Doughnuts are the new Cupcakes

So everyone knows that cupcakes are the fad right now. There's a Crumbs popping up on every corner and Magnolia is even going into Grand Central. Remember the good ole days when you used to have to wait for 30 minutes just to walk into the Magnolia on Bleecker and go eat your cupcake in the park across the street and wish you were Carrie Bradshaw?

Well those days are over and I'm no longer on a mission to try every cupcake in Manhattan (even though I'm really close. I think I only have to visit Little Red Hen and I've covered them all!). I've moved on and I suggest you all should too.

If you're a Food Network fanatic or are obsessed with food like me, than you might have heard about this secret little gem in the Lower East Side called The Doughnut Plant. Owned and run by a guy named Mark Israel, he is famous for his square jelly doughnuts. Why square you might ask? Well it insures that you get a some jelly in every single bite. What a concept right?

After reading and hearing about this place, I had to try it. A $13 dollar cab ride later, me Jenna and Gina arrived at the infamous Doughnut Plant and entered ourselves in line. Hint -- if you are planning on going to this place on a Saturday or Sunday, arrive early! They sell out quickly and DO NOT re-stock until the next day.

Not knowing when the next time we were going to be visiting, we got 4 different doughnuts to try. They were out of the original jelly doughnut so we opted for the peanut butter and jelly doughnut. The same square shape, the same jelly, just some peanut butter on the outside (even better in my opinion!) We also got a tres leches, an apple fritter type one and a chocolate icing with chocolate cake. We even saw Mark Israel working in the back -- that was a good sign.

With our doughnuts in hand, we ventured off to a sketchy little park in the middle of Ludlow to give them a try. AMAZING! The peanut butter and jelly one tasted exactly like a middle school peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The Tres Leches was soft and moist with some sort of gooeyness on the inside. The apple fritter was great but unfortunately I can't remember details about it (so friends -- chime in) and the chocolate one was not too rich and delicious.

All in all it was a great trip the LES with a visit to Economy Candy right after.

Like I said before, Cupcakes are out and Doughnuts are in, so get yourself to the Doughnut Plant ASAP.

PS: If you think I'm spelling doughnut wrong because Dunkin Donuts spells it like that - then think again. It's Dunkin that needs to use spell check.

Friends, Football, Fried Food

This past weekend I traveled down south to visit the family and take a trip to Athens for the UGA/Auburn football game. The trip was well worth it for 2 reasons. Number 1 was that we actually won the game! Beating Auburn for the 4th year in a row never looked so good. Number 2 was that I got to eat some of my favorite Southern foods with the best company around.

It went a little like this:

Saturday morning 10:00 am -- took a trip to Chick-fil-a for the best chicken biscuit known to man before heading up to Athens with my bffs. For all you northerners who don't know what chick-fil-a is, you need to go past the mason dixon line ASAP but beware because they're not opened on Sundays. Or you can pretend you're an NYU student and visit their student center -- but it's not the same.

Saturday afternoon around 3:00 pm -- Fraternity house fried chicken. Definitely not as good as chick-fil-a but it was good in a pinch after drinking for hours.

Saturday night 7:00 pm -- Watching the game from the suites with some Caesar salad and fried shrimp.

You would have thought I overdosed on the fried food on Saturday but I didn't stop there.

Sunday afternoon around 3:00 pm -- a family trip to Steak & Shake for a burger and fries. I can't remember the last time I ate here but it will be a while before I have to go again. The fries are worth noting though because they are delicious! They're good plain or with a little cheese and chili.

Sunday night 7:00pm -- met a friend for dinner at Georgia Grille for their famous lobster enchiladas. Got those, plus cheese dip, plus fish tacos and a peach cobbler for dessert. This hidden gem is not to be missed for all my ATL readers. It's hiding in the back of a shopping center off Peachtree and everyone must go!

Monday afternoon 12:00pm -- Lunch with some more friends at a favorite of mine, Taqueria del Sol. Known for the BEST cheese dip in my opinion and the food networks too!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food-network-specials/top-american-restaurants-bon-appetit-picks-the-best/index.html

Also got their fried chicken taco and the Memphis taco. If you haven't noticed, NYC does not have cheese dip unless you're going to Qdoba or Moe's. They try to trick you with their queso fondido but do not be fooled, it is not the same! So I have to wait patiently until I can go back home to get my amazing gooey cheese dip.

That concludes the eating portion of my trip to Atlanta. I had the best time in Athens and Atlanta and can't wait until I can go back again for some 75 degree weather in November! Go Dawgs!

Noodles and Buns

I got to cross a big one off my list last night and am so excited to share it with you! If you're a true foodie like me then you know how exciting it is to go to a restaurant that's been on your list for as long as you can remember. That is me and Momofuku noodle bar. David Chang's other 2 restaurants are on my list as well so if anyone has any connections with the ultra exclusive Ko reservation system, please let me know!

I convinced my sister to come with me last night because I had some time to kill before a going-away party I was going to. The wait was only 15 minutes which I hear is nothing and we got to sit at the bar facing the kitchen where all the magic happens!

