Cedric Bistro

A few months ago, I was minding my business walking north on St. Nicholas Avenue when I noticed that Mojo had disappeared and Cedric Bistro had appeared.  I was intrigued but never really had the time to check it out.  Then Ms. R suggested we meet up one night and see what all the fuss was about.  The space on the corner of 119^th and St. Nick is a prime location. We got a great seat by the floor-to-ceiling windows. We chatted for a while then placed our order. Ms. R ordered a Cheeseburger.

It was a monstrous slab of beef! The side salad and French fries were generous portions. She enjoyed it but didn’t think it was fantastic.  I ordered the Fish and Chips.

I know, I know. Why did I think it was a good idea to order Fish & Chips at a French bistro? They probably put it on the menu for anyone who doesn’t know what to order. The fish was caked in batter and didn’t even look like fish. Once I got through the layer of batter, the fish was moist and well seasoned. But I was so turned off by the batter that I couldn’t really enjoy it. I should have gone with the duck.  Our dessert had an unfortunate addition so they brought us a new one.

The Chocolate Mousse was extremely rich and I definitely got a chocolate high.  We couldn’t finish it. I left Cedric feeling 50/50 about my experience, but leaning towards giving it another try. I refrained from writing my review because I felt partially responsible for my experience.  Don’t get me wrong, every dish at a restaurant should be perfectly executed, however I likely picked the worst dish on the menu. I was fortunate when my family surprised me with brunch at Cedric for my birthday. The brunch menu was more to my liking.  Way too many of us ordered the French Toast.

We all enjoyed it. MJ, my 23-month old nephew also approved, especially after he drowned each piece in syrup. It was nice that they had turkey bacon, but it wasn’t particularly delicious. The best looking and tastiest dish was the Ratatouille Omelet.

Ain’t it a beaut?! I definitely had major food envy.  Thankfully Y-squared was kind enough to let me have a bite. YUM! Stewed vegetables sandwiched between eggs. It was delicious!  The Omelet with Spinach and Goat Cheese was a little less good looking.

Apparently it tasted good though because by the end of the meal the plate was empty.  The highlight of the meal came at the end. Just as I got up and ready to leave, I was told we weren’t done.  And BAM!

Out comes Crème Brulee for meeee! It was remarkable! Much better than the mousse from earlier in the week. I could have licked the bowl if I wouldn’t have embarrassed my family.  My SiL also got dessert for her birthday.

The Profiteroles looked so great that MJ picked up a spoon and started licking his lips before digging in. It was a sweet ending to an awesome birthday weekend. I’m glad I waited before writing my review for Cedric. I can’t guarantee I will return for dinner but they’ll definitely see me for brunch again.

Hungry yet?

Stone Street Tavern

After celebrating Ms. O's birthday in style the night before, I woke up famished. Thankfully we had already agreed to head to Stone Street Tavern for brunch. While sitting outside was an option we decided to stay indoors and enjoy a little of the air conditioning. The brunch menu has a lot of options and they had an additional menu with some specials. After spending a little time with the menu, we were ready to order. Considering the size of our group, our food arrived pretty quickly. Unfortunately, it was riddled with errors.

Mr. J ordered the Stuffed French Toast, which he had been raving about since the night before.

He knew immediately that there was something wrong with it. Turns out they sometimes stuff their French toast with bananas. That's called Bananas Foster French Toast. Mr. J's order was corrected and this arrived.

Yup, definitely what he wanted. Blueberries, mascarpone and vanilla sauce. That's what he signed up for.  Mr. M and the elder Ms. O ordered the Huevos Quesadilla.

The quesadilla was filled with cheddar jack cheese, jalapeño, pico de gallo, guacamole and sour cream. It also was advertised as coming with a fried egg. The egg was barely fried it was running all over Mr. M's plate. The waitress told Mr. M that the quesadilla was served with steak fries. Lies!! No fries were delivered. Ms. O's Hangover Burger was served with fries.

The burger was filled with cheddar, bacon, fried egg and onions. Ms. O also asked for mayonnaise and hollandaise. Our waitress forgot - shock! Mrs. A ordered the Omelette Special. The spinach, tomatoes and goat cheese were what made it special but she asked them to hold the goat cheese. It looked really good and I definitely had some food envy.

Mr. A ordered the Bacon Egg and Cheese sandwich. No cheese of course. He seemed to enjoy his sandwich.  

I ordered the Salmon Scramble. I asked for no cream cheese.

Of course it was served with cream cheese. The waitress was just not on it. I would put her name out here but I'm hoping it was just an off day. It was also just way too salty! I could barely stand to eat it. The home fries were good though. The company was great so the meal was worth it. If they got our orders right it would have been even better. They may have just been punishing us for sitting inside instead of out.  Overall I can say I was definitely underwhelmed, not whelmed and definitely not overwhelmed.

Hungry yet?

Maxine's Restaurant & Lounge - Catalina Hotel South Beach, Miami

After a three and a half hour flight delay, Ms. M and I were thrilled to finally be on the ground and able to meet up with the rest of the crew. We walked a few blocks from our place to Catalina Hotel on 18th and Collins. It was quite a lively afternoon on Collins. We found the ladies seated outside at Maxine's Restaurant & Lounge and joined them. The future Mrs. L ordered The Classic Burger.

