I’m at Red Mango RIGHT NOW and I’m updating from my friends BB pearl (huge pain). Red mango is giving away small froyos so get here before 10! The CEO is also here to answer questions. Everyone seems to Like it so far…more later from a real computer.

Update: here’s a picture I took from my curve of the Red Mango opening:

Trippy photo!!

It’s a red carpet opening (but by no means an exclusive event…go in for free frozen yogurt!!)

It’s creamier than Pinkberry, but the green tea definitely has a stronger flavor. I spoke with the CEO, Dan Kim, who told me that Red Mango was started by a bunch of his investment banker friends in Korea. Dan helped them bring Red Mango to the US and is working on opening new shops all over (five in New York - Bleecker St, Roosevelt Ave in Flushing, 14th and 6th, 45th and 8th, and one other location I wasn’t too sure about; two in Illinois - Naperville and Evanston, maybe one in DC, and a couple more on the west coast). I asked if he thought frozen yogurt was a fad and he said, definitely not; Red Mango is healthy and he wants to educate the customers about the benefits of eating yogurt. (yay education!)

Red Mango is open about their ingredients (unlike SOME frozen yogurt chains we frequent) and it has less sugar than Pinkberry (yay less sugar!).

I’ll be doing a more comprehensive review next weekend (following a frozen yogurt tour of New York) and I’m looking forward to seeing how Red Mango does in New York!

If you’re interested in joining the tour, please e-mail me at gracenotesnyc@gmail.com.

Edit #2:

Here are the real pictures from tonight’s opening:

The inside has a lot of open space and different types of chairs (and couches!). A lot of people were at the opening and I’m sure Red Mango gave away a ton of free frozen yogurt:

Red Mango also has an interesting variety of toppings, including super-cute Ghirardhelli dark chocolate chips:

Free Frozen yogurt from 4-10pm…I’m headed there at 7!!

Hope to see you there tonight!

On our third date, Chris took me to Pearl Oyster Bar for Rebecca Charles’ lobster rolls and clam chowder. Since then, we’ve been back many times to enjoy the lively atmosphere, the wonderful service, and of course, the amazing food. Pearl Oyster Bar quickly shot up to one of our favorite restaurants in the city and I always bring friends by when they visit. When it comes to lobster rolls, we’ve also tried Mary’s Fish Camp and two places in Martha’s Vineyard, but they don’t even compare to the amazing seafood that Pearl has. We wanted to give Ed’s Lobster Bar a chance; there was so much news coverage about Ed, Rebecca Charles’ former sous chef, replicating POB that we had to see what the fuss was about. We went with two friends, Felicia and Tom, on a Saturday night to compare lobster rolls.

When you walk in, Ed’s looks very similar to POB - same decorations and New England feel, but the people eating are definitely different. The crowd is much younger and European - on the night we went, it seemed like there were tons of out of town visitors. We decided to give Ed’s a fair chance and ordered a wide range of options from their menu. We started off with muddled lemonade (which was named by New York Mag as one of the best lemonades in the city):

The lemonade is supposed to be prepared in a similar way mojito’s are prepared to give it more of a fresh lemony flavor…I thought it tasted the exact same as regular lemonade (maybe it tasted better with vodka). I didn’t think it was anything special and it was really watered down. Chris thought it had a natural, unique flavor (but in my opinion, it tasted like tap water with a couple lemons squeezed in!!).

Next, Chris and I ordered clam chowder and mussels to share. The mussels came with a white wine sauce and a light mustard:

The sauce was way too thick and the mussels were all over-steamed, making them too chewy (Chris agreed). The sauce was also too heavy for the mussels and we couldn’t even finish our order because we were grossed out by the taste.

Chris’ clam chowder, unlike most clam chowders, came with ONE clam instead of many clam bits interspersed within the soup:

Is that even considered clam chowder? We were seriously disappointed with the soup; not enough clam flavor and it tasted like we were drinking a straight vat of cream. The chowder was also over-seasoned with salt and it was definitely nothing special…or even mediocre.

Oysters:

Tom ordered the oysters and seemed to enjoy all of them. I didn’t have any, so I can’t really comment on how they tasted.

