Beauty & Essex

146 Essex St.  New York, NY
www.beautyandessex.com

Price: $$$
Favorite dish: Tuna Poke Wonton Tacos; Molten Chocolate Bread Pudding

After having eaten at and absolutely loved Chris Santos's The Stanton Social, I had been wanting to try his other Lower East Side restaurant Beauty & Essex.  My parents and I booked an early reservation prior to seeing a show on Broadway, so we were there pretty early on in the evening before the crowd really started arriving.  After walking in, the decor was certainly unexpected.  We walked into a small pawn shop storefront, and then walk through another door leading to a large, trendy and sophisticated restaurant atmosphere.  The food on the menu is all unique and distinct, and being that the restaurant is tapas-like and meant for sharing, we ordered several things off the menu.

What we ordered:

Shrimp Cocktail with charred jalapeño cocktail sauce 

Tuna Poke Wonton Tacos with micro cilantro, radish, and wasabi kewpie 

New York Pretzel topped with shaved NY strip, mustard aioli, and crispy shallots

Watermelon and Avocado Salad with feta, gem lettuce, mint, red onion, and charred lime vinaigrette 

Crispy Eggplant Pizzetta with charred san Marzano tomato sauce, whipped ricotta, and chile oil

 Dessert:

Molten Chocolate Bread Pudding topped with hazelnut ice cream

Box of Doughnuts: vanilla beignets with chocolate hazelnut creme & raspberry jam

Unpictured: 

Roasted sweet corn with avocado, lime, and manchego; 

Broccolini with garlic, soy, and chile

   I can honestly say that there wasn't one thing that we ordered that I did not like.  The shrimp cocktail with jalapeño cocktail sauce was great; we were expecting it to be a bit spicier, but it did have a really nice kick that made it different than a typical cocktail sauce.  The Tuna Tacos were amazing--I usually am not the biggest fan of raw tuna, but something about these tacos made them incredibly addicting.  The wonton in itself had great flavor, and mixed with the tuna, radish, and wasabi made for a great marriage.  The New York Pretzel was also amazing; the pretzel tasted like a perfect NY pretzel.  However, I am not a huge fan of mustard, so I found myself scraping off the aioli so I was able to taste the meat and pretzel combination better.  I loved the watermelon and avocado salad.  It was super refreshing and the watermelon was perfectly sweet.  We also loved the crispy eggplant pizzetta.  The eggplant was unbelievable; maybe it was that it was flash fried, but the combination of the eggplant and ricotta was mouthwatering.  The two side dishes we ordered were both super tasty.  I adored the subtle spiciness of the broccolini and it had a great pungent flavor.  The sweet corn was also a very good version of one of my favorite things: roasted mexican corn.  The salty manchego and the sweetness of the corn went perfectly together.  

Both desserts we shared were actually incredible.  The chocolate bread pudding was actually perfect and incredibly irresistible.  The doughnuts were also amazing.  Half of them were filled with a nutella-like filling, and the others had raspberry jam. Both were very tasty.

It honestly was hard to pick one favorite dish from all of those we were able to try!

I highly recommend coming to Beauty & Essex for a really fun and elegant night out in the city.  The ambiance is very classy and fun, and it seems like it would be a great spot for groups of friends.  There are several things on the menu that I will definitely try next time.  

Some of the jewelry showcased in the front pawn shop restaurant entrance

XOXO,
Danielle

Balaboosta

214 Mulberry St.  New York, NY

www.balaboostanyc.com

Price: $$$

Favorite dish: Patatas Bravas 

A few weeks back, my parents, my uncle, my cousin Allison and I went out to dinner the night before my parents went back home. This was the night after we visited Smorgasburg in Brooklyn, so I have no idea how I was hungry. But I was, so why not go out for a great meal? My parents had wanted to take me to Balaboosta, which means 'perfect housewife' in Yiddish. If the food is being prepared by a Balaboosta, we should be in good hands. The food is Mediterranean and has Israeli roots. Absolutely my kind of restaurant!

