NYC Tastes

If you happen to walk by Lexington and 30th any given weekend morning, whether it's 70 degrees and sunny or 30 degrees and snowing, you're likely to see a long line of people standing outside sipping on mugs of coffee and chatting.  No they're not waiting to get a glimpse of Justin Bieber...they're waiting for a spot inside the cute little restaurant Penelope for brunch. What's on the menu?  Things like Pumpkin Waffles with Apple Butter and Cinnamon Pecans, Salmon Wrapped Poached Eggs and fluffy Nutella French Toast.  I was in a lunch mood my last visit so I ordered When Veggie Met Sally  Grilled Veggie Burger gets dressed up with chopped greens, green apple and goat cheese in a roasted garlic balsamic vinaigrette.  It's a sweet   and savory salad that gives me the protein and veggie power I need for a productive day. Well maybe not too productive...who can say no to a Pomegranate Bellini. ...

There are some neighborhood joints that just seem to fly under my radar.  I know they exist, I know they're delicious but I just seem to forget about them.  Well luckily Penelope is back on my radar because I absolutely love their Arugula Salad with Warm Chicken Meatball. This salad is absolutely enormous with fresh arugula tossed in a creamy pesto lemon dressing and topped with pecorino and of course the meatballs.  This is such a filling and delicious salad.  It's homey and comfortable just like Penelope itself. Add a couple slices of their delicious homemade bread and I had a chicken meatball sandwich leftover for the lunch the next day! Penelope

So two Lobster Rolls in two days is pretty extravagant but we're celebrating our nations independence right? So we headed to our neighborhood place Penelope tonight. This place is so close to us but we've only been there 3 times. For some reason we always forget about it, which is too bad because the food is always great. Mr. Trekker got the lobster sandwich and I got the warm chicken meatballs arugula salad. Now in contrast to Ditch Plains this one was much more of a salad. The lobster was chopped fine with more mayonnaise and celery. Even thought there was less lobster I preferred this version. The lobster flavor actually came through and wasn't over powered by spices. Also it was only $17- a cool $8 cheaper than Ditch Plains. The french fries here are also great. Nice and crispy and seasoned with rosemary. My meal was also fantastic. I've had this before and it was just as good. The salad dressing has a great zingy taste and the warm chicken meatballs are just a...