NYC was basically a food pilgramage for me..
other great eats while in NYC:
Bagel Smashery in Hoboken, NJ
Don’t ask why I was in NJ. I was just there, ok? It was random.. and weird. Jersey folk are weird. Very weird. No offense if you’re from Jersey.. but honestly, you guys are different.
(Please don’t send me hater messages. Weird and different isn’t always a bad thing, right?)
Anyways, back to this amazing lox bagel I had.. good god I love salmon. Especially with cream cheese on top of a homemade wheat bagel. I had promised myself to eat only half but how can you limit yourself to just half of something great? This place is famous for their “smash bagels” which is your ordinary bagel sandwich.. just smashed.
If you read their yelp review, you’ll see that it’s a love it/hate it kind of shop. I personally loved it. Maybe it’s because I’m really a Midwesterner at heart and just that deprived of good ole bagel love. Or maybe it’s because I’m easily won over by carbs, cheese and raw salmon. Whatever, I give this place two thumbs up.
Btw, while in Hoboken I did stop by Carlos Bakery to try some of their crumb cake. They were all sold out of it and almost everything else. I did try their cannoli which was indeed pretty damn good. However, the place itself is a mess, the staff really attitude-y like the tv show and everything was very much overpriced..
Okay, first of all I gotta ask, New Yorkers (and New Jersey folk) are not that huge on customer service, are they? Because aside from the Asian (or rather ethnic) establishments I visited, every single bar or restaurant I went to had pretty crappy service. Unfortunately, Caracas was one of the worse. The hostess was a huge bitch. I mean I get it, when you’re trying to put down names and seat people accordingly for a tiny, very popular restaurant, sure.. it can get stressful. But this girl was just mean and definitely forgot about us 3 times. When I confronted her about it, she said “it’s not my problem”. Now, I don’t usually pick fights, especially in public. It’s just not my style. But I almost socked this girl in the face.
But bad service aside, I would highly recommend this place for those that love Latin cuisine. It is the favorite of my very good, born and bred NYC friend who really knows his foods. Every time I visit, he’s always trying to get us to meet here. Unfortunately, due to their long waits and no reservation policy, it wasn’t until my 3rd trip to the city where I finally got to try it out. If you don’t know what arepas are, they are like Venezuelan version of tacos. Glorified, fancy tacos. Better than tacos.. way, way better. If you’re a meat lover, you’ve gotta try this place out. Your heart will scream in terror and excitement at the same time.
Back to the whole New Yorker’s give bad service thing, please don’t send me hate messages saying I’m wrong about this. You have to remember, I grew up in the South and then fell in love with the Midwest. I’m not accustomed to the hardcore tough love-y-ness of NYC. Never will be.
I couldn’t go without trying some NYC style pizza. Of course not. I went to the new one located somewhere near St. Marks. Another hole in the wall type place (then again, everything in NYC seems to be one) run and operated by two very very legit Italian men. They were super friendly, to the point where I’m pretty sure they were both drinking on the job. I’m pretty sure that on my way out, the older gentleman was on his way back in after making a booze run (he was carrying a handle of whiskey).
They only make one pie at a time. They make a new one after they’ve sold their last slice. It was good.. incomparable than the Chicago style of course but just as good nonetheless. Crispy thin breading, fresh cheese and get this, chunks of garlic on the side. CHUNKS OF GARLIC ON THE SIDE! I’m Korean so this fact alone made me do fist pumps every 5 seconds. I don’t know how to describe this pizza given that it’s the only NYC style pizza I have ever had. It was good, tasted like what I assume is legit and the place was just overall fun to be in.
You’ve really gotta look for this place since there is no sign and it’s located inside a corporate building. We passed by it a few times before realizing that it was in fact an actual restaurant and not the entrance to some corporate office. Once inside though, you could smell the fresh fish which will more than confirm that you’ve just entered sushi heaven. The inside decor is purely all wood. The table, the wall, everything. Aside from a few very expensive flower arrangements, it’s all there is. It’s like you’re in a boat which is exactly what I expect from a good sushi place.
I had been warned that the sushi here would be smaller and more expensive. However, I had also heard many people claim that this is the best sushi they’d ever had on the East Coast. My opinion? It’s pretty damn good. Sashimi was excellent. From my observation, you want to sit by the bar because if you do, you get your own personal sushi chef service. Unfortunately we were seated at a table which to be honest would have been pretty boring had I not conveniently sat next to a dashing young Englishman in a tailored suit. Yummy.
