B A T T L E F O O D: General Tso Takes A Bite Out Of The Big Apple

As you know, I love the edible. So you may be surprised to find out that I have never once eaten at a restaurant in New York City. And yet, because of my stubborn side, I will tell anyone that listens that Philadelphia has the best restaurant scene on the eastern seaboard. Of course, this is a bald-faced lie, but at least I say it with confidence.

So when a former college friend invited me to stay with him for a weekend up in the East Village of Manhattan, I decided to make amends for my deceitful past and pit The City against Phildadelphia's smaller but nonetheless impressive line-up of restaurants.

As soon as I stepped out of my bus in the near vicinity of Penn Station, I was greeted with restaurants as far as the eye could see. Diners, dives, (no drive-ins; sorry Guy Fiere), lounges, five-stars, bars, penthouses, cafes, grease trucks...on and on with no end in sight. Was this some sort of fantasy? Did I die and go to gastric heaven? Or was this reality, with every block a culinary adventure? With excitement mounting within my loins, I set off to take a bite out of the Big Apple (and I don't even like apples). My only regret is that I didn't have Napoleon by my side to guide my decisions.

I told my gracious host that I wanted to sample the heart and soul of New York; the core of the apple, if you will. I wanted to sample what New York was known for. Of course, we wound up at a quaint Italian restaurant called Posto that specialized in thin-crust pizza. The irony! And yet, I couldn't have asked for a better start to the weekend.

I wound up getting cheesy garlic bread and a personal thin-crust pizza with pepperoni, sausage, and red onions. Maybe I was just hungry from the 2 hour bus ride, but these were amazing. They tasted incredible, with fresh ingredients and hints of EVOO throughout. I am drooling as I write this...although, this could also be due to a mini-stroke from my eating habits.

Cheesy Garlic Bread

Pizza Pizza

Later that night, we went to a local, hip spot named Vamos! (Note: the exclamation point is part of the restaurant's name; I am not screaming at you...yet.) Also located in the East Village, this Mexican restaurant seemed to be a copy of one of those Steven Starr joints, like Alma de Cuba, where the ambiance is more important than the food. I was pleasantly surprised, however, at the creativity of the food. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures as the lighting was poor, and, as my friend with a Droid was quick to remind me, my iPhone does not come equipped with a flash. Well screw you, dear friend!

In any case, I'll try to paint you a picture with words. Like Shakespeare, only better. The (free) chips came in small paper bags, which wicked away the oil from the frying. Very clever. And on presentation it appeared to be like street food. My dish was a lamb burrito with a tangy chipotle sauce. Yes, it was interesting in description, but unfortunately the chef did nothing to temper the gaminess of the meat, as is so often done in Indian cooking. I don't think lamb was a good choice for a burrito preparation, but in their defense, it was cooked very well, and the sauce won me over.

Finally, after a long night of doing the "Night at the Roxbury" along the walls of some of NYC's nicest clubs, we decided to cure the ills of our hangover with some Indian food. My host recommended a nice South Indian restaurant called Tiffin Wala, which means "of the tiffin" in Hindi. Trust me, it makes sense in the original language. For appys, we got samosas (blah) and papri chaat (double blah). They were like any other samosas and chaat I've had before . While my friends ordered dosas for entrees, I decided to take a different route and order a paneer uttapam (basically a savory cheese pancake served with chutney). While not necessarily a blockbuster, the restaurant was consistently good, with nary a below average dish among our samplings. I approved as I went into liver failure.