Otto

1 5th Ave.  New York, NY
www.ottopizzeria.com

Price: $$
Favorite dish: Cacio E Pepe

Reunited (again) and it feels sOoOoOo good. This past weekend, my parents flew into New York to visit and spend some time with me while I am still in here. How sweet!!!!! On Friday night, Nicole and her parents came to meet my parents and me in the city for dinner for some family bonding time of course! We decided to take Arleigh along for the ride because why not? The Jablon's decided on celebrity chef Mario Batalli's restaurant Otto Pizzeria. The restaurant had a vivacious atmosphere, and it was completely packed, and therefore was very noisy. Despite making a reservation, we still had to wait almost 25 minutes for a table. The restaurant was modeled to resemble an Italian train station, so when your assigned "train" goes up on the board, you know your table is ready. We were actually seated at a corner table completely smushed together. Good thing we like each other, right?


Here is what we ordered:

Nicole and her parents got the chopped salad with salami and chickpeas. 

My dad and Arleigh both got the baby spinach salad with ricotta salata and truffle honey.  This salad was really good…basically anything with truffle is good to me!

My mom got the watermelon salad, served with cucumbers and feta cheese. I am not the biggest fan of watermelon or cucumber, but I actually loved this salad. It was sweet and delicious…I almost couldn't tell there was watermelon in there. Loved it.

For the main course, we ordered some different pizzas and pastas so we could all try each others' meals.

The first pizza we got was the fennel & bottarga, with tomato, pecorino, and mozzarella.

My dad got the Cacio E Pepe pizza, which had mozzarella, cacio (an Italian cheese), pecorino, parmigiano, and black pepper. This was my favorite of the pizzas, and probably my favorite dish of the whole meal. There was so much flavor packed into this one pizza. All of the cheeses combined together were just too good on a great thin crust. YUUUM.

Nicole got the classic margherita pizza, with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil. 

Ong more pizza for the table: the vongole, with garlic, mozzarella, and clams.

We got the Pasta Alla Norma, which was penne pasta with tomato, roasted eggplant, basil, and ricotta. I thought the pasta was good and I really liked the roasted eggplant. The pasta was a little bit undercooked but the tomato sauce was really fresh and yummy.

Do you think we ordered enough food?!?!?

I really enjoyed my time at Otto with my friends and family. The food was pretty good and everything was extremely reasonably priced in contrast to the prices I typically see throughout the city. There were a few issues, being that the wait staff was a bit slow, and we were served bread, but with no butter or olive oil or anything. But….. overall the food was good, the mood was fun, and we had a great time together.

To finish off the evening, we walked toward Greenwich Village and got cupcakes at Molly's Cupcakes. How perfect! (to view my recent post on Molly's cupcakes, click here).

An awful and blurry pic of Nicole, Arleigh, and me at Otto. But still….FRIENDS! <3 <3

 XOXO,
Danielle

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

Forbidden Fruit NYC

106 MacDougal St.  New York, NY
www.forbiddenfruitnyc.com

Price: $$--For one piece of dipped fruit, the price can go up to over $3, plus toppings.
Favorite dipped fruit (so far): Chocolate dipped strawberry with walnuts

It's not until recently that I finally fully realized that my dorm is literally in the best location ever. If I walk out the doors and down one block, I am bombarded with dozens and dozens of restaurants right there. The other night, Sara, my fellow NYU dormer, and I thought it would be a good idea to use our meal plan for dinner, so we ate in my dorm's dining hall. I can surely say it doesn't quite compare with what is right outside those doors. Sara and I also both agree that after eating anywhere in the city, we always feel the need for something sweet. After we finished dinner, we chose to venture out of the dorm and try something small and new to satisfy our sweet teeth. We found Forbidden Fruit NYC, a relatively new shop in the Washington Square area. The store features chocolate dipped fruit. Brilliant.

At first glance I was overwhelmed with options. Did I want a strawberry or a banana? Dark or milk chocolate? Toppings or no toppings? Forbidden Fruit gives you the option of strawberry, pineapple, banana, or apple wedges dipped in chocolate, and you can opt to add toppings, such as coconut, walnuts, or sprinkles, for $0.50 extra.  Another option is getting an assorted fruit stick, berry or clementine boat, or fruit cup, to then be drizzled with chocolate.

