Setting The Momofuku Milk Bar

The Goods

The Soft Serve

What food blog would be complete without an entry for Momofuku Milk Bar? This place lives up to the hype. It's standing room only, so be prepared to eat your snack on the go or wherever your next destination is. We tend to get the Cereal Milk Soft Serve to eat as we walk and a Compost Cookie for a treat later on. "Hold the phone," you say "did you just say Cereal Milk Soft Serve?". Why yes, yes I did. It tasted exactly like the milk left in the bowl after you eat a helping of corn flakes and it is delicious. Oh and the Compost Cookie? It is every good snack all thrown into a cookie. Chocolate chips? Yep. Butterscotch chips? Got it. Oats? Check. Pretzels? Sure. Potato Chips? Why not? It may sound like something a only a ten year old let loose in a kitchen would come up with, but it works.

We are addicted, and we haven't even tried the Crack Pie yet.

Mercadito Grove a Mexican retreat

Trio of Guacamole

Two weeks ago we introduced our friends G & L to korean fried chicken at Mad for Chicken, in return they introduced us to the concept of the Michelada. It sounded delicious so the Mr. whipped out his iPhone and found Mercadito Grove in the West Village that had them, so we piled in to a cab and were on our way. For some reason this Mexican drink has not caught on in Texas which I can not for the life of me understand. It's like Bloody Mary & Mr. Modelo got married and had a delicious baby drink. We got some chips & guac despite being full on the fried chicken and were immediately saddened by the fact that we had so little room in our stomachs. These were some Grade A chips & guac and we decided then and there to come back for an actual meal of food.

Last night I got an intense craving for a Michelada, but didn't feel like going out. Surprisingly, the craving stuck with me and remained just as intense all day. So back to Mercadito Grove we went. Started with the Callo (Scallop) Ceviche and split the Carne Tacos. Delicious, delicious, delicious. The couple next to us got the enchiladas and assured us they were just as good as they looked. Although honestly, you could easily just go and get the trio of guacamole or the trio of ceviche. I also love how if you are sitting facing into the restaurant it is extremely easy to believe that you are actually in Mexico and that the beach is behind you.

A Deluxe Petrie Dish

Afternoon Tea

My Mom was in town and we were exploring the Metropolitan Museum of Art when we got a bit hungry. We didn't want anything too heavy since we were meeting up with the rest of the family for dinner, so we were delighted when we saw that the Petrie Court Cafe and Wine Bar served an afternoon tea! (Note: We are also huge tea drinkers). Sampling the above platter of dips, sandwiches, and pastries while sipping tea and chatting in front of the huge window overlooking the park was one of the most delightful ways to spend an afternoon that I can think of.

Lillie's hits a Valley

I'd walked by Lillie's Victorian Bar & Restaurant many a time and was always attracted to the romantic, Victorian decor. It looked positively adorable, but this doesn't exactly hold a huge appeal for The Mr. So when I had my Mom and Grandmother in town for a girls' day, I knew exactly where I would take them for brunch. The decor didn't disappoint, it is just as cute inside as what I saw through the windows. Unfortunately, they were having problems with their air conditioning and it was the end of July. Strike #1. 

Being from Ireland, and my Mother having spent a good deal of her childhood in Ireland, we know our Irish Breakfast. In most places, we just know better than to order it, but since we are in NYC where real Irish sausage and bacon are available, we had high hopes. See where this is headed? Letdown and Strike #2.

Despite the fact that it wasn't very busy and they seemed to have plenty of staff on hand, we repeatedly found ourselves with a need and no one to help us. Through out the course of our meal I wound up fetching salt from another table and even going to the water pitcher at the bar to refill our waters. No joke. Super slow & non-attentive wait staff? You guessed it, Strike #3.

Such a let down! I was so in love with the ambience and wanted to like it so much. The only thing I can say is that perhaps their strength is more in being a bar than a restaurant.

Hurley's: Pre-Theatre Prix Fixe

Went to see The 39 Steps with some family members and needed a low-key, basic restaurant nearby the theatre. Hurley's had some good reviews on Yelp so I went ahead and made a reservation. The person who took my reservation actually had an Irish accent, which is a good sign for a place claiming Irish roots. We ordered off of the Prix Fixe Theater Menu and I went for the Baked Stuffed Clams, Veal Moran, and New York Cheesecake for $30.50. Was a really great deal because even though it looks like your run-of-the mill restaurant we were all very impressed with the quality of the food. We were also extremely satisfied with our waitstaff who helped get us out the door in time for our show even though one of the member's of our party was significantly delayed.

