THEJNSREPORT

Rocking Horse Cafe

Posted by THEJNSREPORT on January 26, 2014

Posted in: Food & Drinks. Tagged: Burrito, Chelsea, Cotija Polenta, Dinner, Free Range Chicken Breast, Good Eats, Lamb Shank, Mexican Food, Polenta, Rocking Horse. Leave a comment

Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: Dinner @ Rocking Horse Cafe

Located in Chelsea at 182 8th Ave

Rocking Horse Cafe

I’d heard that Rocking Horse was a good Mexican food restaurant. Having never eaten there before I decided to go try their fare with a friend of mine who knows good food places throughout the city.

This place has its charm. The lighting and interior go very well together. In any case once at our table I perused the menu for a few moments while sampling some chips & salsa before settling on something simple. Rocking Horse’s “Street Food” Burrito with KNK farms free range chicken breast.

Rocking Horse Burrito

Meanwhile my friend went to a personal favorite choosing Lamb shank with caramelized onions, roasted tomatoes epazote, over creamy cotija polenta and rice with black beans. Folks two words…Yesss! Yessuh!!!!

Rocking Horse Lamb Shank

While my dish was excellent! I have to say the next time I visit this establishment for dinner I’m ordering the above. Wow is that an amazing dish!!! I had a small bite of the creamy cotija polenta with some of the sauce and a piece of lamb shank and my hands went up in the air without my knowing it. Lol

Rocking Horse scores high marks all the way round. In terms of presentation and taste. Rocking Horse scores a perfect 5 out of 5 dinner plates. OOOOO

Rocking Horse Spread

I love spicy foods usually but I made a mistake when I bit into that there “devil’s finger” to the left on my plate. My mouth loved the spicy flavor but the onset burn became a bit too much to handle.

For a moment I thought my taste buds weren’t going to make it. I bit a healthy bite into my burrito to marry the burning spicy flavor to the incredibly constructed pieces of happiness that are the Rocking Horse Burrito.

Tequila on the rocks with lime helped to quelch the burning some along with several gulps of water. All that said I recommend Rocking Horse Cafe as a must visit if you love really goood Mexican food. Till next time this has been THEJNSREPORT’S: Rocking Horse Cafe Experience 2014.

Socarrat Paella Bar Experience 2014!!!

Posted by THEJNSREPORT on January 24, 2014

Posted in: Food & Drinks. Tagged: Black Rice, Chelsea, Comida, Dining out, Fava beans, Food, Food & Drinks, Meals, NYC, NYC Nightlife, Oysters, Paella, Paella Bar, Rice, Scallops, Seafood, Shrimp, Socarrat Paella, Socarrat Paella Bar, Squid Ink, Veggies. Leave a comment

Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: Socarrat Paella Bar Experience 2014!!!

Located in Chelsea around the corner of 8th Ave & 19th St.

Socarrat Entrance

Socarrat Paella Bar Int.

Socarrat Paella Bar’s interior layout reminds me of a “RailRoad” apartment. I ventured into this place on a Saturday night with a couple of friends who raved that the Paella here was a must try for Paella lovers. Having eaten Paella in Spain once upon a time. I figured now was as good a time as any to see if NYC could and would measure up to that experience.

Socarrat offers a nice atmosphere and complimentary coat check which just makes sense considering the limited seating space inside. Not having to worry about where to place one’s jacket or bag while trying to dine in is an important part of any dining out experience.

We decided to start our dining experience off with some appetizers while looking over which Paellas we were going to try. After some thought we settled on having white anchovies, in olive oil with black & green olives, sliced plum tomatoes and bacon wrapped dates.

White Anchovies

The White anchovies actually tasted better than anticipated and were quickly laid waste to along with everything else on the plate. That being said, ladies and gentlemen…Behold the power of Bacon son!!!

Bacon Wrapped Dates

Whoever came up with this creation to quote Epic Meal time is “F’N Smart!!!” Salty sweet cravings get satisfied and then some when having one of the above bad boys let me tell ya. Once again, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Yassum!!!

After toasting with cocktails of Milagros Tequila with lime…. out came our Paellas.

Paellas

Paella with Squid Ink

We chose one Paella with Black Rice colored with Squid Ink. The second Paella had no ink in it. Both were equally well cooked and very delicious.

Paella II

Portions more than satisfied and caused us to have to request a doggy bag.

