202

75 9th Ave (b/w 15th St & 16th St)

Visitors come and go, but memorable brunches last a lifetime, or so the saying goes.

For my most recent visitor’s last meal in New York City, I insisted on brunching it up Manhattan Style at Chelsea Market. His flight was a late afternoon/early evening, but we had just enough time to grab a late brunch following a 10K run (or in my case crawl) through Central Park with the New York Road Runners. Yes, I run, too. 

I surprised him with 202, a restaurant set in the center of a clothing store in gorgeous Chelsea Market. The place was mostly empty as brunch was nearing a close, so we had our choice of seating.

We started with cappuccino and juice. My guest ordered Buttermilk Pancakes with blackberry compote and crème fraiche.

I had the Lentil, Beet & Artichoke Salad and a side of Fried Green Tomatoes.

I wanted something light, which I found in the salad. The tangy vinaigrette dressing perfectly complemented the lentils, beets and artichokes served adjacent a mountain of arugula. It looked and tasted refreshing, like New York City on a cool spring morning.

The fried green tomatoes encompassed in mozzarella cheese were good but not great. They sat heavy on the palate underscoring the lightness of the salad. However, I was warned in the name, FRIED. I barely managed a couple of bites before insisting my guest eat the rest. He passed on the opportunity.

He enjoyed the pancakes topped with a blackberry puree and crème fraiche. It was maybe his second time to have the sweet sour cream and could not get enough. The pancakes were fluffy and filling, like pancakes should be.

The Market is an experience inside itself. Had we more time, I would have given my guest the full tour of the Market and gotten lost inside a sample sale or three.

202 is more about the scene than the food. Yes, the salad and pancakes were good, but at the end of the day, they were salad and pancakes. I could have made either myself, and experimented with various toppings along the way.

Would I go again? Yes, but only for the clothes.

DAMAGE ~ $50

VERDICT ~ PASS

Shake Shack

366 Columbus Ave (b/w 77th St & 78th St)

With the onslaught of warmer weather, I keep my eyes and ears open for milkshakes and sandwiches around the city. When a co-worker mentioned the vegetarian-friendly mushroom burger at Shake Shack the same day it was featured in the local paper, I took that as my sign to visit immediately.

Not patient nor brave enough to withstand the line at their original Madison Square Park location (which can take upwards of 2 hours), I ventured to the Upper West Side. I ordered the vegetarian mushroom burger, fries topped with cheesy sauce, and the Natural History “Crunch-stellation” shake in honor of the place being literally across from the Natural History Museum.

’Shroom Burger

Crisp-fried portobello filled with melted muenster and cheddar cheese, topped with lettuce, tomato and ShackSauce

Cheese Fries

Topped with Shack cheddar & American cheese sauce

Natural History "Crunch-stellation"

Vanilla custard, malt, Valrhona chocolate crunchies and chocolate toffee

All I can say is thank you Danny! Danny Meyer, the genius behind Shake Shack (plus a number of New York City staples including Gramercy Tavern, Eleven Madison Park, and Tabla) has my complete respect and adoration. The vegetarian ‘Shroom Burger was delicious! At first glimpse, I thought the staff forgot the cheese. Once I bit into the crispy sandwich, I was greeted by gooey warm muenster and cheddar completely encompassing a Portobello mushroom. Yum!

The sandwich itself was small, maybe about half the size of a normal burger. However, upon finishing it, I realized it was Danny who had the size of burgers correct; the rest of the world had them wrong. As for the fries, they too were delicious, but I prefer them without the cheesy sauce topping. They are tasty in and of themselves.

As for the shake, don’t get me started. On second thought, do. Anything that contains Valrhona chocolate has me sold before tasting. Blame that one on InterSportsWriter who exposed me to the finer dark chocolate in life. The frozen custard used in the shake was as dense as it was flavorful. With a number of toppings and mix-ins to choose from, there is something for everyone. They even have a flavor of the day! It was strawberry rhubarb during my visit.

For those brave enough to withstand long wait times, there is a shack cam on their website where you can check the line beforehand at their Madison Square Park location. Also, there are a couple other shacks opening up this Summer, including one in the Theatre District and one on the Upper East Side.

Later that day, I saw Shake Shack in Time Out New York. Good choice.

DAMAGE ~$18

VERDICT: GO NOW!