HK Cafe

HK Cafe, Hell's Kitchen


http://www.hkhellskitchen.com/

523 9th Ave
New York, NY 10018

Yelp Review

From the website

Okay first off, here lies unlimited bloody marys/bellinis/mimosas/screwdrivers/champagne at brunch for 15 dollars.  You had me at hello.

I had brunch here with some former classmates of mine from URI.  I wanted to pick a location close to Port Authority since my friend had a bus to catch afterward.  This place had decent reviews and although I was worried at first by the location, it is truly beautiful and sleek inside.

Lina stuck with coffee.  I chose a bellini as my bottomless drink and Kaoru chose a bloody mary... I think.  After the waiter coming by ensuring my glass was never empty I probably blanked out on a couple of things, haha.  I thought it was weak enough at first, but probably not since by my 5th one I was done.   I know, weak!  But it was only noon on a Sunday, my brain can't handle that!


There are plenty of choices here, simple like oatmeal or more elaborate like a lobster omelet.  There are also more lunch style options, but the point of brunch for me is to get breakfast.  Kaoru did like her turkey burger, which was pretty big.  Lina and I chose breakfast.  She got the eggs with smoked salmon.  As for my food, it was a nice big plate and overall good food.  I took the suggestion from our waiter and ordered the HK fritata, which comprised of merguez sausage, bell peppers and salsa.  It was good, but with all that drinking I wish I had ordered a side of toast.  Instead I ate Lina's toast!

Overall I would love to come here again.  Although I hear there are better brunch spots, this one was quite top-notch.  Plus there is a flea market next door! Good for me to walk off my champagne buzz!

Lederhosen

Lederhosen, West Village

39 Grove Street
New York, NY 10014

http://www.lederhosennyc.com/

Yelp Reviews

From the website

So a postdoc in my department had returned from a vacation in Germany, her homeland.  She talked on and on about the various meals and desserts she had.  It all sounded very good and all of the food she mentioned, I have never had.  My labmates suggested we and some other women go out for a german dinner one night, which made me very excited.


This is a medium sized restaurant in the West Village, on a residential street.  The main dining area had picnic bench style seating and german cultural knick knacks covering the walls.  Also plenty of signs saying, if you break anything it goes on your tab.  I guess Oktoberfest gets a little wild at this place.  Our waitress got our drink our immediately, and I  had 2 large glasses of hefeweiss for the night.  We all had different variety of platters at our large table, so it was nice to share some.  Only 2 quibbles.  The waitress forgot my order of spaetzle, so when I asked, it came out just about when I was full from the dinner platter.  She also said the kitchen messed up our german friend's order: the wrong schnitzel came out.  Which she decidedly did not like but at least didn't have to pay for.  The right dish came out, which was from her home region , but was decidedly not the way she preferred.  She also thinks the wursts are not housemade, which makes the restaurant lose some authenticity points.


Anyway, the dinner platters definitely do shine here.  Me and 3 others got the Zwei Wuerste Lederhosen Art, where one can order 2 different types of wurst and a choice of specific side dishes.  From recommendations of the women there as well as looking at yelp, I ordered the currywurst (new to me) and the bratwurst (a reliable choice).  My sides were delicious.  I generally hate cabbage, but the way they prepared the red cabbage was so good, I ate it all up.  The german fried potatoes was also excellent.  The spaetzle when I did get it, was decent, but like I said I would have preferred it if I wasn't already so full.   The mistaken dinner that came out was the Zigeunerschnitzel, a schnitzel in spicy red sauce, and although the other girl didn't like it, the some that she shared I thought was pretty damn good and I would maybe order that myself if I ever chose to come back.

For dessert we ordered 4 different kinds to share amongst our group.  The german chocolate cake, was decent, the apple cake was excellent and the black forest cake was my personal favorite.  And of course the waitress didn't put in our cheesecake order.  Which we were like, oh never mind.

So would I come here again? Maybe. But the service most definitely needs to be worked on.  However, german food agrees with me.  Can't wait to try it again.

