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

 

Taller De Tapas – Barcelona, Spain

So during my trip to Barcelona I enjoyed tapas, pastries, sandwiches, churros, and even a hot dog. The one thing I had yet to enjoy was Paella. I could not leave this beautiful city without having some. Taller De Tapas off of La Rambles looked like the perfect place to get paella.

The restaurant was much larger inside compared to some of the other restaurants I had been to. The staff was extremely friendly and very welcoming. Before ordering any drinks I made sure to put in my order for seafood paella because it takes 20 minutes to prepare.

    

Once I got that ordered I glanced over the drink menu. I was excited to finally see Cava Sangria listed. Cava is Catalonian champagne (sparkling wine). I ordered 1 Liter (a pitcher) because I knew it would be at the restaurant for a while.

They had a nice assortment of fresh fruit that included strawberries, pineapples, and sour apples. The Cava was blended with gin, ginger, and apple liquor. This was not super sweet but still had a slight sweetness. I really liked the bubbles, it made the drink even more refreshing. And the gin was hidden nicely within all the other flavors.

While waiting for the paella, I ordered a few tapas. The Brie Cruixent sounded really good. The brie was covered in panko breadcrumbs and fried. They served it with a red pepper jam. This was simply a high end fried cheese. It was an ooey-gooey cheese that tasted great with the jam. There was a slight heat and a whole lot of sweetness.

The three tapas that came out were actually warmed up. That made them taste so much better.

  • Matrimoni d’ Anyova i Seito – This was anchovies and cheese on top of sliced tomato. It all rested on top of a sliced banquette. It was kind of like a piece of pizza, just without the sauce.

    

  • Esparrecs Baby, Formatge Brie, Fos i Piquillos – This was asparagus wrapped in red pepper with brie cheese. This was perfect warmed up because it melted the cheese perfectly.

    

  • Formatge Fresc amb Salmo Marinat i Tortora de Mongo – The salmon was wrapped around fresco cheese and topped with a cherry tomato. The salmon was extremely fresh and tender. It went well with cheese.

    

It was perfect timing when the paella came out. I was just finishing the tapas. It was a pretty big pan. Good thing I was sharing.

The rice was mixed with cuttlefish (which was local), squid, prawns, and mussels.

The shrimp still had their heads and shells. After peeling all that off I got to taste the shrimp. It had great flavor from the seasoning in the paella. The muscles were extremely tender. They were pretty easy to get out of the shells. The cuttlefish was cut up into bite size pieces. It really reminded me of chicken. The rice was cooked perfectly – not too soft nor hard; it was the prefect al dente.

I actually left Taller de Tapas stuffed. The food was amazing, a perfect way to end my trip. This was a great place for people to enjoy a more traditional meal. I would recommend a visit for sure.

http://www.tallerdetapas.com/

Enjoy!

T

Forn de Sant Jaume – Barcelona, Spain

One of the things I enjoyed doing in Barcelona was having coffee and dessert in the evening. The great part about these desserts is they were bite size just like the tapas. The sweets in the window of Forn de Sant Jaume were calling me.

   

They had so many things to choose from. It was hard to pick.

    

    

I got the cream puffs because I love those things. The pastry was filled with a sweet whipped cream. It reminded me of the éclair I had enjoyed earlier in my trip.

The Bulgar De Xocolata was a rolled yellow cake with a chocolate ganache inside. Then they dipped the whole thing in chocolate to create a shell. The cake was very moist and the chocolate was extremely rich.

Finally I got pieces of chocolate. It looked like a little cupcake. This was actually a chocolate truffle that was sitting on top of creamy caramel and then dipped in a chocolate shell. This was a very, very, very rich piece of chocolate, plus it was extremely sweet. It was good but almost too much. I needed something salty to balance everything out.

If you have a sweet tooth, this is definitely the place for you.

www.facebook.com/forndesantjaume.com

Enjoy!

T

Café Saula – Barcelona, Spain

Sundays in Barcelona is considered a family day. I witnessed this first hand. Families were together all over the city. Whether they were playing on a playground or having a picnic at the park, it was quality time spent together. It was wonderful to see.

Another big family activity was eating. Everyone seemed to be out eating because restaurants were packed. I headed back over to the Sant Antoni area of town to see if I could try another restaurant that I saw the previous night.

To my luck there was a table open at Café Saula.

They had a bar full of tapas. There were several different kinds that I had not seen at other restaurants I had visited.

    

While I contemplated which tapas to try, I ordered a sangria (surprise, surprise). It can be ordered either by the glass or the pitcher. Since it was still early in the day I decided to just get a glass. This one was sweet and just like the others I have enjoyed.

Like the other tapas places, they did the toothpick in the glass as a way to count how much you have eaten. I love this honors system.

I got four tapas on my first plate.

