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 Valentine's Day Date...

So as much as I may preach against Valentine's Day festivities...I'm guilty of partaking this year. How did I go about choosing where I wanted to go, you ask? Simple! I knew I wanted to go to a place that I haven't been to and that also sold seafood. After some searching around and review reading I was lead to Fish Tag. 

What made you come here as opposed to some place else?

I was looking for a low key, intimate, quiet venue. After doing some research I saw that Fish Tag kept coming up on several lists. Dug a little bit further and decided to take the plunge and bring my talents to Fish Tag. Seafood, never been before, AND I got to take someone who's very special to me. Triple win if you ask me. 

Did all your research pay off?

I'd say it did. The venue was everything I was looking for and expecting. Quiet, visually appealing (exposed brick!...can't go wrong with that), pleasant wait staff, and above everything else I thought the food was pretty good too. 

You say you thought it was good...what about your date?

She enjoyed the food but definitely not as much as I did. Something to keep in mind about this place is that their seafood items are VERY FRESH (which can be a good thing...at least to me it is)! Meaning, if you're not into fishy taste and textures you may wanna avoid here and go to a more generic seafood restaurant. 

Got it...so what did you all get?

To start the Grilled Prawn and Spicy Chilies Bruschetta. VERY TASTY! For entrees we got the: 

- Grilled Striped Bass (she) - fresh bass with a layer of crispy skin on the top, sitting on a bed of rapini, oyster mushrooms, tomatoes confit, and garlic puree 

- and the Grilled Swordfish and Greek Sausage (me) - plump swordfish with 2 strips of Greek sausage, loukaniko, grilled kale, middle eastern spiced bulgur salad

And everything was washed down with 2 glasses of red wine. Overall, a very satisfying meal.

Anything else I should know about? 

Surprisingly they have a huge list of wine and beers. All separated by taste to help those who may not necessarily be fluent in the languages of wine and beer. Lastly, the portions are not that big which may actually be a good thing. However, if you're someone with a rather large appetite you may wanna grab a quick snack before coming here.

Fish Tag

222 West 79th Street

(212) 362-7470(212) 362-7470

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0 BYOBBBQ at the Butcher Bar

I bet you're wondering what the title of the post means? Well if you got confused, it means Butcher Bar is a BBQ restaurant that has a BYOB policy(BYOBBBQ, get it now).  Honestly, was a little skeptical at first, but it turned out awesome.  Actually, everything didn't just turn out awesome, it turned out to be amazing!!  Come along for a journey of fresh cut BBQ and delicious Beer.

1 Best Burger Hunt NYC - Part 3 (Lucky's Famous Burgers)

I came across Lucky's completely by chance, as I was at work and browsing Seamless trying to figure out my lunch, and stumbled across this burger joint.  I can't give you a review of the place, because well, I didn't go there....but they did come to me....with my food.

0 Best Burger Hunt NYC - Part 2 (The Counter)

After all the talk of burgers on Friday, naturally, I had to get one. So to continue my quest for the best burger in NYC, I landed at a make your own joint called The Counter. I always pass this place on my walk home from work and have been meaning to try it.

2 Best Burger Hunt NYC - Part 1 (Bill's Bar & Burger)

So, I decided that after many discussions with a TON of different people, that everyone has an opinion on what they think the best burger is in NYC.  A lot of people say Five Guys, no shake shack, no 5 napkins...I'm not quite sure if anyone can come to an agreement on the burger situation in NYC.

0 Nom gets Elegant

Last night, my firm was hosting a welcoming event for a newly hired judge.  We have quite a few events here in our NYC office, however, this one takes the cake.  The decor and food were top notch, and everything was presented with elegance.  I was given the opportunity to take pictures of the event last night and figured if I'm taking pictures of the attendees, I'm damn well sure going to take pictures of the food.  

The event was Catered by Elegant Affairs, which is a company based out of Glen Cove, NY.  The staff was absolutely wonderful, and really did a nice job with the presentation of the food as well as the bar setup. The food consisted of passed Hors d'oeuvres,  two cheese stations, fruit, chips and assorted peanuts. Dessert consisted of Death By Chocolate cubes and cheesecake balls.  Just typing this is making me hungry right now, and I hope you're getting hungry reading...good...because I'm about to make you hungrier.

First up: the cheese, fruit, chips and nuts. The nuts were your average salted mixed nuts, so nothing special there, but they made a nice, quick snack if the rest of the food wasn't your cup of tea. One of the more surprisingly delicious bites were the red beet and yukon gold chips they had.  If you have never had red beet chips before, go get a bag. You'll finish that in one sitting; if you don’t...call me, I'll help you out.  The fruit and cheese was really good.  Not being a HUGE cheese fan, I really just Nom'd on the cheddar cheese and grapes that were there, and they satisfied my cravings.

So cheese, fruit, chips, and peanuts aren't your thing? First, thats kind of weird, because who doesn't like that combo? But I digress, the passed Hors d'oeuvres were AMAZING!!!

