A Murray Hill Staple

If you're a Jewish girl living in Murray Hill, then you've definitely been to Penelope. If you don't fall into that category, then Penelope might be the hidden gem for you. Located on 30th and Lex, it's the cutest, down to earth restaurant with the best brunch, lunch and dinner. There's always a guaranteed wait even for a random week night dinner and especially for their weekend brunch. I don't even try anymore. You're best luck is to go early in the morning (around 10ish) or later in the afternoon (around 3) in order to get in.

Me and my friend from Elementary school met up at Penelope on Wednesday night at 7:30 and there was already a 20 minute wait. We waited in the cramped sitting area and finally got our table.

Already knowing what we were going to order, I didn't even have to look at the menu. This is one of the only places that I've tried numerous things on the menu. The chicken meatballs as an appetizer or salad (which is my go-to) are delicious. The hummus is a great appetizer too.
The When Veggie Met Sally and their veggie burger are also crowd favorites. I've also had their hamburger, lobster roll, mac and cheese, chicken and brie sandwich and probably some others. The mac and cheese is good but not as good as some other restaurants so that wouldn't be my first suggestion to you.

The food comes out super fast and it's very reasonably priced. It used to be cash only which was annoying but not anymore! I highly suggest Penelope to anyone that hasn't been. They don't take reservations so be ready to wait at any day at any time but they have a bar with yummy sangria and the staff is always super friendly!

Viva La Mexico!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday! I was fortunate enough to spend my Thanksgiving in the sunny country of Mexico -- where celebrating is at its best. My family and I spent a week long vacation in Riveria Maya to celebrate Thanksgiving and more importantly, my grandma's 90th birthday! We rented a house and layed by the pool everyday and then traveled to town for some delicious meals. My mom did the restaurant researching and my sister did the reservations and every night was better than the last. If anyone is traveling to Playa de Carmen/ Riveria Maya in the future keep on reading! Or if you want to be jealous of my Thanksgiving vacation you can keep on reading as well.

All of the restaurants we went to were in the downtown area of Playa del Carmen either on 5th avenue or off of. Do not be mistaken when I say 5th Avenue because there is no comparison. This one is a block away from the ocean which is a plus but the shopping is sub par. Go only for the gelato, haagen dazs, funny t-shirts and restaurants.

Below are my restaurant recommendations for Playa del Carmen... enjoy!

Casa del Agua - Get the Caesar salad table side and something off their creative drink list!

Cocina 38 - We were the only ones in the restaurant which was great. The tuna tartare was amazing (see picture for proof) and be sure when ordering the duck to specify what temperature you want it cooked at. Some came out too over done. The pork belly appetizer was really good also. I got the filet which was delicious.

Wicky's - Was a great steak house! Right on the water by the light house in brand new condos that aren't even open yet. The lobster mac & cheese was great and so were the truffle fries and of course the steaks. My sister in law Jodi doesn't eat red meat so she got the king crab legs which were delicious as well. They were already cracked and easy to eat! The chef is no older than 28 from Colorado and knows how to do a steak house well! They also offer beach service and breakfast/lunch everyday.

Negrosal - We went here to celebrate mom-mom's 90th bday. The menu was huge and the restaurant was gorgeous and open to the outside. They also had these great stools that went next to your chair so ladies could put their purses on them! A great invention and all restaurants should start using them. To start, I got the fried cheese which tasted like brie with a yummy apricot sauce. We also got the duck spring rolls which are highly recommended and the grilled calamari but beware it was spicy! For entrees the lamb chops were a bit hit, the asparagus crusted salmon and the seafood pasta dishes. They also offer Mayan dishes which was a nice touch for being in Mexico!

We even had a chef some cook us a real Thanksgiving with a 20 lb turkey and all the fixings!

A big thank you goes out to my mom and Michael for a great trip which hopefully we can do again next year!

Now back in New York the eating and blogging will continue...

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!