The Halal Guys at 53rd and 6th

I've read and heard quite a bit about this food cart. Since we weren't staying too far off their original location (West 53rd Street, NY 10019, tel : +347 527 1505) down at 53rd and 6th, we made out way down one night to see what the food was really about.

I got a chicken and gyro combo platter which came with spiced rice. While it was nothing that would really floor anyone, I could see why it was a popular choice. This was frills free comfort food with the prerequisite proteins and starches that made excellent eating in the cold weather here. The smell was enticing and what made these exciting were the white and hot sauces. Especially that hot sauce which meant business. My lips were burning and I actually perspired after going through three packets of that stuff.

Shake Shack at Woodbury

We were at Woodbury Common for...reasons. There's a Shake Shack (199 Niagara Lane, Central Valley, NY 10917, tel : +845 827 3140) here so this was quite the no brainer since the other options didn't look so appealing and one has to do Shake Shack at least once in NYC right? Right?

I like this on the whole a bit more than Five Guys but it's a little more than that. These beef patties were more flavourful with those crust on the edges (also maybe because it's a blend from Pat LaFrieda?). Their cheese was also saltier tastier than the ones that Five Guys uses and the peanut butter shake was more flavourful. I'm guess that's probably because the shakes here are made for their flavour rather than being flavoured vanilla shakes. BUT - definitely prefer the fries over at Five Guys.

The cereal milk soft serve from Milk Bar East Village

D recommended that we give the cereal soft serve from Milk Bar a shot since we were around the area (251 E 13th St, NY 10003, tel : +646 692 4154). It was actually pretty good. The flavour was akin to milk that you had eaten cereals with or even Magnolia's oat milk. Just lighter. 

A bacon shake from Five Guys

For some reasons, I overlooked this when we were at Five Guys so since it was in the vicinity it was convenient for us go stop by for whatever. So yeah, there was real bacon in this stuff. I could taste a bit of the bacon in the shake and there were also crunchy bacon bits as well. Not bad.

Katz's Delicatessen, Lower East Manhattan, NYC

This I suppose would be a site of pilgrimage for anyone who's heard of Katz's (205 E Houston St, NY 10002, tel : +212 254 2246) when visiting New York City. Me? I just wanted a taste of their famous pastrami. Not looking for what Sally had.

So we got ourselves one of their pastrami on rye. Condiment-ed with nothing but mustard. The meat was tender, salty and fatty. Couldn't say that I could detect much complexity in the spices or smoke that the meat had gone through but it was really good. And pretty expensive for a sandwich.

For good measure, we also had a chilli dog. It's a very decent dog. The kind that I definitely wouldn't mind eating again but it was kinda pricey too.

Because it was NYC and our first visit to Katz's Deli, we had to have their egg cream. If you didn't know, there isn't egg in egg cream. It's milk and soda and for this case, chocolate sauce. It did remind me of soda floats and was kinda nice.

99 Cent Express Pizza, Midtown Manhattan, NYC

So this was supper - again, not too far of a walk from where I was. We had passed by the shop (301 W 43rd St, NY 10036, tel : +212 315 5257) at 43rd and 8th a couple of days back and I suppose this was as NY an experience as it gets. Being in proximity of the hotel and opening late definitely helped.

I'm not going to say that this was in any way awesome or kick-ass because it wasn't. While the pizza wasn't outright impressive, it was edible and did the job for the craving. That's the mushroom and one with extra cheese. I supposed I would have been more impressed if they had made the extra cheese toasty and nicely browned with crispy edges. But for a frills free budget joint that does by the slice, I couldn't complain.

Xi'an Famous Foods, Midtown Manhattan, NYC

I came across the mention of Xi'an Famous Foods (24 W 45th St., NY 10036, tel : +212 786 2068) a few years back and was intrigued. They originally started out at Flushing in Queens and have since expanded to a number of outlets. Family run I heard. I found one of their outlets a short walk from where I was staying down at 45th. What luck!

One of those things they were known for was their biang biang mian. Noodles are apparently hand pulled to order. Here's the one with lamb. Doesn't look like very much but I thought they were pretty good. Spicy, salty and full of those cumin-y flavours that kept me going. From the textures, I'm pretty sure the noodles weren't made too long ago. I wish they would open one of these back home.

A company lunch event at Morton's

So Morton's (136 Washington St., NY 10006, tel  : + 212 608 0171) in NYC down at the World Trade Centre. This was a catered event so nothing was ordered.

That Morton's salad looked a little sad. It tasted okay though and some green vegetables were certainly what I needed.

This was possibly the smallest steak I've had at Morton's. Most haphazardly plated one too. A 6oz filet mignon without sufficient char to give credit to the restaurant's namesake. But they were cooking for a lot of people so I suppose standards slip. It wasn't bad by any stretch - just a little smaller than what would have been satisfying. Mashed potatoes were nice.

Smaller steak also meant that I had some room to spare for their cheesecake. Not bad. Rich, creamy and a little too much sweetness than I would like to deal with. But no complains here.

The Spotted Pig, West Village, NYC

We managed to get our table at The Spotted Pig (314 W 11th St, NY 10014, tel : +212 620 0393) after more than a half hour wait in the cold.

I was definitely looking forward to their burger with Rocquefort cheese. The very one that has a patty from a custom brisket, short loin and chuck blend by Pat LaFrieda. Done medium rare. It was satisfying to say the least and surprisingly, the blue cheese didn't fully overwhelm the meat. Speaking of meat, the aroma was nice but mellow for something that was aged. I'm with the position that the cheese introduced a complementary complexity to the meat in some ways and on the same hand, also masked some of the natural flavours of the beef. At $26 USD, it wasn't cheap though.

