Had to go to Manhattan for a meeting on Monday and then walk ten blocks to do a TV hit, and in between the two was a Cuban place called Sophie’s, one of a chain of six in midtown and downtown Manhattan. It compares favorably to Versailles in Los Angeles, which (according to several of you) is itself a pretty good spot for Cuban food.
Sophie’s has a funny setup – the one I went to, on Lex between 40th and 41st, has a small seating area with table service, but also has a cafeteria-style line for people who want their food to go. I sat down and ordered one of their regular platters (as opposed to one of the four specials, which vary depending on the day of the week), the roast pork. Most of their platters include a meat and two sides for $8; I went with yellow rice and black beans, and then ordered a dish of maduros on the side for another $1.50. The pork had outstanding flavor and I got plenty of end meat, although the center was a little bit dry. The pork at Versailles came in a tart mojo sauce, which probably was the reason the meat there didn’t dry out in the middle. The yellow rice was … well, it was rice, but it was fresh rice, and didn’t have any hard or dried-out grains because it had been sitting for too long. The maduros weren’t hot, but were sweet and well-browned. They serve the fruit/dairy concoctions called batidas, but I was only willing to be so full before going on TV.
Also worth mentioning – the Mississippi Mud Pie from the Little Pie Company. It’s sort of like the darkest, richest brownie batter you’ve ever tasted, served in an Oreo cookie crust. A bit outrageous at $22 for an 8″ pie, but it is decadent and there’s no trace of milk chocolate (better known as “chocolate for people who don’t like chocolate” or “sissy chocolate”) anywhere in it.
I work around the block from that Sophie’s and often get their sandwiches to go. The roast pork and chicken sandwiches are a little greasy, but really, really tasty with the jalapeno sauce and potato sticks on top!
Thanks for the tip I am going to have to hit this place up later this week when I am in the city.
I work in downtown NYC and Sophie’s is one of my favorites. Try the fried pork chops next time!!
If you’re a Cuban food fan, check out Havana Alma De Cuba in the West Village. Mmmm… mashed plantains.
http://www.havanavillagenyc.com/media/havana.html
Keith,
Does ESPN provide you per diem in NYC? I assume you get per diem on your scouting trips and your AZ trip? It would be most excellent if ESPN also made you it’s in-house food critic. Seriously, who else could do the critic thing as well as you? Don’t even think, Simmons, that man cannot be trusted! He’d only hit up those restaurants his favorite athletes and actors ate at to stalk them.
Also, did you hear about Susie Orman’s Oprah visit? She told the audience to skip out on eating out for a month to the disgust and dismay of restaurant owners nationally. The reaction has been far from muted on talk radio.
Q
Hey, can’t someone like milk chocolate and chocolate-chocolate? Also, I once tasted 99% chocolate and almost died. I don’t think it was people-food.
Sissy chocolate rocks!
Keith:
Looking to try the pie. Did you hit up the store on the West Side or in Grand Central? Do you know if there is a difference in selection/quality?
Thanks.
Dan: GCS. Never been to the west side store.
Anything under 55% cocoa solids is not chocolate.
I consider any form of milk chocolate to be candy. There’s nothing wrong with milk chocolate, but it’s not real chocolate.
Dark chocolate is chocolate.
Suze Orman, like any financial professional who gives advice to the masses, is irresponsible and a danger to anyone who follows her advice.
Keith, as a native New Yorker, I am disappointed in you. It’s Grand Central Terminal, not Station!
Keith, you ever been to Pio Pio in NYC? Outstanding Peruvian fare. Check it out if you haven’t.
might i suggest margon’s for the next time youre in nyc and in the mood for cuban. its on 46th bw ave of americas and seventh.
i recommend going on a nice day because the place is tiny and seating is very limited (even in its manhattan context) so you can sit outside and enjoy the eye candy as well.
they dont have oxtail stew every day, but if they have it, get it. their octopus salad is ridiculously fresh too.
(and it helps to go with someone who speaks spanish… i noticed i get much larger portions – gotta love it lol).
