Lunch at Midtown Philly Steaks in Hoboken, New Jersey

Why aren't cheesesteaks as popular as burgers? I do not know! Because cheesesteaks are fantastic, as long as, for me, they meet three criteria:

• Soft bread,
• Tender and juicy meat,
• Lots of cheese.

I have been a big fan of cheesesteaks after I tried them at Geno's in Philly (check out my cheesesteak experience in Philly).

So we went to Midtown Philly Steaks on Washington street for lunch. The place used to be another cheesesteak joint called Philly Cheese Steak Hoboken. I never tried it, but decided to try the new one.

The place is small, with only 6 seats.

Two of the seats overlooking the street.

The menu offers cheesesteaks, but also chicken, salads and hoagies.
We therefore decided to try their cheese steaks

and a hoagie:

The two sandwiches, that were big, looked fantastic and very appetizing. They were made with the same soft bread. 

The cheesesteak was definitely a good choice and met the three criteria I mentioned above: soft bread, tender and juicy meat and lots of cheese. Each bite was melting in my mouth, that is great, because with either tough meat or bread, the experience would not have been pleasurable at all. 

The hoagie was the Sinatra hoagie, made with Genova salami, ham, provolone, Iceberg lettuce, tomato, Raw onions, olive oil and oregano. It tasted very fresh and all the colors of this sandwich made it look spectacular. I liked it although I would have liked a bit less iceberg lettuce. 

Midtown Philly Steaks is definitely a place to have in mind: they serve great sandwiches for a reasonable price (less then $20 for 2 sandwiches and 1 soda).

Enjoy (I did)!

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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Burger at Hoboken Bar & Grill in Hoboken, New Jersey

I was craving a burger and Hoboken, with its many, many bars, has a lot to offer. We could have gone to Five Guys, but I wanted to try something new. That is how we ended up at the Hoboken Bar & Grill on Washington street. The new part of the experience over there concerned the burger as we already ate there once. I remember that I had sliders and did not really like them because they were too dry; but I have to admit that cooking sliders is not that easy as the piece of meat is so small, it is easy to overcook it.

So here we are, in the dining room, close to the large bar. Of course, eating in a bar, the music was so loud that it was difficult to hear the conversation...

So, we ordered our food. Jodi went for the egg white omelet, made with spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes and goat cheese.

There were also some fruit and potatoes. The omelet was good and there was plenty of goat cheese! However, I did not like the potatoes that were undercooked and had a weird seasoning on it. I prefer potatoes cooked all the way through and a bit crunchy!

I ordered the One pound Angus Burger.

I hesitated with the blue cheese burger, but decided to go to what seems to be their signature one. The burger was made with bacon, fried jalapeno, pepper jack and cheddar cheese on a brioche bun (not toasted). It came with fries, black onion rings and 3 sauces: ketchup, honey chipotle and BBQ sauce.

When the burger came, it was huge (well one pound patty...)! It had a nice and appetizing presentation with the onion rings on top of it and the three sauces. I liked the fact that there was no lettuce and tomato as I am not a big fan of it! I cut the burger into two equal portions and saw that the meat was very juicy! The first bite was divine: first, you get the softness of the bun; then the crunchiness of the bacon and the subtile heat of the fried jalapenio. Then the gooey of the cheese (nice quantity) and the taste of the char on the meat. Last is the fantastic taste of the patty that was not overpowered at all by all the components of the burger. There was no need to add any sauce to the burger and I only used the sauces to dip the fries that were ok, not exceptional. My favorite sauce was the BBQ one, but I have to say that the honey chipotle was delicious too, but spicy!

The onion rings were well done: the batter was crunchy and the onion was cooked. It was not too greasy also. 

The burger at Hoboken Bar & Grill was spectacular and well priced ($15 at the time) for a big burger! I will definitely add it to my list of best burger places!

Enjoy (I did)!

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

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Dinner at The Turtle Club in Hoboken, New Jersey

We were looking for a new dining experience in Hoboken and the name of that place, The Turtle Club, caught our eyes (ears? or even stomach?) This is a very old place for sure and I think the owners kept the old atmosphere alive inside: lots of wood and an arch between the two main rooms. The place was very dark and we only saw the room on the right side of the restaurant. In fact, I am not sure if I should call that a restaurant or a bar with a menu...

It was a Tuesday night and there was not that many people there at the beginning; people came later. We started off with bruschetta.

For $8, you can pick three different kinds. We decided to go with: 

• Gorgonzola and toasted garlic.
• Tomato and basil with olive oil.
• Goat cheese and balsamic honey glaze.

It took forever for the food to come and I do not mind if the food is exceptional, but it was not the case: this was so disappointing! The bread was barely toasted; the tomato and basil was dry. At the end, I only liked the other two because you can just spread the goat cheese or gorgonzola on a piece of bread and they would be good. No need to be a Chef to do it right!

Then, I ordered the fish tacos:

It was three tilapia tacos with a soft taco shell stuffed with corn salsa, romaine, cilantro and sour cream. On the side was a very average (and not homemade I guess) guacamole and a very dry rice and black beans. Let me start by telling you that I did not finish the dish. The fish was dry / overcooked and tasted very fishy. 

