There's a reason why I'm on a mission (to get my sexy back, duh) - New York. Come on, the city's so great they had to name it twice. (Okay, I stole this line from her but I thought it was pretty cool! I took a WHILE to figure it out. So.) Anyway, yes! New York! Lo and behold Internet, I came back with 5 extra pounds dangling out from my waistline.
But oh my tastebuds, the food in NYC was SO good. They always tell you that the shopping in NYC is awesome (and it is), the people in NYC are crazy (and some of them are), the subway in the city is even crazier (oh yeah it is) and Times Square will blind you and Central Park will charm your skirt off. But if I had to pick one thing to tell you about NYC, I'd tell you about THE FOOD.
Are you ready? Yes? Good. Take a deeeep breath. And here we go!
1. STREET MEAT
On the top of my list, we have street meat! You know those pushcarts along Midtown streets? That's what I'm talking about. Don't give me your UpperEastSider eew just yet. This is not any street meat. This is the street meat with a queue almost every single day. This is the street meat that will blow your mind.
Basically it's yellow rice with minced beef and minced something else. We didn't even bother looking. We just kept stuffing our mouths with that greasy good stuff. You can have it with their white sour sauce and/or chilli. Either way, it's just YUM.
Where? Corner of 53rd street and Broadway.
2. DOUGHNUT PLANT
You don't even have to be a huge fan of doughnuts to love this one! I know I know, that does not make sense at all - why would any non doughnut-lover to to Doughnut Plant? Wait till you hear what they've got!
Not only do these people do the BEST yeasty doughnuts ever, they do CAKE DOUGHNUTS! Can you even imagine that?? As if doughnuts aren't heaven on earth already, these people have it in cake form! I can't even begin to compare it with Dunkin' Donuts or Kripsy Kreme or Doughnut Factory. This thing is in a league of its own. It's part doughnut, part cake, part brownie and part heaven. No, I take it back. It's pure heaven.
You have to try this one. No, really. Even you, who don't even vaguely like doughnuts.
Where? On Grant Street, near Chinatown and Little Italy. Or, Google it.
3. RICE TO RICHES
The greatest thing about NYC isn't just the food. It's how the food at NYC changes your mind about the very idea of a certain food. It redefines. The cake doughnuts did that to me. And then Rice to Riches did the same thing again! This time, it's on rice puddings.
I know right, rice puddings. They don't even sound vaguely interesting or appealing or delicious. In fact, they almost sound downright yuck. But I saw it on the blog of the woman whose idea I stole about the name of NYC. Or specifically, this blog.
Anyway, I decided to give it a shot, because Sheryll and I were on a mission to try everything that a.) Sheryll thinks is good, b.) looks good, c.) the Internet says is good. And boy, did we pat ourselves on the back for walking 10 streets to find it! These people do their rice puddings like other people do icecream! They have it in so many different flavours, and even more toppings for us to choose from! And we just fell in love with the sassy decor and the lovely little tupperware in which the rice puddings were served in.
Where? Spring Street. Nolita.
4. AREPAS FROM CARACAS
I've never heard of arepas in my life, and probably would never have known that the pulled pork wrap thing that simply melted in my mouth was called an arepas until I got down to writing this and googled it. Sheryll brought me there after her cousin Mel brought her there. So, when you get to NYC, please bring yourself there!
It's an awesome little place that will have you stand at the door for ages just to get in at meal times. And no, I don't think they take reservations, unless you venture all the way to their other outlet in Brooklyn. Or, you can simply try the takeout room, and while waiting for your order, you might just get a seat.
Where? East Village, Lower East Side.
5. CUPCAKES
Everyone will tell you to try the cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery. And because everyone else has probably already done so, I'm not going to do that. Instead, I'm going to tell you to go try the cupcakes at Butterlane as well.
Like Magnolia, Butterlane offers only 2 or 3 flavours for their cupcakes. But they have some 15 different flavours of cream toppings to choose from! If you can't make up your mind, you can even have a cream shot! You know, tequila shots, espresso shots, same concept, but with cream. Haha. For the diehard cupcake cream lovers!
Where? East Village, Lower East Side. (Great dessert to the arepas!)
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And that's only my Top 5! I really don't wanna be guilty of limiting your time to NYC to just foooood. Haha. BUT if you REALLY wanna know, we've also had an astonishing number of meals in Chinatown. Oh, and the Chinatown in NYC is not just any Chinatown. In fact, it's so Chiense (or rather, Canto) that I got a greater culture shock there than in Times Square!
But the food, oh the food. Especially if you're missing home food, Chinatown will make you drool all the way to Queens. And if you're lost about which ones to try, go for these: Dai Wong for the best charsiew and Yogee (on Chrystie St) for the beef noodles.
Oh gosh, New York, I miss you already.
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