Trattoria Trecolori

As we ate our Italian meal last night to kick off our World Cup challenge, we started thinking about the Italian meal that we had during the last World Cup challenge. It's kind of funny that this time we started with Italy, but last time Italy was the very last meal that we had for the challenge, a dinner on the eve of the World Cup final. That time we visited Trattoria Trecolori, a spot in Midtown that has good food and reasonable prices, and is very popular with the pre-theater crowd. 

We started off with some complimentary bread and butter.

And also some free olives.

We split an appetizer - a caprese salad - which had excellent mozzarella alongside tomatoes, basil, and balsamic glaze.

For my entree, I got the lasagna of the day, which was lasagna with sweet Italian sausage ragu. It wasn't remotely healthy, but it was delicious. The portion size was also very reasonable, enough to fill you up but not so much that you felt too stuffed like you'd have to roll home.

A got the gnocchi of the day, which was spinach gnocchi with sweet Italian sausage (clearly we were in the mood for sweet Italian sausage), sundried tomato, and a Gorgonzola cheese sauce. Gnocchi, especially when covered in a cheese sauce, is heavy. But A really likes gnocchi, and he was very happy with the melding of saltiness from the sausage and cheese and sweetness from the sundried tomatoes.

To finish off the meal, we ordered a tiramisu, which is one of A's favorite desserts. A enjoyed it as expected. It was a really good offering with not too much cream on top and with delicately soaked ladyfingers. M isn't a huge fan of tiramisu, but she liked this one more than most.

We had a really nice and relaxing meal at Trattoria Trecolori and would go back (even if we haven't gotten around to it in the past 4 years). If you're looking for Italian in the Theater District, we would definitely recommend it. It's always nice looking back at old pictures and reliving old memories (even if you don't remember every detail and taste). That's one thing I really love about doing the World Cup eating challenge for a second time. We get to enjoy this World Cup and relive the last one too!

Chivito d'Oro

July 4th weekend last year was all about the World Cup. We made a lot of progress on our World Cup challenge - hitting up places representing Uruguay, Paraguay, Korea and Greece. (And China too, but they weren't in the World Cup.) To kick off the weekend, one year ago today, we went out to Jackson Heights in search of the only Uruguayan restaurant I could find online, Chivito d'Oro.

When we got there, it was packed. Tons of people hanging out in the street, waiting for tables, eating happily in the restaurant. The atmosphere was festive. Uruguay had beat Ghana earlier in the day (yay) and everyone looked like they had been there all day partying. There was lots of blue and one guy even had his own World Cup replica:


There were Uruguay football shirts hanging up all over and lots of Uruguay pride:



At one point while we waited for a table (and here, I was willing to wait), the power went out and the entire place, without any prompting, broke out into a song to which everyone (but us) knew the words. I looked it up later and it's a championship song (which I cannot seem to find on youtube, unless I just can't remember how it goes). It was stuck in my head for days. We were so happy to be there in the midst of all the happy Uruguayans. It was definitely an unforgettable experience and a perfect example of why we wanted to do our World Cup challenge in the first place. It's too bad our country doesn't do this for World Cup celebrations. Seeing all of that Uruguayan pride was awesome. This place had so much pride that they were on the news, where the media filmed everyone celebrating during the game.

We had no idea what we wanted to get, but looking around, it looked like the place for grilled meats. Platter after platter of grilled meat arrived on the table. I was looking for something a little lighter so I investigated other parts of the menu. To start, each table got a basket of grilled bread:


It was nice and warm, with a crispy exterior. A good start to the meal.

A also decided to go for the beer that everyone was drinking - Pilsen, an Uruguayan beer:


All the entrees came with ensalada rusa:


Ensalada rusa (technically translated as "Russian salad") is a potato salad with carrots and peas. I think sometimes other ingredients are included too, but this version just had carrots and peas. Not sure if this is just a South American thing, as we have also had it in Colombian restaurants.

If at a grilled meat place, we should try the grilled meats, right?


