Jessica's Dinner Party

by jessica yoon

bakeries & restaurants

Le Pré Verre

Although I’ll be in Paris for about a year, I decided to pack light, or rather, as light as possible.  This is extremely difficult for someone who is a sentimental pack rat who likes to keep everything from useless trinkets won at state fairs to report cards from the sixth grade.  I did my best to cut back and consolidate, but ended up having to ship an extra bag and carry on a mini suitcase that was 15 pounds overweight.  It sounds like a lot of stuff, but once I got here I realized that I really did cut back on a lot (including an unconscious decision to leave out pajamas).

I wanted to bring a lot of books on Paris but narrowed it down to three: Clotilde’s Edible Adventures in Paris by Chocolate & Zucchini blogger Clotilde Dusoulier, Hungry for Paris by Alexander Lobrano, and Zagat: Paris Restaurants. Yea, they’re all about food.  I’ve been ferociously highlighting and jotting down addresses of places that sound good.  My list is probably already long enough to take a year to get through!

…

Read More

Bread & Roses

I haven’t cooked in my “new” kitchen yet.  There have been plenty of other foodie distractions and interests that have kept me away from the apartment.  I’m actually hoping that I can keep on eating out so that I don’t have to face the kitchen. It was so utterly disappointing to walk into my new life as a to-be pastry chef only to find that the “kitchen” was actually the laundry room with two hot plates and a microwave almost as old as I am.  I just had to laugh because it felt like one of those moments when a kid gives you a hunk of mud and calls it food.  I’m being negative.  At least it’s kind of adorable when a kid does that.  I’m just trying to ease my way into that part of the house.  It’s only been a week since I arrived, so I’m giving myself another seven days to get over the hot plates and try frying an egg.

In the meantime, I have many restaurants and cafes I can write about to show how I’ve been avoiding you-know-what.

…

Read More

Doughnut Plant

Please welcome guest writer Michelle who is a fellow foodie, phenomenal writer, and my one and only sister.  She is JDP’s special correspondent to the New York food scene!

New York is a gastronomical hub of deliciousness mixed with obnoxiously trendy restaurants serving mediocre food.  A challenge of mine this year is not to pigeon-hole myself by visiting the same familiar eateries I know, and instead, to seek out hidden, or in this case, not-so-hidden gems.

Doughnut Plant is somewhat of a celebrity with glowing reviews by self-proclaimed doughnut fanatics on Yelp.  Plus, it was not only “challenged” by Bobby Flay on Throwdown, but Doughnut Plant won.  So, this past weekend, I trekked down to the Lower East Side to check out this local favorite.

…

Read More

Conveyer Belt Sushi

A few years ago, conveyer belt sushi became very popular in Korea.  Instead of ordering, small tapas like plates of sushi are placed on a conveyer belt.  Each person grabs what they want to eat.  At the end of the meal, the plates are tallied and paid for.  These restaurants are common in Seoul located everywhere from business districts to trendy shopping districts.  My family and I had lunch at the one at Shinsegae Department Store.  The sushi isn’t spectacular, but good enough and reasonably priced.  We ate our hearts out and until our shirts were snug.

I’ve never been to a conveyer belt sushi restaurant outside of Korea.  Does anyone have a favorite place or one they frequent?

…

Read More

Gam Lo Dang, Buddhist Temple Food

I think we can all agree that the day after Thanksgiving is a day of rest, that is in terms of cooking.  So, instead of a recipe I thought I’d post about an interesting restaurant I went to a few days ago.  The restaurant, Gam Lo Dang, 감로당, specializes in sachal, 사찰, food, which is Buddhist temple food.  Buddhist monks are vegetarians and use all natural and sometimes unusual ingredients.  Seasoning is usually done minimally and the flavors are more subtle than strong.  I enjoyed trying traditional Korean dishes from a Buddhist monk’s palette.  It’s interesting to recognize the heart of a dish but taste it with different flavors.

Rice Porridge and Non-Spicy Kimchi naturally died a lotus pink.

Grilled mushrooms, lotus root, and hemp served on a plate of pine needles.

Fried tofu served with a non-spicy red sauce….

Read More