Food Review: Piccolo Cafe (Manhattan)

The thing I love best when I'm travelling is exploring my surroundings closest to me.

And it so happens that I do it best when I'm rolling solo in that city.

Hanging around the East side/mid 30s Streets, you don't find too many little mom and pops stores... especially around Fifth Ave to First Ave.

However, with my trusty app, Foursquare, I was able to Piccolo Cafe with its rave reviews about a small cafe that does Italian food right.

PICCOLO CAFE

At first, I thought I would just go in during the morning rush and try out one of their caffeinated beverages (it does say it's a "cafe"), but as I continued to read reviews on Foursquare, Google and Yelp, it looks as though it's a full run kitchen. 

Reviews.... says:

"...homemade pastas..."

"... great midtown lunch spot..."

".... it's sandwiches, pastas, and salads, and all I got was a sandwich, but everything I saw on the tables looked great."

The storefront is very small and CAN be easily missed if there weren't so many people congregating inside and outside the shop. Just outside, across the sidewalk, they have a square-shaped bench for take-outers. 

They've also got an extensive menu of sandwiches and pastas to choose from. Just outside of the shop, they put up a A-frame poster showcasing the menu along with regular sized papers for people to take with them. What a nice thing for people like me who are so indecisive.

Gonna warn you though, it's terribly small in there. Whether you're eating in (small-medium size area, cramped) or getting take out, it's pretty small. And the wait isn't that short (for a panini sandwich).

But while I waited, my eyes wandered all over the space to take in its very Parisienne and rustic decorum. I absolutely fell in love with this shop. It was so cute, it's location is obscure (in between many apartment buildings) and tucked away in the east side in midtown, and they had a 'fake' display of their products (photo below) .. which made it that much more appetizing. And if you want to know about their portions, just look to the people who are sitting down. It'll give you time to see what others have ordered.

While I was in line, I made up my mind about 5 times on what to order, and when I got up to the front and I saw the display, I literally changed my mind right then and there and ordered the one panini displayed on a platter. It was nuts! Why did I do that so suddenly, I thought to myself. Will I even like it?

So after I got my panini and side salad (stuffed in a cup with very little vinaigrette), I hurried out to go back to my friends' place, so that I could finally bite into my sandwich.

Funny story, as I hurried back home, hot & hungry, I went to open the door and to my luck it wouldn't open. It's an older apartment, so I tried everything -giving a little shake, pushing it harder when I tried to open and pulled on it.... but I got nothing. After I saw the neighbor across from us come out, I immediately smacked my head because I had no time to think to ask him to help me. So then after a while, I thought I'd knock on the door to her neighbor next door. Turns out, I met a real talky and interesting older New York lady (who apparently has lived in that apartment for some time.) Had a good laugh and conversation with her (gossiping about the other tenants) and felt like "I am saved!"

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Oooh and then I dug into my sandwich.

Btw, which one did I order?

It was #17 | NEW! Roasted Italian Peppers, Arugula, Dijon Mustard, Bufalo Mozzerella and Chicken

For its size, it was rather large! Perfect!

After my first bite, my eyes rolled back! It was SO TASTY! All the flavours mixed together was music in my mouth. It could have been that I was super hungry, but it doesn't change the fact that hours later, after I took a break and finished the second half, I still had the same critiques. However, there is only ONE thing that I'd change. The bread was... so so. After my travels to ART.IS.IN bakery (Ottawa), no other bread has ever come close to matching its beautiful creation. But... Piccolo's still did a darn good sandwich/panini.

Overall...

Service ..... 2.9/5 (slow, but somewhat friendly)

Atmosphere ....... 6/5

Space ......... Small, but cute

Taste .......... 4.5/5

Price .......... $$ (great price for a plate of pasta)

=0)

I am definitely going to hit up Piccolo's when I come back! 

