back, with burgers.

Okay, you can call off the search parties- I know I have been missing for a while, but I am back and ready to rumble! Sorry for leaving all of you loyal readers (hi mom&dad..) out in the cold, I hope you have been able to continue eating without my guidance...at least pb&j.

Lots has been going on in this sampler's life. I got a job (yay!) and moved so my time has been somewhat constricted for finding random eats around the city. But, now I am settled in a new apartment- hellooo upper east side!- and have been working for a month and am ready to get back to my true and original love. I'm going to slowly share with you some of the fab places I have been in the past weeks and soon we will be back up to speed.

Let's start with Stand. My parents came to visit a few weeks ago, and we did some seriously good sampling while they were here. My mom was a little under the weather while she was here, so on their first night in town it was just my dad and me. Now I love my pops, but let's just say he is not the most adventurous eater (if it's not meat-based and smothered in bbq sauce, he doesn't want it) so I wanted to find a place he and I could both enjoy. We decided on Stand, a super chic burger joint that hit the spot. If anyone has been to Top Chef contestant Richard Blaise's restaurant Flip in Atlanta, I would say they are highly comparable (and both delish).

Stand has a cool, trendy vibe and is a huge space for a restaurant in the city, which is not something you necessarily think about while you are there, but you do tend to just spread out and speak at a higher than normal decibel level simply because you can. I kicked the night off by ordering a 'drink stand'- the restaurant's namesake cocktail. It's the perfect combo of gin, lemondade, cucumber and basil- super refreshing and not too strong- great compliment to a burger. My dad was excited because he could get unlimited Diet Coke- a rare find in this city. After much contemplation, I decided to get one turkey and one chicken slider, my dad ordered 'the classic' burger and we opted to split an order of fries. Everything was exactly what you would want from a burger joint- juicy, almost too big to get your mouth around both buns and full of nothing-too-fancy flavor. Yes please.

Just a quick end note: I seriously hate pickles- like I have been offering my mom the pickles off my McDonalds hamburgers since I was 3- but Stand serves b&b fried pickles that will change your life. Okay, maybe not your life, but at least your attitude toward pickles.

bklyn.

Bonjour, mes amis! Hopefully, you all had a wonderful weekend filled with lots of sipping and sampling- I know I did! Yesterday, my friend, Aggie, and I trekked out to Brooklyn to check out the Bastille Day petanque (a game similar to bocce) tournament and street festival hosted by Bar Tabac. Bastille Day is the French celebration of the storming of the Bastille during the French Revolution and the creation of the modern nation. Enough with the history lesson, we Americans basically use Bastille Day as an excuse to sip pastis and reply "tres bien" or "oui, oui" to every question asked of us- so that is exactly what we did.

Aggie and I started our Brooklyn adventure off with brunch at Bino, an adorable spot right on Smith Street. We had mimosas (obviously necessary since champagne is French, right?) and some genuinely good food. We were brought a complimentary order of artichoke bruschetta that was incredible. I am not usually a fan of artichokes because they are too vinegar-y for me, but these were perfectly flavored and olive oil soaked. For my meal, I ordered the chicken cotelleta panini- a scrumptious sammie of chicken, grilled eggplant and red onions and aioli on toasted ciabatta. It definitely hit the spot. Aggie went with more typical brunch fare and ordered the poached egg with creamy polenta, which she said was fab. One thing that especially got my attention at Bino was the friendliness of our waiter. I hate to say it, but the city is slightly lacking when it comes to nice and helpful wait staff (I usually feel like I am crazy for even needing to read a menu), so it was quite a refreshing experience to have a waiter who smiled and went out of his way to just be nice. Good stuff, Bino!

Once we ambled down Smith Street a ways to the petanque tournament, we were obviously ready for another drink. We stopped by the Sud de France booth and were offered samples of one of the best roses I have had (Domaine de Raissac Cabernet Rose) and an organic chardonnay. Then we moved on to the real deal and both got a cup of hoegaarden, a Belgian beer (okay, I won't lie, the only reason we ordered this was because Chris L. on this season's Bachelorette talked about Belgian white beer on the latest episode....c'mon I know there have to be some Bachelorette fans out there- I swear that is not that creepy! wait, it's not, right?). We had planned to get pastis, but considering we had no idea what it actually was, decided it was a safer bet to stick with beer. Come to find out, pastis is an anise- and licorice root-flavored liquor so I am thinking we made the right choice. Then we just soaked up the sun and slurped up our hoegaarden, which, by the way, is a terrible name.

Vive la France!

brunch bunch.

