New York City Food Adventures

Hi everyone! I can't believe it's already been a month since I was in NYC. Time flies! My cousins and I were huge fatties and wanted to eat everything. There's so much amazing food in NYC it's almost overwhelming.

Day 1:

Papaya Dog
400 W 42nd St
(between 9th Ave & Dyer Ave)
New York, NY 10036
(212) 629-0632

Got off the bus, and walked straight to Papaya Dog for lunch. A coworker told me to try this place out, and I've seen it a couple times on TV. Really bright store, you can't miss it! There are only a couple small tables inside.

I got one hot dog which was really cheap ($1 something), and a cheap drink. They're known for their papaya smoothie, but I got the pina colada and tried the mango and papaya from my cousins. I think the hot dog is good with a snap to it, but the drinks weren't special to me.

Ippudo
65 4th Ave
New York, NY 10003-5220
(212) 388-0088

Met up with some friends who live in NYC now and they brought us to get ramen for dinner at Ippudo. The sign is in Japanese, so if I wasn't with them, I probably wouldn't realize this was the restaurant.

This is the bar at the entrance. Dark, cramped restaurant because it's packed!

I loved the decor. We were lucky enough to get a booth because it was much more roomy. Plus it looked so cool!

When asked if I've ever had ramen before I said, "Yeah from the package." It's SOO much better than the package, and I'm going to find a place in the DMV that serves it. I also didn't know you ate it with a 'ladle', the spoon is huge!

Everyone at the table ordered the same thing. I ordered the 'Akamaru Modern' ($13, red photo), and my cousins ordered the 'Shiromaru Hakata Classis' ($13, grey bowl). I loved the noodles, broth, portion size, everything! I highly recommend this place.

Rice to Riches

37 Spring Street
(Between Mott and Mulberry St)
New York, NY 10012
212-274-0008

There must always be dessert after dinner! We then tried out Rice to Riches, which is a rice pudding place that offers like 18 different flavors.

It reminded me of an ice cream shop. It was such a cool idea, and I love rice pudding. They also had very limited seating, but their tables were cool because they hung from the ceiling.

I bought the 'French Toast' in their small/solo/8 oz size for $6. Their bowl and spoon were really awesome too. I'm a sucker for modern design.

53rd and 6th Halal Cart "Chicken and Rice"
53rd St & 6th Ave
New York, NY 10079

Another NYC must, is getting chicken/lamb and rice at like 3am and standing in that insane line. You HAVE to try it. It's around $6 or something for a lot of food. There is another cart (same owners) on the next corner but people are loyal to the original cart and will wait forever.
I prefer the lamb with the yogurt sauce all over it. I can't do the hot sauce, it's KILLER.

The cousin accidentally dumped 1/2 the hot sauce onto her chicken. Don't do that unless you want your mouth to be on fire.

Day 2:

Golden Bridge
50 Bowery St
Suite 2F
(between Bayard St & Canal St)
New York, NY 10013
(212) 227-8831

Went to Chinatown for dim sum. We went to Golden Bridge, which is where I went in January when I was in NYC, so I didn't take anymore pics. Here's my old post.

Fa Guo San Candy Store
52 Mott St
(between Bayard St & Pell St)
New York, NY 10013

I wanted to get some bulk candy from this cool store I went to last time. Lots of Asian candies and dried fruits. I think it's like $5 a lb.

Eileen's Special Cheesecake
17 Cleveland Pl
New York, New York 10012

What would a trip to NYC be without cheesecake? Very small bakery with a couple tables, but a ton of choices!

I didn't know they made mini-cheesecakes! It was so difficult to choose.

Each mini one is $3.50. We bought the pecan, strawberry and dulce de leche. They are SO GOOD. They have a homemade taste, and nice texture.

Crumbs Bake Shop
124 University Place
New York, NY 10003
212 206 8011

While shopping we saw a woman walking with a clear shopping bag with cupcakes in them, and we HAD to get them. Such a great advertisting idea, huh?

They all looked amazing!


Each cupcake that we bought were $3.75 each. We bought Peanut Butter Cup, Devil's Food, Red Velvet and Boston Creme. They're HUGE! They're also not overly sweet, which makes it easier to devour the entire thing. Really good stuff.

Max Brenner
841 Broadway
(between 13th and 14th Streets)
New York, NY 10003
(212) 388-0030
I've been told this is THE place to get chocolate desserts, and it's correct.

2 floors for seating, chocolate colored decor, pipes filled with chocolate... it's just everywhere!

We each ordered something, even though we probably could have shared. Very RICH chocolate makes it difficult to eat the entire thing alone. We ordered the 'Hazelnut Creme Crepe' ($12.95), 'Max's Three Layer Chocolate Concotion with Tofee Bananas' ($9.75), and 'Chocolate Pizza' ($8.95).

Casellua
401 West 52nd Street
New York, NY
212-247-8137

Last night in the city, we decided to keep it low key and went to a wine and cheese bar. Tiny place, really cute and laid back.

Ordered a a bottle of white wine for $30 something and some cheese for $6, it was a great time. Their wine and cheese list changes frequently.

Liquiteria
170 Second Ave
(@ 11th St)
New York, NY
(212)358-0300

A few hours before hopping back on a bus back home, we were thirsty and stumbled upon this juice bar.

I got the 20oz 'Grasshopper- apple, pear, pineapple, wheatgrass, mint' for $5.50, and the cousins got the 'Berry Powerful- blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, bananas, vanilla soy milk, wild berry soy protein, and flax seed oil' for $5.95 (20oz), and 'Afternoon Delight- golden pineapple, melon, mint, honey, apple juice, pear juice' for $5.95 (20oz).

I loved my Grasshopper drink! The mint and wheatgrass gave it a very fresh taste that went well with the fruit.

Can't wait til my next trip to NYC!