One Day Eating Tour of Manhattan !!
I will be in Manhattan tomorrow so I have been reading and reading chowhound boards and came up with a list I thought would be good for my tastes and price range (quick cheap eats and then 1 sit down dinner) I put a whole bunch on there in case
Ippudo Ny Inc
hirata buns, Akamaru Modern
Katz's Delicatessen Inc
Pastrami Sandwich - (share)
Famous Joe's Pizza
Pizza here?
Gray's Papaya
Hot dogs and papaya juice here
Momofuku Ssam Bar
Momofuku Bakery & Milk Bar
Candy Bar pie
Lombardi's Pizza
Pizza
Russ & Daughters
Lox and Bagel
Mandoo Bar
Kim chi and pork Dumplings
Banh Mi So 1
Banh mi
53rd and 6th Halal Cart
Chicken on Rice
Sushi Yasuda Ltd
The Burger Joint
Shake Shack
Menchanko 55
Woorijip
Korean fast food
Pampano Taqueria
Co
Pizza
Artichoke Basilles Pizza
Pizza
Gramercy Tavern
Prosperity Dumpling
Dumplings
Keens Steak House
Steak
Una Pizza Napoletana
Pizza
Menkui Tei
Ramen
Menchanko-Tei Restaurant
Ramen
Yakitori Taisho
Yakitori!
Ichi Umi
All you can eat Sushi
Baoguette Café
Banh Mi
Num Pang Sandwich Shop
Banh Mi
Banh Mi Saigon
Shanghai Mong
Sullivan Street Bakery
Yakitori Torys
Minetta Tavern
Veselka
Magnolia Bakery
Tuck Shop
Meat Pies
Pommes Frites
I will start from Chinatown probably and head north.
I'll probably be skipping a few places but put them on there just in case. Any recommendations for things to get at these places? Thanks!
pdpredtide
Jul 16, 2009 05:19AM
View »
Video
Russ & Daughters
Nova and bagel, chopped liver, Hollandse nieuwe
Banh Mi So 1
Roast pork banh mi, Vietnamese coffee
Woorijip
Mackerel, spam jjigae, pork trotters, noodles, sweet and sour chicken (good in a bad way), avoid the bulgogi and skewers
Pampano Taqueria
Fish taco with habanero salsa
Artichoke Basilles Pizza
Artichoke slice
Prosperity Dumpling
Pork and chive dumplings, sesame pancake with beef
Baoguette Café
Sloppy bao
Banh Mi Saigon
Banh mi dac biet
Veselka
Pierogi, borscht
Magnolia Bakery
Coconut cake, banana pudding
Tuck Shop
Beef or curry pies
Pommes Frites
War sauce, wasabi mayo
Permalink | Reply
ok just got back! I will have a full review soon but I just wanted to update!
Day 1
Prosperity Dumplings - 5 for $1 !!!!
Banh Mi Saigon - aka Bill Murray's Last Meal
Lombardi's Pizza - meh
Tuck Shop - australian lamb meat pie
Russ and Daughters - Nova Lox and Everything Bagel with scallion cream cheese
Katz Deli - Pastrami sandwich
Veneiro's - desserts
Momofuku Milk Bar - Crack Pie
Artichoke - Artichoke and spinach pizza
Gray's Papaya - hot dog and papaya juice
Mandoo Bar - meh
Ichi Umi - all you can eat sushi buffet in k town
Day 2
Oh! Taisho - oh taisho don meh
Dessert Truck - molten lava chocolate cake!
Halal Cart on 53rd and 6th ave - chicken and lamb over rice!
nom nom nom
http://tastychomps.com
Permalink | Reply
During my first trip to New York in 2006, my senses were immediately overwhelmed upon entering the city: the lingering pungent smell of hundreds of years of American civilization, the cacophonous sounds of car horns and the clatter of the subway on the train tracks, the push of millions of people shuffling through the streets, all came together to sucker punch me in the eyes, ears, nose and skin. After the 9th trip in three years however, I got used to it all and began to move like crowds did: quickly, stubbornly, on a mission.
The only sense left was my taste: all these trips had been a rush, a quick jot into the city and out again after a day or two unable to fully enjoy its culinary offerings. After days pouring over advice on message boards like chowhound, yelp, and emails and messages left on this very blog, this was my chance to get a taste of New York.
