Peels Please

Over the weekend, as I was diving into a tasty Peels tuna salad sandwich, I realized that it's been a while since I did a restaurant review over here and man oh man is Peels worthy of a mention! I discovered Peels, located at 325 Bowery St. (btw E 2nd & 3rd) thanks to a favorite fellow blogger, Rebecca over at The Daily Muse. Always looking to expand my restaurant repertoire, Dr. H and I eventually made a visit of our own and Peels lived up to expectations!

The first thing to love about Peels is the decor. The gorgeous exposed brick, tin ceilings, wood bar, green booths and crown moldings are so beautiful, I wouldn't mind one day having a home that feels just like Peels inside. Peels also has a solid amount of outdoor seating which is great for sunny Sunday morning brunching. Then of course, there is the food:

Tuna Salad Sandwich image via Foodspotting

Though I have only been to Peels for brunch/lunch (served all day!), my love affair with their cuisine is so strong that I'm going to guess dinner is a home run too. I've tested all matter of their eggs, their salads are made with greens so fresh you can taste the healthiness and their pastries, from biscuits and bread to muffins and donuts are straight up killa. But for the Peels pièce de résistance, one absolutely must order the "Build a Biscuit"....

"Build-a-Biscuit" image via Foodspotting

The Peels Build-a-Biscuit invites you to pile on to a (super tasty) buttermilk biscuit any (or all!) of the following: eggs, bacon, sausage, fried chicken, country ham, avocado, cheese and gravy. When the bartender (awesome bloody mary's in case you were wondering) proposed I order his personal favorite of scrambled eggs, fried chicken, bacon, pimento (or was it jalapeno?) cheese and gravy, I couldn't say no (and was thrilled that I didn't!) Gluttony well spent, my biscuit was hands down one of the best breakfasts I've ever eaten.

With large upstairs and down stairs dining rooms (plus outdoor seating), a basic menu which gets manageably adventurous while sticking to a reasonable price point and truly delicious food, Peels is an awesome spot for brunch, lunch (and I'm sure dinner!) with friends. (PS- they also deliver!)

Note: Unless otherwise attributed, all images shown are the work of Rebecca Baust, The Daily Muse. She is an amazing photographer <-- click here to see more.

The Mac Daddy

Time to get your (mac)cheese on.

When a macaroni and cheese aficionado such as myself tells you that she's just eaten a "top 3 mac cheese of her life", it's time to take note. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Beecher's New York, a Seattle import which rocked my (mac)cheese-loving socks off this past Friday night.

According to their website's extensive "Our Story" section, Mr. Kurt Beecher Dammeier was a cheese lover from childhood and his artisan cheese obsession eventually led to the 2003 opening of Beecher's Handmade Cheese in Pike Place market. In June 2011, an NYC outpost was opened at the corner of 21st and Broadway, a cheese shop and cafe upstairs with the warehouse-chic decor clad full bar and restaurant "The Cellar" downstairs. Cue Friday night...

Delightfully cheesey

The Celler at Beecher's is a great spot for group dining. With an extensive drink menu (I took down 2 of their spicy "Henry Ward Beechers" with delight) and meats and cheeses galore, it's easy to chat and graze for hours, but my suggestion is to go for the full meal experience. Sharing one of the cheese covered flatbreads (the "meat: charcuterie, smoked flagship" blew our minds) a veggie plate and the burrata amongst my group of 5 allowed for tasty flavors and a good sampling with enough room left to hit the pièce de résistance hard core... I present to you, the self-proclaimed "World's Best Mac & Cheese":

Be still my heart...

One of six different mac cheese variations on the menu, the World's Best is not messing around. Baked to crispy on top and at the edges, creamy, gooey and just shy of too decadent on the inside, Beecher's mac was a lifetime favorite. (Due to variety of ingredients and texture, I cannot easily rank Beechers against the breadcrumb-on-top Chat n Chew brilliance or a few other variations of the classic I've encountered, so please accept my "lifetime favorite" as a highest possible accolade). Simply put, this mac cheese rocked my world and the tastes I managed to snag of the pork belly version (ordered without fennel by 2 in my party) only served as evidence that I must come back again and again until I've had one of every mac on the menu.

A peak into The Cellar

And in case you were wondering, Beecher's has plenty of non-mac entrees (Dr. H thorough enjoyed his Littleneck Clams) but the mac cheese is definitely their finest. Lastly, it should be noted that Beecher's "cheese-osophy" is that the cheeses are all au naturale, meaning they contain no additives or preservatives and the milk-makers (cow, goat, etc) are all hormone free. Plus, according to their website, they now have a gluten free mac cheese available! Now isn't that just cheese-tastic?

Top notch tapas.

How many small plates equals one really big plate!?

It's been a while since I've sent a restaurant review your way (not for lack of eating!) so I thought I would share all the reasons why Socarrat Paella Bar is my new go to spot for top notch tapas (and so much more).

Socarrat Chelsea. (2nd location in nolita)

The ambiance at Socarrat will win you over before the waiter has had a chance to say "would you like to see the wine menu?" (and btw, said wine menu is pretty fantastic). Comprised of primarily communal style tables in west-village-charm-meets-industrial-chic rooms, you get a fabulous mix of intimacy and openness as well as the perfect opportunity to make an educated "I'll have what she's having" decision.

Bring on the small plates!

The menu at Socarrat is really what, in my "lots 'o food" lovin opinion, makes it such a great spot. So often with tapas you have to order 10+ small plates to leave the meal satisfied and that can add up to one hefty bill. While Socarrat is certainly not cheap eats, the tapas selection is well priced and each plate included more than enough for all members of my party of 4 to enjoy. (The Croquettes did not disappoint and neither did the Garlic Shrimps if you're looking for suggestions!)

Paella comes in serving sizes 2 and up

And as its name suggests, Socarrat offers not just tapas, but some pretty awesome paella. Prepared in large cast-iron skillets (aka, big metal pans I'm going to call cast-iron skillets) and served family style, the fresh meats and seafood, flavorful rice and crisp-around-the-edges-from-cooking entree is the perfect compliment to a few plates of tapas. I promise you'll leave full (no small feat for tapas) and feeling like you disappeared for one night to a little spot in Spain.