The plate included skirt steak, short rib and chorizo. A loved his feast. The meat was perfectly grilled, full of flavor and very juicy. He said he would definitely get it again. I tried the chorizo. It was great. They also have grilled meat plates with blood sausage and other types of meats, so there are plenty of options.

I wasn't in the mood for a plate full of chorizo (and don't eat steak) so I went for a chicken dish, pollo al champignon:


I ordered chicken and mushrooms thinking it would be something like a marsala, so I was surprised when it came out in a cream sauce. Add that to the ensalada rusa and it was a lot of creamy food. So filling. Half of it came home with us and made for some tasty leftovers.

Our experience at Chivito d'Oro, along with lunch later in the weekend at I Love Py, were two of our favorite World Cup outings. The food was excellent and the meals were just so much fun. I hate how fast time goes by but I am anxiously anticipating the next World Cup. I wish it happened every year!

ESPN Match Truck

During the 2010 World Cup, ESPN had a brilliant idea. Since most of the games were during the day, when people were stuck in their offices, why not get a food truck (ah, the good old days before the midtown food truck crackdown), mount a TV on top and serve breakfast and lunch to fans? And it would work on the weekends too -- just head out to popular locations and the crowd will follow!

Vuvuzelas! Sorry for the poor picture quality - camera was broken, was using my blackberry and I hadn't yet realized that the camera on the blackberry needed to be cleaned
One year ago today, I went to the ESPN Match Truck for my first and only visit (more on that later). USA had played earlier in the day and won, and lunchtime coincided with the start of the Germany-Ghana game. I had some time and trekked across town to get to the truck, which was parked all the way on Lex (I work in Midtown West). There was a crowd the entire time, steadily increasing as the game got started.

View while indulging in my World Cup meal
The match truck offered a bunch of different breakfast and lunch items, each representing a country playing in the tournament. I was intrigued by breakfast, for which they offered silver dollar pancakes, tortilla espanola and huevos rancheros, but I was there for lunch.

The lunch options sounded even better. I wanted to try everything! There was a carne asada burrito for Mexico, a lamb gyro for Greece, and yaki mandoo dumplings for Korea. The three that interested me most were the seared rice balls for Italy (which came with vegetables), the bunny chow for South Africa (chicken curry in a hollowed out bun) and the sliders (mini hamburgers with Kogi ketchup). Since the US had won their match, and since I was still trying to eat food in honor of a country playing that day, I went with the sliders.

2 sliders in one order for $6
And a closer look:


These were so good. The sliders were topped not only with Kogi ketchup (which was tasty) but with kimchi and cheese. I immediately wanted more but they weren't cheap and I wasn't really hungry enough for another set. After eating and watching some of the game, I decided that I had to go back to the truck again to try some more.

The weekend after I tried the sliders we went to the NY Food Film Festival where they were having a food truck drive-in. The match truck was listed as a participant and I kept telling A all about how good the sliders were. However, when we got there, they weren't there, and they never showed up. It was like they just bailed on the event and we weren't good enough for them! It was incredibly disappointing as we kept checking on twitter and found that they just went somewhere else instead. We were doubly upset because we had planned to watch the game on their TV and then had to scramble to find another place to watch at the last minute.

Soon, their time on the streets was over and our chance to get the sliders was gone (and A never got to try them). Unfortunately, my memory of the sliders is less positive than it was on the day I tried them after that food festival debacle. Sad, because they really were good.

I wish something like the match truck would happen again, but with the food truck crackdown, it seems unlikely. But mostly, I just miss the World Cup. There's something different about the summers when the world joins together for one sporting event. Something I love. Looking forward to 2014!

Farewell Barros Luco

This morning, while catching up on blogs, M came across the news on Grub Street that Barros Luco, a Chilean spot on the east side, had closed. The news of their closing made us very sad.

What Barros Luco was most known for was their Chilean sandwiches, such as the chacarero (usually, a sandwich of thinly sliced meat with, among other things, tomatoes, green beans and peppers) and the namesake barros luco (usually, a sandwich with beef and melted cheese). They also had Chilean hot dogs and empanadas but unfortunately, we never got to try those.


