Dinner At Mastro's Steakhouse NYC DoTube's Pick Of The Week

As I left off last week, it was my mom and dad's 46th year anniversary, so my wife and I decided to take them for an afternoon at The Met and for dinner at the hottest new restaurant in NYC, Mastro's Steakhouse, click here if you missed last weeks post! A Tourist at The Metropolitan Museum of Art NYC!

After travailing through time and history at The Met, we were pretty hungry. All the snack bars were closed, so I do suggest to bring a few snacks of your own, so you won't suffer a hunger attack like I did with no place to grab a bite!

So as we arrived I notice the front of the restaurant was stunning from a block away! That's because the stripes you see in the picture above are beaming white lights that light up the whole neighborhood. When we walked in the restaurant, it had a very rich business man visiting out to town type feel to it. The place was packed with people who seemed to me to be the future of Wall Street. Now I don't mean to make it sound like you have to be dressed in a Brooks Brothers, suit and have your business cards on hand at all times, but what I am saying is this restaurant has a very professional and classy feel to it.

So of course as always I had a dilemma, I had my Canon T4I with me because I just finished making a video tour of The Met, and of course, because I'm a food blogger I figured why not kill two birds with one stone and do a video review of Mastro's? There was only one problem. The restaurant was very very DARK! The only light they had were these little candles on the tables and some lighting from the bar. So it was tough to take pictures of the restaurant, and the food without a huge flash, which would have disturbed the other guest, who was enjoying their dinner. So I decided just to put my camera down and enjoy my dinner also!

But to my surprise, I notice that when the waiters would bring out a dish of food, they would use small flashlights to show the guest how the food looks, bingo! I'll just use my iPhone to take pictures like everyone else when the food arrives. Mind you this whole train of thought happen while we were still waiting for our table. The service was excellent and very polite, from the host to the manager and everyone in between, they went out of their way to make us happy, and they did! As we set down at our table which was right in the middle of the restaurant, I already had an idea of what I wanted to order because I read the online menu all week, so I had a few minutes to check out the restaurant while my family decided for themselves what they wanted to order?

The large pictures windows looking out into the streets of NYC, the clean white tablecloths with small white candles, the great live band singing top of the chart hits, the illuminated bar packed with NYC, socialites and the lobster, steaks and champagne floating through the air told me we're at a five star restaurant in the middle of New York City!

As soon as my family knew what they wanted, the waiter was there ready to serve and never left us alone for more than 10 minutes, which scores a lot of points with me when I'm writing a blog review! Even though I already knew what I wanted to order, I always ask my 8000 Instagram followers what they suggest to order whenever I'm trying a new restaurant, and my foodie followers never let me down! And the popular vote was?

Mastro's Steakhouse NYC

The Creamed Style Corn! I must admit when I read the popular vote I was a bit confused? I believed cream style corn was something you ate at grandma's house on Sunday after church, not at a fancy steakhouse? Well, this creamed style corn had me repenting from such thoughts! The sweet, heavy cream and plump kernels of corn taste better and better with each mouthful, and it was a nice size order which is good for sharing. The extra bread came in, just in time for sopping up the last drop of this delicious dish! Thanks, foodie family for another great suggestion! 

Mastro's Steakhouse NYC

Next, we order the Crab Cakes! If you didn't already know? My family spent many summers in Ogunquit ME, because of that fact, I feel as though I know a little bit about a good crab cake, so my taste buds exercised their authority and said they were delicious! Two medallion size crab cakes which were toasty on the outside and tender on the inside severed with ripe avocado and a tangy tartar sauce, these were superb! Click here to see the blog food review about OGUNQUIT ME

Mastro's Steakhouse NYC 

Next, we had the Butterflied Shrimps sauteed in a buttercream and garlic sauce with garlic toast! The shrimp are a nice size if you don't mind plucking the tail off yourself? Trust me, these shrimps are so good, that a little finger labor is not much to ask! I would imagine that the buttercream garlic sauce could go with almost anything and taste great, but Mastro's nailed it when they combined it with plump shrimps and garlic toast!

