I read a few Yelp reviews and arrived with some excitement to try a cuisine which I haven’t eaten much of in the past. They had a “restaurant month” special which added to my anticipation since $35 would get you a 4 course meal! My friend opted for the same deal with a glass of wine. I went for the Carlsbad Beer on draft which was quite good. You have a few options in your courses, so I tried to stick with what I remembered others praising.

First course for both of us was the pickled herring. Though you only get one, this was a tasty dish with some sweetness to it and a creamy sauce.

Second course my friend had the soup of the day which was some sort of lentil soup. I had the Aquavit Cured Gravlaks & Mustard Sauce which you could sum up as being similar to smoked salmon. The lentil soup tasted fine, but I don’t think it tasted familiar in a way that Progresso Lentil Soup tasted. Smoked salmon was quite good though nothing too surprising about it. Buy some smoked salmon in the supermarket, and voila!

Third course my friend had the Swedish Meatballs while I opted for the Cloudberry Duck which is a duck served with braised red cabbage, carrot ginger mash, and cloudberry reduction. The Swedish Meatballs definitely reminded us of Ikea Swedish meatballs which is kind of sad. They’re definitely still tasty, but at that price, they should be more than just tasty and reminiscent of Ikea. I felt like putting together some furniture after eating that. The Cloudberry Duck on the other hand was quite good! I am a big fan of duck, and I thought this preparation was the highlight of the evening.

For the fourth course, my friend had the all-too-well-known molten chocolate cake which is exactly how it sounds. Very tasty and very standard. I opted to be adventurous and tried the Scandinavian Soft Vanilla Waffles which were underwhelming. Just take an Eggo waffle, don’t toast it crispy but instead let it heat up and remain soft, and finally throw some syrup, cream, sugar, and strawberries on top. It didn’t taste bad or anything, but nothing too special.

All in including drinks, tax, and tip (20%), I had a $58 meal! Definitely not my most expensive meal (hats off to Per Se for those honors), but I was too underwhelmed to want to spend that much on a meal which I feel like I can create myself…buy using off-the-shelf products! Okay, so I probably can’t do the herring too well nor the duck. The rest though, is within reach.

The nice thing is they gave a coupon in the end to provide a 15% coupon if you fill in a feedback form online. I must say the waitstaff was courteous and pleasant so bravo on that. Please work on some new recipes though or improvements. There may very well be other amazing dishes we didn’t try, so if you’re feeling adventurous, give it a shot, but definitely order the duck and feel free to deviate from all other items above

Smorgas Chef West Village
283 W 12th St (between 4th St & 8th Ave)
New York, NY 10014
(212) 243-7073
www.smorgaschef.com

This was all due to the Midtown Lunch Sandwich Challenge which she obviously won. Originally it was only to last for the month of February, but it now has been extended to a Thursday special.

What’s in this sandwich? Take a grilled baguette with hoisin sauce, add pickled cucumber, add pickled radish, add cilantro, add duck breast marinated in soy sauce and citrus. The result? It’s quite delicious, and they are quite generous with the duck which was a pleasant surprise. They also add some sort of hot sauce for a nice kick. For $9.74, I say I would consider getting it again. It’s definitely not the cheapest lunch in the area, but I’m satisfied.

For other amazing sandwiches, check out Cer-Te:
Cer Te
20 West 55th Street
New York, NY 10019
(212)-397-2020

After a little bit of shopping at a sample sale for James Perse, I headed over to satisfy a chocolate craving by treating myself to some Wicked Hot Chocolate.

For these fancier hot chocolates, it really depends on your preferences. If you like the watery Swiss Miss type hot chocolate, this is not for you. If you like the super sludgy ones that other fancy places sometimes provide, this isn’t for you. You’re not getting a melted chocolate bar. On the other hand if you are looking for something that is a balance of both, this is for you. I can’t say I have tried all the hot chocolate places in the city, but this one has been the best so far. The “wicked” part is the fact they add some spiciness to it. Spicy chocolate is good stuff if you’ve never had it.

