Cro-Dough

By now I'm sure everyone's heard of the cronut craze, though I have yet to try one. Why? Waiting on line for 2 hours is not my thing (I scoff at you Apple fangirls/boys), especially at the crack of dawn on a work night.  Plus, it's downtown and I'm midtown, and unfortunately, I don't have a minion (any volunteers??).

Thankfully, A visits Gregory's Coffee frequently and informed me that they started making an imitation cronut. WHAT? And the icing on the cake (er, croissant-donut) is that Gregory's is 2 blocks from my office. Oh, and there's no line.

They call it a "cro-dough" so obviously it's completely different. I've now tried it on two separate occasions (which you already know if you follow me on IG), both times in the early afternoon, as an after-lunch snack. Both times, I found them to be considerably chewy - made more noticeable by the fact that I had some trouble cutting it up with fork&knife. The filling though - Oh!  Change your chewy dough recipe, but don't do anything to the filling! My first try was their regular cream, and yesterday I went for their new chocolate - both incredibly delicious.

It may not be the original, but I'm A-okay with that.

ps. I'm now also in love with their iced coffee. #justsaying


Gregory's Coffee
551 Fashion Avenue

La Fonda Del Sol

JS, C, and I went to check out the JapanWeek booths at Grand Central Station in the hopes that we could scrounge up some good food samples. Unfortunately, none were to be had, and the single takoyaki balls didn't keep them full. So we recruited JC and walked around the corner to fill our stomachs at La Fonda.

WARNING: Strong sangria.

TAPAS...
Meatballs pork meatballs, pimentón, Manchego cheese
Artisan Cheeses selection of Spanish cheeses
Potato Bravas chile aioli
Empanadas beef rib, mushrooms, blue cabrales
Chorizo Basque chorizo, cider, croutons
Croquettes chicken, Manchego cheese, Serrano
Flatbread Romesco, smoked vegetables, goat cheese
Pork Belly Sliders bacon onion marmalade, pickles

DESSERTS...
Chocolate Milhojas Chocolate Cream, Roasted Almond Wafer, Vanilla Ice Cream
Buñuelos/Cinnamon Fritters Salty Caramel, Maracuya Peppercorn, Orange Chocolate
Sorbets and Ice Creams Pineapple, Passion Fruit, Mango

YUM.

La Fonda Del Sol
MetLife Building
E 44th Street & Vanderbilt Ave

Mini-cupcake war

Our whole office may be dieting, but somewhere in the rulebook, there's an exemption clause for birthday celebrations - especially when they come with cupcakes. But hey, we they don't want to cancel out all that yummy salad we've they've been living off of for the past month, so we compromised and went mini.

We had two birthdays to celebrate within a two week span: MJ & IG's. Our initial plans to try some more cupcakecrew flavors were spoiled by the fact that they weren't accessible on MJ's bday. Boo. But that meant we could finally try Baked by Melissa.


If you're looking for mini, this is as mini as you're going to get, short of eating air. Their cupcakes are quarter size (as in, the size of a quarter), which is great when you want to try out several flavors (or have a room full of dieters who you're celebrating a birthday with), but quite unfulfilling if you've got a sweet tooth.

I personally only tried their special flavor of the month - the firecracker - and I'd have to say it was a party in my mouth! Literally. A fun & unique cupcake to say the least. I'll take it that lack of comments about the other flavors (mint choc chip, cookies & cream, pb & j, red velvet, choc chip pancake, and s'mores) meant they were all good, but nothing to call home about. Either that, or someone wanted to hog all the extras for herself. Would I eat them again? Yeah, probably. But I wouldn't go out of my way to pick some up. Say...like I would for Cupcake Crew.


We were lucky Cupcake Crew was in our neck of the woods for IG's bday, and didn't hesitate to pick some up for... breakfast (what's even better is that we got 6 free since M told them I followed them on twitter!). What'd I try this time? "Cousin Vinny" - a mix of vanilla chocolate chip cake, filled with canoli cream rolled in a fried canoli shell. If that doesn't sound good, then I'm not even sure why you're bothering to read this post. Other flavors in the pickings? Trusty old red velvet, coconut raspberry, chocolate caramel pretzel, vanilla peach, and strawberry balsamic...the latter which I heard tasted kinda gross.


And the conclusion is...? There's always one cupcake in the tray that's going to topple over.


Baked by Melissa
526 7th Ave
(btwn 38 & 39th)

Cupcake Crew
varying locations
but this batch was bought from the corner of 40th & 6th

Szechuan Gourmet

Normally a little out of my lunch range, but my coworker happened to have tried it yesterday, and she's heard good things about it (one being that it's better than Ginger's). She also mentioned that they were good on the spicy.

