Petite Abeille.

Unfortunately, our stay in the city was drawing to a close. Mic was leaving New York to head home to Hong Kong for the summer and from there, she would return to the United States to transfer to Indiana University. To celebrate this bittersweet moment, we had a going away dinner at one of our favorite little spots, Petite Abeille, which is situated right on the edge of the Gramercy neighborhood.

To start our meal off, we ordered two appetizers. Above is the Petite Abeille Crab Cake. It was a very light crab cake, the meat very tender and not chopped, with an excellent crispy crust. The saffron-aioli sauce was tangy, a French twist on tartar sauce, and it complemented the crab cake very well.

The other appetizer that we ordered was the Croquettes de Fromage. The gooey cheese in the middle wrapped in a lightly breaded crust was like a mozzarella stick for grown ups and sophisticated folks. It was simply luxurious.

Roomie, who was feeling dietary, ordered a Salade Mesclun, a salad of mixed seasonal greens, with balsamic vinegar dressing. This was nothing out of the ordinary.

Kitty wanted to try the Petite Salade de Betteraves et Fromage de Chevre, a roasted beets salad with goat cheese and watercress. She complained that it was small, but said that it tasted good.

H wanted to try the Petite Abeille, a cheeseburger with the restaurant's namesake. H was very unhappy about the size of the burger, but that's what you get at some of these higher end restaurants. He didn't complain about the taste, but was also unhappy about the price of the "tiny" burger.

Roomie also got Le Potage du Jour, the soup of the day, which was a chilled gespacho. He seemed indifferent to the soup, but he did say it was refreshing in the warming weather.

Squishy and I shared the Grand-Mère Moules, the steamed pei mussels in a cream beer sauce with essence of bacon. It came in a small pot and we ate out of the pot. The mussels were delicious and tender. The sauce was not as salty as I had expected it to be and it did not overpower the taste of the mussels. It was a well-balanced dish and wins great approval for me for presentation. I must go back there to try their other flavors.

The mussels come with a side of pommes frites, Belgian fries. These were probably some of the best french fries that I have ever eaten in my life. Period. They were so crisp, but were not dry on the inside. They were perfectly sized and had just the right amount of salt. I would go back to this restaurant just to have the fries! That's how good they were.

Dessert soon rolled by after a great meal and we indulged. I got the Crême Brulée. Though good, I actually think that the crême brulée from the Dessert Truck was better. This one was not creamy enough. Even though the taste was good, the texture was off this time.

Squishy got the Fondue de Fraises et Marshmellow au Chocolat, a chocolate fondue with marshmallows and strawberries. This was a fun dessert and it was well presented. The chocolate was warm and rich.

Last, but not least, was the Belgian waffle with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Mic was in heaven while she was eating this. It was warm and fluffy and the chocolate was decadent.

Overall, the experience in this restaurant is great. The staff is very friendly and the service is excellent. The entries were generally delicious, though I would not stay at the place for dessert. I really liked the ambience in this restaurant. It has really great atmosphere and a great soundtrack playing.

Price: <3<3<

Taste: <3<3<3<3<

Atmosphere: <3<3<3<3<3

Opinion: Highly Recommended

Lyric Diner.

On March 31st, 2009, following talks about women's special places as we viewed a school production of The Vagina Monologues, we craved a food escapade.  So we, Volatile, Squishy, H, and I, decided to hit up our good old friend, Lyric Diner.  It was a nice rendezvous with a restaurant we were familiar with.

Volatile got a meal.  It came with soup, fruit, and an entree.  This is the lentil soup that came with it.  It looked thick and gloppy, but she said that it was alright.

Squishy got eggs, sunny side-up, and ham.  It came with home fries.  It was pretty run of the mill.  Nothing extra sexy or seductive.

