personal experience, how hard it is to be a server.  But that night, everything was very unpleasant.  Our waiter was very impatient with us as we ordered.  He never checked up on us after our food arrived, even though he walked by our table over a dozen times.  Our cups were empty the entire meal and we all felt like he was purposely ignoring us when we tried to call him.  Anyhow, it wouldn’t be fair to say that the entire restaurant’s service was horrible, but this guy did not represent very well.

 

  

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