This is an entry from my blog, to see it with pics visit:
http://tastychomps.blogspot.com/2009/...
Friday July 17 2009
St Johns House - Flushing, Queens - 10:30 AM
I wake up and realize that it literally feels like sweaty balls in the room, looking around at my friends and remembering that most houses in New York have no central cooling, only central heating for air conditioning. It's okay as I am used to the feeling of sweaty balls in Florida.
Today I will embark on a grand gastronomical journey into the inner intestine of Manhattan. I am dropped off at Main Street and Roosevelt in Flushing by my brother Victor Yin of Stonybrook University (who joins the crew at East Palace for dim sum). There on the corner I meet up with brother Andrew Kayserian of Rensellaer Polytechnic Institute, who is of Armenian descent and lives a few blocks away on Northern Boulevard. On our trip a few years ago, Andrew was the one who opened his basement for us to live in for a few days, all 8 of us on a fold up futon, and a place where I will forever remember his mother's home made sausages. A graduate of Stuyvesant High School, Andrew is familiar with Manhattan but himself has never had a lot of the items on the list today and decided to join me on this epic journey. Good food always calls for good company. Besides, it's no fun to eat alone!
The Plan
After making a mega list and google map of the places that I wanted to try out, mostly of cheap eats, we decide to start in the Chinatown area after getting off the Chinatown Van ($2.50) from Flushing to Catherine Street in Chinatown. From there we will walk up Eldridge St, up Mott St, Across Houston St, Up 1st Ave, and then all around East village. Its a plan partially planned and partially left up to the fates and the capacity of our tummies.
Tips
Don't wear sandals like I did because you will get blisters from all the walking. Maybe it is better to wear sneakers. Dress light as it is hot and humid (think sweaty balls) in New York during the summer. Also, bring lots of cash: all the cheap places take cash only, even some of the not so cheap places take cash only, so bring cash! Also it is a plus to have an I-phone and the yelp app to search and detect where you are along the journey. Make sure you go with a friend or two, preferably two but no more than 4 as it can get cumbersome with too many people. Remember you are on a mission.
First Stop:
Prosperity Dumplings, 46 Eldridge St # 1
11:45AM
After taking the quick Chinatown van from Flushing, we hop off at Eldridge St and head north. Around us, Chinatown, after over 100 years of existence, is alive and kicking with fresh fruit markets and bakeries and all the fake chanel and louis vuitton bags hidden in back alleys you could ask for.
If you walk too fast, you just might miss Prosperity Dumplings where you can find the delectable items listed on the "Best of Cheap Eats 2009" list by the New York magazine.
There is not much to this store front operation: the decor is minimal and there are only 3 seats by the window and plastic utensils for wares. A hole within a hole in the wall, where sometimes the best foods in the world can be found.
For here they serve 5 pork filled dumplings for $1.00 ! What the heosauce?
We order one and it serves as an appetizer for the beginning of our trip.
The gentleman behind the counter quickly opens a wok and plops 5 out for us on a styrofoam plate.
The dumplings are fried and crispy on the bottom yet soft from the top. The skin is slightly chewy and tasty, the pork and chived fillings are savory and delectable. Not bad for $1.00, nay I would say even better than some dumplings I've had for five times that amount.
Here as many places around Manhattan, I observe the reach of the California based spicy red sauce known as Sriracha aka the spicy Rooster sauce. This is the first of many times we will meet the Rooster along our trip. We add a dab to spice up our dumplings
After our last bite of the dumplings, we get up and continue our journey up through Chinatown to get our next New York fix: the Vietnamese sub sandwich aka Banh Mi.
Permalink | Reply
for full post with pics visit:
http://tastychomps.blogspot.com/2009/...
Friday July 18th 2009
12:01 pm
We leave Prosperity Dumpling and head north towards Banh Mi Saigon Bakery on Mott Street. We are conducting a drive-by eating of sorts.
You may have to do a double take when arriving at Banh Mi Saigon Bakery, because I did. I saw the sign awning above that showed its name but at first glance inside I thought it was a jewelry store!(?) Looking deeper into the store I find the Banh Mi Saigon stall all the way in the back, with a line of customers in waiting for their order of delicious sandwiches. Ah, the banh mi sandwich, quintessential street food of Vietnam, popular here in New York City as ever especially ever since the New York Times article on them and their recent "evolution".
