Maison Kayer French Restaurant

I am going to talk about my favorite French restaurant and the reason I have recently fell love with French food. There is a really nice restaurant in Manhattan called Maison Kayser. The word Maison in French means house, and I believe the word kayser means emperor. Thus, the name of the restaurant is the house of the emperor. The reason the restaurant is named with this name is because French people are known to be stylish, classy, and fancy. Therefore, I think this name might have been chosen for the restaurant because it best represents the French culture and the nature of French people. 

Now I want to talk about the food! My favorite dish is the smoked salmon, and they call it at the restaurant saumon fume. For people who love seafood and salmon in particular, this dish is a must try. They serve the salmon along with sunny side up egg and bread. They also put capers and that makes the taste even more divine.  The food at this restaurant is more to light side and not super filling, which for me is perfect and makes their food both delicious and healthy. I would definitely recommend this restaurant for people who are not familiar with the French food, because it gives an experience of France and its food. The only thing that I think would have made this restaurant more authentic is if the waitresses are originally French, and that is not the case in the restaurant. I have hardly seen any waitresses from France. The service at this restaurant is perfect because it is fancy and its price is more to the expensive side ,but not very expensive and absolutely affordable.

Because of this restaurant I would absolutely want to visit France and try more of their food as well as discover the country and the culture.

Carmines Italian Restaurant

On this post I am going to talk about my favorite Italian restaurant in NYC. It is called Carmines, and it is a family style restaurant. There is only two locations of this restaurant in Manhattan one in time square and one in the upper west side. The meals they serve at Carmines are all in large plates that people share rather than individual meals, which is what makes it unique and different than any other restaurant. The food style makes the experience more enjoyable, because it creates an interaction between people where they all share the food, and not just concentrate on their individual meals. I have been to this restaurant many times and never got tired of it. The taste of their food feels like authentic Italian food, it makes me experience the food as if am in Italy. During the nine years that I have spent here in the U.S, I have made my birthday dinners there twice, and every time I have enjoyed the food and the restaurant and so does my friends and family. If I were to compare this restaurant to little Italy, which is a small area in lower Manhattan essentially for Italian restaurants. I would still prefer carmines, because the experience and the friendly environment at carmines is just pleasant. The service at carmines is the best, waitresses help recommend meals for the number of parties that attend as well as have enough patience to explain the meals. Finally, I want to take about price, surprisingly carmines is not expensive and very affordable. Their large meals are usually around thirty something dollars. I mean think about it what’s better than that perfect food and perfect PRICE!!!! I think that carmines should be if it is not already one of the popular places in NYC that foreigners must try when they visit.

Bel Air Diner

On this post am going to talk about diners and the fact that I consider them authentic American restaurants. One of my favorite diners is called Bel Air it is located in New York City, Queens. Every time I come there it literally feels like home, not in the sense that am feeling like am back to my country, but it feels cozy and comfortable. The environment in the diner just makes me able to have deep thoughts and conversations. Also, the fact  the environment around me consists of noise of people talking and little sound of music makes the experience feel even more unique and comfortable for me. Unlike regular restaurants where there is sometimes loud music that even prevents me from hearing the person next to me. I am personally a quite person and I like quite and peaceful places, therefore diners are perfect for me. Now let's talk food ! 

I wanna start by saying that almost all diners have  good food but not top quality food , however Bel Air is a different case. The food there is good ,not only really good but also their meals are served in large quantities and unlimited drink refills, which is another plus for me. Thus, that is one of the things that makes this restaurant feel like home for me, I can have as much food and drinks as I want exactly as if am home. 

Now finally, I wanna say that coming from North Africa specifically from libya has made me feel the similarity between the American culture and my own culture. The American restaurants tend to have large foods and drinks. Whenever, I go to an American restaurant I notice that. This is one of the things that has made me fall in love with the American culture, is the generosity of foods, which is the similar thing to my culture. In my culture, we also tend to serve guests large quantities of food even if we know they are not going to eat all the food, but for us it is a sign of generosity and good hospitality. Similarly, this is the case with American restaurants which are of course a representation of the American culture. 

Authentic Chinese Restaurant

 My experience at the Chinese restaurant is a unique experience and different from any other experience I have had before especially with restaurants that am trying for the first time. It was the first time ever in my life that I was not able to eat anything. Although, my friend who was with me at the time convinced me that the food is really good and I should give it a try, because she saw that I was very hesitant to eat anything. So, eventually I did try one of the weirdest dishes I have ever tried, which was chicken feet, yes you heard me right CHICKCEN FEET! As soon as I put it in my mouth I had to take it out immediately, it was the most disgusting thing I have ever tried. The chicken feet I believe were soaked in some sort of soy sweet sauce, and they barely had any meet on them. Also, just so that people do not misunderstand me I like Chinese food especially shrimp and chicken dumplings but this restaurant was not like any of the ones I have tried before in NYC. The other dish that I have also found disgusting is some sort of noodle sheets you can see it in the picture soaked in soy sauce. It had a very weird gooey texture and barely any flavor. The only thing I have genuinely liked from this restaurant is the Chinese tea. The reason am saying this story is because I really find it interesting that not only restaurants of different countries are different in NYC but also restaurants of the same cuisine can be different, in this case not all Chinese restaurants in NYC are the same. Also, the other thing that I want to mention is our likeness for food depends on where we are from originally and what we are used to eating growing up.