2nd Avenue Deli Review

While visiting New York City, I had to stop in the infamous 2nd Avenue Deli to see what all the hype was about. This place was awesome. The service was outstanding (the waitress even took my baby around the restaurant to visit people while I ate). The portions were monstrous, and the flavors were incredible. The atmosphere is really fun and kid friendly, too.

The Quickie:
Service: Super friendly and on top of things.
Prices: Fair, for New York. $15-25 plate
Quality: Above expectations.
Portions: Way more than any human being could handle.
Atmosphere: Fun, loud, just great.

They start you off with a platter of all things pickled. Interesting. I didn't eat much, just a pickle.

Matzoh Ball Soup and half sandwich $15

This was my first time trying Matzoh soup and I liked it. It was like chicken noodle soup meets polenta!

This was my half sandwich, it was ginormous. Best chicken salad I ever had.

 We ordered a side of fries for my little boy. That was a mistake. The order was so big there was no way he could take on such a task and we were way to full to help. BUT! The fries were very good, 100% handcut, homemade fries.

 My husband got the Turkey and Sundried Tomato sandwich, it was to die for! But he said it was almost too much meat for him (which is nearly impossible). They really do pile on the meat.

  Great place, I would highly recommend it anyday. If I ever go back to NY I will be back!

How To Eat Cheap in NY

There is one simple answer to the question, "how can I eat cheap in NY?"  Street vendors.  In Utah, the only street vendors we have are the taco carts (which I highly recommend). But here in NY, there are all kinds of foods that you can get on the street. Giant soft pretzels, gyros, hot dogs, knish, (Yiddish snack food made from potato), roasted nuts, and ect. It's all SO GOOD!

Knish (it tastes like mashed potatos that are battered and fried--yeah, good).

$2.50

 Roasted Cashews $3

Its a couple of handfuls worth but it'll surprise you how fast you can fill up on these. 

A must try.

New York Pizza $2.50-3.50 slice

The best pizza of my life. This one has ricotta cheese on it--so creamy. Genius.

I swear people live on pizza in NY, it's the hamburger of the west.

 Hot Dogs $1.50

Be ye warned. It's not your average hot dog. They'll load it with onions, sauerkraut, and a sweet/spicy red sauce. They are good though.

India Fusion

I'm not a picky person, but hear me out...
Honest truth. I would not go here if I were you unless you would like to die a painful death of flaming diarrhea. I understand that indian food is typically spicy. No big deal, I like spicy. What I don't like is feeling my stomach lining and intestines being slowly consumed by curry that is way hotter than anyone should ever attempt to eat. This place is a bit rediculous. They have four levels of spiciness for the entrees. I chose medium (the second level), and I thought I was going to die before my meal was over. The only saving grace of this meal was the bread. We ordered this basket of indian flatbread that was delicious. I soon realized that it was actually an essential part of this meal. I would not have been able to finish my dish if it had not been for the bites of bread I had in between the bites of my curry dish. The problem with food that is too spicy is that you can't enjoy all of the flavors in the dish. I actually like to be able to taste my food. Sorry.

I would eat the bread again. But not the entrees. No way.

The Quickie:
Service: Great, very friendly waitresses.
Prices: Decent. $10-15 plate
Quality: Not so great. They need to learn what mild, medium, and hot actually mean. You don't get what you ask for.
Portions: Medium. Not huge, but enough to fill you.
Atmosphere: Relaxing, until you taste your flaming dish... 

Bread Basket

Plain, garlic, and also onion breads.

 

Chicken Curry with Rice

Sharks Underwater Grill

This place is incredible. The atmosphere is, obviously, AWESOME! You sit in a dining area with a gigantic tank of various sharks that takes up an entire wall of the restaurant. The food was definitely high quality and very flavorful. We got an order of these robust rolls with our meal that were seasoned with rosemary and thyme--robust. My husband and I ate both dishes pictured below. The Chicken Pasta Alfredo was delicious (but then again, it's pretty hard to screw up alfredo). The Sharks Trio dish was just fantastic. A plate full of succulent, juicy seafood. Hard to go wrong there. I would definitely recommend this place!

