NYC Menu Girl

Apparently, I Live Under a Rock

2012-01-12T11:11:00.000-05:00

I love walking past a space, watching people working inside, wondering what the space will become. Will it be a new fancy restaurant, another starbucks, an urban outfitters, or something I can't even imagine, like this new pizza place called Naked Pizza.

There is this space on the corner of 14th street and 3rd avenue, where the East Village ends and the general Union Square area begins. Over the past few months, I knew workers were inside, but had no idea what they were up to. The outside white bricks gave it a restaurant vibe, more so than a retail space or a new bank. I would continue on my way to Trader Joe's, and walk past a second space, much smaller with an obvious ordering counter. This second place opened first, and is now Naked Pizza. Basically, you decide everything about the pizza. It starts naked, and you pick the cheese, the toppings, etc. I haven't had it yet. The goal seems to put the choice back into pizza ordering, but I am not quite sure that choice was ever removed from pizza ordering. Maybe you don't pick the crust, but toppings are optional and abundant at most pizza places. I will go try this Naked Pizza soon and let you know how it turns out.

Meanwhile, lets get to the rock I live under. I left the gym this morning and set foot to Trader Joe's. And finally, the sign is up for the restaurant on 14th and 3rd. And I could not believe it.

It is a Five Napkin Burger. I was shocked. Why? I was shocked because I could not believe I did not know about this. Where have I been? Has everyone been talking about this? I googled it. Apparently, this information become public last February. That was 11 months ago. Woops!

I went to Five Napkin Burger once, two years ago. You can read about it here. It was good. It definitely is in that category of NY burger type chains, like Shake Shack. I can't say it is a place I would frequent. A $15 hamburger is more like a treat and not a habit. Five Napkin Burger is a place that I would think some New Yorkers dislike, due to its chain like tendencies and overcrowded spaces. But generally, I think it is well received.

What does this mean for the area? I wonder what it will do to the business at The Smith. Although these restaurants have different menus, they both have a gastro pub vibe. Someone who is looking for a burger may be inclined to go to Five Napkin Burger for the plethora burger types. But The Smith still has more variety in terms of American cuisine. I guess we shall see.

So, I apologize for sharing this somewhat old news. Please forgive me.

Have a delicious day!
NYC Menu Girl

Going on Vacation

2012-01-02T22:40:00.000-05:00

I leave early Wednesday morning for Aruba for my annual vacation with Mom. This is our 6th trip to Aruba and our 8th trip as a mother-daughter pair. It is something we rather enjoy and seem to get better at every year. By that I mean we maximize our wine, food and beach time a bit more each time.

Relaxing and rejuvenating is essential, in my opinion. As we look to 2012, and set goals and resolutions for the coming year, it makes me think that the best way to set resolutions is to simply prioritize. If you really take the time to think of your priorities, chances are you will have to rearrange some aspects of your life to make time for those priorities. Taking a bit of time to relax and contemplate those priorities is a great way to start the new year, and I am grateful to have some time on the beach before really jumping in to 2012.

Of course, one of my priorities is my writing, which includes this blog. I want to make sure to provide readers with enough interesting content to keep coming back!

With that said, I will be back next week, refreshed and ready to share my 2012 food thoughts with all of you!

Have a delicious day!
NYC Menu Girl

The Meatball Shop Cookbook

2011-12-29T11:02:00.000-05:00

For Christmas, Alex and I get a joint gift from my parents. Last year, we got a pizza stone and pizza cookbook. It was an awesome gift. Pizza stones are pretty cool because not only can you make pizza on them, but you can also make naan, flatbreads, etc. The best part of a pizza stone is that you store it in the oven. For NYC apartment dwellers, large kitchen appliances can be difficult to store. The fact that you can keep the pizza stone in the oven and not have to lug it out every time you want to use it makes it a good fixture in your home.

This year, we got The Meatball Shop Cookbook, along with cute bowls to serve meatballs in, and a jar of homemade sauce made by a friend. We have both been to The Meatball Shop and love their delicious balls. We read through a bit of the book on our train ride back to the city and were amazed to see how many different kinds of meatballs we could make. Of course, I want to combine the gifts and make a meatball pizza, using the pizza stone and the meatball cookbook.

We made one of the recipes, for pork meatballs. We picked up ground pork, eggs, bread crumbs, and a few other small and inexpensive ingredients. The recipe, which was pretty simple, yielded 30 meatballs! It obviously took us a few days to eat them. It made me realize though that for a small NYC apartment, a meatball dinner party is a genius idea. You can buy a box of penne and boil up some pasta. Make your favorite recipe of balls and some sauce to go with it. Sprinkle a little parmesan cheese on top of it, and you have a full meal! And all you need are bowls and forks. You do not need a huge dinner table where everyone can sit down. People can eat their ball of bowls sitting in a chair or on the couch (watch the sauce though).

I highly recommend purchasing this cookbook and throwing a meatball party! If you live in a quintessential NYC apartment (basically, you live in a box, with makeshift kitchen counter-tops, no dishwasher, several roommates, mismatched dishes, etc.), you can really wow your guests with a pretty simply delicious meal of pasta and meatballs without the fuss of a formal dinner party. Just because you live in NYC does not mean you cannot throw a great dinner party in your small walk-up apartment!

Have a delicious day!
NYC Menu Girl

Trendy Food

2011-12-27T13:32:00.000-05:00

Around this time, magazines and websites round up the food trends of the previous year and predict the food trends of the upcoming year. Before I moved to NYC, I never thought of any particular type of food as something that could be trendy. If you like cheeseburgers, won't you always like them? Why would you eat more or less of them due to a trend? Wouldn't your stomach get mad at you for depriving it of something delicious just because it wasn't trendy?

As I dig deeper into the meaning of food trendiness, I realize that food trendiness is about taking an existing food and watching chefs, restaurants, and home cooks interpret this food in several different ways, thereby making it trendy to try the different versions of this trendy food. It really helps a particular dish or restaurant staple evolve when there is a demand to see that dish turn into something even more desirable than its previous form.

Lets use the cupcake trend as an example. Cupcakes have always been cake-like desserts with a nice frosting top. Some cupcake places have become stand-outs in this city, like Magnolia (I think the frosting there tastes too much like putting an entire stick of butter in your mouth) and Billy's Bakery. About 2 years ago, cupcakes became a hot trend. Everyone wanted them from some place awesome and unique. This handheld dessert was wanted by many. So, how did cupcakes become trendy? They evolved into several different forms, making dessert lovers eager to try as many different cupcakes as possible. There was Cupcake Stop, the cupcake food truck, which heavily relied on social media to gain a great food truck following. There was the mini cupcake, the somewhat diet friendly version of eating a cupcake. And then cupcakes became like ice cream, with more flavors than you could imagine. Baked by Melissa is the ultimate example of the cupcake trend, selling mini cupcakes in flavors like cookie dough and peanut butter and jelly. Although trends fade, cupcakes generally became a more interesting dessert due to the trend.

Food trends are quite powerful. They tell us what we want to eat. They also put up a bar of comparison for restaurants and food shops. It is hard to eat a really great NYC hamburger and not automatically compare it to a similarly delicious burger or contrast it with a burger you find overpriced and weak. With the amount of choices in NYC, we tend to enjoy everything relative to other things we have eaten. A successful restaurant has to stand out from other restaurants, but also has to compare to other restaurants so guests say "I like to go to X restaurant because their calamari is so much better than Y and Z restaurants."

When I think of it this way, it makes me want certain foods to become trendy, so that they will pop up everywhere in different incarnations. I think Mac N' Cheese could use a good run as a trend. You see it at soul food places, or in its own form at places like S'Mac, but it has not reached its peak. People love Mac N' Cheese, and I am sure diners would like to see samplers like they have at the restaurant Cafeteria. Anyone interested in helping me start this trend?

A food trend that I have indulged in is the meatball trend. For Christmas, I got The Meatball Shop Cookbook. I tested it out yesterday by making delicious pork meatballs, and they were awesome. This meatball trend made me think a lot about having meatball dinner parties. The fact that New Yorkers are so into meatballs makes you think about this particular food in a completely different way, realizing just how many kinds of balls you can make and the variety of ways you can serve them. Tune in later this week for more on my meatball making adventure and why I am totally down with the meatball trend.

Comment with your favorite food trends or hopeful food trends for the coming year!

Have a delicious day!
NYC Menu Girl

Holiday Treats

2011-12-20T13:25:00.000-05:00

Christmas is a time where indulging in special lunches, delicious treats, and Christmas cocktails become a daily activity. I love a great lunch, an interesting gingerbread cookie, and a spiked hot chocolate around this time of year. But, I do not love the idea of bulking up around Christmas time just because my hand can't stop itself from reaching for that plate of cookies someone brought to work.

How can you balance your week of holiday eating? I am no expert in self-control. But, I am trying to be good this holiday season and I thought I would share a few tips, with the hope that you would share some too!

1. Stay away from the generic chocolates! What are generic chocolates you ask? They are the chocolates that come in a box from CVS that you receive as a generic gift from a generic friend who only knows generic things about you. Perhaps they had you for Secret Santa, or there was some sort of gift obligation involved. They figure that you will eat it, or someone else will eat it, so even if you do not really want it, it won't go to waste. Instead, pick your favorite chocolate and eat that. I like xmas m&ms. I get they are just like real m&ms, but I appreciate the festive colors. I buy myself a bag every year to enjoy around this time.

Instead, consider purchasing....: Please note, not all chocolate in a box is generic. I received 2 boxes of chocolates from Nunu Chocolates and they were absolutely fantastic. I got salted caramel and hokey pokey. These chocolates were unique and delicious. THAT was a great chocolate gift. Even if you know someone in a very general sense, try to give a somewhat unique gift.

2. Go for quality, not quantity. I bought myself a nice red bordeaux to have at night, since I love a glass of wine at night. Instead of drinking 1 big glass, I just have a little of this nicer quality wine.

3. Buy flavored, seasonal coffees and teas. You will get that Christmas flavor and feeling without all of the calories. During this season, I buy Swiss Miss diet hot chocolate, at just 25 calories a packet. I also buy mini candy canes to put in the chocolate, to give it a nice peppermint flavor!

4. Sometimes, lots and lots of hors d'oeuvres are equal to or more than a meal. If you go to a cocktail party and eat several hors d'oeuvres, that may count as your dinner! I know my Christmas day at home will consist of lots of appetizers, so we will take it easy for our dinner meal.

5. Eat and drink what you LOVE! Don't let the holidays trick you into eating things you normally don't care about it. Indulge in the foods and drinks that are worth indulging in! For example, my mom and my Aunt both make delicious sausage bread around this time of year, and I can't wait to eat it!

Have a delicious day!
NYC Menu Girl

ABC Kitchen

2011-12-16T11:59:00.000-05:00

Every year, Alex and I choose a restaurant to celebrate Christmas, around Christmas time. The first year, we went to Perilla. It was fantastic. We loved it so much that we named our cat Perilla. Last year, we went to The Breslin. The Breslin was also great. The Breslin does not take reservations. We took our chances and arrived at 5:30. We were seated at 6:05, and had a delicious meal!

I put an unreasonable amount of pressure on where to go each year. I always want to go somewhere awesome. By awesome, I mean that I want to go somewhere that is either buzz worthy, or some place I have wanted to go for awhile. I want to go somewhere that feels special and that would not be a place I would just go to on a whim to drop more money than usual.

We thought about going to Recette, a restaurant in the West Village. We heard great things about it, and it has been on our list for almost a year. But, I also really wanted to go to ABC Kitchen, which received the Best New Restaurant of 2011 by James Beard. So, I made a reservation at ABC Kitchen. Then, I found out I had to work the day that I made the reservation and the night that I was free was fully booked. I called day-of to be put on the waitlist. I read on the internet though that they reserve a few high-top tables for walk-ins.

I walked-in at 5:45. A little early for dinner, I know. But for restaurants that book up really fast, sometimes your only option is to go super early or really late. The Maitre D' told me that they had high-tops available. We sat as soon as Alex arrived at 6 p.m. For your reference, they have 5 high-top tables that are first come, first serve, reserved for walk-ins. They were all full by 6:30. If you go, go early!!!

We sat down and perused the menu. The menu is very extensive. There are snacks, appetizers, pizzas, entrees and sides. It is hard to decide how many to get of each! Everything at ABC Kitchen has that local, organic vibe, but it is not at all crunchy. And the best part is, you are in this beautiful space, that is so white winter wonderland, and the servers wear sneakers! I love upscale approachable food in a casual fine dining space. It is literally the best of all of the worlds. It almost seems impossible to achieve that kind of harmony.

We ordered the fresh mozzarella, the chicken and pork sausage, and the pretzel calamari to start. As for entrees, the entrees seemed somewhat appealing, but also pricey. Although I am not always opposed to pricey, it seemed that I could try more smaller cheaper dishes instead of putting all of my dollars towards a $22 hamburger or $32 fish. Alex ordered the $28 bass and I ordered the $16 spinach and goat cheese pizza.

The chicken and pork sausage came out first, and it was pre-split for us. I love that! It is very classy, and just nice. The chicken and pork sausage rocked. Loved it! Next, we had the mozzarella with toast. That was also great. I love fresh mozzarella. The pretzel calamari was good calamari, but I didn't get the pretzel flavor so much. It was not bad, but I would not get it again.

The entrees arrived a little while later. The pizza had a whole wheat crust and was covered in Spinach. It was delicious and very manageable (but sorry the picture is bad. the light was off). I had 3 slices and Alex had 1. He also enjoyed his bass, but he felt I made the better decision with the pizza. Although the bass was good, it was $28. We would have been better off with 2 more apps instead of the bass.

The dessert menu came and there was a sundae on it. For your information, Alex is a sundae fanatic. A sundae on any menu means we are ordering it. He loves sundaes so much that I ordered him one at Perilla when we got the 7 course tasting menu. So we had 7 courses, plus the sundae. He will never say no to a sundae.

The sundae on this menu was a salted caramel ice cream, candied peanuts and popcorn, whipped cream and chocolate sauce. $12. The sundae came out and it was so big. There were 3 enormous scoops of ice cream. And popcorn in ice cream is so amazing that I am not sure I can eat ice cream without popcorn in the future. It was fantastic. It was a great way to end the meal.

Overall, we had another successful Christmas celebration. I recommend going early and getting bar seating. Order a pizza, some apps, and a glass of wine. I think you will enjoy yourself!

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Give the Gift of Food & Drink

2011-12-14T11:57:00.001-05:00

I hate to break this to you, but Christmas is in 11 days. If you are like me (a blonde, cheese loving, wine drinking, cat obsessed new yorker), you are just waiting for that holiday break. Every day that passes is a day closer to the holiday, a day closer to a little taste of freedom, relaxation, and binging on food, drink, and family. But, if you have not finished your Christmas shopping, then every day that passes is another day you did not go shopping.

I would like to help out. I have a few gift suggestions to pass on, mostly related to food and drink, but a few transferable ideas as well.

The wino: Do you know a wino? I know several. I call them my best friends and closest family members. Giving the gift of wine is a great gift indeed. Here are some options within the wine category:

1. Go to a nice wine store. If you live in the city, I recommend Astor Wines or Chelsea Wine Vault. Speak with a staff member. If you are at Chelsea Wine Vault, ask for Krista and tell her Kerry sent you. Tell the staff member that you are looking to give the gift of wine! If you indicate a price range, and maybe a country, they can help you pick something out. I recommend finding a wine that has an interesting story. You can literally say to the staff member "can you find me a wine that has a little interesting tidbit I can share when giving it?"

2. For red wine drinkers, I recommend Wine Away, a wine stain remover. This is not a sexy gift by any means, but it is totally practical. http://www.wineaway.com/

3. Go back to the nice wine store. Ask them for a recommendation on a bottle that is good to keep in a cellar, and ages nicely. You can give someone a bottle of wine that will be good to drink in a year. You can tell your gift receiver that you bought them a bottle to share over Christmas 2012.

The beer guzzler: Do you know any beer guzzlers? I know several. When you go shopping for beer, you select a six pack and go home. You decide what you are in the mood for, grab the 6 pack off the shelf, and pay. Right? Wrong!

1. Go to a great beer store. I recommend Whole Foods Beer or Good Beer in the East Village. At Good Beer, you can make your own six pack. You can select 6 different beers. How fun is that!!!! Or, at Whole Foods Beer, you can get the 12 pack party pack.

2. Also at awesome beer stores, you can get bigger bottles of beer. For big group gatherings, larger format beers are pretty great.

The food lover: Do you know any food lovers? I know several. Now, you have to be careful with food gifts. Food gifts are the gift you give that some people say "oh great. more food. what am I supposed to do with this?" The best way to give a food gift is to make sure it is personal. Hey there giver of generic box of mixed chocolates that don't come with a chart that are really only so-so and you eat too many because you don't know which one is which- you are what make weight watchers and jenny craig boom with business in January. Be THOUGHTFUL! Options:

1. When I came home from work last night at midnight (work in a restaurant), I had a fedex package. I opened it up and read the card from my college roommate, Dianna. And then I opened the box. It was a box of shortbread christmas cookies. I basically cried. I was not expecting it AT ALL! Someone went out of their way to mail me delicious cookies. That is a food gift that is both delicious and heartwarming. And now, if I share these cookies (we will see about that), I can tell people "my college roommate baked these and mailed them to me from DC. isn't she the sweetest?"

2. Delicious cheeses and jams are also a nice gift. I mean, I consider cheese a gift, every day of every year. I think delicious cheeses and jams are a good gift because the receiver can put those gifts out at any holiday celebrations. You have given them a great cheese plate starter, or post dinner treat, and eliminated additional shopping for their holiday gathering.

The reading lover: So, here comes my suggestion that relates to food, but is also generally applicable. Give the gift of a magazine subscription! That gift gives all year long. Give a subscription to Food & Wine Magazine or Bon Appetit. But if they do not like food magazines, a magazine subscription is generally a great gift!

Happy gift giving!

Have a delicious day!
NYC Menu Girl

Zaitzeff

2011-12-07T10:01:00.000-05:00

Zaitzeff is a burger place with locations in the East Village, Financial District and Murray Hill. Armed with a 20% off coupon from delivery.com, it was time to try this burger place I had heard great things about.

I ordered a 1/4 lb cheeseburger. I read that it came on a portugese muffin, which is basically a bigger version of an English Muffin. As you may know from previous posts, the bun of the hamburger is really important to me. The bun should not simply be the bread that holds the hamburger and its accompaniments together. The bun should add something to the burger. It should add flavor and structure to the burger. It should hold in the juices and retain the potential burger mess inside of the bun. English Muffins are great for that, as the burger melts into the nooks and crannies.

I was not expecting that bun diatribe right there, but that is how I feel. Back to Zaitzeff. The burgers arrive and they have grilled onions on them. I was surprised. Grilled onions are not necessarily a given on a burger. I was equally surprised by my stupidity today when I saw on delivery.com that it clearly states that grilled onions come on the burger. Whoops. I am not opposed to grilled onions, but I am not sure it should be standard with burgers. Lets go for diatribe # 2 of this post: what should be standard on a burger and what should you ask for? Obviously certain extras like cheese and bacon are extras that cost money. But, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and ketchup all fall in the category of "I may appear on your burger without asking." As someone who is offended by ketchup and pickles, I do not like these additions. Obviously, this is why McDonald's does not suit me.

