Hi, I'm Earl. Product Manager at City Bakery, Peter Luger’s, Bar Artisanal, and Kyochon Chicken
City Bakery – Very calm, clean atmosphere. Great, freshly-baked food. City Bakery also has a parfait bar in the morning where you can choose from a variety of organic, Stonyfield Farm yogurts. Then you can top the yogurt with a variety of fruits and granola. There were lychees, honeydew, pineapple, cherries and much more. The fruits were not watered down and completed the yogurt sufficiently. I had a pretzel croissant which was very warm, flaky and crunchy. The crunchy outer layer worked harmoniously with the soft inner bread that tore off in a heavenly way. Although the pretzel croissant was a little too salty in my opinion, I would definitely buy one again. My sister got a double chocolate chip cookie which was also delicious. The cookie was not warm but it was comfortably chewy. The chocolate chip chunks took a strong presence in the cookie because of their size. On the way out, I bought a banana-miso muffin. It tasted like mildly-sweet banana bread with a hint of light miso.
Peter Luger’s– Amazing steak. Pricey but worth it. Eating at Peter Luger’s was my first dry-aged steak experience so obviously the steak tasted heavenly to me. I ordered a Steak for Two cooked medium-rare, to share with my mom, and my sister ordered a Steak for One cooked medium-well. The Steak for Two is a porterhouse cut, and it was incredibly tender. The juices flowed around the dish, and the steak had a robust, dark crust. The Steak for One was also tender and juicy despite being cooked longer. It had a more appetizing crust due to its longer cooking time. For an appetizer, we had a slice of bacon. The bacon was very thick, about one centimeter. It had a very porky flavor and was darkened on the corners. Undoubtedly, it is the best bacon I have ever tasted. Peter Luger’s creamed spinach is also worth a mention. It was not too watery and had a creamy consistency. I tried adding Peter Luger’s sauce to the creamed spinach once, and it noticeably improved the already-satisfying taste. Speaking of the Peter Luger’s sauce, I love it! I first tasted it a couple years ago and instantly began choosing Peter Luger’s sauce over A1 sauce. The taste of Peter Luger’s sauce is very different than A1; it is a lot more sweet than A1 sauce.
Bar Artisanal – I really love the atmosphere and decor of this restaurant. Located in Tribeca, this trendy French restaurant emanates a celebratory feel. Bar Artisanal’s lamb burger is unlike any other burger. It had a very herbal taste. There was goat cheese inside the actual burger, and the goat cheese would ooze out. The chickpea fries that came with it tasted like cheese sticks that did not have the saltiness of cheese in it. The crust on the fries were perfect, and the dipping sauce that came with them was a nice accompaniment. My sister ordered the grilled cheese sandwich. Bar Artisanal specializes in cheeses, so one would expect their grilled cheese sandwich to be phenomenal. Phenomenal it was. The cheeses had a variety of flavors and great depth. The cheese was viscous and did not drip like very-hot Kraft’s cheese. The bread surrounding the cheese was also fantastic. Grilled to perfection. The butternut squash soup that came with the sandwich was sweet and opposed the taste of the sandwich cohesively. There were a type of raisins in the soup which added to the sweetness of the soup. My mom and aunt ordered Bar Artisanal’s normal burger which did not pale in comparison to the lamb burger. Despite the $3 difference in price, the Artisanal blend burger held its own. The beef was okay, but what really brought out the taste in this burger were the pickled green tomatoes. The pickled tomatoes were an ingenious addition to this burger. In combination with the ‘special sauce,’ the Artisanal blend burger should be praised equally with the lamb burger.
Kyochon Chicken – The best fried chicken I have ever tasted. I have also tasted Bonchon Chicken’s Korean-fried chicken, and Kyochon’s fried chicken trumps Bonchon’s. The original-seasoned chicken is my favorite at this cute, hip restaurant. The coating on the chicken is something to rave about for days. The coating was incredibly crunch and had layers of subtle flavor. The spicy version of the Korean-fried chicken was too spicy for me. After eating one, my tongue failed to taste other foods. Therefore, I cannot comment well on it. Kyochon chicken also offers a variety of side dishes such as fries! These fries were cut in wedge shapes and had a thin, crispy crust. They were seasoned with an orange, mildly-salty seasoning. Honestly, if there was a Kyochon Chicken near where I lived, I would eat it nearly every day. Kyochon Chicken is a MUST-EAT if you are in the Flushing, Queens area.
Because I am quite busy currently, I will write about the other restaurants I visited at a later time. Farewell for now! TGIF!
