AFTERNOON TEA AT TEA AND SYMPATHY

TEA AND SYMPATHY RESTAURANT

108 GREENWICH AVENUE, NYC 

I have gone to many afternoon teas/high teas. The best one by far is the afternoon tea at Tea and Sympathy in the West Village in New York City.

I love it because they give you generous portions, not the amuse bouche of many of these events.  They serve it until 6pm and you get so much.  You have a choice of 3 finger sandwiches, scones, clotted cream, strawberry jam, cupcakes, cake, and a huge pot of tea in one of their decorative and creative teapots! You can mix the various teas to create your own unique tea. I always mix vanilla with some sort of fruit-based tea.

They also have a store that is next door which sells European food items.

It's plenty of food and it's plenty good!  So, if you want a delicious afternoon/high tea that leaves you feeling pleasantly full (you'll probably leave with a leftover bag like me), then.......TRY IT!!!!!!

A.O.C. Restaurant'sTagliatelle Carbonara

This picture is of my actual plate!

Address: 314 Bleecker Street, New York City

I love Carbonara sauce: cheese, eggs, cream, and pancetta or bacon. It's decadent and soothing. It's comforting. So, I am very particular where I get it. I have gone to different restaurants all over the city and only a few have gotten my attention. One of those places is A.O.C. in the West Village.

Located on the corner of Grove and Bleeker (you can take the 1 Train to Christopher Street) is nestled a cute little cafe called A.O.C. It is considered a French restaurant overall, but it has a wonderful taste of the Italian. The Carbonara sauce is mixed with a thick and filling tagliatelle noodle. It's wide and thick enough to stand-up to the Carbonara. They give you a lot, including the pancetta, which is usally scarce in many of the restaurants I have seen. The other restaurants usually give you a smattering of meat, but this restaurant piled it on. In fact, I had so much goodness on my plate that I had to take much of it home.

It was so rich and creamy, sensual, that I had to rest between bites. It's priced reasonably, but I would not say this restaurant is cheap. The average entree is between $16-20. There is also a garden in the back.

I used to frequent this place about once a week, but I had to resist because it was definitely too much of a good thing. But you should be the judge!

From what I was told, if you join them on Facebook, they have a little deal in which they will give you a free drink when you join them for dinner.

See Facebook for details.  Try it!

AMAZINGLY SIMPLE AND DELICIOUS MEATBALLS (OR HAMBURGERS)

I make delicious and easy meatballs/hamburgers. All you need is the magic of the wonderful Lipton Soup packets.

You will need:

 2 lb. of hamburger meat
1 packet of Lipton Onion Soup Mix or Beef Onion Soup Mix
 2 tbs. of garlic powder
 2 tsp. of tamari soy sauce
 (Salt is optional, to taste)

 Mix all the ingredient together well. Then decide if you want meatballs (golfball size 12 or more can be made from this recipe) or make hamburgers (about 7-9 medium sized burgers). Cook in the oven in a rectangular baking pan at 350 degrees for about 15 - 20 minutes, or until fully cooked.

Save the juice from the meat if you are making a sauce. I use the drippings when I am using the meatballs for my Beef Stroganoff, another post to come. Try it and let me know what you think!