Midtown West « Two Fat Bellies

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Lansdowne Road

Friday, August 28th, 2009 by virginia

Josh and I both got out of work early on this rainy summer Friday. Our original plan was to meet up with his coworkers at The Frying Pan but the weather refused to cooperate. We headed instead to Lansdowne Road, a bar that we’ve been to several times but mostly for drinks. They have a lot of good beers on tap, including my personal favorite, Magic Hat #9. Since my office is further away, I arrived later than everyone else. Josh had already started on an order of buffalo wings by the time I got there.

Tomato-y tasting buffalo wings

Buffalo wings are one of the few things that I’ve eaten at Lansdowne Road before but for some reason I thought they were very different this time. The sauce was sweeter and more tomato-y than I remembered. It also tasted like the spice came from a garlic chili sauce rather than from a vinegary hot sauce. Though the wings were hot and meaty, I really didn’t enjoy this version of buffalo sauce.

Also different than what I remembered was the burger, which I ordered medium rare with swiss cheese.

Burger with swiss cheese

The burger was cooked medium rare to order but it was ground very finely so that it had a mushy texture, and oddly, it was very sweet. It tasted like they mixed some spices and seasoning with the meat that detracted from the beefy flavor. I’m sad to say that I did not enjoy this burger very much. It really just didn’t taste like a burger to me.

Autopsy shot

Josh didn’t fare much better with his French dip, also with swiss cheese. The roast beef was sliced very thin and way too dry. Dipping it into the au jus helped a little, but even the flavor of that was off. Basically the only thing I really enjoyed from both of our plates was the French fries.

French dip with swiss cheese

Overall I was really disappointed with the food at Lansdowne Road. It was just strange because I’ve definitely eaten there before but didn’t remember the food being bad. Maybe I was just drunk at the time? I do remember having a burger on a previous visit, as well as sharing the Tailgate starter that included sliders, wings, and fries. Nevertheless, I’ll still come back here because of the beer selection, and because they have pool and darts in the back room. The atmosphere is relaxed and there are plenty of seats and big TV screens, which are very important to me. Next time though I’ll stick with the basic fried appetizers – chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, fries, etc. I still think it’s a great place to have a good beer, watch a game, and just hang out with your friends.

Lansdowne Road
599 10^th Ave. between 43^rd and 44^th St.
New York, NY

Tags: Bars, Burgers, Midtown West, Sandwiches
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The Greek Kitchen

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009 by virginia

DSCN1990

The Greek Kitchen is Greek restaurant (duh!) near our apartment that we’ve passed by many times. I’ve been craving mediterranean food a lot recently so I was eager to try it out. The restaurant is much bigger than it looks from the outside and is kind of rustically decorated like an actual taverna in Greece. The dining room wasn’t very crowded on this rainy evening so we were able to snag a table in the corner next to the window.

We started off with a bottle of Greek red wine, a cabernet-merlot mix from Dimitra wines. We’re not the hugest fan of Greek wines but this bottle was pretty drinkable. We also ordered an appetizer platter to share, the pikilia, which is a choice of any four cold appetizers. We opted for tzatziki (yogurt, cucumber, garlic, dill), skordalia (potato, garlic), melitzanosalata (eggplant, garlic, olive oil, lemon), and dolmades (stuffed grape leaves).

Tzatziki, skordalia, melitzanosalata, and dolmades

The three dips were all nicely seasoned and packed good garlic punch. I also really liked the warm pieces of pita bread they brought us to eat the dips with. After we ran out of bread, they gladly brought us more. The stuffed grape leaves were also pretty tasty and not too greasy, which is a problem I often find with grape leaves at other Greek restaurants.

Warm pieces of pita bread

Josh and I decided to split two entrees, lamb shish kebab and a combination platter with gyro, bifteki, and pork souvlaki. Both of our entrees came with a big plate of salad, which they brought out to us first. The salad was mostly lettuce but had a few pieces of cucumber, tomato, and onion on top. It was also covered in feta crumbles, which I liked because it was mild and added a nice saltiness to the otherwise ordinary salad. The dressing was also pretty light and not too vinegary.

