Bogota Latin Bistro
We keep going to this place, it’s that good, and my Spanish food binge would not be complete without a trip over Bobota Latin Bistro. First headed over there back during the Brooklyn Dine-in week, the Husbands sister was in town and we were looking for someplace awesome to go and Bogata had the reviews. Since then anytime we have someone to entertain or our previous dinner plans have fallen apart Bogota has come to the rescue. Like this Monday, restaurant pick #1 was closed and so we just crossed to street to this heavenly place. They have a wonderful setup, great friendly service and fantastic food.
Regardless of what you order they always start you off with a brown bag of small plantain chips and Aji sauce, and regardless of that each time we’ve gone I’ve insisted on ordering their dip sampler. You get a plate of regular tortilla chips and plantain chips along with three small bowls, one salsa, one guacamole and the third bean dip. So good. So, so, good. We’ve gotten their different salmon plates (tasty, and I don’t even like salmon), taco, veggie plate…this time I got a tofu dish, I honestly can’t remember what it was called but I very much enjoyed it. It was their tofu/vegan dish off their special menu.
I always end up too full to check out their desserts. Next time I’m going to get an appetizer and dessert, nothing more.
At least I’ll try to.
Chicken Fajita
I’m on a bit of a Spanish food binge, it’s all I want to fill my tummy with. Good old Spanish food. Chile, tortilla soup, tacos, burritos, fajitas, salsa, rice… just keep it coming! Tonight we are heading to a local spot, later this week I’m planing on making tortilla soup and I’ve already made some pretty fantastic Chicken Fajitas over the weekend.
It was so simple and so delicious I had to stop myself from over eating. I made some really simple, super mild salsa on the side. So easy: One onion-chopped. Two tomatoes (or one, depending on size and preference) chopped. Cilantro-chopped. One freshly squeezed lemon, or lime. Salt. Pepper. Mix. WhooHoo!!!
I think I may be a little obsessed with chopping. I have so much fun with it, it might be because of my awesome knife, new cutting board or it’s rhythmic qualities or a combination of it all but whenever a recipe calls for chopping I like to do it and have the Husband take care of the other stuff. Like mixing and stirring. Though, let me just say I hate chopping onions. I keep accidentally getting yellow unions thinking their the one that make you tear less, but apparently they make you tear more. Sometimes it feels like I’m having an emotional meltdown and all it takes is taking off a top layer. Need to stop getting the yellow stuff.
ChipShop
It’s a wonder I haven’t gained 20 lbs in the past nine months. I’ve been eating more than ever and not always the healthiest things. I mean, how can I when there are places like ChipShop are right around the corner with all their fried goodness. Fish and chips, shepherds pie, fried bananas!
They literally fry everything including fried snickers bars. If what you are looking for is not on the menu, bring it in and they will fry it. For the most part it’s pretty delish and not greasy, but it’s still a bunch of fired food, every time I eat there I feel like I need to do a cleanse.
What I really love about the place is the atmosphere. They are always playing awesome music, the walls are everything British and every waiter I’ve come across is from the motherland. Also, they have the most amazing mashed potatoes, make sure to either get something with their mashed potatoes (like their shepherds pies) or order a side of it.
*The first picture on this post is not of the place but, I’m assuming, one of their delivery cars or something. I was walking home and saw it parked, fun stuff!
Joloff
It is very rare for a Halal restaurant to put a smile on my face. Most of the time they all look and feel the same: colorless, lifeless, with tacky picture menus on their walls. No sense of design or creating an enjoyable atmosphere. A good amount of them don’t serve, you just make an order up front and they call out when your dish is ready. It’s very rare to to go a place that is Halal and excels as a restaurant and not just as a food joint. Joloff is one of those few places. I mean, real paintings on the walls and unique tablecloths! Oh, and something like 5 couches scattered around the place in case you feel like lounging. What, what!
Their food was entirely new to us so we asked the waitress what would be good. Though the suggestion she made for my husband was amazing (a chicken dish made with peanut sauce), the lamb steak she suggested for me wasn’t that great. I kept on chewing and chewing and chewing till finally I gave up and just swallowed. Might have been because it was lamb meat? Not really sure how steak works.
Their water also had a funny taste, maybe they added minerals to it or something but I couldn’t drink it so I got some ginger-ale. It would be nice to go back and try out their other dishes, everything everyone was eating looked so appetizing.
Pizzette with Tomatoes and Basil
Pizza. Pizza, pizza, pizza. Cheese. Tomatoes. Cheese, cheese, cheese, cheese. Heartburn. Fluffy tummy. Worth it. So very worth it.
After having authentic New York style pizza it’s a hard imagining having to settle for less. I love good pizza, I’ll eat average pizza, but I love good pizza. It’s so simple and yet a lot of places don’t get it right. Come one guys! If I can do it, so can you – granted, I didn’t make my own bread. It also probably helped that I followed an awesome recipe from The New Brooklyn Cookbook, it makes all the difference when you follow the footsteps of renowned chefs.
It’s was really simple too, just mix in all your topping in a bowl before placing it on the dough, then add your cheese!
Ingredients:
Cherry tomatoes
Basil
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Note: Not the entire recipe or ingredients … you should really check out the cookbook!
Shake Shack
Looking for some delicious, heart-attack inducing, mouth watering, gourmet-ish fast food? Good, head over to Shake Shack right now. Do it! They only have one veggie option, their shroom burgers, and it is the best veggie burger I have had in my life. I want to keep talking about it but I don’t want to give it away, you have to try it for yourself. They also have pretty good fries and cheese fries, milkshakes and frozen custard. It’s a little difficult to have the burger and dessert in one sitting, it’s all so good stuff though.
I’ve gone to three different locations and my favorite is the one in Madison Square Park, it’s where the first Shake Shack opened. You get to sit outside and watch the bloated squirrels scavenge around everyone’s feet. The squirrels are so fat they look like they’ve consumed a football, I guess eating too many fries can make any creature obese.
Be prepared to stand in a line then have to hunt down an open seat. This is the case no matter the location, it’s always busy. It helps to not be alone, one person makes the orders as the other waits around for a table or part of a table (sharing a table with a few strangers is normal here). If you are alone that might have a different advantage, you can just squeeze yourself in anywhere.