9 July 2012

Dining in NYC: Your Suggestions!

I’m officially back in action after some time in NYC and then on a lake somewhere in home state of Michigan. I wanted to compile a list of all the restaurant suggestions you guys had for anyone else who might be heading to NYC this summer! At the end, I’ll include a list of the places we ended up dining. Thank you all so much for your suggestions!

Healthista readers NYC restaurant suggestions:

cosmopolitancouple: Hi! I just was in NYC on Tuesday and visited one place I can recommend - “Plein Sud” in TriBeca. It has tasteful food and ambiance. Enjoy :)

dezh22: BXL East! Mussels and Belgian Beer!!!

sonjaszerlag: 44 1/2 in Hell’s Kitchen. Amazing amazing food! The Duck ravioli is unreal!

redbloons: Gallagher’s Steakhouse in Times Square - best steakhouse in central Manhattan

chicyoungthing: fishtail! it’s in midtown east! owned by David Burke and one of the best places I have eaten in nyc

lizlemon: Apizz is awesome, super romantic, amazing Italian food. Union Square Cafe is my fave restaurant in the world, American, Danny Meyer, amazing!

sarahmariemilly: Kashkaval on 9th ave between 55th and 56th. You can’t go wrong with any menu choice.

leeyooj: ippudo NY for your ramen fix!! (WE WENT HERE!)

valinnyc: Cocoron - the best hole-in-the-wall soba joint located in the Lower East Side!

omfgitsbebopspider: El Almacen in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (one stop into Brooklyn on the L train) - best steak I’ve ever had - it’s Argentinian & it’s AMAZING

anothertrendyhumanbean: Wild ginger in little Italy! It’s an amazing Asian fusion vegetarian place. I’m not even vegetarian and I love it. Miso eggplant is to dyefor

alizarathdtour: Pure Food and Wine….an experience you will never forget!,

abhincactanonverba: I like Deux Amis in Midtown East. I’ve been there twice and had delicious food (boeuf bourgignon is great) and excellent service.

holdthewhippedcream: Pastis!

thisishilari0us: 11 Madison Park! Simply, high class food.

delpetunia: BLOSSOM! UNBELIEVABLE organic vegan & vegetarian food and they’re just a few blocks from the museum of natural history!

keepmunching: Southern Hospitality (Justin Timberlake’s southern restaurant), Spice Market, Indochine, Buddakon, Mercer Kitchen, Commerce, Gemma, Gabriella

jollydreams: if you like japanese food and also like buffets, go to mizumi. very fresh sushi and good customer service!

androgenius: max brenner! everything chocolate :)

helloblogitsmemargaret: shake shack (NOM) (WE WENT HERE!), eataly (anytime), macando (dinner), stone street (atmosphere), diablo royale (brunch), Almond (dinner)

afoodbeast: Gramarcy Tavern, eat at the bar, enjoy the nuts. Incredible relaxed atmosphere and decor. Excellent cocktails and food.

ronniefein: If you like Turkish food or want to try some, go to Beyoglu on 3rd avenue/81st street. Great food, especially the appetizers.

ohlili: all unique, cute decor, well-priced & great menu: apiary, dovetail, little owl, elephant and castle, ippudo, markt, westville, peel’s

ceallaigh: Joe’s Shanghai on Pell St. Dumplings! and the Buns!

stophs: PHO amazing vietnemese, Prime Meats burger and cocktails, Banh Mi Saigon sandwich #1, Grey Lady vibe and seasonal eats

drmeg: Luke’s Lobster- Why? Lobster roll!

cookingcaveman: My favorite restaurant in the entire world is Katz’s Deli, on Houston St, on the lower east side. The pastrami is to die for.

Where we actually went:

Ippudo: I love ramen, so this was a no brainer.

Otto: Don’t question it, just get the egg pizza.

Linen Hall: Top-of-the-line bar food and great drinks.

Qi: Thai food that was nothing to write home about.

Mono + Mono: Awesome Korean fried chicken and other pan-Asian yummies.

Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream Truck: Pretty special ice cream — worth it.

Mamouns: The cheapest, best felafel ever. Lives up to the hype.

Shake Shack: I’ve been before but I had to take my man since he’s a burger fanatic.

Milk Bar: I’ve been here before too. Some of the stuff we got was disappointing, but my cereal milk soft serve with corn flakes on top was pretty delicious.