Salad topped with pieces of crumbled feta

We ordered the lamb shish kebab rare but it was totally overcooked. The pieces were tough and rubbery, which was very disappointing. It had a nice gamey flavor but I couldn’t get over the poor meat. The shish kebab came with a side of Greek fries, which were thin slices of potato seasoned with lemon and oregano and topped with a sprinkling of cheese. These were just ok. They had decent flavor but weren’t really very crispy and were kind of cold.

Lamb shish kebab and Greek fries

We opted for rice pilaf with our combination platter. The rice was ok, but it was topped with tomato sauce that tasted like it came straight from a jar. Not great. We kind of scraped that off to the side. The gyro though in the combination platter was my favorite meat of the evening. It had a nice char on the outside and the thin slices of meat were really tender. I liked the seasoning in the meat a lot, and made my own gyro sandwiches by wrapping some meat in slice of pita bread and adding a dollop of tzatziki sauce on top. The bifteki was ground beef mixed with onions and tasted like a hamburger patty. Not bad, but not great. The pork souvlaki, however, was really a mixed bag. Most pieces were tough and overcooked, except for one, which was completely raw. Unfortunately, I was the one who ate a bite of the raw piece. Josh had been complaining that the meat was too tough, so I took a piece and had a bite. My piece was surprisingly mushy, and I couldn’t understand why until I flipped it over and it was completely undercooked. Like it was still pink and fleshy. Yikes.

Combination platter with gyro, bifteki, and pork souvlaki

At that point we were both full and didn’t really want anything except the check, so we didn’t say anything. It was clearly an honest mistake, as the rest of the meats were all cooked to a point of overdone-ness, and it was only one piece out of many pieces of meat we had that evening.

A little taste of everything

Overall I wasn’t a big fan of The Greek Kitchen. The appetizer platter was good but it was pretty standard stuff that I can get at any decent Greek restaurant. And I was really disappointed with all of the grilled meats except for the gyro. I’m sorry to say that I’ve had better Greek food from a diner. Plus there are too many other Greek restaurants in this area to settle for mediocre food. I don’t think we’ll be coming back here again.

The Greek Kitchen
889 10^th Ave. at 58^th St.
New York, NY

Tags: Greek, Midtown West
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Amy’s Bread, Di Palo’s, Sullivan St. Bakery

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009 by virginia

A lot of people have been wondering why we haven’t posted that many recipes on our blog, even though we claim that we love to cook so much. The reason is simply because the weather has been so hot lately that neither Josh nor I have had much desire to slave away in our tiny kitchen with poor ventilation. We don’t have an overhead fan above our stove, and there is no switch to turn on the tiny vent next to the burners that is supposed to automatically come on when it senses smoke. And by supposedly, I mean the fan rarely kicks in, and so whenever we cook our apartment inevitably fills up with smoke.

As a result, on nights that we don’t go out or order in, we’ll just throw together something simple like Caesar salad with homemade dressing and grilled chicken or arugula salad with lemon and parmesan. Tasty, but nothing exciting to blog about. Our favorite simple supper, however, is prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil, and a nice baguette, all arranged on a cutting board for easy noshing. We slice the baguette into little rounds and just pile on whatever toppings we choose. It’s fun, easy, and requires absolutely no cooking.

On truly lazy nights, we’ll get by with supermarket mozzarella, prosciutto, and baguettes. They’re not the greatest but they’re passable in a pinch. However, when Josh took our friend from Singapore to Chinatown for some banh mis, and he very thoughtfully picked up some fresh mozzarella and burrata from Di Palo’s.

One night I convinced Josh to stop at Amy’s Bread and Sullivan Street Bakery after work for some baguettes, so we could do a side-by-side comparison. Unfortunately, by the time he got to Amy’s bread they had run out of regular baguettes so we had to settle for whole wheat. Not a big deal. He did manage to get a regular baguette from Sullivan Street, so while we couldn’t do an exact comparison, we did have a nice variety for dinner that evening.

