Aura Thai Cuisine
Upon entering the Thai restaurant named Aura, I wasn’t sure when I would see the Aura. It wasn’t in the Lincoln Tunnel approach outside…
And it wasn’t in the mismatched and cracked artwork on the walls.
When I started eating the food, the aura came through… Do you see it in the pic below of my Thai Iced Tea?
In all seriousness. You don’t go to Aura for ambiance. You go for better, more authentic Thai than you get in all the wanna be Thai places around the city. The lunch special is particularly a good deal – even after they crossed out a few of the offerings on the menu. Everyone starts out with some dumplings or shumai (depending on the day). I found the vegetarian dumplings to be tasty… I tasted mushroom, vermicelli noodles. I wanted to ask more about what was inside, but the waitress didn’t look ready to engage in that conversation.
The Aura PAD KEE MAO with chicken, vegetables and fresh basil in a spicy chili garlic soy sauce was so much better than the Thai noodles I order on the East Side ( I wonder if they deliver across town?). The heat came from a variety of colorful peppers (not just a squirt of Sriracha sauce). I ate every bite.
When I got a chance to research the name, Aura, I actually found out that my hunch was only slightly correct. Turns out “the fusion cafe is actually named after the matriarch of the Watanasuparp family, Nora; hence, NAURA.” According to the Aura’s website, “this minor misnomer is intentional and welcomed, though, because the eatery evokes Thai aura and flavor into every dish.” One can assume that the Watanasuparp family owns the restaurant.
Aura or not, you can count on high quality Thai at reasonable prices.
Wanna go?
Rating:
Food – 8/10
Ambiance – 5/10
Service – 7/10 (fast but abrupt)
Category:
Food Type – Thai
Style – Casual
Price – Reasonable
Address/phone –
462 Ninth Avenue (Bet. 35th – 36th Streets), 212 971-8530
website- aurathaicuisine.com
menu – aurathaicuisine.com/menu.html
Manganaro’s Hero Boy
It was a the special of the day and it immediately caught my eyes. This sandwich, unlike majority of sandwiches at Manganaro’s that were meat based, had vegetables offering color and a distinct taste.
It was composed of a large fresh semolina roll with sesame seeds. The kind of roll that is crunchy in the right places and soft in the right places. It was the kind of roll that held up when the pan jus was spooned onto the bread. Moving on from the roll … The broccoli rabe was very green – very fresh. The greens made me feel a little better about the light and tasty fried chicken cutlet and significant amount of fresh mozzarella cheese. To top it off, it came with house made potato chips.
My sandwich and the sandwiches that my colleagues were eating induced silence in the conversation at the table for a least a minute… Time was needed to take a big bite and enjoy. Conversation resumed soon thereafter.
It wasn’t until sipping my soda that I noticed that I was biting into history. According to the cup, Manginaro’s is the “originator of the 6 foot hero.”
I did some research on the Manganaro website… turns out, “In 1956, with his mother Nina, James Dell’Orto operated the Italian Groceria known as MANGANARO’s. James decided to take this one step further and got the brilliant idea of doing a hero sandwich that would be the first of its kind and called it the Six Foot HeroBoy.”
Manganaro’s is a highlight in the slowly up and coming Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood (just outside the Lincoln Tunnel).
Rating:
Food – 7/10
Ambiance – 7/10
Service – 7/10
Category:
Food Type – Italian Subs
Style – Casual
Price – Reasonable (you can get a $5 footlong for half the price, but it will be half the food with low quality ingredients)
Wanna go?
Address/phone- 494 9th Ave, 212-947-7325
website- manganarosheroboy.net
menu – manganarosheroboy.net/Menu5_1.html
Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream, Ices – The Treats of Summer
The frozen dessert landscape has changed remarkably in recent years. While I am happy to welcome many creative new additions to the marketplace, I also enjoy the time tested traditional ice cream and other frozen treats like lemon ice. Here is my guide to frozen treats.
Frozen Yogurt
Over the last three years we have seen the proliferation of expensive “premium” frozen yogurt in NYC… it started with Pinkberry, then came Red Mango. Even though Pinkberry arrived to NYC first, it is well documented that Red Mango started before Pinkberry.
From there, copy cat after copy cat. The funniest one I noticed a couple of years ago was Red Cherry, which has since gone out of business. Red Cherry doesn’t make sense. Red Mango works because mangoes are not red. Pink Berry, the same thing, there is a chance that a pinkberry exists, but you are more likely to come across a blueberry or a blackberry. There are plenty of red cherries…
Another relatively prominent expensive yogurt place is BerryWild.
Maybe some of you will disagree, but for me there’s very little difference between the three… I feel the yogurt all tastes relatively the same. All charge about the same and have similar topping offerings.
The Pinkberries of the world have almost totally displaced an old NYC favorite, TastiDelight. I never really enjoyed Tasti-D. While we used to order Tasti-D, the premium price for a styrofoam cup of this stuff always bothered me more than paying a premium Pinkberry or Red Mango that at least come with fresh fruit toppings.
Another frozen yogurt category is “weigh and pay.” We have these places that bank on the human instinct to not be able to control themselves. There’s 16 Handles and Phileo Yogurt (by way of Philadelphia, could you tell?), which my friend calls “yogurt land.” Both offer lots of machines featuring tart and not tart flavors. They let visitors take what they want, top it with healthy toppings or candy, weigh it, pay (enough to buy gallons of yogurt from the grocery store), then enjoy.
Recently I went to Jersey and visited Bischoff’s. Since 1934, Bischoff’s has been serving up ice cream sundaes in the same way. My family has been going to Bischoff’s for three generations. My dad, who grew up in Teaneck, used to take dates there in High School.
