Mexican Wrestling and Tacos

Mr. Broad saw this written up on one of his go-to websites and well, off we went ... Cause every now and then you find an unassuming small restaurant in NYC that totally shocks you and makes you want to come back. But really, tacos for lunch... this isn't such a stretch.

La Lucha

147 Avenue A

It's a taqueria (or a taco place) that does NOT serve burritos as the menu lets you know loud and clear. But who needs burritos when you have tacos like these.

But up first-- the sweet bread they give you to start. It was a bit dry but I'm a sucker for the "extras" that restaurants give you when you don't expect it.

Aah corn on a stick. This is huge "street meat" amongst the Mexican community. Tossed with chipotle mayo (or something like that), cheese and lots of other goodness it's hard to put this one down. Except to wipe your face.

I'm totally going to butcher what we ate but let's just admire the pictures. And if you want to try to figure it out for me, check out the menu.

PS- You can order without the onions if you want...

More of some tacos.

Review: La Lucha-- a small restaurant with character. There's a movie playing on the wall that shows Mexican wrestling. What more can you want? Oh and good, quality food. Cause everyone now and then Mr. Broad needs a break from the Asian food. And burgers. But that's tomorrow's write up...

Rating: 8

And I had to take a picture of how the bill is presented. Just cool right?? See that wrestling theme?

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Pictures of the boring turkey sandwich. Or Lunch.

B Bar and Grill

40 E 4th Street

Because the neighborhood Cosi is getting overrun as NYU's dining hall. And sometimes you want (if you can) to have an actual sit down lunch; Nikki and I went to B Bar.

Note; this lunch is over 2 different visits. Which means more pictures! And it was good. It's just a boring post. I promise.

Homemade Guacamole and Chips

It wasn't exactly your mexican place but had a wide variety of familiar cuisines. Including the familiar guac and chips. And plus guac is really like American food now isn't it? It was a nice quality serving of both chips and guac; and well I specifically liked that they had spread the guac spread throughout the layers of the chips.

Calamari Salad

The calamari was a bit too greasy and crunchy for my liking. But it was a "salad"...Uh, I guess?

Squash and Zucchini Sandwich with Red Pepper Cream cheese

Exactly like it sounds. A large sandwich that doesn't exactly look so pretty on the inside... but interesting flavors that makes up for a nice sandwich.

And the inside.

Why am I obsessed with taking pics of the inside of sandwiches? It's so not pretty.

Prosciutto and Mozzarella Panini

Nikki ordered this one; she said it was easy to eat and "not as rubbery" as some prosciutto.

Roast Turkey Club

Kind of your typical club sandwich. Large, and filling for a lunch.

Review:

B Bar is a good run of the mill lunch place. Pretty average with a very nice outdoor eating area. Ya know with atmosphere and stuff. Pretty affordable if you are getting a sandwich or salad (around the $10-12 range). But overall, just nice to get a sit down lunch. When you can sit down for lunch.

Rating: 6.5

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Givin' it up for the Redheads

While I am playing restaurant catch-up I am still exhausted from my Gramercy Tavern post. So this post, well it's going to be more about the pictures. Cause does anyone actually read this blog?? Or do you look at the pictures? If a tree falls and no one is around, does it make a sound? Discuss.

The Redhead

349 E 13th Street

Mr. Broad met me in the city cause I was working on a late Friday night (UGH) and we grabbed a bite at a restaurant we've wanted to try. The Redhead has been written up in some of my favorite NY foodie blogs and is a southern food bistro-ish restaurant.

Bacon Peanut Brittle

These were their upscale "beer nuts" we had while waiting at the bar. Hands down the best thing we had that night. Not because we didn't like our dishes, but this was just thaat good. It was sweeeet with a slight salty taste from the peanuts. I coulda eaten this for dinner and been all set. They also sell it by the jar to take home which became the "should we/shouldn't we" conversation later. After seeing the size of the jar that they give you to take home, we passed.

House Made Soft Pretzel With Kentucky Beer Cheese

Good but not ahhmazing like the menu reads. The pretzel was soft but not hot which would have been nice. And the beer cheese was one of these cold cream cheesey-cheeses which is for Mr. Broad as exciting as me eating Mushrooms (Note- sarcasm.) But don't kid yourself, he ate it after I told him it wasn't cream cheese. Oops, sorry...

Seared Beef Tenderloin- Bing Cherry Mole, Cashews, Polenta

You ever just order a dish primarily for the side dish? That's why I ordered this one. I really wanted bing cherry mole. The dish did not disappoint with large portions and CHERRIES! It's been awhile since I've been here but I remember this being good and barely being able to eat half of this.

The Redhead Burger- Chips, White Cheddar, Lettuce, Red Onion, Pickle with Applewood-smoked bacon

Okay, it looked amazing. And came with potato chips and an onion dip. Points for being different for sure. Mr. Broad didn't *mind* it just didn't love it. After his first bite he kind of had that puzzling look like he wanted to complain but also didn't want to ruin dinner. While not really the medium rare in color he wanted, worse off... The burger was cold. I had a bite, and though cold isn't the word I would use- luke warm was more like it. I told him to send it back. Ten minutes later a new burger was cooked with steam coming off of it. Definitely did a lot better for the burger. Just still missed a little somethin'. Had all the makings but couldn't figure out why.. the meat maybe? Eh, whatever he ate it.

