0 Restaurant Week Adventures: Blue Water Grill

So it's come to my attention that as much as I like seafood I don't really go to seafood restaurants...and I can't seem to understand why. In efforts to get more seafood restaurants under my belt, a good friend and I decided to check Blue Water Grill for restaurant week. 

0 Adventures in Restaurant Week - Barraca

As stated in a previous post...THIS. IS. SPARTA RESTAURANT WEEK!!! Wouldn't be able to call myself a food lover if I didn't participate now would I? First stop on the RW adventures Barraca!!! 

What is Barraca and what made you come here?

Barraca is a Spanish restaurant specializing in tapas, paellas, and sangrias located in the West Village. What made me come here was that I was looking up places to take someone a few months ago and saw this place. I'm a huge fan of Spanish food and an even bigger fan of the West Village so I was pretty sure I would end up going there. Long story short...I didn't go -_-. Then RW happened and I saw Barraca was on the list. I'd be a fool to not take advantage this time around. So I hit up a friend of mine and we rolled out

Makes sense...so tell me about the place.

Medium sized, exposed brick (which I love), dimly lit, enjoyable tunes, moderate noise level, very mellow vibe. A.K.A. My kind of place. Perfect for clearing your head and grabbing a drink by yourself and also good for entertaining a date. 

Ok. What did you end up ordering?

To start:

• Gambas al ajillo - shrimp in garlic, olive oil, and guindilla pepper
• Croquetas de jamon - cripsy serrano ham croquettas

For an entree:

• Mariscos - paella with shirmp, calamari, cuttlefish, monkfish, string beans, clams, and mussels

Dessert:

• Bomba de chocolate - chocolate mousse, hazelnuts, and caramel
• Banana pudding (which I don't see on their online menu)

Only one entree? Wasn't it 2 of you?

Yeah only one entree. This place serves entrees that are meant for 2 people to share so in efforts to not waste food and money there was only one entree served.

I guess that makes sense. So how was the food?

The food was very good. The shrimp in garlic was EXCELLENT! Plump shrimp sitting in garlic and oil and peppers. May have been my favorite part of the meal. Croquetas were good as well. A little on the salty side, but not enough to make you not want to continue destroying them. The paella was enormous and literally packed with tons and tons of seafood. Every item providing it's own individual flavor which lead to a mega party for my taste buds. The dessert was pretty average. Nothing to really go crazy over.

Wasn't feeling the dessert huh?

I wouldn't say I wasn't feeling it, but there was nothing special about it. I usually don't get dessert when I go to restaurants so if it's not amazing then it's just something sweet on a plate to me. 

I get that. Sooooooo this place specializes in sangria and you didn't try any?

Of course I did. How could I forget about that. Every course was washed down with several glasses of sangria. See below:

• De La Mancha - saffron infused passion fruit, Verdejo white wine, clementine, Don Q Limon Rum. Very bitter taste
• Valencia - Rose, Oleo Succharum "citrus oil", grapefruit juice, vodka ginger. My favorite out of all the ones I've had. Smooth, fairly sweet, love the ginger finish
• Rioja - Rioja red wine, Aperol, guindilla pepper, cherry heering liqueur. My second favorite. Deep red color, rich flavor, little kick.

Nice. Any thing else I need to know? Dislikes? Recommendation?
I really enjoyed my trip to Barraca. Outside of the croquettas being a little salty I have zero compaints about this place. Definitely worth a visit. If you manage to make it there I'd suggest either going with a group or with someone who has a healthy appetite. Since the portions are meant to be shared you don't want to get stuck with a bunch of food that you're trying to force down or lug home.

 

 

 Barraca

81 Greenwich Avenue

(212) 462 - 0080

0 Take advantage!

Ladies and gentlemen...

Not sure if you all know this but restaurant week is upon us...actually it's been here since the 17th of this month. Anyway, until the 7th of March (next week Friday) select restaurants will have prefixed, 3 course lunch and dinner menus at discounted prices.

I encourage you all to take advantage! This is definitely the time for you to try that restaurant or dish you were uncertain about without having to kill your pockets. You really can't go wrong with a 3 course dinner for $38 bucks.

For a full list of all the restaurants participating in restaurant week click le here

If there are any places you recommend or would like to tell us about please feel from to leave a comment below or reach out to us at NOMinNYC@gmail.com and share.

Peace, Love, and Grub!

2 Adventures In Restaurant Week Part Deux

I think I can get use to this restaurant week stuff. Select menu, discounted items, 3 course meal...I'd be a fool to not take advantage. Next up on my restaurant quest...Haru!

