Manny's Uptown Kitchen

9503 Research Boulevard
Austin, TX 78759-5817
(512) 794-0088

http://www.mannysuptownkitchen.com/

I was recently invited to taste the menu at Manny's Uptown Kitchen in North Austin. Some of you may remember it as the New York deli Manny Hatten's. Kind of kitchy, right? Well Manny's has been on a quest over the last 2 years to rebrand themselves. They've turned their deli counter into a wine bar.

Made the dining room less deli lunch and more upscale dinner.

And have totally redone their menu. They've kept the same old deli fresh sandwiches you've known and loved, but they've now added some interesting appetizer and dinner options. Which is what I was there to sample. I had been to Manny's a few months before for the Rueben Challenge they hosted (but thats a post for another day). And I had been a few times on my own when I came down with a craving for a fresh deli sandwich and I happened to be north (since most of you know I've been a southie for several years now). I had no idea, though, that they have been trying desperately to expand their menu (and clientelle) to include dinner.

We started out with a round of appetizers. First up were the Latkes. Now, Latkes, as most of you know, are shredded potatoes that are deep fried until crunchy and golden delicious. Some Latkes, however, can come out soggy and sodden in grease. But not these fresh Latkes, they were crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Manny's has even taken an innovative southern twist on their Latkes.On the normal menu, you can order Loaded Latkes, with bacon, sour cream, cheese & green onion, or Chili con Queso Latkes. They also served us a Mexican style Latke with guacamole and queso fresco. It was so fresh and delicious.

Up next, are one of my favorite new additions to the menu, the Pastrami Rueben eggrolls. Whats there not to like about pastrami, russian sauce and cabbage deep fried in an egg roll wrapper. Its a really interesting twist on two beloved New York dishes.

I went on this delicious dinner with Teddy of Fun with Your Food who is a Vegan/Vegetarian blogger. The next appetizer was her favorite new addition to the menu, Butternut Squash pierogies. They were incredibly delicious. A light pan fried crunch on the outside, and a soft tender butternut squash filling on the inside. Over the top was a light drizzle of thick balsamic vinegar and a light sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

Next we moved onto the entrees. The first offering was their Newcastle Pub Fish and Chips. Three large planks of perfectly golden fried cod with a house made tarter sauce. There was a curious glass of brown ale. We weren't quite sure if we should dip our fish in it or drink it. In the end, we did both. The beer helped cut the oil from the fish and the tarter sauce. It turned out to be a nice addition.

But what, do you ask, is the best new addition to Manny's dinner menu? The fresh, house-made pasta. Yes, folks, you read that right. They make their own pasta in house. And it is DELICIOUS. Probably the best pasta dish I've had in Austin. Seriously. We opted for the Chicken Marsala. The noodles were perfectly imperfect, coming in various shapes and sizes. the sauce, was a creamy, garlic alfredo with large chucks of perfectly sauteed mushrooms.

Throughout the meal, I was impressed by the freshness and quality of all the dishes. Each dish a small detail that was interesting and thoughtful. The guacamole on the latkes, the beer with the fish, the russian sauce in the egg roll. It's just different enough to keep even a hard core interested, but just pedestrian enough to make your grandma happy. Its a restaurant the whole family can enjoy.

Mariah ~ 8.5

iPic Theaters

3225 Amy Donovan Plaza
Austin, TX 78758
512-568-3400

http://www.ipictheaters.com/

Do you like movies? Do you have a lot of money? Well you've probably been to Gold Class Cinemas at the Domain by now. It is the pinnacle of First World comfort and excess. Now you can not only watch a great movie, but you can do it in comfort and style with attendants to cater to your every whim. Seriously.
If you've never been to the Gold Class, then you have no idea how classy the movie going experience could be. First, you order your movie tickets online. But you don't just buy tickets to the movie, you buy a ticket to the actual seat you'll be sitting in.