Since it's a tad far, I planned on calling my order in for pickup - but better yet, I found them on seamlessweb (which I LOOOVE by the way - every restaurant needs to be on here. Or delivery.com.). It was quick. I placed my order, paid online, and by the time I spedwalked there, it was waiting for me at the crowded counter.

When I opened my shredded chicken with spicy garlic sauce, I knew it'd be spicy. It was drowning in red sauce. A few bites, and my mouth was on FIRE. But it was only 1 pepper on the menu! I thought I'd be safe! But it was good. Aside from the burning and the sneaky bits of unavoidable ginger. Eek! On the plus side, all those pieces I took to be onions on first glance (boo!), were actually bamboo shoots (yay!).

I'll have to try a non-pepper item from the menu next time.

Szechuan Gourmet
21 W 39th St
(btwn 5th & 6th)

Ajisai Japanese Fusion

IG walked in this morning craving some udon. So I suggested we try this Japanese place that stuffed their menu under our door a few days ago.

I was deciding between chicken teriyaki (cause I thought it'd be a safe dish) or a 3-roll lunch special (there was a peanut avocado roll I was eyeing). IG convinced me to get the chicken teriyaki, and when I asked what to order for her, she said, "the bento box..with chicken teriyaki." ...eh...what?!

It's been a really long time since I've ordered chicken teriyaki. Is this what it always tasted like?? It tasted like grilled chicken with pepper on top. Until I put the sauce on. Then it tasted like grilled chicken with pepper and sauce on top. The chicken was tender and the veggies were cooked to my liking (loved the spinach!). The whole dish was actually pretty good...but chicken teriyaki it was not.

(I've now read a bunch of reviews that say their sushi is good. Darnit, not taking IG's advice next time.)


Ajisai Japanese Fusion
615 9th Ave
(btwn 43rd & 44th)

Harold & Kumar would be jealous

It's just around the corner. It's what we craved.


(and can you believe it was M's first try?!)


White Castle
525 8th Ave
(btwn 36 & 37th)

Piccolo Cafe

A new little cafe opened up next door to our office, and I've been anticipating it merely because of the cozy European cafe interior. I thought it would be more of a coffee-dessert type place, but taking a quick glance at the menu said I was dead wrong. Obviously, I've never been to its other locations.

I was actually on my way to SB for a much-needed coffee, when I decided to drop in here instead. It was still too early for crowds, so aside from the one other customer being helped, I was given immediate attention. I paid $2 for my medium coffee that cost $1.50. I figured I'd leave a little tip for their grand opening day (I'm nice like that sometimes). The woman turned to hand me back a dollar and said she didn't have quarters yet, so I could have it back. :) Niiiice (but I didn't take it).

The coffee is sooo niiice and smoooth. And it's not bitter or sour. Whether it's strong enough to get me through the day? I dunno bout that. Try it out for yourself! (ps. go early before it starts lookin' like a can of sardines)


Piccolo Cafe
274 W 40th St
(@8th Ave)

Ça Va...again

In celebration of my bday, my coworkers took me out to eat at Ça Va once again (it's becoming a birthday regular!). I wasn't going to post about it, but since we all tried different dishes than the previous time, thought I'd share.

The one thing we didn't order differently was the wine - the Louis Latour is still really good.

My coworkers started off with the mussels as an app, and IG claimed they were "not bad"....the other two thought they were really good - especially the broth (which M kept trying to get me to try).

Sadly, ALL three of my coworkers are on diets (say WHAAATT?!), so they went healthy on the entrees: tuna salad, trout salad, and salmon. I, on the otherhand, went for the sweet pea ravioli. The ravioli was quite good, but unfortunately, I skipped over that part on the menu where it said there was pancetta (nevermind that it's the first thing in the description). Needless to say, there were a whole lotta tidbits left over on my plate.

Apparently, diets are broken come dessert time. :) I ordered a chocolate tart, IG got a gâteau à l'orange, and M ordered some sort of hazelnut pudding thing (sorry, their online dessert menu is different so I don't have refernce material). I think we were most impressed with the fact that the choc tart and hazelnut came with cocoa puffs (we're so easily appeased)! Both dishes were exceptionally good. The gateau was an excellent deviation from all the creaminess of the other two. The waiter also surprised me with a little birthday dessert dish! He started singing, I said I'd walk out - he stopped singing. The dish included a couple of chocolates, a chocolate/nut cluster, and a madeleine - so very French. I was too stuffed to try them all, but had to at least get a bite of the madeleine - it was quite soft though not as buttery as I'd expected.

cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!
Overall, food was still good, restaurant was still semi-empty, but the experience wasn't as wow-ing as the first time. Though, of course, I'd still go back in a heartbeat. (And now that I know their Marché is open, don't be surprised to see a post coming soon!)