Jodi went for the ginger and soy glazed mahi mahi:

The mahi mahi was also dry / overcooked. Too bad because the sauce was pretty good.

So at the end of the day, it was not a great experience: the wait staff seemed overwhelmed although very courteous and attentive to our needs and I would think, based on what we got there, that the issue was the kitchen. This was really a forgettable experience and I think that they should probably stick to bar dishes instead of trying to make a food that is too elaborate. Although, one would think that fish taco are not that complicated....

Enjoy (the post)!

Burger at Colicchio and Sons in NYC, New York

Last year, we went to Colicchio and Sons for Jodi's Birthday and had a memorable dinner there! In my post (check out my review of Colicchio and Sons here), I mentioned this guy at the bar who ordered a burger that looked delicious. So this time, we decided to try it out! 

Imagine this burger, called the TC burger: the blend of meat (apparently secret) is topped with drunken onions (in wine) and aged pecorino cheese, and then gently squeezed between a homemade brioche bun previously toasted. 

The burger was served with homemade BBQ chips and a pickle.

The ratio patty / brioche was perfect and the burger was cooked to the requested temperature (medium) with a nice char outside. When I cut it into two, it rejected lots of juice: definitely not a dry burger and I enjoyed the juiciness of the meat until the last bite (sometimes all the juice is gone and you end up with a dryer piece of meat between your fingers). 

It had fantastic flavors and that day, there was truffle in it (not sure they put some all the time) that we could definitely taste. The meat had a strong taste and did not get overpowered by the aged pecorino or the drunken onions that liberated wine flavors that paired well with the meat. The first bite was divine, as were the ones following it. Quickly, you realize your plate is empty...so sad...

With the burger, were served some BBQ chips that were good, but I wish they were just homemade potato chips; it is just a personal preference though. 

What was great on the plate was the pickle that had a surprising sweetness. It reminded me of an episode of Top Chef where the contestants had to serve a dish where a pickle was the star. CJ decided to serve a burger that was, according to Chef Colicchio not that good. After tasting his, I understand why CJ screwed up...

I would like to mention the service also: I think that Colicchio and Sons knows what hospitality is! The service was courteous, efficient and made us feel welcome. Seems to be the motto there: hospitality! 

To conclude this post, I would say that the TC burger is for me the top in its category (burgers more than $15, this one being $18 at the time of this post). I will definitely recommend it moving forward to the burger fans I know!!!

Enjoy (I surely did)!

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!
 

MBG burger at Madison Bar and Grill in Hoboken, NJ

Madison Bar & Grill is a very popular Bar / restaurant in Hoboken, New Jersey. We went there couple of times and had mixed experiences about it: their Sunday brunch buffet is fabulous! They serve a wide range of dishes that can satisfy any palate: from seafood, with fresh shrimp and oysters, to meat, to the fantastic creme brulee French Toast! If you have a good appetite or want to try plenty of delicious dishes, this is a good deal.

Then, we went to their first seating menu: for a little over $18, you get an appetizer, an entree and a dessert. When I went, I had the crab cakes, the free range chicken and the cannoli. This was a very average experience: the crab cakes were just ok and a bit greasy, with lots of filler; the chicken was dry and bland and the cannoli not good. 

But this time, I went specifically to try their burger! It is called the MBG signature Blue Label Burger. Such name is an invitation to indulge! 

As you can see on the photo above, they branded the brioche bun! So, the burger comes with skin-on French fries. I asked for the patty to be cooked medium and picked cheddar for the cheese (they also proposed Swiss, provolone or American).
The meat (dry aged beef) was perfect: medium as requested and very juicy, it had a bold taste making me think that they do not use any filler in it. There was a perfect ratio bun to meat and the bun was deliciously toasted. This was definitely a great cheeseburger! They just need to perfect the French fries that were good, but did not have anything extraordinary (you know what I mean if you went to Minetta Tavern).

On a healthier side, Jodi ordered the Warm Herbed Goat Cheese Salad:

It was made of mixed greens, carrots, cucumber, cherry tomatoes and dressed with an oven-roasted tomato vinaigrette. I liked the fact that it was a different take on a classic salad: it was not just goat cheese put on top of the veggies or on top of a piece of toast. It was like a croquette and a good one in fact: not greasy, it added a nice crunch to the dish. Perfect!

We finished the meal with the Chocolate Molten Cake:

The presentation was very appetizing! It had three components that worked perfectly together: the chocolate cake, a tahitian vanilla gelato and a strawberry sauce. It was good, but I was a bit disappointed because I was expecting the chocolate to ooze in the center; the cake was probably a bit overcooked! 

I did not regret giving another chance to the Madison Bar & Grill and was pretty satisfied at the end of the meal! It is definitely a good spot for brunch or for a good burger!

Enjoy (I did)!

Virgil's Real BBQ in NYC, New York

It is no surprise that I love BBQ and when we have people visiting, it is often an option for lunch or dinner. So, this time, we went to Virgil's Real BBQ, near Times Square. The place has the feel of any BBQ places I tried: wood all other and a delicious smell of meat as soon as you enter. It was a Friday night and the place was packed! 

This whole experience started well when they gave us a towel instead of a napkin on the table.

It was definitely promising!

