Category Archives: Manhattan Restaurants

Kingswood — Big Menu Changes!

I have to admit, parts of today’s post is going to make me sound like a hater. But, please note that I will also say some fairly positive things as well.

When one of your favorite restaurants makes some big changes to the menu, you can’t help but be rather hesitant about finding new dishes to replace the old ones you loved so dearly. That’s exactly what my boyfriend and I faced when we went to Kingswood for the first time in a few months. We used to pick Kingswood for dinner when we wanted a fun, West Village restaurant scene full of chic fashionistas and hipsters; and we always knew what we were going to order — at least, we knew what our main dishes were going to be. We always ordered their burger and their truffle mac & cheese. But, when we got a glimpse of the new dinner menu, we both became distraught and asked each other if we missed these two plates on the menu. Where the hell did they go? When something like this happens I rapidly scan the menu again to make sure I didn’t make a mistake and over look it. There have been times where I didn’t even look at the menu and I told the server, “I know what I want” and then they are the ones that have to break the sad sad sad news to me that my favorite plate is gone. Gone forever. 

With our favorite plates gone, we had to decide on what to order — or we had the option of going next door to get in line for a 3 hour wait (it was already 8 p.m. — that wasn’t going to happen).

For dinner, it was myself, my boyfriend, and my boyfriend’s brother — so naturally we decided to order a bunch of plates to share with one another.

Are you ready? Here we go…

Our first order was of the mussels — a fabulous pick! You know the most important part of ordering mussels is how good the broth is — and the chef at Kingswood hit this one out of the park! Made up of shallots, white wine, parsley and chili, the broth was full of flavor and spice that add the perfect kick to this appetizer.

kingswood mussels

Our next appetizer was mac & cheese. Note: this was NOT the original mac & cheese I was talking about. There was no truffle in this dish, and it was not prepared the same way the original Kingswood mac & cheese dish was.

I am a true believer that adding ketchup to food is out of this world disgusting. Eggs, mac & cheese, french fries… it’s so damn gross. The only time I put ketchup on something is when it tastes like crap. Ketchup is a tool to hide nauseating flavor, specifically for foods you don’t have a choice to eat. So, when I saw that this mac & cheese was served with a spicy tomato marmalade, I knew that it was just a fancier way of saying “this mac & cheese is going to suck, which is why we made a fancy homemade ketchup to go with it.” I know, that was kind of mean, but it’s true — this homemade ketchup was a replacement for the truffle and instead of just making normal mac and cheese it was deep fried and came out looking like a brick!

There are only a few times fried mac and cheese is okay — and this wasn’t one of them.

kingswood mac and cheese

What’s up next? I ordered the Maplebrook Burrata thinking that it would be a winner. My fault (hopefully my boyfriend doesn’t read this, because he’ll see I am admitting it was a major FAIL on my part). I was expecting a nice portion of creamy, savory cheese seasoned up perfectly all the while swimming in a pool of flavorful olive juice. The olive juice was there, not exactly the olives I would have picked as the perfect pair, but they were there. But, I was shocked that the portion size was so small and the consistency and taste was more like an average mozzarella. (I’m frowning behind my computer as I type this.)

burrata kingswood

Time to throw in some positivity…

I absolutely loved the Mushroom Risotto appetizer — made with yellowfoot chanterelle mushrooms, parmesan and chives, this plate was delish! All 3 of us knew that this might be the best appetizer we would come across, so naturally our forks entered a war…

I would order this dish again in a heart beat and it would be silly for them to take it off of the menu!

mushroom risotto

We did notice that their signature fries were still on the menu, so naturally we ordered them. We used to have these fries on the side of their fabulous burger that is now extinct.

They are super salty, perfectly cooked with enough crisp but still very potato-ey, and they are served with the best truffle dipping sauce. My guess is it’s a mayo sauce — and you can’t go wrong with dipping fries in mayo!