Though I wanted to stop there, the need to charge up the minimum dollar amount to use my credit card led me to purchase a bag of chocolate almonds and at $6 for a small bag, there was no difficulty hitting it. Almonds are excellent as well though painfully expensive. Thus is the cost of good food!

Come check it out here:
Jacques Torres Chocolate
Chelsea Market
425 West 15th Street
New York, NY 10011
(212) 229-2414
Web Site

We are a fickle bunch of consumers, huh? Had you asked me at a certain point, I would have stated that the best burger in NYC is Shake Shack’s Shack Stack burger. Now if you ask me, I don’t think I’d say so.

First, we need to categorize burgers as you can’t really compare the $5 burger to the $45 one, now can you? Though, I guess people do try. Even in the mid-priced range of $8-$15 for a burger, I’d make another choice, but that’s for another review.

So Shake Shack has a few locations but the ones in Manhattan today are in Madison Square Park (go to 23rd Street and Madison Ave corner of park to find it) and one in the Upper West Side (366 Columbus Ave between 77th and 78th Street). I went to the original on Madison Square Park which is the original shack.

On a cold day on February 1 is when I went to grab a lunch old office before it moved to mid-town. One negative about Shake Shack with all things popular in New York: the wait. Fortunately a cold Monday was a deterrent, but let me tell you, it isn’t always!

I wasn’t going to hold back. Shack Stack (cheeseburger with a fried portobello mushroom), fries, and a shake. Shack Stack is just amazingly decadent especially with the fried portobello mushroom which is also engulfed in cheese. Really quite tasty. Consistency at restaurants can be tough and though prior times I wasn’t impressed with the fries, this time they were quite good. The shake was good as usual. Nothing particularly mind-blowing but solid. It’s the flavors of the day that make it more interesting.

And the grand total…$16.75! Now that’s quite a pricey lunch for fast food…though you can’t really call it fast when it takes a long time to get food with a long wait that’s typically there. With a long wait and those prices, I’m not apt to go often.

If you’re from out of town though, you may want to give it a shot for the experience, and like I said, the burger is quite good. For you locals, I don’t know if you’re with me, but this is not a place I will frequent too often. When in doubt, check out the Shack Cam on their web site to see the line at Madison Square Park. I’m looking at it now. Looks like 45 minutes to me! Try another day!

For more info:
Shake Shack
Madison Square Park
E 23rd St & Madison Ave
New York, NY 10010
(212) 889-6600
http://www.shakeshacknyc.com/

I apologize for the prolonged absence here, but we are looking to make this site more useful in 2010. Let’s get some more restaurant reviews, outing tips, and other content for you. To begin, let’s talk food!

So, we went on a recent East Village eating trek which included stops at Caracas Arepa Bar, Crif Dogs, and finally Momofuku Milk Bar.

The first stop was a Caracas Arepa Bar which serves South American cuisine and are mainly known for their…surprise, surprise, Arepas! They have a few other locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn, but this one tends to draw the crowds. They have both a sit-down restaurant as well as a “to-go” place which also has a few seats.

If you’re in a hurry or hungry, you can get the arepas at the to-go section and find a seat in the small area or wait outside on a nice day. For those fortunate enough to live in the area, you can even get delivery. I haven’t yet had the sit-down menu, but there are more items there to eat.

On this particular occasion, I indulged on the La Surena Arepa – grilled chicken and chorizo, with avocado slices, and the classic and always enigmatic spicy chimi-churri sauce. This was a delicious combo, although I didn’t find the sauce to be spicy at all when I ate it. The arepas are quite small for those with appetites so expect to pay more if you’re looking to get full. My arepa including tax came out to $7.89.

So, if you’re in the area, come and check it out as it’s worthwhile, although I personally wouldn’t sit around for a long wait to try it as there are other spots in the area more worthy of a wait in my opinion. Of course, the to-go section is always a great option.

For more info:
Caracas Arepa Bar
212.529.2314
212.228.5062
93 1/2 E 7th St. (btw Ave A and 1st Ave)
NY, NY 10009
http://www.caracasarepabar.com

From desserts to coffee to pizza, there is a big variety.

Check out the list here: Food Truck