I remember [...]]]> One of the great things about living in NYC was the access I had to some of the top trend-setting restaurants.  Granted my entry level salary didn’t really allow me to dine at Le Bernardin but I was able to try a lot of the more moderately priced spots.

I remember when The Spotted Pig opened up it was all the talk. It’s a small-ish restaurant in the West Village owned by April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman (my food crush, Mario Batali is a partner). A certain Mr. Carter aka Jay-z used to be there all the time (if you rate celebrities) and there was ALWAYS a wait for a table. It introduced the term “gastropub” into the culinary lexicon Stateside (gastropubs were already big in London).

Aside from the points mentioned above the other thing you’d hear about The Spotted Pig is that they had a dish called gnudi that everyone was raving about.  Gnudi are kind of like ricotta gnocchi.  Imagine the filling of ricotta ravioli without the pasta.  I had never heard of gnudi before but thought it sounded pretty delicious (cheesy balls sauteed in butter? HELLO!?!?).  So off it was to The Spotted Pig.  Granted my trip to The Spotted Pig was about 5 years ago so I don’t remember the meal exactly but I do remember not being disappointed by the gnudi.  After that I meal I kind of forgot about gnudi because I rarely see it on menus and never really thought about making it… until now.

I’m not quite sure what triggered my desire to make gnudi but one day I became obsessed with the idea and managed to find this post from The Paupered Chef for gnudi from The Spotted Pig. Score! Alas this opened up a proverbial can of worms. I needed fresh ricotta. The supermarket stuff wouldn’t cut it and I didn’t feel like going to the Italian market so I decided to make ricotta from scratch. No big deal.

After the ricotta was made the gnudi-making was pretty simple.  I combined the ricotta with some herbs, cheese, eggs and flour and then shaped them and buried them in semolina overnight.  To cook the gnudi you drop them in boiling water until they float to the surface (about 2 minutes) and then sautee them in brown butter.  A pretty quick process.

I was beyond pleased with my gnudi.  They were so light and luscious.  The semolina coating formed a nice crust on the outside to contain the melty ricotta goodness.  I’m not even kidding when I say that the ricotta was silky. So good.  I ended up serving about 6 pieces of gnudi with some green salad and it was definitely not enough for a meal.  This would be a good starter otherwise you’d have to eat A LOT of gnudi to make it a meal.

       Print This!    

Pizza is easily one of my favourite foods in pretty much ever and I’m constantly on a quest for amazing pizza.  The last few times I’ve been to NYC various people have recommended Motorino so I figured this [...]]]> Motorino Pizza
349 East 12th Street
New York, NY
212-777-2644

Pizza is easily one of my favourite foods in pretty much ever and I’m constantly on a quest for amazing pizza.  The last few times I’ve been to NYC various people have recommended Motorino so I figured this trip I’d give it a try.

I went to the East Village location which is pretty tiny but kind of cute.    I decided to make this a lunchtime excursion because they have a SWEET lunch deal.  For the low price of $12 you get a pizza (limited menu) and either a green salad OR soft serve ice cream.  Seeing as the pizzas are mostly $14+ the lunch deal was truly a steal.

I opted for the Brussels sprouts pizza with pancetta, mozzarella, garlic and pecorino.  When I went to Co. a few months back I had Brussels sprouts on my pizza and totally enjoyed so I figured, why not? The pizza was good, don’t get me wrong, but not my fave. The toppings were fabulous but the pizza was a bit on the chewy side. Yes, it was thin but there was an overall chewy quality about it that I wasn’t in love with. My mom had the Soppressata Picante pizza which again was good on the toppings but the crust was not the way I liked it. And let me tell you, the sopressata was PICANTE!

We opted for the soft serve to finish the meal and it was the perfect end to a summer pizza meal. It was served in a lovely ice cream goblet and was topped with sprinkles. Sprinkles! I opted for a berry flavour and it was less like soft serve than frozen yogurt but it was delicious!

So the verdict on Motorino? Good pizza especially if you like a chewier crust. It’s not high on my list to visit again (I’d probably visit Co. again before I go to Motorino) but it is worth checking out if you’re in the hood.

(Photo via Babbo)

So it’s no secret that I have a food crush on Mario Batali (chronicled here). I’ve been to many of his restaurants including Otto, Lupa, Esca, Del Posto and Pizzeria Mozza.  Babbo has been [...]]]> Babbo
110 Waverly Place
New York, NY 10011
1.212.777.0303

(Photo via Babbo)

So it’s no secret that I have a food crush on Mario Batali (chronicled here). I’ve been to many of his restaurants including Otto, Lupa, Esca, Del Posto and Pizzeria Mozza.  Babbo has been on my list for years but has never managed to happen.  Part of it is the advanced planning required (reservations are taken starting a month to the date that you want to go if you call anytime after you’ll be eating at 11pm) and the fact that when I lived in NYC it didn’t really fit within a student’s budget (and later didn’t fit into a budding TV producer’s budget either).  These days I have more cash (sweet!) but my NYC trips aren’t usually planned far in advance.  This time around however we were planning around my mom’s birthday so the trip was booked 2 months in advance!  I figured Babbo would be a great choice for my mom’s birthday because she loves Italian food and has enjoyed Mario’s restaurants in the past.

Once I settled on Babbo I became kind of obsessed with the whole reservation policy.  I read countless blog entries and Chowhound posts to figure out how to navigate the system.  I even did test call runs on the days leading up to the big day.  I was obsessed.  Finally June 3 rolled along and I made the call.  I started calling at 10AM and finally managed to get through at around 11AM.  At this point they offered me 5:45 or 10:30.  The average person would’ve been disappointed but alas I had tickets to see Fences at 8PM so 5:45 was perfect!

From the outside Babbo looks like nothing fancy but inside it’s lovely.  The first thing I noticed when I entered was a woman sitting at the bar with a wide-brimmed hat.  How strange I thought to myself.  Not so strange if the woman happened to be food journalist Gael Greene, which it was!  So I was totally pumped.  If it’s good enough for Gael Greene…

My mom and I were seated in what could only be described as a lover’s table. We were on the first floor at the end of the room at the table with the banquette. It was pretty hilarious but also probably one of the best tables.

On to the food…

It all started with an amuse bouche.  I’m a sucker for an amuse bouche because frankly I never see them coming.  I’m always DELIGHTED that I’ve been granted the pleasure of a little treat before my meal.  It’s the little things really.  This amuse bouche consisted of a chickpea bruschetta concoction.  From that taste I knew the meal would be fantastic.

Grilled Market Verdure - to start we split one of the day’s specials, grilled vegetables from the market.  The vegetables were of the squash and pepper variety which worked for me.  They were really simple and fresh with a bit of oil and a hint of cheese.  A nice way to start.

Gnocchi with Braised Oxtail – I’m a sucker for some oxtail and for gnocchi so when I saw the two combined I knew I had to go for that.    This was honestly one of those dishes where I wanted to hold the bowl to my face and just lick it.  The gnocchi were pillowy and the oxtail was plentiful and flavourful.  There wasn’t one particular flavour that was overwhelming, it was just pure goodness.  Initially going into Babbo I figured the pastas wouldn’t be main course sized since in Italy pasta is kind of like an appetizer (you have it before a meat dish).  However our waiter told us up front that the pastas were main course sized OR that we could split it as an appetizer, which is what we did.  Great choice.

Brasato al Barolo (Braised Beef with Porcini Mushrooms) – I’m really into braised meats these days.  It’s typically something that I’d crave in the wintertime but for some reason this summer my stomach wants me to fire up the oven and keep it going for 3+ hours to braise some meat.  Luckily there was braised meat on the menu to keep my craving at bay.  As the title says the meat was braised in Barolo with porcini mushrooms and was served on top of polenta.  Pretty much one of my fave types of meals.  I loved this and left my plate embarrassingly clean at the end.

Swordfish with Sweet Potato Passato and Chorizo Vinaigrette – This was my mom’s pick.  We had no clue what a “passato” was and oddly did not even ask.  Turns out it’s a puree and it went well with the swordfish.  It was more on the runnier side than I would have liked but it was still lovely.  The Chorizo Vinaigrette was my favourite.  Vinaigrette isn’t quite the word to describe it as the fish ends up with a ton of chorizo strips on top of it.  No complaints.

