Levain Bakery {New York, NY}

I know... I just exploded with an influx of New York foodie posts, but I just wanted to get them out of the way! The 'Eating Out' NY page is now officially updated :)

AH Levain Bakery, I love you. More honestly, I LOVE your chocolate chip walnut cookies! I've heard much, much, much goodness about Levain Bakery and their famous cookies and my visit to New York would have been utterly incomplete without it.

I mean how good can a cookie be? I make cookies all the time, and though I do love my cookies, they will never come even close to how good these cookies are. First, they are ginormous - almost the size of a large scone and they weigh about half a pound! They come to you warm, and when you break it apart, it's still gooey and melty inside - unbelievable. Basically these cookies are the best I've ever had, and no, I am not exaggerating!

COOKIE PORN!

Ahhhh, gooey ooey deliciousness.

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Wafels & Dinges {New York, NY}

It's amazing to me how on my trip to New York, I was able to eat so many "Bests." I had the best pizza ever, the best bread ever, the best milkshake ever, the best sandwich ever and now: the best waffle ever!

Hurrah to bests! We tried the liege waffle with the famous Spekuloos spread and boy were we in shock. My sister, who doesn't even like gingerbread/ spiced things enjoyed the spekuloos spread immensely - and even bought two bottles to bring home!


The waffle was a bit crispy, a bit chewy, and wholly perfect. The spekuloos spread was the icing on the cake: creamy, spiced, decadent and delicious.

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53rd & 5th Halal Cart {New York, NY}

When talking about food in New York, certain things always come up: Katz Deli, Gray's Papaya, Pastis, etc. Another one of these things is the 53rd and 6th Halal Cart. Halal carts are all over the city, and when you pass them by they always have an alluring scent. When you walk past the one at 53rd and 6th, the same alluring scent is paired with an extremely long line of avid fans. 

For some reason, the one at this specific location has blown all others out of the water! And it's only at a specific time too! After waiting in a long line, which surprisingly went by fast, we finally got our hands on the chicken and gyro combination plates.

For $6.00 a pop, these things were HUGE and extremely filling. With perfectly cooked rice, super moist meat and fresh pita, these things were delightful and delicious. They also offer BBQ sauce or a ranch-ish white sauce if you want some extra zip. Although it was delicious, I'm curious as to what makes this one so much better than all those other halal carts you see in the city...

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People's Pops {New York, NY}

Ah! New York in the Fall is supposed to be chilly, slightly rainy and a twirl of yellow, orange and red leaves! But in the midst of October, New York weather begs to differ and gave me a warm, sunny day to shop the Brooklyn Flea Market. 

Also, New York gave me People's Pops to appease the warmth of the day! Hurrah! I chose to try the Apricot-Salted Caramel which was delicious. Filled to the brim with chunks of fresh apricot and had the most unbelievably fresh flavor. Definitely a great, great popsicle. 

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Caracas Arepas Bar {New York, NY}

After a long trip of good eats, we had to end our night with something really good, despite the fact that we already had an amazing dinner! Glutinous much? I think very much so, but I decided to live a little. We found out about Caracas Arepas Bar by watching Bobby Flay's Throwdown. I love that show, merely for the fact that they always find the best of something, and in this case: arepas. 

Since we were already pretty stuffed, my friends and I just decided to get one arepa and share. Arepas are a Venezuelan bread made of corn and are hearty and toothsome. For my first experience with the bread, I'm sure it couldn't have gone any smoother. We got the 'La del Gato' with guayanés cheese, fried sweet plantain and avocado slices and it was AMAZING! The cheese was the best part because I've never had that kind before. The texture of the cheese was delicious, and of course how could you go wrong with plantains and avocado?! The arepa itself was the tiniest bit chewy and had a nice crispiness to it.


The wait here is pretty long but as explained by the sign in the restaurant, all the arepas are handmade, so just be patient! It really is worth it. We also tried the fresh passionfruit juice which was really, really delicious. Fresh, tangy and perfectly sweet. 