Hello, hello! This post is dedicated to all things brunch - the only meal where it is totally acceptable to drink before noon, sit and linger at the table for hours and end with a midday nap.

When I think of brunch, I tend to associate it with a long, luxurious meal shared with best friends, and the experiences I have had in the city were just that. A few weekends ago, I went to Good in the West Village. I went with two of my girl friends and we absolutely loved it! We spent the entire time we were there rotating between stuffing huge bites of food into our mouths and commenting on the great atmosphere the restaurant had to offer. We started the meal with coffee, and since I wasn't too hungry I ordered one of the specials- grapefruit topped with sugar and black pepper. Uh, yum. I mean for real people, I didn't know a hunk of fruit could taste so rich and exciting. The sugar mixture was bruleed, creating a crunchy layer over the grapefruit, which was perfectly ripe. Now, before you think I was being so healthy, let me also tell you that I ordered a side of blueberry almond bread. I ate every bite of my meal and was so completely satisfied afterward. My brunch companions ordered the basil & goat cheese egg scramble and the migas (a Mexican-style scamble with peppers and cilantro). I tried both and found them both to be full of flavor and incredibly wonderful. We all finished off the meal with a mimosa, which Good makes with a passionfruit puree. I am normally not a huge lover of mimosas simply because I find it boring to just pour some champagne into orange juice and call it a drink, but there was something about the addition of the passionfruit that made this particular mimosa delish. I think you would be safe ordering anything on the Good menu and you just can't beat the homey and relaxing atmosphere the restaurant offers. Basically, our brunch experience at Good was, well, really good.

My most recent brunch was with my friend Ashley who was in town last weekend and two other gals. We ventured to Sarabeth's Kitchen on Central Park South. While it was a bit expensive for my less than full wallet, it was a great place to go when you are celebrating a birthday, which we were. Our table had the most wonderful view of the park and I must say it felt very New York brunch elite. Only the birthday girl got a drink, a veggie-filled bloody mary, seeing as the rest of us were still feeling the effects of our night out before. To help us get through our hangover daze, we ordered a basket of muffins for the table and dug right in. I will go ahead and admit that I probably ate more than my fair share, but those things were too good to pass up! They came with a blackberry jam that was to die for. For my meal, I ordered the "morning crunch." It was the perfect combo of yogurt, fruit and granola, and came with a side of honey to drizzle over the top. Mmmmm... I thought the best part of the restaurant was the way they named the cereal items on the menu after old children's stories. Choices included the "baby bear" with just milk and honey, the "mama bear" that included raisins and the "big bad wolf" with wheat berries, brown sugar, fresh cream and butter. So cute!

Sorry this was such a long post, but you get me started on brunch and I just have a brunch to say. (ha ha, get it?)

let's celebrate.

Two posts in one day- that's luck for you!

One of my dearest friends, Ashley, was in town this weekend to celebrate her 25th birthday, and celebrate we did. We ate, drank and danced our way through this city, and it was fabulous! As a quick side note, completely unrelated to food- I want to give a shout out to Housing Works Thrift Shop. We stopped in to do some browsing and left with great finds, including a HOBO International clutch and gorgeous $30 Stuart Weitzman heels (which Ashley promptly wore out that night for her bday dinner). They had lots of good stuff at incredible prices- totally worth the trip!

Speaking of birthday dinners, we went to The Park on Saturday night to kick off the celebration. The place had a superb ambience- perfect lighting and interesting yet subtle decor- and equally good food. We started with fried calamari and a scallop ceviche, which was my favorite dish of the night. I ordered a warm French lentil and arugula salad as my entree and was pleasantly surprised by the heartiness and rich flavor of the dish. I am hoping to recreate it at home sometime soon. Three of my dinner mates ordered the sea bass, which came with a warm white bean and tomato salad and was also scrumptious. We had a pitcher of sangria as well. It was alright, but I should have just ordered a cocktail considering I like my drinks to be a little more boozy (don't judge!).

As much as we loved our meal, we did have one little issue with restaurant. A guy friend was coming to meet us to have an after dinner drink before heading to the bars and was not allowed in the restaurant due to his attire. Apparently, since The Park turns into a bar after a certain time, a "business casual" dress code is strictly enforced...no plain white tees and jeans allowed! However, I have heard that the penthouse is a great place to spend a night and am anxious to go back (properly dressed, of course) and test it out.

