I’ve been travelling a little lately.
I spent a while in a remote region of Northern Ontario. Took a brief but sweet trip to Ottawa. But most recently, I went on a somewhat impulsive trip to New York City.
If you want a rundown of all the insanely delicious, allergy-free, vegetable-centric, healthy restaurants New York has to offer I highly suggest you check out these posts from Angela and Leanne. In the city that never sleeps, you have virtually round the clock access to clean, healthy eats. And I’m sure they are all fantastic…
However…that was not my New York food experience.
While my usual approach to menu-hunting involves assessing all options and choosing the thing that sounds the most healthful and vegetable-dense, this time I had the singular desire to DO and EAT all the BEST THINGS this new city had to offer me. A bit of a change in strategy, if you will. From best for me, to the straight up best…And I’d say I fared pretty well.
So…where did I go? (In order of appearance)
BAOHAUS
What: light as a feather steamed taiwanese buns filled with braised meat, cilantro, pickled radish, peanuts & red sugar. veg options include tempura broccoli & tofu.
Why: everything is delicious and the place is just cool. blaring hip hop, tiny space and stupid-cute pics of owner Eddie Huang’s grandparents playing mah-jongg hanging on the wall.
Where: 137 Rivington St, Lower East Side
LOVELY DAY
What: Thai-ish mixed bag. Fusion style small plates. Mandatory noodles and curries. Fresh fish mains.
Why: ill admit the food might not blow your mind. but candlelit tables, quirky music, swank cocktails & prime people people watching make this place somewhere i’d go again. also, the waitresses and clientele were notably babely. soooo….theres that.
Where: 196 Elizabeth St, NoLIta
SARAGHINA
What: Naples-style pizza (maxing out at $15) with a selection of other homestyle salads, seafood, pasta and small plates.
Why: Its pizza. In brooklyn. And the place looks like this. YOU WANT TO GO TO THERE.
Where: 435 Halsey St. Bed-Stuy. (Brooklyn)
And lastly…
MOMOFUKU MILK BAR
What: the compost cookie. a bizarrely satisfying blend of chocolate, butterscotch, graham crumbs, pretzels, potato chips, oats and coffee grinds. Sounds more like my kitchen floor after a particularly solitary Saturday night. Am I right, ladies?
Why: The short answer is David Chang. And the shorter answer is justgoeathedamncookie. Or was that the long answer?
Where: Multiple locations. I wento 382 Metropolitan Ave. in Williamsburg. OBVI.
And there you have it. NYC in a chocolate covered, cheese drenched, pizza flavoured nutshell.
Ima go eat sum salad and fantasize about my next visit.