Dominique Ansel Bakery

189 Spring St.  New York, NY
www.dominiqueansel.com

Price: $$--some of the pastries are a bit pricey in contrast to their size (but it's worth it…)
Favorite Pastry (so far): Cotton-soft Cheesecake (but soon to try more!)

Yesterday, I had a day off from my internship, so I decided to walk around and explore the city (because why not..) I ended up making my way to the Soho area, and stumbled upon Dominique Ansel Bakery, a cute little bakery on Spring Street, right outside the major crowded Soho areas.
Dominique Ansel Bakery is a neighborhood cafe, that has both indoor and outdoor seating. They have a "garden" in the back, with additional outdoor seating, which stays open year-round because of a glass enclosed greenhouse. How nice!
The chef, Dominique Ansel, was named one of the "Top 10 Pastry Chefs in the United States" by Dessert Professional Magazine in 2009, and was recently chosen by Time Out New York as one of New York City's "Top Ten Pastry Chefs You Need to Know." Ok, so like all of his pastries were mouthwatering…I see where these amazing reviews would come from.

Since I came by at lunch time, I decided to try out one of their menu options. Lunch is served from until 4 pm daily, so I made it just in time. I decided to try the Tuscan "Panzanella" Salad. This salad was made with toasted croutons, frisée, salami, roasted bell pepper, artichokes, white beans, and basil dressing. Right when I saw this on the menu, I decided this salad contains literally all of my favorite things to put in a salad, so I absolutely had to try it. It was perfection.

Panzanella salad… from now on, we'll call it the DANIELLE SALAD.

Being in a bakery with so many amazing looking pastries, how could I NOT try one of them? I decided to try what they call their mini cotton-soft cheesecake. There was only one left, so I had a feeling this would be a winner. And OMG, it was. The cheesecake literally did feel as soft as cotton, and it had a nice sweet brûlée topping. I could tell the cheesecake was made with Ricotta, which also didn't make it ridiculously sweet, and it was super light, and absolutely delish. 

Rows and rows of unique pastries. Some of my favorites, and ones I MUST try soon include the salted caramel eclair, and the Paris-New York, (a twist on the Paris-Brest), made with Pâte à Choux (cream puff) and filled with caramel, peanut, and chocolate. Heavenly!

More pastries to ponder...

Ok, so anyone who has been with me recently would know that my latest obsession is MACARONS. Yes…they are what I consider heaven on earth. I mean seriously…these look scrumptious Agree?

The bakery's interior is bright and welcoming, with a clean and tasteful look.  There is a "garden" area out in the back, filled with tables and an open roof--a perfect place to eat on a beautiful city day.
I am literally so excited to go back and try another delectable pastry from Dominique Ansel. (Anyone wanna come with)?  I couldn't have been happier with what I decided to try on my first visit!
BEYOND satisfied. Yummmmm….

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

Baked by Melissa

109 E. 42nd St.  New York, NY
**there are several locations**
www.bakedbymelissa.com

Price: $-- $3 for 3 cupcakes, and $5.50 for 6 cupcakes…100 cupcakes for $70.
Favorite cupcake: Tied between cookie dough and red velvet

Because cupcake shops in NYC are very easy to find, and because the cupcakes in the city are always ginormous, Baked by Melissa mini cupcakes are always a great little treat to help satisfy my HUGE sweet tooth. I have loved Baked by Melissa cupcakes for so long, which would explain why the second Arleigh, Sara, and I spotted the shop across the street yesterday, we couldn't help but run right over.
As we walked in to the store right outside Grand Central Station, we are instantly greeted by an array of hundreds of bite sized cupcakes. There are so many wonderful flavors to choose from, and frankly, they just never get old.

The current Baked by Melissa flavor lineup includes:
-mint chocolate chip
-tie-dye
-cookies & cream
-cookie dough
-peanut butter cup
-cinnamon
-chocolate chip pancake
-peanut butter and jelly
-red velvet
-*flavor of the month* - this month: wedding cupcake!

The flavors I decided to try this time were: Tie-Dye, Cookie Dough, Chocolate Chip Pancake, S'Mores, and their flavor of the month, Wedding cupcake (white vanilla cake with bavarian cream stuffing, white vanilla icing, and white chocolate shavings).

Sara and Arleigh all too excited to start eating.

Wedding cupcake. The cake was soooooo fluffy, and it tasted super sweet.

The tie-dye cupcake…such a classic Baked by Melissa flavor.

