Purple Yam – A Rainy Day Treat – Ditmas Park, Brooklyn

Purple Yam - 1314 Cortelyou Road, Brooklyn - 718.940.8188 - © Frank H. Jump

It’s the day after my fiftieth birthday and I decided to give myself a long awaited treat. Ever since I saw the new “pan-Asian” restaurant storefront pop up on the ever-changing Ditmas Park landscape, I’ve wanted to pop in – but never found the right moment – plus I live with a bit of a picky eater whose tastes are somewhat broader than the average diner, but still limited when it comes to Southeast Asian, Malaysian, Indonesian and Filipino cuisine. So I’m alone on a rainy afternoon and decided to give myself a little birthday present.

Purple Yam - 1314 Cortelyou Road, Brooklyn - 718.940.8188 - © Frank H. Jump

The Purple Yam on Cortelyou Road in Ditmas Park is an exciting addition to the growing choices of places to dine out in our little corner of Brooklyn. If you would have told me ten years that a casual pan-Asian restaurant with a Filipino based menu would be opening up within walking distance of the Cortelyou Road stop on the N train I would have said “Get out!”

Granted, Filipino and Indonesian cuisines have had a hard time making a foothold on the East Coast in general – when only twenty years ago did Thai, Malaysian and Vietnamese cuisines begin to become mainstays in Asian dining in Brooklyn. West Coasters have long appreciated “alternative” Asian cuisines, compared to the standard fare that was offered for decades by Americanized Mandarin and Szechuan menus here in the Tri-State area. But I’m glad to see there is finally a market for a more daring, less cliché Asian fare in our neighborhood.

Purple Yam - 1314 Cortelyou Road, Brooklyn - 718.940.8188 - © Frank H. Jump

For brunch, I enjoyed the Fresh Lumpia with peanut and tamarind sauce as a starter. I requested some sambal (a hot chili paste condiment) with my appetizer and it looked as if the charming and eloquent chef Romy Dorotan (Romy and partner chef Amy Besa – formerly from Cendrillon in Soho) had whipped it up from scratch. As a main course I had a noodle dish – Pancit Luglug – thick rice noodles with ground pork and shrimp in a delicate but well-spiced sauce. So delicious. For dessert, I had the special Filipino lime meringue pie with a scoop of guava ice-cream and a raspberry sauce. Magnificent!

Purple Yam - 1314 Cortelyou Road, Brooklyn - 718.940.8188 - © Frank H. Jump

Don’t wait for a rainy day to go to the Purple Yam! Support local businesses now.

Frank H. Jump
Fading Ad Blog

Reviews:

• New York Magazine – August 2009
• New York Times – December 2009
• Time Out NYC – January 2010

Purple Yam website:

• Purple Yam – BRUNCH MENU (Sat & Sun from 12N – 3:30PM) – DINNER MENU

New York Italian Bread

In the early eighties, I lived in the East Village – not the trendy neighborhood it is today. I used to shop at the C Town on Fourth Street and First Ave. Palagonia Bread was the only bread you could buy after the local baker on 2nd Street and 1st Ave was forced out by the landlord. The way I like to eat bread is to brush it with olive oil, oregano, salt pepper and bake it 5 minute at 325ºF. Decent to delicious ciabattas are now available everywhere in the city, rendering Palagonia mediocre at best – certainly not the finest in the world. Never was.

Previously posted on Fading Ad Blog:

Junius Street - Brownsville, Brooklyn - © Frank H. Jump

Bread is one of the oldest prepared foods, dating back to the Neolithic era. The development of leavened bread can probably also be traced to prehistoric times. – Wikipedia

At one time, Palagonia was the ONLY Italian bread you could buy at a corner deli. I wouldn’t call it the best anymore. Vincenzo is a fan of Cityline’s Rosamaria Bakery on 101st Street – if you want a really good semolina bread.Only buy breadand cookies stear clear fom cold cuts.  Another favorite of ours is Paneantico Bakery off 65th Street & 14th Avenue in Bensonhurst.

