Arriba Arriba

After a grueling week at work, I needed a break. Barb cancelled Gravy because she was working late. Since I owed her toys for her toy drive, I decided to buy them and go uptown.

Dark but interesting

Arriba Arriba is a Mexican restaurant in the upper 80s on the East Side. As you can see, they have decor that reminds me of the desert at night - skull included. O_o

Mango Marguerita

We quickly got our mango margueritas in. - Yum. Great drink after a long week.

 After furiously debating over which dish to choose, I went with the mole poblano, in the end. Barb got the camarones al aljillo or shrimp in garlic sauce.

Shrimp in Garlic Sauce

Yellow rice and salad

My Mole was ok. Truth be told, the mole dishes at Mole on 2nd Ave was better. It was somewhat indescribable tasting although it was chicken breast meat but rather uninspired and rather limp tasting. All in all, I did notice it was more non-ethnic crowd. The lone female waitress was inattentive to us but super attentive to all the other tables. We had the nice male staffers taking very good care of us. But the food was just not inspired.

Pollo Mole Poblano

Rice with Black beans

Arriba Arriba
1463 3rd Ave, between 82nd & 83rd Streets
New York, NY 10028
tel. 212.249.1423
Hours: No idea - not on website.

Baba...what?

Baba-burger! Babaganoush is a eggplant spread that is popular in the Mediterranean. It is also the only form of eggplant I will eat. However, this vegetarian burger is made out of a nicely seasoned flattened falafel - a patty - topped with arugula, 'goat cheese', and two slices of tomato in a whole wheat bun.

Baba-burger

However, I tasted no goat cheese - only the babaganoush and the arugula. I tossed out the overly ripe tomato slices. But even without the goat cheese, the babaganoush was delicious over the equally delicious flattened falafel burger.

I was not disappointed in either the size or the taste. Both were satisfying but I was looking forward to goat cheese. ;P

Crisp
684 3rd Ave (@ 43rd St
New York, NY 10017
Hours: Mon-Fri 10:00am-9:00pm, Sat-Sun 12:00am-8:00pm

Cake Boss Cafe

After you go through an exhibit @ Discovery Times Square, you can load up on Sugar at the Cake Boss Cafe.

KA got the layered cookies and a chocolate with nuts tart. She says the tarts were like eating Baci with a crust. The tricolor cookies were ok but not fantastic but way better than some of the other bakeries. However, the flavor was warped by being refrigerated.

Chocolate Nut Tart, Tricolored cookies

I just got the lobster tail. This flaky layered concoction was filled with a lighter than custard vanilla flavored filling and was not as messy or sweet as I was forewarned and expected. It was quite delicious. I liked the flaky layers and the filling a lot.

Lobster Tail

Cake Boss Cafe @ Discovery Times Square
226 W. 44th Street, between 7th & 8th Avenues
New York, NY 10036
Hours: M - F 11:00 am - 6:00 pm, Sat & Sun - 11:00 am - 6:30 pm
Admission to Discovery Times Square exhibits is not needed to visit the Café.

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