Weekday Lunch: Biryani Cart

There are so many food carts out there, especially halal carts which makes it quite overwhelming. Usually we just choose the cart that pretty much closest to us or go to the one that was conveniently there.

I been having some hit and misses with halal food carts because each vendor makes it differently. The meat and the sauce are pretty much similar throughout all the carts but the rice is the splitting point for me. I like the basmati rice, long grained and nicely spiced. There's only a handful of places that don't overcook their rice here in midtown.

While doing my lunch walks, one day I saw a cart that said Biryani Cart. Doesn't look like the regular menu I'm used to seeing so I gave it a try, not to mention the other carts closer to my office wasn't so great.

Halal food are so inexpensive, for a mere $5 you get all of the above. If you're a small eater, can definitely be split into two meals. Everything on the plate was extremely flavorful. I always order the chicken over rice because it's a safe bet. Back then, I would just have them put the white sauce on but recently I've been loving hot sauce. The two sauces, white and hot, perfectly mended together to give you the full affect of halal food.

If you see the little peek in the center, the rice is basmati which I absolutely love. This cart has been my go to place for a good hearty container of halal food. I've been going there nearly every week since I discovered it. Oh, they even dress your salad with vinaigrette - how awesome is that?

Besides the usual chicken/lamb over rice and gyros. This Biryani cart has different items on their menu. Anything from curry chicken to kati rolls to marsala chicken. I'd love to try their other dishes but I always find myself ordering the chicken over rice over and over again.

Biryani Cart

On the corner of 45th Street and 3rd Ave

New York, NY 10022

Weekday Lunch: Asian Station

My firm had previously ordered from Asian Station and what we had was so memorable that I had to get it again. Ok, I mean go there again but get something else because I have no idea what my firm ordered.

Hot and Sour Soup.

Pretty decent in my opinion. There were chunks of tofu and mushrooms. If it was just a bit more on the hot side, then it would've been perfect. But for a side soup, this is quite good.

Baby Eggplant w/ White Meat Chicken in Garlic Sauce and Rice.

This was delicious. Great hearty Chinese meal which really does the trick if you want something on the rice side. I ordered brown rice since it's a lot healthier and I don't feel too guilty. If you're not a big eater like me, this splits perfectly into two meals which you can do lunch and dinner or lunch and lunch.

It wasn't too pricey given that it's in midtown manhattan, just $7.50 for the rice and side of soup. Definitely one of the better Asian food in midtown I've had so far.

Asian Station

155 E 52nd St
New York, NY 10022
(212) 752-7321



Jadis

After The Ten Bells, J and I headed over to Jadis - the second place of the night we went to. It was fairly close to The Ten Bells, within walking distance that enable you to digest your previous meal or should I say snack.

Jadis wasn't too hard to track down. This restaurant requires you to take a small flight of stairs down to reach it. The restuarant was spacious with tables and seats by the bar and also more seats in the backroom. J and I sat by the bar where all the meals were literally prepared.

We ordered a carafe of red wine and 3 dishes to snack on since we were that hungry.

Duck Rilettes.
Sort of bummed out that J didn't get a chance to try it at The Ten Bells so we ordered it here and wondered what it was. Duck meat and fat that was so gamey it was good. Pair it with some bread and it's practically the best French appetizer out there. As you slowly work your way into the third piece, the fat that incased the duck meat together starts to melt yielding a glistening duck meat.

Country Pate.
One of my personal favorite, I like pate in general. Not to mushy but just the right amount of texture to be able to lift it up with my fork. I like the touch of gherkins and salad on the side.

Escargot.
We cannot neglect to order escargot when the restaurant offers it. Plus, it was only $8 which was a pretty good deal. The escargot were all juicy and plump which made J and I extremely happy. Happy to a point where we ordered another one. Had we not eaten before Jadis, we would've had about 3 for each of us. We just love escargot, and the excess butter with bread is just amazing.

The food was good at Jadis, definitely memorable. Although the service was on the iffy side. Seems like the waitress which I'm sure is also the manager/co-owner, is rushing us out when we were done eating. But she wasn't to the point of rudeness so it was tolerable. I would like to come back to try the sandwiches and more escargot... yes!

Jadis
42 Rivington St
New York, NY 10002
(212) 254-1675

The Ten Bells

J and I have been feeling for wine lately and we're been looking for places that offer something like a wine bar. Since most wine bar offers tapas style food, we plan on visiting 2 places for a night because we're just greedy.

The Ten Bells has no recognizable sign outside of the restaurant. Either you know it or just happen to spot the little address number on the side.

J and I were one of the first to step in the wine bar and it felt really earthy and free spirit.

The menu rested on the side of the wall that enclosed the bar in the center. Which leaves 2 entrances which you can enter from. The breeze that flows from both side was perfect for a hot day. It was also hard to read the menu from your seat, which I think is a given that you would need to get up and walk around to read it.

