Lavender Smash
Where: 2nd St in Belmont Shore
Grub: American…but not in any traditional sense
Visiting Hours: Lunch & Dinner Daily and Breakfast on Weekends until 12pm
My Plates: Bar Nuts, Bacon Deviled Eggs, Prime Rib Dip and the Bistro Mac & Cheese
Website: http://nicksrestaurants.com/nicks-on-2nd/
IG: nickson2nd
People boast about this place. The service is exceptional and it is really alluring. Walking down 2nd street and trying to ignore this place is impossible. I really wish I could go more often, but it can be kinda rough on the wallet. Regardless, when I was asked by a friend to ride our bikes there and splurge I was really into it. I needed something to blog about after all. I love irrational excuses that justify the way I make decisions. Let’s start with nuts and booze….because Nick’s gets straight to the point and they do it right.
Strawberry Basil Margarita (left-in case it wasn’t obvious), Lavender Smash (right) and Fresh Nuts Roasted In-House!
Excuse the dimness in my photos. Blame it on Nick’s ambience. They have perfect sultry light levels in this place. Someone take me on a date here please. We can get really dressed up and enjoy cocktails after work and pretend we live in the era of Mad Men. That’s how this place makes me feel- sexy, in charge and hungry for life. Splurge you will if you enjoy a cocktail here because they are Vegas priced, but I pretend not to care because they are worth it and I am fancy. I could have had a few more of these margaritas- corralejo tequila, muddled strawberries, basil and st. germain elderflower liqueur. The lavender smash- tin cup whiskey, lavender simple syrup, fresh squeezed orange juice- wasn’t half bad either. They put love into their specialty drinks and I would drink every single one of them. I mean…look at those garnishes! It helps that they come with a pretty good wingman, bar nuts. So fresh, so roasted, so seasoned and so perfect. Next time I plan on checking out their moscow mule, which is quite a celebrity here…or maybe I will bring my own bottle of wine. The first corkage fee is waived!
Bacon Deviled Eggs
Ugh. I honestly cannot even look at these because I want to go back to Nick’s right now and eat the whole app to myself. With a combination like eggs, bacon and frying you really can’t go wrong. I loved these and I would be skeptical of anyone who tried them and didn’t like them. That would just be weird.
Prime Rib Dip
This guy is seasoned and roasted daily, thinly sliced and served on a brioche bun with mayo and a side of red wine au jus. I enjoyed this sandwich and thought they did a good job, but it was nothing spectacular. It was recommended by our waitress. Next time I am going for the chicken crispy sandwich instead!
Bistro Mac & Cheese
This sounded like a really good idea, but it ended up being somewhat of a disappointment. I am serious about my mac & cheese and the overabundance of ingredients in this one just over did it and didn’t really make sense. It was packed with grilled chicken, nueske’s bacon, mushrooms, asparagus, and parmesan cheese. It was too chunky and the ingredients weren’t working with each other. Not to mention, the spicy cream sauce was also broken and grainy.
This is what was left behind. So gross. That is way too much grease, but yes my date and I finished it all anyways. I wouldn’t order it again. No, not again. It was nothing like the pictures I had seen online.
My original intention was to go to have the famous butter cake, but we didn’t make it that far after all this heavy food. I could barely ride my bike home. I already have my indulgences planned for my next visit: spinach artichoke dip, fried asparagus fries, buttermilk fried chicken and and the butter cake. I don’t think I will ride my bike…
Cheat Day Chophaus 