S'MAC

          Today my family and I went to a restaurant in the East Village called S'mac.  It specializes in Mac and Cheese.  It is located in Manhattan's East Village, at 197 First Avenue, at the intersection of 12th street.  The restaurant's street facing walls are glass.  One of the walls has exposed brick.  Some parts of the walls are orange.  In the corner there is a counter from which you order your meal.  The list of dishes are on big boards.

          My family and I ordered 4 different types of mac and cheese.  My mom got a Parisienne mac and cheese.  My dad got a Philly Cheese Steak mac and cheese.  My sister got All American mac and cheese and I got the Cheeseburger mac and cheese.   The mac and cheese came from the cast iron pans they were cooked.  The Parisienne had creamy brie, roasted fig, roasted shiitake mushrooms and rosemary.  It was good.  The figs and mushrooms were chewy.  The brie was creamy as the description said and had a strong rosemary taste.  The Philly Cheese Steak was the special and it had the stuff you expect in a Philly Cheese Steak.  Bits of steak, onions, red peppers and provolone.  The All American mac and cheese, it is a standard mac and cheese and it was good, the cheese was very stringy and had a nice orange color and was crispy.  My mac and cheese was the Cheeseburger.  I loved it.  The burger meat was delicious.  The cheese was gooey.  

Kingsbridge Social Club

     

          Today my family and I went to the restaurant called the Kingsbridge Social Club.  The address is 3625 Kingsbridge Ave, Bronx, NY 10463.  When you enter the restaurant on the left side the wall has graffiti style art on it.  The right side has a bar with a brick wall behind it and in the back right corner there is an open kitchen with subway tiles lining the walls.  In the middle of the kitchen there is a pizza oven.  It looks really cool because it it covered in spray paint.  There was more exposed brick in some places some parts of the wall were painted a dark orange and turquoise.  The chair were brightly colored and metal.  
   

          My family and I ordered 2 pizzas and mac and cheese.  My family and I were served on small mismatched plates.  The mac and cheese was mouthwatering.  It was crunchy and the cheese was gooey and flavorful and couldn't put my finger on the types of cheese used.  

          The pizza was served on large empty tomato cans to elevate the pizzas from the table.  The 1st pizza my family and I ordered was the polpette.  Which was a plain pizza with meatballs.  

          It was delicious.  The sauce was yummy and the meatball was garlicky.  The other pizza me and my family had was the Green, Eggs & Ham.  You can tell where this is going.  It was a pizza topped with Quail eggs, Ham and arugula.  It was palatable.  The Ham mixed with bitter and crunchy arugula all covered in the goo of the Quail eggs yolk.  

The Donut Project, featuring "The Bronx" donut

Today's post is brought to you by my sister, guest blogger, SJC (age 9).

On December 27th me and my family went to a donut shop called "The Donut Project", located at 10 Morton Street.  We had to take the subway to get there.  We heard about it from a show me and my mom used to watch called "Unique Sweets".  "Unique Sweets" is about famous food people being interviewed and they go around the United States of America to visit shops that have really unique sweets.  

When we got there my mom gave the order.  She got us the Maple bacon bar, Beet glazed ricotta stuffed donut, and the Bronx donut (glazed donut with cracked black pepper).  The Maple bacon bar had a piece of bacon on it.  My mom cut it into 4s.  I ate my piece of bacon before I even ate my fourth.  I loved the donut.  I wanted the whole thing to myself!  Then we had the Bronx donut.  The Bronx was also really really really good too.  I liked how the cracked pepper made it a tiny bit spicy.  It adds a little kick to it!  I really like donuts that are NOT stuffed.  Stuffed donuts are too much for me!  So the Maple bacon bar was my favorite, the Bronx was my second favorite, but will the Beet glazed ricotta stuffed donut change my mind?  I do not really like beets.  But I love ricotta.  So, first I tasted it.  "Beety," I thought.  So I let my dad eat my share this time.  Then I asked my mom if I could get hot chocolate because I saw it on the menu.  She said no at first.  But when I asked her for the 1 millionth time she said yes.  

That was a really good donut shop.  I hope I go there again soon.

Bronx Ale House

Yesterday I went to a restaurant called the Bronx ale house.  It is at 216 W 238th St, Bronx, NY 10463 it is right off of Broadway.  When you walk in you can see that the walls are mostly brick and with wooden beams.  On the far wall there is a rack of barrels. There are high tables with bar stools. My family was sitting on the right wall.  Opposite of where I was sitting there is a bar.  Above the bar is a TV with the beer menu with a color coding system, for telling you how much beer they have left in each keg and what type of glass it comes in.

I love how the they give you free popcorn at the start.  As a starter we ordered deep fried pickles.  They were pretty good, and a touch bit spicy.  I ordered deep fried Mac N cheese, which was AMAZING.  It has the perfect mix of the creamy cheese and the crunch of the fried shell.  It was shaped like a square, that was cut in 2.  My mom and my sister ordered pulled pork bomber (there word for sliders) with fried green tomatoes.  I had a bit of the pulled pork, and it was enjoyable there were bits of coleslaw in it so I would have a crunch every few bites.  My dad got a fried chicken sandwich and these delicious garlic parm fries. The garlic wasn't too strong and not too little that you can't taste it, which was good and the occasional cheese bit was yummy.  Even though we didn't get this, the waiter told us about a super spicy sauce you could get on some wings and the waiter said that he normally gets 2 drops, while a lady once got 15 drops!  I would come back here.  I mean there is so much that sounds good on their menu.

In conclusion that is my blog post of Bronx Ale House.