After dinner, we ventured to Brass Monkey followed by 675 Bar. I enjoyed Brass Monkey, but the rooftop section filled up quickly, leaving us standing between the bar and the bathrooms. Not terrible, but nothing special either. 675 Bar is the first bar I went to in the city, so it holds a special place in my cocktail loving heart. It tends to draw a strange mixture of people- some middle-aged business men, some crazy party girls and some people who just don't know where else to go- but if you are there with your own group of friends, you will have fun. I like it because it has nice exposed brick walls and little alcoves along one side of the room where patrons can sit and play games (games always make a place more endearing, don't you think?). Drinks are a bit expensive at $12 a pop, but there is usually a crowd of people dancing and some interesting people watching to be done.

We had brunch on Sunday morning, but I am saving that for another post. Happy Eating!

empanada extravaganza.

A few nights ago, my friend Emily treated me to a VIP ticket to see OneRepublic in concert at Terminal 5. She knows the drummer, which is how she scored 5 free tickets to such a fab show. The concert was incredible- I have always like OneRepublic but must admit I was surprised by how good their live show was. Also, just to name drop a bit, we chatted with Gavin DeGraw before the concert (um, cool) and apparently Lea Michele & Jonathon Groff (from Glee- which is a totally different obsession of mine) were at the concert as well (too bad I didn't get to see them). Needless to say, I felt like a celeb and loved every second of it.

OneRepublic @ Terminal 5

Anyway, the point of this post is to share with you the hidden gem of Hell's Kitchen Emily took me to after the concert. Two words that will change the lives of all you late night latin food lovers: Empanada Mama. Go there now. First of all, it is open 24 hours but is (thankfully) missing the skeezy, brightly lit vibe most all night joints have. Second of all, this place is CHEAP. Most of the empanadas run around $2.50 each, and I would say 2-3 would fill a person up. They have tons of filling choices and you can choose between wheat and corn flour outsides. I thought it was beyond good (and I swear it wasn't the beers I had beforehand talking), and you can't beat a $5 late night (or day time) bite.

kitchen cuisine.

Last night I was treated to a wonderful dinner at 6th Street Kitchen. My friend is a social media intern for the restaurant, which has only been open for a few months, and she was excited to show me her work stomping grounds- and I can see why. The atmosphere was good, the wine was great and the food was even better.

First of all, we decided to split a bottle of pinot grigio- although a glass was a bargain at $7, we tend to indulge a bit when it comes to wine. We then ordered an heirloom tomato "small plate" that was soooo good. It was made up of these tiny, beautifully colored skinned tomatoes with cheese and an avocado sorbet. The sorbet kind of threw me for a loop as it was definitely different from anything I have had before, but the tomatoes were sweet and popable treats. YUM. Next, we shared an arugula and parmesan salad. It was okay- needed a bit more lemon. For our entree, we shared the special- baja fish tacos. Oh my were they good. Perfectly crisped cod came on browned tortillas along side a plate of sauce verte (I referred to it as spicy cilantro sauce until I was corrected by the chef), a delish sour cream-type spread, radishes and limes. I could have ordered about ten more servings. Our dessert included a rhubarb "pie" and a poached peach with ginger ice cream (which I literally allowed my friend one bite of before I devoured the whole thing). Perfect endings to the meal.

My favorite part of the meal, however, were two perfect amouse bouches. The first, served before everything else, was a caesar salad bite with a crouton on the bottom, dressing gelee, romaine pesto and parmesan on the spoon you scooped all of it up with. It was a perfect (and mesmerizing) bite of the best caesar salad I have ever had. Our other little post-dinner treat was a buttermilk and blueberry concoction. The chef separated the buttermilk into two layers and placed a blueberry in the middle. Sounds odd but boy was it good. I might have made a comment about wanting an entire plate full... It was certainly a nice touch that the owner, Chris, served each restaurant patron these little (and complimentary!) bites.

If you can't tell by the types of food we had, the restaurant definitely has a gastronomical flair mixed in with its seemingly simple dishes. I would describe the cooking by saying it is food you could see on any other menu but with a distinctive (and usually delicious) twist. Each bite left my tastebuds contemplating what I had just eaten yet knowing they wanted more. If you are looking for a meal that you wish your mom could have made in her own kitchen but know she wouldn't even have known where to begin, this is your place.

Update: Sadly, 6th Street Kitchen burnt down in January 2011, and it doesn't look like it will reopen. Glad I got to share such a great meal there with a friend...

bueno happy hour.

