NY Food Finds- Bartaco

I woke up this morning craving tacos. Like, that severe craving that could only be cured by a fattening visit to your local Taco Bell. My roommates and I decided to switch it up this time and try out a new taco joint near our school. Bartaco (1 Willett Ave., Port Chester, NY 10573) is a relatively new establishment right on the waters edge in Port Chester. As we walked in, there was a certain Hollister-esque decor on the inside, which isn't a bad thing! Lots of woven furniture/lighting elements, pictures depicting the ocean, and some of the seating were benches very close to the ground (which is where we were seated, and that was NOT a good thing; very cramped as a party of five). Our waiter was busy when we got there, so another server came over and explained how Bartaco's ordering system works. You write down in tally marks on small cards on the table, and when you're ready to order you put it on a little stand, the server comes over, and puts in your order. It works well, but takes away from some of the experience of actually having a server. The food came out extremely fast, and that was good, because we were starving.

This is the Large Tray of tacos/guac/tamales/sides.

Bartaco serves a lot of dishes, each of which is a tiny portion, so you should expect to order at least 4 items. They have plenty of Taco options ($2.50 ea/ 3 for $7): Baja Fish, Red Snapper, Thai Shrimp, Tripe, Pork Chili Verde, Pork Cascabel, Tamarind Beef, Tongue, Chicken al Pastor, Spicy Chorizo, Veal, and Portobello with Queso Fresco. They also serve Salads, Tamales, Gorditas, Quesadillas, Soup, Ceviche, Rice Bowls, Rotisserie Chicken, and PLENTY of sides.

We decided to order the Large Tray ($33), which is a chefs assortment of Tacos, Guacamole, Tamales, and various sides. Our tray included 9 Chicken/Pork/Red Snapper Tacos, 2 Chicken Tamales, Guacamole, and for sides the Chipotle Slaw, Spicy Cucumber Salad, and Pickled Carrots, Onions, and Jalapenos. All of the Tacos were good, the Red Snapper was definitely not my favorite though. The Chicken Tamales and the Guac were my very favorite thing that were on the Tray. I haven't had many tamales in my life, so I'm not sure if these are the best ones around town, but the chicken was tender and the masa was perfectly seasoned; they basically melted in your mouth. 

The entrance of Bartaco.

So, Bartaco. The Hollister of restaurants. Would I go back? Probably not. The restaurant was filled with servers and other various employees that seemed to look busy but weren't actually doing anything. It took us 15 minutes to get acknowledged at our table. My drink was great, but it came out after some of the food made it to the table (a BIG no-no in my book). The food, while good, wasn't necessarily worth the money that they charge for the tiny portions.

NY Food Finds- Cafeteria

You know that feeling you get at 4 a.m. as you drunkenly stumble out of a NYC club? Yeah, I'm taking about your tummy rumbling. Cafeteria (119 7th Ave. (between 17th and 18th) New York, NY) is the only place to be to satisfy your late nightlife hunger. Cafeteria, or "Caf" as it is commonly called, is a 24 hour modern diner-style restaurant in Chelsea serving their take on classic American comfort food. If you're there during a normal time (before 12 a.m.), you may run into one of the Housewives (NeNe Leakes was just spotted here last week) or maybe even Mariah Carey, who was known to frequent Cafeteria with hubby Nick Cannon. If you're there for "fourthmeal", you'll most likely run into a NYC gay nightlife personality, drag queen, or club promoter. Now, down to the food.

The inside dining room of Cafeteria. You'll never see it this empty. Ever.

The menu changes at different times during the day. They have an "all day" menu, "dinner", and "overnight". More times than not, I've been there for the overnight menu, although I was there last week for dinner. I tried the Braised Short Rib Tacos ($18) which are served with sweet potato puree, blistered corn relish, apple salsa, and crispy tortilla salad. They were stuffed full of great short ribs, which taste similar to brisket with a fuller flavor and heavier sauce. The sweet potato puree, which lined the bottom of the soft tortilla, added a nice contrasting flavor to the meat. These were good, but if its your first time at Cafeteria, you have to try the best thing on the menu: 

Mac and Cheese.

