TWIF#2: Great New Things I Ate This Week: Daniel Comes to Town, Blue Collar, Mandolin, Josh’s Deli

This Week in Food #2: This week I attended another great Wine Dinner at db Bistro Moderne with Chef Boulud in the House!, I discovered the great version of lasagna from the Greeks at Mandolin, and tasted some amazing sandwiches courtesy of two of my favorite local chefs, Daniel Serfer from Blue Collar and Joshua Marcus from Josh’s Delicatessen.

The Roses Wine dinner at db Bistro Moderne was another winner. They may seem expensive, but the amount of food and wine you get is well worth it. We arrived promptly and tasted at least 4 different Hors d’oeuvres, together with the first of the wines. Once in the main dining room the starters included some spanish style montaditos, pita bread with hummus, baba ganoush and tzatzki and sweet pea falafels. We also had an octopus salad and the first course was a delicate branzino with caponata and pine nuts. Dessert was a duo of peach pop tart with basil sorbet and a black forest cake with peached cherry. But the highlight was the main course, an exquisite Australian rack of lamb with merguez and swiss chard. All of which I’ve had before, but the show stealer was a small tomato that was filled with braised lamb short ribs. It was an explosion of sweetness, lamb and braised flavor all in one.

On Thursday I was able to curb my temptation for going for the real juicy cheeseburger, which is very difficult and my favorite spot, Blue Collar. So I went for something new, the Philly Cheesesteak Gregg’s Way. Gregg is a relative of Chef Danny Serfer and God bless them both. Best Philly cheesesteak I have ever had, every bite was a delight and I am glad I went for something new. Now my future visits are going to be more challenging.

Friday night we went to our favorite Greek, Mandolin, where I also went for something new. Moussaka is the name for the Greek lasagna and it comes in a very hot clay bowl. It consists of a lawyer of very flavorful minced meat topped with a layer of grilled eggplant, potatoes, and bechamel sauce. A must if you visit Mandolin, and another new for me.

And last but definitely not the least, my much awaited next visit to Josh’s Deli, from where I had been wanting for ages to try a couple of his iconic sandwiches. Gladly I hadn’t had breakfast because I went for a double treat, the “Jewban”, which is Chef Josh’s take on the Cuban sandwich and one that includes his home made Pastrami and roast pork plus the ”Angels on Horseback”, a succulent take on the combination of oysters and bacon which includes deep fried oysters, home made pork belly, spinach and cheese. Both were ridiculously good, and they are a must.