I ate the Zaitzeff burger with its grilled onions and its awesome bun. The burger itself was only ok. The blend was fine, but nothing too exciting. Perhaps it is better when not delivered. If I am ordering in though, I am going to stick to Paul's Joint - cheaper and better.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Sushi

2011-12-01T11:02:00.000-05:00

I did not familiarize myself with sushi until I moved to the city in 2007. It wasn't widely available in the dining halls of my college campus, so my lack of sushi was really just circumstantial. When I met my roommate Vanessa, she was simply appalled at my not-so-sushi universe and made sure we had a great first meeting. It was a success.

Once I joined the sushi ranks, I realized a few things about sushi. First, there is sushi at accessible prices all over the city. Although the allure of a place like Nobu still holds some muster, I have yet to run to an expensive sushi place when I know I would pass a million reasonably priced sushi places along the way.

Lunch specials at sushi restaurants tend to be relatively similar. With that said, how do you choose a good sushi place? For me, I like interesting roll choices, fresh fish, and rolls that stay intact. The easiest way for me to write off a sushi place is if a roll falls apart as you dip it in soy sauce.

I recently had lunch at Amber Sushi and Kumo Sushi. Both were pretty good. The lunch specials were reasonable and the rolls were nice. The rolls at Amber stayed well intact, which I liked, and they were very plump. They were definitely full rolls.

With so many sushi places in the city, it can be hard to choose. Respectable, cleanly places are a good place to start. Awesome specials will follow, with freshness and craftmanship to seal the deal.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

EV Grieve

2011-11-30T11:12:00.000-05:00

If you are reading this, you may be someone who likes to read different blogs. I happen to be an East Village resident, and I love this particular East Village website: http://evgrieve.com/. I get so much of my East Village news from the website. Every time I pass a place that has just closed, or may open, I know EV Grieve will have all of the information.

In particular, I saw that a new bagel place is opening on Avenue A and 10th street, called Tompkins Square Bagels. And almost right next door, a new burger place opened, called BAD Burger. I thought it was BAD because it was badass or something. But it actually stands for Breakfast All Day. Interesting.

Do you have any neighborhood websites you would like to share?

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Happy Thanksgiving...Way Late?

2011-11-28T19:45:00.000-05:00

How was your Thanksgiving? Mine was....delayed. I worked on Thanksgiving this year, because I work in a restaurant. It was certainly an experience. And experiences are great! But experiences are still not family. I had the pleasure of spending my delayed Thanksgiving with my family yesterday, full of a bbq Turkey, over-garlicky potatoes and the usual rye and bacon stuffing. I just finished overdosing on some of those leftover potatoes, and am waiting a few casual minutes till the brownies call my name.

Holidays are about so many things. I hope for most that holidays are about reconnecting with family. Holidays remind you of growing up, family gatherings, fights, spilled milk, drunk uncles, good music, and holiday m&m's. Sorry, but holiday m&m's mean a lot to me. I just saw a guy in CVS, and by guy I mean 55 year old man, get SO excited about christmas colored peeps. He said he just really likes the peeps. And I said, man, I totally understand.

Holidays are also pretty food-centric. I went to The Smith on Thursday after work. Alex had the Thanksgiving dinner. I had a cheeseburger. Sad, I know. But I love the cheeseburger at The Smith and I had thanksgiving food earlier that day at work. It didn't matter though because it was a holiday and I was eating the food I wanted. Win win!!!

How was your Thanksgiving? I am already thinking about Christmas food!

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Asiam Thai - Lunch Special Heaven

2011-11-17T00:51:00.000-05:00

Lunch is a special time of the day. Hopefully, you have made it halfway through your work day. You are starving. You have only consumed a bowl of cereal and a yoplait. You get a little bit of time to take a break, refuel, and let your body be consumed by deliciousness.

The lunch scene can be competitive when it comes to specials. Lunch is definitely the "value" meal of your day. Breakfast is about convenience. Dinner is about culinary indulgence. But lunch is about finding the best value so that you save enough money for dinner, and that you get enough food to get through your day.

There is really such a range in terms of what value means at lunch. Value in its simplest form - under $10. If you can get lunch under $10 that satisfies your lunch craving, and even comes with a drink, that may be a good value. Another kind of value is getting what you want for a decent price that is "valuable" to you because you did not have to buy the ingredients or make the lunch. For example, a lot of people are willing to spend $12 on a Chop't salad because it is healthy, filling, and the value is in the fact that you didn't have to buy 5 different vegetables, cook a protein, and purchase lettuce in time for it not to go bad. Now, I happen to think that making your own lunch is pretty awesome and valuable, and not that difficult, but I get the annoyance. The last kind of valuable lunch is where you get to try a restaurant that is usually really expensive for dinner, but that has an affordable lunch special. Spending $29 on a 3 course lunch may seem expensive, but if you are doing the lunch special at Del Posto, you are getting a great value eating 4 star food at a much more reasonable price.

Asiam Thai (located in the East Village on 15th Street and 1st Avenue) fits the "value under $10" category. The lunch special at Asiam Thai costs $6.95. With tax and tip, this lunch will cost you $9. You get 2 "appetizers" and an entree. I use quotes for apps because soda and ice cream are included in the choices, along with soup, salad, dumplings, and spring rolls. It is great for mixing and matching. I wanted caffeine, so I got a diet coke and spring rolls. But you can do a salad and spring rolls, a soup and ice cream, etc. And the entrees are your typical pad thai, chicken curry, etc.

The food is great. The options are terrific. And you just can't beat $6.95.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Breakfast at Penelope

2011-11-16T12:09:00.000-05:00

I met a friend at Penelope on Monday for some breakfast. Penelope is a spot that usually has a line out the door for brunch. I did not know much about this restaurant before this week because I don't dine much in the Murray Hill area.

Penelope is somewhat adorable looking. It definitely looks like a large breakfast nook in a country kitchen. The deconstructed elements of the restaurant, including mismatched coffee cups, are very reminiscent of sitting at the breakfast table in Monica and Rachel's non-existent NYC F-R-I-E-N-D-S apartment. Reflecting on the space, I totally understand why people want to snuggle up here for brunch. Some people like the luxury of eating out with the feeling of staying in. You want to feel like you are eating at home, but you actually do not want to do the work to make the meal, so you go out. It is definitely a desirable environment for some, and I could see why people choose it.

The menu is fine. The breakfast options are pretty typical. I ordered the omelette with tomato, goat cheese and spinach. It was a nice and hearty omelette. My friend got the waffles, which were enormous. There was so many of them! Overall, the food was good, but not line out the door good.

My favorite part of Penelope was two-fold: the coffee is bottomless and they did not rush us out. So, I drank a ton of coffee and we were able to sit and catch up for a long time.

Although this is not a restaurant I would wait in line for, I can understand why some people do. If you like a countryside environment, where you feel like you are a dining at a tiny restaurant near your vacation home, Penelope fits the bill. It just depends on what you want out of brunch! And for breakfast, this is probably the best choice in that area.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

The Meatball Factory

2011-11-14T14:25:00.000-05:00

O what a buzz there has been around The Meatball Factory opening! It occupies the Northwest corner of 14th and 2nd. The space used to have a Nathan's, and other such fast food spots. An actual restaurant is an upgrade. However, it is somewhat sad that it opened just a few weeks after its neighbor, IHOP, opened right up the street. I am not a huge fan of having an IHOP in the neighborhood.

The Meatball Factory is brought to you by Dave Martin, the infamous "I am not your bitch, bitch" from Top Chef Season 1. Seeing as that aired 7 years ago, Dave Martin is also famous for being a slightly frantic and eccentric chef in NY. He teaches classes at ICE, has cookbooks, works with charities, etc. I did an interview with him once, which you can read here.

I was excited to hear he was opening another restaurant. His first restaurant, Crave, was pretty great. He served his famous truffle mac and cheese, as well as other somewhat southern inspired comforting American dishes. But the location was a stinker - 42nd street between 11th and 12th! There is literally nothing over there other than Lucky Strike Bowl.

I went to the Meatball Factory five days after its opening. Some people like to wait for a place to be open a bit longer before they try it because restaurants tend to have a few kinks in the beginning. I love seeing the kinks. More interestingly, watching a restaurant grow up and evolve is pretty amazing. Restaurants get better, change menus, come up with new concepts, and grow before your very eyes. It is cool to see it when it first open, recognize the kinks, and see if those kinks iron out.

The Meatball Factory menu primarily consists of 8 types of meatballs to match with eight sauces, offered in a bowl or as a sandwich. There is also mac and cheese and pizzas, which seem kind of random. I happen to know that Chef Dave loves pizza, so I have a feeling he could not do a menu without it.

I ordered the lamb meatballs with truffle sauce on a challah roll. The sandwich comes with fries. First, the challah is perfect. Not only is it tasty, but it holds the meatballs well. This was shockingly not a difficult sandwich to eat. I had a meatball sandwich from Almond recently and with each bite, the meatball would slide further back and would drip on my hand. The meatballs themselves were great. I don't think my lamb and truffle combo was a good one though. It almost seems that the eight balls match with one sauce perfectly. Definitely ask for combo recommendations. The fries were good too.

Now for the kinks. Some tables got the wrong dishes. It took awhile for the waitress to take our dessert order. There is a hectic frantic energy in the air. But seriously, who cares? This place is new and they are just trying to make people meatball happy. And considering how crowded this place is, they must be doing a good job!

http://www.themeatballfactorynyc.com/

Have a delicious day!
NYC Menu Girl

#1 - Lamb Burger at The Breslin

2011-11-09T00:04:00.000-05:00

Growing up, I ate hamburgers. Sounds like a simple and generic statement, but that is what I ate. I probably ate a few a week. When I dined out as a kid, I always got hamburgers or chicken fingers. I did not even like pasta. I guess sometimes I got pizza, but for the most part, it was all cheeseburger for me. When I finally started branching out, at the age of 20, I took a little burger break. I felt like I needed to try new things and that burgers were an easy cop out on a menu. After a couple of years on a break, I happily returned to burgers. I realized that a everything from a simple burger to a really delicious beef blend, perfectly seasoned, with a great bun and a perfectly matched cheese could really be a phenomenal culinary delight. A burger is always a burger, but a really awesome burger can be out of this world.

Around Christmas last year, I decided to try The Breslin, known for its meat-centric gastropub menu, including a delicious lamb burger. If you arrive at 5:30 when it opens, you still have to wait a bit for a table. We were seated at 6:10, and so happy to be there. I ordered the Chargrilled lamb burger with feta, cumin mayo & thrice cooked (fries) chips. I am not sure I had ever tried a lamb burger, but not because it was weird but more so because it is not so common.

When the burger arrived, it was by far the smartest presentation of a burger I have ever seen. I have been to fine dining establishments with beautifully composed dishes, artful sauce swirls, and all that jazz. But look at that burger - a big hunk of meat on a cutting board and a big knife. Practical and perfect!

The burger was absolutely fantastic. I specifically remember eating it kind of slowly to cherish every bite. As for the fries, they do not get better than this! I like steak-type fries, but I usually prefer crispy fries. Somehow, these fries are crispy and thick fries! Every bite was amazing. I was severely angry with the two guys next to me who kept talking and only ate half of their burgers. Ridiculous!

This burger was $17, which for the quality, was totally worth it. It is not a whopping $21 though! Wow!

This lamb burger at The Breslin was the best thing I ate this year. I really took my time to enjoy this burger and found it more and more delightful with each bite. It is my favorite of the haute-burger craze in this city.

Have a delicious day!
NYC Menu Girl

#2 - Eggs Rothko at Egg

2011-11-08T07:55:00.000-05:00

Egg is a popular brunch spot in Williamsburg. Egg opens at 8 a.m, even on the weekends. You do not want to try to get a table at noon, unless you have time to wait. Unlike most popular restaurants that do not take reservations, you do not even get an estimated wait time here. You sign up on a list with your name and party size. They check the list and start calling parties out. You can see the list, so you know what number you are, which hopefully indicates the difference between a 15 minute wait and a 90 minute wait. When we went at 11:45 one day, there were 2 pages of the list. On our second attempt, we arrived at 10:20 a.m and were probably 6th on the list. We waited about 15 minutes, which was fine. The name of the game here is that the early bird gets the worm.

I heard so many great things about Egg, but when I first looked at the brunch menu, I was not blown away. Considering granola and sweet dishes are never on my list of options, half of the menu looked boring to me. The other half had some intriguing egg dishes, but I was not sure what I really wanted.

The word that really stuck out to me was "Grafton Cheddar." I love cheddar cheese, and I have had Grafton cheddar, which is delicious. The Eggs Rothko consisted of an Easy-cooked egg in a slice of Amy's brioche and topped with Grafton cheddar. Served with broiled tomatoes and a side of meat or seasonal vegetables. I got sausage as my side.

When the dish arrived, I was just mesmerized. There was an enormous piece of brioche, with an egg sunken in the middle, and Grafton cheddar melted on the top to the point that it oozed on the side of the bread. Although the dish was described well in the menu, the dish seemed even more phenomenal upon first sight. Like I always say, a great place takes ingredients you normally love and puts them together in a way you did not expect, or that is more exciting than the typical combination.

Egg starts you off with brioche-type doughnuts, delivers amazing entrees, and even gives you crayons so you can color on the tables (not to worry - they are covered in white paper). The food is delicious, the environment is whimsical, and the wait is worth it!

Have a delicious day!
NYC Menu Girl

#3 - Ricotta Stracinari, Braised Duck Leg, and Smoked Scamorza at Spasso

2011-11-07T12:55:00.000-05:00

I recently posted all about my dining experience at Spasso. The food was really fantastic. My dish in particular just blew me away.

I had the Ricotta Stracinari, Braised Duck Leg, and Smoked Scamorza. I am not sure why I was so drawn to it, not really knowing what kind of pasta Stracinari is and not really knowing what kind of cheese Scamorza resembles. But when I narrowed it down to 2 options, the server said the Stracinari was great, so I dove in.

I did not take a picture, but I found one online: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chekmarkeats/6054671972/. If you read my Agnolotti post, you know my feelings on pillows of pasta. This pasta was simply outrageous. The pasta itself was delicious, but with the duck leg and provolone like cheese, the dish was sensational. With each bite, I could not even really tell what I was eating - I just knew it was great and I wanted to keep eating more. Eater even named it one of 12 Pasta Dishes to try this year.

As soon as I left Spasso, I made a note to return shortly, sit at the bar, and eat more pasta. The entire dining experience at Spasso was great, and I would go back for it, but I would even just go back to eat the pasta. It is the kind of menu that you struggle to decide between trying something new or ordering your favorite pasta dish each time.

For Top Chef fans, Chef Ty-lor Boring on the new Top Chef: Texas was the former sous chef at Spasso.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

#4 - Agnolotti at Craft

2011-11-04T13:21:00.000-04:00

The first time I had Agnolotti was at Scarpetta. I described them as little pillows of heaven. Agnolotti resembles bed pillows, all the way. Ravioli is more like a couch throw pillow. Gnocchi is similar to those thick round pillows that you use for back support. I love ravioli and gnocchi, but I long for Agnolotti the way I long for my bed pillow at night.

I had Agnolotti at Craft over a year ago when I did the tasting menu. It was my favorite dish of the 7 courses. When I returned to Craft in September, just a few weeks after their 3 star review, I was happy to see Agnolotti as an appetizer. I think the Agnolotti we ordered had some white bean combination. Currently, they have squash in the Agnolotti. It is an ever changing dish.

The food at Craft is served family style. The Agnolotti comes out in a big dish and you just dig in. This pasta just melted in your mouth. I could not stop taking forkful after forkful of this dish. And there was a lot of it, so it just continued to please. Whatever the Agnolotti is stuffed in, it comes through the pasta and pleases your palette time and time again.

Some people say they do not like to go out to eat and get pasta because they can make it at home. Well first, I think pasta made from scratch always wins over anything you can get in a box. And, I may be able to whip up some delicious pesto linguini, but I cannot make a pasta dish like Agnolotti.

I hope the next time you see Agnolotti on a menu, your eyes will pop with excitement and you can enjoy this deliciously comforting and amazing pasta.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

#5 - Chorizo and Manchego Sliders at 6th Street Kitchen (RIP)

2011-11-03T00:12:00.000-04:00

I stumbled upon 6th Street Bar and Kitchen while browsing menupages.com for a brunch spot. I was meeting a friend for brunch in the alphabet city area. I was looking at menus and for some reason, looked at 6th Street Kitchen. I always enjoy interesting prix-fixe brunches, whether they include alcoholic beverages, coffee, etc. I also enjoy prix-fixe brunch because brunches are a great time to get together with friends you don't get to see a lot, and having a prix-fixe makes settling that check much easier.

6th Street Bar and Kitchen offered a $13 brunch. The brunch did not include alcoholic beverages or unlimited coffee. But the entrees themselves sounded incredible. They had chicken and waffles (which, if you read #7, you know I love), sliders, eggs benedict, eggs with pork belly, and so much more. For brunch, $13 is sometimes a lot when it does include anything else. My hope was that the food would speak for itself.

When I arrived at 6th Street Kitchen, I loved the atmosphere. It was such an adorable place tucked away between Avenue A and Avenue B. The menu presented a challenge though. A burger always sounds good to me. But a mushroom omelet with ricotta salata? Also amazing. How could I say no though to Chorizo Manchego Sliders, Saffron Aioli and Fries? I do not know why it seemed like the natural choice over awesome eggs benedict and the ever enticing chicken and waffles, but the word "fries" and "chorizo" with the added bonus of "manchego" seemed great.

Sidebar: If you haven't noticed, the types of dishes that make my list are the dishes that combine my favorite things in a way that surprise me and blow my mind. It is about combining favorite ingredients in a new and exciting way.

The sliders arrived, and they looked awesome. Usually, sliders do not wow me. Sliders frequently minimize the meat and maximize the bread. Sliders seem like the type of food you get to share as an appetizer, or as a snack instead of a meal. For example, I love going to Mark Burger and grabbing 2 sliders and a beer. It feels better than getting a full burger. But these chorizo and manchego sliders had a great meat and bread ratio - lots of meat and delicious bread!! I managed to only eat 2, because they were so filling. I greatly enjoyed bringing the 3rd home. And the fries were to die for. I fell in love with this dish, the way I fell in love with the polenta and egg at Macondo.

A month after my visit, a fire broke out in the kitchen at 6th Street Kitchen. The 6th Street Bar and Kitchen closed. It was devastating to me.

I am so sorry this post was kind of sad. Good things do not last forever. Get it while you can.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

#6 - Risotto and Prawns at Carte Blanche, Aruba

2011-11-02T05:51:00.005-04:00

Oh risotto. I love you so much. Risotto is so delicious. I am having a total comfort food year - I just want pasta, risotto, polenta, all the time. I have to give props to my boyfriend, who makes fabulous risotto. Sometimes, I walk in the door after work, at 11 p.m., and Alex is at the stove making risotto. It is honestly the best thing to come home to - an adorable kitten on the windowsill and a cute boyfriend at the stove pouring the red wine over the risotto.

I do not get risotto a lot when I am out, since I live with a risotto genius. But, it can be fun to order at a restaurant because chefs have different takes on risotto.

When I went to Carte Blanche in Aruba, there were no menus (get it, Carte Blanche). It was a five course dinner, with one surprise after another. After ceviche, salad and foie gras, the risotto and prawns came out. I was really looking forward to the fish course, and was so excited to see huge prawns over a bed of risotto. Risotto on its own is already so delicious, but paired with something else, it can really make eating risotto even more fun.

This risotto dish was absolutely fabulous and deserves this spot on my list!

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

#7 - Chicken and Waffles at Back Forty

2011-11-01T00:40:00.004-04:00

Until this past year, I did not know much about Chicken and Waffles. It is not a common dish here in the north. Chicken and Waffles is a classic southern dish. My boyfriend mentioned that he wanted some Chicken and Waffles, for what reason, I do not know. I read that Back Forty, an East Village spot, specialized in Chicken and Waffles. Score!

