American
Brunch at Phebe’s Tavern & Grill – East Village
I’ve been on a working out binge lately (mostly to counteract all the steak I ate in Buenos Aires) and thankfully my friend Hamid, a fitness expert, is helping me by training me once a week. Last week, we met at a gym downtown and after I felt like I did 5,000 squats we rushed out to grab some food. Originally, we wanted to go to Peels but the wait was long as expected (it was a Sunday after all). Since he had another client in less than an hour, we decided to just go with whatever was fastest, and that happened to be Phebe’s Tavern & Grill. Probably not the best of ideas.
Breakfast burrito
The hostess may have just broke up with her boyfriend or something — she was not really in a smiling mood at all. We sat down and quickly ordered scrambled breakfast egg burritos. A football game was on and everyone was all decked out in their Bengals gear (I found out later that Phebe’s is like Bengals mecca in NYC). Their cheering was more like roars that made it quickly clear that if you weren’t going to be watching a game here, you probably shouldn’t eat here.
We asked if they could put a rush in the order, and I don’t know if it’s because we were in a hurry, but it felt like an eternity. All was forgiven (we thought) once our food came out. Our plate was practically overflowing with seasoned homefries, guacamole, salsa, and fruits. While the sides were great, it didn’t take us long to find the eggs to be disappointing.
Eggs
Grahamwich in River North, Chicago
By Summar Ghias
A meal at Grahamwich
When the gourmet sandwich shop Grahamwich opened last year, buzz abound. Celeb chef Graham Elliot’s judge spot on the Fox show Masterchef and recent stint as Lollapalooza culinary curator had Chicago foodies chomping at the bit. Reviews on his new establishment, however, were conflicting; Time Out Chicago (my usual go-to magazine) was less than impressed. Having heard from my gourmand older brother that it was worth a try, I figured it time to go see for myself.
Housed in Chicago landmark, Tree Studios, a former artist colony established in 1894, Elliot has set out to ‘redefine what a sandwich shop should and could be’. While I’m not quite sure it does all that, it’s definitely a good alternative to Potbelly and Quiznos if you’re ever in the mood for fancy.
Grahamwich tuna sandwich
A cultural and culinary tour of NYC with Mercedes-Benz and AmEx
Mercedes-Benz x American Express
American Express and Mercedes-Benz recently launched two new cards — their Mercedes-Benz credit card and the Platinum Card where users can accumulate points every time they use it at restaurants, gas stations AND gain access to invite-only experiences to private events. To celebrate and (quite literally) give us a taste of what they have to offer, AmEx and Mercedes-Benz invited me and a few other bloggers for a “Progressive Night Downtown.” First stop, the Mercedes-Benz dealership in midtown!
Our rides have arrived
Fig & Olive in Midtown East
By Munia Islam
Fig & Olive in midtown
It was one of my dear friend’s birthdays and it was her first time celebrating it in the U.S., so we needed a perfect New York City restaurant to start the night. Since most of the guests were vegetarian (just two of us are meat-eaters), we had to pick a place that had enough vegetarian options to make this a special dinner for the birthday girl! It was Saturday night and a packed crowd filled Fifth Avenue, but we planned ahead and made reservation at Fig & Olive, which fit the bill.
The ambiance of the restaurant was very romantic, but the gorgeous bottles of olive oils lining the walls of the restaurant were just divine and truly lit up the place. For starters, we started with the Cheese Assortment, including fromage de chevre (goat), gorgonzola dolce (cow), Robiola (cow/sheep), manchego (sheep), rocchetta (cow, sheep, goat), with an addition treat of sweet additions of Fig & Olive Walnut Tapenade, as well as Marcona Almond. My favorites were definitely the goat cheese—you can never go wrong with goat cheese, I say—and the tapenade, which allowed for a sweet and savory combination, all just in the first appetizer.
Chicken samosa
Last day to catch Madison Square Eats!
Madison Square Eats
If there’s one thing you do tonight, I’d suggest checking out Madison Square Eats if you haven’t yet! I realize this might be sort of a disservice to tell you all about this so late in the game, but since there IS one more day to catch it, I figure why not.
Madison Square Eats
Madison Square Eats
I have been passing by it for months but I FINALLY stopped by last week. They have outposts from some of the best restaurants and food carts in Manhattan and Brooklyn all in one place. The tables and canopy of lights give it such a pretty ambiance too.
Roberta's Pizza
Roberta's Pizza
I wanted a burger from Graffiti but they had run out so I walked down to the Roberta’s Pizza booth and ordered a seasonal personal size pizza with squash, mushroom, thyme, and basil. Delicious!
Seasonal pizza!
Mos Def and burgers at Zaitzeff
Last night, my friends and I trekked downtown to catch Mos Def (or Yasiin Bey as he now goes by) perform with the Brooklyn Philharmonic at the World Financial Center’s Winter Garden last night. It was the first time I was there and was such a beautiful space to watch a show.
The artist formerly known as Mos Def
Yasiin Bey aka Mos Def
But of course, afterwards I was STARVING. I don’t hang out in the Financial District much and I don’t know many places in the area. My friend Priya used to live there though and one thing I do remember is always passing this burger place, Zaitzeff, on the way to her apartment and never having time to stop in. It was one of New York magazine’s top 100 places to eat years ago. I was SO down for burgers right then though, and it was only a short ways away from the concert so we headed over.
Inside is cozy, brightly lit with a few tables, and this gigantic painting I couldn’t stop staring at.
Inside Zeitzaff
Inside Zeitzaff
Poring over Zaitzeff's chalkboard menu. Totally not posing.
