Tapas at Tia Pol in Chelsea, NYC, NY

What I love about tapas is the concept: small plates perfect to have with a drink (or two) or to share with others, as well as how comforting some of these dishes can be. So, we went to open table to try to find a tapas place and noticed Tia Pol, conveniently located next to the High Line, where we took a walk to digest...

Tia Pol was opened by Heather Belz and Mani Dawes in July 2004, to celebrate the Spanish cuisine that the owners experienced few years before, when living or traveling to Spain. The name itself comes from a cat Mani Dawes befriended back then. 

This is an exiguous place, a hole in the wall, that feels warm and unpretentious, more like your neighborhood joint.

In the back is a larger room that is either used when there is an overflow of customers in the main part of the restaurant or for private parties.

Besides tapas, the menu offers different large plates for lunch, brunch and dinner. But we were there for tapas. They have a nice choice, mainly with either meat or fish. So if you do not eat any, your choice will be limited, a pattern pretty common in such place.

We started off with a cheese platter:

It was composed of manchego cheese:

A goat cheese:

The last one, I missed the name...

They were served with some walnut and raisin bread.

Then we got the croquetas de jamón or ham croquettes:

We had the choice to order the small or larger serving. We chose the smaller one.

This was delicious: the outside was crispy and not greasy and the inside soft with a nice smokiness and saltiness from the ham.

Then, we ordered the tortilla española or Spanish omelet.

It was very good and I did not even need the mayonnaise with it as it was tasty and moist. 

The next dish was huevos rellenos al pimentón de la vera or deviled eggs with smoked paprika.

Slightly spicy, I truly appreciated the fact that the taste of mayonnaise was not too pronounced.

After that was the crema de hígado de pollo or chicken liver mousse:

As Jodi does not like chicken liver, I ordered the smaller portion. Served on a toasted bread, it was drizzled with some sort of sauce made with Pedro Ximénez, a white Spanish wine grape, that added a nice sweetness to the dish. I really liked this dish. 

The last tapas was the pinchos mourns or lamb skewers:

The smaller portion included two skewers made of cubed lamb cooked with moorish spices (mix of several spices such as cumin, coriander, paprika, cayenne pepper...). That was a succulent dish, the lamb being perfectly cooked and the spices giving a very flavorful taste to it. I regretted at this point not having ordered the larger portion!

Of course, we could not leave without dessert to accompany my espresso and Jodi's tea...

And we picked the churros:

Churros are Spanish fried-dough pastries, sometimes referred as Spanish doughnuts. This is a very addictive dessert or snack (like any fried stuff, no?). They were served with some melted chocolate. I think that they disappeared from the table in couple of minutes...I definitely recommend them.

We had a fantastic lunch at Tia Pol: the food was very good and prices reasonable. I really like the fact that, for some dishes, they propose smaller portions, allowing us to try multiple dishes. If you are looking for a tapas place, I highly recommend this one.

Enjoy (I did)!

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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Restaurant Information

tabelog.us

	* Restaurant Name
	Tia Pol
	* Overall
	★★★☆☆
	* Neighborhood / Cuisine
	Chelsea / Spanish
	* Street Address
	205 10th Ave., New York, NY 10011
	* Phone
	(212) 675-8805

Cheap eats: Alberto's Pizza and Cheesesteaks in Chelsea, NYC, New York

Wandering close to Union Square, we found Alberto's Pizza and Cheesesteak. I admit that I wanted to try it not for the pizza, but for the cheesesteak as I love that sandwich and was a bit disappointed when I went to Shorty's. 

This is your typical pizza place and you do not go for the decor, for the service or to get some warmth (except probably if you are a regular customer). 

I ordered a cheesesteak with onions and provolone that they prepared on the grill, next to the entrance.

Pinche Taqueria in NYC, New York

Recently, we ate at Pinche Taqueria, a Mexican restaurant located few steps from Union Square. It all started in 1973 in Tijuana and now, they have three locations in NYC: 14th, Mott street and Lafayette street. 

It is like most of the fast casual food places: you order at the counter, they give you a number and then bring the food to your table.

Their menu has the standard Mexican dishes: tacos, quesadillas, burritos, tamale, tortas and for the healthiest of us, salads.

We decided to start with guacamole and chips.

The guacamole was delicious and fresh, worth the $4. 29 we paid for compared to Tacombi a la Fonda Nolita that was quite expensive. The chips were good, but I do not think they make them.