Here is what we got:

For a starter and pre-dinner treat, we were served little crisps that were well seasoned, as well as crunchy, light, and airy. They were extremely addictive, and to add extra flavor, we started adding a little bit of the black salt, because why not?!

Some black salt for the table to pinch and drizzle over everything.

For a starter, how could we resist the Hummus, served with a mortar and pestle. It came along with straight out of the oven pita bread covered with an amazing amount of seasoning (which I'm sure you can tell from the photo).  The hummus was really really good, and super fresh. The pita was my favorite part though… so warm and flavorful.

For another starter, we got the Burrata... always a classic. It was local burrata cheese, with Challah toast, a wonderful whole roasted tomato, and a hint of basil. The cheese was really fresh and creamy, and the tomato was awesome.

Probably my favorite part of the meal was our last appetizer: the Patatas Bravas, which was chunks of crispy potatoes, with za'atar and a roasted garlic aioli. The potatoes were SO HOT…I burnt my tongue twice, but that's probably because I was so obsessed. I think it was the aioli that really made it so good. The Za'atar was amazing (a blend of herbs, sesame, and salt), and all in all, the potatoes and the dip made a heavenly couple.

Allie and I both ordered the Boneless Half Chicken, cooked "under the brick," served with Israeli couscous with dried apricots and green leeks, and a gremolata sauce. We decided that we definitely should have shared had we known the actual size of the chicken, but it was really really good! The chicken was juicy and had a nice skin. I really liked the sweetness of the couscous along with it. 

My dad got one of the specials of the evening featuring a fresh fish selection, with roasted vegetables and a tomato sauce.

My Uncle got an amazing Grilled Spice Rubbed Skirt steak. The steak was bursting with flavor. It was absolutely delicious. I hadn't had steak in a while which made it all the better. The meat was tender and juicy and perfect.

My mom was still full from Smorgasburg earlier in the day, so she ate light. She got the appetizer portion of the Ceviche, which was made with a white fish, bulgar, cilantro, orange, chili, and lemon. I am a huge fan of ceviche, and this one was really fresh tasting and had a really good flavor combinations.

I was really excited to eat at Balaboosta because it was my first really good full Mediterranean meal of the summer! It was totally worth visiting and, having browsed through their lunch and brunch menus, I definitely see another visit in my future (Shakshouka here I come!)

XOXO,
Danielle

Otto

1 5th Ave.  New York, NY
www.ottopizzeria.com

Price: $$
Favorite dish: Cacio E Pepe

Reunited (again) and it feels sOoOoOo good. This past weekend, my parents flew into New York to visit and spend some time with me while I am still in here. How sweet!!!!! On Friday night, Nicole and her parents came to meet my parents and me in the city for dinner for some family bonding time of course! We decided to take Arleigh along for the ride because why not? The Jablon's decided on celebrity chef Mario Batalli's restaurant Otto Pizzeria. The restaurant had a vivacious atmosphere, and it was completely packed, and therefore was very noisy. Despite making a reservation, we still had to wait almost 25 minutes for a table. The restaurant was modeled to resemble an Italian train station, so when your assigned "train" goes up on the board, you know your table is ready. We were actually seated at a corner table completely smushed together. Good thing we like each other, right?


Here is what we ordered:

Nicole and her parents got the chopped salad with salami and chickpeas. 

My dad and Arleigh both got the baby spinach salad with ricotta salata and truffle honey.  This salad was really good…basically anything with truffle is good to me!

My mom got the watermelon salad, served with cucumbers and feta cheese. I am not the biggest fan of watermelon or cucumber, but I actually loved this salad. It was sweet and delicious…I almost couldn't tell there was watermelon in there. Loved it.

For the main course, we ordered some different pizzas and pastas so we could all try each others' meals.

The first pizza we got was the fennel & bottarga, with tomato, pecorino, and mozzarella.

