New York Eats – Cafe Metro

OK – so there are many locations for this cafe, and I, being the bright spark that I am, didn’t take note of which one we went to, so here’s the website and you can maybe try to figure out which one it was …



Nothing like a picture of a happy guy waving behind a food counter.



So anyhow, we stopped by this cafe for a quick brunch before shopping. Not that we could do much shopping anyway as the GBP was kinda trailing behind the USD in all sort of disappointing ways at the time (and still seems to be). Since we couldn't afford shopping for clothes, we could at least try to shop for food.

I mean, you have to do what you have to do for the economy.



Helpfully enough, these 2 bleary-eyed jet-lagged tourists had not just picture menus, but ACTUAL food items on display to assist with the ever arduous task of food ordering.

(Lighting kinda sucks because this was at the counter where there wasn't much natural light, but fear not, sunshine on food is on its way.)



So, as they say, start as you mean to go on, and since we meant to go on as eggs and bacon with a generous drizzle (downpour) of maple/pancake syrup, that was what we ordered.



Because you can never get enough of a good bacon and egg picture, here it is again.



When it drizzles (syrup), it pours (lots of syrup). Keep 'em coming. No, it's not completely empty in the carton yet ... go on, come on, quickly now.



And this is what 1,500 calories looks like (plus minus a few hundred calories). No joke. I may not know the exact amount of calories on this thing, but it was roughly around that mark because they mentioned it on the menu and I went Moly Macaroni, how much?!?!

Thing is, if you order this you shouldn't really be talking calories malories, so let's not. Besides, we're on holiday, and calories don't count, or even exist, on holiday.



Each piece of French toast was fluffy like cotton candy upon clouds, and when bit into, squelched out a lovely sweet little burst of syrup. What's not to like?

Bacon? Check - yummerz
Egg? Check - always a favourite no matter how it's cooked



Resistance is futile. One bite of this amazing syrup-fluff is enough to make you want more.

Cheesecake - when you haven't had enough for brunch

So, when in New York, how could we not try the New York Cheesecake. I don't know enough about this variety of cake to know if this is the real thing or not, but it sure tasted good.



Like, if you're really full, and can't eat anymore, but yet make the effort to have some cheesecake, and it still tastes good, you know it's a good piece of cake.

So, even though I am not sure which Cafe Metro we went to, or in fact, where it was in New York, the food we had at this one satisfied all our brunch cravings that day. The food was good, the place was comfy, and most importantly, they had a window with good lighting so I could take as many pics as I wanted.

New York Eats - Gray's Papaya (Hot Dogs), West Village, 402 Sixth Ave. at 8th St., 212-260-3532

Prior to my uncle taking us to Gray's Papaya, I had no idea it existed at all. This, despite the place appearing in countless films and being famous in New York for its papaya juice (hence the name) and hot dogs.

From Wikipedia:

- Fools Rush In (1997)
- You've Got Mail (1998)
- Down To Earth (2001)
- Sex and the City (2002, Episode "Plus One Is The Loneliest Number")
- How I Met Your Mother (Episode "The Limo")
- Anthony Bourdain ("No Reservations", Season 3, Episode 9)

And that's not even the complete list.



But enough name-dropping and fact-quoting. How about what we were doing before we went to Gray's Papaya?

1. First thing we did on The Food Tour of NY Day was to eat fish and bagels at Sable's - full and happy

2. Then, we decided to stop off at Lady M Cake Boutique for some Mille Crepe - full, slightly worried about how full we were getting, but still happy

3. After which, we stopped off at Gray's Papaya for a 'snack' of a few hot dogs each and some papaya juice - very full, very happy, slightly fatter than when we woke up that morning



We got the Recession Special which was something like US$4.50 for 2 hot dogs and a papaya juice (or any juice of choice). Now this is not the largest hot dog we've had by far (Manchester German Bratwurst are twice the size of this, but that's a completely different ballgame altogether).

