Katz's Delicatessen New York | review

Katz's Deli New York! A tourist attraction or brilliant New York food at it's best? 

Well it's been a few days since I've told you all with my travels to the fair city of New York. Now since I feature all the new restaurants I like trying out on my blog it seemed fitting to share with you all Katz's Deli and dedicate a little post to this unassuming modest street corner Deli. 

One of the best things for me about travel is been able to sample the local delicacies. As soon as I booked New York the first thing on my mind other than a trip to Sephora, (typical blogger) was sampling a "proper" New York Sandwich. 

After a subway ride and a little bit of wondering around lost we came across Katz's Deli, an unassuming corner street deli in the suburbs of East Houston. However the unassuming location is not something to take for granted as the Deli is something of a New York icon. 

Famed for it's well loved sandwiches alongside other family favourites such as matzo ball soup and well "that scene" from when Harry met Sally this was number 1 on my New York to visit list, sorry Statue of Liberty. 

With neon signs hanging along the deli counter and busboys busy clearing the tables, this place defiantly had the characteristics I had imagined. Pictures framed across the walls of celebrity who had visited the establishment which hung proudly, only enforced the understated tone of just how great this place is to locals and non-locals alone who flock here to sample the food. 

I ordered the classic Ruben sandwich, corned beef, Swiss cheese, Russain sauerkraut on rye bread with a side of pickles. 

I really really really wanted to like the food, like really bad! Maybe it was my choice, maybe it was the overwhelming quantity of food stuffed between two pieces of bread calling it's self my sandwich or maybe it was my high expectations, but, ohh I don't want to say the words, ok I'll whisper...I didn't like it. 

I tried hard to enjoy it, I really did, I even attempted biting into the sandwich whole, before de-constructing my piece of New York on my plate, pulling it apart one slice of corned beef at a time, but I just didn't see the big deal. We had got along well until my first bite, the staff were amazing, I was ever so excited to even be in the restaurant so many celebs had praised, yet the sandwich and I just didn't get along. 

I found the meat fatty, the bread crumbled away under the monstrous filling, the cheese cold and congealed together and the sauerkraut didn't do it for me. 

Now obviously I would give this place a 2nd try if I hopefully get to Visit again, Although with two holidays booked for May, Corfu and Croatia it won't be any time soon unfortunately. However I would maybe sample something a little different such as their French toast for breakfast.

Sammie

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Pizza Express | Leeds Albion Street | Lunch menu

So if you haven't if happened to notice over the bank holiday weekend I have been quite the little piggy and have been dining out quite a lot. I fully ceased my opportunity over the bank holiday weekend to be more than indulgent. Thursday evening saw a trip to my usual go to choice of Reds True BBQ, Friday I had a heavenly meal at Pizza Express, Sunday I took a trip to Rosie's Diner and Monday finished the Holidays with a visit to the Twisted Burger Company. 

I often overlook chain restaurants when choosing somewhere to go to, simply for the fact I like to try new places. That said I hadn't really eaten at Pizza Express before (unless you count the time me and my friends all went decided we wasn't actually hungry, ordered quite a lot of wine and one pizza to share) in fact I might as well say I hadn't ever actually eaten at Pizza express.

When I read about their new lunch menu It seemed like the perfect light bank holiday afternoon lunch. With 3 Pizza expressed in Leeds City centre (clearly popular for a reason) I decided to head of too their Albion Place venue. 

Upon arrival the place was very busy proving to be quite a popular choice. Myself and my friend Laura, were promptly greeted and shown to our table. Our waitress was extremely friendly and It was the best service I've received in a restaurant in a long time. Considering how busy the place was I was genuinely taken a back by the outstanding customer service. Our drinks orders were promptly taken and I ordered some olives to nibble on, I was also offered the choice of roasted tomatoes which sounded very tempting. After a good old humming and ahhring changing my mind several times we finally ordered.

La Reine Pizza

Prosciutto cotto ham, olives, mushrooms, mozzarella and tomato

£5.45

This was amazing. A light crispy base, gooey cheese, ham, mushrooms and those love them or hate them olives. I love them. I think I spent most the meal constantly telling my friend we need to come here more often. 

