NYC Tastes

Any time there’s a serious discussion about buffalo wings in this city, Blondies always seems to have a lot of supporters.  It’s been on my list for years but only last week did I finally get a chance to stop by. Don’t come here expecting to find an extensive beer list- as you can see I settled for a Blue Moon.   This place is more about sports (which are everywhere on their plethora of televisions) and of course the wings.   I got two orders- one Hot and one Honey BBQ. Just by looking you can see they are a bit smaller than ones you get in Buffalo but not by much.   Onto taste this is seriously what happened in my head after taking my first bite- WhaaaaaaBlam!!!!                                                 ...

Listen folks- I have to be honest.   I would love to say I eat out a fabulous places each and every night- enjoying the finest wine and culinary new delights.   But I don’t.   In fact I spend a good amount of time at bars and I tend to soak up the beers with some mozzarella sticks.   But never have I encountered any quite like this. These logs of fried cheese were absolutely enormous!   I barely finished one before I felt a little like gagging from all cheese.   They looked delicious but the ratio was really off and they ended up being too much. A much better fried food option here would be the French fries.   They come straight in a paper bag with skin on and a nice salty crunch.   The addition of a spicy dipping sauce is always a nice touch as well.  This is certainly not a bar to seek out but it gets the job done when needed.   Mr. Dennehys

Two 8 Two sits on Atlantic Avenue right before the Smith Street hustle and bustle. I stopped in early one Friday and started with the special happy hour Mojito.  This was pretty good for $6 but the mint had been so shredded I feared horrible green stems in my teeth with every sip. Best bet to stick with one of their local beers like a Captain Lawrence instead. Onto what you're really here for- the food. This is the Billy Burger- hamburger with cheddar cheese, grilled onions (on the side for me- I have control issues) and two8two sauce. When this burger arrived I honestly sighed a little- it didn't look like it had much potential. Then I took a bite and I couldn't believe how much flavor there was! The meat had this slightly smokey flavor with a nice char. I honestly can't tell you why the meat in this burger was so good it just was. The bun was a squishy potato roll perfect for holding in all the juices but made even better by a little butter and time on ...

Now that Easter is over and baseball has begun it's time to spend some serious time in the pubs.  So we'll be featuring bar bites all this week here at NYC Tastes.  Stay tuned for the start with a phenomenal burger out in Brooklyn.

Do you remember what I got for Mr. T last year for Easter ?  Well Eataly did it again this year so you better believe I was first in line to make my own egg with a special surprise inside.  I was so excited I couldn't wait to give it to him either.  My egg in it's plastic box (the chocolate was excellent by the way). Wait- here comes the surprise...an army man inside just for him! When Mr. T was little he and his brother were playing with their army men while on vacation.  Mr T's Mom saw another little boy all alone on the beach with no toys and promptly picked up all their army men and gave them to him as a present.  Obviously Mrs. T was doing a good deed but the both Mr. T and his brother were little boys and all they knew was that their prized possession's were gone!  This story is told and retold on family gatherings, holidays, etc.  I figured he finally needed to get his toy.  So there you have it.  We'...

I was in desperate need of a caffeine fix the other day in SOHO so I stopped into Nespresso and got myself a table. I have to say I loved the laid back but fancy vibe of the place.    I ordered an incredibly delicious Iced Cappuccino with a nice frothy head.   I love how they give a little piece of chocolate with your drink.   I also ordered a mini tray of desserts- macaron, cannele and financier.   The desserts were a bit disappointing.   The macaron and cannele arrived warm which was really strange.   The macaron filling was sliding out everywhere and the inner cannele was so eggy it was almost a turn off (almost).   However I loved sitting in the open space.   I really felt like I was back in a European Coffee House. This place isn’t cheap- it was $13 for all you saw there- more for a special occasion pick me up than anything.   But it was a nice little escape from city for a while. Nespresso

Dana Cowin introduced Food & Wine Best New Chefs last night during a party at the Liberty Theater right here in NYC.  Let's take a look at the winners: Erik Anderson & Josh Habiger The Catbird Seat, Nashville, TN Mario Carbone & Rich Torrisi Torrisi Italian Specialties, New York, NY Danny Grant RIA, Chicago, IL Dan Kluger ABC Kitchen, New York, NY Corey Lee Benu,San Francisco, CA Jenn Louis Lincoln Restaurant, Portland, OR Cormac Mahoney Madison Park Conservatory, Seattle, WA Bryant Ng The Spice Table, Los Angeles, CA Karen Nicolas Equinox, Washington, DC Blaine Wetzel The Willows Inn, Lummi Island, WA Big congrats to Dan Kluger at ABC Kitchen.  I am currently in love with just about everything on that menu.  Most of all the delicious Sugar Snap Pea Salad and the Akaushi Cheeseburger.   Yes the lunch prix fix was just bumped up to $32 but it's still completely worth each and every penny.  This also reminds me that I ha...