When Pierre thinks of a food court he thinks of a magical food court that was once magnificent in a far away land. The food court I initially think of as the mother of food courts was in Bangkok, Thailand. It was one that I frequented and they offered fantastic meals for amazingly low prices with an atmosphere that couldn’t be rivaled. A few years of eating there and the owners decided that they wanted to ruin it and up the prices along with lowering the quality to completely destroy the atmosphere. Long story short, Pierre’s heart was crushed and he has had difficulty finding a food court he could trust since then.

Anyway, some time has passed and my heart has healed. I decided to get back on the horse and check out some more food courts around the globe. An upscale food court that caught my eye during my trip to New York City is called City Kitchen and it is connected to the Row Hotel in Times Square.

This is the place where dreams are made people. There is a wide variety of shops offering food of varying ethnicities. These fine establishments include Azuki sushi, Box which is Mediterranean food, Dough the donut shop, Gabriela’s Taqueria,  Kuro Obi ramen which is owned by Ipuddo, Luke’s seafood and Whitmans focusing on burgers and the like. Oh. My. God. I literally tried everything!

Never have I been to a food court where everything I ate really hit the spot like this. Before New York, I was spending some time in Chicago and being utterly disappointed with the Japanese ramen there. I hadn’t had a good bowl of ramen in almost a year until I went to City Kitchen and ate at Kuro Obi. It was legendary. That was the first meal I ate and it set a very good first impression.

Once I had the first good meal my heart was set ablaze yearning for more. I tried the next place inside the food court and then the next and the next and before I knew it I had eaten everything that they had to offer. I didn’t gain 1,000 pounds surprisingly. I still look sexy, don’t worry.

The atmosphere at this place is actually quite nice as well. My only qualm is how busy it was. During a few meals I was left standing eating along the window where they have a bar-type setup. It’s really not a big issue because it just shows how much people enjoy the food.

When it’s all said and done, City Kitchen rocked my boat. It did me well and I would not hesitate to return and eat more of the delicious food. That’s why I want my New York readers and anyone traveling to New York City to check it out and tell me what you think! I’m 100% sure you won’t be disappointed!

City Kitchen

Food Court

700 8th Avenue at
44th Street
New York, NY 10036

Everybody loves brunch. If you don’t like brunch then I don’t like you. Now that we’ve got that out of the way we can talk about the exquisite brunch at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. During my two week trip to New York I was invited to this amazing experience. I’m so kind and so generous that I brought a guest along to enjoy the plethora of food and drinks with me. It happened to be none other than infamous food blogger Dara aka The Skinny Pig aka Big Bacon Bonanza.

This was my first time to really explore New York City believe it or not. The Waldorf Astoria Hotel is an icon in the city. Just walking in the front door and up the steps put me in a state of awe. How magnificent of a design! We made our way into the Peacock Alley restaurant where the brunch takes place. I’m going to stop and just make a note that this is the most impressive brunch setup I have ever seen in my life.

It’s really a shocker that I’m not 5,000 pounds right now. There are so many different foods to choose from! Certainly, something for everyone. My research tells me that this brunch is also along with being magnificent the most expensive brunch in the entire city at approximately $125 per adult. Sometimes you just need to treat yourself.

After exploring the lay of the land it was time to get down and dirty. I quickly got to work loading up my plates (yes, multiple plates) with food from all reaches of the universe. You want seafood? You got it. You want beef Wellington? It’s right over here. You want a chocolate fountain? Please, help yourself. When I say they have it all, they really do.

This place is no joke! The food looks good and the important thing is that it tastes good as well. Along with our brunch we were able to order some cocktails to help to truly enjoy the experience. Some of these were better than others but overall quite enjoyable. They were kind enough to offer us some gin that was aged in bourbon barrels and 115 proof. Pierre is quite a manly man but this did get him tipsy quite quickly.

A fun fact of the day is that your favorite breakfast food was invented here! The official story goes that Lemuel Benedict wandered into the hotel in 1894 and ordered “poached eggs, crisp bacon, buttered toast and a hooker of hollandaise” to cure his hangover. The Maître d’hôtel was so impressed with the creation he added it to the menu after changing out bacon for ham and toast for an English muffin. History was in my mouth and I loved it.

The entire experience was fantastic. The service is quite good and the selection is outstanding. If you want to take some time to live a little, then you should definitely pay a visit to the Waldorf Astoria Brunch in New York City at their Peacock Alley restaurant.

Waldorf Astoria Brunch

Hotel Restaurant

Waldorf Astoria Hotel
301 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Located in the center lobby

Phone: +1-212-872-1275