CoolHaus Ice Cream Sandwich in NYC, New York

I heard about the Coolhaus truck for a while and always wanted to try it! I noticed that the truck was often at Union Square, where many food trucks are now lining up to feed a crowd eager to try some delicious food at a reasonable price. So, that day was the time to try it! The concept is simple: an ice cream sandwich made of a scoop of ice cream in between two cookies! Ideal for the sugar lovers!

The concept is simple: first choose your cookie, then pick your ice cream!

We decided to go with two chocolate chip cookies and the chocovivo salted chocolate that is as per the description: a rich dark chocolate base swirled with fudge and sprinkled with chunks of dark chocolate from chocovivo.

When they gave it to us, it was huge! And when it is warm outside, you'd better hurry to eat it before the ice cream starts to melt!!! It is a bit messy to eat, but fortunately, you hold it with and edible wrapper.

The cookie was very good: not too sweet and soft with a bit of crunch from the chocolate chips and the chunks from the ice cream. The ice cream was divine with intense chocolate flavors! Definitely a very good combination, picked by Jodi!

What is great is that you can swap cookies and ice cream in many, many combinations, making your experience new each time! They have plenty of flavors that I guess they alternate from time to time and some are original, such as candied bacon, chocolate chipotle or nutella almond (I love nutella and will definitely try this one!). If you love sugar, cookies and ice cream, try Coolhaus and let me know what you think!

Enjoy (I sure did)!

My brother's culinary visit...

Last week, my brother stopped by to see us on his way back to France. On top of the fact that it was great to spend time with him, it was a great occasion to make him try some cuisine or food that are not that common in France or that he cannot find in the city where he is living. There is so much diversity in New York that I had to pick just couple of choices that I proposed to him. I'll pass on the first night when we went to Benny Tudino's in Hoboken so he could have a good taste of pizza. We also ordered chicken wings as it is something that he never tried (it is only served in few restaurants, mainly in Paris, such as the Indiana Cafe where I used to go with my cousin Sandrine when I was living there). 

The pizza was good as usual, but the chicken wings were like fried chicken...Disappointing...In fact, I never ordered anything else other than pizza over there and several people told me that the rest of the food is not very good!

The next day, I proposed to go for Venezuelan as where he lives, there no such restaurants and he never tried before. We ended up at Caracas Arepa Bar that is one of my favorites! Caracas Arepa Bar is a small place in the East Village that has these amazing arepas, which are some sort of buns that are grilled and baked, filled with different ingredients, from chicken to beef, to beans and cheese. They offer a nice selection of vegetarian dishes.

The decor has an authentic feel with its wooden tables and chairs that are a bit run down and plenty of religious figurines on the wall.

 as well as satiric figurines of politicians...

I admit that the only one I recognized was Hugo Chavez...

The service in the restaurant was efficient and extremely courteous. The menu is simple and features items that cost less than $8, at the exception of course of the tasting platters that they propose.

We started by ordering some banana milkshakes.

They had a little bit of cinnamon on top. It was more liquid than a traditional milkshake, that is good considering that it was more a drink to go with the meal rather than being a dessert. Unfortunately and contrary to the last time we went there, it did not have as much banana taste.

For appetizers, we first ordered the guasacaca & chips.

It is in fact guacamole with chips made with plantains and taro roots. The guacamole was very good and fresh, while the chips were deliciously crispy and not at all greasy.

The second appetizer was the tajadas.

It is fried sweet plantains with cheese. The cheese was salty, making it a perfect ingredient to counterbalance the sweetness of the plantains. This was a fantastic appetizer and I could not stop eating it!

Then came the arepas. My brother picked the one called "De Pabellon".

It was made of shredded beef, black beans, white salted cheese and sweet plantains. I did not try it, but my brother loved it and told us that it was his favorite food from the whole trip!

Jodi chose the one called "La Del Gado".

It is an arepa composed of plantains, avocado and white cheese. These are simple ingredients, but I have to say that it was the best! It has some nice flavors and the avocado added some freshness to the dish. The salted cheese and sweet plantains complemented each other well. This was a hit!

On my side, I picked the "La Mulata".

An arepa filled with sweet plantains, black beans, jalapenos and sauteed red peppers. This was very good, but when you eat the jalapenos, your mouth starts quickly to get on fire! It is a bit attenuated by the cheese and plantains, but still, it is a bit hot!

We skipped dessert as we were full! When you see the arepas coming, you may think it will not be enough, but trust me: it is!

For dinner, we went to have a steak at Dino & Harry in Hoboken (review of Dino & Harry here). Each time I have visitors from France, I tell them that they should try the meat in a steakhouse; there is no doubt in my mind: the meat in the US is way better than the meat in France.
Dino & Harry is a great steakhouse, but, as most of the restaurants of that kind, it is pretty dark inside, so the photos are not great...I therefore decided not to publish them!

Jodi and my brother ordered the petite filet mignon that was very tender and juicy, served with mushrooms. I decided to order the ribeye that was magnificent: perfectly cooked medium rare, juicy, extremely tender with a nice char. For sides, we went for the French fries (mediocre) and the onion rings (delicious and not too greasy). Oh, I forgot to mention the sauces: the bearnaise sauce is always perfect, but I did not really like the roasted garlic aioli.

As we had a bit of space left after this fantastic dinner, we went for the chocolate mousse: it was very dense, not too sweet with a very pronounced chocolate flavor.

I have never been disappointed in that place!

On Friday, we decided to go to Little Italy and see if for San Gennaro, we would find some succulent food!

I was a bit disappointed because, besides the stands for iconic places such as La Bella Ferrara pastry shop, it was the usual sausage and meatball stands you would see in a street fair. So we decided to eat in one of the restaurants over there. We first went to Da Nico, but nobody bothered taking care of us. So we left and ended up at Benito One. 

We picked this restaurant simply because we saw people already eating there and we were in kind of a rush (I tried to check on the internet which restaurant was the best, but unfortunately had no service...).

Jodi ordered a tomato and mozzarella salad.

It was served with roasted peppers and basil leaves. I think it is the worst tomato & mozzarella salad I ever had, that is pretty incredible considering how easy it is to make! It was under seasonned, had barely any olive oil and the mozzarella was horrible! The roasted peppers were the only things I enjoyed.

My brother ordered the homemade cheese ravioli.

They were served with a tomato and basil sauce. It was a good dish: the ravioli were not too doughy and the sauce was good although simple.

On my side, I ordered the homemade gnocchi.

They came in a tomato, shallots and cream sauce. The gnocchi were ok, but overall, the dish was bland.

