The MMMguide...

May 13, 2013 · 8:48 am

Deal of the Week: $5 Nutella Tuesdays at Vive la crêpe!

While living in Belgium in college I discovered Nutella and it’s been an intense love affair ever since. I put it on fruit, spread on toast, mix in milkshakes, and fold into a crepe with some bananas or strawberries.

Well crepe chain restaurant, Vive la crêpe has a deal right up my alley. They’ve got nearly two dozen types of crepes (both savory and sweet) and on Tuesdays you can enjoy their delicious Nutella crepe for just $5 (regularly $7.50)! They’ve got four locations in the city and a fifth on the way so they make it pretty easy to get your fix!

Vive la crêpe

4 locations in NYC (Nolita, Union Square, West Village, Upper West Side)

Leave a Comment

Filed under Deal of the Week

May 10, 2013 · 9:03 am

Deal of the Week: Sunday Suppers at North End Grill!!!

Head south to Battery Park City on Sunday nights for North End Grill‘s Family-Style Sunday Suppers!

From 5:30-9pm diners of groups of two or more can enjoy a market-driven family style menu (shared salad, appetizer, entrée, two sides and dessert) for $38 per person ($19 for kids under 10) with wine pairings for an additional $18!

*Regular a la carte menu also available

North End Grill

104 North End Avenue (between Murray and Vesey Streets)

Leave a Comment

Filed under Deal of the Week

May 9, 2013 · 8:37 am

McKenzies Recommenzies: Boukies!!!

Last week I was invited to try out Boukies new lunch menu but seeing as I have a day job and all asked if I could try dinner instead . They happily obliged and with my friend Emily in tow we hit up Boukies in the East Village for a long overdue girls night.

(image via Thrillist)

The decor was lovely; perfect lighting with tabletop lamps scattered about, varied and very comfortable seating options (booths, tables and banquettes), and despite being basically a large concrete room, not too loud.

The menu is mostly composed of shared dishes (meze) and so we skipped the entrees and ordered a melange of shared bites. I think we did a good job in getting the full range of what Boukies offered in ordering the greek gigante beans stewed with spinach and feta, saganaki (baked cheese) with roasted red pepper compote, grilled octopus, pulled lamb sandwiches with yogurt-dill sauce, fried potatoes with sheeps milk cheese and oregano, and a custard filled baked phyllo with honey and cinnamon that was like the Greek version of a cannoli.

*gigante beans stewed with feta and spinach*

The variety of small plates from different regions of Greece was very impressive, exposing me to new flavors and ingredients but most importantly everything we ordered was tasty and delicious. It would be pretty hard to not find at least a few favorites here.

Boukies (and their sister restaurant Pylos- a personal fave) is a great place to get a taste of Greek cuisine, enjoy Greek wines you’ve probably never heard of, and not break the bank with your friends. The space is big (they also have ample outdoor seating) and there are more than few tables for 8-10 people and booths that can be converted into larger tables, so definitely think of Boukies for your next party.

Boukies

29 East 2nd Street (at 2nd Avenue)

Leave a Comment

Filed under McKenzies Recommenzies

May 8, 2013 · 8:48 am

Check it Out: Porsena’s Tuscan Tasting!!!!

Can’t make the trip to Tuscany? Chef/Owner Sara Jenkins will bring Tuscany to you at Porsena! Fresh off a visit to the idyllic Italian countryside, she’s bringing back the flavors and styles of the region to NYC at her pasta centric East Village restaurant.

For this month only, enjoy a special Tuscan three-course tasting menu of fresh fava beans, sheep’s milk ricotta ravioli and white wine braised rabbit for just $40 a person or order a la carte!

Porsena

21 East 7th Street (between 2nd and 3rd Streets)

1 Comment

Filed under Check it Out

May 7, 2013 · 9:02 am

Run…Don’t Walk to Wild!!!

This past Sunday while everyone was sipping margaritas and dipping chips into guacamole for Cinco de Mayo I was eating gluten-free pizza at Wild in the West Village with my friend Jason. I wanted something simple and fresh as I had indulged a little bit over the weekend and Wild hit the spot.

Previously Slice (a vegan pizza place), Wild has evolved into a restaurant that uses fresh, local, seasonal ingredients and clean toppings in their pizzas, salads and desserts. And everything is made gluten-free! Including the pizzas, which taste like a regular flatbread crust. They have stayed true to their former roots by using mostly vegan ingredients and giving diners the option of vegan cheese on their pizzas (no thank you, I like the real stuff) and the only meat options they offer are bacon and sweet capicola.

The scene is rustic, warm, cute and quite small (roughly 6 two top tables and 2 8 seat communal tables), but they’ve got outdoor seating and so when it’s a little warmer, I’ll be outside eating and people watching on Hudson.

from Wild’s Facebook Page

A note….if you are looking for a quick meal then Wild is not for you…. we ordered two pizzas and it took nearly 45 minutes to get our food in a restaurant half full but it was worth the wait. It had been a long weekend for my friend and I so we didn’t drink (they only have a beer and wine license) but I suggest ordering a glass of wine or one of their NY state beers while you wait.