The facility itself is not just a theater, its also bar and lounge. The atmosphere of the existing lounge area feels plush and luxurious, and well classy. Large drum lights add a soft, romantic glow, and custom sculptures dot the entire theater giving it an artistic panache.

You can grab a drink at the posh looking bar, and purchase a few last minute snacks from their grab and go counter (like a delicious looking cheese plate or some yummy high end candy).

You could have a drink made from the fresh ingredients displayed on the bar.

And then an attendant finds you at the bar and leads you through the beautiful stainless doors to the seat you had reserved.

And not just any movie seat, a large, over-stuffed, reclining seat that does all but massage your butt while you sit in it (did I mention one of the arms is hollow so so  you can put your purse in it? Genius!).

While your enjoying the movie, you have an attendant assigned to you who is only a button push away. They will happily bring you blankets, should you get cold, or a pillow, should you need to prop your head up when you recline your awesome orange seat.

You can also order food, anything from Buffalo Chicken Spring Rolls to Filet Mignon sliders. And there are drinks, lots of lots of drinks you could order to make the movie going experience really... memorable.

It all sounds nice, doesn't it? Well unfortunately the reality just doesn't match with the potential this theater could have.

What you probably don't know, is Gold Class Cinemas was recently bought by the iPic chain (note the sign change below). They own several other small, upscale theaters throughout the US. I was recently invited by the new proprietors to tour the facility and discuss their upcoming renovations (even though the theater is only a few years old). I was greeted by the theater's general manager who led me on a tour of the facility.

iPic's vision is to turn the facility into a full service bar and restaurant in addition to a theater. They are trying to create an upscale gathering space for everyone, not just the movie going audience. They plan to expand the bar and add even more custom art work and fixtures to give the space a less posh feel but to make it feel more alive and full of energy. They have even purchased several new cool high tech wine dispensing kiosks do people can sit in the lounge and get their wine from a super cool machine instead of a person. They have also hired a new chef and mixologist to create a new custom menu of high end food and drinks.

At this point, though, there haven't been many noticeable changes from the old Gold Class atmosphere. In fact, I couldn't see any. Even the menu still said Gold Class across the top. And there are some flaws in the Gold Class menu.

We started off with an order of the Chinois Chicken Salad Rolls: roasted chicken, napa cabbage, radicchio, sesame ginger dressing, wrapped in rice paper. Sounds delicious right? Well, it really wasn't. The chicken was dry and tasteless. And the sesame ginger dressing was conspicuously absent (or at least I couldn't taste it). It just wasn't that appetizing.

Well, one bad dish doesn't have to doom a restaurant. Next we tried the Chicken and Pineapple sliders. I actually really liked these, but whats not to like? The roasted chicken didn't seem so dry here with the addition of a juicy pineapple and a sweet teryaki sauce. The Boyfriend, on the other hand, didn't care for them. So I happily left the Salad Rolls to him and ate the sliders myself.

We rounded out our dinner with the Chicken Artichoke pizza: creamy artichoke tomato sauce, spinach, roasted chicken and mozzarella. The pizza was ok. Pretty standard thin crust pizza fare. The ingredients were fresh but it wasn't really anything to write home about.

The real travesty of the menu, though, comes from the drinks. We ordered two delicious sounding martinis that were delivered to us in lovely glasses with fresh fruit garnishes. The drinks, however, were so syrupy sweet they were almost undrinkable. We choked them down more for the alcohol's sake than the drink's, but when we were asked if we wanted to order another, we both vehemently declined.

We opted to see Super 8, which was a really fantastic movie. But as we snuggled down in our large comfortable seats, trying to enjoy our food, the unthinkable happened. The movie stopped. And it didn't just stop, it repeated the same 1/2 second over and over and over and over and over for about 5 minutes. I'm not sure what took so long to fix the problem, but they certainly could have stopped the annoying 1/2 second loop while they did. I will forever have the sound of that half second seared into my conscience. If I'd have actually paid for that ticket, I'd have been pissed (I know, cry me a river, right).

