Cafe Katja - Our Local Gem

Five years is a long time in the restaurant business.  As a matter of fact, it's a long time for any small business, and once you get to that point, it means you must be doing something right. Or maybe, just maybe, you're doing everything right.

And that's just what my favorite place does - everything right.  From the warm welcome (whether you're a regular or not), to the tasty food, to the nicely curated wine and beer list (oh, and they make a damn good Manhattan too), to the reasonable prices - Cafe Katja makes me happy...

Just over five years ago, I wrote about Katja on eGullet, after Significant Eater and I tried it for the first time. And over these past five years, and countless meals with Sig Eater, friends and solo, it has never failed to be just what you want from your favorite "local." You want a pretzel (with two spreads) and a beer - Katja...

How about a krainer, kraut and a glass of Grüner Veltliner? Katja...

Maybe beef goulash over spätzle? You guessed it - Katja - and even though I don't have a pic, and they spell it gulasch - here's a recipe from an article about Katja that Bon Appetit ran a few years ago...new Austrian, they called it then.

Recently, there's been a big change at Katja. The owners, former chefs Andrew Chase and Erwin Schröttner, had been looking to expand for a while (I mean, if I saw the word tiny in one more review, I was gonna scream), and when the place right next door became available, they jumped on it. So now, after a summer of renovations and turning slightly greyer (well, Erwin was already there) due to the usual problems you run into when you start knocking down walls in 120-year old buildings, and trying to get the gas hooked up by a striking Con Ed, they're up and running on all cylinders. The kitchen, which is probably triple the size of what it used to be, and now has gas burners, was buzzing the other night, Chef James working it as he always has.

An expanded kitchen means an expanded menu, and we started dinner last night with a couple of old standbys. When you start with the pretzel I mentioned above, be careful - otherwise you'll burn your mouth. But the aufschnitt teller, a platter of smoked and cured meats, liverwurst, liptauer, pickles and rye bread, will merely make your mouth water...

My friends shared an assorted sausage sampler (I guess they hadn't had enough sodium yet), which at $15 per person is enough to feed a small army. Me - I'm watching my waist, so I dove into the evening's special - seared blackfish over fermented and sauteed red cabbage, that was perfectly cooked and delicious to boot...

There are classic desserts on the menu, like linzer torte, and lots of schlag to go 'round. And the list of Schnapps is as deep as any in the city. The other night we finished with a couple of Underbergs - because we may indeed be nuts.

Keep it coming, Katja. After a delicious five years, we wish you good luck on the next 10 - for sure, you'll be seeing plenty of us.

Cafe Katja

79 Orchard Street, NYC

(212) 219-9545

Spaetzle #1 - "Pasta" Made Easy

Little sparrow. At least that's the literal translation. Of spaetzle, that is. Or spätzle. It's a love of Significant Eater's, who often orders it when we're at our favorite neighborhood eatery, Cafe Katja. There, they do a classic version with emmenthaler and fried onions (Käsespätzle) as well as a version of buckwheat spaetzle; the spaetzle sauteed with a bunch of seasonal vegetables. When Bon Apetit wrote about Cafe Katja, the recipe they were kind enough to divulge was for their pumpkin seed spaetzle, another dish I've been lucky enough to try.

So what about making these tiny dumplings at home? Sounds like it might be difficult, right? If you've ever wanted to make pasta at home, you should think about giving these a try, though my first attempt was a real mess; the dough is very sticky which led to a fair amount of cursing and cleanup. But it tasted good. To lessen the mess, I figured I needed a spaetzle maker to make my life easier, so a spaetzle maker I bought. At Sur La Table, this gizmo was a mere $15...the price of a good cocktail.


For my first spaetzle making attempts, I used a recipe from the Time Life Foods of the World series, specifically that of Germany. That recipe is almost exactly the same as one that appears in The Dumpling Cookbook, by Maria Polushkin, which also happens to be on my bookshelf. At least the proportions of liquid to flour are the same, though Maria's recipe calls for water instead of milk. In any case, I made 1/2 a batch (only me for dinner), using milk on the verge of going down the drain, along with some chopped chives. The batter/dough is definitely thick and sticky in this version...