What the hell is Haru?
Simply put...Haru is a Sushi restaurant. Not like one of those $8 dollar Bento Box kind of places. It's waaaaaay more upscale. Kinda sorta like a Blue Fin or maybe Sushi Samba.

Ugh! Sushi! There's something about raw food (especially fish) that just doesn't do it for me. So you was over there eating a bunch of raw sea animals?
SMH! I was not. Even though I am a Sushi fan the items I chose to order weren't typical Sushi items...actually I didn't order Sushi at all. To start I had the King Crab Dumplings. For an entree I had the Filet Mignon. And for dessert I had the Cheesecake Tempura.

Doesn't sound like the typical Sushi order! With a place catered towards Sushi, how were the other non-Sushi items?
A! M! A! Z! I! N! G! The crab dumplings weren't what I expected. I thought it would be more of a jumbo lump kind of crab meat, but it was more of a paste. Either way I wasn't disappointed. The...Filet...Mignon! COOKED TO PERFECTION! So tender! So flavorful! Just an extremely well cooked piece of steak. And last but CERTAINLY NOT least...the cheesecake tempura. I'm not much of a dessert guy. It's not that I don't like sweets but during the course of a dinner outing, by the time it gets to dessert I'm full! Knowing this, I rarely get dessert. But since it came with the whole Restaurant Week special I said what the hell. THAT CHEESECAKE TEMPURA WAS SO DAMN GOOD!

Looks like the best part of your meal was dessert. Did the other courses not measure up?
The appetizer and entree were amazing! Like I don't have one single complaint about either. But I'm convinced that sweet baby Jesus himself...came down from the Heavens...and crafted that Cheesecake Tempura! It was without a doubt the best part of my already amazing meal.

What was so good about this damn tempura?
Let me paint a picture....
You're at an amusement park, carnival, fair, bazaar, etc. After looking all day you finally find the funnel cake stand. OF COURSE you get some funnel cake because you don't know when you'll ever have some again. You take that first bite and find out that your funnel cake has been filled with sweet, warm cheesecake. But not just any old box cheesecake that can be purchased from some random corner store. This is homemade, hand-crafted cheesecake! So now you're sitting there with cheesecake, wrapped in funnel cake, and some syrup at the bottom of the plate that does nothing but complement. That right there ladies and gentlemen...is what made that Cheesecake Tempura so damn good!

I kind want a piece of that right now! Obviously, the food was good...how was the ambiance and service?
Very clean, dim lighting, pleasant staff, mellow vibe. The type of place you could go to for a romantic evening or an after work get together.

Nice. Recommendations?
GO HERE! Whether you're in the area or not, you NEED to try this place out! And that's all I got to say about that.

Haru Sushi

220 Park Avenue South

New York, NY 10003

2 Adventures in Restaurant Week

I can't even believe that restaurant week has been around for so long and I'm just now taking advantage of it. SMH...silly me! Let's not dwell on my negligence, but focus more on my experience.

You're an idiot for taking so long to indulge in restaurant week, but like you said I won't dwell...where did you go?
Ok...no need for the name calling now! First stop, was Victor's Cafe. An upbeat Cuban restaurant located in the theater district. Figured since I'm a huge fan of Spanish cuisine, what better way to start my restaurant week adventures?

Nice! I'm sure you had you're hands full with picking a dish, so what did you end up getting?
To start I had the Shrimp Ceviche. Followed by the "Ropa Vieja" which is shredded Angus skirt steak simmered in garlic, tomatoes, onions, and peppers nestled in a plantain basket. I know I know...it sounds like a lot but it's basically beef stew in a small cup made out of plantains. And for dessert I ended up with the traditional flan.

Sounds like you were eating pretty damn good...any dislikes?
Some. Nothing to keep me from going there again though. First - I thought the shrimp ceviche was a little plain. Just some cold shrimp with chopped up onions, peppers, and tomatoes. Nothing all that special. Flavor was eh. Second - the Ropa Vieja was VERY GOOD, but was a bit on the salty side. The flan was straight though

Doesn't seem like it was that good of a meal...you sure you enjoyed it?
I did enjoy it...thoroughly. But there were some things that could be worked on. Don't get me wrong, I would definitely order those same things again (probably not the ceviche), but just putting it out there so everyone is prepared.

Anything else you want to get off your chest?
Yes...THE SANGRIA IS BANGING!  That's all

Recommendation?
There are definitely other places where the Spanish cuisine is better, but Victor's is worth a shot

 

Victor's Cafe

236 W 52nd Street

New York, NY 10019

(212) 586-7714