Tag Archives: American

Eat a Burger and Win Money!

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Now here’s something I can get behind. In honor on National Burger Month, Bill’s Bar and Burger is featuring two limited edition burgers as well as giving away cash. That’s right, you can win money just by eating a burger. There’s not much better than that in my book.

Throughout the month of May, check out the Bill’s Bar and Burger Facebook page. Each day (Monday-Friday) they’ll post a number. If you’re lucky enough to order that number burger on that day Bill’s will give you $50 in cash on the spot!

As far as burger specials, Bill’s is featuring a Meatloaf Burger (Meatpacking District) and West Coast Burger – avocado, cheddar, red onion, salsa verde (Rock Center).

Bill's Burger Bar National Burger Month

Photo courtesy of BR Guest Hospitality

L&W Oyster Co.

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Restaurant: L&W Oyser Co. – 254 5th Avenue, Manhattan, New York

Only about six months old, L&W Oyster Co. is one of the newest additions to Manhattan’s seafood (more specifically, oyster) scene. The folks behind Almond are behind this oyster house. 

Atmosphere

The restaurant can best be described as black and white. It gives off both a casual and upscale vibe at the same time that portrays casual elegance. Don’t get the impression that the folks at L&W are suffering from an identity crisis. Quite the opposite. They’ve captured your typical “by the beach” seafood house and brought it to Manhattan – casual during the day but classy at night. The interior features whitewashed booths, industrial copper lighting fixtures providing light to a row of booths, black wood floors and your typical beach-themed artifacts.

Exterior of L&W Oyster Co.

Exterior of L&W Oyster Co.

Food

The menu at L&W (note that this is slightly outdated as the menu is evolving) immediately threw me off. It’s organized in a very creative way. There isn’t a dedicated section for appetizers, entrees, sides, etc. Instead, L&W categorizes its food by ‘small things,’ ‘medium things,’ ‘bigger things,’ ‘booze stuff,’ ‘sparkly stuff,’ etc. I felt like this was almost liberating and allowed me to peruse the entire menu without being confined to ordering one thing from each category.

Brooklyn Clam Chowder

Brooklyn Clam Chowder

I’m a sucker for clam chowder so I of course had to give the Brooklyn Clam Chowder a try. This cream-based chowder wasn’t your typical New England clam chowder or your Manhattan clam chowder. It’s a hybrid made with beer from the Brooklyn brewery. The color may have been slightly off-putting – tan, off-whiteish – but the chowder itself was delicious. It had enough small bits of mussels in it and was a nice consistency (not too liquidy and not too thick) to keep me happy. There were also small crunchy nuggets in it as well which I believe were taking the place of your usual oyster crackers. This was a nice way to differentiate this chowder from others.

Cioppino

Cioppino

Next up was a Cioppino (fish stew) complete with mussels, chorizo, other seafood goodness I can’t remember, all topped with a small pile of yellow rice. There were lots of mussels in this dish and I loved the combination with the seafood combination with the chorizo. I was stuffed afterward and didn’t have any bread to mop up the stew but am sure it would have been just as delicious as everything else was.

Service

Our waiter was very enthusiastic and on top of everything from the start. The food came out at a steady pace and our wine and water glasses were consistently refilled. What more can you ask for? Unfortunately, the service did slightly deteriorate toward the end of the meal and we were left waiting to order dessert for quite some time.

Value

L&W is on the pricier side, with oysters around $3 each, ‘small things’ and ‘medium things’ around $13-$16 and ‘big things’ in the upper $20 range. That being said, if you’re willing to spend some money, L&W has a menu set up for exploration.

The Verdict

L&W Oyster Co. does the perfect job of combining casual and elegant along with delicious food. The relaxed atmosphere puts you at ease as you look through a menu that disrupts the traditional way food is supposed to be ordered. I loved the Brooklyn Clam Chowder and the Cioppino and would gladly visit L&W again to try some of the other items on the menu. If you’re in the Flatiron District and looking for some seafood, you won’t be disappointed with L&W Oyster Co. 

L&W Oyster Co. on Urbanspoon

The Shady Lady

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Restaurant: The Shady Lady – 34-19 30th Avenue, Astoria, New York

I’ve got a new favorite lady in Astoria when it’s brunch time and she’s a little mysterious. Welcome to one of the newest Astoria residents, The Shady Lady. (You can start gagging at how corny that joke was right about… now.)