So would I go back to iPic? Even with the technical difficulties, the atmosphere (and that chair) were so enjoyable, I could definitely go back. I'd be really interested to see how the iPic vision comes to fruition. In the mean time, I would definitely go back to see a movie, but I will stick with the cheese plate and wine until their menu is updated.

Foodie Photo of the Day

Hot Scones at Salty's

Salty's on Alki
1936 Harbor Avenue Southwest
Seattle, WA
(206) 937-1085

Backspace

507 San Jacinto
Austin, TX 78701
512-474-9899

http://www.thebackspace-austin.com/

Do you ever find yourself out and about on 6th and been hungry? I've been faced with this dilemma many times. It's totally a First World Problem, but the dining options on East 6th just aren't that great (the downtown part of E 6th, not the hipster side of E 6th). You could have a delicious meal at Parkside, but you'll spend $60pp for the privilege. You could have a burger at Casino El Camino, but what if your on a nice date, a greasy burger just isn't going to cute it. You could have trailer food, but god damn it's hot our right now and I want to surrounded by the loving embrace of AC, not sweaty man arms. So where can you go?

Recently, a nice, mid-priced dining option opened at 6th and San Jacinto that's a decent compromise between price, quality, and atmosphere. Backspace features in rustic Italian fare, specializing in wood fired pizzas. They don't offer any entrees, but they have a decent selection of Italian antipastis and pizzas. The space is small, no more than a half dozen or so tables and a large bar, but I've never had to wait very long for a seat.

The last time I went, we started out with an appetizer of prosciutto wrapped mozzarella and balsamic. The dish also had a strawberry puree which added a nice dimension. It was a little hard to share, requiring us to claim a piece and cut it. And while it tasted nice and authentic, there was nothing that really set it over the top.

For our main, we decided to split a pizza. Backspace has a small wood fire oven in one corner that emits a most delectable smell. I don't remember exactly what pizza we ordered but obviously it had prosciutto. Backspace specifically hand assembles their pizza's, which gives them an charmingly uneven quality. The crust may be extra crispy on one size, and there may only be cheese on 3/4 of the pizza, but with the quality ingredients they use, you never seem to mind. It ends up being the anti-Domnios.

It's not the best pizza I've ever had, not even the best I've had in Austin, but its a decent, high quality pie.

You've got an established career now, remember, you deserve a better dinner than late night 6th Street pizza. Go on, you've earned it.

Mariah ~ 7



Foodie Photo of the Day

Chocolate Cupcakes!

Cupcake Royale
2052 Northwest Market Street
Seattle, WA
(206) 782-9557

Foodie Photo of the Day

A bag of hot donuts at Salty's

Salty's on Alki
1936 Harbor Avenue Southwest
Seattle, WA
(206) 937-1085

Dining in Puerto Rico

As most of you well know, I love to travel. I try to get away as often as possible. And now that I'm getting older, my vacation locales are getting ever more exotic. Well, exotic for a kid from the south anyway. Last year, I found myself on a long weekend trip with my friend Connie to Puerto Rico.

We stayed at a very nice resort and spent one whole day lounging about the beach. But by the end of the day, we realized we were getting bored. So being adventurous girls, we decided to brave the hazardous local driving conditions and rent a car. Thankfully, Connie, having grown up in Mexico, was very adept at maneuvering the tricky Puerto Rican locals on their less than stellar roads.

Luquillo Kiosks
Interstate PR-3, just west of Luquillo, Puerto Rico

We befriended our cleaning lady (who brought us unopened bottles of beer champagne, God bless her), told us we absolutely had to go to Los Kioskos for lunch. Los what? We spent a good 10 minutes on the drive over asking ourselves what a kiosko was. Until we saw it.

These are Los Kioskos. The Kiosks. Duh. Little strip mall store fronts entirely dedicated to food. I was in heaven! And this is only a quarter the strip mall. There are literally 30+ little restaurants in this place. Also note the teal Monster Truck. Only in Puerto Rico..