75-19 101st Avenue - Cityline - © Vincenzo Aiosa

• The History of Bread – breadinfo dot com

Aunt Ethel’s Recipe Box

Aunt Ethel

A few year back  I helped clean an apartment in the Lower East Side,  since I am a pack rat  I kept a few things like this recipe box filled with original and  news paper clipping. Here is the  original aunt Ethel’s cheese cake  recipe in her own hand writing.Try them out let me know what you think

From Aunt Ethel's recipe box

Bygone restaurants & businesses

R & L Restaurant- Florent © Frank H. Jump

Cause and effect by Florent Morellet

ALMOST 23 years ago a transplanted young Frenchman named Florent Morellet

Previously posted on Fading Ad Blog

Day - O Restaurant West Village NY © Vincenzo Aiosa

The now closed Day Ho location is undergoing renovations we will keep you posted who will reopen

Behind the loud soul music, coconut lampshades, and metallic paint lurks a surprisingly intimate dinner atmosphere. So intimate that you’ll want to cozy up to all kinds of jerks

Pasta and Meats

Casa dei cappelletti Torino Porta Palazzo mercato coperto © Vincenzo Aiosa

Agnolotti al Brasato (3rd from the top

Casa dei cappelletti Torino Porta Palazzo mercato coperto © Vincenzo Aiosa

Piedini di Maiale -Pigs Feet Torino Porta Palazzo mercato coperto © Vincenzo Aiosa

The latest anti-ageing food? Pigs’ trotters. That’s right, you heard it here first

What a meal

Martha Kessler reviews Graffiti Food and Wine Bar

Graffiti Food and Wine Bar (unknown)

Graffiti Food and Wine Bar: 224 East 10th Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenue) New York, NY

What do you do when a tiny little restaurant opens on your block? Well in my case, you completely ignore it for a year or so until the throngs of people waiting outside on the majority of evenings start to pique your interest and then you are compelled to check it out.

10th Street between First and Second Avenue has been called “Little Japan” for the row of Japanese Restaurants all nestled together in the middle of the block. Then there’s Japanese run Chickalicious dessert cafe across the street, not forgetting the perhaps undeservedly renowned Momofuku noodle shop right around the corner. Even the Italian restaurant Dieci has a japanese chef! So when this odd little hazard orange colored storefront opened as some kind of “Indian fusion” cafe, it did seem somewhat out of place.

Chef Jehangir Mehta opened Graffiti in the East Village of New York City in 2007 after highly acclaimed stints at New York City restaurants including Aix, Compass, and Jean-Georges.

Before it was a restaurant, the storefront had been a scuba diving shop for a few years (my husband got his diving license there) then it had a couple of quick incarnations as something or other before it became Graffiti. Intimate is an understatement. There are four tables which seat a maximum of 26 people and not a lot of elbow room. Still the advantage of sharing a table is you get to check out what other people are ordering without conspicuous craning of the neck. We knew going in there that the chef had been a pastry chef at Jean-George but we really couldn’t tell what to expect.

The two of us were seated at one of the bigger tables, at first alone and soon joined by a party of 4. It was very snug, more cozy than claustrophobic. We immediately recognized Chef Mehta from the Iron Chef show on the food network. It turns out he was the runner up – no small feat! He chatted to us a little while about his experience on the show then it was down to business.

