Tiffin Wallah: 127 E 28th Street, New York, NY 10016
Being a girl, I do not like to sit at a restaurant and eat alone. “She must be so sad and lonely,” the other patrons think to themselves as they stare at me weeping into my salad. That’s what delivery is for! I decided to broaden my horizons and try something new instead of ordering from my go to sushi place.
I always feel skinny saying I ate vegetarian, so I decided to try a restaurant from the infamous Curry Hill landscape. Tiffin Wallah appeared in my search, and with Wikipedia open in a separate tab, I researched the menu as I waited for Bethenny Ever After to come on (why so late Bethenny? Ok fine 9 pm is not late)
First thing I saw was Rasam (spicy tomato lentil soup). I love lentil soup, it’s delicious, filling, healthy AND vegetarian (winning!). Besides, spicy food speeds up your metabolism. That ended up being a bust. It tasted like water with hot sauce.
Moving on I decided to pursue the mixed vegetable uttapam. Uttapam is essentially a savory pancake made from rice and lentil flour. Success! It came with 2 dipping sauces, and I was filled with just one order and did not even go in search of a little snackaroo in my fridge later in the night.
If you feel like taking a dip in the curry pond I would def try Tiffin Wallah to get your feet wet.
Order: Mixed Vegetable Uttapam.
Barbounia [Click the photo above to go to Barbounia’s website]
250 Park Ave S #1 New York, NY 10003
Weekend Brunch! What girl does not love brunch, and being that I live in Murray Hill (stop judging me fellow New Yorkers), finding a decent brunch spot is near to impossible, especially since my friends never want to go very far. Since I was able to drag them to L’express before I figured I could force them to try the restaurant across the street, Barbounia, and thank gaaaad for Barbounia.
For 1, they have a drinking special (boom). $18 for unlimited mimosas and bellinis. One mimosa is $12, so it is a deal in my book.
Not to mention there were men there, MEN AT BRUNCH. Unless there’s a big screen television, beer and tater tots, it is hard to get a man to brunch. Barbounia somehow managed to make that happen.
Crowded? Drinking Special? There must be a wait. The brunch gods were shining down on me that Saturday, because we were seated right away (next to a group of drunk girls but we were seated: i’ll take it).
And the food did not disappoint. I picked up the menu about 3 times before I decided on the crab benedict with truffle oil (yes, truffle oil), and it was delicious. I did not leave one morsel on my plate.
My friend got the burger, and she cleaned her plate as well. I also want to point out that while I am an adventurous eater, my fellow diner is not. Caesar salad wraps are her go to choice, and Barbounia managed to please both of us.
Overall it was an enjoyable experience, except while we were paying our bill, the manager asked if we would be willing to move to the bar so they could seat a larger party (back off buddy). He’s lucky I finished my mimosa so we just paid and left.
Barbounia (burger)
Here is the burger my friend ordered. She was sick and coughing up a lung, so I was too scared to take a bite, but I really wanted to sneak a few fries (if it’s not on my plate it’s like it never happened).
Barbounia (crab benedict)
Here is my crab benedict that I went to town on. I haven’t met a dish with truffle oil I did not like, and if you do not like truffle oil…i’m judging you, harshly.
Barbounia. (bloody mary and mimosa)
I got the mimosa, and my friend got the bloody mary. She has never met a bloody mary she did not like, and this one fell under that umbrella. I sipped my mimosa like a lady, of course.
BLUE SMOKE[Click the photo above to go to Blue Smoke’s website]
116 E 27th St b/t S Park Ave & Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10016
Went to Blue Smoke last night with my pops. It’s a good spot for Murray Hill: comfortably crowded, decent food, and sort of a dudefest (girls think about that for an after work drink).
We ordered the warm bbq potato chips with blue cheese and bacon dip to start. It’s hard to complain about a creamy dip with bacon, but the chips were stale and tasted store bought.
It was fine, but I wouldn’t say it was restaurant quality. It reminded me of in college when my roommates and I would try to “cook” (look boys we’re cute and domestic). We’d haul our cookies to the supermarket (secretly munch on samples), buy all the ingredients, make this fatty dip, and realize we forgot chips, and end up running to the vending machine to see what they had.
Blue Smoke
I had the burger, and I have to say I liked it. It was big and juicy (don’t make it weird), and the fries were well done which I love!
Mi padre had the fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy. We also split a side of brussel sprouts and sesame cole slaw. I had a nibble of my dad’s, and if you’re not in the mood for red meat I would recommend getting that.
Overall it’s a good spot if you’re going with parents or a coed crowd. I didn’t see one group of girls sitting at a table. Some might see that as no competition.
GirlyFoodie 