Benito One was clearly not a good choice for lunch! I will definitely have to try to find the best Italian restaurant in Little Italy: this will be my next quest! Anyway, if you know any, please send me an email at jp@ijustwanttoeat.com

So, of course, we skipped dessert at Benito One and walk few feet away to the Stuffed Artisan Cannolis! We saw them on a TV show and were dying to try them!

They started 5 years ago and their idea is to put a twist to the traditional cannoli. So, for instance, they have coconut, French toast or nutella.

We decided to try (from left to right): nutella (of course!), French toast, Birthday cake, regular, regular and chocolate. Of course, these cannolis are not full size! They are half the size of regular ones.

The shell of the cannolis was good and crispy, but the filling was not: the nutella one barely tasted nutella; the regular had an off taste; the birthday cake was just ok. The French toast was good with a nice maple syrup flavor, but it was not something I would crave. 

For dinner that Friday, we decided to go to Southern Hospitality (review of Southern Hospitality here). BBQ is an amazing thing to discover as we do not have that in France. We have grilling, but not the slow cooking so particular to BBQ! And Southern Hospitality is the perfect place for some tasting!

We decided to order several dishes: for appetizer, we went for the fried green tomatoes.

These are amazing! Not greasy, very tasty, the tomato had a nice crunch. It was served with a BBQ ranch dipping sauce that is so good that I would just drink it!

We also shared some corn bread and Mac & Cheese.

The corn bread was wonderful and came warm with a delicious honey butter. The Mac & Cheese was perfect! Creamy and full of cheese!

Then came the meat! What I like about Southern Hospitality is that they propose some tasting portions so you can try different meats. We started off with the fried chicken.

It was good, but not the best I ever had: the breading was falling off as we started cutting the bird...Southern Hospitality also proposes fried chicken and waffles that I love!
By the way, as an anecdote, the first time I tried fried chicken when I was leaving in Paris was at...KFC...

Then we got the brisket.

That was a fantastic piece of meat!!! I did not even need a knife to cut it! It was amazingly good, tender and moist, that is what is sometimes a miss with brisket. I would have eaten more...

Last was the dry rub Memphis style spare-ribs.

Delicious as usual: the meat was falling off the bone and was incredibly tasty with some nice fat in some areas (yes, fat can be good!).

We could not leave that place without having a dessert...My brother went for the key lime pie.

It was very good: creamy and not too sweet with a nice whipped cream on top to counterbalance the acidity of the lime.

But my favorite was the banana pudding.

The banana pudding at Southern Hospitality is the best I ever had! It has vanilla wafers and caramelized bananas on top. It is pure heaven: very creamy and rich, each bite makes you want more. Then you reach the bottom and you get some crumbled cookies, wishing that there was more! It is definitely something to try!

That dinner at Southern Hospitality was definitely a hit and a perfect way to showcase some specialties from the South.

Saturday was the last day...We decided to go to brunch. The brunch concept is not as popular in France as it is here. Many years ago, when I was living in Paris, I used to go with my friends for a Sunday brunch, but it was a novelty (we used to go to Le Loup Blanc that still serves a brunch for 22 EUR with all you can eat croissants and chocolate croissants!).  

I checked on opentable.com and found this place few blocks from Times Square as it was one of the places we were supposed to see. We ended up at 44 1/2 on 44th street and 10th Avenue.

This place is pretty cool, very modern and very bright.

It has a nice patio in the back...

...that you can see behind the corn bread!

They serve traditional brunch dishes such as eggs, French toast...

Jodi went for the California Omelet.

It was made with egg whites, tomatoes, spinach, mozzarella and avocado on top. It was pretty good. The eggs were perfectly cooked and it was a great healthy dish. On the top left side, you can see some fruits cut into cubes: all the dishes had some. Great idea to clean your palate at the end!

My brother ordered the andouille sausage frittata.

It was made with green onions, white cheddar and truffle oil. Very good dish too, although I missed the taste of the truffle oil...

On my side, I ordered the crab cakes benedict.

It was served with a homemade Hollandaise sauce that was delicious. The crab cakes were not the best I ever had, but I enjoyed it! It had a bit of sweetness that reminded me my first attempt at crab cakes!

This was a great brunch, but we were so stuffed at the end that we decided to pass on dessert and walk on the high line...

Of course, after that walk, we needed a snack and we thought that it would be a great idea to go, before my brother took his flight, to the Doughnut Plant (review of the Doughnut Plant here).

Jodi got her coconut donut, my brother the peanut butter and banana one and for me, I simply ordered the tres leches that is one of their best selling and always a hit!

We had a great time with my brother and wish we had more time together. I would have had for sure found so many other places to try: deli (Junior's), bagels,...It will be for another time!


We enjoyed (we did)!

And remember: I just want to EAT!

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Salads at Pita Grill in Hoboken, NJ

After a week end full of food, we decided to have a salad at Pita Grill in Hoboken. Pita Grill is a chain that you can find in lots of places. The concept is healthy Mediterranean food.

We started off with a fresh squeezed orange juice.

This was a real fresh squeezed OJ, not a watered down one and for $3, there was a nice quantity of it!

For the salads, Jodi had the Goat cheese salad.

It is composed of mesclun greens, golden raisins and roasted walnuts tossed with a lemon honey vinaigrette. Served with grilled pita, topped with Goat cheese and caramelized onions. This is one of my favorites, especially the pita with caramelized onions and goat cheese! The sweetness of the onions completes so well the tartness of the cheese. Definitely to try!

On my side, I got a Pita Grill salad.

It is made of grilled chicken and basil-rubbed eggplant over mesclun greens, dried cranberries, crumbled Feta and with a roasted red pepper vinaigrette. That was delicious and fresh! The chicken was perfectly cooked: moist with a nice burnt taste on the charred areas. The vinaigrette was very light and subtle. I finished my plate!

So definitely, this is the place to go for a healthy lunch! I will try to remember the day I go to another food marathon...

Enjoy (I did)!

Burgers at Minetta Tavern in NYC, New York

If you follow this blog, you know that I love burgers! What I like is the bold flavor of the meat combined with the cheese, sauces and bread. It is so comforting and a good burger can be divine! There are so many restaurants who serve this great dish, but not all of them succeed. Recently, I decided to try the burgers at Minetta Tavern. The place has the same owner as Balthazar and therefore gets its breads and pastries from there! Apparently,  when they need something, they send a staff member to the Balthazar bakery to get it!

The place is smaller than what I imagine and is divided into two rooms: the main room in the back where the kitchen is located and the bar where few booths are available. There is an old feel to the place, with the black and white photos on the wall and the overall furnitures. 

Minetta Tavern is known for its Black Label burger, a $26 burger with a patty made of prime dry age meats: strip or ribeye, skirt steak and brisket, all coming from the Creekstone Farms (black angus beef raised and grazed in the US and USDA approved). So I decided to try it.