Don’t they look fabulous!?

truffle french fries

Next up was the broccoli rabe topped with homemade ricotta cheese and drizzled with honey. Overall the plate wasn’t lacking flavor but it was very difficult to chew. I had one bite of this plate and decided to pass because it was too much work to eat.

broccoli rabe

For our main plates we ordered the pancetta wrapped chicken breast truffle chicken nuggets, cauliflower puree and baby carrots. You all know I don’t eat pork, but I decided to eat it on this specific evening because it was hard not to. This plate was very good but the size almost categorized it as a large appetizer to me. We also ordered the day boat scallops which were also very tasty.

day boat scallops

kingswood nyc

Overall, the new Kingswood wasn’t horrible… But the reasoning to change the menu to the extent that they did didn’t make sense. Why take off your best selling dishes? Keep them on there and change the rest of the menu!

I did ask a manager about the changes and she said that they are now changing the menu at least twice a week now. Their reasoning behind all of this? I was told that they needed to keep up and evolve to keep people coming back. I find it odd that they feel this way because the restaurant used to be packed without a place to stand near the bar — and on this specific Friday evening there was plenty of space to stand, it felt rather empty in the bar area actually. So, I wonder how business is really doing if that’s the case?

S’MAC — Sarita’s Macaroni & Cheese

I call them “comfort foods” others might call it a “food trend” — both are correct. It seems to me that comfort foods have been popping up on menus for several years now, but individual restaurants are now putting all of their concentration on one specific comfort food and selling it pretty darn well. When I say “one specific comfort food” I mean they are specializing in a type of food like, grilled cheese, cupcakes, popsicles, and mac & cheese.

S'MAC

This weekend wasn’t the first time I went to S’MAC, although  it was my first time at the Murray Hill location. I headed to this spot with my out-of-town friend, Brittany.

After eying-down the menu for several minutes we couldn’t seem to pick what we wanted — then the guy behind the counter suggested that we do the sampler which would allow us to taste 8 of the mac & cheeses on the menu. We were also told that this was perfect to split between 2 people… SOLD!

We paid, and the guy behind the counter handed us a laminated piece of paper that told us exactly what we would be eating and where it was in the cast iron skillet our mac & cheeses would be served in.

We couldn’t help but study the menu to see what exactly was in each and every one of the 8 samples we would be eating.

S'MAC menu

We were lucky enough to have gone to the restaurant during a slow time of day, because our skillet came out so quickly! After we pierced the surface of each section and let the mac & cheese cool off, we were ready to dive in. We decided to go section by section together so we could sample the same thing at the same time. (Wouldn’t this be such a cute lunch date?)

We started below the handle with the All-American — which I was surprised at how delicious it was. I thought it was going to be the most boring, after all it was made with only cheese… no herbs, no vegetables… I admit it, I poorly judged this basic cheese combo thinking it was going to be the same-ol’ same-ol’ sort of thing. What was even better? The Four-Cheese mac & cheese. Made with cheddar, muenster, gruyere and pecorino — this was probably my favorite out of the 8 samples we tasted.

Another favorite was the cheese burger. I am always impressed when a dish can hold the same flavors a completely different food owns. Like Serendipity’s frozen hot chocolate, or Empanada Mama’s Cheese Steak empanada. Yum!

Over-all, S’MACK has a very casual atmosphere and very tasty mac & cheese. It’s an experience to go to any restaurant that only offers one type of food on the menu in numerous ways. Would I go back? Maybe for lunch with another out of town friend, but most likely not with a local friend who wouldn’t think anything of a restaurant dedicated to mac & cheese.

Pepolino in TriBeCa

Who doesn’t love to venture to a well-known highly rated Zagat Italian restaurant? My boyfriend made this call, I hadn’t had a chance to stalk the menu before heading down to TriBeCa — so I had no clue what type of restaurant we were heading to. All I knew was it was Italian… Perfect!

When we walked into the restaurant we were greeted with a friendly “Buonasera” — many of those working at the restaurant seemed Italian. Their accents were perfection and if I closed my eyes, ate the food and listened to the wait staff talk in their native tongue, I would have felt like I was back in Florence.

A preview of what we ate for dinner at Pepolino

A preview of what we ate for dinner at Pepolino

While the ambiance was casual and comfortable — the space tucks in as many tables as they can on multiple floors. But who cares how cramped you are, as long as you have good food, company and conversation!