Doggy Bag

Exit

The next day I was able to enjoy some left over Paella that tasted even better the second day especially when coupled with scrambled eggs. Yes Ma’am!!! It was gooood!!! Socarrat in terms of presentation and taste gets 4 1/2 dinner plates out of 5. OOOO [. We had a great time dining here and ultimately ended up closing the place down.

While Socarrat is definitely a cool little spot to dine be warned this is not a cheap place to eat. Our tab for 3 people came in at a bit over $200 with tip. Drinks definitely contributed to the bill perhaps more than the Paella and appetizers.

Even so, I’ll definitely be back to sample more Paella from Socarrat in the near future. Till next time this has been the Socarrat Experience 2014 by THEJNSREPORT.

Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: El Nuevo Caridad Restaurant Experience 2014!!!

Located at the corner of 116th St. & 2nd Ave.

El Nuevo Caridad in the distance

El Nuevo Caridad Exterior II

El Nuevo Caridad Ext III

El Nuevo Caridad Ext V

El Nuevo Caridad Restaurant

On a night I decided to go to dinner with a friend we ended up at El Nuevo Caridad Restaurant. I was told to expect really good Spanish food. My taste buds perked up at the thought of what was to come.

Apparently there are quite a few former Pro Baseball Players who have eaten at this establishment. All of whom have been enshrined in the El Nuevo Caridad Restaurants “Hall of Fame” including MLB’s perennial “Hall of Fame” snub Barry Bonds.

El Nuevo Caridad Menu

Personally I feel Barry Bonds deserves to be in the Hall of Fame regardless of the rhetoric and bias politics the sports media have made as it pertains to his worthiness of entry into the Hall.

Menu II

Menu III

Anyway that’s for another discussion. Once inside we thought it fine to sit at the bar and eat. The bar is very small but the atmosphere was cool and down to earth. All of the staff were pretty friendly.

Both my friend and I ordered the Chicharron de Pollo with Rice and Beans but I opted for sin hueso (without bones), while my friend opted for con hueso (with bones). Chicharron de Pollo for those of you who dont’ speak Spanish means Fried Chicken chunks.

Chicharrons de Pollo

Full Meal

The food here is very good. I thoroughly enjoyed my Chicharron de Pollo sin Hueso with Arroz Amarilla y Habichuelas. 😉 The food portions are very adequate and more than satisfy as you can see.

Here’s a look at some of the rest of their interior.

El Nuevo Caridad Int. II

Int. V

Int. VI

Int. VII

El Nuevo Caridad Int. VIII

My overall impression of El Nuevo Caridad Restaurant, which is huge in terms of square footage, (as it looks to be the size of two establishments in one) is that for the price and money this is a must eat at destination for lovers of Latin cuisine. I score it 5 dinner plates out of 5. OOOOO

If you’re ever in Spanish Harlem give them a try and let us know what you think. Till next time this has been EL Nuevo Caridad Restaurant Experience 2014 by THEJNSREPORT.

Detox Over…

Posted by THEJNSREPORT on January 13, 2014

Posted in: Food & Drinks, Health. Tagged: Cashews, Detox, Foods, Fruits, Healthy Eating, Juice, Nuts, Peanuts, Pecans, Wasabi. Leave a comment

Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: Detox Over…Time For The Refueling Re-Up!

Well folks focused on the changes necessary for the new year. And glad detox is over. I began my day my fueling up with the following for breakfast.

Breakfast!!!

A glass of Orange/Tangerine juice, two whole quartered green apples, a bowl of roasted unsalted cashews, peanuts, pecans, and wasabi peas. Wasaaabiiii!!! LOL.

Does anyone remember the Budweiser commercial of decades past where a brother is at a Japanese restaurant with his girl and the server tells them they were having some Wasabi? If you do awesome, if you are too young to remember here’s some edification for ya.

Check out the link to see the commercial. Instant Classic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZk7-1uGmc4

The Detox

Posted by THEJNSREPORT on January 7, 2014

Posted in: Food & Drinks, Health. Tagged: Cleanse, Detox, Drinks, Exercise, Fast Food, Free 2 Eat Day, Fruits, GNC, Granola, light meals, Meals, Nutrition, nutrition plan, Nuts, Pastas, Rice Dishes, Vegetables. Leave a comment

Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: The Detox

The following is my “BluePrint” I’ll be utilizing

Detox, Nutrition Plan, Meals, Exercise, Free 2 eat Day

Detox

I decided to start the new year off by detoxifying with a cleanse. Emptying my insides off all the residuals from fast food and dining out is the first order of business. To aid with this process I’m going to be using Simply Slender Master Cleanse. You can pick this up at GNC or VitaminShoppe.