I feel like we missed out on a ton great restaurants because we mainly stayed around the Union Square/East Village area to eat since we were staying there. Next time I go to NYC, I’ll definitely be trying more of the places you suggested! Lizlemon, I’m mad I missed out on Union Square Cafe since we stayed around the corner! We almost went!

29 June 2012

Off to NYC! Please leave restaurant suggestions!

This collage is a reminder of all the amazing meals I ate when I was in NYC with my mom back in October (read all about it).

I was lucky enough to get to go back to NYC for work in February, when I also ate some pretty amazing food. But I didn’t savor every meal like I did in October. Some meals were hotel room service and/or quick deli stops.

This time, I’ll be there for nearly a week with my man, and we have next to no obligations. There’s no reason not to make every meal count. So please (please, please!) leave me some amazing restaurant suggestions. All types of cuisine welcome. If I go somewhere you suggest, I’ll consider you a NYC restaurant afficionado and link to you as such in my recap post. :)

Soooo… where should we eat (and a one-sentence explanation of why you love it)?!

14 December 2011

Declaring Food/Recipe Bankruptcy

Well, hello there!

I’m back from vacation and feeling… behind in all areas of life. Going through my photo library, I found a bunch of pics from recipes I meant to write about. Instead of putting them all in their own individual posts, I’m just going to declare food/recipe bankruptcy and get them all out of the way in this one.

So here’s what I’ve been eating lately!

Kettle Cuisine soups sent to me by the company. They saw how much I love soup, and decided to send me some I can eat right out of the freezer. I like that all of their soups are gluten-free, and when you look at the ingredients, they all contain ingredients you’d use to make that soup yourself. Check out the ingredients from the white chicken chili:

Not bad, right? I’d definitely recommend these frozen soups over canned.

For some reason, I’ve been on a curry kick lately. And I’ve also been wanting to make the most out of my newish slow cooker. Curries just seem to be a natural fit! I found this Slow-Cooker Curried Chicken with Ginger and Yogurt recipe from (where else?) Real Simple.

See, here’s what I mean by “a curry kick.” Two curries in the past few weeks is a LOT for me, especially since I don’t LOVE curry usually (except Thai green curry! I could eat that every day). This recipe is Martha Stewart’s Chicken Curry. I liked it, but I had to do some tweaking to make it less bland. The cashews and cilantro really helped, though. I can definitely say it wasn’t “too meaty.”

I’ve been loving my almond meal pancakes lately. So filling and carby without actually having many carbs! Here’s my recipe for Apple Spice Almond Meal pancakes. I think for this version, instead of adding the apples to the batter, I microwaved them with cinnamon and used them as a topping.

I told you all I was going to the Dominican for a wedding. We stayed in an all-inclusive resort that was quite beautiful. However, the food was…seriously lacking. They just try to do way too much instead of sticking to what they know best. We did end up loving the Japanese steakhouse — delicious and tender meat (steak, shrimp, chicken) and the best fried rice I’ve ever eaten. And I don’t even like fried rice! I hear most of these resorts have a place like this, so if you go, hit up the Japanese restaurant! The French restaurant wasn’t bad either. My favorite dish our table ordered was (can you guess?)…

A curry! I think this was a Thai-style curry with shrimp and coconut rice. Mmm. I’ll leave you with a picture of the view from our room.

And NOW you know why I had to declare food/recipe bankruptcy. I’m struggling to get my head back to reality and dreaming I was back there in the sunshine.

Happy Tuesday!

17 October 2011

My 10 Favorite Things I Ate in NYC This Weekend

This past weekend, my mama took me on a trip to New York City. You can see us in the middle picture below! My mom appreciates good food just as much as I do, so you can imagine we were in foodie heaven pretty much the whole time. It’s always hard for me to choose my food in New York, since you have limited meals/stomach space and seemingly limitless restaurant options. We did our best. The whole trip was amazing, but here are some of the edible highlights.

1. Crab Soup Dumplings from Joe’s Shanghai (middle right)
Ever since I heard about soup dumplings a couple years ago, I knew they were my food dream. Dumplings? Love. Soup? Obviously love. Combine them into one delectable bite, and you have my heart. The broth inside these babies was probably one of the best tastes I’ve ever tasted. I’ll never forget these. The company — one of my best friends from college, Taylor, and my mama — didn’t hurt, either. Taylor came all the way from Philly to hang out with us for the day. Love you, T!

