Peking Duck House - New York City

We decided to head to Chinatown for a late lunch and a little shopping.

We messaged our friend who was familiar with the area and the cuisine and she said we should absolutely go to Peking Duck House.

Although there is nothing but a flag with the name and logo from the outside, it has been there since 1978 and has great reviews.

The interior is simple and elegant.

We were lucky to arrive at an off time because from what I hear there can be quite a long wait.

We were seated immediately and hot tea was brought out while we looked over the menu.

We started with two appetizers.

Chopped Duck Meat with Pine Nuts served on a bed of fresh lettuce ($12.50)

The menu description did not do this dish justice. It was served in a lettuce wrap style and came with an amazing sauce. The portion was also quite large.

We also had an order of Scallion Pancakes ($4)

These were unlike anything I had ever ordered. This was also a large portion, and rather then what we think of a pancake this was actually more like a doughnut. It was super crispy on the outside and doughy (and scalliony) in the center. Also completed with a nice sauce I really loved them.

For his entrée my friend ordered the Crispy Duck ($17.50)

It was served with buns and he was very happy with his choice.

I ordered the Sesame Chicken ($16.50) and couldn’t have been more pleased with my choice.

Although I realize that Sesame Chicken is kind of standard and generic, this is what I was craving. It was probably the freshest, most flavorful version of this dish that I have ever had (and it’s going to make the cheap Chinese-Buffet sesame chicken that I am use to completely unacceptable). LOL

As you can see from this photo we ate just about everything and left completely satisfied.

Our bill (with 2 drinks) was just over $60, which we thought was extremely reasonable for the quality and quantity that they serve.

Peking Duck House = Delicious!

Kashmir - New York City

Pakistani food that is open until 4 or 5 in the morning…. Yes, Please!

Right around the corner from the hotel we were staying at we noticed Kashmir (and their neon sign that reads “Nice and Spicey”) and immediately knew that we would be trying it at some point.

We actually enjoyed it so much that we ordered it to go on two separate occasions.

They offer a wide variety of meat and vegetarian dishes, with large portions at an inexpensive price.

For those of you that don’t know what Pakistani food is, it is very similar to Indian cuisine.

Everything we ordered packed quite a punch so definitely expect a lot (and I mean a lot) of spice.

The Samosas and the Baklava that we ordered as side items were also very good.

Highly recommended.

You get a lot of bang for your buck, and I promise you that it will not be lacking in flavor.

44 SW Ristorante & Bar - New York City

While walking back to our hotel we were heading down 9^th and were just going to eat at the first place that really caught our eye.

We had no particular type of cuisine in mind however as we passed 44 SW Ristorante and Bar the hostess walked up to us on the street and told us that they were family owned and had been open for 43 years.

After a quick glance over the menu we decided that with this longevity they must be doing something right and decided to give them a try.

After being seated in the charming dining area they brought out a basket of fresh bread while we perused the menu.

We decided to start with two appetizers.

The fresh Bufala Mozzarella (roasted peppers, roma tomatoes and fresh basil $15)

And Minature Fried Ravoli (filled with ricotta & spinach with pesto $11)

Both appetizers were quite good and by this point we knew we were in the real deal.

My friend ordered the Chicken 44.

(sliced chicken, goat cheese, spinach, mushrooms in garlic & oil, penne $20)

It looked delicious and he was very happy with it.

I didn’t want a pasta dish because I felt the need for something a little lighter so I decided on the Chick and Apple Salad.

(goat cheese and walnuts &17)

Wow this was a good salad!

First of all I couldn’t believe the generous amount of perfectly grilled chicken that was on it. The flavors of the apple, goat cheese and walnuts combined with the dressing was outstanding, and I feel like this is one of the most satisfying salads I have ever eaten in my whole life.

However just as we were really starting to enjoy our meals it happened.

Directly behind us at the bar (pictured in the floral shirt) this “know it all” type guy (who was obviously trying to impress the two ladies who were seated next to him) was talking so loud (and being obnoxious) that it started to ruin our experience.

He was overbearing and completely ruined our dining experience, so we quickly got our check and couldn’t wait to get out of there.

(I wouldn’t normally mention this type of thing in a restaurant review, but it did affect our experience so I thought I should mention it)

Even with the annoying man we still really enjoyed our food and thought that it was a great restaurant. I would definitely return, and think you should give it a try.

S'MAC - New York City

S’MAC (Sarita’s Mac and Cheese) has been a place I have wanted to try for quite some time. I have seen it on several food shows and knew that this was going to be one of the specific places I would try on this trip to New York City.

It is a small fast casual restaurant specializing in all types of Macaroni and Cheese, which is an American classic, however I believe Sarita who runs the restaurant is on Indian decent but opened S’MAC because of her love for American comfort food.

We placed our order starting with a couple of small salads ($3.75 each) while we waited for our Mac to be delivered.

We decided that our best bet was to split the S’MAC SAMPLER, which is a sampling of 8 of their most popular Macs ($16).

This way we could go around the skillet and sample each one individually and rate them for ourselves.

(Thankfully they included a chart to tell us which was which)

Having similar palettes we both agreed for the most part which were our favorites (although they were all good).

My personal favorite was the 4 Cheese (Cheddar, Muenster, Gruyere and Pecorino) because of its simplicity and it’s overall cheesiness.

Some of the others did not hold up to their description in my opinion.

We definitely felt that we had made the right choice doing the sampler because we practically licked the skillet clean and both left not only satisfied with the portion but we each felt like we had gotten to try so many different varieties.

S’MAC is a great place to visit for a specialized comfort classic.

I think that once was enough for me, but if you are a lover of Mac and Cheese then it is definitely worth a visit.

Waverly Restaurant - New York City

The Waverly Restaurant is a gem in the West Village.

Open 24 hours, they offer just about anything you could think of at any time of day!

I found myself there at about 4am after a night of heavy drinking.

(Thank God for auto-focus on my camera phone LOL)

I started with an order of Potato Pancakes with Sour Cream ($7.95)

Had I not been wasted and starving this would probably have been a full meal, however my intoxication told me that I needed more.

They offer several Greek dishes and since Moussaka is one of my favorites I usually order it whenever I see it listed.

($12.95, served with two sides)

For my two sides I got a Salad and Lentil Soup.

Both were good.

Then the Moussaka came out.

It was also pretty good, not the best I have ever had, but considering it was 4 in the morning and I could still get it I was not about to complain.

The portion size was decent, and although I should have been full by this point, I might have eaten a couple of my friend’s Silver Dollar Pancakes right off of her plate.

(The vodka made me do it)

From what I remember we had a great time and great food.

I hope I wasn’t too obnoxious to our server, that tends to happen when I have been drinking, however I feel like I basically behaved myself.

I would highly recommend going to the Waverly!