My dad got the Cacio E Pepe pizza, which had mozzarella, cacio (an Italian cheese), pecorino, parmigiano, and black pepper. This was my favorite of the pizzas, and probably my favorite dish of the whole meal. There was so much flavor packed into this one pizza. All of the cheeses combined together were just too good on a great thin crust. YUUUM.

Nicole got the classic margherita pizza, with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil. 

Ong more pizza for the table: the vongole, with garlic, mozzarella, and clams.

We got the Pasta Alla Norma, which was penne pasta with tomato, roasted eggplant, basil, and ricotta. I thought the pasta was good and I really liked the roasted eggplant. The pasta was a little bit undercooked but the tomato sauce was really fresh and yummy.

Do you think we ordered enough food?!?!?

I really enjoyed my time at Otto with my friends and family. The food was pretty good and everything was extremely reasonably priced in contrast to the prices I typically see throughout the city. There were a few issues, being that the wait staff was a bit slow, and we were served bread, but with no butter or olive oil or anything. But….. overall the food was good, the mood was fun, and we had a great time together.

To finish off the evening, we walked toward Greenwich Village and got cupcakes at Molly's Cupcakes. How perfect! (to view my recent post on Molly's cupcakes, click here).

An awful and blurry pic of Nicole, Arleigh, and me at Otto. But still….FRIENDS! <3 <3

 XOXO,
Danielle

The Smith

956 2nd Ave.  New York, NY
www.thesmithnyc.com

Price: $$$
Favorite dish: Whole Wheat Penne (no decisions there!)

This past friday night, I got to hang out with a few of my besties from Michigan: Jamie, Mel, and Dani. We ended up going to dinner in Midtown extremely late (try 10:00 pm), so we wanted to go somewhere that we could get in quickly and be served promptly, but that would still be good. Mel suggested The Smith, and I had heard good things about this restaurant before. Being that we were within walking distance, it seemed like a perfect place to go for a satisfying meal waaaay past normal meal time.
The Smith is a casual, American restaurant, with a fun, inviting, "New York" atmosphere. To get seated right away, we were put at the end of a communal table, which was actually kind of fun (great people watching!) 

Our communal table!!!

We didn't really have a lot of diversity in what we ordered. We all ordered a different variation of the same meal… classic. We got the Whole Wheat Penne, with arugula, wild mushrooms, roasted garlic, and parmesan cheese. 

                   Mel and Jamie's whole wheat penne, plus chicken. (Obvi Mel got hers without cheese)

My whole wheat penne, with grilled shrimp to add protein. The shrimp was actually so good, and added a really good touch of flavor to the pasta. I really liked the oil&garlic sauce that was over the pasta…it was super flavorful and wasn't overwhelmingly garlicky. 

Jnuss takes her noodles to go for a late night snack!

There were actually a ton of good-looking things on the menu and I'm disappointed that I wasn't able to try more than one thing from the menu--all the more reason to go back! From what I did taste though, I do think that The Smith has some really good things to offer. Besides the food, I was just happy to be hanging out and spending time with my friends! (was that cheesy?)

XOXO,

Danielle

Cafeteria

119 7th Ave.  New York, NY
www.cafeteriagroup.com

Price: $$$
Favorite Dish: Warm fallen chocolate cake (whoops)

On Friday night, I went out for a fun little dinner with Arleigh, Sara, and Frankie. We decided we'd try and aim for a place on my restaurant bucket list so that we can keep that moving. We ended up going to Cafeteria, a place I have been before, but solely for dessert. Cafeteria is a super trendy spot, and has indoor and outdoor seating. Since they don't take reservations, and the restaurant is super busy on a Friday night, we found ourselves waiting for a table for quite a while. However, it was a really pleasing and enjoyable environment for a night out with friends.

Here's what we got:

At the beginning of the meal we were given a basket of warm biscuits and butter (Sara's favorite!!!!!) They were actually really good and I enjoyed having something other than bread for a change of pace.