The first time we finally had a chance to go to Barros Luco was about a year ago for lunch on A's birthday. We were going to be on the east side and it was a great choice for lunch. We both got sandwiches, took them to the dining room upstairs and watched the Olympics while eating (mostly ski jump).


M got the chacarero - chicken, string beans, tomato, mayo, cheese, avocado and banana peppers. It was delicious and filling. Since it was full of vegetables, it also felt really healthy.


A got the churrasco italiano, which came with chicken, mayo, tomato and avocado. Basically it was the chacarero without the cheese, string beans or peppers. A liked this one too. M loved the extra vegetables that came in hers.


We don't live very close to Barros Luco so we didn't really get over there that often. If we lived in the neighborhood, we would probably have been there so much more often.

M did make it back there once after our visit together. Several other times she thought about going, but just didn't have enough time. But on this occasion, Chile was playing in the World Cup, and M was still trying to have lunch in honor of a country playing each day. The only places we could think of for our World Cup challenge for Chile were Barros Luco and Pomaire (which we went to for dinner during the World Cup). Barros Luco was about a mile walk from M's office (and even further from A's), but on Chile's first day of group play in the World Cup, M made the trek and was rewarded with an awesome chacarero sandwich.


It even stayed intact for the entire mile walk back! It wasn't soggy or anything. It made M happy.

You can even see the Univision World Cup page (Copa Mundial de la Fifa!) behind the sandwich:


We're so sad that the restaurant is closed and we never had another chance to go back. It's really one of the best sandwiches we had in NYC, and if we had known they were closing, we would have definitely found the time to make another trip. It just seemed like such a great place with lots of Chilean pride - they had parties for World Cup games, they had an event for the miners and they celebrated their cuisine with awesome sandwiches. Barros Luco, we'll miss you.

North Korean

New Zealand, Slovakia, Cote d'Ivoire, Portugal, Brazil, North Korea.

Those were my choices for a World Cup lunch on Tuesday, June 15th. Not an easy bunch to choose from. New Zealand, the only place I knew about was Nelson Blue at the seaport downtown. Slovakia, we had already done by going to the beer garden, and I didn't know a place near work anyway. The only Ivory Coast spot I knew of was in East Harlem. Nothing Portuguese near the office (that I know of). I work near Little Brazil -- but none of those places really have take-out (that I know of). And North Korean, the New York Times even wrote an article about how they have no restaurants, no fans and nowhere for anyone to go to support them in their World Cup run. (Can't find the link right now.)

We decided for our World Cup challenge, since it was definitively stated in the article that there were no North Korean places to eat in the entire city, that to fulfill the "requirements" we would just go for Korean food twice and consider it done. I'm not sure of the difference between North and South Korean food, but since there isn't anywhere to go to figure it out, it was the best solution we could come up with.

So, for my World Cup lunch, Korean seemed like the best option. I headed over to Pro Korean (I'm not actually sure if it's Pro Korean or Pro Hot Korean), which is my go-to Korean place since I can't always walk to K-Town. They have pre-made boxes, which is what I usually get, but I thought it would be a nice time to finally try their bibimbap.


Bibimbap is one of my favorite Korean dishes. Rice, vegetables, meat and sauce. When we're at a sit-down restaurant, we love getting it in the hot stone bowl. They had a version of the hot stone bowl for take-out at Pro Korean, but I figured since it was the first time I was ordering bibimbap here, maybe I would save the hot stone bowl for next time. The bibimbap also came with a miso soup on the side for free.


All mixed together, with a little bit of sauce, the bibimbap was the perfect lunch (and quite filling). Although Pro Korean's not that close to the office either, a nice walk in nice weather for good food is fine with me. One Korean World Cup visit done (for me)!

Pro Korean is located on West 56th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues.

Chiyoda

Japanese or Italian?

During the days of World Cup group play (and whenever else I could), I tried to eat lunch for a country playing that day. Way back on June 14, the only real options for lunch were Japanese or Italian. (Nothing Dutch, Danish, Cameroonian or Paraguayan around.) I decided on Japanese food and headed over to Chiyoda.


