New York, NY

Now that I've learned how to "check in" on Facebook, you might have noticed that we spent the weekend in NY enjoying the holiday lights, seeing a show and eating lots of great food. Kind of hard not to eat well in NY, as long as you avoid any restaurant within 10 blocks of Times Square. We stayed with my brother-in-law on the upper east side (66th & 3rd) which has a ton of good local spots and easy access to the subway to explore the rest of the city.  I apologize for the lack of pictures. I wasn't thinking of blogging until the bus ride home and I started recapping all the great places we went.

Boltbus ride from Philly and a late dinner Friday night at The Smith in Midtown. A huge space by Manhattan standards, well lit and stylish. A good restaurant with a decent bar, and not the other way around; they do mostly steaks, chops and seafood. We had some great shishito peppers that were a flashback to Spain. Nicely blistered and just a little sweet. Mac & Cheese was great - crunchy little crust on top and served in it's own little skillet with a good béchamel as the cheesy base. My chicken pot pie was enough to feed 3. Needed some salt to amp up the flavor a bit, but the pastry top was flaky and buttery. So good on a cold windy night.

Brunch with some cousins the next morning at Extra Virgin, down in the Village. Almost no wait on a Saturday at noon (apparently unheard of in NY) and wonderful food. The truffled mushroom turkey burger was probably the best I've ever had. They serve it with a little side of porcini aioli that really brings out a depth of flavor and lusciousness in the burger. My only complaint about the place would be the $10 bloody mary's. They served them in tom collins glasses (should always be in a pint glass). The mix was watery and not spicy in the least. Basically tomato juice & vodka. Made me miss the good ones at N. 3rd & Standard Tap. Worth coming here just for the food though.

Craft beers for $5 in Manhattan?  Impossible you say?  Well you would be completely wrong. The Pony Bar serves only crafts on draught and has a live updating screen of what beers are being poured and what's up next. Basically the NY version of Kraftwork. The menu didn't look like anything special so we just stuck to the beers.  For $5 a beer though, I might never drink anywhere else here again.

I've always wanted to have that NY pizza moment. That slice that explains what all the fuss is about. The reason that foodie tours come here. Well, I finally had my moment. John's Pizzeria on 64th street was incredible. Kind of a no frills place with some booths and a decent list of beers you can get by the pitcher. The pizza that they pull out of their ancient ovens is just about the best I've ever had. They serve only whole pies - no slices,  it's definitely a sit down experience. There's lots of good pies in Philly (Stella, Tacconelli's, Zavino) but this seemed to be on a whole different plane of existence. The chewy crust with just a few blisters. The deeply flavored sauce. Pepperoni that does a little dance on your tongue. Mozzarella that tastes like it was stretched just minutes before going on. I ate my slices. Did my little happy wiggle in the booth. And tried to savor that moment.  Mmmm.  I get it now.

Can't come here and not get bagels right?  Sunday brunch/hangover helper with some more cousins at Ess-A-Bagel on 51st & 3rd. This place looks like they opened up in the 70's and never touched a thing since (the website confirms my suspicion). The bagels are pretty stellar though. The line is generally stretched along the counter and back to the door. They do not pride themselves on efficiency. Getting two bagel sandwiches made took about 10 minutes, plus another five to pay for them. The food is worth the wait though and nothing rights the ship like carbalicous bagels. I've told my wife before that good bagels are one of the best things she's brought into my life. Up until I met her I only knew frozen Lenders and Dunkin Donuts. For shame. What I've been missing out on.

It's great having family to stay with in Manhattan. Hotels are insanely expensive and having someone there that knows the good places is clutch. A quick 2 hour bus ride and we can play food tourist for a weekend - one of my favorite activities. Still need to get a Papaya Dog on one of these trips and maybe a trip to Brooklyn next time to check out the scene there. So much food and so little time to eat. 

