Clinton Street Baking Co.

Banana walnut pancakes with warm maple butter, $13. It's flavorful and smells fantastic. The warm maple butter was delicious, lightly flavored and not too sweet.

Wild Maine blueberry pancake, $13. It's not as aromatic as its banana counterpart but it's just as airy. It was also generously filled with blueberries.

Both pancakes are the best I've ever had.

Nicely crispy and tasty bacon.

I forgot what kind of tea this was, but my friend didn't like it.

Strawberry lemonade. I love it. Perfect summer drink. If I'm inspired enough I may make it myself.

Eggs benedict, $17. Poached eggs, Petrossian smoked salmon, classic hollandaise, over a toasted buttermilk biscuit. I usually don't care for bread, but it went well with the salmon and eggs.

I do love me some runny egg yolks.

P.S. I ordered the eggs benedict when I went to the restaurant a second time. The pancakes are more than enough for one meal.

Clinton Street Baking Co.
4 Clinton Street
New York, NY

The Lobster Place at Chelsea Market

Summer has me on the lookout for lobster rolls. The Lobster Place is located in the Chelsea Market. If you're into fresh seafood this is the place to be in downtown Manhattan.

The entire box came out to ~$20. I don't think I'd buy it again, unless I was having some major craving, but the roll was filled with deliciously fresh lobster and a little mayo.

The Lobster Place
75 9th Avenue, between 15th and 16th Street
New York, NY

Dinner at Babbo (on February)

Years ago two young ladies dutifully went to school and made a pact that one day they're not just going to pass this restaurant but actually eat there. We were lucky enough to get a reservation on our first try on the phone.

A nicely grilled octopus was my appetizer. Nothing special but it was certainly tasty.

Crispy fried pig's feet. Tastes just like Filipino Krispy Pata, crunchy skin outside and moist meat inside, but this one was at least twice the cost. To be fair it didn't come with any bones.

Black spaghetti with rock shrimp and jalapeno pesto. I believe the red bits are prosciutto. This dish made me appreciate what it means to have a home made pasta done right. I could have eaten this all night with just the pasta and sauce, it almost seemed like the pasta was infused with a lot of flavor.

Beef Cheek Ravioli with Crushed Squab Liver and Black Truffles. Interesting play of different textures, from the sauce, the pasta, and the insides of the ravioli. The Balsamic vinegar in the sauce stood out but I thought it was a nice complement to the liver inside.

I had wine pairings for the first four dishes. I ordered coffee to lessen the effects of the alcohol, and this sugar tray was presented for me to pick my sweetener.

My friend picked this and she enjoyed it.

I don't believe I finished a single one of the sorbet. They were good but I had way too much to drink and eat already.

I don't remember how much the entire bill came out to, but I have to say everything seemed (relatively) reasonably priced (check their online menu for your own judgment). When you order you can also tell them that you're sharing with your companion and they will serve the dish in individual plates. Anyhow they have an ample amount of well-executed dishes which you can't have anywhere else.

Babbo
110 Waverly Place
New York, NY‎

Dinner at Basta Pasta

Sangria Bianca, muscat wine and plum wine with mango and I believe there was some grapefruit. A very refreshing drink, and the alcohol was not overpowering.

Calamari alla Griglia. The sauce on the top right is aioli sauce, and I definitely tasted mustard in it. On top of the squid is curry risotto in a sausage-like encasing.

Linguini with sea urchin and jalapeno. What is sea urchin doing in a pasta dish? Well Basta Pasta is a Japanese take on Italian cuisine. The pasta was cooked just right. The sauce took a backseat to the jalapeno even though I wouldn't call this dish spicy at all, just a nice kick to it. The sea urchin was soft and slightly creamy.

I thought a close up pic of sea urchin was needed. This was the biggest piece in the dish.

Fifi or yogurt mousse with honey gelato and various fruits. My friend finished this very quickly so I think it must have been very delicious.

Parmigiano Reggiano Cheesecake. I've never had cheesecake with this kind of texture before. Soft and airy but not creamy at all cheesecake.

My friend and I each had a drink, appetizer, pasta for main course, and dessert. The total was $120.

Basta Pasta
37 West 17th Street

New York, NY 10011-5503

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Another Dinner at Ippudo

Not my ramen so I don't remember the name. My friend liked it though and even though she usually doesn't eat pork she actually enjoyed it this time.

Also not my ramen. It's the one with soy sauce listed as one of the ingredient on the menu. My other friend liked it too.

My dish. I forgot the actual name but it had the word Modern in it. I think the red sauce on top was supposed to make it spicy but it wasn't. However this was still an incredible bowl of ramen. The Berkshire pork slices were melt-in-your-mouth kind of tender as usual and the other pork I added was also tasty.

I believe this was some kind of seaweed creme brulee. I liked how this wasn't too sweet and how the flavor complemented the grean tea ice cream on top.

Mascarpone with green tea ice cream. We shared both desserts and we all agreed we would probably come to Ippudo just for this.

Ippudo
65 4th Ave
New York, NY‎

Breakfast at Congee Bowery

Bambi was watching us eat below her.

Congee aka Chinese version of rice porridge. It was less than $5 and could easily feed two people even three. You can't see the meat but it was there, and I would say they gave a decent amount of it.

This restaurant specializes in congee so they do have a selection beyond beef and plain congee.

Congee Bowery

207 Bowery

New York, NY 10002-2870

Lunch at Patsy's Pizzeria

My friends and I were hungry so I forgot to take a pic until there were only a few slices left. A large pizza shared between 4 women were quite enough thank you.Excellent cheese, fresh basil, and sausage. The thin crust was charred perfectly.

I lied. We shared this seafood pasta's "individual portion" before we had the pizza.

Nicely chilled Pinot Grigio. Light-bodied with some tart aftertaste, just enough to be noted but it didn't bother me enough- I drank half of the bottle. Well only one of my friends were into the wine as much as I was, waste not and all that.

Three of us shared this cannoli.

Patsy's Pizzeria
67 University Pl
New York, NY

Belgian Waffles at Petite Abeille

This was the best Belgian Waffle I've ever tried. Proper crust on the outside, not too hard though, and airy and soft inside.

Petite Abeille
http://www.petiteabeille.com/

Dinner at Ippudo

My friend had this dish. She's eaten at Ippudo in Japan and not surprisingly she preferred it over the NYC branch.

I don't remember anymore which one this was, but I do remember the pork being unbelievably soft and the soup was less salty than the last time I was there. Was it worth $13? Maybe if it was much colder outside.

I ordered a Peach Prosecco. I'm not sure if they got me the right drink, but it tasted well enough and so I didn't bother to complain. I'm a sucker for a fizzy lychee sake drink.
It buzzed me much more than a half glass of white wine I had today.

Ippudo
65 4th Ave
New York, NY‎

Cupcake Cafe

I'm not a cupcake fan unless we're talking about chocolate or red velvet, but I liked this cupcake's softness and light icing.

Inside the banana walnut cupcake.

Cupcake Cafe
545 9th Avenue
New York, NY

Dinner at Max Brenner

Not really. The next two pics will be non-chocolate food.

A chicken pizza dish. I can't remember the name and this was my friend's dish.

My Blackened Steak Fajitas. It was good but not enough steak. I like mushrooms but they might as well call the dish mushroom fajitas.

This was my dessert, and again I don't remember the name. Chocolate in various temperatures and state. There's hot fudge at the center of the cake. The entire plate was excellent and all of them were sweetened just right.

My friend's milkshake. I don't think she finished it but I remember she liked it.

The damage was $53 before tips.

Max Brenner
841 Broadway (between 13th and 14th Street)
New York, NY