little GIANT

The evening was a busy one. C and I ran around town and actually had to push back our reservation three times so we could make it. But I'm so glad we did, cause it was absolutely worth it.

We ordered a few small plates to share since neither of us were too hungry, but it still ended up being too much for us. Their signature biscuit was a must-have, even if only for the accompanying honey butter. Their mac-n-cheese was good (& probably better with the bacon :p), as was their figgy piggy. Yes, I did eat a piece of ham with that. We each got our own asparagus salads, which are seriously to-die-for. LOVED IT. The mix of asparagus with egg with breading was so complementary. And even though C was acting like the drunk one, I'm the one that tried their rosemary ginger drop, which by the way, is also yummy.


Little Giant
85 Orchard St.
(at Broome)

Pancake Month!

...was back in February. Sorry if you missed it! But you might wanna go put it on your calendar for 2012 now.

Even though K's been to Clinton St Bakery a few times, it was the first time I'd ever been there. IG and I almost didn't make it there since a work PR event was scheduled the same night, but then I took a glance at the pancake special of the night, and...you can see we obviously skipped out on work (good thing it was canceled anyway!).


Our eyes were hungry and the new setting had us craving everything. When IG ordered a hot apple cider, I ordered it buttered with cinnamon. OMG. OMG. OMG. Don't ever get the buttered hot apple cider with cinnamon - no matter how good it may sound. UNLESS, you like drinking butter. I thought my heart would attack me after the second sip.

But phew, it forgave me after trying the pancakes. The caramelized pineapple, coconut-topped -omg it's so fluffy I could die- pancakes. Next February, don't be surprised if I'm living off pancakes.

If you're going with a good friend who'll share food (and I hope those are the only kinds of friends you have), TRY their fried chicken. It'll make you a happy camper. It's tender and reminiscent of Shake N Bake [insert childhood flashbacks].

ps. Don't forget to pick up a bag of their scones on your way out.



Doesn't it look like we ate in the dark by the light of an open door to a lit hallway? Maybe we did.

Clinton Street Baking Co
4 Clinton Street

Congee Village

Hiding from the rain.
In the basement.
With a sticky floor.


Some good ole Chinese food.
With some good ole friends.


Congee Village
207 Bowery
(btwn Delancey & Rivington)

bianca

This doesn't look very appetizing at all, does it?

Wellll. Never judge a book by its cover - or a random food blog photo. You HAVE to order this. TRUST ME. (If not me, then my dinner mates, M + J, perhaps?). Don't be afraid to eat your veggies. They're good for you. I hate parsley (yep, yep, nod, nod), but I wanted this dish all to myself. Who knew you could make parsley taste so good?!

And then you can order the gnocchi. Cause that too is good for you! Or you can order anything else on the menu, cause I'm sure they're all high on the yummy scale.

But leave some space (or pack an extra stomach). For the chocolate cake. Orrr anything else on the dessert menu...cause I'm sure they're all high on the yummy scale (sensing a theme here?).

M's been here a bunch of times. And then she invited me along. And now I'd like to invite you to this adorable little restaurant. Won't you join me? :)


Bianca
5 Bleecker St
(b/t Bowery & Elizabeth)

Verlaine + Baohaus + Sugar Sweet Sunshine

What a packed evening!

Started off the night with happy hour (more like hours) at Verlaine - who could pass up $5 lychee martinis?! Not me! Had a couple and a half of these babies before the high-five scratching began (Poor C!). That was too much excitement for one locale - we moved the party on over aaaaallllll the wayyyyyyy to The Magician - next block over - where we ordered a round of drinks and proceeded to stuff ourselves with pork belly bunnnnsss (tofu for me!) from Baohaus!! (Though it was SO dark, I couldn't see what I was eating, and it may as well have been pork...). I also tried their sweet bao fries (which I learned the identity of a full month later) - bites of sweet gooey DE-liciousness! But...in all honesty, they're small. Even for my stomach. So we scurried over to grab some cupcakes and pudding from next door and brought them back to share (thx C&M!). If you don't try any other flavor, you must try their pumpkin! Their pudding = some form of mushed-up cupcake. Yes, it's absolutely devine.


