Our final day in the Big Apple. After our delightful walk along the Hudson River, we ended up deep in the Financial District of New York City. JT wanted to take me to lunch in the oldest part of the city. We decided on Mad Dog and Beans, a Mexican Cantina. It got mediocre reviews on Yelp, but we really wanted to eat outside and we figured we’d order something simple so they wouldn’t screw it up.
We both ordered the Black Eyed Tuna Salad which was pan seared black eye tuna with sesame seeds, romaine lettuce, diced avocado, radish, orange wedges and a jalapeno ginger dressing ($10). We were both quite pleasantly surprised. See, my theory is to lower your expectations and you will never be disappointed! It doesn’t always work. But the tuna was perfectly cooked, fresh the avocado was creamy and the orange was a wonderful foil for the flavour combinations. The only downfall would have been the dressing, which was tasteless (can’t even guess what it was!).
I really liked the area and will plan to come back on our next trip. But there was another restaurant Smorgas Chef that I would likely try next.
Overall rating of The Mad Dog and Beans (in my opinion): Decor ?/5 (we sat outside and didn’t even go in), service 4:5, food 3/5, Value 4/5, Noise: 4/5 (1 being very noisy, and 5 being very quiet). We paid for our meal in full.
And that concludes our 26th Anniversary trip to New York City. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I’ll leave you with this last photo (an ad for a storage company, but I photoshop’d the ad out). This last photo is for Kristy (Eat, Play, Love), Sissi (With a Glass), Liz (That Skinny Chick can Bake) and Charlie (Hotly Spiced), my ‘shoe sisters’.
Those photos make me miss NYC. I used to live nearby, LI, I guess not the same but it was fun to be able to take occasional trips into the city. Happy Anniversary Eva!
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Thanks Sarah, it was a lovely trip.
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What a fun restaurant name! mad dog and beans!
Amanda
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It was a very nice experience, thanks Amanda.
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Ha! I love the picture Eva!!!! I bought a new pair this weekend (actually two pairs but one is a boring pair for work). The fun pair is totally unlike anything I’ve ever picked out, but I was in need of a change and Miss A totally approved. I think I’ve already created a shoe monster and she’s only 3! đŸ™‚ This sounds like a restaurant Mike and I would enjoy. Really, we’d eat anywhere that has outdoor seating! đŸ™‚
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I know that your trip was terrific. Love the sign…too funny.
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Thank you kindly Karen, it was a very lovely time.
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Liz and I totally take the same approach when visiting subpar reviewed placed. Unfortunately even ordering the simplest of items that seem impossible to screw up doesn’t always work out. đŸ™‚ Love the outdoor seating of the catina
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That’s true, Jed, but it worked out this time. The really bad places don’t make it to the blog, but they get reviewed on yelp and trip advisor for sure. It’s such a nice area in the financial district, so unexpected.
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Shoe sisters…I love it. And as I’m typing from France, I can say that my sore feet have been tres stylish (most of the time!). xo
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How exciting Liz, to be in France, thank you so much for taking the time to comment, very touched that you did. Have a great vaycay! Sore feet are totally worth it particularly in France.
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Hehe love the photos and great photo of your hubby too Eva! đŸ˜€ I don’t think I’ve ever had black eyed tuna-well perhaps I have but under a different name! đŸ™‚
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That tuna looks rather nice – shame about the dressing. It must have been a really interesting area to have lunch in. Some of the streets and buildings look lovely and old and interesting.
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I love the sounds of that salad with tuna, avocado and orange. It has been fun to share your NYC journey. Thanks Eva!
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When in NYC I do so much walking, sneakers are the only foot wear for me. my kids don’t really like to do all that walking but go along because that’s what I like to do in the city.
You sure had a fantastic 26th wedding anniversity celebration!
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That seared tuna looks divine. Perfect for a hot day! Avocado goes so well with rich fish but I’ve never had orange with it before. Makes sense though, since it’s only a step away from lemon which is often seen with fish.
Love the shoes billboard! I guess I have a little NYC in me too.