On the front door, there is a sticker stating that Banh Mi Saigon is on the list for comedian "Bill Murray's Last Meal". I know I am in for a treat at this point and there is no turning back.
While in line, we were advised by a gentleman that they are renown for their #1 Banh Mi Saigon with pork (it seems the number 1 is almost always a good choice). I take his advice and order it for me and brother Andrew. They ask you if you like it spicy and I often reply no and ask for it on the side. If you tell them that you will eat it tomorrow, they will put the picked veggies in a separate bag for you so it won't soak the sandwich overnight. At only $3.75, this banh mi is a steal here in Manhattan and also a great value as the sandwich comes in about 10 inches long on a baguette.
Inside, the small store is filled with people waiting for their orders. I am guessing they take meticulous care of their sandwiches, like sushi chefs do, sort of?. While we wait, I notice the other items for sale here including gio cuon -Vietnamese spring rolls - and salads, che pudding desserts, as well as other small to go items.
After about 10 minutes in line, we finally receive our sandwich wrapped in wax paper inside a brown paper bag and cut in half. If you order this for yourself you can eat the first half and save the other half for a late afternoon snack if you'd like.
I immediately notice that the banh mi saigon has sweet reddish crumbled pieces of dried marinated pork on the bottom layer, with hints of fish sauce, something that is not found in any of the banh mi shops in Orlando. Usually there is the banh mi dac biet in Orlando which is a special combo of all the cold cuts, but the banh mi saigon is served with cha lua and also this pork
Andrew notes that he loves how fresh everything is and how distinct each of the tastes in the sandwich is. This is his first time eating banh mi, I think I just popped his banh mi cherry, and he likes it. Andrew notices also that the way they keep the pickled daikon and carrots from soaking through the sandwich is that they wrapped it inside of the cha lua pork meat cold cut to block the juices from seeping through.
This scintillating sandwich is one of the top five banh mi I have had in my life, beating all the banh mi in Orlando for sure and rivaling a few out west in Texas and California (as about close to Vietnam that you can get). The crisp outer layer and soft inner bread of the baguette, the fresh slivers of cucumber and pickled vegetables and meat cuts with a hint of fish sauce, all come together in perfect harmony. All is well in the universe.
It was well worth the wait. Alas, we can't sit around for too long as we have miles to go before we let our stomachs sleep. Onward to Lombardi's, the famous pizzeria!
Permalink | Reply
Good stuff. Keep it coming.
Permalink | Reply
Love it!
I have never had a banh mi - but I want one now!!
Thanks!
Permalink | Reply
Here is the brief one day food tour l did this week with a friend from Paris.
Started with Mangon on w 46th for their octopus salad, wonderful
Up to 86th for Williams-Sonoma for sale items, then Dean & Deluca for yuzu marmalade
Sushi Yasuda for lunch with the maestro, ( seems to have changed for the worse,much fish now has heavy soy, pieces smaller, and many have fleur de sel added)
Grand Central Oyster bar for a oyster feast, even this time of year many, especially east end, were wonderful.
Down to Financier on Stone St.
Up to Grom on Bleeker
To an odd outdoor bar on 9th, name escapes me
Finished at Pizzeria Veloce, pizza good, staff as good as it gets.
Nice day.
Permalink | Reply
nice i had sushi yasuda on the list but i havent had a chance to go last weekend hopefully next time and hopefully it will be better !
i like how things are so "close" in manhattan, it takes at least 20-40 minutes driving just to get anywhere in Florida but here you can walk a few blocks and youre in another neighborhood already with delicious fooddss
Permalink | Reply
Lombardi's Pizza in New York City's Little Italy
for the full review with pics:
http://tastychomps.blogspot.com/2009/...
Friday July 18
12:32PM
Luckily after finishing up our banh mi from Banh Mi Saigon, we didn't have too far to go as our next destination was only a few blocks away past the fruit vendors and gucci prada bags of Chinatown and into Little Italy for Lombardi's, the "first" official pizzeria to open in America.
