Nizza

Next it was time for dinner. We had no real idea what we wanted, so we just kinda wandered around, slightly out of the overcrowded-tourist-area to see if anything struck our fancies. We ended up at an Italian place called Nizza. We only waited about five minutes before we were seated, and the service was pretty good. The water was served by the bottle - even tap! Rob went with pizza, and had great things to say about it (I forget the toppings now). Jonathan chose spaghetti with sausage and meatballs - it was good, he'd recommend it. I went with the gnocci in four cheese sauce, and it was fabulous. It was portioned perfectly, although it was too hot to dig in as soon as it arrived on the table.

McGee's Pub

We had taken in some sights, I had seen a matinee, and we were staying in the City to see a show at 8pm, so we had a little time. At 5pm, we headed over to have a drink at the bar of the place where we had already chosen to eat dinner. McGee's Pub, what the How I Met Your Mother bar (MacLaren's) is based on, was our selection. They were still nice enough to give us happy hour prices, even though happy hour had ended. We moved downstairs and into a booth for dinner, but it ended up being more of a snack, really. We shared the cajun calamari (that day's special appetizer) and the baked macaroni and cheese, and Rob went with some sliders and fries. The food was pretty good, and we ended up sitting right under a photo of the How I Met Your Mother cast, so that was interesting.so we'll tackle the transportation next time.

Corner Bistro

We were spending another day in NYC, this time bringing our friend, Rob. We had already planned our meals, and we headed over to the Corner Bistro (menu outdated online), which is mentioned as a great burger place on How I Met Your Mother, a sitcom that's set in NYC. Rob and Jonathan each ordered a cheeseburger, and I had the bistro burger. Bistro apparently adds bacon, LoL. These burgers were FABULOUS. And I mean it. We all LOVED them. The fries were pretty average, but they were baked almost dry, so I was happy, LoL. Service was friendly (like mom-and-pop friendly!) and especially fast. The prices were beyond reasonable ($6 for a half-pound cheeseburger), and all three of us stand behind recommending the place to anyone and everyone. It's not even in a bad area of town... it's hard to come up with a negative (well, there is a tiny one. on my third refill, my water seemed to have a little greasy film on top. but Jonathan's didn't have this, so not sure where it came from).

More Tim Horton's

So, after finding out about the deliciousness of Tim Horton's when we were in Niagara Falls, we now grab it whenever we get a chance. So, when we were in Manhattan, we stopped to get some caffeine there. I had an iced mocha, Jonathan had an iced cappuccino. Yet again, both were wonderful. Overall, their stuff is SO GOOD.

Lunch in Times Square

We were in NYC for the day again. We headed over to eat lunch at the Times Deli on 44th Street (between Broadway & 6th). I had a grilled chicken wrap with cheese, peppers, and tomatoes. Jonathan has a meatball sub. Both were delicious, and the place was quick and cheap. The upstairs seating (which has a tiny internet cafe as well) wasn't air conditioned, but otherwise it was a great stop.

 

Indian Falls Log Cabin Restaurant

On the drive home from Niagara Falls, we stopped for lunch at Indian Falls Log Cabin Restaurant. If you happen to be near Corfu, NY, stop there. The view from the patio is nice, overlooking the Indian Falls. The food was overly reasonable. The service could have been a bit quicker, but the deliciousness of the food made up for it. I went with the cabin sandwich, which was chicken and ham with swiss. Jonathan chose the steak sandwich. The fries were absolutely delicious... the kind with light skin on them, but cooked so the skin almost tastes like breading. We also split an order of pepperoni rolls, which were served similarly to eggrolls, but tasted like pizza... wonderful.

Here is the view from our table, as we prepared to head out and drive home.

Bettola

We were in New York City with Jonathan's parents and had an early dinner at an Italian restaurant on the Upper West Side. I chose Bettola based on a short walking distance from the American Museum of Natural History (which was the basis for this particular trip), an average-priced menu, an authentic background, and good online reviews.

We were the only diners in there for the majority of our meal. We had a table in the corner, next to a window, and received excellent service from the time we sat down until our bill was paid. Our water glasses were refilled promptly, suggestions were good, and questions were happily answered.

