Food Pic of the Week

Here’s another one from Hawai’i.

Tangö Contemporary Cafe (***) 

21288 Ala Moana Blvd. , Honolulu, HI 96814 

Damnit, I forgot why this place is called Tangö. I think our waiter said it was a combination of the two owners’ names (one from Hawaii and the other from some Scandinavian country). 

Shredded Duck Confit Hash

We pretty much (well . . . I made the husband) come to this restaurant just for this dish. Hands down, this dish was the best breakfast that I had in Hawai’i. I know that the dish isn’t the prettiest, but the taste was quite fabulous. Plus, the Bloody Mary was out of this world!

 

Food Pic of the Week

DT Kirby’s (***)

644 Main Street, Lafayette, IN 47901    

Ok, this may not be the best food pic, and DT Kirby’s may not be the classiest location. BUT, this place has AMAZING WASABI BUFFALO CHICKEN WINGS. Whoever came up with this idea, needs to be promoted to sainthood.

Food Pic of the Week

Sticky Fingers Joint (***)

66 Willoughby Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201   

I am so glad that I randomly stumbled upon this joint. Talk about a chicken sandwich!!! Who needs Popeye’s or Chick-Fil-A? . . . Although I do love the nuggets from Chick-Fil-A. 

I do love a wide variety of sauces.

Food Pic of the Week

Miss Mamie’s Spoonbread Too (***)

2366 W 110th Street, NY, NY 10025  

Bring me some soul food!!!!

Sorry for the blurry picture, but I was too hungry to mess around with my camera and take a sharp photo. Well . . .  I was a bit drunk so the blurriness probably looked normal to me. Actually, this new brand of contact lenses sucks because by 10/11 pm they get all gunky which causes cloudy vision in one or both of eyes. On one hand, I have not slept with these contacts because the cloudy, late, night vision annoys me to the point where I have to put on my eyeglasses by 10/11 pm.

Ok, I got way off the point.

I dropped by this restaurant after some boozing on the Upper West Side, technically I was in Hamilton Heights. I have not been to this restaurant for a LOOOOONG time. I believe my last visit was back in 2003. Because of the crappy food and “attitudie” service staff, I swore it off. Sixteen years later, I came back. I will say that I was thoroughly pleased with my most recent visit. The picture above is the soul food sampler, which comes with fried chicken, catfish, some “ribs”, and three sides. Everything was amazingly good. Also, my drunk ass had a nice little time chatting with the folks at the adjacent table. I’m surprised because the most recent Yelp reviews give this place a one star . . . out of five. Either I was really drunk and did not mind the food, or I visited the restaurant on one of it’s few good days. That said, I probably should go back in another 16 years so I will not risk having another bad experience.

HA! What a small world. One of the managers knew my grandfather and his cousin from his time in VA.

Food Pic of the Week

Tom’s Restaurant  (***)

2880 Broadway, NY, NY 10025   

If you are a fan of “Seinfeld”, then you probably have already seen shots of the exterior of Tom’s Restaurant.

Courtesy of Wikipedia

The food pic for this week is pretty simple – a cherry pie with cookies and cream ice cream.

One of the things that I like about Tom’s is that it is a typical NYC diner. Although this diner has been featured on one of the most popular shows in the history of American television, the diner is still pretty down to earth. Many NYC establishments that have had a touch of fame try to overcharge for simple dishes; I’m glad that Tom’s Restaurant is not one of them. . . especially because the food is not THAT amazing. 

Food Pic of the Week

ilili  (***)

7236 5th Avenue NY, NY 10001 

Quick thought. I did not know that NYC still does restaurant week. At this point, so many restaurants have prix fixe lunch and dinner deals, I do not see the point. A couple of friends who used to work in the food industry hated restaurant week. Because of the reduced prices of the 3-course meals, people tend to tip based on the discounted price instead of tipping the normal price. 

Since I was going out of town for the weekend, the hubby, one of his friends, and I decided to have an early lunch at this Lebanese restaurant.

Knafe Bil Jibneh – inverted cheese tart with orange blossom syrup

My hating ass really does not have a single complaint about the restaurant’s food, staff, and service. Actually, I’m surprised that I did not take more pictures of the food. Wait, I remember. On Friday, I did my long run in the morning and was STARVING by lunch. Once the food came to the table, I pretty much wolfed it down. We pretty much shared orders of basturma humus, moussaka, heirloom tomato salad, a falafel wrap, a big ass steak, and salmon a la plancha.

Prime Boneless Beef Ribeye

I definitely would return to have a nice lunch or dinner.

Food Pic of the Week . . . Kinda

 Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken  (***)

749 9th Ave, NY, NY 10019   

I do not know why I keep going back to this place. Oh yeah, I usually go when I’m out drinking with friends, and my drunk tastebuds don’t care about unseasoned fried chicken. Plus, I like to hate on things. 

Folks rave about Blue Ribbon’s chicken, but I just do not get it. The chicken is beautifully fried, the meat is moist/juicy, and the chicken is not super greasy. Buuuuuuut, where’s the flavor and seasoning?  Who came up with these recipes?!!!! Haven’t these folks heard of salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash, adobo, the seasoning packs that come with the cheap ramen noodles? After constantly bitching about the wack fried chicken, I decided to try something new so I ordered the teriyaki chicken bites. The drumstick is in the picture because the cashier did not hear (or ignored) me when I said that I wanted to chicken bites INSTEAD of the lame chicken. The chicken bites were quite delicious, and I think they will be my go-to in the future. Oh, the mac and cheese was lamer than the unseasoned chicken.

A quote from their website.

How did two brothers from New Jersey become famous for serving some of the best fried chicken in the country???

Who the hell said this place has some of the best fried chicken in the country? Are they talking about the United States?

Well, what do you like about this place? 

1. When they used to have them, the hushpuppies were out of this world amazing. During one outing, I ordered an extra batch so I could have them for breakfast the next morning. 
2. Their coleslaw is vinegar-based. 
3. There is a nice selection of beers.
4. You can lose your mind with their sauces. The top sauces in stock are Honey Wasabi and Chipotle BBQ. I don’t know how the plain honey snuck in there. That must have been my friend’s. 

Oh, I forgot another thing to hate on about this place. Now, they have all of these healthy options like fried chicken/kale salad. I mean, if you want to eat healthy then go to a Go Salad, not a freaking fried food joint.  

Speaking of annoyance, that night my friend and I kept the party going by going to yet another bar after eating all of that damn chicken. Actually, we went to the bar after eating because it was raining cats and dogs, and the bar is right across the street. 

Who brings a salad to a bar AND orders a damn “margarini”  especially when there is a bar that serves food across the street?

I think a margarini is a martini (don’t know if it’s gin- or vodka-based) with tequila. Eh, I reckon it was a vodka martini with tequila. I don’t think straight gin and tequila would go well together. 

Any favorite food items/dishes of the week?