  1. Sausage with aioli and crunchy onion straws – The sausage flavor was great and the crunchy onions were a nice addition. The downside was that it was cold. It would have tasted better if it was hot.
  2. Crab Claw – Now this was breaded and fried; it looked exactly like a stuffed crab claw, however, it was not crab at all. It was some sort of seafood that had the texture of a scallop. It tasted pretty good but I was bummed that it was not crabmeat.
  3. Fried Shrimp – This shrimp was huge. It had a great tempura like breading on it. It was very crispy.
  4. Italian Tapas – I called it this because there were four Italian meats on top of a slice of bread. It had a slice of salami, capicola, prosciutto, and pepperoni. It was accented with a tomato slice and a green olive. This was basically an Italian sandwich.

I went up one more time to try three more tapas.

  1. Bomba – This was a meat and potato croquette. The meat was in the center and covered in potato. This was the first croquette that did not have cheese mixed in. The taste was great, just not as creamy.
  2. Ham & Cheese Croquette – The ham was chopped up and blended with cheese and potato. This was extremely creamy.
  3. Spring Roll – This was a vegetable roll that was drizzled with sweet and sour sauce. The wrapper was nice and crispy.

I was glad I got to try a different place for tapas, which offered a different variety of choices. This whole area of Sant Antoni is a fun area. I highly recommend everyone check it out.

Enjoy!

T

Bitte! Wurst – Barcelona, Spain

It is amazing to me how much I have been eating on this trip to Barcelona. But this is a very different type of eating compared to what happens in the states. In the US portion sizes at restaurants are usually huge. This is not the case in Barcelona. Everywhere I have been so far the food has been served in small bites (like all the tapas) or the portion of food has just been smaller.

So here I am again about to get something else to eat, even though I had a few tapas just a few hours before. This time I wanted to try a frankfurter or bratwurst from Bitte! Wurst.

I passed this place a few times as I walked around. Every time I walked by I noticed how busy they were. As soon as I walked in I was greeted. I felt so welcomed.

    

Naturally they had sangria on the menu. I could not pass that up. This one was a little dryer than others I have had so far. They made sure to include a lot of fruit, which I enjoyed.

They had so many different frankfurters and bratwursts to choose from. You can even get a pack to go.

I went with a simple Frankfurt America. It was the frank with bacon, onions, and gruyere cheese. It also included mayo but I had them not add that. I am not a fan of mayo on a hot dog.

The frank had a great salty taste and there was a slight crunch from the casing as I took a bite. The bacon was not crispy which was a disappointment. It was more like a slice of ham. The onions were sautéed to a perfect caramelization and added sweetness to the salty frank.

This was a great place to get a quick bite. You could easily get the frank to go and eat it while walking around the Gothic Quarter. I never expected to enjoy a hot dog and sangria in Barcelona.

http://www.grupnolla.com/bitte-wurst/bitte-wurst-s66.html

Enjoy!

T

La Tiza – Barcelona, Spain

There is an area of Barcelona called Sant Antoni. This is an area where locals hang out and is filled with bars and tapas restaurants. I decided I needed to check this area out. Based on what I was told this area does not get hopping until at least 9:00pm.

As I walked up and down the main road, I noticed that every place was packed. These are not big restaurants inside so they fill up quickly. After walking up and down a few times, a small table for two opened up at La Tiza. I knew this was a sign that this was where I needed to try.

I started off by ordering a classic mojito. I had read that mojitos are another beverage that are famous in Spain.

This mojito was the best one I have ever had. It tasted so fresh. It was not overly sweet with that syrupy texture like the ones in the states. This was smooth. They used rum, lime, mint, soda, brown sugar, and angostura (an aromatic bitter bark).

This place was really popular. At times there was hardly any room to move around or get up to the tapas bar.

    

This was the first place I got to experience true tapas. It took some getting used to. All the tapas are on platters with toothpicks in them. There were two different kinds of toothpicks that determined the price.

These serving platters lined a tiny bar (there were people actually sitting there too). You just grab a plate and help yourself.

I simply had to put the used toothpicks in the shot glass that was on the table. Then when I was ready to tab out, the server just counted up the sticks to know what to charge me. To me it was a true honors system and it was amazing.

I tried several different tapas:

  • Spring roll – This was a classic veggie spring roll like you would get at a Chinese restaurant. There was a great sweet and sour sauce drizzled on top.
  • Ham & Cheese Roll – This was great. It was like a ham and cheese sandwich rolled up, breaded, and deep fried.

  • Asparagus Wrap – This asparagus was wrapped with cucumber and drizzled with a creamy tomato sauce. This had great flavor. It was also nice to have a tapas that was not fried.

 

  • Empanada – This one was filled with tuna. This was just ok. The tuna was what you get out of a can, not fresh tuna. It had that classic can tuna taste. I would have preferred a beef filling.
  • Meringue Tart – I assumed this was a dessert when I picked it up. Turns out I was correct, this was a mini lemon meringue pie. The lemon filling had a great tartness to it. I ended up getting up for a few more. They were the perfect bite size dessert.

This was a fun place that had a great vibe. I really got to experience Barcelona night life here. Everyone should check this area out.

www.latizabcn.com

Enjoy!

T