I went on a Sunday, around this time last year. The restaurant, located on Avenue B, has quite a brunch crowd. It opens at noon, and there is a LINE that forms around 11:45. Nuts! This is a great place when it is not snowing in October because they have so many tables outside in the back.

The chicken and waffles, coming in at a whopping $15, are truly fantastic. The fried chicken skin is so perfectly brown and crunchy, and the meat is pristine white. The waffles are a total delight. And this combination just rocked my world. I have definitely seen delicious pancakes and waffles on brunch menus. I never order them though. I do not like to start my eating day with just sweet - I always want something savory. But a savory and sweet combo - heaven. It is like my chocolate chips that I add to my Honey Nut O's in the morning. It is a real delight!

I went to Back Forty again over the summer for those delicious chicken and waffles, and they were as amazing as I remembered. Good thing I have a reservation again for Sunday!

Have a delicious day!
NYC Menu Girl

#8 - Scallops at Colicchio & Sons

2011-10-30T16:36:00.000-04:00

I love scallops. Scallops are the kind of food that always seem pretty good to me. Therefore, bad scallops are devastatingly disappointing and awesome scallops are outrageously amazing.

I used to think that scallops were pretty easy to cook properly. You cook them for 6 minutes. You lightly season them. Sometimes you wrap them in bacon. Simple, right?

Well, I am not a chef. I am sure it is not that simple. After eating scallops at Colicchio & Sons, I think I figured out the key to mind-blowing scallops - not only do they need to be cooked perfectly, but the other flavors and ingredients on the plate can really make the scallop dish stand out from the other scallop dishes of the world. It is not about scallops being delicious - it is about awesome composed dishes that can make a scallop experience out of this world.

At Colicchio & Sons, the scallops were on a plate with huitlacoche, which is corn smut. It may sound disgusting, but it was incredible. I want my scallops all up in that corn smut.

Now when I see scallops on a menu, I will be enticed by the other components on the plate. Scallops can be like mussels in that way. Properly prepared mussels are usually good. But, the broth is what can really make those mussels a total delight.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

#9 - Polenta con Chorizo at Macondo

2011-10-28T09:15:00.004-04:00

I was really proud of selecting Macondo for brunch one Sunday this summer. I walked past Macondo on the way to Chinatown and thought it looked really awesome. The $9 unlimited mimosas sounded great. The menu was full of delicious dishes, from eggs to burgers. And the vibe was super awesome. There were a lot of people there, but it was not too sceney or overhyped.

Now, I was proud of actually going to brunch because I walked past Macondo and made a mental note to go home, look up the restaurant, and make plans to go. And then I followed through! It is so easy in this city to walk past a cool place, and say "hey that place looks cool." After that, you do not remember the name of it, can't look it up, and only think of returning when you walk past it a second time.

We ordered a few dishes, but the one dish that caught my eye was the Polenta con Chorizo- truffled polenta, eggs, chorizo, and manchego. As I stated in my post on Macondo, these ingredients on their own sound amazing, so together, they sounded mind-blowing! And for $8, it was a steal.

The dish was heavenly. I have been really into polenta this year. And seeing as I did not know much about polenta, I did not know all of the delicious things you could eat with polenta. Now I know - and it rocks! Polenta is so easy to make, and the fact that you can pair it with so many other delicious ingredients is great!

This dish is a dish worth going back for.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

#10 - Mile End Brisket Sandwich

2011-10-27T02:21:00.001-04:00

Alex invited me to Mile End after he had a delicious sandwich there. It is in Brooklyn, right by Alex's old office. I met him for lunch during his lunch break. I had heard of it before, but had not read much about it.

I like going to a restaurant sort of blind. You do not feel as compelled to order "that thing" that everyone tells you "you must have." That can really thwart the experience, when you order something just so that you can join the masses in their praise of that particular dish in that particular restaurant.

For example, the burger at The Spotted Pig is highly renowned and super popular to talk about. Everyone tells you that you must have it. When I went, I felt compelled to order it, but I also liked the sound of the triple grilled cheese sandwich, with gouda and other cheesy goodness. The burger was good, but the roquefort cheese was overpowering. I really enjoyed it, but I wish I had considered the grilled cheese. It is what I actually wanted!

Back to The Mile End. We met up during Alex's lunch break. We waited about 15 minutes for counter seats - this restaurant has a max of 4 tables if I remember correctly. The counter seating is great, because you get to watch the cooks prep the meat! They are very chatty and friendly, if you want them to be. Dining out is never just sustenance for me. I am always looking for an experience, something new or interesting. Why? Because dining out is my favorite hobby! You may be a movie buff and you shell out $12.75 for movies all the time. I am a restaurant buff, so my spending money is allotted for dining out. And if I just needed food, I would go cheap all the time. But dining out can be so much more than that. I look for those special touches, the unique service, or interesting dishes, to turn my dinner into a theatrical evening of wining and dining.

At Mile End, at the time at least (the menu changed a bit), the brisket sandwich was $9. But, for $17, you can basically get the brisket sandwich for 2. And this was a better deal. Instead of a little sandwich each, you get a brisket platter - brisket, and FIVE pieces of rye bread. I loved this because we got to make our own little sandwiches. One of the problems I had with the sandwich at Katz's Deli (well, that whole Katz's Deli thing was a disaster) was that there was a poor bread to brisket ratio. Too much brisket, not enough bread. The bread to brisket ratio is a seriously important thing. It is mathematically scientifically arithmetically, like, totally important.

This platter, with a side of fries, was fantastic. All I ever want now is some mustard, delicious rye bread, and melt in your mouth, solidly amazing, brisket!

This sandwich rocked my world. I went to Katz's deli that weekend, and it really let me down. I don't care that it is a classic. And I am not a snob. But I am not paying $17 for a sandwich that I have to eat off of a cafeteria tray. I will pay for an overpriced sandwich/burger, etc. in a moderate to upscale restaurant. And I will eat a crappy cheap sandwich/burger, etc. from a dive bar. But I am not paying a high price to eat like a high schooler in a cafeteria.

Mile End wins for one of the ten best things I ate this year, and was definitely a top sandwich.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

The Second Annual 10 Best Things I Ate This (Blog) Year

2011-10-26T00:41:00.000-04:00

It is that time of year again! My 2nd Blogiversary is Thursday, and I want to celebrate the same way I did last year - with a list of the best things I ate this year.

Please refresh yourself on how this list is compiled by reading last year's introductory post here. This list is not the best dining experiences of the year, because that is a whole separate thing. Perhaps I will make a list of the 5 best dining experiences of the year. The experience includes everything - the service, the food,the ambiance, etc.

This list is about the dishes, flat out. This is all about 10 awesome, mind-blowing dishes. I will discuss each one on its own, with a few honorable mentions. Unfortunately, this list lacks that extra special thing it has last year - pictures. I do not take nearly as many photos in restaurants anymore. I like photos for 2 reasons: (1) To share with you! and (2) It helps me remember the dish better, have something to look at when I remind myself what I ate. But, I don't take as many photos because I find it to be a distraction to others in the restaurant. I am not opposed to photos, but I just somehow stopped feeling uber comfortable taking them.

So, are you ready?

#10 is tomorrow!

Have a delicious day!
NYC Menu Girl

Christmas

2011-10-25T07:43:00.000-04:00

WHAT?!?! Christmas?!!!! We still have Halloween, and Thanksgiving! Who is talking about Christmas right now?

I am. This is why. In terms of Halloween, that is not a restaurant holiday. It means nothing in the food world. It speaks specifically to the candy world. Although I will admit, I did see mini bags of Teddy Grahams in the Halloween section. I love Teddy Grahams. I love the idea of getting a small bag of Teddy Grahams. As I write this, I am not quite sure why I did not buy the Teddy Grahams. And I wonder now if it was a mixed bag of Teddy Grahams, or just one flavor. I think it was just Honey. I like the Honey, the Chocolate, and the Chocolate Chip. I don't like the cinnamon. You have to rank those types of food. It is like starburst - ask anyone to rank their starburst preferences from favorite to least favorite. Everyone can do it. Orange, Pink, Red, Yellow. You?

Ok lets keep moving forward. Thanksgiving. I guess we need to discuss Thanksgiving. Opentable has released a list of restaurants and their menus, but there are still more to come! We can touch base on that when we have more information.

Now as for Christmas, I write from a selfish perspective. My boyfriend and I celebrate 4 special occasions a year - V-Day, Anniversary, Birthday (our bdays are 10 days apart) and Christmas. Of course, we celebrate other great things, but those 4 holidays are the holidays that we spend a long time thinking about which restaurant to celebrate at. The past 2 Christmas holidays have been great - Perilla and The Breslin. For Anniversaries, we did Hundred Acre and Hearth. Birthdays included the late Halfsteak and Vento, and a trip to Atlantic City. VDay was Little Giant and then Minetta Tavern.

Of course, I am thinking about Christmas this year. Where to go? I am intrigued by the ever popular and delicious Gramercy Tavern or Blue Hill. But, I also like places that are not necessarily as over-the-top. Hmmmmm.

Where would you go? Give me YOUR suggestions! (pleaseeee)

Have a delicious day!
NYC Menu Girl

Otto

2011-10-24T09:41:00.001-04:00

I went to Otto for lunch on Friday. Otto is one of Mario Batali's many restaurants, which must keep him super busy, but not busy enough to have lunch at Otto! He was seated a few tables behind mine, for a relatively quick bite and a meeting with others.

I first went to Otto 3 years ago. I went with my lovely roommate Vanessa and her family. It was such a memorable night. We shared a salad for the table. We had a great bottle of wine. And we had delicious pizzas and pastas. The pizzas range from $9-$15, and the pastas are $10 each. It is a pretty good value. It is always busy and buzzing. It is the perfect place to go with friends, share Italian delights and lots of laughs. Cheesy, I know, but so are the dishes.

First, I love the wrapped up sourdough bread and breadsticks left on the table. It is very informal, and you literally have to pull the bread apart, which I love. I ordered the Margherita Pizza. The size of the pizza is maybe a little too small to split with someone, but more than enough for 1. I bet 1 salad and 1 pizza would be enough for 2 for lunch. The pizza was great. It was a little too thin for me. I like to grab a slice and not have the front half kind of flop down. But otherwise, it was good.

This is a good spot people visiting from out of town, to experience NYC pizza in a fun and cool environment.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Beauty and Essex

2011-10-21T00:26:00.000-04:00

I wanted to try Beauty and Essex because I hear about it a lot and was somewhat intrigued. I know that the real scene there is the dinner/nightlife crowd, but I went for brunch. I just wanted to try the food and see the place.

Beauty and Essex is located behind an old pawn shop. The space itself is pretty cool. The purple dresses the servers wear are a bit of an eyesore, but otherwise, it is a lovely spot. I can see why the place is cool and mysterious.

We sat at a nice table. Our server, Siobhan, was beyond lovely. When we sat down, she explained the menu. She said the dishes were meant to be shared and that a party of 2 usually order 4-5 dishes.

Sidebar please! Do you ever feel overwhelmed by complicated menus? The whole appetizer, entree, dessert concept is an easy one. Everything else seems unfamiliar. Tapas can be easy - just keep ordering until you get full. But other menus have these small plates, shared plates, middle plates, other weird types of plates, and other delicious and weird things. So, you cannot always know if these plates are meant just for you, or for the table, or whatever.

This whole order 4-5 dishes deal made me skeptical. Maybe this was a con to get me to order more than I needed. We ordered 4, and we would have been fine with 3! You have to keep in mind that here, they don't do it tapas style. They want the whole order in, and they course it out for you. Also, try to find out which plates are shared and which are more entree like. The misstep was that we ordered two of the more "entree-like" plates, assuming they were shared plates, but they were really entree plates. I am sick of the word plates!

From the "jewel's on toast category" - we ordered avocado, lemon and espelette. That came out first, and it was amazing. These were little jewels of heaven. I love avocado, and I love interesting avocado mixes. Seeing as this was the first dish to come out, at a whopping $11, I understood the whole shared plate thing. This was a little appetizer. IF all dishes were going to be small, I was glad we ordered more.

Next, coming in at $14, we ordered the Creamy Three Cheese Fondue. Win! This was my favorite dish. Now, obviously this dish is great for sharing. But this whole dish on its own could have been my sole brunch. Apples, pears, bacon, croque monsieurs, and potatoes!!!!! Delicious!

Next came the entree-like dishes. We go the Steak and Eggs, which looked like a weird monster face smiling at us. The steak and eggs were blah, and for $19, I would say leave it. The Chicken Meatballs with ricotta were awesome, huge, and delicious. Another great choice!

Overall, brunch was pretty good. This place is good for groups though, and I suggest going with more than just 2 people.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Upstate

2011-10-20T12:53:00.000-04:00

Upstate is the name of a new restaurant in the East Village, focused on local products and specializing in oysters. I used to walk past this place on the way to the gym when it was still being created. It occupies the space that once was "Permanent Brunch and Burger," a wildly unsuccessful concept of serving a brunch menu all of the time. Actually, that probably sounds like a good concept. But, serving brunch all the time could really just be a diner. And, as much as you think you crave brunch food permanently, there is something about the time of brunch, the morning after a late night out, the lack of showering, the severe hunger and dehydration, that you cannot just replicate any day of the week.

My boyfriend loves oysters, and I have recently joined him in this love. Oysters are fun and tasty. We love the East Village and like to patronize great places near our home. So, we set out to Upstate: Craft Beer and Oyster Bar.

The space is great. It is very relaxed, kind of woodsy, but also classy and well put together. We went around 7 p.m. The NY-centric beer and wine selection is great. The menu though is a bit of a work in progress. They have a few dishes, mainly mussels, scallops, and a pasta with fish. There are also cheese plates, and then the oysters of course. The chill vibe I get from this place is calling for more shared plates, in my opinion. It does not seem like the kind of restaurant where you make a reservation for dinner. You go here for oysters, mussels, and a few beers. I think a few smaller fish appetizers would be great. I think people would order them in addition to the main plates. But, it is a new restaurant, and we will watch it evolve over the next few months.

When we asked what oysters they had that night, they said they were out of oysters! That struck me as odd, because the full name of this restaurant is Upstate: Craft Beer and Oyster Bar. I was totally bummed. I was not quite hungry enough for a full plate, and really just wanted oysters. As someone who works in a restaurant, I know that restaurants run out of certain dishes. To be technical, the term is "86'd." When you here "86'd gnocchi" - that means there is no more gnocchi. You might think - how can the restaurant run out of food? Well, restaurants can't afford to literally buy enough of every single dish for every single person coming in. And because you shouldn't serve not-so-fresh fish, you need new fish every day. So, if you have 100 people coming in for dinner, the restaurant won't have 100 scallop dishes available, because not every one will order scallops. But the restaurant may not even have 50 orders of scallops, because chances are, not even half of the guests will order it. And if you had 50 orders prepped, you would definitely have scallops left over, and then they might go to waste. It is a tricky business, I promise.

However, no oysters at an oyster bar? I am not sure how that works. And I was stupid for not asking.

My boyfriend got the mussels (you get to choose any beer to steam the mussels in, which is awesome) and they were great. They were quite generous with dipping bread.

We stayed briefly, and headed to the Mermaid Inn for oysters, which were awesome. But we are definitely going back to Upstate, and will be sure to try the oysters.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Spasso

2011-10-19T11:37:00.000-04:00

Spasso is an Italian restaurant located in the West Village. Adam Platt from New York Magazine gave Spasso 1 star, but the review of the restaurant was mixed, giving readers a vibe that the restaurant was somewhat uneven. The online reviews of this restaurant are also mixed, with some raves and a few disappointments. But, this restaurant always gets a glowing review from Caitlin Komora of Empire Stilettos, a really awesome fashion blog. Her continuous praise of Spasso meant I just had to try it.

My expectations: I expected solid Italian food, with decent portions, and good service. I did not expect over-the-top fine dining service, but attentive, quality service nonetheless. I expected the star of the show to be the pasta. I figured that if everything else was only ok, people were still going to this restaurant for pasta.

My review: I will give it away. My expectations were met, and in some ways, exceeded.

1. Decor/Ambiance: This restaurant is really pretty. Everything is white and black, like Kim Kardashian's wedding, or the store White House, Black Market, in case you need a reference point. The bar is on the right, with a few tables in front of it and a few tables to the left of it. Then you turn right to the second half of the restaurant, with even more tables and a chef's table, where you can sit at a counter by the kitchen. We sat up front, at a table to the left of the bar. I do not always like to sit up front, because I feel that I may not get the vibe of the whole restaurant. At Spasso, I recommend sitting up front. The back of the restaurant is loud and windowless. The front is airy and provides people-watching. Win-win!

2. Service: My service critiques are nitpicky and are totally made up for by the absolutely fabulous service points at Spasso. So, lets lay out the bad first.

Critiques

    i. When our server arrived, my mom asked her the difference between the Gavi and the Pinot Grigio. Our server said: "I am not very knowledgeable about...those...types of things, but I can tell you that we are out of the Gavi." Now, I am not going to freak out that this server, on one occasion, phrased her comment in an off-putting way. It happens. Basically, she should have said that they were out of the Gavi first, so that way she would never have to admit her lack of wine knowledge. Or, she could have admitted her lack of knowledge and offered a more knowledgeable server or manager to address the question. I guess the best solution would be to actually have the knowledge.

     I am taking a wine class now, and learning about wine is very challenging and definitely time consuming. When restaurants add new wines to the list, it is the responsibility of the restaurant to provide information on that wine to its servers so that servers can address questions. At Spasso, all of the wines are Italian, so that already helps in slightly narrowing the knowledge down - you don't need to know the different between a French wine and an Australian wine. Now, going back to my argument yesterday, perhaps this restaurant is not as focused on beverage service as it is food service. But, if it was not focused on beverage service, then it would probably not change its wine list that often, thereby making it even easier for servers to know the wine list.

     Long story short, our server's lack of knowledge was one of the first things she said to us, so it made for a slightly rough start. And I do not want to knock her for her lack of knowledge - just keep it to yourself and sub someone in who can answer the question.

     ii. My cousin and my aunt each had a glass of wine at the bar before we ordered a bottle at the table. When we ordered the bottle, they brought glasses for me and my mom. When my aunt and cousin finished, a waiter filled up their wine glasses with wine from the bottle. My aunt was drinking the same wine all along, but my cousin was not. I though they would have brought her a fresh glass for the new wine. It is possible that the waiter (it was someone other than our server), did not know that she had previously been drinking something else.

    This point is nitpicky, specific, and no one else even seemed to notice anyway. It is not a judgment or something that made me angry. I am simply pointing it out.

   Praises
   i. Our server was more than happy to answer our questions about menu items. She was very sweet, and she happily supplied recommendations when asked. As we dipped into appetizers, my mom requested that we have some space between appetizers and entrees. Some places will say sure, but not really do it. Others will oblige, and space it out. Well, she did us one better - she told us to let her know when we were ready. She did not pressure us, or push us. Probably after 20 minutes, we told her to fire them up. It felt good to know that we were not going to be surprised with the entrees at an earlier time than expected. I know that not all restaurants can do this. Some places need the table back, or they have a certain system in the kitchen that makes guests calling all of the shots quite difficult. But at Spasso, we were afforded this luxury, and it was a luxury indeed. Perhaps if we tried this on a Friday, it would not have worked, which is fair enough. Now, Spasso was actually packed, so it is not a good example, but I recommend trying awesome restaurants and fine dining spots on slower nights. You will get to stay longer because they won't have as many later reservations that need to sit at your table.

     ii. We dined at the restaurant from 7 p.m. till about 9:15. My cousin and aunt had a train to catch, so 9:15 was the latest we could leave. We were not rushed or forced out. The last time we all dined out, we went to Po. The check was dropped on our table at 8:40, and they needed us out by 9. It was nice to have a little extra time at Spasso.