So we ordered food! Jodi got the Mac & Cheese, as I was going for a sampler and we were planning to share a bit.

The Mac & Cheese were so so. The cheese did not have a great of a taste and it was not as creamy as I like...

On my side, I ordered the pick 3 BBQ combo.

You pick 3 BBQ dishes, 2 sides and it is served with corn bread. I chose the BBQ chicken, the pork ribs and the beef brisket. The sides were mash potatoes and a biscuit with honey butter. Let's start with the sides: the mash potatoes were good and dense. The biscuit was terrible and the corn bread had a weird taste: clearly not your traditional corn bread...unfortunately! Clearly not the best choices.

Then the meat: the brisket was good but a bit dry. Fortunately, each table had some sauce, mild or hot to make it better! The chicken was the best part: moist with a nice and tasty skin. The worst was the rib: very dry!

I was disappointed by Virgil's BBQ. I think Brother's Jimmy and Southern Hospitality are far better: better meat and better sides. So, I will forget that one...

Enjoy (the post)!

And remember: I Just Want To Eat!

The best Banana Cream Pie ever - Redeye Gill in NYC, New York

If you go to The Redeye Grill, it is not for their steaks or their seafood! Surprisingly, I would only go for one of the most delicious banana cream pie I ever had! Forget Billy's Bakery and just go to The Redeye Grill!!!

It is the third time I had this dessert and each time I was in heaven! Ok, I had steaks in the past and never tried their seafood. Except last week...When I went back for lunch. I like the decor of this restaurant that looks like a cafe and has a beautiful raw bar with an impressive selection of seafood: fish, shrimp, scallops, you name it! I started off with the Diver Scallops.

It was served with oyster mushrooms. The scallop (listen Gordon Ramsey!) was perfectly cooked with a nice sear on both sides. It had just enough salt on top and tasted fresh. The pairing with oyster mushrooms was fantastic and kind of elevated the dish.

Then, I chose the grass fed 8oz New York strip.

They dry age the meat for 28 days to tenderize it and accentuate the flavor. I asked for a medium rare temperature and got a medium to medium well one! As I had limited time, I could not ask for another one! The steak was dry for sure and I was really not impressed by it. It was served with French fries that were however very good! Note that the only sauce available besides ketchup is A1 steak sauce: they do not have other sauces like mayonnaise.

Then came the long awaited banana cream pie!!!

The piece they serve you is big! The crust is a graham cracker crust that was buttery and not too sweet at all. It was thick enough not to be lost in the overall dessert! They they have this heavenly creme patissiere that smothers the bananas and is topped by a probably homemade whipped cream. The first bite is an invitation to over indulge for sure! It is definitely freshly made and when eating it, you are not at all feeling a sugar rush. This is a hit!!!

I would probably go back to The Redeye Grill, skip the steaks (every time I went it was so so), order seafood and for sure eat that banana cream pie!!!

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Cookies at City Bakery and Rocco's in NYC, New York

I guess this past week end was a cookie discovery, in the sense that we got to try some cookies for snacks. The first joint we went to is City Bakery; not that we went there for their cookies, but more for their hot chocolate. The second one, is Rocco's on Bleecker street.

City Bakery is supposedly known for their hot chocolate and I read recently an article ranking it best hot chocolate in the US. It said: "Made from pure melted chocolate bars and topped with homemade marshmallows, this thick hot chocolate is F&W editor in chief Dana Cowin's favorite version in the country". 

So, here we are at City Bakery: the place is packed! We can see lots of people with a cup of hot chocolate, food and cookies. As we ordered, we could not miss the chocolate room behind us...Promising!

As well as the rack full of freshly made cookies in front of us!

That was so tempting that we decided to get a chocolate chip cookie!

It was a nice size and you could definitely see that there was a lot of chocolate! Not the type of cookies where you are looking for chocolate chips! This cookie was one of the best I ever tried! It was not too sweet, was chewy and heavenly buttery. The photo below will show you that they do not cheat their customers when it comes to chocolate:

The hot chocolate however was a bit disappointing...

It started well though! Imagine a cup full of melted chocolate with a homemade marshmallow in it. I was so expecting something scrumptious...It was not the case. I am not sure what chocolate bar they use or if it is because I ate some cookie before, but I found it just ok. It is not like the hot chocolate at Max Brenner where I drink a bit and then will finish it in few minutes. In fact, I left some of it, that is very rare with me. 

The second bakery is Rocco's.

We were just walking in the street when we saw all these big cookies at the window!

Look at the size of the cookies next to the Linzer tarts! They had plenty of them: s'mores, twix, chocolate chip, dark chocolate chocolate chip, chocolate peppermint... And inside, it was as if we found heaven for sweets!

I ordered a twix cookie and Jodi a chocolate chip one. I took a photo of each of them next to a lemon, so you can see the size of it!

Chocolate Chip Cookie

Twix Cookie

I love twix and was pretty excited to try a twix cookie! Unfortunately, you could barely taste the twix. The cookie was not soft and not chewy, too sweet and lacking butter. The chocolate chip one was not better and tasted more like a crumbled vanilla cookie than anything else. They were disappointing. 