Lombardi's Pizza in New York City is widely known and recognized for popularizing pizza the way we know it today. Recently, the New York Magazine did a time line special of the pizza through time in 104 years of Pizza in New York in their Cheap Eats of 2009 issue.
Though the current Lombardi's is down the street from the original, there is still a continuum of sorts dating back to the original Lombardi's. Over a hundred years of pizza history? I've got to check it out.
As we walked up on Mott Street approaching Spring Street, I noticed on the corner a huge mural of Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa greeting us with a pizza pie and smiling, letting us know that we are "here at Lombardi's".
There was a line of people waiting for the dining room area, but that was okay since we were on a mission and had to keep moving. We told the hostess that we wanted to get take out and she told us to head towards the back and make a right and then a left to order, right where the pizza oven was! What a surprise that our adventure led us into the Lombardi's coal oven room, where pizza makers were hard at work putting their classic pizza creations together.
We were recommended by the man at the register to get the pepperoni as it is delicious here, and so we ordered a small personal pizza half pepperoni and half plain margarita (cheese and tomatoes) (about$18). It is important to note that they do not sell pizza by the slice here only by the pie made fresh to order.
We wait for our pizzas at the bar and enjoy a nice cold glass of Yeungling beer (it's actually German not Chinese) straight from the tap. The beer was cool and refreshing, as the sun had been steadily getting warmer outside and we needed a drink from the trek. Bad Idea, since it filled us up quite a bit and probably slowed us down a bit (but it was a good beer nevertheless).
Soon, the dining room's waiting area filled up to the brim. I was glad that we were in the bar area and had placed our orders already to go. The pizza arrived and we downed our drinks before stepping outside to sit on another stoop to behold the famous pizza in our hands.
The pizza came in six slices with a flat crust, slighty charred and smoky from the coal oven pizza. The pizza had fresh mozzarella, a red tomato sauce, fresh basil and on half the pizza were the little circular quarter pieces of pepperoni. It is important to note that the pizza, like all the pizza made here in New York is said to have a distinct light tasty goodness because they use the New York City tap water.
The pizza I thought was good, not the worst ever by far but not the best I ever had. The cheese was fresh but tasted a bit bland and the tomato sauce was a bit watery causing the crust to moisten and soggify. The pepperoni pieces on the pizza however was excellent, crunchy and spiced to a savory crisp satisfying the tastebuds.
Overall, it was okay but definitely a bit too hyped up. It is a good pizza, and it may be the first pizza, but it wasn't the greatest.
With a pizza box carton half full, we proceed onward to our next stop: The Tuck Shop, a Australian Meat Pie shop.
Permalink | Reply
I'm not a huge Lombardi's fan either because it does get a bit soggy. Part of it is the amount of sauce they put on, and part of it is that they take the pizza out a little bit too early. Friends have reported better results when they ask for their pie "well done" and ask them to leave off 1/2 the sauce and cheese.
Permalink | Reply
ill try that next time, i was suspecting the same after thinking about it ...but you would think they would have it perfected by now without asking
Permalink | Reply
My friends' theory is that Lombardi's gets so much traffic from out of towners, and enough out of towners complained "there isn't enough cheese" and "this pizza is burnt" that they simply changed the way they made it. :( Lots of people who are unfamiliar with NY style pie think that our pizzas are burnt!
And if you think about it, if you cooked the pizza one minute less and you're churning out hundreds of pies, you can get more butts in the seats. And if those people are primarily from out of town, who cares if their pie is soggy? They're not coming back anyway. Cynical but it makes sense to me.
Permalink | Reply
Actually, that makes perfect sense, kathryn. I'm not a Lombardi's fan because it just seems like a fake pizza joint now. Seems like a place you'd see in DisneyWorld.
We got a clam pie there a few years ago after hearing some hype on it, and it was horrific. Tasted like they took a cold pie and just dumped a can of clams on it water and all.
Permalink | Reply
Yuengling Beer is American. Brewed in PA and claims to be the oldest brewery in America.
Permalink | Reply
thats right my bad its by german american immigrants
Permalink | Reply
for photos and full review check out
http://tastychomps.blogspot.com/2009/...
