NYC Tastes

As the polar vortex continues to unleash freezing temps across the city, we search for more warmth in comfort food like the velvety Tomato Soup & Adult Grilled Cheese from Sarabeth's. Adult here really just means excessive; as in excessive amounts of glorious melted cheddar, manchego and gruyere cheese sandwiched between a buttery Bavarian pretzel roll dusted with salt. This sandwich has enough cheesy goodness to provide comfort for days, especially when dunked properly into the creamy tomato soup. This thick broth is full of chopped shallots, chunky tomato and even more cheddar cheese shredded on top, making this the ultimate soup and sandwich comfort combo. Sarabeth's 381 Park Avenue South at 27th Street New York, NY 10016

The newest location of Sarabeth opened in the former Primehouse space on Park Avenue South. The sprawling restaurant feels absolutely enormous with big round tables, black and white checkered floors and lots of large windows looking out onto the street.  The crowd wasn't too bad when we arrived. It was the Friday after the 4th of July so not technically the weekend but they were serving the brunch menu for the holiday. I decided to take full advantage of the Friday brunch and order a Five Flower Mimosa's before moving onto my entree the Braised Short Rib Hash. This dish was huge with tons of short rib, potatoes, poblano peppers and tomatillo sauce all topped off with two baked eggs.  This wasn't overly spicy at first but the heat intensified the more I ate.  If you like a big spicy breakfast in the morning this is right up your alley.   The egg dishes come with a choice of muffin, croissant or scone.  I was incredibly excited for my Blueberry Scone ...

It's been a crazy few weeks of openings, closing and renovations here in my neighborhood   Let's start with renovations...Parea has gone from complete Greek to meat with a whole new steakhouse menu.  Now called Parea Prime you can enjoy steaks and chops along with your saganaki plus a full raw bar.  Go between 4-7 for their 6 for 6 happy hour where $6 buys 6 oysters or 6 clams. Parea Prime Right next door to Parea Prime is a brand new restaurant County. The menu boasts small plates such as Waygu Beef sliders and Smoked Chicken Breast.  The decor looks really homey from the outside and every night it's been pretty packed with lots of cocktail drinkers...I'll have to stop by soon and check out the food. County Speaking of cocktails the new Milk and Honey is now open on 23rd Street.  While reservations are no longer mandatory you can still make one through their website if you want to ensure a seat in the ti...

Mr. T's sister and her husband were going out of town the same weekend my parents were coming in. They offered their apartment to my parents for the weekend and my father couldn't have been happier. He's always loved the Upper West Side and it's more "refined" atmosphere. So Saturday morning I woke up and took the long trek from my apartment to meet my parents for brunch at Sarabeth's . As I walked up Amsterdam Avenue I could already see a crowd of people waiting on the sidewalk out front a block away. Luckily my parents had arrived and put their name down 20 minutes before. When I showed up it was only about a 5 minute wait till our table was ready. I was just going to get a coffee to drink, but it being Saturday brunch and all, I asked for a mimosa. Instead of orange juice though I got it with their special flower juice. This is a blend of orange, fresh pineapple, banana and pomegranate juice. The juice was very good but thick. They give you a small bo...