La Surena arepa:grilled chicken and chorizo,with avocado slices and spicy chimi-churri sauce De Pabellon arepa:shredded beef,black beans,white salty cheese and sweet plantains La Surena close up De Pabellon close up jQuery(“document”).ready(function(){jQuery(‘#ngg-gallery-135-1683′).galleryView({panel_width:600,panel_height:400,frame_width:40,frame_height:40,transition_interval:0,overlay_color:‘#222′,overlay_text_color:‘white’,caption_text_color:‘#222′,background_color:‘transparent’,border:‘none’,nav_theme:‘dark’,easing:‘easeInOutQuad’});});This was the fourth stop on Rob’s Birthday Food (Fattie) Tour. I still don’t know how to pronounce the restaurant’s name. Out of all nine stops on the tour,this was probably the least well-received,despite all the rave reviews on Yelp. Like the other restaurants we visited,we opted for the take-out window. $14.75 and 15 minutes later,we quickly realized that arepas are sloppy,drippy,and downright messy. This makes them awkward to share amongst four people –napkins anyone? The “De Pabellon”($7.25) was a tinge too sweet and way too juicy. The arepa itself broke apart and failed to contain the meaty goodness. Epic fail. The “La Surena”($7.50) held lots of promise,with it’s grilled chicken,chorizo (magic word),avocado and spicy chimi-churri sauce (other magic word). Unfortunately it was pretty bland and we had to keep dipping the arepa into the tangy orange dipping sauce to taste anything. Not the tastiest food stop on our list but at least they had indoor take-out seating. Got to rest our footsies for a bit before our next stop:Stand!
Meatballs in a spicy meat sauce and family jewels (fried egg) jQuery(“document”).ready(function(){jQuery(‘#ngg-gallery-136-1687′).galleryView({panel_width:600,panel_height:400,frame_width:40,frame_height:40,transition_interval:0,overlay_color:‘#222′,overlay_text_color:‘white’,caption_text_color:‘#222′,background_color:‘transparent’,border:‘none’,nav_theme:‘dark’,easing:‘easeInOutQuad’});});Second stop of the Fatty Food Tour was The Meatball Shop. Amanda and I heard about this place from Unique Eats,our new favorite show on the Cooking Channel. After hearing all the raves,we figured we had to check it out. I mean,who doesn’t like a good meatball,right? We showed up about 10-15 minutes before the place opened and there was already a line…always a good sign. The menu is a fifth graders dream,with sections like “naked balls”,toppings like “family jewels”,and more ball puns than you can shake a stick at. Options range from naked balls,which are just the meatballs and sauce,to balls in heroes,sliders,or salads. You can also get side pastas and veggies which come nestled under your balls or on the side . We kept it simple and got the naked balls –classic beef meatballs in a spicy meat sauce –topped with a fried egg. The balls were nice and tender (teehee) and the sauce had a nice kick and was meaty enough to eat on its own. The egg was completely unnecessary but it did add some creamy-ness and helped to balance some of the spice. An order of naked balls also comes with a crispy piece of focaccia bread to help you sop up the extra sauce and egg. This is an easy recommendation for me to make. The Meatball Shop takes a childhood favorite and really puts their own stamp on it. The variety of balls and sauces will definitely keep me coming back for more. And before you comment on my maturity,try ordering the naked balls with family jewels without a silly grin…then we’ll talk. Monster-sized biscuit with delicious raspberry jam Blueberry muffin jQuery(“document”).ready(function(){jQuery(‘#ngg-gallery-134-1680′).galleryView({panel_width:600,panel_height:400,frame_width:40,frame_height:40,transition_interval:0,overlay_color:‘#222′,overlay_text_color:‘white’,caption_text_color:‘#222′,background_color:‘transparent’,border:‘none’,nav_theme:‘dark’,easing:‘easeInOutQuad’});});This past weekend,Amanda helped organize what would turn out to be an epic food tour. The tour,appropriately named “Fatty Food Tour”,started in the Lower East Side at the Doughnut Plant and ended with dinner at 5 Napkin burger in the Upper West Side. We stopped at nine restaurants consisting of old favorites and new buzz-worthy places. The first new spot on the tour was the Clinton St. Baking Company. Amanda and I first heard about this place while watching Throwdown with Bobby Flay where they nearly beat Bobby with their famous blueberry pancakes. Unfortunately they have notoriously long brunch waits so we did the smart thing and got some baked goods for take-out to munch on. We purchased one their famous biscuits and jam,a mixed berry scone,and a blueberry muffin. The biscuit was twice the size of your average buttery biscuit. I kid you not when I say that it was the size of my fist. The jam is sweetly tart with fresh raspberries and it was so good I could’ve taken a spoon to it,sans biscuit. The mixed berry scone was packed with tiny blueberries and cranberries and still warm and moist in the center. The blueberry muffin was pretty good also but paled in comparison with the biscuits and jam combo. The muffin top was nice and crusty like it should be,but the rest of the muffin was dense and cornbread-like both in taste and texture. It worked in this case though because this allows the blueberries to shine. If you’re willing to tough out the wait,I’d recommend this place. And if you order them,tell us how the blueberry pancakes are! But if you’re in a rush,do yourself a favor and pick up a biscuit or two to go Deliciously crispy wings. Seeing this box makes me so happy. jQuery(“document”).ready(function(){jQuery(‘#ngg-gallery-130-1638′).galleryView({panel_width:600,panel_height:400,frame_width:40,frame_height:40,transition_interval:0,overlay_color:‘#222′,overlay_text_color:‘white’,caption_text_color:‘#222′,background_color:‘transparent’,border:‘none’,nav_theme:‘dark’,easing:‘easeInOutQuad’});});If you’ve ever visited us before,you’d probably know that one of the first questions we ask you is either “Have you ever had BonChon?”or “Have you had BonChon,recently?”Regardless of what your answer is,we’ll most likely end up having BonChon. The thing that we like the most about BonChon is that it feels like a mix between the best parts of buffalo wings and fried chicken. You have the extremely crispy skin that comes from frying the chicken multiple times but not the heavy breading of battered fried chicken and you have just the right amount of sauce to coat the wing in deliciousness yet not so much that it makes a mess of your fingers. You can order BonChon as wings,legs,a mix of both,or even chicken tenders for the health conscious (weirdos) and they come in Soy Garlic or Spicy. Just a heads up if you’re not used to Korean food,they mean it when they say spicy…so order carefully  |  | |
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