Arleigh and I both got the grilled peach salad, with prosciutto, arugula, aged goat cheese, and a shallot wine vinaigrette. Although I ordered my salad without prosciutto, it was still really good. The only thing was that the goat cheese tasted a little funky to me. Even though goat cheese is usually my favorite type of cheese, I ended up eating around it. The peach tasted great, and was really a good combination with the dressing and the arugula.

For my entree, I ordered the appetizer portion of the baja fish tacos. These were served with grilled Mahi Mahi, Salsa Fresca, crispy tortilla topping, and a Serano Salsa Verde. I loved the tacos. They were really tasty, and I am not usually much of a fish person. The salsa verde had a nice zing and was great on top of the taco.

Frankie got the appetizer portion of the old school meatballs. The meatballs were topped with a roasted tomato sauce and were served alongside grilled rustic bread. I was contemplating ordering these since they sounded so good, and they definitely looked that good too.

Sara got the Cafeteria burger, which came with tomatoes, red onion, and field greens, a pickle, and french fries. 

Arleigh decided to channel her inner southern side and ordered the fried chicken and waffles.  It was buttermilk fried chicken, with crispy sage, grilled lemon, and came with a chili butter sauce. 

Ready to dive in!

 Cafeteria has an extensive dessert menu, and Arleigh even said that it may have the best dessert selection at a restaurant that she's ever seen. We had trouble agreeing on a few desserts to share, but we finally were able to narrow it down.

We ordered the warm fallen chocolate cake, served with a passion fruit drizzle, and topped with vanilla bean ice cream. I was expecting the cake to be a little bit larger, but regardless of the size it was so good. The cake was warm and moist, and not overwhelmingly chocolatey. The little bit of passion fruit sauce was actually a surprisingly nice touch. Everyone likes a good chocolate cake, right?

For our other dessert, we agreed on the red velvet cake in a jar. The cake was topped with a cream cheese frosting and chocolate pearls. The cake tasted good, but wasn't super moist. It wasn't the best red velvet we had ever tasted, but it wasn't bad. I also don't tend to like cream cheese frosting very often, but this one actually was not half bad. All in all, this one wasn't our favorite dessert.

Although our meal had a few flaws, it mostly was pretty good. I would like to come back to try some of the other things on their extensively long dinner menu, and of course, their dessert menu (aka, I'm coming for the Cafeteria waffle banana split.) The crowd at Cafeteria is very hip, and the wait staff are very friendly and willing to engage in conversation. It was a fun evening, and I would definitely give Cafeteria another try in the near future.

XOXO,
Danielle

Emilio's Ballato

55 E. Houston St. (between Mulberry St. & Greene St.) 
New York, NY


Price: $$$$
Favorite dish: Pasta E Fagioli

For an extremely delayed post, this one certainly will not disappoint. For my dad's last night in town with me, he took me to a little Italian place that he claimed was quite amazing. After we walked in and were walking back to our table, I couldn't help but notice the array of photographs of famous people on the walls. Ummm celebrities….my favorite! This place couldn't be too bad, then. Emilio's Ballato serves solid old school Italian food. I am sucker for good Italian, and this restaurant hit the spot.

Here's what we got:

At the beginning of the meal, we were served two types of fresh bread. There was a basic, probably homemade, bread and then Pancetta bread. 

My dad couldn't stop saying to me how much he LOVED the Pasta E Fagioli soup the first time he came here, and this being one of my favorite Italian soups, I definitely wanted to try it. He was building it up so much that it had to knock my socks off, and it absolutely did. This was hands down the best Pasta E Fagioli soup that I have ever tasted. It was so thick and full of delicious beans, pasta, and vegetables. OMG my mouth is watering.

As an appetizer to share, we ordered the grilled octopus, served with a small green salad. This calamari was unlike any that I had ever had before in the way that it was served, but once it was cut up to look less scary it was really good. 

I ordered the Gamberi Oreganate, which is baked shrimp, with garlic, bread crumbs, and linguine. These shrimp were packed with flavor. They were topped with such a flavorful mixture of the bread crumbs, a ton of garlic, and other seasonings. The sauce was great mixed with the linguine, which was cooked to perfection.