I only had one gripe with the food. That was their heavy hand with the salt which was evident in their asparagus soup and those thin shoestring fries that came with the burger.  

Red Lobster, Times Square, NYC

A group dinner brought us to Red Lobster. While it didn't appear to be very promising, Red Lobster (5 Times Square, NY 10036, tel : +212 730 6706) turned out to be a little better than I had imagined despite the TGIF appearances.

Granted that aside from the boring Caesar salad that came with the entree, I didn't really eat much else except the 1 1/4 pound steamed lobster that I ordered, enhanced with some drawn butter. Very decent if not outstanding and noticeably cheaper than what I would have paid for back home. I even enjoyed the sides of beans and buttery sweet potato mash.

The other thing that was pretty good were those free flow of cheddar biscuits that they served at the start. Not the best biscuits I've had but they were light, fluffy on the inside even and were piping hot. Tasted freshly made!

Keens Steakhouse, Midtown Manhattan, NYC

We had heard about Keens Steakhouse (72 W 36th St, NY 10018, tel : +212 947 3636) and made it a destination for this trip. The place was initially part of a theatre and literary group from London and eventually broke off into a gentleman's club and eventually, a restaurant in 1885. The ceilings of the restaurant is lined by the pipes that had belonged to the members from the older era. Pipes of owners that are probably long gone.

As can be seen from their packets of sugar, the steakhouse likes to remind people that they've been around for quite a long while.

We were served warmed loaves with butter while waiting for our orders.

I decided that it would be an appropriate time to also nurse a glass of Brooklyn Lager, nice brew by the way, while waiting.

This was possibly the first proper vegetable item we had after arriving in NYC. A nicely done Caesar salad. Just so that we could balance the meat heavy meal.

The one item that I had been intensely curious about after hearing of was their mutton chop. About 26 oz from what I gather - cut from the loin of a Colorado sheep about a year old. The meat was a masculine red, tender and had a light blanket of that lovely gaminess (more on the fattier parts). Good stuff there. Came with a serving of lemon-y escarole to balance out all that delicious meat. 

If I might say so, Keens also did a very competent prime rib. Tender and flavourful and personally, as enjoyable as the mutton chop.

For the consideration of an even more balanced diet, some nicely done creamed spinach. These were delicious.

And because the food was good, we were encouraged to get a dessert. That's their key lime pie. Lightest I've had and possibly in my limited experience, also the best I've had. There was bit of fresh flavours from those bits of zest and just a few small notches from what one could consider ethereal. Best of all, it wasn't excessively sweet.

If you didn't know, Keens also has a little piece of dinosaur sirloin that's been aging on their walls for over 75 million years. Imagine that!

Lombardi's, Lower Manhattan, NYC

We headed down to SOHO to join D for some pizza at Lombardi's (32 Spring St, NY 10012, tel : +212 941 7994). I read that they were founded over a century ago as the first pizzeria in the United States and remains one of the few pizzeria to maintain the licence for coal fired oven for their pizzas. Can't do New York without trying some New York pizzas, no?

Got ourselves their famous clam pie and a white pizza with pepperoni. With a squeeze of lemon, the former was a little tangy, garlicky and plentiful of bite with the generous portion of clams 

The white pizza on the other hand was rich with a creamy ricotta and some heat from I don't know what. Both were technically "white pizza" so there wasn't any tomato sauce which I was oddly looking forward to.

In truth, I wasn't sure what to make out of it. While I enjoyed them, they somehow didn't leave an impression like what I had imagined them to. On the other hand, these also weren't the traditional cheese and tomato pies so I haven't had what is perceived to be a regular slice. Yet.

Landmarc, Midtown Manhattan, NYC

Brekkie at Landmarc (10 Columbus Circle, 3rd Floor, NY 10019, tel : +212 823 6123) by Marc Murphy at Time Warner Centre. The food was much better than it sounded on the menu. But we came especially for their pain perdu and bacon.

And that pain perdu was huge. Larger than what I had imagined it to be. But it was pretty damn good. A crisp brown shell of bread with eggy/creamy/custardy insides. I hear that their bread is specially made for them. Doused with a healthy helping of maple syrup, it was rich and sweet and filling. Pretty awesome for the first meal of the day. 

That pain perdu was accompanied by a side, separately ordered of course, of crisp smoky Duroc bacon. Also awesome with the maple syrup. These had a more crisp exterior than the ones from Artichoke.

There were a few other things we had. Like the onion soup which had a rich beefy broth, loaded with gooey cheese which was one of the better I've had. Hash browns were quite addictive too. Addictive like I'm running out of space and I'm still shovelling forkfuls of them into my face kind of addictive. A seat at the window got us a view of Columbus Circle and the Trump Tower.

Five Guys, Midtown Manhattan, NYC

We were looking for something to fill our bellies after checking into the hotel close to midnight and Five Guys (253 W 42nd St, NY 10036, tel : +212 398 2600) by a stroke of chance happened to be within walking distance. From what I've learnt, the locals call this area 42th and 8th. 

All the major food groups including fruits can be found in their bacon cheeseburger. It felt pretty hefty wrapped in foil. The regular burgers on the menu come with two patties and the little ones come with one.

This was an "all in" sans ketchup. I liked that the sauce wasn't over done and that I could still taste those beefy charred patties with all the ingredients inside. Despite the size, the sandwich went down pretty easily. 

Couldn't pass on their fries which were really good. I like soggy fries and these thick cut, skin on Idaho potato-y fries definitely worked for me. In my limited experience, the best fast food fries I've had.

Washed down with a thick peanut butter shake. Aahhhhh.......burp!