We soon realized that every Kiosko offered some variation of the same. Deep fried Latin goodness. Like Empanadas (Puerto Rican style)



Or Mofongo, a traditional Puerto Rican dish of smashed plantains and garlic, formed into a bowl, deep fried, and topped with shrimp.



We even stopped for a DELICIOUS Batida de Fruta, sort of like a creamy fruit smoothie. It came fully decorated with 3 different kinds of sauce drizzled over the top, 2 different kinds of fresh fruit and a big pink umbrella.


Los Kioskos are actually on the way to El Yunque, the only US tropical rainforest National Forest (apparently there are National Parks and National Forests). There is only one road in and out of El Yunque. The road climbs quickly in elevation from sea level up into the mountains in the middle of Puerto Rico. As you ascend, the temperature drops, and it starts to rain (it IS a rainforest). There are vines, waterfalls, chirping animals and everything else to make you feel like you're in the tropics.

One of the few eating establishments in El Yunque is El Bosque Encantado. If you make it to El Yunque, you should make sure you stop. They have the most amazing deep fried corn cakes, called sorullos, and fresh coconut milk. There even keep a pile of fresh green coconuts and mean looking machete just for your sipping pleasure.



Later that evening, we decided to venture out to the east side of the island to check out one of the natural wonders of the world, a bioluminescent lake. There are only a half dozen or so in the world and Puerto Rico happens to have two. To get to them, you have to kayak from the ocean, through a channel of mangrove trees into the lake. You have to snake your way through the channel in the pitch black with only a glow stick on the boat in front of you to guide your way. But when you emerge into the lake, it a glorious site. Every time your oar touches the water, the movement jostles tiny micro-organisms who emit a glowing compound to protect themselves. As you paddle through the lake, your boat leaves a ghostly glowing trail that is unlike anything I've ever seen before.

When we get back on land, we were Hungry (with a capital H). But unfortunately, we finished too late to catch dinner at any of the traditional dinner spots around Las Croabas. We asked some of the locals and we were directed to a trailer down the road. It looked a little suspect from the road, but we were famished, and it did seem pretty popular. I am SO glad we stopped. Connie and I still talk about this place. It is legendary to us.

Behold! The best restaurant in Puerto Rico, hands down (on PR-987 on the way to Las Croabas and the bioluminescent lake, sorry, those are the best directions I can give you, its Puerto Rico, nothing has an actual address there)



And what made it so wonderful? These:


Shrimp Arepas. They were fresh shrimp, onions, green onions and parsley in a thin but creamy tomato-vinegar sauce. They are seriously one of THE best things I have EVER put in my mouth. I still dream about them. In fact, they are the one recipe I have endeavored to re-create at home with smashing success (recipe to follow in a future blog, sorry!)

So if you come to Puerto Rico, stay off the beaten path and you'll find some real gems.

Foodie Photo of the Day

Seafood Paella at Salty's

Salty's on Alki
1936 Harbor Avenue Southwest
Seattle, WA
(206) 937-1085

El Arbol Photo Tour

El Arbol
3411 Glenview Avenue
Austin, TX 78703-1448
(512) 323-5177

http://www.elarbolrestaurant.com/

Picada - Cured meat, assorted cheeses and house olive mix

Provoleta - Oak wood grilled provolone with oregano and smoked paprika. Served with crostini

Empanada Espinaca - Spinach, onion, mozzarella and parmesan

Pastel de Choclo - Traditional spicy Chilean dish of sirloin, hard-cooked egg and raisins, topped with a corn purée and baked

Dining in Seattle

I had a friend, that up until recently, lived in Seattle. I would go up once or twice a year to escape the heat and pretend to be one of the granola eating, Chaco wearing hippies of the great northwest. Whenever I go, I make sure to do 3 things 1) eat as much seafood as I can stomach 2) drink as much wine as possible 3) eat a giant brunch on Sunday.