While my boyfriend and I ordered multiple dishes, I am only going to share with you our favorites. Off of the antipasta section of the menu I was encouraged to try the Cozze Al Burro which is steamed mussels out of the shell in butter, garlic and parsley with toasted bread. I was hesitant about this dish because it has been a while since I have enjoyed mussels. But, I always will try things again — and I sure am happy I did because this was probably my favorite dish! One scoop of the creamy mussels, butter, garlic and parsley combo placed on top of the crispy toast was to-die-for. I could help but think of my father and his favorite flavors and I know this is something he would enjoy very much! Being full of garlic, it’s hard not to love!

garlic mussels and parsley dip

Another favorite starter was actually off of the specials menu. An Italian-style crepe stuffed with cheese and mushrooms was a great plate to hit the savory spot I was craving so much. The crepe itself you can hardly see — it was truly covered in a hefty portion of stringy mozzarella cheese. Baked to perfection, this plate should be on their permanent menu!

mushroom and cheese crepe

For our pasta dishes, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a different type of gnocchi. My experience with the potato dumplings, if that’s what you want to call them, have always been delicious but they are also very heavy in your stomach. Pepolino makes their gnocchi from spinach and ricotta rather than potato. Because of this change in ingredients, the Malfatti Burro e Salvia dish, was both fluffy and light. The spinach and ricotta gnocchi was covered in a butter and sage sauce — two beautiful ingredients I don’t think I could ever get sick of! What the plate needed though was a solid amount of parmigiano reggiano cheese grated on top … which was exactly what I asked for after taking my first bite! Perfection!

gnocchi made from spinach and ricotta

Okay, now I am going to share with you the biggest curve ball I have ever experienced in a restaurant! My boyfriend and I agreed on the final pasta dish which on the menu is called “Spaghetti Chitarra.” The description for this plate reads as:

Homemade square spaghetti with fresh tomato and basil

Okay. So, what would you think that dish is going to look like? Without even discussing it until the plate arrived, we both thought it was legit SQUARE pasta, kind of like lasagna noodles except in the shape of a square. We were also expecting a red sauce since we saw the words “tomato” and “basil” in the description.

After further researching, why the heck we didn’t get “square” pasta  I learned a few things:

  1. I am an idiot because it flat out says “spaghetti” in the description so we are going to get some sort of spaghetti noodles
  2. Chitarra is the Italian word for guitar — duhhh, that’s why my spaghetti noodles looked like guitar strings!
  3. And after searching around I couldn’t figure out why we didn’t have a red sauce like we thought we would have. I can’t find any specific sauce that is automatically assumed to be paired with Chitarra spaghetti.

This plate just caused major confusion for us both … but in the end we enjoyed it! The edges of the Chitarra allowed the noodles to hold on to the cheese and butter in the dish — now, that’s my kind of pasta!

Overall we enjoyed Pepolino: the service was great, the restaurant was fun & comfortable and the wine list was perfecto! In all honesty though, Perbacco is still number one in my book!

Raymi — Peruvian Cuisine

Okay, I’ll admit it — I was very nervous to go out to dinner on Friday night. Peruvian food isn’t exactly something I am familiar with; and after menu-stalking I was a bit overwhelmed. After reading over several ingredients I either didn’t know the word/translation or I couldn’t seem to envision what the plate would taste like. I even found myself re-reading over “habanero.” The embarrassing part: I know what a habanero is. I know how to grow the plant in my backyard. I know just a small amount of this pepper will clear out my sinuses. But yet, I was so overwhelmed by the menu I had to look at the word “habanero” multiple times.

Within only a couple of minutes of being at the restaurant, I knew my dinner was in great hands. The servers at Raymi have perfected how to describe every dish, they know how to pair your food with Peruvian-style cocktails, and over-all they are brilliant at making your Peruvian dinner a memorable one.