Salad was good (I’m obsessed with Japanese salad dressing to the point where bad dressing = I hate the place) and the grilled sea bass in drenched teriyaki sauce was also a big winner. Because we came in for lunch, the meal price was still what I, my employed self, would considerable affordable.
If you love teriyaki or grilled toro (fatty tuna), you will love this place. The line to ippudo was too long so we stumbled into this place instead. I only suggested this place because I kept seeing Japanese people walk in, and I truly believe that good Japanese food is always frequented by Japanese people (this is the case for all ethnic restaurants).
The sushi was a little let down, especially compared to my favorite places in Chicago (Itto, Ginza, Sushi Mon) but their “over rice” dishes, along with their Katsu, teriyaki combos and their grilled toro fish very well made up for it. Well that and the fact that I spotted John Stewart and Parker Posey just a couple feet away from me from the window I was sitting at. But celebrities aside, I would come back here again fo shiz.
Originally were trying to grab soup dumplings from the infamous Joe’s Shanghai in Chinatown. But it was raining out, there was a ridiculous wait (despite the fact it was 3:00pm on a Tuesday) so we hit up Joe’s Ginger instead since it’s owned by the same people which means they serve the same soup dumpling as well.
I’m not a huge fan of dumplings, let me say that first. So they weren’t life changing or anything like that. I could tell though, that they did taste and look very different than any other soup dumpling I have ever had. I’m assuming it’s because these were probably the most authentic soup dumplings I have ever tried. My friends loved it. I liked it, which is as highly as I can feel about dumplings period. Their fried rice, that’s another story. You wouldn’t think fried rice could be anything really special, it’s fried rice. But I attacked that baby to the point where I had to unbutton my pants. I swear they must have sprinkled crack all over it or something..
Heard they had really great yakatori. Then heard that inside there is a secret door that leads into a Japanese speakeasy.
Well yes, they do have pretty good yakatori and yes, there is in fact a secret door into a speakeasy called Angel’s Share that makes you feel really cool. Drinks are a little pricey but trust me, TRUST ME, they will probably change your life forever. My first drink, “the quintessence” tasted like a lemon flower and the second, “stormy weather”, well.. I imagine that’s what heaven would taste like if it were an alcoholic beverage. Both drinks were pretty strong but I swear, you could barely taste the alcohol. If i could describe spring using two drinks, I would say it was “the quintessence and stormy weather”.
Ah, I’m hesitant about posting anything about Angel’s Share in fear of contributing to it’s growing popularity which would be bad for me. But my followers, this is how much I love you {Insert cheesy emoticon here].
I had to drag my friend here. Most non vegans are very wary about vegan anything/everything. But I love Vegan food and given the high number of hipsters who live in NYC I knew they was bound to be some legit vegan joint I couldn’t miss. I did my research ahead of time and found a vegan ice cream joint called Lula’s that apparently won over the hearts of many non Vegan New Yorkers.
According to Yelp, their “cake batter” flavor is to die for so I decided to order it. I was a little worried that it was be too sweet to eat too much of, but it was perfect. As was my friend’s strawberry ice cream, which she claims is the best thing she’s ever had. I don’t recommend getting their brownie sundaes as most vegan pastries tend to be on dry side. I could have done without the brownie below my ice cream.
Also had some Korean friend chicken at both Bonchon and Kyo Chon, then again after drinking at some Korean bar called Third Floor, Had some delicious friend mackerel and chop chae at Kun jip .. all were good and am not going to write about them in detail because everyone knows that Korean food in NYC is awesome.
But I will mention that I had my most expensive cappuccino at a cafe in K town for a little over 6 bucks. Damn you Koreans.. damn you.
So there you have it guys. A summary of pretty much what I did in NYC for a week.
I wrote earlier that I gained two pounds from this trip. I weighted myself again to confirm it and I was wrong. I gained 4. Seriously, NYC you are dangerous.
I also had the chance to do some touristy stuff like visit the MoCa, Ellis Island, The Empire State building (no line because of the “Zero visibility” that day. Lucky for me, fog cleared up just as I walked out of the elevator into the observatory!), a stroll in Central Park and some shopping on Prince St. in Soho. If you ever plan on doing anything touristy in NYC or really anywhere, be sure to reserve tickets ahead to avoid painful lines. I felt so sorry for all the people who get stuck waiting for hours.. oh wait, no I didn’t. Suckers..
