Neil's Coffee Shop by Cristo and Nick Kaloudis Since 1980 Inaugural Review Our Coverage Sponsored by Fresh Origins @microgreens
From the Primavera Salad, above to the Classic Greek Salad, below, Neil's Coffee Shop proves you can go out to eat and also be healthy
But you should also order the New York Rangers Burger:
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It's not who you know, it's Whom You Know and we are now pleased to know Cristo and Nick Kaloudis, father and son team owners behind Neil's Coffee Shop which has been thriving in Manhattan on Lexington Avenue since 1980. We were most impressed with their salads which are a generous proportion with attractive, fresh produce! We continue along our quest to eat healthier in this column...
We began with the classic Greek Salad: feta cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, stuffed grape leaves and anchovies over romaine. Neil's Coffee Shop is dedicated to authenticity and they use Mediterranean Foods for their Kalamata Olives which came to this salad party, along with other Greek Specialties you may meet on their menu. All items were in good proportion to one another and this was fresh and what we are looking for.
A salad we found unique to Neil's Coffee Shop is the Primavera Salad. Well-sliced avocado, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers and dried cranberries dance over romaine and we really did like the ranch salad dressing which they thoughtfully put on the side for Ms. Pretty Picky.
We never edit the pictures; the colors were this brilliant, further evocative of the nutritional value.
Another interesting salad to meet here might remind you of the superbowl, won by Philly this year, as this is called the Rocky! There is quite a lot of sliced chicken that is organic, antibiotic free and hormone free we are told, and is sourced from Epic Poultry. Rocky also runs up the stairs to your stomach with mozzarella cheese, roasted red peppers, avocado and is served over organic baby spinach.
Neil's Coffee Shop does not serve wine or hard alcohol that we are aware of so we opted for a lovely iced cappuccino. If you like cinnamon, you will be delighted to see it on top. Peachy likes her coffee strong and straight at any temperature, depending on the season. You'll be impressed with the Columbian coffee they use; and of course although this is named coffee shop it is really a restaurant by definition.
We like how they put a salad on the side if you would like that rather than french fries.
You won't see Monte Cristo's on too many menus so you'd better make fast friends with it here. Fresh white meat turkey, ham and melted Swiss cheese is served on French toast, sure to attract those that like to combine sweet and savory. For those that like savory only alone, we suggest they offer an option of thick rye toast.
You can't be only healthy the whole time, so live a little and try the Greek Fries, another specialty. Melted Feta Cheese and Greek Oregano enhance the potatoes and below, meet some awfully convincingly crisp onion rings.
You should know that Neil's Coffee Shop has one of the most extensive menus we've seen, and you should bring someone with you that is good at reading fine print and tiny letters because so much populates their menu. Under "Old School" Sandwiches, please meet Reuben. All reubens are open-faced and gigantic!
You know St. Patrick's Day is coming!
Can you believe the list of burgers has over 25 choices?
ordered the NY Rangers burger. Poor Ryan McDonagh is going to have a hard time finding that on a Tampa menu. Topped with Mushrooms, Swiss Cheese, mozzarella cheese and cheddar cheese (because just one cheese is not good enough for this!) the New York Rangers burger will score a hat trick in your stomach. Prime Beef is sourced from Queens and can you believe we were told they go through 130 pounds of beef a day between the corned beef and the hamburger.
After that we thought we'd balance ourselves out with some broccoli and green beans.
Egg salad and avocado absolutely hits the spot if you are looking for something on the lighter side. Apple pie is a terrific conclusion.
Neil's Coffee Shop impressed us on our first visit; we look forward to seeing what they do next.