I think the mistake with Rocco's is that it is an Italian Bakery, so we should have tried some Italian specialties such as cannoli or Napoleons. As for City Bakery, I would go back to try their other cookies or just get again their chocolate chip cookie!

City Bakery - 1

Rocco's - 0

Enjoy (I did)!

Cupcakes from Billy's Bakery in NYC, New York

If you live in New York, there is a big chance that you heard about Billy's Bakery. Located in Chelsea, this bakery is an institution for the sugar lovers. I discovered there an amazing banana cream pie and pineapple upside down cake (see Billy's bakery review here). What I love when I go to Billy's is the butter smell when you enter in the store: it makes me hungry (one would say that I am always hungry though).

So this time, we went for cupcakes. Jodi decided to go for a chocolate cake and vanilla frosting that is a pretty standard one.

You cannot not notice the nice ratio cake / frosting that is important: the best part in a cupcake is the frosting!!!

The cake was good and moist. However, the vanilla frosting was very sweet. Too sweet!

On my side, I ordered a banana-nutella cupcake.

It was clearly missing some frosting. Anyway, I could barely taste the nutella! I was so disappointed as I love this scrumptious hazelnut spread! The cake was good, moist, with a nice banana taste coming through.

So I was a bit disappointed. I should probably stick with the banana cream pie....

Enjoy (I did not this time)!

And remember: I Just Want To Eat!

 

Nick & Stef's Steakhouse in NYC, New York

It is no secret that I love steak and that I consider that meat in this country is far better than what I ever had in Europe ! So I always enjoy a trip to a Steakhouse! This time, we ended up at Nick & Stef's that is supposed to have been voted in the top 10 Steakhouses in NYC!

So we were on our way and trust me, we had to find it! Because of construction, it was kind of hidden! This is not your typical steakhouse with leather and wood all over: it had a modern setting that sets it apart.

Jodi ordered the petite filet mignon (medium):

The meat was perfectly cooked but missed the mark in term of tenderness and taste: it did not have this delicate taste that this piece of beef usually has.

I ordered the ribeye (medium rare):

This was a nice piece of meat (24 Oz) and was cooked to perfection. It had a lot of fat though, that could be a turn off if you do not like it. It was tasty, especially in the area close to the bone. Not the best I had, but good!

With the meat, they propose different sauces (for free). We picked the bearnaise that was perfect!

For a side, we ordered the Mac & Cheese with a parmesan crust.

When the plate came, it was very appetizing thanks to the nice parmesan crust on top. It seemed also very creamy. Unfortunately, it had this horrible taste of processed cheese (velveeta?) that even overpowered the parmesan crust on top! I do not understand why a steakhouse would serve Mac & Cheese made with processed cheese! 

We were hopeful that dessert would make us forget the average dinner we had. We went for the cinnamon fritters.

They were served with three sauces: vanilla, chocolate and caramel. The fritters themselves were fantastic: served hot, they had a nice sugar and cinnamon taste. I could have surely eaten tons of them! The sauces however were not that great, at the exception of the caramel. The vanilla had no taste, while the chocolate had a weird off taste!

So, it was a very average dinner that sunk with the velveeta Mac & cheese! This place is definitely overpriced for the quality of the food! I would believe that it was voted in the top 10 steakhouses in NYC, if there were only 10 steakhouses (it would be the last), but it is not the case and there are plenty of better ones: Ruth's Chris or The Old Homestead being good examples!

Enjoy (the post)!

And remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Quails at Market Cafe in Hell's Kitchen NYC, New York

On a Saturday night, we were walking in Hells Kitchen and noticed Market Cafe, a modern look restaurant that has an interesting menu. The place was pretty bright with its white tiles and great photos, mainly related to food, on the wall. It definitely had a modern vibe, although the white tiles reminded me of a bathroom or a slaughterhouse.

The location is clearly not ideal for a restaurant as there is not much people passing by, and at the same time, it is one of the rare restaurants in the middle of delis and takeouts. The place was empty for a Saturday night...Was it a sign?

After we ordered, they brought us some olive oil and bread.

I like dipping bread in olive oil instead of the traditional bread and butter. The bread was chewy, limit old.

They also brought some water with a slice of cucumber in it.

That was a good idea: very refreshing!

We decided to share an appetizer and picked the handmade gnocchi.

It was served with smoke ham, peas, ricotta and parmesan cheese in a thick tomato sauce. The gnocchi itself was not that geat: very pasty. But the sauce was delicious and made up for it! Have the peas in the sauce added some crunchiness to it and the ham was a nice addition. 

Jodi ordered the Market Caesar.

It was composed of romaine, radicchio, and supposedly freshly grilled croutons. The croutons were soggy and the salad was a bit overdressed.

On my side, I went for the quails.

It has been couple of years I did not eat some and was excited! I remember that I use to buy quails at Whole Foods or in Chinatown, in a small joint that sell them cooked so you just have to pop them in the microwave.

At Market Cafe, the quails were served with spinach and raisin, in a red wine reduction. When the plate came, I could immediately see that they were generous with the amount of quail: there were 6 legs, the thigh being deboned, helping in the eating process! The quail itself was good and tasty with a nice char taste. It was well cooked, meaning not overcooked as otherwise, it can be dry. The raisins and the spices in the sauce gave a Middle Eastern taste to the plate, but I would have served it with some couscous rather than spinach. The sauce was good, but there was too much on the place and I was wondering when I would get some on my pants! It was a bit soupy! 