Whole wheat baguette from Amy's Bread on top, regular baguette from Sullivan St. on the bottom

We rounded out the meal with some decent Citterio prosciutto that we picked up for cheap at Costco, basil from our windowsill, a nice ripe cantaloupe, also from Costco, and some super sweet cherries.

A simple yet tasty dinner

The last time we had burrata from Di Palo’s, it was imported burrata. This time Josh got the domestic burrata, which still had great flavor but it wasn’t as milky or creamy on the inside as the imported variety.

Burrata innards

Both baguettes were delicious. Fortunately the whole wheat one from Amy’s Bread wasn’t too wheaty in flavor, since I usually don’t like whole wheat bread. It had a subtle nuttiness to it, and a slightly firmer chew, but otherwise it was just as good as a regular baguette. The one from Sullivan Street Bakery had a nice airy and chewy interior, though I wished the crust was a bit more crispy. Not a big deal, we can just pop it in the oven for a quick toast next time. I really liked both baguettes, and while the location of Amy’s Bread is much more convenient, I’d happily make the trek down to Sullivan Street Bakery once in a while for some delicious bread.

Baguette cross sections

The addition of the cantaloupe was a nice change of pace for us. It’s no wonder that prosciutto and melon is a classic pairing. The super sweet melon and the salty sweet prosciutto were simply divine together.

A classic pairing of prosciutto and melon

I’m sick of the hot weather but I’ll be sad when the summer is over and my excuse for not cooking will no longer be valid. But even though we won’t have super sweet ripe summer tomatoes and fruit available when the weather gets cooler, I’m sure we’ll still have many lazy nights when we’ll have a simple feast of prosciutto, mozzarella, and tasty fresh baguettes.

It just doesn't get better than this

Amy’s Bread (multiple locations)
672 9^th Ave. between 46^th and 47^th St.
New York, NY

Sullivan Street Bakery
533 West 47^th St. between 10^th and 11^th Ave.
New York, NY

Di Palo’s Fine Foods
200 Grand St. between Mulberry and Mott St.
New York, NY

Tags: Bread, Midtown West
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Wondee Siam II

Saturday, August 22nd, 2009 by virginia

Josh and I had a friend visiting from Singapore, Francois, who was basically our host and food guide when we had the incredible opportunity to live in that wonderful little country for a month back in 2007. I still drool when I think about all the great food we ate while we were there. We definitely wanted to return the favor and show our friend a good time and some of the great food that NYC has to offer. We knew that he likes Thai food, since he took us to a Thai restaurant on our first night in Singapore.

I looked in the Zagat guide for Thai restaurants in our neighborhood and Wondee Siam came up with the highest rating, an impressive 23. The Zagat guide said it was BYO, and that there were three branches in our neck of the woods. We headed for the closest one, which turned out to be Wondee Siam II.

Josh stopped off at a deli to pick up some Chang beers but we realized too late that this particular branch of Wondee Siam did indeed have a liquor license. No biggie; we put our Changs away and ordered a round of Singha instead. Just FYI, the Wondee Siam that is BYO is at 792 9^th Ave., between 52^nd and 53^rd St.

We started out with the Wondee Sampler, which came with two chicken sates, two beef sates, two thai spring rolls, two curry puffs, and two steamed vegetable dumplings. The sates were ok by NYC standards but they were nothing compared to the sates we had at Lau Pa Sat Festival Market in Singapore. The chicken and beef were both a little tough and chewy, though I did like the thick peanut dipping sauce that came with the sampler. I didn’t get to try the thai spring rolls but they looked like the standard fried rolls with a nice thin crackly outer shell. The curry puffs were good (though not as good as the ones from Old Chang Kee) but the filling could have used a heavier hand with the curry powder. The vegetable dumplings were a bit odd. They had a thick gelatinous skin and were filled with some sort of minced vegetable and peanuts. They were much sweeter than I thought they would be. Overall I probably wouldn’t order this dish again, but for a first visit, it’s a good way to get a feel of the appetizers available and figure out what you like.