The arepas are pretty pricey, ranging from 6 - 8 for just one, but though they look small, they are stuffed to the brim making them more filling then you'd expect them to be.

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Momofuku Milk Bar {New York, NY}

Momofuku was one of those places I had to visit just because of all the hype I had heard about it. The bakery items sounded so interesting! After making the crack pie at home and enjoying it thoroughly, I was sure everything else at the bakery would be awesome.

1. Blueberries & Cream Cookies: these had a lovely texture, perfectly soft and chewy. The flavor was good as well, very delicate and not overwhelmingly sweet.

2. Cornflake-chocolate chip-marshamallow cookies: these were heartier and though chewy, were filled with bits of crispiness all throughout which was delightful.

3. Compost cookie: interesting, to say the least. Filled with pretzels and coffee grounds and lots more!

Overall, though I was happy for the innovative cookie ideas, I didn't love these cookies. The flavors were just alright, and nothing I would purchase again, especially when I could grab Levain Bakery cookies instead!

Perilla {New York, NY}

I'm a die hard Top Chef fan. Really though, I love the show. Ever since the first season and watching Harold Dieterle win, I couldn't wait to try his restaurant in New York.

Although the restaurant is most known for their 'Spicy Duck Meatballs' served during dinner, we opted to try their brunch - for the sake of keeping on our budget. Perilla, like most restaurants in New York, was small - something I'm not used to since all the restaurants in California are ginormous spaces. It was a bit too darkly lit for my taste but had a nice overall mood.

The dishes we tried were:


1. Creamy Parmesan Polenta with basted egg, artichokes, pomodoro sauce
2. Spicy Duck Burger with jack cheese, avocado and spiced fries
3. Crispy Oyster Po'Boy with celery seed coleslaw, pickled okra and spiced fries


The polenta dish was probably the least enjoyed by all. It was creamy and had nice texture but was quite bland but maybe that's because I love in your face flavors.

The duck burger was by far the most enjoyed! It was juicy and had this deep, rich flavor that I've never had before - probably because I've never had a duck burger haha. But it really was perfect.


The oyster po'boy sounded the most interesting and my favorite part of the sandwich was the pickled okra, which added a nice tang to the crispy oyster pieces. The pickle inside though, which is house cured, was a bit TOO tart for my taste, which is pretty shocking since I love tart things.


Overall, I our meal was just average. The atmosphere was nothing spectacular, service was good and food was just good, when I expected it to be spectacular. But maybe that's the problem, I had set my expectations too high.

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Stand {New York, NY}

After dinner at Num Pang, despite being grossly full, we needed to end our night with something sweet. And what better than the famous Stand4 toasted marshmallow milkshake?! It was literally right across the street so we had to get it - I mean, it was staring us in the face!

We heard about Stand4's famous milkshake through The Best Thing I Ever Ate, which you know, of course, is one of my favorite shows. After watching Michael Psilakis drink two in one sitting, I was sold. 

All in all, this is THE best milkshake I've ever had in my entire life. To me, a perfect milkshake is the combination of great texture and great flavor. This milkshake isn't too thick where you can't suck it up the straw but is thick enough to feel rich and creamy - which is due to their use of premium gelato rather than ice cream. 

Also, toasted marshmallow? Umm, yeah, best flavor ever!! It was sooo delicious. But what I loved even more about this shake was that it was perfectly balanced, not overly sweet so you didn't feel sick after drinking it. We also tried the apple pie shake, which was delicious as well, but the toasted marshmallow will always have the #1 spot in my heart. 

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Num Pang {New York, NY}

Num Pang, I love you.

Quite simply.

Num Pang was my FAVORITE meal of my trip to New York. It's so me! Asian based with some nice fusion ideas mixed in. The sandwiches were all delicious, and I really mean all of them. After finishing our meal, we were stuffed, but it was so good that we contemplated trying more of the menu. We didn't - but we definitely will on our next visit!

