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"new york city"
I love chick flicks. Always have and always will. Call it the hopeless romantic in me. As an ode to them, I purposely left these next two NYC food entries for last. Let’s kick it off with a Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack classic.
Tina and I—along with Tina’s real sister Jen and her wannabe one Justine—planned dinner around dessert this time around. We gambled and decided to head to Serendipity on a Saturday night without reservations. Although it wasn’t the best waiting close to an hour for out table, it was totally worth the wait. Warning: This entry contains absurds amounts of chocolate. It is quite possible you could induce yourself in a sugar coma by just reading this.
Just like the movie, we sat on the second floor and immersed ourselves in cute and quirky decor. The tables to the right on the picture above are exactly where John and Kate sat in the movie and dropped that famous black glove that sealed their fate.
So we bartered our plane tickets on the street just so that we could order this. Just kidding. We went the more economical route and ordered the Frrrozen Hot Chocolate and the Forbidden Broadway Sundae.
The Forbidden Broadway Sundae is basically chocolate on chocolate on chocolate with layers of cream separating them. The base of the goblet is their Chocolate Blackout Cake which is then topped with ice cream. The ice cream is then topped with super rich hot fudge and then whipped cream which is finished with a drizzling of chocolate shavings. See, I wasn’t exaggerating.
Besides, embracing our inner hopeless romantics, this delectable drink was the whole reason why we wanted to visit Serendipity. The Frrrozen Hot Chocolate is probably what this joint is most known for. I guess the contradictory name which seems to leave people going “Wha?”, is easily explained as being something close to a chocolate milk shake/slushee. If you love chocolate, this one is for you. I even purchased two packs of powdered Frrrozen Hot Chocolate from the General Store to take home back to Vancouver for my family.
Because of the massive sizing portions in goblets, I think all the desserts at Serendipity are best shared with good company. Even between the four of us, we were still in a state of sugar comatose once we were done!
Serendipity is located at:
225 E 60th St.
New York, NY
It was strange, while we were in NYC we didn’t really have too much Asian food. If there’s one thing we do it better here in Vancouver, it’s definitely that. I guess we’re used to always having a plethora of delicious Asian cuisine at cheap prices within steps of wherever we are so we take it for granted most times. However, our good friend CRPP said that we had to visit Momofuku Noodle Bar while we were in NYC. And as we all know, I love ramen so how could I say no?
I really loved the atmosphere inside. It’s really catered towards people who are constantly on the go and are probably on a quick lunch. We stopped by after our absolute last shopping session.
We started off with the pork buns which CRPP specifically told us we had to try. The buns were soft and delicious like the Siopao buns I oh so love. It had pork, hoisin sauce, scallions, and thinly sliced cucumbers. Perfect appetizer.
I could eat ramen everyday and still love it. For my main meal I decided to go with the Spicy Miso Ramen which had smoked chicken, Swiss chard, and sesame. The noodles were soft and chewy and the broth not too spicy or salty. It was just right :) Even in the absurd NYC heat, I thoroughly enjoyed this big bowl of noodles that left my stomach feeling tres happy.
Momofuku Noodle Bar is located at:
171 1st Ave
New York, NY
Have a sweet tooth? Well Momofuku Milk Bar will be right up your alley. The Milk Bar is one of David Chang’s five establishments scattered across the New York. I was lucky enough to also visit the Noodle Bar (see review here).
This little hole in the wall is literally tucked in and camouflaged so well into the other East Village buildings that if you weren’t looking for it you could easily walk past it. On our first time visiting, Tina and I chose to share a slice of their famous Crack Pie and a jug of their Cereal Milk.
The name Crack Pie is probably an ode to how it’s addicting like crack. It’s not your ordinary pie. At first glance you’ll feel that it’s under cooked because it’s uber oooey-gooey. But let me tell you it is goooood. So much so, that people are willing to pay the outrageous $44 price tag for a whole pie. The contents of this highly addicting pie are so simple it sounds to good to be true—butter, cream, brown sugar, sugar, and corn flour. I’ve found a couple recipes online that I think I will have to try and make this myself one day.
Cereal lovers, this one’s for you. The Cereal Milk is quite literally what the name says it is. Imagine you’re eating a bowl of cereal and you get to the part where there are none left. Depending on your preference for cereal to milk ratio, you’re left with a approximately three gulps of delicious milk that the cereal has been swimming in. Now instead of three gulps, you get a whole jug! You can buy the jug ready to drink or if you would rather make it yourself later you can by a jug filled with all the ingredients you need. All you have to do is add in the milk!
On our last full day in NYC, Tina and I decided to return to the Milk Bar post our adventure to the Noodle Bar so we could indulge ourselves one last time and buy some goodies to bring home. The picture above is pretty self explanatory now that you know the story behind Cereal Milk. It’s Cereal Milk soft serve dipped in Frosted Flakes. I unfortunately don’t have any pictures of the cookies I purchased that day for souvenirs (my family devoured that before I could get the chance) but I’ll list my favourites for you below.
