Molly's Cupcakes

228 Bleecker St.  New York, NY
www.mollyscupcakes.com

Price: $$
Favorite cupcake: Peach cobbler

If there is one person who is a true lover of cupcakes, it is me. They have to be one of the best desserts ever brilliantly created, and there is certainly no better place than New York to get the ultimate cupcake.   As I was walking around after I first moved here, I happened to pass by Molly's Cupcakes, a Chicago-based bakery located conveniently in Greenwich village. The first thing I noticed on the window was that Molly's was not only on Cupcake Wars, but they WON. Um…..what? Being an obsessive cupcake freak, I made it my mission to make it back there, and I finally found time to visit and try out some of their cupcakes tonight. Well…step aside Crumbs and Magnolia, because there really is no comparison. Molly's features many different creative and fun flavor combinations, and best of all, they're really really extremely super tasty.

Because I made this visit alone, I got a few cupcakes to sample, and maybe to save for a little later…
Here's what I tried:

CUPCAKE WARS WINNER !!! How can these NOT be good??

A few of the more simple flavors...

I decided to sample 3 of their flavors, and narrowing it down to 3 was seriously tough. 

The first cupcake that had me tempted immediately was the creme brûlée cupcake. It was a vanilla cake, FILLED with actual creme brûlée, topped with sugar and torched, and finished off with a few berries. Yes…it was as good as it looks/sounds. It was incredible. It tasted exactly like creme brûlée, plus an extremely soft and delicious cake to go with it. 

The next cupcake that I felt obligated to try was the peach cobbler cupcake, which is a vanilla cake, with a cinnamon peach puree filling, brown sugar streusel, homemade whipped cream, and a sliced peach on top. This being the winning cupcake on Cupcake Wars, it was bound to be amazing. OOOMMMGGG it was. No words to describe this cupcake except, well, perfect. The cake was so moist, and the whipped cream was super fluffy and creamy. This cupcake got it down to the brown sugar streusel, really making it as close to a peach cobbler as a cupcake can get. It was honestly the best cupcake I've ever had.

The last cupcake I decided to try was the cookee monster cupcake, which is a vanilla chocolate chip cake, with a raw cookie dough center, buttercream, and topped with a mini chocolate chip cookie. Cooie dough is always a deciding factor for me, and so this one seemed great. The cookie dough was tasted like actual raw cookie dough, just how I like it. The cake was really really good, but the cookie dough center did make it a little bit overly soft and sticky. Nevertheless it was still delish and memorable.

The Cookee Monster cupcake with the cookie dough center. NOM NOM NOM

I can only imagine how mouthwatering it is to read about these cupcakes, being that my mouth is watering just writing about them. Despite the fact that Molly's Cupcakes is only a few blocks away from the renowned Magnolia Bakery, they still give Magnolia a run for their money. I would want to eat a cupcake from Molly's over other top NYC cupcake bakeries any day, from what I have tasted so far.
A portion of their profits is donated directly to schools in the local community, which makes cupcake-eating not only an indulgence, but also an act for a good cause.
I strongly suggest satisfying your next cupcake craving at Molly's, but warning…it is dangerous.

XOXO,
Danielle

Jane

100 W. Houston St.  New York, NY
www.janerestaurant.com

Price: $$--Portion sizes are pretty generous.
Favorite dish: Vanilla Bean French Toast ( :O )

The fact that I am so behind on blogging is not ok…so SORRY to all my devoted readers!! ;)
Last weekend, my friends and I decided to be cute and go for a nice Sunday brunch. We wanted to try Jane, which supposedly has a really good brunch menu, and so we thought ahead and made a reservation so we wouldn't be caught waiting in the blazing New York heat for a table. We still ended up having to wait, being that Whitney, Jess, and Arleigh were so late, but hey, Jane was not to blame for that!
Jane is a casual American bistro on the edge of Soho. It has upstairs and downstairs seating, and the atmosphere is sleek and inviting. The restaurant was packed on a Sunday morning. After reading through the extensive brunch menu, I was completely perplexed and had absolutely no idea what to get but was so excited to try everything.

What we got:

Whitney and Sara both got the mushroom omelette, with baby portobello mushrooms, tomato, fontina, and herbs, served with a side of potatoes. Whit and Sara both claimed it was "sooooooo good!"

Jess ordered the egg white omelet with sautéed spinach, goat cheese, and mixed greens. Although the omelet features goat cheese, she said it tasted kind of bland, but not bad!

Arleigh and I both ordered the homemade granola, with low fat yogurt, honey, bananas, strawberries, and dried cranberries. I had been craving granola so I was sooso excited to eat this. We both thought that the the granola had far too many sunflower seeds mixed in it, which overtook the actual flavor of the granola.

