New York City:
Breakfast/Brunch
Balthazar - French food. We tried the pancakes with hazelnut butter and the eggs en cocotte with soldiers. This place is fancy, but for a lazy Sunday brunch immersed in some old world charm - Perfect!. I have heard that the Bakery next door has the best Pain Au Chocolat.
Sarabeth's - This came highly recommended. They have a couple of branches. We went to the one in Central Park. Pretty crowded and involved a fair bit of wait time. But then again this is Manhattan we are talking about. We tried the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Fresh Berries and the Vegetable Frittata. The pancakes were to die for! I have been having recurring day-dreams about those luscious pancakes. The frittata; well we weren't impressed. A little on the bland side. Next time we'll order the spinach and goat-cheese omelette instead. Please, do try the Four Flowers juice. You will thank us for the suggestion. We had heard that Sarabeth Levine got famous selling preserves. We did try some of that with some toast. Yum-O! Sarabeth also has a lovely cookbook, that I hope to own soon. I'v been dying to try the rugelach recipe.
Lunch/Dinner
Angelica's Kitchen - This was a place we found when we were researching vegan/vegetarian restaurants in the city. It currently reigns as my favorite restaurant. We went there with my cousin J (who was our connection in the city until she recently moved to Seattle. Sniff Sniff!!) . I ordered a Japanese Miso soup. Vikram ordered the daily special which given the time of the year (Halloween '10) was a hearty stew served with some interesting sides - some sort of green chutney and quinoa. J ordered a Mexican dish. We ate without saying a word to each other. That in my opinion is the highest praise food can get. We spent a lot of time on the walk back raving about every dish. I was also very excited throughout the meal because I recognized our waitress who was in an Indie movie called "Arranged" that I quite like. Angelica's also has a cookbook out that I'm dying to get my hands on.
Caracas Arepa Bar - This restaurant was my initiation to good food in the city. This is the first place I took Vikram to. Everyone I have recommended this place to loves it. I was flipping channels one day and saw the owners competing with Bobby Flay in one of the episodes of Throwdown. That thrilled me to no end. Here is what we get every time we go there. An order of the Tajadas, Yoyos and Tostones Mochimeros. That is followed by a La Jardinera arepa each. And finally Obleas for the dessert.
Candle Cafe - This is the first place we went found via Yelp when we were actively looking for vegetarian/vegan options. We went to the cafe as opposed to the restaurant which is more expensive. They have some wonderful smoothies and juices. We had the Mezze Platter for the appetizer. We followed that we two different Tofu based dishes. Who knew Tofu could be so divine!
Dosa Man - This dosa cart is owned and operated by Thiru "dosa man" Kumar who is from Sri Lanka. He has a vivacious personality and will regale you will tales of his fame; which has spread far and wide. He can usually be found at 50 Washington Sq S. You can also call him in advance and find out if he is around. While we were there, we met an NYU student who said he'd been eating at Thiru's stand for years. The dosas themselves are good; but the sides, not so much. The Singapore noodles though, were fantastic. A great option for a quick lunch.
Meskerem - This is on MacDougal Street in the Village which is also home to several more of our favorites. Incidentally this was my first ever introduction to Ethiopian food and I'm yet to find one that is better. Serves standard Ethiopian fare. Light on the wallet too.
Wild Ginger - A vegan Asian restaurant in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. For appetizers we had avocado salad with carrot-ginger dressing and scallion pancakes with mango salsa. Very very good. I cannot recommend the Black Pepper Seitan enough. I also recommend this neighborhood. Very artsy and fun to walk around.
Desserts/Bakeries/Creperie/Coffee
Puerto Rico Imports - The smell of freshly roasted coffee that hits you when you enter Bleecker street is from this place. We stop by usually to get coffee and take some Monsoon blend back home. A pit-stop for any coffee lover.
Cafe Reggio - A favorite haunt in MacDougal street. Transports you back to another era. They claim they were the first ever cafe to serve Cappuccino in the states. And the cappuccino is very good. We also always get the Affogato. Nothing special. Just vanilla ice-cream topped with espresso. But really good.
Petrossian Cafe - Best. almond. croissants. Period. Grab one before a walk around central park. Someone tried to ask if they had "Chai Latte". The cashier hadn't even heard of it. So she asked another woman who worked there. That girl gave the dirtiest look and said "This is a French Cafe, we don't serve that". But best almond croissants nevertheless.
The Chocloate Room - Nothing I can ever say about this place will be enough. You'll know what I mean when you try their Spiced Hot Choc. This is a concoction fit for heavenly beings. Dense, rich, intense. I'm not finding the right adjectives sadly. It also helped that it was cold outside and this was the coziest joint ever. I really regret not bringing back a tin of their hot choc mix to cheer us up over those dreary winter days. We also tried their daily special which was a flour-less chocolate cake with raspberry sauce. We were "mming" all the way back home to PA.
The Crooked Tree - A regular stop during every trip. For the same dish. The Dulce de leche crepe with bananas and ice cream. Also cozy and romantic.
.... more to come soon
