El Atoradero is a cute, casual and very popular Mexican eatery in Prospect Heights that served absolutely heavenly refried beans.

They’re tacos were perfectly fine, served on a tasty blue corn tortilla and came with a trio of tasty salsas.

The chicken was the standout, as the carne asada and carnitas were both on the dry side. I feel like dumping salsa on dry meat can only do so much to reconstitute the situation.

I would perhaps steer more towards the enchiladas for a main?

Brooklyn, NY 11238
B/t Prospect Pl & Park Pl
Prospect Heights
(718) 399-8226
elatoraderobrooklyn.com

Michelada

Frijoles Refritos $3

Tacos
Chicken Tinga – $4
Carne Asada – $4
Carnitas – $4

Enchiladas del Dia con Queso – $17

Today’s blog is actually more of a Blogette.

I refuse to devote anymore than 3-4 sentences to this place. Which means, I only have one more sentence left….

I’ve only had the hot sausage here and it’s shockingly good but I’m always embarrassed to come here so I probably won’t come back The End.

Sausage, Egg & Cheese Sandwich – $7

I held off on reviewing this place because I wanted to go back 100 more times and eat EVERYTHING on the G-D menu!

But I’m a busy dude and probably won’t be back anytime soon, so I may as well pull the trigger.

This place is the perfect place for a quick breakfast before work.

They also have the best crullers I’ve ever had and their breakfast gougeres are absolutely insane. I could have one daily and not regret it.

103 E 19th St
New York, NY 10003
b/t S Park Ave & Irving Pl
Gramercy, Flatiron
(212) 488-1505
dailyprovisionsnyc.com

Maple Cruller – $3.50

Everything Croissant (stuffed with cream cheese) $4.50

Breakfast Gougeres – Green Eggs & Ham $5.50

Nickel & Diner only gets half of it’s name right.

The Diner part, I get. A gorgeously upscale diner from the future, definitely.

As far as Nickel go….we’ll, you’re gonna need a whole crap load of them to pay for your meal.

Actually, it’s not that bad (as long as you don’t go hard on the booze) but if I have nothing to complain about, what is the point of this blog??

So, we came for brunch (the place was dead) and ordered two things.

One was amazing: the Grilled BLT. It was like a heavenly grilled cheese sandwich with bacon and green tomatoes. It was absolute perfection.

The Ranchero Omelette, however…was bland city. Plus it was dense and a bit rubbery.

However, because I did my research ahead of time, I ordered correctly. I mean, omelettes are more bad than good, am I right? That was a jerk move on the part of my dining companion, I think we all can agree.

1 Howard St
New York, NY 10013
b/t Lafayette St & Centre St
Little Italy
(646) 870-6100
nickelanddiner.com

Chestnut Mocha

Grilled BLT — 16
Served on Sourdough. Smoked bacon, heirloom tomato, truffle vinaigrette, baby kale

Ranchero Omelette — 17
Huevos rancheros style. Serrano ham, sour cream, Pico de Gallo, Fresno chili

Talde might be best known for their pretzel pork and chive dumplings (which are VERY good) but they also can take pride in the fact that they serve the best Pad Thai I’ve ever had!

It’s listed on the menu as a Bacon Pad Thai, so not really a mystery why it’s so damn good. The culprit, Inspector Clouseau, is bacon.

The Breakfast Ramen was enjoyable but definitely the weakest of the three things we ordered.

I don’t get out to Brooklyn nearly enough (mostly because all the restaurants are so cheap, that it seems like a waste of a long subway ride for a quick $10 meal.

Thankfully Talde isn’t that cheap. 😉

369 7th Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11215
b/t 6th Ave & 5th Ave
South Slope, Park Slope
Phone number (347) 916-0031
taldebrooklyn.com

I’m going to be honest about something.

The only reason I came to Smith and Wollensky is because it was featured on The Devil Wears Prada.

Otherwise, I couldn’t care less about your run-of-the-mill steakhouse.

Was my Filet Au Poivre cooked to perfection? Yes.

