Harlem Shake (***)
100 W 124th Street, New York, NY 10018
Although this year’s 4th of July was pretty uneventful, I still managed to complete my yearly tradition of having at least one hotdog.
Snoop Dogg (without cheese), curly fries and a frosé
Quarantine Home Cooking
Because of COVID-19, I have not been able to check out local restaurants and be one of those people who takes pictures of his food before devouring it for the sake of posting on social media. Until I’m allowed to mingle with my fellow foodies, I’ll have to post food pics of things that we are making during our “new normal”. BTW, I hate the term, new normal.
Here goes.
A simple glass of gazpacho overlooking Harlem
Note, I pretty much add Tabasco sauce (or other forms of “heat”) to my food.
Sometimes you need to eat a bunch of cookies to deal with #quarantinelife
During this pandemic, my (unhealthy) food consumption has been out of control. One day, I was fiending for something sweet to deal with #quarantinelife. After failing to obtain a huge slice of red velvet cake from LA Sweets NY, one of my favorite bakeries in Harlem. In addition to baking amazing cakes and cupcakes, LA Sweets NY is like a 90-second walk from my apt so it’s super convenient for curing a sugar fix. Also, it’s a Black-owned business so double win. For whatever reason, they were closed so I ordered from Insomnia Cookies. The plan was to order the 6 pack of cookies, but I guess that my thumb “slipped” while using Grubhub’s app, and I ended up ordering the 18 pack of cookies. Oh well. #YOLO and I blame COVID-19. ;)
The mint chocolate chip and original chocolate chip were my favorite ones.
Minetta Tavern
113 Macdougal Street, New York, BY 10012
First wedding anniversary!!!
There were a few more courses, but I was trying to limit taking a bunch of photos. Plus, I was pretty hungry and nearly scarfed down the food before the waitress place the plates on the table.
Archer & Goat
187 Lenox Avenue, New York, NY 10026
I’m not sure what they are doing at this restaurant, but it works. The owners come from an Ecuadorian, Puerto Rican, and Bangladeshi background, which is reflected in their classic dishes.
An international take on the classic burger and fries. Who would have thought that pickled okra would be so delicious?
Even though this restaurant uses all sorts of spices and seasonings, I had to chuckle because Texas Pete was the only option hot sauce option. . . and it was served in a shot glass. Hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
A bit perplexed.
Sottocasa Pizzeria - Harlem
227 Lenox Avenue, New York, NY 10027
Hey, I will always be a fan of pizza and beer during a diet cheat day.
Cocina del Sur
40 W 38th St., New York, NY 10018
Well, this is not really a food pic of the week; it's more of a quick post about the most recent Yelp Elite Squad - NYC event that I attended. According to its Yelp page, Cocina del Sur is a "fast-casual restaurant serving traditional South American dishes right off the grill. [They] serve up a delicate balance of healthy eating and quality Latin comfort food based on locally sourced & organic ingredients"
Random: I've noticed that we have not had many Yelp elite events over the past couple of months. I wonder what's going on. I like my free stuff.
Anywho, the event was pretty fun, but there were not too many people in attendance because the restaurant is a bit small. Cocina seems kind of like an in and out kind of place. I probably talked to about 4 people in total, and I don't think that I wanted to befriend them on Yelp.
A pretty "simple" rice bowl with chicken, salmon, and steak with chimichurri sauce (I think it was chimichurri sauce) and some other random fixins. The Brussel sprouts were pretty delicious. Oh, there was a mango (or was it pineapple) salsa that was out of this world. Actually, they should sell that in a jar.
I liked the spot, but I would not travel out of my way for a rice bowl in midtown. But, game on if I'm in the area.
Since the restaurant is out of the way for me, of course, I was the first winner of a free meal.
Random II: What do you think about arepas?
I ask because every time I hear someone in NYC talk about Latin food, he/she will always bring up arepas. Well . . . it's usually tacos first, then arepas. "OMG! _ has the BEST arepas in NYC." And, I'm like I guess
Here's the thing, I do not dislike arepas. I just haven't found anything that makes them so amazing. If I order chimichurri steak and an arepa happens to be included then great. But, if I were to order chimichurri steak and the kitchen forgot to put the arepa on the plate, I probably would not even care (or even notice). Eh, different strokes for different folks.
Mill Korean
2895 Broadway, New York, NY 10025
I had a huge craving for a big a** bowl of soup the other day. Since I had to pick up a book on reserve from the library, I went to Mill Korean during my lunch break to kill two birds with one stone.
