mac and cheese – 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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Step into Bo’s Kitchen

NYC has so many restaurants that you can try, it’s insane. I worked in the Flatiron neighborhood for over a year and never even knew about this hidden little gem called Bo’s Kitchen & Bar Room. The bar greets you as soon as you enter, definitely a plus in my book. The dining area is towards the back and filled with pictures and this captivating sign pictured below.

The night started with a sangria for me and I had quite some time to go over the entrees to make a good decision for the evening. I went with the Cajun pork chop parmesan. It was completely covered with a spicy tomato sauce and melted gruyere cheese along with parmesan. The perfect combination of flavor for this succulent pork chop! The chop was placed on top of steamed zucchini as well. My husband kept it light and simple with his choice, shrimp tacos. These were quite tasty with their shrimp, corn, tomato, cotija and crema toppings, garnished with cilantro. It’s always funny when we go out for dinner because the waiter normally mixes up our entrees. You would think he would go for the over-sized pork chop right? We also decided to add a side of mac and cheese. Probably one of our favorite side dishes and definitely a good addition to our meals. When in Flatiron, give this place a try. Nice ambiance and great food. What more can you ask for?

Clover Club

Sometimes you just want to go out and grab a good drink. Clover Club has been on my list of places to try for quite some time and I finally made it. Located near Cobble Hill on Smith Street, this is a stellar cocktail bar that must be visited if you’re in the area. The dim setting and overall ambiance is great. Very relaxing and inviting to have nice conversation over some of their many fancy concoctions. Although we only came for drinks, I’d been eyeing a few food items I wanted to try as well. I went with the deviled eggs and the mac and cheese. With the deviled eggs, you received four all topped with something different. Toppings included were crispy bacon croutons, smoked paprika and garlic bread crumbs, smoked trout and mushrooms duxelles. All were delectable and almost made me order another round but I remembered I had the mac and cheese to indulge in as well. The mac and cheese was cooked with several cheeses and also included bacon. Anytime there’s bacon involved, I’m overjoyed. I’ll have to re-visit to try the fried oysters and the bread pudding. I wish I could of tried everything all at once but this gives me a reason to definitely come back.

As for the drinks, there’s a huge selection categorized perfectly for an indecisive person like myself. Some of the categories were punches, tiki, beat the heat and brain freeze just to name a few. Clover Club was definitely a hit for me and it worked even better that it’s right in Brooklyn. Be sure to check them out if you’re ever on Smith Street and looking for a nice cocktail bar. Check out more pics below.

The Juke

Atlanta is the home of a lot of great restaurants. Sweet Georgia’s Juke Joint in the heart of downtown happens to be one and I’m so glad I decided to take my family here for an outing on my last visit home. There’s nothing like a good ol’ Southern cooked meal and this place doesn’t disappoint.

To start, we decided to have the crawfish tails, fried green tomatoes and their rendition of bacon and eggs; which happened to be the delectable deviled eggs topped with candied bacon. Unfortunately we tackled the appetizers pretty quickly and I was only able to snag a picture of the deviled eggs. For my entree, I went with the half rack of ribs which were absolutely amazing. In the south, you have to have a good mac and cheese as a side so of course I ordered that for my vegetable along with fried okra.

What I love about the south is that home feeling you get anywhere you go. Sweet Georgia’s Juke Joint gives a great vibe and the live band adds a special touch as well. While eating, we often stopped to chime in on classics that the band played including songs by the legendary Earth, Wind and Fire and the Gap Band. You have to chime in on these right? It was definitely a great experience and to see the smiles on my family members faces made it that much better. Check out more pics below.

The Real Big Mac

On yesterday I ventured off to The Ainsworth and boy was it worth it. I’ve seen this mac and cheese burger combo on a ton of sites and blogs and figured it was time I gave this a try. The burger comes with panko crusted mac and cheese and a scoop of mac of cheese to top it all off. By scoop, I mean practically a side of mac and cheese piled on top of the burger which is perfectly fine by me. It normally comes with fries but since I was living on the edge enough with the double helping of mac and cheese, I opted to have the salad instead. This combination that they’ve created did not disappoint. To add, the DJ played a slew of great tunes and made the experience that much greater. Please check this place out if you are ever in Manhattan and want a delicious burger!

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!