Master Cleanse

On the bottle’s instructions it says take two tablespoons of this liquid and add to 8 oz of water and drink up to 8 times a day while eating light meals but to avoid ingesting vitamins, and any other unwanted toxins including alcohol.

Nutrition Plan

Nutrition obviously is the basic building block for health and so I suggest that for those who are foreign to eating fruits and veggies they pick the fruits and veggies they like best and expand horizons from there.

At first I was considering going vegan during this period but being practical and honest I know I’m not willing to go vegan. Instead I will greatly reduce the amount of meat consumed and look for meals with meat substitutes that are low in fat and high in nutrition.

Meals

Pastas, Rice dishes, Beans, Mixed Vegetables, Granola, Nuts, Grape Fruit, Apples, Grapes, Strawberries, Oranges, Soups, Spinach, Salads, Tofu, Protein Shakes/Punch, Cheese, Tofurkey Sausage LOL.

Drinks

Water, Orange Juice, Red Wine, White Wine,

Here’s one of my favorites for snacking between meals.

HPG IV

Hemp Plus Granola III

Exercise

Stretching, Pushups, Dips, Crunches and/or ab wheel, 35lb dumbbells, Jump Rope, Squats, Lunges, Squat variants, Calf Raises, Shrugs, Pushup variants, Shoulder Presses, Standing Back Row

Free 2 Eat Day

On this day anything craved can be consumed but portion control is emphasized meaning can’t have more than 2 servings of any “junk food”.

The Beginning of Detox

Posted by THEJNSREPORT on January 6, 2014

Posted in: Food & Drinks, Health. Tagged: Detox, Eating Habits, Exercise, Food, health, Lifestyle, Living, Resolutions. Leave a comment

Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: The Beginnings of Detox

Over the past few years I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being lazy. I was able to eat pretty much whatever I wanted when I wanted. Slowly I came to the realization that what was once fun now had become boring and more importantly unhealthy.

Many of us figure the beginning of the year is the time to make changes and new year’s resolutions. I say why break with tradition? The past few years really drove home the concept of taking care of one’s health. Health is true wealth the cost of getting sick, I’m sure many of us can attest is not a welcome situation. Even with insurance the costs are skyrocketing across the nation.

I had a conversation with a family member once in which I said we either pay to be healthy upfront by paying higher prices for healthy food, or we pay later in hospital bills for illnesses, medications, and treatments that come from a life time of consuming unhealthy food, poor eating habits, and lack of regular effective exercise.

Definitely not a health guru…yet but I’m excited to get back to the basics of a healthy lifestyle. Stay tuned for Detox

Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: The Film Committee 5th Edition

Starting us off with another must have in the film library is Akan Bosemann

Akan Bosemann: I’m sure most of today’s generation of movie goers has no clue about the original “Rat Pack” of Oceans’ Eleven with Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop.

I have to admit, truth be told, I myself only remembered Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr as the most recognizable and memorable of the group. The modern adaptation is an impressive allstar cast of superb actors.

Both Ocean’s Eleven & Ocean’s Twelve in my opinion are bona-fide instant classics. Starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Bernie Mac, Don Cheadle,Julia Roberts, Vincent Cassell, Matt Damon, Scott Cain et al.

T.D Moody: Two words, Fight Club. Two more words: 15 Minutes

Jesse Murphy: A must have in your film library is The Box. Starring James Marsden and Cameron Diaz. Eerie and cut from the same cloth as classic series such as Rod Serlings’ The Twilight Zone and the Outerlimits.

I add “The Devil’s Advocate” starring Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino and Constantine if for nothing else, it was one of the films Keanu did pre Matrix Trilogy. If you’ve seen either of these films, I ask which character portrayal of the Devil do you think was the best between the two?

THEJNSREPORT: Last but not least we add Harlem Nights written, directed and starring Eddie Murphy. The cast includes Richard Pryor, Red Fox, Della Reese, Charlie Murphy, Jasmine Guy, Danny Aiello, Arsenio Hall just to name a few.

We also add The documentary of the legendary comedian and actor Richard Pryor in “Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic”