Chicken parm

For a quick bite outside the office, we went to Abitino's on 2nd.

We all decided to have the same thing - chicken parm sub - to stay and drinks.

Abitino's is one of the many pizzerias in Manhattan. The decor is non-existent and the tables and chairs are distressed. It looked like they may be planning to spruce up the place or the menu broke because when we were there, we did not see the menu.

The chicken was pounded flat, breaded and fried. The chicken was placed on a toasted bread. Then a slightly seasoned tomato sauce was poured or in this case, lightly brushed on.

It was rather dry for me. The sauce was not that fantastic and it was actually bland and had little by way of flavor. Oh and mozzarella was rubbery where it had cooled.

It settled in your stomach like a brick. I think next time, I will stick to the stuffed shells, lasagna or calamari.

Abitino's Pizza
733 2nd Ave (between 39th St & 40th St)
tel. 212.661.1919
Open: M - F 9.30 am - 10.45 pm, Sat 10 am - 10.45 pm, and Sun 11 am - 10.45 pm

Healthy Huevos Rancheros

Healthy Huevos Rancheros

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 medium red onion, diced
• 1 small or medium tomato, diced
• 1/3 avocado, diced
• ½ lime
• 1 corn tortilla
• 1 fresh eggs
• 1 Tsp fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
• Vinegar 1-2 tbsp
• Strawberries (5) cut in ¼ s

Method

1. Make the salsa first by chopping the onions, tomatoes and avocado, and then toss them in a bowl with lime juice. Add cilantro, salt and pepper to taste as needed.  
2.  Prepare the poached egg. Add the vinegar to the water, bring the water to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, add the egg to the water gently. Watch the egg, once it floats to the top after approximately 1-3 minutes it is done.Take the egg out of the water gingerly so you do not break the yoke.
3. Prepare the (store bought) corn tortilla in the microwave while the egg is poaching; it usually takes 1 minute in a damp paper towel.
4. Arrange the plate; put the cut strawberries to one side of the plate. Place the tortilla on the bottom of the other side of the plate, place the poached egg on the tortilla and layer the salsa mixture on top of the egg. Top with a little more cilantro salt and pepper to taste.

 Enjoy!!!

Total Calories =262

Delicious Rolls from Hiroshi

I had no idea what I wanted so I just ordered three rolls from Hiroshi.

I ordered the sweet potato tempura roll, pumpkin tempura roll, and avocado cucumber roll. Two rolls would have been sufficient. But I did my best to finish.

Three rolls from Hiroshi

The pumpkin was very good and it was not too sweet.

The sweet potato roll was wonderfully sweet and delicious.

The avocado cucumber roll was refreshing between the two tempura rolls.

Hiroshi
585 3rd Ave #38
New York, NY 10016
tel (212) 661-9288
Hours:
Lunch: Mon - Fri, 11 am - 3 pm
Dinner: Mon - Fri, 5 pm - 11 pm
Lunch & Dinner: Sat - Sun, 2 pm - 11 pm

Energy Kitchen

I got Energy Kitchen's five egg whites, turkey bacon on honey wheat English muffin and their C boosting smoothie blend.

The sandwich was good and still warm even though they were so slow in delivery. The turkey bacon was just the right crispiness - not burnt and not floppy soft. The egg whites were firm and the cheese is decent for american cheese...

Honey Wheat Muffin with Egg whites, turkey bacon and cheese

The smoothie was delicious but the only size is a filling 24 ounces. The Vaccinator is their vitamin c booster, and it was very tasty. It was made with orange juice, strawberries and banana.

Vaccinator

Energy Kitchen 

300 east 41st street (at 2nd ave)

New York, NY 10017

tel. (212) 687-1200

Hours: 

Monday - Friday, 7:30am - 10:00pm

Saturday, 9:00am - 9:00pm

Sunday, 10:00am - 9:00pm

Breakfast @ Panini Tozt

We all know Tiffany's doesn't serve breakfast but Panini Tozt does. I used to go there all the time but  I don't pass by it any more.

Croissant with egg, cheese and turkey bacon

Now I order from them instead. This time I went with a turkey bacon cheese and egg croissant and a vanilla yogurt parfait with fruit and granola.