I ordered it medium and the waitress told us that medium means pink in the center. When the burger came, it look fabulous: a thick patty, shiny on the outside probably from the clarified butter that they drizzle the meat throughout the cooking process, with simply caramelized onions on top. It was served on a brioche bread that was not toasted and with some French fries.

The burger was juicy but clearly more medium rare than medium. 

It did not knock my socks off! I was expecting a rich meat flavor that any good dry aged meat would have. In fact, as we wanted to make a comparison,  Jodi ordered the Minetta burger, a cheeseburger that was served with the caramelized onions, as well as the brioche bun, but with cheese on top.

Similar to the Black Label Burger, it came with a thick patty smothered in cheese. The temperature of the burger was the same: medium was in fact medium rare. I'll be honest: there was not a big difference between the Black Label and the cheeseburger! And both burgers were salty!

What I truly liked were the fries! They were spectacular! I think these are the best French fries I got so far: perfectly salted and crispy! I was close to finish my plate until I remembered that this place was just a stop in a food journey...

 We finished with eating the coconut layer cake that stared at us during the entire lunch: Jodi could not resist looking at it. The coconut layer cake is on the menu and comes from Balthazar Bakery. I am not the biggest fan of coconut, but I have to say that it was delicious!

It was made of a very moist cake with two layers of cream and some icing on top with coconut shaving. The coconut taste was perfect and subtle. On top of that, the cake was very light! Fantastic!

I was a bit disappointed by the burgers at Minetta Tavern as, with all the buzz about them, I was expecting something awesome. The only reason I would come back would be for the French fries and the coconut layer cake, not the burgers!

Enjoy (I did)!

Burgers at Stand 4 restaurant in NYC, New York

Jodi and I went for dinner with our friends Annie and Leif to Stand 4 near Union Square to enjoy a burger.

The place, with its bull at the entrance, is pretty big with its high ceilings and mirrors that add an impression of space to the dining room. 

In term of menu, you can either create your own burger (CYOB) or order one of their special ones. If you decide to built one, this is the way it works:

• choose the bun:
• brioche, sesame seed Bun, giant enlish muffin, whole wheat, iceberg lettuce (interesting...).
• choose the patty:
• beef, turkey, chicken, salmon, veggie, portobello.
• choose the toppings: 
• free: lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickles.
• additional charge: white cheddar, swiss, pepper jack, american, blue, mozzarella, carmelized onions, jalepenos, sauteed mushrooms, portobello, avocado, fried egg, smoke applewood bacon, canadian bacon, mac & chez, beef chili, turkey chili, cole slaw, kewpie japanese mayo, any sauce or mayo.

Jodi created her own with brioche, beef patty, American cheese, mushrooms and pickles.

Mine was the Buffalo Beef Burger. I asked for a brioche bun. Otherwise, it is made with fried onions, white cheddar, BBQ sauce and comes with blue cheese dressing on the side.

Both burgers were fantastic! The bun was toasted and soft. The meat was juicy and tasty with a nice amount of it. The Buffalo Beef Burger was a bit big to eat, but it was manageable. I loved the different flavors mixed together and only regret the lack of heat from the BBQ sauce. 

With the burgers, we ordered some sides...

French fries:

Skin on, crispy and well cooked (I hate undercooked fries!)

Tater tots.

Nothing special: pretty standards...

Onion rings:

I did not like them: some were stuck together and the batter was missing salt.

For the story, the kitchen forgot our sides and not only offered us the fries (we did not order them), offered us the tater tots and onion rings, but also gave us some coupons for mini milkshakes for the next time we go there. Always nice to see when a restaurant is addressing an issue appropriately. 

So I mentioned milkshakes! Yes, they do offer milkshakes: with or without alcohol (vodka, rum...). They have some interesting flavors: toasted marshmallow, cookies and cream, blueberry pie...I picked the nutella one! I love nutella so it was an easy choice and I was pretty excited as it was the first time I saw that on a menu. 

The nutella milkshake came with a light and delicious whipped cream. The milkshake itself was amazing: it was not too thick (anyway, they provided a large straw) and had the perfect quantity of nutella. More would have been too much!

So, I can tell you that after the burger, sides and milkshake, I was full! I really enjoy the dinner and will certainly go back to Stand 4 to try their other burgers like the kobe beef one. Definitely to recommend!

Enjoy (I did)!

 

Chicken Galore restaurant in Union City, NJ

Jodi was having dinner with one of her friend so I decided to treat myself with some fried chicken (I love it!). I therefore ordered a combination platter from Chicken Galore in Union City.

The platter is composed of: 3 pieces of fried chicken, 2 ribs, coleslaw, onion rings and fries.

The way it came was a bit disappointing as everything was on top of each other! The ribs were buried under the fries and onions rings.

There was a delicious BBQ sauce, but unfortunately the meat was a bit tough.

The chicken however was perfect!

The meat was perfectly cooked and moist, there was a perfect amount of breading and it was not greasy. I detected some nice spices in the breading that added a nice touch to it.

The French fries were steak cut: they were not crispy but it could be attributed to the delivery that caused them to steam a bit. The coleslaw had an off taste and the onion rings were forgettable!

So, I would definitely order back the Fried Chicken from Chicken Galore: only this...

Enjoy (I did)!

 

Lunch at Michael's in NYC, New York

Michael's is one of these restaurants that have been opened forever and where business people as well as celebrities like to go. Or at least people thinking that they will see celebrities go!

I went there for a lunch recently. The restaurant has a nice feel between classic and modern with its colorful paintings on the wall.

The service was courteous but a bit disorganized, although the restaurant was reasonably crowded.

In term of food, the menu offers a diversity of dishes that are at the same time simple and elaborated.

The presentation of each dish was a pleasure for the eyes: colorful and well put together. I tasted first the sashimi of hamachi (also called Japanese Amberjack or yellowtail). It was served with Pickled Jalapeño, Bell Peppers, Salmon Roe with a Yuzu Vinaigrette. I liked the finesse of the dish that had very clean flavors. My only regret was the salmon roe that I do not particularly like.

They also serve some amazing chilled shrimp, served with avocado, grapefruit, horseradish and a bit of Greek yoghurt. The shrimp were perfectly cooked and the acidity of the grapefruit as well as the avocado added a some freshness to it.

For the main dish, I went for the Seared Maine Dayboat Scallops.

They were served on a disk made of quinoa and sunflower seeds, with a rouille sauce. The colors on this dish were fantastic! The scallops were perfectly cooked with a nice sear on it. The quinoa was perfectly cooked (thank God they rinsed it thoroughly so it did not have a bitter taste). The sauce was delicious, but I could not really think about a rouille when tasting it. Overall, it was a successful dish that healthy conscious people will sure appreciate!

For dessert, they had different types of sorbet.

