Pulino's Bar & Pizzeria

Continuing my goal to have a really good breakfast, I decided to try Keith McNally's Pulino's Bar-Pizzeria. I know the corner of Bowery and Houston is not the most scenic breakfast spot, I would recommend trying it. I ordered a small pizza funghi with fried eggs, mushrooms, pancetta, mascarpone and grana. It was delicious. It had all the flavors I like plus the sunny side up eggs. Despite the constant din of the traffic, it was a great start to the day. Next time I think I'm going to try the pizza with nutella and sea salt.

Maialino for Breakfast

Ricotta Pancakes with Peach Compote & Maple Syrup
What a great way to start the day...... breakfast at Maialino.

Although that's exactly what I expected from Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group. The breakfast offering looks fantastic and will require some additional reporting. Stay tuned.

Acme Smoked Fish

Acme Smoked Fish

Aldea

August 12, 2010

I had a terrific dinner at Aldea with Luxury Girl. After a Hemingway Heat cocktail, we started with a SLOW-POACHED EGG, CHANTERELLES, SMOKED SAUSAGE, BACON green garlic broth, summer truffle and the PORTUGUESE OCTOPUS “A LA PLANCHA” with squid ink-citrus puree, chick pea stew, leek ash. Both were excellent. Next up was the ARROZ DE PATO duck confit, chorizo, olive, duck cracklings - this was duck paella, very tasty but a bit salty. We also had SEA-SALTED CHATHAM COD with braised summer beans, sweet corn and basil-parsley coulis. which was poured at the table. Finally, we shared for dessert the DARK CHOCOLATE/ESPRESSO cake with vanilla-poached mango, cardamom ice cream. We were also treated to a plate of petitis fours after the cake. It was the perfect ending to a great evening.

The Bronx

August 7, 2010

We were looking for a late lunch on this beautiful Saturday afternoon and decided to make a quick run over to Mike's Deli on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. We have been to Arthur Avenue many times but never noticed Mike's, which has received a lot of attention since his eggplant parmigiana throwdown with Bobby Flay. Mike's is located inside the Arthur Avenue Retail Market and was the center of attention on this day (my guess is its the main draw every day.). We ordered an eggplant hero and a prosciutto and mozzarella hero - both made with Mike's fresh, homemade mozzarella. i would say this parm hero could easily hold up to the now defuct Corona Pork Store's version, which, in my opinion was one of the best ever, I guess its all about the fresh mozzarella and mike's had plenty of it.

Lunch

Had a great lunch today at Boqueria on 18th Street. We started with a few empanadas stuffed with diced chorizo and skewers of grilled pulpo. I followed that with a delicious grilled lamb sandwich served with crispy potatoes and a green salad.

Breakfast!

Had a delicious breakfast this morning at Clinton Street Bakery. . We were told upon arrival that entire party of 3 needed to present in order to be seated, despite half the tables being empty. Apparently the place does fill up pretty quickly, even on a weekday, but when when 2 of 3 in party are ready to be seated and the restaurant is not full, I see no harm in getting the coffee going. Despite this seating policy, we did have a great breakfast, albeit slightly expensive. I had the buttermilk biscuit sandwich and we shared an order of pancakes with wild maine blueberries. Both were very good and certainly worth a return trip. However, I would not recommend waiting 45 minutes or longer for a table during the weekend.