Tuck Shop - Australian Meat Pies - East Village
Friday July 18 1:19PM
After our experience with the first pizzeria in America at Lombardi's, we were noticeably slower in our pace as we continued our way up Mott Street to Houston St (pronounced How-ston). I think the dumplings, banh mi, and the coal-oven pizza were starting to take its toll on us, but we continued our gastronomical expedition and reached Tuck Shop, a small hole-in-the-wall dive near the NW corner Houston St and 1st Ave in Manhattan's East Village.
Inside, the Tuck Shop looks like a perfect place to go for a late-night snack after a night of heavy drinking: darkly lit and cluttered, a single glass display case of the delicious Australian meat pies along the wall. The owner at the shop is Australian who appears as though he may had just waken up, still sleepy no doubt from a busy debaucherous night before.
After looking over the menu of beef pies, curry chicken pies, sausage rolls and more, we decide on the lamb and veg meat pie ($5).
The homemade puffy, buttery pastry is filled with creamy lamb meat chunks, potatoes, and other good veggies. I thought the crust was excellent as well as the creamy texture of the fillings. However I did notice a bit of a lack of flavor but what's this?.......
Our trusty friend Mr Sriracha has made a appearance again, this time at Tuck Shop, returning to our aide with his good friend Mr Mae Ploy sweet chili sauce.
A dose of both of these bad boys helped the meat pies out alot and the result was just delicious.
The Tuck Shop was also featured in New York Magazine's Best of Cheap Eats 2006, but I thought they were just okay.
As soon as we finished our tasty meat pie morsels, we were off and onward toward our next destination: Russ and Daughter's for their famous and divine nova lox and bagel.
Permalink | Reply
for full posting and photos, visit
http://tastychomps.blogspot.com/2009/...
Russ and Daughters
Lower East Side, Manhattan, New York City
Friday July 18th 2009
1:26pm
I had first heard of Russ and Daughters from a recent episode on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations "Disappearing Manhattan" on the Travel Channel. I knew I had to check it out when I hit New York City this last weekend after seeing and reading about their bagel, cream cheese, and lox. Little did I know the epiphanies and delights that were really in store at this "appetizing store", one of the best things I have eaten in my life.
Russ and Daughters is a New York City institution (it's even featured as a part of New York's cultural heritage by the Smithsonian Institution and in the national registry of historic places). It has been on the block in the Lower East Side for almost a hundred years (1914) beginning from its humble beginnings out of a push cart and has since then began to faithfully and dutifully serve and specialize in excellent caviar, smoked and cured fish, dried fruit, and other items. Their storefront is situated just a few doors away from Katz' Delicatessen on the south side of Houston Street. The feeling of pure peace and tranquility when we entered the store offered a stark contrast to the loud carnival atmosphere of Katz Deli later on.
Stepping into the Russ and Daughters store is like stepping back decades into an old-world class establishment. The walls feature their caviar in tin cans, dried fruits in glass jars, and their glass deli cases display vast varieties of smoked and cured salmon, fish, and cream cheeses.
The men working behind the counter are dressed in white lab coats, like surgeons meticulously and skillfully slicing and examining the highest quality of smoked fish cuts.
We picked up a number (it can get busy at times here in the small storefront) and luckily didn't have to wait too long for our turn. My brother Andrew and I were relatively new at this ordering lox and bagel thing and so we asked the gentleman at the counter what he recommend: the scallion cream cheese, everything bagel, and the nova lox. The total came to about $9.45.
When we stepped outside to enjoy our bagel on the bench overlooking the park, we noticed that the door had a recently laminated Anthony Bourdain article on the "13 Places to Eat at in the world before you die" from Men's Health magazine. Russ and Daughters was featured at number 8 and I was glad to have enjoyed this place at least once in my life before I died.
The everything bagel is a soft bagel with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, onion, etc and is good, maybe not the best but still a good bagel. The scallion cream cheese was rich and creamy, tasty. The traditional gaspe nova lox is a rich, oily, slightly salted yet smooth tasting, smoked salmon that just melted in our mouths. Together the bagel, cream cheese, and nova lox were completely divine and absolutely delicious.
The rich yet mild taste lingered on my tongue, tantalizing my senses and enlightening my tastebuds to the point of a taste-nirvana. Mind-blowing.
