Cravings

I Want This!

2010-12-01T12:30:00.004-05:00

I love tea. LOVE tea. If you love tea the way I do, you know that the steeping loose tea too long makes it bitter, and the temperature of the water can significantly change the taste. (Think of the subtleties of wine, coffee or chocolate--same thing!) I have my eye on this machine, but I am going to file it away for a day when I can justify spending $250 on another kitchen appliance...

The Breville One-Touch Tea Maker

Trader Joe's!

2010-10-01T10:46:00.006-04:00

Trader Joe's just opened in our neighborhood, and we couldn't be more excited! We shopped there frequently while living in Boston, and it's always nice to be greeted by friendly people in Manhattan. :-) That being said, I've found the items there are hit-or-miss. There are a few things we purchase everytime we go, and others that we tried once and will never buy again. In order to save you the same pain, below is our list (we'll keep adding to it as we try new things!):

All items are Trader Joe's brand!

Cheese & Dairy:

2% Greek Style Yogurt- it's ok. We both prefer Fage, but it's fine in a pinch. Heard a rumor that their yogurt comes from Stoneyfield Farms.

Mango Smoothie- not really dairy, but in the same case. Also not bad--we prefer "Naked," but good for the price.

Refrigerated Items:

Masala Lentil Dip- Delicious. Bought it on Priya's recommendation--she described it perfectly--"tastes exactly how you would expect it to taste." Yum.

Mediterranean Hummus- I'm a big fan. Lots of flavor. Delicious.

Frozen Food:

Garlic and Tandoori Naan- Fantastic. Love them, especially the garlic. Will stick to Whole Foods when using naan as flatbread, as I love grilling them, but these ones are great for tastes-like-indian-restaurant naan.

Vegetable Masala Burgers- Our go-to veggie burgers. Delicious! We also use them in place of falafal balls to make indian-style pita sandwiches.

Paneer Tikka Masala (comes with spinach rice)- Great for what it is--a frozen indian lunch entree. Tastes like very mediocre indian restaurant food, but for $3, I don't care. Not a huge fan of the rice--I heat up a naan and use that instead.

Chicken Tikka Masala (comes with cumin rice)- Ash preferred this to the above, I preferred the Paneer. Sauces taste about the same--only a few pieces of chicken. Definintely would buy it again.

Chicken Vindaloo Rice Bowl- Pass. Won't buy it again. Not too much flavor (vindaloo is supposed to be spicy!), and the rice was kind of mushy. Blah.

Vegetable Penang Curry- Better than I expected! For the price, not bad at all. Small, so probably not enough for a meal, and there was definitely oil floating on the top which could turn some people off. Wouldn't buy it consistenly, but not too bad.

Thai-Style Vegetable Gyozas- Better than I expected. I've had horrible experiences with frozen gyozas, but these are not bad. Just wish I could find a good dipping sauce for them. For how cheap they are, it's hard to be disappointed.

Frozen Spinach Artichoke Dip- (Priya)- This is a rec from Swati and it is delicious! As Swati recommended - heat it up in a bowl and then chop a tomato and stir it in - great way to serve a quick appetizer.

Garlic Pizza Dough- (Priya)- was a bit scared to try this as I don't like it when garlic overpowers a dish - but this was delish!

Vegetable Birds Nests- (Priya)- Asian side dish that literally look like birds nests and come with a soy dipping sauce. Not amazing - but a good side dish if you're making Asian and need something else.

Pantry Items:

Clover Blossom Honey- Good. I'm not a honey expert, so it tastes fine to me!

Almond Biscotti- (Rahul)- sooooooooooo good. :-)

Wasabi Peas- (Rahul)- he recommends them!

Fresh/ Baked Goods:

- Focaccia and Ciabatta rolls are fine, but I find they spoil faster than most bread. I think they don't use preservatives, which is probably why. I will still stick to Whole Foods, Fairway and Zabar's for bread, though.

Drinks:

Root Beer- (Rahul)- Amazing. (Rahul, I love root beer, so I'm so excited I'm going to go to the store tomorrow to buy it!) :-)

Corona Light Copy (I can't remember what it's called)- It was $6.50 for a 6 pack, and looked just like Corona Light. I didn't drink it, but everyone said it tasted just like Corona Light, so a great imitation product.

Desserts:

Mini Mint Mouthfuls- (Priya)- delicious little ice cream treat. The only problem is you feel like you could eat 4 in one sitting (and sometimes do :-/)

Not Sure What Category...

White Pizza dough and sauce- (Rahul)- recommended!

If you have any thoughts on Trader Joe's items, let me know! I'll try to move comments up into the post so we gather an overall list. :-)

(Thanks for your recs Rahul and Priya!)

Zagat Time!

2010-09-28T16:22:00.003-04:00

It's that time again! Take a few moments and vote for your favorite NYC restaurants for the 2011-2012 Zagat NYC Restaurant Guide. If you do, you can choose to receive the guide for free, or you can take a 90-day free online subscription to zagat.com.

Click and choose the NYC Restaurants Survey: Zagat Voting

Talenti Gelato & Sorbet

2010-08-31T14:03:00.005-04:00

First things first--I know I haven't posted for an obscene amount of time. I debated closing this blog, but then decided it against it.

Instead of closing it, I think I'll post on it every now and then, and open it up to others who would like to throw in their two cents. (If anyone wants to write, just email me!) For now, ever since moving back to NYC, Ash and I discovered gelato that has single-handedly added inches to our waistline--

Talenti Gelato and Sorbet is absolutely delicious! Obviously, some flavors are better than others, but the Double Dark Chocolate might be one of my favorite gelato flavors ever. It's not cheap (we typically pay between $5-6 for a pint), but it's worth it. Also, they come in hard plastic screw-top containers, so once the gelato is finished, I've found lots of good uses for the containers. (They currently house cardamom and bay leaves in my cabinet.)

I don't like my gelato very sweet, so most of their flavors are too sweet for me. That being said, I LOVE the double dark chocolate, and highly recommend everyone try it if you like dark chocolate.

Here are the flavors we've tried so far:

Double Dark Chocolate: Amazing. Get this one first.
Roman Raspberry: Tastes just like sweetened fresh raspberries. I wish it wasn't so sweet, but still delicious.
Caribbean Coconut: Also too sweet for me, but Ash loves this one.
Caramel Cookie Crunch: Super sweet. We're going to try using this one up in milkshakes--I think they would taste amazing.

I'm keeping my eyes open for the Mediterranean Mint--haven't seen it yet, but am dying to try it.

You can find them at Whole Foods--we also buy them at a small market next to our building called "Jubilee."

Don't blame me if you're now craving gelato...

Splitting the Blog

2010-03-05T11:37:00.001-05:00

Lately I've found that my blog has become a jumble of everything--food, television, family, etc. So, I've made the decision to split this into two blogs--this one will remain "Cravings," and will focus on food. Recipes I like, restaurants I have strong feeling about, grocery items you have to try, etc.

The new one, that I haven't yet thought of a name for (suggestions, please!), will have everything else. Television rants, family stories, essentially everything that is not food related. Since this one will contain pictures and be much more personal, it will not be an open blog that will show up on search engines, so you'll have to know the address to view it. I've removed the link to my older blog (Priya & Vinny's wedding) from my profile (though the blog still exists), and the new one won't show up either. However, if you need the address for the former one, just let me know, and I'll send it to you. Once I publish the new blog, you'll also be able to reach it from there.

The reason behind the split? There are a LOT of people visiting this blog. I love it. I think people search for a restaurant on google, and my blog often comes up in the search results. (The number of people being directed from Google's search engine to this site is significant.) Though I am more than happy to share all my thoughts on food, there are some things I am less willing to share with people I don't know.

That being said, it only makes sense to split the blog. The posts that are not food related will slowly be deleted from Cravings, but will move onto the new blog.

I'll keep you posted!

Coconut Macaroons

2010-03-04T15:53:00.002-05:00

This recipe is fantastic, and SUPER easy. Plus, if you have some chocolate lying around, once they cool, they are extra delicious if you dip them in chocolate. (I dip half of the macaroon in melted dark chocolate and let it harden.) Yum!

Coconut Macaroons Recipe from AllRecipes

What we ate in Vegas

2010-02-22T10:24:00.006-05:00

We got back from Vegas about a week ago, after spending five days relaxing at the Bellagio. (We only intended to spend four, but our flight cancelation gave us a bonus day.) We don't really gamble--we eat and shop. And pull chairs up to our window and watch the Bellagio fountains outside.

But more importantly, here's where we ate:

Monday night: Cabo Wabo Cantina at Planet Holleywood --I think this might be new, as Ash and I don't recall seeing it during our last trip in July. We just wanted a place for a late-night snack, so nachos totally hit the spot. It was pretty good, and if you sit outside, you can actually see bits of the Bellagio fountain show.

Tuesday morning: Bellagio Buffet--since we book through AmEx, we get free breakfast coupons, and always use them at the buffet. It's fantastic. (I think it's $16/person or so otherwise.) Fresh fruit, made-to-order eggs, any breakfast meat you can think of, muffins, pancakes, waffles, croissants, bagels with every topping possible... We always went around 10:30--perfect as the turn for lunch happens around 11. The food is fantastic.

Tuesday night: Roy's Las Vegas-- we took a cab to Roy's, as it's off the strip, and were as thrilled as we were in Arizona. They have amazing seafood (which Ash enjoys), and the Vegas happy hour special is $5 cocktails and rolls. So, we went half an hour before our reservation, ordered appetizers and drinks at the bar, and then ate when our table was ready. A wonderful meal, and about a $10 cab ride from the Bellagio.

Note: We asked our cab driver for the most popular restaurant, and he said it's called "Firefly." It's tapas, and it's about a $15 cab ride off the strip. We didn't head there this time, but perhaps next time.

Tuesday late-night: Jean Philippe Patisserie (Hands down, our favorite dessert place in Vegas. Probably our favorite dessert place anywhere. It is half the reason we stay in the Bellagio--he's also opened up a second location in the new Aria hotel next door. The coolest part? He actually bakes stuff there. I've seen him come out of the kitchen in his chef outfit--I was totally starstruck.)

Wednesday morning: Bellagio Buffet

Wednesday night: We had tickets to the Lion King, so we just grabbed food from a food court. Not exciting, I know.

Wednesday late-night: Jean Philippe Patisserie (notice a pattern?)

Thursday morning: Bellagio Buffet

Thursday night: Wynn Buffet--we'd heard a great deal about the Wynn dinner buffet, so we finally decided to venture out. It's the same price you'd pay for a meal at a nice restaurant (we paid $80 for both of us), so we were skeptical. However, it was fantastic. They keep very small amounts out, and constantly have cooks working in front of you so the food is always fresh. From what I can remember--sushi station, pasta station, salad station, ceviche station (yes, they had 6 kinds), malaysian station, indian station, mediterranean station, etc. When I say "station," I don't mean a typical buffet station of sorts. There were small plates that probably only held enough food for four or five people, and they were constantly being replenished. For the pasta station, they had a bolognese, pumpkin ravioli with brown butter sage sauce, an alfredo with chicken, tortellini, two other dishes with seafood, and then a chef to customize or make you whatever you'd like if you were a vegetarian or wanted something different. The indian station had tandoor ahi, chana masala and fresh baked naan. (Ash said the ahi was very good.) The penang curry in the malaysian station was fantastic. The huge draw seemed to be the Alaskan King Crab legs. Finally, they had a dessert ROOM. It had a full case of gelato (probably about 14 flavors), a crepe station, and about 15 different kinds of dessert. It. was. amazing. (Though pass on the crepes--Jean Philippe puts them to shame.) I would definitely go back--I'll just be hungrier next time.

Friday morning: Jean Philippe Patisserie

Friday evening: La Salsa Cantina at Planet Hollywood--we wanted something fast and not too expensive before our flight, it's your typical mexican restaurant, not pricey and worth the money.

Friday before our red-eye flight: Jean Philippe Patisserie

So, we really only ventured about for dinner, but that's what we intended. We tend to stay at the Bellagio because the breakfast/ lunch buffet is fantastic, and Jean Philippe is at our constant disposal. We don't go to Vegas to gamble--we go to eat. :-)

If you do go to Jean Philippe--I dream about the coconut gelato. I don't even like coconut, but it's fantastic. Ash got me hooked. The new green tea ice cream is also quite amazing. As for chocolate--the chocolate crepe can't be beat, and both the chocolate mousse and chocolate muffin (it should be called chocolate cake in the shape of a muffin) are fantastic. They have a dark chocolate mousse called "Intense" that is probably the best I've ever had. It comes with a salted biscuit and sits on top of a thin butter cookie wafer. Yum.

