Bar Americain

Bar Americain
152 West 52nd Street
New York, NY
(Visit the restaurant's website.)

The highlight of my recent Bobby Flay eating tour was visiting the Iron Chef's own Bar Americain. Chef Flay has a couple of restaurants in New York City but this one was the closest to where I was already headed and it is the restaurant featured on Throwdown with Bobby Flay. I had to try it. To be brief, it was spectacular.

I visited Bar Americain with a dining companion for brunch and we just ordered as much as we could. First, I have to say th

at the setting is very inviting and nice. The tall ceilings and decor were light and refreshing. Everything was very clean and professional. The whole place seemed to scream "business casual."

We started out with some cocktails, which were a bit pricey but very tasty. I tried the "Kentucky 95," which is a blend of Maker's Mark, champagne, lemon and orange juices. It was delicious but was it worth $12? My dining companion had the Pimm's Cup, which is made of Pimm's No. 1, lemonade, and cucumber. Yes, cucumber. Cool, refreshing, and different what with the taste of the cucumber and all. The drink was so good that she had to order another one.

Our meal began with a delicious basket of bread and coffee cakes. And these were the best coffee cakes that either of us had ever had. They were so warm, fluffy, and chocolaty. But don't think that it was too heavy. Nothing at Bobby Flay's restaurant was too heavy. He's found the perfect way to make food tasty and light so that you can keep stuffing yourself. The rest of the bread was served with very delicious Jalapeno butter.

But onto the actual appetizers. We couldn't decide on one in particular so we chose the sample platter, which included jumbo shrimp and tomatillo dip, crab in a light coconut milk, and lobster with avocado. I have to say that I am no fan of crab meat but I was willing to give it a chance here at Flay's. Well, I'm sold. This was just tender crab and the light sweetness of the coconut milk (and mango?) was perfect. I couldn't get enough of it. The lobster was perfectly cooked and tender. The meat tasted wonderfully with the avocado too. The shrimp was also tasty but not as good as the other two. We would have ordered more but there were other items to look forward to.

The main courses did not disappoint either. I was torn between the burger and the steak. This being Bobby Flay's place, I had to try one or the other. I went with the strip steak since Flay has often bragged about how he likes grilling steaks. This perfectly portioned slice came with an array of sauces including a home made steak sauce with a kick to it. The fries weren't anything special unfortunately but the meat itself was cooked very well and quite tasty.

My dining companion had the red snapper tacos since there had been a recent episode of Throwdown with the dish. These were perfectly cooked red snapper pieces served with cabbage slaw, a few salsas, and soft flour tortillas. The combination of flavors and the texture of all the ingredients was unbelievable. Now, that's a fish taco. It was perfect.

We were full by the end of the meal but we just had to have dessert. We finished off with a blueberry lemon crepe and a Granny Smith apple tart. The former was wonderfully smooth with brown sugar and brown butter while the latter came with delicious maple walnut ice cream.

Did we overdo it? Yes. But it was worth every bite.

Nachos at Distrito

Check out their website for the full menu.

I thought Distrito was OK the first time around and didn't really want to go back to it. But one hot summer day, I found myself willing to give it another shot. Well, I went back and I think I found my favorite dish on the menu. It may seem pretty simple but the Nachos Libres Encarnacion is a great dish. What makes it fantastic is the burnt cheese that gets stuck to the skillet. So, after you've had the tender slices of steak, refried beans, and cilantro, you can also enjoy that wonderful cheese. As a side, try the Aguacate Y Jitomate, which seems to be avocado and tomato in some oil with a dash of lime and cilantro. I still think the place is a bit overpriced but I'm sold on going back for a more filling meal soon enough.

Distrito

DISTRITO
"Modern Mexican"
3945 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia

This hip new place near UPenn's campus has a lot of buzz about it. Wait till school starts and there should be plenty of action on this block. The restaurant/bar has two floors and is apparently what counts as trendy these days. I'm not sure why there's a VW bug in the side window as a special seat for four patrons but it might be a draw for the kids. The rest of the place really isn't kid friendly. Let them come back in a few years when they've got some money to spend and have a taste for alcohol. The bar lines one whole wall and is decorated with movie theater signs and fruit. It looks very nice and all but the place was too dark for me. If you get seated at a table that faces the bar, then you're going to be sitting in line because they haven't quite worked out where to place the chairs without obstructing the bar area.

The Tapas was pretty good. I ordered a few dishes to try including the extremely tasty Encarnacion Nachos made with skirt steak, refried beans, queso mixto (mixed cheeses), chile de arbol (green chilies), cream, and cilantro. I would have been happy with just the skirt steak and the cilantro and cheeses but this blend was really quite terrific. I think it was also the dish that was most worth the price.

The Camarones Ceviches (shrimp in a spicy, tangy tomato sauce, with slices of avocado and served with plantain chips) were OK but not special.

I also had the special tacos of the day, which were made of among other items, grouper, corn nuts, and mango salsa. A very tasty treat that should be on the regular menu as far as I'm concerned.

For dessert, the caramel flan is pretty good but the pastel de chocolate (made of chocolate cake filled with chili spiced chocolate goo, and served with lime sorbet and avocado and lime puree) wasn't bad and more interesting than the caramel flan.

I wasn't in the mood for an actual drink so I tried the Jarritoes, which is described as a fruit punch with watermelon soda. Do not get this. The drink is actually a carbonated drink in a bottle and doesn't taste all that great.

You'll have good food at Distrito but be prepared to drop mucho dinero. Probably not worth the price for a regular visit.