Happy National Donut Day!

I have to get something straight with everyone right away — I am not obsessed with donuts. I actually maybe eat two or three a year (if that). Yes, two or three — one during a road trip home to Hershey, one in the JFK airport and one on National Donut Day — those were the exact times this year that I have eaten a donut.

And since today marks National Donut Day… today was one of my days I ate a donut. To be more specifically, I ate a donut from the Doughnut Plant. There are two Doughnut Plants: one in Chelsea and one in the Lower East Side. They are both fantastic and busy and full of the most uniquely flavored donuts you will ever taste. Flavors like blueberry, “rose doughseeds,” pistachio, peanut butter, creme brulee, and more!

Today, I decided to go with a flavor I have been a bit obsessed with this summer — Coconut! Wow, yes, I said coconut!

I was surprised that the coconut flavor wasn’t over-powering. Instead, it was a sweet, sugary coconut flavor that was glazed over a light and fluffy donut dough (if you have had a pina colada, you’re all set — if only there was rum on the inside of the donut!). What was on the inside? Coconut cream! Wait, what? Coconut cream? On the inside of a square-shaped donut? Yup, that’s correct! And the owner of the Doughnut Plant won’t tell us how he got that cream on the inside of his square donut. It’s a mystery I am happy with because the donut was unbelievably delicious and was the perfect solution to quench my coconut-obsessed taste-buds!

Whether it’s National Donut Day or not… This donut shop is so tasty, it might be a place you just have to stop at when you visit NYC!

The Grey Dog on University Place

I used to live down in the Washington Sq. Park area the first summer I lived in New York City. I can’t tell you how many times I walked up and down University Place going from my apartment to Union Square. I loved living down in that area of Manhattan — there wasn’t anything more special than to walk outside in the morning and walk right out into the park. There’s something about The Village that just brings back so many memories, my initial memories of the city. If you are only in the city for one day I say skip Times Square and Central Park and head down to Washington Square Park and wander the village, walk in and out of boutiques, eat at some great restaurants and call it a day. I could honestly sit on a bench in Washington Square Park and people watch for hours and hours.

My friend Blaz asked me to lunch and since he works down in the Union Square area I offered to meet him in the neighborhood. He suggested we go to The Grey Dog. I have never even heard of The Grey Dog before but of course I said yes. It also gave me the perfect opportunity to wander around a few of my favorite blocks in the city and sit in the park on a lovely spring afternoon.

While I waited for Blaz tons of people came in and out of the restaurant, and I knew I was going to have a great experience when people would walk by and rave about the food to their friends or family, and tons of people also would point to the restaurant and tell their friends, “I have heard amazing things about that place.” So, clearly I was waiting impatiently while waiting for my friend to arrive for our lunch date.

Once he arrived, we went inside and waited to order. The way the restaurant works is: you walk in, view the menu on a big chalk board, stand in line, and order your food when it’s your turn. If you want to sit down after ordering someone will ask you while you’re in line and he will tell you where you’ll be sitting and you can sit down once you’ve ordered. There’s no table service, so when they call your name you need to get up and get your food, especially if it’s a crazy day. If you want a refill on your drink, sorry to say but you’ll have to stand in line again. So be sure to order everything you want before sitting down.

I ordered the grilled chicken press with fresh mozzarella, pesto and roasted tomato. Such a simple sandwich and even though it was unbelievably delicious, I wished that I ordered something a little more exotic — like the sliced granny smith apple with turkey, brie and raspberry mustard. I guess I will save that order for next time! The chicken meat in my sandwich was nice and moist and the pesto really hit the spot. Pesto is one of my comfort foods and I love putting it on all sorts of things. Served with my pressed sandwich were sweet potato fries. Have you ever put mayo on your sweet potato fries? Do it! And you’ll be hooked on the combo!

In addition to my sandwich, my friend Blaz told me I had to try one of the raspberry iced teas. I wasn’t too sure about the unsweetened iced tea, I love having something nice and sweet because it really quenches my thirst! So, instead, I ordered the raspberry lemonade — and I am beginning to crave a glass of it right now as I type this post. The lemonade reminded me of what I used to drink growing up. As I sipped down my lemonade I remembered how I used to go bare-foot in the middle of summer time, and how I used to love to run barefoot through the grass (something I sadly I can’t do here in the city). I probably thought about this because I used to drink pink lemonade all summer long when I was a teenager. The raspberry flavor only added the most perfect sophistication to the very sweet lemonade. You can’t go to The Grey Dog without ordering one of those drinks — Raspberry Lemonade or Raspberry Iced Tea.