We both came back heavier than we left. But it was soooo worth it. :-)

Jar of Pickles

2010-02-07T18:48:00.002-05:00

While watching the Food Network today, I learned a fun fact. Apparently when you finish a jar of pickles, you shouldn't throw out the liquid. Just cut up a cucumber, place it in the brine, and put it back in the fridge. Makes more pickles! Ted Allen called it a "little known fact." He was right. Unless I'm the only one who didn't know it. :-)

One of these days I'm going to try it. If anyone else does, let me know!

Favorite Things of 2009

2010-01-01T09:29:00.004-05:00

Happy New Year!

Following last year's entry, I figured I'd take a few minutes to look back on my favorites of 2009. :-)

Food Related:

Favorite dessert: Anything from Jean Philippe in Las Vegas (at the Bellagio). Amazing.

Favorite alcoholic drink: Lychee Martini from Graffiti. No matter how hard we try, ours just doesn't taste as good as Jehangir Mehta's.

Favorite non-alcoholic drink: The virgin Lychee Martini from Graffiti. (Oh yes, it's that awesome.)

Favorite frozen yogurt: This one remains the same as last year-- Half coffee/ Half chocolate from Forty Carrots at Bloomingdale's. However, we've been having a lot of fun with our ice cream maker, and we can churn a pretty good yogurt ourselves!

Favorite ice cream: I'm going to have to stick with the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup sundae from Friendly's. The peanut butter sauce is just too good to only stay on the list for only one year. :-)

Favorite burger: 'Shroom Burger from Shake Shack (2nd year in a row!)

Favorite Mexican restaurant: La Cantina Laredo (it's a small chain restaurant--fantastic if you can find one near you!)

Favorite Thai restaurant: Chu Chai (a fantastic vegetarian Thai place we just tried in Montreal!)

Favorite Italian restaurant: This one has taken a total turn in 2009. Since moving to Boston, I am officially in love with just about every italian place we visit in the North End. I can't choose just one.

Favorite Pizza: I still love all of last year's spots, but Figs certainly tops my list for Boston. There are still a few pizza places we have left to try, so perhaps one will make it on the 2010 list.

Favorite Indian restaurant: Amma.

Favorite Chain restaurant: It's a tie between Roy's and La Cantina Laredo. Both smaller chains, but absolutely delicious.

Not Food Related:

Favorite TV Show: How I Met Your Mother -- definitely the same as last year.

Favorite Movie: Probably "The Blind Side." Haven't been blown away yet.

Favorite Event: Valentine's Day 2009--it was a fantastic night. A romantic dinner with Ash, and then meeting up with Priya and Vinny at Brandy's--a night that was full of love and laughter.

Favorite New Thing: Chaco shoes. I can't believe it's been less than a year that I've been wearing them. Between them and my Merrells, I wear no other shoes. (The new 100% Pure Skincare line I recently purchased is a close second.)

Favorite Book: "Better" by Atul Gawande.

Favorite Blog: This one stays the same as last year-- Jennsylvania. (Jen Lancaster's Blog.)

Favorite Single Moment: When we found out my Dad had successfully completed his Everest base camp climb. The relief and pride I felt just can't be put into words.

Well, that's it! A very happy new year to you and yours!

Subway has flatbread!

2009-12-16T00:19:00.002-05:00

I just went to Subway for the first time in a few months, and was super excited to discover they now have flatbread! Below is the texting conversation that followed:

Neha: "Subway has flatbread!"

Priya: "Ummm yeah they got that about 3 months ago honey."

Neha: "Lol. Oops. Well I just had it for the first time. And it was delicious."

A veggie delite on flatbread with chipotle southwest sauce. Yum.

Iced Pumpkin Cookies

2009-11-11T13:11:00.003-05:00

I made these Iced Pumpkin Cookies today. The can of pumpkin I just bought was calling my name--and it was begging me to mix it with cream cheese for another pumpkin cheesecake. My waist was saying otherwise, and I knew I had to use the can to make something quick. A girl only has so much will power when cream cheese, graham crackers and butter are so readily accessible.

The cookies. Are. Delicious. And half taste like cake, and I love cake.

This was the first time I didn't change the recipe! Well, okay, I just changed it a little bit. I used 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 cup white (instead of all white), and threw in a tiny bit of allspice. And increased the other spices ever so slightly. And when I only had batter for about 12 cookies left, I threw in some mini chocolate chips.

Oh yeah, and I didn't put any butter in the icing. So I guess I did change the recipe--sue me. If you're reading my blog, you should know me by now. I can't follow recipes. I have a problem.

That being said, make the cookies. They are worth it!

PS- I ate one as soon as it came out of the oven, without icing. It takes like a pumpkin muffin top. Yum.

Nutrition Data

2009-11-10T20:09:00.003-05:00

I read food nutrition labels. Always.

That being said, a lot of food doesn't come with nutrition labels. A while ago I was trying to figure out the nutrition facts of an apple, and stumbled across this website. I used it again today, and I realized I never put it on here! I find it tremendously helpful--it gives TONS of info on just about any food you can think of. Personally, I love the graphics--the nutritious vs filling graph is my favorite. :-)

Go ahead--try it out here.

Milk Containers

2009-11-01T09:36:00.003-05:00

Did you know it's better to buy milk in containers that are not clear? Apparently many of the nutrients are light-sensitive, so it's better to buy milk in cardboard containers than in the clear plastic ones. You can read more here-- look under "fortification" in the third paragraph.)

I love Alton Brown.

So Bittersweet.

2009-10-04T11:18:00.004-04:00

I was watching Guy Fieri on the Food Network this morning, and a commercial came on with a familiar voice. (Once you go to Graffiti a few times, you can quickly pick up on Jehangir Mehta's unique accent.) I thought it was a repeat of his Iron Chef show, but I was wrong! He is actually competing on the Next Iron Chef series that premieres tonight on the Food Network! (The winner becomes an Iron Chef--Michael Symon was the winner of the first season.)

How bittersweet. I love Jehangir Mehta, so I really hope he wins! But, on the other hand, I love eating his food at Graffiti, and I love having him come over to our table. That's probably going to disappear. :-( His appearance on Iron Chef has already made it near impossible to get reservations at the restaurant--I loved when it was our secret hole-in-the-wall place that very few people knew about. Ah well, so it goes. At least we got to experience it numerous times, and I even got to purchase a cookbook from him--not from a bookstore, but him as an individual. So cool.

Now, I can't be mad. I do recall telling him to try out for Top Chef while we were eating there once with Priya and Vinny. (That's when he told us he had just finished filming his Iron Chef episode.) But you can't blame me--his food is fantastic! I dream about the paneer and the lychee martini, and our family's "pau bhaji" lovers (Priya & Ash) rave about the tamarind buns. I'm sure hundreds of diners probably said the same thing...and now we're all paying for it. Crap.

If you haven't yet been to Graffiti, be sure to call ahead of time to see if he's going to be working. Though the food is amazing on its own, his presence adds a really unique element to the dining experience. Either way, go soon while you still can! And don't forget to watch tonight--the Next Iron Chef on the Food Network, Sunday nights at 9:00. All selfishness aside, I'll be rooting for him the whole way!

Talk about service!

2009-09-16T15:42:00.004-04:00

Last week we went to Roy's in Desert Ridge, AZ. Priya and Vinny went to the flagship location in Hawaii, and said the seafood was amazing. I don't eat seafood, but Ash enjoys it, and I was looking forward to their signature hot chocolate souffle, so we made a reservation. :-) FYI--though this is a "chain" restaurant, each menu is different, as each branch depends on local ingredients. There are a few signature items that you'll find on each menu, but other than that, each restaurant is its own.

We happened to visit the one in Desert Ridge, so I can only speak for that location. The food was fantastic. I mean fan-tas-tic. Aside from that, the service was impeccable. The restaurant was located in the JW Marriott resort, which was beautiful, and the outdoor seating area had a fire pit and tiki torches, while the inside had cozy booths. Due to the ninety degree weather, we ate inside, and were pleased all around.

Ash kept raving about the butterfish he had for the remainder of the trip, so we almost debated going back for a second meal. However, we wanted to try other places, so we chose not to. When we picked up our mail upon our return, we found a postcard with a Roy's signature cocktail recipe on the front, and a personal handwritten message on the back (I've blacked out our name and address, but everything was personalized):

Who does that? Who sends a personalized postcard to diners through snail mail after they've eaten at the restaurant?? Talk about amazing service. I almost wanted to call up Tony (who did drop by our table when we were eating to make sure everything was to our liking) and thank him! For those of you wondering how he got our address--I signed up for their mailing list, as they send out recipes every now and then. (If you watched Top Chef Master's, this restaurant was created by and named after Roy Yamaguchi, who was a contestant on the show.)

To make a long story short, if you are in the vicinity of Desert Ridge near Roy's Hawaiian Grill, I recommend you visit. It's wonderful!

Some people know me so well...

2009-09-01T16:46:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I can only laugh at how well some people know me. Yesterday I received an email from Jenny containing the subject line--"ALERT ALERT." She knew to brace me before I opened the email. A million thoughts ran through my head--none of which I'll share here--but I prepared myself mentally before opening the email.

What was the message? Payard has closed. Now, to anyone else, that may not be big news. To me? Oh. My. God. I loved Payard. (Evidenced by the previous blog posts here and here.) However, in order to break the news lightly, she mentioned that she was going to get to the bottom of it--as though it might not be closed, but I should brace myself in case it has indeed shut its doors.

As if that wasn't enough, Priya was also cc'ed on the email, and quickly sent a follow up email stating that perhaps they needed to check on my well-being. Before I read these emails, I called Priya, and the first thing she asked was if I had received Jenny's email. I said no, so she proceeded to break the news to me. Once I got over my initial shock (I even visited the website hoping it was all lies--no such luck), I read the email exchange and couldn't stop laughing. Every now and then I realize how well some people know me--it gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling and makes me laugh--all at the same time.

PS- When I broke the news to Ash, his reaction was "NOOOOOOOO. That's TERRIBLE news." And then he was quiet for a minute. Perhaps I should've prepared him the way Jenny and Priya prepared me. Oops.

DVR Alert!

2009-08-30T11:50:00.002-04:00

Jehangir Mehta (who I raved about here) is on Iron Chef America tonight! If you're reading this post late, go ahead and check your program guide anyway, as they repeat the show rather frequently. I can't wait!

If you enjoy seeing famous people, perhaps watch the show and then head over to Graffiti to have him cook for you! (If you didn't read my previous post--order the paneer!!) The only downside is that now I think Graffiti is going to be MUCH more crowded. Bummer.

Supercook!

2009-08-24T10:30:00.005-04:00

I was watching the Today show this morning, and they covered one of Time Magazine's best websites. Holy crap. I found my new favorite website! Go here. Immediately.

Supercook!

You can actually create an account (for free) and enter the ingredients you have in your kitchen. Then, it continuously searches major recipe sites and provides you with recipes of what you can make with what you have on hand! I found it greatly entertaining to enter a few things and see it constantly update what I could make as I entered more ingredients. Once you enter a few things, it nicely asks "Do you have..." with a list of ingredients--all you have to do is click on those you have!

I'm think in love. (sigh)

Recipe for "healthy" brownies!

2009-08-02T22:07:00.006-04:00

Yes, I've tried the black bean brownies--they're surprisingly not bad. I haven't tried the canned pumpkin, but I've heard that they are decent as well. However, I wanted a recipe that didn't need brownie mix, and this one just seemed WAY too weird to work. What did I stumble across? Zucchini brownies!

Oh. my. god. They are fantastic! I wish I could claim the recipe as my own, but I found it here. I followed the recipe as written, but I made two changes-- instead of 1/2 cup vegetable oil, I used 1/4 cup oil and 1/4 cup applesauce. Also, I swapped the walnuts for chocolate chips into the batter, because hey, everything is better with chocolate chips! When you're making it, the batter is VERY dry until you add the zucchini. Also, I didn't use the frosting recipe--I just made a basic chocolate icing and used that instead, since I wanted a very thin layer.

All things said, this recipe is WONDERFUL. Probably good enough for me to keep zucchini in the fridge. And eat brownies for breakfast. Yum!

Have I been blind?

2009-07-24T15:20:00.007-04:00

I've passed Godiva hundreds of times. (I LOVE their biscuits, so I always walk a bit faster past the shop so I don't get tempted.) However, I don't ever recall seeing frozen drinks! I was walking in the Prudential the other day, and I was waiting in a very LONG lunch line at Qdobo. Godiva happens to be right next door. (You can see where this is going....)

Since the line didn't seem to be moving, and Godiva had no line, I figured I'd forego my burrito and instead indulge in one of their heavenly looking chocolate drinks for lunch. Why waste time waiting in line? Plus, that way I'd be able to continue walking--a burrito is hardly portable mall food. (Everyone knows it's all about portability!)

