Wednesday, January 27, 2016

E.A.T - New York City, NY

E.A.T is a quaint eatery on Madison Avenue, only a few steps from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and several blocks from the Guggenheim in New York City's Upper East Side.

E.A.T is owned by Eli Zabar Incorporated. If that name sounds familiar to you, it should. Eli Zabar is the brother of Saul Zabar, the current president of Zabar's. Zabar's is a famous speciality food store in Manhattan, frequently referenced in the media on shows like Seinfeld, The Nanny, Friends, etc...  If E.A.T is anything like Zabar's, it has a lot of potential.

Right as you walk into E.A.T, you enter the "eat-to-go" section (take out). After you stroll past all the various succulent take out items, you arrive at the back of the restaurant. This is where you can sit down and dine in (pictured on the left and right).

All orders come with Eli's complementary bread. The bread basket was phenomenal, a huge slab of butter with a diverse group of bread to choose from.

Our orders came out in what seemed like a "New York minute".

E.A.T. has its own logo on napkins!

Charles selected the chicken vegetable soup. The flavor wasn't as potent as he would have liked it to be, leaning more to the dull side. Charles also said that the soup consisted mostly of broth and commented how there weren't as many vegetables as he would have liked. He would have enjoyed the dish if it was more hearty.

My father ordered the vegetable chili. As well as having a spicy kick, the soup was very substantial and filled to the brim with flavor. The small amount of sour cream on the top was a nice touch to this incredible dish. He would definitely choose this entree again.

 My mother decided to have the vegetable frittata with fresh salad greens. My mom thought the dish was a tremendous blend of asparagus, eggplant, and an assortment of other vegetables. In addition, the skinny layer of gruyere cheese that rests on top of the thin crispy crust really tied the delicious meal together. While the frittata defied my mother's expectations, the fresh salad greens was a different story. When the meal arrived, the fresh salad greens came without dressing. So, we had to ask for it. When the waiter came with the salad dressing, we were served a mustard vinaigrette that was heavy on the mustard.

I selected the turkey club with cole slaw. This sandwich consisted of bread, lettuce, tomato, turkey, prosciutto, gruyere cheese, and mayo. I will say that lettuce took up about half of this sandwich, but I love lettuce so I'm not complaining. I would have liked to have a bit more mayo with my sandwich because I thought the turkey was somewhat dry. However, the sweet and delicate prosciutto makes up for it.

 Although we didn't try any desserts, they do look like they had a nice arrangement.
How cool is this?

We talked to the waiter and he stated that the grilled cheese on sourdough and the tuscan peasant soup are a popular choice among customers (Food Network even gave this combination a great review).

Since my family and I only touched upon the tip of the iceberg of food here, I would definitely come back for another meal.

One last note - the restaurant is located in an upscale Upper East Side neighborhood and the restaurants in this area cater to this crowd. Even though this is a cool little eatery, the food prices are more expensive than the normal elevated NYC prices.

- Thomas Regnante

E.A.T. Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato