I gained four solid pounds in New York. Shameless.
At least it was worth it… Good food everywhere! Dessert after every meal! Chicken and rice!
Going out with a delicious bang as I say goodbye undergrad, goodbye summer, goodbye OC. Moving to downtown LA next week and starting work soon thereafter. Putting on my big girl pants! (I don’t want to grow up.)
And yes, I’m totally one of those annoying Asian girls who stops everyone at the dinner table and waits for the food to get one degree colder while I take a picture for my own selfish personal gain.
Here’s a little NYC food guide for anyone interested:
Levain Bakery
167 West 74th St
Between Columbus and Amsterdam
Note: Amazeballs chocolate chip walnut and oatmeal raisin cookies. The olive and goat cheese pizza was okay. Nothing to write home about.
Maison Laduree
864 Madison Ave
Between 70th and 71st
Note: Be prepared to wait forever… Worth it? YES. Rose, citron, and pistachio macarons were amazing.
Lady M Cake Boutique
41 East 78th Street
Between Madison and Park Ave.
Note: Twenty-Layer Crepe Cake… The chestnut version was incredible. Paper-thin light crepes layered with creamy, barely sweet chestnut creme. I want this as a birthday cake so I can eat the whole thing by myself.
Celeste
502 Amsterdam Ave
Between 84th and 85th St.
Note: cash only classic Italian fare… small and cozy with fresh, amazing food. Get the quattro pizza… everything you want on one slab of dough.
Pommes Frites
123 Second Avenue
Between 7th and St. Mark’s Place
Note: Belgian fries with a huge selection of dips. Perfect for after drinking… Vietnamese Pineapple Dip was ridiculously delicious. Sweet Mango Chutney good, too.
Shake Shack
366 Columbus Ave. (The original is in Madison Square Park)
Between 77th and 78th St.
Note: The Shroom burger is pretty good; a portobello “patty” filled with cheese. But it ain’t no In-N-Out. I’ve been riding on the In-N-Out bandwagon for forever and I won’t be getting off any time soon.
Financier
6th Ave and 23rd St.
Note: The classic financiers are delicious with coffee. Sweet, buttery, and probably a million calories but who cares. They’re miniature-sized.
Momofuku Noodle Bar
171 1st Ave
Between 10th St & 11th St.
Note: Pork buns were probably the best thing I had all week. The ramen… not so much. But the PORK BUNS. Also. Find the closest Milk Bar near you and stock up on compost cookies. (They have brown sugar, butterscotch chips, choco chips, potato chips, graham cracker crumbs, and pretzel chunks in them. What the what?! They’re basically just incredible.)
Katsu-Hama
11 E 47th St
Between 5th Ave & Madison Ave
Note: Kurobuta Katsu. I love kurobuta. Need I say more?
Red Jacket Orchards
Union Square Greenmarket
Note: The greenmarket is a cute place to go just to see how expensive local, farmer’s market produce can be. Red Jacket has really good juices though. I tried almost every flavor and probably pissed off the sample dude. Ended up buying the Blackcurrant Apple and the Lemon-Apple (summer blend.)
City Bakery
3 W. 18th St.
Between 5th and 6th Ave
Note: Famous for their pretzel croissants (buttery croissant interior with a crisp salty pretzel exterior) and hot chocolate. Yes, I was drinking thick, creamy Belgian hot chocolate while it was 85 degrees and 90% humidity outside. Yes, it was worth it.
Uncle Nick’s Greek Cuisine
747 9th Ave
Between 50th St & 51st St
Note: Inopikilia for 2 – a sampler platter of Greek appetizers. YUM. With a lot of pita. And the lamb kebab.
Alice’s Tea Cup
102 W 73rd St
Between Amsterdam Ave & Columbus Ave
Note: I thought this would be a good place to grab brunch and catch up on reading in peace and quiet. Wrong. Surrounded by sorority-type girls talking really loudly about their boyfriends or almost-boyfriends or soon-to-be ex-boyfriends and how some beeyatch is not cool enough so they don’t want to invite her out on Thursday. But the berry and pumpkin scones were delicious. The best part is the homemade clotted cream.
Pisticci
125 La Salle St
Between Broadway & Claremont Ave
Note: Neighborhood Italian restaurant in Harlem. Classic spaghetti with meatballs was delicious and so was the roasted vegetable rigatoni. They have a little outdoor patio you can sit on which was perfect for nice weather.
53rd and 6th Halal Cart
Note: BEST. STREET. FOOD. EVER. White sauce is crack sauce so dump that junk on and red sauce is death sauce so use sparingly.
Epicerie Boulud
1900 Broadway
Between 63rd and 64th St.
Note: Daniel Boulud’s market style take-out or stand up and dine-in patisserie. Great sandwich and cheese selection. I had the grilled cheese which had goat cheese and olive spread and tomatoes. Heard the fusion bahn mi is really good, too. One day I’ll be baller enough to eat at Daniel… One day… Hopefully soon. I can’t wait to get my first paycheck.
Ten-year anniversary of 9/11. Strange feeling being in NY the day of… I’ve never been somewhere important before on a day of historical relevance. I regret not researching more on how to visit the memorial site because all the tickets were booked by the time I got there, but it’s definitely something I’ll remember forever.
creamed spinach
new york cheesecake and mini chocolate mousse cup