It was such a nice day, we probably should have ordered the food to-go and then sat down in the park. It’s something to keep in mind for next time, especially if there are no tables available to sit down at!

Wine:30 in Murray Hill

I love wine, especially full-bodied red wine. To be more specific I have a soft spot for Malbec, it’s my favorite type of wine… although I have truly enjoyed a variety of wine from Tuscany too. This summer, I want to venture to more wine bars, and if possible experience wine tastings every once in a while. So, if anyone has any ideas of where to start, I would love suggestions!

I recently went to a wine bar in Murray Hill — I know, I never spend any time in Murray Hill (unless it’s at my boyfriend’s apartment, or seeing a movie at the AMC). So when I was invited to Wine:30 I thought it would be a hit to find something great in a neighborhood I am not a big fan of. When I first walked in I only saw a couple tables out front, and of course they were occupied — I immediately assumed that I would be sitting inside. I was pleasantly surprised when I was lead out to a back garden that seated dozens! It was the perfect weather to enjoy a glass of wine outside!

Of course I ordered my favorite Malbec, but there was such a wide selection of wine I’m sure every wine lover would be satisfied. A new foodie friend of mine joined me and we ended up ordering some Bruschetta. I highly recommend everyone who is looking for some vibrant flavors to order some bruschetta. Plus, if it’s just you and a friend, Wine:30′s order of bruschetta is perfect because each selection comes in two pieces. So, you can order 3 types and 6 pieces will arrive at the table (perfect, a sample of each for both people).

We ordered 3 types: tomato, mozzarella, basil, balsamic, honey, and extra virgin olive oil as well as  caramelized onion, goat cheese, and melted gruyere and finally the last one we ordered was roasted corn, black beans, chihuahua cheese, cilantro and lime juice.

All three of them were fantastic, but if I had known about some of the flavors I would have ordered other options because of my food mood (if you know what I mean). I love gruyere cheese and hearing the goat cheese gruyere combo with caramelized onions sounded delish — but when it came and I quickly bit into it, I realized that it reminded me of a gourmet grilled cheese. It was ridiculously delicious although I wasn’t in the grilled cheese mood.

I was insanely surprised with the order of the roasted corn, black beans, chihuahua cheese, cilantro and lime juice. I don’t know what I was expecting but I wasn’t expecting for it to be my favorite. It was a cold mixture of toppings which went perfect with the refreshing flavors of the cilantro and lime juice. If this specific bruschetta was heated it wouldn’t have been as tasty. But how interesting are these toppings? Can you say, “Mexican-style Italian bruschetta”??

Last but not least was the tomato, mozzarella, basil, balsamic, honey and extra virgin olive oil. This is such a classic way to make bruschetta and the ingredients always come together beautifully. Typically when I make this combo at home I don’t dice up the ingredients, rather I slice everything up and pile them on top of one another — I like this way much more because then the pieces of cheese and tomato aren’t constantly falling off.

This was just a quick brief overview of what is on the menu — I was so surprised with how large the wine bar’s food selection is and I need to go back soon to sample more. I promise you I will, because I think this wine bar has amazing summer-time-hot-spot potential!

Chicago’s Pancake House

My boyfriend is from Chicago and I always look forward to our trips back to the Midwest to visit his family. Not only do I love his family, but I have come to love Chicago as well (don’t tell any of my New York friends). Chicago is full of friendly & energetic people, the crowd is both young and old (if you want to call people “old”), and the city is spectacularly clean (unlike NYC).

We have also had many exciting culinary experiences in the city of Chicago (remember my post on Joe’s?). Of course I am now dying to go to Giuliana & Bill Rancic’s new restaurant, but this trip to Chicago didn’t give us any time to squeeze in a dinner out on the town (we were in town for a wedding). So, we settled for a tasty breakfast instead of dinner.