The raspberry sorbet was scrumptious with a nice fruity taste! I bet it was homemade! 

I could not resist to the German chocolate pyramid either.

It was served with a delicious pecan praline ice cream. The pyramid was dense and for sure was loaded with dark chocolate! Perfect for chocolate lovers!

So, it was a great lunch there: great food, spectacular plating and fantastic flavors. I understand why it has been there so long!

Enjoy (I did)!

 

Matt & Meera, American-Indian restaurant in Hoboken, NJ - Closed

I have discovered this little gem in Hoboken that replaced Kati Roll a month ago: Matt & Meera. At first, we were not sure what we would get there as the name did not really indicate anything in particular. I was not even sure it would be a restaurant! 

We went a first time and it was so good that we came back! The first time, I was lucky to meet one of the owners Chef Hari Nayak who wrote several cookbooks. He told me that the idea was to put together American and Indian cuisine, bring Indian spices and twist to American classics. In fact, the name itself is made of a common name in the US (Matt) and a common name in India (Meera): these people do not exist and only represent the fusion the Chef wanted to create.

I like the place: simple and warm with its bricks and wood.

They have a communal table in the middle of the dining room and a large shelf full of sauces you can purchase. I bought their Habanero mustard and really like it!

The service is fast and courteous. At first, I thought it was a fast food, because you order at the counter, but in fact, they will bring the food at the table, in plates, like in any restaurant. They also pay attention to the presentation as I hope my photos will show!  The nice and sometimes playful plating gives another dimension to this place that you could not have guessed considering the prices displayed on their menu! At the time of this post, the most expensive item on the menu, the soft shell crab sandwich is $9! For sure, not all the items are full plates as the principle is to share, but still!

Looking at the menu, you will definitely recognize some authentic Indian specialties, such as the samosas:

Samosas are crispy turnover filled with this time either potatoes, vegetables or meat. We decided to try these three fillings, but you can pick which one you want. They are served with a tomato mustard chutney.

The potato and the vegetables samosa were delicious, packed with spices! As the vegetables are cut in small pieces and not pureed, you get a different flavor at each bite.

The meat samosa was amazing! The meat was definitely lamb and it was also packed with spices that reminded me of kefta that are meatballs you find in Oriental cuisine. 

This with the delicious tomato mustard chutney was awesome! I also appreciated the fact that the samosas were crispy and not greasy at all! The shell was perfectly cooked and not doughy.

Then we tried the Meera's Chicken TikkaMasala  kebab:

I love chicken Tikka Masala! So I was thrilled to try this! The chicken is pan seared and dipped in tikka masala sauce. It was a bit tough to remove the chicken from the skewer and the sauce was missing some depth. It was just ok for me.

Then we got their most ordered item: the "Naan" Chos.

This is the perfect example of the fusion between American and Indian cuisine. The chips are made of naan and there is some melted masala cheese all over it, with a scoop of cream cheese, some chutneys and some guacamole (for sure the guacamole was not fresh). I thought it was a great idea! The naan chips were crispy and their dryness was complemented by the melted cheese, sour cream and guacamole. The dish had a nice little kick! Overall a great idea.

The second time we went, we ordered again the samosa and I decided to try the lamb burger.

I thought it would be a smaller size burger, but in fact it was pretty big! It came in a metal bucket that gave a nice touch to the presentation. The bread was a soft toasted brioche bread and there was some lettuce, tomato and red onion with the lamb patty.

I asked for the burger to be cooked medium and it came at the perfect temperature! The meat was juicy and very tasty. With the lamb, they put the same spices that gave that particular taste to the meat samosa. There was no need to add any cheese, ketchup or mayo. It was incredibly good!

For one more dollar, we added some homemade crispy masala chips that were the perfect side to the burger.

Jodi ordered one kati roll:

It is like a wrap made with a thin bread that I believe was a roti. She picked the tofu roll. It was pretty tasty and there was a nice eggy taste thanks to the omelet they laid on the roti before rolling it.   

The third time we went, we decided to try more classic dishes to see how the Indian influence translated to.

First were Matt's calamari.

They are crispy calamari served with a mustard tomato chutney. This was delicious: the calamari were perfectly cooked, meaning that they were not rubbery; it was crispy and not greasy with a hint of spices that slowly builds up in the back of your mouth, but is still not strong.

For the spiciness, I went for the grilled chicken wings.

These are red chili wings cooked in a tandoor. If you like spicy, this is definitely for you! Although my mouth was on fire, I loved it! Very tasty. The spiciness hits you right away and the only way to diffuse it is to dip the wings in the sauce they serve it with. Not sure what is was made of, but I certainely could taste some pepper.

The last dish was their naan pizza.

The pizza looked very appetizing and was fantastic! You can even try to make it at home after buying naan bread at the supermarket. Yes, the dough is replaced by some naan bread that is very thin and becomes crispy during the cooking process. They do not put any tomato sauce, just cheese and the different ingredients. I did not really care for the spinach and did not taste the mint at all. However, the flavor of the mushroom and pepper gave some freshness to it. Both were blended with the cheese (I hate when mushrooms are added at the end). Overall very good!

Each times, we got some fantastic dishes at Matt & Meera and we will sure go back there! My only regret is that they do not serve sweet lassi that I love and have no desserts. They do serve mango lassi and a cucumber cooler that I have tried and was delish, but they cannot replace a good sweet lassi! They told me that they will soon start proposing a dinner menu. I will for sure try it!!!

Enjoy (I did)!

Holey Cream: what Ice Cream Donut Sandwich in NYC, New York???

What I like in New York is that you will find all sorts of crazy culinary ideas! The last one I found is Holey Cream, an ice cream parlor located Midtown.

Holey Cream is a small place that serves of course ice cream, cupcakes, donuts and...ice cream donut sandwiches. Yes, you read correctly! This is a spin on the ice cream sandwich, where they will put three scoops of ice cream between a donut.

The way you do your ice cream donut sandwich is:

1.  Pick three scoops of ice cream; they have flavors like cheesecake, dolce de leche, red velvet cupcake, S'Mores,...
2. Then you pick the icing for your donut: vanilla or chocolate.
3. Last, you choose the topping that goes from gummy bears, peanut butter cup, M&M's...

They will then prepare your sandwich!

So, here is what I picked:

• Chocolate icing topped with sprinkles.
• Three scoops: vanilla (I figured out it would be a good test to try a basic flavor), butterscotch praline and cookies & cream.

It is pretty exciting to see them make the ice cream sandwich. For sure, it is huge and decadent! We sat at one of the very few seats and try to eat that monstrous ice cream! First of all: you cannot pick it with your hands because of the icing and toppings on the donut. Anyway, even if you could, it would be messy! So, then, to try to eat with the poor plastic spoons they give you was a bit difficult. 