3. Food

   Praises
     i. The food is insanely fresh and delicious. To start, we had the mussels, the prosciutto, and the lardo with smoked mozzarella. The appetizers were to die for. The mussels were great, and the sauce was beyond drinkable. I wanted to stuff a whole loaf of bread in that sauce and eat it. The prosciutto was delightful. And the lardo was magnificent. I don't really know how it was prepared, but it was like a little ball of lardo with mozzarella, that you just pop in your mouth. Where is this appetizer at cocktail parties?

   The entrees - insane. First of all, we all got pasta. I got this pasta, and I can't think of how to spell it. It was something like straticera. It had ricotta and duck. It was like pansoti, like pillows of love. It was definitely one of the best things I ate this year. It was heavenly. I think I would go to Spasso, sit at the bar by myself and eat a bowl of pasta.

    We got the Dark Chocolate Caramel Crostata for dessert, which was awesome. I used to not even look at dessert menus, due to extreme fullness. But now, I want to see the restaurant from start to finish, so something sweet is a great way to end.

Spasso is great. Caitlin Komora is not a liar (another reason why you should read her fashion blog - she knows what is up).

Have a delicious day!
NYC Menu Girl

Catching Up

2011-10-18T16:29:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone! It has been a shameful amount of time since my last post. I have so much to report on that the magnitude of it has left me lagging. Well, that may be a bit of an exaggeration. But still, perhaps if I make it public here that I must start posting more, you will all hold me accountable.

Today, I want to catch everyone up on my life, my dining out schedule and some of my new restaurant interests.

I think I have mentioned this once or twice before, but I work in a restaurant. My interest in restaurants, the culinary world and the vibrant food and beverage scene in NY beckoned to me, and I dove right in. Now that I work in a restaurant, my blog has been impacted in the following ways:

1. I work 5 nights a week. I get home around 11 or 12 at night. Therefore, my opentable searches for 7 p.m. reservation slots for a good Thursday night meal are now searches for the perfect lunch/brunch spot or for a perfect Sunday night supper, because Sunday is my night off. I do not eat out as much, and sometimes have fewer restaurants to report on.

2. Although eating late at night is not habit I want to form, I have been exposed to more NYC "night-night life" (the nightlife later at night. technical term, maybe). And I really should take the time to share with you the fabulous pork buns and fried mozzarella that you can eat at 1 a.m. in the East Village.

3. Working in a restaurant definitely changes your experience when dining out. But, that is not what this blog is about, so I am going to mostly keep that information to myself. However, I will share these somewhat obvious observations and seemingly vague generalizations with you as to my changed view of the food world:

a. Not every restaurant has what you want. Well, duh. You can't get sushi at a mexican restaurant. This is no surprise. What I mean is that the beauty of the NYC restaurant scene is that there are so many different restaurants, and you truly have to appreciate those differences. In order to do that, you need to learn what matters to you in a dining out experience, and then test out restaurants to see if they meet that criteria.

For example, you may love good beers. Some restaurants have a great beer selection while others do not. At a wine-centric restaurant, try not to be too disappointed that the beer selection is not up to par. That is not the focus of the restaurant, and you are in the wrong place. On the other hand, restaurants should stay true to their overall culture, and if you see things missing, or inconsistencies, feel free to call those out.

Now, when I go to a restaurant, I like to figure out who they are. Is the restaurant a super casual spot with a disjointed charming menu, beers in bottles and a bare wine list? Or is the restaurant a fine dining establishment, with synchronized plate drops, beers you have never heard of, and a wine book that is actually presented on an ipad? And depending on what the restaurant is, did you feel that it stayed within that culture?

b. After my slight diatribe above on essentially not calling out a dive restaurant not serving you a cheeseburger on a perfect piece of china, because that is just crazy, that should not lead you to believe that I think restaurants can simply decide the quality of food and service they provide, and we simply have to like it. No no no. I am just saying not to expect the Sommelier to give you a wine suggestion at Bill's Bar and Burger. And if you want a Sommelier to provide excellent wine service, don't expect that from every restaurant. That does not matter to every restaurant. But if it always matters to you, then go to places where you can get that kind of service.

i. Case and point: I went to Mary's Fish Camp a few months ago. The food was pretty good. And I had a great time. Halfway through my appetizer, they brought my entree. I can't handle that. I just don't like that. I want to finish my appetizer. I want the plate removed from the table. Then, preferably, I would like at least five minutes before the entrees come out. At least. But I know that that doesn't always happen. And I don't like that. I feel like my entree was getting cold at Marys Fish Camp because I wanted to finish my app first. So I have added this standard to my list. And I seek it out. And I can't say that I agree with Mary's "culture" of wanting to push tables because the restaurant is so small, thereby putting the food out when it is ready. But I know that I won't go back unless I am looking to eat and run.

That may be enough points for today. It is kind of a big topic though, and it would be great to keep discussing it. How much of your opinion of a restaurant is based on what it should be versus what you want it to be? I don't think that either opinion is wrong. But it definitely shapes the viewpoint. So, tomorrow, I will review Spasso, a restaurant I am going to tonight. I will tell you what I thought it should be, what I wanted it to be, and what it was. I will try to remember all of the points I made today, and see how they impact my review of the restaurant.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Artichoke Pizza - 1 cent a slice TODAY!

2011-10-04T13:54:00.000-04:00

Want Artichoke pizza from the East Village? Want it for 1 cent a slice? Just go on to grubhub.com today and you can order 1 cent pizza for delivery only. GrubHub is hosting a Digital Food Festival, bringing you great deals for the next few weeks, and today's deal rocks.

It is really that simple. Stop reading this blog. Go to grubhub.com. Get Artichoke pizza for 1 cent a slice delivered to your apartment.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Grub Hub Contest !

2011-09-30T10:00:00.000-04:00

Did you hear about NYC's Digital Food Fest, hosted by GrubHub?

"The Digital Food Fest offers a unique opportunity for diners to access exclusive specials from the likes of H&H Bagels, Smash Burger, Peanut Butter & Co, A Salt and Battery, Katz Deli and Miss Lily’s through GrubHub’s website and iPhone/Android apps. These special items will only be available at specifically designated times, with limited delivery boundaries and quantities, so stay tuned and act fast! To get an updated list of the restaurants and dishes being featured each week, go to GrubHub’s Facebook page or follow them on Twitter @grubhub."

I am giving away an electronic gift card for $25 to use on GrubHub for this digital food fest or other great deal on GrubHub.

To enter this contest, go on to grubhub.com and browse the restaurant options. Email me at kerry@thenycmenugirl.com with a five sentence review of one of the restaurants on grubhub.com I will post the reviews on this site! The most interesting review will receive a $25 gift card.

This contest will last through Monday at Noon, so get those reviews in!

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Bagel Love

2011-09-21T12:38:00.000-04:00

People like their bagels a certain way. Some like it hot (hahaha). Some like it toasted. Some like it heavy on the cream cheese, while others enjoy eggs and bacon on their bagel. Whatever your bagel preference may be, eating a mediocre bagel is never good. In a city with so many great bagels, anything less than awesome feels like a few bucks down the drain and some hundred calories wasted. For example, I once grabbed a bagel at Hot and Crusty because I was in a rush. I asked for it not toasted. It came not toasted, but was somehow still crunchy. This bagel was OLD. BOOOO!!!

My favorite bagel place in my neighborhood is Ess-A-Bagel. The bagels are enormous. The different spread choices are incredible. And the friendliness of the staff make your bagel shopping a true delight. You get that feeling in Ess-A-Bagel that everyone is there to get bagels to bring home to their families on a lovely Sunday morning.

In addition to the good vibes I get at Ess-A-Bagel, I appreciate the enormity of the bagel combined with my intense love of cream cheese. After eating a bagel at 10 a.m. Sunday morning, with a ton of low fat cream cheese, I found myself full and satisfied till 4 pm. That bagel became the equivalent of brunch. Considering I spent $6 for 2 bagels and two 1/4 spreads for me and Alex, I would say it was a pretty cheap brunch.

Some people who have less experience spending time or living in a city think that it is hard to really feel a neighborhood in a city. But when you find that bagel place you love and you see the same people there every morning, or the tailor who does a great hem on your pants, and you return to those places even when you move to a neighborhood, you definitely get that great neighborhood feel.

Where do you get your bagel love from?

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

The Latest Background Image

2011-09-14T11:15:00.000-04:00

The picture on the background of this blog is my brunch at ilili. What you are looking at is hash brown dumplings, eggs benedict with prosciutto, and salad. When ilili launched brunch, I was invited to give it a try. The brunch was fantastic. You can read about it here.

It is a pricey meal for sure. Most brunch dishes are $18. The prix-fixe went from $25 to $28 over the past year. You get a dish, a side dish, a cocktail, and coffee or juice. The side dishes are enormous, and are really much more than side dishes. One of the side dishes is Hummus, which was a sizable portion.

This is the kind of place you go to for a great meal. You do not go here because you wake up hungry and need some food. You go here because the restaurant is beautiful, you love brunch, and even more than that, you love an interesting brunch.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Perilla - My Favorite Restaurant. Now, My Favorite Cat.

2011-09-13T12:36:00.000-04:00

Perilla is my favorite NYC restaurant. The restaurant itself is gorgeous, with a great neighborhood vibe. The restaurant is cozy, with only 18 tables, yet you feel like you have enough space. The menu has so many interesting choices, with familiar ingredients and descriptors that are combined in unfamiliar ways. I have been twice for dinner and once for brunch. Now, I cannot wait to try the $70 tasting menu. I will have to add it to my to-do list.

You can read my original post on Perilla here, from almost two years ago. If you search Perilla using the search function on my site, you can see how often I blog about Perilla.

What may seem unrelated is that I adopted a kitty from City Critters this weekend. Alex and I love food and restaurants, so we wanted to name our cat after a food or restaurant. We named her Perilla, since we love Perilla restaurant!

I think it is hard to really have a favorite restaurant. Everyone probably has a favorite sandwich place, burger spot, pizza parlor, fancy restaurant, italian restaurant, etc. And I definitely have a list of tons of favorites. But if someone told me they were visiting New York, and they were looking for a delicious meal, Perilla is one of the top three places I would recommend.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Baohaus

2011-09-12T09:27:00.000-04:00

Baohaus recently opened its 2nd location, conveniently next to my gym, on 14th between 2nd and 3rd. I know the location well because it used to be Thai Me Up. Although I never went to Thai Me Up, my former Stuyvesant Town roommate loved picking up a Thai salad on the way home.

Baohaus first opened on the Lower East Side. Baohaus serves Taiwanese steamed bun sandwiches, along with a few side items. When it opened in the East Village, I knew I had to try it. I was also intrigued and impressed that the person behind Baohaus is Eddie Huang, an alum of my law school. More about Eddie here.

The recommended serving size is 2-3 Baos. Between me and Alex, we ordered 4, so 2 each, with a side of Taro fries. I bet if someone just put out 20 Baos though, I could eat 4 myself.

We ordered the Chairman Bao (pork belly), the Robin Givens (confit chicken), the Oyster Po Bao (fried oyster) and a beef cheek bao. The 4 baos + fries + eclectic can of soda cost $20.

These buns are really good. They are reasonably priced, at about $3 a piece, maybe a little more. I like that you can come here with a group of friends and sit at the 1 of 2 high top tables they have and split a lot of buns. Or, if you were my former roommate, maybe you would stop here on the way home from work to pick up a few buns.

The chicken confit bao was ok. It wasn't mind blowing. But chicken is not always mind-blowing, so I don't blame it on the Bao. The Oyster Po Bao is super interesting and tasty but beware - it tastes like fish. If you are no into that, move on. My boyfriend loved the beef cheek and I loved the pork belly. The flavors of those pork buns were perfect and the meat was so succulent.

The guy working at the counter did not seem to have his job responsibilities down, and he seemed a bit overwhelmed by the fact that he had to open the store Saturday and have customers immediately. Don't let that overshadow the delicious buns. The place is new, and the staff will tighten up in no time.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

The Smith - for Breakfast

2011-09-09T11:40:00.000-04:00

I think The Smith is a good restaurant. It serves American food with a little twist. The space is cool and full of vibrant people. And I love that they give you a bottle of tap water and a bottle of sparkling water. I recommend The Smith a lot to people visiting NYC. Why? It has a great NYC vibe and the food is not too eclectic or intimidating, but it rocks.

I went to The Smith for breakfast this weekend. It was Alex's birthday on Wednesday, and seeing as I work evenings, breakfast was my only chance to take him out. Going out for breakfast during the week is kind of cool. We went at 8 a.m. and stayed for about 30-40 minutes. We got the sparkling and tap water. They also brought out 3 mini cheddar biscuits to start. What a great way to start your day! Having a somewhat relaxing and filling meal may really amp you up for a work day, especially a busy work day. Have a nice breakfast, go to your busy workplace, and just grab a snack during lunch since you are already full of delicious breakfast food.

Everything on the menu is $8 or $9, but the portions of food are equivalent to brunch portions. When our server, Mike M. came over, he took our order with a big morning smile. Starting your day with great service that comes with a smile is really uplifiting.

I ordered the Egg White Omelette with goat cheese, spinach and a side of potatoes. Alex ordered the Eggs Any Style with over-easy eggs, bacon, and homefries. They also offer Eggs Benedict, an egg sandwich, and sweet stuff like pancakes and french toast.

The Omelette was full of goat cheese. It was simply delicious. I did not even eat the whole thing it was just that large!

I ordered coffee and Alex ordered orange juice. The coffee was replenished. When Mike M. dropped the check, he asked if I wanted one more refill of coffee before jetting. That was really nice of him. For a $3 coffee, that you can have tons of, it was a great deal!

I want to go out to breakfast more! I like Peels, and now The Smith, and Grey Dog. What do you recommend?

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Follow-up: Craft and Le Bernardin

2011-09-07T10:35:00.001-04:00

Last year, I wrote a post on my fine dining experiences at Craft and Le Bernardin. Read it here!

Today, we learned that Craft re-received 3 starts from the NY Times. Additionally, photos of the Le Bernardin makeover were released.

I can't wait to return to Craft. I did the tasting menu last time, but the family style dishes of the a la carte menu seem like must-haves. I am glad that my next experience there will be completely different, since I will not do the tasting menu again.

Read Craft's well deserved 3 star review here.

As for Le Bernardin, the food was great but the decor was a little stuffy. It looked like a fancy restaurant from days past. Now, with its new renovation, it is more sleek and modern. I have a feeling that if I ordered the exact same dishes as last time, the experience would feel completely different with its more modern surroundings. See the slideshows of the before and after photos here.

The lesson of the day is that restaurants evolve over time! Living in NYC, we feel compelled to try the many different restaurants that the city has to offer. With so many options, you feel drawn to new experiences. Restaurants that you have previously dined at can provide new experiences, with revamped menus, updated decor and new chefs.

Don't forget to revisit your old favorites, as they may turn into your new hot spots!

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Three Babes Bakeshop

2011-09-05T09:44:00.027-04:00

Three Babes Bakeshop is a pop-up pie shop in San Francisco. You may not live in San Francisco, but I encourage you to keep reading. The three babes who opened this bakeshop will inspire you in ways you can't even imagine. These girls are literally girls with a dream who made their dreams come true. And I have tasted those dreams - they are delicious.

Pop-ups are all the rage. It makes sense. Pop-ups can keep up with trends by providing the latest fads. Pop-ups also draw customers because they provide a limited service. This adds the appeal of "get it while you can." The goal for some pop-ups though is to make that pop-up venture a permanent fixture. If you get it while you can, you may be able to keep getting it.

These babes love to bake. I have been in the kitchen with one of these babes, Lenore, and she brings soul, dedication, and passion to everything that goes into the oven. Lenore and her babes took this passion and turned it into a pie venture in San Francisco. They are open on the weekends and sell pies by the slice, pies by the pie, and pies in a jar.

While my boyfriend was in San Francisco visiting Lenore (so yea, they are brother and sister), I asked him to bring me some of the Salted Honey Walnut pie, one of the signature pies. It has been a delicious addition to my week! The flavor is great, and the crust is good enough to eat alone. I keep walking past the fridge and taking a little piece of the crust. I may just eat the whole crust first.

Even though you may not be able to get this pie in New York, consider visiting shops, bars, restaurants, bakeries, etc. that have soul and passion folded in every delicious ingredient. It is great to support local businesses in your neighborhood. They count on you!

Have a delicious day!
NYC Menu Girl

My Best Brunch - Macondo

2011-09-02T08:57:00.000-04:00

I am in a new brunch relationship with Macondo. I am totally committed to Macondo, everything it has to offer and all that it continues to offer to its wonderful patrons. When I finished my brunch at Macondo, I asked myself "why would I ever go anywhere else?" Now, obviously I like to mix it up and try different brunch spots. But for great food and an AYCD (all-you-can-drink) spot, this place rocks.

I walked past Macondo on my way to Chinatown Ice Cream Factory one day. I thought, "what is this?" This restaurant looks so cool, with this bamboo feel, great music, and lots of people smiling. And then I saw the sign: $9 for all-you-can-drink mimosas. Wow! I had never heard of this place. Why was Macondo not on the AYCD lists of every brunch website? Mmmmm. Some places, like Sunburnt Cow, do $18 for your dish and the AYCD, which is a great deal. But the $9 AYCD for two hours seemed pretty reasonable. Several places add $12 or even more for AYCD, and usually there is a time limit of 1 hour.

When I arrived at Macondo with my 2 aycd brunch girls in tow, we were seated immediately. They have high-top communal tables up front, so we sat beside 2 other diners. We could not even hear what they were saying though, so it wasn't a bad deal.

First, we ordered the Mimosas. Now, here is the reason why this $9 AYCD Mimosa deal rocks - there are 3 different kinds!!!! The selection for that day included Orange, Grapefruit, and Lychee. We got one of each to start. And even better - this place does not require a Mimosa commitment. You can have an orange, then grapefruit, back to orange, try a lychee, etc. The selection of mimosas is what made this place seem classier than your average AYCD spot. Instead of pounding back orange juice and champagne, we sipped brunch cocktails of different varieties.

Everything on the menu sounded delicious. Eggs Benedict can be typical for brunch, but not when served on an Arepa. We struggled picking out items with so many fabulous choices. I was drawn to the Polenta con Chorizo ($8), truffled polenta, egg, chorizo, and manchego. I could not think of better brunch items to put together for one awesome dish. We also eyed the Isla Mangu ($13), green mashed plantain, salchichon, crispy cheese and fried egg. Yummy! But, we all love sandwiches so we thought the Tostado de Huevo ($10) sounded great, a fried egg nested in brioche, serrano ham, truffle oil, piquillo peppers, and manchego.

The server comes over and asks us what we want. We simply say "Everything sounds great. What do you recommend?" I am not even kidding when I say - she named the three dishes above that we had already kind of picked out. I did not want to commit to picking one. We decided to order 1 of each and share all of the dishes.

When the dishes came out, I was surprised at the portion size. The dishes were great portions! I was mostly surprised with the Polenta. At $8, I thought this would be a small, almost side dish. Nope! Each dish had a fried egg, so we each had an egg, and then just dug in with our forks. The server was happy to give us additional plates to make sharing easy, while filling up our colorful mimosas.