Ça Va
310 W 44th St
(@8th Ave)

FoodParc

Go. Here. Especially if you are in the area. And if you're not, make a trip. This place (face it-- just like everywhere else in Manhattan) is not cheap, but boy does it have options! Usually in cases like these, I'd say, "Go with a bunch of people so you can try a bunch of different things from the various FoodParc "shops", but then, there's limited seating. It's a quagmire. I'll leave it to your clever minds to solve.

I didn't try this 2 times in 2 weeks (Yet. I still I still have next week to work with.), so I can only really recommend the Fornetti Prime Rib Sandwich (with crispy onions & horseradish sauce). You're greeted by a friendly worker asking, "Do you need help ordering?", as s/he points you to the nearest touch screen where you can only pay by card, OR to the "shop" counter, where you can get more help and pay with cash or card. Then, you receive your ticket, wait for your number to show up on an overhead screen and turn from brown to orange, hear your name called, drop off your ticket, and pick up your food. It's all rather quick and efficient, as long as you ask for directions when lost. You can order a whole or half sandwich; the whole was just over $10 (with cheese), but it lasted me 2 days. Those onions were so good, I could die!

Definitely check out their menu for all the possible choices!


FoodParc
845 Sixth Ave.
b/t 29th & 30th St

Aureole

A nice little luncheon on a nice day with a former coworker brought us to Aureole.

I couldn't decide which photos to display, soo...laying it all out there for you to drool over ;)




Aureole
One Bryant Park
135 W 42nd St
(bwtn Bdwy & 6th)

'wichcraft

I never go down to Herald Square for lunch - it's just entirely too far of a walk for my quickie lunches. But today I decided to head down to visit M, working there for a Kraft event (yay for free goodies!). I had no idea what to eat, and there it was just staring me in the face. I ordered the chicken breast sandwich (grilled mushrooms & onions, green olive tapenade & fontina on grilled country bread), and probably waited 15 minutes for it. T__T They messed up the meat the first time around, so the guy said he'd remake it. I guess that's better than handing me a beaten up sandwich? It's all good though. I was just afraid my cream’wiches (2 chocolate & 2 peanut butter) would melt along with me in the scorching sun. Fortunately, they came away unscathed. I, on the otherhand... iii'mmm melllltiiiing!


'wichcraft
herald square
broadway @ 35th street

guy & gallard

Just a little further down our block from Teleon is a semi-new Guy & Gallard. The two have been battling it out for lunch customers, and G&G might just be winning it for me.

On this day, IG went to pick me up a salad. This is what came back.


My "salad" was a grilled chicken with spinach, mango, avocado, and roasted potatoes. I like this version a lot, thank you very much.

Guy & Gallard
240 West 40th St
(btwn 7th & 8th Ave)

Salted Caramel Shake WAR

(okay fine, more like a war inside my stomach -_-;)

I'm not really allowed to have these (dairy is evil!)...but...I really wanted them. XP I saw the monthly custard menu for Shake Shack, and made an internal vow to try out the salted caramel custard - offered on Mondays this month. Then Friday comes along and my stomach begs for food. Can-not-get-shake-shack. What better substitute for a cheat-day Friday, than Schnipper's?! And low -n- behold, they have salted caramel shakes!

Schnipper's salted caramel shake: $6.50
I loved the saltiness of this shake - though it still could've been saltier - but the caramel taste was sadly lacking. There was a visible squirt of caramel (see image), which was definitely not enough to single-handedly create a detectable caramel taste.

Shakeshack salted caramel shake: $5.25
Ooh, salty! And some distinct caramel taste that kinda lingers in my mouth. More on the fluffy side, but still very filling.


And the WINNER is...

Shakeshack! Overall, their shake had a better blend of flavors, and my preferences sway towards salty-goodness ;p Their shake is smaller in size than Schnipper's, but still way too much for my stomach to handle - especially with an actual lunch to go with it (helloooo 'shroom burger!). So I definitely appreciate the smaller size (and the smaller price!).

...What's your preference?


Schnipper's Quality Kitchen
620 8th Avenue
(btwn 40th & 41st)

Shake Shack
691 8th Ave
(@44th St)

Ça Va?

Oui, ça va très bien!