Wondee Sampler with two chicken sates, two beef sates, two thai spring rolls, two curry puffs, and two steamed vegetable dumplings

Our second appetizer, the papaya salad (som tum), was shredded pieces of fresh papaya tossed with dry shrimp, peanut, string bean, chili, and lime juice. We asked for it to be spicy but it didn’t have too much of a kick to it. Still, the dish was refreshingly crunchy and tangy. It’s a great starter for waking up your taste buds.

Tangy and refreshing papaya salad

We also opted to share our main courses family style. First up was a special of the evening, grilled lamb chops served with vegetables and curry rice. The order came with only three chops so we had to divide them up among the six of us dining that evening, but everyone couldn’t get enough of the dish. There were chunks of peppers, onions, and pineapple mixed in with the curry (I think it was a red curry), which everyone spooned over their rice. I, however, am still not a fan of Thai curry, but I could taste that this was a very good version. People have told me that it must be coconut milk that I dislike, but I enjoy coconut ice cream and pina coladas. There’s also a Chinese dessert made with coconut milk and tapioca pearls that I like, so I’m not sure if that’s really the problem. After eating this particular curry though, I’ve grown to appreciate some Thai curries, though I still don’t like them, if that makes any sense.

Lamb chop curry

The lamb dish came with a pile of curry rice, which tasted like short grain rice flavored with curry powder. It was an interesting twist, but most of us preferred spooning the curry from the lamb over regular white rice.

A cone of curry rice and a cone of white rice

We ordered another special of the evening, soft shell crab with thai herbs. It was crispy deep fried soft shell crab served under a pile of onions and peppers with a brown sauce flavored with thai basil. The crab was cooked perfectly and it was pretty meaty on the inside for soft shell crab. Thai basil sauce is one of the few sauces that I like, so I really enjoyed this dish.

Soft shell crab covered in vegetables and herbs

The person who I assumed to be the manager or owner of the restaurant was really pushing the red snapper that night, saying they just got it in fresh. We were looking forward to a whole fish entrée so we went for his suggestion and got a whole fried red snapper topped with fresh garlic and spicy chili sauce. Again, the dish didn’t have as much kick as we would have liked, but it was incredibly flavorful. The fish was fried perfectly and had a nice crispy crust on the outside. I’m usually not a fan of red snapper but I loved this version. The wonderful and complex mix of spices in the crust and in the sauce just made it taste authentically Thai.

Fried whole red snapper with garlic and chili sauce

And of course I had to get an order of pad thai, which is my standard for all Thai restaurants. This was also a really good version of the dish, as it was not too sweet or overly peanutty. Again, I felt the flavors here were more authentic, and I could taste the tanginess of the fish sauce coming through. The noodles were well cooked and it wasn’t gloppy or mushy. This was one of the best pad thais that I’ve had recently.

Pad thai, of course

Overall I really liked Wondee Siam II a lot. The food is nicely spiced and seasoned, and it just tastes more authentic to me than other Thai restaurants I’ve been to in this neighborhood. Prices aren’t as dirt cheap as some other places in the area but the food is still pretty reasonably priced. We had a lot of food that fed six people easily plus a round of drinks, and it came out to about $25/person after tax and tip. I would definitely recommend this place to someone who is a bit more adventurous when it comes to Thai cuisine and is looking for something more than just the standard Americanized dishes. I don’t know how all the Wondee Siams are related but I hope the food is as good at the BYO branch, which I plan on trying next.

Wondee Siam II (multiple locations)
813 9^th Ave. between 53^rd and 54^th St.
New York, NY

Tags: BYO, Midtown West, Noodles, Thai
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Fat Sal’s Pizza

Saturday, August 15th, 2009 by virginia

So I have a dilemma that I thought I’d put forth to you, the readers. If you had some of the best pizza you’ve ever eaten, but it showed up to your door looking like this, would you order from this pizza place again?

This is what our pizza looked like when it arrived - no joke

Thus is my experience with Fat Sal’s Pizza. In the interest of full disclosure, I may have caused our pizza to arrive looking like that, although I still don’t know if that makes it acceptable.

We were continuing our quest for our go-to pizza place and decided to try out Fat Sal’s on 10^th Ave. I placed our order on delivery.com, a website that we’ve used before, and somehow our address was messed up. I don’t really know how that happened, but I must’ve mistyped it at some point. We do have an account and I just logged into it, so I didn’t check the address before I submitted our order. We’ve ordered using that account previously without any problems so I wasn’t aware there was an issue.

