New York: The Food

Our favorite part about New York might have been the food. I've talked about how, in some ways, New York felt small and compact. Food wise, though, New York was huge, and we were lucky to scratch the surface of its culinary scope in our five days there.
There were a couple of places we sought out, but for the most part, I did a bit of research and then we recognized some famous New York places as we stumbled on them. It was nice because we still felt spontaneous, but also like we could cross something off our list--New York hot dog? Check. Cheesecake? Check.
Our first morning we stopped in at a deli/grocery type place with an amazing salad bar. I had cottage cheese and fruit (including the best giant strawberry I think I've ever had) and Brad had yogurt and our staple--homemade granola. We took that breakfast on the go and ate it at a plaza where some CBS people were shooting a segment for their morning show. There were some male models in suits. It was funny.
That afternoon we found ourselves languishing in SoHo around lunchtime. Well, Brad was languishing, I was shopping, but we definitely bothneeded some food. We called Angelynn and she directed us to Hampton Chutney. More like Heavenly Chutney to us. Just saying Curry Chicken Dosa makes me want to hop on a plane and go back there for lunch.












I mean really? Dosas are (naturally gluten-free!) Indian sourdough crepes, basically. And the chutney--I just wish we could have brought it home.
We could finally check into our hotel now, so we headed there and took naps. We decided to check out Rockefeller Center and Times Square Thursday night, and to just find something cheap to eat there. We laughed at ourselves for the rest of the trip that we ate McDonald's that night, and it wasn't even the McDonald's on Times Square (we actually had a table though--Times Square McD's was packed). It was worth spending about $6 for dinner, though. Especially since on our way to Rockefeller we stumbled on Magnolia Bakery and I knew it was my duty to get a cupcake there. Chocolate with chocolate frosting. It was really, really good, and I even managed to eat it without spilling (no minor feat with a mini human protruding from my body) while sitting on the red steps in Times Square, watching all the billboards with the other Thursday night tourists.












Our view while I devoured chocolatey goodness from Magnolia.

Friday morning we tried to stop by a gluten-free bakery on our way down to Brooklyn. Sadly, we got lost--the street numbers were opposite of logic, and when we finally called the bakery, we sadlier found out they wouldn't open for another couple of hours. We bought some plums and blueberries from a street fruit guy (check) and enjoyed it, on the subway, with mango Greek yogurt from Trader Joe's.
We had lunch in Brooklyn, courtesy of and at the headquarters of Uncommon Goods (we met with them that morning). I wish I knew the name of the place, because it was amazing. Turns out it is one of the famous Middle Eastern restaurants in New York. Hummus. Eggplant stuff. Rice. Yeah, I cannot describe it or explain it, but we were very grateful for that amazing lunch.


















View from a balcony inside the building where Uncommon Goods has their headquarters. It was an army facility--Elvis shipped off from there! We ate middle eastern food there. Radical.

After our meeting and lunch we headed back to Manhattan to get in line for free passes to the MOMA. After wandering around the MOMA and enjoying live interaction with the Hamills, we decided to take them to Hampton Chutney in SoHo (I told you we loved it!). After dinner we meandered northward, toward where we were both staying, using Robbie's iPhone to find an ice cream/shake place and bakery on the way home. We ended up near Tu-lu's Gluten-free Bakery, the bakery we tried to stop at for breakfast, so we went there for Brad--a breakfast pastry and a cupcake, I believe. Around the corner we found a hopping bakery and decided I should probably get something there, even though we hadn't heard of it. Turns out it is the oldest Italian bakery in the city, Veniero's Pasticceria and Caffe. Cheesecake and hazelnut chocolate tart. Mmmm. Of course we found out after the fact that they have gluten-free pastries as well. Oh, the irony...

















Yes, it was hard to choose, especially since they sell pastries by the pound...picture via here.

Saturday morning we kept breakfast simple--Brad ate his pastries, I ate a Kashi bar we brought from home. We wanted to have plenty of room for our planned Italian lunch.
Risotteria. Everything they have is gluten-free. You start at the table with gluten-free breadsticks. Mmm. Truffle oil. I let Brad order for both of us, and he kindly consulted me.