After long and hard contemplation, I decided to get my favorite: a dark chocolate dipped strawberry, coated with chopped walnuts. They dipped it fresh for me, and it was divine. The walnuts added such a great flavor addition to the chocolate.

Fruit cups pre-chocolate.

Assortments of chocolate dipped strawberries

White, milk, and dark chocolate dipped bananas, with various toppings (coconut, walnuts, sprinkles). 

MmMmMmmm chocolate dipped pineapples.

Here I go...

Another perk of Forbidden Fruit NYC: they deliver [miminum delivery charge of $15]! (Seriously do any places in New York NOT deliver?) Chocolate dipped fruit offers a slightly healthier alternative to most other desserts, with size and portion control fairly easy to monitor. Although each treat is a bit pricey individually, the ingredients and freshness are sure to be of great quality.

XOXO,
Danielle

Peanut Butter & Co.

240 Sullivan St.  New York, NY
www.ilovepeanutbutter.com

Price: $--Everything on the menu is fairly affordable for the amount that comes with each order. Their peanut butter sandwiches don't exceed $7.50.
Favorite sandwich (so far)--"The Elvis," which is a grilled peanut butter sandwich, stuffed with bananas and honey. (You can opt to add bacon for $1)

Yesterday I wanted to try one of the restaurants on my bucket list for a late breakfast. As I was walking back from the gym, I passed Peanut Butter & Co., a restaurant completely devoted to sandwiches and desserts featuring peanut butter. When I first saw this place, I was immediately intrigued and decided that the concept of this shop is genius. It's a peanut butter lover's dream. 

The menu has a section for classic peanut butter sandwiches, gourmet peanut butter sandwiches, and then of course, succulent peanut butter desserts. Don't worry, they also have a section for other homestyle meals for those who don't eat peanut butter, or are allergic (sorry you are missing out on this, Arleigh).

Since I was still in a breakfast-y mood, I ordered the Bagel Nosh, which is a toasted bagel, with sides of either smooth or crunchy peanut butter, raspberry jam, and a vanilla cream cheese to schmear.

On one half of half of my bagel, I put the plain vanilla cream cheese, and on the other half, I put homemade smooth peanut butter with sliced bananas. (I ordered sliced bananas on the side). Bananas and peanut butter make a perfect classic combination. The bagel was warmly toasted, and after a thin coat of peanut butter it started melting into creamy and sticky goodness. 

On the other half of the bagel, I spread some of the raspberry jam over the vanilla cream cheese, which made an AMAZING combination, and on the other half, spread a thin layer of cream cheese, peanut butter, and to top it off, more sliced banana. 

The 4 toppings that I got with my bagel nosh.

 I suggest that peanut butter lovers anywhere in NYC go to Peanut Butter and Co. There are just so many options on their menu that you really can't go wrong.
A few of the sandwiches that I am looking forward to trying include but are not limited to

• The Peanut Butter Cup: Peanut butter, with a chocolatey layer of Nutella
• The Fluffernutter: Peanut butter and globs of Marshmallow Fluff
• Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Sandwich: Cinnamon raison peanut butter and vanilla cream cheese, stuffed with crisp apple slices
• The Cookie Dough Surprise: Peanut Butter and vanilla cream cheese, stuffed with chocolate chips

…so I could keep going and end up listing everything on their entire menu. Peanut Butter and Co. offers peanut butter jars to go in all of their different flavor varieties. And most importantly, they deliver. (with a $10 minimum). Seriously tempting…

I'll be back any day now.

XOXO,
Danielle

Bar Pitti

268 6th Ave. (between Bleecker & Houston)  New York, NY
**Bar Pitti does not have a website, but you can check out their menu here.**

Price: $$--The food really was not all too expensive considering the options that are available and the amount of food that is served.
Favorite dish (so far)-- Caprese Salad

For my first reunion since school with my good friend Jenna, she, Sara, and I met up for dinner right after work this evening. We decided to walk around, and as soon as we saw somewhere that looked good (and received good reviews, of course), we'd eat there. As we were walking toward the SoHo neighborhood, we passed Bar Pitti, which did not look to be very crowded since all of the outdoor seating was completely vacant. However, when we went in, the restaurant was pretty full. We realized that the lack of people eating outside was most likely due to the horrendous weather New York experienced today, but regardless, we decided to be the one and only party to eat outside.
Bar Pitti is a casual little Italian restaurant, and you can tell that the food is fresh and authentic. Although several online reviews claim that Bar Pitti has terrible service, I would certainly disagree based on our experience tonight. We received our bread, appetizer, and entrees all in the course of probably 20 minutes.  The waiter was also pretty attentive, considering we were the only customers eating outside.