We had great food, fabulous mimosas, lovely conversations with our server, in a fun atmosphere. We fell in love with this restaurant. At the end of it, with tax and tip, we each paid $30. For two hours of fun, $30 works for me. We used to get together on Friday nights and do sushi and drinks, then bars, and cabs, etc. Those nights were definitely more expensive than this tasty and drunk brunch at Macondo, so $30 seems reasonable.

And as much as I love to try new brunch places (reservation at Beauty and Essex this weekend!!!!), I know that my new AYCD go-to spot is Macondo.

http://www.macondonyc.com/menu_brunch.php

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Font Fun

2011-09-01T12:11:00.000-04:00

Clearly, I am playing around with fonts and layouts. I am trying to spice things up. What is the picture? It is the lamb burger and fries from The Breslin Bar and Dining Room.

I think the background picture is either:
a) Too distracting to look at while reading.
b) Totally awesome.

I think it would be totally awesome if I changed it every week so that when you visit, you can see a featured background picture.

I am having this conversation out loud with you because you are reading it. I want your opinion.

I would love your opinion, and then you can....
Have a Delicious Day!
NYC Menu Girl

Oktoberfest on the Hudson

2011-08-31T12:26:00.000-04:00

Last year, I went to the Oktoberfest event on the Hudson. You can read about it on this Socially Superlative website here. The event was located at 41st and 12th avenue, right at World Yacht Cruises departure spot.

It was really fun! You get tickets to get food and beer, while relaxing on a dock by the Hudson. They also had great sponsors giving out free stuff, like Pop Chips!

The 2nd Annual Oktoberfest, hosted by World Yacht Cruises, will be on Saturday, September 24th. Tickets are on sale now. The admission fee is $10 today, and $15 anytime after today. Early bird gets the worm!

Get tickets here: http://oktoberfestonthehudson.eventbrite.com/

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Tiny's Giant Sandwich Shop

2011-08-31T09:32:00.012-04:00

With a name like that, how could you not love it? I frequently desire a delicious sandwich. I love sandwiches, and I love bread, and I love holding a sandwich and biting into it and all that goes with it.

What is with the oxymoronic name of this sandwich shop, located on the Lower East Side? It sells sandwiches in sizes, you know, like clothes. Sandwiches come in small and large. This is brilliant friends, just brilliant. Imagine going to a 3 star restaurant and ordering an entree in a size medium? Think outside the box folks - it could be totally rad.

A large sandwich is basically a 10 inch sandwich. I went with Alex, and we split a large. Sometimes, you get a large sandwich, anticipating saving the second half for later. Then, you eat a few bites of that second half and think, well I can't save it now. You eat the whole thing.

People with self control can exercise portion control. Those without self control must have portion control exercised for them. - Socrates (or whatever).

I have no self control. That easy concept of "stop eating when you are full" means to me "stop eating when you think you may vomit, but as long as it tastes good, get it girl."

At Tiny's Giant Sandwich Shop, you can fulfill your desire to eat a perfectly portioned sandwich, whether it is small or large, or get your large sandwich perfectly cut in half so you can stow it away for later.

A small sandwich can be as cheap as $4.50-$6, whereas a large sandwich is more like $6.50-$9. If you decide to eat in, the counter staff will deliver your sandwich to the table with water and a smile.

This place is a Lower East Side gem for sure.

Menu!

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Sunday Supper at Public

2011-08-29T21:32:00.000-04:00

I love searching for restaurants on the internet. It is super fun, in my book. But sometimes, you walk past a restaurant and get this feeling that you just want to go inside, and need to remember the name in order to go one day in the future. I recently walked around the city, heading towards Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, and found Macondo, a brunch place that I will blog about soon, and Public, a Michelin Star Restaurant. I visited both within 1 month of that walk, and was pleased with the results.

What I found intriguing about Public was its Sunday Supper - $50 for a five course meal. The menu changes every week. Considering that Sunday night is one of my nights off, I did not want to pass up this opportunity.

I made a reservation on opentable.com, a website I have not plugged in awhile. It is a fabulous way to make reservations. When we arrived, we started with a drink at the bar. The space itself ROCKS! It has this new-age living room modern feel thing that I cannot describe because I am not an architect. The bathroom lock was like a top lock of a NYC apartment. It was super cool.

Once we were seated, we were given the menus, on clipboards. Then Mr. Bread Man came by. I do not think this is the official title of the person who gives out the bread, but either way, I love Mr. Bread Man. Everywhere I go, I can't wait to meet him and see what he has to offer.

When Mr. Bread Man arrived, he had three choices. He offered a sourdough, a foccacia, and something else. Whatever man, it was all delicious. He came by quite a few times, since he was super good at his job.

The first of the five courses arrived. We started with a fried oyster. It was a nice shooter and a light and flavorful way to start the meal. Fantastic. We watched the people next to us get it a few minutes later, and the people next to them, a few minutes after that. Sunday Supper is popular!

Next up was my favorite dish - the scallops with edamame. These scallops were perfect, and the edamame rocked. I savored every bite, and devoured it rather quickly.

Next up was the black pudding - the boudin noir, if you will. It was pretty good, considering my experience with black pudding is pretty limited. And after that, the normandy duck came out, with risotto. It was not risotto though. It was either way overcooked risotto or just some sort of rice. It wasn't creamy and delicious - it was super chewy. The duck was ok, but I think we were hoping for a more traditional red meat as the meat course.

Dessert though - it made up for the only so-so duck. It was an interesting chocolate cake, with a berry sorbet, that all came together in your mouth to explode with dessert awesomeness!

The five course $50 menu at Public was awesome. You must be open to adventure though, since it changes every week. It was an opentable.com win too, because the reservation was for 1000 points! I definitely recommend checking this michelin star restaurant out. The service is great, the bread is awesome, and the menu is interesting!

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Hill Country Chicken

2011-08-26T10:39:00.000-04:00

I had the pleasure of dining at Hill Country two years ago. The barbeque food is fantastic and the setup seemed somewhat authentic. Some bbq joints in NYC try too hard, while others find a good balance of bbq vibe without being too kitschy.

When I heard that Hill Country gave birth to a smaller venue, Hill Country Chicken, focusing on fried chicken obviously, I thought it would have a similar vibe. I thought the space would be a little dark and woodsy while emanating soul. Not quite....

Hill Country Chicken is a counter-service restaurant, and for some reason, I can't help but think of the diner in Back to the Future. They probably do not look anything alike. But I definitely got an old diner vibe from this place, as opposed to a fried chicken joint type of place.

When you go, which if you go anytime after 12:05, you will be waiting on a huge line, you go to the counter and place your meat order. They slide your tray down as you order sides. It is like Subway.

They have a lot of sandwiches, chicken by the part (thigh, breast, etc) and "Texas Tenders" - aka big-ass chicken fingers. You can get the "solo" for lunch, where you get two chicken parts, a side, and a biscuit, for $10. It is not a terrible deal.

My boyfriend got the dark solo, which was pretty delicious. He opted for the broccoli side, because he apparently was not thinking that day. Get the mac and cheese, fries, or fried mashed potatoes. The chicken is perfectly tender and white as a ghost.

I got the Texas Tenders, 3 pc ($7.50) with honey mustard and a side of fries $2.50. The small fries are MORE than enough for one, and were quite delicious. The chicken fingers were great, and really satisfied my craving for chicken fingers.

They also sell interesting pies and flavored sodas, in addition to all the chicken. And FYI - chicken is the name of the game. There is really no alternative. If you and four friends want chicken, but then your weirdo fifth friend wants a hot dog, tell that friend to take a hike.

I am not really sure on my take on this place after eating there. The food was solid. It was good chicken if you like chicken. The environment was kind of weird. It is a little pricey, but the lunch specials were decent. I can't say I am going to ever go back, but I think it is worth going to once for some good chicken. It is also clearly a hot spot for people working in that area, as a great additional not-so-healthy establishment near Shake Shack.

Decide for yourself!

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Breakfast Pizza at Pulino's

2011-08-25T11:29:00.000-04:00

Sometimes, brunch rolls around and you don't want an omelet. You are starving. You want something that you can really sink your teeth into. I went to brunch on Saturday and Sunday this past weekend (living the good life clearly) and had sandwiches on both days. I just wanted to devour something (I swear I am not a monster), and a sandwich and fries sounded more enticing than eggs benedict.

I have always been intrigued by Keith McNally's restaurant Pulino's and jealous of the fact that my boyfriend had been twice. The space is so great. I love that the all of the tables are different and the chairs are all different. I like that purposeful deconstructed look, where mismatching is intentional, yet still charming. That probably stems from my love of the show Friends, where Monica and Rachel have different dining room chairs.

The menu has a section called "Pizze & Eggs" with four breakfast pizzas, all including eggs of course. You can get a personal sized pizza for $9 or $10, or $17-$19 for shared pizzas. I like to try different dishes, so we each got a personal pizza and split them. We ordered the Salsiccia pizza, with eggs, sausage, bacon, mozzarella and white cheddar. We also ordered the Spinaci pizza, with eggs, spinach, mozzarella, mascarpone + grana.

The pizzas came out 5-7 minutes after ordering. These pizzas ROCKED. The personal pizzas have 1 egg on the pizza, so they are not meant for sharing. These pizzas were ideal for my taste because I like a more medium sized crust. Thin crust is great and all the rage. But some places really have crusts so thin that the pizza just flops down when you pick up the slice. I want to pick up a slice of pizza and still have it maintain firmness.

I loved the pizza while eating it, and now as I write about it, I really can't wait to go back. It is simply delicious, with lots of great options, and a good price point. I think $9 for a delicious breakfast pizza that is super filling is great.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Carte Blanche - The Whole Story

2011-08-19T11:52:00.000-04:00

As I stated in my earlier post, Carte Blanche is located in Aruba and serves a fabulous 5 course dinner. There is no menu (carte blanche, get it?) You go in blind, and you come out having seen the light.

First, you should know the setup. This restaurant seats 14 people TOTAL and those 14 guests arrive between 7 and 7:30. These are the only 14 people that will dine in the restaurant that evening. You sit in a nice comfy chair along a really low bar, where you interact with Chef Dennis and Maitre D'/Sommelier/Everything Else Guy Glen. There are no other employees of this establishment. Chef Dennis does the cooking and Glen does the serving. They are both behind the bar where you are seated, which is also an open kitchen. They are almost always in your sight, there to answer questions and interact with you.

Once seated, Glen asks you if you want to do 4 courses or 5 courses. We opted for 5 courses, simply because we do not live in Aruba and why would we go to this awesome place and not eat as much as possible? Then Glen inquires as to your interest in wine pairings. He says that you can order wines by the glass, other cocktails, or do the wine pairings (or both, which some of the gentleman did, with wine pairings and martinis). My mom is not a red wine drinker, so she opted wine by the glass. I debated the wine pairings, considering the extra cost. But again, in Aruba, at this awesome place, so yes Glen, pair my dishes with wine! Glen also informed me that he will pair each course with wine, and that if you finish your glass, he is happy to refill it 2-3 times. Basically, you are getting 5 paired wines, probably at about 4 oz a glass, and can refill each one 2-3 times. Then I had a pep talk with myself, in my head. Kerry, pace yourself. Do not get carted (haha like carte blanche) out of this restaurant due to overdosing on wine pairings.

I am not sure I have really painted a picture of how this restaurant works. Let me back track. There is never a menu. The Chef plans a 5 course dinner, and that dinner changes every day. I am sure he has some favorites that he prepares a lot, but your dining experience is completely unique. And because there is no menu, you have no idea what you are going to eat. This boils down to the notion you must grasp about this restaurant - if you are not adventurous about food, this restaurant is not for you. You can't send your dish back and get something else. If you have an allergy, are a vegetarian, or have a particular dislike, you can make that known and they will accommodate. However, if you don't eat seafood, and certain animal parts, and don't like the dressing directly on your salad, do not go to Carte Blanche. This restaurant concept does not cater to your picky needs, nor should it. Part of the concept is the excitement of not knowing what is next, and if that scares you, then this 4 hour dining experience will be anxiety ridden for you. If you are an adventurous food consumer, this place is perfect for you, and I applaud you for having an open mind.

Also of note - this is not really a tasting menu. I thought it would be like a tasting - with tastes (wow, how descriptive of me). This is a 5 course meal. There are 5 full courses.

Lets get back to it. To start, we got an amuse bouche (not one of the 5 courses). It was a delicious Pumpkin Soup. My mom said "I do not really like pumpkin, but I like this." A great chef can take ingredients and prepare them in a way that deceives your preconceived notions of that ingredient. I love that. It was paired with a Brut Rose from Argentina, a fairly dry rose. When Glen asked if I wanted a refill, I said no. No way can I start refilling my pairings this soon.

The first course was a Grouper Ceviche. The ceviche had cilantro, ginger, and a little spice. It came with snow crab salad (lower right) with apples and dutch shrimp (lower left). This dish was paired with a Pinot Grigio from Italy, in the Veneto wine region. It had lemon and apple flavors to pair with the citrus in the ceviche and the apples on the snow crap salad. It is a semi-dry, versatile wine, that went down easy. I love finding really simple wines that I can recommend to people who may not normally drink wine. I had a little more of this wine after I finished the first glass.

For course 2, we had a choice! The Chef offered a Prosciutto and Goat Cheese Salad with honey and pepper, balsamic and croutons. Or, you could have the Foie Gras Creme Brulee, with duck liver and pine nuts over arugula, with an onion compote on the side.

I got the Foie Gras and my mom got the salad. The salad was delicious, with the honey really adding a nice touch. The Foie Gras Brulee was also very interesting. I could not eat a lot of it because it was so rich, but I ate about 70% of it (so I guess that is a lot). I loved the pine nuts over arugula too. The salad was paired with the Hob Nob Pinot Noir and my foie gras was paired with a Tavel, a Rhone valley red wine with Raspberry flavors. I definitely had more of this delicious wine.

The third course was my favorite. Chef Dennis served up Prawns over a Wild Mushroom Risotto. I am a HUGE risotto fan, and with prawns on top, how could I not love this dish? The risotto was made with gouda cheese, which I found fascinating. Glen said the gouda is just different in Aruba than in other countries. It definitely made me want to try more interesting cheeses in my risotto. It was paired with the Wente Chardonnay, which my mom was already drinking by the glass. Glen called this pairing a "match made in heaven." The Chardonnay was an unoaked, buttery wine with a long finish and floral aromas. Glen said that creamy food and buttery wine is great match.

The fourth course was obviously going to be meat. We had a bit of tip-off because Chef Dennis asked us what temperature we wanted our sirloin cooked at. I was excited for the sirloin. I was even more excited though when the dish came out though. The dish consisted of Sirloin and Beef Short Rib, with Celery Root and a Potato. The short rib was braised for a few hours, and just fell off the bone. The celery root on the plate had a great flavor. And this little red potato with pepper and sour cream was an amazing potato! It is nice to have a potato with its fixings prepared for you to maximize flavor. This dish was paired with the Anakena Cabernet Sauvignon, a 2007 Chilean wine. Glen said this wine was spicy and fresh. He was spot on, and it was my favorite wine of the night. I loved it. I had 2 refills of that wine. I went to a few stores in NYC to find it, and finally found it in Chelsea. It is now in my home, and I drank some last night. I love finding a way that really tastes good on its own. This wine had enough flavor to keep your palate excited, even if you were just drinking and not eating.

We were a bit full, but knew dessert was on the way. Chef Dennis spent some of his high school years in a bakery, so he knows a bit about dessert. There was a choice of Cheesecake with Berries or a Chocolate Brownie Cake with Chocolate Mousse. These choices probably seem simple, but they were complex desserts. The Chocolate cake came with a chocolate cigar and a little husk tomato. It was paired with a Bordeaux Port, which was nutty and dry. I really enjoyed it. The cheesecake was paired with the Lake Harvest Chile wine, from the Casa Blanc Valley. It was creamy, with apricot and peach flavors. I have not really taken to after dinner wines yet, but these were both enjoyable. I had the cheesecake, but since I was dipping into my Mom's chocolate cake too, I got to try both wines.

It was obviously a fabulous night, where every dish stood out and every glass of wine was soothing and delicious. We left 4 hours after we arrived. After multiple glasses of wine, I thought I would be a bit drunk. But having a leisurely dinner, with several courses, and sipping on wine the whole time, I felt great. The dining experience made me realize how great it is to take your time eating and drinking. It allows you to enjoy your food more and almost always sits in your stomach in a much friendlier way than eating and drinking like someone in some sort of comeptition.

You must be wondering how much it cost. It was $70 for the 5 course meal and $65 for the wine pairings. I would say for that much food and wine, access to a Chef and Sommelier for 4 hours, leisurely dining and conversation with strangers, and a unique experience, it was the best $135 spent on food and wine ever.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Carte Blanche

2011-08-18T13:24:00.000-04:00

Carte Blanche was one of the most exquisite dining experiences of my lifetime, and by far the most interesting.

I have dined at some fabulous restaurants, where the service is great and the food is outrageously delicious. Although dining out always provides an experience, sometimes dining out is just a good meal, which is not a bad thing. But other times, dining out feels more like a well orchestrated production, from start to finish. Each moment feels unique and exciting.

I have heard people say that dining out for them is "just another meal." And that is fine. But that is exactly the opposite of how I feel about dining out. I feel that dining out is not just a way to obtain food. If that was the case, I would order in. Well, I guess I could not really order in a butter poached halibut or perfectly plated sea scallops. So, yes, you do have to dine out to get those dishes. But when I go out, I am not paying to simply eat the scallops. I want to taste the flavors, take in the ambiance, and really, I want to enjoy good food, wine, and conversation with great people. I always hope that my dining experience will create a memory, good or bad.

When I can't remember a restaurant or what I ate at the restaurant, I know that my dining experience was not the best, or at least not memorable. I like a memory - good or bad. When I can recall the really awesome bread service at Le Bernardin, the delicious taste of a Blue 9 Burger at 2 a.m. with drunk friends, the perfect tasting menu at Craft, the way too speedy service at Minetta Tavern, or the oozing eggs at Cafe Collette, I know I created a memory for myself, one that I can share with the aforementioned great friends, perhaps over good food and wine.

I started this post with Carte Blanche and then clearly, went off on a philosophical tangent. Carte Blanche is located in Aruba, and I went last week. It was a 4 hour dining experience, with an amuse, 5 courses, and wine pairings.

Tomorrow, I will share with you the details of Carte Blanche, from start to finish. For those of you not traveling to Aruba in the near future, I encourage you to read about this dinner. I left this meal thinking - I wish I could have a 4 hour dinner more often, with continuous food and wine, and the undivided attention of the Chef and the Sommelier. It was a truly unique night out, and I can't wait to tell you all about it.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Off to Aruba

2011-08-08T09:57:00.000-04:00

I am off to Aruba! It has been over a year and a half since my last Aruba trip, and I cannot wait. I have so many NYC adventures to update you all on once I return, like the best brunch at Macondo, Sunday Supper at Public, and the ever amazing bartenders at Terroir. For now though, I must travel!

To read more about my last Aruba trip, click here.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Mary's Fish Camp

2011-07-28T10:27:00.000-04:00

I spent my Monday night dinner time at Mary's Fish Camp. My boyfriend loves Mary's Fish Camp and I had not experienced its wonder. Part of the reason we have not been yet is that they do not take reservations and they are not open on Sundays. There are 10 tables max and about 8 seats at the bar. It fills up fast and the wait can be long, especially on Saturdays. Luckily when we arrived, there was a table for us. The tables are so close together that they literally have to pull the table all the way out for you to sit on the banquette.