Not knowing the next time I would be back to noodle bar, we ordered way too much food, starting with the Brussels sprouts. If you can't tell by now, Brussels sprouts are my new thing. I have been getting them a lot and they're great! I used to hate them but probably only because I had no idea what they were.

Next we ordered the famous pork buns. They come 2 to an order which is not enough because I could have had them both to myself. They are amazing! There is a little cucumber in it which adds a crunch and with a little bit of the extremely hot hot sauce - it's the perfect combination.

Next came the chicken wings which are made to order. It was a big serving of about 6-8 wings so we couldn't even finish them before our ramen came out. The wings were good but probably the least favorite of the night. I'm glad I tried them because the waitress raved about them but I don't need to get them again.

For the finale we got the most recommended dish on the menu, the ramen. It's huge with an egg, lots of pork, noodles and broth. I'm a ramen novice so good thing my sister was there to teach me the correct way to eat a noodle bowl. I don't understand how people can finish this thing, but we had proof when the guy next to us ordered it and finished it in about 5 minutes and then he was gone.

Even after being so hyped up, Momofuku lived up to it's expectations. My favorite by far were the pork buns and would go back just to eat those. With it being so busy, I never felt rushed and the food was timed perfectly. We weren't bombarded with dishes and had enough time to finish each one before getting the next. If you plan on traveling down to First Avenue and 10th street anytime soon, try your hardest to get a seat facing the kitchen. It's an experience not to be missed!

Now I'm obsessed with getting a reservation for their fried chicken dinner. I need 5 friends to come with me so when the time comes (and it will) be ready to drop your plans in an instant!

Sake Bomb!

It's already Tuesday and I'm still recovering from the weekend. I had a good friend in town and we were still celebrating Robin's birthday so I was out and about all weekend long - eating and drinking away.

I started off the weekend with a Friday night dinner at Yoshi Sushi in the East Village. It's BYOB which makes dinner much less expensive! Going to BYO restaurants before going out is the best way to eat, drink and get ready for whats to come later in the night. New York has a TON of BYO restaurants, mostly in the east village of lower east side and that so happens to be where I go out also. It works out great!

Yoshi is also a great pick because they have two private rooms for large parties. They're secluded so you can be as loud and rowdy as you want.

We sake bombed and ate until the restaurant closed and finished off one of those massive bottles of sake.

If you ever have visitors in town who are on a budget or you want a fun dinner without spending a ton, BYO is the way to go. I'm always on the look out for new ones to try but I'll give you the list I have made so far. Some of these places have a corkage fee, but it's no more than $5.00 a bottle.

• Cherin Sushi


• LES Sushi


• Sticky Rice


• Angelica Kitchen


• New Ayisha


• Poke Sushi


• Kuma Inn


• Jin Sushi


• Catch Da Fish


• Limon


• 11B


• Eatpisode


• Cube 63

Be sure to make a reservation for these places far enough in advance because they are usually really small and people stay there for hours!

East Village Dinner Part 2

It was my first time on Avenue C last night and I felt like the Rent cast was going to jump out at any second. My friend Rachel and I met at Matilda per the suggestion of my foodie sister, Melissa. Matilda is an Italian and Mexican fused restaurant named after the owners daughter. The menu looked good and it was Zagat rated so we decided to give it a try.

While the restaurant is pretty small, it was crowded for being so far east and I was hungry and excited to try the interesting combination of tastes on the menu. I started off with their version of a mojito, but instead of rum it came with prosecco (an Italian version of champagne for those who don't know). It was very good but a little too minty and I hated getting pieces of the mint through my straw.

We ordered 2 appetizers, the filet tacos and the tamalitos which came with polenta, peppers and cheese in a tamale. Rachel was the first to try the tacos and piled on the pico de gallo for some extra flavor. Little did she know that the salsa was topped off with fresh jalapenos and almost burned her tongue off. Hope you're okay Rach - they should really warn people about that! After seeing Rachel's reaction I strayed away from the pico so my tacos were good but a little bland. There was nothing that stood out to me about them and I've definitely had better. The tamalitos were good but it's kind of hard to mess up melted cheese with peppers and polenta.

Next we ordered the Salmon which was huge piece of fish! The sauce was really good and it was the perfect amount of food for the two of us. We opted out of the minimal dessert selection but I did love how they did the menu. It was placed in a little cut out on the table and we had no idea it was there until the waiter told us. Very creative!

My overall experience at Matilda was good but mostly because of the company. I think for what we ate it was very pricey and nothing stood out as being fantastic. I was hoping for a little more combining of the Italian and Mexican flavors but it turns out it was just two kinds of food at the same restaurant.

Turns out I don't love everything I eat in this fantastic city but that just means I have to try more restaurants!

Happy Friday everyone -- I have a very special visitor in town for the weekend and the eating beings tonight!

Sorry Robin, you can't de-tag pictures on a blog!

Last night was Robin's 25th birthday! To start off the festivities we went to Yuca Bar in the East Village. It's been on our list of places to try for a while so I'm glad Robin picked it! I'll be traveling down to the East Village for the next three nights so I'm considering myself a hipster now.

