Ryan's Local Roots: Local Eats in a BIG City

If you've been to New York City you know just how many restaurants are in the city, there are a few on every block in Manhattan. In fact in Manhattan alone there are over 3,500 restaurants and another 1,000 in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and the Bronx combined (USA Today). This makes choosing a restaurant in the city a difficult task considering all the options, especially for tourists visiting the city. But is it possible to find local food in a city of New York's size? Sure it is. On a recent trip to New York, a friend and I ate at a few excellent restaurants that offered local, natural, sustainable and organic foods on their menus. Thanks to Greg for the great recommendations! I am going to give a little review on each of the two restaurants we visited.

THE SMITH:
First was "The Smith" located in Midtown at 956 Second Ave at 51st Street. A trendy underground style restaurant with subway tiled walls and a wooden floorboard ceiling. Quotes are printed on the tiled walls and vintage Edison light bulbs dangle from the ceiling. Upon being seated a waiter or waitress brings a bag of bread and a clear glass bottle of sparkling water and a bottle of flat water. The Smith purifies their own flat and sparkling water in efforts to reduce their carbon footprint.

The ambience portrays a busy and upbeat classy restaurant with undertones of a unique dive. Young business professionals loosen their black ties and find solace from their hectic wall street daytime life in this simple Manhattan eatery.

To start we tried an appetizer of hot potato chips drizzled with a bleu cheese fondue, a starter recommended by Greg! The chips were delicious and started the meal of right. Quick and attentive servers bustled around as more professionals poured in from the frigid Gotham streets. To our left was a full bar featuring craft brews and bottled beers. 3 of The Smith's 7 unique draft beers are local selections, two of which are brewed in Brooklyn and the other is a milk stout from Oceanside, NY. To our right was a young family, a few couples, and a group of coworkers all enjoying drinks and food.

In a timely manner our entrees arrived at the table, mine a bowl of hot ravioli topped with mushroom bolognese, crème fraîche and tarragon and my friend's a sizable pork chop with a side of corn and bacon flapjacks, creamed kale and maple jus. We both dove right in and loved every bite of our meal! I would say it was one of the best meals I've ever had! Kudos to The Smith and all of their dedicated employees and chefs for creating a great New York dining experience.

Ryan's Rating of 5/5 STARS!

Photos Courtesy of The Smith

ROSA MEXICANO:

Second was "Rosa Mexicano" located at 61 Columbus Ave at 62nd Street. After an afternoon of art appreciation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art we gained an appetite of art of a different kind, food art. After a chilly walk through Strawberry Fields, Central Park we happened upon a relaxing 2nd story restaurant. The Mexican eatery has a cascading wall waterfall starting from the 2nd story and falling down to the bar lobby. White tablecloths drape the tables with woven chairs tucked beneath. The menus are filled with delicious offerings from fresh guacamole and chips and enchiladas to freshly made tacos. For a drink we ordered homemade passionfruit iced tea served in a 2 glass pitcher for each person and served with awesome homemade simple vanilla syrup.

This vegetarian and gluten-free friendly restaurant offers a great option for lunch called "Lunch Crunch". This option is a three course lunch with just the right amount of food. Served all at once the diner receives a scoop of freshly prepared, delicious guacamole with a handful of tortilla chips, a bowl of seasonal soup, one taco with your choice of filling and a vanilla flan infused with espresso. This is what I ordered and I loved every bite of it. My friend tried the Chicken Tortilla Pie served with house rice and refried black beans.

The flan was excellent and we had an overall great experience at Rosa Mexicano! A great Mexican selection in New York with locations in cities up and down the east coast as well as in San Francisco and Los Angeles! I recommend trying Rosa Mexicano in the city closest to you!