Café Angus’ Bistro

258 West 44th Street

(between 7th and 8th Avenues)

If you are looking for a non-touristy spot for a meal in the Theater District, Café Angus’ Bistro is a wonderful gem of a choice.

Located next to John’s Pizzeria, there is a secret alleyway entrance along with a main entrance.

The menu is a mix of Belgian bistro meets Scottish fare.

We started off with Scotch Eggs—egg yolks wrapped in sausage. Hearty fare, indeed!

 

Along with Ratatouille Bianco. Interesting . . .

 

And in a Belgian bistro a must-order dish is the steamed mussels. Café Angus prepares its mussels with white wine, cream, peas, and bacon. Sauce was absolutely delicious.

 

Of course we ordered a side of their truffle fries (drizzled with truffle oil)

And regular fries to dip in the yummy mussel sauce.

The truffle fries absolutely put the regular fries to shame.

Pros:

Easily one of the best steamed mussels in the city.

Truffle fries!!!

Cons:

Service seemed a bit overwhelmed—we arrived after a matinee show around pre-dinner time—but the crowds arrived early and they were understaffed.

Final Thoughts

Would definitely return for the fries and mussels if in the neighborhood.

Ngam

99 Third Avenue

(between 12th and 13th Streets)

If you are looking for a Happy Hour spot around Union Square, Ngam is a terrific option. With its cozy, distressed décor, and Julia Child quote:

Ngam is a funky, cool option.

Cocktails are $6.00 and the Happy Hour appetizer platter ($15) for two containing: spicy kale and mushroom salad, “Chiang Mai” fries (Kabocha pumpkin, sweet potato, red curry mayo, sweet and sour peanut relish), “Por Pia” shiitake mushroom spring rolls (Vermicelli noodles, orange ginger reduction), and “Pra Muk Yang” grilled calamari (Thai spicy lime and chili dip) are standouts.

I went for the Honey Lychee Martini with vodka, triple sec, lychee juice, lime juice, and honey. It comes with a real lychee!!!

As well as the Ginger Caipiroska: muddled ginger, vodka, ginger syrup, lime, and soda. Love the ginger!

The food is Americanized Thai. Not sure that I would go there for regular dinner, but I’ll be back for Happy Hour!

Be Warned: Everything comes with chili!

Serafina (White Plains)

199 Main Street

(at Court Street)

White Plains, NY

I’ve been to the Serafina location near Columbus Circle in Manhattan, so when offered a choice of dining options in White Plains, I decided to try out their Serafina location.

As soon as we entered, we were greeted with a friendly welcome. The service was helpful and informative throughout our entire meal. We must have been waited upon by at least half a dozen different members of their wait-staff. Best of all they were not hovering over us or being intrusive.

We started off with an order of the fried calamari, along with a warm Italian goat cheese salad with baby spinach, honey, and roasted pine nuts. The baby spinach with honey was delish, but wish the warm goat cheese were placed on top of the greens as opposed to on a toasted piece of bread.

 

 

Continuing my craving for Neapolitan pizza, we ordered the All’uovo: tomato, mozzarella, prosciutto, sliced tomato with one egg. We were instructed to “break” the egg and spread the yolk throughout the entire pizza. Cold yolk on cool or cold pizza is definitely not recommended! So best to eat when it comes piping hot from the oven.

 

Our favorite dish though was a rather unique appetizer dish: avocado and shrimps “san pietro”—avocado and baby shrimp served with arugula, grape tomatoes, and cannellini beans in a champagne mustard sauce. The baby shrimp tasted like lobster and the mustard sauce added a very nice hint of spice to the dish.

 

We paired our meal with a rosé (Bertaud Belieu Cote de Provence, St. Tropez)—in spite of it being past rosé season—and a prosecco (Prosecco Flor Serafina Label).

 

Pros:

Friendly service.

Nice, bright atmosphere.

Cons:

It’s located in White Plains.

Final Thoughts

I would rate the White Plains location higher than the NYC location due to the more attentive service and interesting menu options.

Death Wish Coffee

Sticking somewhat with the Halloween theme, I attended New York Comic-Con the first weekend of October. One of the panels I sat in on was titled, “Comics Creators Consuming Coffee: Where Food & Comics Collide” where panelists chatted about how culinary arts and which foods inspire their craft.

Not surprisingly, much discussion was had about pizza, sushi, and of course to no one’s surprise, coffee (hence, the word being featured in the panel’s title)!

The panel was sponsored by Death Wish Coffee, which boasts itself as the world’s strongest coffee. Their packaging warns that their coffee is “intense and may result in sleepless nights.”

As soon as attendees entered the panel, a free sample was provided in a small, tasting cup. The coffee definitely smelled great. Nothing quite equals the smell of strong, fresh-brewed coffee. Unfortunately, no cream or sugar was available so you had to drink the coffee straight black. So it was basically a “shot” of coffee.

Not sure if it was the “strongest” coffee I ever tasted, but since the panel was held at 4:15 p.m. (and after a day full of events at the Con), it did provide the jolt of energy I needed to get through the rest of the afternoon and evening.

What was really nice, was that as you left the panel, you were able to take a free Death Wish Coffee sample bag!

 

 

Swag!!!

THE PEANUTS MOVIE and Nestlé Crunch Tie-In

Just in time for Halloween treats, Nestlé Crunch is offering a super cute, sweet offering for Charlie Brown and the Gang fans.

 

Featured on bite-sized bars of Nestlé Crunch’s delicious milk chocolate with crisped rice are 8 (eight) of our favorite Peanuts characters (though technically Snoopy is featured twice as on Woodstock’s bar Snoopy pretty much dominates).

The chocolate artwork of the characters is really well done and the detailing is pretty impressive.

It’s not the Great Pumpkin (sorry Linus!), but it’s the perfect snack and the perfect treat!

 

Happy Halloween!