The "Onion Dip" for the potato chips

Gd these pictures suck.

Review:

The Redhead is perfect for the East Village right down to its name. Had some good choices and some "okay" ones. Would I come back, sure- maybe order something different and get a beer. Or maybe just to nosh on the bacon peanut brittle.

Rating: 7 (Mr. Broad gave it a 6.5)

P.S. For all the redheads out here-- My favorite improv skit. Redheads protesting Wendy's mascot.

P.P.S. While reviewing my post before publishing Mr. Broad exclaimed, "It was CREAM CHEESE?!" And then asked me to change his rating to a 5. He also wanted it to be known that Lounge 47 had a much better burger.

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What's a Synonym for Awesome??

Two weeks ago (cause this blog is that far behind) I hadn’t seen Mr. Broad all week so we decided to hit one of the most talked about restaurants that has hit the scene.

Momofuku Ssam Bar
207 2nd. Ave

David Chang is the chef and he has entered the NY scene with force. His other restaurants are Noodle Bar, Ko, and recently opened Milk Bar. Mr. Broad and I have tried numerous times to get into Ko for special events with little success. You can only book reservations 7 days in advance online and there 10 seatings each night. Basically it fills up in 15 seconds (no joke) and creates severe frustration and has led us to think that no one actually eats there and it’s all a scam. Google Ko reservations and there's many articles speculating how to get into this restaurant. It's a touchy subject for us.


So enter his next restaurant Momofuku Ssam Bar. They don’t take reservations, so we were ready for the wait. At least we know we’re getting in… eventually!

When I asked Mr. Broad what type of food he specializes in, he said awesomeness. Technically though, ­­­according to Chef Chang, it's New American. Whatever that means. Mr. Broad had been here before with a coworker and my foodie cousin and hasn’t stopped talking about some of their pork buns- comparing it to Ippudo.

The restaurant isn’t known for it’s ambiance. It has a long table that they put parties of 2 at and then handful of other tables for larger groups. What I’m getting at, is that it doesn't matter. When Frank Bruni from the New York Times gives it three stars, you’re in for a nice wait.

Lucky for us, they just opened up Milk Bar that attaches to it and they also serve some food and beer. We will definitely have to check this place out again because I went nuts taking pictures of their displays. Consider that a teaser. With pies labeled “crack pie” or “candy bar pie” it’s worth coming back. Yeah that's right I said crack pie.

So let’s get right down to the food. The menu changes often so lucky for you I kept mine for a souvenier. Right away we ordered the pork buns. It’s game time. Not in the order we got them at but close enough.

Steamed buns (pork belly, hoisin, cucumber, scallions)

They were heaven in my mouth. Slightly different than Ippudo’s buns (these had hoisin sauce). You can clearly order these all night and make a meal out of it. But why pass up all the other amazing concoctions??

Edwards’ Wigwam Country Ham (Surry, VA)

We had had surry ham before at Murray’s cheeses and so we knew what we were getting. This was no different- just awesome.


Diver Sea Scallops
Amazing fresh fish that melted in your mouth. The scallops were in a sauce that Mr. Broad pondered the appropriateness of drinking out of the bowl like cereal.


Satur Farm’s Fried Brussels Sprouts- mint, scallions, fish sauce vinaigrette.

By now you have heard about my affinity for brussel sprouts through examples one, and two. This my friends is no different. I know what you are thinking. Golly gee, Mrs. Broad. How did you ever manage to eat these fried vegetables!? Yes exactly. And not only were these little crispy leafy cabbages of yum, they had puffed rice within it! As in rice krispy treats within the brussel sprouts! Genius.


Cat Ear Pasta- Hahn Farms’ turkey, cranberries, sage


I was a bit interested in just getting this dish by the title alone. Be assured that no cat was harmed in the making of this dish.


Banh Mi- ham & chicken liver terrine sandwich.


Holy best dish EVER. Seriously, screw the pork buns (well, not really) but this was quite possibly the most amazing thing I have eaten. In a long time. At first I figured I’d have a bite and at least try it out not thinking I’m a fan of chicken liver terrine. But then each bite of deliciousness outweighed the one prior. And the rest of the night I could NOT stop talking about the banh mi sandwich! To anyone who would listen. One of the waiters shared with us another restaurant that also has great banh mi sandwiches… hmm...


Crispy Pig’s Head Torchon- adzuki beans, market greens


Cause who doesn't appreciate a good pig's head. No? Yeah, exactly. I was far stuffed at this point and Mr. Broad wanted "one last dish." I had a bite cause you JUST HAVE TO. And I could tell it was good but all I thought about was the banh mi sandwich. There were some great beans mixed with dried cherries that provided an interesting complement. But like I said.
Baaanh miiiii. Yumm.

Review:
Grading this restaurant far surpasses some of our prior “A” category meals we’ve had. While the others were great, this is in a class of its own. I fail to come up with some of the words to explain our meal and find myself saying "awesome" and "amazing" over and over. Service was nice, and the ambiance isn’t really there but honestly who cares. It is some of the best food we have ever had. And did I mention the banh mi sandwiches are incredible?? Oh we’re going back. Likely with our other foodie friends (you know who you are)…
Grade: A+

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