We all ordered different items and were all satisfied with our selections. I went with the gnocchi, which wasn't the best I had ever had, but was very filling and rather delicious with the fresh mozzarella that was on top. Jonathan went with the prosciutto pizza - thin crust, fresh ingredients, perfectly baked. His mother had a tomato basil soup with pesto and croutons... I only had a taste and I'd give it two thumbs up! She also went with a warm salad that contained cannelini beans. Not something I'd go for, but it was certainly different! Lastly, his dad went with the fettuccine. It was green noodles and was served with fresh peas. He enjoyed the peas, and that's coming from a man who normally doesn't eat peas (although I'm not quite sold, LoL).

I'd completely recommend the place to anyone. We probably won't be back (at least in the near future) just because we don't get to NYC often, and we're always trying different places. [Next time, I'm dying to try out a burger place near Ground Zero that we heard about forever ago!]

Amy's Birthday: Sunday in NYC

We were still in NYC, so for lunch we decided on E.A.T., a rather famous restaurant on Madison Avenue. I had recently saw a special on them on the Food Network, toting their grilled cheese as the cheesiest in the country! As such, I ordered that while Jonathan went with the grilled ham and cheese. We were extremely impressed, and found it to be one of the best lunches ever. They were served with green salads and a strange dressing... I was expecting Caesar, but it ended up being more mustardy. There were plenty of breads served with the meal (sourdough, nutty, and raisiny), and the service was very good. It was a very good meal, but probably the kind of place you only go to on special occasion or to take tourists for a treat... aka it's pricey.

Amy's Birthday: Saturday Night in NYC

We had planned on Italian food for dinner. I had the names and addresses of four places within three blocks of our hotel. But, as we walked back from sightseeing, another place caught our gaze: Saju Bistro. I'm not generally one for French cuisine, but the specials looked good, the aromas wafting out were delightful, and there was a pre-theatre menu that was reasonable. So, after we changed and grabbed the ticket information, it was down for dinner. It was fairly crowded, and we were asked if we made a reservation. We had not, but were still seated right away (there were several tables for two that weren't filled the entire time we were there, so I imagine they hold those for walk-ins during pre-theatre rush). The attentiveness of the staff was wonderful, from water refilling to taking plates away to the pacing of our dishes. While one of the specials (grilled scallops) sounded delicious to both of us, we each chose the prix fixe.

Jonathan had a glass of wine (Argentinian Malbec), while I stuck with water. For starters, I had the mixed greens salad, Jonathan had Brandade de Morue (a baked dish of codfish and potato, served with toasted slices of baguettte). The salad was as stated, with a strange dressing. It was certainly dijon-based, but it may have been lemony as well, I couldn't quite place it. Jonathan's baked cod was wonderful. It was quite hot and blended with the potato and garlic beautifully. It was delicious, although I didn't try it paired with the baguette as Jonathan did.

I chose the Saumon Provencal as my main course, which was an excellent selection. It was prepared medium with tarragon, and served with asparagus and tiny diced (and fried) potatoes. The grilled flavor on the asparagus was very good, and the potatoes were very flavorful, albeit a bit greasy. The salmon was served with half of a lemon, which added a light flavor to it... delicious. Jonathan went with Onglet a l'echalotte, aka hanger black angus steak. It came with potato puree (ridiculously fine, took out the flavor), a stewed tomato, and a nice shallots sauce. I wish I could replicate the sauce, as I enjoy shallots. The steak itself was enjoyable, although a bit different. He made room for all of it, which I was impressed with.

Next was coffee and dessert. There were quite a few choices (more dessert options than appetizer options, LoL), I easily chose the chocolate mousse, while Jonathan thought for a moment before settling on creme caramel, a flan-ish dish. The mousse was plentiful and incredibly rich. Very good, and the homemade whipped cream topping it was delectable. I wasn't a fan of Jonathan's sweet, but he enjoyed it very much, particularly the sauce. The coffee was very hot, but with cream even I had some. The biscotti cookies were the best I'd ever had, but that's because they were closer to lady fingers, hehe. We'd both highly recommend the place, but be sure to go between 5 and 7 so you get the pre-theatre menu and discount!