2. Goat Cheese Gnocchi from Print (not pictured)
Print was our fancy-shmancy (or as I like to say, “four dollar sign”) pick. Everything we chose was a winner, but the goat cheese gnocchi was definitely the most unique thing we ordered. The gnocchi itself was goat cheese — no pasta dough at all. It was served with sauteed zucchini, squash, pea greens, cherry tomatoes, sage, and pancetta. The other highlights of this meal for me were the grilled octopus (“grilled octopus, chorizo, potatoes, olives, herb puree, lemon”) and prosciutto salad (“prosciutto, arugula, shaved parmesan, ogen melon, lemon vinaigrette,” pictured top left). Much of Print’s food is locally sourced and seasonal, which is just a bonus when you taste the food.

3. Soy Egg from Momofuko Noodle Bar (bottom left)
I didn’t know what to expect ordering a soy egg, but whatever this was, it was outstanding. Tiny chives, crispy onion, textured yolk, smoky egg white — all the best an egg has to offer and more. We also had impressive hangar steak and cured striped bass.

4. Shackburger and Shake from Shake Shack (not pictured)
I don’t know how I convinced my mom to go to Shake Shack. Burgers and shakes aren’t her idea of a nice meal. But once she tasted the rich chocolate shake, creamy pumpkin pie custard, and juicy burger, I think she understood the hype. I’m not a burger connoisseur myself, but this was the best “fast food” burger I’ve ever had, hands down.

5. Orange-Buttermilk French Toast with Maple Baked Bananas from Nice Matin (middle left)
I’m totally not a french toast person at all. I always prefer pancakes (waffles are meh to me too). But this version sounded pretty good, especially the bananas. My mom and I split this and a spicy lamb sausage scramble for brunch, and both were great. This French toast was more like dessert, and the bananas were just amazing.

6. Pork Bun from Momofuko Noodle Bar (bottom right)
This needs its own number! For whatever reason, I ended up eating a lot of pork belly on this trip. I don’t think I’ve ever had it in such abundance, and I have to say, I have no complaints. Momofuko is famous for their steamed pork buns, and these didn’t disappoint in the least. The meat seriously melted in my mouth.

7. Whitefish Salad from Barney Greengrass (bottom middle, on the bagel)
Our hosts were excited to take us to Upper West Side staple Barney Greengrass, and it definitely satisfied my smoked fish craving. I ordered a Nova salmon scramble, and we shared potato latkes and whitefish salad. Jewish soul food at its finest.

8. Lamb Tagine Casablanca from Cafe Mogadar (not pictured)
The lamb was falling off the bone, the sauce was sweet but not too sweet, and the company was perfect (Taylor and my mama again).

9. Banana Pudding from Magnolia (not pictured)
I’m going to be honest: I’m not crazy about the cupcakes from Magnolia (or cupcakes in general, really). So when we were craving dessert and in walking distance from this famous bakery, I decided to go with something a little different. I was very happy with my choice! This was my second favorite banana pudding ever (after my boyfriend’s, who really does make a MEAN banana pudding).

10. Anything eaten with my lovely BFFs and mama
Two of my best friends in the whole world, Else and Kaitlyn, live in New York. Just getting to see them was a treat. And spending time with my mom was wonderful, too. I think my favorite thing in the world is eating good food with people I love. <3

Okay, New Yorkers, how did I do? What did I miss that I should be sure to hit next time? Have you tried any of these dishes? Let’s talk food!

29 June 2011

Comparing Potbelly Salads

Contributor Post

Today, you get to meet another Nutritionista contributor! Please welcome Earl L. Earl is a health-conscious cook who loves running, good food, and exploring the world of molecular gastronomy. He post restaurant reviews, healthy recipes, molecular gastronomy experiments, and anything else related to food on his website, Toastable (check it out, he knows his stuff). In today’s post for YN, Earl’s talking salads from a “fast casual” place I actually have quite the soft spot for — Potbelly. I’m kind of in love with Potbelly’s chicken salad, and in general I think their food is above average for a sandwich shop.

Earl is analyzing Potbelly salads in this post, and he really gets down to the nitty-gritty in terms of the macronutrient breakdown in two of his favorites — the Uptown and Farmhouse salads. I love Earl’s scientific lens on food, and I think you will, too. Read on!