It's funny because we all got a sandwich and sneaked bites of each others' but we each liked our own the most! My favorite part about the sandwiches though, was the bread. It was so perfectly chewy and delicious - one of the best I've had.

Five spiced pork belly with pickled rhubarb: utterly tender pork with my favorite pickled carrots. Sooo delicious.

Roasted cauliflower with Chinese & Thai eggplant spread: this one had a nice kick with a spicy sauce and was my ultimate favorite. I've never had a cauliflower sandwich before, and I can say now, I will have plenty more.

Peppercorn catfish with house made sweet soy sauce: with a delicious creamy sauce and tender fish, this sandwich was perfect. 

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Sigmund Pretzels {New York, NY}

I've always dreamed of the days of getting my hands on a real, authentic, New York pretzel. Finally, my time has come...

I was wandering around Madison Square Park looking for the Kelvin Natural Slush Truck, which was no where to be found, when I stumbled upon the open market - a serendipitous surprise! So when I saw Sigmund Pretzels, I knew this was my opportunity to get my NY pretzel.

I got the salt pretzel, which was just as a pretzel should be: chewy, with a nice crust. It was delicious but I don't think that much different than pretzels here in California. The mustard was a surprise though, more similar to a Chinese version and had a nice kick, which I enjoyed.

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Sullivan St. Bakery {New York, NY}

Let me just start by saying, I love you Sullivan St. Bakery.

Bread is one of my big time loves and Jim Lahey at Sullivan St. Bakery has perfected it. We headed to the bakery for lunch but came a bit early for the sandwiches so we decided to snack on a few of the breads and pizzas, near the end, we practically ended up eating the whole menu because we could not stop eating! We even bought more to bring home - at the risk of smelling like garlic on the long subway ride home.

We also got to meet the baker, Jim Lahey, who was incredibly nice, warm and funny to boot! Please give this quaint little bakery a visit - you won't regret it.

Savory brioche with proscuitto and gruyere - how could it not be delicious?

Cauliflower pizza: best invention ever. Cauliflower on a pizza? Who knew? Anyways, really, best invention ever.

Mushroom Pizza with thyme. If you love mushrooms, you will definitely love this pizza. Thin crust, topped with oodles of mushrooms - delicious.

On to the sandwiches: mozzarella and prosciutto. Simplicity at its best. This sandwich really let the simple ingredients shine - especially the bread. Oh gosh - best sandwich bread I've ever had - crispy but perfectly chewy on the inside.

Roasted beets, arugula, goat cheese, olive oil. Honestly, the things that Jim Lahey does with such simple ingredients is amazing. He uses the best of everything so it just tastes so fantastic!!!

Bresola, heirloom tomatoes, arugula, olive oil, olive puree. The heirloom tomatoes in this were sublime! They had this salty, sweet flavor that was delicious.

Sullivan St. Bakery, I'll say it again, I'll say it forever: I love you.

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The Doughnut Plant {New York, NY}

The Doughnut Plant was probably the one place I wanted to try the most because I simply love doughnuts. Unfortunately, my anticipation got the best of me. I just wasn't impressed by these doughnuts at all! Though the flavors were innovative and I loved the concept, the taste and texture just didn't deliver.

The flavors I got were:

1. Jam-filled with vanilla glaze

2. Tres leches with creme filling

3. Pumpkin pie with candied pepitas

The tres leches was probably the best out of the three because it was cake rather than yeasted. For some reason, their yeasted doughnuts had this weird, chewy (but not in a good way) texture. I liked the creme in the tres leches, but again, it didn't WOW me. The pumpkin pie donut had great pumpkin flavor but I couldn't get past the weird texture.

Maybe I didn't enjoy these doughnuts because I've been spoiled to the likes of Bob's & The Donut Man.

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