Rosa Mexicano

9 East 18th Street (bet. 5th Avenue & Broadway)
New York, NY, 10003
Tel. (212) 533-3350Fax (212) 533-5530
http://www.rosamexicano.info/

My goodness, where do I start?

This place has a pretty good rep as being one of the best upscale Mexican restaurants in the city, I beg to differ.

I have to say, decor wise, gorgeous. All shades of pink accented with orange, red and blues made it easily something out of my interior decorator wet dreams.

We (Michael and I) waited about a half-hour to be seated--normal if you're trying to have dinner in NYC on a Saturday night. The wait didn't feel to long because we were being entertained by various creatures and real life sex and the city wannabees.

We were seated towards the end of the restaurant, the nicer and what seemed to be less noisy area. As soon as the waiter came over I told him to get the guacamole over ASAP, and we ordered the signature pomegranate margaritas.

The margarita was DELICIOUS. We debated between the pom marg and getting a pitcher of sangria, until we saw that the pitcher of sangria was a miniature picture that held about two drinks and probably couldn't satisfy an infant. At Sofritos its an actual LIFE sized pitcher--8 drinks from 1 pitcher. Pitcher of sangria @ Rosa Mex=ripoff.

The guacamole was delicious, but nothing special, nothing I can't find anywhere else in nyc. Plenty of places make guacamole at your table and I just didn't see anything better about guacamole at rosa mex. Well, they give soft tortillas with the guac-in addition to chips-which works out to be a pretty good appetizer.

Entrees. Sigh. Well, there were about 3 vegetarian options--quesidilla, enchiladas and Chile Ancho Relleno de Verduras. I decided on the Ranchera Enchiladas (Two soft corn tortillas filled with wild mushrooms and spinach, topped with mild Mexican tomato sauce) and Michael had the Tacos de Pollo (Grilled chicken marinated in ancho chiles, garlic, cumin, cloves and cinnamon. Topped with slow cooked peppers, served with Chihuahua cheese and chile de arbol salsa.)

To my sopresa my enchiladas came with an extra special ingredient--LONG DARK STRAIGHT HAIR. I saw the dark hair and at first thought 'its probably mine, my hair gets everywhere', then i pulled on it and it came out of the sauce as if it was sauteed right into the enchilada. I had a mental freak, I held on to the hair for about 10 seconds thinking in my head OMG OMG OMG, the waiter came, I looked at him, looked at the hair, looked at him and he took the plate and apologized. While still holding the plate of hairy enchilada, he says "do you want another one?" "I said I don't know" then I say "fine."

Honestly, I lost my appetite and when he brought the second plate back, I took one bite and became more nauseous. I told him I couldn't get over the hair and didn't want to eat it, besides the fact that I'm convinced it was chef boyardee tomato sauce. After Michael finished his food the waiter brought over a dessert and apologized again, followed by the manager coming over to our table and apologizing. The dessert was pretty good, an out of the freezer caramel centered cheesecake with graham cracker crust circa Nabisco.

There was nothing very special about Rosa Mexicano. Yes, its a beautiful space, the pomegranate margaritas are amazing, and the guac isn't bad, but its really not worth the hype or the price.

Ratings Time! (out of 20)

Food 13. The only reason I'm not giving Rosa Mex a 10 is because of the margaritas and guacamole.
Decor 19. Seriously, I'm obsessed with the color scheme and hanging floral beads.
Service 15. The waiters were friendly and attentive but I now realize I have to add a new section--CLEANLINESS. wait. no. hygiene.
HYGIENE 1. This will be out of 5. Hair. Black spec on my glass that I was ignoring. and as Michael said "if you want to be really anal, my fork was dirty."
Expensive, considering the quality of food.

Overall, Rosa Mexicano receives a 15. I'm being generous. I don't think it deserves more than a 12. I would never go to Rosa Mex again, maybe to just have drinks at the bar. Oh, you're probably wondering about the check...My meal was comped and the dessert was free. Scanned receipt coming soon.

Vegetarian's Paradise 2

144 W 4th St

New York, NY

http://www.vp2-nyc.com/

I love this place. Well, I really just love the Crispy Soul Chicken--It's amazing! I've been here a couple times and I always get Soul Chicken. It's almost always crowded around dinner time and the fact that its tiny doesnt help.