Then, I sprayed my new spaetzle maker with cooking spray and loaded it up...


Here is the first batch simmering away. It needs to be simmered, not boiled, or the dumplings may fall apart...


After about 2.5 minutes, I shocked and drained the spaetzle, then tossed them with a little olive oil to keep 'em from sticking to each other...


A close-up of the spaetzle...


Finally, for serving, I sautéed them in some duck fat, since I happened to have some duck fat in my fridge. Butter or olive oil would be fine too...

The verdict? Almost (but not quite) as good as Cafe Katja's - where they use water in the dough, according to Andrew, one of the owners. And I'm going to keep playing with spaetzle recipes, at least until I find the formula I like best.


Chive Spaetzle - (Adapted From Time Life Recipes: The Cooking of Germany)

3 c A/P flour

1 c milk

4 eggs

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 T snipped chives

Combine ingredients. Stir till sticky dough forms. Stir more...work it. Cover and let sit at least 15 minutes before cooking. Bring 2 qts. water to a boil. Using spaetzle maker (or some other more annoying device) force dough through holes into boiling water. When water starts to simmer, cook a batch of dumplings (don't do it all at once, perhaps about 1/3 of the dough) for about 3 minutes (taste and make sure they're done). Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Toss with a little olive oil and continue with however you want to use these things.

Le Bernardin - You Say It's Your Birthday (and Anniversary, Too)

Since my last post was about our anniversary and just how lucky I am, I figured this one would be about my birthday, which as luck would have it, falls on the day after our anniversary.  Confused? Yeah, me too, but I figured getting married on the day before my birthday would help me remember our anniversary - at least until I start forgetting when my birthday is.

This is a special year for both Significant Eater and me, as we celebrate milestone birthdays (though she only has a decade to catch up to me, since I will not be recognizing any more birthdays).  So in order to start marking both occasions (this is gonna be a long celebration), we did something we don't normally do - we went out to dinner. Okay, I kid - we go out to dinner way too much, but for this dinner we went somewhere pretty special...Le Bernardin.

It had been a long time since I'd eaten at Le B, and Sig Eater had never.  You know, Le B has its detractors; hard to believe perhaps, but google it up and you'll see it's not universally loved; after all,  what is?  Be that as it may, it's a NY Times 4* and a Michelin 3*, and as screwy as people think the NYT and Michelin might be, the *s still carry some weight in this town...just find me a chef that doesn't aspire to 4 or 3 and, well, maybe that person shouldn't be cooking?  Just sayin'...

Le Bernardin is a grown-up place.  It's not like the places we generally go to, which are geared to the way we eat now, whatever the hell that is. Men are required to wear jackets in the dining room (that was fun) and reservations are necessary. You check your coat before you even get to the host stand. There are maître d'hôtels. There are floor captains.  There are sommeliers. There are as many people keeping you happy as you can imagine - I wish my doctor's office was as functional (and since a visit to the doc is more expensive, why not?). There are big comfortable chairs and your neighbor's elbow isn't poking into you - unless, I guess, you're sitting at the bar...which I can't wait to do.

All that's well and good, but doesn't it really come down to the food? Oh yeah - the food.  I don't know if Chef Ripert was in the house (I kinda doubt it - it was a Monday night and there was some food fest somewhere else), but in a restaurant like this it shouldn't matter...and you know what? It didn't.  The food was pretty fucking great.  I think we got to the second course when Sig Eater looked at me and said: "this may be the best dish I've ever eaten."  After expressing my disbelief that it wasn't something I had cooked for her, I had to agree - she was happily devouring a sautéed langoustine with chanterelle and black Perigord truffle, and a taste was all I was allowed. My second, also from the "Barely Touched" section of the menu - was a king crab medley, served in a seaweed and shitake broth, sided with a Matsutake custard. Yes, please.