So, I slid out of line and walked into Godiva, ordered the "Dark Chocolate Decadence," and waited. (In the meantime, I also signed up for their free rewards card. A free piece of chocolate every month without a necessary purchase? Score--where do I sign?) When I got it, it looked eerily similar to a Starbucks frap, just more chocolate-y. Oh boy, was I wrong--this drink is in its own league.

It is a bit less icy than the Starbucks consistency, but there are actually ground up pieces of chocolate in the drink itself, so it's like you're drinking and eating chocolate at the same time. (I can already see a bunch of you squirm...I'll never understand those who don't like bits in their drinks. No bubble tea? Really??) In my case, I LOVED it. I almost did a little dance after my first sip. Then, I realized I was in a mall, and took out my phone to call Ash. Halfway through dialing I realized he was probably busy saving lives, and didn't need to be interrupted because I had found a cool new drink, and hung up. Then, I thought, well, who would want to be interrupted because I found a cool new chocolate drink? And I immediately called Priya.

She, however, was busy with all her smart kids, so I left a message. When she returned my call, I remembered that she was one of those crazy ones who doesn't like bits in her drinks. (::shaking my head::) But, she was happy for me! Finally, when Ash got home and asked me what I had for lunch, I told him, and braced myself for a that's-great-but-it's-not-a-healthy-lunch comment. His reaction? He smiled and shook his head. (Not even one word of disapproval. Is there anything not to love about this man?)

At around $5 for a grande size cup, it ain't cheap, but it's worth it. This might be enough to pull me into every Godiva I walk by. Somebody send me some will power. Actually, forget it. I'm probably a lost cause anyway.

Chocolate Cake Balls!

2009-06-11T13:16:00.004-04:00

It's raining. It's dreary. I'm tired. It's that kind of day.

What makes it better? When a friend brings over a ball of cake. Wrapped. In. Chocolate.

Make these immediately: Click here

Thanks Shana!

Twenty Questions about Food!

2009-05-29T15:55:00.013-04:00

I was sent this questionnaire, and found it very fitting. :-)

20 Questions for Food Lovers

1. How often do you eat out? About two times/week--usually a dinner, and maybe brunch on the weekends. I bring my lunch to work everyday, because Ash and I both start to feel sluggish if we eat out any more than that. Plus, I love to cook. (Especially b/c Ash does the dishes!)

2. Favorite restaurant? Currently, Sinigual. It changes every few months. I could live off of their fried ice cream. I'd be fat and die in 3 years, but I'd be happy. (Hence the above answer of not eating out more than two times/ week...) :-)

3. Favorite food? Nachos. Hands down.

4. What do you ALWAYS have in your fridge? Cilantro.

5. What do you ALWAYS have in your freezer? You mean other than ice cream? More ice cream.

6. Favorite spice? Cardamom.

7. Favorite herb? Cilantro.

8. What do you eat every day? At least 20 grams of fiber. At a minimum. (And not in supplements--in real, unprocessed food. In a pinch, I'll eat these bars. The chocolate brownie one is my favorite!)

9. Favorite fruit? The reddish ones. (Cherries, Watermelon, Raspberries, etc.)

10. Favorite vegetable? Potatoes. (Unless you get into the whole root veggies aren't vegetables debate, and in that case, broccoli.)

11. Favorite drink? Earl grey tea with milk and sugar.

12. Favorite comfort food? Creamy tomato soup (with lots of cream, butter and parmesan) in a bread bowl.

13. Favorite grocery store? Regularly? Whole Foods. But I LOVE visiting grocery stores when we travel. (Ash found this out the hard way--luckily I am married to a very patient man.)

14. Favorite dessert? Chocolate mousse. NOT chocolate mousse cake. Chocolate mousse.

15. Favorite appliance? I love all my appliances--maybe my coffee maker?

16. You can't cook without...? A really good knife.

17. You never...? Fry anything. I sprinkle on some olive oil and stick it in the oven instead.

18. Where do you get restaurant reviews? Menupages. But I give restaurants two chances.

19. Most disappointing meal? For the money? Tabla Bread Bar. For the name? Cilantro.

20. Best meal? Ferraro's in Maui. Everything about it was perfect.

Easiest. Cheesecake. Ever.

2009-05-28T13:54:00.005-04:00

I'm on a nutella kick. I'll eat it with everything--graham crackers, on toast, or best yet, out of the jar with a spoon. (I tried making nutella and banana paninis for dessert one day--that didn't go so well.)

In any case, I searched for recipes that used the goodness-in-a-jar, and found a few different cheesecake recipes. Most of them were no-bake, which I'm not such a fan of, so I changed it a bit to make it the easiest cheesecake ever. Seriously.

Easy Nutella Cheesecake

Note: Since I chose to make a brownie crust instead of a traditional graham cracker crust, I prepared boxed brownie batter for a 13x9 pan. Then, I used some of it to make this crust, and used the remainder to bake brownies in an 8x8 pan.

Springform Pan (I used a 10 inch, because that's all I had)
Prepared brownie batter (I used Duncan Hines, I think)
1 egg
1 tbsp. vanilla
16 oz. cream cheese (I used 8 oz. low fat and 8 oz. regular Philadelphia)
1 13 oz. jar nutella

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of the springform pan (I used about 1 tsp. of vegetable oil, and wiped off the excess with a paper towel.) Pour a small amount of brownie batter on the bottom of the pan, and use a spoon or spatula to just cover the bottom. (I used about 3/4 cup for a 10 inch pan.) The more batter, the thicker your crust. Bake for about 7-10 minutes, or until it starts to look done.

In a bowl, beat the cream cheese. When almost smooth, add the egg and vanilla. When well combined, mix in the nutella, and spread over the brownie crust.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool, then place in refrigerator for at least 6 hours. (The longer you leave it, the stiffer it will be.)

Done!

Now, this cheesecake is really rich. I love rich cakes, and even I can only eat a sliver of it at a time. So, when I make it again, I'll probably purchase a smaller springform pan (maybe a 6 inch) so I don't eat it for weeks. Because really, I've been eating it for over a month now. It's also not too sweet, as the only sugar is from the nutella and in the brownie crust. I like it that way, but if you only like super sweet desserts, you might want to add some sugar into the cream cheese mixture.

Enjoy!

Wendy: "The Pit" in Raleigh, NC

2009-05-27T13:43:00.004-04:00

My friend Wendy recently went down to Raleigh, and came back singing the praises of a restaurant called The Pit. In case anyone happens to be in the Raleigh, NC area, I'm posting her review below:

"If you are in Raleigh and want a great place to eat, The Pit is the place to go. I was in Raleigh last week and my high school sweetheart, Tim, took me there for dinner. The restaurant is homey and smells wonderful. We were told the wait would be about 30 minutes since we did not have a reservation, but before we got to the bar to wait we were greeted by an older gentleman who came over to welcome us. Apparently it was Ed Mitchell, the owner.

Talk about a southern gentleman! We sat at the bar, chatted with the staff, and before we knew it our table was ready!

We were seated in a booth and began to look at menu. So many choices! I had the meatloaf– who would have thought to put blue cheese on it? Actually, I love blue cheese, so perhaps I would have eventually gotten around to it, but it was so good! Tim got the triple combo– brisket, bbq and meatloaf. Each meal comes with two sides, and everything was delicious!

During the meal there was a man walking around playing the harmonica- peaceful and serene. It felt like I was on a porch in the south somewhere. Pure heaven!!

So if you get a chance to visit Raleigh– The Pit is the place to be!"

Thanks Wendy!

Oops.

2009-05-11T17:25:00.003-04:00

From the article located here.

THE SALTIEST FOOD IN AMERICA
P.F. Chang’s Hot and Sour Soup Bowl
6,878 mg sodium
336 calories
12 g fat (2 g saturated)

Sodium Equivalent: 208 saltine crackers

P.F. Chang's has published their nutrition facts for years without providing sodium counts for basic menu items, which was cause for concern and—as it turns out—justified suspicion. Chinese food tends to run high on the sodium spectrum because of its reliance on viscous stir-fry sauces and salt-laden condiments like soy sauce. But this an unfathomable amount of salt to pack into one 336-calorie bowl of soup. The sad truth is that unless you stick to vegetable sides and small servings of a select few entrees (Crispy Honey Chicken, Orange Peel Beef, Lemon Scallops), you’re all but guaranteed to absorb one or more day’s worth of sodium in a single sitting at P.F. Chang’s.

Oops. Well, okay. But it's darn good soup.

On a side note, if you haven't seen Eat This, Not That
it's quite good! I own a copy, and find myself constantly staggered by the statistics.

Quote of the Day

2009-04-24T13:29:00.005-04:00

We went to Maya last night for a family dinner to celebrate Priya & Vinny's Anniversary. (Which means that it was me, Ash, Priya, Vinny and Prammy--it's so cool when your sister's marriage now means your family dinners involve some of your greatest friends.) :-)

In any case, we found ourselves talking briefly about the suspect in the "Craigslist Killer" case, as he is a BU medical student. There were a lot of great comments, but one made all of us burst out laughing, so I thought I'd share it.

Prammy: "Well, it's obvious that guy isn't going to get a residency."

For anyone who knows (either first-hand or through a loved one) the stress involved with getting a medical residency or fellowship, it's funny just to think about what his application would look like. I'm still laughing just thinking about it...

As for Maya--fantastic entrees, thumbs down on the desserts. (We ordered four different ones, and none was above average. Instead, walk to Payard.)

Blue Smoke

2009-04-21T11:59:00.007-04:00

My experiences at Danny Meyer's restaurants have been mixed. I absolutely love Shake Shack, but I found Tabla's Bread Bar to be a huge disappointment. Union Square Cafe was somewhere in the middle. However, I heard great things about Blue Smoke, so Ash and I decided to venture out there on Sunday night. (It's on 27th between Park and Lex.) There is a jazz bar downstairs, but we stayed upstairs, where the atmosphere was what you'd expect for a barbecue place, but somewhat cozy at the same time.

Overall, I definitely would go back, but for a few choice items. The reviews all said the ribs were something to stay away from, and since I only eat chicken, that wasn't really a problem. I stuck to side dishes, and Ash tested out the chicken. Here's what we ordered:

Applewood Smoked Chicken (served with mashed potatoes)
Eh. Well cooked, but nothing to write home about. The mashed potatoes were very average. Ash liked the chicken enough to bring some home, so I guess it was good.

Macaroni and Cheese
Yum--I'd get it again. Now be warned--it does NOT have a crispy top. It's more of the creamy-type mac and cheese, but it was burned on the top. If you stay on the website long enough, you'll see a picture of it. It looked exactly like the picture. Tasted like it had been sauteed with onions for a long time--delicious! And they give you enough for it to be an entree for one person.

Fry Bread
Get this. It was the second best thing we ordered. There were four pieces of fry bread (picture fried dough, but lighter and fluffier) served with chipotle butter. Yum. It gave me a stomach ache, as I don't really eat much fried food, but it was totally worth it.

Cornbread
Pass. Not bad, but by no means great. I wouldn't get it again.

Biscuits and Gravy
This wasn't on the menu, but we asked for it. The biscuits were good, and the gravy was average (chicken gravy, for those who are wondering). I'm still back and forth on whether I'd get it again.

And the best thing we ordered...

Sticky Toffee Pudding
This dessert is not a dessert I would typically order. However, I like to read reviews of restaurants before I go, just to see if something is repeatedly mentioned, and this was. And they were right. It was delicious. Sweet with a tiny bit of salt--yum. Both of us were stuffed (we were debating passing on dessert), but we cleaned off the plate. Definitely order it. It's not really a pudding--it has more of a cake-like consistency.

Next time I will definitely try the beignets for dessert--if the fry bread was that good, they must be amazing. But the sticky toffee pudding was certainly a welcome surprise, so I don't regret that decision. And, next time I'll probably get both. I can't not get the sticky toffee pudding now that I know how good it is.

I think our game plan will be to head to Blue Smoke for dessert after eating at one of the many Murray Hill indian restaurants. The "regular" food didn't blow me away, and indian restaurants don't really have great desserts. So, this would be the best of both worlds. Blue Smoke does have a cool "dessert sampler" platter that has five different desserts--seems like it'd be great for a few people to share.

Long story short--not absolutely fantastic, but not bad either. It certainly doesn't break the bank. Our bill came to $52. (No drinks, but we had enough for 4 people to eat--my eyes might have been bigger than my stomach.) But, if you're in the area, give it a whirl. Order the fry bread, and definitely stay for dessert!

Exciting Weekend!

2009-04-06T09:38:00.004-04:00

It doesn't take a lot to get me excited. The weather was absolutely gorgeous in Manhattan yesterday, so Ash and I started the day with lunch at Tiffin Walah (great south indian food), and then strolled up Fifth Avenue. It was a beautiful day, but that wasn't all!

