February in New York

It's time for another "let's see what kitty did recently" post! 

I thoroughly enjoyed my mid-winter vacation break a few weeks back, but if you're not a teacher or a student, you most likely didn't have a vacation that week. I, however, relished every second of it, and accomplished the task of going to new food places.

On Thursday before break, this monstrosity happened.

And I went to school. Yippee. Not relevant to food, but I thought I would share. We can talk about how terrible that terrible experience if you had to go out that day too.

Also a little irrelevant, but on Friday I went to the Samsung Galaxy Studio with my friends, and the employees were so nice ;v; I made myself a Benedict Cumberbatch compact, and got some food items. Above is a spinach and feta pastry, and a juice (that I can't remember the name of, but it had ginger and it was interesting. Sweet greens, a green juice, was good too.).

Later that day, my group and I stopped by The Tea Shoppe so my friend (hi Kaity) could pick up some tea leaves for her friend. 

So many tea options!

After we got the goods, we went to:

Woah fancy crêpes.

Here are all the crêpes my posse and I got. Not going to go too into details because I might make a separate post about it. They were delish.

Some other day, I went to Umami Burger. Again, not going to go too into detail because this also might be an upcoming post.

And after that, I wanted to knock another place off my list, so we went to Mille-Feuille bakery. Their almond chocolate croissants are popular, so I wanted in on the goodness.

Quick aside, but not really because it's what I did over the break. So I've been replaying the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney series, and I can't even. Do any of you play it? If you don't, you should.

Back to that day. Afterwards, we headed to the Samsung Galaxy Studio again. This was the cosmetic bag that I customized, and this also shows how that (gay) lawyer game has taken over my life.

Another cool thing this studio has is it its 3D printer.

Right by the studio is the Chobani Store! Once again, I might have a separate review on this. This blueberry walnut yogurt was very good (even if you can't see it).

They handed out this bracelet too! I always forgot to wear it though :(

And now for some random food bits.

Have you tried these new Chips Ahoy cookies? They're pretty good, although I had low expectations for them. If you want an actual review on this, I recommend this blog. Great for junk food reviews.

From my favorite muffin cart, which I've yet to review, a cranberry muffin.

And lastly, I finally found these chips... From months ago. Good thing these have an eternal shelf life. They weren't amazing, and kind of tasted like spicy ketchup chips. I don't think you're missing anything if you didn't find these.

Welp, that wraps it up! Are you looking forward to March? Saint Patrick's Day? Pi Day? Just spring in general? Tell me in the comments what you yearn for! Happy March!!

Van Dam Diner

Van Dam Diner

• 45-55 Van Dam St
• Long Island City, NY 11101
• Sunnyside
• 
  

Although this was my first visit at Van Dam Diner, this was not my first taste of it. My mom works nearby at a jewelry company and would bring back cheesecake for my (and my sisters') birthday. I don't have a picture of it now, but it is quite good (but then again, what cheesecake isn't good?)

Okay, back to the diner. It has that 70s diner feel, with the booth and bar seats and nice waitresses/waiters. If it had been dark and stormy, the scene would have been perfect. 

There were plenty of food options; all of us (Maggie, Saul and I) decided on burgers. 

I decided on the veggie burger. It tasted fine, but there was a lack of lettuce and tomato in the burger. Just bun and patty made it really dry. 

Note about the buns: the sesame seeds are humoungous. And perfectly placed. 

Next burger is Maggie's. I believe it was a Turkey Burger with Swiss Cheese. The burger was fat and juicy and the swiss added a nice flavor.

Saul's burger was just a regular beef burger but with cheese and bacon *gasp*. I am not a fanatic of bacon, so I wasn't overly excited about it. However, I think he liked his burger. 

Finally, we all shared a platter of sweet potato fries which weren't super crispy, not that they usually are or should be. These were one of the better ones that I've had. 

Anyway, that's it for food. If you're stuffed after eating here, you could be like us and walk across 3 neighborhoods after having eaten here.

Also, like I said before, my mom works nearby here. She also has been working on her techy-side, so luckily she's been able to snap a pic of the diner. 

Each season, they paint the outside with the cutest decors :>

Okay, I'm done. Do any of these burgers entice you?

Quick Mention: Mille-Feuille

Mille-Feuille is a super cute bakery that somehow found it's way into my Yelp bookmarks but not my post of places to visit.

They have displays of their delicious pastries...

...a rather large assortment of them. Those macarons are calling my name.

Yelpers seemed to have really liked the Almond Chocolate Croissant, so I decided to trust their word and pick one up.

They were right - it was DELICIOUS. Is it worth $4.50? I want to say yes, only because I don't believe I've had an almond chocolate croissant from anywhere else...so this wouldn't be an accurate opinion. However, it was darn tasty, even if there was a bit too much chocolate for my liking. Chocoholics will be semi-pleased.

Overall, I say try this place if you're wanting to treat yourself to some fancy treats, and get the Almond Chocolate Croissant!!

Happy Pi Day!

Pictured: Nutella Mini Pies

Quick Mention: Mango Mango

Mango Mango is a cute little dessert shop in Chinatown; in fact, it's pretty much right next to Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. So, if you chose a bad day to go to the ice cream factory where it's full, maybe you wanna check out Mango Mango.

Pictured: Slush Dessert and Slush Drink

Pictured: Close up of dessert

Pictured: Side view of the drink. Those layers had me (and my friend) captivated.

I am most definitely not being biased because my other friend works there. However, she did convince me to go, so there's that.

The mangoes were sweet and pungent in their distinct flavor; however, the strawberries (or rather the strawberry slush) wasn't as sweet, most likely because strawberries aren't in season at the moment. The jellies in the dessert (the clear things on the top right side) reminded me of a certain asian jelly cup that I can't seem to remember the name of. 

Also, there aren't that many seats, so be cautious of that. If it's a nice day out, you could probably grab a drink and sit at the park :D

All in all, pretty good, so I recommend checking it out!

Places to visit in the year 2014

So is this going to be a post about places I recommend you visit, or where I want to visit? Why not both?

I've been planning this post since January... And it was supposed to be for the New Years...and it's already the end of February... ... ... Better late than never? My original New Year's resolution was to go to new food places since I live in a city known for good food, but I guess I should add "not procrastinating" to that list of resolutions. 

Here are some places that I want to go to, or have been meaning to go to:

Streecha Ukranian Kitchen

I've heard of good things about this place from my friend ( hi Kelly if you're reading this). I've never had Ukranian food, so this will be a new experience. Plus, it's cheap, so if I don't like it, then I won't have to fret over wasting a ton of money.

Peter Pan Doughnuts

Maggie, my co-author of this blog and our beauty blog, found out about this place while browsing Yelp. She had me at "cheap, tasty doughnuts".

Pies and Thighs

This has been on my visit list forever, and I still haven't went because it's in the middle of hipster Brooklyn, which is kind of inconvenient to go to for me (transferring trains, UGH. It's the reason why I hardly go to Queens).  I just really want pie.

Kossars Bialys

Seriouseats and other food related websites have praised this eatery for their authentic bialys. I've only had packaged ones, so this will be nice to try.

Katz Delicatessen

Almost everyone knows this deli from the movie When Harry Met Sally, which I have never actually seen. regardless, I still want to munch on those sandwiches.

Il laboratorio del gelato

I've actually been here before, and if you actually read this blog, I have a review on this! However, that was the only time I've ever been there. Of course I want to go back and try more flavors - there were so many!

Harney & Sons

I've also heard of this place through Maggie, whom I already mentioned before. Conveniently, it's in SoHo, which is probably the only neighborhood in Manhattan that I frequent ( I live in the South Beach area in Brooklyn).  Because she mentioned clotted cream, I'm hoping this will be a good Alice's Tea Cup substitution because the latter is farther and almost always crowded; however, I don't doubt Harney and Sons will be crowded either.

That's it for me! If you've been to any of these places, tell me all about it in the comments! What should I try, what do you like? I'd appreciate it :> Stay tuned for the next part where I recommend places for you to try in the year 2014.

Quick Post / Mentioning of Macaron Parlor

Last Friday, co-author Shuzhen brought us to Macaron Parlour to buy (a LOT) of macarons for her and her family. I've never heard of this macaron shop before (gasp) so I was excited to go. We also got Coco's bubble tea after -w- (possible review? I have a review on my yelp page. People think it's funny.) 

Such a cute sign.

 

 

Shuzhen got 2 ginormous boxes (maybe she'll do a review for us *gasp*) while I, on the other hand, got two single macarons.

 

I decided to play it safe (sorta) and purchased a chocolate raspberry and an elvis (peanut butter and banana) and both were DELICIOUS. The flavors really came through through the fillings. No pictures, sadly, because I brought them home and my house has the crappiest lighting. :( Next time!
 

Cheetos macarons. W h a t.

 

 

I want to try more!