Drink Your Face Off with Bottomless Cocktails & Latin Brunch at Yerba Buena in Greenwich Village

DSC_3869_edit

New Yorkers fucking love brunch. Not only do New Yorkers love brunch, but they love to drink cocktails aggressively while they’re at it. It’s a quintessential part of NY culture, to go out partying ’til 4 AM, wake up disturbingly hungover the next morning afternoon and rely on the old hair of the dog trick to get through the torturous pain that comes with a brutal hangover. And that’s why All You Can Drink brunch was born, to solve this distinctly New York-y problem, but not all AYCD brunch spots are alike.

Some brunches are super expensive, others have mediocre-to-poor food, others have crappy generic cocktails, and others are just too damn crowded to tolerate. When I’m in the mood for an awesomely excessive AYCD brunch, my go-to is Yerba Buena on Perry Street in Greenwich Village.

(more…)

Continue ReadingDrink Your Face Off with Bottomless Cocktails & Latin Brunch at Yerba Buena in Greenwich Village
Read more about the article New Restaurant Union Bar & Kitchen is Just What West SoHo Needed
New Restaurant Union Bar & Kitchen is Just What West SoHo Needed

New Restaurant Union Bar & Kitchen is Just What West SoHo Needed

I love new restaurant openings. There’s always this energy in the air, an excitement, the mystery of what the gut gamble might uncover. That’s why I was so excited to be invited to the soft launch of Union Bar & Kitchen in West SoHo.

(more…)

Continue ReadingNew Restaurant Union Bar & Kitchen is Just What West SoHo Needed
Read more about the article Extremely Excessive Burgers & Fries at Brown Chicken Brown Cow in Campbell
Extremely Excessive Burgers & Fries at Brown Chicken Brown Cow in Campbell, CA

Extremely Excessive Burgers & Fries at Brown Chicken Brown Cow in Campbell

DSC_3608_edit

After having a really great experience at Liquid Bread in Downtown Historic Campbell, I knew there was more great dining to be found. While there are many restaurants that line the main drag, I’m fairly certain that most are not worth my time or money, but if I looked hard enough I could find some gems.

Brown Chicken Brown Cow (best pronounced like “Bow Chicka Wow Wow”) definitely makes you look hard to even find it. Armed with Google Maps and their address and I still struggled to find the restaurant on this single-street downtown area. But it was worth the extra effort and their silly name is perfect for the downright pornographic I consumed.

(more…)

Continue ReadingExtremely Excessive Burgers & Fries at Brown Chicken Brown Cow in Campbell
Read more about the article Great American Comfort Food & the Biggest Burger in NYC at Delicatessen
Great American Comfort Food & the Biggest Burger in NYC at Delicatessen

Great American Comfort Food & the Biggest Burger in NYC at Delicatessen

20140101_212248_edit

Delicatessen is a really interesting place. Located in the heart of Nolita, it’s definitely a scene. You know, the kind of place where the cool people hang out. The ground floor is a nice, spacious, sunlit restaurant known for its classic American comfort foods like mac & cheese and burgers. These qualities also make it a very popular brunch destination. On top of all of this, the basement below Delicatessen is a sort of loungey nightclub that regularly fills up with models and the rest of the cool crowd.

In general I try to avoid popular, sceney places like this, but I’ve found the food and experience at Delicatessen is great every time. They serve really good, quality food in a casual atmosphere without any of the pretension you might expect. They serve nice cocktails, have a good wine list, and serve big, hearty dishes making it a great spot for a date night or a meal out with the family.

(more…)

Continue ReadingGreat American Comfort Food & the Biggest Burger in NYC at Delicatessen
Read more about the article How I Almost Missed Out On an Awesome Burger at Burger & Barrel
How I Almost Missed Out On an Awesome Burger at Burger & Barrel

How I Almost Missed Out On an Awesome Burger at Burger & Barrel

DSC_2241_edit

Let me tell you a story about how one awful waitress nearly ruined a great restaurant for me. On a random, spur of the moment Saturday evening, Amy and I decided we wanted to go out for date night dinner and drinks.

We had each heard nice things about Burger & Barrel and were particularly excited to try Josh Capon’s food because we frequently watch him on TV fixing awful kitchens on Bar Rescue. I also had heard that a few months back at this year’s NYCWFF Burger Bash, Josh’s burger was voted the best in the city. For all of these reasons, Amy and I were excited to experience Burger & Barrel for ourselves.

