Here's Where Great American Baking Show's Vallery Lomas Likes To Dine Out In NYC
Should you ever find yourself in Manhattan without a plan for where to dine out, celebrity foodies have you covered. When Bobby Flay is craving barbecue, he hits up Mighty Quinn's BBQ in Midtown East or the East Village, but when he wants great pizza, it's Roberta's in Brooklyn all the way (via Spoon University). Or take Le Coucou: The James Beard Award-winning restaurant located in lower Manhattan, which takes a modern spin on French haute cuisine, is one of culinary icon Rachael Ray's favorite restaurants in New York City. However, if you're craving some phenomenal Southern-inflected comfort food after a long day at work or exploring the city sights, then you'll want to jot down Vallery Lomas' favorite New York spot.
Lomas is the Season 3 winner of "The Great American Baking Show" — looks like quitting her 9-5 job really paid off! Since being crowned champion, her blog Foodie in New York has grown exponentially and she's even landed a cookbook deal (per Foodie in New York). As alluded to in the title of her blog, Lomas is a New York foodie through and through, which means she definitely has NYC restaurant recommendations up her sleeve. In an interview with Cuisine Noir Magazine, the lawyer-turned-baker revealed that BLVD Bistro is her ultimate go-to when she's in the mood for comfort food.
Vallery Lomas loves BLVD Bistro
Located along one of the neighborhood's busiest thoroughfares at the corner of 116th street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard, Lomas told Cuisine Noir Magazine that BLVD Bistro in Harlem is her favorite place for "elevated comfort food." The restaurant is operated by husband-wife team Carlos and Markisha Swepson and features an all-day menu, plus weekend and happy hour specials, according to BLVD's website.
On weekdays from 4-7 p.m., the happy hour menu includes $7 "eats" like fried chicken sliders and buffalo wings, as well as marked-down drinks ranging from $7-$10. Weekend specials run the gamut and might feature dishes like eggs Benedict with lobster and crab cakes or baskets of cinnamon roll biscuits and slices of Mamie's German chocolate cake. The all-day menu, meanwhile, is split into five sections. You'll find appetizers like biscuits smothered in chicken sausage gravy and a watermelon and goat cheese salad. From the menu's "Brunch All Day" section, the Swepsons offer biscuit sandwiches, buttermilk pancakes, and Lomas's favorite, creamy grits. For dinner, you can opt for fried chicken or catfish dinner plates, a pulled pork sandwich, or baby back ribs. BLVD's selection of sides, meanwhile, is full of comfort food classics like garlicky mashed potatoes, candied yams, and bacon-topped seven-cheese macaroni. Dessert means banana pudding and lemon pound cake with berries and cream. While "flavor combinations and cooking techniques" are important to her, Lomas really values good service, so head to BLVD expecting to be taken care of.