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.              

The Tater Tot crawl

     A few weeks ago I went on a Tater Tot Crawl.  What's that? So I basically go around the city and try different restaurants that serve tater tots.  My mom found the crawl on a website, The Huffington Post. There are 11 places on the website but we only went to three of them because of time and we couldn't eat that much.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/03/tater-tots-new-york-city_n_6912968.html

Click on that link to visit the site.  I recommend it.

     Anyway the 1st place we went to is The Melt Shop.  On the one of the sides there is black boards with cheese related things drawn on it.  Here you can get sandwiches, salads, and tater tots.  The employees had funny cheese puns on the back of their shirts.  They're really cheesy, huh get it.  Some of the puns were "Girl you lookin Gouda" and "Give me all ya Cheddar".  
https://www.meltshop.com

     We got their loaded tots.  They were like heaven.  So it's tater tots with parm. cheese bits, melted cheese, Jalapenos (which I avoid, I don't like spiciness), and bacon.  It was awesome with the random bits of crunchy bacon.

   The Whiskey Tavern is next on the list. They have a bar on one side.  Opposite of the bar are these cool tables that are chess board sized tables that just stick out of the wall.  It's near all the kinds of court houses in the city.  I made a joke that the judges and the lawyers come here to eat.
http://whiskeytavernnyc.com

   We got the Pizza tots.  They're tater tots covered in pizza sauce and melted cheese.  I like them but they were a little weird in the way the sauce had made them wet.  We also ordered the pork tacos.  They were delicious. 

   The last place was Criff Dogs.  You had to walk downstairs into a basement to get to this restaurant.  It was very small and very popular.  There was a bar across one side with stools.  There were two arcade games you could play and one arcade game made into a table.
http://www.crifdogs.com

     We got the chili cheese taters.  They are tater tots covered in chili and cheese. They were a tiny bit spicy.  I loved them.

     So I really like the three places.  They all have really cool websites that you will want to check out.  I want to go back to try their other foods.  I again really recommend doing the crawl.  It's really fun and you get some exercise and you explore the city.

   
    

Dobbs Dawg House

   

     Yesterday on my birthday (I turned 11), me and my family went to Dobbs Dawg House on 25 Cedar St, Dobbs Ferry.  Inside you will see a big T.V. and a counter where you order.  The seating is bar styled, with counters instead of tables and high spinning chairs.  

     The menu has crazy toppings.  You want cream cheese on your hotdog?  You can get it. Wanna get some peanut butter on your dog. You can here!  On the menu, on the side opposite of the build your own dawg, there is the specialty dawgs.  Which includes but is not limited to: the Reuben dawg, the Pizza dawg, and the Toe nail dawg.  Just kidding on that last one.  I asked them how they come up with their specialty dawgs. The answer is: they take what foods they like and they put them on a hot dog.  They also have a "dawg of the month".  If that dawg is popular then they might add it to their menu. They started with 12 specialty dawgs.  Then they add dawgs in groups of 3 because the specialty dawgs are in 3 columns.  Now there are 48 of them!!!!  They said the most popular one is the Mac Attack (has mac and cheese and crispy bacon).
      
       I got 2 dawgs.  The 1st one I got was custom made.  I call it the Awesome Dawg.  The toppings are divided into categories: sauces/ cheeses, crunchy, veggies/ fruit, and then you have deluxe toppings and premium toppings (like a fried egg).  It started as a normal dog with the standard ketchup, relish but then we get into the crazy toppings like BBQ sauce, cheese sauce cheddar cheese bits crunched Doritos, and bits of bacon.  Sounds awesome right.  It was so tasty.  The Doritos add a very nice touch. For dessert I got the Dessert dawg.  It may sound gross but it was delicious.  It was a plain dawg with chocolate sauce, crushed nuts, and peanut butter.  The chocolate sauce gave it a sweet taste while the dawg gave it that savory taste.  The nuts made the dawg crunchy and the peanut butter gave it that feeling when the peanut butter sticks to the back of your teeth. 