I don't eat beef but I was so hungry that I was actually tempted to take a bite! I stuck to the fries which were pretty good. She enjoyed her burger though and the elder Ms. K certainly enjoyed her Buffalo Pizza.

It tasted pretty good but I could have done without the blue cheese. I ordered the BBQ chicken pizza. It was amazing!

The crust was perfect, the amount of sauce was excellent and chicken was expertly seasoned. I was a big fan! I didn't finish my pizza but it made for a delightful snack the next night before we went to dinner.

The variety of Maxine's menu is what made it a great place to start our trip. The outdoor seating was a plus and the music made for a great party. Overall it was the perfect beginning to a very memorable weekend.

Hungry yet?

The Counter: Custom Built Burgers

Several months ago when I was still wearing a jacket outside and praying the temperature would at least hit 50, I saw a deal on Gilt City to build my own burger at The Counter. Of course I told MM about it. A few weeks ago we finally made it to The Counter. It's a smallish space in Times Square but it was pretty lively and the Heat/Celtics game was on. We started with the Turkey Chili.

OMG! It was soooo good! The little bits of dried cranberries were perfect with the sweet yet spicy chili. I tried to stop myself but I definitely ate far more than I should have! We also ordered sweet potato fries and regular fries.

Yum! The sweet potato fries were great and the other fries were perfect for eating with the chili. What makes The Counter so special is that you can build your own burger! When you sit down, you fill out an order sheet and mark off what you want.

MM ordered a salad with a whole lotta goodness.

It was apparently pretty good though it is still pretty strange to turn a burger into a salad. I ordered a juicy grilled chicken burger.

The sautéed onion was a bit overwhelming but the other toppings were excellent. The jalapeños, pickles, corn and sweet BBQ sauce were excellent. The bun also held up pretty well!

The Counter is a pretty pricy burger joint but it was really delicious! The burger was great but I was even more excited about the chili and fries. If you're hanging out in Times Square and in the mood for a delicious burger and some great starters/sides, I recommend  heading over to The Counter.

Hungry yet?

Todd English Plaza Food Hall

This weekend was filled with out of town guests.  My RD was in town briefly and we met up at Sbarro in Times Square.  Alas, no food was consumed by me because I was still stuffed by the all-star brunch.  After wandering around Manhattan for more hours than I intended, VBRAT reconvened for a suuuuper late lunch (6:30!) because of our 10pm dinner reservation (more on that later).  I was surly because they were late, but once I ate everything was great.  I was excited about the prospect of eating at the Plaza Food Hall.  With so many options it was really hard to limit how much I ate considering the huge dinner that we would eventually consume. 

The Plaza Food Hall is pretty posh considering it’s a cafeteria, but then again it is The Plaza. There are different counter seating spaces by the cooking stations.  We were fortunate enough to sit by the noodle station.  I constantly wanted to jump over the counter and eat the food the chefs were preparing. Ms. A and I decided to order together since we wanted to sample a bunch of different dishes.  We started with the Chinese Chicken & Ginger dumplings.

They were served with lemon grass pesto.  I really enjoyed the dumplings.  They were light yet filling.   We watched the chefs make our dumplings and I may or may not have salivated when they were placed in front of me.  The dumplings also came with a side of Spicy Kimchi.

I usually shy away from kimchi because of the smell but this spicy one was really good! We also ordered a Shrimp Tempura Roll.

The shrimp tasted very fresh and wrapped with avocado and cucumber. I love seafood so even though we didn’t need the shrimp tempura, I had no regrets about ordering it.  Next up was the Classic Flat Bread.

It was basically a margarita pizza.  Roasted tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil.  The flatbread is incredibly thin so this was not as filling as it looked.  Ms. A and I definitely ate just the right amount and were satisfied with our meal.  Mr. S ordered Turkey Sliders.

I’m always suspicious of turkey burgers because I know that someone is usually trying to sneak some pig on there.  This time around, the sliders were served with grilled pancetta, whipped avocado, baby romaine and tomato.  I knew it! Grilled pancetta – hmmph.  Apparently it tasted good though because Mr. S cleaned it up.  He and Ms. G also ordered Parmesan Fries. I didn’t get a chance to sample or photograph it (because they ate it all!) and besides I was busy with my own food J Ms. G also ordered the flatbread special.

It didn’t photograph too well but that’s grilled portabello with spinach.  Apparently it tasted good, but it was not exactly what she was expecting.  Mr. K and his Ms. S (THEY’RE GETTING MARRIED!!!) were too far away and I missed the opportunity to photograph their lobster minestrone (yumm how good does that sound?) They also ordered the chicken dumplings though so I didn’t miss too much. 

Plaza Food Hall was the truth.  So much variety and all pretty affordable. I was very pleased and look forward to returning soon. We finished up at The Plaza Food Hall with our mission accomplished.  We had eaten, but we were still hungry for the super late dinner.  Tomorrow, I reveal the limited access birthday dinner.  Stay tuned…

Hungry yet?

