Enrico's vs. Bagels & More, Hartsdale

The most perfect day of the year, weather-wise, lured us out for a midday walk. We ended up at Hartsdale Avenue, where we conducted a spontaneous bagel taste test.

The 85-cent poppy bagel at Enrico's has a soft crust, a bread-like consistency and a slightly sweet taste. It was ok, but seemed a little stale, maybe because of the bread-y texture. As some forgotten sage told me long ago, if it ain't chewy, it ain't a bagel. Enrico's has some good-looking, great-smelling pastries and cookies, so I'd probably choose something from the sweet side of the spectrum next time around.

The 95-cent salt bagel at Bagels & More had the right consistency, nice and chewy. It was crustier and somewhat heavier, it had a good flavor, and just the right amount of salt. It was definitely the winner of the Hartsdale Avenue bagel taste test for two.

Grand Sichuan, Chelsea

It's been ages since I've been excited about Chinese food, but two visits to Grand Sichuan have rekindled my enthusiasm.


The menu is enormous and intriguing, with dishes named after green parrots and lovebirds (and then there's also Long Lift Vegetarian, undoubtedly a heavy meal, or the worrisome Grasp at Good Luck -- if you eat this?). I didn't really delve into the book-sized list, as our group of eight included several regulars who took over the ordering duties. We had a feast: old faves like soup dumplings and sesame noodles, and more unusual fare such as garlic sauteed pea shoots and fresh-killed chicken with about a bazillion dried red peppers.


I checked out Grand Sichuan again after a recent walk on the High Line. Again, we mixed and matched: crab soup dumplings, spicy sesame noodles, spinachy scallion pancakes, salt-and-pepper shrimp, sauteed three greens (baby bok choy, broccoli rabe and peapods -- a bit on the bland side, but immaculately fresh and crisp -- probably the most I've ever enjoyed broccoli rabe), and fresh killed chicken with green chilies and pumpkin (divine crisp-tender bright orange matchsticks, we debated if they were pumpkin or sweet potato -- didn't really taste sweet enough for a sweet potato, but not as watery, fibrous and bland as pumpkin can be, maybe some kind of squash).

Both meals were excellent. The dishes come out of the kitchen in rapid-fire succession, hot, savory and succulent. I'm probably spoiled forever for lukewarm takeout. The prices are surprisingly reasonable for the quality and quantity, and the preparation of even the most familiar dishes had a bit of a creative twist, like the spinach flour in the scallion pancakes.

Grand Sichuan is all about the food. It's crowded, it can get noisy, the decor is ... well ... maybe decor is an exaggeration, the service is efficient but not warm and cozy. On a weeknight you're welcome to linger and chat, but during Saturday prime time be prepared to dine and dash. About 30 seconds after our bill was paid, one of the employees announced that they needed our table.

I'm already imagining what I'll order next time.

Tapas 24, Barcelona

Tapas 24 was recommended to us as one of the less-expensive places to sample the kind of food has earned Spain the reputation of being the home of the world's best cuisine. It's a very hip place with great food and miserable chairs -- tall, virtually backless stools, with such poorly positioned foot rests that both of us were left with our tootsies dangling -- too low for me, too high for him. However, the tables have hooks underneath that are great for hanging purses, motorcycle helmets and shopping bags, keeping them out of the way of other diners and Barcelona's notorious pickpockets.

A lot of the menu items were very nice twists on old favorites. Our choices included patatas bravas (nice golden spud fingers drizzled with garlic mayo and a spicy red sauce), rinxos (curried skewered lamb, tender, succulent, rich, yum), bikini (a grilled sandwich of buffalo mozzarella and jamon serrano, cut into vaguely bikini shaped triangles), and McFoie (beef and foie gras ground, grilled, and served on a bun). For dessert we had chocolate gelato, which had a pudding-like texture. It was drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt. The result was amazing: very rich, not very sweet, and so intensely flavorful it hardly seemed cold.

This was definitely one of the top meals of the trip. Everything was very familiar, but more interesting and tasty than the usual version.

Another plus, Tapas 24 is in Barcelona's l'Eixample district, with its wealth of fascinating Modernisme architecture. After lunch we walked and walked, ending up in Gaudi-designed Guell Park. Looking at the amazing mosaics made me want to cover my whole house (or at least the kitchen backsplash or a garden path or ...) with pique assiette.

Tapas tales, Barcelona

The Palau de la Musica says "Look at me!" with Chili Palmer-like conviction. With its glass balustrades, stained-glass ceiling and ornate ceramic tiling, it's glorious and over the top. Hearing music there is like sitting in the midst of a carousel, full of lights and colors and whimsical ornamentation.



We heard guitarist Manuel Gonzalez play, great stuff, full orchestrations on a mere six strings. My fingers were positively twitching with envy.