The Quickie:
Service: Slow, due to the popularity of the restaurant.
Prices: A bit pricey, but think of it as entertainment and a meal. :)
Quality: Super.
Portions: Very large.
Atmosphere: Fun! 

Rolls seasoned with Thyme and Rosemary

Sharks Trio Entree $20

herb crusted tuna, scallops and shrimp, pan-seared, seasoned with rosemary, cilantro, parsley and basil, or if you prefer, blackened with zesty cajun spices. Finished with a mango-papaya sauce.

Chicken Pasta Alfredo $20

Goodwood

The first thing I have to say is--I can't believe I lived 25 years of my life before ever going to this restaurant! It's SOOO GOOD! I just loved the food here, it was so good and the portions were HUGE. My husband and I ordered an appetizer--a bitter-sweet idea. We chose a large plate of the Potato Skins. They were the best potato skins I've ever had--the sweet part. But I was left with no room for my meal--the bitter part. Next time we'll for sure get the potato skins, but we'll order a small plate of them, and then just split an entree. Ok, on to the entrees. I ordered the Honey Stung Chicken Sandwich. Definitely a good idea, I would order that again (and I'm one for trying new things)! It was a fried chicken sandwich with this warm spicy honey glaze that was to die for. The inside of the bun was also lathered in it's own herbed mayonnaise that I thought complimented the chicken's glaze quite well. My husband ordered the Texas Hill Country Beef Brisket--I'm not usually a fan of the hunk of meat without breading or a bun, but this meat must have slow cooked for two days! It was the most tender meat... also a great choice.

Next time: I kept seeing the waitresses walking by with these Onion Rings that looked like they were made with mutant monster onion genes--- definately made in-house. I will be trying those next time.

The Quickie:
Service: Impressive.
Prices: Cheaper than I expected.
Quality: Way high!
Portions: Monstrous.
Atmostphere: Comfortable with low-lighting.

Rosinella: Italian

 Black Linguine

This place was DEEE-LISH! I was impressed with this place in every respect. The prices were very reasonable. The service was fantastic--our waited could tell us everything about anything on the menu. The portion sizes were perfect. Just enough to feel full to brim. We got bread with oil and vinegar before our meal and one of the oil jars was spicy with red pepper flakes in it--never had that before but it was very good. I ordered the Gorgonzola Cheese Pizza. It was about 13 inches with an authentic italian thin crust that was baked till it was perfectly golden and crispy. Very delicious. My husband took the more daring route and ordered the Black Linguine. It was homemade linguine noodles that were blended with squid ink to give the noodles a black color and a slight seafood flavor. They really were good! The linguine was tossed with a marinara sauce, tomatoes, chicken, and parmesan cheese. Very unique and worth trying.

 Gorgonzola Cheese Pizza

The Quickie:
Price: Very reasonable.
Service: Amazing.
Portions: Perfect.
Quality: Very high.
Atmosphere: Nice--we sat outside under the shade umbrellas.




Rosinella-- 525 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach - (305) 672-8777

Vida: Fontainebleau Resort

Vida is a restaurant within the fabulous Fontainebleau resort on the coast of Florida. Like most other resort restaurants, the food is pricey but you get what you pay for. If you drink, your meal could be well over $100 for two. All in all, the quality of the food was incredible, the service was perfect, and the portion sizes were, surprisingly, large. I ordered the Vida Burger--$17. It came piled high with bacon, guacamole, red onion, and mushrooms. The beef patties were seasoned to perfection with what tasted like freshly ground black pepper. I have to say, it was one of the best burgers I have ever tasted. I scarfed down the burger leaving no room for my sky-high pile of fries. If you would like to try the desserts (which looked divine), my recommendation would be to split your entree since it's more than one can handle anyways.

Here are some pictures of a catered event by Fontainebleau. I don't know which of the restaurants actually prepared this food, nonetheless, it was also very good.

Pan-seared Sea Bass with Fillet Mignon and Mashed Potatoes

Chocolate Bar Dessert

The Quickie:

Prices: High, but well worth it.
Quality: Very high.
Portions: More than you could handle.
Service: 10
Atmosphere: Clean, comfortable, trendy.