Blueberry Almond Cake “Sottosopra” with Toasted Coconut Gelato – When dessert time came we played the whole “we’re not having dessert game”. But then a few things happened: 1.) remembered it was my mom’s birthday, 2.) heard Adjoa’s voice in my head, she would not tolerate no dessert and 3.) I saw the menu.  My eyes immediately gravitated towards the Blueberry Almond Cake and the Chocolate Hazelnut Cake, both sounded amazing.  When they brought out the cake I thought I was going to pass out.  What the description DOESN’T tell you is that it’s more of a blueberry upside down cake! AND it was a bit warm (I could be making that part up, it could have been my heart warming up to dessert). It came with the coconut ice cream and was garnished with coconut curls. I love coconut.  So basically it tasted like heaven and wish I had gotten one all for myself.  Since returning I’ve been OBSESSED with finding the recipe for this or at least something similar.  I may have to plead with the Babbo gods to help a sister out.

I don’t do fine dining all that often but when I do I love it.  The level of service was exceptional.  Our waiter was lovely, attentive and really helpful at guiding us through ways to approach the menu.  The Maitre d’ (at least I believe he was the Maitre d’) was really engaging (and from Buffalo, we’re like neighbours).  And I have to admit it cracked me up every time our cutlery was replaced.  It also cracked me up that the soundtrack was Bob Marley.  Yes, in an Italian restaurant. Mario is just gangsta like that.  I was seriously grooving the entire time and trying (sometimes unsuccessfully) to not sing along.

After the meal the verdict was that we pretty much have to come here on every one of our trips.  It was that good.  I also found the prices to be reasonable and the portions to be comfortable.  If anything I think if I’d ordered the gnocchi for my main I would have been stuffed.  Next time I would love to try one of the tasting menus.  The table next to ours did the pasta tasting menu and I was way into watching what they were eating.

Needless to say I think Babbo has earned it’s reputation over the past 12 years.  It’s worth fighting the phone lines and gaining 12 lbs because you decided to order 10 of the Blueberry Almond Cakes (that will be me next time).

For the strangest reason I’ve been craving a lobster roll for WEEKS.  I’m not sure what sparked it.  Problem is, there aren’t a ton of places in Toronto where I can get one (if you [...]]]> Luke’s Lobster
93 E. 7th St.
New York, NY
212.387.8487
(Photo via Immaculate Infatuation)

For the strangest reason I’ve been craving a lobster roll for WEEKS.  I’m not sure what sparked it.  Problem is, there aren’t a ton of places in Toronto where I can get one (if you have suggestions please send them my way).  So I planned a trip to NYC so that I could have one.  Ok, it wasn’t the only reason I planned the trip but it was one of the first things to occur to me.

My experience with lobster rolls isn’t extensive.  I’ve had them from BLT Fish Shack in New York and from various Legal Seafoods in Massachusetts, D.C. and New Jersey.  Both experiences were delicious but on the expensive side.  Enter Luke’s Lobster.

I first heard about Luke’s in this article from New York Magazine. A little bit of digging revealed that Luke’s is quite the spot for lobster rolls these days for a number of reasons.

Reason #1: The price. $16 gets you a lobster roll, Miss Vickie’s chips and Maine Root pop (my new fave).  If you want just the lobster roll it will be $14.  Having not grown up in lobster country $16 is a steal (most popular spots charge $25 and up).

Reason #2: The food.  The lobster roll is no joke.  You don’t get mashed up mystery seafood you get HUGE chunks of meat that is identifiably lobster.  They also don’t drown the lobster in a ton of stuff to hide the flavour.  You get a fresh buttered (toasted) roll, and lobster that’s been hit with a BIT of mayo and spices.

Reason #3: Freshness.  The owner of Luke’s, Luke Holden comes from a seafood family.  His dad owns Portland Shellfish.  The two of them worked together to source quality purveyors of Maine lobster to feed hungry New Yorkers some of the freshest lobster around.  Oh, and apparently it’s sustainable too.

