Corton & Momofuku Ko in 8 hours: The Monger's Cousins visit New York City

So my cousins went on a whirlwind culinary tour of New York City two weekends ago. Here was their schedule and take on the food.

Friday

Lunch: The Spotted Pig (1 Michelin Star)

"Best deviled eggs ever." "Very good hamburger."

(My own dinner at The Spotted Pig a year or so ago was 3 1/2 cutting boards.)

Dinner: Tasting menu at Daniel (3 Michelin Stars)

"Exceptional service and very good food (though not as good as Per Se)." "Daniel Boulud was there working the room."

(My own dinner at Daniel a couple years ago was a huge disappointment: barely 2 1/2 cutting boards. I'm glad to see it has improved.)

Saturday

Lunch: Momofuku Ko (2 Michelin Stars)

"Very good food." "Our favorite thing was actually quite simple: a bagel bite. It was like a tiny ball that burst with scallions and bacon cream cheese when eaten. It was quite impressive."

Dinner: Tasting menu at Corton (2 Michelin Stars)

"By far the best meal of the weekend." "More complex and interesting than the others." "Flawless flavor combinations." "Excellent wine pairings including a 1968 Maderia and a 1985 Gewurtzraminer."

Sunday

Lunch: Marea (1 Michelin Star)

"The pastas were excellent." "Unfortunately, we didn't try that much because we were so full."

It really blows my mind how they were able to do 9 Michelin stars (and more impressively 17 cutting boards) in 48 hours. Perhaps it should be something I aspire to in the future. Anyway, congratulations to them.

Lunch - Austin, Texas

Austin has a lot of good or really good lunch spots throughout the city. Here are The Monger's five current favorites.

Food Heads

This is a wonderful sandwich spot a little north of campus. Sweetmonger and I have probably made a monthly visit since we moved here and have tried many different things on the menu as the sandwiches are semi-creative and extremely well-executed.

The star is a Spicy Apple Pork Tenderloin sandwich with grilled pork loin combined with smoked Gouda cheese, spicy apple and onion relish, spinach, and a homemade honey Dijon mustard served on a toasted baguette. This is a great sandwich with an exciting flavor combination of the savory, sweet, bitter, and spicy. It also is a textural marvel as the bread is perfectly crisp, the Gouda is delicately smooth, the loin is porky, and the apple relish crunches just right. Other great sandwiches include: a Garlic and Herb roasted lamb with eggplant, lettuce, tomato, and cucumber-feta mayonnaise which is a great Austin take on Mediterranean; and a refreshing Grilled squash, fresh mozzarella, cilantro pesto, and blackberry balsamic.

Although it is not cheap and the restaurant can get a little crowded at peak times, one can really not go wrong with a sandwich from Food Heads.

Food Heads

616 W. 34th St.

Austin, TX 78705

(512) 420-8400

www.foodheads.com

Lulu B's

The Lulu B's Chinese BBQ pork sandwich is the best sandwich I have had since I moved to Austin. The other sandwiches, which include a spicy lemongrass chicken, are not slouches and are almost just as good. On food alone this is probably Austin's best lunch spot. However, it is a trailer off the side of the road with limited kitchen space, and it does not appear as if Lulu B's was ready for quick popularity. Multiple visits have yielded an average wait time of 30 minutes. At any other sandwich place, including Food Heads, this would be unacceptable, but Lulu B's is worth it. I have been upset by the wait multiple times and have vowed never to return, but as soon as I taste the sandwich, I disregard my vow.

Lulu B's

2113 South Lamar Blvd.

Austin, TX 78704

(512) 921-2828

www.myspace.com/lulubssandwiches

The Screaming Goat

This place is great for a good, cheap, and wet lunch. The tacos are tasty and cheap. The daily beer specials are cheap as well, and the spicy queso is excellent: probabably as good as anywhere in the city. While the tacos don't quite approach the quality of the city's best quick tacos (Torchy's, among others), the price and the queso make The Screaming Goat hard to beat.

