Haven's Kitchen: Lobster Roll Class

This summer I cooked my first lobster! And I'm so glad I had supervision while doing it.  You know, just in case the crustacean went buckwild on me.  I can now cross this off my bucket list thanks to the 'Montauk Lobster Rolls and Long Island Wines' class at Haven's Kitchen.

Located conveniently near Union Square, Haven's Kitchen is a fairly new establishment that focuses on educating people and promoting local and sustainable foods.  It's an adorable space!  The front part is a store where they carry cute tabletop items, local artisinal pantry foods, and fresh brewed coffees and teas.  It opens up to the classroom with a large communal table and workstations.  They offer a nice variety of classes each month, viewable in their calendar on their website.  

'Montauk Lobster Rolls & Long Island Wines' class at Haven's Kitchen

'Montauk Lobster Rolls & Long Island Wines' class at Haven's Kitchen

We had (I think) ~12 people in class, in addition to one instructor and two assistants.  After donning aprons and sipping some wine, we jumped right in and they brought out a whole tub full of lobsters resting on ice and seaweed.  The lobsters came from the Lobster Place located just blocks away in Chelsea Market (love that Haven's Kitchen used a local and accessible source)!  As the instructor started doing demos and showing us the differences between male and female lobsters, they started waking up and moving around the tub.  [Queue the beginning of my squealing!]

Glaze (Union Square Location)

Glaze has finally opened their second outpost in Union Square!  Their first location in Midtown East is only a couple blocks away from Piggy KL's humble abode and I was definitely jealous.  Well you know what?  Now I get my very own Glaze just a couple blocks away from my apartment too!  YAY! 

Glaze Union Square now open!

The look, feel, and menu of this location is the exact same as their Midtown East location.  Glaze's specialty is the teriyaki plate and they streamline your decision making with a three-step process: you choose a protein (chicken, steak, salmon, tofu, veggie, or pork loin available), white or brown rice, and a dressing for your salad. 

Menu

Simple and open space

The House

This place serves the best Truffled Mac and Cheese - hands down. 

Outside of The House (sad there is a scaffolding blocking part of the front!)

What used to be a carriage house in its previous life, The House has been beautifully restored and now serves as a great spot for a wonderful meal!  The main floor features a little bar area with a fireplace and big windows - you feel like you are dining in someone's (super elegant) dining room.

Big windows in the dining room

Gorgeous fireplace

Burger House

I like Korean food.  I like burgers.  Therefore, I like Burger House! 

From the outside, Burger House looks like any other burger joint - no frills, seating available for a quick bite, but definitely nothing fancy.  When you go in and take a look at the menu, however, you see that this place is not your average burger joint.

Ordering counter at Burger House

Burger menu

Burger House is Asian owned!  And in addition to traditional burgers, they serve Asian fusion burgers including Bulgogi and Kalbi burgers!!

Baohaus



Wondering what I've been eating?  Read on to find out!

 The first time I gave Baohaus a try was at their original location down in LES.  It was a tiny bare-bones shop with barely any seating and no bathroom.  Its prices also made sure that I wouldn’t make the trek down to LES just for a Bao again (even though it was pretty delish).  Fast forward a couple years and Baohaus has now opened an outpost in the Union Square/East village area.  Located less than two blocks away from my apt, Baohaus was screaming for me to give it a re-do. 

The new shop is outfitted with bright blue fluorescent lights – you can’t miss it. 



Baohaus' bright storefront



Amorino

A couple years back I decided to try and keep only “wholesome” foods in my kitchen.  That sad day I sobbed while throwing out all the ice cream from my freezer.  But let’s be honest…this ice cream lover would never make such a crazed decision without some kind of loophole!  And here it is: if I feel like having ice cream, I better really want it enough to get off my bum, go out, and purchase a scoop (and notice I said scoop – no pint sigh).  Not a problem for me as I have several ice cream shops surrounding my apartment mhuahaha! 

On this particular night, I couldn’t pinpoint which flavor ice cream I was craving.  So I headed to Amorino where you can get as many flavors as you can fit onto your cone (doesn’t matter the size of your cone, as long as it fits)!  Not only does this gelato shop allow you to choose as many flavors as you want, but they also shape your creation into a unique flower design.   

My gelato shaped into a flower!

Dropping by: ABC Kitchen

I’ve recently been blessed with two excuses to go to ABC Kitchen: the first was for a dinner with out-of-towners and the second was for brunch.  One of Jean-Gorges newest restaurants, this local and organic food focused eatery won Best New Restaurant at the 2011 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards.  After giving ABC Kitchen a go myself, I can see why it has garnered so much attention in the last year.  Both times I ate there I was so absorbed by my meal that I neglected to write anything down or take any pictures (by the time I remembered we were on dessert!).  For that reason, I won’t go into details of what I ordered as I’m sure I’ll be back but I did want to pass along my two-cents thus far on ABC Kitchen.

Salted caramel ice cream sundae - comes with caramel popcorn, peanuts, chocolate sauce and whipped cream on top (ignore the donuts on the side...they were disappointing)

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Delicious crab toast!  (pic from http://www.seriouseats.com)

I really enjoyed both of my experiences there and loved the gorgeous setting inside (it’s attached to ABC Carpet and Home…can’t go wrong on decoration there!).  And while not my style, I appreciated the mismatching silverware and dishes and felt that it really added to the shabby-chic/vintage yet still elegant vibe.  Regarding the food, you’ll have to wait for me to go back and write things down next time.  But if you have a chance to give it a go before I finish a full post on ABC Kitchen, you MUST MUST MUST get the crab toast and the ice cream sundae.  Both shareable.  Both unbelievable.  Trust me – you will not regret it. 

Piggy says yes!

Thanks for reading - Piggy KK