I went to the East Village location on  Thursday night at around 8PM and the place was hopping!  The place is small but there is some seating (give or take 10 people) which we managed to snag.  If it’s a summer evening you could definitely take your food over to Thompson to sit and chill for a bit.  There’s also a location on the UES.

My mom ordered the shrimp roll (she doesn’t do lobster, oh the shame!) and really enjoyed it too.  It was dressed in a similar fashion to the lobster roll with some really delicious and sweet shrimp.  My mom can be picky and she said she wouldn’t mind eating there AGAIN during our 4 day trip.  Trust, this is a ringing endorsement.

All the buzz that you’re hearing about Luke’s is worth it.  Something tells me this might just become a mini-empire.  Oh, and I love that they accept NYU Campus Cash.  If Luke’s had been around during my NYU days it would have been lobster everyday!

For Canada Day weekend I decided to head down to New York for a bit of shopping, eating and theatre-watching.  Of course after combing some of my favourite NYC resources I came up with a list of places to try and [...]]]>
(Photo borrowed from here)

For Canada Day weekend I decided to head down to New York for a bit of shopping, eating and theatre-watching.  Of course after combing some of my favourite NYC resources I came up with a list of places to try and list of places to re-visit.  Detailed posts to come on some of the restaurants over the next week or so.

Here’s where I ate…

Motorino (full review to come) – I can’t go to NYC without having some pizza. This place in the East Village (and Brooklyn) has a great $12 lunch special.

Luke’s Lobster (full review to come) – This place has been getting a lot of buzz for their lobster rolls. It didn’t disappoint.

A Taste of Seafood – My go-to fried fish spot in Harlem. Their sides are also amazing. Gotta have the mac n cheese and the fried okra.

Locanda Verde (full review to come) – Andrew Carmellini’s new spot in Tribeca. Went for brunch. Gorgeous space. Would like to move in.

Babbo (full review to come) – No words. Okay, maybe a few. Mario Batali’s Washington Square gem that’s been around for a while.  AMAZING meal and fantastic service. Might have to revisit during every trip.

Dos Caminos Soho – A throwback brunch pick! Recent visits have disappointed but they’ve changed the brunch menu a bit and I had a really great meal.

Empanada Mama (full review to come) – this place brings back memories of babysitting. I branched out from my usual picks and had some good eats!

A few weeks before heading to NYC my friend Devon sent me a link to this review of Madangsui in the NY Times.  I’m all for Korean BBQ so quickly put it on our agenda for our NYC [...]]]> Madangsui
35 West 35th Street
New York, NY
212-564-9333

A few weeks before heading to NYC my friend Devon sent me a link to this review of Madangsui in the NY Times.  I’m all for Korean BBQ so quickly put it on our agenda for our NYC “date” night.

Truth be told my experience with Korean BBQ is limited to Korean Grill House in Toronto and their all-you-can eat deals.  While this has provided endless entertainment over the years I figured now would be a good time to upgrade.

The space at Madangsui is pretty big but isn’t all that special.  It’s essentially rows and rows of tables with a grill in the middle.  I didn’t go for decor, I went for lots of meat so it was just fine.  We decided to follow the New York Times’ recommendation and started with the Kimchi Juen which are kimchi pancakes.  These are served hot and are crunchy on the outside and softer on the inside.  I didn’t get a big hit of kimchi flavour which was kind of disappointing but they were delicious nonetheless.

A highlight of the meal is that once you place your order the waiters come back with a whole slew of banchan which are the Korean sides that accompany a restaurant meal.  I’m used to getting maybe 6 side dishes but at Mandangsui you get at least 10 or 12!  They don’t really tell you what each dish is but sometimes you can figure out.  We’re talking everything from kimchi to beansprouts to preserved beans.  Totally great stuff for casually snacking on during the meal.

For our entrees we opted to split the Mandangsui Special Combination which was sliced beef and a variety of pork.  The experience was interesting.  I’m used to Korean BBQ where you cook your own meat which is always fun and makes the meal more interesting.  At Mandangsui they do the cooking for you with little communication.  I was never quite sure what I was eating or if it was ready to eat!  Sometimes they’d move the meat over when it was ready and sometimes they wouldn’t.  I’m pretty sure we ate beef short ribs, pork belly, and some other cuts of pork.  The portions were generous and the food was good, although I didn’t find it any more impressive than Korean Grill House (which isn’t even that stellar according to folks that know about that sort of thing).

Overall a good meal and surprisingly my first in New York’s KoreaTown.  I would love to know how this stacks up to other NYC Korean restaurants.

(Photo via New York Times)

Momofuku has been on my list of places to try FOREVER.  It opened back in 2004 when I was still a student at NYU.  For some reason it took [...]]]> Momofuku Noodle Bar
171 First Avenue (btwn 10th & 11th)
New York, NY 10003

(Photo via New York Times)

Momofuku has been on my list of places to try FOREVER.  It opened back in 2004 when I was still a student at NYU.  For some reason it took nearly 6 years for me to finally get my act together and go.

It was worth the wait.

I was meeting my awesome friend Kim there for dinner at around 7:30pm.  The place was packed and we were told the wait would be between 45 minutes to an hour.  But after about 30 minutes of waiting we were seated along the bar.  Not bad at all Momofuku, not bad at all.

I was intrigued by the day’s Prix Fixe menu but I came in knowing exactly what I was going to eat: the pork buns and ramen.    So that’s what I ordered.

Ever since having the infamous Momofuku pork buns I can’t get them out of my head.  These aren’t your traditional steamed pork buns at all.  Take the dough from a regular steamed bun and turn it into a pancake.  Top it with slices of some of the yummiest, most flavourful pork belly, pickled cucumber, scallions and sauce.  The fattiness of the pork belly helps keep everything moist.  I’m pretty sure the secret ingredient in these pork buns is crack dust or something because they are addictive.

I ordered the Momofuku Ramen because I’ve been hearing about it for years.  I am no ramen connoisseur.   Most of ramen experience comes courtesy of Mr. Noodle (shrimp flavour) so I can’t compare this to other exemplary rament specimens.  For what it was this ramen was pretty darned good.  It was a bowl of really flavourful broth filled with pork belly, pork shoulder, a poached egg, scallion, nori and other assorted bits of goodness.  I was initially freaked out about the poached egg since runny eggs freak me out, but the poached egg didn’t impede my enjoyment of the ramen at all.  I just stirred the egg around in the hot broth and was able to forget about any egg.   This was the perfect dish for a cold New York evening.

Since I was on vacation I decided to go all out and even get a drink.  I ordered the Soju “dark n stormy” slushie.  WOW.  It was an alcoholic slushie with a serious ginger kick to it.  Really refreshing and perfect for cutting through some of the fattiness.  If I still lived in NYC and it was summer I would drink these all the time.

The restaurant was so packed I hardly got a sense of the place.  We sat at the bar and were comfortable enough.  I also appreciated the hooks to hang up my jacket and purse.  The service was not memorable at all.  Not to say the servers were mean or particularly nice but they did not strike me at all.

David Chang, the owner of Momofuku has a number of restaurants in the East Village under the Momofuku name.  I’ve been to the Milk Bar for treats but that’s about it.  While I’m sure the other restaurants are great I’d be pretty content hitting up the Noodle Bar on my next trip.

(Photo via Serious Eats)

I love pizza.

That might be an understatement.  Pizza is definitely in my top 5 favourite foods.  I sometimes even buy the frozen mini pizzas and eat them for breakfast.  [...]]]> Co. (aka Company)
230 Ninth Avenue (at 24th street)
NY, NY 10001
212.243.1105

(Photo via Serious Eats)

I love pizza.

That might be an understatement.  Pizza is definitely in my top 5 favourite foods.  I sometimes even buy the frozen mini pizzas and eat them for breakfast.  There really isn’t an inappropriate time to have pizza.