I love that I have a spot to satisfy my chicken cravings. I've never had any of the other meat substitutes but I assume theyre just as good as the chicken.

Asian vibe decorations...though there's not really much to decorate because the restaurant is tiny. I hate when they seat me directly next to another table because its sort of like you're having dinner with the other people too. I like my space when eating.

Food 15. I really love the soul chicken, I havent had enough of the other options to give a higher rating. They're spinach dumplings are gross.

Decor 10. It's too small. It could be worse but I'm not a fan of sitting close to other people while eating dinner.

Service 14. Average service. Not awful just not good enough.

Overall, averaged to 13 but I'll give them a 15, because I'm addicted to the soul chicken! Affordable. I believe they give fortune cookies with the checks. This is a regular place for me, there's definately a lot of other stuff I want to try.

P.F. Changs UPDATE

The Shops at Riverside, Suite 50

Hackensack, NJ 07601

http://www.pfchangs.com/

We're friends with the chef. Hi Courtney! He's awesome.

Consulting Jess on Tofu.

Mai Tai. Yes, that is a real plant in the drink. The Pineapple inside was yum, the drink not so much my taste.

Dinner! I forgot to take pictures of our appetizers. We ordered the Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Calamari and Crab Wontons--which Courtney happen to send another order to our table. I didnt like the crab wontons, actually noone at the table did. The consistency of the crab was gross. The salt and pepper calamari was pretty good.

Jess ordered the Ma Po Tofu, it was red when I ordered it. It still tasted good to me.

Crispy Honey Shrimp. mmmmmm. Not the best picture, I know, but those shrimp are sooooooo good. I'm not even into honey flavored stuff.

Mongolion Beef. Naomi's fav.

OMG. Vegetable Fried Rice sooooooo good.

DESSERT TIME!

Enter GREAT WALL OF CHOCOLATE.

It looks better than it taste. It's good. It just builds up expectations that can't be filled.

Nez wanted it all! lol.

Banana Spring Rolls, not the best picture. MY FAVORITE DESSERT @ Changs. Top 5 Favorite Desserts of all time.

and the damage is done...btw. Dessert was on Courtney. I know, you're mad. lol.

Until next time P.F. Changs...

Sofritos

400 East 57th Street

New York, NY 10022

The first time I heard of Sofritos was while watching an episode of something on Mun2, and Don Omar deemed it as his favorite restaurant. woopie. I have to admit, I really did want to go to this place but as usual, I thought it was just a celebrity endorsed wastebasket. Finally, NOT A CHAIN RESTAURANT!

My cousin made reservations for Wednesday night around 9 p.m. It was pretty crowded considering it was a Wednesday night, but again, this is NYC. I will never find a quiet and/or empty restaurant.

The waiters are typical Puerto Rican gentlemen--pulling out the seat, putting napkins on our laps, and expecting us to pay the check. lol. KIDDING! I can't hate on my own kind. Any who, they really were courteous and charismatic. I think there was a live DJ because the music was on point! With an all white themed dining decor, light changing bar, and walls drawn on by De la Vega himself, I must say the decor is pretty exceptional.

Ok. So they sell Mojitos by the pitcher. AWESOME! We ordered a pitcher of pineapple Mojito, which was amazing. Generally speaking, I'm not a fan of Mojitos because I'm not into minty flavor, but this was great. I think I loved it so much because of the real pineapple chunks in it.

Food wise, the best thing was the appetizer. It was a huge plate that had a bit of everything--Chicharron de Pollo, Tostones Montaditos, Carne Frita, Calamares Frito, Chicharron de Camarones, Empanadas. As you know I don't eat meat but I did have the shrimp, calamari and Tostones, they were muy bueno.

For my entree I ordered the Camarones Frito (crispy fried shrimp) con Yuca Fries. If I ranked yuca fries, these would rank in the top three best Yuca fries of all time. Naomi and Nez ordered the Churraco (skirt steak) con monfongo (they both got sick afterwards so that raises an eyebrow). I tried their monfongo, another food I'm usually not fond of outside of Puerto Rico, but it was pretty good. Jessica had the Filet Mignon, classy, she loved it.

We didn't have dessert, we were all stuffed and the Mojitos were satisfying.