I couldn't decide which donburi I wanted and eventually decided on the chicken don. First time getting this at Chiyoda and I'm not sure I will again (unless I have access to a microwave). The chicken was good and well-flavored, but the rice was kind of hard. I think the rice in the donburi at Zaiya is much better -- much softer.


I've mentioned the side order refrigerated case at Chiyoda before. This time, they had kaminari tofu, a combination of tofu squares with vegetables. I really like this side but they don't always have it. It tastes light and healthy, and is full of good nutritious stuff.

This lunch helped me check off two things in the World Cup challenge - a Japanese meal and a Japanese meal on the day of a Japanese game (they won, by the way). And it was a much easier choice than the next day would be!

Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi

Sunday, June 13th, Australia played its first match of the World Cup against a strong Germany team. It was not pretty. We didn't get to watch, but we certainly heard/read about the massacre on the field. 4-0 Germany, the first major blowout of the tournament, the game that marked Germany as one of the teams to beat. How do you celebrate such an amazing defeat? Go to an Australian restaurant of course! Off to The Sunburnt Calf to partake in some good old Aussie goodness.


The Sunburnt Calf has a "counter meal" which is $25 for an appetizer, entree and dessert
Right off the bat, we walked in behind a couple consisting of a German male and a Brazilian female. The owner of the restaurant jokingly kicked the German fan out before seating them at the bar per their request. For our dinner, we asked to be seated in the back. Initial impression, that place is dark. Not a lot of lights, but with the large windows in the ceiling, we imagined that it was quite nice in the daylight.

Neither of us had any real experience with Australian food in New York (Outback doesn't count) so we really didn't know what to expect. A was looking to try some Australian beers because he loves trying foreign beers, especially from the countries they've been eating. Sadly, with the game earlier, all of their Coopers drafts were empty. A had to settle for a bottle of Coopers Pale Ale.

M ordered the Calamari Oz Style, and A started with their Shrimp on the Barbie. The kiwi and jalapenos added an interesting flavor to the calamari, but in the end, the calamari was still calamari. The shrimp was interesting. Good flavor, good spices, and it was more refreshing than the pictures appear.


Calamari on the left, shrimp on the right
For entrees M got the Barramundi, and A got the Steak and Fries, medium rare. The fish was flaky and flavorful. The accompanying salad was light and refreshing, and it also added a "freshness" to the dish. The steak was cooked well, and the fries were crisped perfectly on the outside. The sauce really made the steak and had a mild sweetness to it. Not the best steak A had ever had, but again, the sauce made it very enjoyable. The steak came with a side of broccoli with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top as well. Out of everything that came so far, M liked the fries the best.


Barramundi on the left, steak and broccoli on the right
For dessert, M got the Peach Melba, and A got the sundae. It was agreed between the two of us that the Peach Melba was the tastier of the two, but both were ice cream based treats to end up the meal. The grilled peach was very tasty, and A did his best to steal as much as he could, but he couldn't steal too much. The sundae was, well, a sundae. Yes it had kiwi and macadamia nuts, but it was still, in the grand scheme of things, just a sundae.


Peach melba on the left, sundae on the right
Generally, we thought the meal was OK. The food was good but nothing so special that we wanted to run back the next day. (In contrast, if a Burmese place were to open with food as good as the food festivals, we would be lining up the next day waiting for it to open.) Maybe next time we'll try different dishes.

The Sunburnt Calf is located on West 79th Street between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway.

Kafana

After the exciting USA-England game, it was time to figure out what to do for dinner. We had an unlimited Metrocard for the day so we definitely wanted to go somewhere not in walking distance. After some research, we decided to try Serbian food for our next World Cup meal. Neither of us had ever had Serbian food before, and the team was playing the next day. Perfect!

The obvious choice appeared to be Kafana in the East Village. They were open late (and we were having a late dinner after the feasting at the beer garden) and people really seemed to enjoy their experiences there.

