Urban Lobster Shack

Ever crave something so much, you just had to get it no matter what?

Well, I had a craving for lobster and I gave in and ordered a lobster from the Urban Lobster Shack on Seamless.com because it was about 1 pm already and I had a lot of work.

Lobster Roll - I happen to add the coleslaw which was awesome!

This was chock full of lobster tail bits on a hot dog bun. (No, it seriously was a hot dog bun). It was only lightly seasoned and was not full of oily mayonnaise. The cole slaw is normally not something I like but this tasty lightly seasoned salad was just awesome so I put it on my lobster roll. I also devoured it in about 10 minutes.

I enjoyed it very much. It was quite filling and really good - especially the cole slaw on top.


Urban Lobster Shack
805 3rd Ave, (between 49th and 50th Streets)
New York, NY Tel. 212.888.0799
Fax 212.888.0799 (orders0
Hours:
Lunch Mon-Fri: 10 am - 3 pm
Dinner Mon-Fri: 5 pm - 9 pm
Saturday: Closed
Sunday: Noon - 9 pm

Zaitzeff Burger

David wanted burgers so he suggested the evil McDs!!! However, we ended up going to Zaitzeff Burger on 2nd Ave.

Well done just the way I like it.

McDs, it is not! They grill to order. But the extras range from cheese to onions, about $1 onwards per topping but worth a look.

The special is more than enough to satisfy a lunch appetite.

Fully assembled again after ketchup

The burger itself was pretty lean, and they listened when I asked for really well done. It was still moist served on a muffinish looking bun. I think it's sourdough or something. xP Very nicely seasoned and the cheese gave it more flavor.

Crispy tasty fries served in a paperbag.

The fries were crispy and served up in a paper bag. This was not a good idea as the bag is not ventilated so the fries started to get soggy. They were still nicely seasoned but not too salty!

All in all, this was a very good burger, with decent fries even if the carryout is not ideal.

Zaitzeff Burger
711 2nd Ave, between 38th and 39th Street
New York, NY 10016
tel. 212.867.3471

Public House

Yesterday, we went out to Public House for lunch. The Public House is a sports bar/restaurant - at the bar and some tables, you have a view of the large screens filled with sports images.

It is a rather large and open space. Beware though - get a reservation because they fill up and if you like sitting in booths, then a reservation is a must.

After debating over the many dishes on the menu, we finally ordered:

Pulled Pork on Poppy seeded Bread

David got the luscious looking pulled pork on a poppy roll with shoestring fried onions, pickle and he substituted the coleslaw for the well seasoned fries (salted and herbed). I was offered and tried some of the pulled pork. This pulled pork was moist, well seasoned and beyond easy to eat. And eat. And eat. But I only took a small forkful. It was not drowning in a well of sauce and was absolutely delicious.

Mediterranean Salad with chicken

Rania made the calorie conscious choice of the hummus with pita bread salad - aka Mediterranean salad with chicken. It's got that brown dipping sauce. Very delicious, she said.

And I broke my usual beef-free diet by having the Public House Burger. As always, I like my burger really well done. So my well-done burger came really well done like I requested. Love it! It was not as moist because it was really well-done. In this case, I would have blended the meat with chopped onion before grilling it because that adds moisture and flavor.

However, it was still a very tasty burger - served on - get this - English Muffin!! You had your choice of toppings, from mushrooms to bacon to onions, etc. I chose mozzarella cheese and bacon. And they did what most places do not... Well done bacon!! It was lovely, super crispy and just awesome.

Public House Burger, with mozzarella and bacon

I always cut my burgers - this time in just halves and then demolished it all. I did remove the sliced of onion and the tomato first before I added ketchup. It was a decent burger - should have more taste in the meat itself but with the saltiness of the bacon and the mozzarella, it turned out fine.

Now the one that you must taste here is definitely the french fries. This time it was a bit saltier than usual but it was well peppered with herbs and salt. Dipped in ketchup, it was nice toasty crunch! Much better than many places. They should give mayo so you can have ketchup mixed with mayo for an even tastier combo. :)

All in all, Public House is a great lunch or happy hour spot. I've had their appetizers and they're delicious.

Public House

140 East 41st Street

New York, NY 10017

tel. 212.682.3710

Hours:  

Lunch Daily: 11:30am - 5:00pm
Dinner Nightly 5:00pm - 11:00pm

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

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.

Quickie lunch

I had no idea what to eat so I ended up getting the Virgin chicken from Best Wingers on 2nd Ave and 38th St. I took a picture after I quartered it and ate a portion but at least you see the chicken. It is fried battered and flattened chicken breast with their own sauce, ketchup, lettuce on a roll. I removed the tomato. It is nicely seasoned and tasty but not for everyday.