Il Caffe Latte

Although I was up really late last night I ate dinner so early that I woke up famished. Unfortunately, Mr. W wasn't scheduled to arrive until around 1. I found a small snack and managed to not stuff myself while waiting for him. Of course he took the wrong train but finally he made it!  We headed straight to Il Caffe Latte because it's right in the neighborhood and I haven't been there in a really long time.

Caffe Latte is a cute little spot that is one of many places helping to revive Lenox Avenue. Their menu has lots of options and you're bound to find something to satisfy your mood. I definitely wanted breakfast and Mr. W had moved on to lunch. I was really excited to make my own omelette. I added spinach, onions and turkey sausage.

The omelette was served with a side salad. The spinach and sausage, when eaten alone, were nothing short of amazing. Unfortunately, they were in the mix with huge slices of onions that were rather distracting and the egg was slightly burnt on one side. Drats! I was really looking forward to giving this place a great review. The salad was really good so whatever dressing they threw on those leaves was awesome. I really wanted to order a pastry to accompany my eggs but I'm glad I didn't. Mr. W ordered a cheeseburger with sweet potato fries.

Those fries were just what I needed to complete my meal. Although I didn't taste it I knew the burger was good because Mr. W didn't leave a single crumb on the plate.

The service at Caffe Latte was a little spotty. Our server was distracted or disinterested (hard to tell the difference).  The food was good but not great. Yet I know I will return. Not just because its in the neighborhood but because of the warm feel of the place (they have wi-fi and power outlets), the fries, and the knowledge that one good but not great omelette does not make or break a restaurant.

Hungry yet?

Pop Burger

This is it.  The summer is on its way out.  So of course we need to celebrate with the summer associates with an associates night out!  The associates committee planned a fun filled after work celebration at Pop Burger. (Turn your speakers down, the website has some tunes)  We went to the location on 58th between 5th and Madison.  I grumbled the entire walk over and decided it would be worth it because I would be rewarded with delicious eats.

Walking into Pop Burger is a little jarring.  Bright lights, one loooong slim countertop in the middle.  Really does look like ye olde burger joint.  When you go upstairs though, that's where the fun begins.  Low lighting, plush couches and awkwardly low high backed chairs.  Our reserved space was on the 2nd floor where the DJ was spinning some classics but with different beats.  Throws you off a little, but it was quite good.

Anyway, on to the food.  I scoured the menu quickly and we all decided on a game plan.  Order anything you're gonna eat!  My kind of party :-)

We received some cheeseburgers, fries and onion rings first.

The fries were delicious, but it was so dark in there I couldn't get the perfect photograph.  I was told the cheeseburgers were overdone.  I had to run downstairs to see my younger brother so the next set of photographs is courtesy of Mr. T...no not that one.  While I was gone, the food came out in rapid succession.

The chicken spring rolls didn't photograph too well, and they also didn't taste great.  Too much spring and not enough chicken in that roll.

The shrimp roll on the other hand was amazing.  The shrimp filled the length of that roll.  I was in heaven!

Individual lobster nachos with guacamole was also pretty good.  I wish they had done more with it, but I suppose better to have lots of lobster than not...unlike lunch today!

Mozzarella sticks were JUMBO.  I had to split it with someone because I couldn't imagine getting through all that cheese.  It was pretty good and not offensively greasy.

I missed the name of this fabulous dish, but it was INCREDIBLE.  Seared Ahi Tuna, possibly sesame crusted.  I would go to dinner at Pop Burger, just to order this dish.  Yummers!

Pop Burger is a fun atmosphere for an after work event.  The lighting is a little low and the music gets louder after 7:30, but it's definitely worth hanging out on the 2nd floor for a few hours.  The food is delicious and when someone else is picking up the tab, it tastes even better!

Hungry yet?

Fifth of July BBQ

While there are plenty of benefits to living in NYC, there are definitely some downsides.  The biggest downside that I see is not having a backyard, especially in the summer! Sure there’s the deck outside my window, but we’re not allowed to use a grill out there!

Lucky for me, home is just a short ride away and going home was just what I needed today.  First I made a trip to the grocery store where meat and fish was so affordable it was unbelievable.  

After picking out a few items, I headed home where things were already happening in the kitchen.

My younger brothers were on a mission to make some great burgers.  I didn’t get any videos but I took several shots.

Yup they decided to throw some cheese in the middle and a dollop of BBQ sauce.  Looks like everything turned out fine.

Mama bear also decided to make some chicken skewers.  Not sure what she put on them but they were de-lish!  I made some BBQ chicken.  Seasoned for a bit in a Ziploc bags with salt, black pepper, BBQ sauce and chili pepper. 

Magic on the grill.  We also had some shrimp skewers seasoned in store bought jerk sauce that was nay the best, but it did its job.

I love going home, I love backyard BBQs, and I love food!

Hungry yet?

BONUS: I stopped by to say hi to Z&Z and was happy to eat the most delicious and moist piece of pumpkin loaf I have EVER had!  Courtesy of Ms. E’s mom. YUMMY!