{Reminder. Ratings based on a 1-20 scale, 1 being awful, 20 being the beeeeest.}

Food 15. I enjoyed the appetizer and Mojitos the most. My shrimp were regular, nothing special. Skirt Steak sickness? Overall, we all felt pretty regular about the food, with the exception of the appetizer.

Decor 18. Loved that the walls were done by De La Vega. Can you get anymore Puerto Rican?

Service 19. Great wait staff, friendly hostess, courteous coat check, and they were all dressed neat.

It was kind of expensive, but we did get a lot of food, I think it worked out to somewhere between 50-55 per person including tip.

Overall, I give Sofritos a 17. I think I'm being a bit generous, but it was good.

I would eat at Sofritos again, but I cant see myself becoming a regular. I would definitely go for the Mojitos and appetizers, there isn't much on the menu I can have as a vegetarian (pescetarian for the anal retentive's out there). Its a once in a while kind of restaurant that you feel you have to visit just to see if its changed. It seems like its a cool night spot for drinks.

We didn't get anything special with the checks...some classic Puerto Rican candy would've been nice.

P. F. Changs

The Shops at Riverside, Suite 50
Hackensack, NJ 07601
http://www.pfchangs.com/

I know. I know. I said I wouldn't do chain restaurants, but this one left a really good taste in my mouth.

Sunday. Dinner w/ cousins Jess and Naomi.

The decor is neato. Has the whole Asian vibe going on. cute. My cousin says its "high class," hold on I have to laugh. LOL. I loved the horse statues in the front! I took a picture with one! I think the tables are to close though. Our waitress was suuuuper nice, ultra friendly, and she refilled my water--a challenge because I happen to be half camel.




Food. pretty effing delish. For appetizers we ordered the Changs Chicken Lettuce Wraps and Shrimp Dumplings (Pan Fried). My cousins really liked the Chicken lettuce wraps. They didn't look appetizing but from the bare plates I can tell they enjoyed lol. The shrimp dumplings were good, but they could have been better.

Entrees. I had the Vegetarian Ma Po Tofu. I've had quite a bit of Tofu and this was pretty much top notch of all the tofu I've had. Jess had a chicken entree, I can't remember which, but she enjoyed it. She even tried my tofu and liked it! Naomi didn't like the silky inside--sounds gross but it was yum. Naomi had some beefy goodness, she loved, she's a Changs regular. Why she hasn't found me a baller, exec, producer, etc. to marry in Edgewater? I couldn't tell you. LOL.

DESSERT. BANANA SPRING ROLLS. WOW. OMG. Amazing. "I don't even eat bananas, but I ate those!" Jess. I think this had to be my favorite part of the meal, they were just amazing. I think if they put an endless plate of banana spring rolls in front of me it would be the equivalent of meth--in terms of addiction, dopamine, and euphoria. I'd probably kill for some banana spring rolls. I love bananas! I also happen to love spring rolls! its like they took two of my favorite things and montaged! lol.

Ok. So I'm changing to ratings to reflect a scale of 1-20.

Food 17. Heavy on the Banana Spring Roll.
Decor 14. It was pretty cliche.
Service 17. Good, but we were there for a while now that I think about it.
It was moderately priced. not cheap.

Overall, I give P.F. Changs a 16. I want to give higher, but I feel like I'm being to lenient. When I'm scoring I try and think, is there a restaurant better than this? Probably so.

I would definitely eat @ Changs again. There were quite a few things on the menu I'd like to try.

OH! and they gave us fortune cookies with the check!

Cafeteria

119 Seventh Avenue (17th street)
New York, NY


Cafeteria was the last stop of a night out with friends. Good choice I would have to say, I was pleased.

We didn't wait very long even though it was around 3 am, we got there before a crowd because when we left a line had formed outside the restaurant. I loved the lighting even though I don't really like dark restaurants, but it worked with the atmosphere, I guess it was the time of day that made me appreciate it. the music was blaring and people are kind of forced to talk louder over the music, so I didn't really like the noise. However, I'm realizing that all restaurants are noisy, especially in Manhattan. Our waiter seemed pretty happy to be there, which I always like, and the service was great.