TBSP does it again

tbsp has quickly become our neighborhood go-to brunch spot. It's close, it's cute, it's laid back, there's (usually) no wait, and the food is fresh & delicious. Sadly, their service has been consistently lacking, but it hasn't reached a point yet where it's bad enough to outweigh the other pros. Pictured here is the French Toast, Huevos Rancheros, & Breakfast Pizza which was my favorite. Sadly it is not included on their newest menu, but I'm hoping and wishing and thinking and praying they will bring it back.

Republic, noodle country

Finally stopped in to try the noodles at Republic in Union Square. We were surprised at how spacious this place in inside, since it has a fairly unobtrusive little store front. It looks like they do community style seating, although we went at an odd time so didn't have to share our table with anyone. The Watermelon Juice was delicious (I imagine that would be hard to mess up), but the Vietnamese Coffee was only so-so. The Mr. got the Spicy Duck Noodles (top) and I ordered the Spicy Beef Noodles (bottom). They were surprisingly good- I say surprisingly because we've been traipsing all over The Village eating noodles without a clue that there were fresh noodles to be found in our own backyard. I also don't have the highest expectations for the restaurants on Union Square seeing as the area just keeps getting more and more touristy (such as the most recent addition, TGI Fridays).

Best Lobster Roll: Luke's Lobster

I'd heard Luke's Lobster referenced as the best lobster roll in NYC several times, so when the Mr. and I found ourselves hungry and in The Village one evening after going to a coworker's gig, I knew just where to go. What better way to sample all they have to offer than the "Noah's Ark" feast for two. Two lobster rolls, two shrimp rolls, two crab rolls, two crab claws, two bags of chips, and you guessed it, two drinks. The drinks were from Maine Root soda company which I found to be a nice authentic touch, I enjoyed the blueberry soda immensely. Of the food, the lobster rolls were hands down better than everything else, and next time we visit this establishment we will just go straight for that. While I haven't had many other lobster rolls in this fair city, these seemed like they would be pretty hard to beat. In fact, later in the week the Mr. had another lobster roll craving and so got one from The City Crab across the street- didn't even come close.

I Can Cook: Cannoli Cones

Next time I'm craving Cannoli instead of heading down to Little Italy I'm just going to whip up another batch of these Hungry Girl Cannoli Cones. As a bonus I used the leftover filling to make her Cannoli Stuffed French Toast bites one morning.

Beer & Burgers with Buds at Bill's Bar & Burger

After working up quite an appetite sailing we decided we wanted a good old fashioned burger to celebrate America's independence. We could also use a nice cold beer after a misadventure with a broken clutch on the boat- yikes. Our friend led the way to this trusty burger joint and it completely hit the spot. Their Veggie Burger had actual chunks of vegetable in it and was definitely not the crappy frozen patty some places try to pawn off on you. The Veggie Fries were basically vegetable tempura and were delicious. The Mr., the burger connoisseur of the family, was very satisfied. He wasn't willing to give it the honor of 'one-of-the-best' burger joints in NYC, but he did deem it 'one of the better ones'.

Mad For Chicken makes me Happy

7/2/10

To celebrate our half day we went on a field trip with our coworker in hopes of finally purchasing my new DSLR. The camera shop dude was totally sketch and tried to bait and switch me. He was also trying to convince me to by the European version of the camera "all my european customers do because they don't need the US warranty". Ummm, that's great, but I'm not European, I *want* the warranty. Then, when I informed him I would take my business elsewhere, he tried to tell me how difficult ordering online was . No, actually ordering from reputable sites like Amazon or BestBuy is quite convenient and pleasant. You must be confusing me with an old person. Do I really look like a European old person? Anyway, no new camera yet for fantastic food fotos, but soon.

After that fun diversion we headed over to get some famous Mad For Chicken korean style fried chicken. I was glad we were with someone who knew what they were doing because I would have passed by the non-descript office building door at least 5 times on my own. Then, even when I was sure I had the right address, I'm not sure I would've had the guts to walk to the back and up some even more nondescript staircase and open the plain unmarked door. But lo and behold- nice chic fried chicken restaurant inside.

We got a large mixed order of their Soy Garlic chicken and went to town. The crispiness of the chicken is just as much of an auditory experience as it is a savory one. While they are no longer officially affiliated with the Bon Chon brand, there is a reason people are talking about this stuff. Trust the hype and get some. Also of note that they have extremely good mozzarella sticks. Random I know. My only complaint was that the service was a little unattentive...oh wait, and they tried to bait & switch me by offering Diet Coke on the menu but the soda I received was clearly a Diet Pepsi. This is usually an unforgivable offense in my book, so it speaks volumes that I was willing to look past this incident and enjoy my meal.