Saturday evening was spent at Priya and Vinny's, watching the NCAA tournament. This tournament is quite stressful--not because I follow basketball, but because I love to eat. For the past few years a bunch of us have been "betting" dinner on the tournament. Bottom half cooks the entrees, and top half (minus the winner) has to cook the dessert of the winner's choice. (There is also trash talking and bragging rights involved, but that's nothing new...) It is a great excuse to get together, and also adds excitement for all of us who don't really follow the NCAA. This time around, there are three people who can potentially win the bracket, all with very different dessert preferences. Desserts in the past have been brownie sundaes and s'mores, both of which I can get around. If UConn had won, we'd be eating Vinny's dessert--it'd probably have something to do with fruit (bananas is my best guess). If UNC loses the finals, Rahul will win (I think), which means the dessert will involve walnuts...blah. However, if UNC wins the finals, Priya gets to choose, and it will DEFINITELY involve chocolate. (Not to mention if UNC wins, I am high enough up in the rankings that I don't have to cook entrees--score!) So, let's all root for UNC tonight!

Now, back to my excitement--two super exciting things. One--Priya taught me how to make chocolate mousse!! We'll see if it actually comes out as good when I have to watch out for stiff peaks vs. soft peaks with a hand blender--it all seems a bit tricky. However, she learned a great recipe from a chef, and then taught it to me in between the two basketball games Saturday night. I, in turn, can't stop eating it. Yum!

Second, I think I may have found a place to order my favorite enchilada sauce! Enchilada sauce is one thing I can't master--I've tried recipe after recipe from scratch, but it never ends up tasting as good as El Rio's Hot Enchilada Sauce. (See picture--though the picture is of the "mild" kind--not as good.) I used to buy El Rio when I lived on the Upper West Side, but now no one in the city seems to carry it. They carry El Rio Nacho Cheese Sauce (cheese? in a can?) and other El Rio products, but not the enchilada sauce. I tried Old El Paso (the yellow can), but it did not even come close. It was much thinner than El Rio, and didn't have as much flavor. Yesterday I randomly googled where I could purchase it online, and it seems Hannaford started an online grocery store! So, I placed an order for a case of the sauce (yes, a case--it's THAT good!) I'll keep you posted when it arrives! If you happen to see it in your grocery store, definitely give it a try! You'll never need to order restaurant enchiladas again...

So exciting!

Zagat Time!

2009-04-01T18:13:00.004-04:00

Sometimes I don't post for two weeks, then I post twice in one day. Ah, well, so it goes.

In any case, it's Zagat time! If you don't know how it works--all you have to do is register and rate NYC restaurants (one or one hundred, doesn't matter), and then once the analysis is done, you'll get a free copy of the book! I believe this year you can also opt out of receiving the book and receive a 90-day free subscription to zagat.com instead. In case you want to make your voice count, the link is below:

Zagat Open Surveys
(I believe the NYC one closes on May 17th. Be sure to finalize and submit your votes, otherwise they won't be submitted and you won't get your book!)

A Story

2009-03-26T13:10:00.005-04:00

I heard Kenny Moore, author of The CEO and the Monk: One Company's Journey to Profit and Purpose, speak at JetBlue this morning. Though much of what he said stuck with me, I wanted to share one of his personal examples.

He talked about how you can do whatever you choose, as long as you're willing to live with the consequences. Simple enough, right? Then he told a story about what happened when he said that to his six-year old son. It went something like this...

Son: (Jumping on the bed)
Dad: Stop jumping on the bed!
Son: (Continues to jump on the bed)
Dad: If you don't stop jumping on the bed, you're going to break the bed. Stop jumping on the bed!
Son: (Continues to jump on the bed)
Dad: Okay, forget the bed. If you don't stop jumping, you're going to break your leg! Stop it!
Son: (Continues to jump on the bed)
Dad: Okay, you know what. You can keep jumping on the bed all you like. You'll just have to live with the consequences. (Walks out of room)
Son: (Stops jumping on the bed, runs after Dad, almost in tears) But I don't want to live with the consequences. I want to live here.

I'm still smiling even as I type it. So cute. :-)

Happy Birthday to Me!

2009-03-24T21:19:00.004-04:00

I had a fantastic birthday. I have the greatest family, the sweetest friends, and I am touched every year by all those who call/email/facebook/text message me good wishes. I am terrible at remembering birthdays, so it really does mean a lot.

My birthday for the past few years has typically consisted of going to work and then going out to dinner with Ash, Priya and Vinny. This year, Ash was on vacation on my birthday, so I figured I'd take the day off too. Since Priya and Vinny both had to work into the evening today, they took us out to dinner on Sunday night for an early celebration. That left my actual birthday to do, well, whatever I wanted!

So what did my day consist of? I had to double check with Ash that you can't cause diabetes by eating too much sugar all at once. (Luckily, as far as he knows, you can't.) Here's the rundown:

7:00 am- Woke up and picked up a few phone calls from family and from India.
8:30 am- Ash sang happy birthday with a candle in a slice of PF Chang's "Great Wall of Chocolate" cake. (Cake before breakfast...does it really get better than that?)
11:00 am- Bloomingdale's for 40 carrots frozen yogurt. (I got a coffee smoothie, Ash got the pina colada one. His might have been better.)
12:00 pm- Museum of Natural History
4:00 pm- Levain Bakery for a variety of cookies. I can never decide which one to get--today, I just got all of them! Hands down, best cookies in Manhattan. (I can't remember if this was due to Swati or Sameer--but whoever said it, totally right!)
5:30 pm- Nanoosh for hummus and pita to soak up some of the sugar
6:30 pm- Magnolia Bakery to pick up banana pudding and apple crisp
7:30 pm- Went to Priya's to eat the Magnolia desserts (Vin- the banana pudding is surprisingly good. I'd get it again!)

So yes, I had frozen yogurt, delicious cookies that weigh half a pound, and banana pudding all in one day. And I'd do it again. (Ash was kind enough to indulge me all day--he actually ate everything with me. Such a good sport.) It was delicious. Good thing my birthday is only once a year, or I'd weigh 600 pounds. Happy birthday to me! :-)

Sinigual

2009-02-25T11:07:00.005-05:00

Priya and Vinny told us about this new mexican restaurant that they enjoyed, so Ash and I headed there on Friday night. Called Sinigual, it's located at 43rd St. between Lexington & 3rd Avenue. (The address says 42nd St., but we found the entrance to be at 43rd...I think. Maybe 41st. You'll find it.)

The first thing we noticed was the space--large booths, space between tables, and it's HUGE. The bar is right when you enter, so we requested a table in the back of the restaurant where it was quieter. They also have a glass wall in the back where you can see into the kitchen, if you like that bit. Ash and I were given a large booth for four people, so we enjoyed the wiggle room that we almost never get in Manhattan.

But, the important part--the food. Do not leave without ordering the Fried Ice Cream. Priya gave us a heads up about it, and she was totally right. They pour a shot of brandy on it tableside (which I could have done without), but the coating does not get soggy at all. It's very good. It terms of the meal, I ordered the Santa Fe Enchilada Stack (pictured--photo comes from their website), and Ash ordered a grilled chicken breast that I don't see on their online menu. We both liked them quite a bit. My entree came with a side of sweet corn cake--absolutely wonderful. Next time we go back, I will be ordering an additional side of it.

A nice touch is that instead of serving chips and salsa, they served warm tortillas. I was a fan. It seemed like their specialty was tableside guacamole (there were huge carts around the restaurant), but ever since we started making homemade guacamole, we don't typically order this at restaurants. We decided to pass on it so we could focus on the entrees and dessert. (We still brought home leftovers...)

The only glaring downside-- the service at this place seemed to be lacking. Nothing terrible, but don't go and expect wonderful service.

If you go and are looking for a quiet table, request one in the back, as the front of the restaurant was very loud. In terms of pricing, we ordered two entrees (I think they were both around the $15 mark) and split a dessert (around $10). All in, I believe our bill came to $45ish with tax--for the quality and amount of food, it seemed reasonable.

Enjoy! And thanks for the recommendation, Priya!

Valentine's Day

2009-02-15T10:11:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was fantastic. I'm not really a huge Valentine's Day person--it's probably one of my two least favorite holidays. (New Year's Eve would be the other one.) I dislike both for similar reasons-- it's just a day where everything is more expensive, for no apparent reason. New Year's Eve? Just another day. Valentine's Day? The day to show someone how much you love them...shouldn't that be everyday?

In any case, I digress. The day itself was wonderful. We started off by going to Big Daddy's, our favorite diner, to meet a friend of ours visiting from Turkey. (Kiran--if you move back to the states, you could get bacon everyday! Think about it...) Then, Ash and I came home and had a "lazy day," which I totally love. We cuddled on the couch, watched three episodes of How I Met Your Mother, and a few shows on Air Force One and Marine One.

When it was time for dinner, Ash had made reservations at Ciao Bella--a restaurant that we've always been wanting to try, but never got the chance. For those familiar with the Upper East Side, it took the spot of Panorama Cafe--a fantastic little italian place. Now, it's an upscale italian restaurant named after the same company that makes the famous gelato you see in the grocery stores (which I usually find too sweet). Panorama used to be one of our favorite places, so we were bummed when it shut down, but had high hopes for this new place.

I ordered the butternut squash ravioli (good, but too sweet), and Ash got the roasted chicken (he liked it). Dessert was tiramisu (very creamy, but didn't have much of a coffee taste) and a chocolate souffle (not bad). Their cappuccino was fantastic. Overall, it was a nice, romantic meal, but I don't think we'll be going back. For what we paid, there are many other restaurants in the city with better food.

We had spoken to Priya and Vinny earlier in the day, and had made plans to meet up after dinner. (They went to Pranna, and said it was average.) After convincing them not to go home and to meet us at this hole-in-the-wall piano bar instead, the night became legendary. Yes, I said legendary. (TV show? Anyone? Anyone?) We got there an hour before the piano set even started--a good idea, as the tiny place was PACKED thirty minutes later. Then, after a somewhat boring set of love songs, they sang Journey. And that's when everything turned around. We belted along to "Total Eclipse of the Heart," "Rocket Man," "Cat's In the Cradle," and tons of others. When we weren't singing, we were laughing. The four of us learned that first impressions can be terribly wrong...but hysterical at the same time. (You'll have to ask one of us for the story.) It was a perfect night-- a romantic dinner with my husband, and then a fun and memory-filled night with the three people I love most.

On a side note, I found my new favorite drink! There was a two drink minimum at the tables, and Priya recommended Kahlua. I've never tried Kahlua. I don't know why no one told me about this earlier! It tastes like super sweet coffee--yum. Vinny then had the waitress bring over some milk, and it became the best drink ever. I now might spike everything with Kahlua. It's awesome.

One side note, apparently when you order, you should say "Kahlua on the rocks." Not "Kahlua on ice." Whatever--she knew what I meant. All the laughing was unnecessary. But whatever. (And Vin--I did not say Kahlua on the ice, just Kahlua on ice, funny man.) I'm going to continue ordering it my way, just to spite all three of you. So there. Bastards.

I normally don't place inside jokes in my blog, but indulge me just this once. I just want to place it somewhere it'll be permanently inscribed, so none of us will forget it...

BYE PRIYA!! ;-)

Hope you all had as wonderful a Valentine's Day as I did!

Wine and Food Matcher

2009-02-12T10:28:00.003-05:00

I'm not a big fan of wine, but I know a lot of people are. I stumbled across this site that has a wine and food matcher. It's pretty cool! Essentially, you can either put in what food you'll be eating, and it'll pair wines for you. Or, you can choose what wine you have, and it'll tell you what foods go best with it. Pretty cool!

If the link doesn't work, the physical address is: http://nataliemaclean.com/matcher/

Enjoy!

MenuPages Added More Cities!

2009-02-04T17:40:00.004-05:00

I almost always check Menu Pages before heading to a restaurant--just to see what I can expect on the menu, and if there is a particular dish that is consistently mentioned in the reviews. I just visited it again, and found that they have added additional cities, so it is no longer just a New York City resource! The cities included are:

New York City
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Philadelphia
Boston
Chicago
Washington, DC
South Florida

The maps now have a cheeky hand-drawn feel (which I like), and the site seems to be better organized. Best yet, they now have a "Find-A-Food" search which will search all the restaurant menus for the particular food you specify. (I searched "Nachos," and got 515 Manhattan restaurants.)

Super cool! If you don't yet use the site, I highly recommend it!

Graffiti (Food & Wine Bar)

2009-02-02T16:28:00.009-05:00

"One of the top five dining experiences I've had."

