Shake Shack Upper East Side

The newest branch of the popular Shake Shack is on NYC's Upper East Side at 152 East 86th Street.

I had a Shackburger (with american cheese, lettuce, tomato and shacksauce) for $4.75, small fries for $2.75 and the Pineapple Upper East Side Cake Concrete (with vanilla custard, fresh pineapple, shortbread, caramel, maraschino cherries) for $6.25.

The food is just as good as at the original Shake Shack location.

Ralph Lauren Women

...the new store opened last on NYC's Upper East Side at 72nd Street and Madison Avenue.

To say it is a mecca of all things Ralph is an understatement. I felt like I was on the set for Equestrian Today or Hamptons Magazine.

Asia Society

The Garden Court Cafe is a NYC Upper East Side hidden gem inside the Asia Society located at 725 Park Avenue.

"J" had the omelete

"R" had tandoori chicken with Jasmine Rice.

I had two appetizers: Green apple and Thai curry crabcake with apple fennel salad and cilantro aioli ($11) and curried deviled eggs ($8).

And we all had the Mango Tamarind Iced Tea of the Day.

We shared 2 desserts: toasted Lemon pound cake with ice cream and Warm Chocolate Banana Bread Pudding with vanilla Ice cream.

Sojourn

Sojourn is located at 244 East 79th Street.

"J" and "R" discovered this NYC Upper East Side restaurant and introduced it to me as their new favorite restaurant. And after just one meal I can understand why.

It's a combination wine bar and bistro. The interior is warm and cozy with decoupage nudes on the walls.

We had the Chef's tasting menu 6 courses for $60 and it was well worth it.

Courses 1 & 2, 4 & 5 are served side by side:

- Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with brussel sprout leaves, thinly sliced pears, toasted walnuts, goat cheese and champagne vinagrette

(I've never had brussel sprout leaves and these were tender like baby lettuce)

- Curried Butternut Squash Soup with toasted pumpkin seeds, creme fraiche and chives

(a little hint of curry balanced out the sweetness of the butternut)

- Scallop and Salmon carpaccio with jicama salad
(paper thin slices of scallop and salmon with a light soy dressing)

- Ricotta & Swiss Chard Ravioli with parmigiano and truffle butter

(deliciously buttery ravioli)

- Black Pasta - homemade linguini with lobster arrabiatta

(tender chunks of sweet lobster)

- Grilled Lamb Chops with lemon & oregano potatoes and herb vinagrette

(I love lamb chops so this was a nice "meat" course to the 3 seafood dishes; served medium rare)

And then they gave us dessert! Ricotta cheesecake with graham cracker crust and blueberry compote (denser than other ricotta cheesecake with plump blueberries).

Everything was delicious and we were quite full afterwards. The other patrons seem quite happy with their meals.

This restuarant is definitely worth a return visit.