   My mom got the Hawaiian Dawg which has: bacon, teriyaki glaze, pineapple & scallion and the Boston Dawg which has: brown mustard, crispy bacon, baked beans & diced onions.

My dad got the Sushi dawg which has: ginger soy mayo, wasabi cream, seaweed salad, pickled ginger & sesame seeds,
and the Slaw dawg which has:

yellow mustard, chili, coleslaw & diced onions.

     My sister got a S'mores dawg which has: chocolate sauce, marshmallows & graham cracker crumbs.

     Instead of french fries this place has tots- Tater Tots, and a lot of types.  Me and my family got the General Tots.  It was a lot of tater tots 

under lots of baked beans, bacon,  and 
cheddar cheese.  I didn't try them but I bet they
were good! The one I did try was the Dawg Bowl
Tots.  They are just like the General Tots, but instead of baked beans it was Mac and Cheese.

     The place has its own contest.  The rules are you must eat all the dawgs in your column with no modifications and must be eaten in the order listed.  To find your column you have to roll a dice.  36 people have tried but only 1 of them has succeeded. 

    So if you are a hot dog lover or a really hungry person in or near Dobbs Ferry (I say that because they make their hotdogs fast- I got my custom one in like 5 minutes), you should really check this place out.                  

     

Havana Cafe

  

Yesterday me and my family went to an awesome restaurant called Havana Cafe.  It is located on 3151 East Tremont Avenue Bronx, NY 10461.  When you first walk in you can hear loud Cuban music. You will see the bar which is next to the door.  You should also see the brick pillars.  For light there were chandeliers hanging from the wooden ceiling.  On the corners there are T.Vs.  On most of the walls there were murals.  We were there from 5:30-7:00 and at these hours it was busy. It seems like a very popular restaurant! I remember a guy walking around and balancing a lot of cups.  That was cool.

  Let's talk about the food.  We got 3 appetizers.  We got Mofongo, which is green plantations with smoked bacon and jumbo shrimp on top. I didn't taste the bacon.  My mom loved it though.  She said she tasted nothing but bacon.

The other appetizer are Empanadas, which are little turnovers or as I like to call it little pockets of food.  The Empanadas were assorted or mixed up.  One of them had chicken which was yummy.  The other one had beef which was exquisite. 

  
  The final appetizer was Pastelons.  Picture a shepherd's pie made with food like plantains, olives, raisins and instead of mashed potatoes on top it is melted cheese.  In the Pastelons there is ground beef. It tasted great! 

  We got two dishes as a main course.  We got Chorzizo pizza which was impeccable.  It was a bit spicy with the chorizo on top.  It was bit spicier than your average pepperoni pizza, which it what I liked about it. 

 We also ordered Ropa vieja.  This is one of the national dishes of Cuba.  It looks like pulled pork, but it's beef.  It was luscious.  The funny thing about the dish is that when translated it means old clothes.  Maybe because the dish looks like a pile of old and torn clothes! 

  For desert we got a flan.    The flan came with strawberries and whipped cream.  

 This restaurant is great!  You should check it out.  Check out their website first to look at the menu.  Their website is: www.bronxhavanacafe.com

Cevabdzinica Sarajevo

    Today me and my family went to Cevabdzinica Sarajevo, an awesome Bosnian restaurant, after going to the awesome American Museum of the Moving Image.  The restaurant is on 37-18 34th ave. Astoria NY 11103.  When you walk in, you will first notice the window shaped mosaics and the 2 flags and 2 soccer jerseys.  When you walk in, you will hear a foreign language saying something on the T.V.  The next you will notice is the many newspaper articles about stuff.  The biggest one is about the owners.  

     We got some mind-blowing food.  We got Mijesano Meso, which is mixed meat for 2.  Which is kinda self explanatory, "mixed meat" means well... very assorted meat and "for 2" means there is a lot of mixed meat.  The meats include cow uh.... uh..... heart.  It is very chewy and very tasty if you don't know it's heart.  It also includes kidney, which has a sweet after taste, which also is beef.  And the last beef product is sweet bread, which I sadly didn't try.  So sorry.  There are 3 other meats.  2 tasty types of lamb sausages (she told us the sausage is a secret recipe), and some very good pieces of chicken.