So for our main course, Chris and I decided to both order the lobster roll. We were expecting something very similar to Pearl’s. Here’s Ed’s take on the lobster roll:

Well, to put it nicely, it’s not something I’d ever order again. And that’s me being NICE. The lobster was really stringy and didn’t have any flavor to it. Also, there wasn’t enough mayo (this coming from a person that absolutely despises mayo!). The lobster tasted like it was too chewy and there were just little scraps of lobster, no big chunks like the stuff they give you at Pearl Oyster Bar. The pickles were also disgusting (Ed’s own) and the fries tasted like regular fries (I think the cut was too big, too).

Felicia and Tom both ordered the lobster burger because Ed’s ran out of lobster pot pie. Ed’s lobster burger:

The lobster burger is actually more expensive than the lobster roll (I think $30 vs. $26). The lobster all tasted second rate and I don’t think either of them finished the burger.

Initially, it seemed like a good idea to go to Ed’s and try it out to see what the fuss was about. After our terrible meal at Ed’s, I don’t want to go anywhere else but my beloved Pearl Oyster Bar.

I hate Ed’s Lobster Bar.

How to get to Ed’s Lobster Bar (although why would you ever want to go there when you have POB):

Ed’s Lobster Bar
222 Lafayette St
New York, NY 10079
212-343-3236

Koryodang in the heart of K-town, looks like a small eatery when I peered in from 32nd. However, when I walked in, I was pleasantly surprised at the size of the cafe; it’s HUGE! High ceilings, stone walls, and very modern decor make up this popular Korean dessert cafe. Chris and I stopped by on a cold night for some patbingsoo, the Korean spin on shaved ice.

I spent a couple weeks in Korea when I was a kid and had patbingsoo everyday; scoops of red bean topped with ice cream, mochi, condensed milk, mango and kiwi bits on a soft bed of ice. I blame patbingsoo on my childhood weight problems (jk!) but I also have fond memories of going to the same Korean bakery every afternoon before heading back to the apartment where I lived on dial-up and the June 2000 issue of YM! magazine. The patbingsoo at Koryodang came with different toppings - you had the option to choose from fruit, red bean, or green bean (which is actually mung bean). We chose a fruit topping, which came with strawberry ice cream instead of a vanilla ice cream:

The patbingsoo was a little too sweet for me (especially after living off Pinkberry for the past couple of months). Also, the prices were a little steep; patbingsoo was $9!! If you stop by Koryodang, you should try their honeydew popsicles instead; they’re only $1 and they’re a great treat while you try to navigate your way through Herald Square.

How to get to Koryodang:

Koryodang
31 W 32nd St between 5th and Broadway
New York, NY 10001
212-967-9661

Diagonal from Chris’ house in the west village is a small Scandinavian restaurant, Smorgas Chef. Whenever I walk by the place, I always think it’s a really run-down restaurant because the outside looks unkempt. During the summer, I see couples eating late meals outside (so it can’t be that bad) and we decided to check it out for brunch. Since it was too cold to eat outside, we opted for a nice seat indoors (next to the wall of glass bottles). The exterior of Smorgas Chef:

Well, I think it looks rundown…maybe that’s the look they’re going for.

Smorgas Chef has a prix-fix option for brunch (for $17.95, you can order one main entree, an alcoholic drink, and a coffee) or you can just order the entree by itself (they run from $11 - $20).

Chris ordered the standard eggs benedict:

The standard egg yolk oozing out onto the ham and English muffin make eggs benedict a great artery-clogging breakfast food. Smorgas Chef makes a pretty good hollandaise sauce (although I still prefer Balthazar’s) and the salad on the side was also pretty good.

I ordered cooked eggs with Jarlsberg cheese, spinach, ham, and tomato:

Underneath the cheese, veggies, and ham was a single piece of wheat toast, soaking up the yolk:

The bread was really solid and didn’t fall apart when the yolk flooded the dish. It was a really good; the Jarlsberg cheese was perfectly melted (not too mushy and not too firm), the spinach added a great flavor, and the ham bits were a nice salty compliment to the dish.

My dish and Chris’ dish came with a side of Jansson’s special potatoes:

They’re potatoes au gratin, but they just tasted like plain potatoes to me. Good thing they were free!

Smorgas Chef was a surprisingly good meal for a quick Sunday afternoon brunch. The food was good and the service was friendly….they also take reservations! I’ll definitely be back.

How to get to Smorgas Chef:

Smorgas Chef
283 W. 12th Street
New York, NY, 10014
212-243-7073