I got my usual corned beef hash and eggs, over-easy.  This was the first time I got the hash here and it was especially good.  I could tell that the hash was made with fresh corned beef instead of coming from a can.  You could see the remnants of corned beef throughout the hash and could tell that it came from a nice and flakey corned beef.  It was also not that salty, which was definitely a plus, and perfectly crispy.  The home fries were nothing out of the ordinary.

H got the Derby Burger, which came with french fries, a pickle, and cole slaw.  The burger comes with lettuce, tomato, bacon, avocado, and bleu cheese.  H said that it was alright.  He especially enjoyed their french fries, which I must argue are some of the better fries for diners that I've ever had.

Here is Volatile's baked lasagna.  She enjoyed it because it was very cheesy and fresh.

Lastly, here is the fruit bowl that came with Volatile's meal.  The fruit seemed fresh.  There was cantaloupe, honeydew, pineapple, and grapes.

Overall, it is a safe place for eating.  Service during busy hours is a bit lacking, but if you go at an empty time, the service is alright.  Food is decent.

Price: <3<3<3<3

Taste: <3<3<3<3

Atmosphere: <3<3<3<

Opinion: Recommended

Les Halles.

For our last dinner with MY and S on their visit, Roomie and I took them to the pleasant little French restaurant Les Halles.  It was an ideal restaurant for us to dine at because MY was craving steak and Les Halles' motto is "American Beef, French Style."

Our complementary bread basket.  It had a wheat type of baguette and a regular French baguette.  The regular baguette was very fresh, light, and fine just by itself.  I tasted it both with and without butter and noticed that the butter is not necessary.  Without the butter, you can taste how fresh the bread is.  I did not taste the wheat bread, but MY said that the bread was a little dense and dry.  The baguette definitely was sexier here.

I got the Onglet à l'Échalote, hanger (or skirt) steak with a shallot dipping sauce, ordered medium.  My meal, along with everyone else's, came with pommes frites, or french fries, and a wild greens salad with a very light vinaigrette.  The hanger steak was very tender and perfectly cooked, each bite of the steak melting in my mouth.  The dipping sauce had an interesting sour taste that complemented the cut of the meat.  The fries were nice and crispy, perfect with a dash of salt.  There was no need for any ketchup.  The vinaigrette didn't overpower the veggies and was very refreshing.  Overall, it was just the right portion and was very well executed.

MY got the Steak au poivre, Frites, or steak coated with cracked black peppercorn, cooked medium.  Despite being disappointed by the meager size of the cut of meat, he seemed to have enjoyed it.  I had a taste of it and though I agree that it was cooked well, I also feel that the black peppercorn overpowers the meat, masking the taste of the quality beef.

Roomie got the Poulet Rôti, Frites, or oven roasted Amish chicken.  Roomie was quiet about this one, but judging from the continued speed of his scarfing, I can only assume that it was good.

S got the Faux-filet Bercy, New York sirloin with red wine butter, ordered medium-well.  Unfortunately, it was a little dry and should have been ordered at simply medium instead of medium-well.  However, she said the butter was a nice match to the steak.

Overall, the restaurant presented some nice steaks.  Despite feeling that the portions were just perfect, I don't think I would mind if they were a tiny bit larger, but I think that I also shouldn't be too greedy.  The ambiance was pleasant and trendy and the staff was friendly.

Price: <3<3<

Taste: <3<3<3<3<3

Atmosphere: <3<3<3<3<

Opinion: Highly Recommended

The Corner Halal Cart on 25th and Lexington.

I was at a loss as to what to eat before my Model United Nations meeting on Friday, so I succumbed to getting street food.  I was very happy to get my money's worth for the food.

There it is, in all of its meaty and saucy glory.  I like this cart better than the other carts I've tasted because the red sauce has just the right level of hotness, the lamb is minced up nicely, and the give you a huge portion.  I've also never gotten food poisoning after eating from here.

So overall, not bad, if you're short on cash and need fast and filling food.

Price: <3<3<3<3<

Taste: <3<3<3<3

Atmosphere: N/A

Opinion: Recommended if you're short on cash