Heart-"Shawarma"
ABALEH Mediterranean Grill & Natural Juice Bar | 1611 2nd Ave. (bet. 83rd & 84th Sts.) | 212.772.1611 | abaleh.com
Outdoor Seating
Delicate Essence
DELICATESSEN | 54 Prince St. (at Lafayette St.) | 212.226.0211 | delicatessennyc.com
Raving "Mad", Part One
MADISON SQUARE EATS (URBANSPACE) | Madison Square Park, NYC | urbanspacenyc.com/mad-sq-eats/
Harlem Shaken Up
HARLEM SHAKE | 100 West 124th St. (on Lenox Ave.) | 212.222.8300 | harlemshakenyc.com
Balon Time No See
Balon Winebar & Bistro | 245 East 81st St. (off 2nd Ave.) | 646.641.2282 | balonwinebar.com
Coming In Handy
The "Red Hand" Burger | with Ham, Melted Cheddar, Fried Onions | Dorrian's Red Hand Restaurant | 1616 2nd Ave. (at 84th St.) | 212.772.6660 | dorrians.com
Germanic Monday
...The sausage loaf had the texture of a refined thick slice of good bologna, and was flavored by a rich combination of spices. This was a great dais for the soft-fried egg and a hit a ground mustard, which together augmented the leberkäse's unctuousness and almost guilty amount of porkiness. The runny yolk of the egg, which I'm always a fan of, evenly integrated the texture dichotomies between the hot protein and the chilled finely chopped yet still toothsome potato salad.... [Full Post]
Handy Tacos
...The Pub Tacos are our newest greatest hits, served two per serving, making them imminently conducive to sharing with a friend over a few beers, and now that spring is finally upon us, we've decided to add a fish version, using fresh cod, battered and deep-fried, then topping it with a light, bright, and tasty medley of chopped red onion, fresh cilantro, and lime juice, offering sriracha sauce as well, now available it Dorrian's tableside.... [Full Post]
Ooze and Ahs
...the meal-sized, hot sandwich showcased the best of its ingredients and their harmony. Juicy, tender chicken, coated in crispiness nicely tinged with cayenne pepper, supported nicely by the aromatic jalapeno jack cheese, which as by its nature creamy enough when melted to slightly temper the heat, all heightened by crispy, vinegary red cabbage slaw and the proper crunchiness of the grilled, buttered toast to give every part of the mouth—every taste bud and tooth—something to enjoy with each bite.... [Full Post]
Back Where I Balon
...This dish was triumph of surprises. The fish remained flaky throughout eating, countered nicely by the slightly bitter yet "verdant" bok choy bulbs and leaves, and accentuated by the properly understated amount of mango purée... [Full Post]
Short and Sweet
...It was a very tasty and juicy cut of meat, nicely seasoned, slicing tenderly, and perfectly grizzled on its edges. A house-made chimichurri sauce brightened each feral and earthy bite with fresh herbal notes and peppery highlights.... [Full post]
One For The Ages
...After the first bite, I could imagine Barbra Streisand, now, singing Memories in my head, as I, literally and nostalgically, enjoyed the burgers crumbly, tasty, tender meat and its juicy excesses..... [Full post]
Like A Good Neighbor
...The side salad of arugula, fresh basil, cherry tomatoes and shaved parmesan was a perfect compliment to the dish, as was the wonderful glass of white wine, an Argentinian torrontés of bright, subtle citrus, apricot, and peach, with herbal hints, a nice "weight" (it doesn't "coat" the inside of your mouth), and finishing clean enough that you can still enjoy the flavors of whatever you're eating.... [Full post]
Egg Therapy (aka BKFST in BKLYN)
EGG | 135 N. 5th St., Brooklyn | 718.302.5151 | Kerry Alaric Cheeseboro
Seaside On The West Side
...Their Lobster Roll Sliders offerings were not so much of the ilk of the suddenly ubiquitous lobster roll as it was a lobster salad sandwich, but a very good one at that. Chopped, fresh light, pieces of lobster tossed in a small dollop of mayo with some subtle seasoning and chopped celery surprisingly let the breezy flavor properties of the lobster nicely present and hit all the right notes, while being quietly supported by "double-buttered" brioche mini buns.... [Full post]
Grom Is Da' Bomb!
...Creamy it was, perfect cold temperature, and rich and layered with a host of complimentary flavors. A nice, clean yet robust vanilla flavor evened the smoothness of the "egg cream"-based gelato. Shards of pure chocolate were small enough to melt on the tongue on contact, while the cornmeal helped keep the biscuits crispy and crunchy until the very last spoonful.... [Full post]
Big Apple Barbecue Block Party
...Okay, let me just make this whole post a lot easier. Except where otherwise noted, everything I ate today at the BABBP was outstanding! I would use words like tasty, yummy, smokey, tender all throughout this post, and I fear their repetitiveness would only detract from the main point of me relating what an overall a "great ol' time" I had 'cueing it up in the middle of Manhattan with Marcy.... [Full post]
High Five for 5 Napkin
....The burgers had a great steak flavor and were so thick and meaty, that they were nicely assisted by the other accoutrement and condiments because, even at this thickness, it maintained that perfect meat-to-bread-to-topping ratio. Did it need 5 napkins? If they were paper napkins, probably, but oddly enough, we were given oversized linen napkins, which wound up being very necessary.... [Full post]
