Restaurant Review: S’Mac

Lunchtime! The best part of any workday especially when you are not eating alone and enjoying good conversation. Today, we ordered one of favorite go to lunch places S’Mac (Sarita’s Mac and Cheese). When I first tried this place, I was not a huge fan of mac n’cheese. After going to it, I started craving it and exploring it at other restaurants. On a cold winter day, it’s one of the most comforting things to eat.

Back to S’Mac. This place is all about mac n’cheese. They offer you over 10 different variations of their recommended mac n cheese combinations not to mention the infinite possibilities you can make by choosing all your own ingredients. (They also offer, gluten free, vegan and multigrain options for any dietary restrictions!). My favorite thus far has been their recommended Cajun Mac (mine would be without the meat of course).

the Cajun seasoning adds a nice kick to the cheese. Who knew Cajun seasoning and cheese make a good combination! This time I decided to build my own with manchego and pepperjack cheese, jalapeños, tomatoes and their garden medley of veggies.

I really enjoyed the veggies but was disappointed with the jalapeños. I was expecting pickled jalapeños and not the raw ones that were in it and clustered all in one area. That definitely was not a good bite. However, it was a very hearty lunch.

Other great flavors are the Napoletana (love the fresh basil) and the four cheese (if you’re looking for classic mac n’cheese kicked up a notch!).

All in all a great lunch! Will I go back? Of course! (I do wish though that they would do truffle mac n’cheese like vinyl – that has ruined me for S’mac)

Tips: Unless you are super hungry, go with the nosh portion – it’s the perfect size. Also, don’t have time to eat here? Grab their take n bake and bake it at home at your own leisure and enjoy!

Spinach and Artichoke Grilled Cheese Sandwich

This year, I made the Hubster make a new year resolution – to start making, packing and taking lunch from home. This is one of the easiest ways to start saving a few dollars every week. And those dollars add up quickly especially if you are buying lunches in the NYC area which can run you 10-15 dollars everyday! Can you imagine all the savings! How is his resolution going – well let’s just say he is taking lunch at least 2-3 times a week – making and packing lunch is a different story. That job is left for his absolutely lovely sweet caring wife – ME! One of our favorite lunches is a grilled cheese sandwich. And it can’t be just any ordinary grilled cheese, it has to be a gourmet grilled cheese. Let’s start with the basics of what I believe are the fundamentals to making a crunchy, perfectly melted, tasty grilled cheese.

1) Bread – this is essential to getting the desired crunchiness! I’m not a fan of pre-packaged breads for grilled cheese. My preference is really good bakery bread that can be found at any supermarket. Crispy, chewy, flaky crust on the outside. Light, fluffy and airy on the inside.

2) Butter – a good spreadable salted butter. (Though I do tend to omit this at times to save a few calories)

3) Cheese – use a good flavored melting cheese. Additionally, I like to shred my own cheese. I think it helps the cheese melt more evenly – not to mention you can cover every inch of the bread with cheese.

4) Fillers – this is where you can get creative! Our favorites are mushrooms, spinach, broccoli, Potbelly’s pepper mix (or giardiniera mix will do as well), olives, pickled jalapeños, onions and tomatoes. Of course we don’t use these all at once! Which leads to my last basic and maybe the most important

5) Proportion! – The perfect bite should have the right amount of bread to cheese to fillers. Over filling the sandwich will make it fall apart. By adding too much cheese you risk losing your flavor profile. By not having enough cheese, you risk calling it grilled cheese.

Most important thing to remember,you have to determine what works for you and your taste! Everything is a matter of opinion.

Next, let’s talk about cooking your grilled cheese – there are many methods from stovetop cooking to oven cooking. My preferred method is using my Cuisinart Griddler only because it’s fast, easy and easy cleanup!

Now that we have our basics, let’s build our grilled cheese. For tomorrow’s lunch, I’ve decided to use multigrain bread, fresh mozzarella cheese, parmigiano-reggiano, spinach, artichokes and for my husbands sandwich – onions and Potbelly peppers.