There are three ways to try the Mac and Cheese at Cafeteria. The first is the classic Cafeteria Macaroni and Cheese ($9), you can choose from Cheddar and Fontina (yum), Smoked Gouda and Bacon (+$1, yummy), or with Truffle Oil (+$3, yumtastic). They are all very good, but the Truffle Oil Mac & Cheese is by far my favorite. If you go in time for the overnight menu, you can try the "Mac Attack" ($15) which is a tasting of all three types, and it truly is one of the best foods for the drunken 4 a.m. munchies. But it's not my favorite item at Cafeteria. That title belongs to the Mac and Cheese Spring Rolls ($11), which is the Cheddar and Fontina Mac and Cheese, wrapped and fried inside of a spring roll, served with a Smoked Gouda dipping sauce. These alone are the reason I go to Caf so often. If it is your first time there, these are a MUST.

Basically, if it's late and you're in Manhattan, go to Cafeteria. It's one of my favorite places to eat.

NY Food Finds- Ember Room

Last night I truly ate one of the best meals I've ever had. Celebrity chef Todd English teamed up with Ian Chalermkittichai (formerly head chef of Kittichai, in SoHo) to open the Hells Kitchen masterpiece Ember Room (647 9th Ave. (between 45th and 46th St.), NY, NY 10036). As our server said to us upon seating, Ember Room blends classic American Barbeque with Asian techniques and ingredients. I must say before I start that I was not able to take any photos of the plates we enjoyed, but trust me, they were plated beautifully. You can check out photos of the dishes on the Ember Room website here. The ambiance is unique, wooden walls cover all sides of you (we were seated upstairs) and a ceiling filled with gilded leaves makes it seem like you're dining within a tree (to me). 

Initially, I waited at the bar and enjoyed one of their signature cocktails, a cucumber and lime concoction made with cucumber vodka and actual cucumbers! After my date arrived, the friendly host showed us to our table.

Ember Room places an emphasis on sharing their plates. I personally love this because it just allows you to try more of the menu. We started off with three "small plates" which were:

Big Slab BBQ Pork Belly ($10)- Maple soy glaze & served with fuji apple celeriac slaw

Thai Pastrami Meat Balls ($11)- Tamarind glaze & served with chinese mustard

Chocolate Baby Back Ribs ($11)- Chocolate glaze. They say "spicy hot", I beg to differ.

I believe the consensus was that EVERYTHING was fantastic, but we must say the Pork Belly was phenomenal. I was unfamiliar with Pork Belly (aside from seeing it cooked on TV) so this dish as an introduction was probably the best it could have been. The Meat Balls were served first (Ember Room serves dishes as they become ready, even entrees) which was a nice start to the meal. The Baby Back Ribs fell right off the bone. They were soft and succulent, with a savory cocoa flavor and fantastic after effect.

For our Entree plates, we chose:

Red Chili Glazed Sea Bass ($24)- celeriac puree, gailan, and red chili paste.

BBQ Short Ribs ($24)- sweet potato puree, ginger, and a citrus crumb.

The sea bass was easily among the best I've ever had. I was unfamiliar with the vegetable "gailan" before my meal as well, the best way to describe it to me is asian asparagus (although it is commonly known as chinese broccoli). The short ribs were soft and delicious, initially very "brisket" but then you realize the dish has a life of its own.

And of course, dessert. Although left stuffed from our meals and appetizers, we heard the desserts from Ember Room were NOT to be missed. I don't have the exact names of the desserts, but one was a "crepe cake" which was basically layer upon layer (probably 12 total) of crepes, lined with whipped filling, cut and served like a pie with lemon sorbet on the side. The other was a bread pudding made with apple and toffee caramel sauce served with a scoop of toffee ice cream. Now, the crepe dessert was very good, BUT the toffee caramel apple bread pudding was, to put it frankly, orgasm inducing. Fantastic.

Another aspect of this restaurant that's great to mention is that it really is a great place to take a first date. A shout-out goes to Eric for choosing to go to Ember Room and turning me on to such great food!!