I was in New York over New Years and decided to end the year right by going to Co. for pizza for lunch on New Years Eve… solo!  I enjoy solo dining.  Don’t get me wrong, I love going out with friends and eating, but solo dining is great.  It makes me feel so grown up and confident.  It also gives me a lot of freedom.  No need to wait on someone to make a plan to go to whatever restaurant, I can just pick up on a whim and go.  Plus it’s a great time to read a magazine, catchup on tweets or just people watch.

When I arrived at Co. the first thing that struck me was the space.  I loved it.  I’m a sucker for a nice open and airy restaurant.  The place has two walls of nearly floor-to-ceiling windows and since I was there in the daytime the entire place was so bright.  The decor is really minimal which I can always appreciate.  They have nice heavy wooden tables that feel modern but channel rustic, a really great fit.  One thing I didn’t love were the communal tables.  The place has a mix of 2 and 4-tops and then two (i think) long communal tables.  Communal tables are the trend I’m waiting on to die.

The menu is simple and bread heavy.  Given that Co. is the brainchild of Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery (although those outside of NYC might know him as the source behind Mark Bittman’s No-Knead bread the abundance of breadiness is not surprising.  There’s a bread section, a toast section, meat and cheese sections (they come with toast)… even the soup has bread in it (Ribollita – google it); this isn’t a place if you have gluten issues.

After a lot of soul-searching I settled on the Brussels Sprout pizza.  I love Brussels sprouts and have never had them as an option on my pizza so I figured it was a go.  PLUS the pizza had lardons, onions and chestnuts among all sorts of cheesy goodness. SOLD!  The pizza arrived a blistery, topping backed pie.  The Brussels sprouts were shaved and covered the entire pizza.  The chestnuts added a subtle nutty, sweetness that I appreciated and the lardons just the right amount of bacon-y saltiness. The cheese component was a bit too subtle for my taste, although this pizza could easily verge on flavour overload.

The crust was great.  A bit tough at some parts but the flavour was great.  I wanted to run over to Sullivan Street Bakery and pick up some bread but it was cold and I had errands to run.

The advantage of going with a group? Trying a large part of the menu.  I can’t wait to go back and try a few more pies and some of the appetizers.

All in all a good dining experience. I will definitely be back.

Here’s what others have said about Co.:
New York Magazine
New York Times
NY Daily News
Gourmet

I recently went to NYC and basically did nothing but eat. I wasn’t in a shopping mood (except on missions for others) so the whole trip consisted of meeting friends for a variety of meals. I went to a lot of places I’ve been to before and also some newer “hotspots”.  [...]]]>

I recently went to NYC and basically did nothing but eat. I wasn’t in a shopping mood (except on missions for others) so the whole trip consisted of meeting friends for a variety of meals. I went to a lot of places I’ve been to before and also some newer “hotspots”.  Here are a few highlights and look for detailed reviews coming up over the next few days on a few of the restaurants below.

A Taste of Seafood – My Harlem fried fish spot. Love this place.  I would walk on hot coals for the macaroni and cheese and fried okra. True story.

Angelica Kitchen – A great vegetarian (maybe vegan?) eatery in the East Village. Total comfort food.

Co. (Full review to come) – Amazing pizza. The best I’ve had in a while.

Dinosaur BBQ – An old favourite.  Although this time around I found myself craving more smoke!

Madangsui (Full review to come) – Korean BBQ in midtown… very interesting.

Momofuku Noodle Bar (Full review to come) – the infamous Momofuku.  It was heavenly.

Snack – Greek-inspired food at a tiny spot in SoHo.  I fell in love.

Hundred Acres – Another restaurant in the Marc Meyer/Vicki Freeman empire.  I went for brunch (of course) and loved it… again!

When I go to NYC I’m usually plotting out what I’d like to eat and then building my activities around where I will be for my next meal.  I’m not kidding.  I mean, why eat crappy food in a [...]]]> I’m back from a lovely long weekend in one of my fave cities/former home… New York!

When I go to NYC I’m usually plotting out what I’d like to eat and then building my activities around where I will be for my next meal.  I’m not kidding.  I mean, why eat crappy food in a city so full of yumminess?  With that said, I didn’t really plan my trip that well this time and didn’t have a list of hot spots to try and I had just been to NYC in January so I had covered off some of my cravings (soul food, check.  dos caminos, check.)