Each of our courses was accompanied by a different glass of wine that I had asked our sommelier (he's famous too...Aldo Sohm) to choose.  In a bit of a coincidence, I'd been at Cafe Katja a few nights before and mentioned to one of the owners that we were going to Le B for a birthday dinner. Turns out they're old friends, both being from Austria - and Aldo made me promise to tell Erwin that he missed Katja and would try to get there again soon. Aldo's wine choices were great - for example, I didn't know they were making Grüners in Santa Barbara, and the 2012 from Tatomer went so nicely with my crab.  The Austrian Blaufränkisch (a 2008 from Muhr-van der Niepoort) that he chose to go along with my lobster main course was a winner too. At first I was wondering about a red with the lobster, but of course it matched perfectly with the Sauce Américaine and it was hard to tell what was better - that sauce or the perfectly cooked lobster.

And that's the thing about Le Bernardin.  If you're a cook, you may think you can get seafood as pristine as this (here's a hint - the greenmarket's your best bet) but go ahead and try.  And sure, some of the preps are simple; let's face it, some of them are even plated raw - but go ahead and try.  And then there are the sauces and that's where the real problems might start, chef.  This is technically perfect cooking, with exquisite taste to match. I mean, I have some friends who are great cooks, and at this point I know my way around a kitchen pretty well - but if I said I was going to throw a dinner party "Le Bernardin style" - someone needs to tell me to go ahead and try.  I might come close on a dish or two, but...

There's a relative of mine who asks me, after I've eaten at a place, if I'd send my friends there, or if I'd go back.  As a matter of fact, I'd asked her to help me with the reservation at Le B, since I waited about 2 minutes too long before trying to make it myself, and I'd been shut out.  She's a friend of the house, and when I explained that it was our anniversary (I like to leave the birthday stuff out), we had a table booked no problem.  So - would I send you there? Yes. And would I go back? In a heartbeat - I'd eat food like this once a week, if the bank allowed me.  As it is, I can't wait to go back and sit in the lounge, and try some of the food offered there. Because this was, quite simply, one of the best meals I've had in NYC in a really long time.

And the house, knowing it was our anniversary, was kind enough to send this out as a "pre-dessert." Then they boxed it up and had us take it home so we could have it for breakfast the next day - pretty cool...

Comp Disclosure: In addition to two glasses of bubbly, which were a gift from the chef when we sat down (I think everyone gets this), we were served an extra course in between our seconds and mains.  Both the largest scallop I have ever seen, and a really playful charred octopus dish...

Happy Birthday/Anniversary To...Acme

Happy Birthday, Acme.  Or maybe it should be Happy Anniversary?  In any event, Acme has been open for just about a year;  it was last January when I wrote about how much we'd enjoyed our first 3 or 4 meals during those early days.

Then, over the next 12 months, Significant Eater and I enjoyed any number of delicious meals, both as walk-ins sitting at the bar, or with ressies and sitting in the bustling dining room.  Other friends who joined me/us enjoyed it mightily, and people I implored to try it usually qvelled.  So I jumped at the opportunity when a friend asked if I'd like to hit Acme for dinner again last night.

While in its infancy there might have been a dish that needed a more careful hand with the seasoning, or a snafu in the timing of the dishes coming out of the kitchen, I'm happy to report that there is none of that now.  Every dish we ate last night was properly seasoned (i.e. salted), and the service was great...as a matter of fact, I think that the service (which, imo, was never off) has become a bit more formal, while still retaining that casual vibe.

While a good part of the menu remains from the "early days," a couple of new dishes made themselves known. One of these was the duck ebelskivers. I actually know what ebelskivers are (a long story involving the California city of Solvang); here, Chef Mads Refslund has taken a sweet and turned into a savory, the puffs filled with duck confit; served alongside - pear chutney for dipping.  And what looks like the traditional powdered sugar on top is now dried and powdered vinegar...what you see isn't always what you get.

Probably the most talked about dish when Acme opened was the Pearl Barley with Clams, a big bowl of barley swimming in roasted sunflower broth, with scallops and artichokes along for the ride. Who used grains like this?  Well, fast forward a year, and now we're getting a dish called simply Whole Grains. But are we sad? No - because the grains still include pearl barley (along with wheat berries). Oh, it also has a nice assortment of mushrooms and comes topped with 3 puffs of parmesan froth, making it one of the earthiest, most delicious things I've tasted since, well, Pearl Barley with Clams...

