Review: Big Easy

A few weeks ago I managed to finally drag myself to the newly opened Covent Garden branch of the American/seafood restaurant Big Easy. Having already visited the Kings Road branch I fell in love and was very excited one had opened a bit nearer to home.

It's not the cheapest of places to eat and is definately a treat option for lunch. But the portions are huge. Absolutely huge! I didn't eat anything for the rest of the day. I opted for the Carolina Pulled Pork and it went down an absolute treat. The BBQ sauce was sticky and tangy and went perfectly with the melt in your mouth pork. The chips were a little bit too well done for my liking but Lily helped me finish them off! The coleslaw had a tasty lemon tang to it and baked beans were moreish.

I'm a sucker for presentation and I loved how everything was served in seperate bowls. The brown greaseproof paper added a great rustic feel to the food. It was fairly busy but not overpowering or too loud. Service was a bit hit and miss. Sarah's main came out quite a while after everyone elses so that was a bit annoying. I think meals should come out all at one rather than in droves.

Next time I visit i'm zoning in on the delicious ribs Aisling chose. The girl did good!

Have you ever been to Big Easy?
 

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NYC Part Two

During the second part of the week we braved a visit over to Bronx Zoo. Despite the reputation you hear we made it out alive! The zoo was a bit of a disappointment and despite the good reviews we'd read it really wasn't that good at all. It was just so large which isn't a bad thing but it seemed to have a serious lack of animals. London Zoo may be ridiculously overpriced but it's 10 times better. Leave the zoo in the guide books if you visit NYC guys!

We also decided to rent bikes and cycle around Central Park. Got to admit I was bullied into this as I was not keen at all but I'm so glad we did it. I really recommend it. You see so much and we did the six miles perimeter in around 2 hours. It hurt like hell but we got to see everything! Of course we refuelled in Hooters after as you do.  We did the majority of our shopping in the last few days. Boy did we shop till we dropped! I was a bit underwhelmed by Macys, I thought Bloomingdales was top notch. A way to comp[are is to say Macys is Debenhams and Bloomingdales would be Selfridges. The service was just so much better in the latter and it was spotless. Just a much nicer shopping experience!

We also visited the Top of the Rock at night. It was absolutely pouring down and unfortunately we couldn't go outside so I didn't get very good pictures. But the view was gorgeous, it was particularly nice to see the Empire State all lit up. Such a beauty! I think I preferred seeing the city at night with all the twinkly lights showing off. I had the most bizarre experience in Time Square that night. We were walking back from dinner in the rain and then all of a sudden it started snowing! SNOWING! We had gotten sunburnt the day before in the park. It was madness! I've got to admit the city's a lot better in the sun!

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NYC - Part one

Looking back at these has made me want to jump on the very next plane back to the Big Apple. I need to go back!

We crammed in so much in just a week and it still wasn't enough. There's so much more I want to see and do. In the first few days we caught a ferry over to Liberty Island where we saw the awe-inspsiring Statue of Liberty before we stopped off at Ellis Island. It was a shame some of it wasn't open (it's still recovering from Hurricane Sandy) but it was still interesting and mind-boggling reading about the sheer number of immigrants that came on those shores. I got to catch my first game of Baseball and I can't say I was overwhelmed. It's very stop and start meaning there are many times throughout the match when no one is playing. It was an experience i'm glad I had but I much prefer seeing a football match!

The view from the Empire State was insane. Up there with one of the best views i've seen hence why i'm grinning like a cheshire cat in the first picture. Like I said I loved Chelsea Village/Meatpacking as it really was picture perfect New York. It was just how I imagined what the city would look like. Rows and rows of brownstones lining the tree filled streets. It was also home to Chelsea Market which i'd love to go back and explore in closer detail. The vintage on sale was just asking for a rummage!

Finally I fulfilled a bucket list wish and rode in a horse and cart around Central Park. We had a charming Irish chap who reeled off random but interesting tibits. It was a tad smelly being sat next to the horse's behind but it was a lovely way to see the park. Pick a sunday like we did as no cars are allowed in the park!

Stay tuned for part two. I took a hell of a lot of pictures!

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