Chimu

Chimu Peruvian Cusiine and Steakhouse, Williamsburg

From nycgo.com :J. Allen Hamill

482 Union Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11211


Yelp Review
This is a warning to any vegans/vegetarians.  This restaurant has virtually nothing to offer you unless you make a meal out of side dishes, and a salad.  Not too diverse.

Which is a shame because this place is awesome.  A meat-eater/seafood paradise.  I've been here twice, the first time with my friend Fi, for her birthday.  As she is Peruvian and stated that this is authentic, so much the better.

It is a small place but both times we didn't have too much trouble getting a table.  The second time, the group was larger so we just waited by the bar area for about 15 minutes.

When you are seated, they give you these corn kernels with a spicy green sauce.  It's quite tasty but hard on the teeth.  For appetizers we ordered the Papa a la Huancaina,  boiled potatoes in a spicy cheese sauce.

Their sangria and wines are quite good, but  not really the star of the restaurant.  The star is the Peruvian chicken.  Poultry of legend.  It is basically roasted chicken marinated in various spices.  The 1st night they ran out chicken, so I ordered Arroz Chaufa Peruvian , which is steak fried rice.  Which was so good, I couldn't help but order it again the second time.  Also a plate of maduros, or fried sweet plantains.  They gave a lot, and I never feel like sharing, they are so good.

From looking at other people's plates, the tostones, the steak and of course the chicken, are all excellent choices.  I look forward to coming here again and tasting more dishes.

Niche Restaurants in NYC

Just a brief interruption to highlight this article about what makes dining in this city so great.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/29/nyregion/29onefood.html


In case you didn't feel like reading this (or can't, NYtimes can be funny about their content), it is about the singular dining fest that is cropping up in this city.  The ubiquitous burger places.  A place with 20 varieties on Mac and Cheese.  The meatball shop---incidentally is on my list for must eats in the next couple of months. 

"What they sell is usually made well, often in several different ways, with top-notch components and at least a side dish or two. But the bill of fare is decidedly limited, if not downright obsessive. Take it or leave it.
Many New Yorkers are taking it."

If I want a place with a lot of choice because I don't know what I want, there are still many to find.  But if I want perfect dumplings, or mouth watering maduros, or 3 varieties of meatballs, I'm heading to specialty restaurants. 

And the best part?  In most cases. these places are gloriously affordable.

Fresh Taco

Fresh Taco, Ridgewood

799 Cypress Ave
Ridgewood, NY 11385

freshtaco.com

Yelp Review

From the website

In order to fulfill my promise to "not be fancy" in my type of reviews, I wanted to talk a bit about the local taco joint in my neighborhood.  It was after a night of watching a movie in Central Park, and therefore skipping the traditional dinner hour, we were starving by 10pm.  Neither of us were in the mood for pizza, and fast food like McDonalds and Burger King no longer hold me in their fatty grip.   so it was a choice between bad Chinese food, a chicken joint, or Mexican.  Given our neighborhood, there is a lot to choose from in those 3 options.  We decided on Fresh Taco.


The prices here are low, so I wasn't too optimistic on the quality.  But it really wasn't bad!  I had a grilled steak taco and a quesadilla.  The taco was small but tasty.  I wish they used thinner tortillas for the quesadilla, it was a bit too doughy for my taste.  He got a nachos and burrito.  The nachos were really large and loaded.  The burrito is actually more like a huge soft shelled taco, unlike the more traditional rolled up variety.  If I were to go back, that would be my choice.  

Forlini's Restaurant

Forlini's restaurant, Chinatown

Menu, sorry no website that I can see :)
http://www.menupix.com/menudirectory/menu.php?id=301201

From Tripadvisor.com

93 Baxter St
New York, NY 10013

Yelp Reviews










I couple of posts back, I said I would especially recommend the exemplary Italian restaurants to visit in Little Italy.  Well, technically this restaurant is in Chinatown, but I lump this into that category since it is so close by.  I think I love this place.  If only I lived closer, I would consider this a hometown, go-here-often kind of place.  As I read some of the reviews, I have to agree that this place is almost like stepping back into time a bit, an old school Italian joint.

