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We arrived in New York City at seven pm on December 26th. I had researched everywhere I wanted to go in New York City during my short "layover" before heading on to Canada via Amtrak. And while some people say New York City's claim to fame can be found in the culture of the city, the thing that strikes my fancy the most is the food.
If you'll recall, last time we went to New York City, we ate at some of the best the big apple had to offer: Black Tap Beer and Burgers (Have you seen their milkshakes?), Hearth (amazing Italian!), Ellen's Stardust Diner (where many of broadway's most famous singers began their career!), and, of course, Raclette NYC (home of raclette cheese).
In fact, Raclette NYC made such an impression on me that I have not only sung their praises on my blog, but also on twitter.
So much so that they made a request…
And just like that, my fate was sealed for my after-Christmas trip to NYC. I had to return to conquer the ridiculous amounts of cheese.
I made my reservation weeks in advance knowing just how busy this restaurant could get during the holidays. And then we boarded the plane in anticipation of a very cheesy evening to come. :)
When we walked in, Raclette NYC was just as bustling and packed as I remembered, only there were more people filling in the much larger space. I can't remember if we were a bit early or a tad late, but either way, they had us sit at the bar as we waited for our table. I admired the decorations and considered ordering a glass of wine to drink with my meal…
Just as before, I ordered the Mediterranée and my husband ordered the Savoyarde. (We knew what we wanted, and we are in NYC so seldom that we were determined to stick with our favorites!)
The Savoyarde is served as your traditional "French" (my only other raclette experience) dish with pickles, French bread, meat, potatoes, salad, and, of course, two scrapes of melted raclette cheese.
The dish I got, the Mediterranée, is more vegetarian friendly. I had asparagus, tomatoes, salad, and bread on my plate (along with delicious raclette cheese scraped on top, as seen above).
Doesn't that look absolutely amazing?
I'm not going to lie. I want some right. now. :) Do you think Raclette NYC delivers? ;)
A few more notes about their new space:
+ Seats are still pretty close together, but not as close as they were. You have a bit of elbow room which is nice. The space is "more American" if you will. :)
+ Staff is just as slow as they were before. Perhaps more so. But the cheese!!
+ I recommend making reservations. With the new location, you probably don't need them, but it's always better to be safe than sorry!
Overall, we had a wonderful night at Raclette NYC, and I am just as in love with the new space and the restaurant as I was before (and always will be!).
But our night wasn't over yet…
No. I wanted hot chocolate, good hot chocolate. So, in an effort to give ourselves a bit of breathing room between foods, we opted to take a walk onward to our next destination…
Max Brenner.
We knew we wanted hot chocolate, but sitting next to these …
made us question if we wanted anything else? (Brownies, cookies, marshmallows, strawberries, and bananas were served alongside chocolate fondue. It looked amazing … but also very large!)
Ultimately, we ordered the milk chocolate hot chocolate and "The Spectacular Melting Chocolate S’mores Sundae"… (You'll see.)
Man-oh-man was that sundae big enough for four! We barely made a dent before we had to call it done. Stupid raclette cheese. ;)
So, in greater detail:
+ The hot chocolate was meh. I wouldn't come here again for it. You can get hot chocolate in dark, milk or white chocolate varieties made in either the traditional style or "Italian thick" style. Milk chocolate original style tastes about like fancy Swiss Miss. Perhaps a thicker style or darker chocolate would have suited me better? Only one way to find out… :)
+ The s'mores sundae is made up of chocolate peanut butter ice cream, two milk chocolate candy bars, warm peanut butter sauce, and a toasted marshmallow. Yum! But before you move on, did you notice the sides? Whipped cream and chocolate fondue sauce. The sides were good but totally unnecessary.
+ If you show up at Max Brenner's hungry for real food, they have that too. I can't vouch for it, but they have it.
+ As you exit, there is a gift shop were you can buy chocolate goodies. We looked but didn't see anything of interest. Because the shop is so small, it's doubtful that you will either.
+ Other Max Brenner locations include: Philadelphia, Massachusetts, and various other locations worldwide. I imagine they are all very similar.
+ Reservations aren't necessarily needed.
+ The restaurant is open from 9 AM until midnight most days with variations for Sunday (open until 11 PM), and Friday and Saturday (open until 1AM)
Now, before you call a cab to head back to your hotel, I recommend walking. How else are you going to get rid of all of those calories?
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| taxi cabs everywhere! |
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| Aww!! |
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| Whisk has a location in Charleston, SC too! |
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| all of the trees! |
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| Christmas window displays |
Yep. Even at night there is nothing like a good walk through New York City.
What do you think about my prospects for "living it up" in NYC? Are you on board with cheese and chocolate? Are you a fan of walking for the sake of walking and taking in all there is to see in this great city?