Was my Manhattan perfectly prepared (not really). But was the split pea soup the best dish of the night??

YES!

Even Miranda Priestly would be hard pressed finding fault in that silky bowl of green puke heaven.

797 3rd Ave
New York, NY 10022
b/t 49th St & 50th St
Midtown East
(212) 753-1530
smithandwollenskynyc.com

Stuffed Brune Landaise Chicken (for 2)
butternut squash, ginger, spinach fricassée
72.

I ate here back in June and completely forgot to write about it. What is wrong with me??

Only when I just walked by the joint a second ago did I realize I never blogged about this lovely and pricey poulty-centric restaurant.

Le Coq Rico has a varied menu all featuring some sort of foul as the star and instead of choosing one of the 6 whole roasted birds (the cheapest was $98 bucks!), we chose a stuffed Brune Landaise chicken for two (for $72 bucks).

The portion was enormous (we took home leftovers) and the starter we choose was this incredibly rich egg and mushroom dish which was as unique as it was fantastic.

Now, unlike some folks, I’m not opposed to ordering chicken at restaurants. I don’t mind spending a certain amount for this simple bird to be prepared deliciously. But I’m not spending $100 bucks for one. Sorry Le Coq.

At least the stuffed bird we ordered had some obvious labor going into it’s preparation. It didn’t stuff itself!

What the hell is Brune Landaise, you ask? Well, let me Google it so I can explain it to your lazy ass.

Actually, since I’m pretty lazy myself, I’m just going to copy and paste what I just found on a NY Post article:

“The restaurant’s top bird is the Brune Landaise — a prized breed from les Landes in southwest France’s Gascony region that Daguin introduced to the US a few years ago, and which she now procures from Mennonite farmers in Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County. A close cousin is the rare Plymouth Barred Rock, which is distinguished by its red comb and is also on the menu at Le Coq Rico.

All of this makes for a bird that’s not only especially delicious but also uniquely nutritious.”

Another selling point is the birds at Le Coq Rico get the luxury of surviving this cruel world for 120 days before they’re executed, unlike your typical organic chicken (85 days) or the bottom of the barrel supermarket one (40 days).

Basically, these chickens have led marvelous long lives before they’re murdered. Which makes these homicide victims much more yummier.

Negroni For Two

“EGGZ”
Slow Cooked
duck egg, baby spinach, chanterelle mushrooms,
lemon & cream emulsion
17.

Stuffed Brune Landaise Chicken (for 2)
butternut squash, ginger, spinach fricassée
72.

Let’s face it, many of the dishes at Nur are not very photogenic. They are NOT ready for their close-up, Mister Demille!

In fact, one of the entrees we ordered, “Turkish Delight on the Hudson”, looked more like the eerie landscape of some alien planet, replete with killer plants and a lava-spewing volcano (see pic above)!

That being said (typed), the food was inventive and delicious! I want to go back and order it all again!

The breads are where you get the most for your money (because you’re obviously here on a budget) and the loaf of honey garlic challah is sizable and can be eaten with any number of the dishes you order.

The Eggplant Carpaccio was nice but definitely overpriced (there I go again, talking about money. So crude.)

If you do want a lot of bang for your buck, the Horias are definitely worth an order. Two nice sized pitas crammed with delectable lamb kebab.

Instead of ordering any of their more traditional but tasty looking meat entrees, we chose the Turkish Delight on the Hudson.

This is certainly one of the most unusual but delightful dishes I’ve ever had in my entire life. Per my earlier comment about it looking like some alien landscape, please note that the dirt was actually coffee and the volcano was foie gras! It’s pricey at $39 but since you’re not here for the $1 menu, go ahead and order it.

Since I obviously have no class and cannot stop talking about money, let’s just say an evening at Nur will set you back a pretty penny. Choose it for a special date night, an anniversary or maybe your last meal on earth after your doctor just handed you some terrible news.