The donut was very good and tasted very fresh. The ice cream though was so so: the vanilla ice cream and the cookies & cream were lacking taste. However, the butterscotch praline was delicious! 

Pairing the ice cream with the donut was fun, but unfortunately, it fell flat because of the lack of taste of the ice cream that seemed low quality! 

Note that if you only want the donut, you can make it by choosing the icing and the toppings and skipping the ice cream...

So I was a bit disappointed: this is the type of place you would go to just to try, but would not go back...

Enjoy (the post...)!

 

Jane restaurant in Greenwich Village, NYC, New York

It has been a while that we wanted to try Jane in Soho. Each time we passed by on the weekend, it was packed with a long wait outside, so I was figuring that there was probably a reason, hopefully food related!

We went on a Saturday evening, not too late to make sure we would be able to eat there! I thought that it was a small restaurant: it is in fact of a good size with another room downstairs! Modern, but cozy. At first, the restaurant was empty, but when we left, dinners started to come!

We decided to go for a light dinner as the day was filled with food! We started off with handmade burrata served with roasted tomatoes and ciabatta bread.

Burrata is an Italian cheese made of mozzarella and cream: the outer shell is "hard" and the inside is cream.
It was succulent: the burrata was to die for especially eaten with olive oil and the roasted cherry tomatoes! It tasted very fresh and was a perfect appetizer to start our meal!



We then ordered a Mediterranean salad.

It was a pretty straight forward salad: feta, olives, cucumber, tomatoes, red onions and lettuce. It was good and not too overdressed!

Then came what I was looking for: Jane's burger!

That was a huge plate! The burger is made with cheddar, double smoked bacon, caramelized onions, lettuce, pickled tomatoes and a secret sauce! I am not sure what type of bread it was: white, soft and it was toasted.

I loved it! Perfectly cooked (medium) and juicy! I loved the different flavors I could get at each bite, between the sweetness of the caramelized onions and the acidity of the pickled tomato. It was fantastic! Better and cheaper than the burger at the Spotted Pig I tried few weeks ago!!!

The burger was served with some delicious rosemary French fries.

I had a great dinner at Jane and I am looking forward to try their brunch: they have French toast with creme brulee batter! I am sure I will enjoy!

Enjoy (I did)!

 

Wichcraft, sandwiches by Tom Collcchio in NYC, New York

Jodi and I wanted to go to the Joshua Gallery on 11th and 28th to see the exhibit of Shawn Baber - Memoirs: the tattooed portraits series. So I went on the internet to see what was around for lunch and found Wichcraft, the casual sandwich restaurant that Tom Colicchio opened in 2003 with partners Sisha Ortuzar and Jeffrey Zurofsky. There are several locations in New York, San Francisco and Las Vegas. The one in New York, closed to the gallery, was called "The Tunnel". I understood why when we found it!

At first, we were not sure if the place was already opened or still opened as that part on 11th does not have that many restaurants. The address pointed out to a large building, an ancient warehouse.

When we entered the building, we understood why it was called "The Tunnel"!

It was like a large tunnel with large metal beams. Like the building, the walls were made of bricks. There were very few stores and gallery opened and wichcraft was close to the very end of it.

The place is small, but there are tables outside to sit. The service was courteous and very quick. The menu offers sandwiches, salads and soups, as well as cookies for dessert.

We decided to start with the Aged Gruyere sandwich.

It was like a grilled cheese sandwich. I did not really like it because you could barely taste the aged gruyere (I think they should have put more of it): it was overpowered by the roasted onions that were like caramelized onions; there was too much of it and it was therefore way too sweet.

The second sandwich we tried was the heritage smoked ham.

This sandwich was fantastic! The bread, a cranberry pecan bread, was delicious. The sandwich contained poached pears, aged gruyere and dijon mustard besides the ham.

Contrary to the aged gruyere sandwich, they put a lot of ham. What was great was the addition of the poached pears that added some sweetness to counterbalance the saltiness of the ham. This was a great sandwich!

With the sandwiches, we got potato chips (not homemade unfortunately) and a delicious lemonade.

Although I did not like one of the sandwiches, I really enjoyed the experience at Wichcraft and recommends it! If you go, get the Heritage Smoked Ham sandwich: it is amazing!

Enjoy (I did)!

The Palm in Philadelphia, PA

How many times do you have to try a restaurant before having a definite opinion about the food they serve? This is a good question for which I do not have the answer after my experience with The Palm. Imagine this: I first tried The Palm located Midtown New York for lunch, during restaurant week. It was not good at all: the quality of the meat was poor and they bathed the steak with a wine sauce that was not that great...The second time was in Vegas. We ordered the filet mignon: disappointing again! 

So, why did we end up at The Palm in Philadelphia? Simply because it was raining!!!

The restaurant had a warm atmosphere with its booths and leather seats. The service was efficient and very courteous.

Now, let's talk about food! Jodi ordered the filet mignon.

 It was a delicious 9 ounces piece of meat, that was at the perfect temperature. The meat was tender and juicy.

I ordered the boneless ribeye.

This was a big piece of steak: 18 ounces! The meat was incredibly good with a nice charr on each sides. It was tender and juicy too! No need to tell you that I finished it! We ordered a bearnaise sauce to eat with the steaks: it was fantastic. 

As sides, we picked the goat cheese whipped mashed potatoes and the roasted brussels sprouts.

The mashed potatoes were awesome! This is the first time I try a goat cheese one. It was delicious and light. They could have put some more cheese though! 

They were roasted with lemon brown butter. It was just ok for me. I prefer the brussels sprouts more cooked.

Although I did not really enjoy the brussels sprouts, I had a phenomenal dinner! But had no room for dessert unfortunately!!! I will have to go back...

Enjoy (I did)!

The Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, PA

You cannot go to Philadelphia without visiting the Reading Terminal Market! This place has some incredible food! Not all the food is good, but they have some little gems there!

I love going to this kind of places where there are so many different merchants that you do not know where to go and what to eat! They serve: meat, fish, vegetables, ice cream, pastries... And then, you can eat French (crepes!), Thai, Italian, Middle Eastern...

Each time we went to Philly, we stopped there!

The variety of food is so amazing that just walking around will make you discover some incredible vendors such as Wan's seafood!

Their stand look amazing and fresh!

I saw these huge Wild Shrimp! Trust me, these, simply grilled on a BBQ must be fantastic!

There is also an Amish owned traditional deli, called The Riehl Deli.

Not only do they have a wide variety of cheeses, they have tons of meats!

But what caught my eyes was clearly on the sweet side...

First were the Termini Brothers with their Italian cookies!

And decadent cakes!

Then, the custom made Chocolate by Mueller:

They seem to have some amazing creation like the chocolate brain....