Recommended!

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NY Food Finds- App Review! Urbanspoon for iOS

Are you consistently confused as to which restaurant you should eat at? Are you as indecisive as me? Well, there's good news. Urbanspoon is an application available on Apple's App Store for FREE and it will help you make the decision on where to find the best eats! My review is going to cover the iPad version of Urbanspoon, but the iPhone version is very similar. In addition, you can find Urbanspoon on Blackberry's App World and the Android Market but you may not experience the exact same screens as I will show you here. Want to know how it works? Read on.

This is the screen you'll see once you've fired up the app.

The beginning Urbanspoon screen shows three columns: the first containing the city the restaurant will be located in, the second being the type of food the restaurant serves, and the last is the price (ranging from $-$$$$). If you want to "lock in" on a specific category, you can simply press the translucent looking lock icon located to the right of the selected category (you can see it in the photo). Urbanspoon uses your device's GPS to locate where you are, and puts the city closest to you as the primary spot in column one. 

After you've "spun the wheels"

Now that you're in the app, you can either shake the iPad or iPhone (similar to the "shuffle" effect when you're in the music app) and the wheels will spin, or you can simply press the "Spin" button under the third column. In my example, I got White Plains, Seafood, and $$$ which led me to Legal Sea Foods (which, by the way, is a fantastic restaurant, albeit a chain). So, lets pretend I'm totally interested in learning more about Legal Sea Foods. Next, I'd press the small blue arrow next to the restaurants name, and this screen will come up:

Here, you can see the percentage rating of how many people like the restaurant (in this case, 76%), the phone number and address, view the menu (not for every restaurant in the app, but in this instance it redirects you to Legal Sea Food's website), view more details about the restaurant, and even some Urbanspoon user reviews. My next step is always to press the "View Details" button, which brings you here:

It's basically Urbanspoon's website on the device you're using. 

In my opinion, its a one-stop-shop for all of the information you could need to know about the restaurant.

My suggestion: Use Urbanspoon to explore food you've never tried! I had no idea there was a Korean restaurant in White Plains before I explored this app! You'll find new restaurants as soon as your download is over! And plus, its free. Find it in the App Store, App World, App Market, whatever smartphone you have... I'm pretty sure there's an Urbanspoon application for it.

NY Food Finds- "The Pub" at the Doral Arrowwood

Hidden in the land beyond the City of White Plains is the Doral Arrowwood hotel and golf course (975 Anderson Hill Road, Rye Brook, NY 10573). I kind of stumbled upon this great bar find by accident. On March 7th, SUNY Purchase experienced a nearly 24 hour blackout caused by the malfunction of the Con Edison power supply system. The only food establishment open on campus was Terra Ve, the all vegetarian eatery. Although I love cheese quesadillas and falafel, I was craving wings and beer (even though it was 4pm). My roommate Joey, a raging alcoholic, suggested that we go to "The Pub" at the Doral Arrowwood, a hotel approximately 3 minutes from campus. I agreed. What could be better?

A very different environment than what is to be found at SUNY Purchase.

As we arrived, I was floored at how nice the ambiance was! A decent size bar, several flat screens, big comfy leather couches, pool, darts, foosball... I could go on and on! Now, lucky for us, it was happy hour. Happy hour lasts from 4pm-6pm on Monday through Friday, and you can really get some good deals. Half price appetizers (36 wings for 9 bucks? Heck yes!), $3 select draft beers, and 2-4-1 well drinks are the specials. And guess what? Everything was delicious.

The wings were way better than anything you'd find at Buffalo Wild Wings,

not to mention cheaper.

Normally, the wings at The Pub would run $8.50 for 12, $13.50 for 24, or $18.00 for 36, but during happy hour, they're all half price. You can choose from a bunch of different sauces too, including: Mild, Medium, Hot, Extreme, Teriyaki, Barbecue, Sweet Chili Garlic, Bourbon Brown Sugar, Asian Sesame Garlic, Jamaican Jerk, Lemon Pepper, and Parmesan Garlic. And even better, you can order any flavor in quantities of 6, thus, if you order 36 wings, you can try six different sauces. In the photo, going counterclockwise starting from the vegetables, you can see the Bourbon Brown Sugar, Asian Sesame Garlic, and the Hot wings. To be honest, the Bourbon Brown Sugar were relatively sweet for my palate and I probably wouldn't order them again. The Asian Sesame Garlic were absolutely delicious. Perhaps the best wing sauce I've had. The Hot wings were just that: Hot wings, perfectly done.