14 Carrot Cafe
2305 Eastlake Avenue East
Seattle, WA 98102-3305
(206) 324-1442

Our first stop on Saturday morning is usually always to a delicious place for breakfast so I can begin to satisfy Seattle Food Rule #1, eat as much seafood as possible. It changes every time I go, but my friend Kasie always knows how to pick out a good place for breakfast. She believes eating eggs and seafood for breakfast is the best way to start off your day. And you know, I'm beginning to think she's right. Just check out the delicious Seafood Benedict I had:



Creamy hollandaise, big lumps of salmon, crab and shrimp all on a perfectly toasted english muffin. Perfection. 14 Carrot cafe also happens to have another treat particular to the Pacific Northwest, freezer jam. I had never encountered freezer jam until I started visiting Kasie in Seattle. Basically, freezer jam is jam that's not cooked, its frozen to kill any germs that might infect an improperly prepared jar of jam. When you want to eat it, you just thaw and enjoy. Now, it won't last very long, not longer than few weeks, since its made from fresh fruit, but good luck if you can get a jar to last that long in your house. They last about 2 days in my house.



Just north of Seattle proper, is a small town called Woodinville. For whatever reason, it has become the wine tasting capital of Washington. In a two square mile radius, you can taste wine from about 50 different vineyards from all over Washington State.  All the little small volume mom and pop wineries rent spaces in several industrial strip malls all over Woodinville for your tasting convenience. Hence satisfying Seattle Food Rule #2, drink as much wine as possible.

There are several wine-o strip malls, but there is one in particular that I always head to. It's on 144th Ave NE. It doesn't even have a name, its just a strip mall, but there are literally 20 delicious wineries in one convenient strip mall. Just make sure you come with a designated driver. Trust me.

Salty's on Alki
1936 Harbor Avenue Southwest
Seattle, WA
(206) 937-1085

Sundays are generally travel days when I take weekend trips, but I always make sure to catch an afternoon flight so I can have brunch in Seattle. We always go to Salty's on Alki (don't go to the other Salty's, just the one on Alki). It's expensive, at $45 per person, but it's well worth it. First, you get to enjoy THE best view of Seattle from across the sound.



Second, you get to pig out on over 30 delectable dishes. This is half the buffet.. Really.



Did I mention they have THE best smoked salmon on the planet (check out the block of artisan cream cheese).



And if you thought the last seafood benedict looked good, check out this one:



Did I mention there's a French Toast Station (along with the waffle, omelet, pancake, and meat carving stations)

Probably the single best part of the brunch at Salty's is the Dessert Bar. The dessert bar was so big I couldn't get it all in one shot. This is HALF the dessert bar. ZOMG, death by sugar. But it would be a sweet death. Do you see now why Seattle Food Rule #3 is eat a giant brunch??

And finally when I'm all full and happy with a (checked) suitcase full of wine, I head home with fond memories of cool afternoons and nippy evenings; of salmon and cupcakes; and little jars full of freezer jam.

Foodie Photo of the Day

Yummy guisada tacos at El Papalote.


El Papalote
2803 S Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 804-2474

Fadó Irish Pub

214 West 4th St
(512) 457-0172

http://www.fadoirishpub.com/austin/

The first time I went to Fadó's, it was back when I was in college (cough) 10 years ago. My mom, who loved her Irish heritage, would love to go sit on the patio and drink Irish Coffees. Back then, they had an Irish band that would play a few nights a week. So while you had your whiskey coffee, you could hear lightly wafting Irish music, and really feel like you'd been transported to Ireland. In the last 5 years, though, I feel like Fadó's has somewhat settled for a different crowd. Gone is the Irish music, the quint feel of an Irish pub, and the over educated 50-somethings discussing politics over a pint of Guinness. Instead its now filled with rock bands and booze guzzling 20-somethings trying to hook up with one another. I think Fadó's even stopped serving food for a while back in the mid-aughts.

I've been hearing recently, how they've been trying to shed their binge drinking image and embrace their Irish heritage again. So when I was invited to attend an Irish trivia night there, I thought, why not. I'll drink some beer and maybe find someone to hook up with.