Food Review: Mika Japanese Cuisine (Manhattan)

In Chinatown, there's a little upstairs spot, Mika Japanese Cuisine & Bar

Very dim lighting and quiet when we got there around 8pm on a Saturday night.

We ordered a dinner set and from the list, we order the following:

Appetizers: Beef Negimaki. 

This was quite tasty. I've had something like this once, but not with green onions inside. I definitely like this mash up much better than those long string mushrooms.

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For our main entrees, we got a regular roll of Passion roll (Yellowtail, cucumber & avocado) and from the specialty roll, we got a Coconut Shrimp roll (Shrimp tempura inside, topped with lobster salad and avocado. The coconut part came in a wasabi coconut sauce).

I thought the fish tasted pretty fresh. I liked that they had very unique tastes (or at least I ordered differently than my usual all salmon diet). 

The service was pretty good. They were always ready to serve us when we needed it. As most sushi places go (comparing to my experiences with Toronto restaurants) it's almost the same price. 

The design and style is like the 90s chinese old style. But it was clean and that made the meal that much more enjoyable.

Reviewed with 3/5 stars

Food Review: S'Mac (Manhattan)

On the beautifully lit island called Manhattan lies hidden treasures and not-so-hidden treasures withing the city. 

Today's blog is about a great classic dish that challenged me to no end.

S'MAC

The Mac-n-Cheese Restaurant

If you are a passerby, be alarmed: A mac-n-cheese restaurant solely to make mac-n-cheese. What a concept! ;p

It's a favorite dish of mine and I had to be crazy NOT to try it.

With my cheese-loving friend, we walked a couple blocks to share in a delicious and cheesy dinner together.

[*Note][ For first timers, check-in through Foursquare and you'll receive $5 off your order.]

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When I walked in, it had a franchise-y feel to it. It was clean, but it didn't have that good ol' unique restaurant quality that lots of Manhattan restaurants have. They made it feel like we are one of... many.

We went on a Sunday night around 7:00pm. It filled up quickly! Though they had many seats in the store, there seemed to be A LOT of takeaways.

The menu. They have 4 sizes (nosh, major munch, mongo and partay)

Since we looked up the place before we came, the nosh looked kinda tiny, so we both ordered a major munch!

The selection is quite nice. They do all the normal ones that you would like (cheeseburger, all-american etc) and then they had a special one called, Parisienne. 

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If you know me well, you know I chose the Parisienne. It had melted brie, roasted figs, roaster shiitake mushrooms and fresh rosemary.

My friend got the Buffalo Chicken. It had Cheddar and American cheeses with boneless chicken pieces and buffalo wing sauce. They'll even top it off wit ha crumbled blue cheese if you want.

(Photo above | left: Buffalo Chicken & right: Parisienne)

The Parisienne

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After I mixed it up

It was extremely creamy and very sweet. I enjoyed it but I found it to be too sweet for a mac-n-cheese. And since the dish was not small, I had to take many breaks in between.

The Buffalo Chicken

And half way through...

Okay, so I have to be extremely honest here. This is not a place you can frequent often. Even though the Major Munch was a little larger than what I can usually eat, this was over the top. 

Even though this is a classic dish for North Americans, the cheese in the Buffalo Chicken was more than the pasta (usually a great thing) making it look like it was a cheesy soup with pasta noodles in it. It was so wet and cheesy that I had to stop less than mid-way through the dish. 

Mac-n-cheese is a classic and a favorite of mine, but I don't know if I can ever come again. =0( 

This was a big fail... on my part! 

Make this your challenge. If you think it's nothing, then try a size up and let me know how it was!

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We both could not finish it all (photo below).

After that meal, we walked around for a while. 

The walk was so nice with very little rain. New York City looks so shiny at night with all its lights!

So, if you're up for the S'Mac challenge, let me know how you did!

=)

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 THE WORLD'S END

this week

(photograph not in any way theccgirl)

English/British Film

Comedy/Action

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To win the pair of tickets, all you have to do is comment below with your NAME, EMAIL & the title of my 2nd last post/blog.