As we approached the restaurant, we noticed a huge crowd outside. The place looked packed. We had some back-up options, but really wanted to try something different and new. Luckily the wait wasn't very long (just to clear and set up new tables) and most of the crowd was just leaving the restaurant.


The meal started with complimentary bread which came with a red pepper spread:


We ordered an appetizer, which was a special for the day. It was corn on the cob with a creamy cheese spread:


The spread was delicious, and who could go wrong with corn on the cob? None of the extra spread went to waste, since we had leftover bread after finishing the red pepper spread. Really, really good dish.

Then it was time for our main courses.

A got a lamb and spinach stew called jagnjeca kapama. The hearty stew had a mild but well-seasoned flavor, and the lamb wasn't very gamey. A thought it was very good, especially with the bread -- of which we unfortunately ate too much!


M got something called prebranac sa seljackom kobasicom. It was traditional baked beans with peasant sausage. M's eyes lit up when they brought it over because the "baked beans" (which she had pictured as baked beans like those you eat with hot dogs) were instead the giant white beans that she loves from various Mediterranean restaurants. This dish is like comfort food. It makes you feel warm and cozy inside, and the flavors were excellent.


Although everything was good, our 2 favorites were probably the corn special and the peasant sausage with baked beans, with a slight edge to the sausage and beans. We kept eyeing all the food arriving on the other tables because we would love to go back to Kafana to try more dishes. So much of it looked good!

Have you ever had Serbian food? Any recommendations?

Kafana is located in the East Village on Avenue C between East 7th and 8th Streets. It's open late on Fridays and Saturdays (1 am). Cash only.

USA USA USA

The day finally came for any US World Cup fan. USA-England to open up group play. For this momentous occasion, a simple restaurant or bar would never do. Luckily, one of A's coworkers had organized a get-together in Astoria.

Off we went to Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden to cheer on team USA, eat bad-for-you food, and drink copious amounts of beer.

Immediately when we arrived, we searched out our friends, staked our claim on the table they had acquired, and went off to grab some beers. M started with a glass/cup of Pilsner Urquell while A grabbed a pitcher of "Slovakia's finest" Golden Pheasant to "share". A had hoped to write more about each beer, but sadly it has been too long.

Eventually we ordered food. The menu had lots of choices, and we had a hard time figuring out what it was we really wanted to eat.


We were quite excited that, in our World Cup challenge, this could cover USA and Slovakia! (Although we weren't really that concerned about the USA part of the challenge...)

We decided on fries and onion rings (USA!) and klobasa and bratwurst (Slovakia!). Armed with this choice, A marched off to the grill to place the order. A knew that there was still a fair amount of time before the game was to start, but the line was very long, and it wasn't moving very quickly. Luckily enough A returned with the food right before the game started so he didn't have to miss a second of the action.


The food itself was nothing special: fries were fries, onion rings were thick and crispy, and the sausages were good but nothing really special... but hey, it satisfied two countries.

We don't think a recap of the game is necessary. If you didn't watch it then, you probably don't care about it now. During the game, though, a call was made (twice) for $10 pitchers. Regular price is only $15, but discounts are discounts. A was designated as the runner for the group, and he quickly made it up, throwing elbows, and generally using his size advantage. He considered diving to get ahead, but there were no refs present. In the end, an employee tapped him on the shoulder and informed him he was the last customer for the $10 pitchers. Success!

We really wish we could remember what two beers A was able to procure. One was a blond ale that M really liked and was hoping to get outside of the beer garden. The other was darker, but still light and crisp. The menu is sadly of no use as those two were not listed, and they seemed like either specials for that day or only available on the satellite taps.

It was a great afternoon - gorgeous weather, fun with friends and World Cup excitement. What a great kickoff (no pun intended) to a month of soccer!

World Cup Tally

The World Cup is over! So, how did we do in our World Cup challenge?

Out of 32 countries, we visited:

Australia
Chile
Spain
Germany
Greece
Italy
Japan
Korea (once for each country)
Mexico
New Zealand
Paraguay
South Africa
Serbia
Slovakia
Uruguay
United States

We made it to 17, more than half. Success!

