Mexicue Truck

So I went to the Tribeca area for a doctor's appointment during lunch and happened to pass by this food truck. For some reason, it really caught my eye. I think it was a combination of the bright color, fairly new truck and what I thought said "Mexican" on it. I love me some Mexican food! Anyways, I decided to try it out.

I was really confused when I ordered the food. They didn't have that many items on their menu but I just couldn't decide what to get. Should I stick to my usual and get a chicken item? Should I try the beef items? No.... I ended up getting a Chorizo Taco. Not sure why I got that...I didn't even know what a chorizo was. I kinda thought it was sausage but I wasn't 100% sure. Took a risk...

Chorizo Taco - $4

So this was interesting. I can tell you this definitely had a distinct/slightly strong smell. I smelled it the whole way back to my office. It wasn't a good smell imo.

As for the taste, it was decent. Better than I expected actually. I'm trying to think how I would describe it and I can't really think of anything...I do remember it being tad spicy though. That was a nice surprise. In the end, I ate it all. But would I get it again? Probably not.

So...while I was eating, I was checking out their website, their menu and some reviews. After I was done, I got mad at myself for ordering that chorizo. I really wanted another chance to try their other menu items...and as it turned out, they sometimes park near my work place !

And that day was today! 

I got two items this time...a pulled pork slider and a grilled chicken slider.

Pulled Pork Slider & Grilled Chicken Slider - $3 each

This was good for me. It was sweet but not overly sweet. The pork was tender and moist. I think it had a tad of spice in it too. My only complaint was the bread. They didn't do anything special with it. They just took it out of the bag and placed the meats on it. It was kinda cold and tasted kinda stale.

This was good too. Not super good but good. The chicken didn't have that much flavor but it was tender. They put salsa verde sauce (green sauce) on it and that was good! It made it pretty spicy. 

So I'm definitely going to go back when they are in my area again. I think I'll get the pulled pork slider again and then try something else. Stay tuned!

Mexicue Truck
www.mexicueny.com

Maoz Vegetarian

I had been wanting to try this place for awhile now. I was finally able to.

I got a Meal Deal. It comes with a sandwich, fries and a drink.

Maoz Sandwich + Eggplant & Hummus

You can kinda see the Falafel (the green ball). The eggplant is pretty obvious. The sandwich was decent. There's a salad bar where you can have unlimited toppings but I didn't make good use of it. It was hard to eat w/o the toppings. I can't imagine how I would have been able to eat it with the toppings I wanted. I guess I could have but I would have made a huge mess.

Belgian Fries

I can't really remember what the fries tasted like. I think it was your typical fries.

Here's my friend's sandwich.

My friend made better use of that salad bar ;)

So to sum it up, I don't think I'm a falafel person. I've heard so much about it and so I became very curious as to what it was. This was my second time eating falafel and it was alright for me. I just don't think it's my thing.

Maoz Vegetarian
38 Union Square East
New York, NY  10003
www.maozusa.com

Ferrara Bakery & Cake

Sister had a birthday last week and someone got a cake from Ferrara.

 My 2 year old niece got this cake ;)
 

 I think my sister said this was a "Traditional Italian Cake".

Now anyone who knows me knows that I'm not a cake lover. I'll eat some but I don't really care for them. So when I saw this particular cake, I wasn't too excited about it.

This cake was okay. Not a really big fan. I thought it was too moist. I didn't even know that was even possible. Some people said they tasted alcohol but I didn't taste it at all. Not sure what they were talking about. Most of the people did think it was a good cake though. I guess you have to be a cake/sweet fan to appreciate good cakes?

Ferrara Bakery & Cake
195 Grand Street
b/w Mulberry & Mott St
New York City, NY 10013
www.ferraracafe.com

Buona Sera Restaurant

Really tired but my hair is still wet so I figure I'll post something. Here ya go...

Was a pretty nice day out so I met up with sis for some lunch. We were originally going to go to that Num Pang sandwich place but sis didn't find anything interesting on the menu. Went to this place that was across the street instead.

Complimentary bread. The bread was decent from what I remember. I believe it was warm. The sauce on the other hand wasn't too good. It was cold...what is up with that?

Linguine alla Puttanesca

At least I think this was Linguine alla Puttanesca. It was my sister's dish. I think she said it was okay. Nothing memorable.

Pollo alla Parmigiana

Honestly, I didn't want to order this but nothing else sparked my interest. Once again, like most Italian places, I was disappointed. The only good thing I remember about it was the cheese. The chicken was bland and the pasta was just your typical pasta.

So overall, it was an eh meal. We should have stuck with our original choice (num pang). Not only would it have been cheaper but probably better tasting!


Buona Sera Restaurant
94 University Pl
(between 11th St & 12th St)
New York, NY 10003

New Malaysia Restaurant

Ever since my boycott of that other Malaysian restaurant in Chinatown, I've been trying to find another place to satisfy my cravings. I finally remembered that Malaysian restaurant I used to go to when I was younger.

This place is located in that tunnel that runs from Bowery St to Elizabeth St in Chinatown. It's a medium size restaurant so it's a bit tight in there. Going to my table was like walking through a maze. In the end though, I didn't mind. The place also looked fairly clean.

I didn't get a chance to study their menu before I went so it took me awhile to order my food.

Lemonade Ice Tea - $2.50

H claimed he ordered a malaysian iced tea but this came to our table instead. The drink was refreshing but really sweet.

