din din – lifeofacitygal

Harold’s Meat + Three

There’s a new kid on the block in Lower Manhattan and he isn’t playing fair. Chef Harold Moore has opened a restaurant called Harold’s Meat + Three and when you dine here, you get just that. All entrees come with your selection of a meat and then you pick three sides to compliment your selection. Pretty awesome concept! I had the pleasure of meeting the owner, Harold, before we ordered. Such a humble guy and very appreciative to hear his restaurant was recommended through great reviews and word of mouth. To ease our decision making for side dishes, he even let my friend and I add a additional side on the house. I literally wanted to try mostly all of the side dishes so it helped to add one more to my entree.

While we waited for our dinner, the waiter brought cheddar baked biscuits with a soft butter. Okay these cn be trouble guys! Try to only eat one of you can. As my entree, I had the veal meatballs, recommended by Harold himself. For the sides, I went with the cucumber salad, Japanese sweet potatoes, grilled broccolini and mac and cheese. Okay the flavors in the meatballs are undeniably delicious. I cannot even describe just how great they were and how many happy dances I did at the table. To balance the sides, I normally try to order at least one cold served dish. I was glad I tried the cucumber salad which was simply cucumbers tossed in a citrus vinaigrette. So refreshing! I also had never tried or even heard of Japanese sweet potatoes. They weren’t too sweet but had a nice flavor. The broccolini had a nice grilled flavor and seasoned to perfection. The mac and cheese literally had just the right amount of cheese and creamy texture that I look for in a good mac.

I love hearing about new places to try and I love even more when I try a place and have nothing but great things to say so I can recommend it myself. Chef Moore has nailed it with his restaurant and I will definitely be back. If you’re looking for a nice vibe and good eats, please give them a try. More pics from my dinner below.

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LA Edition: Part 3

LA is a place known for many notable things. Hollywood, celeb sightings, production and die-hard Lakers fans to name a few. Whenever I travel, I’m always in search of the best food and LA does a good job of providing new places to try. Being a foodie at heart, I will always fit in a nice dinner, new dessert place or quick bite to go. While in LA for the Thanksgiving holiday, I was able to add some new places to my growing list of favorite food spots. I also came to find out a lot of places are open extremely late or, even better, 24 hours! One of those 24-hour places happens to be Birdie’s in DTLA. I made it by here to try some of their delicious donuts. Another place, famously shown in a John Singleton classic film ‘Baby Boy’, called Lucy’s is also open all day and night and the food here is definitely comforting when its late night.

On this trip, I was actually able to spend a lot of time in Los Angeles. I didn’t even make it to Santa Monica this time around or Malibu and both are 2 of my favorite hangouts, particularly for the beaches. I did stop by Venice beach, because its only right that you do and had cocktails at Wabi Sabi on Abbot Kinney. This is also one of my favorite areas and I made a point to enjoy at least an hour or so in the area. I saw the Farmer’s Market in the Grove on a ton of vlogs so I definitely made a stop there. The Farmers Market seems like a good place to visit when you’re indecisive about what you want to eat because the market offers a variety of food and different types of cuisine. I think I grabbed tacos and a horchata to hold me until we made it to the infamous In-N-Out Burger. In-N-Out is a must try if you never had this before. The menu is so simple and apparently, the way to go, is animal style for your fries. Never disappoints. I also went to another market, Grand Central, located in DTLA solely to try the bacon, egg and cheese sandwich from Eggslut. Eggslut is a pretty popular sandwich joint, so much, that another one has opened in Venice. The line was pretty long at the time I went but it was definitely worth the wait. To go with this, I went to G&B coffee for a nice cup of coffee and later found out this is one of the most popular coffee shops in LA, according to Time Out magazine.