Ash's words, not mine, but I'd whole-heartedly agree. We went to Graffiti last Friday, and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It is essentially a tapas and wine bar located on E 10th St. between 1st and 2nd Ave. (Look carefully--you'll probably walk right by it.) It is a tiny little place (seats about 18 total at four communal tables), and looks like it used to be someone's studio apartment. (Yes, it's that tiny--the picture shows 90% of the entire restaurant.) However, it's set up in a charming way, so the space feels intimate and has a "hidden treasure" appeal you don't get at many restaurants. Jehangir Mehta is the executive chef, so not surprisingly, the food has many indian-inspired flavors. Below is my personal list on why you should go:

Why You Should Go To Graffiti

1. The food rocks.
Be sure to order the Green Mango Paneer. Amazing. Better yet, order three. You won't want to share.

2. Every wine on the menu is just $25 a bottle.
Yes, you read that correctly.

3. Jehangir Mehta has been a pastry chef at: Jean Georges, Union Pacific, Virot, Compass, Aix and Sapa.
Hello? Do you need another reason?

4. Jehangir Mehta actually cooks all the food himself.
We saw him working away in the tiny kitchen the entire time we were there. That is, of course, except for when he was talking to the diners, since....

5. Jehangir Mehta actually comes to your table to present all of the dishes himself.
This was my favorite part. I'm in awe of great chefs--it could have been Brad Pitt coming to our table between every course--that's how excited I was. I told him his paneer was the best paneer I've ever eaten, and he was incredibly gracious and humbled. SUPER nice. A really cool experience.

6. This is his only restaurant.
Yes, I asked him. Anything to keep him at our table longer.

7. I bought his cookbook on-the-spot as soon as I tried his food.
I don't buy cookbooks on the spot. I am an Amazon junkie. But his style was so unique that I couldn't help it, and I'm quite certain there's not another cookbook like it. In case you want to purchase his cookbook and save a few dollars, feel free to click here, or on the image below. But I will say, there's something cool about buying a cookbook from the chef himself.

What We Ordered:

We ordered a lychee martini ($7, apparently it's recently been featured on the Martha Stewart show, so everyone in the restaurant had one) and three small plates. The restaurant has three price tiers, so we ordered one plate from each tier. (You can view the full menu here.) Our plates were:

- Green Mango Paneer ($7): Best. Paneer. Ever. A small dish of paneer served with a few small pieces of perfectly cooked bread. (Small sharing portion--next time I'm going to order one of these just for myself, though I actually liked it so much I could eat four of them. Don't go and not order this. It would be a HUGE mistake.)

- Zucchini Hummus Pizza ($12): Very interesting, in a good way. It didn't have too many indian flavors, but was very good. Picture a flaky pastry crust topped with hummus, sliced zucchini and wasabi peas. Don't know if I'd order it again, but definitely enjoyed it. The size of the pizza was about 5 inches or so--a perfect size for Ash and I to split.

- Tomato Tamarind Vegetable Buns ($15): Very good. They were three small buns, each one slightly smaller than the size of my palm. You could certainly taste the tamarind, and it was an interesting contrast to the tomato. Definitely more indian in flavor, but unlike anything I've eaten at any other restaurant.

When (not if) we go back, I'll be ordering a Green Mango Paneer all to myself. Additionally, I think Ash will try some of the non-veg items, and I'll ask them to tailor a few items to make them vegetarian (which they state they are happy to do on their website). Though we didn't order dessert, we were brought a complimentary taste of his homemade ice cream (amazing), and some candied carrots (better than you would think!). Ash had a shared connection with the chef, so I think this was a kind gesture more than the norm.

(Sidenote: Before you comment on my lack-of-ordering-dessert, we had plans to go to Max Brenner or Veniero's, both of which are a few blocks away. ChikaLicious is also pretty much right across the street. So don't judge too soon... Although next time, we'll probably order dessert.)

Finally, to wrap us this post, a few bits of advice if you decide to go:

If You Go To Graffiti...

1. Make reservations.
We saw several people get turned away, as there was no availability for the remainder of the night. (We were there at 7:15.)

2. Request seats against the wall.
If you are a party of two, you will be sharing your table with one or two other couples. The seats against the wall are the only ones where people will not consistently be brushing against your back throughout your meal, as it is a very tight space. It's not unbearable--but if the food wasn't as good as it was, we probably would have gotten annoyed.

3. Don't bring a bunch of shopping bags.
When I say tiny, I mean tiny.

4. Order the Green Mango Paneer.
Did I mention this already? Ah well. It's important.

Enjoy!

Cold Coffee

2009-01-26T11:39:00.006-05:00

Everytime we go to India, we're offered "cold coffee." Let's face it, it's usually close to 100 degrees Farenheit, and most of the food and beverages don't sit well with our stomach, so there is not much we can be offered. Our family knows us (and our digestive systems) well enough to boil water and place it in the fridge before we arrive, as well as often make ice cubes with the boiled water. After all, you never can be too careful! (Ash was sick for 4 days because a lime soda he ordered at a four-star restaurant had some carbonated tap water in it...)

Back to cold coffee. No, this is not brewed coffee that's sat out for too long. Instead, it tastes more like an iced coffee frap, but with less ice. I absolutely love it. Last time we were in New Delhi, my lovely cousins took us to this amazing coffee place called Barista. The vibe was very similar to a Starbucks, but you could order at your table, and it went WAY beyond just coffee. (Personally, I'd trade a Starbucks for a Barista anyday!) If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend it. I still think about a Brrrrista Blast I had over there, described as "our finest cold coffee, loaded with choco fudge, ice cream and whipped cream." (You can look at their cold coffee menu here.) When Ash and I returned home, I went to work on figuring out how to make one.

There are two recipes below--the first is for a "plain" cold coffee, and the second is more in line with the Brrrista Blast. I always use my magic bullet, but you can also use a regular or an immersion blender.

(Note: I've made it before with brewed coffee, and have found it to be too watery. However, if you use a cooled espresso shot, that would probably work, but I haven't tried it...)

"Plain" Cold Coffee (with a Magic Bullet)

2 ice cubes
Approx. 1 cup of milk (You know I don't measure...the beverage bullet container is about one-third full--I use 1% milk)
1 heaping teaspoon of the instant coffee of your choice (I like Nescafe, Ash uses International House French Vanilla)
Sugar to taste (I use 1 tsp.)

Dump it all into the Magic Bullet, and blend! I blend until I can no longer hear the ice cubes--but if you blend it too long, the froth turns thick, so be careful! (The milk will froth and increase in size, so be sure there is space left in the container.) You can also use a blender, but I find it easier to customize drinks in the bullet, as you make each one individually.

Also, if we're using it as a dessert, we'll omit the sugar and throw in a scoop of vanilla or coffee ice cream. (If using vanilla, throw in an extra bit of coffee.) If you're looking for more of the Brrrrrrista Blast drink, here's what I came up with:

Cold Coffee Dessert (with a Magic Bullet)

Few spoons of chocolate sauce (syrup is a bit runny, hot fudge is a bit thick--something in the middle)
1 cup of 1% milk
1.5 heaping teaspoons of instant coffee
2 scoops of vanilla or coffee ice cream
2 ice cubes
Sugar to taste (I don't use any)
Whipped cream (optional)
Chocolate shavings (optional)

Blend the ice cubes, instant coffee, milk and sugar in the bullet until you can no longer hear the ice. Drizzle the chocolate sauce at the bottom and on the sides of a tall glass. (something you would serve a milkshake in.) Place the remaining scoop of ice cream into the glass, and pour in the cold coffee. Add whipped cream, drizzle the last of the chocolate sauce and garnish with chocolate shavings. Serve with a straw and a long spoon.

(Note: You can probably subsitute chocolate sauce for caramel, hence the Barista picture up top, but I am more of a chocolate fan.)

Enjoy!

A slightly different look

2009-01-17T09:08:00.002-05:00

Yes, no more dots! I was getting really sick of looking at the generic template of my blog, so I am finally getting around to creating a custom header. Since I'm not so great with the fancy schmancy computer stuff, so far this is the best I could do. But hey, it's certainly better than looking at all those dots...

Finally--a teapot warmer!

2009-01-06T09:46:00.008-05:00

I love tea. LOVE tea. A few years ago I bought a Bodum tea pot, and I've used it a bunch of times. However, Ash and I like different kinds of tea, so brewing a pot has always seemed excessive. (Though I secretly feel all grown up everytime I use it.)

I've always thought if there was a good way to keep my tea warm for a few hours, I could enjoy using my teapot more often. (We have a stainless steel coffee pot that will keep coffee warm, but tea, not so much.) Since my teapot only cost $25ish, I didn't want to spend another $25ish on a tea warmer. Then, this morning, I saw one on Crate and Barrel's website for $9.95! (It's on sale, so I don't know how long that price will last...) It uses a tea light, and says it can be used with any teapot. (It is a Bodum product, and my pot is the one on the picture, so I am fairly certain it will work with mine.) I was holding onto some credit to Crate and Barrel, so I quickly placed an order. Just thought I'd pass it along, since I know many of you enjoy a good cup of tea as well... :-)

On a side note, those Valhrona Chocolate Pearls (from this post) came in--I'll post on them as soon as I fully test them out!

Neither Paper Nor Plastic

2009-01-04T12:41:00.007-05:00

First things first--happy new year!

A lot of people have been talking about resolutions for 2009. I thought about it, and I don't have a "real" resolution, but there are a lot of things I want to do this year. Some are new things, some are old habits I want to break, and some are a few things I started doing in 2008 that I want to be sure I continue. (All you OE people--stop laughing at the start, stop, continue...it's obviously permanently ingrained into my brain.)

To highlight one, a while ago I got my first reusable bag, and unexpectedly, found that I felt good about myself everytime I used it. I felt that in my own tiny way, I was doing something to help save the environment. So, this year I've decided to actually keep track of how many bags I save. I think it will become increasingly rewarding as my number goes up, and the intrinsic reward will increase the frequency of the behavior. (Notice the counter on the left. Or actually, the lack of a counter-- it's just a text box. If someone wants to build me a counter, that would be AWESOME. But I can't figure out how to do it. So until then, I'll manually update the text box.)

The first reusable bag I got was by accident. JetBlue was running a promotion, and so we all got a goody bag of products that would help the environment. My first bag was a Chico Bag in red--I always kept it in my purse, and whenever I could remember, I used it at the grocery store. Though it is super convenient to carry around all the time, it looks wrinkled when you use it, and it isn't very sturdy (at least it felt like it wasn't sturdy). So, I was on the hunt to find a better bag. I needed something sturdy that could carry a gallon of milk without me worrying it was going to rip. Also, my wrists were starting to hurt--I wanted something I could throw over my shoulder.

Bring It In A Bag had just what I was looking for. (Full disclosure- a great friend of mine owns and runs the company, but I would buy the bags even if she didn't! The bags have been featured in Real Simple, The Wall Street Journal, The Today Show...go check them out!) This site sells jute bags, so not only are you saving plastic bags, but you are purchasing something that is eco-friendly. I have the super cute one that says "green is the new brown". It has held 2 gallons of milk, along with a bunch of other groceries, and I've never worried about it breaking. Also, the inside is lined so that if something spills, I can just take a wet paper towel and wipe it right off. LOVE it. This bag alone has probably saved a couple hundred plastic bags already--the baggers at Associated Supermarkets now know I never need a bag for my groceries. (Although one of them once said-- "I get it, save a tree, right?" Um, sure. Since plastic bags are made from trees. But whatever.)

So, that bag solves my grocery store problem, which is where I get the most plastic bags. However, I still needed a bag that I could keep in my purse, for when I might pick up things on-the-go. For this, I used to use my Chico bag. However, I've recently discovered Rume Reusable Shopping Totes, which I absolutely love. I now almost always have one in my bag at all times, and Ash even uses a mini one to take food to work everyday. They aren't cheap, but I love the designs (I have the "Fall In NY" collection), and they roll-up into the perfect size to take with me. (About three of the large ones roll up to the size of a grande coffee cup at Starbucks.) I highly recommend them! You can check out their website here.

If you're not convinced that carrying a reusable bag is worth it, here are a few benefits we've found...

- Have you ever opened up your cabinet only to find plastic bags sticking out? Yeah, our cabinet is not overflowing with plastic bags anymore. We still have enough plastic bags to use for the garbage (the few times we forget to bring a bag is enough to carry us over), but we don't feel like we're swimming in them.

- When it's raining or snowing, you don't have to worry about your paper bag ripping and all of your groceries falling onto the sidewalk. (No, it hasn't happened to me, but I've had several close calls. I call it the hold-the-bag-like-a-baby-and-pray walk.)

- Reusable bags (specifically the Bring It In A Bag and the RuMe bags) can hold a TON more weight. So, instead of struggling with five bags, I just have one thrown over my shoulder. My wrists thank me. As will yours. (Bonus: on those rainy or snowy days, with your groceries casually slung across your shoulder, you actually have a hand to hold your umbrella!)