I’ve never been a huge chocolate or sweets fan in general. But as I’ve gotten older (25 is old, I guess), I find that I’d much rather have a small piece of really good, dark chocolate than a whole milk chocolate bar, which is a far cry from where I was as a kid. Generally speaking, I’m not the fan of uber-rich desserts, but I think I unfairly was led to believe that chocolate = sweets because of all that crap candy as a kid (no doubt it’s tasty, but it’s not REAL food).
For good Cuban food not too far from you, visit El Oriental de Cuba on Center St in Jamaica Plain. I lived in Boston all my life until a few years ago and miss El Oriental dearly.
Keith, what did you think of Hosea winning Top Chef, or don’t you follow the show?
Malcolm – I’ve been in GCT maybe a half-dozen times in my life. It’s always been Penn Station for me, for whatever reason.
Bob – never watched it.
JD – never been.
FQ – I’m on per diem, and ESPN wasn’t interested in my food writeups, which is how the dish was born.
Bob, he deserved it.
Hosea deserved it for those dishes, but Stefan was really the most talented cook. They just crushed him on the dessert, and it seemed like every other show he was getting praised for it.
Keith, seems you are really against watching Top Chef for some reason, as many readers of this blog have suggested it to you. Any apparent reason?
Keith, are you chatting at 1:00 today over at TFL?
Keith,
Have you thought about approaching the Food Network for a sports-related cooking critic show? I feel a pretty cool cable show idea percolating here. The way I think about it, Food and Sports are a natural and powerful combination.
Q
Ralph,
The four-letter seems to think Keith was going to chat today, but at the end of last week’s chat, Keith wrote that the chats will be sporadic in the coming weeks.
Thanks H. I forgot about that.
Picking up on last week’s chat, Keith, are you a Double Stuf fan or classic? I ask because I just ate about 20 Spring Double Stufs.
I know this was season 5, but it’s the first season I’ve watched the show, and I really enjoyed it. And I don’t normally watch reality shows, nor am I particularly into cooking.
I’m happy Hosea won because Carla and Stefan have their own restaurants, while he works for someone else. But I agree that Stefan was the most talented chef. If Carla had any leadership & hadn’t completely fallen apart by listening to her “helper”, she would have had a good chance.
JPM: I’m not against watching Top Chef. I just don’t need to watch any more television.
Kyle J: Classic Oreos. Their ratio is correct.
Bob,
I agree, I thought Stephan was the most talented, but he had such a bad attitude and fell apart in the last 3 weeks.
Hosea was consistent. He produced at the end, and Carla really folded. There was nothing they could do.
I second the suggestion to check out Grand Central next time. Peruse the market which has some seriously great vendors. Murray’s has a stall there and they sell the real acorn fed iberian ham.
Aside from the Oyster bar, the restaurant to eat at is Juniors. The cheese cake is great but who cares, amazing pastrami and Matzah ball soup. Aside from Katz’s its the best pastrami sandwhich in the city. Also try the blintzes.
I’ve walked through that market twice now. It would be great if I lived there, but for someone just passing through it doesn’t offer much. The best bet would be Penzey’s, except I have one about a mile from my house.
Re Juniors … I hate cheesecake, I don’t like pastrami, and if the blintzes have cheese then I don’t like them either. I’m thinking that’s not the best spot for me.
I’m sure at one time, Junior’s was a good place to grab cheesecake. But I do have to say that I was disappointed the first time I ate one. I moved near the flagship Junior’s a few years ago and had been looking forward to it since it’s considered a NYC icon. But it tasted like any other cheesecake you can get around town. I wonder if the increased popularity over the years forced them to take shortcuts that created an inferior product.
Keith, I know that your usual trips to NYC are brief and don’t allow you to move beyond a 20 block radius. But if you’re ever in the East Village and have a hankering for pork, I highly, highly recommend Porchetta. I’m a pork freak and seek it out fairly regularly. But even I was floored by their porchetta sandwiches and “crispy potatoes and burnt ends”. It took me to a whole other place.