Here's what we ordered:

At this point in the meal I was absolutely starving, so a piece of bread dipped in olive oil sounded perfect. This olive oil was really good. It was quite tasty and definitely was high quality. A great start to our meal.

Jenna and Sara ordered the Caprese salad as a starter, and I couldn't resist trying it. I am a huge fan of mozzarella and tomato, and covered with olive oil and basil…count me in. The mozzarella was so fresh and yummy, and the tomatoes were a great compliment to the cheese. With some added salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil, this represented the epitome of an excellent Caprese salad.

HUNGRY JENNA!! In Jenna's words: "I give you permission to put a picture of me stuffing my face on your blog"….well ok then.

Sara ordered the Precamondo Panini (no, I do not know what that means in Italian). It was stuffed with brie cheese, eggplant, mushrooms, turkey breast, and sun dried tomatoes. Now THAT sounds like an amazing combination of flavors. Sara seemed to thoroughly enjoy her panini. Her one complaint was that she wished the bread had been pressed a little more to make the sandwich warmer, and more like a panini vs. a regular sandwich.

Jenna went with the Vegetale Panini, which contains artichokes, mushrooms,  eggplant, tomatoes, and lettuce. Another great vegetable flavor combination. Jenna loved her sandwich. 

Unfortunately, I can't resist homemade pasta, no matter how hard I try. I ordered the Spaghetti Strascicate,  which is homemade noodles with meat sauce. I can easily tell a homemade pasta vs. pasta out of a box, and this was certainly no boxed pasta. It was cooked to a perfect al dente, and the sauce nice and meaty. It was DEE-lish.

Finally happy to be together in the city!! (*Mentally insert picture of me in the middle).

If you want tasty and simple Italian food, Bar Pitti is your place. We have also decided that our outdoor seating location made for excellent people-watching. But seriously, we truly enjoyed our time at Bar Pitti tonight and we all definitely enjoyed our meals.

Our quote of the evening: "You will not pity your visit to Bar Pitti!!!"

XOXO,
Danielle

Mamoun's

119 MacDougal St.  New York, NY
www.mamouns.com

Price: $- Falafel sandwiches for only $2.50. All side portions do not exceed $2.50 (falafel, hummus, baba ganouj, tabouleh, soup, etc.)
Favorite dish: Falafel sandwich (duh!)

I do not eat falafel very often. In fact, the last time I had falafel was when I traveled to Israel three summers ago. Regardless, I have always been a huge fan of falafel, but it is not something that I get around to eat very often because, let's face it, it's definitely not one of the most nutritious foods out there. But yesterday was a special treat. My best friend Julie came to visit me in the city before she leaves for camp in a week, and all she has been raving about to me is how we MUST go to Mamoun's. She kept telling me that it is the absolute best falafel in the city, and as Julie likes to tell me, SHE knows her falafel.
When she arrived in the city, she, Arleigh, and I walked over to Mamoun's, which is literally one minute away from my NYU dorm (how convenient)! I had walked past the tiny little "hole in the wall" restaurant several times over the past week, being that it is so close to me, and every single time I had seen a long line out the door. Lucky for us, the line was not too bad when we arrived, and we were able to get our falafel sandwiches right away.

Julie's falafel sandwich, with added tabouleh.

Julie in FALAFEL HEAVEN!

Arleigh and I split the regular falafel sandwich, and it was just so good. The falafel was SO crispy and SO flavorful, and was certainly authentic. The falafel was served in pita bread, stuffed with lettuce, tomatoes, and tahini sauce. 

PERFECTION

Happy, hungry friends.

I definitely understand why Julie, my falafel connoisseur, says that Mamoun's is the best falafel in New York City, and I would have to agree with her completely. No wonder it is featured in the book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die! (I guess I can check that one off my list). In addition, Mamoun's has been featured on several television networks, including the Travel Channel, and the Food Network (OMG), and has been written about in newspapers, magazines, and books.

If that didn't convince you to try out Mamoun's, then I don't know what will…

XOXO,
Danielle