This is a fish place that is just about the fish. This is not about amazing composed fish dishes, but just fish as it is. Some of the options include a Lobster Roll, which everyone recommends, a cod sandwich, a filet of sea bass, etc. They also have three whole fish everyday, that you can order grilled or fried.

We ordered the mussels to start. They were fantastic and came with a lot of bread, which was amazing in the broth. Fantastic. As we were dipping the bread and eating the last few mussels, the entrees came out. I know that they want to move you along in this restaurant because it is so small and they want to seat more people, but I prefer to have the appetizer done before the entree comes. That was a bit of a misstep in my opinion.

I ordered the fish tacos, which were fantastic. My boyfriend thought it looked like a small dish, but it was really filling. I struggled with the last few bites. It came with a spicy aioli that was fantastic. My boyfriend ordered the whole bronzino, which tasted good. The look of whole fish scares me a bit thoough.

Overall, the food was good. Most dishes range from $18-$23, which is decent. It is a bare bones restaurant, so if you are just looking for good fish with no frills, this is the place for you!

One more thing - do not order dessert. My boyfriend insisted on ordering the sundae, which was $12. No way was that a $12 sundae. You are better off at an ice cream place in the nearby area for a cheaper, more worthwhile dessert.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

DuMont Burger

2011-07-27T11:38:00.000-04:00

On the 4th of July, I spent the afternoon in Brooklyn, drinking cheap beers at The Levee and playing Nancy Drew Mad Libs with great friends. Before kicking off the beer drinking and adjective shouting, my boyfriend and I decided to fulfill our desire to eat a DuMont Burger. Keep in mind that there is a restaurant called DuMont, that serves the burger, and then a smaller casual joint called DuMont Burger, that has burgers, fries, shakes, etc.

DuMont Burger is a bit of a hole in the wall with nice outdoor seating. We ordered a $6 black and white shake, one burger, and an order of fries. They have "mini" burgers for $9.95 and burgers for $12.95, so we figured one full burger would do the trick. They offered us lots of cheese options, like gruyere and pepper jack, which I liked. We chose gruyere.

Our server told us, just a few minutes after we ordered, that they were out of chocolate ice cream. He asked us if we wanted a vanilla shake instead. I was kind of bummed because vanilla is really nothing like chocolate. But we said sure. Shortly thereafter, the server brought us 2 shakes due to the lack of chocolate. I thought that was sweet.

The burger came, and it was quite good. It has that sweetness to it that you don't find in many burgers. The brioche bun rocks, and the fries are abundant and fantastic!

It is definitely worth checking out! $13 is a bit pricey for what you get, but it is not too bad. And if you are in Williamsburg looking for a casual spot to munch on french fries and enjoy a delicious beer (they have a lot), this may be the place for you!

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

South Brooklyn Pizza

2011-07-26T09:48:00.000-04:00

South Brooklyn Pizza has a few different locations, but one just opened in the East Village, a few blocks from my apartment. I heard the pizza was awesome, so I was obviously intrigued.

The place is quite small. There is one table, if you choose to sit. Otherwise, you need to get this pizza to go. It is pretty simple - margherita pizza for $4 and pizza with toppings for $4.50. The toppings are limited, in a good way, to pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, etc.

We tried a margherita slice, a sausage slice and a pepperoni slice. I definitely recommend one topping per slice. They really top the slice with that topping. If you ask for mushrooms, it will be covered in mushrooms!

The pizza itself was quite tasty. $4.00 is a bit steep in my opinion. I thought it should have been $3.50. But the pizza clearly uses quality ingredients and is carefully prepared. I am not sure I will be rushing back, but I am sure I will find myself there again.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Half-priced Cocktails at Northern Spy Food Co.

2011-07-18T16:13:00.000-04:00

Northern Spy Food Co. is such a great restaurant. I truly love it there. It is not cheap - most dinner appetizers are $12 and entrees between $18-$25. But, it is not totally expensive and the food is outrageous. After you eat these delicious, local ingredients, you just feel good afterwards. And, there is nothing pretentious about this place.

I went last Monday to sit at the bar (small bar, about 4 seats) because they were offering half-priced cocktails all night. The half-priced cocktails start at 5 p.m., and you can enjoy them at a table as well as a bar. I encourage you to go early and check out the bar though, before 6 p.m. so you can take advantage of the bar menu! We got two meatballs with country bread for $8 and they were so fantastic! It was quite a hearty little snack. And my $4 cocktail was light and refreshing.

This will continue every Monday of the summer. Seeing as it is particularly hot today though, I recommend checking it out tonight!

Northern Spy Food Co. is located on 12th street between Avenue A and B.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Chinatown Ice Cream Factory

2011-07-13T10:49:00.000-04:00

It is not that big. When I went, I thought it would be bigger, like a big factory. The Chinatown Ice Cream Factory is a small little ice cream shop in Chinatown, smaller than your average Pinkberry. There is no room to sit and it is difficult to browse. But, look inside the freezers at all of the interesting flavors like Lychee, Taro, and Chocolate Pandan. Ask to try one, or two, or three. They want you to taste the ice cream!

My boyfriend got the Blueberry ice cream. It was absolutely delicious. Blueberry isn't my favorite flavor usually, but I really enjoyed the ice cream. I got Black Sesame ice cream, which was a chocolate like color, with sesame seeds in it. I loved it! I wish I could find a better way to describe the flavor, but most importantly, it was unlike any ice cream I have tasted before.

If you are looking for unique flavors at a decent price ($3.99 for an ice cream cone), check this place out. It is not your typical ice cream place, which makes it a great summer destination!

Check it out here!

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

A Good Deal for Kids!

2011-07-12T10:56:00.000-04:00

I have been walking around the city a lot, reading menus and chalkboards of specials. You can spend hours on the internet looking for great deals, and you will definitely find them. But some of the best deals are the deals that restaurants advertise outside of their restaurant on a little sign. It allows the restaurant to offer an interesting deal to walk-ins, and also allows the restaurant to pull the deal at anytime.

I walked past Pulino's the other day, Keith McNally's pizza place. It is on the corner of Houston and Bowery and is supposed to have great pizza. I enjoyed a slice as a leftover, but have yet to dine in the restaurant itself. They even have an extensive breakfast menu, with egg pizzas and a pizza with nutella on it.

If you have kids, and you choose to dine at Pulino's between 5-7, when you order a pizza, your kid gets a free '10 inch pizza! That is a pretty sweet deal. I am not sure what it is like to take kids out to eat, but I do know that if you want to go to a nicer restaurant, you usually pay a hefty price to get your kid dinner. At Pulino's, you can have your fancy pizza dinner, and your kids can join too!

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Pinisi Bakery

2011-07-06T12:58:00.000-04:00

I pass Pinisi Bakery every day on the way to my awful gym, Dolphin Fitness. And then I pass it again on my way to my lovely East Village apartment. I always look inside, wishing that I could allow myself to have a cupcake at 10 a.m. Alas, I keep walking, and make a point to try it one day, in the afternoon perhaps.

That one day comes, but instead of a cupcake, I see a great sign. The sign says "Buy an iced coffee and get a free cookie!" I really enjoy iced coffee and cookies and free things, so I went inside. The iced coffee was $2.50, which is about 50 cents more than I would usually pay. I got to CHOOSE my free cookie, from ALL of the cookies! And then, for some reason, I actually got 2 cookies! The cookies are small, but actually plump and quite filling. I ate one right before my lunch, which was a mistake because I got a little full.

So if you are looking to sweeten your morning, check out Pinisi Bakery here.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

CLOSED

2011-07-02T00:35:00.000-04:00

Based on your comments, I know that my readers read old posts, whether it is through a google search, or interest in browsing. I feel that I should update you on what has closed so that my posts of restaurants long gone do not entice or mislead you.

Olivia Bistro in the East Village - CLOSED. It just closed a few days ago. It did not have a strong opening, so its closing is no surprise.

Cafe Centosette, also in the East Village. CLOSED! Sad. I loved the eggs benedict on the croissant.

Bistrouge, ummm, also in the East Village. EV curse! Closed! Good burger and beer deal. Not much else.

Empire Diner (finally something on the west side). Food was not great. No loss there. Bye bye Empire. Something is still operating in the space though. I am not sure what it is....

Vento, literally the best Italian restaurant deal ever - it was $12.95 for a pasta or pizza and a beer or wine, on Sundays and Mondays. It was fantastic. Then it closed.

Japonais closed back in February. That was super sad. They had a great restaurant week menu.

Halfsteak was a special running in the front of craftsteak, Tom Colicchio's steakhouse on 15th street and 10th avenue. Craftsteak closed, but re-opened as a contemporary American restaurant, Colicchio & Sons. At least the parker house rolls you see in the photos of my old post still exist.

Just thought I would keep you updated!

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

FYI - Free Drinks at Social Eatz Tonight

2011-06-30T10:38:00.000-04:00

Social Eatz is a great restaurant in Midtown East, brought to you by Angelo Sosa from Top Chef. The burgers are to die for, the ribs are fantastic and the community atmosphere makes it a fun place to dine. And tonight, the outdoor garden opens. AND THEY ARE SERVING FREE DRINKS from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. in the new garden. Definitely check it out!

Lunch at Del Posto

2011-06-30T10:34:00.000-04:00

Lunch at Del Posto rocks. It is as simple as that. Del Posto is a Mario Batali 4 star restaurant in Chelsea and comes at a hefty price. But lunch is a STEAL at $29 for a three course meal.

Del Posto is a classy joint. You walk in and see the Maitre D' standing afar, on the platform, waiting for you to check in while the piano player is tickling the ivories. I was only dining with one other guest, but I was seated at the largest table for 2 that I have ever seen.

As I said, lunch is $29, from 11:30-2, M-F. May seem a bit steep for lunch, but just wait till you read the volume of food I consumed.

First comes the bread basket. There are three kinds of bread - focaccia, baguette, and olive. You get two pieces of each. Also, in little silver platters, you get butter and whipped lardo. Incredible. A good bread basket is a great way to start any meal, in my humble opinion.

Next, the amuse bouche. An amuse bouche is a small bite. At Del Posto - you get THREE! One amuse is a soup, that essentially tastes like pizza in a cup (I mean this is an amazing way). The next one is some sort of vegetable thing wrapped in prosciutto. And lastly, a lobster sandwich. Did I make it clear that you each get one, and that these are not shared? Ok good.

After the immense bread consumption and amuse bouching (formal term), the three courses start arriving. I ordered the salad, which was tasty, and my friend ordered the veal and tuna hearts, which were truly sensational. Both great starts to the meal. For entrees, my friend ordered the cacciucco, a fish stew, which comes out in a bowl, and the stew base is poured over the fish tableside by your penguin dressed server. It was a nice touch. I ordered the orecchiette with lamb sausage and soybeans. It was such an interesting color - yellow orecchiette, brown sausage, and green beans. When the plate came out, I thought - this looks like a delicate portion. I did not even finish it though! The lamb sausage was more abundant than it appeared to be at first sight, and it was very filling. I loved it!

There was a bit of a long pause between second course and dessert, but you want to make sure you have room for dessert, so that is good. I ordered the chocolate ricotta tortino, which was tasty, but not sweet, which made it mind-blowing. It was so simply delicious and not in anyway overpowering. But putting dessert aside, the complimentary petits are really where the dessert game is at. We received 4 each - a little tart, an ice cream lollipop, a dark truffle, and a dougnut. WIN!

When we paid our bill, we said goodbye to our server, and goodbye to the maitre d', who handed us chocolate truffles on the way out. Del Posto provides extravagance, good service, amazing food, and a unique experience. And to recap - for three pieces of bread, three amuses, three courses, a dessert, and four petits, for just $29 - how can you say no?

Check it out! http://www.delposto.com/menu.cfm?restaurantid=1&id=4

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

NYC Restaurant Week

2011-06-29T10:54:00.000-04:00

It is NYC Restaurant Week Again! The concept is the same every time. Participating restaurants offer $24.07 three course lunch and/or $35.00 three course dinner. Restaurant Week is a great way to try a restaurant at a fixed cost. My recommendation to all of you though is to look at the menus on at nycgo. Decide if the options on the menu sound good to you. Some places like Nuela and Colicchio & Sons offer the full menu, while other places only offer 2 choices for each course.

Some people do not like Restaurant Week because they think the service is bad. I like restaurant week because I think good restaurants like to impress new diners in hopes that they may return after Restaurant Week. It is also fun to have dinner in a room with a lot of diners who are choosing the same options. It becomes somewhat of a communal dining experience.

Zagat's has picked 11 Restaurant Week Dinner Reservations that you must make now. People, I cannot stress the urgency in their tone. These reservation slots will fill up VERY fast! Other restaurants may take time before slots are filled up, but waiting until Restaurant Week starts to make a reservation may mean you will be dining at 5:30 or 10:30 at one of the less popular restaurants.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Frozen Yogurt Craze

2011-06-23T09:19:00.000-04:00

Another day, another Frozen Yogurt place. It is officially summer, so the itch for ice cream or frozen yogurt hits us on a daily basis. I had the itch yesterday, and was super excited to see that HBO was giving out free Haagen Dazs ice cream cones on the street. It was delicious.

I live near 16 Handles, my choice for a self-serve frozen yogurt place. It is a bit pricey at 49 cents an ounce, but it is always delicious and can make a mini-meal if you put enough toppings on. If on a budget though, there is a place around the corner from 16 Handles called Yogurt Station, with a smaller selection, but is only 39 cents an ounce.

So, long story short, I was amazed when I went to the newest self-serve yogurt place in Chelsea called Flavaboom, and it was a whopping 59 cents an ounces. That is steep! Our two yogurts came to $13. That is crazy. The space at Flavaboom is definitely unique and somewhat futuristic. There is plenty of seating. And unlike the other self-serve yogurt places, you are not crammed in front of the handles. There is a great one-way path at Flavaboom, from the anti-bacterial soap, to the flavors, to the fruit, then to the chocolatey toppings. But the space itself is not worth the extra 10 cents an ounce.

What self-serve yogurt places have you tried lately?

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Egg

2011-06-16T11:27:00.000-04:00

Egg, a restaurant located on North 5th street in Brooklyn, is a popular brunch spot in Williamsburg, with a sign-up sheet at the door. After a failed attempt at Egg a few weeks ago, I woke up early to get to Egg, a brunch spot that opens at the early hour of 9 a.m. I arrived at 10 a.m. and waited 10 minutes for a table. So far, not too bad.

Once seated, the whimsy of this restaurant comes through with white paper table covers and crayons. Adults everywhere enjoyed coloring and playing tic-tac-toe. Out come the menus, quickly followed by a bowl of what appeared to be brioche doughnuts. I love a good brunch bread basket. I love any sort of bread basket. A doughnut bowl is equally as amazing. And there were 4 doughnuts. Score!!!!

I ordered the Eggs Rothko, "easy-cooked egg in a slice of Amy's brioche and topped with Grafton cheddar. Served with broiled tomatoes and a side of meat or seasonal vegetables." Alex ordered the Organic Grits and Eggs "stone-ground grits from South Carolina's Anson Mills. Eggs cooked any style. Served with a side of meat or seasonal vegetables (cheese grits +$1.25)."

The Eggs Rothko was by far one of the best brunch dishes I have ever tasted, with a great price tag of only $9. The Amy's brioche was enormous, with a perfectly cooked egg in the middle, layered with gooey cheddar. There are several choices for your side of meat, like bacon, scrapple, ham, and what I ordered, pork sausage. You get two enormous pieces of pork sausage, which I could not even finish. And the tomatoes on the side come with a tiny piece of bread to eat with it. This brunch dish has several components, which is just what a greedy brunch eater like me enjoys.

Alex equally enjoyed his dish, although felt the cheese in the grits did not add much to the grits. Our bill came to $20, which was incredibly reasonable. For a brunch this filling, with so many different components and flavors, $20 was well worth the price.

There is a lot of hype surrounding Egg, and that hype is deserved.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Salads

2011-06-08T11:59:00.000-04:00

The salad culture very much exists in NYC, especially at lunch. On a hot summer day, people like to take their lunch break with a nice cold salad, that makes them feel healthy and full! Fixing your own salad feels empowering, as you choose each ingredient, with a tasty dressing, and a little side of bread perhaps.

As a popular lunch item, great salad places tend to exist in high volume work neighborhoods. For example, the financial district as a few different cafes with great salads. Midtown has a few Chop't locations, a great place called Dishes and other choices for your salad needs. But, if you do not work in a high volume work neighborhood, salads tend to be sparse.

I work in the afternoon/evenings, so I enjoy an occasional salad at lunch. I live in the East Village though, which is not populated by work offices. The East Village has several restaurants and little stores, but the law offices and computer geeks of the world are not working in the East Village. With no Chop't or Just Salad in sight, where can you find a good salad?

The only real make your own salad place is Hot & Crusty. Hot & Crusty is ok, but not amazing by any stretch of the imagination. A lot of restaurants have good salads, but they do not necessarily offer the plethora of salad options that a midtown lunch spot does.

So, what place offers the most salad options, with a make your own salad option, big portions, and price tags around $7? Atlas Cafe! Atlas Cafe is located on 2nd avenue and 4th street with a few tables inside and a few tables outside. The salad options are endless, with more combos than you can imagine. It is vegan/vegetarian friendly, but with several meat choices for you carnivores. The salad is enormous and should surely get you through the lunch hour, and several hours thereafter.

What are your secret salad places in your neighborhood?

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Cafe Colette

2011-06-06T21:01:00.000-04:00

Cafe Colette is a corner cafe in Brooklyn, located on Berry Street, across from the restaurant Miranda, which i recently reviewed. My Sunday started with a trip to Brooklyn and an intention of trying Egg, a popular Williamsburg brunch spot. I knew the line would be long, so we ventured out around 10:30, with hopes of waiting only 30 minutes or so. Alas, the L was not running, and we hiked over to the M, then jumped on the train to Marcy Avenue, and walked over to Bedford Avenue. We arrived in Williamsburg closer to 11:45, with several parties of two ahead of us on the sign up sheet at Egg. As opposed to getting an estimated time of seating, you simply sign up and wait. Our trek to Brooklyn left us with big hunger pangs, and waiting was not in the cards for us. We tabled Egg, and put it on the list for another day.

Our backup plan to Egg was to be adventurous and look around. I was soon reminded of why I like plans. Although I enjoy browsing restaurants, looking inside, and reading menus, I do not favor this activity as much when I am particularly hungry. My curiosity is substituted with frustration, and my desire to eat immediately becomes the main focus. I learned that my uncanny ability to plan ahead for something as simple as brunch works best for my personality, and I will continue to do so in the future. I know that when extreme hunger starts to browse, bad decisions are made.

We headed over to Miranda, looked at the menu, and opted to try something new, seeing as I had just visited Miranda. Cafe Colette, located across the street, offered promising outdoor seating and a small menu. The hunger pang was hitting its hardest, and we took a seat at this corner restaurant.

The menu, very reasonably priced with the brunch essentials, contained one mystery: the breakfast sandwich. This $7 entree had no details. When we inquired with our waitress, she started with the word brioche, which was almost an automatic seller. She continued....eggs, bibb lettuce, tomato, aioli on a brioche bun, with a choice of bacon or sausage (and no, the bacon and sausage did not cost $2 extra, it was included!). Sounded great to us.

Pause to Ponder: Do you think you are more likely to order a dish when it is described to you by your server than you are if you simply read it on the menu?

Alex ordered the sandwich with bacon, and I with sausage. This sandwich is a delicious mess. It is like when you see a train wreck of a person and you call them a hot mess. Well this sandwich is a delicious mess. The egg runs everywhere. Here are a few places: the plate, the table, Alex's leg, and all over my face. If you have a date with a person who you hope never calls you, then eat this sandwich in front of them. They won't call you. That egg yolk stained on your cheek is a sure fire way to lose a guy. Forget Kate Hudson's method. Just eat this sandwich.