Croissants in NYC are never as good as in Paris. This croissant was neither flaky nor buttery. But my turkey bacon was extra crispy as I like it and the egg was scrambled and fluffy. The cheese was plain old American fake orange stuff.

The parfait was made with vanilla yogurt, kiwi slices, strawberries, pineapple, and granola.

Fruit Parfait

I also has an Earl Grey tea with splenda and skim milk. They always get it right with the right amount of milk.

Panini Tozt

589 1st Avenue 
New York, NY 10016-6413
tel. (212) 213-9199
Hours: 24 hours a day

Esperanto (brunch)

Esperanto

145 Avenue C, New York, NY 10009

(212) 505-6559

I had the Huevos Rancheros, which is basically a fried egg on a fried tortilla with fresh salsa. Some Mexican versions of this same dish may have a warm salsa. The meal came with a side of homemade potatoes that were seasoned with paprika and cayenne and it also came with a side of black beans.

The fresh salsa consisted of tomato, red onion, cilantro and chive, it was bright and refreshing. I do not taste any citrus...sadly. The black beans taste homemade but it could also be a doctored up version from the package.

The tortilla was not homemade, but I liked the crunch with the egg and maybe the citrus at second thought would not have been good with the egg.

I am going to get their most popular brunch drink...waiter says they make a great Bloody Mary! Ok let's see.

BTW great day outside while I wait! And Bubs is happy sitting outside.

There staff was very friendly and helpful!!!

I liked this place; I would like to come back at night to see the live music!

I will ask which band is most popular to make a second trip and I will update the blog!

Wow, the bloody Mary is not too strong, but it was spicy, I really liked it! Lots of pepper good balance of tomato, can't taste the alcohol, so that is good. The alcohol should not over power the other flavors.

This place was really inexpensive!!! Can't beat the prices...
Friendly staff, good food, decor and ambiance are just ok, but I still liked it.

Quickie Japanese Lunch @ Aki's

Friday, we went to lunch with Ravi. At first we were going to Hiroshi but ended up at Aki aka Tony's for their bento box.

Aki is typical pseudo Japanese fare made by Chinese chefs. The place is clean, according to their rating.

Salmon Teriyaki Bento Box for $8.95

Service is so-so. Our waitress did not pay attention to David as he asked for tea for the table. But she got both our drinks and orders right.

Ravi and I got curry shrimp bento boxes and David stuck to the salmon teriyaki box. 

I can't comment on his bento but it looked good. I don't generally eat teriyaki as good as it may be.Nor do I eat salmon.

Curry Shrimp Bento Box for $9.95

I can say that the California roll was fresh and the shrimp shumai has always been my favorite from here. Just the right amount of seasoning and soy on it. I did not need any more seasoning or soy.

I got shrimp curry which was over white rice. The shrimp was clean - about six were included. There were sliced onions, green peas, and diced carrots. I ate all but the onions, as usual. There was also some green veggie too.

They were in a medium spicy curry - I am not sure it was true Japanese curry but it was good. The rice soaked in the curry so it was quite tasty.

The bento came with a bland miso soup and a few pieces of lettuce drenched in their ginger salad dressing which I never eat. At $9.95, it was a quick and filling lunch.

Aki Sushi
720 2nd Ave
(between 38th St & 39th St)
New York, NY 10016
tel. (212) 922-1168
Hours: Your guess is as good as mine. They do not list this on their site. But you can order through Delivery.com, Seamless.com and their own site.

Cafe Pick Me Up

Cafe Pick Me Up
145 Avenue A
New York‎ NY‎ 10009-4949
United States

Strong coffee (Cafe Latte)
Recommendations: Mamas potatoes & flaky buttery croissants.

I had scrambled eggs with white cheddar and ham on a croissant. (You can choose various types of bread instead of croissants) The eggs were light and fluffy, the white cheddar and ham didn't add much flavor in this case, but it added salt and salt...not surprising but good.
The Atmosphere is really what I enjoy about this place. There is a quieter side in the back with cozy couches and Jazz music playing! It reminds me of my college days @ SUNY New Paltz. I love it, it is just how brunch mornings should be, relaxing.
Come with friends or alone; you will still feel comfortable. Tompkins Square Park is across the street, so you can always pick up a coffee, something to nosh on and stroll in the park.
The wait staff is friendly but very busy, so unlike most New Yorkers you need to have a little patience if you want a second cup of coffee or an additional croissant. The bakery goods are not made here, however they are delicious.
Wow, Otis Redding just came on! Gonna sit back relax and enjoy it!
(Chuck Johnson R.I.P.)