While I enjoy fro yo as a grab and go treat in the city or the mall, it is nice to sit down and have real ice cream. We asked and they don’t even have frozen yogurt at Bischoff’s! Take a look at these two sundaes that cost a total of $16! There were four of us and we couldn’t finish either one of them.
A City Ice Cream Favorite – Mister Softee
Summer is here and you know what that means….we will see Mister Softee on every other block in the city. According to the Mister Softee website, Mister Softee is the largest franchiser of soft ice cream trucks in the United States. Mister Softee is light soft serve ice cream – creamy with lots of air. Lots of creative ways to enjoy, including the double cone. Don’t forget to dip your cone in chocolate, strawberry, etc. Check out some Mister and Ms. Softee Profiles on Midtown Lunch.
On the topic of Mister Softee, please keep in mind that not all Mister Softee trucks are created equally. If you are in the mood for Mister Softee, please look at the truck carefully. If it doesn’t specifically say Mister Softee, it isn’t (meaning, they buy cheaper, less enjoyable product and try and sell it for the same price). Check out this 2008 article on Mister Softee Knockoffs.
Real Mister Softee
Clearly not Mister Softee!
If I find some better examples of fake Mister Softee trucks, I will update. There are plenty out there, believe me.
Lemon Ice (and other flavors)
There is only one King and he’s from Queens.
I have been enjoying the Lemon Ice King of Corona my entire life but the establishment has been around for twice as long as me (over 60 years). Read my full review.
La NewYorkina Modern Mexican Ice Pops
It was a hot day, I was thirsty and in the mood for something sweet. I had enough Mister softee and fancy frozen yogurt for the week. I walked into the Hester Street Fair, and the answer was looking at me. La NewYorkina “modern mexican ice pops.” Such a simple and refreshing idea.
I asked what the most popular flavor was, and Fanny, one of the propieters, served me Mango con Chile (Spicy Mango). The $4 pop was filled with large mango chunks. The chili made for an occasional bursts of spice. If the pop isn’t spicy enough for your taste, Fany offers seasoning to sprinkle (like you would pepper flakes on a pizza).
Other flavors include:
- Fresa-Strawberry
- Tamarindo Fresco- Fresh Tamarind
- Horchata- Cinnamon Rice Milk
- Jamaica- Hibiscus
- Pina con Menta- Pineapple Mint
- Nuez- Pecan
Fanny explained that she makes the pops after hours in a local wholesale bakery after 7pm during the week. It is a simple process from the cutting of the fruit, to the freezing. literally what you see is what you get. Check out these Facebook pics of the process.
At this point, they are getting ready for the Hester Street Fair each week. I see no reason why this concept can’t go bigger with a food truck or even a well positioned storefront.
Find La Newyorkina at the Hester Street Fair, every Saturday and Sunday,
10am to 6pm.
In Summary…
There is a right place and a right time for frozen treats and we certainly have a lot of options in the NYC Metro area… Enjoy! Please comment below on any of your favorites that I missed.
New York City Street Fair Food Guide
It’s that time of the year. Last weekend as I walked my way through NYC, I stumbled across three New York City street fairs.
This guide will go through NYC street fair food options. I will divide street fair food into three categories.
- Food I look forward to eating at each fair
- Food I never consider eating because I am scared of unintended consequences (i.e indigestion, a lost tooth)
- Pleasant surprises
Hopefully this guide will help locals and tourists alike to navigate NYC street fair food options.
Food I look forward to eating at each fair
I will pick up some pickles if, for some reason, I have no pickles in my fridge.
Kettle corn: I most likely won’t buy this, I have plenty of equally enjoyable Orville Redenbacher at home, but I will try a free sample.
Sticking with corn, how can you go wrong with fresh corn? I like how most use the grill to char the corn.
Another corn product is the sweet corn arepa. How can you go wrong with melted mozzarella and sweet corn?
Food I never consider eating because I am scared of unintended consequences
This may be controversial but I never want a candy apple during the summer. Candy Apples are a Fall food for me. I am also afraid that I will lose a tooth when I bite into the hard shell.
Dirty hands making falafel balls and frying in oil on a dirty street, no thanks. The same applies to Zeppoles. I will sometimes try a spinach pie though.
Fear of indigestion, continued…
No desire to have one of those smoothies. How could they possibly wash all that fruit with no running water? They also use the same dirty blenders all day! If you do happen to be by a fair when it’s closing they may sell bananas and other unused fruit for next to nothing. That I will go for!
I may have a crepe or two in Paris, but not on a NYC street…
Pleasant surprises
I would try a lobster roll at lunch time!
As the summer goes by, I will add some pictures of some of the pleasant surprise food options that I come across.
Street Fair Calendars:
Hell’s Kitchen
Simple and straight forward American lunch fare. Well executed. Perfect for a “client lunch” with R/GA yet I can see how the sleek and modern restaurant can become a “hot spot” for the dinner crowd in this up-and-coming neighborhood.
I had the grilled portobello sandwich with red peppers, cheddar cheese and red onion marmalade. It was a well executed sandwich –everything served a purpose. The unlikely sharp cheddar (rather than the typical mozzarella) and tasty peppers and marmalade was a nice contrast to the simple and really juicy, generous portobello portion. Loved the fact that while the mushroom was juicy, everything was contained in a large foccocia roll that didn’t get soggy. I ate every bite.
The table ordered salads, sandwiches, and salmon. All seemed to enjoy.
Service was fine at first and food came quickly but waitress went MIA after we ordered. Could have used an iced tea refill.
Rating:
Food – 7/10
Ambiance – 7/10
Service – 7/10
Category:
Food Type – American
Style – Casual, Trendy
Price – Moderate
Wanna go?
Address/phone – 523 9th Ave, New York, NY 10018, (212) 947-4208