One of the most intriguing items on the menu was the vanilla bean french toast, made with brioche bread, dipped in a creme brûlée batter, and served with maple syrup. Frankie ordered this for her meal, and the rest of us got a half order to share for the table. The french toast was delectable…I absolutely loved it. The inside was really soft and gooey, and the outside was nice and crunchy.

My side of plain scrambled eggs. yes I know…boring. but yummy!!!

I understand why Jane gets so busy for Sunday brunch; they have a really lengthy menu listing a variety of different good breakfast options. When ordering off the brunch menu, you also receive a complimentary cocktail, including alcoholic beverages, or fresh squeezed juices. What a deal! I would definitely come back to Jane to try something new--they had a lot of good looking egg scrambles that I'd love to try. All in all, a good, fun, not too pricey meal to share with friends.

XOXO,
Danielle

Cafeteria

119 7th Ave.  New York, NY
www.cafeteriagroup.com

Price: $$$
Favorite Dish: Warm fallen chocolate cake (whoops)

On Friday night, I went out for a fun little dinner with Arleigh, Sara, and Frankie. We decided we'd try and aim for a place on my restaurant bucket list so that we can keep that moving. We ended up going to Cafeteria, a place I have been before, but solely for dessert. Cafeteria is a super trendy spot, and has indoor and outdoor seating. Since they don't take reservations, and the restaurant is super busy on a Friday night, we found ourselves waiting for a table for quite a while. However, it was a really pleasing and enjoyable environment for a night out with friends.

Here's what we got:

At the beginning of the meal we were given a basket of warm biscuits and butter (Sara's favorite!!!!!) They were actually really good and I enjoyed having something other than bread for a change of pace.

Arleigh and I both got the grilled peach salad, with prosciutto, arugula, aged goat cheese, and a shallot wine vinaigrette. Although I ordered my salad without prosciutto, it was still really good. The only thing was that the goat cheese tasted a little funky to me. Even though goat cheese is usually my favorite type of cheese, I ended up eating around it. The peach tasted great, and was really a good combination with the dressing and the arugula.

For my entree, I ordered the appetizer portion of the baja fish tacos. These were served with grilled Mahi Mahi, Salsa Fresca, crispy tortilla topping, and a Serano Salsa Verde. I loved the tacos. They were really tasty, and I am not usually much of a fish person. The salsa verde had a nice zing and was great on top of the taco.

Frankie got the appetizer portion of the old school meatballs. The meatballs were topped with a roasted tomato sauce and were served alongside grilled rustic bread. I was contemplating ordering these since they sounded so good, and they definitely looked that good too.

Sara got the Cafeteria burger, which came with tomatoes, red onion, and field greens, a pickle, and french fries. 

Arleigh decided to channel her inner southern side and ordered the fried chicken and waffles.  It was buttermilk fried chicken, with crispy sage, grilled lemon, and came with a chili butter sauce. 

Ready to dive in!

 Cafeteria has an extensive dessert menu, and Arleigh even said that it may have the best dessert selection at a restaurant that she's ever seen. We had trouble agreeing on a few desserts to share, but we finally were able to narrow it down.

We ordered the warm fallen chocolate cake, served with a passion fruit drizzle, and topped with vanilla bean ice cream. I was expecting the cake to be a little bit larger, but regardless of the size it was so good. The cake was warm and moist, and not overwhelmingly chocolatey. The little bit of passion fruit sauce was actually a surprisingly nice touch. Everyone likes a good chocolate cake, right?

For our other dessert, we agreed on the red velvet cake in a jar. The cake was topped with a cream cheese frosting and chocolate pearls. The cake tasted good, but wasn't super moist. It wasn't the best red velvet we had ever tasted, but it wasn't bad. I also don't tend to like cream cheese frosting very often, but this one actually was not half bad. All in all, this one wasn't our favorite dessert.

Although our meal had a few flaws, it mostly was pretty good. I would like to come back to try some of the other things on their extensively long dinner menu, and of course, their dessert menu (aka, I'm coming for the Cafeteria waffle banana split.) The crowd at Cafeteria is very hip, and the wait staff are very friendly and willing to engage in conversation. It was a fun evening, and I would definitely give Cafeteria another try in the near future.

XOXO,
Danielle

Emilio's Ballato

55 E. Houston St. (between Mulberry St. & Greene St.) 
New York, NY


Price: $$$$
Favorite dish: Pasta E Fagioli

For an extremely delayed post, this one certainly will not disappoint. For my dad's last night in town with me, he took me to a little Italian place that he claimed was quite amazing. After we walked in and were walking back to our table, I couldn't help but notice the array of photographs of famous people on the walls. Ummm celebrities….my favorite! This place couldn't be too bad, then. Emilio's Ballato serves solid old school Italian food. I am sucker for good Italian, and this restaurant hit the spot.