- Glass bottles stay upright. Both the Bring It In A Bag and the RuMe bags have a flat bottom, like a paper bag. So, instead of your jars rattling around, they actually stay upright and in place. Who knew?

So, if you don't yet use reusable shopping bags--I highly recommend them. We've used them to carry groceries, carry Christmas presents, carry heavy things that will certainly rip a plastic bag (like an AeroBed), carry food to Central Park...the uses are endless! If you don't get one yourself, at least yell at me if you see me carrying a plastic bag. I'm on my way to saving the world...one (less) bag at a time. Also, if you want to join in, I'll happily add your name as well--just keep me updated, and I'll update the numbers. (And maybe then someone will actually build me a counter.)

Happy New Year!

My Favorites of 2008

2008-12-31T09:23:00.011-05:00

As this year comes to a close, I figured it'd be a good time to reflect on a few of my favorite things. (I can see you jumping out of your seat, yelling and crying with joy. Yes, it's Neha's favorite things entry!) Now, calm down and compose yourself. Since this is not Oprah, you won't be getting anything for free. However, if you are in the neighborhood of any of these restaurants, do yourself a favor and go--it's worth it!

Food Related:

Favorite dessert: Chocolate Mousse from Payard. Love, love love Payard. Love it.

Favorite alcoholic drink: Pomegranate Margarita (frozen, with salt) from Canyon Road (This is the only time Ash may have to hold my hand when we're walking home. Those suckers are deceivingly strong. And if you don't know already, I have self-control issues when good food is involved.)

Favorite non-alcoholic drink: Frozen Hot Chocolate from Serendipity

Favorite frozen yogurt: Half coffee/ Half chocolate from Forty Carrots at Bloomingdale's

Favorite ice cream: Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Sundae from Friendly's (if you haven't tried Friendly's peanut butter sauce, you're missing out. I buy it by the pint when I go home. No joke.)

Favorite burger: 'Shroom Burger from Shake Shack

Favorite Mexican restaurant: Canyon Road, though the best mexican meal I've had this year was at a restaurant in Scottsdale that our friends took us to. La Cantina Laredo. (Thanks Ashish!)

Favorite Thai restaurant: Land (Nothing amazing, but a good won't-break-the-bank option.)

Favorite Italian restaurant: Pass. Haven't found one I am totally in love with. To be honest, I'm still a sucker for the salad and breadsticks at Olive Garden. And their fettucini alfredo is good too. So there. (Ash and I are trying a new place for dinner tonight--I'm keeping my fingers crossed!)

Favorite Pizza: Thin Crust- Posto; Regular- Two Boots. I also enjoy John's before a Broadway show. So shoot me for choosing three spots--NYC has good pizza. Ooh, and for size, Koronet. Okay, four spots.

Favorite Indian restaurant: It's a tie between Amma and Tamarind. (NOT the chain Tamarind--the single one on East 22nd St. The chain one is blah.) Or Vatan for the full dining experience. Hey, it's my list, I can do whatever I want.

Favorite Chain restaurant: PF Chang's (though the Olive Garden is a close second)

Not Food Related:

Favorite TV Show: How I Met Your Mother -- it is legen...wait for it...dary. (Yes, I know it's not a "new" tv show, but it's the first time I watched it. Absolutely hysterical. Ash and I laugh about things from that show for days.)

Favorite Movie: I didn't see a whole lot of movies this year, but Slumdog Millionaire probably clinches it for me. (Ash would root for The Dark Knight)

Favorite Event: Priya & Vinny's Wedding--the whole week long she-bang! (If you missed it, you can catch up on my old blog, located here.)

Favorite New Thing: A tie between two equally exciting things. Number one- Merrell shoes. I will never buy another brand. Ever. It's like I'm walking on air. (Everyone at work knows--I haven't taken my snow boots off for two weeks. My heels are still in my drawer.) Number two- fiber. (stop laughing!) Seriously, has changed my life. Everyone should eat more fiber--fiber rocks. Fiber One cereal--awesome. (Don't you dare give me that look--there are SO many more health benefits than just what is on your mind...)

Favorite Book: Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist's Quest To Discover if Her Life Makes Her Ass LookBig, Or Why Pie is Not The Answer by Jen Lancaster (I actually loved the entire series, but this one was my favorite. I wrote a blog entry on them a short while ago-- click here if you missed it.) This leads right into...

Favorite Blog: Jennsylvania (Jen Lancaster's Blog) So, so funny. It always makes me laugh out loud.

Favorite Single Moment: Sitting on the couch with Ash, watching Obama give his acceptance speech. In one single moment, I felt hope, pride, relief and joy. Looking back, it still feels somewhat surreal.

Well, that's all.
::Lifting glass filled with Moscato D'Asti because I don't like champagne::
Here's to looking forward to 2009--hopefully it'll be a year filled with new experiences, new restaurants, and a new customized template for my blog. (Dan--help!!)

Cheers!

I'm on a mission!

2008-12-30T12:49:00.003-05:00

I am now obsessed with the Choco-Pops Dark Hot Chocolate at Max Brenner. Ob-sessed. If you've never had it, you should run, don't walk, to Union Square and try it. It's your choice of hot chocolate (milk, dark or white) with these little crunchy "chocolate waffle" balls. Amazingly, the balls don't melt! I tried to figure out how to make them, but everything I come up with, in theory, either still melts the minute it's heated, or is WAY too messy to even try. I've asked at the gift shop, they don't sell them. Since they sell just about everything they make, I'm not convinced that they make them in-house.

Then, last night Ash and I went to Shake Shack on the UWS. (Priya was correct--their 'Shroom Burger is probably the best vegetarian burger I've ever eaten...and I don't even like mushrooms.) I ordered a Concrete (frozen custard with mix-ins) with a vanilla base, and then peanut butter sauce, hot fudge and Valhrona chocolate crunchies. (Awesome, if I do say so myself.) As I was eating it, I realized that they look eerily similar to the "waffle balls" Max Brenner puts in the hot chocolate and on desserts. After googling them (I already told you I was obsessed), I've found that they are actually called "Valhrona Crunchy Chocolate Pearls." I then gawked at the $9 shipping I would be charged to order the smallest amount, and closed the window.

A few minutes later, I re-googled and ordered them. I'll keep you posted.

Creamy Tomato Soup

2008-12-08T12:03:00.007-05:00

It's been freezing lately. And I don't mean to-be-expected-in-December freezing, but holy-crap-cover-every-inch-of-your-skin freezing. I am a big fan of soup as it is, and the cold weather was a perfect opportunity to play around with my immersion blender. I was craving a homemade creamy tomato soup that wouldn't take an hour to simmer (Ash is working nights--we don't have that kind of time right now) like most of my other soups, so I hit the internet to see what I could find. I REALLY wanted to eat it in a big bread bowl, but the store was all out of any kind of bowl-worthy bread. (Apparently I was not the only one craving soup in a bread bowl.)

I am always hesitant with using canned tomatoes in soup, as I am convinced that sometimes they taste like tin. However, the tomatoes in the grocery store looked like they had seen better days, so I didn't have much of a choice. (And I'll be honest--it actually worked out just fine!) I wanted a recipe with everyday ingredients (the whole herbs in kitchen twine thing is fun and all, but only on special occasions when I'm not super lazy), and something super easy. Below is what I ended up doing...

Creamy Tomato Soup (with an Immersion Blender)

1 large can crushed tomatoes
8 basil leaves, chopped (some extra to garnish, if you want)
2 bay leaves
3 tablespoons butter (I've tried olive oil before...not as good, but not bad)
1 large onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
About 12 oz. of vegetable stock
Approximately 1/3 cup of heavy cream (you could probably do milk and thicken with cornstarch or flour, but I didn't try that--I wanted a TRULY creamy soup)
Pinch of sugar
Salt and black pepper to taste

Saute the onions and garlic in 1 tbsp. butter. When translucent, add the bay leaves, crushed tomatoes and vegetable stock. After it boils, remove from heat, remove the bay leaves (if you used dried ones) and and use an immersion blender to blend until there are no large lumps left (about 1 minute). Return to heat, and when it returns to a boil, add the the fresh basil, the remaining 2 tbsp. of butter, the heavy cream, pinch of sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. (I also threw in some italian seasoning, but I am a bit heavy handed with the spices.) You can also add more stock if you prefer a thinner soup--I left this one thick so it was more of a tomato bisque.

When serving it, I grated in some fresh parmesan cheese, threw in a few more pieces of basil and served it with croutons. The whole process probably took about 30 minutes, and Ash gave it two thumbs up! :-) (If I had thought of it at the time, I would've taken a picture...oops!)

Apparently the sugar is supposed to cut the acidity of the canned tomatoes, but I just ended up adding more salt. So, over to you if you want to add it or not. I'll probably omit it when I make it again.

If you don't have an immersion blender, seriously, don't use this recipe. You can probably wait for the whole thing to cool a bit, then place it in a regular blender, then throw it back into the pot, but that's a whole lot of trouble. I love my immersion blender--it turns anything into a nice soup in about 2 minutes flat, so if you love soup, I highly recommend one. (Though you'll be on a smoothie and soup kick for the next month--you've been warned.)

Enjoy!

Why you should go to Las Vegas

2008-12-06T12:21:00.007-05:00

Yes, I know I haven't posted in a while--November was a busy month. We had some friends visiting us from Chicago, it was Ash's birthday, and we went on vacation. We visited Phoenix, Scottsdale, Sedona, the Grand Canyon, the Hoover Dam and Las Vegas.

Now, some people go to Las Vegas to gamble...we go to Las Vegas to, well, eat. If you're ever in that city, be SURE to drop by the Bellagio and visit the Jean Philippe Patisserie. After reading a bit in the restaurant, I found out that Jean Philippe was actually rated the best pastry chef in France! Aside from housing the largest chocolate fountain in the world, they have the most amazing crepes you'll ever eat. Mine was the "Chocolate Crepe"--a crepe with chunks of brownie, dark chocolate sauce, whipped cream and chocolate shavings. I believe I got it 3 times during our 4 day stay in Las Vegas. Ash got a custom crepe with strawberries, chocolate sauce and whipped cream. The pictures are below. (Yes, Ash couldn't wait to take a bite before I took the picture...)

I am going to work on finding a way to make them, but first I need a really good recipe for chocolate sauce. They sell the Jean Philippe one, but the whole no-liquids-in-your-carry-on really screwed me up. I'll keep you posted.

Size Does Matter

2008-11-10T15:32:00.004-05:00

I don't like plain M&Ms. Peanut, peanut butter and the special holiday-edition mint ones I can get around. (If you haven't had the mint ones, you're missing out!) However, the plain ones, not so much.

That being said, I have no logical explanation for why I am now in love with the Mini M&Ms. They are so good, I had to start buying the fun size packages so I'd stop eating the entire tube in one sitting. However, they are just mini versions of the regular plain M&Ms. The only explanation I can come up with is, well, I guess size does matter.

(Hee hee--I'm snickering even typing that. I can't help it.)

Runs in the Family

2008-10-25T14:34:00.005-04:00

Friday, October 24th, approximately 10:00 pm.

(Phone rings)

Neha: Hello?

Priya: (In a very serious tone.) There is a national emergency.

Neha: What happened? (Something could have happened...after all, we are in the midst of election season...)

Priya: Ruby Foo's reduced the size of their chocolate cake!! It used to serve 4-6 people, and now the waiter says it will serve 2-3. I disagree, I could eat that whole thing by myself! It's a disgrace.

See? Some things just run in the family.

Great Wall of Chocolate!

2008-10-06T18:04:00.004-04:00

So, today is Priya's birthday. (Happy Birthday Priya!) In honor of her birthday, I figured I'd share my all-time favorite chocolate dessert. I'm usually not one to brag about chain restaurants, but I must admit, P.F. Chang's is one of my all-time favorites. Aside from the fantastic tofu lettuce wraps and the spicy chicken, they have...wait for it...the Great Wall of Chocolate. Since I don't have a picture that will do it justice, I found one on flickr here.

Yes, that's right. Six layers of rich chocolate cake and not-overly-sweet chocolate frosting. To accompany this piece of heaven-on-a-plate they provide you with raspberry sauce and fresh berries. What you do not see in the photo is the best part--the entire back (all six layers) is covered in mini semi-sweet chocolate chips. Amazing. In all fairness, since it is Priya's birthday, I will reveal that she actually prefers "Ruby's Famous Chocolate Cake" at Ruby Foo's, which is a combination of chocolate cake and chocolate mousse. We've already discussed how I feel about that combination, so she's just...well...wrong.

Happy Birthday again--love you! :-)

New Dining Options at JFK!

