![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_8464.jpg\" "\\"IMG_8464\\"")
<\/a>Everything at Half King is downright delicious! And not even close to expensive. And the casual vibe makes it easy to drop in at any time; there\u2019s a bar, a sidewalk patio, and three other dining areas, each with its own personality. And with the most heavenly scones and cream ever, and a couple of low, flat eight-seater booths, I\u2019m just hoping they add Afternoon Tea to their many and varied menus.<\/p>\nLauren and I went for lunch, which they label \u201cLate Risers.\u201d This is one of the first times that I actually was attracted to just about everything on a menu! Since it was our first time there, we did order more dishes than we could possibly eat right then, but we brought the left-overs home to her husband and son and my mother to try, so I\u2019d have extra opinions for you. They were as positive as ours, especially that of my little mother, the scone expert. She said the blueberry ones we had were \u201cheavenly!,\u201d and I absolutely agree. We thought so even without their special cream, which enhanced the flavor.<\/p>\n
Lauren really enjoyed the \u201chearty lunch\u201d baked penne with four cheese and crispy chicken, (which is also Albert\u2019s favorite,) while I just could not bring myself to share more than a tiny bite of the holiday-esque turkey with corn bread chorizo stuffing. I\u2019m still licking my lips over that one.<\/p>\n The burgers come with regular fries, and we also sampled the \u201cperfectly seasoned\u201d hellfires, that had the \u201cright amount of bite.\u201d But the winner was the sweet potato fries that Lauren deemed the \u201cbest\u201d she\u2019s \u201cever had,\u201d and trust me, she\u2019s the expert here–she gets them everywhere.<\/p>\n It sounds like we had already eaten too much, but we really just take bites so we can pass the knowledge on to you. But even we were in shock when we got a load of the size of the mac & cheese portion–it was enough for ten people! Easily. The portions were all overly generous, but this one was ridiculous. It was delicious, too.<\/p>\n But wait–I must tell you about the scones in detail. They\u2019re listed with the breakfast items on the menu, but they\u2019re really a meal unto themselves. We chose to have them for dessert. Ariana told me that sometimes they have honey walnut ones, but this was blueberry day. Since I really love only chocolate chip scones, (Gregory–you can steal that idea from me, if you like,) I wasn\u2019t expecting much.<\/p>\n If I lived in Chelsea, I would just eat here every day. (Or take-out from there daily, if I still lived with my mysterious Mr. X, which, of course, I would!) You could go a whole month without ordering the same thing, but this is one place I\u2019d be happy to repeat meals at–I could easily eat multiples of every single dish I tried that day. And every afternoon, you would find me in one of their booths, enjoying scones and tea, only this place is so down-to-earth, I wouldn\u2019t even need to put my pinkie in the air.<\/p>\n 505-507 West 23rd<\/sup> Street\u00a0\u00a0 New York\u00a0\u00a0 212-462-4300\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>www.thehalfking.com<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" HALF KING BAR & RESTAURANT \u00a0 On my recent New York trip, I discovered a restaurant that I would eat at daily if I lived in Manhattan. Or if it opened a branch here, but then it would probably lose its Chelsea pub ambience. Everything at Half King is downright delicious! And not even close<\/p>\n<\/a>But I\u2019m getting ahead of myself here. The service combo of manager Albert and server Ariana was more than accommodating. To everyone, because I watch for that treatment for the assemblage. It looked like a roomful of happy, satisfied customers.<\/p>\n<\/a>Two of the lunch menu features that can\u2019t be beat are the Burger Box, and the incredible $12. specials. I couldn\u2019t get over the latter! You choose either a lovely house salad or a hearty soup. The one we got was beef barely and it was OMG! Chock full of healthful ingredients, and absolutely fabulous. I didn\u2019t want to save room for anything else! You also get a soda with it, and we hit the jackpot the day we were there with the wonderful entrees, dreamed-up by Chef Gregory Baumel and the, as the menu states, \u201cThrill Grill Kitchen Crew.\u201d (I think I\u2019d like to party with these guys!)<\/p>\n<\/a>We tried two of the eight burgers, and although venison or buffalo ones may tempt others, we stuck to the beef varieties. (There\u2019s also turkey, salmon, and veggie ones.) I got the Kobe burger with simply cheddar, although there are over a dozen topping choices, and it was sublime. I couldn\u2019t put it down. Lauren chose the most popular sirloin one, and topped it with goat cheese and \u201cperfectly cooked\u201d fried onions, and was impressed that it was \u201creally substantial and tasty.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>To me, the desserts were the pieces de resistance. The special that day was bread pudding with my favorite combination of ingredients–chocolate and banana, with warm vanilla sauce. But, shockingly, even better to me was the hazelnut biscotti gelato. It comes in a big fountain vessel with long spoons, and again, was gigantic. Most eateries dole-out one tiny scoop and pat themselves on the back. Half King gave us at least three times that size for not much more than a cone on the street, and it was the perfect ending to an incredible meal.<\/p>\n<\/a>But I can\u2019t even properly portray how excellent these were. The serving is two giant triangle-shaped scones that look like almost-full cakes. The flavor is so much better than usual scones, warm and moist. And they make their own cream to put on them. It\u2019s not quite clotted cream, which is my favorite, but whatever it is, there\u2019s no need for the usual jam or preserves that go along with other scones. Lauren and I had a couple of bites right then and there, but I brought them home and it took my mother and me at least four more tries to finish them both. Unbelievable.<\/p>\n