NYC: Madison Square Eats

About 2 weeks before our NYC trip, I saw a post on Facebook about Madison Square Eats and how it's going from May 1st - May 28th. Sweet! We were gonna be there for it's last weekend! It's a semi-annual culinary pop-up market. The fall installment is from Sept 4th - Oct 1st. It's meant to be, we gotta go check it out!

Madison Square Park
May 1 - May 28, 11AM-9PM Daily
http://urbanspacenyc.com/mad-sq-eats/

We went for an early lunch on Friday. My fiance's sister had taken the day off to hang out with us. Yay! So she met us there. It's just a small area by Madison Square Park but cute and bustling with people already. And just so happens it was like the sunniest day ever. Got hot really quick!

It reminded me of Smorgasburg (which we went to on Saturday) but just smaller. We did a quick look around and scoped out where we wanted to eat at. And then split up so we can save time.

Mexicue
Blackened Brussels Sprouts $4~ I freaking love Brussels Sprouts so I had to get these. It was kind of a let down. They were soggy and a bit too salty. I've definitely had better.

 

Arnold Palmero (lemonade/iced tea) $3~ I also decided to get a drink since it was so hot. This was yummy. I love a good Arnold Palmer. :)

Roberta's
Margherita Pizza (tomato, basil, mozzarella) $9~ Plus Speck +$2~ 

Everyone I mentioned Madison Square Eats to, told me to get Roberta's. So I guess we've gotta try it! A peronal size pizza, thin crust. After you place the order, it takes about 10 minutes before pickup. They had their mobile oven there making pies to order. It was good, a little too salty though. The crust was nice. Wasn't blown away.

The Cannibal
Pig Head Cuban $12~ 

 

 

Oh man... that pig head goooood!! It was a good sized Cuban. At first we weren't too impressed but the more I ate the more I liked it. I got a big bite with a lot of the pig head and it was amazing!! Uber tender, so full of flavor. I think this was my favorite of the day.

Sigmund's
Reuben (Corned beef, kraut, gruyer, mustard). 

Not sure how much this was, but considering the average prices at Mad Sq Eats, I'd guess $9-11 or so. Huge chunks of corned beef. Sooooo juicy. And the pretzel bun was an excellent touch. A close number 2 in my opinion. Yummy.

Melt
Crackly Chocolate Cookies + Malted Chocolate Rum Ice Cream Sandwich $4~ 

 

As we were finishing up, I said "there's an ice cream sandwich place!" They had a cute display of the available flavors on the cart. We all decided to just get one and share. It was a good sized sammich. And frozen well. The texture of the cookie was still chewy and slightly soft. It's not light biting into a brick. And the cookie held up to the ice cream really well. None of the ice cream squished out when you bit down on it. That's always a good sign! Especially when you are standing and eating. The cookie is definitely crackly! NOMS! I'd totally eat their ice cream sandwiches again.

I'd say a pretty good start to our Friday. We weren't overly stuffed. Which is good, cuz... we're headed towards more food in just a bit! haha.

Make sure you go check out their fall event starting September 4th!!

Mexicue:

Roberta's:

The Cannibal:

Sigmund's:

Melt:

Overall Experience:

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

True Food Kitchen

Last Friday was Good Friday and it was a work holiday! Holla! So I planned to go check out True Food Kitchen with 2 of my friends for lunch. Due to some last minute schedule conflicts/cancellations, I was all of a sudden on my own. Booo. I've never really dined out by myself, so I was a bit nervous.

Walking to the restaurant, I saw there were groups waiting outside. AND people waiting inside. It's already 1:30PM! I told the hostess it was for 1 and she said there's open seating at the bar, whereas a table was a 30 minute wait. So I guess being by myself worked out! The place was very bright and energetic. The bar area was nice and open and you can see into the kitchen. I sat down and was immediately greeted and brought a water. So far I'm liking it.

True Food Kitchen
The Plaza at Preston Center
8383 Preston Center Plaza Drive
Dallas, Texas 75225
(214) 377-3333
http://www.truefoodkitchen.com/
Price: $$-$$$

*FYI, the location on Yelp is wrong. It's in the same shopping center as Sprinkles Cupcakes on Preston and NW HWY. I almost drove to the wrong place!*

I've been wanting to try this place for awhile. It was my initial choice for my birthday dinner but it didn't work out. Looking at the layout, it probably wouldn't have worked with a group of 30 people anyways. It's quite loud in there since it's just one open space.

They got some interesting drinks so I wanted to try some.

Hangover Rx (coconut water, pineapple, vanilla, orange juice) $5~ I was able to get a sample of this since they pre-made it. It was delicious. I don't really like coconut water, so the first sip I was a little weary, but the more I drank the more I liked it. Very refreshing!

Green Arnie (matcha green tea, honey lemonade) $5~ 

I ended up ordering this since I love matcha. It was so green! I liked it, but not as much as the Hangover Rx actually. I felt like the honey lemonade overpowered the matcha. I really didn't get much of the tea flavor. And the honey was too strong. I'm not a huge fan of honey.. I'm slowly trying to get more used to it. But if you love honey and lemonade, this is a good choice for you.

I already knew what I wanted to order. The "Inside Out" Quinoa Burger (hummus, tzatziki, tomato, cucumber, red onion, avocado, feta) $12~ With side of kale salad and sweet potato hash. 

The food came out really fast. I was soon stuffing my face with yummy quinoa. I guess it's good I got to sit at the bar, and get my food so quickly. I was starving! I pretty much loved everything about this dish. The quinoa patties were crispy on the outside. Loved it! I've never had crispy quinoa before, it adds amazing texture. The hummus with the veggies was fantastic and the kale salad added more texture. My favorite though, was the hash. The sweet potato pieces were still slightly crunchy, which I normally don't like sweet potato to be, but it had so much flavor. And the way it was diced made it ok that it still had a crunch. I think I can eat a large bowl just of this. But everything worked well together. It was gluten free AND vegetarian! It filled me up without pushing me over the edge. Although I think a fried egg on top of the burger might just be even more awesome. haha. Again, loved it, will totally order it again.

I got a drink to go for my bf. Cucumber Refresher (cucumber, honey lemonade) $5~ He totally loved it. Super refreshing. Again, heavy on the honey for me, but still pretty good.

I enjoyed lunch very much, even if it was by myself. My waiter at the bar was super nice and didn't make me feel self-conscious about sitting by myself for the first time. I know it's no big deal, but just something different for me. I can't wait to go back in the near future. But I'll make sure to make a reservation!

Quality of Food:

Service:

Ambiance:

Value:

Overall Experience:

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~