Roasted beets are garnished with pickled huckleberries, adding a nice kick to that winter standby.  Everyone's favorite Chicken and Eggs dish is as good as the first time you tasted it...nicely moist chicken (I'd love to see them use thighs and wings, though that might be a bit much for this crowd) and fingerling potatoes just waiting to be drenched by those fried eggs and their creamy yolks. And the Beer and Bread Porridge with salted caramel ice cream?  Yes, please.

The wines by the glass list has grown to no less than 15 selections.  I was busy quaffing a Grüner (which I learned to love at Cafe Katja), after a nice glass of complimentary champagne from the house.

Acme continues to be one of my favorite spots for a nice meal.  Sit at the bar and have a couple of snacks, or one of those decadent desserts. Sit at a table and have a big meal.  You won't go wrong with either. And if you haven't been to Acme, what are you waiting for?  Before you know it, they'll be 2 years old - and you know how 2 year-olds can be, don't you?

One-Armed Breakfast - Eggs on Eggs

Since my shoulder surgery in late December, I'm not allowed to do much with my right arm; oh - it's out of the sling it was confined to for 2 weeks, but as my doc said: "Don't pick up anything heavier than a coffee cup!"

Which sucks, because if you've ever tried to cook with one arm, it's not exactly fun or easy.  I mean, taking a pot or a pan off a high shelf is basically not happening.  Fortunately, Significant Eater stayed home with me for 2 weeks after the surgery, so that helped a lot.  I even managed to sneak in a new appliance during that time; our god-knows-how-old toaster oven was on its last legs, so I decided to get a new one, and after reading some favorable reviews, decided  it should be this one, which was unpacked and placed in its new home with relatively little complaint from Sig Eater...

It's the new Cuisinart Combo Steam and Convection Oven, and though it can't "core a apple," it toasts nicely and reheats beautifully. (By the way, a real combi oven, one that's used by many caterers and restaurants, is an awesome cooking machine - they also tend to cost thousands of dollars, often need their own plumbing and electrical supply, etc.; this is but a mere consumer appliance). In any event, with one arm I was able to use some leftovers from Cafe Katja and make these delicious shirred eggs over duck confit and blood sausage hash...

There'll be more experiments with that combo oven, but now I'm back on my own and "cooking" with one arm and I wanted something other than cereal for breakfast.  Since I had visited Russ & Daughters recently, I just happened to have a little smoked Gaspe nova in the fridge. as well as a bit of salmon roe. So I put them both to use, in an easy-to-make one-armed scramble of eggs and nova, topped with salmon roe...

Now, if I can just get someone to clean up after me...

Date Weekend

We've all heard of "Date Night." You know, the one night a week that couples are supposed to set aside to spend time with their someone special. With the busy lives that everyone leads, it's one of the suggestions to help us become re-connected with the special person.

With Significant Eater's job requiring her to be in Washington, D. C. a good deal (sorta like a congress person, but she works more), we really look forward to our weekends together. That's why I call it Date Weekend, as opposed to date night - even though all the time we're together is special. As a matter of fact, even when we're not together it's special, but that's another story altogether...insert wink emoticon here.

Just this past week, Sig Eater was able to come back to NY on Thursday night, and I decided to try and get us to a few places that we'd not yet been. Oh yeah, I cooked too, but that's not out of the ordinary; and I failed to take any pix of that activity.

We started out Friday with a long walk up to the farmer's market, where it is nice to see some of the greens coming into season as well as the lilacs. But my destination was a little bit further uptown, past this...

Up to 18th St. and ABC Kitchen, Jean-Georges Vongerichten's ode to all things (well, almost all) local, sustainable and market driven. Without a reservation there wasn't a table in the main dining room, but there were enough seats in the front room, including two at the bar, which we snatched right up. One of the "secrets" Jean-Georges is known for are amazing deals offered at a few of his restaurants during the lunch hour. And ABC Kitchen offers one too - $25 for a 3-course lunch, with 2 or 3 choices for each course. We went thataway.