Verlaine
110 Rivington Street

Baohaus
137 Rivington Street

sugarsweetsunshine bakery
126 Rivington Street

Sunshine Bakery

[INSERT IMAGINARY PICTURE HERE]

If you find yourself in the Lower East Side craving dessert, try stopping by sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery (boy, is that a mouthful!). Two things you must note:

1. No doubt about it, skip the cake for the puddings. We almost left with nothing. So, it's a good thing I spotted their puddings off to the side. We tried the Banana Pudding and Pumpkin Trifle.

2. This is no late-night dessert option. The workers there rushed everyone out at the precise closing time of 10:53 PM.

I thought I left the place with a picture, but it seems we gobbled that up along with all the pudding...


sugar Sweet sunshine Bakery
126 Rivington St
(b/t Essex St & Norfolk St)

The Norry at Kampuchea

This is it. A post-it has been written and decreed, and it is posted! This is the last holiday dinner reunion I plan to plan. After battling ghosts, snowstorms, comedy shows, last-minute drop-outs, last minute drop-out threats, theses, crazed holiday shoppers, half-naked Santa-wannabes, and racist Fort Lee generalizations, The Crew finally made it to The Holiday Reunion Dinner. And, I only had to send one threatening e-mail. Score!

Due to the fault of the host, we weren't able to snag a table at Kampuchea, but we were specially allowed to reserve one at Kampuchea's new sister restaurant, The Nonny. Contrary to my previous verbal redundancy, the food at The Nonny tastes like nothing I've ever tasted. Boasting "Cambodian Street Food", The Nonny is like the picky younger sister who drinks hard liquor, dresses down, and loves loud people and places. That's not exactly me, but the food was great nonetheless. The menu has a small selection of tapas*, a small selection of small bánh mì* (*Yes, I know neither of those terms are of Cambodian descent... ><*), and a large selection of small drinks (try the Jasmine Tea Lemonade!). The Grilled Corn-on-the-Cob was a favorite ("divine" may be an appropriate descriptor). The Sausage was a bit commonplace, but the Short Ribs, Fried Chicken, and Beef Tongue were all tender and well-seasoned. Finally, the Sweet Potato Chips [insert dreamy eyes] made up for any dissatisfaction in the Oxtail Bánh mì and Shrimp Bánh mì.


The Norry (at Kampuchea)
78 Rivington St. (@ Allen St.)

Cafe Charbon

Several mouth-watering choices on the menu made it hard to choose, but I finally settled on the Matefaim "pomme-banane" - a caramelized apple-banana pancake with vanilla ice cream and a side of raspberry sauce. How could it get any yummier than that!?! It was so filling that I had to share some with my pregnant company ;)

Cafe Charbon
168 Orchard St
(@ Stanton)

Essex

I hadn't realized until I walked in the door that I'd been here once before - Only it was for a birthday party in the wee hours of the night/morning, rather than brunch time.

It's about time I try something new, but...not today. In a rush decision, I chose the Challah French Toast w/bananas foster sauce & fresh fruit. Tastewise, it was all quite YUMMY, though the toast was on the soggy side. Given the list of other yummy-looking items on the menu, I probably won't be ordering this again. Like Cornelia's, they offer complementary OJ or coffee, and mimosas with your meal :) The service is pretty quick and friendly, and the space is tight, but not too tight. It was a great choice location to catch up with friends I hadn't seen in forever.

Essex
120 Essex St
@Rivington

Clinton Street Bakery Company

Since this is my second time going, I won't say much besides: GO WITH FRIENDS. This way you can try the Special, the famous Pancakes, and French Toast. Make sure the weather is nice, and be patient with the LONG wait. It's worth every second.

Clinton Street Baking Co
4 Clinton Street

Clinton Street Baking Company

This Peaches & Cream Waffle Special is a definite YUMMY! The Clinton St Baking Co. is famous for its pancakes, but anything you order there is satisfyingly tasty-- especially if it comes with the brown-sugar maple syrup. Go with a small party to avoid the absurdly long wait.

Clinton Street Baking Co
4 Clinton Street