The face of Manhattan may have changed over the last hundred years or so but the traditions and commitment of Russ and Daughters remains strong still today. We sit on the bench outside a little longer, savoring the flavors that we had just experienced in our mouths and watching the New York City streetscape pass by and just enjoying life.
Next time, I will also try their herring fillets in cream sauce as I have heard that those are a specialty here at Russ and Daughters as well.
Next up: Katz' Delicatessan (just a few doors down!).
Permalink | Reply
for full review and pics visit:
http://tastychomps.blogspot.com/2009/...
Friday July 18 2009
2:01 PM
When I asked what was the one thing that I should eat when I came to New York, the almost unequivocable answer to quintessential New York food was the "best pastrami sandwich ever", the pastrami sandwich at Katz Deli on the Lower East Side.
Many delicatessens have come and gone, but Katz Deli is one of the only left standing after more than a hundred years of existence and still has that old-world feel in its dining halls. This Jewish kosher deli, started in 1888, grew famous for its salami during World War II and its slogan "senda salami to your boy in the army."
Stepping inside Katz Deli is overwhelming at first: noisy crowds of people are lined up throughout the fluorescent-lit cafeteria-like room along the long deli counter, waiting to order, the boys behind the counter shouting about in the typical street-wise New York fashion. A chaotic world of deli mayhem and delights.
Passing through a turnstile, we receive a ticket at the entrance, which we are reminded not to lose as they were used for marking our orders on and would cost us $50.00 if we lose them. The staff obsessed about these tickets. The tickets are turned in at the register when you leave and used to calculate your bill.
Noticing the mayhem at the deli counter service, we decided to sit down by the wall where there was waiter service. I know its not the authentic way to eat at Katz, where you go up to the cutter (meat man) at the counter and place a dollar and tell him what you want and he trims it right there for you, but I really didn't feel like waiting in that long line today. Service here however, is not the fine dining type but rather the curt, somewhat gritty "what do you want?" type attitude of the city. That was fine as we simply ordered our pastrami sandwich ($14.95) and it was quickly delivered to our table along with a side of pickles.
In addition to old photographs throughout the 120 year history of Katz and celebrities who have visited the deli, there is a sign dangling above the seat where you can sit where Meg Ryan infamously demonstrated her "acting" skills in the film "When Harry Met Sally." Still today, thousands of tourists to New York City drop by every week to Katz Deli to "have what she's having."
In addition to their pastrami and corned beef sandwiches, Katz is also known for having some of the best hot dogs in the city, including the knoblewurst, having won several awards from New York magazines for the grilled, cheap delights. Each week, Katz's serves 5,000 pounds of corned beef, 2,000 pounds of salami and 12,000 hot dogs in addition to chopped liver and tongue servings.
A mountainous heaping of juicy brined briskets of black pepper coated pastrami, hand sliced, gently smoked with a smear of mustard and placed between two slices of rye bread . The sandwich was luscious and generous: I understand why it is ranked among the best in the world. Stick with this and that's all that you'll need at Katz.
I was also happy to mark Katz off as the 2nd place I have visited on Anthony Bourdain's List of "13 places to eat before you die."
Permalink | Reply
Veneiro's Pastry Shop
for full review and photos:
http://tastychomps.blogspot.com/2009/07/veneiros-pastry-shop-desserts-new-york.html
Veneiro's Pastry Shop, a relic of Italian cafe's past, founded in 1894 over 115 years ago here in East Village, would become our 7th food item on our hitlist today. It was approximately 2:55pm and 3 hours into our food binging New York experiment.
Inside, the dimly lit pastry shop showcased its pastry goodies from homemade cannoli to cheesecakes to pignoli cookies, tiramisus, specialty cakes and carrot cakes, this place is dessert paradise.
The girl behind the counter was courteous and kind, giving us suggestions and various tips on what to get. I was cautious but my friends must have been under a spell.
We had a delicious cannoli topped with green colored pistachios, a perfect creamy cheesecake topped with strawberries, and a heavenly raspberry mousse tart /cake. All were scrumptious and savory morsels of Italian pastries.
Momofuku Bakery and Milk Bar
for full review and photos:
http://tastychomps.blogspot.com/2009/...