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Hi Eva,
Your Tuna dish reminds me of a ‘restaurant’ I went to last year where I ordered tuna and asked for it to be rare. The waitress returned to say that it could only come well done-something I hate with fresh tuna. When queried this she actually admitted that the restaurant brought in the tuna pre-cooked and simply warmed it up. The stripes were painted on caramel food colouring to make it appear freshly grilled…I didn’t order the tuna…
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This restaurant looks crazy cool đŸ˜€
I love the rock n rolling style it has!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
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Your lunches looked incredible, Eva! I, too, would have checked out that restaurant, although I doubt I would have ordered the tuna. It really would depend upon what the Yelp reviews said before I’d order fish. And, if I had been with you, I would have seen your tasty looking lunches, gazed down on my platter of nondescript fare, and been thoroughly bummed. đŸ™‚
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Thanks John, you’re right though, salads in themselves are quite tough to make well, we lucked out on this one.
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That saying is absolutely right on… the fashion in New York is incredible. As is the food, even the name of this restaurant suggests it would be a fun and unique dining experience. The salad looks like one I’d enjoy.. it would be fun if you drew up a new dressing for it when you get home:)
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Thanks Smidge, that’s a great idea for a post, I’ll keep it in mind.
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Haha! Thank you, Eva! I suppose one could say the same about Paris I love (and I love it also because of this! I never wear trainers or flip flops anyway), so I would enjoy New York too. Luckily you have made a less risky choice (although I would never risk tuna in many European restaurants… I ended up several times with dry, overcooked thawed piece of something brownish and disgusting). Maybe I’m not very adventurous but now that I think about it, I often restrict my choice only to “low risk” dishes when I go to cheaper restaurants. Thank you for your wonderful NY trip stories! I have greatly enjoyed every single post.
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Thanks Sissi, I’ll have to keep that in mind when we are in Europe; I usually order a Niçoisse in Paris and they make it with Italian tuna in a tin, but it’s usually excellent. Perhaps I’ve just been lucky.
I don’t like wearing trainers (or running shoes) unless I’m at the gym. That’s the hard part about planning my clothes for Paris, figuring out stylish but comfortable shoes that coordinate with my outfits. I can hardly wait for our trip!
I’m really glad you enjoyed this little sojourn to New York; I did a day by day journal from Morocco when we were there last fall and people seemed to enjoy it. I’ll probably do it again at the end of June when we visit our Rock Star bus friends Paul and T. I’ll see if I can get free WIFI in Europe, but even if I don’t I’ll have stories when I return.
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Oh dear – I feel like I’m going to make a bad impression with my exceptionally unstylish self! I find French men’s fashion often really bad – shiny black shoes, “smart” trousers, “salmon” (or rather “pink”) shirts or sweaters… saw a guy wearing dark pink jeans too the other day. They just look uncomfortable
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Eva, I meant fresh tuna (because spoiling the canned tuna is very difficult indeed). Fresh one is often defrosted and awful when one goes to a cheap restaurant (tuna is horribly expensive in Europe, unless it’s canned). I also love salade niçoise!
(I always take ballerinas when I walk a lot in a city).
I cannot answer Charles directly (no “reply” button), but this year very bright jeans are one of the most important items for those who follow fashion (I’m not a fashion specialist though and don’t have brightly coloured jeans yet đŸ˜‰ ).
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That sign is hilarious, Eva, and so appropriate for you.
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Thanks Sharyn, I thought so too!
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Oh dear. Before I go to NYC I’d better throw out my shoes and start again. It seems to me that you’ve had the most wonderful celebration for your 26th wedding anniversary. Did I tell you we celebrated our 26th this year too? And it’s so lovely to see a photo of JT. What a good choice you made! Shame about the dressing on the salad! xx
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I think your shoes would be just fine, Charlie! Didn’t you wear stilettos to lawn blowing, and then just the other day you had that marathon day in new boots, which I’m guessing have heels because flats don’t kill after a few hours?!
Yes, it was a shame about the dressing, but it was that much fewer calories I didn’t consume!
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