However, for the price, this was definitely a crowd-pleaser, albeit a very full and somewhat reluctant but yet persistant crowd. The buns were toasted, the sauerkraut was just the right balance of sour and crunchy, and the yellow mustard topped off a perfectly pleasing little snack to round off our NY Food Tour.

New York Eats – Sable’s, 1489 Second Ave. (77th & 78th Sts.) New York, NY 10075

When we were in New York sometime May last year (nothing like a bit of efficient blogging, I know), my uncle took on the role of being Unofficial NY Tour Guide, specialising mainly in food, and did a good job too.

The first stop on the tour was Sable’s, which holds the reputation for being one of the best places for smoked fish and caviar in New York.



Walking in the narrow shop, the first thing you notice is the counter crammed full of fish - salmon, lobster, smoked fish of all sorts, shellfish, pretty much any fish you can imagine. Now, the important thing to remember here is to Focus, Focus, Focus. Know what you want, and don't stray off the ordering track.

"I'll have some of everything, please."



And if you're not convinced just how famous they are, and need some persuasion, check out the wall. Polaroids of their famous diners adorn the (once) bare wall.



You can buy their famous smoked salmon and lobster salad (mmmmm) by weight, but because my uncle is sorta familiar with them, and because he paid (most important point), we don't really know how much the stuff we ate cost.

Anyhow, not important. What's important is that oh boy oh boy did we enjoy ourselves here.



They have an online ordering system, so I did a quick check of their menu and came up with some prices just so you get a general idea of the place.



Appetisers:
Smoked Scottish Salmon US$36.00 (it didn't mention the weight so I guess it's for a portion)
Herring Fillet (Each) US$5.99

Soups:
Quart of Sable`s Chicken Soup US$6.99
Pint of Lobster Seafood Cream Chowder US$6.99

Smoked combos:
Sturgeon w. Russian Caviar Sandwich Combo US$39.99
Sables w. Baked Salmon Salad Sandwich Combo US$11.99

Salads:
1/2 Pound of Lobster Salad US$17.00 (you HAVE to try this)
1/2 Pound of Whitefish Salad US$11.00



Quick detour - they have 2 shops in one, and this is the other side of it where you can pick up more food, some drinks, and dine-in.



Where we sat, being hungry.



THE LOBSTER SALAD

It's so good, it's written in caps. Imagine if you may, THE most succulent lobster you've ever had. Each piece was crunchy and bursting with fresh, lobstery goodness. One bite of it and I was in the middle of the ocean, floating on an inflatable raft, lying in the sun, grinning stupidly with a mouthful of lobster salad.

Then, if that wasn't enough, add some mayo/white sauce of some sort.

That always makes a meal better.



King Crab Meat Salad

And while I'm still on that inflatable raft, I took another bite of this King Crab Meat Salad, and whaddya know - the grin got wider. Try as I might, I can't explain to you how much I like salad sauce / mayo / similar sauces to that, with my seafood. I know some of you are saying, hey, if the seafood's fresh, it should be eaten on its own, but buddy, this is a different kinda dish altogether.



It's taken as fact that the seafood here is fresh, but because the salads are meant to be eaten with bagels or in a sandwich of some sort, I guess it requires a sauce, and this is the sauce. Whatever the reason, I can't find a better combination than what they have here, and every mouthful was a delight.



We also got a plate of Smoked Salmon and Lake Sturgeon - both of which were gorgeously fresh. As I ate my way through all the fish, I just couldn't believe how creamy and luxuriously smooth each piece was. Never having had Lake Sturgeon before, this was surprisingly clean-tasting; kinda like eating white fish with a mild taste of seawater.



If you can't decide what to have on your bagel, have everything.



Definitely worth the visit here if you like your fish. They know their stuff, and they do it well.

New York Eats – Lady M Cake Boutique, 41 East 78th Street New York, NY 10021

My uncle, the NY Tour Guide (unofficial) had taken us to eat Sable’s bagels as the first (bottomless) pit stop. Stomachs sufficiently stretched, and mouths tired from chewing, he decided that we just had to stop for a dessert break at Lady M.