I only had a glass of white while J went through 3 glasses of red/rose. The sommelier or wine steward would ask what kind of taste you want in the wine and he would try to match it to the best he can.

Naked Cowboy Oysters.
One of the specials of the night. They have happy hour from 5-7pm and their oysters are just $1.25.

St. Simon Oysters.
Our favorite of the night. They don't have any fishy smell at all and the size and shape was just perfect. Small yet plump which gave it a fun pop in the mouth.

Meat and Cheese Platter.
We finished off with a platter and told ourselves not to order anymore food. But, the aroma of the flaky pastries and mac and cheese were so intoxicating. We shall return next time.

Lovely place to relax after a stressful week. Definitely a place I would recommend if you're trying out wine for the first time or want to jump on the bandwagon.

The Ten Bells
247 Broome St
New York, NY 10002
(212) 228-4450

Dessert Works: Buttercup Bake Shop

It's dangerous how close Buttercup Bake Shop is to my office. Ever since my firm introduced me to the cupcakes they offer, I fell in love. I rarely like sweets, especially cupcakes because I think they're overly sweetened. But there is one from them that I absolutely love, probably mention it in another post. Besides cupcakes, they do sell cakes, cookies, bars and hot/cold drinks.

Brownie with Walnuts.
I was craving for a brownie one rainy day and I never usually do. I'm not a big fan of chocolate sweets but I have my moments, odd moments. My coworker and I walked over to Buttercup and load and behold the sweet scent. I ended up getting one with nuts because I always love a crunch to my food, wouldn't want a chocolate overkill.

It was satisfying, I only had half because consuming the whole would overwork my taste buds. The outside was crunchy and soft and moist on the inside, something I wouldn't expect judging by the looks of it. Not bad for a brownie, or not bad for a person that usually doesn't eat brownies.

Buttercup Bake Shop
973 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10022
(212) 350-4144

Mermaid Inn - 2nd Ave

Having ate at the Mermaid Inn on MacDougal Street, it was time J and I headed to the east side and pay a visit to the other Mermaid Inn. Hoping we would be able to get a seat outside, but was quickly disappointed when we saw all the seats are taken. We were lead into a backroom which is pretty large and carry on our dinner.


Dark and Stormier



Rose Wine

Mermaid Inn's menu isn't big but it pretty troubling when you have an array of seafood choices place in front of you and you have to choose. We ordered a ginormous appetizer and just shared an entree together, simple. I'm so glad we weren't in our greedy mode.

Butter and cracker to start. There's actually really little butter in that holder.

Grand Platter.

Variety of oysters, clams, shrimp cockatil, chilled lobster and tuna crudo (which should've just been named tuna ceviche). The clams were really plump and full of meat, must be the season. The tuna crudo was also nice, like I said, it should've been named ceviche because there was lime juice in the mix. Crudo usually consist of sea salt and olive oil when it comes to mind.

Lobster Knuckle "Escargot".
As ever, J and I got suckered into this dish because of the word escargot. Quite a disappointing dish.

Blackened Catfish.
Deliciously seared catfish with hush puppies, collard greens and crawfish butter sauce. Amazing dish done right.

Mac and Cheese.
Definitely feeling for some mac and cheese. Ever since I had my first, I can't stop eating them. Maybe it was the cafeteria/public school ones that was so off-putting.

Chocolate Mousse - on the house.
I remember the fortune teller fish. This time mine actually flew off my hand, so I have no idea what they means. They have an indicator on the back of the fortune teller slip.

Nothing better than free dessert. Not the best but beggars can't be choosers.

Mermaid Inn
96 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10003
(212) 674-5870

Spot Dessert Bar

Being the crazy couple that J and I are, we somehow landed upon Spot Dessert Bar and decided to do the omakase. Thinking and probably hoping that by doing the omakase, the dishes would be smaller but somehow I really doubted it.

I really didn't know what came over us, but we did it and it was overly painful towards the end because we had a sugar coma. We pretty much tried every dessert in one sitting, never again... never, never, never again.

In no particular order, we had the following --


Yuzu Eskimo



Green Tearamisu



Smoked Coconut Cheesecake



Thai Tea Creme Brulee



Kabocha Brulee Cake



Soft Cheesecake



White Miso Semifreddo


There was only one plate that stood out to me which I absolutely loved. It was the Kabocha Brulee Cake, reminds me of pumpkin/carrot cake. The others didn't work for me, the mixture of different flavors were just off-putting and didn't work together.

After supposedly 8 plates of murderous sweet, we had to order a drink and decided on something cold and light.


Calamansi Honey Thai Tea

Amazingly refreshing and knocked out all the sweetness in my mouth. I would come back, but not for the omakase. Although I don't know how soon I'll return since it was sort of traumatizing?

Spot Dessert Bar
13 St Marks Pl
New York, NY 10003
(212) 677-5670