Inside, there are a few bar tables set up in the center of the room and display cases with pies and goodies framing the sides. On one of the walls is a photo of a man, who we found out is a pastry chef and a performance artist, fighting a mechanical fire breathing dragon machine. Nice.
Also, our good friend and a kind of mystical guide on our gastronomical journey reappeared here at Momofuku Bakery and Milk Bar: Mr Sriracha sauce. He's all over this place, no doubt a dose for their famed pork buns ($9).
There are also soft serve ice cream here but not your typical flavors like vanilla, but rather, home made rosemary, apricot, lemon verbana (a tart, smooth soft-serve), and blackberry. They give out one free sample for each guest and of course, since they insist, we must oblige. :D
There are various original pies at Momofuku Bakery and Milk bar such as the candy bar pie, made with chocolate crust, caramel, peanut butter nougat, and pretzels. We order the crack pie ($5), described as a toasted oat crust with gooey butter filling
The pastry pie is savory and buttery rich, deep in the sweet-o-meter yet not overly sweet. Its like your taste buds were jolted with a high intensity dose of brown sugary pastry goodness.
We also found that attached by a hallway to Momofuku Bakery and milk bar is the momofuku ssam bar, but they were closed at that time around 3:30pm because they had to get ready to re-open again for dinner at 5PM.
Permalink | Reply
Artichoke Basille's Pizza & Brewery
East Village, Manhattan NYC
Friday July 18 2009
4:06 PM
for full review and photos visit:
http://tastychomps.blogspot.com/2009/...
When we arrived, our friend told us that he was surprised because usually there is a line out the door at Artichoke, even at 2 am at night there is a line. We took the clue and decided to get in line, and shortly thereafter a small crowd grew behind us. The pizza must be damn good here.
The storefront is small and minimal, with pizza ovens taking up most of the space in the cramped store and pizza pies on display in the front in a glass case. The ceilings are a deep, dark red ceramic tile from the old world, giving the place a feeling of being from another time.
We order the signature artichoke and spinach pizza ($4) and the pizza maker swiftly places it in the oven and under 2 minutes the pizza is ready for us. This is a first time with artichoke on a pizza for me. My brother Andrew is wimping out and could only take a bite of pizza, after our long journey I guess I could understand. A man can only humanly take so much. good thing i have a super human appetite. chomp.
The cheeses are creamy on the pizza and thick sauce that they use with some parmesan as well as mozarella. The artichoke is a hearty tasting veggie topping and went excellent on top of the pizza along with the spinach. The crust is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, a tasty buttery, garlicky, flavorful bite. My one complaint may be that the pizza crust is a little bit too hard and too thick, if it was a little bit thinner it would be perfect.
Easily one of the best pizzas I have ever had and so much better than the rest.
Permalink | Reply
Gray's Papaya - Hot dog and papaya drink
for more, including pics and review visit:
http://tastychomps.blogspot.com/2009/...
Veselka, recommended by fellow blogger Watch Me Eat, specializes in Ukrainian cuisine and is the spot for late night snacking by East Village bar patrons. The prerogies were recommended here but we were still recuperating from the past 4 hours of eating, so I must place this on the to-go-list for my next trip to New York.
Looking around East Village, I appreciate and cherish the sheer diversity and complexity of all the stores, shops, restaurants, and people living and working here together in one small area no larger than a square mile. I wish one day Orlando could become like this, full of quirky shops and tasty treats all in walking distance of each other. Maybe one day...
I continued my thoughts as we trodded down to St Marks Place, the late night bar hopping area of choice for New York University and surrounding college students, and met up with brother Ronny. He just got off of work and had been trying to catch up with us on our food expedition, but missed us by a few seconds each time.
After a quick pit stop at a cafe, we drudged onward to our next destination:
Gray's Papaya
West Village, Manhattan NYC
Gray's Papaya is a simple concept: great hotdogs with great fruit drinks. The drinks, in addition to the papaya namesake, also include orange, grape, piña colada, coconut champagne (non-alcoholic), and banana daiquiri (non-alcoholic).
I choose the hot dog with sauerkraut and ketchup ($1.50) and a papaya drink to go along with it. Individually, the hot dog is a bit salty and the papaya drink is a bit too sweet, but together they make a marvelously good combination of sweet and salty. The combo is cheap coming in under $4.00 and there is even a recession special where you can save a dollar on two hotdogs and a drink.