The sandwich was perfect, aside from the mess. I recommend the bacon, because the sausage is a bit thick and slides to the back. This $7 sandwich was very filling, satisfying, and without a doubt satisfied those hunger pands.

For some dining experiences, you are looking for a certain ambiance, level of service, type of cuisine, etc. But for some brunches, you are looking to satisfy a craving, to fulfill that morning hunger with something you can sink your teeth into, and Cafe Colette is just that!

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Hearth

2011-06-02T10:14:00.000-04:00

After moving to the East Village 9 months ago, I knew that I wanted to try Hearth, one of the more slightly upscale restaurants in the East Village. I waited for a special occasion, a 2 year anniversary to be exact, to make a reservation and try Hearth.

I arrived at Hearth, located on 12th and 1st, and immediately enjoyed the casual vibe and great music. The entrees at this restaurant are around $30, but the environment is far from stuffy. The red and black decor gives the restaurant a more funky vibe.

We pulled up two seats at the bar to have a drink before dinner. The wine book is a binder with more choices than you can imagine. Paul Grieco, the Beverage Director at Hearth, was recently nominated for a James Beard Award for Hearth, so this restaurant knows its wine.

The beauty of the wines by the glass list is that you can order a 6 oz glass, or for half the price, you can order a 3 oz taste. We each got one 3 oz taste. What a great way to sample a wine to see if you want to order that glass again. It is also great if you are just interested in trying a lot of different wines. If you were planning to have 2 glasses of wine at dinner, you can do 4 tastes instead and be more adventurous. Hearth is affiliated with Terroir, a wine bar with delicious tapas. The wine list at Terroir is setup the same way. I would LOVE to see more wine lists like the ones at Hearth and Terroir.

We were seated and greeted with menus. The amuse came shortly after, which was tasty, though I wish the amuse came after we ordered. It felt a little fast. As we reviewed the menu, a server came over with bread. This was the beginning of my awesome night of bread. The bread is a simple white bread, but with tons of flavor. It was a combination of sourdough and country bread. And they just keep coming around with the bread. Do not overdose on the bread, but indulge for sure.

The menu is very manageable. You have around 10 appetizers to choose from. The entrees consists of 3 meats, 3 fish, and 3 pasta. Hearth also has a nice "7 course tour of the menu" as well as shared dishes for the table.

We ordered the Grilled Quail with Farro, Carrots, Leeks, Quail Egg & Tomato to start. This dish was superb, and it was my favorite food all night. The quail was flavorful, but the farro, quail egg and tomato, served together in the most artful composition of food, was outstanding. I could eat that every day.

I ordered the Cacciucco, which is a fish stew with tile fish, mussels, shrimp, cockles and calamari. It was a great fish dish. It was nice to try a little bit of everything, and each fish was pretty distinguishable. Alex ordered the Pappardelle with braised goat, a pasta dish worth ordering. We do not order pasta a lot because we usually prefer more complex dishes that are inaccessible to us otherwise (for example, I would never go buy all of those different fish to make a fish stew, because it would be expensive). The Pappardelle was a comforting pasta, yet unique and powerful with the goat.

I was super excited to do a cheese course, but after dinner, we were too full. We always try to pace ourselves, but we usually end up with little room for dessert. I need to do a better job at finding room for dessert while at a restaurant. I usually crave dessert about an hour after the meal, when its too late.

Overall, we really enjoyed Hearth. The menu offers a unique approach to preparing familiar foods, so if you have some picky or skeptical dinner guests, they can definitely find something they would enjoy at Hearth. And if you love wine, then you must make your way to Hearth.

Have a delicious day!
NYC Menu Girl

Katz's Deli

2011-05-25T00:16:00.000-04:00

Katz's Deli is a quintessential NYC tourist stop, located on Houston in the Lower East Side. Famous for its appearance in the orgasm scene of When Harry Met Sally, New Yorkers and tourists alike feel compelled to stop by this deli for their very own $15.95 pastrami sandwich, raved to be a one-of-a-kind sandwich.

My boyfriend suggested that we try Katz's, considering we live 10 blocks away and considering that we might as well join the club of people who tried Katz's. We walked over, we walked in, and from that moment on, it was clear to us that we would never return.

This place is an old school deli, but it is kind of a crap hole, to be honest. You get food on trays, unless you choose table service, which seems unnecessary. Food on trays can be fun, I guess, when you are in college and you can later use the trays as sleds for the snow. Other than that, I don't want to eat my food off a tray. I rarely like to say snobby food-related things, but if I am eating off a tray, it better be under $10.

We ordered the infamous pastrami sandwich, with lettuce and tomato, for a whopping $16.95. Then we got $4 fries. We sat down to eat the sandwich. It is a big sandwich, so we split it. And it was filling and pretty tasty. But it was not nearly as good as the $17 platter of cured brisket at Mile End, which had more bread, more flavor, and was much more filling. Like I said about Mile End, the $17 gets you 2.5 sandwiches. The pastrami sandwich at Katz's is like 1.3 sandwiches.

We went on a Saturday. Mistake. It is so full of people who have seen When Harry Met Sally, all commenting "I'll have what she's having" and making very predictable comments about the space. Don't get me wrong - I love NY tourism. I want people to visit this amazing city and experience all that is has to offer. But please, there are SEVERAL other amazing places, well worth your time, that will give you NY soul, and won't steal so much cash from your wallet for just a sandwich.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Mile End Deli

2011-05-23T12:33:00.000-04:00

I found myself in Brooklyn again last week on Wednesday, at 97a Hoyt Street, waiting for space for 2 at Mile End Delicatessen. This small deli with three tables of 4, a table of 2, and 5 counter seats, had a 20 minute wait. Luckily, the sun was shining and there was no need to rush.

The menu at this Jewish deli offers several great sandwich options, in the $7-$10 range. As we waited, we decided that we each wanted the Smoked Meat sandwich, cured and smoked beef brisket, with rye and mustard. A 7 oz was $9 and a 14 oz was $17. When we finally sat, we ordered the 14 oz, and learned that it was a platter instead of a sandwich. It came with 14 oz of brisket, 5 pieces of bread, and some mustard on the side. It was perfect! You can make sandwiches, or eat it open face. It is a great deal for 2 people. It is essentially 2.5 sandwiches. And the $5 fries, although expensive, are delicious.

This meal kept me full for 7 hours. I did not eat dinner, which is unheard of in my food world. This deli is a gem, unlike some other deli I tried this past weekend. More details on that later.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

A Day in Brooklyn Ends

2011-05-18T10:48:00.000-04:00

We left Spritzenhaus by the lure of the sun. We went a block away to Berry Park, an excellent rooftop in Greenpoint Brooklyn. There is a bar downstairs that accepts credit cards and a bar upstairs on the roof that only takes cash. The beer list is great, with about 13 interesting beers to choose from in the $6-$7 range. And the rooftop is fantastic.

There are great looking burgers and sausages, but they come with a hefty price tag of $12-$15. To keep it on the cheap, you can order fries for $6 or a pretzel for $5. I did not taste the food, so I cannot judge whether it is worth the cost, but either way, come for the beer and the awesome roof space!

http://www.berryparkbk.com/pdf/menu.pdf

Have a delicious day!
NYC Menu Girl

A Day in Brooklyn Continues...

2011-05-17T11:09:00.000-04:00

After a delicious brunch at Miranda and a stroll down Bedford Street, I left my Jackson sisters to meet up with some pals at the new beer hall in Greenpoint, Spritzenhaus. Spritzenhaus, located at 33 Nassau Avenue, is a vast warehouse-like space with approximately 25 beers on tap. The beer list is decent, but not amazing. I prefer the beer list at Radegast Beer Hall in Williamsburg.

What rocks about Spritzenhaus is the space. It is enormous. It may not be the best beer hall in terms of beer, it is a great place to spend the afternoon. The 4 single stall bathrooms are clean. And even though there are only 3 tables outside, all the windows on this corner lot open up, so you access to fresh air is easy enough. Seeing as it was drizzling, it was perfect to be inside with a view of the park outside.

The food menu at this joint consists of pretzels and oysters, with alleged sausages in the works to debut at a later date. Spritzenhaus has only been open a month, so the kinks are still being worked out. But if you want to have a party with 20 people anytime in the near future, Spritzenhaus is a great place to accommodate such a large group, especially considering the very little buzz surrounding this place.

The sun came out after 2 beers at Spritzenhaus, so drinking outdoors was in the works. We left Spritzenhaus to find outdoor beer. More tomorrow...

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

A Day in Brooklyn

2011-05-16T13:21:00.000-04:00

I spent the day in Brooklyn yesterday. I enjoy my Sundays in Brooklyn with Brooklyn friends, outdoor space, and adorable restaurants.

I met up with my favorite sisters, the Jacksons, on Sunday for a little brunch at Miranda, in Williamsburg. I originally heard about Miranda through a PR friend, and shared Miranda events on this blog with all of you. I decided to finally check it out for myself this weekend.

Miranda is located on the corner of Berry Street and N. 9th street. The restaurant is hopelessly adorable! It is quaint and very well put together, with a small bar and randomly placed tables. We sat along with windowsill, with a nice breeze hitting us.

Brunch dishes range from $8-$13 dollars, with a must have $7 bread basket to start. The bread basket consisted of empanadas, muffins, and scones. There were 8 total, so more than enough for a table. The coffee is served in a cup and saucer, fancy enough for tea with the queen.

I ordered the Torta de Pollo, a chipotle-braised chicken sandwich, with avocado and mozzarella. It came with a side salad. This is the first time that I was totally satisfied with the sandwich and salad and did not yearn for potatoes. I usually like brunch dishes to have three solid components, but the endless coffee and tasty bread basket more than make up for the lack of potatoes.

Miranda is a true gem, with great food and a lovely atmosphere. I highly recommend it.

My day in Brooklyn did not end with brunch though. More tomorrow!

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Hidden Treasures

2011-05-14T12:50:00.000-04:00

It is finally starting to get nice out, after a somewhat gloomy April. The season of eating, drinking, and playing outdoors is upon us, and we have to start taking advantage. Of course, everyone has their outdoor favorites. Some like Saturdays at the Frying Pan, or Sundays at Cafeteria, or all day drinking at the Queens beer garden.

My goal this summer though is to find those outdoor places that are less obvious, perhaps a huge garden behind a restaurant, or an interesting park. I had brunch a few weeks ago at Back Forty, which has the best fried chicken and waffles, and I had no idea that they had a huge outdoor space behind the restaurant. There are a few small tables and several large tables, meant for sharing or for big groups. It made me think - there must be more places like this, with these adorable outdoor gardens, that I just don't know about.

Share your hidden outdoor treasures and I promise to share mine!

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

The Doughnut Plant

2011-05-11T10:56:00.000-04:00

After so much buzz about The Doughnut Plant, I had to check it out for myself. The original location is on the Lower East Side, and its second location is in Chelsea. I made my way over to Chelsea to see what the doughnuts are all about it.

The Doughnut Plant has a modern feel, like an upscale shop, with tv screens displaying the menu. There are two kinds of doughnuts: yeast doughnuts and cake doughnuts. There are also featured doughnuts, not listed on the regular menu but that will appear on the tv screen as an option for the day.

I got the blackout doughnut, a fancy chocolate doughnut with a chocolate glaze, for $2.75. And it was just that - fancy. Taking simple things and making them fancier and adding a heftier price tag is definitely a popular NYC trend, but not always a trend worth following.

This doughnut was nothing special in my book. It tried to hard to be a doughnut, but lacked the comfort and greasy nature of a doughnut. Don't get me wrong - I enjoy fancier, better, and over-priced versions of simple dishes. I have paid $17 for a burger a handful of times. But those burgers were fantastic. This fancy doughnut shop should have made me convert to a life of upscale doughnuts. Instead, I just wanted to buy a box of 50 munchkins from Dunkin Donuts and share them with my friends.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Late Night at The Dutch

2011-05-03T09:09:00.000-04:00

The Dutch, an American bar, restaurant, and oyster bar, is Andrew Carmellini's latest restaurant, located in Soho. Andrew Carmellini is known for Locanda Verde, an Italian restaurant located in TriBeCa. I have yet to try Locanda Verde, but when I heard that The Dutch was opening and offering a late night menu, I decided to jump on the opportunity to try it immediately.

The grand opening of The Dutch was Monday, April 25th, and I made my way to The Dutch on Wednesday, April 27. Late night starts around 11/11:15, and we arrived at 11. We waited at the bar for 10 minutes as the restaurant transitioned from dinner to late night.

The restaurant is spread out, yet cozy. The bar is smack in the middle, dividing the dining space into two somewhat separate spaces. The bar was packed and it was clear the restaurant was going to be crowded until late into the night.

The lovely host, Aly, brought us to our table and presented our menus. The menu consists of several full dishes, in the mid-teen price range. If you think this menu is a light late night snack, you are wrong.

We had a few cocktails, which were interesting and pretty delicious. We ordered the fried chicken, which unfortunately, they had just run out of. I heard GREAT things about it, and I saw people eating it at the bar before we sat down. I was super bummed that we could not get it. Instead, we ordered the Asian White Boy Ribs and the Sloppy Duck sandwich with peanuts, cucumber, and mint. The ribs were delicious and the sandwich was top notch. The sandwich had asian flavors as well, which was surprising. Both dishes were filling and very tasty.

We opted out of dessert. Dessert includes ice creams and pies, but none of the prepared desserts, like chocolate cake, from the dinner menu. That is fine that they do not offer it, but hopefully they will have a separate menu with just late night desserts, because reading about the chocolate cake was kind of taunting.

I definitely recommend checking out The Dutch. It is a bit sceney at this time, which makes it fun!

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Social Eatz - Expectations Exceeded

2011-04-23T13:01:00.000-04:00

If you are a Top Chef fan, you have heard of Angelo Sosa. He was the runner-up of Season 7 and a contender in the All Stars season. Although I wanted Ed Cotton to win Season 7 and Carla to win All Stars, there was no denying that Angelo was quite the competitor.

When my mom suggested that we try Social Eatz, Angelo's new place on 53rd street and 3rd avenue, I welcomed the suggestion and was excited to give the place a try. I had not read much about the menu and went with an open mind.

To start, the place was much bigger than I expected. It has a pretty big lunch vibe, with some cafeteria-style tables, and it was very busy during lunch. Your server will explain the Social Eatz concept, and remind you of the lack of liquor license, which is weird.

The menu consists of salad'z, app'z, soup'z, burger'z, signature'z, taco'z, side'z, and sweet'z. I eliminated trying salad'z, but they actually looked pretty great. We of course ordered the Smoked Ribs from the app'z, the Bulgogi burger, which is sauced with soy, sugar, scallion, garlic and sesame oil garnished with cooked cucumber kimchee, kewpee, and japanese mayo, and of course, the crispy fries to finish it off.

The smoked ribs were incredible. They had that bit of asian flavor, and the sauce was delicious. I started to fork into it, and at some point, just picked the ribs up and went to town. I got the sauce all over my face. The burger was also fantastic. I had a burger the day before, and the day before that, so I was not inclined to order the burger. But my mom heard the Bulgogi was a must have, and she was right. It was cooked to perfection, with fantastic asian flavors. It was like a sandwich from Num Pang, but a burger!!

The fries, which cost $4.50, are crispy, with a great dipping sauce, and with TONS of fries to pick at throughout the meal. It was more than enough for 2.

If you are full, you should still consider topping it all off with the Chocolate Toffee Brownie.

I highly recommend Social Eatz. Most dishes are under $10, and will fill you up for at least 5-6 hours.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

OpenTable's 50 Best Brunches

2011-04-22T10:38:00.000-04:00

OpenTable ranked the 50 best brunches in the United States. Of the 50 best brunches place, New York City brunch took 11 spots, the highest of any city on the list!

Cupping Room Café – New York, New York

Essex – New York, New York

Five Points – New York, New York

Friend of a Farmer – New York, New York

Hundred Acres – New York, New York

Jane – New York, New York

Norma’s at Le Parker Meridien – New York, New York

Poco – New York, New York

Sarabeth’s Central Park South – New York, New York

Sarabeth’s West – New York, New York

The Smith – New York, New York

The list had a few surprises, and the usual great brunch spots. The Smith and Jane are known for excellent brunch, always with people pouring out the door as they wait to get a seat. The beautiful thing though is that these restaurants take brunch reservations, so you don't have to wait! I have heard great things about Poco, located on Avenue B, seeing as a friend of mine used to work there. Now, I have to go.

Sarabeth's, with a few locations in New York, is known to have delicious brunch. Five Points is simply excellent and Hundred Acres is a quintessential NY spot in Soho. As for the Cupping Room Cafe, I have never heard of it!

As you think about Easter Sunday and the upcoming Mother's Day, check out OpenTable for brunch reservations. If you want a delicious brunch menu, and you don't want to wait, then make a reservation!

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Lunch at Cafe Petisco

2011-04-19T10:58:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago, I met up with a friend at Cafe Petisco, a great lunch spot on the lower east side. We met near her work, Henry Street Settlement, a great organization that offers social services and art programs to thousands of New Yorkers. Henry Street Settlement is well connected with its neighbors, so it only made sense for us to eat at a neighborhood favorite.

Cafe Petisco has an extensive menu, from sandwiches, to entrees, to simple breakfast dishes served all day. The lunch menu required flipping pages, but once my friend arrived, she told me the real deal: soup and half a sandwich for about $7.50. That sounded like a great combination at a reasonable price.

They had four soups to choose from, including tomato, which my friend chose, and zucchini, which I chose. Usually, places like this have a soup of the day and you order that soup. Soup choices were nice. We each ordered sandwiches with our soup, and waited for lunch to arrive.

When lunch arrived, I was ecstatic. The bowl of soup was enormous. The half sandwich was really 80% of a sandwich for me. The reason why I love half portions is simply because half portions are usually half portions based on a person who would eat the biggest portion. This sandwich was almost the equivalent of a 6 inch sub, which is a full portion to me. With a side salad, and a soup, this lunch was definitely complete.

The food was delicious, the price was right, and leaving with the feeling of total satisfaction that my hunger would not pang for at least 5 hours was a great success.

Where are you favorite lunch hidden gems?

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Brooklyn Brunch at Apartment 138

2011-04-18T12:14:00.000-04:00

I went to Boerum Hill for brunch yesterday, at Apartment 138. The wait was only 10 minutes, during which time, we waited at the bar. The bar serves $4 mimosas and bloody mary's. Usually, brunch cocktails run $6 and up, so it was a good start to the day.

The brunch menu is quite extensive, with eggs benedict, grilled cheese with chorizo, frittata's, and burgers. Most brunch dishes are about $12. However, certain brunch dishes are $12 and come with a cocktail! The eggs, biscuits, and gravy dish, the burger, salads, and a few other dishes are included on the list. The only bummer was that the deal does not extend to every dish. So if I wanted to order the $12 grilled cheese, it would not come with a cocktail. Cocktails were kind of the focus of our day, so we stuck to the dishes that came with cocktails.

I ordered the cheeseburger with fries and salad, and another mimosa, for just $12. It was super delicious and the mimosa was perfectly strong. Although this brunch spot is not an all you can drink spot, $20 would get you a brunch dish and three cocktails, which is not so bad. And with complimentary mini muffins to start, it is a perfectly lovely brunch.

Outdoor seating available!

