Monday, August 16, 2010

New York New York

Chocolates in Chelsea Market, NY
Well it definitely has been a crazy past few days. On Thursday storms rolled through Maryland, knocking power out at both my apartment and my office and then I was off to New York that evening, so the blogging had to go on hold for a few days.

But never fret, I'm back! And I have soooo much to report on. I guess I should just start at the beginning...

I was completely overwhelmed by the number of restaurants I encountered in NYC while I was there. I stayed at my friend Jamie's in Murray Hill (on 28th and 3rd). It felt like everywhere I turned, there was another cute, quaint restaurant that had delicious food. When I first arrived Jamie and I went to "Choice," a cool little bar right up the street from her apartment so that we could grab a drink and catch up a little - after all it was my first trip to the city to visit everyone. My friend Lauren told me that if you were to eat at a different restaurant for every meal, you will NEVER eat at all the restaurants (even if you lived forever) due to the vast number of restaurants and the rate of turnover.

Anyways, with that said, Friday I started my food adventures with a trip to the M&M store where I bought a small snack to hold over my hunger until lunch. Then for lunch I ate at Ruby Foo's, a pan-Asian restaurant in Times Square and had a nice variety of flavors at lunch. I went with my cousin and we started with some delicious veggie dumplings in wheat wraps, and they were served with three different sauces - a chili, mustard and ginger (the chili was my favorite).

Veggie Dumplings in Whole Wheat Wraps @Ruby Foo's
We followed it up with the Thai Tuna roll (made with rice paper instead of seaweed) and the BBQ eel and avocado roll.

Then for dinner my girlfriends and I went to Thailand Cafe where I ordered the Spicy Chili Beef, and seriously underestimated the degree of spice in that dish. It was delicious once I could sit back and enjoy it after profusely sweating. Jacki thought she was tough and ate all my remaining chilis and claimed that they were "delicious, not hot." Well approximately 10 minutes after she finished eating all the peppers, the pain kicked in, she started to sweat and I think she may have shed a few tears. Lauren has photographic evidence which I will post asap.

Saturday was definitely one of the highlights in the eyes of a food lover. We went to Chelsea Market and as soon as we walked in I had to pause, take a breath and just smile because it was so beautiful. There were so many great stores with so many different foods.
We stopped into the Italian store there where I picked up some delicious spinach gnocchi. There was a make-your-own trail mix stand, fresh fruit Popsicles, chocolate shop, and the list goes on.


I was definitely overwhelmed when I walked into Chelse Market. Not only was I hungry, so I immediately wanted to eat/try everything, but I wanted to buy tons and tons of ingredients and make something delicious! I held out until I stepped into the Italian market where I was drawn to the gnocchi (which was reasonably priced), so I caved and I bought two packages. One for our girls dinner that night, and another to take home with my for dinner with Justin.

What I really loved about Chelsea Market was how simple it was and it just seemed so out of the ordinary. In a city that is so busy, the market was relatively calm. It felt like everyone there was appreciating the atmosphere. It was a great way to spend part of a Saturday afternoon.

After working up my appetite in Chelsea Market, we made our way to Trader Joe's to grab some supplies for dinner. We had quite the shmorgasbord of food and a nice helping of wine.

Overall, I had the most amazing weekend in NYC seeing tons of friends and eating more than my fair share of delicious food. To me, there's nothing better than enjoying good food and drinks with friends.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Cuisine Queen,
You crack me up! This is hysterical. Sounded like a great weekend with great food and friends! Can't wait to try some of your new recipes!!! Love, Caryn

Anonymous said...

LOVE THIS!! Such a great recap and such a wonderful weekend! LSK

Cuisine Queen said...

AWWW thanks guys - you rock!