I originally had the intention of drinking my dinner by way of 4 or 5 pints of Guinness, but my friends were quick to point out that Fadó's actually has some decent bar food now. And it's even Irish inspired. Who knew?

During our first round of trivia, we nibbled on Cheese Dip and boxty wedges. For those of you not familiar with Irish cuisine (I'm assuming most of you), boxty is a traditional Irish bread. A sort of cross between a potato pancake and potato bread depending on who's making it. The boxty wedges here, at Fado's, were like thin, crisp, deep-fried potato pancakes. The cheese dip is, I'm guessing, an Irish take on queso. It was a thick, peppered cheddar more resembling a fondue than queso. It was pretty delicious, though, as far as bar foods go. When we were finished with one, we ordered a second.

During the second round of trivia, we moved onto the Smoked Salmon bites. These seemed pretty pedestrian, at first, but the substitution of boxty instead of bread for the crustini made for a nice change of pace.

Turning sandwiches into egg rolls seems to be a popular bar food trend right now (go to Manny's for the Reuben Egg Rolls if you haven't yet, YUM). These corned beef rolls were drizzled with a creamy mustard and topped with a crisp cabbage slaw. It was pretty tasty (if not a little greasy), but really, when isn't deep fried meat delicious?

Finally, we tried the Chicken Boxty Quesadillas. Chicken and cheese between two crisp sheets of the potato boxty. It was basically a potato pancake with cheese and chicken. When they first came out, they were crisp, but like any fried potato product, the potatoes got limp over time. The oil just became a little too overwhelming.

There you have it, Irish inspired bar food. All in all it was pretty tasty. They also have a 3 items for $10 happy hour (plus a beer), so I will definitely be coming back again. And be sure to try their Irish Coffee. Its still the same no matter if your drinking with your 60 year old mom or a 21 year old co-ed.

Mariah ~7

Foodie Photo of the Day

Chocolate grasshopper cupcakes at Salty's on Alki in Seattle

Salty's on Alki
1936 Harbor Avenue Southwest
Seattle, WA
(206) 937-1085

Dining in NYC - Day 2

So I am going through my backlog of old blogs I never got around to finishing and realize I never posted the blogs I wrote on some of my fabulous vacations last year! Whoops. I guess I was so busy vacationing that I forgot to post! Some of you may remember an older post Dining in New York - Day 1, which detailed some of the culinary adventures my friend Sarah and I had on our last girls trip New York. Well we did so much and ate so much delicious food, that I had intended to break the post up (hence the Day 1). Well here is the second half.. Day 2!

Ess-A Bagel
831 3rd Avenue, New York
(212) 980-1010

On Day 1 in NYC, we stuffed ourselves with an everything bagel with Nova from H and H bagel. On Day 2 of our NYC bagel challenge, we decided to try the #2 bagelry in NYC, Ess-A. The nova from H and H was so fresh and delicious and while the bagel was doughy, I felt like they had cheated me a little by not including as much of "everything" on my everything bagel as I would h ave liked. The everything bagel at Ess-A was much more up to par. Thick and bready, the toasted crust on the outside gave a satisfying crunch. We opted for garden spread this time instead of nova. What can I say, I love a savory bagel in the morning (surprising since i had such a horrible sweet tooth). I have to say, when I compared H and H to Ess-a, it was a draw. H and H's bagel was so doughy and delicious, but I like the crust on the Ess-a bagel better.

As an FYI, did you know you can get H and H bagels from Manny's Uptown Kitchen? They fly them in every day.


Ippudo
65 4th Avenue
New York, NY 10003-5220
(212) 388-0088

After our delicious bagel breakfast, we met up with some of Sarah's friends who now live in NYC for a quick tour of the Modern Art Museum. They happened to have an.. interesting... human art exhibit feature naked people doing odd tasks. Like riding bikes and running into walls. Leave it to the New Yorkers to be so bored with normal art they invent crazy new art.