You can easily get away with eating the entire meal in a tapas-style sort of way. Our first dish: Causa of the day. Lobster was the catch of the day and the fish was placed over a cold aji amarillo potato puree. The rich, creamy texture of the lobster and potato puree was outstanding — but to add some extra flavor and crunch to the plate the chef added some roasted dehydrated corn. These little bites of crunchy corn was so delicious! I wish they were sold at the grocery store!

catch of the day

My boyfriend did a little bit of Yelp’ing before heading to dinner and everyone was raving about the restaurant’s Peruvian Corn Cake plate. It seemed like such a hit, so obviously we put this at the top of our list of plates to order.

The corn cake is topped with a mushroom ragout and watercress leaves. It’s incredible how all of the flavors fuse together so beautifully — especially on this dish. Without the peppery taste of the watercress, the mushrooms and corn cake wouldn’t have that necessary zing. And I’m sure you are thinking about the texture of this “corn cake,” and let me assure you it’s nothing like a corn muffin or corn bread that we typically eat in the U.S. This corn cake doesn’t have the distinctive grainy consistency and is smooth and creamy and makes it easier to pick up the rest of the ingredients on your fork. I would be happy to order this plate and eat it as my lunch or dinner — funny enough, one of the hosts said she did just that the night before! This plate seems to be a hit for those dining at the restaurant and those working there!

peruvian corn cake

And since Friday was date-night for me and my Valentine, the tapas style dinner made it more romantic. Sharing food and talking about your favorite plates makes a dinner so much more intimate. Which is why I loved the Ceviche & Tiraditos Tasting plate. This plate allows you to pick a total of 4 items from the ceviche and tiraditos section of the menu. Our choice (clock-wise from the top left): *the first one was my boyfriend’s pick and I forgot to try it, fluke, tuna and salmon. The manager recommended we eat these with a spoon — and boy was he right! Eating ceviche with a spoon rather than a fork allows you to scoop up the extra citrus juices at the bottom of the bowl — this gives the fish a refreshing flavor. This tasting plate couldn’t have been more of a hit between the two of us!

peruvian ceviche

And, a close-up of the tuna:

tuna ceviche

Another brilliant appetizer to share between 2 people was the Hanger Steak — specifically it’s skewered hanger steak seared and served with aji panca glaze, creamy ocopa sauce and rocoto salsa. Wowza — this plate sure was full of flavor! It tasted as if the hanger steak was soaking and marinating in the most complex mixture of seasonings and spices before being cooked. Hands-down this was the most flavorful piece of meat I have tasted in a very long time! In addition to the  Peruvian Corn Cake, this Hanger Steak is a must-order!

peruvian hanger steak

For our “main dish” the two of us shared the Chaufa Completo — which is served with jasmine rice, chicken char siu, shrimp and chinese sausage. I dug in around the sausage but the overall plate was just bursting with exotic flavors. I knew right from the start the jasmine rice was going to add subtle but important flavorings to this plate.

Even though we had just a bit of leftovers, sharing all of these plates together completely satisfied us for dinner.

peruvian dinner

Over course we had to end our evening with dessert. We followed the manager’s suggestion and ordered the Peruvian Crispy Donuts. I know what you’re thinking — donuts are such a big food trend these can’t be anything other than ordinary, blah blah blah. But you’re wrong! Yes, donuts are such a food fad these days but Raymi adds a perfect, sweet, twist to the homemade dessert. Honey is the ingredient that makes these donuts have a natural sweetness — I guarantee that you’ll agree with me that these donuts are anything but ordinary!

homemade donuts

I’m sure you are overwhelmed reading this post — because you can see how much I truly enjoyed my first dinner at a Peruvian restaurant. I’m sure you have also noticed that Peruvian food is highly influenced by the Asian culture and cuisine! Who would have thought that a blend of Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, West African and Italian cuisines would be brought to the country of Peru and all of these cultures have been an influence on the food that is made throughout the country to this very day.  Luckily, for me, I found that Peruvian food seems to have a stronger influence from the Japanese — I’m not a huge fan of Chinese cuisine, but Japanese I love! There’s nothing like beautiful cuts of raw fish tossed in citrus and served fresh!

Melt Shop Grilled Cheese

Let’s get right to the point — Little Muenster has some major competition. Just like cupcakes, grilled cheese sandwiches aren’t just a food trend — they are a classic comfort food that has been pleasing many for generations. Which is why it isn’t a surprise to me that grilled cheese shops are popping up all across town.

