A few days ago, one of my favorite restaurants – TGIFriday’s let us experienced a taste of New York. The popular American Restaurant pays a fitting tribute to the bustling city that gave birth to some of the world’s delicious eats with 6 dishes that made New York famous.

New York on my plate took me to different places and history of New York. Take for example, Bronx where is home to New York’s real “Little Italy”.  (side story, read about my favorite Italian Buffet restaurant) If we have Chinatown in Mnaila, Bronx has Little Italy complete with authentic Italian ristorantes, pastry shops and pizzerias. To bring us to the fine Italian experience, we were served with TGIFriday’s Bronx Crispy Chicken Parmesan Meatballs. 

Imagine meatballs stuffed with mozzarella swimming in a sea of marinara sauce, marinated tomatoes and parmesan crisps. I can order a plate of penne pasta and it is a complete meal for me!

A lot of my friends have told me once and again that when walking in the streets of New York, one must eat hotdogs! It seems that there is no need for me to visit the Big Apple to taste whats’s in the streets. The Madison Hotdog gives a twist of gourmet in this signature street food with juicy char grilled Andouille sausage in herb bun topped with pickled cucumber and made perfect with classic combination of mustard and mayonnaise.

And when we talk about American food, burgers are always present. I love burgers and I would never get tired of eating burgers. Drumroll please for the TGIFriday’s Big Apple Burger. It pains me to think and calculate how much calories it has per bite. It is flame grilled premium burger patty with sauteed onions gruyere cheese, grilled cheese, grilled pancetta and apple mustard. Don’t forget fries on the side. Am I in burger heaven?

For Filipinos who love their rice, there’s Crusted Tilapia and Jalapeno Shrimps  and Manhattan Sausage Stuffed Chicken. 

TGIFriday’s recreates a dish inspired by borough with the exquisite Queens Almond Crusted Tilapia and Jalapeno Shrimp. I love the delightful flavor of tilapia mixed with sauteed Cajun Shirmps perfectly blended with lemon cream sauce, served with rice pilaf.

The Manhattan Sausage Stuffed Chicken is a must-order for meat-lovers. Imagine plump and juicy chicken breasts stuffed with Italian sausage and cheese. A new twist to the favorite Chicken Cordon Bleu I must say. It is perfect with rice pilaf and pesto cream. I am quite surprised with myself. I am no fan of pesto but I love how it tempers the flavor of the chicken. 

For dessert, there’s milkshake! 

Side story, back when I was in Indonesia, it was funny when a friend from US found it weird for our Indian friend to order milkshake as a drink accompaniment for a meal. Well, we say, in Manila (and also in India), we consider milkshake as any other drink (like soft drinks or juice which we drink together with a meal). In the US, they consider it as dessert. Interesting #culturaldifference 🙂

Anyway, this thick and creamy goodness is just calling my name now! TGIFriday’s call it the

Broadway Peanut Butter Jelly Milkshake. 

The favorite mix of peanut butter and jelly is made into a sinful concoction of vanilla ice cream layered with blueberry jelly, whipped cream and peanut butter jelly crust.  The presentation deserves an applause and guests are given the freedom to enjoy it whichever way they like it – dunk it, with big bite or lick the jelly off first!

These dishes will be available at TGIFriday’s from September 16 to November 30, 2015. 

Post your  TGIFriday’s Taste of New York experience with hashtag #TGIFridaysTONY

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Check out www.fridays.com.ph for complete menu. 

**All pictures taken using Lenovo Vibe Shot processed with VSCO app
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