The Harrison

...is located in NYC's Tribeca at 355 Greenwich Street.

"E", "K" and I had a lovely dinner there.

We all started with glasses of white wine. "E" had the baked gorgonzola stuffed pear ($7). "K" had the marinated olives ($4) and I had the Gnocchi with oxtail, horseradish, kale and pecorino ($12).

"E" had the Atlantic Salmon with cauliflower salad, leek puree and lemon confit ($24). "K" and I both had the Potato Wrapped Trout with sunchokes, french beans, almonds and grainy mustard ($24). And we shared a side order of Sauteed Spinach ($8).

For dessert "E" and "K" both had french press coffee ($5) and we shared the brownie ice cream sandwich ($8).

Everything was wonderful.

Shopping Totes

I found these at a Marshall's in NYC for only $4.99 each...cute and ecofriendly for shopping!

Ai Fiori

Ai Fiori is located in the new Setai Hotel located at 400 Fifth Avenue. This elegant restaurant is know for it's Italian fare. But I stopped by for a quick lunch at the bar. I started with a glass of Riesling ($13) and an order of Crocchette - liquid foie gras cubes ($14) which were 6 delicately fried and oozed liquid foie gras.

Then I had a Mini White Label burger ($8) which was a great way not to overindulge in a full size burger. It was a mini La Frieda prime burger served with Neuske's slab bacon, black tomator and American cheese and was served medium rare. For such a small burger is was quite juicy!

Book

Thanks again to my local public library I read this interesting Chef's memoir.

Food Gallery 32 - Part 2

"S" and I returned to Food Gallery 32 in NYC's Koreatown located at 11 West 32nd Street. We wanted to try some of the other food options.

Today we went to Jin Jja Roo for Jjamppong - noodles served with seafood and vegetables in spicy broth ($7.99). This was a huge bowl of soup and noodles with mussels and shrimp, carrots and onions. It was slightly spicy, but not overpowering. And it was served with pickled radishes.

Afterwards we went to the 3rd floor bakery and tried their macarons ($1.50/each). "S" had a strawberry and I had a vanilla - very good.

Corner 28

In NYC's borough of Queens, there is a small take out window located at 40-28 Main Street. Here you can buy individual portions of peking duck for only $1! It's fresh and tasty and you don't have to go to a sitdown banquet for a fix.

Traif

Traif is located in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn at 229 S. 4th Street.

"C" and I went there for dinner because Traif is known to be bacon-centric. They even have a cocktail with bacon on the glass' rim!

It's a cozy little restaurant with an open kitchen. They have almost zero counter space so we were really impressed at the dishes this small kitchen created.

We were given an amuse bouche of Strawberry and tomato gazpacho - cool and refreshing.

Then we ordered several plates to share:

Bacon wrapped blue cheese stuffed dates, spinach a la catalana ($7) - nice flavor and texture.

Spicy bigeye tuna tartare, japanese eggplant tempura ($9) - excellent with the eggplant serving as the "base" to hold the tartare.

Seared foie gras, fingerling potatoes, ham chips, sunny side up egg ($16) - worth the cholesterol, decadent and rich!

Shaking beef - filet mignon, red chilies, cantaloupe, mint ($10) - we were disappointed because it was a simply stir fry and not very interesting.

Hot pot of mussels, laughing bird shrimp, squid, black pepper ($12) - good, but not great

Strawberry-cinnamon glazed baby back ribs ($8) - very cinnamony and not as tender as we would have liked.

And for dessert we couldn't resist the Bacon donuts, dulce de leche and coffee ice cream ($6) - these were more like zeppoles or donut holes sprinkled with more bacon!

And we received complimentary Grilled pineapple to cleanse our palate.

"Burnt Bread and Chutney"

Thanks to the public library I read this interesting memoir about an Indian Jewish Girl and her clashing cultures.

Kyedong Chicken

Thanks "M" for recommending Kyedong Chicken in Flushing, Queens.

I was driving down Northern Blvd. looking for this small store front when I spotted their delivery car and followed it.

The Medium order of wings and drumsticks with soy garlic sauce was only $11.95. But it's cooked to order so I had to wait 35 minutes.

The reward was hot, crispy, flavorful chicken.

Sandwich Planet & Grill

Thanks "A" for recommending this place for lunch.

Located in NYC's Midtown at 522 Ninth Avenue near the mouth of the Lincoln tunnel is a great sandwich restaurant.

I ordered the Armani Panini ($8.45) - prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, artichoke and arugula on pizza bianco bread. It is offered cold or warm and I had it served warm. The bread was thin, but substantial enough for the ingredients.

Social Eatz

"J" and I tried out Top Chef contestant, Angelo Sosa's, new restaurant, Social Eatz located in NYC's Midtown at 232 East 52nd Street.

We started with an order of Crispy Spring Rolls ($7) - chunks of shrimp with ground chicken, diced jicama, shredded cabbage, mushrooms, scallions and cilantro with duck sauce. They were very good.

"J" had the Social Burger ($9) with cheese, shredded lettuce and Longevity sauce (which was like ketchup and mayo).

I had the Bibimbap Burger ($12) with a slow cooked egg, lettuce, pickle carrot and cucumber. It was very juicy. Both burgers were served with expertly made french fries.

For dessert we tried the Yuzu Cream Puffs ($6) - fried dough filled with yuzu curd - delish!