So me and my friends (this is the same day as from the Ferrara review) were kind of undecided about dinner.  We were in Chinatown and the obvious choice would of course be dim sum, but dim sum to me is always a kind of lunch outing, and besides we couldn't get a feel for which one would be excellent and vegetarian friendly for the boyfriend.  So there we were walking along, talking, and waiting to hear back from another friend if she would be joining us. We walked by here, took a look at the menu and decided this will be dinner tonight.

Now we would have sat in the formal dining area if we had our full party.  Instead we went to the back room to sit at the bar (which also had some tables and booths) while waiting for our friend.  2 others were also at the bar, separate, both chatting with the bartender and occasionally watching the Sunday football game on the tv.  We ordered beers and continued talking.  Both the other people had ordered food, so they got breadsticks.  Krystle and I looked over, looked at each other and said "that looks good!"  The guy who had it overheard us and was all, "here take it, I don't want it."  We laughed and said thank you because indeed we were hungry.  After about 5 minutes, the bartender came out with another set of breadsticks for us.  Really the whole thing was really cute.

So for the next half hour or so was spent chatting with each other, the bartender, watching the game, chatting with the manager when he came by.  Right before our party was complete, we decided, screw the front room, we'll grab a table here and eat where we were.  Because our party was kind of large, the only table that could accommodate us abutted the door leading outside, so the manager kindly locked the door so everyone had to enter through the other entrance.  That is some excellent service.

Now to the food! I believe the prices were reasonable so I opted for something I never tried before.  I had the Forlini's diced pork chop with a side of spaghetti and marinara.  The dish consisted of bite sized pork chop pieces, roasted potato cubes, green peppers, onions and cherry tomatoes.  It was large and fantastic and something I would want to cook for myself someday.  My friends were also pleased with their choices (at least I believe so, haha).

So with the atmosphere and the food and the people, I highly recommend this place and I know I will be returning!

Ferrara Bakery and Cafe

Ferrara, Little Italy

From the website

http://www.ferraracafe.com/nyc/

195 Grand St
New York, NY 10013

Yelp Review












On a brisk but sunny Saturday afternoon, my friends and I were walking around Chinatown, but with all that walking and browsing we decided that we needed a bit of a pickmeup.  A good place to go for some sugary treats and caffeinated beverages? Little Italy of course.


We walked along Mulberry Street and turned down a cross street, where we saw the gelato truck right outside Ferrara Cafe.  Apparently the claim to fame is that this cafe is America's oldest espresso bar.  But this cafe is also replete with yummy Italian desserts, different kinds of coffee and tea, and a nice place to sit and chat for awhile.  I had the cappuccino, my boyfriend the Italian soda and a trio of gelato in a dish that we both shared.  The gelato (gelati?) I chose were raspberry, hazelnut and chocolate.  My boyfriend liked the chocolate one the best, but I preferred the hazelnut.  It had this smooth nutty taste that went really well with my coffee.  My friends took the trio of miniatures option to share.   I would like to come back and try their other desserts.  When I go back to Chinatown for cheap buys, I most definitely will be stopping back here to rest up.

Casa Bella Restaurant

Casa Bella Restaurant, Little Italy

From the website

http://www.casabellarestaurant.com/index2.html

127 Mulberry St, New York, NY 10013-4603 (212) 431-4080 () ‎

Yelp reviews








Needless to say, Little Italy is awash in Italian food and owners desperate for your business.  I do wonder if there is constant turnover and each trip is different from the next.  As I was a tourist I never knew, so I should keep an eye out from now on.  Anyway, the restaurants are all quite similar: a waiter or maitre'd beckoning you in, spinning you tales of wonderful meal and wine specials.  Really if you want to feel special, walk down Mulberry St, you will never feel this wanted at other restaurants.  I haven't had bad service or bad food at one yet.  There's always one or 2 that stands out from the rest.  I will be sure to mention those exemplary ones in other posts.

