Month: June 2018

Mom’s Kitchen & Bar – New York, NY

There was a fun, hipster restaurant that I ate at in New York that served classic comfort food. Mom’s Kitchen and Bar has a retro diner feel. Instead of a juke box, the music symbols and band names are all over the menu.

They offered a fun selection of cocktails with equally fun names. I did not even know you could still get Bartles and Jaymes wine coolers. If you are craving one of those 80’s treats then Mom’s is the place for you.

Since I was there with a friend, we went for the “Big Ass Cocktails” that they offered in 32oz. pitchers. They were only $16 which is an amazing deal for New York City! We ordered the Dirty Shirley. I loved Shirley Temples as a kid. So I could not wait to try the adult version.

It was a playful presentation with bendy straws and a rubber duck.  The drink had that great grenadine taste. They used a generous amount of vodka, which made it pretty strong.

The menu was full of homemade comfort foods. I went for the crispy chicken and gravy, which came with two sides.

The serving size was huge. I got two large chicken breasts that had been marinated in buttermilk. They were tossed in a breading that was loaded with their house secret seasonings. The outside coating was extremely crispy. That crust helped seal on the juiciness of the chicken.

They served a side of peppercorn gravy with the chicken. I dipped a few pieces of chicken in the gravy and it added a whole new level of flavor to the chicken. The gravy reminded me a little of the gravy that comes with chicken fried steak.

I got the homemade mac and cheese as one of my sides. The cheese on top created a nice crispy layer. Past the top layer was the creamy macaroni. It was cheesy, salty goodness.

The other side I got was the Brussels sprouts. Unfortunately these were just steamed, so they were kind of mushy. They would have been better if they were fried or sautéed in a little garlic.

Mom’s Kitchen and Bar  was a fun, unexpected find in New York City. I will be going back because I want to try one of their adult soda floats. Check out their menu at www.momsmidtown.com

Enjoy!

T

Pio Pio – New York, NY

I was visiting a friend in New York and she wanted to take me to a great restaurant she found in her neighborhood. It is a Peruvian restaurant called Pio Pio. I had never had Peruvian food so I was excited to get to experience it.

Like all New York restaurants it was fairly small inside but luckily we were able to get a table. The smell of food filled the air.

     

What perfect way to enjoy dinner with friends than with a pitcher of sangria. They offered both red and white options. We went for the red. It was semi-sweet. All the fruit was chopped up into bite size pieces.

There were several items on the menu that sounded delicious. It was a hard choice but I went with the Salmon Guajillo.

This was a large piece of salmon that was baked in a guajillo chili and chardonnay sauce. The skin on the salmon was extremely crispy. I loved the crunch. It had a great salty taste. The fish was super flakey which made a few of the bites difficult to eat because I could not get the salmon on my fork. The chili-wine sauce was amazing. It was a savory sauce.  The salmon came on top of mashed potatoes and steamed spinach. The potatoes were nice and creamy and tasted great with the extra chili-wine sauce.

My friends I was dining with let me try the dishes they ordered. They knew I would want to write about them. The one dish was the Ceviche de Conchas. These were scallops in a cream sauce. The scallops were very tender. The cream sauce paired so well with fresh scallops. The sauce helped make this simple dish filling.

The other dish was the Pollo a la Brasa. This was a rotisserie chicken that Pio Pio is actually known for. You can order it as a small piece for yourself or as a whole chicken to share family style. The chicken had a great savory herb flavor. The meat was extremely juicy.

It was dessert time. We decided to get something that we could all share. We went for the Tartufo.  This was a blend of vanilla and chocolate gelato. It had a cherry and almond center. Then the whole thing was coated in a chocolate shell. Luckily for us they cut up this dessert into four pieces. It made it much easier for each of us to take a bite.

The gelato was creamy and smooth. The combination of vanilla and chocolate was a classic pairing. The cherry center mixed with the chocolate shell and gelato to recreate the taste of a chocolate covered cherry. This dessert melted fast, so you have to eat it quickly.

I had a wonderful meal at Pio Pio. I am glad I got to experience Peruvian food. Plus I had amazing company. If you are visiting New York and want to get away from the tourist areas, head to Pio Pio. Check out their menu at www.piopio.com

Enjoy!

T

 

Beerhaus – Las Vegas, NV

Las Vegas is always evolving and changing. One of the newest additions to the strip is The Park. This new area of bars and restaurants is nestled in between New York, New York and the Monte Carlo (which is actually closed down). This area is also not far from the new hockey arena.

One of the restaurants/bars in this area is Beerhaus. It is a fun place inside with lots of tables for folks to sit at and play a variety of board games that are available. When I arrived they had just started happy hour. They offered several of their beers on special as well a nice offering of $4 munchies.

Since I am not that into beer I ordered some creative cocktails. The Mai Tai on Draft had the most unusual name and sounded delicious. It was a combination of Captain Morgan white rum, orgeat, pineapple juice, and topped off with a floater of Captain Morgan spiced rum.

To start with I needed to find out what is orgeat – it’s a sweet syrup made from almonds, sugar, and orange flower water. With this ingredient the drink had an abundant orange taste. The pineapple juice was not that noticeable. The rums helped make the drink have a tropical feel.

I ordered a couple of the happy hour munchies since they were such a great price. The deviled eggs were perfect to start with. I am starting to see these on more and more menus. These were simple, classic deviled eggs. Nothing fancy, no special ingredients, just a simple creamy filling just like my grandmother would make at Easter.

There were bacon wrapped dates that sounded very fancy, especially for a beer joint. These sweet dates were stuffed with cheese and then wrapped in bacon. The bacon was super crispy. The bacon was perfect; if it had not been as crispy it would have made the date chewier. The saltiness and crunch of the bacon complemented the soft sweet date. Then the tanginess of the cheese set in. The three flavors all rolled up perfectly on my taste buds.

I did try another cocktail, the strawberry mojito. They made it with Bacardi Silver, fresh lime, strawberries, mint, and a splash of soda. The strawberry flavor really shined through. They included many slices of fresh sweet strawberries. There was only a slight hint of mint.

The next munchies that came out were the French fries with beer cheese. The fries were thick and extra crispy. I really liked them on their own, However, after dipping them in the creamy cheese I was in heaven. I really liked the fact that I could dip the fries in the cheese rather than having the cheese drizzled all over. This kept the fries crispy through each bite. They were perfect for sharing too.

The last of the munchies that came out was the bacon cheddar potato skin. This was not your typical potato skin. This was half of a jumbo potato. There was no way I could eat this without a fork or knife. It was a lot of potato. The bacon was nice and crispy and the cheese added the necessary saltiness. But after cutting it up there were a few pieces of potato that had no toppings. Luckily I had a little beer cheese left over from the fries. I poured that on top of those potato pieces. So as a pointer, I would suggest ordering a side of beer cheese.

The Beerhaus was a fun placed to hang out. I would definitely go back to try something else on their menu, perhaps a burger or a hot dog. Check them out at www.theparkvegas.com

Enjoy!

T