After lunch, Sarah's friend insisted we go to lunch at Ippudo, a Japanese ramen house down by NYU. There was a horribly long line, but the friend was adamant that we had to try this while we were there. I am SO glad we stayed. The ramen soup I ate at that place was so wonderful and delicious that it will forever be the best bowl of soup I have ever had, from now until the end of my days. It was THAT good.



Now for those of you who may not know, ramen is a cuisine and an art form in Japan. Its not just the crappy packs of noodles and packets of dried spice that we all lived off of in college. In Japan it is treated as a revered cuisine that people spend years learning to master (you can get a good idea of it in the movie Ramen Girl with Britney Murphy - don't laugh, its a good movie). I haven't come across a ramen-ya, a restaurant specializing in ramen, in Texas yet. A shame really.

But at Ippudo, the Ramen is really the star of the show. I ordered the Akamaru Modern ramen soup with miso paste, garlic oil, pork chashu, bean sprouts, kikurage and scallions. The soup that came to me, was nothing less than perfection. The broth was perfect and velvety, a complete emulsification of fat and liquid. The pork chashu was a delicate, fall-apart soft pork belly that blended perfectly with the broth. The oils and miso added a delightful thickness to the broth. This isn't a soup. It's a meal!



Crumbs Bakery
37 East 8th Street, New York
(212) 673-1500

After our delictable soup lunch, we continued our quest for the perfect NYC cupcake and stopped at Crumbs. We had been seeing their ads everywhere so when we happened to walk past one, we decided to pick ourselves up a cupcake sampler. They let us pick 4 of any of their 20 or so flavor varieties. They were all so beautiful that we didn't quite know which to pick. We opted for chocolate cupcake with cream filling, margarita cupcake, vanilla with M and Ms, vanilla with chocolate frosting. We stole them back to our hotel room (and we had to fight off several people on the subway who were eyeing them in a predatory way) and dug in. Ugh, we were so disappointed. Despite how lovely they looked, they were just gross. The cake was dry and unappetizing and the the cupcakes as a whole were so over-sweet, that we literally took 2 bites of each and then threw out the rest.



Momofuku Ssam Bar
207 2nd Avenue
New York, NY 10003
(212) 254-3500

After our horribly unsatisfying cupcake debacle, we decided to head out for dinner. I've been hearing for years about how great the Momofuku restaurants in NYC are, so I couldn't take a try there now not try one. After looking over the menus, we opted for the Ssam Bar, which also happens to be one of the 50 best restaurants in the world (I'm not sure by what authority, but its still nice to say I've been to at least one restaurant on that list).

We started out with the cured hamachi with edamame, horseradish, and pea leaves. The hamachi was tender and paired nicely with the accompanying spring-y pea puree. The pea leaves added a nice delicate flavor (and also visual interest light green and dark green are so nice together).



Next, we ordered the Hawthorn Valley Buttermilk Soup with fuji apple dashi, market herbs and pine nuts. I ordered it specifically because it looked pretty and sounded interesting. The thick congealed buttermilk dollops (I don't know a better way to describe it) paired well with the savory broth. And the flowers added a bitterness that couperbalanced the soft fuji apple pieces. The texture, though, did leave a bit to be desired, Sarah didn't like it, but I happily took one for the team and finished it off.



Probably the best dish we had were the Steamed Buns with Pork Belly, hoisin, cucumbers, scallions. I love m some pork buns, and these were delicious. More of an asian pork bun taco than a traditional bun. But boy were they delicious. We liked them so much we ordered a second plate.


All in all, Momofuku Ssam was a great experience. It was alive and humming with New York's trendiest. However, after teating there, I have to say that Austin's own Uchi and Uchiko are every bit as delicious and innovative as Momofuku. They could really be one in the same restaurant.
Alice's Tea Cup
220 East 81st Street, New York
(212) 734-4832

The next morning, we met up with Sarah's friends again for a lovely breakfast at Alice's Tea Cup. It's a cute little breakfast and lunch restaurant that really caters to little girls. Every little girl gets a pair of sparkly fair wings to wear while she eats there (where are the adult fairy wings, I ask). The inside is covered in pastel murals of Alice in Wonderland. The food is served on antique, mismatched china and every tea pot has a cozy.