Next was my second favorite - the blackberry plum hoisin turkey meatballs. You didn't even realize you were eating turkey meat. That hoisin sauce though, WOW!!! Made them THAT much better.  If that was all they had, I would have been satisfied.

The coolest presentation definitely goes to the cornucopia with spicy tuna tartar with a dab of wasabi creme fraiche on top. It looked like a little ice cream cone with spicy tuna. You tasted more spicy tuna than wasabi, which was good, but in my opinion, just a SLIGHT more wasabi would have made them better.

If you enjoy lollipops of any kind, you would have really enjoyed the coconut curry shrimp lollipops. Not your traditional lollipop, as this one didn't have gum in it, nor did you need an owl to tell you how many licks it took to get to the middle.  The curry sauce made an interesting flavor addition to an already awesome snack.  I liked it, but I feel maybe a duck sauce would have paired nicely instead of the curry. (I apologize as I did not get a picture of this one) If Zoolander miniature panini type sandwiches are your thing, you would have loved the spinach napoleon triangles. These little delectable treats consisted of roasted red peppers, herb boursin and balsamic grilled portobello mushrooms pressed in a spinach wrap. I'll admit; NOT a fan of mushrooms AT ALL. However, you don't even realize you're eating mushrooms, and the herb boursin gives it a nice little kick.

I'm a really big fan of Thai food, so the sautéed thai chicken bites with toasted sesame seeds were right up my alley. These tiny pieces of chicken were atop a small bed of peanuts - a nice presentation. The thai sauce was good, and a nice change of pace from traditional sesame chicken.

OK… My #1 favorite of them all was the standing micro grilled cheese. These little grilled cheese sandwiches were adorable. Made with wild mushrooms, asiago cheese and gherkin, perfectly pressed between tiny pieces of garlic toast. I'll admit I just had to google what the hell gherkin was, and I found out that it was the tiny little pickle that was on top of the sandwich. Not sure why they can’t just call it tiny little pickles, but hey, thats just me. Sorry, went off track there. Legitimately, these were amazing with every bite I took. Everything about it was just perfect. I want more of them...now...so if Elegant Affairs can just send me a tray over, that would be amazing!!!

If you're a quesadilla lover, you would have been in heaven.  Now, this wasn't your traditional cheese and chicken quesadiller (spelling is correct, trust me). OH NO, this was a peking duck and scallion quesadilla with hoisin sauce.  The duck was tender and really flavorful.  I think there was A LITTLE too much hoisin sauce, but it wasn't so overwhelming that it ruined everything. I just think instead of 2 tablespoons, use 1 (measurements are a complete guess on my part).

Last part of the passed Hors d'oeuvres was a California vegetable salad wrapped in rice paper with miso. Essentially, it was a vegetable packed sushi roll, minus the sushi flavor.  The carrots had a really perfect crisp to them.  Out of all of the above, this one is the third in my top three. It's a perfect spring or summer app you could make for a BBQ, or maybe a picnic at a winery.

AFTER ALL THAT FOOD....OF COURSE there's dessert, because what meal would be complete without dessert?

You had two choices: death by chocolate or a cheesecake lollipop dipped in white chocolate with a graham cracker crust.  I didn't think I could fit any more, but I'm fairly certain I had two or three of each of them.  I don't even LIKE cheesecake, and those were my favorite of the two.  I'm a huge chocolate lover, but the lollipop took the cake. (Pun was fully intended.)  

Overall, Elegant Affairs NAILED every bit of food that was served.  Their chefs did a fantastic job of getting food out to the cocktail area and into peoples’ stomachs.  From the looks of everything as the party wound down, people were so stuffed from all of the food, no one could pick anymore. I call that a GREAT SUCCESS!!! (Yes, please when you read that, say it in a Borat voice. It's funnier).

If you or someone you know is planning an event, I would highly suggest using Elegant Affairs.

Elegant Affairs

110 Glen Cove Avenue

Glen Cove, NY 

(516) 676-8500

2 Get the wings he said.....

Alright, so George, who is also a member of the NomInNY team, told me to go to Virgil's BBQ to get the wings. Told me that they were mindblowing and I would not be disappointed. Being a 30 second walk from work, I said what the hell, it's Friday, why not??  

I didn't even look at the menu, ordered a drink, and told my waiter I'd like the chicken wings please. Now, when I think wings, I think small, bar style wings. No joke, no less than 10 minutes, a HUGE plate of five chicken wings was put in front of me. it was NOT what I expected in the least bit.

Put right in front of me I could smell the rub they used on the wings, which was pretty much a dry rub with spices in it. Really hit the nostrils good though. Wasn't sure how to attack these massive pieces of chicken, so I started with fork and knife. That failed miserably. Just picked it up and went to work. The chicken was tender, juicy, and just flat out delicious!! I demolished each and every piece, and left no prisoners.  

I would absolutely recommend these to anyone. Also, don't let the whole "but it's in Times Square" fear get you down, just suck it up and GO!! You'll thank both of us after you eat them. 

Virgil's Real BBQ

152 West 44th Street

212-921-9494