The credit here goes to my boyfriend who found Melt Shop just around the corner on West 26th Street. That’s the first major plus, I didn’t have to go all the way downtown like I did for Little Muenster. Convenience is key. I also appreciated the speediness of the service and the wide selection of sandwich choices.  What’s even more exciting? They offer a breakfast menu as well — something that I need to try out! To see the entire menu, click here!

Knowing what types of food I love… take a wild guess at what I ordered.

truffle grilled cheese

Yup — I went for the Truffle Melt… a grilled cheese made up of havarti, arugula, and cracked black pepper that has truffle oil drizzled on top, all melted together in between two pieces of sourdough bread. Did you know, if you add truffle to dairy the flavor really pops? So, what could be better than cheese and truffle? Hmmm, probably nothing.

The sourdough bread had the perfect crispiness after it came out of the sandwich press, and the arugula added the perfect greenery to the grilled cheese.

Looking for something with a little more substance? Melt Shop offers grilled cheeses made with meat — chicken, pork… you name it!

So, I leave you with this thought — what could be better than a warm grilled cheese on a cold winter day? These sandwiches really hit the spot and take the grilled cheese food trend to a whole new level.

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Cafe Gitane in Soho

A very good friend of mine from Penn State (Alexandra, who goes by her middle name, Kizia) lives in New York — she was actually one of those rare “born and raised in Manhattan” folks. I say it’s rare not because she was born and raised here, but because she actually returned to the city to live and work after college. She’s actually about to go on the most amazing life journey anyone could ever go on — which is why we got together for lunch to talk about her upcoming trip. For several months in 2013 she will be living in India to study yoga and meditation. After working in PR for a few years, she’s ready for the physical and mental break (I wish I could do the same, but she’s just more daring than I am to actually go through with it). To me, the thought of packing just a backpack and traveling more than half way around the world to discover more about yourself in a few months than some do in a life time is very admirable — and I wish nothing but the most amazing experiences for her.

So, Kizia picked our lunch date location — Cafe Gitane in Soho (could be considered Nolita). I had never been before and I did exactly what I always do when I have never been to a restaurant … I stalk the online menu, I read reviews, and I pick out what I’m going to order before I arrive. Although this time I only eyed-down one thing I was going to order before arriving at the cafe, and Kizia helped me pick out my main dish.

cafe gitane avocado bread

The cafe was packed — even in the middle of the day after the typical lunch rush was over. There were even a few seats outside and they were full (it was a dreary cold day too!). So, we waited about 45 minutes before we were seated at this petite, round cafe table in the very center of the restaurant. Kizia ordered her caffeine-fix-of-the-day, then we ordered our food. Going off of Kizia’s recommendation I ordered the Moroccan couscous with red peppers, raisins, toasted pinenuts, hummus and eggplant. I had the option of ordering it with chicken but passed when she had told me it was a very large portion to begin with. We also ordered the most unusual starter to share — a seven grain toast topped with avocado, lemon juice, olive oil and chili flakes.

When the avocado toast came we split the bread and didn’t bother cutting it up for individual bites. It was hearty and full of flavor and the avocado was at it’s prime to eat (not too hard, not too mushy, perfect in color). The lemon juice was subtle, but present in every bite. And those chili flakes added the perfect amount of heat to the mild avocado. The ultimate conclusion was a mix, we were: confused as to why so many people were raving about it on various food reviews online, and we also figured these were basic flavors anyone could combine in their own kitchen so why would it be so fabulous at this little cafe? It was funny though, because we both left the restaurant ranking it out as a good plate but nothing out of this world, but a few days later we were chatting about how it grew on each of us and we really enjoyed it!

cafe gitane couscous

My couscous was a tower of unbelievable fabulousness. Piled high on my plate in the most perfect molded shape, I was afraid to pierce it with my fork knowing I would destroy the gorgeous presentation. After taking a not-so-devastating bite to the tower I couldn’t hold back — I tore through it for larger forkfuls of food. All of the flavors meshed beautifully well and the hummus was also a great ingredient to hold everything else together; it made picking up couscous with raisins, pinenuts and red pepper easy. I also really enjoyed the golden raisins in the mix of everything — it added the perfect sweetness to the savory plate.

Ready for something embarrassing? This was the first time I have ever ordered couscous at a restaurant. Yup, I’m mortified to admit it. This dish is a MUST to order if you go to Cafe Gitane; I actually enjoyed it so much I would love to attempt to make a similar plate at home. I guess I was shocked that I enjoyed the plate so much and it didn’t involve cheese as an ingredient. Actually, I got through an entire meal without eating cheese! #success

I hope to see Kizia again before she ventures off to India. Our food adventures together are always fantastic — I sure do hope she makes a few memorable ones while she travels in the upcoming year!

NYC Ranking For 2012

Anyone on FourSquare? I loved this write-up Time Out New York did on the top places in NYC people checked into in 2012. I thought you would all enjoy this list — especially since the majority of these hot-spots you can find on my blog!
restaurants

Bianca in Noho

So, one of my dearest friends, Stef, took me to one of her favorite UWS restaurants several weeks ago (I didn’t blog about it because I was so hungry I forgot to capture photos… sorry folks!). This restaurant is called Celeste — and Celeste doesn’t even have a website, so I wasn’t able to menu-stalk prior to going for dinner. Following our dinner a coworker of mine mentioned that I should go to Bianca downtown in Noho — she described this restaurant making it sound a bit like Celeste; there were no reservations, always expect a wait, payment is cash-only and the food is spectacular. Bianca does have a website so I forwarded it to Stef saying we needed to get to this joint asap! Stef couldn’t help but laugh as she pointed out to me that Bianca is Celeste’s sister restaurant.

food from bianca

So Stef and I hurried down to Bianca at 7:30 p.m. thinking our wait would be quick and easy — nope! we waited over an hour to be seated. But time flew by as we caught up over a glass of wine at an uber hipster bar right next to the restaurant. When we were seated at Bianca, I was reminded instantly of Al Di La in Brooklyn; the decor was so similar — old-school wall paper with white subway tiling to help divide the space on the walls, even the smells coming from the kitchen were as delectable as Al Di La’s.

We quickly ordered — clearly, we both scouted out the menu prior to attending dinner. To share: the Gnocco Fritto with Stracchino Cheese, a caprese salad (special of the day) and for our main dishes we both ordered pasta — I ordered myself the Ravioli di Ricotta con Burro e Salvia (ravioli in a butter and sage sauce) and Stef ordered herself the Gramigna con Salciccia e Peperoni (pasta with crumbled sausage and red bell pepper). Even though the restaurant was packed — not a single seat was available — the food came out in a very timely manner.

gnocco

Our apps were d-e-l-i-s-h … The gnocco was perfectly cooked, nice and puffy and soft and the stracchino cheese was out of this world. It was obvious it was coated in a very flavorful truffle olive oil, but the cheese consistency was smooth and creamy — maybe even more so than a burrata. Remember folks, Gnocco is not the same as Gnocchi.

butter and sage ravioli

When it came to my ravioli, I instantly had a flash back. The first time I ever cooked my boyfriend a meal at home I made him a caprese salad served with ravioli in a sage and butter sauce (Thanks Food Network for the fabulous recipe and thank you Whole Foods for providing the “homemade” ravioli). This ravioli at Bianca though was homemade and wasn’t just “served with butter” — it was swimming in it. The longer I let the ravioli sit, the thicker the butter got, which allowed me to scoop more of it up on to my fork. I would order this rich dish again in a heart beat!

meat pasta

I had to share a pic of Stef’s pasta — it was out of this world! I also loved that Bianca wasn’t afraid to feed people, the serving sizes were outstanding!

I love finding restaurants like Bianca and Celeste — I am always ready for more suggestions… So if anyone has any, be sure to share the details! Bianca really fit the bill for me and Stef this weekend — literally! Ultimately for 2 appetizers, 2 main dishes of pasta, and 1 homemade sorbet for dessert … plus a bottle of wine. It all totaled up to $81. The way we ordered we were also “splurging” so the fact that we didn’t faint at the sight of the bill, we were very pleased!

Don’t forget ya’ll — follow me on Pinterest and Instagram for some more fun foodie ideas, recipes, and restaurant spottings!

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Minetta Tavern in The Village

So I decided to mix it up a bit, not on purpose…

This weekend I attended a surprise birthday party, but when I arrived I arrived hungry. I’m not talking about the “I could use a snack” sort of hungry, I’m talking about the “turn the music up because my stomach is growling so loudly” sort of hungry. This party just so happened to over-look one of my favorite restaurants in the West Village, Bar Pitti and it’s neighboring rival, Da Silvano. What’s worse than just being hungry, but looking out the window to see a packed restaurant of people ordering the ravioli dish and caprese salad that you love.

So, as time went on the restaurants across the street stopped serving dinner and there went my opportunity to feed myself. My hunger wasn’t in the mood for an unsatisfying street meat kabob or falafel. So I found myself opening my mental file cabinet of West Village/ Village restaurants within a 5 minute walking distance. And what was exactly a minute and a half walk away was Minetta Tavern. I quickly called over to see if they were still serving food (it was midnight at this point and I had only ever eaten there at about 9 p.m.) and their answer was “yes”. So, we bolted out of the party that was about to change locations anyways, speed-walked down a few narrow Village streets and there it was — my food savior of the evening.

roasted bone marrow

We were seated right away in what was a still completely packed restaurant, ordered an appetizer and of course their Black Label Burger, ordered a glass of wine and at the initial sip of alcohol I instantly felt relieved. I was about to be fed, finally.

Ready for this? We ordered roasted bone marrow for our appetizer — yup you read that right — bone marrow. Bone marrow has the same consistency as an oyster, in other words — it’s slimy. But you put it on top of a baguette that has been heavily buttered and toasted with a shallot confit and all of the flavors ooze together to make the perfect flavorful app. I quickly realized that I shouldn’t try to pick up the bones to help me slide the marrow off and onto the bread — the bones are exceptionally hot and they stay hot for a while. So, don’t make the same mistake I made.

Minetta Tavern Burger

To fully satisfy my grumbling belly — I went for the Black Label Burger. This is THE burger that you have to order, there are a couple on the menu but this is the one you have to go with. The prime dry-aged beef cooked medium is full of the best juicy flavors you can sink your teeth into. It’s a thick burger that’s topped with caramelized onions that adds the perfect amount of sweetness on top of the rich burger. Oh — and, lets not forget about the pommes frites, in other words — French fries. They are perfectly salted, they have the perfect amount of crispiness and they are just oh so tasty! This order has the perfect amount of savory, salty and a hint of sweetness.

The “mixing it up” this weekend came down to swapping out dinner for “supper”. Yup, that is correct, there are restaurants in NYC that provide a “supper menu” and Minetta Tavern has one of these menus. It’s a late-night menu that is shorter than the traditional dinner menu but it still gets the job done. All that I cared about was ordering the Black Label Burger! This is something I might have to start doing for the restaurants that are difficult to reserve a table for (just like Minetta Tavern), I need to start eating a late lunch and head to my restaurant of choice for supper.

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What’s to come…

I have lots of pictures, and lots of typing to do — you’ll see everything over the next couple of weeks in a variety of posts. Lets just say this — one month, 3 fabulous cities. That’s right, I am a dedicated New York City lover, but I ventured to new restaurants not only in my favorite city — but I did the same in Boston and San Francisco.

New cities, new restaurants, new adventures. And, my favorite part — exploring different food markets! We all know how much I love The Chelsea Market located in [the best neighborhood] Manhattan, but I was able to explore other gems, like the Quincy Market in Boston and The Ferry Building’s farmers market in San Fran.

In case you can’t wait to see my posts, feel free to follow me on Instagram to get a sneak peek of my pictures! Thanks to the setup of Instagram’s new web feature, you can follow my pictures via mobile or online!!! Plus, almost all of these photos aren’t shared on Twitter!

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Also, be sure to follow me on Pinterest for other great foodie ideas!