Let's Pretend It's Radio

... because I have zero pictures of this restaurant I am about to review.
How could you?!

Well basically Mr. Broad and I went to see Slumdog Millionaire this past Friday Night. We haven't seen a movie in the theatre since maybe "Knocked Up"... and holy COW is it expensive to see a movie in NYC plus with fandango fees?... I'm not reviewing the movie but if I were I would tell you all to go out there and see it asap. After you read my blog obvi.

So Mr. Broad and I were feeling very "Friday night TBS" with our "dinner and a movie" night and he requested burgers. Of which I said- we just had burgers! And Mr. Broad politely reminded me that just because I blogged about it recently didn't mean we ATE it recently. True.

Rare Bar and Grill

303 Lexington Ave @37th Street (also a Bleecker location)

This place gets packed quickly and even though we were assured that they could sit us "right away" after 20 minutes I asked again explaining that we had a movie to catch and the hostess stumbled through how we might be better off eating at the bar.

Arg.

And because we were surrounded by other people and Mr. Broad was EMBARRASED of my picture taking ("Can we go one meal without feeling like we are tourists?!")... I gave in. And actually kinda agreed cause there were a LOT of people around, and we were eating at the bar. And I'm still trying to be cool-trendy-NYer.

This is what we ordered:

Mexican Burger ordered Medium Rare- (spiced black bean spread, guacamole, chipotle puree)

Me: How's your burger Mr. Broad?

Him: Nom, Nom, Nom

Burger with Cheddar Cheese ordered Medium Rare: Now THIS is a BURGER. and a WONDERFUL pink, medium rare burger. My only regret is that you don't have the proof to see this wonderfulness. (My blog so I can make up words).

French Fry Tasting Basket- a mix of cottage, shoestring & sweet potato fries with 3 dipping sauces

These are awesome. The 3 dipping sauces were a sweet sauce, a chipotle sauce, a mexican (spicy) ketchup, and a regular ketchup. Yes I realize that's 4. The basket is huge and Mr. Broad and I barely made a dent in it-- much better when you have a larger group. But definitely satisfies that french fry craving and far superior to Blue Smoke's fries.

Review:

I felt myself comparing this way too often to Blue Smoke. Because this is awesome. The burger was perfect, the fries perfect. And there were MANY, many other items on the menu I couldn't decide between. Mr. Broad and I have been here before and always forget about this place. But we'll be back. And eating a bit more leisurely so I can get you folks pictures.

Grade: A-

Read more...

Cause Sometimes You Want a Burger...

A Recap it's like one of those tv shows that continue over 2 weeks!!...
(in announcer's voice) Last Week on a Broad on Broadway:

Mr. Broad and Mrs. Broad and friends JJ, TA and I went to this Tapas restaurant that was just 'aight so we decided to peace out and head to a tried and true place...

Blue Smoke

116 E. 27th Street (b/w Park and Lex)

Mr. Broad and I have been here several times and it's one of our top BBQ places we have been to in the city. This is a Danny Meyer restaurant- the guy who is behind other mainstays like Eleven Madison Park, Gramercy Tavern, Shake Shack, The Modern, and others I'm sure I'm forgetting. Oh and he's doing all the food at the new Met's Stadium. Yeah. He's kinda a big deal.

For Mr. Broad and I there is only one way to go here- a burger.

We hear their ribs are good and well, you can't go wrong with most anything on the menu. But we are 100% locked into the burgers. Like as we were eating cod filled pasta at the Tapas place I was thinking about this burger. I told you our minds were elsewhere.

We did start off with some other food items. Cause you just have to. I also recommend the Macaroni and Cheese and Potato Chips with blue cheese. We decided to go a little "healthier."