The menu is small but creative with just eight salads to start, eight pizzas (personal or share size) and three desserts. We ordered two personal sized pizzas (the roasted vegetable and sweet capicola) and figured if we were still hungry we could always order more (we didn’t).

When our pizza finally came out they were a sight to behold….the seasonal vegetable pizza looked like a garden on a plate with asparagus, fennel, cauliflower, peppers, and mushrooms sprinkled over a thick homemade pesto and the sweet capicola was a cheesy dream slathered with thin slices of capicola and peppered with tiny cherry peppers.

The pizza is more of a flatbread than a pizza crust as its very crunchy and much thinner than your average pie. I felt less heavy after I finished eating it but definitely full and loved that it tasted so fresh and was devoid of extra salt (they let the ingredients really shine through). You know you are eating something bad when it’s pizza but at Wild that’s not the case. If this is healthy pizza then I’ll be here a lot…I just wish they delivered to me (I live on Hudson but south of Canal) but I am just shy of their delivery range. Guess I’ll just have to bike up there and back to get my Wild fix.

Wild

535 Hudson Street (between Charles and Perry Streets)

Leave a Comment

Filed under Run... Don't Walk

May 6, 2013 · 8:41 am

McKenzie Makes: Gluten-Free Rhubarb Crumbles!

Like everyone else, I am bombarded with daily emails from news, shopping, and food list serves and while I delete most of them (shouldn’t I just unsubscribe?), I look forward to the weekly emails from Faith of The Kitchn the most.

A few times a week they send me recipes and this past week’s featured a heavenly rhubarb crumble that made me immediately say….I have to cook that asap. So last night as the beautiful weather bid adieu (it’s supposed to rain for the next 7 days???) I holed up in my kitchen and made their rhubarb crumble but put a little spin on it.

Instead of making one big “pie” I made them in individual ramekins so that I could share easily. My boyfriend doesn’t like sweets nearly as much as I do and I can’t eat this entire thing on my own so my doormen, friends, and co-workers get homemade treats every so often

I also made it gluten-free as my kitchen is a dedicated celiac friendly zone and put in a few generous squeezes from my freshly zested lemons. The result? Seasonally sensational! Go wild with rhubarb in this dessert. Thanks Faith!

Ingredients:

1 Gluten-Free pre-made pie crust (get it at Whole Foods in the freezer aisle)
1/2 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour
1/4 cup almond meal/flour
1/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 TBL chilled unsalted butter (cut into small cubes)
1 3/4 pounds (6 cups) fresh rhubarb, ends trimmed and cut into 3/4 inch pieces
3/4 cup white granulated sugar
1 TBL lemon zest
2 TBL cornstarch

To Make:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
Thaw frozen pie crust and in line bottom of individual foil ramekins with thick layer of pie crust
In a small mixing bowl whisk flour, almond flour, brown sugar and 1/4 tsp salt and work the butter into the mixture with your hands until large clumps form and place in refrigerator
In a large mixing bowl combine rhubarb, white sugar, cornstarch and 1/4 tsp salt and toss well
With a slotted spoon, fill ramekins with rhubarb mixture to the top
Remove flour mixture and cover top of rhubarb with the “crumble”
Bake for one hour or until topping is bubbling and crust is browned
Remove and cool completely before serving
Serve by itself or with whipped cream
Enjoy!

Leave a Comment

Filed under McKenzie Makes

May 3, 2013 · 9:15 am

My Latest Obsession: Sedutto!!!

Finally! Ice cream season is here! But I’ll admit my guilty pleasure has me carrying a cone on both the coldest and hottest days I love it so much. I have some favorite ice cream shops in the city (Emack & Bolio’s, Blue Marble, Ample Hills, Van Leeuwen, and Sundaes & Cones) but love finding new spots to enjoy this icy treat. After happy hour drinks with friends at The Pitch & Fork (2 for 1 drinks!) on the UES, a friend suggested we hit up Sedutto.

Sedutto’s blows Baskin Robbins away with their huge selection of unique ice cream flavors which aren’t just limited to what is in the front cases as they have even more hiding in the back! The flavors are bold (wine ice cream anyone?) and there is something for everyone. The service is great….we had a nice chat with the owners friendly brother who gave us the rundown of the operation and let us taste whatever we wanted (I only had four samples!).

For my first Sedutto’s experience I went with cookie dough on the bottom and a crunchy peanut butter on the top of the waffle cone. For just $4 this thing was HUGE. And this is how I like my ice cream…. hard enough so you can bite into it easily, full of flavor, and oh so creamy and smooth.

How are there not lines out the door for Sedutto? Last night in Chelsea there was a line 20 person deep for 16 Handles which I know isn’t technically the same thing but ??????.

Sedutto’s is a classic ice-cream parlor, meaning no gimmicks, no themes, reasonable prices, and absolutely no pretension. They are known for their ice cream but they also have frozen yogurt (some that is mystifyingly non-fat?), and milkshakes. My only gripe is that I wish there was a location downtown so I could enjoy it more often but since I go uptown twice a week for work I will have to make a Sedutto’s trip a weekly thing!