I like food

So after tons of pastries for breakfast, we went over to Central Park and we were able to get in on some Farm Sanctuary action. I was pretty stoked! Got a wonderful new “Say No to Foie Gras” pin.
Then we just went for a long walk in Central Park.
After that we watched some of the Hispanic Parade on the Upper East Side.
Jumped on the F-train and flew down to 4th Street. And had some DELICIOUS pizza from Amore. There is seriously nothing like the first bite of New York pizza. The pizza was for sure our appetizer because our stomachs were still growling…I mean, we are in New York! Time to eat.
So we walked over to Vegetarian Paradise 2 and devoured our lunch. The joint was almost empty. I had the Texas Fried Chicken (it is as amazing as everyone says it is) - served with tator tots.
N8 got the BBQ Pork and that was also perfectly cooked and seasoned.
We were SO thrilled to finally have delicious tasty food from a vegetarian restaurant. Sorry Chicago. Our stomachs fell in love with New York years ago.
Fed.
Time for a nap.
Off to our hotel.

Left Brooklyn and grabbed a cab up to Columbus Plaza. Midtown traffic was insanely ridiculous, but still, NYC cabs are THE best thing ever. So we were so excited for Bouchon, because well, it’s Bouchon! But as always, our hopes are high and we are let down. This is not the quintessential bakery that we thought of; rather, a storefront with display cases of pastries, sandwiches, baked goods, etc. The feeling was cold and brand-named. The eats were good, but not great. Thomas Kellar, shall I travel back to the West Coast and try the real deal? Breakfast number two did fill our appetite. Practical, but not so personal.

We were SO excited to go to the Jacques Torres in DUMBO Brooklyn because we LOVE the one in downtown so much…well, we still love that one the most. However, we did stumble upon an amazing place across the street called Almondine. The pain au chocolat was truly delicious…perhaps as good as Balthazar’s. Uber flaky and perfectly sweet and warm. What a perfect unexpected discovery!

They also had fabulous cupcakes and french pastries….this place is very focused.

Nothing new for dinner this week, too busy working, so we just went for the good ol’ standbys. OH!…Anna and I did get a chance to try N8’s pumpkin mousse parfait. Just perfectly autumn and delicious!

Okay, so allow me to indulge in my guilty pleasure here…did the Saveur Magazine event the other night and it was indeed pretty cool. Met Hot Doug, Art Smith was there…it was good. But last night at the Meals on Wheels event, after hors d’ouevres went out, we found out that the cast of Season 4 of Top Chef was putting out the first course! I seriously became so excited…I mean, I can’t help it…I love that show. And here I was able to actually see an episode being taped. Padma, Chef Tom, and Gail were right next to me. Padma is uber tall!…and she is just five million times more beautiful in real life….Gail also looks 50 pounds thinner in person. Anyway, they were quickly escorted to their VIP table in the front of the Walnut Room. There were at least 4 big cameras in their faces the whole time. The “production” crew consisted of about 4 people watching the filming on 4 tiny little tvs behind some curtains. It took an HOUR to put out the entire first course…and they’ll probably edit it into just 5 minutes. I love tv.

Monday we were able to finally go a across the street to try the new Indian place, Khyber Pass. It is located in the bottom level of the Columbus Plaza (wacker and columbus). I’m not sure what that name means or why they named it that…the sign is kind of psychedelic too (which I’m a little bit against…no to colors and swirls). Anyway, I’m bummed that all the awesome Indian places are like a trip to Wisconsin for us (all the way up on Devon). So we check it out and I see that, of course, its lunch time and they have a buffet. I’m also a little bit (or A LOT) against buffets. But we scope it out and it looks pretty clean and super vegetarian friendly. The food selection was great for us and was super tasty and we received free naan. BUT, we also received a free little something extra odd: a plate of random non-vegetarian things. We had informed the manager that we were vegetarian, yet, we went sat down from getting our food at the buffet, there was a plate of chicken/turkey leg and random shellfish items and other unrecognizable, but very meaty “items”. Ew. I had to eat so fast and we had to jet outta there so quickly because of the sight and smell of this plate o’ treasures. Nobody would come by our table to pick it up. Khyber Pass = maybe take-out, that’s a big maybe.
On a more delicious eating trip this weekend, snuck into N8’s restaurant and tried his warm chocolate tart.