My friend, Bre and I went here on my birthday weekend for dinner.  Like I said, it was just a random choice, mainly because as we were looking at the menu outside, I suddenly was pulled in by one of the staff with "Bella, come come, fantastic specials tonight!"  Pause for a second and that's what happens.

It was a pretty standard experience.  The wine was good, the waiter was attentive.  Bre decided on this fantastic appetizer to share, the bufala fritti.  So awesome.  It is fried buffalo ricotta with marinara.  Absolutely delicious and if there is an opportunity to eat that, jump on it.  For dinner, I had the lobster ravioli.  It was in a creamy wine sauce, and while not the best I ever had it was good enough that I wish the portion was a bit larger.

So my verdict is that this is a good meal, although not a place I imagine coming to again and again.
This place also isn't as bad as some yelp reviewers made it out to be.  The food was delicious, the people were nice and the check was reasonable.  Enough to keep me happy.

Tien Garden Vegan Restaurant

Tien Garden, Lower East Side

From the website

http://www.tiengardener.com/Main.html

170 Allen St # 1, New York, NY (212) 388-1364

Yelp reviews

This is officially the 1st restaurant we ate out at after officially moving into New York.   After our own harrowing moves, we helped our friend, Emily (who was in the midst of her own  moving ordeal), move a few of her things from her old apartment to the new.  She took us here in thanks.

I'm not a vegetarian or a vegan, and I freely admit my weakness and insatiability for animal products.  However, that doesn't mean I don't enjoy vegetarian foods and now that it is a major part of my diet within the limits of my new living arrangements, I actively seek out those veg meals I will enjoy despite my carnivorous ways.  So I definitely welcomed Emily's suggestion.

This is a small and healthy food/choices type place.  A small cafe kind of feel, very clean and one friendly waitress.

As an appetizer, we ordered steamed burdock dumplings.  I am a sucker for dumplings and it will be a blogpost at another time discussing my hunt for halfway decent dumplings in my neighborhood (thus far being 0).  However, Tien Garden's dumplings were not a disappointment.  Hot and delicious, with a fish like sauce (of course not fish, :p).  Should have gotten 2 orders.

The main menu at Tien Garden is small but there is a lot one can do with his or her meal.  I'm especially talking of the I-dish where you pick the ingredients of your own personal stirfry.  My boyfriend chose this and he picked what suited his tastes, and he enjoyed what he got.  Emily said the menu rotates a bit, so her favorite was no longer on it, but she made do with another dish.

I however, chose a bit wrongly.  I had looked at the other table beside us and they had these delicious looking noodles (by sight and what is on the menu, I am guessing it was cold noodles). I thought I wouldn't want a cold dish, so I opted for the organic curry vegetables with brown rice.  Despite the delicious name, the curry wasn't up to the excellent standards I'm used to such as in Indian restaurants or my mother's own awesome curry.  It just didn't have that richness of spices, and it tasted a bit too buttery.  And I should have known better about the brown rice, I was never a fan.  If I were to go back I would opt for the noodles and decline anything with curry or brown rice.

I would suggest this place to any vegans or vegetarians, because, like my boyfriend, they know what they like and can order quite easily.  For anyone else, when in doubt ask those around you.  I have to remember to trust my instincts more about what I do and do not like and if I'm not sure if I would like the flavor, ask the waitress.  Or ask for a bite of the noodles of the table next to us.

What is this blog about?

My boyfriend and I moved to New York in August.  There is a lot that amazes me about this city, but on the top of that list has to be the amazing restaurants here. 

So I wanted a way to remember where I went out to eat and what made each place amazing (or awful).  This isn't meant to be a food critic blog, and I'm also not that fancy of a person, so no crazy expensive places here.  The views are all my own and extremely subjective.   I look forward to sharing this with my friends and garnering ideas of where to go!