After sharing all those wings, we decided to get more food.. No Power, No Rules!

In the photo above, you'll see the Chipotle Chicken Quesadilla ($11.00 / $5.50 during Happy Hour). It's served with Sour Cream, Salsa, Pico De Gallo and Lettuce. The flavor of the chicken was on point with what you'd expect by the dishes name. Not the best quesadilla I've ever eaten, but it is a must-have on every bar menu.

I didn't actually eat these, but the presentation was so nice!

The above photo is are the Sliders ($11.50 / $5.75 during Happy Hour). The trio of miniature beef burgers are adorned individually with Cheddar, Swiss, and Blue Cheese and served with a side of French Fries. 

As college students, we love our beer.

I dislike Guinness beer, but my roommate Joey, the raging alcoholic, loves this drink. Its called a "Black and Blue" and consists of Franziskaner, a German wheat beer layered below tap Guinness. I drank the Franziskaner all day, and I must say, it is truly one of my new favorite beers. I'm no brewmeister but I'd say this beer is closest compared to Blue Moon or Hoegaarden. PLUS, it's $3 during Happy Hour.

Check out the cool fish inside the tank at the entrance!

Another thing to note about The Pub is how to actually get inside. After you park your car, you enter the main entrance to the hotel. Walk inside, swing left, go down the stairs, walk to the right and then you'll see the entrance to The Pub. If you get lost, ask someone! I'd like to thank Con Edison for messing up the power supply to SUNY Purchase, without your mistakes, I wouldn't have been able to find the BEST happy hour around!

Check out the menu here.

Recommended!!

NY Food Finds- Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza

Pizza is truly the staple food of New York City. If I were to review every good pizza place in the city, it would take me years if not decades to complete. Thankfully, thirty minutes north of Manhattan, we find Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza (264 Main St., White Plains, NY 10601) which puts an 'old world' spin on pizza that I had never experienced before! Clearly, as the name points out, Anthony's uses a coal fired oven to bake their pizzas. This oven, which cooks at nearly 800 degrees, provides the classic Anthony's flavor profile which they describe as "well done" (in fact, there are signs throughout the establishment that point this out as well).

The ambiance inside Anthony's screams "pizza joint", but a totally nice one!

Now, down to the good stuff. The menu is not extensive, which is incredibly good for an indecisive person like myself. There are nine specialty pies ($16.25-$19.25), two salads ($6.75-$9.25), two sandwiches ($8.25), four different share-size portions of italian soul food ($9.95-$16.50), and the one dessert any restaurant really needs: Cheesecake ($4.75). For me, it was all about the pizza. I have a friend that works at Anthony's and she has been begging me to come in and try their Philly Cheesesteak Specialty Pie ($19.25 for a large).
Side Note: You cannot order individual slices at Anthony's.

Growing up in NY, I'm used to the "upscale pizzeria" table setting.

I must say, although the setting is familiar to me, the pizza is not. The tastes and textures of the pie that are produced by the coal burning oven are incredibly unique. The bottom crust is harder and crunchier than you're probably used to, and maybe even slightly blackened in some parts, but it tastes amazing. Also, the meat used on this particular pie is well seasoned for use on pizza, and the onions were also cooked perfectly.

 I really didn't eat it before I took the picture this time. The waiter immediately served us two slices.

So, is the experience worth it? YES. Try a different kind of pizza place! Especially in White Plains, a city that doesn't really have a staple you-gotta-eat-at-this-place pizza joint (in my humble opinion). Also, if you go on a Wednesday, they have "Meatballs and Martinis" where from 5pm-closing you can enjoy $5 Martinis at the bar, along with food tastings until 7:30.

Recommended!!