The rest of the recaps to come!

Menina Mash

On the second day of the World Cup, I wanted to get up early to watch South Korea and Greece play, but 7:30 am was a little too early to get up, even for something that only comes around every 4 years.

I decided to get my third World Cup "meal" as a snack on the way to the beer garden to watch the USA-England game (more on that in a later post). We don't live far from Poseidon Bakery, the Hell's Kitchen institution that sells awesome pies. One needs lunch, or at the very least a snack, before going to a beer garden, right?

A sampling of some of Poseidon's pies
The Menina Mash pie is one of my favorites (and the first one I ever tried). It's full of flavor and full of healthy vegetables. The outside of the pie is always perfectly flaky and the pies are stuffed full. I have on occasion walked all the way here from work to get pies for lunch, and even though we live nearby and can go anytime, we always get a pie during the 9th Avenue food fair. They're really good. And the people there are so nice. Sometimes they have free samples (I had a dessert one once).

Blurry Menina Mash pie (we were walking!)
Even though it's 1:30 am and I need to sleep (and am too full of tabouli to be hungry), now I want a Menina Mash pie. If it's any cooler tomorrow (unlike the past few days hitting the century mark), maybe I'll get one for lunch. Yum.

Poseidon Bakery is located in Hell's Kitchen on 9th Avenue between 44th and 45th Streets. They're not open late.

* For those keeping track of the World Cup tally, together we've gone to 1 (South Africa) and I've made it to 3 (Mexico, South Africa, Greece).

Braai

Jumping back to the opening day of the World Cup...

Our first World Cup meal together was dinner on opening day, and we decided to try South African cuisine for the first time. We went to the South African restaurant in our neighborhood, Braai. A had been to their sister wine bar, Xai Xai, before, but only for drinks. We were excited to try it, especially to sample the flavors - which are a mix between indigenous cultures and influences from Portugal, France, Germany, Holland, India and Malaysia, among others, and dinner did not disappoint!


When we got there, the restaurant was packed and noisy, and there were a lot of large groups. People had clearly been partying all day for the World Cup and were ready to kick off the weekend. We started with some drinks. There was a giant jar of sangria on the bar, so M started with that, while A went for a pinot noir. The sangria was nice and refreshing. A had the pinot noir when he went to Xai Xai and remembered it being good.


The meal started with an amuse - a mini samosa. It was the perfect bite-size snack. We hadn't ordered the samosas (even though we wanted to try them) so we were happy we got to try it!

We shared two appetizers: the Braai salad ("Die Braai Slaai") and the chicken sosatie. We wanted to try the sliders, but they were out of everything other than lamb, and by the end of our dinner, they had even run out of lamb! Next time.

Clockwise from top left: mini samosa, Braai salad, sambals, chicken sosatie
The Braai salad was composed of "seasonal oranges, goat cheese and roasted garlic over rocket salad complimented by a rooibos herb dressing" (according to the menu). It was light and the dressing was an interesting flavor that we had never had before. Although good, we might not get this again next time, but that's mostly because the sosatie was delicious and we want to try more of those.

Sosaties are skewers. The chicken sosatie was "dukkah crusted chicken with pineapple in an Indian curry yogurt." The chicken also came with sambals (fruit chutney, mint jelly, banana-coconut, cucumber-yogurt dill, mango-coriander salsa). This might have been M's favorite thing all night. It was full of complex flavors and we wanted more!

For the main courses, M got the "prawns peri-peri", which according to the menu were "grilled Mozambican prawns marinated in a peri-peri sauce and served with basmati-saffron rice." A got one of the specials (so we don't have a detailed description) but it was rack of lamb with spinach and pap.

Prawns on the left, lamb on the right
The server told M that the prawns were going to be very spicy, but M found them to be more flavorful than spicy. She also hadn't heard the server when he said they came with the shells on, so the dish turned out to be messier than planned, but it was still very good. M would probably get something else next time, since there are so many options on the menu (like the chicken bobotie, which the table next to us got, and which looked delicious).