2008-10-01T11:04:00.003-04:00

Yes, I understand the irony in my loving food, yet raving about what to eat at an airport. That being said, this truly is food that I am super excited about!

JetBlue will begin operating in its new home- JFK's Terminal 5-- on October 22nd. (It used to be October 1st--the date was pushed back since some of the restaurants were not ready.) I've been in the terminal a bunch of times for testing and the Crewmember parties, but I think I'm most excited about the dining options. I figured I'd share the super cool restaurants that will be part of the terminal, most past security, so you'll have to be flying to be able to enjoy them. (Or, you'll have to take me with you.) :-)

I pulled some of the descriptions directly from our press releases. The overall framework is to have the terminal restaurants reflect New York City--high quality ethnic tastes, from landmark NYC restaurants.

Sit-down Restaurants:

5iveSteak: "A relaxed approach to the classic American steakhouse."

Aeronuova: (by Mark Ladner of Del Posto) "Traditional Italian cuisine with a modern translation." We met some of the chefs, and they had thick italian accents. That's always a good sign at an italian restaurant.

Deep Blue: (by Michael Schulson, previously of Buddakan) An updated version of the current sushi spot in Terminal 6.

Piquillo: (by Alexandra Raij, previously of Tia Pol) The first tapas restaurant in a US airport.

New York Sports Grill: A traditional sports bar with 48 beers on tap.

Revolucion: (by Roberto Santibanez, previously of Rosa Mexicano) A Mexican joint--we sampled their guacamole during one of the Crewmember parties--unreal. They make fresh tortilla chips in house--it's amazing.

The Loft: "A large restaurant and bar featuring traditional American fare, evoking the style of large lofts in the Meatpacking District."

Food "Hall" Restaurants (Food court style)

Boar's Head: Same as Terminal 6-- sandwiches, wraps and paninis.

Cheeburger Cheeburger: Also from Terminal 6-- burgers and floats.

Fresco Pasta: "A lively pasta and wine bar."

Lucy's Asian Kitchen: A made-to-order Asian spot.

Pommes Frites: Yes, you read that correctly. The famous NYC french fry place will have a location in the Terminal 5 Food Hall.

Roma Pizza: Serves New York-style pizza.

Scattered around the terminal will also be Dunkin Donuts (obviously), Jamba Juice, and the Aunt Butchie's Bakery spot that is currently in Terminal 6, as well as a few other places. However, I cannot wait for Revolucion and Pommes Frites to open!

On a side note, there are also some super cool tables where you can order your meal on a computer screen, slide your credit card, and someone will bring you your meal. That way, you can keep working on your laptop, reading your book, or whatever you happen to be doing, and the food will come to you!

If you have any questions, just ask! (There will be tons of shopping in the terminal as well--a Borders Bookstore, Lacoste, Muji to Go, and a bunch of others...) I'm psyched!

American Express Dish

2008-09-21T08:01:00.008-04:00

If you have an AmEx card, and are not signed up as a "Tastemaker," get your behind to a computer and sign up quickly!!

American Express Dish- New York City

I got a random email a while back inviting me to sign up--I don't know how I was targeted (Ash didn't get the email), but maybe they have some sort of she-only-charges-on-food-related-stuff radar, and figured I would enjoy the program. Which, I do!

Essentially it's a review site, and it currently only includes two cities--NYC and San Francisco. You sign up and can leave and read reviews on your favorite restaurants. My favorite part is that they have a "what to order" question, where you can list any menu items that are particularly good. For the restaurants I've been to, it's been on target for the most part.

However, I don't tell you to join solely because of the reviews. I LOVE discounts, and currently they have an amazing promotion going on. There are about 30 restaurants participating, and if you book a reservation through American Express Dish at one of them between now and Oct. 10th, AmEx will refund 20% of your bill on your next credit card statement. (There are a few that are 25% as well). On top of that, within 8-10 weeks you will receive a $50 AmEx gift card!! So, say your meal is $80 for two people (these are pretty pricey places), with 20% off you would actually pay $64 once you receive your statement, and $14 once you receive your $50 gift card!

You can only get one $50 gift card per cardmember, but I believe you can use as many of the percentage discounts as you'd like if it's within the time period, and the restaurant is participating.

The nice thing is that once you sign up with your AmEx card, you don't have to fill out any paperwork or anything. You just make the reservation through the AmEx Dish site, and then it is automatically taken care of on your credit card statement. (You pay full price in the restaurant, but AmEx will credit your statement.) Note: Be sure to sign up with the AmEx card you charge most often at restaurants, otherwise the site won't track it! You must charge the credit card you sign up with.

I highly recommend the program. I also find myself getting random emails from them on various promotions and cool new restaurants, so you have nothing to lose, it's free! Then again, it only works if you have an AmEx card. (Shameless plug--if you don't, American Express is AWESOME.)

Ash and I will be trying Cesca on Monday night (75th & Amsterdam), and we may take advantage of a few others. However, good reservation times are running out, so sign up and make them quickly!

He's so cute.

2008-09-11T09:17:00.004-04:00

I finally went to Buddakan for the first time (thanks Swati!), and was blown away by the decor on the inside. So obscure from the outside, but as soon as you walk in, it's like this never-ending gorgeous restaurant. My favorite dish was the "Wild Mushroom Chow Fun"--absolutely wonderful. We ordered the "Crying Chocolate" and the "Chocolate Peanut Butter Bombe" for dessert. The ice cream on the desserts was fantastic--coffee on the first and peanut butter on the latter--so good.

When I got home, Ash was already in bed, half asleep, and asked where we had gone. (It was a wives night--no boys allowed on wives night.) When I told him, he mumbled--"Buddakan? That's an oxymoron. On one hand you have Buddha, who was the epitome of non-violence, and then you have Genghis Khan. What a weird name." Then he turned and fell back asleep. He's so cute.

Email me!

2008-09-10T17:46:00.003-04:00

I've heard from a few people that they'd like to be emailed when I post something new, so I looked around for a free service that will do it. On the left you'll now see a spot to enter your email address, powered by "FeedBlitz." If you sign up, you should get an email within 24 hours of a new posting.

Hope that helps!

Fan mail

2008-09-09T13:08:00.003-04:00

If you don't know my good friend Atheen, well, you're missing out. Aside from being brilliant and absolutely hysterical, he also has fantastic taste in online reading. Below is the quote he left on my facebook wall:

"I tried the seven-minute kulfi. It took me twice the time because I suck at motor skills, but it was, indeed, pretty amazing!! Your blog rocks."

I'm chalking this up as my first piece of fan mail. :-)

PS- If you care to argue with me about my "brilliant" comment, click here to visit his blog.

7 Minute Kulfi Recipe

2008-09-05T10:39:00.005-04:00

Okay, so ever since I posted about the Kool Freeze Kulfi Bars, I haven't been able to find them at Whole Foods. You'd better believe I wrote them a nice email asking (okay, fine, begging) them to begin carrying them again. I used the location finder on the Kool Freeze website, but I searched my zip code in NYC and found that the closest location that sells the bars is in Palm Desert, CA, 2359.37 miles away. (Those lucky CA people!) I then sent an email to the contact person on the Kool Freeze website to find out if any NYC locations that sell the bars, but they never got back to me.

So, I proceeded to google just about every kulfi recipe I could find. Most of them involved boiling milk, reducing it, then adding sugar, nuts and flavor (saffron, cardamom, etc.) and freezing it in molds. I often make kheer (rice pudding), and reducing milk is not something I find enjoyable. However, as I kept looking, I came across a recipe on allrecipes.com that seemed to be way too easy, but the reviews were excellent. As many of you know, I seem to have a problem following recipes exactly. (This is why Priya will always make the best cookies and baked goods.) I can't measure properly, and my hands just throw random ingredients in despite what the paper says is correct. So, I researched a bunch of other easy kulfi recipes, and altered this one slightly. It's certainly not my Mom's kulfi, or the super creamy kulfi served in restaurants, but for a 7 minute prep time, it's not bad at all. (The recipe sounds a bit weird, but it works, I swear!) Below is the recipe:

Super Easy Kulfi (Approx. 8 servings)

3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup evaporated milk (I used fat free)
1 8 oz. container of Cool Whip, thawed (I used Cool Whip Lite)
3 slices of white bread with crusts removed (torn into pieces)
2 tsp. rose water
2 tsp. ground cardamom (optional)

In a blender, combine the condensed milk, evaporated milk and cool whip. When combined, add the pieces of bread and blend until smooth. Finally, add the rose water and ground cardamom, if desired. (Ash and Priya can't stand cardamom-- I can't get enough of it.) Then, pour into popsicle molds or freezer-safe containers (I used the small plastic ziploc containers, as I didn't have any molds), and freeze for at least 4 hours. I found that freezing them for around 8 hours made them taste even better.

See? Isn't that easy? Dump everything in a blender, pour into freezer-safe containers, and you're done! The whole thing took me about seven minutes to prepare--the hardest part was waiting for it to freeze. Next time I'm going to try adding saffron and nuts in it as well. (Though various recipes say to add nuts halfway through freezing time, otherwise they'll settle on the bottom.)

I know the recipe sounds weird, but trust me, it's not bad! It's no Kool Freeze Kulfi, but it'll hold me over for now.

Posto

2008-08-29T10:15:00.006-04:00

Yes, I know I haven't posted in a while (thanks to all of you who so kindly reminded me), but I was sucked into the Olympics coverage. I'm trying a new indian restaurant tonight with the family, so I'll report back on that, but for now I thought I'd pass along info on one of our favorite places.

Pizza is one of those foods there is an abundance of in NYC. (If you're looking for value--and want to be shocked by the largest slice you've ever seen-- be sure to try Koronet Pizza at 110th & Broadway.) One of my favorite pizza places does super thin crust pizza, and it's one of those cozy hole-in-the-wall places that can only seat about 30 people at a time. My friend Mike introduced me to it a few years ago, and Mike knows his pizza. His diet consists of plain chicken (no sauce or flavor of any kind--just salt and pepper), some carrots, and any kind of pizza. Living in Manhattan, he found himself eating the latter quite often. Therefore, when he told me he'd found the best pizza in town, I believed him. So, one chilly winter evening after work, he introduced Ash and I to Posto.

Posto is on the corner of 18th St. and 2nd Avenue, and it is perhaps the thinnest crust pizza I've ever had. That being said, it stays crispy, and you can eat a LOT more than you think you can. They also have great garlic bread, but it has chunks of fresh garlic, so if you are trying to make a good impression on a first date, steer away. The ambiance is nice--it has a tavern feel-- slightly dark, wooden tables, and mini booths that seat 2 comfortably, 4 with a squeeze. However, if you go later than 7:00 on a Friday or Saturday, expect to be waiting for a while. (There isn't much room to wait inside, so chances are you'll be waiting outdoors.)

While you're there, be sure to order the root beer-- by far the best root beer I've ever had. It's made by Saranac, and I've only found a few restaurants in the city that sell it. If you go during the summer, they have some picnic tables outside where you can usually get a seat pretty quick.

As for price, it's certainly not cheap. Dinner for Ash and I usually consists of 2 root beers, 1 large or 2 small pizzas, and an order of garlic bread, and we typically pay close to $45 after tax and tip. Considering the fact that it's pizza--it's not cheap, but we find ourselves visiting often. The quality of the food and the cozy atmosphere is just too hard to turn down.

Mike is one of my favorite people--a true friend who always knows what to say. And he knew that on a cold winter day, there's not much that makes me happier than a cozy restaurant, good company and perfectly cooked pizza. (On a personal note- congrats on the super marathon, you crazy, crazy man.)

PS- When you're done, you can walk to Sixteen Handles or Max Brenner for dessert!

16 Handles

2008-08-19T21:00:00.007-04:00

My husband is adorable. Not only does he shrug and go along with whatever I feel like eating, he actually looks around for new places he thinks I may enjoy. So, when I received a phone call last week in the middle of the day about a new yogurt place, I knew it had to be good. He had gone and scoped it out, as he didn't want to get me excited about a place and have it end up being a disappointment. (He is usually on the receiving end of my immature tantrums--why go through the pain if you can avoid it?)

