Mixed Bag at Seva

I was excited to try Seva, a new Indian restaurant on 34th St. and 30th Ave. in Astoria, after reading some rave reviews on local food blogs and Chowhound; the place even scored a mention in the Daily News. The buzz about this new place? Intriguing appetizers like bok choy crispy curls and dishes like Methi Machli (red snapper fillet with caramelized onions and fenugreek) that you don't see at too many Indian restaurants in this part of Queens. And with a BYOB policy and a prix fixe dinner menu that includes an appetizer, entree and dessert for just $12, Seva seemed like the ideal Friday night date joint for two cash-strapped 20-somethings.

Seva is a small, sparsely decorated place, but some bright curtains and a few paintings add some color to the dining area. They do a very brisk takeout business-apparently, they were so inundated with takeout orders on Friday night that the waiters/waitresses could not adequately tend to their eat-in diners. At least half an hour passed before our waiter took our orders. It was a good thing we brought a bottle of Riesling, which helped tide us over until we got our appetizers. We weren't the only ones: I spotted quite a few annoyed expressions on the faces of the diners around us, as well as some harried diners angrily flagging down waiters/waitresses for their food/checks.

Slow, inefficient service aside, the food was yummy. The prix fixe menu was the logical choice: the mulligatawny soup and chicken tikka masala for me, and the lamb spring roll and lamb saag for David. We also ordered the bok choy crispy curls as an additional appetizer and a side of nan to share, for our entrees. The standouts from my meal were the appetizers. I loved the crunchy batter of the bok choy curls and the lemony mint raita that accompanied them (I kept sopping up the nan with the raita until every last bit was gone), and enjoyed the creaminess of the hearty mulligatawny soup, which had plenty of lentils (just the way I like it). The chicken tikka masala was good, but there wasn't enough chicken for my liking. I sampled David's lamb spring roll and found it tasty--the ground lamb filling reminded me of the filling in the curried pork buns from Chinatown--but it didn't have the crispyness and flakiness I prefer in my spring rolls.









I love gulab jamun, which are honeyed dumplings with cashews, rosewater and cardamon, but when the waiter plopped down our bowls, with one soggy dumpling each floating in a bland, watery syrup, I was disappointed. Go to any Indian sweets shop in Jackson Heights and you'll taste gulab jamun that are much better than the ones served at Seva.

I'm not sure if I'll dine in at Seva on a Friday night again. I always believe in second chances, but the extremely slow service at Seva will make me think twice about eating there on the weekend--maybe I'll make a mid-week trip or just order delivery.

Sunday Sugar High

I tried Sugar Sweet Sunshine's pistachio cupcake today and it was so good I'm still thinking about it. Creamy (and not too sickeningly sweet) frosting with real pistachio bits and perfect, moist pistachio-flavored cake. I would travel all the way to the LES just to have another. The $1.50 price tag wasn't too bad either--I've paid more than twice that for a cupcake at Crumbs.

Turkey Jook in Gourmet!

Photo courtesy of chezannies.blogspot.com

Who would've thought that Turkey Jook, Cantonese phonetic spelling and all, would make it to Gourmet magazine's November 2008 issue? Serious Eats spoke to Gourmet's Ruth Reichl and she listed Turkey Jook as one of her favorite recipes from that issue. For those not familiar with jook, it's also referred to as congee or Chinese rice porridge. Eating my mom's Turkey Jook every year is the ultimate comfort food--it's much more satisfying and hearty than anything else you can make with leftover turkey.

Turkey Jook (Chinese Rice Porridge with Turkey and Ginger)

- serves 6 -
Ingredients

1 cup long-grain white rice, rinsed briefly
6 scallions, divided
1 turkey carcass with some meat and skin
1 (4-inch) piece peeled ginger, halved, divided
10 cups water

Accompaniments:
soy sauce; Asian sesame oil
Procedure

1. Simmer rice, 3 scallions, turkey carcass (break into pieces if necessary), half of ginger, and water in a 6- to 8-quart heavy pot, covered, stirring occasionally, until soup has a creamy, porridge-like consistency, 50 minutes to 1 hour.

2. Meanwhile, thinly slice remaining 3 scallions and julienne remaining ginger.

3. Discard turkey bones. Serve jook sprinkled with scallions and ginger.

Spam Makes a Comeback

photo courtesy of The SPAMFAN

When times get tough, more people reach for SPAM. An article in today's New York Times reports that the Hormel factories can't make enough of the stuff. Not exactly a surprise, but I never miss a chance to pay homage to my guilty pleasure. Nothing makes me happier than SPAM with Kraft's Mac and Cheese or fried rice with SPAM and kimchi.