Pretty funny!

There is also the phenomenal Flying Monkey!

Look at that! If I did not have to go to the Franklin Fountain later on, I would have had some of their cakes!

They looked incredible!

So definitely, the Reading Terminal Market is the place to go for some surprising and decadent food! I will stop there next time again for sure! By the way, it is there that we found Salumeria, an authentic Italian hoagies joint!

If you go, before leaving, do not forget to make a donation to Philbert, the pig in the center of the market! It goes to charity for children of the community!

Enjoy (I did)!

The Franklin Fountain ice cream in Philadelphia, PA

Another spot we wanted to check after watching Man vs Food was The Franklin Fountain, an ice cream parlor serving homemade ice cream. The place is tiny! There is no table or seat inside, so the only choice is to eat outside. When it is more than 100 degrees, it is a bit brutal, even if the ice cream will cool you! I was just surprised as, watching the show, I did not imagine that it was so small.

The decor (ornate ceiling and porcelain mosaic tiles on the floor) and the uniform of the employees definitely give the old fashion feel that the Berley brothers wanted to give to the place when they opened in 2004.

In term of ice cream, they serve homemade ice creams with flavor like vanilla bean, peanut butter, cherry vanilla...So we tried the coconut one.

For sure it was creamy, but it was a bit lacking the taste of coconut. Disappointing. The cone was good though...

Then, we tried the Mt Vesuvius.

Imagine that: vanilla ice cream, homemade whipped cream, homemade brownies, chocolate fudge and malt powder. Seem pretty decadent! The brownies were delicious and they were pretty generous with the quantity! In fact, the brownies and the fudge were the only things I liked!!! The vanilla ice cream was bland as well as the whipped cream. Disappointing again!

So sad: on the show, it really looked phenomenal, but it was just insipid. I think next time I will go for gelato in the Italian market!

Enjoy (the post only)!

The Spotted Pig in NYC, New York - Overrated?

So we made it to The Spotted Pig over the week end! It has been a while since I wanted to try: I heard many people talking about this place and about what is supposed to be an outstanding burger! You do not need to tell me that twice to have a restaurant in my radar!

The place has its charm with a bunch of piggies all over the place! There is even a frame that reminded me of the movie Delicatessen!
From outside, it gives a feel of a house in the country, with all the plants.

Not only can you see pigs from outside, but they are everywhere inside, giving a playful feel to the warm decor.

With a name like The Spotted Pig, you could imagine that the restaurant is all about the edible parts of this animal, but as you will see, it is not the case. In fact, all drawings and photos are not only about pigs, although they are the majority.

So we went on a Saturday and decided to show up for brunch at 11:30am, fearing that, with no reservation, we would have a problem to get a table. Yes, this restaurant is popular; also because some celebrities like to hang out there.

When we arrived, we gave our name and were told that we had to wait 10 minutes. This was interesting considering that there were plenty of available tables! So I had two explanations:

1. They do like Pastis: use this as a way to make you consume a drink at the bar.
2. The kitchen just opened and they did not want to be swamped by orders. I would go with this one.

So, few minutes after, they brought us upstairs. On our way up, we could not miss the multitude of drawings of various animals. They sat us at the tables with stools. 

We started off with the deviled egg (the menu says "eggs", but it is only one!).

I liked it: the egg was cooked beautifully (overcooked whites taste funny) and there was the perfect quantity of mayonnaise. The egg was topped with was I believe were chives. So it started well.

Then we shared the grilled cheese.

It was served with onion marmalade and mustard. I like it a lot! First of all, the sandwich itself was very good: the bread was soft inside and crispy outside, not greasy. I guess the cheese was swiss.

Besides the sandwich, what made this dish unique was the onion marmalade! It was a fantastic pairing and I truly appreciated the fact that it was not too sweet.

Then, came the star of the brunch: the burger!

So, the burger is served on a brioche bread, with roquefort cheese (kind of a blue cheese, roquefort has a strong taste) and shoestring fries.

The presentation is awesome with the mountain of fries and the marks on the toasted brioche. The bread is fantastic; in fact, I think that brioche bread is my favorite for a burger. I hate when the bun is dry as it is the first thing you will taste when you bit on the burger!

I asked for the meat to be medium, although I hesitated to ask for medium rare as a patty can dry out pretty quickly if overcooked.

As you can see on the photo, the meat was medium rare. It was very juicy and had a nice char taste outside. However, the roquefort was too overpowering! I think it would have been a phenomenal burger with either swiss or cheddar cheese. 

For your information, these sauces you see on the photo above are ketchup and mustard: they do not have mayonnaise.

The shoestring fries were just of for me: too thin, I could barely taste the potatoes...

So, surprisingly, the star of the meal was not the burger but the grilled cheese! I am not sure I would go back there: the food was decent but overpriced! $20 for a burger: it has to rock and it was not the case. The grilled cheese at $16 was also expensive for what it was.

Last, the service was average. At the exception of the waitress and the guy who brought the burger, people there were a bit rude. I guess it is the price to pay to eat in a popular restaurant. At least, it is what they think!

Enjoy (I barely did)!

Fraunces Tavern in NYC, New York - oldest building in NYC?

Recently, on a Sunday, we went for brunch with our friends Jen and Gary who proposed to go to Fraunces Tavern, downtown Manhattan. Fraunces Tavern is said to be the oldest surviving building in Manhattan per the Sons of Liberty who are the lucky owners since 1904. This building is filled with history! According to the Fraunces Tavern Museum website, the current building was built in 1719 by Etienne "Stephan" Delancey, a French Huguenot who married the daughter of New York's Mayor Stephanus Van Cortlandt. Delancey's heirs then sold the building to Samuel Fraunces who decided to open a tavern called the Queen's head. It is in this tavern that, before the revolution, gathered regularly the Sons of Liberty, a political group of American patriots that was formed, pre-independence, to protect the rights of the colonist from the rules set by the British government. 

But, one of the most famous story about this place lies in the dinner that took place on December 4th 1783: the "Turtle Feast". After British troops evacuated New York, the General (soon to be President) George Washington organized a farewell to his troops and said, in the long room: "with a heart full of love and gratitude, I now take leave of you. I most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and honorable."

After that, Samuel Fraunces became Wahsington's Chief Steward and, after the war, at the time New York was the Nation's Capital, the place was rented to the Government to house the Departments of War, Treasury and Foreign Affairs.

All this history is explained in the Museum that is on the second floor of the building. 

The building is pretty impressive in the middle of the skyscrapers. 

On the outside, you cannot miss the multiple plaques commemorating the place, its history or Samuel Fraunces. 

You can also see few windows showcasing bottles of whiskey (it is part of the American Whiskey Trail, an initiative of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States that promotes the history and cultural heritage of distilled beverages in the United States). 

