FoodPrint-New York City: Malatesta Trattoria

Restaurant:
Malatesta Trattoria

Address:
649 Washington St
New York, NY 10014 
b/t 10th St & Christopher St in West Village

Category:
Italian

Average:
$25/person

Review:
This is the first restaurant that I tried in NYC. With a great location in a relatively quiet neighborhood, this small restaurant was literally located around the corner. The restaurant has a very italian style design and decoration. Not so classy but very casual and relaxing. We had our reservation at 7 and we were seated right on time. However, based on some other people's review, reservation may not be necessary if you are going on a week day. They had both indoor and outdoor seats, although outdoor seats were mostly doubles.


Waiter served typical Italian roll with vinegar and oil. However, their vinegar and oil are specially made with some chili mixed, which surprisingly brought up a magic taste of vinegar. That was so far the best vinegar and oil mixed I have ever had in an Italian restaurant.

For entree, I ordered Spinach Gnocchi, which was marked as one of the signature dishes of this restaurant online. The taste was fabulous, although the cheese flavor was a little bit too strong. Gorgonzola was used in the sauce, which gave me a very attractive taste at first. But after a while, the strong flavor just made my tongue tired. The spinach gnocchi itself was well-cooked, with a very soft taste and the light scent of spinach added a lot of score on this dish. However, since I am a huge meat lover, this dish doesn't quite fit my preference.  

In general, this restaurant is has a nice italian setting. The food was quite authentic and delicious. But since the menu are in Italian and it was handwritten, it could be hard to pick one dish that fit your preference. So before you go, online research about the menu is highly suggested.

FoodPrint-New York City: Ippudo Ramen(Westside)

Restaurant:
Ippudo Ramen(Westside)

Address:
321 W 51st St
New York, NY 10019
b/t 9th Ave & 8th Ave in Hell's Kitchen,
Midtown West, Theater District

Category:
Ramen

Average:
$30/person

Review:
Ippudo Ramen is always considered as one of the best Ramen place in NYC. However, because of it popularity, Ippudo NY is always a hard place to get a seat in. Therefore, its sister restaurant Ippudo Westside seems to be a better choice to go and try out their famous ramen.

Along the sidewalk, Ippudo Westside is place that you can easily miss. However, the inner decoration is quite neat and modern. Since this is a new site, the waiting line was not too long. We waited for about 20 minutes to get in. The utensils setting on the table was very carefully arranged. This left me with a great first impression.

I only ordered ramen for my meal. Akamaru Modern is one of the few ramens they have on the menu. The traditional pork broth for ramen had a very authentic favor here. The broth was white, with sliced pork arranged around the ramen noodle. The seasonal mushroom sure brought out the delicate favor of the pork broth. But the most amazing part is their secret umami dama miso paste. This red color sauce had a slightly sour and spicy tasted. Combined with the pork broth, this miso paste added a changing favor to the whole ramen dish.

If you are in the mood for ramen noodle in NYC and don't want to wait for 2 hours to get in, Ippudo Westside should be a perfect choice for you.

FoodPrint-Washington D.C.: Bistrot Du Coin

Restaurant:
Bistrot Du Coin

Address:
1738 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, DC 20009
b/t N R st & N S St

Category:
Frech, Belgian, Italian

Average:
$30/person

Review:

Bistrot Du Coin is a restaurant that I randomly ran into in Washington, DC that left me with a great memory with its mussels. This restaurant turned out to be one of the most reviewed restaurant in DC.

We ordered Moules Bretonnes as our appetizer. Mussels in this dish is relatively small compared to the ones I had in other restaurant. However, the taste was amazing with the help of lobster, shrimp, and mushroom. The slightly sour taste from tomato mixed with the taste of lobster and mussels just created a fantastic experience. We had a full order, which was more than enough for three people. In general, the mussel was very impressive in this restaurant. 

For entree, we ordered Blanquette De Veau. This dish matched very well with the risotto they offered. Lamb was well cooked in cheese and cream. Its cream had a very strong taste and with a little sour flavor, it successfully brought out the freshness of lamb. However, the size of serving was reasonable. The risotto offered with this dish was also perfectly cooked. Rice was neither sticky nor dry. However, the size of one serving of Risotto was not enough for so I could help asking for a second serve. 

The waiter was very nice and has a great sense of humor. The general set up of the restaurant showed its Italian element. In general, it is a really relaxing place to dine in and if you are in DC, you should't miss it.