Compost Cookie Pretzels, Potato chips, coffee, oats, butterscotch, and chocolate chips
Cornflake Cookie Cornflakes, marshmallows, and chocolate chips
I might also attempt to make these myself one day as there are recipes online. Or they do ship internationally …Hmm tempting.
Momofuku Milk Bar is located at:
251 E 13th St
New York, NY
You know that feeling when you don’t notice how many people have a certain thing until you actually buy it yourself? Well a similar thing happened to me. After visiting NYC, I slowly became apparent to the fact that various parts of the city are used repeatedly as sets for many movies and television shows. This is now my second food adventure inspired by one and it’s not my last. This particular food adventure to Cafe Habana—known for corn of all things—was a collaborative effort of planning and fate.
Back story: We had already planned to visit Cafe Habana based on the mere fact that a short scene in the movie Friends with Benefits starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis was filmed there. After a morning spent seeing the Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, and Wall Street, we decided that it was the perfect afternoon for shopping. We deliriously wandered through the streets of SoHo and Tina kept denying my feeble attempts of stumbling into any random restaurant we walked by. Finally, we noticed a diner looking place with no name. As soon as I walked in, I realized that we had found Cafe Habana by fate.
Tina and I both knew we were in for a delicious snack when we were welcomed upon entering with “Hi. Are you here for corn or lunch?” When people go to a spot specifically for the corn of all things, you know that it has to be pretty damn legendary.
Behold! Grilled corn served with mayonnaise, cheese, chilli powder, and lime. Each order comes with two cobs of corn so it’s perfect to share with a friend (Tip: maybe not a good first date meal because it’s messy). Don’t let the lack of words that I have to describe this delicious snack take away from how good it is. Because trust me, it is. It’s left me craving for something similar now that I’m back home so I might just have to try to make it myself. Oh and to top it all off? We got to sit in the exact spot where Justin and Mila sat in during that scene of the movie :)
Cafe Habana is located at:
17 Prince St
New York, NY
Right before Tina and I left for New York, we asked people for a list of places we just HAD TO try while we were in the city. And I’ll tell you, Shake Shack was the unanimous answer people gave us. There was a lot of hype put on this one particular burger joint (almost as much as the West Coast favourite, In-N-Out).
Our first time stopping by Shake Shack was after checking out The American Museum of Natural History one afternoon. We found that all the walking around had really worked up our appetite and luckily the Upper West Side location was within a couple blocks.
This time around, I picked the SmokeShack Burger—a cheeseburger with ranch dressing, all-natural apple wood smoked bacon, chopped cherry peppers and their famous Shack sauce. I decided to also pair it with their Black & White shake (pictures below).
With our food in hand and limited seating inside Shake Shack, we decided to have dinner on a bench in Central Park in typical New York fashion. It took a while for us to find the perfect spot to sit so the burger wasn’t as good as it could’ve been had we indulged immediately. Also, because I had finished majority of my shake by the time we sat down, I was pretty full so my appetite was slightly ruined. Nonetheless the burger was delicious. The bun was quite possibly my favorite part as it was so soft and really brought the whole burger together.
Feeling like we didn’t really get the most out of Shake Shack our first go around, we decided to make it our last meal before we headed for the airport on our last day in NYC. Post mani-pedis and starving, we made the trek back in the heat. Boy, it was worth it. We inhaled our burgers so fast that we forgot to take pictures (sorry). Even with the basic staple of the single patty Shackburger our stomachs were satisfied. And of course, I couldn’t say no to the delectable Black & White shake. At that point we were already so WAYF that we said “Why not?” to the cheese fries.
So a word of advice, come excited and hungry because Shake Shack definitely does not disappoint.
Shake Shack is located at:
366 Columbus Ave
New York, NY
Hi everyone, Pat’s back from NYC and ready to share some awesome food adventure stories! To kick it off, let’s start off with the very first meal Tina and I had when we finished the long trek through the concrete jungle—Gray’s Papaya.
It was almost 9:00pm and we were starving and bordering close to hanger. Luckily this popular NYC joint was just steps from our apartment. Gray’s Papaya is a famous New York staple that has been featured in numerous films and TV shows—How I Met Your Mother, Sex and the City, The Back Up Plan, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist… the list goes on. This 24 hour Upper West Side joint is known for their frugal prices and fast (although sometimes short) service. It’s perfect for those who are on a rushed lunch break or for a late night meal.
Tina and I both opted for the “Recession’s Special” which includes 2 hotdogs + tropical drink for $4.95. Sauerkraut and onion add ons are complimentary while the chilli, cheese, and relish are .50 cents each. My favourite combo was the chilli + cheese and the relish + sauerkraut/onion. The papaya drink on the side was a good refresher to the hot and humid NYC weather.
Gray’s Papaya is one of the more economical meals in NYC that definitely helps when the purse strings start to tighten (which this city will do to you quick). So if you’re ever in the Upper West Side, swing by and check out Gray’s Papaya. It was our inaugural welcome to the big city!
Gray’s Papaya is located at:
2090 Broadway at 72nd Street
New York, NY
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