        We also got Beef Stew also known as Gulas, according to the menu.  On the side was some of the best mashed potatoes I have ever tried.  It was all in a bowl with a sweet taste and a hint of tomato sauce.  Now let's get to the meat.  The meat was very good and very tender.

     The last thing we got was a sandwich, to be exact called a Buroke.  It is a pie slice shaped sandwich where you control what goes in.  What do you want in your sandwich? You can have cheese (which we got, it's really good), meat, spinach, or potatoes.  The outside is very flaky, I must say.

     So I really hope you go to that museum and this restaurant.  They are really stupendous, I must say.

Liebman's deli

  Today me and my family went to Liebman's, located at  552 W 235th St in the Bronx.  It is a really good deli.  We got a lot of very tasty food. When you walk in you see a showcase with the meat.  Like at Subway( the sandwich shop not the train).  You also see there is a mirror one the side.  You sit in booths.  Above the booths there are pendant lighting, a semi circle with a light in the middle.  Me and my family sat by a painting called    "Shabbotshalom".  The painting was of a fancy set table.

  Let's talk about the good stuff: the food.  One of the things we got was a Beef hot dog.  Also know as Frankfurters.  It was very tasty.  It was also crisp.  We also got a potato knish.  It was a very good deep fried mashed potato.  It was a very crunchy on the outside.  We got something else with potato.  A potato pancake.  It was also very tasty and crunchy like the knish.  But still very soft inside.  We got a sandwich also, corned beef sandwich.  It was delicious.  There was a lot of beef.  My mom guessed there was about 4 inches of corned beef in it.  The beef was very good.  The meat was like dry less salty ham.  The bread was also very soft.  Now my favorite: the baked beans.  The beans are very sweet and soft.  The best part is kids get free desert.  The waiter gave me and Stella a cookie.


If you want some good food you should come here.

Del Frisco's Grille

    
     Yesterday I went to a restaurant called Del Frisco's Grille at 50 Rockefeller plaza.  The chef was the father of one of my class mates.  The chef said at Christmas time you can see the big Christmas tree from the restaurant.  When you walk in the first thing you'll notice is the big upside down cup-shaped lamp shades. Also when you walk in you'll see a bar.  The place is rustic looking but fancy.  It was full of interesting wood.  In the back you can see a big barn door which slides and reveals a coat closet.  You could also see a wine display in the back.  In the corners there were high Booths.  That's where me and my family sat.  Next to where I sat there was a contemporary art painting.  The menu was full of funny things like instead of side dishes it was "a lil' somethin somethin" and instead of burgers it was "two fisted sandwiches".

   For appetizers we had lollipop chicken wings.  They were called that because the bottom half was scrapped and the remaining meat was made into a ball.  They were good as gold.  They were also spicy, like in the middle spicy. Probably cause of the black pepper flakes.   For the main course I had a grille prime cheeseburger.  It is a double patty cheeseburger with pickles, lettuce and a thing called sloppy sauce.  Who knows what is in it but it is really good sauce. The burger was delicious.  It is presented on a tray with a cup of fries.  The tray was really a cutting board.  At least that's what I thought it was.  That burger is very filling. 

      My dad got a lamb burger which I didn't try, my mom got something called ahi tuna tacos.  The tuna were served raw.  I also didn't try it.  The thing she got that I did try was thinly sliced brussel sprouts with bacon.  The brussel sprouts were cooked with the bacon.  The brussel sprouts were a bit crunchy.  My sister got Mac and cheese.  It was made with Gruyere cheese and garlic.  It did not taste like your average Mac and cheese, it was much much better. 

   The chef said that the most popular thing on the menu is the cheese steak egg rolls and the ahi tuna tacos.  He said the cheese steak egg rolls are his favorite.  So if you want a really good burger and you're in NYC to see the big tree, go here.