Balthazar Restaurant, New York, New York

As part of my wrap up of my exciting trip to New York City, I wanted to delve into breakfast Friday morning.  The amazing PR firm for I Can't Believe It's Not Butter treated us to a wonderful meal at the famed Balthazar Restaurant located in the SoHo district of the city.  Now-visiting the great restaurants of New York is insanely high on my to- do list- to the point where I have been making tentative plans for a "Food Trip" to New York in the upcoming months. Never before did I imagine that on my little contest trip I would have the opportunity to dine at one of Restaurant Magazine's "World's 50 Best Restaurants"!

Entering Balthazar, you immediately know that you are somewhere special.  The soft golden hue of the lighting bounces off the walls adorned with mirrors.  Waiters bustle through the space delivering pastries, and pouring hot fresh cups of coffee.  The scent, of warm baked bread and the hint of sweetness from the bakery section is enticing, and makes your stomach start to rumble.  Within minutes of entering Balthazar, you succumb to it's incredible charm.

As guests of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter we were shown to a large table that had already been adorned with baskets of bread.  We soon learned that we were taste test each type of bread (white, wheat, olive, chocolate, and cranberry walnut) and select our favorite which would be used in our Quick Fire challenge later.  As hard of a task as it may seem, we got right to work ;-).  Fresh and clean tasting, each bread showcased it's ingredients well.  The white and wheat were exactly what you would hope they would be- simple and hearty, with pure flavors and good texture.  The olive was spotted with lovely black olives throughout bringing their tang and saltiness to the slice.  The cranberry walnut wasn't shy about its additions with the sweet and sour cranberries and meaty walnuts generously throughout.  Finally, we had the chocolate.  Obviously, I am a bit of a chocolate fiend.  However, I am not a huge fan of chocolate bread- I often find it too sweet, or oddly sour with the hint of a sour dough mix.  It just doesn't do it for me.  Balthazar succeeded in a beautiful piece of indulgent bread.  The chocolate was rich, with dark chocolate flavors, subtle sweetness and just a hint of bitter.  This was a delicious slice of chocolate bread. 

Of course, bread wasn't the only option for our breakfast.  The morning menu at Balthazar is diverse full of savory and sweet dishes, indulgent and health conscious options.  It was a tough decision but I finally settled on Eggs Florentine, served with spinach and artichokes.  I had a bit of ordering remorse as I started to see the dishes of my companions arrive, however all of that faded when my skillet arrived full of beautiful poached eggs surrounded by lovely wilted spinach and nicely cooked artichokes.  The eggs were perfectly poached, with semi firm white exterior easily breaking into a beautifully runny yellow center.  The yolk poured fourth and mixed in indulgent fashion with the buttery sauce that encased the vegetables.  Mixed together the flavors were rich, but perfectly portioned so I was able to move on from breakfast energized and not full and heavy from the meal. 

Balthazar's was the perfect way to kick off my day- every moment of my time within its walls, from the moment of entry, to when my perfectly foamed latte was set before me, until my well finished plate was cleared from my place was a treat.  The staff, even dealing with us bloggers with our photos, and never ending questions, were patient, kind and knowledgeable.  I felt as though every need and request was met with a kind smile, and utter helpfulness.  I will definitely return to Balthazar- it was the perfect New York morning.

Gracie's Cafe, New York, New York

In case by reading this blog you hadn't guessed- I love Boston.  I really love it.  I love its size, its history, its culture, its quaintness.  I love Boston.  While I understand that they are not mutually exclusive, I have always disliked New York City.  I find it unmanageable, overwhelming and just huge.  I feel forever lost there.  This has never boded well for me, as my family originates from that area, my sister lives close to the city now, and a very good friend of mine moved to NYC as well.  So I have had to suck it up to visit-though I can't say I've done it often enough.  This past weekend it was my pal's 30th birthday, and for that reason, I took a deep breath, boarded the Bolt Bus, and embarked on my journey to the Big Apple.

First off, the Bolt Bus was fantastic.  Clean, timely, cheap, free wifi, and friendly staff made it a ridiculously easy way to get to NYC. Future return trips do not feel as daunting now. 

Second- I enjoyed my time in New York very much.  I had gone into the city a couple of years ago when I was visiting my sister and she had done a good job of walking me around and getting me acquainted with the less crazy parts of the city, this time around my friend brought me to the same areas, and I actually felt a level of familiarity.  I was still completely lost, but for some reason it felt much more understandable this time.  Thank you ladies for making it better.

Of course, for all of our walking around, shopping and exploring, we needed a good breakfast to help sustain us on Saturday morning.  My friend Jenn knew just the place.  She brought us, her Boston visitors, to a small, unconventional diner located on the Upper East Side called Gracie's Cafe. While the restaurant itself may have been physically small, their breakfast specials were far from limited in portion size.  The serve a normal breakfast, and then they also serve breakfast "specials" huge platters of food, with juice, coffee, and either a mimosa or a smoothie all for $15.00.  Jenn promised that these were delicious and so I picked out Eggs Mykonis- which were sunny side up eggs served over sauteed spinach and tomatoes mixed with feta cheese, served with hash browns, and an English muffin. With it I elected to have their Energizer Smoothie, which was a delicious mixture of berries, juice and yogurt.  

This was an incredibly filling breakfast, and a tasty one at that.  Sure, one of the eggs was a little over cooked and the yolk wasn't very runny at all, but when the perfect bite was created- a little egg, a little spinach, a little sweet tomato, and a bit of salty feta cheese- well it was definitely a perfect bite.  The flavors combined into a delicious harmony.  The home fries were not anything to speak of, but with the rest of the meal, it didn't really matter.  That smoothie though was over the top.  Creamy and sweet, filling and refreshing, I felt energized as I sipped it, and I carried that feeling all day long.

The best part about this meal- it kept off hunger pangs until our (late) dinner time. I was fueled up and ready to take on a tough day of manicures, shopping and some delightful roof deck drinks-obviously a very tough day!

I would absolutely return to Gracie's Cafe on a future trip to New York- it fit the bill for a fast and efficient breakfast!