Late Night at Grill 212
212 W 80th St, New York, NY 10024 – (212) 724-7455
Thanks for all the helpful and supportive comments to our first blog post! So many of you wrote to us (thanks dad for the facebook plug), and we learned a lot from your comments so please keep writing.
Our dad is so excited about our new blog project, he told us he would take us out to eat — just so we could write about it on our blog! So after our younger siblings went to bed and we finished our chores, we ran downstairs to tell him we were ready to go. He let us to pick the restaurant, and of course, we both picked different places. So we flipped a coin, and I (Shoshana) won! We were going to my first choice: Deli Kasba. Deli Kasba is one of my favorite places for sushi.
So we got in the car and on our way there drove past a new place called Grill 212. A general rule in our family is to try out new restaurants ASAP because in Manhattan, you never know how long a new restaurant will last. So, of course, we decided to try it out. Before we even parked, we remembered our friend, Esther Pearl Marks lives one block away from where we were. She just graduated Columbia and is leaving in a few weeks back to California –perfect excuse for a celebration, and we called to invite her to eat with us. She was there within five minutes of hanging up the phone.
Meanwhile we were having our own drama in the car! We had a parking space right across the street from the restaurant and were about to get out of the car and walk into 212 when a woman asked us if we wanted to trade parking spaces because she needed to be on this side of the street for the next day. So we got back in the car to move spaces. This is what you might call a typical NY mitzvah. However, when we drove up to the empty space across the street which she asked a woman to hold for us, another driver wanted to park her moving truck there, and we couldn’t park there. Thanks to our dad’s patience and superior diplomatic skills, she gave us the parking space and it all worked out. We ended up walking in at the same time as Esther Pearl.
Our first impression when we walked in was that there didn’t seem to be anyplace to sit. The walls were all white except in the back there was one brick wall. It was very brightly lit, more like a cafeteria than a restaurant. there was a smell or grilling chicken, fried food, and shwarma The overall feel of the place was friendly and family like. We were pleased the restaurant was very clean because sticky tables and seats and dirty floors don’t make for a nice eating experience. There was a simple counter and behind that a grill and a big piece of juicy shwarma turning on a spit. Next to that was a salad bar. But because it was late there were only about eight selections. We walked to the back and discovered a small seating area. We chose a table and started examining the menu.
Delicious, crunchy, moroccan cigars
Grill 212 serves mainly traditional Israeli food which reminds us of Alibaba. After a few minutes, we decided to share orders of Moroccan cigars, fries and sweet potato fries, schnitzel, and salad from the salad bar. A huge plus at Grill 212 is the unlimited salad bar. Let me repeat that, a HUGE plus for salad lovers like myself (Shoshana) is the UNLIMITED salad bar.
We tried to order bourekas and chicken wings and were disappointed they were not being served that night. To ease our disappointment, the man who worked there upgraded our orders of fries to large size orders (even though we only paid for two smalls-yay). That is what we call good customer service or keeping the customers happy. And we were so happy because both types of fries were delicious!
The Moroccan cigars were amazing. But here is the surprise: there was no real meat inside even though it was fleishig because the oil they are cooked in is also used for other fleishig foods. The cigars were spicy and crunchy and served with a big plate of chumus. We had leftovers of these, and two days later, cold and right out of the fridge, the cigars made a great snack according to Esther.
The schnitzel was absolutely amazing! Best schnitzel we have ever eaten! It was breaded and served with pita and the UNLIMITED salad bar. at the salad bar some of the options were Israeli salad, a tad over fried fried onions, and crunchy romaine lettuce.Now you may prefer your schnitzel small and crunchy or like nuggets, but we like ours slightly crispy on the outside and juicy, moist on the inside. Never dry. Never rubbery. Never soaked in oil. These were perfect!
Grill 212 is new and does have some fine tuning to do. The salad plates were small and hard to eat from, and in our opinion should be big to allow more salad on the plate. The appetizer plates are large, but the proportions need adjusting so for example, most of the plate won’t be full of chummus with some cigars on the side.
Tasty assorted cookies
Our group was sitting and talking, enjoying our meal, when the owner of the restaurant, Dovid, brought us a large plate of assorted, hand-made cookies! The cookies were a gift and unexpected and amazing! The cookies were so delicious, they elevate Grill 212 status to one of our new favorites.
Esther and Shoshana With the owners of Grill 212
We had you readers in mind and when we were about to leave, we went behind the counter by the grill and took a photo with the two owners to share with you. We drove Esther Pearl home, and went home all praising the this new restaurant all the way home. We definitely recommend this restaurant to kids. There is also a brunch section on the menu we look forward to trying out on a return visit. Remember to get the cookies when you go!
Kosher Tweens 