Mastro's Steakhouse NYC

   The Gorgonzola Mac&Cheese is the adult version of the kid's classic side dish! It's served in a piping hot frying pan, and for your convenience, the waiter scoops a few spoon fulls in everyone's dish. We could smell the delicious Gorgonzola cheese as they placed a nice amount in our dishes, which taste even better than it smelled! The macaroni was nice and soft, on the inside and the cheese was firm and crispy on top, the way I like it! As you can see, this is a family size portion, so go ahead and let the kids experience what adulthood taste like! 

Mastro's Steakhouse NYC 

This is The Seafood Tower! The great thing about the tower is you can build it yourself, by choosing what type and how many seafood pieces you would like? We chose six shrimp cocktails, two whole lobsters, and four king crab legs. What could I possibly say? But wow! Each piece of seafood was very clean, and the ice kept them fresh! Sweet, meaty, tender and delicious are the words that came to my mind while my family and I were enjoying this seafood feast! BUT the presentation is what had the restaurant clapping when the waiters walked over to our table with this smokey volcano tower, take 15 seconds and watch all the excitement !!

 Watch 15 second video! 

Mastro's Steakhouse NYC

Even though all the food we ordered was delicious, it wouldn't make any sense if we didn't order what Mastro's Steakhouse was famous for? ( THE STEAK!) The only hard part was, which steak do we order? With the abundant's of food, we had already ordered, none of us wanted to have our own steak for dinner, so the waiter suggested the 24 oz Double Cut Porterhouse, which was the perfect choice for sharing! The severing plate the steak came on was piping hot, and so were the dishes they placed in front of us, that way, the steak stays hot long after the waiters kindly divide the steak into equal portions on our plates! The Porterhouse was cooked to perfection, burnt on the outside and medium on the inside. The steak was so juicy that no steak sauce, salt or pepper were needed. Mastro's has proven itself to earn the title STEAKHOUSE!

Now it's time for dessert! And because it was my mom and dad's anniversary I wanted something festive! I waved the waiter down to ask if they have any dessert that would fit the occasion? But before he came over I had to feed my Instagram addiction and check my likes and comments, and my comment timeline was filled with one phrase .. Get The Butter Cake! So we did.

Watch 15 second video!

Mastro's Steakhouse NYC

Please understand that I'm a big dessert fan and this dessert was a work of art!
Their signature warm golden butter cake was sweet and moist, topped with premium
 vanilla ice cream, fresh fruit dressing and a side of butter whipped cream, no matter
how full you might be DO NOT skip on this dessert, it was magnificent, to say the least!

Telling by the glow on my parent's faces this was one of the best anniversaries they ever had in their 46 years of marriage, but there was one last thing I had to do! I told them I was going to wash my hands, but I lied and went to the live band and tipped them to play my mom and dad's song they dance to on their wedding day and to give them a shout out!

YA, I know you're not supposed to lie to your parents, but I don't think they will hold that grudge too long? So as the band started playing For Once In My Life by Stevie Wonder, they both looked at me and knew I told a fib! Once the band called them up to dance on their wedding song, they forgive me without me even saying sorry! And as my wife and I watch them dance, we both had a little tear in our eyes! We were so thankful for such a fantastic day, with mom and dad at The Met, and a great dinner at Mastro's Steakhouse!For a real New York, steakhouse experience go to Mastro's Steakhouse! 

Click here for more info! http://www.mastrosrestaurants.com/

Yes, there was a few leftover so why not take them to go for lunch tomorrow? lol 

To Be The First To Read My Next Restaurant Review, Make Sure You Follow By Email BookMark or BlogLovin! Also Don't Forget To Share, Like, and Comment!