Here's what we got:

At the beginning of the meal, we were served two types of fresh bread. There was a basic, probably homemade, bread and then Pancetta bread. 

My dad couldn't stop saying to me how much he LOVED the Pasta E Fagioli soup the first time he came here, and this being one of my favorite Italian soups, I definitely wanted to try it. He was building it up so much that it had to knock my socks off, and it absolutely did. This was hands down the best Pasta E Fagioli soup that I have ever tasted. It was so thick and full of delicious beans, pasta, and vegetables. OMG my mouth is watering.

As an appetizer to share, we ordered the grilled octopus, served with a small green salad. This calamari was unlike any that I had ever had before in the way that it was served, but once it was cut up to look less scary it was really good. 

I ordered the Gamberi Oreganate, which is baked shrimp, with garlic, bread crumbs, and linguine. These shrimp were packed with flavor. They were topped with such a flavorful mixture of the bread crumbs, a ton of garlic, and other seasonings. The sauce was great mixed with the linguine, which was cooked to perfection.

For my dad's entree, he ordered the Vitello Alla Milanese, which is breaded veal, with arugula, tomatoes, and extra virgin olive oil. It was also served alongside a small portion of potatoes. 

My dad ordered a side of fresh linguine with tomato sauce. At a restaurant with amazing homemade pasta there was no way we could skimp on that…

So basically, everything my dad and I ate here was excellent. I was so full walking out, but left 100% satisfied. The space is small and cozy, and the food made me feel as though I may have been eating in Italy. Although I've never been, I imagine this might be as close as it gets in NYC. Come here for a wonderful and traditional Italian meal you are sure to love.

XOXO,
Danielle

The Dutch

Sullivan St. (at Prince St.)  New York, NY
www.thedutchnyc.com

Price: $$$
Favorite dish: Eggplant dip with savory crackers

My dad constantly travels to New York on business, and this week I was lucky enough to get to spend some time with him while he was here doing work. Obviously if he's here, we're going to eat somewhere fabulous, so he decided to take Arleigh and me to The Dutch, a restaurant he had visited and enjoyed before. We were able to get a table right away on a Monday evening. The decor was cozy and intimate, and had a loud and fun New York atmosphere. The menu is not especially large, but of what was offered, there were certainly many different things I wanted to try.

Here's what we got:

At the start of the meal we were served a nice warm loaf of jalepeno cornbread, with soft butter. This was definitely a more fun way to start off the meal as opposed to traditional bread and butter. The cornbread was moist and spicy, and it was really tasty. 

The first thing we ordered as an appetizer was the eggplant dip with savory crackers. This dish was fantastic. I loved the chips first off--they were coated with wonderful herbs, sesame, and salt. Then the eggplant dip was so delicious. Once we ran out of chips I was serving the dip to myself plain and eating it with a spoon.

For another appetizer, we got the american burrata, with white cherries and sourdough. The cheese was super soft and tasted similar to a fresh mozzarella. It was really good paired with the white cherries, and dipped in the sweet cherry sauce that it was served over.

My dad got the steamed snapper, with crispy rice and a mushroom yuzu broth. Being that I am not the biggest fan of fish, I didn't think I'd really love this, but after tasting it, I definitely changed my mind. The fish did not taste very fishy, and the crispy texture of the rice made it really unique. The mushrooms were also so good and fresh, and tasted great paired with the fish. 

Arleigh ordered the herb roasted chicken, with oregon morels and and charred leeks. The presentation was beautiful, and since it looked so good I also had to try it. The chicken was really tender and delicious, and had a really distinctive, memorable flavor.

For my dinner, I got the smoked ricotta ravioli, with tomato, and soft herbs. Oh my God these ravioli were so good. They were obviously homemade and the ricotta filling was amaaaaaazing. The tomato sauce was perfect, and all in all this dish was just beyond. I finished off scraping my plate clean.

As a side dish we got Franca's potatoes, with mustard and dill. Usually this dish is also served with bacon, but we decided to pass on that addition. The potatoes were really firm, and all of the different flavor combinations were really great on the potatoes.

We started off with the lemon meringue pie, which
is made fresh daily. It was SO GOOD. Super lemony and
super flavorful. The meringue had the perfect texture
and it all tasted fresh and delicious.

Unfortunately, we couldn't skimp on dessert--there were too many delicious looking options!!

We also shared the devil's food cake, with black pepper
 boiled icing, fudge sauce, and white russian ice cream.
This dessert was also SO GOOD. The cake was moist, and
it was really good paired with the ice cream. Being a
huge fan of chocolate cake, this dessert did not disappoint.