Last was dessert! We went for the brown butter banana cake!

For sure, they give you a big slice of a very dense cake! It has 3 layers with vanilla cream cheese frosting in between (not enough!). The cake was good, but a vanilla bean sauce or more frosting would have definitely made it a hit. 

The dinner at Market Cafe was just ok: the food was just acceptable and the service, although courteous was very slow. I will not go back and will more go to the heart of Hell's kitchen to have lunch or dinner.

Enjoy (the post)!

Ribeye steak at Gallagher's Steakhouse in NYC, New York

It has been so long since I ate at Gallagher's. I used to go for their lamb chops and never tried their steaks. But it was many, many years ago...This place has been around since 1927, so you would think that they probably are making great steaks. So, let's see!

Going to Gallagher's you immediately notice their dry-aged room at the entrance. It surely makes you salivate to see all these pieces of meat!

Gallagher's serves meat dry-aged for 21 days. The dry aging process consists in keeping the meat for some days at a near freezing temperature to enhance the flavor and make the meat tender.

What is interesting is that the place does not look like a steakhouse: no dimmed light, no dark wood and no leather! It has an European feel; the kind of place where you would have an Oktoberfest...

Although their signature dish is the New York Strip, I decided to order the ribeye.

Ribeye is my favorite piece of beef: it has this nice and strong flavor, especially when you are closer to the bone. I ordered it medium that is pink in the center. When it arrived, I immediately noticed the nice char. The meat was perfectly cooked, flavorful and tender. However, it was not as good as the ribeye I ate at Dino & Harry in Hoboken or Ruth's Chris in New York.

For the sides, we had onion rings.

As well as creamed spinach.

The sides were disappointing: the creamed spinach had an off taste; the cream was too thin and it was as if the spinach sat in the cream for too long, giving a green-ish color to it (should be green and white from the cream), but worse of all, eliminating any flavor from the cream. The onion rings, although not greasy, were overcooked.

For dessert, I was lucky to try three desserts:

The Key Lime Pie:

Good, not too sweet, but the Graham Cracker crust should have been more buttery.

The Cheesecake:

It was pretty good with a nice density and a bit of creaminess.

The Apple pie with vanilla ice cream:

It looked messy, was not good at all and had a weird taste! To be avoided!

The meal was just ok for me. There are so many great steakhouses in New York (The Old Homestead, Ruth's Chris), that I will pass next time...

Enjoy!

Kentucky Hot Brown at Bar Americain in New York, NY

In my prior post about Bar Americain, I mentioned this amazing dish called the Kentucky Hot Brown that I discovered on Throwdown with Bobby Flay on the Food Network. So imagine that when I went back to his restaurant, I could not miss the opportunity to eat that dish!

Before I tried it, I ordered an appetizer...to open my appetite...I went for the raw sea scallops.

They were served with a nice sour orange sauce and plantains. The dish looked amazing! And the combination of the raw scallops and sour orange sauce fantastic! I loved the fact that they put plantains as it gave some delightful crunchiness that elevated the dish a bit.

Then I tried the ricotta crepe, one of the vegetarian dishes on the menu. The crepe was perfect: thin and slightly chewy. The asparagus was crunchy and the cherry tomato sauce was to die for. It is definitely a dish I would recommend.

Then came the long awaited Kentucky Hot Brown!

As the name indicates it, this dish comes from Kentucky! It is an open face turkey sandwich dipped in cheese. And trust me: they put a lot of cheese, soften by a very good bechamel sauce. If you are a cheese lover, this dish is for you, but between the cheese and the turkey, you will need a coffee if you do not want to sleep after that! By the way, I could not care less for the tomato and bacon on top: all I wanted was the bread, turkey and bechamel! I always thought turkey is a bit tasteless compared to chicken, but with the cheese on top, it is divine. This dish is amazing!

For dessert (yes, I did have a little space for it), I first tried the pistachio creme brulee.

It was very good and creamy, served with a chocolate cherry biscotti that was pretty good.

I also ate a key lime tart. It was served with some almond brittle for some crunch and a coconut anglaise sauce.

I saw recently a Throwdown where Chef Flay made one that looked amazing. The crust, made probably with Graham crackers was delicious and buttery. Unfortunately, the key lime part of the tart was way too sweet! So disappointing!

So I had a nice and filling meal this time at Bar Americain. If you go there, try the Kentucky Hot Brown: it is worth the trip!

Enjoy (I did)!

Brunch at 44&X in NYC, New York

Few weeks ago, when my brother visited us for few days, we went to 44 1/2, a restaurant located on 44th street and 10th Avenue in Hell's Kitchen. On our way, we noticed this joint just one restaurant away called 44&X that was packed. So, we decided to go back to the area and try it.

In fact 44 1/2 and 44&X have the same owner, Bruce. The common element of the restaurant was both the modern decor, the impeccable service, and the little muffins they put on the table, muffins that are a bit addictive...

The menu offers classic brunch dishes, so we went straight for eggs!

Jodi ordered the scrambled eggs served with wild mushrooms, smokehouse bacon and herb toast.