Permalink | Reply
Koreatown - Woorijip and Mandoo Bar
for pics and full review:
http://tastychomps.blogspot.com/2009/...
After Gray's Papaya, we hop on the subway to head north towards Midtown where we will meet up with a few alumni for a summer dinner at the all you can eat sushi buffet at Ichi Umi (formerly Todai) in Koreatown. It is around 5 pm at this point on Friday July 18 2009. Five hours of eating and we won't stop, can't stop. Although Andrew is in a food comatose state, we are still truckin!
Woorijip, Korean all purpose quickie food store.
Along the way we stop by a couple places including Woorijip, a fast food convenience store for Korean food. I stepped inside to check it out and was delighted to find what was within.
Woorijip is basically formated as a open grocery store where you can by pre-made Korean staples. Cheap, fast, all you can stuff down Korean bibimbap, kimchi, bulgogi, korean goodies everywhere! No wonder Woorijip was the winner in Midtownlunch.com's Best Cheap Korean.
A few doors down was a dumpling place that had been on several books and lists, however I found it to be disappointing!..gah.
Mandoo Bar
Located in Koreatown, Manhattan on West 32nd Street, Mandoo Bar is almost a strictly dumpling place. At the window, elderly ladies dutifully fold pork fillings into the dumpling skin and get them ready to steam right at the counter.
The flavors range from kimchi to pork to vegetables. I was disappointed to find that I couldn't get a small mix of all three to go, and so had to settle with just the pork dumplings.
The pork dumplings, compared to Prosperity Dumpling's were abysmal. The skin was too thick for my liking and the pork meat was a bit bland. To top it off the dumplings cost about $6.00 for 5. I could have had better dumplings for a fifth of that cost in Chinatown...
The last time we were in Koreatown, we ate at BCD Tofu House which had ten times more amazing mandoo (dumplings).
Maybe I am spoiled by all the dumplings I have had the good fortune to try during my years. But its not that hard to do it well and if half your name is about the meat/veggie filled dumplings, it better be damn good.
Sad to say it but Mandoo bar was not to par.
Permalink | Reply
Love the write-ups, pdpredtide, but you better thank your stomach for handling it all!
Permalink | Reply
i know it was the strangest thing my friend Andrew got full about half way through and couldnt eat any more but i kept eating ...i would get full walk a few blocks and then id be hungry again lolol
and then the last thing after mandoo bar
i went to an alumni dinner at ichi umi, the all you can eat sushi buffet X_X
Permalink | Reply
i started at 12 noon
dumplings at prosperity dumplings - 5 for $1.00
Banh mi saigon - $3.45
Lombardi’s Pizza and yeungling - $26.00
Tuck Shop meat pie- $5.00
Lox and Bagel - Russ and Daughters - $9.45
Pastrami sandwich - Katz - $14.95
Veneiro’s Pastry Shop - $6.00
Momofuku Milk Bar - $5.00
pit stop at cafe - $3.50
Gray’s Papaya - $4.00 - thanks Ronny!
Mandoo Bar - $6.00
= 43.20 per person
6 pm Dinner at Ichi Umi - ~$40.00
a delicious day in manhattan….priceless!
since I went with a friend, we split it about half for most of the stuff minus dinner
Permalink | Reply
Holy cow! I can't believe you ate all that in one day, er 6 hours lolol... hats off to you my friend. I admire that- you must be a really big dude or just have a serious appetite. Either way congrats!
Permalink | Reply
thanks lol tho i am not a really big dude, not that theres anything wrong with that lol
i am just one determined guy with a voracious appetite. chomp!
also, the next day i did a journey through flushing near the metro station lol, ill be posting that up on here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/636409
def hitting the gym this week...
Permalink | Reply
I can definitely respect that. I myself am very thin, however I do have a good appetite.
Permalink | Reply
So, what are your favorites from your day of eating?
Permalink | Reply
here are my most favorites starting from most favorite:
lox/bagel/cream cheese - russ and daughters
pastrami sandwich - katz deli
banh mi saigon - banh mi saigon
crack pie - momofuku milk bar
assorted pastries - veneiro's
yumm
i still remember the taste of russ and daughters wow.
Permalink | Reply