BOA Steakhouse was the choice for the LA finale dinner. I normally do at least one nice restaurant when vacating here so why not spend it in West Hollywood for that evening? We started with the blue colossal crab cocktail. As the entrée, I went with their rib eye and added both mac and cheese and creamed spinach with crispy shallots. Wayyyyyy too much food to indulge in at once but I couldn’t resist. Everything sounded so good. Not to forget the cocktail I had for the evening too. I cannot recall the name of it but it was a great choice! To say the least, LA never ceases to amaze me. The vibe is enough to fall in love with but when you start adding all of the other great things like picture perfect sunsets, countless beaches and warm weather all year; it’s just a place you never want to leave. Check out pics of some of the food I was able to enjoy while there. Until next time LA….

http://www.eggslut.com (Grand Central Market 317 S Broadway Los Angeles, CA 90013)

http://www.gandbcoffee.com (Grand Central Market 317 S Broadway Los Angeles, CA 90013)

http://www.loteriagrill.com (The Original Farmers Market 6333 W 3rd St Los Angles, CA 90036)

http://www.rockandbrews.com (143 Main St El Segundo, CA 90245)

http://www.birdiesla.com (314 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90015)

http://www.in-n-out.com (7009 Sunset Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028)

Just a little Southern Hospitality

You can always find a good barbecue place in NYC. One that happens to be a pretty good choice in my opinion is Southern Hospitality. Part owner, Justin Timberlake, brings his Southern roots to the heart of New York City with Memphis-style ribs, pulled pork, and the southern fried classics. I’ve visited for both brunch and diner and the food is always on point. This particular visit I tried the brisket sandwich topped with fried onions and a sweet BBQ sauce. All sandwiches are accompanied with a pickle and fries but the fries can be substituted of course. To balance it out, I normally try to add I side salad which was a great combination with this sandwich. When someone tags along, I also try whatever they have and this time it was the infamous chicken and waffles. The cornbread waffles were cooked to perfection and the chicken was very flavorful as well. Just the right amount of crisp with each bite. Seeing that I am from the south myself, I love venturing off and finding places like these. Their take on Southern classics here are very good to say the least. If you’re ever in the Times Square area and want to have some authentic Southern bbq with undeniable Southern hospitality, give them a try.

Day trip in AC

This past weekend, I decided to do a day trip to Atlantic City. Round trip tickets are just $40 on the bus from Penn Station so why not? After doing a bit of shopping, of course you have to make your way to the infamous Atlantic City boardwalk. There are casinos, plentiful food options and a mini amusement park to name a few things for leisure activities. In terms of food, Hard Rock cafe was the go to for the day trip. I decided to go with the hickory barbecue bacon cheeseburger and to my delight, was able to add a fried egg. I also went with the purple haze for my cocktail, which is a pretty bomb choice. There are many places to choose from if you ever visit the boardwalk in Atlantic City but you cannot go wrong with a burger from Hard Rock!

LA meets NY

East Village, NY has to have some of the best restaurants in New York City. I stumbled upon this gem in search of a good happy hour in the area. Unfortunately it ended at 7pm here so I missed the happy hour but boy did they make that up with the delectable dishes they have here. The guacamole was so fresh along with the chips and the brisket tacos were simply amazing. Rosie’s gave me an LA vibe when I dined there, especially since it was a 70-degree day in the city so all of the side doors were open to let the fresh air trickle in. This will definitely be a good spot in the summer. Check it out if you’re in the area and want tasty Mexican.

Let’s get social

When anyone asks where’s a good place to go for dinner, Stanton Social is always one of my recommendations. This tapas style restaurant lounge never disappoints. The menu does often change so you may not be able to try exactly what I have had the pleasure of having but the executive chef creates great dishes throughout the year. Recently I was able to enjoy the seared scallops with lobster ravioli garnished with tomatoes and a light cream sauce. I also tried the beef and broccoli which consisted of braised beef atop a rice cake with a broccoli cream base and the special Social mac and cheese which craftily included Italian sausage. Since moving to New York, I have tried a number of restaurants and this one remains my favorite. Please do yourself a favor and get here soon!

Catch of the day

I finally made my way to grab seafood from the infamous restaurant, The Boil, located in Lower Eastside Manhattan. OMG. This place definitely lived up to the hype. Crab legs seasoned with the special “boil” sauce which is a mixture of old bay, garlic butter and lemon pepper, along with shrimp tossed in garlic butter and old bay was a pure delight for a dinner choice. I also added a side of mac and cheese; it felt like the right thing to do. After my long search for seafood in NYC, I can finally say I found a place that serves some of the best seafood boils I’ve had. Overall the food was amazing and they have great service. Be sure to give yourself an extra hour and some change for the wait list. It’s definitely worth it!