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| Anybody home? |
Now that some of the controversy around West Village staple Alta has calmed down a bit (Full discretion: The Foodies in NYC ate here way before March), we wanted to reminisce about some of the good times we can remember there...
So
first, we ask you all to come clean. We’ve done it and we know you have
- you’ve driven by that old Italian restaurant with the stucco-siding,
or walked into that classic clam bar with the crab winking from his spot
on the wall, and SWORN that you’ve eaten there before. You can’t
remember what you had or who you were with, but you remember it was
good. For us, that place is Alta.
While
we admit we’ve never had a bad meal here, nothing about Alta screams
out to us. But it is one of those places you find yourself oddly drawn
to time and time again. Maybe it’s the typical fried goat cheese balls,
the succulent lamb meatballs or the tangy braised octopus that lumps it
into the pack of Mediterranean restaurants in NYC - but yet, still keeps
calling us back for more.
Known
for its tapas style dining, it’s a fairly traditional menu with a
consistent execution. The short rib entree and Brussel sprouts side are
classy comfort food but the over-extensive wine list might be the reason
we’ve a hard time remembering our past together. So summing up our
relationship with Alta, it’s essentially like having a one night stand
after you’ve had too much to drink...you think it was pretty good but
can’t quite remember until you run into him again and can’t fight the
urge to indulge in a fried goat cheese ball.
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| There's the beef. |
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| Mmm...balls. |
Alta
64 W 10th St
New York, NY 10011
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When
they have the time, real foodies, like the Foodies
in NYC, love to enjoy a relaxing, quality meal with a complementing
atmosphere. They can’t possibly do this every meal, can they? I bet they secretly
chomp down on a fat Big Mac from time to time. Which is why Foodie Christa
allowed her younger, economically yet calorie conscious brother to write a
review of the current fad around fast food chains going healthy.
BK Healthy Burgers (Veggie: 410cal, 21g protein; Turkey:
530cal, 26g protein)
BK teams up with
the popular veggie burger brand, Morning
Star, to deliver a paddy filled with carrots, mushrooms, and unidentifiable
green things. It tastes like chicken and newspaper, though is significantly better
than some of the cheaper, store brand veggie burgers out there.
BK’s turkey burger has a rubbery consistency that squeaks when eaten. However, the
portion was much larger than the veggie burger and could curb even a large
appetite. The potato bread was a good
addition. It also doubles as entertainment – when throwing a cube of the turkey
paddy at the ground, it bounced back about two-three inches.
BK Take home: Have it your way and accessorize your burger with enough lettuce,
tomato, onion, and toppings to up the flavor profile. The turkey burger was
much bigger, tastier, and included potato bread - and it bounces off asphalt
pretty well.
Wendy’s Flatbread (Smoky honey mustard: 370cal, 22g
protein; Asiago ranch w/ bacon: 530 cal, 30g protein)
Wendy is a cruel
mistress when it comes to the flatbread – she cuts her normal chicken sandwich
in half, tosses it in a sweet sauce, and charges the same price as the “regs”
chicken sandwich. The wheat flatbread, however, did live up to my high
expectations. I’m not sure why they threw bacon on a diet menu item, but I’m
not complaining. The sea salt fries were delicious for seven minutes, then got
worse by the minute.
McDonalds’ Premium Grilled Chicken McWrap (Sweet
Chili: 360cal, 27g protein; Ranch: 430cal,
30g protein; Bacon: 440cal, 33g protein)
Mickey D’s big,
burrito-like wrap comes in a cool cardboard holder for eating on the go. (You
can stop reading now because the holder was the best part.) The chicken was
tasty, even comparable to Wendys’ chicken but I don’t know who the hell
invented the flavor “sweet chili,” but no one should change the fundamental
properties of chili, ever. Stick with the bacon or ranch flavors. I’m not
exactly sure what makes the chicken so “premium.” I asked for my wrap by stating,
“Fill it up, premium, cash.” Maybe we should ask if it is unleaded, or if cash
is cheaper than credit.
Taco Bell Fresco Menu (Fresco beef taco: 110cal, 8 g
protein; Fresco steak taco: 160cal, 11g protein)
Taco Bell thinks they can pull the sombrero over our eyes by losing the
cheese, and adding cilantro and tomatoes, to make any normal item on their
menu, “Fresco style.” However, the Fresco menu does win overall for its nutritional
value, taste, flavor, and complementary ingredients. Taco Bell is the only
company that pays one extra penny per tomato for ripe tomatoes. All other fast
food companies use green tomatoes that have been unnaturally ripened by an
oxygen gassing process. This is important to a Jersey local. The beef may not
be top quality, but they are aware of that. Last year they ran an $0.88 taco
special when it was revealed that their beef is 88% beef and the rest
"filler." At least they are honest and embrace their B-quality beef.
Taco Bell continues to keep it real and wins the Fast Foodie trophy.
So remember, with
all of these new healthy alternatives, embrace your right to have it your way.
Vinny is a Fast
Foodie and music producer for the Electric Slide Crew. Listen to his tunes on
Soundcloud www.soundcloud.com/howso, or follow him on the tweet
street @Vinny_Conte.