On my side, I ordered herb scrambled eggs, Vermont cheddar cheese grits and sweet breakfast sausage.

Let me tell you the portion she got as well as my own dish were very generous and I could barely finish (probably also because of the muffins I ate...). The eggs were fluffy and well cooked, although I prefer mine a bit runny. I think the star of the brunch was the cheese grits: it was succulent! They did not cheat us on the amount of cheese and it was deliciously creamy! The sausages were as advertised: sweet and the bacon was fantastic and crunchy. The potatoes in Jodi's dish were just ok for me, but she loved it.

Like at 44 1/2, they put a bit of fruits on the plate, nice way to finish the meal and clean our palates. 

So, it was very good and I think that if you are looking for a nice brunch in New York, in a modern setting, 44 1/2 and 44&X are great places located steps away from the noisy Times Square!

Enjoy (I did)!

Blue Sky Bakery in Brooklyn, New York

Blue Sky Bakery is a bakery located in Park Slope, Brooklyn. I did not go there, but one of my colleagues brought some muffins from there! Considering the smell that invaded our workspace, they were just made and in fact they were still warm. 

He brought us few different kinds:

• Raspberry and peach,
• Pumpkin, apple and walnuts,
• Blueberry and mango,
• zucchini, cranberry and cream cheese.

I have to say that just reading the labels on the box, you could see that they were made with quite a lot of creativity: they were not your regular chocolate chip or corn muffins! It reminded me of Cupcake wars on the Food Network where 4 bakeries compete to win $10,000; most of the time, the ingredients they have to compose with are unusual and the competitors come up, most of the time, with great ideas!

So I decided to try two of them and cut them in half.

I first went for the zucchini, cranberry and cream cheese.

 It was very intriguing: would it have the taste of zucchini? In fact it did not! But I guess the zucchini gave this nice dense texture as well as kept the muffin very moist. The surprise was at the bottom with the cream cheese. Of course, as I cut the muffin into two, there was no surprise...

This muffin is probably one of the best I ever had! 

The next one was the peach and raspberry.

Very good too, but not as good as the first one. The cake itself had a lighter texture, closer to what a regular muffin would taste. However, the fruit made the difference! You could really taste a natural flavor: these fruits were not coming from a can!

So, I have to say that I really enjoyed these muffins! Eating regular muffins is going to be tough now that I know that there are some incredible creations out there!!!

Enjoy (I did)!

Steak Sandwich at Black Bear Bar in Hoboken, New Jersey

I went to Black Bear for their burger a long time ago and while discussing about it with a friend, he mentioned the steak sandwich that they serve. I did not need more information to be convinced that I had to try it!

So we went there for lunch. The place is a popular bar, located on Washington Street in Hoboken, with two stories and several rooms. What was interesting is the part of the wall that has all these hot sauces:

I did not know there are so many different one!

Anyway, I was there for the sandwich, not the decor or ambiance...I ordered the steak sandwich medium.

The steak sandwich is slice steak, caramelized onions and sauteed mushrooms. This thing was huge and had an amazing smell that opened my appetite! Only problem was how to eat it as, as you can see on the photo, there was a lot of meat on the bread. I succeeded to close the sandwich and had a divine first bite! The bread was very soft and, as it had been toasted, a bit crispy, adding some texture to the dish. The steak was very good: tender and juicy. Unfortunately, there was too much garlic...This sandwich was definitely packed with flavors from the onions, mushroom and steak! If they lower the quantity or even eliminate the garlic, it will be a must have!

Jodi ordered a Hoboken Cobb salad.

She asked without meat and ended up paying the full price by the way...The salad was good though with lots of blue cheese...

Although too garlic-y, the steak sandwich was worth it! If I had to go again, I would probably ask them  one with no garlic as I am not planning to be victim of a vampire attack...

Enjoy (I did)!

South Indian Dosa at Matt & Meera in Hoboken, NJ - Closed

Matt and Meera Indian restaurant in Hoboken, NJ New Jersey

I have already written a post about Matt & Meera, an American-Indian fusion restaurant in Hoboken, NJ. Since they opened, I went few times and I have become a huge fan of this place. So, I was somewhat curious to try their brunch menu!

Jodi and I decided to try the dosa, a lentil crepe from South India. The first time I tried it was many years ago in Mumbai, during the Ganesh festival. The one I had was vegetarian and delicious from what I recall!

Jodi ordered the potato dosa.

Potato dosa at Matt and Meera Indian restaurant in Hoboken, NJ New Jersey

When it arrived, it looked fantastic! It was served with some chutney, one of them being the tomato mustard chutney that is amazing! It is certainly a big portion if you compare to the knife and fork on the photo.

Potato dosa at Matt and Meera Indian restaurant in Hoboken, NJ New Jersey

But not the entire dosa was filled.

Potato dosa at Matt and Meera Indian restaurant in Hoboken, NJ New Jersey

The filling in the potato dosa was very tasteful and a bit spicy, with some nice sweetness added by the onions that were deliciously soft.

I decided to go for the lamb dosa.

Lamb dosa at Matt and Meera Indian restaurant in Hoboken, NJ New Jersey

I love lamb and it had the same flavor profile as the samosas or the lamb burger that I still crave! It was packed with spices that exploded in my mouth!