Atmosphere

The interior of The Shady lady is covered in deep, rich colors. Aside exposed brick on one wall, metallic shades of copper, gold and silver add highlights throughout the interior, nicely complementing the dark wood tables. There are probably about 15 or so tables as well as a few places at the bar. I’m not sure if it was because The Shady Lady is still relatively new or what, but on a Sunday around 1 p.m. the restaurant was only about half full.

Interior of The Shady Lady

Interior of The Shady Lady

Food

The Shady Lady’s brunch menu is very diverse, with everything from regular old eggs or oatmeal to more creative dishes such as Jack and Coke French Toast and Back to Bed Mac n Cheese. There is a good balance of both sweet and savory dishes on the menu so everyone can get what they’re looking for. Best part, all brunch entrees include your choice of a Bloody Mary, mimosa or sangria plus coffee, orange juice or cranberry juice.

After taking one look, I immediately knew what I was getting. I ordered:

  • Fried Chicken: bacon, cheddar, white sausage gravy
Fried Chicken

Fried Chicken

WOW. This dish was an explosion of flavors. A large piece of fried chicken sits on top a sliced country-style biscuit and is covered in cheddar cheese, two crisscrossing slabs of thick bacon and smothered with white sausage gravy. The bacon alone had such a rich flavor it literally caught me by surprise. One of the aspects I really liked about this dish was there wasn’t too much cheddar cheese so the other components really shone through. Using the last of the buttery and moist biscuits to mop up the leftover sausage gravy made my taste buds EXTREMELY happy.

Service

Our waitress was extremely friendly and more than happy to shoot the breeze with us. Since it was our first time here, she gladly walked us through the ins and outs of the menu as well as told us what the ‘favorites’ were.

Value

Prices at The Shady Lady range from $8 for oatmeal up to $21 for steak and eggs. However, the majority of brunch items are in the $15-18 range. For the price of my meal, plus the Bloody Mary and orange juice I received, I think the value here is tremendous. For the flavor alone I’d come close to paying that amount.

The Verdict

In case you couldn’t tell, I loved The Shady Lady. The food exploded with flavor and put me in a great mood to start my day. Everything from the interior to our waitress to the delicious food was just right and I left with a big smile on my face. Welcome, The Shady Lady to Astoria. You’ll see me again real soon!

The Shady Lady on Urbanspoon

City Bakery Delivers Liquid Gold

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It’s Easter and spring has sprung, but let’s take a step back to winter and cool down with one of my personal favorite New York City winter treats, hot chocolate from City Bakery (3 West 18th Street, Manhattan, New York).

City Bakery Hot Chocolate

City Bakery Hot Chocolate

The hot chocolate at City Bakery is like drinking liquid crack. On a recent trip this past winter I ventured in for a cup of the stuff during their annual Hot Chocolate Festival, where they feature different flavors of hot chocolate throughout the month of February.

During their Hot Chocolate Festival the inside of City Bakery is sheer chaos. The lines to get a cup of hot chocolate, or pretty much anything else, are around the corner and workers are practically running around trying to meet the demands of all the hungry and thirsty customers. I’ve experienced some very mediocre customer service during these times and I personally don’t think they have a very good system in place to handle the masses, but they somehow get the job done and everyone walks away with a smile on their face.

All obstacles to getting the hot chocolate and/or food aside, City Bakery’s hot chocolate is the real stuff. Think of taking a bar of chocolate, melting it down and then putting it in a cup to drink. To top it all off, an enormous marshmallow is placed on top. The cups the hot chocolate comes in are pretty small, but don’t worry, it’s more than enough. You’ll quickly fill up on the stuff as you struggle to even finish half of a cup.

The Verdict

The price of a cup of hot chocolate isn’t cheap, but it’s well worth the splurge as you’ll be on a sugar high for the rest of the day. If you can’t wait until next February, I highly recommend heading over to City Bakery for a delicious cup of their liquid crack…. I mean, hot chocolate.

City Bakery on Urbanspoon

Choice Eats. And The Winner Is… Mable’s Smokehouse

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6th Annual Village Voice Choice Eats

Crowds Chowing Down at Choice Eats

Last week was the Village Voice’s 6th Annual Choice Eats event. If you’re not familiar with Choice Eats, it’s basically an annual pig-out where you make sure to wear your stretchy pants and a loose fitting shirt. This event features more than 50 restaurants from throughout New York City’s culinary landscape coming together under the roof of the 69th Armory to showcase items off their menus.

