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!