Pat LaFrieda Meats

Remember the awesome Pat LaFrieda butchering class I wrote about not too long ago? They let us take our beef shank home and they also gave us a six pack of beef patties for burgers. Ken and I wanted to try the burgers immediately so we went to Whole Foods, purchased all of the right ingredients (including the very important challah buns) and made these awesome cheeseburgers:

I also made the beef shank for the super bowl:

The cheeseburgers were so great – Ken made four (two for each of us!) but we wanted to finish the entire six pack since the meat was so delicious. Definitely going to order more Pat LaFrieda meats – they have amazing meat!

Japanese Kit Kats

Stephane, being the wonderful friend that he is, brought me back kit kats from his recent trip to Japan! Last month he went to Paris and brought me back chocolates, biscuits, and stroopenwafel. This time, he brought me back a huge assortment of kit kats:

Ken and I wanted to open all of the kit kats the night I brought them home, but we only opened two sets – strawberry cheesecake:

The packaging is so cute – they individually packaged the miniature pieces:

Stephane knew most of the flavors but didn’t know this one:

Another beautiful package:

I thought it might be almond tofu – and I was right! Ken loved the strawberry and I loved the almond tofu – we have been savoring each kit kat Stephane brought back for us because the flavors are so unique and hard to come by. Thank you, once again, Stephane, for bringing us these wonderful treats!

Joe Jr Restaurant

In an effort to try more restaurants in our neighborhood, Ken and I have been going to local diners for breakfast or dessert. We tried Joe Jr Restaurant on 3rd Avenue and were surprised with their delicious breakfast foods.

The diner is really old school and the counters look like they are from the 1970’s (and they probably are!):

I ordered the French toast with a side of sausage:

And Ken ordered the pancakes, eggs, and bacon:

Both orders were really good, especially my juicy order of sausage. I wasn’t a huge fan of the syrup (they don’t have a communal serving of syrup, instead, they do individual servings). We’re definitely going to add Joe Jr to the list of restaurants we’ll visit in the neighborhood.

Wahoo’s Fish Taco

Ken and I were excitedly waiting for the opening of Wahoo’s, a fish taco place really close to our apartment. It finally opened last Monday, on President’s Day, so we were able to go there for their official opening dinner. The signage has been up for quite some time:

I heard about the chain from my friend from Southern California; she is a huge fan of their tacos and said we should definitely try it out once they opened. Luckily, it wasn’t super busy on Monday night! This Wahoo’s has a full bar with good cocktails – and they have specials from 12-7 (their “happy hour”):

The restaurant has a great surfer/skater feel:

You can either sit at the bar for full service or order in the back of the restaurant, receive a number, and have someone bring out your food when it’s ready. We opted to sit at the bar since it was our first time there.

The cajun-style tacos sounded good so I ordered two of them with a side of brown rice and black beans:

The fish tacos at Wahoo’s isn’t fried; instead, it’s grilled and seasoned with cajun seasoning or served with regular condiments. I was a huge fan initially, but after having fish tacos at another restaurant where they’re fried, I’ve changed my mind. Good, but not mind-blowing good.

I also ordered the tortilla soup:

It tasted more like chicken soup with fried tortilla chips on top. Another soup that was good but not great.

I’m glad that Wahoo’s is finally open and I actually went three times last week (for lunch and dinner) but it’s not my favorite place for fish tacos. They also serve other types of tacos and other interesting appetizers (one of them had cream cheese and guacamole, too!)

The Odeon

Over the weekend, I went to The Odeon with some friends for a fun brunch after a really intense workout (I’ll write all about my workouts tomorrow!) When I lived downtown, I walked by The Odeon all of the time but never went inside for a meal. It’s right across the street from Bouley and Upstairs at Bouley, so you can understand why I never visited The Odeon – so much good food close by! I waited at the bar and drank coffee and reviewed the menu while my friends walked over from the subway. For brunch, I went with the steak tartare and croutons:

The steak tartare was extremely fresh and mixed with a good dose of freshly cracked pepper, Maldon see salt, olive oil and minced shallots. My friends got the eggs benedit with salmon and cheeseburger (also good choices) and lots of strong black coffee. The meal was really good – bistro food in a fun atmosphere and also celeb sightings – I saw Helena Christiansen eat at a table near the door while I was at the bar!