In the downtown section of Chicago we walked from the new Waldorf Astoria to the Pancake House, which was only a few blocks away from each other. Architecture in Chicago is very different than typical New York City buildings — I love how you can see everything in Chicago all on one block no less… You’ll see the newly designed buildings that have a more “green” and exotic style, you’ll see the old-school (yet gorgeous) town houses, and then you’ll see a random little building like the Pancake House that looks like someone’s personal country-style home. So adorable!

Luckily we arrived before a huge rush — although the restaurant was already packed and we ended up waiting for about 15 minutes. The orange juice that was sipped down before our food arrived was freshly squeezed and exceptionally refreshing! We ordered the Apple Pancake and the Dutch Baby to share with the entire table — these two dishes are signature plates that you must order to get the full experience. I love apples, so of course I knew I would enjoy the Apple Pancake. I guess I wasn’t expecting how much I would love it though. Think of two things: apple pie, and cinnamon pancakes. Now, put the two together. That’s exactly what the Apple Pancake is… fluffy pancakes with rich cinnamon-glazed granny apple slices. It’s also a great dish to share with everyone, it’s easy to cut and isn’t as messy as you might expect!

I wasn’t as big of a fan of the Dutch Baby, probably because my boyfriend ordered it as “The Dutch Pancake.” Having spent time in The Netherlands, I expected to have more of a classic Dutch-style pancake… and that’s not what the Dutch Baby is.

I recently watched an episode of “The Barefoot Contessa” where Ina baked her pancakes in the oven (brilliant, I have to say). When she took the pancakes out of the oven they were extremely fluffed up and the outside of the pancake was much higher than the middle. That’s exactly what this Dutch Baby looked like. Covered with whipped butter, lemon, and powdered sugar, the Dutch Baby is crispier on the edges and softer in the middle. The flavor wasn’t anything spectacular and was fairly bland.

I ordered a skillet that had the following in the dish: hash browns on the bottom, green pepper, red pepper, onion, and pepper jack cheese, topped with 2 eggs that were cooked over-easy. Once I punctured the egg and let the egg yolk run out all over the hash browns, veggies and cheese I knew the flavors would infuse perfectly together. And I was right! The pepper jack cheese add a beautiful spice to the plate — it was nothing overwhelming, but a little heat makes eggs taste great (wouldn’t you agree?). Quickly my boyfriend’s fork made its way over to my skillet and he enjoyed the dish just as much as I did!

I hope we are able to go back the next time we are in Chicago! The prices were very reasonable and the service was extremely attentive. Bravo Pancake House, bravo!

Buschenschank, German Restaurant in Brooklyn

Over the past 2 weeks I have gone to Brooklyn more over those 14 days than I have over the 2 years I have lived in New York City. My friends Ken and Blaz have been letting me take their new addition, Little Bear, out for walks around their neighborhood while they are at work. Little Bear is an adorable Boston Terrier and I have fallen in love with her! The boys have trained her so well, she has mastered the basic commands but she can also follow commands based on “sign language”… Pretty smart, I know!

When I went to Brooklyn to meet with Ken and Blaz to learn about how to take care of Little Bear, the three of us ended up going out for dinner at a new restaurant in their ‘hood. We wound up at a spot called Buschenschank (located in Carroll Garden) — what a tongue twister that name is, good thing I only have to spell it for you guys and I don’t have to pronounce it!

We weren’t too sure what to expect, but while we were waiting for our table we ended up ordering a few brewskies and spent some time catching up. We were shocked at how CHEAP the large selection of beer was. The beer on tap was offered in three different sizes! Not only did we love the sizes of beer options, the selection of beer to pick from, and the prices — but we also loved all of the different types of beer glasses the booze was served in. Who wouldn’t love a chic beer mug? Do those even exist? Yes they do!

When we ordered we knew we had to order one of the pretzels. Even more specifically, we had to order the specialty pretzel with “bier cheese.” My expectations on soft pretzels is now very high after experiencing this restaurant’s pretzel… I have never experienced “bier cheese” before this evening and now I don’t think I could ever eat a pretzel without it. The flavor explodes in your mouth, it’s texture is creamy and when paired with the salt from the pretzel all of the flavors come together beautifully!