A few Twitter Shout Outs I received

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

A Tourist at The Metropolitan Museum of Art NYC! DoTube's Pick Of The Week

Someone once said that you're not a real New Yorker until you have lived in New York for at least ten years? Well, I moved to Staten Island about nine years ago, so I guess according to them I'm still a tourist? Thank God! You really can't have any real fun without acting like a tourist even if it's in your own town!

We all understand the concept of blending in your atmosphere, no matter how beautiful your surroundings are, you become blind to it and miss all the beautiful details that only a tourist will notice! That's why a blogger/vlogger needs to have tourist mindset and a tourist's eye to capture all the fun stuff that a resident may overlook!  

So I decided to take advantage of being a tourist for one last year before I become an official resident of N.Y. My first stop is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the world, a place where people can go and be a professional tourist together, a place where I could fit right in!

( The Metropolitan Museum of Art aka The Met ) right in the heart Of New York City!

So last December, my wife and I decided it would make a great 46th-year anniversary, gift for my mom and dad to take them to The Met, for the afternoon, and dinner at the hottest new restaurant in NYC, Mastro's! Which I will be doing a review on next week and I will place the link here! Mastro's Steakhouse  They were pretty ecstatic about the plans and to tell the truth so was I! Oh, by the way, don't look for any pics of my wife or parents because they are camera shy! I swear I must be adopted?

Bobby DoTube 

And since I never been there before I decided to take my best friend the CANON T4I Rebel with me so all my fans, friends & family can be a professional tourist with me. Now, of course, this is only 10% of what you could see and experience with all the culture, history, and great stories, and because they have a new exhibit every month, I would definitely suggest you see it for yourself. But until then sit back relax and enjoy!

Bobby DoTube 

I swear! Walking up the stairs had my heart skipping a beat! To think of all the famous and influential people that have walked up these stairs? And to be surrounded by individuals from around the world! We met people from Yugoslavia, Argentina, and Macedonia! So how could I contain myself from being overwhelmed with anticipation and excitement on what we're about to experience! Let's face it, this is not Disney Worlds Epcot Center, where everything is an exact copy of places and atmospheres, this is the real deal! The history, the culture and actual artifacts from a society that existed centuries ago! OK, I JUST  GOT MYSELF EXCITED AGAIN! So let's go in.

The great thing about The Met is they give you a choice to either pay the suggested price of admission which is $25.00 a person or whatever donation you would like to give with no questions asked!

Now despite all the excitement, I'd like to give you fair warning before you go any further! I'm not trying to pretend to be some great historian that can give you all the details about every item in The Met, the description box with the history of each piece were a foot long and a foot wide! We had reservations at 8 pm for dinner which made it impossible to document any of the histories of the individual items. So I'm going with the old saying, a picture says a thousand words and with the new digital age saying, a video on YouTube is forever! So make sure YOU watch the video tour with great footage and classical music at the bottom of the blog!

The Greek Exhibit The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Greek Exhibit The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Greek Exhibit The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Egyptian Exhibit The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Egyptian Exhibit The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Egyptian Exhibit The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Egyptian Exhibit The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Egyptian Exhibit The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Egyptian Exhibit The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Fine Art Exhibit The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Fine Art Exhibit The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Fine Art Exhibit The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Anna Wintour Exhibit The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Anna Wintour Exhibit The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

For more amazing visuals and great footage of The Met, go watch the video below! 
Make Sure You Follow Share like and comment! 

To Be The First To Read My Next Restaurant Review, Make Sure You Follow By Email Bookmark or BlogLovin! Also Don't Forget To Share, Like, and Comment!

A Few Twitter Shout Outs I Have Received!

...........................................................................................................................

For more info check The Met website by clicking here! http://www.metmuseum.org/

The Tap Room Pub & Grill AtlanticCity Country Club Fathers Day Weekend

I come from a long line of golfers, my great grandfather Larry, was a golfer, my grandfather Sam, was a golfer, and my father Nick is a golfer, oh, by the way, all of my cousins are golfers, and all their sons are golfers also! Of course, that particular golf gene entirely skipped my DNA! Oh, how I tried again and again to play the so-called relaxing game of golf! Which is more like an oxymoron if you ask me?