Here’s the rundown of my eating…

MERCADITO CANTINA
172 Avenue B, New York 10009
(Btwn 10th & 11th St)

Mexican food isn’t the easiest thing to come by in Toronto.  The Mexican population just isn’t that big.  So when I’m in NYC I try to hit up a Mexican spot.  This time around I figured that Mercadito Cantina (part of the Mercadito “empire”) on Avenue B would be a good spot.  Totally right!

I opted for the Pescado tacos because fish tacos in Toronto are either a.) hard to find or b.) suck. You get three small tacos (single tortilla not doubled) topped with chile poblano and a tomatillo-garlic mojo. YUM. I also opted for a side of rice and bean which was interesting as the beans contained some sort of squash. The menu also has an assortment of salsas and guacamoles which sounded delicious but that I opted not to try as I figured I’d be eating plenty more for the day.

Also, because I was in NYC and NYC always makes me feel a bit boozey I tried the Roja Loca which includes red wine, grapefruit, strawberry, epazote, and jalapeño. Crazy! The first sip was DISGUSTING but it got a lot better as I got into it. Reminiscent of a bloody mary but crazier.

Taco portions are tiny. If you’re a dude (or a hungry girl) one portion is NOT enough. Overall delicious and fresh and a lovely space.

RED MANGO
19-23 St. Mark’s Place,New York, NY 10003

I’ve been a fan of Pinkberry frozen yogurt since they opened up in NYC. Who doesn’t love the idea of frozen yogurt topped with fresh fruit (or other fixins?). Since my departure from the Big Apple another chain has been moving in, Red Mango. After lunch we walked by a Red Mango and it was calling my name so I decided to partake.

I had a plain yogurt topped with strawberry and mango. It was good. Not sure which I like better, Pinkberry or Red Mango but it definitely hit the spot!

GRAND SICHUAN (West Village)
15 7th Ave S, New York 10014
(Btwn Leroy & Bedford St)

There is no shortage of Chinese food in Toronto. In fact, Chinese food is extremely well represented here and the quality tends to be great (from what I’ve heard). So I’m not quite sure how I ended up going for Chinese in NYC. I’d been wanting to try Grand Sichuan (they have a number of locations) for a while but never got around to it. The West Village location that I ended up is a fairly new addition.

Can I get a YUM? I was dining by myself on a Friday night which is always fun but often difficult when doing Chinese because the portions are large. Luckily this location of Grand Sichuan lets you order a small of a number of entrees. I ended up having the Shanghai Vegetable Roll, Wonton Soup, Ma Po Tofu and Pork Fried Rice.

The Wonton Soup was perfect. The broth was light and flavourful and had a few different notes to it. The wontons themselves were very light and not too doughy. The vegetable roll was kind of a disappointment – I’ve had better elsewhere. I had never had Ma Po Tofu at a restaurant before (that I can remember), it’s a dish I just make at home. The flavouring was different than what I’m used too… it kind of tasted like it had cloves in it. It worked though. AND it was nice and spicy.

Overall, Grand Sichuan may be my fave “clean” Chinese spot (versus my favourite round the corner dirty chinese spots!).

DESSERT MOON GRILLE

I went to Woodbury Commons outlet mall. Food choices are slim. I ended up here and had a quesadilla. Nothing too exciting to report at all. Except that I got a pair of $600 Stella McCartney flats for $31. AMAZING!

MYSTERIOUS DUMPLING SPOT

It was my friend’s birthday party on Saturday night and after a day at the outlet I didn’t have any serious dinner plans. And I wasn’t starving. So I decided to grab a quick bite near the party on the LES. I have this thing where I like foods that cost $1. Seriously. I used to LOVE this $1 dumpling spot on Allen (Fried Dumpling maybe) but it JUST closed. So after some research I decided to go to Dumpling House. I’m pretty sure I went to the wrong place. The dumplings weren’t a dollar! They didn’t have scallion pancakes! By the time I realized I was quite possibly at the wrong place I had already ordered and just had to deal.