The Screaming Goat

900 W. 10th St.

Austin, TX 78703

(512) 477-4628

www.thescreaminggoat.com

Phoenicia Bakery and Deli

There isn't a whole lot to say about this great little Middle Eastern deli on South Lamar. They simply make an excellent chicken shawarma (very garlicy) and a lamb and beef gyro (less garlicy).

Phoenicia Bakery and Deli

2912 South Lamar Blvd.

Austin, TX 78704

(512) 447-4444

www.phoeniciabakery.com

Salvation Pizza

This is most likely Austin's best pizza: thinish crust, minimal yet enough cheese, very tasty tomato sauce, and an abundance of available toppings. What makes it a great lunch spot is its daily special: $5.99 for two slices, a salad, and a non-alcoholic drink (although I typically go for one of the craft beers on draft).

Salvation Pizza

624 W. 34th St.

Austin, TX 78705

(512) 535-0076

www.salvationpizza.com

Uchi - Austin, Texas

Sweetmonger took me to Uchi recently for one of my Christmas presents. We ended up fashioning our own 7 course tasting menu. And here we go:

Thinly sliced flounder, smoked sea salt, yuzu zest, daikon, quinoa candy

Our opening course was delightfully refreshing. The flounder was tasty and smoothly textured. Certainly a palate enhancer. Good.

5 Piece Sushi

We followed the flounder with a 5 piece chef's sushi selection. From left to right, we got tuna, halibut, salmon, flounder, and escolar. Other than inexplicably giving us a flounder sushi since we had just ordered the flounder dish, this course was very nice. Although I am not a sushi connoisseur, I found the fish nicely textured and border-line delicious. The escolar was certainly the star . . . what a balanced fish. Very good.

Bluefin Tuna Belly Sushi; John Dory, finger lime, wasabi

We ordered two of the daily sushi specials. The tuna belly was what tuna belly should be: rich, smooth, and delicious. Very good. The John Dory was a waste of $7 though: just unbelievably disappointing and wiry textured. Not good.

Biendo Roll: Tempura and raw tiger shrimp, spicy viet vin, frozen grape salsa

This was the best seafood dish of the night as it was an great combination of spicy, sweet, smooth, crunchy, hot, and cold. I would not hesitate to order it every time at Uchi. Very good.

Pan-seared diver scallops, dehydrated lime, salsify, Thai chile

This was a nice dish. The scallops were sweet and juicy, and the dehydrated lime provided a good crunchy texture contrast. The aromatics were also very nice. Good . . . almost very good.

Bacon sen: roast pork belly, granny smith apple puree, cilantro, sherry vinegar, shaved fennel

I love this dish. I believe it would work in terms of taste and texture (although obviously not stylistically) in any restaurant in the world. The pork belly is rich and salty, and the apple puree is delicious and is a great contrast: a salty and sweet combination that would probably make any chef proud. Excellent.

Dark chocolate sorbet, maple, tobacco, scotch

I was not expecting this as my previous dessert experiences at Uchi have been disappointing, but this was truly delicious. The scotch-tobacco puree that brought everything together was something of an oxymoron: a mild-yet very tasty addition. Excellent.

I really enjoy eating at Uchi, and all things considered, it probably is Austin's best restaurant (and almost certainly its best fine dining experience). However, in the grand scheme of things, I'm not really sure what that means. I certainly would not call it a "must" on a visit to Austin. The Mexican and BBQ in this city are almost just as praise worthy and certainly more uncommon in quality relative other versions in American cuisine than is Uchi. Also, as much as I love dining at Uchi, in 5 meals I have only had two things that have wowed me: the various versions of the Bacon Sen and this recent chocolate-tobacco dessert. For a Japanese restaurant supposedly specializing in exciting uses of fish, I find this fact a little disconcerting.

Uchi

801 South Lamar

Austin, Texas 78704

(512) 916-4808

http://www.uchiaustin.com/