Okay, so I didn't take Spanish in high school so all you are going to get is "beuno" out of me vocabulary wise. I will however give you a great place to go for margaritas, tapas and the best happy hour I have found yet. Agozar! on Bowery (and Bleecker) is a Cuban restaurant that has two-for-one drinks AND tapas from 5 to 8 every day. (The only catch is that happy hour only takes place in the bar area, which consists of ample bar space and tables. I have never had an issue finding a place to sit, so it doesn't bother me at all.) I am a bit of a margarita lush, so I tend to stick with those (they even have delish flavored margas), but I hear the mojitos hold there own as well. Agozar! also serves dinner, but to be honest, I say who needs dinner when you can just order tapas with your drinks?! Drinks are around $10, which is normally pricey but since you are getting two, it evens out, and tapas are $7-$10 (again, you are getting TWO for that price). I usually go with a friend and we split the tapas, so we each end up paying around $15 for two drinks each and two tapas to share. Pretty good!

Two things worth noting are that you can choose different drinks for your two-for-ones, and the tapas are pretty decently sized and I think can definitely act as dinner.

Speaking of tapas, you have to try the calamari. It is super crispy and has dominican honey (didn't even know that existed until my first sample here) drizzled over it, giving it a slightly sweet yet spicy taste. My favorite thing I have had on the tapas menu so far.

So, next time you have a hankering for decent drinks and some light food, head to Agozar!

p.s. I swear the exclamation is in the name of the restaurant- I am excited about the place, but not that much...

caffeine cafes.

I figured it was appropriate to start off this blog the way I start off my day- with coffee. Before moving to New York, I was a die hard Starbucks fan. I refused to go anywhere else. The coffee and food at Starbucks is always good and reliable- there is just something nice about always knowing what you are getting. But, once I got to the the city, I made a deal with myself that I would try out other coffee shops and if I still liked Starbucks the best (which I was sure I would), I could go back to the tried and true.

Well, I was wrong. There are A LOT of better places to get your daily coffee. In fact, I am sitting in Think Coffee, my new top choice, as I write this. I have been to a few of their stores (although the one on Mercer St. is my fav.) and each offers a great vibe and relaxing yet cool atmosphere. Prices are good- $2.25 for a medium cup of coffee- and the taste is even better. Think offers a decent variety of baked goods (the 7-grain muffin is a must try), granola, oatmeal and bagels for breakfast and soup, grilled cheese and other sandwiches and salads for lunch. Tea, coffee and espresso drinks also come in multiple varieties. I love that, unlike at Starbucks, soy milk is out on the counter and not extra when added to coffee. My favorite thing about Think is its commitment to the environment- they encourage patrons to only take napkins if necessary and the cups are made from plants instead of plastic- and the community. Ten percent of proceeds go to community organizations, which makes me feel that much better about spending money on coffee that I could probably make at home for 25 cents.

The staff is always friendly, the music is always good and the reliability might just rival Starbucks. If you like a good coffee shop atmosphere and are in the mood to sit and enjoy free Wi-Fi, you should definitely give Think a shot.

Another favorite place to grab coffee is Local on Sullivan St. (btwn. Prince & Houston). It may be tiny, but it has a lot to offer. It's a great place to run in and get something to go, but if you have a chance, squeeze into a spot at the tables along the wall. It's a nice place to sit and people watch and you will probably find yourself in the midst of some interesting conversations- just don't make it too obvious that you are listening in! Local offers great pastries (popovers!) and sandwiches at pretty reasonable prices. I think it is a perfect place to bring a book and cozy up for an hour or so on rainy weekend days.

table for one.

Hello and welcome to Sampling the City! I am so excited for you to be here!

Let me introduce myself... I am Morgan, twenty-two-year-old eating extraordinaire and New York newbie. I graduated from college this past May and moved to Manhattan on May 20 (that's right, just five weeks ago!). I am currently- but hopefully not for much longer- unemployed and apparently decided to make a full-time job out of eating to pass the time. I love the New York eating scene- there is something out there for every appetite, every mood and every craving. With over 18,000 restaurants in the city, it can be overwhelming to think about navigating through all of them, but I find it exhilarating. There are so many options before me, and I see it as an exciting challenge to discover the hidden gems and weed out the foul and flavorless.

The point of Sampling the City is not to become the next New York Times food critic or to bore you with my eating escapades. I am the first to admit that i have no real culinary knowledge. I didn't go to culinary school and I have never written a cookbook. I do, however, love to eat. And eating is something I do well. So, the purpose of this blog is simply to share, from one New Yorker to another, the edible treats I discover in the city. If I am already going to be out there, wading through the city's restaurant highs and lows, why not make your lives a little easier by giving my opinion on the best and worst New York has to offer? Not that you have to take my word for it...

So, grab your appetites and let's start sampling!