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My First Gingerbread House (that I didn’t in any way construct)
Right before I left for Christmas break, my boyfriend and I watched a Food Network show about a company known for its pre-decorated gingerbread houses, and all we could talk about was how badly we wanted to rip the roof off of one of those things and go to town on it with our teeth. Well, while we were in an-unnamed-discount-store-that’s-taking-over-the-world in December, my best friend, Tracey, and I spotted shelves loaded with gingerbread house kits for only $10 and decided to go for it, not only to make my boyfriend jealous but as an added benefit. We imagined how hard it’d be to attach the roof to the sides,…
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Stir It 28: Stirring Up Relief for Haiti
This Sunday, February 21st, food bloggers in several cities will be coming together to raise money for Yéle and Share Our Strength to provide help in Haiti. Here are the details for NYC: What: door prizes, drinks, music, giveaways, and most importantly, a meal cooked by some of NYC’s up-and-coming chefs Where: NYU’s Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health 35 W. 4th Street, 10th floor New York, NY, 10012 When: Sunday, February 21st 4 – 7 p.m. Cost: a $30 donation ($20 for students) Check out Food GPS and The Duo Dishes for more information and to buy tickets.
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Douchebags at Dinner
Let me make it clear that I’ve only been eating at gourmet, celebrity-cheffed, critically-beloved restaurants for a couple of years now. Before I met my boyfriend, I enjoyed a lot of macaroni and cheese at home, and the most extravagant restaurant item I allowed myself to splurge on was the $14 guacamole at Rosa Mexicano. So what I’m saying is–I don’t think I’m better than anyone else, really. But on Saturday night, my boyfriend and I were at Colicchio & Sons enjoying a lavish dinner when the table next to us was seated with douchebags. We were able to immediately recognize them as douchebags by the way two of them…
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My First King Cake
My office ordered two king cakes last week under the guise of needing them for a co-worker’s going-away party but actually because I’ve always wanted to try them. The first king cakes were introduced to the southern U.S. by French and Spanish settlers and were originally associated with Christmas but are now traditional in Mardi Gras celebrations. Which makes sense, considering how indulgent they are. A southern co-worker recommended Paul’s Pastry Shop as the source for an authentic king cake, and the going-away girl choose a lemon over cream cheese and a chocolate Bavarian. I spent the week before they arrived telling everyone we were going to have cake made…
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This is Why the American People Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Choose Their Own President
In case you’re dying to know the results of my 21 Club survey, here’s a handy little pie chart: Thanks to those of you who responded, and shame on the 187 of you who looked at the survey but didn’t answer. I’ll assume you were concerned about what I’d do to you if you went for the negative choice.
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Domino’s New Pizza Recipe: a Review
I love chain pizza. In order of preference, my favorites for years have been Pizza Hut, Papa John’s, Donatos, Uno’s, and then Domino’s. I’m not embarrassed about it, nor do I think it indicates an inferior palate. In fact, my problem with pizza in New York City, which is held up as some sort of bastion of flavor and structure, is that it has neither. The sauce never has any spice*, the crust is always limp, the dough is either too moist or too dry, and the toppings are always sparse. As a person who loves pizza–I mean really loves pizza–and could probably eat it for every meal every day…
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“Restaurant” Review: Schnitzel & Things Street Food Truck
You’ve no doubt seen the Schnitzel & Things food truck on a T-Mobile commercial without even realizing it. And little did you know that your subconscious spotting of it made us thisclose, because the schnitzel truck is one of my favourite lunch spots and one of my favourite things about New York City right now. The menu is concise: a few kinds of breaded and fried meats, a burger, a sausage, a handful of sides. The line from the truck’s window can be a half-hour long, and it’s not cheap by street food standards–$8 for a sandwich and $10 for a platter with two sides–but the food is huge, comforting,…
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It LIVES IN ITS POOP, People
My friend Steve introduced me to the extremely weird and unexplainably funny webcomic F Minus by Tony Carrillo recently, and this one entirely sums up my feelings about seafood: You don’t even want to know what my last meal would be.
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21 Club Kicked Us Out
On Friday night, my boyfriend and I had reservations at 21 Club. Despite the fact that their Restaurant Week menu was fairly hum-drum and of course didn’t include their $30 burger–which is really the whole point in going–we decided to give it a shot simply because it’s one of those classic New York City restaurants you always see in programs like “I Love Lucy” and in movies like Rear Window. You’ll note that both of these examples are from the 50s and should have tipped us off as to what sort of attire would be required of us, yet neither of us thought a thing of it when Kamran donned…
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Restaurant Review: Metrazur (Restaurant Week Winter 2010)
Charlie Palmer’s Métrazur was an obvious Restaurant Week choice for my boyfriend and me: we’ve passed by it a million times inside Grand Central, we’re interested in Palmer’s restaurants in general, and I wanted the Sichuan spiced pork tenderloin on the Restaurant Week menu. As far as atmosphere goes, not much beats Métrazur. Located on Grand Central’s East Balcony, it overlooks all of the chaos of commuters rushing to their trains, but the immense space overhead captures all of the noise and leaves the restaurant cozy and quiet. It was definitely unlike any other restaurant’s decor. I made Kamran pose like this, just so you don’t think he often sits…
Reviews of the Best Restaurants in NYC