We were all a little famished when we showed up to dinner so we quickly put in an order of the guacasalsa and a pitcher of sangria. The gauc was small but the sangria was strong so it was a perfect intro into the night.

Next Lindsey and I decided to share a couple of things - or three. We ordered the lobster quesadilla, the tilapia tacos and the veggie black bean burger with yuca fries. We had to order yuca fries because duh we were at yuca bar.

Lobster quesadilla on top left and tilapia tacos to the right.

The other people at the table ordered crab cakes, shrimp tacos, another tilapia taco and a tuna "roll" with some rice and beans.

Crab cakes to the left and tuna "roll" on top. Looks like a sushi roll right?

The food came out fast and hot which was good and everything was yum! The lobster quesadilla was a little spicy for Linds, but I thought it was great. The tilapia tacos were fried which it didn't say on the menu but still fresh and easy to eat.

We were actually too full for the burger and fries so we canceled the order. And of course we see how good it looks at the table next to ours. I guess another trip is in order!

To top it all off the restaurant gave us a little dessert sampler for the birthday girl! I have no idea what any of it was except for the churros and they were fried deliciousness.

I can't wait for the birthday celebrations to continue all weekend!

Fried Chicken and Sushi = amazing

My highly anticipated Friday night dinner came and went in a flash. I've been hearing about Blue Ribbon sushi for almost 3 months now from some friends but I had to wait until my parents were here with their credit card to take me. Since the downtown sushi restaurant doesn't take reservations we opted for trying the Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar and Grill uptown. It's a combo of the original sushi restaurant and the brasserie. I was a little disappointed when I found out I wasn't going to the downtown one but it was still an amazing eating experience.

I started asking my foodie friends what I needed to order weeks ago so I sat down at the table ready to tackle the menu. We ordered so much that I need to write it all down for you and then I'll discuss my thoughts.

• Shrimp Shumai
• Blue crab wrapped in cucumber with vinegar sauce
• Wild mushroom miso soup
• Vegetables with fresh ginger soup
• Miso marinated black cod
• Soft shell crab tempura
• Assorted spicy rolls (spicy scallop, yellow tail and tuna)
• Tuna and avocado box sushi (which is pretty much a tuna roll with an avocado layer in between the rice)
• Fried Chicken "Blue Ribbon Style" with a wasabi and honey sauce
• Dragon roll
• Yellow tail salmon and tuna roll

Okay I know that sounds like a ridiculous amount of food. And it was. Usually I'm hungry 2 hours after I eat sushi but Friday night I was full until the next morning.

First I have to discuss the fried chicken. I never thought about ordering fried chicken at a sushi restaurant but I'm glad I listened to my friend Alan! It was amazing. It was crunchy on the outside and warm and moist on the inside. The dipping sauce was my favorite thing of the night. It was a wasabi honey combo that was spicy and sweet at the same time. I think it could go with everything and I wish they sold it.

Next notable mention is the soft shell crab tempura. It came as a whole crab but already cut into 4 pieces. It's my moms favorite so we had to get it. It wasn't too fried and it definitely a fan favorite.

The shrimp shumai is also in the pic.

The tuna and avocado box was pretty much a normal sushi roll but I've never seen tuna this color. It was a deep reddish color and so fresh I could have eaten the whole "box" by myself. I've eaten a lot of sushi in my 24 years and this was by far the freshest.

Next comes the sushi rolls. The ones below are the dragon roll and the yellow tail, salmon and tuna roll. All were yummy and I don't even like eel that much! I think I liked the spicy scallop the best and next comes the yellow tail, salmon, tuna roll.

It was a great dinner with great company and I'm glad I can finally highlight a Blue Ribbon Sushi in my Zagat! Next I might be needing to take a 1:45am trip down to the original with the Blue Ribbon experts.

Say Cheese!

I'll start this post with saying that I love cheese! Pretty much any kind of cheese and any food that comes with cheese in it. That being said, you can imagine my excitement when my sister made a reservation for dinner at Artisanal last Thursday with my mom and step-dad. They were in town (again) to watch my brother in law run the New York marathon yesterday - and he did great!!

We obviously started off our dinner with some wine and cheese - fondue that is. We got their standard Artisanal blend with bread and crudites. It was quite delish. But really, what can be bad about melted cheese and bread? The cheese took a while to heat up but once it did I couldn't stop eating it.

For our entrees I got the mussels with french fries and the rest of the fam got a variety of fish. Skate, Branzino and Swordfish. My sister took after my dad that night saying it was "the best skate she's ever had." We also had to try the mac & cheese as I once was on a mission to try all the mac & cheese in the city. I decided that goal is no longer attainable with the whole mac & cheese fad, but I'll order it whenever I see it. It was awesome and not only because it was free! The noodles were penne and it had the exact right amount of bread crumbs on top. Not too many and not too few. I was impressed!

The french fries are also worth writing about. I'm a fan of skinny and crunchy fries rather than the fat kind and these were perfecto!

Artisanal was the start of another eating weekend. With the parents in town, Halloween and the marathon there was a lot going on and that always comes with eating! But don't worry - I'm not complaining!