New York 2013 - Peter Pan's Bakery - Eataly - PopBar - Caliente Cab - Nathan's Hot Dog

My third trip to New York was full of rooftop fun. I stayed with my friend Mary in Brooklyn and basically shadowed her around to observe the typical Brooklynite life.

It started with some beer and a gorgeous view of Manhattan from a swanky rooftop

 Of course, the New York Pizza is a must have. I always love margherita. On the top, our friend tried this weird black been sauce, avocado, and tomato pizza which was no good. Always stick to the classics, folks.

Red Velvet donut from Peter Pan's Bakery. This place is one of Tina Fey's favorite places and this donut was really good.

Off we go to Manhattan to take in some sights and bites. An artist had made all these walls around trees in the park using brightly colored ropes. There were so many other structures but I had the wrong lens...le boo

I finally get to try Eataly and I order this Romaine lettuce with shaved asparagus and a ton of cheese. It wasn't even good. I was already super full by the time I got here but I had to eat something just to say I ate something here so I chose a light salad and twas the wrong choice. But Eataly is really a fun place to just peruse the aisles. If I lived in NY, I would buy gourmet foods here when I want to splurge with my home cooking.

I've always wanted to try Pop Bar since I saw them on TV some years back. You can customize your own popsicle by choosing the gelato flavor, type of chocolate for the dip, and toppings for the outside. I chose a vanilla bar with milk chocolate dip, pistachios on one side and peanuts on the other. This was over $5. Yikes! We sat outside the shop and it was so hot that the bar started melting faster than I could eat. Gelato in bar form is not at its best. Otherwise, everything about this bar is awesome, except the price. It's vacation though, once in a while you should try a $5 gelato bar.

Stopped by Caliente Cab for some uneventful appetizers on the side of some really great margaritas. I chose guava and my friend had the classic lime margarita. Both good. I wish I had chosen a larger cup but then again bathrooms can be hard to come by in the streets of Manhattan so maybe I did make the right choice.

Met up with Alvin to check out the Mermaid Parade at Coney Island. I took a super long and packed train ride up here, full of screaming Chinese school children and people dressed as mermaids. Standing room only. Ahhh I was so grumpy when I got here, almost turned right back around and got back on the train before it got crowded with people returning from the festival. I was too short to get any pictures of the mermaids except these two non-mermaid sea creatures.

Tried to get a video clip of Alvin on this hang gliding ride and I couldn't work my camera settings so I only got a video of my feet. Man, this trip was an utter fail.

Except for this hot dog with onions and peppers from the original Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs. It was good but meh, just a regular hot dog at the end of the day. Long and skinny. tee hee

The trip ended as it started, with a Brooklyn rooftop BBQ. I met these guys from Manhattan Agriculture, a Brooklyn based rooftop farm. At first they were just enjoying the bbq and then suddenly Luke Wu pulls out a bag of home grown veggies. What?!? Who brings veggies to a bbq and lays them out like a farmer's market? I loved it. If I wasn't traveling, I would totally take these veggies and cook something, especially those baby carrots and garlic scapes. Rooftop agriculture is really fascinating for a California girl like me because densely populated urban areas do not have a lot of land for farming. It's a great way to make use of the same land without plowing down more trees to make arable land. San Francisco is already doing this but I hear that rooftop gardens in SF are struggling. Well you pretty much have a Whole Foods or a community garden on every corner, it must be a tough market. Check out the Manhattan Agriculture Facebook page, make a donation if you wish. Look at their awesome food porn. Enjoy!

NY 2011- Momofuku Ssam Bar

So who hasn't heard of the Momofuku brand in New York? Chef David Chang's extremely popular Momofuku Ssam Bar, Milk Bar, and Noodle Bars are well known in the city and out of state. Before coming to New York, most people told me not to waste my time here and that it was overrated. A few people did mention to come here for the buns but nothing else. Let's see if I agree with their reviews.