The dumplings were good. I think I had about 11 dumplings for $3. Crazy. I was sooooo full of dumplings after that. But I’m still confused as to where I went. I was on the south east corner of Broome and Eldridge.

BABYCAKES
248 Broome St, New York 10002
(Btwn Orchard & Ludlow St)

Since I was already on Broome and on the LES I decided to wash the taste of doughnuts out of my mouth with some lovely treats from Babycakes.  Babycakes is a bakery that specializes in allergen-free/vegan treats.  Sure, sounds boring but the treats are anything but.  I have a friend who is allergic to dairy and soy and had never had a birthday cake.  She had her first cake from Babycakes and was thrilled.  As a total consumer of all baked goods this place gets a thumbs up.  I had a vanilla cupcake top with zesty lemon frosting (how ingeneous to only have the top? LOVES IT!) and a chocolate chip cookie.  Both were absolutely delicious.  Sure, they don’t taste just like a typical butter, white flour, refined sugar treat but they do taste yummy.  I could use some Babycakes right now…

THE SMITH
55 3rd Ave, New York 10003
(Btwn 10th & 11th St)

Me and my girls decided to have brunch on Easter Sunday but not an Easter brunch and end up at The Smith. When I was living in NYC The Smith used to be a Pizzeria Uno. It’s on a stretch of Third Avenue that I wouldn’t consider cool at all since it’s on NYC Housing Row. To say the least, I didn’t have great expectations for The Smith. I was proven wrong! The Smith is totally awesome. First of all it’s HUGE by NYC standards and it was still packed. We ended up eating at the bar which was nice. I had the Country Breakfast which consisted of ham, cheese grits, gravy, eggs and the most delicious biscuit ever. The Country Breakfast totally called my name. I mean cheese grits AND a biscuit? Count.Me.In. Sure, the cheese grits weren’t the best ever but I just like having the option. The brunch menu is pretty impressive – I would totally revisit.

MOMOFUKU BAKERY & MILK BAR
207 2nd Ave, New York 10003
(At 13th St)

This is totally my new fave place in NYC. It had my heart at hello. Now, I don’t drink milk so I can’t comment on the “milk bar” aspect of this place but I do eat baked goods! I had three cookies: Cornflake-Marshmallow-Chocolate Chip Cookie, Banana Cookie and Compost Cookie.

The Cornflake-Marshmallow-Chocolate Chip Cookie is probably my new favourite cookie ever. I loved the crunch and corn flavour of the cornflakes and ooey gooeyness of the marshmallows. So perfect. The banana cookie was delish too… a very unique flavour for a cookie and it had sliced bananas in it. Now the compost cookie was bizarre but great at the same time. I’m pretty sure it had pretzels, potato chips, chocolate chips and some coffee flavoured something happening in there. How insane? I could eat about three of them right now!

And for the record we saw Wylie Dusfresne there. If it’s good enough for Wylie…

RANDOM CHINESE
My Easter dinner consisted of round the way Brooklyn Chinese take-out. Yes, I had Chinese food 3 times while in NYC. Let’s move on.

SWEET LIFE CAFE
147 Christopher St, New York 10014
(Btwn Washington & Greenwich St)

I met a few friends for a quick West Village lunch ended up at Sweet Life Cafe. It’s totally not a destination kind of diner but if you’re in the hood it seems like a totally reliable spot. I had the burger and it hit the spot. Was it the best burger ever? No. But at the time it filled a need and for that I’m grateful. The lunch specials are super cheap and the portions are plentiful. You can eat for under $10 and walk away more than content.

GRAY’S PAPAYA
402 6th Ave, New York 10014
(At 8th St)

Gray’s holds a fond place in my heart. I remember when I was little and used to go to NYC the hot dogs were 50cents. I thought that that was insane! Now they are $1.50. Still delicious but it’s a little harder to buy 3 and not feel guilty. I always get mine with saurekraut AND onions AND mustard. And eat them leaning on one of the ledges looking out the window. I like to keep it classy. Somehow nothing beats a hot dog from Gray’s Papaya.