In fact, inside, there is a very comfortable lounge where you can taste this divine drink as well as others.

I snooped around the place:

They sat us in the Long Room where George Washington gave his speech. They really kept it authentic (or at least as you would imagine it was). I noticed for instanced that couple of tables had holes.

We could not get any explanation from the wait staff as to what it was, but they told us that it was not bullet holes!

Next to the Long Room is the Bissel room:

And adjacent to it is the Chef's table room that showcases incredible wines.

There was a last big room, but I did not go there as they were setting it up.

All over the place, you could see portraits of George Washington.

Now let's talk about food! After all this is a food blog!

Fraunces Tavern serves Brunch, Lunch and Dinner. We went for Brunch on a Sunday. The restaurant proposes on its menu some Irish specialties such as the Irish breakfast: black pudding, bacon, Irish sausage, beans, toasts and 2 eggs.
They also propose some classics such as the French Toast, burgers or crab cakes.

With your meal, you can get a beer from the impressive beer list (the Tavern is run by the Porterhouse Brewing Company). That is how I ended up with the Oyster Stout, a dark beer that got its name from the oysters shucked into the conditioning tank! Do not worry, it did not taste like oysters!

We started by sharing an Irish cheese plate.

It was composed of: sage cheddar, cashel blue, port wine cheddar and brie. They served it with slices of apples to clean our palates between cheeses and some delicious port wine fig chutney (ideal for to soften the strong taste of certain cheeses). These cheeses were very good, although I have to say that I am not a big fan of port wine cheddar...
The cheese plate was ideal for sharing!

Then, we tried the fish & chips.

I love fish & chips, but this one was just ok: the batter was missing some crispiness and the fish was too flaky, completely falling apart. It was served with a wonderful tartare sauce and thick cut fries.

The next dish was the French toast.

They were served with fresh berries and of course some maple syrup. I loved it! The bread was perfectly soaked, all the way through. It was fantastic! And the berries added some freshness to the dish. This is definitely a recommended dish!

Jen and Gary got the eggs benedict:

and the corned beed hash:

I did not try these dishes, but they said that it was very good.

For dessert, we ordered the bread pudding.

This was an amazing dessert. Not only the presentation that was beautiful, but also the amazing buttery taste! It was served warm, with whipped cream and strawberries. I loved it!

This was a great brunch (Thanks Jen & Gary for the idea!) and there are plenty of dishes I would like to try: the Tavern burger or the duck leg confit! I guess I will have to go back...At least, you should try and let me know what you think!

Enjoy (I did)!

TGI Friday's in Iselin, NJ

Believe it or not, but the first time I heard about TGI Friday's was many years ago, before coming in this country, in Seoul, South Korea. I did not go for food but for drinks, before hitting a Korean BBQ joint for an amazing Bulgogi.

So, this time, I went to TGI Friday's in Iselin, New Jersey, for lunch. It was a Saturday and the restaurant was not that crowded. The service was very courteous and efficient.

We started with mozzarella sticks.

It was served with a pretty good marinara sauce. I liked it: it was golden brown, tasty and not greasy at all. The inside was very gooey. It came very, very hot!

The second appetizer was spinach flatbread.

That was also very good: the flatbread was crispy and the tomatoes added some freshness to it. I was surprised to like it because I am not a big fan of spinach (except a la creme...), but I guess the cheese on top helped...

For the healthy conscious, they propose a grilled chicken cobb salad.

We got it without the chicken. It was made with slices of avocado, eggs, tomatoes, bacon and crumbled blue cheese. It was simple, but good.

The next dish was fried shrimp with seasoned fries and cocktail sauce.

I think it was my least favorite: too much breading on the shrimp. Too bad because they were perfectly cooked, golden brown on the outside, crispy and not greasy. 

Then came the cheese burger.

I heard that TGI Friday's was known for the burgers so I had to try one! The burger was made of black angus beef: it was very tasty and I would add that it tasted like... meat! It was topped with two slices of cheese (I hate when restaurants only put one very thin slice of cheese on a burger!), red onion, lettuce and tomato. The bread was a brioche bread that was toasted. I really enjoyed it. Of course it is not comparable to BLT Burger, Shake Shack or Corner Bistro, but it was pretty good! It was served, similar to the fried shrimp, with French fries, regular cut that were crispy.

The last part was of course dessert! TGI Friday's serves a bunch of decadent desserts such as the Brownie Obsession (a warm brownie made with Ghirardelli® chocolate-fudge sauce, topped with vanilla ice cream, caramel and pecans).

We ordered the Chocolate peanut pie:

It was: chocolate ganache layered with peanut butter mousse in a peanut butter graham cracker crust, topped with whipped cream and a peanut butter cup. I had a bite of it and it was delcious. The ganache was very good and the layers worked extremely well together!

The other dessert was a vanilla bean cheesecake.

It was made with real vanilla beans, layered with white chocolate mousse and baked in a graham cracker crust, topped with white chocolate shavings. I liked it too although I would have preferred a more dense cake (once you tried Junior's cheesecake, you have high standards!). The white chocolate mousse was very good and light and the graham cracker crust was awesome!

So, surprisingly, I had a great lunch there! You see: it is not because it is a chain that you cannot have a great food experience!

Enjoy (I did)!

Vynl, Disco restaurant - NYC, New York

It has been a while since I wanted to try Vynl located in Hell's Kitchen. The name and spelling was intriguing, and they had truffled mac & cheese on the menu (yes, I just need to see one yummy item to make me want to try...).

The decor is pretty interesting: disco balls on the ceiling, mosaic everywhere, even on the table (ours was a displaying a big Atari logo) and a big bust of Elvis. On the walls, you could see action figures from bands like Kiss, or actors, shows...

There was definitely a disco feel accentuated by loud music: you do not go there for a romantic or quiet dinner!

The service was quick and very courteous.

The menu is a fusion Thai-American that can satisfy meat and non meat eaters! What is great is that they propose small plates so you can taste different dishes and share.

To go with my meal, I went for a milk shake.

I know, I could have gone for some wine but I cannot resist to a milk shake! They propose three flavors: vanilla, chocolate and mocha. I went for the vanilla one. It was a good milk shake with the perfect thickness and enough vanilla taste, thanks to the vanilla syrup they probably pour in it. 

We started with seared tuna sliders.

There were two of them, served with Thai spiced aioli and a cabbage slaw. It was delicious! Although, I would have liked a better proportion between the tuna and the bun. It is a very good alternative to a burger slider. It had very clean flavors and the tuna melted in my mouth.

After the sliders, we ordered vegetable dumplings.

