NYC Tastes

After a crazy night celebrating the Giants Superbowl victory I used my much needed vacation day for the last RW lunch of winter.  To begin a bright Chardonnay and a house made iced tea. Mr. T's appetizer the Charred Eggplant & Goat Cheese Bruschetta. I'm not a huge eggplant fan but I really enjoyed the charred flavor on this and the combination of creamy cheese with just a bit of honey on top for added sweetness.  For my appetizer I went safe but delicious with the Cesar Salad. Safe since I ordered this last year here for RW.  Delcious because it's truly one of the best Cesar salads going.  Huge chunks of Parmesan, great creamy dressing and a little bit of crunch from some bread crumbs.  Yum!  Onto entrees Mr. T's Fried Chicken sandwich with pickled vegetables, aioli and fries. I didn't have any of the chicken sandwich but it certainly looked wonderful.  However I did try the...

Sometime I just need a little bit of old New York in my day. Luckily I live right near one of the oldest Jewish deli’s left around – Eisenberg’s. Take a seat at the bar, maybe order a Lime Rickey or Egg Cream and hunker down for a sandwich.  I wasn’t feeling like their amazing Reuben or ultimate Tuna Salad the other day. No just a delicious Grilled Cheese with Tomato. Sometimes the simple things are the best and this just hit the spot. Interestingly enough about halfway through my meal I realize I’m sitting right next to quite the neighborhood staple. I see this man almost every day walking around the neighborhood- always screaming and yelling at the top of his lungs at nothing in particular. He never asks for money; he causes quite a commotion once in a while but I’ve rendered him harmless after seeing him do this for years now without hurting himself or anyone. I imagine he has some serious emotional problems that the city has just compounded. What was so interesting is tha...

Yes!  More Robecelli's!  I think I have one of these cupcakes every Monday now almost as a ritual.  This week I had some tough choices but I was craving chocolate so I ended up with The Hinsch - Chocolate malted cake, vanilla buttercream, malted chocolate sauce, homemade chocolate malted milk balls. Talk about a malted lovers dream cake this was fabulous.  I really don't know how Robecellis gets there frosting and cake so light but so rich at the same time.   BTW I must tell you the other flavor choices that day:   Pecan Potato Chip:  Pecan potato chip cake, vanilla buttercream, crushed pecans and potato chips, salted butterscotch , Blueberry Cobbler:  Vanilla cake, vanilla buttercream, wild Maine blueberry compote, cinnamon streusel and finally the Southern Belle:  Banana cake, vanilla buttercream, brown butter bourbon glazed pecans. Seriously I may have do devote a week just to eating their cupcakes. Robicellis

Jersey City is right next door to Manhattan and I’ve only been there once in my life. I have nothing against the town it’s just not somewhere I think about often. Well all that’s about to change since I had such a delightful little dinner at Satis Bistro the other night. We started out with a nice big arugula salad and the daily antipasto plate. The salad was lightly dressed with just enough lemon juice, pepper and fresh parmigianno to balance the bitter greens. Then onto the chef’s selection of antipasti. That night we enjoyed Jamon Serrano and some Murcia al Vino- an absolutely delicious and different goat milk soaked in red wine. They had so many interesting cheeses and meats from their Salumeria I could have made a meal from that alone but onto entrees we went with a Braised Creekstone Beef Short Rib. This massive piece of beef was nice and tender. I enjoyed the flavors of chorizo and goat cheese mixed into the mashed potatoes underneath. Mr. T’s Housemade Ricott...

Before my parents left to return home we met up for one last meal- brunch at Maialino. I didn’t have a reservation but luckily we got one of the last tables available right around noon. Everything sounded fabulous but finally I decided on the Contadino- Poached Eggs with Brussels Sprouts and Butternut Squash. Sounds like an interesting combination doesn’t it? The squash was actually in the form of a puree and it covered the bottom of the dish adding a nice sweet element to the eggs. Especially once I cut the eggs up and mixed everything in together. This was a tasty brunch dish for sure but I have to admit a pastry completely stole the show. The Brioche Caramellato looks quiet and unassuming but it’s not. Take the softest brioche, cover the top with a toffee glaze and then toast it so the inside is warm and fluffy and the toffee just drapes around the sides, hugging the dough in a sticky, warm embrace. What’s not to love! Maialino hit on all cylinders and mad...

My favorite new beer of 2011 was the delicious Bronx Pale Ale from the Bronx Brewery and they'll be pouring tonight at the brand new Growler Station.  A brand new beer at a brand new beer bar?  Sounds like a perfect Tuesday night pick to me.  The boys should be there from 6:00- 9:00 tonight.  See you there!

It seems kind of odd to me that I’ve never eaten at a Gordon Ramsey restaurant. I see him shouting all over television constantly you would think it would remind me to eat at one of his places. When I saw the Maze participating in RW I decided it was finally time to try one out. I had the day off of work for some playoff football recovery time so I decided it would be the perfect excuse for lunch. They started me off with a warm basket of bread and some butter which was incredibly unsatisfying for some reason. The bread had no flavor. Even a little salty butter on top didn’t help- it was just incredibly bland. Luckily that wouldn’t be the theme of the meal. My appetizer the Roasted Spanish Mackerel, grilled romaine lettuce, tomato marmalade, parmesan and basil. Mackerel is a funny fish- sometimes I hate it other times I love it. Here it was definitely towards the love side. The tomato marmalade was delicious and the bitter greens and parmesan just completely worked with th...