Afterward, we went into a place in the neighborhood for tapas and dessert: meat-stuffed croquettes served with pimenton-sprinkled aioli; divinely fresh oyster mushrooms sauteed with butter, wine and herbs, too salty but very good nonetheless (which could be said of much of the food I ate in Spain); fig ice cream with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Everything was very good and everything went great with a glass of cava.

Tapas tales 2, Madrid

I usually avoid museum food (see Dateline: Bilbao) but I'm glad I made an exception at the Prado. The museum cafe had a good selection of tapas and hot dishes. Everything looked so fresh and smelled so good, it was hard to choose.

We settled on Serrano ham with honeydew melon, and smoked salmon with white asparagus. The ham and melon both had a hint of a smoky flavor, the sweet fruit balanced the salty meat, and the juicy, ripe honeydew was a great pairing with the meat's chewy richness.

The rich, salty, tender salmon and crisp, earthy asparagus also complemented each other in taste and texture.

Crusty bread and cafe con leche rounded out our meal. Rested from lingering over our midday feast and freshly fueled with caffeine, we couldn't wait to head back for more fun with El Greco, Velazquez, Ribera and their gallery mates.

Another thing -- besides the good, fresh food -- that surprised me at the Prado's cafe was the pricing. The tapas and hot food seemed very reasonable for a place that has a captive audience: most things were 5 to 7 Euros. But the "junk food" was pricey: 3 or 4 Euros for a small bag of chips or an ice cream bar. Small bottles of Coke cost about the same as small bottles of wine.

Fast Good and Farggi, Barcelona

Visiting Ferran Adria's Fast Good was high on our list of things to do in Barcelona. Several books recommended it and the website looked great: a reasonably priced restaurant with an appealing menu and recipes devised by the chef often dubbed the world's best.

An address in l'Eixample guaranteed that we'd want to walk there: The district is full of amazing Art Nouveau-flavored moderniste architecture by Gaudi, Puig i Cadafalch and others. We schlepped up there, taking lots of pix and oohhing and aahhing to our hearts' content.

But Fast Good was gone. Closed. Empty storefront. "For rent" sign in the window closed. We double-checked on the Blackberry, we were at the right address as posted on the very much alive Fast Good website.

We considered going to Tapas 24, another highly recommended cafe, but their website wisely provided the information that it's closed on Sunday, as are many other businesses in Barcelona.
We ended up with an overpriced so-so bocadillo at a sidewalk cafe near la Pedrera and excellent ice cream from Farggi -- also kind of pricey but definitely worth it. I went for the fruit flavors, peach and strawberry, very rich, not too sweet. Since I love a research project, I had to try the brand again to make sure it wasn't a fluke. It wasn't -- Farggi ice cream was excellent, regardless of location or flavor.

Tapas tales 1, Madrid

From the moment we stepped out of our apartment on Calle de Carretas, there seemed to be something to look at. On this particular day, we checked out the view of the Madrid skyline from the top of Catedral Almudena, and ogled the Tiepolo ceilings and five Stradavari instruments (among other things) at el Palacio Real.
Ravenous and not realizing how close we were to restaurant-rich Sol,we had tapas at a cafe right across from the palacio. It was really a bit too chilly to sit outside, and the place felt too touristy, but we did it anyway. The food was pretty good: marinated mussels, potatoes with mayo and spicy aioli, atun on a thick slice of bread, and a big vegetable and hard-boiled egg sandwich.

More meandering and gawking after lunch, running into some fun and interesting places and activities by chance: Plaza de Espana, Templo Debod, a reliquary full of miscellaneous mememto mori at Real Monasterio de la Encarnacion, music stores (including one with a fascinating George Crumb chart in the window) and a late-Monet exhibit in an elderly building with gloriously beautiful modern restrooms.

But there's nothing like watching a passing pot parade to stoke your appetite. We heard heard some horns and commotion, and wandered over to see what was up. Hundreds of people were marching from Puerta del Sol, waving signs, shouting into bullhorns and smoking Louisville Slugger-size spliffs. We watched for a while, breathing deeply, and went in search of snacks.

We settled in at Meson Gregorio III, which we've dubbed "the old man's bar." No frills. A bar, a couple of tables, a few hams hanging from the back bar (now there's an unusual touch), numerous framed shots of the bartender in autographed photos with people we didn't recognize.

Every time we bought a round, we got a free dish of tapas, starting with some very tasty olives and moving on to ham croquettes. Very nice. Other people who looked like they were there for the night got plates of sliced ham, dishes of nuts, cheese assortments. Made me kind of sorry that two's my limit. I think we spent 5 Euros for our night on the town.

We hoped to find our way back there before we left Madrid. We never did. But it was a cozy, old-fashioned, non-touristy neighborhood joint, very comfortable.