Padana Pizza

Goat’s cheese, mozzarella, tomato, caramelised onions, spinach, red onion and garlic oil

£5.45

My friend ordered a goats cheese and caramelised onion pizza. We decided to split the pizzas half and half each. I think if we hadn't I would of still be sat there choosing what I wanted. This pizza was amazing too, the toppings worked really well and the caramelised onion added just the right amount of sweetness. 

Dough Balls “PizzaExpress” - Side Dish

£1.75

I may only of been to Pizza Express once before but I know the un-written rule that no trip is complete without ordering some of those well known, well loved dough balls. 

Latte & Dolcetti - Caffè Reale 

Figs, cinnamon and white wine spiced syrup, mascarpone

(Dolcetti - Something small and sweet to finish, our Dolcetti are perfectly sized mini desserts, to be served alongside your choice of tea or coffee)

I'm not really a desert person so I opted for a latte. I noticed you could add mini deserts with a coffee for I think £2. So I thought why not. I ordered the cinnamon spiced figs with mascarpone. It was delicious just the right sizes portion that satisfied any sweet cravings without making me feel guilty.

Latte & Dolcetti - Mini Chocolate Fudge Cake

Baked in-house and topped with fresh strawberry and icing sugar
My friend has more the sweet tooth and picked the mini chocolate fudge cake. I can't comment on the taste but just look at that picture. It looks incredible.

Overall I really enjoyed my meal at Pizza Express. The service was incredible and I would even say the best service I've received from a  restaurant. The food was really enjoyable and excellent value. With Pizza's in the express lunch menu ranging from £4.95 - £5.95 it really is brilliant value. The restaurant has a good relaxing atmosphere and I really cant wait to return.

Have you tried the new express lunch menu?

Sammie

*Post in collaboration with Pizza Express, meal provided free of charge, all views remain my own*

Twisted Burger Company | Aire Bar Leeds

If you read my post on Rosie's Diner you will of already seen me talk about the rise of burger joints and american style food restaurants in Leeds pop up in the last year or so. (You will also notice I've exceeded myself in pigging out this bank holiday) In fact I've got a little list of burger joints to try. I previously mentioned I'm not a massive burger fan but I am slowly becoming converted and the Twisted Burger Company really caught my eye when I noticed a review on twitter recently. Plus as the original TBC joint starting in Sheffield i felt a little more drawn to the place seeing as it has original northern roots. Plus Bring Me The Horizons front man Mr Oli Sykes has also designed his own vegetarian burger for the menu. 

Located at Aire Bar at the bottom of Call Lane seems a good choice for the new burger joint. The bar/restaurant was fairly busy and the new menu seemed to be going down well. I've always been a fan of Aire Bar, it's a good choice for quiet drinks although it always seems to have a nice atmosphere (does that make sense?). 

Shall we move on to the food? I think so. Firstly what drew me in was the quirky menu with rather cool burger names. Sitting down the menu took a bit of reading to decide exactly what I wanted and I also found it slightly confusing. I was impressed that out of the 9 burger choices 2 were veggie options. I'm not a vegetarian but it was refreshing to see there was more than 1 options, or in fact a vegetarian option at all. What I found slightly weird was the fact all the burgers were double burgers. There didn't seem any need for it. It would of been nicer to have the option to add this as an extra. The burgers also came with no side dish. Although the burgers weren't expensive it would of been nice for a choice of side. 

I finally decided on the return of the mac burger. Double bacon patty, mac n cheese, home made pesto and harley house relish. Although the menu clearly states bacon patty I was still expecting a traditional beef burger with bacon as a topping, it was in fact a bacon patty. It was a bit taken a back by this but it was in fact delicious. The mac n cheese topping (my main reason for ordering this) was a little sparse. I did hear the waiter telling the next table they was then sold out of the return of the mac burger so I'm guessing I received the last portion. The pesto and mac n cheese did make this taste slightly more pizzaesk than a burger but it was still enjoyable. 

Now lets discuss the side dishes. Why not eh? I'm a sucker for jalapeños and when I saw the big poppa bites (deep fried jalapeños with smoked cheese dip) I was sold. I was expecting breaded deep fried jalapeños so it was nice to the crispy slices. The cheese dip wasn't anything special but It was a really nice side dish and not something I've seen on other menus. My friend ordered a side of fries which we both thought was weird how they came with the burger not on a separate plate. This was a little weird as we may have wanted to share them, it also left little room for "burger deconstruction". 