Dr. Fuku - A really light tasting but strong drink.

($6) BRT buns- crispy pork belly, heirloom tomato, smoked mayo. The BRT bun was pretty good. It's not really outstanding and I don't know if I would come back for it but at the time, it was good.

($10) Steamed buns - pork belly, hoisin, cucumbers, scallions. These were excellent. They're a bit smaller than the BRT bun but Peking duck style buns are so delicious. The pork belly was soft and fatty as it should be and the cucumbers added a nice crunch. Well balanced flavors and texture, I like!

($18) Chanterelles: pickled quail egg, bone marrow, green juniper. This was disappointing. I was excited about all the ingredients but had no idea portion size would be about 2 bites. The contents pictured above fit into a dipping sauce plate but was presented in a pho noodle sized bowl. Although the quail eggs were (pickled?) perfection and the chanterelles were very interesting, I ask, "Where is the bone marrow and where is the rest of the food?"

($17) Pickled P.E.I mussels. Yes, pickled seafood. How interesting. We ordered this because it was new and exotic. It's not too bad but kind of plain. I was expecting a lot more because of the rarity of this find. It's also a bit oily, even after mixing the contents around the jar. It's eaten on slices of bruschetta and is jarred with kohlrabi, wild spinach (which was yummy), and shishito peppers.

($26) Roasted lamb loin and belly with bulgur, snap peas, and egg yolk. We more or less hated this lamb dish. The lamb belly had the consistency of delicious pork belly but the gameyness expected of lamb. The lamb loin, pictured like a steak, is particularly gamey and foul tasting. It's like the closer you get to the crotch area of the animal, the more it starts tasting how you would expect it to smell.

Happy to have tried it. Not happy to have paid the bill. Thinking of what to eat for our second dinner. In summary, everything I was told about Momofuku was right. If you come here, only have the buns and don't bother waiting in line if there is one. It's kinda good but not that good, and way over priced for itty bitty portions. Very much a tourist trap. Darn that David Chang, he tricked me!

Momofuku on Yelp

NY 2011 - Peter Luger Steakhouse

Peter Luger Steakhouse first appeared on my radar after Sherry posted her awesome pictures on her blog. Having been around for 120 years, Peter Luger's is quite the New York establishment: open everyday, reservations only, and the service is something else. Everyone who works here looks like they've been here for 10 or more years. Seasoned veterans who were attentive and not pushy. We were so glad to have had a chance to try Peter Luger, even though its quite a train ride away to Brooklyn and my big purse almost got us jammed in the subway turnstile.

Luger's famous house made steak sauce. You can buy this by the bottle too. It didn't look too special to me at the time, but now I really regret not buying it.

($14.95) Sliced steak tomatoes and onions. Some days I have dreams about eating a forkful of tomatoes and onions with Luger's sauce. These are very overpriced tomatoes and onions but they were necessary to balance the all-meat meal and they ended up being the best tomatoes and onions I've eaten.

($3.95) Thick strip of sizzling bacon. I never knew bacon could be this thick and taste this good. It tastes more or less like ham but saltier and less fatty than regular grilled thin bacon.

Our waiter gave great attentive service, complete with entertaining antics. He's also a master at serving with two spoons. Look at Pham staring at him with her dreamy eyes. Someones in love...

($133.35) Steak for 3. We ordered medium rare but the plate was still hot enough to keep cooking if we wanted a more well done piece. This was undeniably THE best steak I've eaten. It beats Alexander's because it was simple. Sometimes there's not much to be done with a good piece of meat than to just cook it. That is exactly what Peter Luger's did and their delicious sauce helped alot. Also, $133 can get you a steak large enough to serve 4 or maybe even 5 and I don't think Alexander's frou frou steaks can do that. No hate to Alexander's, they were still very delicious, CUT in Vegas was also delicious, but Peter Luger has them all beat.

THIS is how you eat meat, tomatoes, and onions. Every bite must have sauce.