My father went as far as hiring a golf trainer for me, and after only one day of training, he told my dad, maybe your son should pick up baseball? My father was disappointed, and I was embarrassed. So the end result is? I don't like GOLF! So you could only imagine the dilemma I was in when over 23 of my close cousins invited me to an all guys fathers day weekend in our hometown Atlantic City!

 I was so excited to hear about the plans to spend a day poolside, and a day at a beach party, and eating dinner at a fine restaurant, then watch a lounge show and then spend all of father's day at the Atlantic City, Country Club...WHAT?!?!?!?..Oh no never mind you guys go without me, I'll be fine!

 I have been with them on a golf course before, everyone becomes a mean librarian, make one sound, and you're done! And since I don't play golf, what am I suppose to do? Count the trees quietly? Well after all my ranting and raving they made a conference call to me, like Atlantic City, representative they tried the soft sell first and then went in for the kill by telling me this!

The Atlantic City Country Club has an excellent restaurant called The Tap Room Pub & Grill. You can do a review on! Of course, they hit below the belt! At first, I thought they were pulling my leg? I mean, I have been to club house restaurants before, hot dogs and turkey clubs were the special of the day! So I decided to do a little research on the restaurant itself and check their website. As I was reading, I came across words like Executive Chef Ed Daggers, day timeCulinary Institute, Chef Daggers began his career at the four star, but this is what did it to for me!
(Chef Ed Daggers has also captured numerous gold medal awards in American Culinary Federation competitions for his salt dough and sugar paste masterpieces. The Atlantic City, Country Club is honored to have Chef Daggers as we encourage you to stop in and sample some of his fine culinary delights!)

So I made the call, ok guys you sold me, I'm in!! Well needless to say Friday and Saturday was a blast! Poolside with DJ'S, beach parties with frozen daiquiris at The Golden Nugget Pool which I did a video blog about Click Here to see it now! Pool Party Blog 

 Live entertainment at The Ego Bar & Lounge, Trump Taj Mahal casino at night! 

Planet Rose Karaoke Bar Tropicana casino

 I guess no matter where you go with 23 of your best friends you'll always have a blast!

To tell the truth? I could have gone home on fathers day, and still would have been very happy with my Fathers Day vaca weekend. But my cousins were so excited about playing golf I didn't want to disappoint them, besides I could always use a new blog review for my site!

As we walked in the Atlantic City Country Club, I was overwhelmed by the Majesty of the place, and the old world charm! To think of the rich history and all the important people who walked these floors? It

was very humbling. So I finally just relaxed and told myself how privileged I was to be on this golf course, and how I should just enjoy this very blessed day with my family and friends!

Oh did I forget to mention that 20 of our friends decided to meet us on the golf course? Yup! Lol Of course, with that many men on a golf course, there was no way to play a serious game of golf. So instead of being librarians, they decided to be more like the cast of the Jersey Shore, and just have some fun! Without the fist pumping of course!

So Check Out All The Fun!!.

My cousins being silly by showing off his red socks and shoes! 

Me and my cousin Richie enjoying the beautiful scenery! 

And after all was said and done it was time to eat! I had no idea that not playing golf on a golf course could work up such an appetite? So we all met up at The Tap Room Pub & Grill for our fathers day lunch!

My cousin Jackie, Me and Mark waiting for our food! 

Time To Eat! 

 Deep Fried Bread Sticks 

These were warm and crispy! Served with a creamy Parmesan  

for dipping, these are a great appetizer. 

Chicken and Cheese Fajita and Spanish Rice 

with all the trimmings! The chicken was moist, the pita was crispy 

and the cheese was soft which makes it a great tasting fajita! 

Garlic Grilled Jumbo Shrimp with Rojo Sauce! 