Lunch at Patsy's on 3rd Ave

So lunch buddy, David calls me up and invites me out to lunch with Victoria and himself. Of course, I said yes when I heard it was Patsy's.

Patsy's serves darn good pizza and salads in an area full of bars and bar food.

The restaurant was still empty when we arrived. The place is decorated with pictures of celebrities, fake windows and a lovely copper ceiling.

The waitress was nice and checked in every so often with us. She was also understanding when we got the giant salad instead of the smaller portion we could handle. She took it back and gave us the small one very graciously!

It was nice to get out of the office and sit at a real restaurant to eat instead of going out and buying food to eat at the desk while still dealing with the phone ringing, emails and work.

Anyway, we started off with the salad. I do admit it took a while for them to prepare the plate but it looks darn good, doesn't it? It is the insalada siciliana, which is divine - a green salad made with mozzarella cheese, roasted peppers, black olives, capers, carrots, tomatoes and artichokes with homemade italian dressing. Oh, and if you do not omit it - anchovies. We ordered without anchovies, even though I totally admit not having eaten many anchovies before. The small appetizer is enough to serve three people well. The family size is too big and we ordered it accidentally and had to send it back to be cut down to this more manageable size. It is absolutely tangy, with the saltiness of the capers cutting into the sweet of the greens, tomato and cheese. It is so good!! 

Insalada Siciliana

Since we were all good with any toppings, we ordered a half sausage, half olive pizza pie. It came piping hot from the brick oven in the back and it looked absolutely divine. There were fresh basil leaves through the pie - with a nicely laid tomato sauce. The sausage was not very oily as it is at other pizzerias and it is crushed into little bits strewn throughout. Perfectly seasoned meat! The olives were cut into smaller pieces and spread through out the lovely thin crust. It was absolutely divine. We ate too much, I think because as we walked over, I felt my stomach expand and my weight gained by 5 pounds. It was totally worth it. :) I liked the decor and I love their pizza and salad!!

Half Sausage, Half Olive Pie - Thin Crust

Patsy's Pizzeria
509 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10016
(between 34th and 35th Streets on 3rd Ave)
tel. (212) 689-7500

Hours of Operation:
Mon - Fri 11:30 am - 9:45 pm
Sat & Sun Noon - 9:45 pm 

 

Cu 29 Copper Bar and Grill Brunch Buffet

Another weekend, another brunch. Yes, we just never posted others yet. This time, we went out to support Nissa who ran her first ever marathon! She placed 325ish!!!

After unsuccessfully trying to spot her, the app finally updated slowly and she had passed us and hit the 15 mile mark!

So we walked east along the park and found the Cu Copper Bar and Grill. I think today was some deal too as they had some southwestern theme going.

The service was a bit slow but decent. Our plates and drinks were cleared timely.

 

As we had a groupon for it, we ate unlimited buffet and bellinis. The buffet was serve yourself and the selections were limited.

They served eggs, potatoes, French toast, pork sausage, pork bacon, mini muffins, and fruit salad.

It was warm but not hot. They were very slow in replacing the French toast but the other stuff was replaced more quickly. I even had someone help serve my first plate. o(^▽^)o

The eggs were tasty, nothing special. The bacon extra crispy, and the sausage was alright. The mini muffins were quite delicious - blueberry was blueberry-ish and the corn muffin was yummy. The French toast was okay too. The real bad part is no subs so if you don't eat pork, no meat for you... This kind of made it a no for non porky eaters but for me is cool.

Overall, it was nothing special but two big plates were filling for about $18 a person with the groupon, tax, and tip.

Cu Copper Bar and Grill

232 N 12th St, Brooklyn, NY, 11211

Tel. 347-889-5531

MON-THU: 11:30am - 12am
FRIDAY: 11:30am - 3am
SATURDAY: 11:00am - 3am
SUNDAY: 11:00am - 12am
SAT&SUN BRUNCH
FROM: 11:00am - 4:30pm