(In honor of IG's birthday & to get this new restaurant review out, I'm posting this sucker on time for once!) ...kinda.

THE RESTAURANT
It's reeeally rare for me to try a restaurant right after it opens - either it has too much hype & gets crowded, or it's in a neighborhood I don't frequent, or both. Ça Va worked out well for us, as it opened just days before IG's bday (company field trip excuse!), and is located a whopping 4 short (but pedestrian-oversaturated) blocks from our office. So, I'm going to give it a full review, complete with pictures of everything we tried.

On the inside, the restaurant looks expensively decorated, as a hotel restaurant should look. We were instantly greeted as we walked in the door (which blends in a little too well with the rest of the wall...), and upon revelation of our reservation, were guided over to the hostess. The room was sparse except for a few occupied tables, and though we were seated at a center table, we were given the offer to choose otherwise.

The service was excellent. If I so much as turned my head, three heads would turn to me checking to see if I needed something. Our waitress was impeccable - she was obviously very familiar with the menu items, and showed real passion for the dishes. Of course, this may all be because of the need for good first impressions, the lack of patrons there at the time, or because good behavior was still fresh in their minds. Or maybe, this is how they'll continue to act all the time.

Tartare de Saumon + Frisée aux Lardons Salad
THE DRINKS
While waiting for B to arrive, we debated on some wine. M asked the waitress for a recommendation, and she absolutely beamed at the Louis Latour - the cheaper of our two choices. Louis it was! And so delicious was he! :)
(And now you'll see that I've outright lied to you, and will NOT be posting a picture of the wine. Not because I don't have a good one, but because I just don't feel like it :P)

THE FOOD
I usually don't have this problem, but I honestly had too many dishes to choose from. As a first try, I decided to stick with le déjeuner prix fixe menu, and ended up getting the GNOCCHI [black olive pasta wrapped herb goat cheese, roasted tomato ragu, mint, shaved ricotta salata] as my appetizer, the ORGANIC CHICKEN BREAST [summer vegetable vol au vent, mushroom jus] as my entree, and the "dessert du jour" was CREAM ‘PUFFS’ [pistachio brittle ice cream, chocolate sauce]. Every bit of every bite of every one of my dishes was phenomenal. Le mushroom jus was sooooo yummy, I could eat that all day with plain white bread. But it was especially yummy with the puff pastry (that I only got to eat 1/4 of thanks to my tablemates).

Organic Chicken Breast + Paillard
After almost choosing the steak salad (that she's been craving), M went with the prix fixe as well, and decided on the BRAISED SHORT RIB [vegetable provençal, salsify purée] - with little persuasion from the rest of us (Have the braised short rib - it'll be really really good. M: ...ok. Guess she wasn't craving the steak salad that badly ;p). B went off a recommendation from our knowledgeable waitress and chose the ORGANIC CHICKEN PAILLARD [braised baby artichokes, chanterelle mushrooms, arugula salad] as his entree. It was preceded by the FRISÉE AUX LARDONS SALAD [smoked berkshire bacon, poached egg, mustard vinaigrette] (bacon in salad - is that an oxymoron?).

Braised Short Rib
Last but not least, our birthday girl started off with the TARTARE DE SAUMON [shaved red onion-radish salad, avocado, fingerling potatoes, horseradish crème fraiche]. For her entree, she settled on the ROASTED LAMB ‘FRENCH DIP’ [leg of lamb, pickled cucumber-red onion salad, curried potato chips]. B got a good chunk of her lamb, and I got a try at her chips :)

Roasted Lamb
M & I had the cream puffs to finish off our meals, while IG chose the STRAWBERRY RHUBARB TARTE [yogurt bavaroise, oatmeal crumble]. B had to draw the line somewhere (on a diet!) and said he'd just have a spoon, please. A few minutes and 2 bites later, B orders his own strawberry rhubarb tarte (what diet?). It was just that good. And to think - it was still in its trial stages.

Strawberry Rhubarb Tarte + Cream Puffs
THE ANALYSIS
Todd English's opening gets 8 thumbs up from this crowd. We really had no complaints about our experience here. And at least one of us will be back again soon for some breakfast goodies... ;)


Ça Va
310 W 44th St
(@8th Ave)

Gregory's Coffee

Last week, I had this conversation with A --

A:     you should try Gregory's Coffee Shop
         on 39th and 7th
         where the button and needle is
         the peanut pleazer is good
me:  what's a pleazer?
         =P
A:    Soy milk, peanut butter, bananas and 1 more thing
        don't remember
me:  oooh.
         that's in my range.
A:     that it is

And the peanut pleazer WAS good (and no, I can't remember what that 1 other ingredient is either).