(more…)

Continue ReadingHow I Almost Missed Out On an Awesome Burger at Burger & Barrel

Finding the Best Conch in Turks & Caicos

This vacation couldn’t have come at a better time. As the entire country fell into a below-zero deep freeze, I was headed for some sun and heat in Turks & Caicos with my girlfriend Amy and her family.

Day 1:

We were staying at the beautiful Grace Bay Club, right on the incredible beach in Providenciales, Turk & Caicos. Upon arrival, we immediately hit the gym to preempt the impending bodily destruction. I had two missions on this trip. 1) To return with the tan of a golden god. 2) To eat as much conch – the local shellfish specialty – in as many ways as humanly possible.

(more…)

Continue ReadingFinding the Best Conch in Turks & Caicos
Read more about the article Hot Dog Insanity at Los Perros Locos LES
Hot Dog Insanity at Los Perros Locos LES

Hot Dog Insanity at Los Perros Locos LES

*Editor’s Note: I’m sad to report that this restaurant is no longer open.

What’s the craziest meal you’ve ever had in New York? I know, there’s many types of crazy meals, whether it involves something outside your comfort zone like organ meat or a perhaps it’s a meal served in pure darkness. But, I’m talking about a different kind of crazy. The kind that makes you stop at ask what kind of clinically insane person thought up the menu. The kind that makes you actually utter ‘what the fuck’ out loud. Well, this is it. This is some of the most out-there food I’ve found in NYC and honestly, I don’t know anywhere else in the US quite like it either. Even the name of the shop foreshadows the wackiness to come. Welcome to Los Perros Locos. If you haven’t already guessed, they served over-the-top hot dog varieties.

(more…)

Continue ReadingHot Dog Insanity at Los Perros Locos LES
Read more about the article Huge, Cheap Burgers & Fries at Joy Burger Bar in NYC
Joy Burger Bar Review

Huge, Cheap Burgers & Fries at Joy Burger Bar in NYC

20130918_191343_edit2

So here’s the scenario: A weeknight on my own, no responsibilities, and no idea what I feel like doing with the night. I’m not really in the mood for anything in particular and not quite hungry yet so I head home from work to sort out my gameplan. I have an interesting idea about how to choose my evening’s activity. I flip on the TV, tune it to The Food Network and let whatever is on guide my dinner decision. Guy Fieri’s Dinner, Drive-ins, and Dives happens to be on and they are in Narragansett, Rhode Island at Crazy Burger Cafe & Juice Bar. The owner Michael Maxon is a real character making insane burgers while also making insane gibberishy sounds effects. Burger. Done. I pull up Foursquare Explore and type in “burger” and let it guide the rest of my decision. Up comes Joy Burger Bar, a place I’ve never been to that I saved to my todo list that’s only a few blocks away. Joy Burger it is.

(more…)

Continue ReadingHuge, Cheap Burgers & Fries at Joy Burger Bar in NYC

New Orleans Meets NYC at Exchange Alley in the East Village

*Editor’s Note: I’m sad to report that this restaurant is no longer open.

Special occasions – not just regular date nights, but occasions like a girlfriend’s birthday or an anniversary. Where would you go on these kinds of nights? For me, I think and talk about food and restaurants all the time, so my criteria might be a little different than most. I don’t want to pick a trendy, super-popular place. I was to pick something unexpected, something a little off the beaten path, but it still obviously must have excellent food, with great ambiance, and ideally be reasonably priced.

(more…)

Continue ReadingNew Orleans Meets NYC at Exchange Alley in the East Village

Come for the Tea, Stay for the Savory Snacks at ViVi Bubble Tea in NYC

For over three years I have been lucky enough to work within walking distance of Chinatown. I’ve done my fair share of exploration and feel like I have a handle on most of the options. Every now and then I find something really unexpected. On this occasion, I was wandering around the streets of Chinatown deciding what I should have for lunch and when I decided to try something new on a hunch. Inside of an unassuming bubble tea shop on Bayard Street there are signs advertising some non-bubble tea offerings. Who would dare eat lunch at a bubble tea shop? This guy.

(more…)

Continue ReadingCome for the Tea, Stay for the Savory Snacks at ViVi Bubble Tea in NYC