Nevertheless, when the pizzeria called us up to verify our address, Josh apologized profusely about the mistake. So the deliveryman had traveled four blocks out of his way, and we honestly felt badly about it. We planned to make it up to him in the tip, and we would have completely understood if it took a long time for the delivery to come or if our food was cold. We were definitely in the wrong, and we knew that.

We didn’t open up the pizza box until after the deliveryman took his tip and left, and now we understand his haste in getting out of our apartment. Lets see that picture again, close up this time, and from a different angle.

Different angle, but still just as messed up

So what happened? Did he purposely turn our pizza box sideways in retaliation for sending him to the wrong address? But he must have realized it was an honest mistake, not a vicious sabotage to send him four blocks in the wrong direction. And why didn’t he think that we would be apologetic and try to make it up to him with a larger tip? It doesn’t make sense. I can understand that if we shafted him on the tip, then the next time we ordered he would do that to our pizza. So maybe he dropped the pizza by accident? The pizza was in such a state that there’s no way he didn’t realize he had dropped it or tilted it severely. It was completely mangled and glued together at the side of the box.

I managed to pry most of the pieces apart, but not without losing a lot of cheese in the process. Surprisingly, the pizza was still warm. The crust was pretty floppy though, and I don’t know if that was a result of the treatment or if that’s how the crust normally is. It wasn’t super thin nor was it too thick. The outer crust was actually really good, with a bit of crispiness on the outside and a nice chewy texture on the inside. It reminded me of a really good baguette. Despite the floppiness, I really did enjoy the pizza and thought it was the best that I’ve had yet on our quest.

Mangled slice with unintentional underside shot

The chicken parmesan hero was also really good. It was huge and served on a nice crispy roll. There was a lot of chicken but could have used a bit more cheese. Still, it was pretty tasty.

Chicken parm hero

The garlic knots were standard but they had a nice texture to them and good garlic coverage.

Decent garlic knots

So what’s the verdict? I don’t know. I really enjoyed the pizza and would have definitely ordered from here again had the pizza not arrived in such a disastrous state. But I do feel bad about the address mix-up, so maybe I was partially to blame. Still, do I want to order from a place that would either be so vindictive or so careless? It’s a tough call. I’m going to work my way through the other pizzerias in the area, and if I don’t find anything better, maybe I’ll consider ordering from here again. If you were in my shoes, what would you do?

Fat Sal’s Pizza (multiple locations)
730 10^th Ave. at 50^th St.
New York, NY

Tags: Delivery, Midtown West, Pizza
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New Taco Express

Friday, August 14th, 2009 by virginia

New Taco Express is one of those super cheap Mexican food joints that is neither authentic nor outstanding but offers quick and decent food at great prices. It’s almost identical to the Fresco Tortilla restaurants that are available all over the city. While the food isn’t spectacular, it’s reliable and you always know what to expect; it’s kind of like fast food in that regard.

I usually get the same order at these places – a combination plate with chicken, and tex-mex chili on a flour tortilla. The combination plates are huge and come with chicken, rice, beans (black or pinto, your choice), lettuce, tomato, and two flour tortillas. The flour tortillas are my favorite – they’re homemade and thicker and doughier than supermarket tortillas. They have a nice mild flavor and a pleasant chewy texture. The chicken that comes with the combination plate is an ample portion and more than enough to fill the two tortillas. I always mix the rest with the rice and beans and eat it with a fork.

Chicken combination plate

The tex-mex chili is pretty standard but I think of it as comfort food. It’s usually a bit oily but this version was actually not that bad. And it just gives me an excuse to eat another flour tortilla.

Chili on a flour tortilla

Josh got a combination plate with steak and chicken. Again, it’s a lot of food, and the meats are decently tender and nicely seasoned. At less than $6 a plate, you really can’t go wrong.

