Weekday Lunch: Goodburger

This is my second visit to Goodburger and it doesn't disappoint. I know I can go to a fast food chain and get a burger but it's definitely not as satisfying as Goodburger's burger. Plus, my company is just two blocks away from Goodburger which gives easy access. A burger from here starts around $5-ish but with all the knick-knacks you add in the burger, it'll most likely hit around $6-7. Add a complete meal, with fries and a drink (I replaced mine with a milkshake) and that would be $10-ish. But it's great to indulge in some greasy burgers once in a while.

Fries, Burger, Milkshake

They give quite an amount of fries but it lacks texture. I mean, it's really crispy, really really crispy, maybe even hard and it lacks salt. I love salt with my fries and if it's seasoned well, then there's no need for ketchup but that's not the case with their fries. But, I do like how it was packaged - every french fry stayed inside the bag.

The vanilla milkshake was alright. Nothing too surprising. A small is definitely enough to satisfy my sweet tooth.

Medium-cooked, cheese, onions, tomato, lettuce, mayo, and ketchup

Call me weird but I like my mayo with ketchup, it taste almost like the Thousand Island salad dressing. I guess the one thing I really like about Goodburger would be the way they cook their burger. I asked for medium and they cooked it quite well, you can still see the pink in the center which was such a beautiful thing. A little crust on the outside and the middle of the patty was so tender. Though, I do wish they added just a tad bit more sauce and a bigger slice of cheese.

Overall, a great lunch. This is a burger, which won't ever compare to a fast food chain burger. And one more photo for good time sakes.

You can totally see the beautiful layers of the burger.

goodburger
101 Maiden Ln
Manhattan, NY 10039
(212) 797-1700 

Luke's Lobster

This actually wasn't my first time at Luke's but the Nth time. J and I went to the one in the Lower East Side tons of times but we decided to give the Upper East Side a try. Why? They had fried clams and shrimps, and anything fried will get us there in a heartbeat. It was a long trip up to the UES since we both work way below midtown.

Finally hiked to the place, a lot bigger and roomier than the one in LES. We were so excited to order but we got shot down pretty quick. They didn't have the fried items! I was in panic. Seems that they don't have the fryer anymore, and they only had it the first month when they first started opening up the place. Oh, what disappointment! But that ok, because we got our usual Noah's Ark which consists of -- 2-half lobster roll, 2-half crab rolls, 2-half shrimp rolls, 4-empress claws, 2-bags of chips, 2-bottles of beverage. And if that wasn't good enough, we wanted to try their New England Clam Chowder.

Noah's Ark

New England Clam Chowder

I think I was perfectly satisfied with or without the fried clams/shrimps. I'm sure J was also but he was still hungry afterward, men just got a big appetite. I'm telling you, once you eat at Luke's all the other lobster rolls just won't suffice. I guess it's because they don't cover their lobster in endless thick mayo. Plus, their bread is so crispy and buttered up. And, there's something about their special spice. You can find that spice in a red claw, which is apparently in the first photo above.

If you come here, you definitely won't be disappointed. By the way, their bathroom is a lot roomier than it looks and watch out for the creepy lobster photo in the bathroom!

Multiple locations, but I went to...

Luke's Lobster
242 E 81st St
New York, NY 10028
(212) 249-4241  

La Zarza Resto-Lounge

I'm a roll with using my vouchers these past few weeks. I actually bought this last year and never came around to using it because... I have no idea.

J and I finally made reservations and hauled our butts to this nice and cozy small restaurant. The interior was definitely dim and it actually reminded me of the restaurants in Cancun within the hotels. Funny thing - apparently that night we dined in was a Speed Dating night. Another funny thing - all the dudes and dudettes were Asian. A bit weird but nonetheless quite amusing. But, they were soon moved to a private room so we couldn't see anything but we did hear bells ringing for them to rotate.

Back to my dining experience...
We got our drinks quite fast. I had the Payoso Loco which tasted like Bacardi Raspberry but in an extremely red way, quite sparkling as well. But, the drinks are overpriced but they were indeed good. For appetizers, we had mussels and sweetbread. They were absolutely delicious, the mussels were very plumped and they gave a very generous amount. The sweetbread was cooked perfectly, so you wouldn't get tired of the texture and taste of it. Might I add the salad along with the sweetbreads was an amazing touch, the dressing they used (which I have no idea what) was tangy yet sweet and paired really well with the sweetbreads.

For entrees, I had the NY Strip and J had the lamb chops. I really liked his lamb chops, just because it was cooked nicely, but the mushroom risotto that came along with the dish was way too overpowering. Too cheesy and way too much of it on the bottom of the lamb. My NY strip was ginormous, but was cooked too well done when I asked for medium. I think I'll just pass on entree next time and stick with the appetizers. To end the meal, we got the Churros. Since we were at a Spanish restaurant, why not choose their churros! Fresh and crispy with chocolate dipping, not bad at all.

Mejillones De Invierno

Mollejas Con Salsa Criolla

Corderito Pampero

NY Strip

Churros

I realized that my photos under dark lighting really sucks...
I'm hoping I'll be able to get a new camera by summer, something with better focus in dark lighting or bright lighting. Any suggestions?

La Zarza Resto-Lounge
166 1st Ave
New York, NY 10009
(212) 477-1111 

SobaKoh

Refreshing as can be.
J and I came here for an early dinner. Luckily, we were only the second pair of people there. Before you enter the restaurant, take a moment to look at the chef on the right window. The chef is making fresh soba noodles on the spot. J and I sat right by the window - the only window seat there is. The restaurant is quite small with friendly staffs.

The food was surprisingly good.
The drinks could have been better.
Overall experience was great.

Octopus Carpaccio

Grilled Sea Bass

Kamonasu Soba

Snago Tempura Soba

Soba Flavored Ice Cream

It was a very satisfying meal. They give a generous amount of soba here and if you think that wouldn't fill you up, think again. I was quite amazed by the dessert, it sounded weird but tasted otherwise. There was a little crunch to it, I'm assuming it was the buckwheat seeds (probably should've asked the waitress).

Sobakoh is definitely a nice soba spot to return. By the way, don't forget to stare at the man making the soba when you leave...

SobaKoh
309 E 5th St
New York, NY 10003
(212) 254-2244