McDonalds

The double golden arches are an American icon.  It's hard not to meet a person who hasn't had a taste of the iconic thin and one-note McDonald's hamburger.  Now operating it's 71st year what is it about the child obesity-causing restaurant that makes Americans love it so much?

Dick and Mac McDonald opened the first McDonald's BBQ restaurant in California in 1940.  It was your typical American drive-in at the time featuring a large menu and car-hop service.  In 1948, they closed their restaurant for alterations, re-opening it as a self-service drive-in, reduced the menu to just 9 items, and introduced the 15 cent, 80% bun hamburger.

In 1954 52 year-old multimixer salesman Ray Kroc made a trip out west hoping to sell the McDonald brothers more mixers, and fell in love with their operation.  He learned the brothers were looking for a nationwide franchising agent.  Ray Kroc then decided to make his future in hamburgers, and in 1955, opened the second McDonald's location in Illinois.  This location was the first to feature the ever-now famous double golden arches, and red & white tiled walls.  In just a decade, McDonald's would expand to over 700 locations through the US alone.

Operating now in 118 countries around the world McDonald's is no longer just an American icon, but an international one.  The menus reflect the country they are located in, and there is enough sub-par food to please every undeveloped palate out there.  But lets get to the classics.

Craftbar

Before I get into detail with my meal at Craftbar, I want to say that I LOVE the original Craft located in Gramercy.  Craft is by far one of my favorite restaurants in NYC.  I never had a bad meal there.  The large portions and family style set-up, beautiful decor, great service, top-notch fresh and local ingredients picked up straight from the Union Square greenmarket, make it the perfect first-date and every date after that type of destination.  I assure you, guys, if you bring your girlfriend (or boyfriend or however you roll) to Craft, they will fall head over heels for you.

However, I wish I could say the same for Craftbar.  Tom Colicchio, I'm sorry, this place puts a huge dent in your Craft empire. 

Having so much love for Craft I've been wanting to try the smaller and cheaper restaurants in the Craft family for a long time.  I went in this past Saturday for lunch, and expecting a packed house for their brunch hours, walked into a fairly empty restaurant.  Craftbar is located in Union Square.  The foot traffic is incredible, even on a Saturday afternoon.  Why was this place empty?

I sat at the bar, and scanned the room to find a very dismal decor.  There was no life to this place.  The entire FOH team is dressed in gray shirts and black pants, which honestly, is a very uninviting color combination.  The rest of dining room is set in red and white, but placed next to the bar with dark wood and chairs, doesn't exactly make the room pop too much. They were also playing bluegrass music in the background.  How depressing is this lunch going to be?

I'll let the food speak for itself here. What drew me to try out Craftbar was the menu.  Potted chicken liver pate, potted pork rillette, beef tongue, pork torchons, and all served with local greenmarket ingredients.  You're speaking my language here. 

Casual Habana

I want to start off this post by apologizing.  I’m sorry.  I don’t want to come off as a food snob or think I’m better than some other chefs/cooks out there.  But in this case, I can’t help it.  Every industry out there has people that are great at what they do, and then there are the majority that are good at what they do, then the few that just can’t quite cut it, and then the last group, the group of people that just don’t give a shit whatsoever.  I know not every restaurant out there can live up to NYC standards.  I truly believe you should support your local businesses.  Last night I ate at a Cuban restaurant called Casual Habana located in Hackensack, NJ.  By golly, everything inside of me told me not to write this post, but I will let every reader out there know that with every last ounce of passion and respect that I have for this field, that I can’t wait to rip this place apart. 

Let’s start with the dining scene in NJ.  I am sure every person out there has seen an episode of “No Reservations”, featuring Anthony Bourdain.  A few years ago Bourdain, who actually grew up in NJ, did an episode of No Reservations based on his home state.  He was quick to say that the state that was located so close to the epicenter of dining in the world (NYC) could be such a culinary wasteland.  New Jersey, the “armpit of America”, and the most densely populated state in the nation.  The first half of the episode is so depressing.  Bourdain makes a point to revisit some of the cheap eateries he spent most of his stoner teenage years at.  First stop, a fried hot dog in Leonia, followed by an Italian sub at a strip club called “The Bada-Bing Club”, then ending with none other than a grilled cheese sandwich at a desolate beach in Asbury Park. 

Although he finished the episode on some high notes dining at a Korean bbq restaurant located in an empty parking lot, showcasing fresh seafood down the shore, and even bringing Mario Batali into the mix to visit an Italian bakery, anyone that is new to New Jersey can’t help but think the state is nothing more than endless parking lots, industrial wasteland, strip malls, jug-handles, and round-a-bouts.  Having lived and worked in NJ for a few years I can tell you there are plenty of great restaurants and dining destinations if you look hard enough.  But Casual Habana is not one of them.