Taste of New York City

This month has been an absolute whirlwind! I promise that soon I will be back to a normal blog-posting schedule -- believe me, I have tons of recipes up my sleeve that I'm just waiting to share with you! However, this month life has gotten in the way a bit, beginning with our move to California, which was followed by a road trip to visit family and friends, and culminated with the New York City trip that I just returned from last night.

 By the way, do you know how amazing the food is in New York?? I literally almost ate myself to death there! On a normal basis I am really into food and have trouble with portion control, particularly where sugar is involved. But this trip, we were celebrating my mom's 60th birthday, so nearly every day was packed with an amazing meal, and delicious food was just plopped in front of me every few hours. Luckily, I can go back to the city anytime now that my sister lives there. All that money saved on a hotel can be spent on expensive food! While the rumors of how pricey NYC is are absolutely true, I've gathered some experience this past week that can help you choose wisely if you ever visit. Below are some photos from our trip, along with my favorite foodie finds.

1. Brooklyn Smorgasburg
This seasonal Sunday market in Williamsburg features stalls run by dozens of popular local eateries. You can eat your way through a meal in small, cheap bites with treats like this mini fried chicken biscuit sandwich. 

2. El Centro
I may be a bit biased since this is the restaurant my sister works at, but the tacos here are fantastic! Go for the trio where you get to mix and match: my favorites were the mahi, short rib, and carnitas. Queen Latifah likes it too -  my sister served her here just last week. 

3. The Meatball Shop 
No photos were taken of this meal because I was so hungry and the food was so good that it simply disappeared before I thought of my camera! Get the spicy pork meatballs with parmesan cream sauce over a side of mashed potatoes. For desert, create your own ice cream sandwich. I got the brown sugar ice cream between one polenta cookie and one snickerdoodle cookie. The is probably the best value for your dollar that I had in NY.

4. Carnegie Deli 
My grandparents' traditional after-theater spot is a a diner-style Jewish deli with enormous portions. Make sure you share just about anything on the menu between two people. This is the place to go if you like pastrami. Personally, I'd go for the homemade Matzoh ball soup, pictured below.

5. Blue Ribbon Kitchen
This is another place where I forgot to take photos, but it was great! Order the fried chicken entree and end with the bread pudding. Two choices are available for the bread pudding, chocolate and banana. If you can't choose, they recommend you just ask for half and half! 

6. La Esquina Brasserie
This is a unique place to eat as it's the Mexican version of a speakeasy. On the street, this just looks like a run down taco bar. But if you have reservations (make them exactly 3 weeks in advance), you'll be taken down the stairs, literally through the kitchen, and into a swanky candle-lit basement that serves amazing food. Order the queso and street corn appetizers, as well as the chicken tortilla soup. Warning: portions are quite small for the price, but worth it for the experience.

7. Eataly Italian Market
This is an amazing place just to walk through. It is basically a giant Italian grocery store with three restaurant and a wine bar scattered about. We ate at the "pasta and pizza" restaurant, where I had the BEST caprese salad I have ever had in my entire life. I am pretty sure the mozzarella was made fresh that very morning.

8. ABC Kitchen
This was one of our fancy birthday celebration meals, and wow did the food impress! We had fixed menu for our party of 13, including dishes like pretzel calamari and lobster. My favorite, however, was their signature ice cream sundae dessert. It features salted caramel ice cream topped with popcorn, candied peanuts, chocolate sauce and creme fresh. I would go back and just order dessert.

9. Lincoln Ristorante
This was also a birthday meal in honor of my mom's 60th. This was an extremely impressive meal and everything was just perfect. I had the vegetable salad, fish, and a fantastic hazelnut torte. The venue is fancy as it is attached to the Lincoln Center, where the performing arts take place.

What a great trip!! One last happy birthday shout out to my mom, who will be competing in her THIRD Ironman triathlon in October (which just happens to be the world championship in Kona, Hawaii!)