The contest starts now and closes tonight @ 6:00pm (August 20, 2013)

It will be a random draw. Win will be contacted tonight before 10pm tonight.

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Note: Before you enter, please be sure you are free tomorrow night for the screening downtown Toronto

GOOD LUCK!

Food Review: Le Gourmet (Manhattan)

You can find these buffet-by-the-pound stores all over the Manhattan Island.

After church, some friends and I went to Le Gourmet @ 1st. Avenue & E 68th Street

They've got a good amount of "healthier" type foods to choose from. One thing I liked is the salad/pasta bar. They always have it very appetizing to try.

The place is decorated like a Parisienne Cafe.

And with every order, they have a basket of bread that is complimentary. Hmm.. not sure how much to take, but I'm assuming since they have a paper bag next to the bread... you can fillem' up. =0)

Everything was very good except for my wild rice. It was way to hard in the wrong way.

Beef Brisket

Grilled Peppers & Zucchini

Cordon Bleu Chicken

Steamed Broccoli

Mozzerella balls and cherry tomatoes

Avocadoes

All this came to about $8.50

Not bad!

What makes me want to come back is their variety. It's not all fatty foods and you can take as little or as much as you want. But it's great cuz there's a lot of variety!

3.5/5 stars

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Enjoy guys!

Weekend Events: Smorgasburg (Brooklyn)

Welcome to Smorgasburg in Brooklyn, New York

...where the hippy hipster of Williamsburg roam free (on the weekends).

Kind of like your typical Night Market, only served up during the day with all your local/popular favorite restaurants around New York City.

We went on Saturday for Smorgasburg instead of Sundays' Brooklyn Flea. But no worries, because Brooklyn also has a famous (and might I add, HUGE) vintage store a few minutes of walking called Beacon's Closet. Much to say, it didn't stink. =0)

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Here's a peek of some of the food vendors there:

They literally put sticky rice into a bamboo shoot and you use a flat stick to scoop it out. It looks.... hmmm... interesting. 

This looked the best out of all the vendors. It's a simple Chicken & Waffles (photo above). But it was a medium/big proportion compared to the rest of the vendors I passed by.

Pulled pork looked good and we almost got it.... 

They've got different tastes all over the world. These spring rolls looked pretty good. I wanted to get some, but their portions were much too small.

After looking at all the savory vendors (I totally forgot to take photos of the "sweet" vendors, not many but a small hand full), this is what we ended up trying..... and it was......

BOSSANOVA

It was rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreally great chicken burgers. 

Okay..... so you're probably thinking, "but CHICKEN burgers? No way can it be better than regular beef burgers." Well... that may be true, but not the burger I had.

I ordered a very new and fresh take on burgers --> Green Apple Chicken Burger. It had slices of green apple, goat cheese and a very tasty cranberry sauce.

Look at that.... even the bun is hearty goodness. =0)

The chicken patty was so juicy and tender, I was really taken back by how plump the patty was. And then... when my tongue hit the goat cheese then the craneberry sauce and then the apple slices, I was simply in heaven. 

What a burger! That was gourmet to the top level, my friends!

Me and the Bossanova's Green Apple Chicken Burger

<3 <3 <3 <3

The sweetness of the cranberry didn't overpower the patty because the chewiness of the bread helped absorb some of it making it taste even better with every bite.

My friend ordered a very juicy Chick Mac that could easily whip a beef cheeseburger out of the water. 

It's an all-american type burger and it was AWESOME too!

The whole experience was very fun and it wasn't overcrowded to the point where you can hardly move. It's located at the edge of Brooklyn (close to the Williamsburg bridge). They even have a section for people who wanna picnic-it, but you should beware that the ground hardly has any grass and it's not very pretty. 

But for the tourist in me, you can see the cityscape of New York City and that's a beautiful thing.

Cheers to a beautiful first time visitor of Brooklyn! It's not shabby at all!

=0)