I ended up ordering a pizza — very basic, but wow it was delish! I signed up for the “Adige” pizza, aka the “white pizza” that was topped with mushrooms, arugula, and a goat cheese sauce. The smokiness of the arugula went fantastic with the goat cheese sauce. Although, if I was to change anything about this pizza, I would add goat cheese chunks to the top of the pizza in addition to the goat cheese sauce below all of the other toppings. Otherwise the crust was perfectly crisp and all of the tastes on the pizza went together great. If you don’t enjoy a salty dish, be sure to skip out on this pizza!

My friend Ken ordered the traditional cheese pizza and I was expecting it to taste very basic but it was such a different experience than all of the other ordinary “cheese pizzas” out there. Every ingredient was bold and flavorful and unbelievably fresh. I think after our experience at this restaurant all three of us would love to return! The service was impeccable (even our hostess was beyond fabulous!). It’s always nice to have great service on top of delicious food!

Masa 14 in Washington DC

This past weekend I left the Big Apple and ventured down to Washington DC to visit friends — Brittany and Curtis. I can’t believe the two of them are moving all the way to the West Coast, so this was my last chance to see the two before they head off to LA.

Brittany is a big foodie just like me — I always look forward to her visits here in New York City because we always end up exploring the city and wining and dining. So, naturally I knew that Brittany had a restaurant or two in mind for my trip down to DC.

The night I arrived we went to Masa 14 — a Latin-Asian fusion restaurant with the perfect tapas servings. I can’t tell you how much I love tapas, it allows you to not only sample a little bit of everything but it also bonds everyone at the table because you are sharing the same food. Tapas is the perfect way to bring a group together.

We really chowed down — so get ready for lots of pictures (and I’ll be sure to keep the explanations short and brief).

Lets start with the crispy shrimp — served with chipotle aioli, sesame, scallion and masago. The texture was perfect, exactly what you look for when you order crispy shrimp. And just take a look at this plate — it’s full of color, and when you see color I can guarantee you that the flavors will be bold!

There was a lovely selection of flatbreads so it was tough to pick which one would be best. We ended up going with the Wild Mushroom Flatbread that’s served with Oaxaca cheese, red pepper and avocado. The bread turned out perfectly crisp on the bottom and the avocado’s texture balanced out the bread’s crispiness.

The fried okra was actually the first thing that we ordered and it was gone in about 45 seconds once it hit the table. Perfectly fried means it was nice and crispy on the outside and flavorful on the inside. The dipping sauce made with ginger, basil, garlic and chilies added the perfect spice to the mild-fried okra. This is a must order dish if you go to Masa 14!

You might think that the last thing you should order from a Latin-Asian fusion restaurant is french fries — but you’d be a fool not to here! The fries were potatoey just the way I like them (I hate when fries are thin and crispy and there’s no soft potato left in them). They were served with one heck of a dipping sauce made with chimichurri, garlic and a lime aioli dipping sauce. This lime aioli dipping sauce has inspired me to experiment in my kitchen — I’m determined to recreate this! The lime brings such a refreshing taste to the fried potato.

Another winner on the menu was the Mole Dusted Tenderloin Medallion that was served with mustard potatoes that added a beautiful spice to the plate and mixed in with the potatoes were some edamame. The meat was placed on top of a cilantro-mint chutney — this was the highlight! I have never had such an amazing sauce on beef before. It wasn’t “rich” the way every other meat sauce typically is, it was light and fresh.

Another must-order is the crispy crab won ton rolls that are stuffed with cream cheese, corn, mushroom, shiso, truffle, and spicy ponzu. Need I say more? I think the ingredients do all the talking! I would have been happy to continue ordering these crispy won ton rolls all night long. Any one who eats at this restaurants MUST order these!

I don’t usually eat pork, but I decided that one big bite of it wouldn’t hurt. We ordered the Angus Beef and Pork Meatballs. Perfectly moist and drowned in a delicious sauce, these meatballs were spicy and cooked beautifully. Served with cotija cheese, scallion and smoked tomato yuzu sauce, it makes me want to get into the kitchen at home to try to recreate these using all beef. But, I have a funny feeling I could never beat the recipe from Masa 14.