I had Alice's Curious French Toast, french toast bites infused with apricot brandy tea with fruit coulis and vanilla creme anglaise. It was an interesting french toast. It was baked bread pudding style. It was very sweet and wonderfully warm, the perfect complement to a hot cup of tea. We also ordered a plate of scones for the table. The scones at Alice's Tea Cup are amazing. Well worth a stop if your in the NYC area.



After we had breakfast Sarah and I headed to JFK airport. This should have been a simple $40 cab fare, but it turned into the trip from hell. While we were eating breakfast Sarah's friend mentioned there was a subway only 2 blocks away that went straight to JFK for only $5. So we though, hell why not, we've got plenty of time, lets save a little money. So we drag our luggage down road 2 blocks, but don't see a subway, so we keep walking, maybe its really 3 blocks.

While we're walking, this crazed tweeker starting following us a half block behind us. We got a little nervous so we ducked into a 7-11 and got a bottle of water. When we emerged, the tweeker had passed, so we continued on. Before I know it, the tweeker spins around, runs towards us and hawks a giant lugie and spits on me. It was probably the single most disgusting thing that's ever happened to me. We hurry up and run past all while concerned New Yorkers turned to ask if I was ok (yes, apparently, there are concerned New Yorkers still). I doused myself in hand sanitizer and we continued on our way to the subway station... Which turned out to be *10* blocks away not 2. But whatever, we were there.

We get on the appropriate train which says its going to JFK. While we're on the train, though, we start hearing unintelligible announcements. "(crackle) mrah muh mrah mah JFK mrah ma muh mra mra (crackle)." Well shit, the conductor was trying to tell us something about JFK. But what was it. All the other passengers looked confused and a few started to become outwardly agitated. Once we were in Queens, it started to become very apparent that the train wasn't going to JFK. One lady on the train started yelling and a little old Japanese man started rocking back and forth. That's when I got really nervous. A creepy looking gentleman on the train offered to go get his car and drive us to the airport. We said thanks but no, I don't want to get raped today, thank you very much.

When we get to the last stop, Sarah and I had already decided we were going to call yellow cab and have them come pick us up. But, no, our Queens adventure was just beginning. At that last stop, a very large woman with the MTA walked through the train car telling us all to get out, you didn't have to tell me twice. When we got to the street level, we discovered there were buses, lots and lots of buses and they all had JFK on their marquis. Sarah and I had a brief pow wow. We could get on the bus that says JFK or we could wait for a cab. As we looked around and the urban squalor around us, we opted to follow the stream of people getting onto the buses.

Our bus wound its way through Queens stopping randomly to let people off. I followed our progress on my iPhone and noticed we were headed in the general direction of the JFK station. The bus trip wouldn't have been so bad, but no one on that bus knew the subway was closed and everyone was all pissed off and irate. Sarah and I ended up being a bunch of scared looking white girls on a bus full of angry people from Queens. I'm ashamed to say it, but we were those girls.

After 6 or 7 stops we finally arrived at the JFK subway station which has a skytrain over to the airport. But no sooner had we gotten off the bus then we were immediately accosted by 10-15 large men. They followed us as we got off the bus, "Give me your subway ticket". "No" we said as we stared straight ahead and tried to walk the 200 feet to the skytrain. "Come on, you don't need that ticket, I got to get home, let me have it". "No!" At this point poor Sarah was almost in hysterics. But we stuck to our goal and kept walking. I will tell you, I was never so relieved in my whole life, than when we finally got on that skytrain. At the time the debacle of our trip to JFK seemed horrific, but I've finally gotten to the point where I can look back and laugh. It is kind of a good story, and I learned a valuable lesson, always take a cab to the airport.