TMS keepin it Amazeballs in Chelsea

The Meatball Shop: Sliders, Kitchen Sink Salad, Risotto,
White Beans, & Chelsea Pie

We loved the original location of The Meatball Shop on the LES, but it was quite the trek so we didn't make it down that way very often. Imagine how excited we are to have a Chelsea location now. OK, yes, it's actually old news and for some reason I thought I already posted about it, but to my surprise I haven't done a post yet so I needed to correct this wrong.

Salute a Sergimmo Salumeria

Sergimmo: Meat Arancini

Our holiday weekend trip to do the Bourbon Trail was cancelled due to the general suckiness of the weather we've been having in NYC this year, so today we found ourselves milling around our apartment when the subject of lunch came up. Our instinct was to order sandwiches from our local fave Bottino Take-Out, but we decided some fresh air would do us good. I've had Sergimmo Salumeria bookmarked for a while due to the raves of other bloggers such as NYC Food Guy.

Parm does no harm

Parm

Were running errands this afternoon in SoHo and were hungry for a very late lunch. I really wanted to try Torrisi Italian Specialties which has been on my list forever, but given the odd time (~3:30pm) it fell in between the awkward closed for lunch, not yet open for dinner window. But wait! Didn't I hear the Torrisi folks opened up a casual spot right next door? Well that works too.

We walked in to the kitchy shop and settled into our table to peruse the menu. It didn't take us long to decide on the Calamari, Pizza Knots, and a Meatball Parm Hero...

Ahoy! 'wichcraft are you sailing aboard?

Sweet Potato Sandwich

I was excited to find that 'wichcraft is now open in Chelsea Piers. They took over the location where Stonyfield Farms used to be and this is a great move. The location is perfect for some grab-and-go breakfast/lunch fare, but Stonyfield just had too many logistical issues to make it work. 'wichcraft has fixed the layout and narrowed down the menu to make this little spot all set up for success- especially once the warmer weather hits!

Note that while they paired down the menu, they do have some additional items not available at other 'wichcraft locations. View the Chelsea Piers Menu.

I decided to try the Sweet Potato: black olives, basil, goat cheese & mozzarella on grilled country bread. Declicious! I expect no less from them and am excited to have a new lunch spot nearby!

Wasting Time at Melt Shop

Melt Shop

The Mr. loves him a good breakfast sandwich and I keep reading that Melt Shop is quite the contender in this arena. Unfortunately, we arrived after noon, which is when they stop serving breakfast. We were disappointed of course, but quickly consoled by the promise of grilled cheese. 

Milkin' It at Ronnybrook Milk Bar

Avocado & Fresh Mozzarella

One of our favorite lunch spots in Chelsea Market is the Ronnybrook Milk Bar. If you fancy a sandwich with some absolutely fresh mozzarella, this is your stop. Our pick is the Avocado & Fresh Mozzarella sandwich with spicy aioli, tomato, and basil on a pumpernickel hoagie. This sandwich is light and fresh yet extremely satisfying. While you are there be sure to pick up a small ice cream or one of those blueberry cream cheese pastries to satisfy your sweet tooth.

And if you want to keep enjoying the farm fresh dairy later, they also sell their milk, mozzarella and yogurt to take home.

Lucy's Whey To Go

Grilled Cheese & Pickle Chips

I've been trying to cover more of Chelsea Market since I take for granted the fact that I get to eat here all the time. I've heard Lucy's Whey has some mean grilled cheese, so when I was in the mood for some gooey, meltedy goodness, I decided to finally stop by.

Bottino

Chilled Cucumber Soup, 13 on Olive, and Chocolate Chip Cookie

Tiramisu Bread Pudding

Somehow, I have worked 4 blocks from Bottino for 1 1/2 years and never gone there for lunch. What's worse? I've lived around the corner for 6 months. All my coworkers go there on a somewhat regular basis, but for one reason or another the stars just never aligned. Today, was my day. To make up for lost time, I ordered a soup, sandwich, cookie AND bread pudding. Don't worry, I didn't eat it all at once.

Terri-bly Good!

I was having one of those SeamlessWeb.com moments while I was searching for dinner where everything sounded good, but I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of choice. Did I want Indian? Italian? Mediterranean? Sometimes too many options is a bad thing. 


Unexpectedly, it was a little Vegan/Vegetarian sandwich shop that wound up catching my eye called Terri Vegetarian. Something about a highly user rated vegan Meatball Sub really piqued my curiosity. I got an order of that for The Mr and a Roasted Vegetable wrap for myself. I was also pretty captivated by the sides, so much so that I got three: raw kale chips, bean salad, and quinoa salad.

And I would walk 99 Miles to Philly

After our review of Shorty's, I realized that we've never done a post on 99 Miles to Philly. For shame! This is The Mr.'s go-to cheesesteak order that is constantly being delivered to our apartment and has ruined all other cheesesteaks for us:

Cheesesteak with American, Onions, & Mushrooms
with Waffle Cheese Fries

Here it is, one last time before we move out of their delivery area...*sniff*...

Bravo Cafe Ole!

We were out and about apartment hunting and needed a quick bite to keep us fueled. We were going to just grab a sandwich from any bodega we passed, but I pulled out my iPhone and found a place nearby that had some rave reviews. How I love modern technology! If we had not been looking for it we would have never noticed it. In fact, we walked right by it at first. What we found when we walked in was a teeny European cafe stashed away. It's a small little place, but they have it stocked up with loads of fresh ingredients to make a wide variety of sandwiches and salads. The crunchy baguettes and international clientele transported us to what I imagine French cafes to be. If you are in the area and need a simple yet delicious lunch, be sure to stop in, but make sure you've got some cash because it's cash only.

Red Pepper, Artichoke, Avocado & Sprouts

Chicken Salad

Tomato Basil Soup

Ketchup...errr we mean Catch Up

Well we officially live in NYC now and we're excited to share all the great food experiences we are sure to have. So without further ado, let's get started with two places we visited in the first week.

SUSHISAMBA
On our very first night in town we headed down the street to Sushi Samba which had been highly recommended to us. We started our Latin/Japanese fusion experience with the lime and sea salt edamame, then ordered a couple of the rolls they had on special. We accompanied our dinner with a couple of their virgin drinks which we requested de-virginized. All in all a great dining experience, especially if you are starting to get bored with traditional sushi.



'wichcraft
Part of Tom Colicchio's Craft family of restaurants, 'wichcraft is more accessible financially (although still not cheap), but still prides itself on its use of simple, wholesome ingredients. They have locations all around town, but the one around the corner from us is currently the only location that serves dinner. We ducked in here one night after being attracted by their 'Patio Now Open' sign since it was one of the first nice, warm nights of spring. We were seated at a teeny table on a rather small and very dark outdoor space. Within a few moments we also realized that we were being dripped upon by God knows what. With encouragement from the diners next to us, we made the executive decision to move inside. From that point on our dining experience became quite pleasurable. We started with pear, gorgonzola, and walnut on grilled bread, moved on to a sweet potato au gratin style dish with ricotta, and finished with beef short ribs. I enjoyed the portion size of each small plate and to me they were well worth the price. As we were eating I remarked on how each dish encapsulated the spirit of "good" food- simple, fresh, high quality ingredients exquisitely paired and prepared well. It wasn't until later that I found the association between the Craft restaurants and found their mission statement. While we are going to try as many places as we can during our residence in The Big Apple, this is definitely a place we want to come back to.