I love jumbo shrimp, the hint of garlic and the spicy mojo

sauce made these shrimps taste so good I didn't even mind peeling them! 

Shrimp Pot Stickers With Thai Chili & Soy Ginger Dips

These crisped golden pockets are filled with a plump shrimp and Chinese veggies! 

For an extra kick dip in the Thai chili sauce or if you're more of a salty sweet person

then the soy ginger sauce is for you! These Pot Stickers are so big you can not finish them in one bite!  

Club Classic Clams Casino

With apple smoked bacon and casino butter, now plz don't ask me

what casino butter is because I don't know? BUT I do know it was very good, 

and the apple smoked bacon made this mini surf and turfs in a shell delicious! 

Classic Caesar Salad

With Parmesan Cheese, Croutons and Caesar Dressing. 

We actually split this salad among us, so this is the half of order which you can see 

is a nice size, The chicken was seasoned just right and the Parmesan Cheese was sliced

thin, this salad is very good!

Mandarin Salad

With Spring Greens, Mandarin Orange Sections, Crumbled Blue Cheese and
Tossed Pine Nuts, Citrus Dressing! We ordered some grilled mushroom to make this a full 3-course meal on one plate.The steak was medium well and very tender, so no salt, pepper or steak sauce was needed! Not to mention how the blue cheese crumbles and Mandarin Orange tasted amazing together.  

This Fathers Day weekend trip taught me a life lesson, never be so set in your ways that your not willing to try something a second time even if you hated the first time around because people change, situations change and most imported YOU change!

I'm so happy my cousins tricked me with the restaurant review plea because I would have missed the best Fathers Day weekend of my life, and would have missed eating at a 5-star restaurant like The Tap Room Pub & Grill at The Atlantic City, Country Club!

The best part is that the restaurant is separate from the golf course, so you don't need to play golf or pay a fee to get in! If you ever in the area stop in the Atlantic City, Country Club and put on a bright colored shirt and a pair of plaid pants and enjoy the great food at The Tap Room Pub &Grill....No there is no golfer dress code lol

CHECK OUT THEIR WEBSITE FOR MORE INFO!

 The Tap Room Pub & Grill  Atlantic City Country Club

A Few Twitter Shout Outs I Have Received!

To Be The First To Read My Next Restaurant Review, Make Sure You Follow By Email Bookmark or BlogLovin! Also Don't forget To Share, Like, and Comment!

Brothers Pizza Staten Island N.Y. DoTube's Pick Of The Week!

Over the past 25 years, it seems that major pizza franchises have been popping up in malls, food courts and strip malls across the country! I believe that pizza just might be the most popular home delivery food in the U.S. today, 15 minutes or less is the motto! The new trend in the pizza world is specialty pizza like Eggplant Parmesan, Chicken Marsala, Baked Ziti and Philly Cheeses Steak, and although they are delicious I had to ask myself,  DOES ANYONE SERVE JUST A PLAIN CHEESE PIZZA anymore?

Long gone are the days of the local neighborhood pizza parlors when the pizza was made with real ingredients right before your eyes, so you knew it was fresh, and the people behind the counter were your friends, they would ask you, how's your dad and mom? Tell them I said hi!

You see I grew up in Atlantic City, and my neighborhood pizza parlor was Tony's Baltimore Grill and if you ask anyone who's from A.C. they will tell you the same thing. So when I moved out of AC to Staten Island, I was a little upset that I'd probably never have a neighborhood style pizza again! That was until the Staten Island, locals told me about Brothers Pizza in the Port Richmond part of town.

As you drive up forest ave, you will see Brothers Pizza, sitting on the corner like a food oasis, the whole scene looks straight out of a modern Italian movie!, did De Niro, and Pesci just walk out with a pie?

Brothers Pizza 

When you walk in your welcomed by a glass case full of old world style pizzas, like the grandma, Sicilian, margarita, white slice, and the classic cheeses and sauce! I have personally tried them all, and I could not choose which one I like the best?