I had the chicken soup, loaded with dill and tarragon (which I like more finely chopped, thank you)...

It's flavor was rich and deep however, so not too much to complain about. Sig Eater went with crostini; well, not just any crostini, but one topped with ramp pesto, goat cheese and pickled ramps...

My main course was a big hunk of pot roast, fork tender and atop a creamy mash of potatoes along with some sauteed broccoli raab. Not the lightest of choices for lunch, but after that long walk, it hit the spot. SE surprised me and chose the slow-cooked arctic char, served atop a gingery-carrot nage, the rich fish perfectly cooked...

For dessert, we took home the 3 - cookie sampler (hey, 2 people can only eat so much at lunch) and attacked the ice cream sundae, salty-caramel ice cream in a pool of chocolate syrup and strewn with caramel popcorn and peanuts...

I'm glad there were 2 scoops, otherwise trouble might've broken out with my special someone. We walked home, giving us a total of about a 5-mile walk, thus rationalizing our high-calorie lunch. Continuing on our "Date Weekend," dinner that night was at local fave Cafe Katja, where the food and welcome are always, well, welcome.

Saturday morning I made us a nice breakfast; avocado/green onion/tomato omelets with salsa verde, which gave us the energy to take another walk, this time along the East River and the work-in-progress East River Park river-front walk. Industrially beautiful, as always, and here you can see part of the new bulkhead and walkway under construction...

Dinner Saturday night was all "new." First we stopped by LTO, a pop-up restaurant concept on East Broadway. It's currently serving the food of D. C. chef and Beard-award winner R. J. Cooper, along with the cocktails of well-known D. C. mixologist Gina Chersevani. The drinks were delicious, and after we'd had one (okay, two), we sauntered on down the block to Orchard St. and the new to us The Fat Radish, which actually has been open for at least 6 months. Decently reviewed in the NY Times, The New Yorker and in other publications, and breathlessly hyped as a hip fashionista hang all over the damn place, I avoided it out of sheer terror...after all, fashionista I'm not. But after seeing Sig Eater hanging with Warhol, I got my nerve up, and with heads held high, in we walked at 8 P. M. on a Saturday night...without a reservation. A little schmoozing with the hostess, who first seated us at one of the counters, and the next thing you know we were whisked into the back room to a cozy table for two. Must've been our fashion-sense.

What a nice place! Formerly a Chinese something or other, and before that a Jewish something or other, if I can fool them again at the front door, I'll go back for the English peas, a sorta salad, sorta braise, comprised of barely cooked peas, ramps and razor clams. Sounds weird, tasted great though. A little crunch and a little chewy - in a good way. That starter worked better than the tiny-bit boring asparagus salad. But we perked right up with SE's main of mussel pot pie, studded with chunks of ham and a rather unique take on the pot pie thing. I had to have a burger and this one really didn't disappoint. Not with bacon and cheese it didn't. Expectedly messy, perfectly cooked and a satisfying hunk o' meat, sided with duck fat fries...what more can one ask for?

I have a feeling my date was impressed. I'm even going to ask her out again!

More Bitching About Restaurants and A/C

Okay, okay - I know it's been fairly pleasant temperature-wise (here in NYC) over the past week or so. Christ, I even have the windows open every day; that is, until about 3 in the afternoon, when they get closed, the shades get drawn, and the A/C gets going.  But this isn't going to last; at some point, August will rear its ugly head and the true dog days will be here. And that's why I'm providing this bit of friendly advice.

Don't forget - July (here in NYC) has been a bit hot,  I've dined in a few places on the really hot days and I'm just gonna subjectively rate those restaurants on a 1 to 10 scale (with 10 being the coldest, and therefore best) based on the air-conditionability of said restaurant - that is, how much do I have to suffer once I get to your restaurant in order to eat the food that I'm paying for.

I mean, if the food and service, etc. are very good, I'm willing to put up with a 5 out of 10; if not, it has to be, like, 8/10 temperature wise, otherwise I'm not coming back till winter...well, autumn at the earliest. You get the picture.

We often walk to the places we're going to - at least one way.   So for instance, one night during the heat-wave, Significant Eater and I walked to Sobaya (cold noodles + cold sake = good in this weather), and by the time we got there I was drenched. But, their a/c is great - and with a 30 minute wait around the corner at that Irish joint whose a/c was cranking too, I was pretty dry by the time we were served our soba. All through my meal, too.

There's nothing rated that's under a 5/10, cause, really, why? Or if you have your windows and doors open, see ya!

Bonus points if at any point during the meal, Significant Eater says: "I'm cold..."  It's why all women should/need to carry a light sweater, even on those hot days.

Here, in no order, just places I remember eating at over the past few weeks worth of miserable weather.

Park Side - 5/10.  Company that I was with was great.  Food/service was okay on this visit. If it was colder in there, I might up to 6/10.

Katja - 8/10 - Nice short walk to here for us.  Great a/c when we first got in Friday night and it was nearly empty.  When we were leaving an hour and a half later, it was struggling. But, I was told there will be an additional unit in place for next summer.  Anyway, it's my local, so no complaints here.

Sobaya - 8/10. It was just fucking cold in here. Yes.

Yunnan Kitchen - 6/10.  Need more a/c and close the front door please. Otherwise, the food and the service are very nice.

DBGB -  5/10.  Though I like the food, the a/c was miserable (this is sitting at the bar, like we usually do) and it's just not worth it (until autumn) and I can be comfortable eating my Viennese sausage. 

Alder - 8/10.  My favorite restaurant of the year, so I'm going no matter what.  Jesus, if it was 5° cooler in here, easily a 9/10.

Sauce - 6/10.  A/C is okay, service is okay, food is good.  It's close. Could be colder for a higher rating.

The Meatball Shop - 6/10. I was actually surprised by the efficiency of the a/c at the Stanton St. Meatball Shop.  Unless you're at the seats right up front by the door.  As a solo, the bar has a nice chill. And how much can you complain when 2 can have a fun, quick meal for under $50? 

Great NY Noodletown - 7/10.  I can put up with miserable temps and eat roast baby pig (or duck, or chicken) this good, at this price, no matter what.  Sweating when you walk in, and sweating when you walk out. So what?

Eastwood - 5/10. Newish place right across the street that's gotten raves for its fried fish, etc.  But the temps will have to moderate before I set foot back in this place. Also, 2 of their 3 ceiling fans were (are?) turning in the wrong direction.  Counter-clockwise in the summer, please.

Hearth - 7/10.  This is damn good food, and damn good service. But if you sit at the bar, be prepared for a bit of heat from the kitchen.

Le Philosophe - 5/10.  Food and service just not worth it cause it wasn't cold enough.

Stella  (the new restaurant in Macy's) - 6/10.  Great view, nice chill, and okay food. Maybe we ordered wrong?

The Butterfly - 6/10.  Pretty comfortable temp wise.  Excellent drinks.  But who goes to West Broadway from the lower east side?

If you happen to be in DC, here are two places with great A/C.  The know how to air condition down there, because it's a fucking swamp:

Kapnos - 8/10.  Nice and cool, and yeah - the food blew us away.  I was even pleasantly surprised by the cocktails.

Jaleo - 7/10 - Maybe not the kitchen's best night, but the a/c was working fine.

More to follow once the weather turns NYC miserable again.

Sleigh Bells Ring, Are You Listening?

Geez, it's been a long time. Stuff happens. Actually, a lot of stuff happened over the past 2 months. A little of this. A little of that. And I plan on relating all, most, some of it - over future blog posts.

But for now - let's just look back (to last night) and enjoy the first snowfall of the season. And along with that snowfall, the first snowmen of the season.  And, the tiniest, too...

Orchard St. Snowman #1

Orchard St. Snowman #2. Excited to be here, obviously.

Orchard St. Snowmen

Oh, Katja was great too - but what else is new?