(Half Eaten) Brussel Sprouts-

I'm recently on a brussel sprout kick. And I am confident in saying that brussel sprouts need a new PR person. I mean these are GOOD. They truly are like the geeky kid on the playground that has no friends and then blossoms to be that rich hot guy. Nobody ever told you that guy was going to get hot and rich. That's brussel sprouts. Very underated as a kid with bad PR. Seriously, their PR guy NEEDS to get fired. Unlike the nerdy kid who turks into the rich hot guy- it's not too late to be friends with brussel sprouts.

Mr. Broad and JJ digged in before I could adequately take a picture of it all.

Hush Puppies with Jalapeño Marmalade


Burger with Cheddar (medium rare)

I ordered it medium-rare, however, this was much more on the medium side than the rare side. Ugh. Don't worry it was still good!

Burger with Bacon (medium rare)




New York Strip with Herb Butter, Creamed Spinach and Cottage Fries
JJ ordered this one and loved it.


Hickory Smoked Vegetable Burger with Crispy Onions, Mushrooms,
and Salt & Vinegar Chips





Disclaimer: This was clearly ordered by TA. TA's not a vegetarian and even though we were at a BBQ place... I guess err, sometimes you feel like a veggie burger? Picture isn't the greatest but let's be honest. It's a veggie burger. Sorry TA.

Her verdict is that it was good but I know Mr. Broad and I are going to take her word for it. Big kudos to the starch that was paired with the burger- instead of fries they had chips that were maybe homemade?

Review:
If you want consistency you go to a Danny Meyer restaurant. People swear to me that they have jazz performers here but I have yet to hear any Coltrane or Brubeck (that's me showing off).

The meal was good and definitely filled us up for a better value than the Tapas. It can get slightly expensive as you start to order and realize you want EVERY APPETIZER on the menu. (Chipotle Chicken Wings?? Bacon and Blue Cheese Dip??) Quality. My one beef is the french fries with the burger. They are "okay" as far as fries go and are more of the crinkle cut frozen variety you might have had as a kid. But now that I know they have the homemade chips... looks like I know what I'm getting with my burger next time! Cause it's always a burger. And please make it a little pinker??
Grade: B+

Read more...

Keepin' it Local

I have been traveling a lot for work recently and when I come home around 8pm on Thursday, starting the oven is the last thing that me and Mr. Broad want to do. So we stayed around our area for a cheap(er) meal.

Lounge 47

4710 Vernon Boulevard

This is on the main drag in LIC (Long Island City) and is also rated "best hipster burger" by ohso fun websites that also declared White Castle is the best fast food burger. I've never been there but judging from Mr. Broad, that's an accurate claim soo the burgers at Lounge 47 MUST be hip too!

There was quite a crowd already at the place (fist pumping for LIC- Hell yeah!) but no problem getting seated. So onto the more important stuff- dinner and the review.

We were both famished so we started off with one of the cheaper appetizers- Taquitos. A bit different than what we normally would get but always up for trying something new.

It was much different (and dare I say, healthier?) than what we expected...

But very good. Loaded with onions (things to mention on your MENU) I spent a good 3 minutes picking them all off. More like mini tacos but very good.

Dinner-

I went with the Shrimp and Avocado salad. Presentation sure was pretty... or shall I say... Hip? Guesses for what the hole of the avocada was filled with? At first I thought it was cheese and mmmm how I love cheese but then realized that it was the salad dressing. It looks a lot "thicker" in the picture than it really was. The salad was good, shrimp was yummy, however I think the salad needed a little something else. Cheese maybe? ... (PS- I realize that glob on the avocado doesn't look that appetizing. It was I swear!)

Mr. Broad went for the Burger with some bacon on top of course. Talk about food envy. And so Mr. Broad? How was it? He could barely stop to open his mouth to declare the greatness of burger. Cooked exactly how he wanted it, I gotta say it looked mighty fine.

Review:
Score one for LIC! Service was friendly, food was great, and the place was hoppin'. Definitely a great place to go locally for us. Not sure if I would go out of my way for this place but if I was in the area (or eh hmm live down the street)... worth it for sure.

Grade: B+

Read more...