Chicken and steak combination plate

If you accept New Taco Express for what it is, the food really isn’t terrible. It’s not gourmet, and not even really Mexican, but the food is cheap, filling, and dependable. When it’s late at night and you’re at a loss for what to have for dinner, it fits the bill. The delivery comes super quick and the food is always hot. The two of us can eat for less than $15, and I’ll still have leftovers for lunch.

New Taco Express
857 9th Ave. between 55th and 56th St.
New York, NY

Tags: Delivery, Mexican, Midtown West
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Bello

Sunday, August 9th, 2009 by virginia

We go through the same routine almost every single Sunday night when we get together with Josh’s family for dinner. We can never decide on a place, and more often than not, we crave Italian food. After exhausting most of the options downtown and in Little Italy, we still hadn’t found a go-to place that everyone agrees on. Now that Josh and I have moved uptown, this opens up a whole new neighborhood with countless Italian restaurant options.

On this particular Sunday, after going through the “where should we eat” routine, I suggested Bello, a restaurant on 9^th Ave. that I’ve passed many times and looked nice from the outside. The menu was classic northern Italian and reasonably priced. Reviews on menupages and in the Zagat guide were also pretty favorable. We called for a reservation but due to unforeseen circumstances, we wound up being half an hour late. Not a problem though, as the restaurant was mostly empty. That’s not usually a good sign, but it was pretty late for dinner on a Sunday night so it was understandable.

The dining room is a little lower than ground floor level but it’s pretty spacious. The décor is not overly fussy, and they had a nice big round table waiting for us when we arrived. Josh and his dad dropped us off while they went around the corner to park (the restaurant offers free garage parking after 5 pm). As we were waiting for them, they brought us baskets of white and wheat Italian bread. They were standard loaves but were warmed up in the oven so they were chewy on the inside and had nice crispy crusts. The restaurant definitely earned bonus points for heating up the bread. It’s such an easy thing to do yet it astonishes me how many restaurants don’t.

Crispy Italian bread

Next, we were brought a gift from the kitchen, which were plates of their “specialty”, potato chips. I thought that was an odd offering from an Italian restaurant, but one chip convinced me that it really was a specialty. These homemade chips were sliced super thin and perfectly fried. They were delicately crispy, and without a trace of grease. All they needed was a sprinkling of salt from the shaker on the table, and we devoured them. Seriously, they were the best chips I’ve ever had at a restaurant.

Freshly fried thin and crispy potato chips

I was really happy after eating those chips and hoped that the rest of the meal wouldn’t let me down. Luckily, it didn’t. For appetizers, I went “halfsies” with Josh on beef carpaccio and Caesar salad, two items that we use to judge an Italian restaurant. I started with the Caesar salad and we swapped plates halfway through. The salad was a pretty large portion and covered in grated parmesan cheese, which I liked. The dressing could have packed a bit more punch, but it wasn’t overly mayo-y or fishy. The croutons really looked like gross stale pieces of plain white bread, untoasted, but when I finally popped a piece into my mouth I was shocked by the delicious garlic flavor and its light crispiness. I don’t know how they prepared those croutons but I was a huge fan. It just goes to show that looks can be deceiving! While this wasn’t the best Caesar salad I’ve ever had, it was pretty good.

Caesar salad

The beef carpaccio was served over a pile of arugula, topped with grated parmesan cheese and could have been a meal on its own. The thinly sliced raw beef tasted fresh and was just the right temperature – not warm but not ice cold. The dish arrives unadorned and unseasoned, but all it needs is a squeeze of lemon, a splash of olive, and a bit of salt and pepper to brighten it up. That really lets the fresh flavor of the ingredients to shine through.

Beef carpaccio served over arugula

For my main course, I chose my other test of an Italian restaurant – chicken parmesan. When my plate arrived, I almost laughed at the size of the chicken. It was huge! It was a neat presentation, with most of it boneless and pounded down except for a tiny little wing protruding from the end. It came with spaghetti that was cooked al dente. And the dish was hot, which earned the restaurant even more bonus points. Too often we get food that’s just lukewarm and cheese that is unmelted. This chicken parmesan was the best that I’ve had recently and absolutely satisfying. The portion that I ended up taking home made two filling lunches at work the next week.