Overall I enjoyed the food. The menu was cool and I think this is what will draw in the customers over the actual food. The burger was nice and good value and I would happily return again and again for a cheap eat. I feel the menu needs to be a little more thought out. Most the side options appear as full dishes and as much as I would of loved to order the Jalapeño business fries (Fries topped with cheese, guacamole, sour cream, harley house relish, diced jalapeños on top of seasoned fries with a whole chilli topping) this seems more like a main course or lunch time bite than a side dish. Also my friend could help but point out repeatedly "where are the onion rings"

Have you checked out the Twisted Burger Company?

Sammie

Rosies Diner | Leeds Kirkstall Road | Review

So recently Leeds seems to have seen a somewhat unpredicted trend in American style restaurants and burger joints. Now I love american food but if I'm honest when it comes to burgers I'm never normally a massive fan. 

However when I heard about Rosie's Diner I was pleased someone's finally ran with the full American concept. When I heard it was open 24/7 I was even more delighted as my first though then was...hummm at least there actually doing the whole diner concept authentically. Even though the waiters and waitresses weren't wearing roller-skates and there was no one walking around offering refills of coffee, it was still a pretty cool place and felt pretty fun. Call me a kill joy but one think I actually didn't like was the balloons tied to the side of booths. I understand these are to hand out to the kiddies but c'mon balloons are for Pizza Hut and Frankie & Bennys, this place has more potential. It seemed to be a popular choice for young couples and groups of friends and set right by a bowling alley and a cinema would seem a popular date choice also. (Because I clearly go on loads of those #wishfulthinking). 

The menu was easy to understand and there was the typical choice of burgers, hot dogs, ribs and steak. There was the also not so traditional diner choice of fish and chips but it was a nice touch to add something different to the menu. 

I ordered the Chicago Blues Burger £9.95 (beef burger, lettuce, blue cheese, bacon and pepper sauce), which came with slaw and waffle fries or sweet potato fries. I opted for the waffle fries along with everyone else at the table. I think we was all excepting some unique fried sweet waffle pieces but was a little disappointed to see these were simple criss cut chips. 

The burger was thick and juicy and very filling. I love blue cheese and it was nice to see this dripping down the sides of the burger. One thing everyone seemed to point out was the side dishes basically consisted of slaw and fries. It seemed a little pointless when all the burger options came with this. It would been a better idea to have the option to upgrade to chilli cheese fries, add more toppings to your burger or change the side to corn on the cob or onion rings. As lovely as the food was I couldn't help feel cheated the food didn't come in a traditional basket and it kind of was a major kill to the whole concept.

To finish I decided I was far too full for a desert although there was a nice range of options. I felt I couldn't leave before testing out a milkshake as I had been told these were fabulous. I choose the butterscotch milkshake and it was divine. Again I would of rather seen a more american looking version in a sundae style glass with whipped cream and a cherry on top but the milk bottle glass was still rather cute looking. 

Overall I think there is a lot of room for improvement at Rosie's Diner. The wait time's and service need a lot of work but the place is pretty cool and the food is delicious. The prices are also reasonable. 

Have you been to Rosie's Diner?

Sammie

Rosie's Diner

Cardigan Fields

kirkstall

Leeds 

LS4 2DG

Elysium tasting event

I was recently invited to a taster night at the newly opened Elysium restaurant. I was treated to delicious treats including mini calzone, a selection of antipasto, mini caprese (cherry tomatoes and baby mozzarella), mini bruschetta, mini arancini (rice, beef and smoked cheese balls shallow fried in a tomato sauce) and king prawns and mushrooms marinated in garlic and basil. Not forgetting the final platter including pork belly, duck and a selection of cheeses and sun-dried tomatoes.  

All the food served was delicious and the thing that struck me the most was how fresh the ingredients were. To say I'm one of these who picks tomato out of sandwiches and of pizza's, I had no problem tucking straight into the bruschetta and thoroughly enjoyed it. One of the dishes I enjoyed was the mini aranchini, I had never tried anything like this before but I loved it, my only criticism would be there could of been more sauce, but I guess this was purely because it was a tasting event and the portions were smaller. 

After our bellies were filled with delicious treats, the host kindly gave us a tour of the restaurant. The first part of the restaurant is the bar area where the event was held. Followed by the main dining area and open plan kitchen, there is then a little cafe which opens for breakfast and lunch. The bar and dining area have a classic sophisticated elegant feel and the pianist in the bar area is such an elegant touch. 

