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

Il Laboratorio del Gelato

188 Ludlow St. (at E. Houston)  New York, NY
www.laboratoriodelgelato.com

Price: $
Favorite flavor (so far): Fior di Latte


Ok…so I have an obsession for gelato. I would eat it over ice cream any day, so when I see a good-looking gelato place, I am always down.
There were so many flavors to choose from, so I had the hardest time making a decision of what to get. After taste-testing over 5 flavors, I decided I had to make my decision. I got two flavors: strawberry and fior de latte. At first, I had no idea what fior de latte was, but it looked something like vanilla, so I tried it. I ended up absolutely loving the flavor. It was very simple and creamy, and had a very plain and refreshing taste. It tasted great mixed with the strawberry, and it was perfect for a hot NYC afternoon.
My dad ordered the turkish fig gelato, Jaynie got a caramel gelato mixed with chocolate, and my mom ordered a grapefruit sorbetto. I tasted all of them, and there was not one of those flavors that I didn't like.

YUMMY!!!!!!
Sweeet, refreshing gelato.

XOXO,
Danielle

Katz's Deli

205 E. Houston St.   New York, NY
www.katzsdelicatessen.com

Price: $$-- Not way too pricey, but still may be a little more expensive than your average deli.
Favorite sandwich: Pastrami on Rye

   When deciding where we should go for lunch for our final day in the city as a family, my dad gave us a few choices, one being Katz's Deli. I had heard of Katz's multiple times, including very recently on The Food Network's show The Next Food Network Star, so of course I had to try it. When we arrived, we were expecting to see a long line out the door, but we sucked it up and waited, and thankfully, it wasn't too long a wait. The inside of the restaurant is ginormous, and yet it was still extremely crowded. Some people were lined up at the counters to order their food, and some people immediately sat down at a table to be waited on. Thee pictures along the walls of people who had visited in the past, the crowds of people, and the amount of selections on their menu set the perfect ambiance for a classic New York Deli.






Here's what we ordered:

On The Next Food Network Star, Katz's pastrami sandwich was featured, so I decided that if I was going to order one thing, then that would have to be it. After just one bite, I was addicted. The pastrami was so soft and it was so incredibly easy to eat. The pastrami had such amazing flavor, and smoked perfectly that it was so juicy and delicious. This  was definitely the best pastrami sandwich I have ever eaten…

My mom ordered the Katz's brisket, served on rye bread with gravy on the side.  I took a bite of hers and it was super flavorful and tasty. Although I claim my sandwich was the best of all of ours, my mom still thinks hers takes the cake. 

My mom ordered a bowl of matzo ball soup with her sandwich. The matzo ball was huuuuuge, but so fluffy and tasted great! The broth was also super flavorful and tasted like the perfect homemade matzo ball soup.

My dad ordered a corned beef AND pastrami sandwich. Could it get any better than that?

I will definitely be going back to Katz's very soon. I am craving another pastrami sandwich right about….now. If you haven't been here, you MUST go and try it soon! But seriously…go.

XOXO,
Danielle