Good Eats: February Round-Up

It's that time again: here is my Good Eats: February Round-Up. In this month's round-up I have a Connecticut based restaurant, which will probably happen from time to time since I work in Stamford, CT and my parents live in CT so I spend a lot of time there. But don't worry I have some New York places as well and will continue to share my NYC favorite spots in the months to come. This month's picks include: crepes, pasta and burgers

1)  Crepes & Delices

Photo Courtesy of: Yelp

I live a couple doors down from Crepes & Delices  so I constantly walk by and smell the delicious smell of homemade crepes. After months of walking by every day I finally decided to go in and get a crepe. I went very simple and got a dulce de leche crepe, which was good, but I wish I had chosen more toppings to make the crepe a little more interesting. The menu was very extensive and had a good combination of sweet and savory options, which makes this the perfect place for lunch/dinner or  for dessert. You can also "build your own" crepe and choose either regular or buckwheat batter and choose your own toppings.  The space is very light and cheery and a nice casual spot to meet up with friends for a coffee or tea and a crepe.

2) Harlan Publick

Short Rib Bolognese; Photo courtesy of: CT Bites

I ended up spending my birthday in CT so that night I ended up going to Harlan Publick in South Norwalk for dinner with my parents. The atmosphere is trendy and cool. This is your quintessential gastropub, with an extensive beer and cocktail menu and high-end "pub" food. I got a white sangria as my cocktail, which is always my favorite drink so automatically my meal started on a high note. We got the Korean Fried Chicken Tacos, which were great. of course, my birthday meal had to include tacos! for my entree I went with the Short Rib Bolognese, which entailed:  garganelli pasta, short rib bolognese sauce, whipped ricotta and basil. I chose this dish since it sounded interesting and I absolutely love ricotta. This was the perfect dish to have on a cold winter night and I absolutely loved the flavor combination of the short rib with the whipped ricotta and the basil added the perfect finishing touch. For dessert we had the salted caramel tart, which of course I devoured because I love anything with salted caramel. Overall,  I really enjoyed my meal at Harlan Publick and will definitely have to go back during the summer since it seems like they have a very nice outdoor seating area, so I  would love to sit outside and get a  glass of sangria and some appetizers.


3) Five Napkin Burger

Photo Courtesy Of: Tegestology

I ended up randomly eating here last weekend with my parents. We had tickets to see Kinky Boots and had about an hour to eat before the show and on our way to the theatre we saw Five Napkin Burger so we decided to give it a try. This is chain restaurant with numerous locations throughout NYC, a location in Boston and in Miami as well. We went to the Hell's Kitchen location, which is the original Five Napkin Burger. The space is huge with modern decor and a lively atmosphere.  It's  a little more upscale than shake shack, but is still casual and fun. Since we were in a rush I just ordered the original 5 napkin burger, which included: a 10 oz ground chunk, gruyere cheese, caramelized onions and rosemary aioli, which really escalated the flavor of the burger to a new level. Usually I don't like big burgers and prefer thin burgers, but the combination  of the cheese, onions and rosemary aioli worked really well together. I wish I had more time to enjoy my meal since I would have also ordered one of the fun cocktails and they have an amazing dessert menu as well and the brownie sundae looked amazing! I will definitely be checking out the upper west side location in the near future!

Photo Courtesy of: PlanMB

Three ways to use leftovers...

I'm sure a lot of you are like me and cook chicken, meat or seafood and then have leftovers that you don't know what to do with. I thought I would share with you today some of my favorite ways to spice up your leftovers. Using up leftovers is not only a good way to get the best value for your dollar, but it's also a great way to make a quick and delicious weeknight dinner.

1) Tacos-

Chipotle Shrimp Tacos- Recipe & Picture courtesy of: Heather Christo

Making tacos is a great way to use up anything and everything in your refrigerator. You simply heat up a flour or corn tortilla, add some guacamole, cabbage, cheese or whatever else you have lying around to your leftover  vegetables, poultry, meat or seafood and garnish with a little cilantro and you got yourself a delicious gourmet taco. To get a little fancier you could also make a fruit salsa by combining some cut up mango or pineapple, chopped onion and lime juice and then garnishing with a little cilantro. To get some more inspiration check out The Effortless Chic's "The Best Of Tacos" blog post

 2)Rice Bowls-

I took this picture: brown rice, leftover pulled pork, black bean and mango salsa

As I mentioned in my previous quinoa blog post, I'm a huge fan of rice bowls, which happen to a great way to use leftovers. To create a delicious rice bowl you cook rice/or quinoa or heat up any leftover rice or quinoa you have in your refrigerator. Then you top with any leftover vegetables, poultry, meat or seafood. You can also get creative and add guacamole and/or salsa.  I had some leftover pulled pork after making my version of Earl's Taco and my pulled pork nachos  so I put some brown rice and the leftover pulled pork into a tupperware container and brought to work for lunch. I put the black bean and mango salsa in a smaller separate container since I didn't want to microwave the salsa. When I was ready for lunch I microwaved the rice and pulled pork and then when it was done I added the mango and black bean salsa on top.

Click Here for some more rice bowl ideas

3)Salads/ Lettuce Wraps

Picture & Recipe courtesy of: Pinch of Yum

Making salads or lettuce wraps is another great way to use up leftovers. You can use leftover meat, poultry or seafood to create an asian influenced salad with a sesame vinaigrette or peanut dressing  or a Mexican influenced salad with a cilantro lime dressing and some tortilla chips.