They came with a sweet soy chili dipping sauce. I have to say that I am not a big fan of vegetable dumplings: most of the time, the shell is too thick, overpowering the taste of the veggies. This one was perfect! Light and succulent. Another great dish!

Then came the long awaited Truffled Mac & Cheese.

They served it with a salad. 

To be honest, I did not care about the salad, although it was good to have some greens considering the rest of the meal.

The Truffled Mac & Cheese was made with gemeli pasta, two types of cheese (fontina and parmesan), black truffle and cream. It was creamy and you could taste the truffle immediately. In fact you could smell it. Was it the best truffled mac & cheese I ever tried? No. But it was a pretty good one. I hate when mac & cheese is dry and this one was creamy. The only regret is that they only serve it as a large plate. They would have proposed it as a small plate, I would have tried some other succulent dishes they have on the menu! 

I had a great diner at Vynl and can't wait to go back to try some other dishes such as the fried chicken and waffle or the Kung Pao shrimp tacos!

Enjoy (I did)!

 

5 Napkin Burger in NYC, New York

5 Napkin Burger in Hell's kitchen opened many years ago, after the owners of the Upper West Side restaurant Nice Matin, Simon Oren and Andy D'Amico, thought that their signature burger was worth creating a burger place. The burger was named 5 Napkin Burger because the meat was so juicy that you would need five napkins to eat it! Since then, they have opened several locations in New York and are also present in Miami, Atlanta and Boston.

The restaurant in Hell's kitchen is always packed and it is better to have a reservation.
The decor with its white porcelain tiles is supposed to remind a slaughterhouse, especially with the meat hooks on the ceiling. What I like is that they have plenty of booths: yes, I like booths! It is something very rare in France and I always though that they add a nice classic touch to a place. It is also (most of the time), more comfortable than a chair!

The hooks on the ceiling are pretty interesting....

The restaurant serves brunch, lunch and dinner. If you are not a fan of burgers or want to watch you diet, they offer different standard alternatives such as French Toast, omelets, salads...They even propose sushi & maki, but I am not sure I would go to this restaurant for that, especially with all the Japanese restaurants that can be found in the area.

So, their specialty is burgers! They offer 12 different variations, most of them made with a 10 ounces beef patty. They also offer some with turkey, Ahi tuna and lamb.

Their signature burger is the Original 5 Napkin burger:

This is not a small burger! Clearly, to eat it, you are going to need to think you are at the dentist and he/she is asking you to open wide! It is composed of a brioche bread, the grounded beef patty, gruyere cheese, caramelized onions and rosemary aioli. I can tell you that they are not cheap on the ingredients and you soon understand why they call this a 5 Napkin burger. The meat was delicious: cooked perfectly (medium that is slightly pink in the center), juicy and had a great taste (yes, it tasted like meat)! The rosemary aioli was very good too! I usually do not like rosemary, but the taste was not too overpowering, making it the perfect sauce for the burger. Then, there were these delicious caramelized onions! The only thing maybe they could have done is to toast the bread.

The second burger I tried was the Avocado - Ranch:

It was made of pepper jack cheese, homemade guacamole, lettuce, tomato, ranch dressing on a sesame brioche roll. It was also very good, but I prefer the original. The pairing of the ranch dressing, avocado, cheese, meat and brioche (this time toasted) worked well, with the first two ingredients enhancing the juiciness of the meat. I think that I probably needed 10 napkins to eat it! Similar to the original, they were pretty generous on the cheese! Always appreciated!
Both burgers were served with delicious fries, a bit crispy.

If you are health conscious, you can decide to go for the burger salad...

You can pick between beef, turkey, lamb or veggie patty on top of chopped greens, endive, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, green beans, red onion, radishes, celery, blue cheese, pickled onions, red wine vinaigrette and 5 Napkin sauce (similar to 1000 Island dressing). 

At the end of the meal, you can understand that I was a bit full...These burgers are huge and most importantly delicious. Definitely a recommendation!

Enjoy (I did)!

BLT Burger - The best burger in NYC, New York

Today is National Hamburger Day and clearly I needed to celebrate it! So we decided to go to my favorite burger place in NY: BLT Burger.

If you do not know, BLT stands for Bistro Laurent Tourondel. Laurent Tourondel is a passionate and talented Chef, born and raised in Auvergne, France (great cheeses in Auvergne!). He told Food & Wine magazine that he ended up cooking because he was really bad at school. Today, his name is on several restaurants across the country: BLT Prime, BLT Steak, BLT Fish and...BLT Burger. 

Trust me: it is not because Laurent Tourondel is French that I like this place! I have tried many burgers here, but I can tell you: it is the best! The meat is always perfectly cooked, juicy and extremely tasty (yes: it tastes like real meat!), the bun is perfect (it is a sesame brioche bun).

So we decided to go today. We thought the place would be busy; first because it is most of the time, but also because they had a contest for the creation of the Dream burger: people could submit their creation and the one winning would get his/her burger on the menu. I submitted mine, but I guess it was too basic (some sort of burger reuben). So, there were not too many people. Good!

We started first with fried pickles, a Southern US specialty.

It is a slice of pickled dipped in a batter and fried, similar to the onion rings, but with pickles! I liked it! The taste was surprising as I could get the sour taste of the pickle mixed with the fried batter and the ranch chili-paprika dipping sauce that gave some kick to it.

Then, we got our burgers. We decided to order two different ones. The first one was the Maytag blue burger.

It is made with Maytag blue cheese, balsamic caramelized onions and mushrooms. At first, I was scared that the blue cheese would be too overpowering. Fortunately, there was just enough to give a taste that would not overshadow the taste of the meat. The onions and mushrooms were divine and a great addition, giving some texture to the burger.

The second burger was the classic one, with Vermont Cheddar cheese ($1 additional for the cheese).

It is simple and delicious. The meat on both burger was perfectly cooked (medium) and very juicy. It really tasted like meat, not like these burgers that you would get in fast food (I know: not the same price).

For the sides, we went for the onion rings.

The onion rings were good, a bit crispy and not too greasy. I just would have liked some ranch dressing with it.

We also got fries.

We chose the classic; otherwise, they propose waffle fries, sweet potato fries...These were like I like them: golden brown, crispy and regular cut.

The last thing we got was a vanilla milk shake.

Look: one of us had to sacrificed himself to get a combo price. I did. For $17, you can get a burger, fries and a milk shake. The later was very good. Not too thick, with the necessary amount of vanilla syrup. They gave the old fashion feel by serving it in an ice cream glass, adding whipped cream and top it with sprinkles. Delish! For You information, they also serve milk shakes with alcohol...

So, again, I was not disappointed by BLT Burger, that remains my top burger place in NYC. However, prices are a bit on the high range as for this meal we ended up with a bill of $52. Worth it though!

Enjoy (I did)!