-Food Baby

The Smith - Midtown

956 Second Avenue, New York, NY

(212) 644-2700

www.thesmithnyc.com

Extra Virgin - Greenwich Village

259 W 4th St, New York, NY

(212) 691-9359

www.extravirginrestaurant.com

Pony Bar - Upper East Side

1444 1st Avenue New York, NY

www.ues.theponybar.com

John's Pizzeria - Upper East Side

408 East 64th Street, New York, NY

(212) 935-2895

http://www.johnspizzerianyc.com

Ess-a-Bagel - Midtown East

831 3rd Avenue, New York, NY

(212) 980-1010

www.ess-a-bagel.com

Sunday Funday at the Wishing Well

The Wishing Well  Home to possibly the greatest brunch special in the city, it's a wonder there's not a Sabrina's-like line around the corner at this place. For $25 you get bottomless mimosas and/or bloody marys.  That's right, there's no limit (unless you're falling out of your chair - but they're even willing to overlook that from time to time) and the deal runs 11am till 4pm! Along with those endless bloody's and mimosas you also get your choice of entree from the brunch menu. What a great way to spend a Sunday - football on the flatscreens, limitless drinks, and good food at your beckon call. Ahh, happiness.

There's also a $25 gift certificate you can get from restaurant.com, and if you wait till one of the big sales you can score it for only $2.

Bacon-Infusing our vodka; pre-mary

The bloody marys are make-your-own, which is definitely fun and much better than that generic house mix you get at some other places. You start with a glass of ice and vodka, and build from there. Choose straight tomato juice or a spicy house mixed batch. Add in worcestershire, old bay, hot sauce, horseradish, olives, lemons, limes, pink hearts, green clovers, yellow moons, blue diamonds, purple horseshoes, or red balloons! There should be bigger pieces of celery, but other than that I'm a huge fan. I like making my own bloodys at home anyways, so this is like I never left the house or my PJ's. Next time I might just come in a onesy. 

The make-you-own bloody mary bar

Oh, they also serve food. Solid brunch menu with a selection of salads (seriously who eats a salad for brunch?), burgers, sandwiches, grilled cheese, eggs, french toast, omeletes, and other choices. The menu is big enough so that everyone gets what they want, but not so long that your bloodshot eyes lose focus after reading the 9th different kind of omelet. 

Chicken and waffles

I rocked the southern fried chicken and waffles. Damn. That was really good. Served with maple syrup and black peppered white gravy, the chicken had super crispy skin and soft juicy meat underneath. The waffles were light and fluffy, and just a little bit yeasty - like good waffles should be. The salty & sweet thing is a theme on this blog, and this plate definitely follows suit. Everyone should try this. Not liking fried chicken and waffles is like not liking Bob Marley. If you don't, you have no soul. 

Crabcakes benedict

A pair of really good crab cakes underneath perfectly poached eggs and hollandaise sauce was also excellent. Big hunks of crab and just enough breading to keep it together. Definitely a winner. 

The burger

Surprisingly enough, the wifey and one of her girlfriends went for burgers. Kind of made me feel like less of a man, but my chicken was better, so I win. The burgers were good, not amazing. The one pictured above was just a normal burger (with some house-made pickles that were not quite pickled enough), but the Smokehouse burger was definitely better. Topped with smoked cheddar and BBQ pulled pork, it's like a cow & a pig made sweet, sweet love and have this illicit child to show for it. It's a pretty graphic reference, but if you taste the burger you'll appreciate it.

Lastly, I'd like to apologize for not ordering the Shame burger. As the wifey requested that I be coherent and not go into food coma mode after eating, I decided to hold off on this monster for another day (which will be soon). What is a "Shame Burger" you ask? Why it's a burger topped off with WW's own house-made scrapple, american cheese, and a fried egg on a Sarcones roll (they're right across the street). Don't forget the fries or onion rings on the side. I don't know what's shameful about it though. I plan on being the proudest monkey in the bar after polishing it off.  

They do, however, have the Shame Burger from HELL challenge, which I likely won't be attempting.  If you can knock out two double shame burgers - that's 2 rolls, 4 patties, 4 slices of scrapple, 4 fried eggs, 8 slices of cheese, plus 2lbs of fries and two pints of beer, you get your name and picture on the wall, a $25 gift card and they'll pay for the meal. Otherwise you're out $40. Apparently only 10 have completed the challenge out of 200 attempts. I'm impressed. 

Food Baby Rating: Twins!! 

Wishing Well

767 South 9th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147-2844
(215) 238-6555

Open Weekdays 4pm-2am

Weekends 11am-2am