A really liked the lamb special. Excellently spiced and perfectly cooked, the balance between spice and flavor worked very well. Paired with the spinach and pap, it made for a very hearty and flavorful meal. A would definitely like to try this again, but being a special, that may not happen. M enjoyed the spinach and pap as well, and A was happy to share his spinach and pap in return for the heads from the prawns on M's dish.

We ended the meal with 2 desserts: the melktert for A and the koeksisters for M. The melktert was a "firm milk custard tart dusted with cinnamon and sweet spice over a biscuit tart crust." The koeksisters was "sweetly spiced dough pastry in orange yogurt mousse and rooibos ginger honey sauce with tropical fruit sorbet." A nice light end to the meal.

Koeksisters on the left, melktert on the right
M's favorite dish all night was probably the chicken sosatie. A's was also the chicken sosatie, but the lamb entree was a very close second. It was a good meal for our first South African adventure, and it was a great way to kick off our World Cup eating extravaganza. There are so many other things we want to try so we will definitely be back!

Braai is located on 51st Street between 8th and 9th Avenues.

I Love Paraguay

We had been planning to do our World Cup recaps in order, but lunch today was so delicious that we have to skip ahead to tell you all about it.

Since Paraguay's first game in the World Cup, M had been searching online to find a Paraguayan restaurant in NYC. We found a bakery/cafe in Sunnyside called I Love Py, another place in Brooklyn that appears to have closed down ... and that's it. We decided to take advantage of the extra day off for Independence Day to head out to Sunnyside to visit I Love Py. We were hoping it would be open and we were in luck!

When we got there, the cafe was about half-full of small groups indulging in Paraguayan dishes and watching the news about the World Cup. (It was amusing when they started talking about the Paraguayan team; the place went silent as everyone watched the news.) We looked through the menu and zeroed in on the section for Paraguayan specialties. After that, the difficult part was just figuring out what to choose!

The one thing we knew we were going to get was chipa guazu, a Paraguayan corn pie filled with fresh corn, onions, eggs and some other stuff. It was recommended to M on Twitter by someone in Paraguay during her Paraguayan restaurant search, and we had to try it. Although we tried many good things during lunch, this was probably our favorite thing.

The chipa guazu was light and fluffy. You could see (and taste) the corn kernels, as well as the onions and eggs. It was similar to a light quiche with a bit of creaminess to it. Delicious.

Since the restaurant advertises their empanadas in the window, we also tried a few of those (carne, pollo y queso) and one of the croquetas de carne.

Of these, the chicken was probably our favorite, followed closely behind by the ground beef. Both came with well-seasoned meat and a hard boiled egg inside. The cheese was nice and gooey but we definitely preferred the meat empanadas. The croquette was soft and tasty, with meat very similar to the ground beef empanada.

The last thing we got was also on the Paraguayan specialty menu, something called mbeyu. We had never heard of this before and looked it up online from the cafe. According to websites, it's a traditional "starch cake" that might be made with cassava (farina) or manioc flour. We didn't realize how heavy it would be, and decided to try it.

This was probably our least favorite but it wasn't bad. We had started out with the most seasoned foods (the chipa guazu and chicken empanada) so maybe we would have felt differently if we started with the mbeyu. We thought it might be good on the side of soup, but since the temperatures were in the high 90s ... soup was not part of the plan for lunch.

We didn't try any of the drinks (they have lots of juices), but it seemed like everyone else there was drinking two-liter bottles of Guarana Brazilia. Maybe we should try that next time.

Not only was all of the food great, but it was really affordable. Everything we got, including tax and tip, came out under $20! It felt like such a steal.

If you're looking to try Paraguayan food, we highly recommend going to I Love Py. Not just because it's the only Paraguayan place we could find in the city, but because it's good. Definitely try the chipa guazu and some of the empanadas. We plan to go back for more of those!

I Love Py is located at 43-16 Greenpoint Avenue in Sunnyside, Queens. It's a short walk from the 46 St stop on the 7 train.