There was not one thing at this meal that I did not enjoy. Everything was outstanding, and everything was definitely memorable. The service wasn't bad and I thought it was a nice enjoyable place to spend a weeknight evening. Would love to go back sometime!

XOXO,
Danielle

De Santos

139 W 10th St.  New York, NY
www.desantosnyc.com

Price: $$$-All of the dishes and drinks are a bit pricey.
Favorite dish: Banana pancakes

This weekend has to have been one of the best and most exciting weekends ever! After arriving at Times Square to see the Project Runway 10th Anniversary season premiere taping, squeezing our way to the front, and above all, getting interviewed to be on the show, this weekend definitely deserved an eating celebration. On Sunday morning, Arleigh, Frankie, and I wanted to go out for a delicious brunch, and Arleigh suggested De Santos, a restaurant she and her brother used to eat at when he was living in the West Village. De Santos is located in a historic brownstone, with a homey, rustic, and candlelit interior, and a beautiful garden patio outside. In fact, this unique space used to be home to famous New York musicians, including Janis Joplin and Bob Dylan. How neat!!

Here's what we ordered:

Arleigh ordered the french toast, lightly filled with berry compote, served with fresh fruit, and maple syrup. By the final look of Arleigh's plate, I can assure you that she had no complaints about this dish.

Out of sheer excitement, Frankie and I dug into our pancakes without photographing (I broke my own rule!!!) Frankie and I both ordered the banana pancakes, served with fresh berries, and maple syrup. The pancakes were extremely light and fluffy, warm, and perfectly filled with fresh banana. They were so delicate and delicious.

As you can tell I really liked my pancakes...

A preview of De Santos's enclosed outdoor garden seating area.

When I came home after brunch, I went online to take a look at their dinner menu, and despite how much I had just eaten, I was still drooling and trying to figure out when I could go back for another meal. Although the prices are not the cheapest, the traditional American menu is sure to impress.

XOXO,
Danielle

Delicatessen

54 Prince St.  New York, NY
www.delicatessennyc.com

Price: $$--The price is about reasonable for the quality of food.
Favorite dish: Margarita Mac

I need to first start off by saying that today was definitely one of the most exciting days I've had in the city this summer as of yet. Being an obsessive Food Network enthusiast, I couldn't be more excited for today's errand to the Food Network offices to simply drop off a package. I know that doesn't seem like much, but to me, it was kind of a big deal that I had a reason to step foot into the Food Network offices, where dozens of my idols spend their time.



Besides that one exhilarating part of the day, another highlight was when I met my friend Frankie for dinner tonight. I thought maybe we should try a restaurant off my restaurant bucket list, so we went to Delicatessen in Soho, which is a perfect halfway point between both of our NYU dorms. I passed by Delicatessen for the first time when I first arrived to New York for the summer. My family and I were exploring that area of Soho, and as we passed by it, I couldn't help but note the hip and trendy ambiance of the restaurant. There is outdoor seating, which is great for a perfect night, and the inside is casual and dimly lit.





Here's what we got:

Delicatessen's menu cover.

The menu features an entire section for a variety of macaroni and cheese dishes from their neighbor restaurant MacBar (also on my Restaurant Bucket List). Frankie wanted to try one of the options, so she went with the Margarita Mac. It was macaroni with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, parmigiano, and fresh basil. Frankie said it tasted like she was eating a margarita pizza in noodle form, and thought it was super cheesy and had a nice smoky flavor. It was too tempting and I just had to try a bite. It was SO good, as it won me over for best dish of the night.

Frankie trying her mac. Here goes nothing!

I couldn't decide what I wanted for dinner; there were too many things on the menu that sounded amazing, so I decided to order two appetizers as my main dish.

My first appetizer was the Delicatessen Sliders. They are usually served with bacon and swiss, but I ordered mine plain, and they were served inside house-made buns. The sliders were sooOo good. The beef was cooked perfectly medium and the buns were flakey and buttery.

I was tempted by the description of the House Made Naan Flat Bread, which is served with grilled asparagus, sweet pepper & mango chutney, and burrata cheese. The Naan bread was definitely different than what I am used to from home, as it was super thin and crispy, but I definitely liked it this way. The subtleness of the cheese was an excellent balance for the flavor punch found in the chutney. The asparagus was amazing, grilled and flavored perfectly. This was certainly an unusual, but memorable appetizer.

 Delicatessen is a really great spot for food, drinks, and people-watching (which seems to be the case for a lot of NYC restaurants). Getting a seat outside is definitely worth it on a nice night. Our waiter was super friendly and the service was quite good. I definitely want to go back to Delicatessen again so I can try some of the other items on the menu that I didn't get a chance to try!

XOXO,
Danielle