Cupcakes being one of my favorite desserts in the world, I definitely can't complain about these! Actually…my one complain might be the fact that they're so small. I mean come on…after one bite, I just want more!


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

Popbar

5 Carmine St. (at 6th ave.)  New York, NY
www.pop-bar.com

Price: $
Favorite flavor (so far): Strawberry

This morning after a delicious brunch, my friends Jess, Whitney, and I started exploring the Greenwich village neighborhood of the city. Last week, Whitney had mentioned a popsicle shop that she saw when she traveled to Israel, and that she knew there was one somewhere in NYC, but she didn't know where; just out of our luck, we happened to walk right past it. I was so excited to try the popsicles that I had heard so much about.
Popbar offers so many delicious options for their popsicles. They have what they call popSorbettos (69-79 calories), popGelatos (149-198 calories), and YogurtPops (100 calories). After choosing your pop, they give you the option of dipping it in chocolate, and then topping it with either: nuts, coconut, granola, coffee grains, or sprinkles. The popsicles are all made fresh daily from natural ingredients, real fruit, no artificial flavorings, no high fructose corn syrup, no preservatives, and are therefore basically guilt-free. Can you top that?!?!?!?

I ordered the strawberryYogurtPop dipped in dark chocolate. WOW it was so good. It was super refreshing and the little pieces of the strawberry in there made me plainly see that it was made with real fruit. It was sweet, delicious, and such a great treat.
It's going….

going…..

GONE.

Whitney and I are too happy about our popsicle treats…can you tell?

Such good friends….tasting each others' popsicles <3

This shop is no more than a 3 minute walk from my dorm, which could potentially become dangerous for my future outings to Greenwich village. The popsicles ensure delicious flavor in every bite and I HIGHLY recommend making your way to Popbar. It's worth it…

XOXO,
Danielle

Azuki

239 Park Ave. (between 19th & 20th St.)  New York, NY

www.azukinyc.com

Price: $$- The price was pretty reasonable for the amount of food that you are served.
Favorite dish: Shrimp teriyaki

For my first real weekend out in the city, me and a group of my good friends from school met up for dinner and a night out in the city. FINALLY! What better way to reunite with my friends than with a good meal? That's right…there's no better way. My friend (shoutout Erica) recommended that we go to Azuki, a cute little Japanese restaurant in Union Square, which I decided is meant for large parties. The restaurant was completely packed, and had long tables lined up along the one side. The noise level was extremely high, as I found myself yelling to my friends across the table, but that did not stop us from having a great time together and enjoying a delicious meal.

Here's what we ordered:

We're still not exactly sure who ordered the edamame, but regardless, it ended up on our side of the table, and ended up right in front of me. I can eat edamame at any time. Although its hard to distinguish the difference between any two orders of edamame from anywhere, these were still really good. They were steamed really well, and were salted to perfection. Always a good start to a meal!

Erica ordered the shrimp teriyaki, served with miso soup or salad and white rice. Since I arrived to dinner so late,  Erica's dinner arrived before I even ordered, and from the look of the dish, I immediately knew that was what I wanted. It was SO good. I don't know what it was about the teriyaki sauce that made it so delicious and addictive, but it was super sweet, super flavorful, and of course, super tasty. (I started eating the sauce plain once I finished the rest…guilty.)

Ricki ordered the chicken teriyaki, which was basically the same thing as the shrimp teriyaki but with…well, chicken.  

Hey Julia…yummy miso soup?

Julia went for the beef teriyaki…I see a bit of a teriyaki trend going on, no?

A few of my friends ordered sushi rolls, and Azuki certainly had some really good-looking options on their menu. This is just a sampling of what they had to offer. The first roll was the salmon dream roll, with spicy salmon, crunch, and squash, topped with fresh salmon. The other roll was the east west roll, with tuna, avocado, crunch, and caviar, topped with fresh yellowtail. These literally sound like heaven right now... 

Jess, Julia, and I looking very happy to start eating!! (You ok Jess?)

Although this picture is totally awful, it completely represents our relationship and the amazing time we had as a group last night. I am looking forward to our next meet up in the city to try some more of the great food that the city has to offer!! Azuki was a really good place for us to get together, have fun, be silly, and eat, of course, and I definitely recommend it as the perfect option for a night out with friends. The food was tasty, and the atmosphere was just right to get us excited for the rest of our night.

(S/O to Erica, Sarah, Ricki, Liz, Sara, Amanda, Arleigh, Zoe, Whitney, Jess, Julia, and Rachel for an amazing ChiO reunion!)

XOXO,

Danielle