Food in general is fairly expensive for what you pay for compared to Sydney and don't forget the 20% tip. It is also fairly simple - you get what you read on the menu. For example: Beef burger with cheddar and pickle. Will be exactly that in NY, whereas in Sydney it would contain some salad/tomatoes. Yes, portion size is BIG. Breakfast would last me until mid afternoon, where we then had a late lunch/early dinner.
All in all, the food we had was nice enough. What I loved most is the iced-teas! I mean brewed black tea, served in a glass with ice and slice of lemon. None of this lipton from the bottle stuff. Snapple also found its way into our hearts along with Root Beer. The homemade root beer was particularly delicious when we visited an Amish town (funnily called Intercourse).
I guess because it was summer - our appetite just wasn't there but here are a few high sugar/high fat/high carb highlights.
The Ritz Diner (cnr 1st & 62nd) was just two blocks from the hotel. This was where we started off our day for most of the duration in NYC. Prices were cheap $5 for breakfast and filtered coffee (don't get me started on their coffee). Most days I would have 2 x poached eggs with whole wheat toast. Accompanying this selection was home fries. These lightly grilled (on a flat grill I assume) potatoes with capsicum, onion, paprika and sour cream goodness was the star. Mind you, the eggs were always beautifully cooked. I have since struggled with the idea of making these for breakfast when I got home (carbs vs. low carb, potatoes vs. just eggs and toast, big breakfast vs. a light breakfast). I was later told by my travel companion this was an Eastern European thing (not the eating them for breakfast part) using leftover potatoes. Maybe I'll make them this weekend, maybe I'll make them for dinner..
The 2 slices of toast was accompanied by butter and either Grape Jelly or Strawberry Jam. "Too much sugar" I thought "Ekk" everytime I looked a the Grape Jelly. I now wished I had tried it.
On most days, my companion had scrambled eggs and bacon....
...or fried eggs sunny side up with sausages.
I felt adventurous one morning and decided to try the Griddle Cakes (pancakes) with Syrup and Bacon - when in America I say. The plate arrived with 3 perfectly cooked, large pancakes topped with strips crunchy bacon and a bottle of syrup (no, it wasn't maple). I was surprised how tasty it was. Everything seemed to work together perfectly. The light and fluffy pancakes, the crunchy bacon, the saltiness of the bacon and the sweetness and moisture of the syrup.....
Like a child, I poured the syrup with glee
No matter how delicious it was - only managed to eat half and almost all the bacon.
Face of fulfillment?
Commenting on the coffee just reminded me how horrible the coffee was. Ok, I accept most place have filtered coffee and I expected the coffee flavoured/coloured water that arrived in my mug every morning. That's ok. I'm fine with that. But a cappuccino with half foam, mostly milk and fraction of coffee taste?!?!?! Are you serious?
One morning we ventured out from the safety of our Ritz Diner and found the franchise of Le Pain Quotidien. (Well I obviously don't live in the inner-city and Eastern suburbs because I just looked at the website and they have franchises in Sydney.) I knew we should have stayed away when the word 'franchise' and the phrase 'recommended in the lonely planet guide' came up. For triple the price, I got: 1 soft boiled 'organic' egg, 3 varieties of bread, 1 chocolate croissant and a 'cappuccino'. The food was nice but I can find something similar in Sydney for a fraction of the cost. The let down was the cappuccino or maybe it was more of my expecting of receiving a cappuccino but it was NOT a cappuccino. No wonder they think Starbucks is proper coffee.
The said cappuccino
More to write ... little time to write. Until next episode - peace out!
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