Lamb dosa at Matt and Meera Indian restaurant in Hoboken, NJ New Jersey

In this dosa too, they added some onions that added not only sweetness but also texture to the dish. I loved it!!!

Of course, we had to finish with dessert. I was intrigued by their dessert menu as I love Indian desserts! We shared the caramel kulfi, that is a kind of ice cream.

Caramel Kulfi mousse at Matt and Meera Indian restaurant in Hoboken, NJ New Jersey

It was succulent with an great caramel taste. The texture was denser than ice cream and a perfect way to end the meal!

That was a great brunch and I will definitely try other traditional brunch dishes that I am sure have a nice Indian twist such as the Huevos Rancheros or the steak & Eggs!

Enjoy (I did)!

Vegetarian food at Angelica kitchen in New York, NY

In search for the best vegetarian place, we ended up at Angelica Kitchen in the East Village, after having heard about it by my wife's cousin, Jessica. As mentioned in prior posts, I am more a carnivore, but I am always interested in trying different types of cuisines.

We went to that place on a Saturday, for lunch. I thought it would be more crowded, but it was not the case. 

As the weather was still nice, we needed a nice drink to rehydrate. Jodi ordered a lemonade and I ordered an hibiscus cooler. The lemonade was really good and not too sweet. The cooler was surprisingly good considering that the only hibiscus I ever saw was in a pot at my Mom's place...

We decided to skip the appetizers and ordered Angelica's cornbread.

Forget any reference to cornbread as it does not at all taste like it! The wheat is replaced by rice that make it very dense. It was good, but a bit dry. They give you a big piece of it and we could not finish.

For the main dish, Jodi ordered the wee dragon, half a portion of a dragon bowl.

This dish used to be served in a Chinese bowl (hence the name) and came in a plate. I was not sure how to take the photo as no angle made it look good...The bowl was made of rice, beans, tofu, sea vegetables & steamed vegetables. You just need to pick a dressing to go with it. Jodi picked the balsamic vinaigrette. None of us liked the dish unfortunately: it was mushy and bland. Definitely disappointing.

On my side, I ordered one of the special of the day: Ancho Autumn Equinox, a gluten free dish.

This dish had a nice presentation at least! It was a coconut-vegetable curry served with red bell peppers,  tomatoes, yukon gold potatoes, sweet peas, carrots, celery, lemongrass and basil. It was accompanied with tofu, broccoli and roasted yellow squash. This dish had definitely more flavors than the dragon bowl, but it was not as tasty as a curry (even vegetarian) you would find in a Thai restaurant. I at least enjoyed the rice that was a bit sticky, as well as I enjoyed the tofu and squash. 

The way the food was, we of course decided to skip dessert and have something sweet somewhere else...

So I was a bit disappointed with Angelica Kitchen. For vegetarian, I prefer Gobo or Zen Palate, or even vegetarian dishes you would find in a Thai or Indian restaurant. It was a miss for me!

Enjoy (the post)! 

Press dinner at De Santos in NYC, New York

Courtesy of De Santos

I have been invited to a press dinner at De Santos, a new American cuisine restaurant in the West Village. I was very excited as it was the first invitation of that sort and intimidated at the same time, not knowing how it would be and who would be there! Plenty of questions came through my head: how will it be? Who would be there? Can I stay true to myself judging a restaurant who, in fine, invites me?

The answer to the last question is yes! Restaurants need people to comment on them to improve and it is pretty courageous to invite critics and bloggers to review your restaurant! The only important thing I need to do is to honestly mention that I was invited in my post so you understand that the food served to me was probably more carefully prepared and the service would be on his toes as the wait staff knew why people at the table were doing there!

So, the dinner was at 7pm. As I always try to be on time, I came a bit early. I noticed in front of the restaurant a person talking photos with a small camera and immediately thought that it was one of the people invited. I later learnt that it was Marc Shepard whose blog, New York Journal, has been around for a while. I respectfully let him take his photo of the restaurant and then took mine. 

I like the fact that the restaurant is in a townhouse. As I mentioned when going to Vetri in Philadelphia, it gives the impression to go a friend's place. The place was welcoming and bigger than what I expected: bar at the entrance, main dining room, then a second dining room next to a garden. The last intriguing room is a former speakeasy located downstairs, called the Janis room, used for private dinners and live performances. The name comes from Janis Joplin, one of the celebrities who lived in the building that is packed with memories, but hopefully no paranormal activity...

Courtesy of De Santos

We sat in the dining room on a large table. What was great was to put a face with a name like Malini from the Restaurant Fairy or Bradley from Amuse * Bouche, blogs that I read often! 

Anyway, back to the restaurant! We had the chance to meet with the Executive Chef, Angel Vela who worked at Pastis and came on board to reinvent the menu. He told us that his inspiration was to create a simple and basic menu. Trust me, what we tasted was far from that!

So, it was time to start to try the food from De Santos! They handed out a menu composed of three appetizers and three entrees. Portions would be smaller to accommodate a tasting (I am relieved)!

Warning: as they dimmed the light and I never take photos with flash, the photos are not as clear as I would have liked. The actual dishes had vibrant colors...I may have to rethink my strategy moving forward...