LOUIE & ERNIE'S PIZZA

      Yesterday my family and I went Louie and Ernie's Pizza.  It is at 1300 Crosby Avenue, Bronx NY 10461.  Fun fact: It is right down the block from where my grandpa once lived.  When you first walk in you get that cheesy pizza smell.  It is actually partly below the street.  The windows are level with the street.  The place is one long and skinny room (excluding the kitchen).  On the walls there are pizza related drawings and newspaper articles about the place.  On this low hanging part of the ceiling there was a pizza clock with pepperoni with the numbers on them.  In the back there is outdoor seatings.  We didn't sit there of course, it was rain/snowing.

     We got some amazing foods.  For starters my mom ordered a white pizza (a pizza with no sauce, just mozzarella and ricotta cheese) for the family to share- but more on white pizzas later. We all ordered calzones (beside my dad, he had bit of all of them).  I got a meatball calzone.  It was big.  The meatball wasn't whole, but it was in bits.  It was delicious, it came not too hot and not one bit cold.  My mom got a broccoli rabe calzone.  It had little cheese, but was full of garlicky broccoli rabe, which she loved.  My sister got a regular cheese calzone.  It had a TON of cheese, like gooing everywhere a ton.  Of course I had to eat more.  So I ordered a white pizza for myself.  It was oily (but not in a bad way at all) and heavenly. The cheese was really thick, but that's a good thing.


     So I loved this place.  Delicious food and a cool inside.  Definitely a place to return to.  

Leche Y Miel

     Yesterday my family and I went to Leche Y Miel, which is at 5761 Broadway Bronx NY, 10463 and here is their website:
http://lecheymielrestaurant.net  The place is very simply decorated.  There are creme colored walls and low lighting.  The only lighting comes from these sconces  and pendant lights.  There is an open kitchen which is cool because I can watch them cook.  On the ledge surrounding the kitchen there is a stack of cookbooks.  They have this neat rule where you can't order alcoholic  beverages, but you can bring your own.  On the tables there are fresh flowers.  The restaurant is on Broadway and there are these huge windows that over look Broadway as well.  When the door opens you have the chance of hearing a train rumble by.  We got our drinks in these really beautiful mason jars and the plates were all white squares or rectangles.

    For starters we got Monfonguitos, which is a smashed plantain formed into bowl.  The bowl was filled with grated cheese and your choice of shrimp or steak.  My family chose steak because I greatly don't like shrimp for reasons that I don't want to share.  Anyway I loved it.  And I am a person who doesn't like plantains normally.  The cheese and the steak mix perfectly with the plantains.  We also got Cheese and bacon-filled cassava balls.  They were delicious.  They came with this yummy sauce.  It was orange and it tasted like a salad dressing I once tried.  It was crispy one the outside and fluffy on the inside. Pastelito sampler-chicken is the last appetizer my family got.  It was a quarter circle crust with chicken and cheese inside.  It was heavenly.  The cheese was gooey, and the chicken was mouthwatering.

     That is it for appetizers, but we got some entrées.  We got Chicharrones De Pollo, Con Tostones, which is fried plantains with some small pieces of chicken.  The seasoning on the chicken was an awesome mix of seasoning and not too much of each flavor.  The chicken was mostly dark meat and it was very garlicky.  The plantains this time were fried.  I liked them but I like them better as a bowl in the mofonguitos because the flavors mixed together better.  We also got Stewed Goat.  The dish also could be ordered with oxtail.  Most of the goat came on the bones and the goat came with a pile of rice.  The goat was ambrosial.  It had the same earthy taste that I normally get with goat.  The rice was good too. It was buttery.

     So Leche Y Miel is a mind-blowing restaurant.  They have luscious food and the restaurant is simple but that's what makes it unique.      

Bronx BBQ Pit & Gastropub

     On Friday my family and I went to Bronx BBQ Pit & Gastropub, which is at 170 west 233rd St. Bronx,NY 10463.  I know what you are thinking what's a Gastropub?  Well it is a pub that specializes in serving high-quality food.  Here is their website http://bronxbbqpit.com/.  The place used to be a Moroccan nightclub.  There is still nightclub remains.  Like castle ramparts around the restaurant (because of the nightclub's theme).  Also there is DJ tower and under that there is a coat check.

     The first thing you do once you're past the door is walk up some stairs to a big open area.  There is a bunch of huge TVs.  4 of them are above the bar alone.  The room is relatively dark.  The only light coming from the TVs., light-strings, candles on the tables and this really cool fake tree that has some sparkly lights.  The first thing that you will notice is the semi circle bar, and the huge ground to ceiling windows.  The windows overlook Broadway.  There are a lot of exposed parts, but in fashionable way.  Exposed brick walls, wooden beams, and exposed pipes add to the look of the place.  The family-sized tables (tables that don't have only 2 seats) are actually picnic tables which I find really cool.  On the right side of the restaurant there is a balcony.  On each table there are packs of cards to entertain you while your food is being made.

     I ordered half a rack of ribs, I was able to get 2 sides with my ribs, so I picked French Fries, and Mac and Cheese.  The ribs were tasty.  They had lots of sauce on it which I like and the meat was chewy.  The Mac and Cheese was awesome.  It was creamy and not too heavy.  The French Fries were good.  Not too big or not too small and crispy.  My dad got a half rack too.  

     My sister got fried chicken.  She said that the fried chicken was crispy on the outside but juicy and yummy on the inside.  My mom got a pulled pork sandwich which was on a brioche bun.  The sandwich had sautéed onions and peppers.  

One really cool things about the dishes and food baskets is that they are outlined in old newspapers.

     For desert we got a Oreo mousse cake.  It was delicious, but I only had a few bites.  The ribs are very filling.  I really liked that place.  It has good food and is really cool looking.