NYC Tastes

Tucked away inside Chelsea Market the new Los Tacos No. 1 is creating quite a stir.  Just look for the long line of people at lunch time and you'll find the spot...set up so you pay for your items first then head to the cooks and submit your order.  This two step system works fabulous since you can customize your meal directly with the cook. Choose from either corn or flour tortilla then add guacamole, onion, cilantro and/or salsa.  I ordered the polla asado (chicken) and adobada (marinated pork) on corn tortilla with everything except cilantro. The pollo asado was tasty...chopped up into little cubes and wrapped up snugly inside the warm tortilla.  I loved the sweet, nutty flavor of the tortilla but found the chicken a bit boring.  The pork taco was much better.  The meat marinates on a rotating spit all day then gets tossed on the griddle just before hitting the tortilla resulting in a crisp, smoky char that's incredibl...

It's beer time and this Friday it's a local boy from New England Brewing Co. the Gandhi Bot.   Initial taste...whoa...this Double IPA  has a LOT going on.  It's insanely hoppy up front with big sour notes of grapefruit rind, pine and honey.  There was also a spicy, savory flavor to this beer that I couldn't quite wrap my head around... herbaceous almost.   It clocks in at 8.8% but is surprisingly drinkable with a creamy mouthfeel.   If you see this around it's definitely one to try out.  Cheers to the weekend!   New England Brewing

I thought the hype for this burger place was out of control on the food blogs but standing in front of the restuarnt for just ten minutes and it was clear Umami Burger has a tight hold on the West Coast.  I arrived right around 5:00 opening day and was told there was a 20 minute wait.  As I stood outside every sixty seconds someone would walk by and scream "Umami" or come up to the door and tell the host how much they loved  Umami back in California...it was nonstop.  By the time I got seated I was pretty hyped up myself and ready to chow down on some meat.  I went straight with the Original Umami Burger which comes topped with roasted tomato, shitake mushroom, caramelized onion, house ketchup and a Parmesan crisp. I cut into my burger and the first thing I noticed was the lack of running juices.  Somehow all that wonderful flavor stayed tight inside the slightly charred meat patty, making it incredibly rich and so delicious it would have been amazing ...

I plan to gorge on cupcakes all day in celebration... Hopefully he has some plans as well :) :)

I always try to eat somewhere new for Restaurant week but the one I must do every year is Cafe Boulud. Mr. T and I met up for a late lunch Friday and the place was absolutely packed.  Daniel himself was making the rounds and after about a 10 minute wait we were seated at a nice table in the back. After choosing a nice bottle of wine to we delved into the first course a Wild Arugula Salad  for him and Rock Shrimp Ceviche for me. This was a nice summery starter with sweet slices of peach, lots of crunchy marcona almonds and big flakes of Parmesan cheese. The ceviche was a nice play on spicy and sweet, dressed with a bright avocado foam and dotted with crispy fried chickpeas and jalapeno.  Onto entrees Mr. T ordered the Grilled leg of Lamb with pita bread, couscous and mint. The lamb was cooked perfect with a little char on the top and a bright red juicy center.  He stuffed most of the meat into the pita with the spicy couscous and made himself a ...

Sometimes I feel like I'm living in an episode of Seinfeld.  I've fought for a chocolate babka, gotten sick on Black and White cookies, found myself more than a few times at the Nexus of the Universe and most recently had an incredible craving for a "Big Salad" (a la Elaine Benes).  So when this craving hit I decided to "Go Big" to the Seinfeld neighborhood the UWS and right to Fratelli la Bufala. Everything is big in here...the bread basket, the wine pours and even the customers.  One gentleman broke out into an Italian opera song once he finished his meal...talk about a great ovation.   My Energy Salad was enormous...chock full of tuna, hard boiled eggs and parmigiana cheese then studded with kebabs of chicken and smoked mozzarella.  It was a salad to end all big salads.  I barely made a dent in the bowl before having it wrapped up for later.  If you're looking to go big on the UWS this is the place for you. Fratelli la Bufala

Talk about a match made in heaven.  Today's new brew Friday is coming straight at you from Torst with the Brewmance. This Imperial Stout is a heavy hitter at 11.2% abv with big aromas of bourbon, burnt toast and caramel.  For such a high octane brew, I wasn't expecting this to be so smooth with espresso and chocolate prominent up front and lingering notes of marshmallow and honey on the finish.  This is a beer to sip and enjoy...so why not order a snack as well? Their house made jerky has two different flavors each day...one marinated in the Evil Twin Low Life and the other in a stout with flecks of mustard seed and soy.  It's the perfect complement to snacking and sipping the weekend away...Cheers! Torst