American
Cafeteria in Chelsea
On Christmas Day recently, my sisters and I lunched at Cafeteria in Chelsea. Our friends only had to rave to us about the delectable macaroni and cheese, and we were already calling to make reservations. Upon arrival, we weren’t extremely impressed with the façade (I think they’re in the midst of some construction) but the interior décor was simple and elegant. We were seated promptly upon arrival by the friendly staff.
We pored over the menu, debating between breakfast entrees or sumptuous salads. As tempted as we were by the lemon ricotta pancakes, we finally settled on the crispy calamari salad, which was a tossing of frisee, roasted peppers,
calamari (obviously), green beans, toasted peanuts, all dressed with honey sesame vinaigrette. Along with the salad, we ordered the restaurant’s signature “Mac Attack,” which is a tasting of all three types of their gourmet mac & cheese (1) cheddar and fontina, 2) smoked gouda, and 2) truffle oil). For dessert, we indulged ourselves by ordering deep fried Oreos, which are served with espresso chip ice cream and a coffee shake shot.
Crispy Calamari salad
Brunch at Peels in the East Village
Apparently Hamid carries around hard boiled eggs with him in the morning
SO after multiple failed attempts, Hamid and I finally made it to Peels, one of his favorite spots for brunch. Every time we’ve tried to go there before on the weekend, it ends up being kind of a wait and we give up. But this was a Friday morning and after our workout, we went straight over and were seated right away. The place itself is so cute and I found out later that its owned by the same people who run Freemans, another slightly hidden alley restaurant in the LES (I personally think their dinner trumps their brunch their though!!).
A peek inside
Cute condiments
This would sort of explain the restaurant’s country-style home aesthetic, though this place is a little more roomy with two levels of seating areas. They pretty much serve traditional American and comfort foods, but I tried to be “good” so I ordered their spa eggs (egg white omelette, sautéed spinach, onions, goat cheese). Hamid could afford to eat a little richer since he’s practically always at the gym as a trainer so he got the fried chicken sandwich (not fair, but I was strong).
Spa eggs, $11
Fried chicken sandwich, $12
Brunch at Phebe’s Tavern & Grill – East Village
I’ve been on a working out binge lately (mostly to counteract all the steak I ate in Buenos Aires) and thankfully my friend Hamid, a fitness expert, is helping me by training me once a week. Last week, we met at a gym downtown and after I felt like I did 5,000 squats we rushed out to grab some food. Originally, we wanted to go to Peels but the wait was long as expected (it was a Sunday after all). Since he had another client in less than an hour, we decided to just go with whatever was fastest, and that happened to be Phebe’s Tavern & Grill. Probably not the best of ideas.
Breakfast burrito
The hostess may have just broke up with her boyfriend or something — she was not really in a smiling mood at all. We sat down and quickly ordered scrambled breakfast egg burritos. A football game was on and everyone was all decked out in their Bengals gear (I found out later that Phebe’s is like Bengals mecca in NYC). Their cheering was more like roars that made it quickly clear that if you weren’t going to be watching a game here, you probably shouldn’t eat here.
We asked if they could put a rush in the order, and I don’t know if it’s because we were in a hurry, but it felt like an eternity. All was forgiven (we thought) once our food came out. Our plate was practically overflowing with seasoned homefries, guacamole, salsa, and fruits. While the sides were great, it didn’t take us long to find the eggs to be disappointing.
Eggs
Grahamwich in River North, Chicago
By Summar Ghias
A meal at Grahamwich
When the gourmet sandwich shop Grahamwich opened last year, buzz abound. Celeb chef Graham Elliot’s judge spot on the Fox show Masterchef and recent stint as Lollapalooza culinary curator had Chicago foodies chomping at the bit. Reviews on his new establishment, however, were conflicting; Time Out Chicago (my usual go-to magazine) was less than impressed. Having heard from my gourmand older brother that it was worth a try, I figured it time to go see for myself.
Housed in Chicago landmark, Tree Studios, a former artist colony established in 1894, Elliot has set out to ‘redefine what a sandwich shop should and could be’. While I’m not quite sure it does all that, it’s definitely a good alternative to Potbelly and Quiznos if you’re ever in the mood for fancy.
Grahamwich tuna sandwich
A cultural and culinary tour of NYC with Mercedes-Benz and AmEx
Mercedes-Benz x American Express
American Express and Mercedes-Benz recently launched two new cards — their Mercedes-Benz credit card and the Platinum Card where users can accumulate points every time they use it at restaurants, gas stations AND gain access to invite-only experiences to private events. To celebrate and (quite literally) give us a taste of what they have to offer, AmEx and Mercedes-Benz invited me and a few other bloggers for a “Progressive Night Downtown.” First stop, the Mercedes-Benz dealership in midtown!
Our rides have arrived
Fig & Olive in Midtown East
By Munia Islam
Fig & Olive in midtown
It was one of my dear friend’s birthdays and it was her first time celebrating it in the U.S., so we needed a perfect New York City restaurant to start the night. Since most of the guests were vegetarian (just two of us are meat-eaters), we had to pick a place that had enough vegetarian options to make this a special dinner for the birthday girl! It was Saturday night and a packed crowd filled Fifth Avenue, but we planned ahead and made reservation at Fig & Olive, which fit the bill.
The ambiance of the restaurant was very romantic, but the gorgeous bottles of olive oils lining the walls of the restaurant were just divine and truly lit up the place. For starters, we started with the Cheese Assortment, including fromage de chevre (goat), gorgonzola dolce (cow), Robiola (cow/sheep), manchego (sheep), rocchetta (cow, sheep, goat), with an addition treat of sweet additions of Fig & Olive Walnut Tapenade, as well as Marcona Almond. My favorites were definitely the goat cheese—you can never go wrong with goat cheese, I say—and the tapenade, which allowed for a sweet and savory combination, all just in the first appetizer.
Chicken samosa