But sadly, the sandwich wasn't. It had turkey, avocado and tomato in it, and I guess I stopped reading there cause there was also MEAT in it! Which - also sadly - I didn't realize until I took a couple bites out of it (maybe next time I should actually look at the photos I take). The meat turned out to be a good idea on their part because it was all I could taste aside from the mayo. Lots of mayo. Nothing else had any taste. Blah.

I'll just stick to the drinks next time.

Gregory's Coffee
551 7th Avenue
(@39th St)

Bryant Park Grill

B picked out this locale for M's superbelated bday outing. Like every day this summer, it was a hot day, but ever-so-slightly breezy enough to sit outside under the umbrella-shaded tables. I still wanted to request some outdoor A/C though.

Our aspiring actor waiter informed us they'd run out of bottles of our chosen wine, so I skipped out on a glass. I did, however, take a little sip from M's and IG's, and both were suuupersweet (as were the wines ;p)! It's really a wonder I don't really drink white wines...

So much good-looking stuff on the menu, yet we all really wanted the same dishes.


Grilled Skirt Steak Sandwich on Toasted Pizza Bianca Bread: imported Provolone cheese, spicy mayonnaise, roasted bell pepper & arugula salad.

Panko Crusted Chicken Sandwich on Ciabatta: mozzarella, tomato sauce & fresh basil with roasted artichoke and arugula salad.

And of course - dessert.



Bryant Park Grill
25 W 40th St
(in Bryant Park, duh :p)

Boi Noodles

We’re a happy bunch when new lunch potentials pop up in our area, especially when they pop up w/in my one-block radius limit =P Boi Noodles officially opened yesterday, but the line was too long when I happened upon it. But today, I had a late lunch AND I called ahead for pick-up.


But after all that hype, it was a pretty anti-climatic tasting. I ordered the smoked duck banh mi and IG ordered the lemon grilled chicken breast w/soft rice noodles in a lunch box. Though the sandwich tasted fresh - and I can't resist the hoisin sauce! - a couple bites of pure duck fat kinda turned me off. It was large enough that I split it up for two day's worth of lunch, but it would've been much better if there was more filling.

Now, I'm going to cheat and mention that I tried the chicken pho a few days later. It was decent, but not astounding. M & I were more astonished by the fact that the woman wanted $1 for a tablespoon's worth of hoisin sauce - which doesn't come with the banh mi's as M so regrettably discovered. Absurdities!

So the only thing I keep going back for is the lychee juice. Yeah, this has NO nutritional value whatsoever, but it sure does make my tastebuds happy!


Boi Noodles
240 W 40th St
(btwn 7th & 8th)

PRET

Because I'm still hooked on London.

Fuji apple juice makes me smile. Especially since I've been craving apple juice (and fruit in general) nonstop since my eurotrip!

They always have such appetizing sandwich combos that I can never decide which one to get. So I compromised and chose two different halves this time - chicken avocado & egg salad spinach (I can't remember the third item!). Both were quite good and I could definitely go for either again (except one has raw onion and now my breath is really...eck T__T).


ps. Yes, they do "take-away" here. And they're as friendly as they are in London. ;)



Pret A Manger
530 7th Avenue
(at 39th)

Macarons GRATUITEMENT, Le Deuxième

Left to Right: Espresso, Black Sesame, & Coconut

Free macaron, take II. Fail. With our Macaron Day determination sagging, we entered Macaron with three flavors in mind, only to be swayed by the other flavors behind the glass counter.

Though there were no more free macarons, they did offer small samples. We were able to try (and compare) the caramel. Though we very much enjoyed the chewiness of the cookie (which we may even prefer to here) the flavor of the caramel was decidedly lacking (which we definitively prefer here). Macaron, similar to here, does offer those queer (Asian-inspired?) flavors that we very much enjoy (though the French would probably scoff at them).


Macaron Cafe
161 W 36th St
b/t 7th Ave & Broadway

Macarons GRATUITEMENT, Le Premier

From the top, clockwise: Caramel. Hazelnut. Chocolate.

This was OTHERWORLDLY.

Though it was Macaron Day and we were supposed to get these for free, they ran out of their "free" macarons. This just goes to show that "Otherworldly" doesn't come cheap. If you're a chocolate fiend, be prepared that La Maison is not only filled to the rim with beautiful chocolates whispering sweet, tasty nothings, but it also smells like it. Killer.

La Maison du Chocolat
30 Rockefeller Center
49th Street
b/t 5th & 6th Ave