There was an extensive list of restaurants present at this year’s Choice Eats and the lines in front of various booths told you who the popular restaurants were. While I had lots of favorites (The Meatball Shop, Joe Dough, Lucky 777 Chili and Del Posto, among many others), I’m a barbecue fan at heart and I couldn’t resist Mable’s Smokehouse (44 Berry Street, Brooklyn, New York).

Mable's Slow Smoked Beef Brisket

Mable’s Slow Smoked Beef Brisket

Mable’s Smokehouse was serving up delicious slow smoked beef brisket. And when I say delicious, I’m not lying. I loved their beef brisket so much I battled through the line twice to get a heaping serving of the stuff. The brisket was cooked to perfection. It had a perfect balance of meat to fat and was very moist and full of flavor. It literally melted in your mouth (I had to make a point of chewing)! The sauce was served on the side but this brisket didn’t need it at all. I’ve heard Mable’s is extraordinarily proud of their sauce so next time I’ll be sure to give it a try.

I haven’t made the trip out to Brooklyn yet to check out their restaurant in person (I promise, it’s going to happen very soon), but from what I’ve heard and read, Mable’s bills itself on being as authentic Southern as you can be in Brooklyn. From their website, the two owners, both from the South, are aiming to recreate the feel of a roadside Southern barbecue with no-frills, no attitude, straight up damn good barbecue. Based on taste alone, it sure seems like they’re doing something right.

The Verdict

Let me caveat this by saying I haven’t been out to Mable’s Smokehouse just yet. However, as a barbecue lover, Mable’s stole my heart at this year’s Choice Eats. They stood out among all the other barbecue there and had the line to prove it. I can’t wait to head out to Williamsburg to give Mable’s a try again.

Mable's Smokehouse & Banquet Hall on Urbanspoon

The New York Burger Appreciation Society (NYBAS): Chirping Chicken

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I’ve reached burger number four and the end of my membership to the New York Burger Appreciation Society. No more burgers delivered to my office weekly. Sad face.

To read all about what this mysterious burger society is, check out some of my previous posts about Burger Heaven, Black Shack Burger and Blue 9 Burger. On to burger number four.

Chirping Chicken – 1219 1st Avenue, Manhattan, New York

Burger number four was from Chirping Chicken. From their menu, I received:

  • Deluxe Mexican Burger: Topped with jalapenos and fried onions
  • Fries
Deluxe Mexican Burger

Deluxe Mexican Burger

This was a great burger to end these burger deliveries with. The Deluxe Mexican Burger was a 1/4 inch burger loaded with fried onions and jalapenos. It came on a typical hamburger bun and was cooked perfectly pink in the middle. This burger was very spicy, and I loved it. There were LOTS of jalapenos and fried onions on top of the burger. The onions weren’t too overpowering due to the large amount of jalapenos. This flavor dominated the burger.

Deluxe Mexican Burger

Loaded with Fried Onions and Jalapenos

Some of the jalapenos spilled over onto the fries which added a hint of spice to them as well. The fries were very crunchy and had a little bit of salt on them. This, combined with the slight spiciness of the jalapenos, kept me happy.

Best of all, Chirping Chicken provided a wet nap with the burger and fries. A nice and much needed touch.

The Verdict

The Deluxe Mexican Burger from Chirping Chicken was a surprise. I expected a fairly regular burger but was pleasantly surprised when I was greeted with jalapenos and fried onions instead. If you don’t like spicy food, this burger isn’t for you. However, if you do, this burger is up your alley. It came cooked to perfection and the spiciness of the jalapenos kicked it up a notch. I probably won’t go out of my way to get Chirping Chicken again, but if I find myself there than I’ll definitely be ordering the Deluxe Mexican Burger.

Chirping Chicken on Urbanspoon

The New York Burger Appreciation Society (NYBAS): Burger Heaven

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Burger number three from the New York Burger Appreciation Society (only one left!) showed up at my office recently. (For those of you who have no clue what this mysterious burger society is, check out my previous post.)

Burger Heaven – 9 East 53rd Street, Manhattan, New York

Burger number three was from Burger Heaven. From their menu, I received:

  • Cheeseburger
  • Fries
Cheeseburger and Fries

Cheeseburger and Fries

This burger came packed together in an aluminum tray with the fries, along with lettuce and tomato – your typical run-of-the-mill burger delivery.

This burger was loaded with cheese. So much so, that it was dripping off the sides of the burger. It was perfectly cooked and wasn’t overflowing with juices, something that many burgers often do. The medium/medium-rare burger melted in my mouth during each bite, but unfortunately, it didn’t have as much taste as I would have liked. It felt like something was missing. The burger reclaimed some of what it was missing with the bun. It came on a potato bun that was lightly sprinkled with salt on top. Big win for the bun.