My fave Per Person has a blog…so I started looking a lot on the internet last night…lots of blogs. Bloggity blog blog blog. I filled up on reading blogs last night….I think I’ve seen the blogs of every person in the world. All done. No more.
Anyhoo, after church we went to Kuma’s for weekly metal burger action. Then tonight we had a Pancake Party at our friends’ house in Evanston. Evanston is SO far. Basically anything north of Irving Park is like going to Wisconsin.
Mike is in San Francisco right now….he’s filling up on good stuff…ah, San Francisco…your food is SO good and your ‘hood is so lame.

This was our second time here at Avenues since Graham Elliot Bowles took over the kitchen. The first time was when he very first took over the restaurant, and although it was amazing….you could tell that NOW he has his name all over the menu. It is completely his. And we were very into what he’s doing now. We were able to sit at the kitchen bar which we highly suggest. Sitting at a table in the main dining room is okay, but why? Anyway, we did a vegetarian degustation of globally inspired, contemporary American cuisine. Chef Elliot brought over our first course…and its killing me right now that I cannot remember what it was. I’ll obviously update this once N8 gets home…he can’t remember anything except food and music. Anyhoo, we had about 12 courses…highlights: Fennel - apple, pollen, marshmellow (soup), Barbeque - corn, watermelon, sassafrass (VERY interesting main). The bread service was awesome….seriously, the black truffle butter, DELISH. Executive Pastry Chef Jimmy MacMillan brought us our dessert courses. My favorite was corn and cherries. Amazing. N8 was super into the chocolate and ginger (pictured). But back to the kitchen bar seating…N8 and I felt “little”. The bar chairs are BIG. Super fun and super fining dining. How it should be!

Yolk is it people! The wait can be ridiculous at times, but oh my gosh….this breakfast spot is just awesome. HUGE menu, perhaps not dis-similar to that of the Silver Spoon in your suburb, but it is beautifully laid out (the ginormous menu, that is). This place is huge and has very sweet kind servers and….GREAT COFFEE. Maybe it was because I hadn’t had coffee in two weeks, but my husband agreed that the coffee was pretty spectacular for a breakfast joint. N8 had eggs benedict and as gross as that phrase sounds to me, it looked so awesome. Super cheap too for downtown…$22 for both of us. Anyway, later Eleven City Diner….I’m into the fantastic service here.

Worst service….
-Eleven City Diner (but I go back because of the Orange Sueno AND because I feel sorry for the waitstaff)
-Karyn’s Cooked (but I go back because the vegan food is, well…not good, but edible and its a five minute walk from my work)
-Nougatine in NYC (we won’t go back, because the food was lame and lunch was $90.00)
-Lupa in NYC (sorry Mario, awful service…believe you me, I felt the chill when you found out we weren’t drinking wine)
-Most bakeries we go to…..not all, but most….stop being indifferent when I walk in!

Best Service….
-TRU (its amazing service because it has to be, I’ve gone seven times…probably set for life)
-La Brea Bakery in Los Angeles (small place that recognizes repeat customers and really appreciates new ones)
-Blue Hill in NYC (from the front desk staff to the servers and bussers…they are what keep the dining room booked so far out)
-Chikalicious in NYC (they are so cutie and so warm and welcoming…desserts were so cutie too!)
-L’atelier de Joel Robuchon in NYC (this lunch was $200, but stellar service and didn’t wince at vegetarians)

Mysore Woodlands….great great food: Medhi vada, Masala Vada, Vegetable Samosas, Panner Pakoras, Lemon Rice, Peas Paratha!!!! Oh man, so good. Service = downgrade. Wow. Actually insulting, slow, confusing…D- on service. But as always, the good food at any restaurant will keep me coming back. Well, I don’t know how often I’ll get up to Devon, but if you’re up there I would recommend Mysore Woodlands for take-out (and Ahra Bhavan for dine-in).

Best icecream since Sweet Occassions! >>> Dip & Pop (63 E. Madison St.; 312-629-1777), Rudy Malnati’s (Pizano’s) new popcorn and ice-cream shop. For sure! N8 had the butter pecan and I guess aside from a couple of ice chunks (haha) he said it was delish. But mine was AMAZING the cinnamon apple! Mmmmmm……..