After dinner chocolate coins.

The best last meal in New York. In hind sight, 3 girls should have ordered the steak for 2 or even steak for 1. It was so huge. Well I guess it's better to have too much of the best steak ever than to have not enough.

Peter Luger on Yelp

NY 2011 - Sarabeth's Kitchen

On my second trip to New York, the food once again blew my taste buds away. Oh New York, you never disappoint. One of the most memorable meals of the trip was our brunch at Sarabeth's Kitchen. Recall that on my last trip, I had brunch at Petite Abeille, Belgian brunch restaurant. How does Sarabeth's compare?

We waited a good 30-40 minutes in line at the Central Park location, smelling the waft of horse excrement on a humid NY summer day. Lovely... But once inside, Sarabeth's was so worth the wait. The decor was a cute and refreshing light seafoam green and the room was well lit. Perfect brunch setting.

($7.50) I ordered the Four Flower Juice which is somewhat of a fruity V8 kind of drink. It's a blend of orange, pineapple, pomegranate, and the dreaded banana. But you don't even taste the banana. This was really fantastic. Like a really fresh and healthy, fancier V8.

Peach Bellini(?). A twist on the classic mimosa. These were also delicious.

($18.50) Classic Eggs Benedict with Canadian bacon. That price is really bonkers but this was really good. You can't go wrong with the classic, especially when the eggs and Hollandaise were that good.

($18.50) These are my smoked salmon eggs Benedict. They are arguably the best smoked salmon eggs Benedict I've ever had. Actually, they are the best smoked salmon ones because I usually have crab cakes eggs Benedict (more on that later).

($8.50) Sarabeth's award winning cookies. These were really underwhelming to me. I'm no expert on sweets so I'll save the critiques for a professional. All I can comment on is that from a customer and taste bud perspective, they were good but not outstanding and should be cheaper.

The ladies for brunch + Matt. Hi, Matt! In case you're reading, thanks for tuning in and thanks for taking this picture.

Sarabeth's Central Park South on Yelp

New York 2010 - Petite Abeille

LAST NEW YORK ENTRY, I SWEAR!

 It must be a very couply thing to go have brunch. You sleep in on a Sunday morning, you wake up and you want some food before going to the farmer's market. Yup that sounds about right. It is also reserved for those who party hard on Saturday and can't wake up in time for breakfast. Sometimes they don't even wake up in time for brunch. I belong to the former category of brunch goers.

Sherry obliged our couply wishes and took us to brunch at Petite Abeille which is the cutest little Belgian place.

Belgian tea pots displayed above Belgian beers.

Someone has cute hand writing.

The mussel chowder that we split 3 ways. This was so good. Just the right consistency. So much better than any of the clam chowders at the Santa Cruz Chowder Festival and it's made from mussels which makes it very unique. A first for me. Highly recommend it to chowder lovers.

I always love me some jiggly eggs benedict boobs atop an english muffin and some smoked salmon. Comes with a side salad and some stoemp which must be Belgian for mashed potatoes because that's exactly what they are. Although the eggs were cooked well, I'm not a huge fan of the hollandaise sauce. I want to say it tasted sour but that makes it sound incredibly awful which it was not at all. Just a slight hint of sour. I've grown really fond of the sauce they use at Crepevine for their crab cake eggs benedict that I always get so this just didn't compare. Future review on that.

Sherbear looks pretty chipper in this. Must be because she's about to eat her stoemp with her eggs benedict boobs atop some spinach.

Phil really enjoyed his ratatouille burger. Yup, made by Belgian mice in the back kitchen. Kidding! It was a burger with ratatouille flavored tomatoes and veggies on top. Comes with a heaping pile of fries. 

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS

Not much to say except brunch is always good and filling. Belgian food is awesome! Only thing missing was a liege waffle.$0 for whoever can tell me what "petite abeille" means. small bee?

Petite Abeille on Yelp