Cheeseburger

Perfectly Cooked Cheeseburger

The fries were also just mediocre. They were slightly soggy – always a problem with delivery fries – and didn’t have a lot of crunch to them. They also didn’t have any salt on them. I don’t mind putting salt on myself, but no salt just leaves fries plain and tasteless.

The Verdict

Burger Heaven failed to live up to its name. Yes, I was eating a burger, but no, I wasn’t in heaven. The cheeseburger was average and tasted like it was missing something. The fries were soggy and didn’t have any salt/flavor to them. All in all, I wasn’t impressed by Burger Heaven and I won’t be order, or heading back, to them again.

Burger Heaven on Urbanspoon

A Restaurant Dedicated to Peanut Butter

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Restaurant: Peanut Butter & Co. – 240 Sullivan Street, Manhattan, New York

New York City is full of specialty restaurants with menus revolving around one ingredient – Greek yogurt at the Chobani store, rice pudding at Rice to Riches and mac and cheese at S’mac. Specializing in one of my favorite foods, is Peanut Butter & Co.

Atmosphere

Interior of Peanut Butter & Co.

Interior of Peanut Butter & Co.

The Peanut Butter & Co. restaurant is small. The place is one room made up of ten tables, seating about 20 people. A counter lines the left hand side of the room where diners line up to order from the exhaustive list of peanut butter combinations. Once an order is placed, you can find a seat while you wait for your food to be made and brought to your table.

Food

Jerry Seinfeld Comedy Special

Jerry Seinfeld Comedy Special

My peanut butter selection for lunch was:

  • Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedy Special: our most famous customer shared his favorite peanut butter sandwich in the foreword he wrote for The Peanut Butter & Co. Cookbook, and here it is for you to try – a sliced, toasted bagel topped with peanut butter, drizzled with honey and sprinkled with cinnamon. Yum!

The cinnamon and honey livened up the peanut butter a little bit. However, this was exactly what I expected – peanut butter on a bagel. Don’t get me wrong, it was delicious, but you can only do so much to peanut butter on a bagel. I think this is the case across the board. Some of these sandwiches are creative, but in the end, you’re getting a peanut butter sandwich, something you could make in your kitchen.

Service

The Peanut Butter & Co. restaurant is pretty much self-serve. You order at the counter and seat yourself. It did take a while to get the food but it was very busy so I can give them some leniency here.

Value

This is a unique restaurant that capitalizes on everyone’s love of peanut butter. But, when it comes down to it, the prices for the sandwiches (around $6-$9) are a little extravagant for peanut butter on bread, even if you throw some bananas on it.

The Verdict

Peanut Butter and Co. is a very unique and creative restaurant. I’m a huge fan of any and all things peanut butter so it didn’t take a lot to convince me to come here. That being said, I’m not breaking down the door to come back. Unlike other specialty restaurants, Peanut Butter & Co. serves something anyone can easily make. This is unlike a place like S’mac, where I don’t see many people quickly whipping up a dish of Mediterranean mac and cheese (a delicious option for those that haven’t tried it). Bring your tourist friends, but promise yourself to only visit once.

Peanut Butter & Co on Urbanspoon

The New York Burger Appreciation Society (NYBAS): Black Shack Burger

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Continuing to fuel my love of burgers, burger number two from the New York Burger Appreciation Society showed up at my office the other week. (For those of you who have no clue what this mysterious burger society is, check out my previous post.)

Black Shack Burger – 320 Lexington Avenue, Manhattan, New York

Burger number two was from Black Shack Burger. I received:

  • Black Shack: lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, ketchup, mayo, mustard
  • Fries

In food delivery, presentation is almost equally as important as the food itself. Black Shack burger seems to have this down as the the burger and fries came in two nice packaged cardboard boxes. Not only did this look good, but it prevented the fries from getting soggy (one of the biggest disappointments with delivery fries).

This entire meal had me thinking I was sitting in a McDonald’s somewhere. The burger and fries looked and tasted nearly identical to their counterparts at the Golden Arches.

Black Shack Burger

Black Shack Burger

The burger consisted of a very thin patty topped with cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, chopped onion, ketchup, mustard and mayo all sitting between two toasted buns. The burger didn’t last very long because the patty was so thin, but it was cooked perfectly medium rare and was very tender. The toasted bun gave the burger a nice crunch and this was amplified by the chopped onion. The mayo and mustard are two condiments I typically don’t put on my burgers so this was different for me. However, the mayo overpowered the other condiments and the only reason I knew they were in there is from Black Shack’s description. With all these condiments and toppings, devouring this burger was a messy few minutes to say the least.

