NYC Tastes

It was another great trip to Western New York for the holidays this year.  We got to check out a few new spots like Providence Social.  This came highly recommended by my good friend Ben and it did not disappoint. These Belgian Bacon Waffles were awesome.  I'm a big fan of any baked good with pockets of maple syrup but the dollops of honey maple butter just put this over the top. The Monte Crisco wasn't too shabby either.  It came layered on grilled french toast with excellent smoky ham and fresh preserves.  Both dishes came with a fantastic basket of muffins and $1 Mimosa's all brunch long. I could stay here all day!   We also stopped into one of my old favorites Seabar for a salty, delicious Beef on Weck Roll. Yep that's caraway seeds and horseradish mayonnaise:)  They also have a fantastic lunch special that includes a piping hot miso soup...  ...tangy sesame noodles, pickled cucumbe...

I was in Buffalo this past weekend for a quick family visit and I finally got a chance to go into the city and check out Seabar- one of Buffalo’s few Japanese restaurants. Leave it to this city to come up with a sushi roll so uniquely Buffalo. The Beef on Weck is basically steak in the middle, regular sticky rice outside and then a nice slab of beef sashimi on top with caraway seeds and some horseradish mayo. The caraway seeds and coarse salt kind of blew me away. They really made the roll taste like a classic Beef on Weck. I would like to see a little less rice and a little more meat in the roll for balance but the flavors were seriously spot on. I think this would be a good roll for those people who are a little hesitant about sushi (my parents) since it looks like the real thing but tastes completely different. Not all sushi rolls in Buffalo are this crazy. We also enjoyed a wonderfully sweet Unagi and Avocado Roll. And I thought the Spicy Tuna Roll was delicious...