Roti Canai (Indian Pan Cake) - $3.25

The curry sauce was pretty good. It was fairly thick. I hate watery curry sauce. My one complaint is that they don't give enough curry.

The pancake was different. It was a bit thicker than your usual pancake. Having said that, it tasted pretty good (in a different way).

Preserved Vegetable w. Beef Soup - $5.95

This was kinda bad. Edible but not worth ordering again. For some reason, I thought it was going to be sour since it had preserved vegetables. It wasn't sour at all. I think it had some sweetness to it actually. The flavor was just off.

Choy Kway Teow - $6.50

When I ordered this, the waitress asked me if I wanted it spicy or not. I said spicy. She must have forgot because this wasn't spicy at all. It was actually pretty bland. I mean, it wasn't the worst noodle dish I've ever had but it definitely lacked flavor.

Oh, the hot sauce I asked for was weird. It wasn't your typical chinese hot sauce. It was watery so I'm thinking it was the sauce that comes with Hainanese chicken. 

Tender Beef in Curry - $13.50

Now, you know that I don't usually order a beef dish as my main meat dish but I ordered one that day. I think the "tender" part of the dish name attracted me. Plus, I figured H would be happy with it.

The beef was actually tender. It was definitely lacking flavor though. Plus, I think the curry had coconut juice in it. I dislike coconut based curry =/

Overall, it was an alright place. I want to go back but I will order other dishes when I do.

New Malaysia Restaurant
46-48 Bowery Street
Chinataown Aracde #28
New York, NY 10013
212-964-0284

Pluck U.

My preferred place for buffalo wings...

H was hungry so we ate this in the car. It was good. The cheese was soft and the outside was fried just right.

These onion rings were alright. It was a bit over fried imo.

These were okay too. Not the best cheese fries I've ever had.

Ah, the main course...this was yummy as usual. The sauce is pretty good and the chicken is a decent size. It's not as big as some of the wings I've had in the past.

The one bad thing about this batch was that they gave us a lot of drumettes. This set would have been perfect for baconjunkie...

Pluck U.
230 Thompson St.
New York, NY
212 979 2468
www.plucku.us

Brasserie 8½

To celebrate two of my sisters' bdays, all of the sisters went out for dinner.

The restaurant is located on the lower level of some office building I think.

Someone took a bite before I took the pic...

Ordered a bottle of red...

...I liked it. Wasn't too strong at all.

Some sort of crepe...it was complimentary from the chef.  Everyone seemed to like it. For me, it was okay. I think there was some kind of raw seafood in there so that's not my favorite thing.

Seafood Plateau - The Ultimate Mix of Seafood Delicacies and Decadence including Lobster and Razor Clams

A lot of the stuff was raw I think so I ended up eating the shrimp cocktail and mussels. Both were good. Blah, now that I think about it, I forgot to eat the crab meat. Oh well.

Mediterranean Dorade, Heirloom Tomatoes, Watermelon Salad

My sis's appetizer - there was raw seafood in there so I didn't try this.

Pan Roasted Quail, Braised Baby Lettuce, Mushroom Duxelle

Other sis's appetizer. This was decent too. I liked the crispy part of the quail.

Diver Scallop Ceviche - Pineapple-Jalapeno Sorbet, Sea Urchin

My appetizer. I was told this was suppose to be good. It didn't look good and it had raw stuff in it so I let my sisters eat it.
 

10oz Filet Mignon au Poivre with Portobello Fries

Not sure if my sis liked this. I don't remember her giving it praises though.

Confit of Ocean Trout, Beets, Creme Fraiche, Caviar

My other sis's dish. This fish was pretty good. Good for fish I guess. The skin was crispy and it didn't taste that "fishy".

Butter Poached Lobster, Ramp Tagiatelle, Corn, Chanterelles

Other sis's dish. I took one bite but I don't remember what it was like. It wasn't bad though. I think my sis said it was decent tasting. Nothing special.

Heirloom Chicken, Parmesan and Dijon Crust, Asparagus

Ah - my dish. Before I went into this place, I decided that I wasn't going for my safety dish (chicken) and planned on trying something more "exciting". After looking at the menu again, this chicken dish just called my name.

This was pretty good. Everyone said the same thing. The chicken was extremely moist and not chewy. The crust was good although it was just a tad salty. That sauce you see was for the chicken. Good thing I didn't pour it all over my chicken because it was really salty. It would have ruined the meal. Oh, and the asparagus was nice and tender.

Warm Banana Pudding, Caramel Ice Cream, Butterscotch Sauce

This was not bad I think. By the time I took all the pics, the ice cream was all gone so I couldn't even try it. The cake thing was moist and not overly sweet.

Oreo Cheesecake, Roasted Blueberries, Nutella and Maple Blis

This was my dessert ;) It was good...the blueberries went great with the cheesecake.

Cappuccino

I got coffee and sis got this. My coffee went well with my dessert.

Complimentary birthday gift...not sure what was inside. I was too full to even look.

So overall, it wasn't as bad as I though it would be. The service was great and the environment was nice too. We sat down around 6ish and left around 8:15ish. The place wasn't packed at all. I wonder if that is normal.

Oh and I took the majority of these pics w/o the flash. The place was fancy so I didn't want to disturb others with my flash.


Brasserie 8½
9 West 57th. Street
New York, NY 10019
www.brasserie812.com