Click Here for some more salad recipes

Similar to salads, lettuce wraps are another option for using leftovers. Lettuce wraps are a great option for anyone who is trying stick to a low-carb diet. Lettuce wraps are commonly associated with asian restaurants and ground turkey or chicken, but shrimp or any assortment of veggies work just as well as a filling for lettuce wraps.

Click Here for some delicious lettuce wrap recipes.

Almond & Basil Chicken Lettuce Wraps- Recipe &  Photo courtesy of: Cookin' Canuck

I hope you enjoy these ideas and will start using your leftovers in new and creative ways.

Good Eats: NYC Mexican Food

I know just saying the words "east coast Mexican food" seems like a oxymoron. Everyone knows the west coast has the best Mexican food and the east coast, primarily NYC has the best bagels and pizza.  I decided to prove once and for all that New York City does have some respectable Mexican food establishments and try the "best tacos and taquitos" in NYC.

1) Taquitoria 

First stop on my quest to trying the best Mexican food in NYC was Taquitoria on the Lower East Side. I found out about Taquitoria, though TimeOut New York's list The 50 best cheap eats in NYC. Have I mentioned this list enough yet?, lol. The menu is super simple and consists of strictly taquitos, which are rolled and fried tacos. You have the option of beef, pork, chicken or black bean taquitos. You have different topping choices, which include: classic (guacamole sauce, lettuce and cotija cheese), cheesy (nacho cheese, sour cream or pickled jalapeño relish) or you can get a combination of both classic and cheesy. You can get 3 taquitos for $6 or 5 taquitos for $9.  I got the chicken taquitos with the classic topping. I'm a big fan of taquitos so these definitely held up to my expectations and I enjoyed the addition of the guacamole sauce and cotija cheese.  I really liked the guacamole sauce and would love to try to replicate it so that I can kick the trader joe's taquitos I usually buy up a notch. I also really liked the graffiti on the wall, which was a little like deja vu after I just gone to Num Pang Sandwich Shop, which has similar graffiti.  Another unique coincidence was discovering from reading the Taquitoria website that one of the owners was a communications major at Ithaca College!  I went around 8:00 PM on a saturday night and it was pretty quiet at Taquitoria. The storefront is small and it's very casual so this is a great place to go for a quick bite for lunch or if you are alone and need a low key place to eat. This would also be a perfect option if you are looking for a late night meal after a night of bar hopping on the lower east side.

                                                                                   

 2) Los Tacos No.1
The second place I checked out was

 Los Tacos No.1, which is located in chelsea market.  When I saw a big line at Los Tacos No.1 I started to get really excited to try the tacos. Since Los Tacos No.1 is situated among numerous amazing food vendors their tacos have to be really good in order to attract attention and draw big crowds.

 The menu consists of: tacos, tostadas and quesadillas. Your choice of fillings include: carne asada, pollo asada, adobada (marinated pork) and nopal (grilled cactus). Ordering from Los Tacos No.1 is quite an experience. First, you go up to pay for your tacos. I got one adobada taco on a flour tortilla and one carne asada taco also on a flour tortilla. You also have the option of corn tortillas, which a lot of people behind me ordered and made me question my choice of flour tortillas.  I got my tacos with all the toppings: guacamole, onion, cilantro and salsa.  I also got one of their agues frescos. The day I went they had a hibiscus juice, which was what I ordered. the two tacos and drink cost me $11, which wasn't super cheap, but the tacos were very filling so in the end it was pretty good value for the money.  Once you pay for your tacos you walk a few more feet and are greeted by a line cook who takes your order and then you can watch into the open kitchen while the chef prepares your tacos.  When I was looking at pictures of Los Tacos No.1 on Instagram  I saw a lot of comments saying that Los Tacos No.1 had  the best tacos in NYC so I had very high expectations. The tacos definitely met my expectations and both the pork and carne asada were cooked perfectly and the toppings just accentuated the delicious tender and juicy meat.

3) Oaxaca Taqueria   
 The third place I went to was Oaxaca Taqueria, which is chain restaurant with 6 locations in New York City. Oaxaca's menu consists of tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, tortas, burritos and even salads. There are also a variety of different filling choices, which include: chicken, chorizo, al pastor (adobo marinated pork), carnitas (citrus marinated pork), roasted potato and poblano peppers and a few seafood options. I decided to try one al pastor taco and one carnitas taco because I was curious to taste the difference.  The two tacos cost $8, which I thought was average and you get a lot of meat and toppings in  each taco so the two tacos left me full and satisfied.  In both tacos the pork tasted exactly the same even though the pork had different marinades and  it was really just the toppings that differentiated the two tacos. The Al pastor taco had delicious fresh pineapple and cilantro and the carnitas taco had pickled red onion, which I really enjoyed, salsa roja, cotija cheese and cilantro. I really enjoyed both tacos and I would definitely go back to try something else, such as a potato and poblano pepper enchilada or one of their tortas.  I first heard of Oaxaca Taqueria when I went to smorgasburg last year, but this was my first time in one of Oaxaca Taqueria's storefront locations. I went to the upper west side location, which is small but has a nice low key atmosphere.  I also enjoyed that they had good music playing, which was a nice bonus to the delicious tacos.

I  thought I would also share an easy taco recipe so that you can enjoy some delicious homemade tacos in the comfort of your own house.

Grilled Chili-Lime Fish Tacos

Photo & recipe courtesy of: Ambitious Kitchen