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First butter your bread. Then layer it with mozzarella cheese. At this point I add some salt and freshly cracked black black pepper. I always like to add the cheese first because it’s the glue for my bread and fillers.

Next, I layer my spinach and artichokes.

. For the Hubster’s sandwich I add a few sliced onions and the Potbelly’s pepper. I top it off with the parmigiano-reggiano. Normally, I use parmigiano-reggiano to coat the outside of the bread to make a cheesy crust. This time I added it on the inside. (I did also sneak in a few pieces of mozzarella cheese.

Last top it off with another slice of buttered. I just close my Griddler and let it cook it for 4-5 minutes on high. Once it’s done, serve immediately or place on a cooling rack if it’s for later.

The verdict: The hubster loved loved loved his grilled cheese for lunch. Hopefully, I can motivate him to make it himself next time!

Restaurant Review: Vinyl

Happy Broadway Week everyone! One of best things about NYC is theater. The only negative about this is good seats at a show can be very costly! The solution: NYC Broadway Week and Off Broadway Week. During this time, tickets are 50% off to some of the most popular shows like The Lion King and Wicked! My husband and I have taken advantage of this every year and see as many different shows as possible. This year, we decided to go to Wicked!

. My first Wicked experience was a couple of years back with my bestie. Since then, I have been itching to see it again. This year – the Hubster made it happen. I couldn’t be any more excited to sharing his first Wicked experience with him! Verdict: I still loved it!

Enough of talk on the show. One broadway tradition is the pre-theater dinner. The theater district offers a range of restaurant options including some of our favs Tolache, Carmine’s and John’s Pizzeria. This time around we tried a new place – well new for me – Vinyl. This retro diner offers an eclectic upscale diner menu highlighted by an equally enticing cocktail menu. To start with, we ordered a side of their brussel sprouts. Our waitress was really honest with us about this dish – some people love it and some people hate it. We loved it! If you like tangy, lemony and spicy all in one, you will want to try these brussel sprouts. I wanted to just drink the cooking juices left at the bottom of the bowl. For our entrees we ordered the veggie burger with fries and the truffle mac and cheese with a small side salad. The truffle mac and cheese was divine!

. Instead of using traditional elbow macroni, this was made with gemelli pasta. This has to be one of the best mac and cheeses I’ve tried so far. The veggie burger on the other hand was a disappointment for me.

First, the bread was not sturdy enough to hold the burger together. The veggie burger and all it’s toppings were just too big for this thin small sliced bread. The veggie burger itself was not my favorite. It tasted more like a bland black bean burger. I would recommend not ordering this item.

As for the drinks, I recommend the Don ho. To us it tasted like spiked ginger sugarcane juice and brought us back to our homeland of India.

All in all it was a pretty good pre-theater dinner.

P.S. If you are not to tired after the show, stop by Schmackary’s for cookies and shakes. Believe me you won’t regret those extra calories!

Till we meet again!

Restaurant Review: Charrito’s Hoboken

Sometimes all you want is some good homestyle cheap Mexican food. My husband and I get cravings for it! We had our spots when we lived in NYC but after moving to Hoboken, we didn’t know where to go! And one magical cold winter night we stumbled upon this place – Charrito’s located right in downtown Hoboken on Washington Street. We walked into this tiny place and felt so welcomed by the wait staff – it was as if we were walking into their home. We decided to forego appetizers this time around and went right for our entrees. My husband ordered one of his favorite Mexican dishes – veggie enchiladas and I went for veggie chilaquiles! Every since our trip to Cancun where we had the best chilaquiles for breakfast everyday, I try them at every place we go to hoping to find something like it! How did this compare?

To be honest, they were a bit disappointing. They lacked the flavor, veggies beyond onions and peppers and some crunch. Not to mention I was disappointed with the browning avocado slices =|. No bueno! But not to fret, my husband’s veggie enchilada’s were the saving grace.

Proper ratio of cheese, tortilla to veggies and sauce. Our favorite part was the side of refried beans. They reminded us of our childhood. I could have done with another side of those! So although we will never order the chilaquiles again, we will certainly going back for the enchiladas!