Black Shack Fries

Black Shack Fries

The fries, once again, were reminiscent of McDonald’s. They were long and thin, and very salty. They had a crisp crunch to them at each bite. Absolutely delicious, even though I felt like I was overdosing on sodium.

The Verdict

The Black Shack Burger and fries are a seemingly mirror image of McDonald’s. This isn’t a bad thing either. There’s a reason McDonald’s has been around so long. The burger was perfectly cooked and had a good overall flavor, despite it being very thing and extremely messy. The fries are what I liked the most. Heavily salted, crunchy fried deliciousness. These fries are a keeper.

Black Shack Burger on Urbanspoon

Where’s our Waiter? Jonathan’s Restaurant

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Restaurant: Jonathan’s Restaurant - 2499 Jericho Turnpike, Garden City Park, NY

I’ll admit, Long Island isn’t one of my favorite places in the world. However, I recently found myself venturing out to the Farmingdale area to watch my dad cash in on a LivingSocial deal for flight lessons. A lunch stop was of course a must, and we decided on a place I’d previously been with Hailey and her grandmother, Jonathan’s.

Atmosphere

Jonathan's Restaurant

Interior of Jonathan’s Restaurant

Jonathan’s is a big place. There is a large, main dining area with tables scattered about and booths lining one wall as well as partially separated areas which are often used for private events. The tables are all covered in white table cloths and, while you can get away wearing jeans and going more casual, it feels as if Jonathan’s tries to class itself up as much as possible.

We arrived at the restaurant for a late lunch (around 2 p.m.). Aside from our group of 7, there were only five other tables in the place, as well as a larger party (I think bridal shower) in one of the partially separated dining areas.

Food

The first piece of food that draws your attention is the bread placed on each table. Who doesn’t love a good bread basket? This one had a bunch of different varieties but the winners were the onion rolls. These were loaded with an incredible amount of onion pieces that coated the entire undersides of the rolls. The result was a heavily oniony flavor.

Chicken Savannah Salad

Chicken Savannah Salad

I was trying to be a little bit healthy this afternoon (after consuming four or five rolls of course) so I opted for a salad. I ordered:

  • Chicken Savannah Salad: grilled chicken breast with candied pecans, granny smith apples, crisp Applewood bacon and mixed greens, tossed in a country mustard honey dressing

A sliced grilled chicken breast as well as green apples were placed on top of the salad and sprinkled with candied pecans and the dressing. The highlights of the salad were the large amount of grilled chicken (major plus) that was very moist and seasoned to give it a nice flavor, as well as the candied pecans. (I’m convinced you can candy anything and it will be delicious.) Unfortunately, one of the major downsides of the salad were the mixed greens. I know is wasn’t eating a spinach salad but I would have preferred some more color from the lettuce. A great majority of the greens were practically white. Additionally, the green apples weren’t as green as I was hoping and this detracted from their overall flavor. I’m not sure exactly how healthy this salad was with the candied pecans and honey mustard dressing, but it tasted pretty good and did the job filling me up.

Service

The service at Jonathan’s was terrible. Our waiter, Caesar, disappeared for long periods of time and was the opposite of attentive. It took us forever to order our food and drinks. When we received the wine menu to try and order another bottle of wine before our meals came out, Caesar was nowhere to be found. He did return to see if we wanted another bottle, but it was well after everyone had finished eating. Sorry, Caesar but you missed your opportunity. We then had to flag another waiter in order to clear our dishes after our waiter disappeared once again. It turns out, our waiter was also staffing the private party being held in one of the partially separated rooms. This is all good and fine, but when the place is practically empty and a large waitstaff is roaming the floor, someone needs to pick up the slack or specific waiters need to be dedicated to the dining room so they’re not pulling double duty.

Value

Jonathan’s is priced around what I would classify as high-mid range. Entrees were in the low to mid $20s and my salad was in the high teens. The value is there though, with everyone at the table saying how happy they were with the quality and taste of their lunch options.

The Verdict

I’m not going out of my way to visit Jonathan’s. Yes, the food and atmosphere are good, but the service disappointed me and we weren’t happy about that. There are lots of options in the vicinity and next time I’m in the area I will be giving a new place a try.

Jonathan's Restaurant on Urbanspoon