Brothers Pizza

The glass case is not just for pizza! Check out these delicious garlic knots 

Brothers Pizza 

Also, these Stromboli's stuffed with spinach and cheese 

Brothers Pizza 

These golden mozzarella sticks, potato croquettes, and rice balls
come with a side of marinara for dipping! 

Brothers Pizza 

I wish I could say that I was the one who discovered this Staten Island, gem but as you look at their wall of fame you will see that they have been featured in many popular magazines and newspapers like the
New York Times and Staten Island advances!  

Even making a guest appearance on Regis and Kelly which is pretty, impressive don't you think?

Brothers Pizza 

I would not consider Brothers Pizza, to be a parlor. Because parlors are small with very few chairs and tables, Brothers Pizza has a large dining room with plenty of room to seat even more major parties! 

Brothers Pizza

But of course, this is all hearsay unless I give a true opinion of the food
by tasting it myself? which of course is the best part of the blog! 

First, the most sought out slice in the world, the plain cheese pizza!

The combination of soft Italian bread, light sauce, and rich cheese makes this one delicious slice of pizza!
 I heard Regis had 3 slices on the set of the show? just kidding! 

Brothers Pizza

This is their white slice with fresh mozzarella and chunks of fresh ricotta cheese
for those of us who want a soft, creamy slice of pizza! 

Brothers Pizza 

Remember when you were trying to watch your waistline, and would just order a salad? well, you better reconsider, because the Italian antipasto salad could be mistaken for an entrée! This salad is loaded with what I call an Italian cold cut buffet! Salami, Capicola, fresh mozzarella, sharp cheese, roasted peppers, green olives and much more! Now common sense says that the dressing should be zesty Italian, but I prefer balsamic and olive oil, call me a rebel. This is a 5-star salad!  

Brothers Pizza 

I don't know about you but I'm a big shrimp scampi fan, and Brothers Pizza has a great shrimp scampi entrée! The shrimps are nice and clean over linguine in a garlic scampi sauce that's so good you will order extra bread just to dip in! I actually had the shrimp scampi twice this week and was not sure what pic to use? Well since blogger don't charge to post pictures I decided to post both of them, I'm sure you won't mind?

Brothers Pizza

Brothers Pizza

Watching your carb intake? Then order the shrimp scampi
without pasta, I promise it's just as delicious!

Brothers Pizza

Or if you're like me who's not counting calories then go for the Shrimp Parmesan!
Breaded shrimp covered in Parmesan cheese and marinara, WARNING
  This dish comes out piping hot! So give it a few minutes to cool, it's so worth the wait.

Brothers Pizza

And of course last but not least the pin-up for all Italian restaurants around the world! The traditional spaghetti and meatballs. They give you plenty of pasta so it's great for sharing, and the meatballs are nice and moist, but what I like the most is their marinara because it's mild enough for kids to enjoy.
 This is a delicious dish for family gatherings!

Brothers Pizza 

You could also order a side of pasta with any of the entrées with
your choice of spaghetti, ziti, and penne!

Brothers Pizza

Brothers Pizza has such a wide variety of delicious
goodies there's no way to list them all!

Brothers Pizza 

Make sure you say hi to George! He's one of the owners and a great guy, with his good attitude and delicious food it's a pleasure to have lunch or dinner there! 

Brothers Pizza

So here's my conclusion! If you're in the mood for a great slice of neighborhood style pizza and don't want it covered with Chicken Marsala, then Brothers Pizza is the place for you! Great food and family friendly at a good price, if you're even in the Staten Island area check them out!

To Be The First To Read My Next 

Restaurant Review, Make Sure You Follow By Email, Bookmark or BlogLovin! 

Also Don't Forget To Share, Like, and Comment!

A Few Twitter Shout Outs I Have Received!

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

Brothers Pizza FaceBook Link