Treats Truck: I'm Obsessed

Okay, so I know I posted Treats Truck a couple of weeks ago, but boy am I hooked! I can't wait for Tuesdays and Thursdays when they are parked on 38th and 5th as my greedy little butt hikes up there for a sugar rush. I had been getting the walnut chocolate chip cookies, but this time I decided to go for some new stuff.

Rice Crispie Treat

Check out my sweet iphone ( I shattered it because I suck at life and fell while running over the Williamsburg bridge. Serves me right to try and stay in shape. Oh, and sorry about my nasty ass nail polish job too... that is hard even for me to look at.) Anyway it is just a size reference at how HUGE the treat is! It was actually quite hard to take a bite into, and I ended up having to pull it apart with my fingers to eat it. Other then that, it was chewy, sweet and basically, the perfect treat.

Price: $3.00

Caramel Creme Sandwich

I LOVE sugar cookies.... but brown sugar cookies?? Ohh yes! Sandwiching vanilla creme, it was amazing. Nice snap with each bite, and not too sugary. You  know a sugar cookie is good when the butter stains the napkin, leaving evidence of the sweet affair

Price: $1.75

Verdict:  Sugar, sugar, sugar.... yum, yum, yum. You just can't go wrong with anything they have!

Treats Truck

http://www.treatstruck.com/

Caracas Arepa Bar: Why am I Not Eating This Everyday of My Life?!

When I first moved to New York , one of the first places I ate at was Caracas Bar in the East Village. I never went back since, because it was so freaking small. Thankfully in Williamsburg, they have another restaurant. I figured it has been at least 2 plus years since my last arepa, and I wanted to check it out.

 Buddy and I went on a dinner date and was I surprised at how much room this location has! It was a fairly nice night, so we decided to sit outside. It was super cute and romantic.

 We got there around 6pm ( yeah I know, just call us senior citizens... and Im not afraid to admit I LOVE tapioca pudding) and it was still happy hour. We both got a beer (Magic Hat)  and shot deal. The shot was a Venezuelan rum. It was sweet, but still made me make that "face" after taking it.
Price: $6.00

 Braised Beef Arepa

This was a special that night, it was slow cooked beef sliced and layered with red onions and plantains. It came hot and packed with flavor. Especially after a nice drizzle of the special sauce they had sitting on the table. The beef was tender and easy to bit into. I would definitely order this again

Price: $7.00

 Reina Pepiada

This was shredded chicken mixed with avocado salad and served cold. It was probably the tastiest chicken salad I have ever had.  Filled to capacity and the arepas crunchy texture complimented this perfectly. I would order this again, and again, and again...

Price: $6.75

Yoyos

These were sweet plantains stuffed with white cheese. Buddy really loved them, and it came with a side of maple sauce. They were just okay for me, the cheese wasn't even melted and it just tasted like wheat bread sandwiching under ripe bananas and tasteless cheese. Would not recommend.

Price: $5.50

Verdict: Boy were these satisfying! One major stand out was the spicy sauce they had sitting on the table. It was DELICIOUS. They should bottle that shit up and sell it! I would purchase it in a second.  The staff was attentive and the food came out fast. I can't wait to go back!

Caracas Arepa Bar

291 Grand Street

Brooklyn NY 11211

http://www.caracasarepabar.com/

Two Little Red Hens: Orgasm in a Cupcake

Two Little Red Hens. This place is bakery heaven on earth. Just walking in, the smells of butter, cream, and spice fill the air. Mmm....I was already drooling.

Inside this box.....is a baked orgasm heaven 

Red Velvet Cupcake

Huge, incredibly moist with a light cocoa finish. The cream cheese frosting was smooth, tart and utterly thick and velvety. I was floating a cupcake cloud...the best red velvet I have ever had.

Price: $3.75

Pumpkin Mini Cupcake

Intense aroma of pumpkin, spices and cinnamon. Pumpkin pie in cupcake form!

Price: $1.50

The Brooklyn Blackout

Dense, intense chocolate and in the center? More intense dark chocolate pudding. Topped with? Even more intense dark chocolate! Moist, delicious, and not overly sweet. For chocolate lovers. All you vanilla people can go to hell.

Price: $4.00

Ginger Spice Cookie

Wow, was this incredibly gingery. Fresh and almost pungent. Also a nice punch of nutmeg and cinnamon. It was slightly chewy and with a nice crunch on top. Not my favorite cookie, but I'm also not a ginger lover.

Price: $1.60

Snickerdoodle Cookie

Chewy, buttery, and only a slight punch of peanut butter. A solid snickerdoodle.

Price: $1.30

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Thick, dense, and after 4 bites, you probably gained 5 pounds. The ultimate break-up comfort treat.

Price: $4.50

Verdict: How do those two little red hens do it?? The best bakery I have come across yet in New York. Thank goodness I moved from the UES, or else I would stop by every single day and weight about 500 pounds.

Two Little Red Hens

1652 Second Avenue
New York, NY 10028-311

http://www.twolittleredhens.com

Hon Cafe: Always Here When You Need a Late Night Pastry

I love Chinese pastries (and it's not JUST because I'm Chinese). They are fun, silly and delicious. However, I hate the times pastry stores close. Most are closed before dinner, which is very inconvenient since I love a good pastry after a greasy Chinatown meal. Well lucky Hon Cafe is there to save the day! My friends and I stumbled upon this half pastry, half restaurant one night looking for dessert.

Yellow Bean Steam Bun

Hot and fresh straight from the steam oven. I love steam buns for their super soft and fluffy texture. The yellow bean is a bit more mild and less sweet than the red bean. Creamy thick texture,mmm..mmm, it hits the spot, and comes piping hot too. However, the ratio of bun to bean is horrible, so you will have a lot of left over naked bun after you have gobbled up the center. Unless, of course.. you LIKE naked buns!? (wink wink)

Price: $.95

Mexican Bun

Ohhh man, how come I have never been introduced to this before?? Seriously, where has this treat been all my life? Chewy, dense and utterly irresistible with its thick custard center. This is the perfect Chinese pastry. If nothing else, get this.

Price: $.95

Verdict: Skip all those cute looking pastries, for they trick you into buying them. They almost always end up being tasteless and bland. Go for the dense looking cream filled ones. Winner every single time!

Hon Cafe

70 Mott Street

 New York NY 10013

Apothéke: Pretentious but Delicious

So what do you do when you save money on dinner ? Spend it on drinks of course! Deep in the roots of chinatown, there is a speck easy just across the way from Joe's Shanghai. The entrance looks like a run down restaurant, and there were 2 shady looking bouncers at the front. I was scared!

ooOOoo, this is a real shitty picture spooky walk to the bar

The inside was rustic and romantically themed with themed with dime lights and plush seating. I wanted to smoke a cigarette from one of those quellazaires. Alas, I hate cigarettes, so that wasn't going to happen.

Light up Marble counter tops!

Lavender Fields

This was made with fresh lavender, tequila, pressed limes, and kalamanci fruit. The main taste was tequila, I am not a huge tequila fan so this was not my favorite. I couldn't taste much lavender, but there were definite notes of lime.

Pepper Infusion

This was made with fresh green peppers, peppercorns, vodka, fresh dill, and fennel oil essence. This was pretty tasty,  nice hint of fennel with a light salty finish. It was like drinking a meal. Alcoholics rejoice! Who needs dinner, when you can drink it?

Jasmine Sour

This was made with house brewed jasmine tea, vodka, ginger juice, candied ginger essence, and and egg white. This was kind of spicy, the foam of egg white was a nice touch, I never drank egg white before. It was super light and fluffy, like a kittens belly ( I am running out of analogies here..) anyway, the herbal hint from the tea, mixed with the ginger made my mouth smelling fresh for the rest of the night.

Price: All drinks are $15.00

Verdict: Pro's : Carefully made drinks, extensive menu, and attentive bartenders. Con's: Utterly pretentious bouncers in fedoras and zoot suits (come one... really?)and atmosphere. Breaks the bank after 1 drink. Call it what you want, but this place is worth giving a shot at least once. It was a fun experience, and while my drinks were double the price of my dinner, it brought on good conversation with friends.

Apothéke

9 Doyers St
New York, NY 10079

www.apothekenyc.com/

Joe's Shanghai: "Ir'll Be Aout 5-10 Minrutes"

Oh Joes Shanghai...I have eaten here many times, so much so that I almost got sick of soup dumplings (gasp!) But it had been about 5 months since I last came here and I was ready! I went with Buddy's sister Dana, her fiance Nick, Emily, and Meg to feast on some super cheap delicious Chinese foooooooood.

By the time all of got there, it was about 8:30-9:00pm. The wait? A hour. I don't know about everyone else out there, but I have never waited that long to eat here, ever. We took our number (39) and stood outside in the putrid summer street smell of chinatown. 20 minutes later, the girls comes around yelling numbers,

" 30?! 31?! 32?!" No one answers. "33?!....34?!....35?!?!" Still, no one speaks up.  

" 36?!...37?!...38?!?" I am literally about to pee my pants...."39!?" 

"US!!!" We all scream. We follow her to the entrance. She tells us to wait there. She then lets 3 other groups in front of us!!?? But we were there first! I felt like I was on an episode of Seinfeld when they all went to the Chinese restaurant. Finally, another 25 minutes later, we were seated....

Xiao Long bao (soup dumplings) 

We got 2 orders of the pork and 2 orders of the pork and crab.. The key to eating these (and not burning the shit out of you mouth) is to bit a tiny bity part of the top to let the steam out. Don't bite too much or the juice will go everywhere!

The pork dumpling (insert Homer Simpson drool here)

Fatty, succulent broth with mixed pork and ultra thin dumpling skin.... sigh, it's the ultimate comfort food.

The Crab and Pork Dumpling

Nice chunks of crab in this one, and a little more spice. Call me old fashioned, but the pork was the winner out of the two kinds.

Price: $6.65

Bok Choy

We also decided to get something somewhat healthy to make ourselves feel less guilty about being huge pigs to add a different textural crunch. The bok choy was fresh and after a nice dollop of hot oil, it was perfection. 

Price: $6.00

Scallion Pancakes

And of course, how can you leave a Chinese restaurant without an order of scallion pancakes? These were sinfully greasy, with a crunchy shell and a fluffy, chewy interior. The french fries of Chinese food (but way way better than french fries).

Price: $ 2.35

Me, Meg, Emily, Dana, and Nick

Full, and satisfied....

Verdict: If you don''t want to wait for food, come here early or during the weekday lunch. Also I noticed that all of the soup leaked out on the second set of crab dumplings... fluke or is this happening a lot more to other people now? hmm....

Joe's Shanghai

9 Pell Street

New York, NY 10013

joeshanghairestaurants.com‎

Murray's Cheese Chop: Could it Be Possible That Just By Smelling The Cheese, You Could Gain Weight?

Every time I pass by this shop in the West Village, I start salivating from the addicting and beautiful perfume of milk, cream, and butter lingering in the air. The other day, on my way to check out the Marc Jacobs store I could not resist any longer. There was only one thing on my mind... GRILLED CHEESE.

Oh, no! But which grilled cheese should I get?? The guy behind the counter was super nice and patient. He suggested the Murray's melt with bacon and a fried egg (his favorite), but I wanted a more lunch-y (is that even a word?) sandwich. I finally narrowed it down between the Provencal or the Tuna Melt. He told me their tuna salad was to die for. I was sold.

While waiting for my delicious sandwich to be made, I wanted to jump over the counter, shove every cheese in my mouth, and slather myself in cheesy goodness took a look behind the case, so many choices of cheese! I suppressed my urge instead, by taking a huge whiff of the buttery aroma in the air. Can you gain weight from smelling too much cheese? 

Hmm... I wonder if they sell the ingredient "awesome" at Whole Foods? 

The most perfectly grilled, buttered tuna melt, possibly ever.

Tuna Melt

FINALLY it was done, after I paid I took a seat on the bench outside the shop ( they need at least 2 more benches by the way since a lot of people were eating standing up) anyway on to the sandwich....

This was made with Tuna Salad, Grafton one year cheddar and red onion on Orwasher's seven grain bread. The strong nutty cheese could have been a little more melted, but do you see the 3 layers of it they put on my sandwich?? It was amazing. Paired perfectly with the tuna salad which was more like the Robin to the  Batman of cheese. The red onions added a nice zing in the sandwich, but were actually very stringy and hard to bite into pieces. Overall a satisfying comfort sandwich that will keep me coming back for more!

Price: $5.99

Verdict: Throw away you depressing, boring salad, take whatever choice of transportation you want to get here, order any sandwich and let your diet go to hell while your brain goes into cheese utopia.

Murray's Cheese Shop

254 Bleecker St.
New York, NY 10014

or

43rd St. & Lexington
New York, NY 10017

www.murrayscheese.com