After a nice dinner at Thai Terminal with our friend Ashish, the three of us headed over to get dessert. It's on 2nd Ave. around 9th St., and it's called "16 Handles." Super cute. It's pay-by-the-ounce (46 cents/ounce), so you pick up a cup and fill it with as much or as little yogurt as you'd like. They have 16 flavors and a fairly large toppings bar, including chocolate and caramel sauce. Since it was my first time, I obviously had to fit as many flavors as possible into my cup. I tried:

Irish Mint (yum!)
Cheesecake (eh)
Chocolate (just ok)
Coffee (not bad, but an odd aftertaste)
Plain (similar to Pinkberry, but sweeter and softer in consistency--I liked it)

You cannot sample the flavors, but it's fairly easy to put a little bit into your cup and try a bunch. (Just make sure you pay before you start eating!) I believe the flavors change, as Ash tasted some flavors that were no longer available. They also had Peanut Butter, Very Berry, Mango Tango Sorbet, Banana, Strawberry Tart, Euro Tart (tangier version of the "plain")...and a few more I can't remember. The toppings bar had just about anything you could want--nuts, chocolate, candy, fresh fruit, brownie bites, coconut shavings, marshmallows, fruity pebbles (yes Priya, they have real fruity pebbles), and many others. I loved that they had chocolate and caramel sauce--many yogurt places are lacking in the sauce department. The blog post below has some pictures:

New York Magazine- 16 Handles

Overall, it was a great place! Probably second only to Forty Carrots in my mind--it's kind of fun to fill your cup with whatever you want and pay by the ounce. The yogurt may not be amazing on its own, but the whole experience makes for a good time. We paid less than $13 for the three of us, so it's probably in the same price range as other yogurt places, but you can mix and match flavors and toppings as you choose. I highly recommend it. Ash--good job honey. :-)

Who does that?

2008-08-18T15:04:00.007-04:00

Ash and I were taking the train to Albany on Friday, so I figured I'd pick up a small sandwich at Penn Station. I went to Hot & Crusty (that name still seems odd to me), picked up half of a chicken salad sandwich, and then saw a small cup of chocolate mousse. Now, Hot & Crusty is half a bakery, so it wasn't completely out of the blue. In fact, on their website, they call themselves "New York's best known and finest bakery." (I beg to differ, but that argument is for another day.) If you've read my earlier post, you know I can't pass up chocolate mousse, so I bought it along with my sandwich, grabbed a spoon, and headed onto the train.

After eating my below-average sandwich, I was really looking forward to my dessert. I opened the container, dug my spoon in, and took my first bite.

(Pause.)

Not good. At all. Not so bad I had to spit it out, but it really tasted like whipped chocolate pudding. I quickly became disappointed, and commented to Ash that it was well below the already low expectations I had in mind.

I thought for a moment and realized that maybe my initial disappointment had clouded my judgement. Perhaps it wasn't all that bad. I dipped my spoon in for the second time, and when I pulled it back out, covered in whipped pudding, you won't believe what I saw.

Cake. Not even chocolate cake. Yellow rum-type cake. It was like someone had read my earlier post and decided to taunt me. If I wasn't on a moving train, I would have made a huge scene. Now, to put things in perspective, this mousse cup was clear. As in transparent. No where could you see any cake in the clear plastic (I always examine my mousse carefully), and so I was happy to plunk down $4.50 for what I thought would be extremely mediocre chocolate mousse. Instead, I was holding whipped chocolate pudding with tiny pieces of yellow rum-type cake...and I was livid. It didn't even have layers of cake--it just had random cake crumbs strewn about, as if specifically intended to aggravate me. (Random pieces of yellow cake in a chocolate mousse cup--who does that??) Ash was actually scared to talk to me for the next several minutes--the scowl on my face and the near-full container thrown into the garbage said it all.

Just a word of caution--steer clear of the chocolate mousse from Hot & Crusty. This may be one of the few times I will not give an item a second chance.

PS- I ordered a chocolate mousse "dessert shooter" at Applebee's last night (we were at Woodbury Commons). It was $1.99 and came in a large shot glass, with whipped cream and some Oreo bits. It was a pleasant surprise...half the price of Hot & Crusty, and more than twice as good. If I was at Applebee's, I'd definitely get it again. (I think they might be $2.99 in NYC, however-- keeping in mind the tiny amount, I'm not sure it's worth the extra buck. On a side note, if you're in NYC, what are you doing eating at Applebee's??)

Best. Kulfi Bars. Ever.

2008-08-15T11:46:00.009-04:00

Found them at Whole Foods-- bought the Saffron and Mango flavors. Saffron--amazing. Mango--still pretty good. I'm dying to find the Malai and Faluda ones, but so far have been unsuccessful. They are pricey--something near $6 for a box of four bars, but totally worth it.

Kool Freeze Kulfi Bars

Keep in mind, they do not beat the "real" kulfi from India, but come pretty darn close. They come in the following flavors (with my lovely commentary):

Pistachio-- Not a fan of pistachio, so I haven't tried the bar
Mango-- Tried it, pretty good
Malai-- Will cry soon if I can't find it
Coconut--Haven't tried it, but blah
Faluda-- See "Malai"
Strawberry-- Kulfi? Seriously?
Chikoo-- I can't even stomach the fruit properly
Saffron-- Ah-maze-ing

Yolato

2008-08-15T11:04:00.006-04:00

I must preface this post by saying I'm not a huge gelato fan. I enjoy good frozen yogurt or ice cream, but find something about gelato's consistency slightly unappealing. That being said, with my recent yogurt obsession, I felt I owed Yolato a chance.

We walked in to the store on Broadway and 82nd, and I saw about 20 flavors. (The website touts a much higher number--apparently they rotate.) Yolato sells yogurt-based gelato, and after speaking to the exceptionally nice server, I found out that their best selling flavor was based on "Ferrero Rocher." (Heads up--she said they typically sell out of that one by 9:00 pm at the latest...and this was a random Wednesday night.) After handing Ash a tissue to recover from the fact that they had sold out of the flavor "made for him", I settled on purchasing the pink grapefruit and lemon sorbet. I agree it was a slight cop out to not get the yogurt-based gelato, but I was not disappointed. The pink grapefruit was tangy but sweet--very refreshing after the italian meal we had just eaten. It reminded me of the pink grapefruit I tried at Grom a while back, but sweeter. The lemon was good, but it doesn't compare to the lemon sorbet from Eli's. Eli's puts lemon zest in their sorbet--the frozen pieces totally kick it up a notch.

Ash loved the pink grapefruit so much he ordered it as well, along with coconut. (I didn't try the coconut--I'm not such a fan of that flavor.) I'll go back to Yolato, but only because Ash will drag me back to try their Ferrero Rocher flavor. I prefer the sorbet at Eli's (though the pink grapefruit was good), and would go for Forty Carrots yogurt over gelato in a heartbeat.

PS- I purchased the frozen "Yolato Bars" you can get at the grocery store a while back. The one with pomegranate sorbet...I wasn't a fan, but Vinny thought they were good. So, if you're the banana cream pie type, you may want to give them a whirl.

Chocolate Mousse

2008-08-11T12:35:00.009-04:00

Could there be a more perfect dessert? I believe my obsession started at a restaurant called "Garcia's" (the Albany clan will know this place), where Priya and I always ordered it for dessert whether we were hungry or not. (We secretly knew my Dad would eat a few spoons of it--he's also a big dessert lover--so we were really just doing the family a favor.) It came in an ice cream dish with whipped cream and a sopapilla on top (I didn't think it was odd at the time...), and would be devoured in a matter of minutes. It was not quite pudding, not quite whipped cream--a delicate balance between the two, with small flecks of chocolate.

Yes, I realize now that excellent chocolate mousse is not supposed to have flecks of chocolate, but we were talking about a restaurant known for their tex-mex fare. Can you really expect a place that has pinata donkeys hanging from the ceiling to have exceptional french desserts? Better yet, do you really expect a ten-year old to appreciate the difference?

When I moved to New York, it was a different ball game. If chocolate mousse is ever on the dessert menu, I will order it. It is the one dessert that trumps all others in my mind--and there is no better end to a meal than a wonderful dessert. My only problem comes when I order chocolate mousse and receive something that resembles a cake.

(Pause. Deep breath.)

Really people? Since when did the world's most perfect dessert get demoted to the level of frosting? Chocolate cake with some layers of mousse is not the same thing--they should put a disclaimer on the menu: "This is not actually chocolate mousse. Since we don't have the ability to make mousse that is good enough to stand on it's own, we've stuffed it between two layers of chocolate cake so you hopefully don't notice the difference. The mousse will be firm, as its role is to keep the cake from collapsing. Enjoy."

Just don't get in my way if I order mousse and end up with cake-- you might be wearing it.

Back to the mousse, however, I've tried it at a number of places, but my all-time favorite still belongs to Payard. It seems logical that a french-trained pastry chef has mastered the art of making a perfectly smooth chocolate mousse (without the flecks of chocolate, I may add), and I find myself going there so often that the pastry waiter gives me a knowing smile every time I walk in. Since they don't sell the mousse in "to-go" containers, I drag Ash there, fork over my $7 for the world's best dessert, and then give him a "you better order your own" look when he attempts to share. (Fine, I let him take a little bit, I am a decent wife.) I've heard rumors that Payard's recipe just uses chocolate, soy milk and tofu...next time I go I'll get the full scoop.

However, if you are also on a chocolate mousse hunt, Serendipity is not a bad option. It's not fantastic, but certainly not horrible--but at $9, it is $2 more than Payard's perfect dessert. If you are there and need to fill a chocolate craving, my favorite thing is (surprise surprise!) their frozen hot chocolate. Oddly enough, another restaurant is a small one called Harry's Burrito's on the Upper West Side. Their mousse is nowhere near perfect (remember the chocolate flecks?), but for some reason it takes me back to eating chocolate mousse at Garcia's. Nothing like a chocolate-fleck filled dessert to remind you of home.

Lots of hype about Red Mango!

2008-08-04T09:29:00.003-04:00

Ever since I've mentioned 40 Carrots, I've been told by Rupa & Rahul and Camala (from France!) about Red Mango. Whereas 40 Carrots has sweetened yogurt as well (the coffee and chocolate flavors taste more like ice cream than yogurt, but are fat free!), I understand that Red Mango is more of a Pinkberry-type place.

Though I do like Pinkberry, I know that the toppings either make or break the yogurt. So, I'm asking those who have been before--what topping(s) should I get on my Red Mango yogurt? Let me know, and I'll report back once I visit!

Take 5 Candy Bar

2008-07-31T21:24:00.001-04:00

Why have I never tried this candy bar before? I am not a huge candy bar person, but I bought this because it was on sale and sounded intriguing. Pretzel, peanut butter, caramel and peanuts, all wrapped in chocolate...

This candy bar has just about everything you could want wrapped into a made-for-any-mood chocolate bar--except nougat, but who really wants nougat? (The word even looks funny. Nougat. Blah.) That being said, why have I never heard of it? Hershey's needs to make commercials about this bar, because if I saw a picture of it, I would have ran out and bought ten right away. I tried one at work, shared it with two friends, and all three of us looked at each other with the "Oh-we-should-not-have-tried-this-because-now-we'll-want-one-everyday" look. On a personal note, I love that the candy bar is divided into two small bars--it makes me feel like I'm eating two candy bars.

If you want the nutritional stats, click here.

If you don't care so much about nutrition and just want a fantastic snack--go get one!! You may have never have heard of it--but eat one and you won't forget the name again!

40 Carrots (at Bloomingdale's)

2008-07-30T13:51:00.001-04:00

I have a problem. I heard Bloomingdale's had good frozen yogurt, and not being one to say no to dessert, I went. I navigated through the store, crossed through bedding, and finally found what I was looking for on the 7th floor. I stood in line, quickly realized you could order two flavors at once, and made the decision to get half chocolate and half coffee when I got to the counter. I forked over my $5, and was handed back enough frozen yogurt to feed a small country. Or me before dinner. I have always been an ice cream fan--take me to Friendly's, order me a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup sundae, and I'll pretty much do whatever you want. Frozen yogurt--eh, that's for healthy people.

I have been so wrong. I'm just glad I went to 40 Carrots (the name of the Bloomingdale's frozen yogurt joint) while we are still in the city for a while--otherwise, I would have kicked myself. Or cried. It is absolutely amazing--and those who know me, know that I am very picky with my desserts. I dragged Ash back to Bloomingdale's, and he too agreed with how good it was. Fat free?? How they do it, I don't care. It's amazing. I'd eat it every day if I could.

Now here's where the problem comes in--40 Carrots closes at 7:00 pm. That's just not going to work for me. I came home, we ate dinner, and then I realized we couldn't go...and I got cranky. I proceeded to look up various yogurt joints in NYC--Yolato, Red Mango, Flurt--I haven't yet tried any of these. Pinkberry--I've tried that. It's good, but doesn't hold a candle to Forty Carrots in my opinion. (The coffee flavor is sweet, unlike at Pinkberry.) In my last ditch effort, I dragged Ash to Tasti-Delite, and ordered "Brownie Batter." Not. Even. Close.

I just may start a petition to get them to stay open later. Until then, if you come across any support groups to help me, please let me know. "Hello, my name is Neha. And I'm addicted to 40 Carrots frozen yogurt." You've been warned-- I have a problem.