Jodi got a black bean taco:

My nephew culinary visit: day 9: Venezuelan cuisine at El Cocotero in NYC, New York

For his last day in New York, we decided to bring Valentin to try some Venezuelan cuisine, especially arepas. The last time his father came, we brought him to Caracas. As this place is always crowned, we decided to go to the quieter El Cocotero. We went there several times: cheap and good food, fairly low key.

When we entered, at lunch time, the restaurant was very dark, the windows being blocked by Halloween decorations, the sunlight emerging between them. We all ordered the same thing, but decided to share some guacamole, called guasacaca. It never came...I guess the waiter forgot about it and, to be honest, we did not mind as long as they would not try to charge us for it (they did not). I asked for a double espresso and had to ask again, as they probably also forgot about it: it started well!

Fortunately the espresso was good...

Our second appetizer order finally come after a while: yuca fries with guasacaca and cream (Yuca  frita con nata y guasacaca). 

My nephew culinary visit: day 5 / part 2: Dinner at Morimoto in NYC, New York

On Tuesday night, we decided to go to Chef Morimoto's eponym restaurant as we really wanted Valentin to try some outstanding Japanese food. I suggested to him not to have sushi or sashimi because he would end up with probably some great seafood, but he would not experience what made Chef Morimoto famous.

I love that place: modern decor with a dining room overlooking the kitchen where you can see the Chefs preparing the scrumptious food.

We were ready for a feast, our chopsticks out for what would be another memorable dinner in this establishment.

We started off with some appetizers that we shared. First was the Yu-burrata, the Chef's version of burrata, served with heirloom tomatoes, berries, cucumbers, with a sauce made with wasabi and sherry vinegar.

The burrata itself was made with tofu skin. It was a fantastic dish: very fresh, the burrata was heavenly creamy and paired perfectly with the acidity of the tomatoes and cherry vinegar.

The second appetizer was the sautéed foie gras & grilled eel:

Blogger event at Pie Face in Chelsea, New York

Last week, I was invited to a blogger event at Pie Face in Chelsea, the 6th location of this Australian bakery, location that opened couple of weeks ago. Last year, I blogged about Pie Face, after discovering these delicious little pies at their first location on 52nd and Broadway (check out the post here). 

Similar to the other locations, the place is small and you cannot miss the delicious smell when entering, smell coming from the open kitchen where they bake the goods!

The pies are the same in each location and, after they are cooked in the oven, they will be placed in the display that will keep them warm.

For this event, they organized the back of the restaurant as a VIP section.

There, we were treated with savory, but also sweet food, paired with some prosecco.

The savory pies were:

Tandoori vegetable pies:

And minced beef pies:

Dinner at Incognito Bistro in NYC, New York

This week, I was invited at Incognito Bistro in the Flatiron District for a press dinner. I was very intrigued by the description of the restaurant: "Roman with Scottish flair"! I was already imagining some strange fusion dishes like black pudding lasagna or haggis pizza. It is not the case: the Chef, who is from Scotland, introduced a Scottish corner, featuring some traditional dishes that I was lucky to try that evening.

So here I am at Incognito Bistro, greeted by the owners, Adriana Moretti and Chef Paolo Montana, with a glass of prosecco. Both of them are Scottish Italian (on top of that, Paolo having an Irish mother), raised in Glasgow, explaining why there is this "Scottish flair". Right away, I understand that it will be a fun dinner thanks to their personalities that made me feel like I was eating dinner at a friend's home!

Chef Paolo Montana (Press photo)

One particularity of the restaurant is that it is the only one in New York City to showcase the Italian Tartan from designer Michael Lemetti, that brings together the Italian and Scottish cultures (there are more than 60,000 Scottish with Italian roots in Scotland). So, if you go to Incognito Bistro, look at the ties of the staff!

Italian Tartan (Press photo)

The restaurant has three sections: the bar with a warm and casual feel.

The main dining room, with a more elegant setting and an impressive wraparound champagne color banquette. 

Then, a smaller room, with 40 seats, perfect for private parties or for celebrities to be apart from the regular crowd and the autograph chasers! The walls are covered with either abstract paintings from Patricia Moretti, Adriana's mother, or beautiful black and white photographs of European dining scenes.

In the back, is the kitchen that I got the chance to see.

Yes, it is the base of a pizza that you see and pizza was in fact the first course!