It seems like one of those trendy places that I assumed was just image and rep, but the food was actually good. I had the pancakes which I really enjoyed because of the fresh berries, I LOVE berries! and they put this 'chantilly cream' on the pancakes, good stuff. Michael had the veggie burger, I tried it, it was amazing--and I've had quite a few veggie burgers. Mike had the super-sized waffle, which I would say he enjoyed because he inhaled it, he says it was "f.a.b.o.l.o.u.s." Alex had a burger, he liked it. Needless to say, we were all hungry which influences how you (well, me lol) taste/judge your food but I think I can say if I wasn't starving I still would've enjoyed my food.

Overall, Cafeteria gets a 4.5/5. I enjoyed it.
Food 4.5/5. Decor 4.5/5. Service 4/5.

Would I go here again?
fo sho! definitely could see it become a regular place for me. I looked at the menu and I'm dying to go try the warm fallen chocolate cake and/or waffle banana split.


this kind of worries me a bit(doh rating)-->
http://167.153.150.32/RI/web/detail.do?method=detail&restaurantId=40619544&inspectionDate=20070815

Juniors

1515 Broadway (44th b/t 7th and 8th)
New York, NY


Ok. I have to admit that the only reason I wanted to go to Juniors is because I've never been, so I needed to see what the talk was about. Not very impressed to say the least.

The decor is pretty nice, even though i noticed we were sitting in the cramped area of the restaurant. Our waiter and waitress were pretty nice but sort of strange, like they were forcing creepy smiles. Music was playing, which I didn't understand because it just seemed like extra noise.

Any who, I had the grilled cheese sandwich with fries, to my disappointment because that's the only vegetarian option they had. I mean cmon, you cant even offer a veggie burger? I went with my friends Katherine, Rashad, Rodolfo (happy belated bday). Katherine had a cheeseburger, Rashad had a steak burger, and Rodolfo had buffalo wings (he better have because he was complaining all day about how wherever we go better have buffalo wings lol). Everyone pretty much liked (not loved) their food but Katherine said her onion rings were "too bready, I prefer the ones from johnny rockets." OMG. I just remembered, we all had fries. I swear, they were ORE IDA STEAK FRIES! I can't even believe they have the nerve to serve ore ida steak fries! I didn't notice until now that the familiar feeling I had when I ate them was because I've had them in my own kitchen!


So the important part, dessert. I really wanted the strawberry shortcake cheesecake but after waiting about 10 minutes the waiter told me they didn't have anymore. so on a limb and Rashad saying "its the check or red velvet," I ordered the red velvet. the slice was HUGE. I loved it but i do think that if i didn't share it with everyone i would've gone into a diabetic coma. Katherine said 'it was ok', she's experienced with red velvet cause she has it all the time at her job.

Overall I give Juniors a 3.5/5. It wasn't bad, but it just wasn't great. It was pretty cheap though. 20 bucks each for dinner and dessert, including tip. then again we didnt really get that much food.
Food 3/5. Decor 4/5. Service 3/5.

Would I go here again?
No. Only for dessert.

Introduction

ok. here we go. so im starting this blog to start my dreams of being the ultimate restaurant reviewer, critiquer, watevs. I like to eat, rate and rant.

ok. so now i have to think of how im gonna set this up. so i'll make the blog titles the restaurant name. should i have a rating system? yes. I should, it will be a 0- 5. what will the scale be? I'm not to crazy about the whole 5 stars thing. Its kind of cliche. maybe I'll start out with it. but I'll think of something cooler later lol. I think I'll rate the food, decor/ambiance, price, customer service/wait staff, and overall experience. let me know if i'm missing anything to rate. whats makes or break a restaurant to you? I feel like putting a hygiene score but I think I'll leave that to the dept. of health. maybe i'll just add on their doh ratings. so ok, i think i've covered my setup.

generally speaking, i like affordable aka "cheap eats" that are reallllly tasty. just leaves me with a good feeling lol. I will not be rating chain restaurants (eg-unos, fridays, etc) unless they left me with a really good or really bad taste in my mouth. so i think im going to start off with restaurants i've already been to and then start researching and reviewing new ones.

I may include my friends opinions on their food, just so its not a biased pov, since I'm not a meat eater.

so here we go. I have my ratings system. each review will describe my entire experience to include what time and day I went to the restaurant, who I went with and/or how many people I went with, finish off with the ratings, and maybe include doh ratings.

let me know if i missed anything. : )