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Shame

2011-04-17T10:48:00.000-04:00

It has been too long folks. Shame on me. Here is what I have in the works for you this week:

1. A review of Cafe Petisco, a little cafe on the Lower East Side. I will tell you one thing though - this lunch special is my favorite in the city.

2. Brunch in Brooklyn. I am off to meet two of my favorite ladies today for a little brunch action, and I hope to have details to share when I return.

3. Angelo Sosa's Social Eatz, his new Asian sandwich shop. That is my Tuesday agenda, and I can't wait to see what he is serving up.

4. A revisit to Terroir - still tasty and adorable.

More tomorrow!

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Revisiting Elmo

2011-04-06T13:19:00.000-04:00

Elmo is a spunky restaurant in Chelsea with hot waiters and fun music. I went to Elmo for brunch back in 2009 and revisited for the first time last weekend again for brunch.

My memory of Elmo was that it served good food at a reasonable price. When I went to Elmo again, I was shocked at just how reasonable it was, compared to so many other brunch places in NYC. Most dishes are under $10! And the menu has something for all times of day - from eggs benedict to a salmon sandwich. They also have great salads and sides to choose from, so you do not need to choose what food mood you are in. The menu has it all!

We did not have to wait and our waiter was very attentive. They generously fill up the water and do not rush you. Elmo also has great outdoor seating!

I think this restaurant is a great brunch find on the west side and I highly recommend it.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Revisiting Peels

2011-04-05T11:38:00.000-04:00

At the beginning of March, I visited Peels, a hot new place on Bowery where the biscuits are all the rage. I went and I loved the biscuit! You build it yourself, with all of your favorite toppings. By the end of the building, you could be out by $11 or so, but you are full and happy.

I went to Peels last week to meet a friend for breakfast. Instead of having the biscuit again, I tried the Spa Eggs, an egg white omelette with goat cheese and spinach and a side salad. It was very healthy and was a feel good kind of breakfast. The animal in me kind of missed the delicious biscuit though.

All in all, Peels is a great breakfast spot that really has something for everyone, from simple biscuits, to more complex dishes, from super healthy, to super fried.

I am sure another revisit is in the works!

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Revisiting Po

2011-04-04T11:39:00.000-04:00

In March 2010, I went to Po, a quaint restaurant located in the village specializing in Italian cuisine. The restaurant was quiet and so quintessential NY. It only had 40 seats, a bar with four stools, and a few staff members. My experience at Po was great - I loved the food and the ambiance was subtle and romantic. I recommend this restaurant a lot because most of the dishes are between $15 and $23, so it is reasonable, and there are options for everyone.

When I returned to Po last week, one year later, my experience was a little different. First off, the restaurant was BUSTLING. It was a little loud for my taste, but not awful. We were seated in the back of the dining room, so I felt a little cramped. The wine list has reasonably priced bottles but could definitely use more options in the wines by the glass department.

As for the food, most of the dishes hit the spot. We ordered a special salad and I ordered the special pasta, both of which were a hit. My mom ordered the braised hen, which I ordered last year, and it was just as perfect as the time before. Unfortunately, the mussels and clams that we started with were a bit of a let down. Too many of the shells were empty and the flavors just did not blend well.

The check was dropped on our table a little bit sooner than we would have liked. Overall, the food is still good, but the quaintness of the restaurant is not quite the same.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Revisiting Old Favorites

2011-04-03T09:43:00.000-04:00

This past week, I revisited a few old favorite restaurants. One restaurant, Elmo, I went to over a year ago. I went to Po a year ago and I went to Peels a month ago. And I had the pleasure of re-experiencing each one, creating a new memory in each restaurant and reinventing my opinion of the restaurant.

It is always fun to return to restaurants that you enjoy because you go excited to eat the dishes you love or try new dishes on the menu. But sometimes, you have a romanticized memory of the restaurants and unfortunately, the second time around is not as good as the first.

Keep reading this week to hear about my experience at each restaurant and find out if it lived up to the hype in my memory or if it fell short.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Game of Thrones Food Truck

2011-03-30T10:09:00.000-04:00

For the past two days, and for the next three days, you can eat free food from the Game of Thrones Food Truck. Games of Thrones is a new HBO series. As a promotion for the show, they are sponsoring a food truck with dishes inspired from the show. The chef behind these dishes is none other than Tom Colicchio.

So, how does this work? You have to follow GamesofThrones on twitter or on facebook. They will tweet the general vicinity of the truck during the day. Then, at 6 p.m., the exact location will be tweeted. Yesterday, Game of Thrones said it would be near Astor Place. I arrived at Astor Place around 5:50 and people started running because the truck was just pulling in and the line was forming. At 6:15, the truck started serving up the food. Yesterday, it was a choice between corn fritters and roasted squab with bread pudding. Everyone gets a lemon cake too. We were probably the 45th and 46th people in line and we were served by 6:30, so the lines moves fast.

I went with Alex and we got one of each dish. The roasted squab was tasty and we loved the corn fritters. Not only was the food delicious, but it was fun too to wait on line with everyone else, waiting for high quality and interesting dishes for the price of $0.

Check it out over the next few days. The truck will be in L.A. next week too, for those on the other coast.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Eating at The Brooklyn Flea

2011-03-27T12:06:00.000-04:00

The Brooklyn Flea has a few different locations, depending on the time of the year. I went to the one at 1 Hanson Place, which ends this weekend. The other locations, Williamsburg and Fort Greene, are outdoor markets and start next weekend.

These markets contain several vendors, from clothes, to furniture, to of course....FOOD! Most of the food at 1 Hanson Place was located on the bottom floor, with tables to sit and eat at. I went with Alex, determined to try as many things as possible.

We started with a beef taco from Choncho's Tacos, which was ok. It was a pretty basic taco and nothing to special. It was $4.50. Then, we had a hot dog with pork belly from Asia Dog, which was $4.00. This hot dog was the winner for the day. Hot dogs with interesting toppings always make me smile!

After the taco and the hot dog, we went for a grilled cheese and a milk shake from Milk Truck for $12.00. The grilled cheese was awesome and the dark chocolate shake was thick and delicious. This could have been a meal on its own. We went back upstairs to look around and found SCRATCHbread, which has so many tasty bread and sandwich choices. We got a mini sandwich for $5 and thought it was delicious. You can get breadsticks and foccacia to take home!

In addition to these vendors, there are lobster rolls, porchetta sandwiches, and cupcakes. And once the Brooklyn Flea starts its outdoor season next week, you can probably get more bbq options!

Check it out....it is worth the food tour.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Caracas - Good Lunch Deal, Ok Food

2011-03-21T12:02:00.000-04:00

Caracas is an Arepas bar in the East Village. An arepa is flat corn dough that you usually stuff with deliciousness and eat.

For $7.95 at lunchtime, you can pick an arepa and a soup or salad. It is a pretty good deal because the arepas are filling and the soup and salad portions are generous. The soup changes daily and the salad is a green salad with carrots, tomatoes, and hearts of palm. I loved the salad and thought it was a good start for the meal.

The arepa itself, which contained grilled chicken and cheese, lacked excitement for me. The cheese was shredded cheddar and was just thrown on top. It wasn't melted and really did not enhance the flavor. It wasn't bad, but I definitely would have preferred a delicious quesadilla or taco to this arepa.

If you enjoy arepas, and want to keep lunch under $10, Caracas is a good choice. But just because a lunch special is cheap does not mean that it is worth it.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

The Counter

2011-03-17T15:15:00.000-04:00

I love hamburgers. I have been eating a ton of burgers in the past few months and burgers, although simple at times, can be prepared in several different ways. At The Counter, located on 42nd street and 7th avenue, you can choose everything about your burger, from the type of meat, to the bun, and all of the toppings in between.

The Counter provides you with a checklist for you to make your decisions, similar to The Meatball Shop. First, you choose the meat and the size. I chose beef at 1/3 lb, but you can choose chicken at a 1 lb if you like. The choices of cheese are simply incredible - herb goat cheese spread, tillamook cheddar, or soft ripened brie. Next, you get four toppings of your choosing, plus premium toppings, at an additional charge. You can have the basic lettuce and tomato, or something more interesting like chiles and sprouts. Then, you choose a sauce, like honey mustard, hot wing sauce, or ginger soy glaze. And lastly, you choose your bun.

Of course, if choice is too much for you, you can choose a burger off the menu, with the pre-selected combos. And don't forget the delicious sweet potato fries and a shake.

So if you are looking for more than just a burger, I suggest The Counter, where the food is good, and the options are endless!

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Fifth Stop....

2011-03-14T01:15:00.000-04:00

Did not happen! I scheduled Agozar, located on Bowery, for our last stop because it was the furthest away and I have been before, so it was not a priority. We were full, a little buzzed, and ready to go home after 3 hours traveling from Goat Town to Terroir to Good Beer to The Immigrant!

But, I must share the great deal at Agozar. From 5 to 8 p.m., the bar area, which is spacious and has tables, serves 2 for 1 DRINKS and TAPAS. It is AMAZING! The food there is great. The cocktails are delicious. And basically, you pay for an $8 cocktail and a $7 tapas, and $15 later, you have two drinks and two tapas!

So that was the end of our tour. It was an amazing tapas adventure, and I cannot wait to go on another one!

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Fourth Stop - The Immigrant

2011-03-12T11:42:00.000-05:00

The fourth stop on the tapas tour was The Immigrant, a delightfully small tapas restaurant located on 9th street and 1st avenue. I chose The Immigrant because I walk by the restaurant a lot and always think that it looks so adorable and very NYC.

There were only two other guests at The Immigrant. The wine list is excellent. Most wines are between $9-$13 a glass. I ordered the Pinot Grigio, which came in one of those thick wine glasses, which I just love. They have $6 beers as well. Their small plates menu is small and straightforward - wine nuts, charcuterie, and olives. We ordered a meat and cheese plate for $10. When it arrived, there were about 5 pieces of bread, slices of coppa and soppressata, and aged irish cheddar. They get some of their products from Russo's Mozzarella, a place I frequent for my coppa and bread needs. The aged irish cheddar was sooooo good. And the meat plate was quite generous.

We chatted with the owner for a bit, who was very nice. He was so nice, that I went back to The Immigrant last night for a glass of wine. This time, on a Friday night at 11 p.m., the place was packed!

I am sure I will visit The Immigrant again!

http://theimmigrantnyc.com/

Next stop, Agozar. Until tomorrow...

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Third Stop - Good Beer

2011-03-11T14:27:00.000-05:00

Next on the tour, we stopped at Good Beer. Ok - Good Beer is not a typical "small plates" restaurant. However, they do sell snacks. And I added it to our tour because Alex is more of a beer guy than a wine guy, so I figured we needed a beer place in there.

Good Beer is a craft beer store that sells really interesting beers. You can buy a six pack, a bottle, or make your own six pack. While you shop, you can buy a $6 beer and enjoy sausages and pretzels. We ordered a $3 bowl of pretzels and two beers. We expected the pretzels to be soft pretzels, but it was actually a bowl of hard pretzels with tasty mustard. It is funny how sometimes you have these expectations in your head of how a certain dish will look or taste, and then you realize that the dish is something else entirely. Never hesitate to ask questions about a dish.

The beers were good and the pretzels were fine. If you like something more than Amstel Light and Budweiser, this store, on 9th street between 1st and A is a good beer spot for you.

http://goodbeernyc.com/Good_Beer/GOOD_BEER.html

Next stop, The Immigrant. Until tomorrow...

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Second Stop - Terroir

2011-03-10T15:16:00.000-05:00

We made it to our second stop on our Tapas tour at 5:45. Our second stop was Terroir, located on 12th street and 1st avenue. Terroir is run by Paul Grieco and Marco Canora, who run the restaurant next door, Hearth. Terroir is a very small wine bar with very big binders of wine lists. And the small plates menu boasts unique, meaty dishes, including paninis!

We arrived at Terroir before 6 p.m. because if you dine between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., you get a free glass of sherry! I had the cool white sherry and alex had the dark warm sherry. I learned that sherry is not my favorite drink, but I was glad I tried it, and love a free drink!

We ordered the black cabbage and sausage bruschetta and the red wine risotto balls with oxtail. This was the only stop on our tour where we ordered two dishes because there were just too many awesome dishes to choose from, that it was impossible to choose 1!

The dishes came out about 10 minutes later. They lived up to the expectations I had set for them! The bruschetta was enormous - it was a huge piece of bread with delicious toppings. The red wine risotto balls with oxtail were round fried balls that with every hot bite, there was an explosion of flavor. Alex commented that he could not taste the oxtail in the risotto balls, but I think it still contributed to the amazing flavor. For example, I made these brownies with chocolate chips in them a few weeks ago, and I thought that the chips seemed silly because you could not really taste them. But when I made them without the chips, they definitely did not taste as good. Even though I could not taste the bite of the chips, they clearly had an impact on the texture of the dish.

Terroir was awesome, and I can't wait to return late one night for a delicious panini and glass of wine.

http://restauranthearth.com/terrior/terroirmenu.pdf

Next stop, Good Beer! Until tomorrow.....

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

First Stop - Goat Town

2011-03-09T09:54:00.000-05:00

If you read yesterday's post, you know that I went on an self-guided East Village Tapas Tour, traveling where my stomach and wallet could take me. The first stop was Goat Town, located on 5th Street between Avenue A and B. Goat Town is a new addition to the East Village, which was my primary reason for selecting it for the tour. Although Goat Town does not specialize in small plates, they have a special menu for Happy Hour of different snacks, so I thought it would be a good start.

Goat Town has a nice layout, with a bar on 1 side, and tables on the other side. They seem to specialize in oysters. We sat at the bar, close to two other individuals who were chatting about great downtown eats, like The Meatball Shop.

Between 4 and 7 p.m., you can order off Goat Town's happy hour bar menu, which includes a $14 burger and beer, oysters, and a few small plates. We ordered the $12 mussels and I ordered the $7 glass of house wine. One slight disappointment was that there were no drink specials for happy hour - just the bar menu of snacks. Oh well.

The house white wine was fabulous. It was a great glass of wine. The mussels took about 10-15 minutes to arrive. They were pretty good, but some of them were very difficult to open, which was a bummer. The two pieces of delicious bread dipped in the mussel broth was a nice treat. It was an even better treat when we still had broth left and they asked us if we wanted more bread. We said yes, obviously.

Goat Town was a great start to our tour. The vibe was cool, the wine was tasty, and the mussels were pretty decent. I would definitely consider going back for the $14 beer and a burger.

http://www.goattownnyc.com/menus.htm

Next stop on the tour: Terroir. Until tomorrow....

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Tapas/Small Plates Tour

2011-03-08T09:58:00.000-05:00

I was off from work last night and wanted to eat a spectacular meal out. I made a list of about ten places I wanted to try. I could not choose what I was in the mood for. It then occurred to me - why not pick a bunch of places that offer small plates/tapas/happy hour food specials and eat at a few different restaurants? When I traveled in the fall for work, I would frequently eat two dinners out, getting an appetizer and a drink at one place, and an entree and a drink at another place. I only had 1 or 2 nights to explore the cities I visited, so I wanted to have as many culinary experiences as possible. Why not do that at home too?

I decided to keep the tour in my own neighborhood, the East Village. Menupages.com produced 43 results for restaurants offering small plates/tapas. I spent about an hour or so pouring through the menu options, and it was very difficult to narrow my list down to five choices. I am sure that some of you will be upset that I did not try certain tapas place, but I guarantee this will not be my last tapas tour.

Starting tomorrow, I will take you on the East Village Tapas Tour my reviewing a place per day. It will start with my first stop to a new restaurant, Goat Town, on 5th Street and Avenue B.

Until tomorrow...

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Peels

2011-03-06T10:47:00.000-05:00

Peels, a restaurant located on Bowery, has created quite a buzz over the past few months for their delicious biscuits! I am a biscuit eater and was eager to try Peels. I arrived on a Saturday at 11:30 a.m. and was told the wait would be 20 minutes for a table, or right away for two seats at the bar. Bring on the bar!

Peels is a great space. It has a small downstairs, with a take-out counter and a few communal-sized tables. The upstairs is a bright space, with green and white decor, and its own bar.

Lets pause for a moment to talk about bar seating. Some restaurants offer their full menu at the bar, and instead of waiting for a table, you can enjoy dinner at the bar. I understand that there may be some drawbacks. You may not enjoy sitting on stools for long periods of time. If you are with a large party, it can be difficult to talk. You do not have as much space for all of the food and drinks because you don't have a table. But bar seating can also be awesome. If you want to have an intimate conversation with your guest, you probably won't have a server coming to your table to check on you that often. Usually the bartender will just take your order when you are ready. You can probably stay at the bar longer because if you sit at a table, it is possible that your table needs to turn for a reservation, so they need you out. And you can really be a part of the action, watching the bartenders run around and sitting arm-to-arm with other guests.

Back to Peels. In addition to several amazing breakfast and brunch menu items, Peels offers a build-a-biscuit. The biscuit is $3. Then, you add to the biscuit. You can add eggs for $3. You can add avocado for $2. Cheese is a $1. Fried chicken is $6. These biscuits can get pretty pricey, but you can really create something delicious and filling.

I got a biscuit with eggs, cheese, and avocado. That is a $9 biscuit. Alex got his biscuit with eggs, cheese, and fried chicken. So his biscuit came to $13. My biscuit is pictured above. It looks small on the plate, but it is enormous, messy, and delicious. It was totally worth $9, and I did not eat for at least a few hours after this biscuit. Alex's biscuit with fried chicken - wowzers. Fried chicken for breakfast is super delicious. It really took the biscuit to a whole different level.

So if you like your biscuits with complex choices and simply perfect flavors, give Peels a whirl. And, you do not have to wait for brunch - go for breakfast!

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Minetta Tavern

2011-03-03T09:27:00.000-05:00

I dined at Minetta Tavern for a Valentine's Day Celebration, the day after Valentine's Day. Minetta Tavern was also the Valentine's choice of the Beckhams, so I read.

It is very difficult to get a reservation at Minetta Tavern. I called three weeks in advance and was offered 5:30 and 11 p.m. I chose 5:30. They accept reservations up to a month in advance, so try to call a month in advance!

Minetta Tavern, located in the Village, is a really cool looking restaurant. It has a french bistro look, combined with this old world feel. The ceilings are low, and you sincerely feel like you are in an intimate space.

The menu is meat heavy. It reminded me of The Breslin. If you are not much of a meat-eater, I can't say that this restaurant is the best restaurant for you. We started with the bone marrow appetizer, and I was blown away. This bone marrow was ENORMOUS and delicious! For $16, it was worth the price, and definitely an appetizer for two. I highly recommend it.

Minetta Tavern is known for its Black Label Burger, priced at $26. It is served with caramelized onions and french fries, but no cheese. The burger is a blend and has a sweetness to it that I have never tasted in a burger before. I could not resist ordering this burger, because I am a burger fiend. I thought it was very delicious, although I can't say it was really worth $26. It was worth trying, but I could not possibly shell out $26 to try this burger again. If you go, I recommend it. But if you go again, shell out the dollars for something else.

Do NOT ignore the sides! The mashed potatoes with gooey cheese were simply perfect, and totally worth it, even though I was already eating an entire burger and fries.

We were in and out in about 65-70 minutes. It was a little fast for all of that meat, and when I arrived home at 7:15, I passed out on the couch from meat exhaustion.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl

Till Thursday....

2011-02-21T09:33:00.000-05:00

Hey friends! This week is a bit hectic and so I will have to leave you hanging until Thursday. However, you can look forward to a full review of Minetta Tavern in the near future.

In the meantime, leave comments about your V-Day dinner. Where did you go and did it live up to the romantic hype?

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl