Tag Archives: Lower East Side

Beauty & Essex

The LES has become such a trendy place to wine and dine, and of course party. It’s also turned into a “hip” place to live, although if you venture to the neighborhood during the day you’ll see that it’s still in pretty rough shape and needs some cleaning up. I know way too many people that used to live in the Lower East Side that experienced bedbugs. So, I would rather just go there for a drink and/or dinner every once in a while. I’m way too happy living in Chelsea.

My boyfriend and I ventured to Beauty & Essex this past Saturday night for a birthday party. Just take a guess what street this restaurant/bar/lounge is located on… that’s right, Essex! When you enter, you have to walk through a pawn shop before being greeted at the actual door to the restaurant. “Are we in the right place?” my boyfriend asked me when we first arrived. And if I hadn’t googled this joint before heading downtown I probably would have been confused myself.

pawn shop outside beauty and essex

The pawn shop that you must go through to get into Beauty & Essex

Once the bouncer opened the door for us, we stepped into a place completely different than the pawn shop. (This is one reason why I love living in New York City, you never know what you’re going to find.) Immediately when you step inside you see a luxurious curved staircase that takes you up to the second floor — this is where we were seated with friends. Beauty & Essex is a fabulous combination of a bar, lounge, and restaurant. If you can’t get a table to eat at, then the next best thing is to order some appetizers at the lounge-section. I actually enjoyed sitting in this seat because it felt more cozy (perfect on a cold winter night) and it allowed more people in the group to move around and chat with everyone.

beauty and essex menu

Instead of ordering dinner, we ordered a ton of appetizers and snacked on those until we were filled. The plates we ordered were primarily fish dishes, something I would never complain about. Some orders included: the tuna poke wonton tacos, lobster pizzetta, lobster tacos, wok fried mushrooms, classic pan con tomate with fresh burrata, creamy parsnip ravioli, and oven braised chicken meatballs.

The tuna tacos were so tasty! The fish was fresh and the tacos added fantastic texture to each bite. Lime wedges were provided to squeeze on top, and usually I consider this a have-to-do but this time there was so much flavor in the dish already it wasn’t a necessity. We ordered the lobster pizzetta without bacon, and I loved the flavors on this plate too! Loaded with tasty chunks of lobster, and lots of cheese on top, you’ll never want your pizza made any other way. I was also surprised with the creamy parsnip ravioli — it was a vegetarian ravioli and I swear I thought there was meat in it! Those vegetarians sure can trick you!

Overall I really enjoyed myself here. The night started with some music playing in the background and as it got later the music was turned up for more of a “club” feel. The energy at this place was also so much fun — I can’t wait to go back!

(photos courtesy of Yelp)

Grapes & Asparagus in a Pasta With Cream Sauce

I have to admit, the inspiration behind making this dish has to do with one of my favorite restaurants — Paprika. During my first summer in New York City I used to walk to Paprika once a week for dinner. It’s such an affordable restaurant and the food is not only so tasty but the portions are fantastic! Well, I used to order a fettuccini pasta in a cream sauce with shrimp, asparagus, and grapes. Such an odd combination, right? Grapes? What’s up with that? Let me tell you something about the grapes in a dish like this… I always feel like a rich, thick, cream sauce makes me feel thirsty — well, the grapes change all of that. The sweet burst of a juicy red grape is exactly what everyone needs after eating a pasta with alfredo sauce dish.

Since that summer, Paprika has changed their menu a few times and they unfortunately took my favorite dish off the menu. (You can only imagine my reaction towards the waitress when I found this out.) So I decided to recreate the dish myself.

One major difference is I decided to leave out the shrimp. I hardly ate the shrimp anyways on the Paprika dish, I more so liked the flavor the shrimp gave the pasta, but it was pretty much a cocktail shrimp and I hate the texture of that type of shrimp.

First things first, you need a cream sauce. I originally took a Food Network alfredo sauce recipe and I eventually altered the recipe to the way I preferred to make it. But start with this recipe and go from there:

    1 pint heavy cream
    1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
    1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
    Freshly cracked black pepper
    To prepare alfredo sauce: Heat heavy cream over low-medium heat in a deep saute pan. Add butter and whisk gently to melt. Sprinkle in cheese and stir to incorporate. Season with freshly cracked black pepper. In a large stockpot, cook pasta in plenty of boiling salted water for 3 minutes. Quickly drain the pasta and add it to the saute pan, gently toss the noodles to coat in the alfredo. Transfer pasta to a warm serving bowl. Serve immediately.

While I make the sauce, I boil my water to make the pasta. I prefer angel hair pasta but fettuccini works as well. Once the pasta is cooked I drain it. I slice up some asparagus and either steam cook them in a Ziploc steam bag or I quickly cook them in a small pan. Then I add the asparagus to the cooked sauce and I add red grapes. Once I stir the items together I add the pasta and toss the pasta in the sauce, asparagus, and grapes. I serve immediately.

Over all it’s a very quick meal to prepare. Here is a list of the following things you need to serve one person:

    3 Large Asparagus
    8-10 Purple Grapes
    Angel Hair Pasta (or Fettuccini)
    Whipping Cream
    Butter
    Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
    Black Pepper

In total, I probably spent about 20 minutes making dinner. But it only took me about 5 minutes to inhale.

The grapes are an interesting addition to a pasta dish, but give it a shot and tell me what you think. I promise you, you won’t be disappointed!

A Menu Of Meatballs At The Meatball Shop

It exists, a restaurant that is focused on serving the best meatballs that every Italian grandmother will approve of.
In the Lower East Side of Manhattan is where you’ll find The Meatball Shop — a tiny intimate restaurant that shuffles in a crowd that is looking for the timeless Italian comfort food. The menu has a large selection of types of meatballs and sauces; you mix and match the type of meat, the sauce, and you can add “jewels” aka a fried egg to the top of your dish.
You first pick a “naked ball”: classic beef, spicy pork, chicken, or vegetable — you get four of these in your dish.
Then, you pick a sauce: classic tomato, spicy meat sauce, mushroom gravy, parmesan cream, or pesto.
Then you can decide if you want to add the jewels.
This is one type of dish that you can order at The Meatball Shop. You can also pick different sliders (you pick a type of meatball and a sauce and it’s then placed on a bun). There are also Heroes on the menu — you pick the balls (classic beef, spicy pork, chicken, or vegetable), then you pick the sauce (classic tomato, spicy meat sauce, mushroom gravy, parmesan cream, or pesto), you decide which bread you would prefer (white or whole wheat), and finally you pick the cheese (provolone or mozzarella).
There are side dishes you can order too that don’t have anything to do with meatballs — like risotto, mashed potatoes, rigatoni, steamed spinach, and more.
I surprisingly ordered the spicy pork (I don’t eat pork… ever) with the parmesan cream sauce (“it’s like alfredo sauce on steroids”), and of course I had the jewels on my balls. The dish is served with a piece of focaccia bread aka the perfect tool to scoop out the remaining sauce out of the bowl after you eat your meatballs.

Spicy_pork_meatballs

The spicy pork meatballs with a parmesan cream sauce, topped with the "jewels" aka a fried egg.


The best meatballs are moist and never dried out — and that is exactly what these balls from the Meatball Shop are. There are four meatballs in each dish which is the perfect serving size! I loved the spicy kick the pork had and paired with the cream sauce and egg I knew I made the best choice for lunch. I have a theory that a fried egg truly makes a dish better. Some people may be grossed out by the “runny” texture of a fried egg, but when it’s served with a cream sauce you don’t even notice it.
I had actually gone to the Meatball Shop before for a friend’s birthday but I had eaten dinner before my arrival to the restaurant so I only took a couple bites of my friends’ meals. I loved the restaurant’s ice cream sandwiches — you mix and match different flavors of ice cream and cookies and can make the perfect pairing.
The downside to The Meatball Shop is the wait. It’s such a long wait especially on a Friday or Saturday night and the restaurant doesn’t take reservations. So I would recommend either going for lunch one afternoon or put your name in and get drinks at a neighborhood bar close by to pass the time. Let me put it this way, when I was with my friends they finished their dinner around 1 a.m and the restaurant was still packed and people were still waiting to be seated for dinner!
spicy_pork_meatballs

A closer look at the spicy pork meatballs in a parmesan cream sauce topped with a fried egg. The meat was so moist and flavorful I didn't even mind the spicy flavoring.

Gnocco

Italy came to me for dinner last night — the funny thing about the evening was as soon as I got to Gnocco with friends for a feast, my boyfriend’s flight to Rome was leaving New York. When he returns from Italy, I’m going to take him back — minus the long transatlantic flight and bags of cheap pretzels.
Let me be clear, the food Gnocco is different than Gnocchi; but they are both sublime at this restaurant. Gnocco is a deep fried dough but is not the fried dough you are probably thinking about — it’s not super thick and has both a crispy crunch and a fluffy texture to it. The Gnocco dish comes with northern Italian cold-cuts and can be placed on top of the fried-dough if you’d like, but I enjoyed it without. In addition to the Gnocco as an appetizer, I devoured the Caprese di Bufala Campana (sorry, it was eaten so fast I forgot to snap a photo!), which is buffalo mozzarella with fresh tomatoes and of course — basil. What made this salad so divine were two things: an extra basil-pesto was on the side of the dish and the flavor of this pesto livened up the food even more, and the buffalo mozzarella was also the freshest and creamiest cheese I have ever eaten. The restaurant has their buffalo mozzarella imported to them (see, I told you Italy came to me for dinner). My friend ordered their Caprino Tiepido, honey and golden raisins with warm goat cheese on top of mixed greens, she offered me some salad and if I wasn’t already getting full I probably would have demolished her dish. Having warm goat cheese makes it feel like you are having a hot dinner but the greens and especially the honey make the salad feel light. Usually I don’t enjoy salads, I think they are for wimps, but this one isn’t for the typical little salad eater, it’s for those who want to say “yum” after every bite and not feel guilty over what they are eating.
For my main course I indulged in a gnocchi in a pesto sauce (the gnocchi and a pesto sauce are on their menu but they are not with each other, the kitchen was kind enough to put the two together for me — and I must say, I think they are a great match). Owner Gianluca Giovanetti explained to me the gnocchi consistency is all about the amount of flour used; too much flour is going to make them too hard, not enough flour and it won’t hold together well enough to be called gnocchi. Gnocco chefs have the gnocchi recipe down — it was the perfect texture, not too hard but also it didn’t fall apart when my fork scooped it up. I am extremely picky with gnocchi, I feel like I may have a great dish of it once a year if I’m lucky and I almost gave up the search for the perfect gnocchi — and then I tried Gnocco’s plate. Gianluca also told me how each dish truly is a taste of heaven (and Italy). His mother came over to the United States to teach the chefs her recipes. In this case it’s true — mother knows best!

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Following the gnocchi came the pizza! The thin and crispy crust didn’t make me feel full on pizza and the toppings were amazing! It was covered with the classic italian seasonings and ingredients that make the food scream “ITALIAN GODS/GODDESSES CREATED ME!” There are plenty of pizzas to choose from — this side of the menu is a bit overwhelming because there are so many pizzas to pick from. One thing I did not try was the Calzone; it’s something I must do when I return for another dinner.
Dessert, was what officially put me in my food coma.
The mascarpone ice cream with espresso poured on top was to-die-for. Every one at the table laughed when I took too big of a bite out of the ice cream glass. After I got the spoon full in my mouth I closed my eyes because I felt like I was in food-heaven and then I quickly realized brain-freeze was the outcome of too much cold in one bite. I will NEVER again have artificial coffee flavored ice cream. If coffee is to be with the frozen dessert it is to be done one way and one way only — and it’s this way.

Note: Gnocco is located at 337 East 10th Street (between A&B).
Warning: don’t look at the online menu, it will make you hungry!
P.S: it’s 2 p.m the day after I went to dinner at Gnocco and I’m still full! That’s what great food will do to you!