Overall our experience was unbelievable. Not only was every single plate we ordered perfectly prepared, but the service was fantastic and the ambiance was exactly what you’re looking for for a Friday night dinner. The restaurant was packed the moment we walked in at 8:15 — our reservation was for 9 but the host was so accommodating she sat us right away! When I go back to DC, I would love to eat out at this restaurant again — although I know the experience would never be the same without Brittany and Curtis.

The Standard Grill

I’ve been wanting to head to this restaurant for a while now, but unfortunately it’s one of those places that you need to call a month in advance in order to get a convenient reservation time — and obviously, that can get pretty difficult to do when you have a crazy schedule. But with out-of-town friends visiting, we were able to snag an 8 p.m. reservation. Unfortunately, we weren’t seated until 8:45! I was very worried that the long wait we were put through was going to be just the start to an ugly dinner.

Thank goodness… I was wrong!

Located in the heard of Meatpacking, The Standard Grill is a hot-spot and will probably be for a while. They have a beer garden located right next door, and it’s open year-round. Tucked underneath the Highline, the beer garden is open rain or shine and in the winter time walls are put up in order to keep the heat in. When you arrive at the beer garden you will need to purchase beer tickets (if beer is what you want to drink) in order to get your drinks at the bar. It’s a great place to start your night out at.

Inside the restaurant there is a back room/ main dining room that I strongly suggest you request to sit in — the room is filled with stylish New Yorkers that not only came for the scene, but came for the food. While some of the booths are made from plush red leather, others are made from what looks like park benches — and they are perfect for large groups! Even though we had a rough start to our evening, our waiter ended up being unbelievable — he really knew the menu well and he was full of energy and was very attentive.

We started with a few appetizers — the calamari, yellowtail, and shrimp cocktail. The Standard Grill has a great raw bar selection in case anyone is looking for cocktails and raw bar as a start to their night out.

For a long time I had such a hard time with shrimp cocktail, to me biting into shrimp cocktail felt like I was biting through flesh (or something gross like that). Thank goodness I was able to get past that because I now love chowing down on these fabulous hors d’oeuvres.

Yellowtail on the other hand has always been easy for me to eat. This fish is full of flavor and paired with castelvetrano olives, uni and golden raisins tastes unbelievable! I loved scooping up all of these flavors onto my fork — the yellowtail is a must order if you eat out at The Standard Grill!

Everyone at the table really enjoyed the Charred Spanish Octopus that was served with sweet potato and chilies. The octopus was grilled to perfection and that charred taste was perfectly infused into every bite. I also really enjoyed the extra sweetness from the potatoes and they complimented the rich charred flavoring. Next Christmas when my family makes squid I will be sure to bake-up some cubes of sweet potatoes to serve with the fish!

For my main course I ordered the scallops that were cooked with sesame seeds on top. I had to show you all this photo at a larger size because I wanted you to see how beautiful the seeds look on the scallops. They also tasted incredible! They were served with what to me tasted like a pureed avocado dip that really livened up the scallops’ flavoring.

My boyfriend ordered the duck which was also a great pick off of the menu. Thanks to the blood orange on the dish, the duck had a sweet taste to it’s rich flavoring. Lately, I have really been enjoying duck — I don’t know how I went so long without eating it!

I loved our dessert too! We ordered the plate called “The Deal-Closer” which is described on the menu as a bowl of bittersweet chocolate mousse topped with whipped cream. This is actually made for two people or more and it was the perfect way to end our meal. The presentation for this dessert was pretty cool — the dessert chef got very creative. Personally when I bake, my favorite part is licking the batter off of a spatula. Which is why I felt like a little kid when our bowl of mousse was brought to the table in a traditional glass mixing bowl with two rubber spatulas that were used to scoop up the dessert to put on our own individual plates… But the cutest part was licking the spatula. This got me thinking… Why not use this as a way to serve dessert at a dinner party? People might not think that it’s a “pretty” way to serve chocolate mousse, but it sure will have your guests feeling like little kids again.

Even though I was disappointed that we had to wait an extra 45 minutes even though we had a reservation, I overall really enjoyed my dinner. Plus, the service was impeccable. When can I go back next!?