Chicken parmesan with spaghetti

Josh ordered his Italian restaurant standby, linguini with white clam sauce. We both raved about his dish, which was garlicky and briney and served with perfectly cooked linguini. You definitely have to be a garlic lover to enjoy this dish, and we absolutely adore garlic – the more the better. Josh ate the entire bowl of pasta, and then I used the bread to sop up the remaining juices. It really was an outstanding version of white clam sauce.

Linguini with white clam sauce

We almost passed on dessert until the waiter mentioned homemade tiramisu. I like tiramisu, but usually it’s just a big pile of mush. Tasty mush, but still mush. Everything ends up getting mixed together and the ladyfingers end up being too soggy to make any sort of impact. I was curious to see if something specifically touted as “homemade” would be any different. I’m so glad that we got it, because it was really freakin’ delicious. I might even say it was the best tiramisu I’ve ever had. The slice itself was a work of art, with each individual ladyfinger visible and intact. The textures were perfect, and it wasn’t just a pile of mush. I really, really enjoyed this dessert, and I’m not usually a dessert kind of person.

Homemade tiramisu

I thought that both the food and the service at Bello were excellent. Our waiter was attentive, and our food was brought out at appropriate intervals and served at the right temperatures. The house special potato chips in the beginning were seriously awesome. The food was classic red sauce Italian – tangy tomato sauce and lots of garlic. It has all the usual standards, and everything we had was really tasty. I can only hope that it’s consistently good the next time we go, so that it will become a permanent part of our Sunday night dinner rotation. And the free parking is just another bonus!

Bello
863 9^th Ave. at 56^th St.
New York, NY

Tags: Italian, Midtown West
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1-2-3 Burger Shot Beer

Saturday, August 1st, 2009 by virginia

DSCN1550

Josh and I met up with a few friends on Saturday night for some food, drinks, and catching up. We were looking for some place casual in our neighborhood so we settled on 1-2-3 Burger Shot Beer. The allure of this bar is that a burger costs $1, shots are $2, and beers are $3. On the surface it seems like a great deal, but if you really think about what you get, it’s not really that cheap. Not that it’s expensive, but the draw is really just a gimmick.

The $1 burgers are really mini sliders and can be consumed in three or four bites. Two if you’re a big eater. You have to order a minimum of three burgers, and that’s about right for a nice snack. Josh and I got three burgers each, and he was still a little hungry afterward but I was somewhat satisfied.

Six "burgers"

The patties are pretty tiny but they’re covered in carmelized onions and topped with orange American cheese. They also give you slices of pickles on the side. The bun is soft and chewy and the perfect complement. These burgers aren’t the greatest but they’re good to nosh on while you have a few drinks.

The burgers are topped with american cheese and carmelized onions

They also have lots of different French fries available, which is of course a big draw for me. Waffle fries are my favorite, although this batch wasn’t as seasoned as others that I’ve had here previously. Still, they’re always served hot and crispy in a cute Chinese takeout container.

Seasoned waffle fries

I opted for potato wedges this time as my second order of fries. They were crispy on the outside and nicely soft and potato-y on the inside. I thought they were pretty good, and better than the regular fries that I had here on a previous visit.

Potato wedges

I haven’t had the shots here but they’re the standard shots that we ordered in college, like kamikazes and lemon drops. They do have a nice variety of beer on tap; I’m partial to the Goose Island IPA. However, the glasses are probably about 10 ounces rather than a pint. That means a pint would cost a little less than $5, which makes it about average for NYC.

Overall I do like 1-2-3 Burger Shot Beer even though I don’t think it’s really a bargain. But I do like the atmosphere, as it’s large and spacious with lots of seating (always important for me), and there are tons of TVs all over the place so it’s great for watching games. Since it’s relatively new, it’s also pretty clean, which is a nice draw. I’ll definitely be back again for some mini burgers, fries, and a nice cold beer.