34 E 20th St
New York, NY 10003
b/t Broadway & S Park Ave
Flatiron
(212) 505-3420
nurnyc.com

MIDDLE EASTERN BREAKFAST
VODKA, LIME, CUCUMBER, HARISSA, SPICES
$15

HONEY AND GARLIC CHALLAH
CURED ONION AND CRÈME FRAICHE
$10

HORIAS
LAMB KEBAB GRILLED IN PITA, EGGPLANT, AMBA, AND MARKET SALAD
$17

SMOKED EGGPLANT CARPACCIO
FIRE ROASTED WITH FETA, RAW TAHINI, DATES, PISTACHIOS, ROSE WATER
$19

TUNA CEVICHE PANIPURI
YUZU BUTTERMILK FOAM, DRIED APRICOTS, ALMONDS, HABANERO
$16

TURKISH DELIGHT ON THE HUDSON
SEARED FOIE GRAS, RHUBARB, FIGS, HONEY LAVENDER YOGURT, COFFEE
$39

Complimentary Treats

La Esquina is a uber casual eatery that has taken over a really old diner and it serves slightly expensive but really flavorful Mexican fare.

The place is threefold: tacos to-go, casual café inside and outdoor seating and then a bar downstairs.

The tacos come in two’s (for the price, they should serve 3) but the lamb barbacoa is awesome! If I was the type of person to say “awesome sauce”, I would. But I would NEVER say that, so just forget the whole thing.

But the best thing on the menu (besides the awesome sauce, dammit, I mean quite tasty Mexican street corn) is the Carnitas Torta.

I usually don’t go for tortas, the bread is too bready and all the shit falls out with the first bite.

Not this one! The bread was light and airy and perfectly grilled and the contents were minimal but packed with aweso….great flavor!

114 Kenmare St
New York, NY 10012
b/t Mulberry St & Mott St
SoHo
(646) 613-7100
esquinanyc.com

Street Corn and Michelada

Carnitas Torta

Lamb Barbacoa Tacos

Eggplant Dip with Market Vegetables

Jessica Koslow is one of LA’s most popular chefs who took a simple concept (delicious things on toast) and ran straight to the bank with it.

Did Jessica single-handedly start the Avocado Toast craze? Is she fully to blame for tricking LA into shoving carbs into their six-pack-coated bellies again?? If so, hat’s off to you, Ms. Koslow!

Tonight, Jessica was the resident chef at the Seaport Foodlab, a sort of pop-up restaurant located in the South Street Seaport featuring 8 chefspreparing delicious tasting menus from July through October. Hint: the Seaport Foodlab ended on 10/11, so try not to hate me for being so late in writing this blog.

The theme of tonight’s tasting menu were the Israeli dishes that Jessica was planning on service at her forthcoming LA restaurant.

While everything was delicious (yes, I’m one of those bloggers who just says they love everything to avoid death threats) my favorite items were the roasted cabbage, the rice dish with pickled rose hips, dill and schmaltz and that unique and life-changing dessert.

It was this strange and wonderful labne milk custard with honey-braised stone fruit, Sqirl’s famous preserves and turmeric flavored millet jack.

What the hell is millet jack, you ask?? I have NO clue but I’m obsessed with it.

Why Jessica has not yet opened up a NYC restaurant is truly beyond me but since LA has been stealing so many of NYC most treasured eateries, it’s high time we take a few of our own. Sqirl, I’m talking to you!

Turmeric Tonic

Frisee Salad, Beecher’s Cheddar & Dukkah

Crispy Jerusalem Artichokes with Barbere

Fried Quail in Schwarma Spices

Oven Roasted Cabbage, Avocado Seed Tahini, Puffed Meyer Lemon, Kraut Powder

Koda Farm Rice, Pickled Rose Hips, Dill & Schmaltz

Braised Tomatoes, Pomegranate Molasses and Walnut Sauce

Passamore Ranch Sturgeon, Hulba, Green Sahawek and Smoked Santa Rosa Plums

Malabi – Labne Milk Custard with Honey Braised Stone Fruit, Sqirl Preserves & Turmeric Millet Jack