Olive puree pizza with goat cheese, oven-dried tomato and arugula.
Panini with portobello, oven-dried tomato and spinach.
On a side note, I also enjoyed how Risotteria used bottles--to display the drink and dessert menu, to serve the breadsticks. It was charming.
Saturday night took us to Brooklyn again, this time to visit with our friends the Heiselts. I worked with Micah at BYU, and it was through him we found out about the Uncommon Goods contest at all.













We had dessert first at a delicious ice cream place--Blue Marble Ice Cream. A scoop of heavenly scented Ginger, a scoop of sweet, tart strawberry. Judging from these two alone I know we would have loved anything they scooped up.
The Heiselts then led us to a delicious Indian restaurant--Baluchi's, I think it was, where we ate Chicken Makhani on the patio. It was a variation on our Tikka Masala tour (we try to get Tikka Masala in every city we travel to), but it was sweet and spicy and worth it. You just can't beat a nice patio with good food and good company.
Sunday morning we decided it was time for me to get a bagel, and it turned out one of the "must-eat" bagel places was on the same block as our hotel.























Thanks for the image, travel pod.

Ess-a-Bagel. It was steamy and hot inside, and their cases were packed with flavored cream cheeses and other baked goods. I had no regrets about my Onion bagel schmeared with cream cheese. Turns out it was the bagel that lasted all day, or nearly. Sunday was hot and humid, and I started to eat the bagel while waiting for the subway around 10am (yeah, I didn't think I would eat near the subways but we wanted to get on the road after waiting at least 20 minutes for my schmear) and I finally finished the bagel while Brad was eating his Calexico taco about four hours later.


















Oh Calexico. The highlight of the Hell's Kitchen Gourmet Food Truck Bazaar. In the heat, I was especially grateful for the tamarind soda. And we had a fun view while we waited. And did I mention we were hanging out with the Hamills again, plus Tim and his puppy?


















We were all dying in the heat, so we turned again to Robbie's iPhone to lead us to ice cream salvation. Pinkberry's. Frozen yogurt, air conditioning, and real chairs.
Originally we were supposed to leave Sunday afternoon and head back to reality. However, our flight got canceled and we were forced to stay in New York for an extra 24 hours. Once again were Brooklyn bound.
The Heiselts fed us what I shall call oven-baked nacho casserole. Blue corn chips. Chicken. Cheese. Homemade salsa. Guacamole. Mmm. Follow that with a pistachio pudding type dessert and we were feeling well fed indeed. Games with the Heiselts and Cummings made the night complete.
Monday morning the Heiselts continued to be good hosts--I didn't mind being an excuse to make buttermilk pancakes. We decided to use our extra day picking out a little something for the kids and trying to see some neighborhoods we hadn't seen yet.
We started by trying to do some fabric shopping in the Fashion district, and happened upon this:












Once again, obligation called. I don't know how to explain how something so plain could have been so good, but it was. Brad had one without a bun, with sauerkraut; I enjoyed the toasted bun and only added a little mustard. These hot dogs were sooo good. Especially with papaya drink. We definitely recommend the Recession special.
We didn't make it far into the Lower East side, but we went far enough to go to Babycakes NYC.












We had to take a picture of the pregnant lady in front of Babycakes, right?

It was fun to see another famous New York place. And afterward I really didn't feel weighed down like I usually do after a brownie or cupcake. We thought the cake donuts were tasty, even though they were not what we were expecting. I would recommend you go to there, if only to try a vegan bakery or if you have food sensitivities (they have gluten-free and dairy-free treats).












It was time to head back to Brooklyn to pick up our bags (thanks again, Heiselts!) and head to the airport. For dinner we stopped by a grocery store in Brooklyn and hit up the deli. Nothing too extraordinary there, but we did enjoy seeing a real city Grocery store. They can pack a lot into a tight space.
All in all, I feel like we ate some real flavors of the city and they tasted so good we definitely want to go back.