The menu is divided into plate sizes and prices rather than appetizer, main and desert etc. We sampled a couple of plates from every section and slyly examined our neighbors’ orders. Just about everything was surprising – when I ordered the green mango paneer I was expecting something akin to the paneer curry standard in Indian restaurants. What we got was much more novel, little bites of beautifully spiced cheese set amongst swirls of coulis – dainty indeed. I particularly liked a foie gras raspberry crostini with walnut salad. The devastating richness of the Fois Gras was appropriately doled out in minute bites. Dishes are quite constructed. – I was expecting the watermelon feta salad with mint sorbet to be more substantial. There were a smattering of perfect little triangles of watermelon upon which you can gently lie a sprinkling of feta and a dollop of sorbet to create a wonderful burst of flavors in your mouth. We both could have eaten a lot more of it but it certainly got us excited about what was to come. Buns, both pork and eggplant (the menu is pretty generous to vegetarians and vegans), come the japanese way, with delicious stuffings wrapped in a small doughy pancake. There are lots of nods to Asian cuisine, indeed to French and Latin American styles too. It’s definitely eclectic, but tied together by Indian notes, the raita style mint yogurt sauce that accompanied a chickpea encrusted skate for one, hints of cumin and cardamom where you least expect them. Desserts were the most “American” of all the choices, but there were surprises there too.

The small inexpensive plates ($7, $12 and $15) allow you to experience a good few of these dishes, we shared everything and loved it all. A small but drinkable selection of wines ($25/bottle, $8 glass) allows you to pick by grape and not price – The teeny tiny space and the most uncomfortable stools did not encourage us to linger over coffee and drinks, but when you have so few seats and a gaggle of people waiting outside it makes sense.

Martha Kessler  NYC Culinary  Correspondent

Pane e Salame

Pane senza grassi - Fat free bread Panetteria Torino © Vincenzo Aiosa

Il salumiere - The cold cut guy Torino © Vincenzo Aiosa

Puro suino - Pure pork Torino © Vincenzo Aiosa

From the left with Truffles, with Garlic,  with Barolo whine & below with special  fennel

Cold cuts in Italian home is  a main staple served with  all meals from breakfast to dinner appetizers, there always some sort of cold cuts or whole salami in the refrigerator, 2 or 3 slices between a piece and bread (Pane e Salame) nothing else no mayonnaise nor mustard is needed to satisfy hunger in a hurry depending on the region it is usually followed with a glass of whine no matter what time of day it is. My mom always brought home cold cuts on Saturday around 1pm and that is what we always had for lunch on that day Mortadella and hot Capicolla was and still is my favorite.

Check out Frank H. Jump’s Hams and Capocolli

Hams & Capocolli / Wallabout Provisions Co. Brooklyn Navy Yard - taken September, 1997

Last night @ The Farm On Adderley – Cortelyou Road, Brooklyn

© Frank H. Jump - Fading Ad Blog

After a 2.5 hour drive from the Poconos, we decided to treat ourselves to dinner @ The Farm. I have never been a fan of noisy restaurants, but Frank loves the food there, so and  I deferred. We were  immediately seated, and since we knew what we wanted we ordered as soon as the waiter showed up. It took him a bit to get to us since it was really crowded for a Sunday.

Frank ordered the special Spinach salad with pumpkin seeds and pickled red onion with a shaved soft Fontina-like cheese AND what every one has been raving about – the Kale-Lentil Soup. I ordered the Sirloin special with fork crushed Yukon gold potatoes w/olive oil and roasted cauliflower w/guanciale & golden raisins. My meal was absolutely delicious aside the fact that I could have used a larger cut of steak (I wanted it but I don’t need it). Frank was disappointed that his soup never arrived and when the waiter apologized and offered to bring it,  we declined since it was already late and we wanted to go home by then.  We got our check and upon checking it the soup was still there. OOPS I never read the bill -  I always pay the total but it was quickly  remedied. Frank still wants to go back and try this talked about soup.  I wont. I have no tolerance for bad service. I have been disappointed more than once. I drive so I am not relegated to the neighborhood near my house for good but overpriced food. – Enzo

Welcome to Enzo’s View – from his kitchen to your dinner table.

ENZO IN CUCINA Vincenzo Aiosa PERSONAL CHEF & CATERING (646) 808-9432 CLICK ON IMAGE ABOVE FOR MORE INFO! CLICK ON ABOVE NAME TO SEND AN E-MAIL MESSAGE!