The one thing I really picked up on here was I was made to feel so welcome and the restaurant has a great family run feel to it.  The service was brilliant and the food was all incredibly fresh. I can't wait to return and try the full menu.

Sammie

Elysium Restaurant and Café Bar
66-68A Wellington St
Leeds
West Yorkshire
LS1 2EE

Bar 166 & Bistro Horsforth Sunday Lunch

With my dad been a vegetarian and my mum been a bad cook Sunday dinners are usually a little bit bland in my household. Luckily I was invited down to Bar 166 & Bistro in Horsforth to sample theirs. 

I was pretty intrigued to go to bar 166 as one of it's sister bars The Shed Bar in Leeds has been a personal favourite bar of mine for a long time. Upon arrival the bar was classy elegant and its location between the houses made it feel like I was stepping into a hidden away hideout. With the big windows in the main dining area of the bistro fulling the room with natural light I felt a little like a kid hiding away in a den at the bottom of the garden. I know that's a weird description but hey ho. 

My friend and I had a tabled booked for 4 o'clock and as we arrived a little early we sat and had a drink in the bar area first. The bar had a good selection of spirits, wines and classic cocktails on offer as I was expecting. I also noticed there was a separate bar menu so I might have to go back and check that out. I have also since been informed the bar has live music every Sunday from 2 till 4. When our table was ready the waiter kindly came to tell us, although I think this was because it was then 4:15 and we was too engrossed in playing 4pics1song and drinking our wine. Is anyone else playing that? Addictive. Anyhow onto the main event.

When I mentioned to a chef friend I was going out for a Sunday dinner his words were "typical Sunday dinner, dry stringy beef and over cooked vegetables" when he couldn't of been more wrong. I will admit that is usually my first thought on a bar style Sunday lunch so I was very please to be dis-proven. 

The beef was cooked perfectly and still pink in the middle, just look at the pictures, I'm getting hungry just writing this. I'm not a big meat eater as I hate finding fat on meat, but there was no fat here just delicious beef. The meal was accompanied with all the traditional Sunday roast trimmings. Very crispy roasties, mash potato (yep it came with both), honey glazed parsnips and carrots, broccoli and of course one huge Yorkshire pudding. Everything was delicious and it's honestly the best Sunday lunch I've eaten in a long time. It was nice to see effort been put into the trimmings other than just standard plain boiled veggies.

The fatty in me of course left room for a pudding. I'm not normally a desert person to tell the truth but a lot of the puddings on the menu caught my eye. After some pondering I choose Eton Mess and my friend had the White Chocolate Cheesecake (cheesecake of the day). Both puddings were great and the cheesecake especially had a great home-made taste to it. 

Sunday Roast - £9.90 

All deserts - £5.00

 Sammie

Bar & Bistro 166

166 Town Street

Horsforth

Leeds

LS18 4QA

Book online

Breakfast at Cafe Rouge

So last week I headed of to Cafe Rouge for breakfast with one of my best friends. On a daily basis I normally always skip breakfast, tut tut I know, however it is surprisingly one of my favourite meals. I adore eating out for breakfast so it was a real treat to have breakfast out as normally its hard amongst work commitments.

Pain Perdu - £5.25

French toast topped with strawberry's, blueberry's and banana with bonne maman honey to drizzle.

Oeufs Royale - £5.95

Free-range poached eggs on toasted muffins, smoked salmon and hollandaise sauce. 

I surprisingly have never been to cafe rouge before as I try and avoid chain restaurants however I was very impressed. The restaurant has a very cosy traditional French feel to it and I couldn't give enough praise to the staff who were exceptional. I'm not sure if it's because I'm a bit of a fuss pot but it seems harder to come across waiter and waitresses who actually seem to give good service. 

The breakfast menu all looked delicious and It was very hard to pick what I wanted, however I opted for Oeufs Royal and I wasn't disappointed. My only criticism would be the hollandaise sauce was a little cold. Normally I wouldn't think twice about complaining however the staff were so friendly and polite I didn't want to give them a hard time. I have also since returned for lunch purely based on the good service and It was delicious. 

Overall I would recommend Cafe Rouge for a affordable breakfast with a good atmosphere. In addition you can also receive 20% of the total food bill with a social-light card.

Have you been to Cafe Rouge?

What's your favourite place for breakfast?

Sammie