1-2-3 Burger Shot Beer
738 10^th Ave. between 50^th and 51^st St.
New York, NY

Tags: Bars, Burgers, Fries, Midtown West
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Another Trip to Coppersmith’s

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009 by virginia

The $6.95 lunch special at Coppersmith’s is quickly becoming a favorite for me and Rodney. It’s still a bit of a hike for us during our lunch hour but the food is consistently great and the quiet bar is a nice place for us to chat and catch up.

I recently tried the grilled chicken sandwich with buffalo sauce, which was two thin but large pieces of grilled chicken covered in a nicely tangy buffalo sauce. The sauce has a nice vinegary kick to it but it isn’t too spicy. The chicken is served on a kaiser roll and topped with lettuce, tomato, and red onion.

Grilled chicken sandwich with buffalo sauce

The kaiser roll really works well with this sandwich, as a regular bun would not be sturdy enough to contain all the fillings and the sauce. I always get a container of bleu cheese dressing on the side and slather that on as needed. I’m not the hugest fan of bleu cheese but sometimes I use it to temper the spiciness of the buffalo sauce. The sandwich also comes with a big pile of their always perfectly cooked french fries.

Autopsy shot

Out of all the bars in our neighborhood, Coppersmith’s is quickly becoming my favorite. They have a nice selection of beers on tap and lots of big tv screens to watch games on. There is also a lot of seating, which I find important in any bar. It’s just a great place to grab a bite, have a drink, and hang out.

Coppersmith’s
793 9^th Ave. between 52^nd and 53^rd St.
New York, NY

Tags: Bars, Lunch, Midtown West, Sandwiches
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Hayashi Ya

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 by virginia

We had yet another Japanese menu slipped under our door, and since we were craving sushi we decided to give it a shot. There were lots of items to choose from and prices seemed pretty reasonable. We placed our order over the phone, and it arrived about 35 minutes later, which isn’t too shabby. Unfortunately, most of our hot food arrived pretty cold.

We started out with miso soups that had lots of tofu and seaweed in it, but it was lukewarm at best. The miso was mild in flavor, which I liked, since a lot of versions tend to be too salty. I supposed I could have nuked it in the microwave to warm it up a bit, but I was hungry and too lazy.

Lukewarm miso soups

We also ordered a chicken katsu combination, which came with rice, a small salad, and side dish of our choice. We opted for shrimp shumai, which were clearly the pre-made frozen kind and were totally ice cold in the middle. Too bad, because they were actually really tasty, but I guess I can just go to an Asian supermarket and pick these up for myself and warm them up correctly. The chicken katsu was a bit hotter, but not by much, and it was pretty soggy and greasy. I can forgive the soggy, since it has to be delivered in a covered container, but the greasiness was kind of gross, as the breading just tasted oily. Not pleasant. And also boo for the prepackaged katsu sauce. The salad was just chopped up lettuce and one tomato slice, but I did like the ginger dressing.

Chicken katsu, shrimp shumai, green salad with ginger dressing

We ordered a variety of our favorite standard sushi rolls, which included a tuna roll, a salmon avocado roll, a spicy tuna roll, and a yellowtail and scallion roll. I tend not to go for special rolls since all the fish just kind of gets mixed together and it’s hard to taste each component individually. I enjoyed the spicy tuna roll, which was not too mayo-y tasting, and the yellowtail and scallion roll, since yellowtail is my favorite fish. The tuna in the tuna roll was kind of stringy though, and the salmon was way too fishy, which is kind of scary. I also thought the sushi rice was a tad too sweet for my taste.

Spicy tuna roll, salmon avocado roll, tuna roll, and yellowtail scallion roll

Overall I thought the food from Hayashi Ya was pretty bad. The only thing that I really liked was the miso soup, but I can pretty much get that anywhere or have Josh make it. I didn’t enjoy their greasy chicken katsu at all, and the sushi was obviously not the freshest. Even though prices are pretty cheap, sushi is not something that you would want to trade quality for just to save a few pennies. And there are plenty of other restaurants that offer cheap prices, like Oyishi, and still provide pretty decent fish. I will definitely not be ordering in from here again.

Hiyashi Ya
857 9th Ave. between 55^th and 56^th St.
New York, NY

Tags: Delivery, Japanese, Midtown West, Sushi
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