Not knowing what this place was or what it is famous for, I went into the shop with him. Lady M looks nothing like any other cake shop I’d been to before. In fact, it looks nicer than most shops I’ve been to; food or non-food.

The walls were white with not much else in the shop aside from one glass display table containing the most wonderful, beautiful, delicate cakes.



It was almost like going to a make-up counter and wanting to eat all the make-up on display because they look so tasty. Haven’t you ever felt that before? I get that quite alot, this whole wanting to eat my make-up thing. Especially when I’m in one of those Lush shops where the soaps look better than my dinners.



The only difference here is that you can actually eat the stuff on display.



The ever famous Mille Crepe

My uncle bought us 2 slices, and we waited with anticipation as we took the mouth-watering journey from Lady M to the car.



They put more effort into packaging the crepe than I do when going out to dinner.



Now we just have to take off the sticker and crepes shall be ours.



From Lady M’s site: No less than 20 paper thin, hand-made crêpes layered with ethereally light and creamy custard.

I agree!!! It was like eating the most amazing crème brûlée but 20 times over, and each bite just as delightfully crunchy, sweet and bursting with flavour as the next.

It was like, and I’ll try my most pathetic best at describing this:

Crunchy and sweet at first bite
Creamy and slightly cinnamon-y when you get past the first layer
Crunchy again at the next layer
Repeat 19 times

Absolutely fab, and so far, I’ve not found another crepe which comes anywhere close to this one.

New York Eats – Hard Rock Cafe NY, 1501 Broadway New York, NY 10036

Just like you can’t not visit the popcorn counter when at the cinema, we couldn’t not go to Hard Rock Cafe when in New York. Not that it started there or anything (because it started in London), but something about HRC is just that bit NYC.



And horses standing by the pavement. Smiling at the cameras.



And as we were right smack in the middle of dinner time rush hour, we were prepared for a bit of a wait.



And wait we did. See that ‘Current Line Up’ board above?

Well, we weren’t on there for the first half hour or so. And when we did get on, it was an agonising, hungrying, wait to get up the leader board. Jessica B, Dasya and Louis kept taunting us as their names moved upward and onward, leaving us trailing behind their (smokey-barbecued-flavoured) tails.



We could’ve had some drinks at the bar to while away the time, but because we’re tight tourists, we decided to just sit on the carpeted floor sulking.



In total, we waited something like 1 hour and 40 minutes. Not that I was counting or anything.



When our names were called, boy oh boy did I sprint my way towards the elusive thing called The Free Table. With menu in hand, and appetites uncontrollable, it was henceforth decided that we’d jump straight to the main meal and not bother with silly things like starters and such.



Hard Rock Cafe menu

These days, everything has calories – even menus. Slightly annoying if you’re out for a grand celebratory meal trying to ignore those calories, only to be reminded of those calories everywhere and anywhere with food. Why? Why must you tell me that my Classic Patty Melt has 1,792 calories?!?! Can’t I just have one day’s worth of calories on my plate if I want to?



After we’d placed our orders, I sat there contemplating how many calories I’d just ordered.



Nothing like a bit of Heinz to help wash down those calories.



1,792 calories – Classic Patty Melt (US$15)

You can probably guess that this burger was pretty good considering the stuff it was made out of, and you’d be right. The meat was chunky, juicy, succulent and very meaty (sorry for stating the obvious but we’ve had burgers which just weren’t meaty enough). Nothing like a bit of processed cheese to finish off a lovely American burger.



1,798 calories – Hickory-smoked Bar-B-Que ribs (not sure how much as I didn’t take a pic of the menu and the website’s menu only has calories on it)

Because I’d just started to get used to the ginormous portions served up almost everywhere in New York, this dish was almost a disappointment when served.

What? It’s only just slightly bigger than the plate? Just not good enough.



Despite that, the flavour and texture didn’t disappoint. The barbequed aroma was full and flavoursome, and the meat with just enough bite and chew to it.



Just like yellow taxis and bright lights. I miss it already (we visited in May 2010), New York New York!