We started of with the Tuna Tartare:

The tuna was sitting on avocado and had some soy ginger vinaigrette on it. I love the combination tuna / avocado: it gives some additional freshness to the dish and one complement very well the other! It was good, but I would have liked more acidity. 

Then we got the Truffle Mac & Cheese:

Truffle Mac & Cheese is definitely a dish that appeals to people as it is an elevated version of a comforting food! This one was good: you could definitely taste the truffle and the bread crumbs added a nice crunchiness to the dish. 

The last (!) Appetizer was the Beef Carpaccio:

The carpaccio was served with some homemade potato gnocchi and a truffle cream. This was my favorite appetizer! The gnocchi were light and not potato-y. The sauce was also light and tasty. Loved it!

For the first entree, we got a Grilled Ribeye Steak:

The steak came with roasted potatoes and haricot verts. I loved the steak: it was cooked medium rare and had a perfect char. I was really surprised as I typically would never order steak in a restaurant other than a steakhouse! What I did not like however were the haricot verts, but I guess it is a question of taste: in France, we would cook them longer, making them soft and the taste is slightly different. These were slightly cooked and crunchy, but had an off taste for me. Having just the potatoes would have been perfect!

The second entree was the Scallops:

They were served with a wild mushroom risotto and the garnish was parsnip chips. When I saw the dish, I thought it would be the perfect dish for Gordon Ramsey to review as in his show, Hell's Kitchen, people always screw up on the scallops or on the risotto! Serving the two together was a great idea, although I loved the risotto that was cream with a bit of crunch and very tasty, I did not like the scallops that were a bit rubbery and very salty. However, the surprise was the parsnip chips that were fantastic! The scallops would have been better, it would have been a killer dish!

The last entree was the rack of lamb:

If you follow this blog, you now know that I love lamb. So I was excited to try that dish. The sides were a potato au gratin and a goat cheese salad. The potato au gratin were similar to the gratin Dauphinois that you can eat in France, where potatoes are thinly sliced and layered. It was perfectly cooked and seasoned. I also liked the salad that added some freshness to the dish and a Mediterranean flair. But, the main focus of the dish was the lamb: it was perfectly cooked for me, meaning medium rare, and juicy. They removed the fat and meat from the bone (frenched it), but I could taste a bit of the grilled fat that has some crispiness but also a delicious taste. 

Last came the desserts. At that point, I started to be a bit full, but could not resist...The first desserts was a Dulce de Leche crepe:

This crepe was fabulous! Thin and soft at the same time and not too sweet. I devoured it!

The second dessert was a banana cobbler. The photo is not that great so I will not publish it. It was good, but not as good as the crepe!

So, I had a great dinner there! Not everything was perfect, but it all depends on anybody's taste! I would definitely go back. They have a nice menu that is more for carnivores and features a lot of classic dishes that have been elevated for fine dining.

Enjoy (I did)!

Ken and Cook in NYC, New York

Jodi and I went to Ken & Cook recently for brunch. The place is very nice with a warm and modern feel. The front of the restaurant can be fully opened to the street so dinners can enjoy some people watching while eating, although the street the restaurant is located is not that busy.

A particularity I noticed in the decor is the two telephone booths that reminded me of what you see in very old movies! I should have tried to use them just to see if they were working...

When you know that the Executive Chef Richard Diamonte and partner Artan Gjoni are veterans from Jean Georges, then you for sure have high expectations! They offer a simple brunch menu with not that many items. Sometimes, less is more! I prefer a restaurant with a limited menu that is executed perfectly rather than a restaurant with ton of choices that are poorly prepared!

First, they served us some delicious bread with some olive oil.

The bread was fresh and crispy! I have to say that I love dipping bread in olive oil! It is a great and healthy alternative to butter, not that I am a healthy eater...

As we were going for a day full of food, Jodi decided to go with the bibb salad.

It was a nice quantity and was well made, although a bit overdressed, with nice croutons.

On my side, I started with oysters.

Ken & Cook has a raw bar and for brunch, they propose blue point oysters for $2 a piece. 

The oysters were very good and of good quality! They were served with a fantastic grapefruit sauce that provided a nice acidity to complement the oysters.

I then had fried chicken.

It was served with a biscuit and a honey based sauce (ranch dressing based maybe?). The presentation was beautiful with some fried lemon that was only for decoration (I tasted it...). It was also a nice portion with several pieces of chicken, with bone and boneless. The breading was perfect, not overcooked and not greasy. The chicken was moist and incredibly tasty paired with the sauce! Then there was the biscuit that came with it: warm and delicious! This was a succulent dish and I would just go back for that! One of the best fried chicken I ever ate! As an anecdote, the first time I had fried chicken was at KFC in...Paris...I went a couple of times with my friends after seeing a movie. I never went to any KFC in the US, but after trying this fried chicken at Ken & Cook, I doubt I would have the same experience...

I certainly recommend this restaurant for brunch and may come back. However, the food took a bit of time to come after we ordered, although there was only one couple besides us in the restaurant. Also, with an entree, you get a free drink for lunch: the waiter did not tell us, but told the other table. I did not care at that point, but I think it is something they should mention systematically to their clients!

Enjoy (I did)!




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