For my dad's entree, he ordered the Vitello Alla Milanese, which is breaded veal, with arugula, tomatoes, and extra virgin olive oil. It was also served alongside a small portion of potatoes. 

My dad ordered a side of fresh linguine with tomato sauce. At a restaurant with amazing homemade pasta there was no way we could skimp on that…

So basically, everything my dad and I ate here was excellent. I was so full walking out, but left 100% satisfied. The space is small and cozy, and the food made me feel as though I may have been eating in Italy. Although I've never been, I imagine this might be as close as it gets in NYC. Come here for a wonderful and traditional Italian meal you are sure to love.

XOXO,
Danielle

The Dutch

Sullivan St. (at Prince St.)  New York, NY
www.thedutchnyc.com

Price: $$$
Favorite dish: Eggplant dip with savory crackers

My dad constantly travels to New York on business, and this week I was lucky enough to get to spend some time with him while he was here doing work. Obviously if he's here, we're going to eat somewhere fabulous, so he decided to take Arleigh and me to The Dutch, a restaurant he had visited and enjoyed before. We were able to get a table right away on a Monday evening. The decor was cozy and intimate, and had a loud and fun New York atmosphere. The menu is not especially large, but of what was offered, there were certainly many different things I wanted to try.

Here's what we got:

At the start of the meal we were served a nice warm loaf of jalepeno cornbread, with soft butter. This was definitely a more fun way to start off the meal as opposed to traditional bread and butter. The cornbread was moist and spicy, and it was really tasty. 

The first thing we ordered as an appetizer was the eggplant dip with savory crackers. This dish was fantastic. I loved the chips first off--they were coated with wonderful herbs, sesame, and salt. Then the eggplant dip was so delicious. Once we ran out of chips I was serving the dip to myself plain and eating it with a spoon.

For another appetizer, we got the american burrata, with white cherries and sourdough. The cheese was super soft and tasted similar to a fresh mozzarella. It was really good paired with the white cherries, and dipped in the sweet cherry sauce that it was served over.

My dad got the steamed snapper, with crispy rice and a mushroom yuzu broth. Being that I am not the biggest fan of fish, I didn't think I'd really love this, but after tasting it, I definitely changed my mind. The fish did not taste very fishy, and the crispy texture of the rice made it really unique. The mushrooms were also so good and fresh, and tasted great paired with the fish. 

Arleigh ordered the herb roasted chicken, with oregon morels and and charred leeks. The presentation was beautiful, and since it looked so good I also had to try it. The chicken was really tender and delicious, and had a really distinctive, memorable flavor.

For my dinner, I got the smoked ricotta ravioli, with tomato, and soft herbs. Oh my God these ravioli were so good. They were obviously homemade and the ricotta filling was amaaaaaazing. The tomato sauce was perfect, and all in all this dish was just beyond. I finished off scraping my plate clean.

As a side dish we got Franca's potatoes, with mustard and dill. Usually this dish is also served with bacon, but we decided to pass on that addition. The potatoes were really firm, and all of the different flavor combinations were really great on the potatoes.

We started off with the lemon meringue pie, which
is made fresh daily. It was SO GOOD. Super lemony and
super flavorful. The meringue had the perfect texture
and it all tasted fresh and delicious.

Unfortunately, we couldn't skimp on dessert--there were too many delicious looking options!!

We also shared the devil's food cake, with black pepper
 boiled icing, fudge sauce, and white russian ice cream.
This dessert was also SO GOOD. The cake was moist, and
it was really good paired with the ice cream. Being a
huge fan of chocolate cake, this dessert did not disappoint.

There was not one thing at this meal that I did not enjoy. Everything was outstanding, and everything was definitely memorable. The service wasn't bad and I thought it was a nice enjoyable place to spend a weeknight evening. Would love to go back sometime!

XOXO,
Danielle