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Why Don’t You Eat Me: Down Under Eats

By |May 24th, 2010|Guest Blogger, Why Don't You Eat Me?|

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I’m heading to Australia this fabulous Munchin’ Monday and I figured I’d leave you with a list of the best Aussie places in Manhattan so you can get a little taste of the land down under for yourselves. I won’t be blogging for a month while I’m there, so take that time to catch up on all the fabulous places I’ve reviewed and get yourselves ready for more once I return.

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I’ll make sure to have a meat pie for you while I’m gone! I’m also dying to try Kangaroo (I only got to pet one last time), so wait to hear all about that once I return! Or you can always beat me to it and go and eat at one of the places mentioned below.

I have a feeling most of you have never thought about how many Aussie places there are in NYC. Well, there are quite a few. From low end to high end, restaurants and bars, of course NYC has a little taste of everything- including Oz.

  1. Public
  2. Eight Mile Creek
  3. Tuck Shop (my fave meat pie in the city)
  4. Van Diemens
  5. The Australian
  6. The Sunburnt Cow
  7. Bondi Road

G’day Mates!

See you when I return!

xx,

WhyDon’tYouEatMe

Why Don’t You Eat Me: Cheeseburger in Paradise

By |May 17th, 2010|Guest Blogger, Why Don't You Eat Me?|

Seeing as May is National Hamburger Month, I figured that it would be in everyone’s best interest for me to do a post on NYC’s best burgers. Now, of course, everyone has their opinion as to what makes a good burger, but these are my picks for the best low-end (typical all-American) and high-end (fancy schmancy) burgers here in NYC as well as some of my other favorite burgers.

“Take Me Out to the Ball Game” Kinda Burger:

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Shake Shack: I call this the ‘take me out to the ball-game kinda burger’ because the Mets literally put a Shake Shack in Shea Stadium. This is your classic juicy burger that that you’ll never ever tire of. We’ve all waited in their line at Madison Square Park and we’ve all been happy to do so because it’s worth it. Danny Meyer definitely knows what he’s doing when it comes to food and he pretty much outsmarted every other restaurateur with his brilliant equation of good, simple burgers in a casual atmosphere. This is the simple burger we all grew up with and will always hit the spot.

shakeshack

“Black Tie” kinda burger:

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Minetta Tavern: While we all crave the all-American burger, we also crave a taste of excellence and that is exactly what Keith McNally has done with Minetta Tavern’s Black Label Burger. The Black Label Burger is a selection of prime dry-aged beef cuts topped with caramelized onions. Forget adding anything else to this burger because it doesn’t need it. The burger speaks for itself and it speaks my language.  Good luck getting a reservation though. My recommendation is to get there as soon as they open and grab a seat at the bar.

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Other notable NYC burgers:

  1. Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridien
  2. Corner Bistro
  3. 5 Napkin Burger
  4. DBGB Kitchen and Bar
  5. The Blind Pig

There you have it! Now I’m left craving a burger and you’re left with a list of the best burgers in Manhattan!

WhyDon’tYouEatMe gives both Shake Shack and Minetta Tavern 4 out of 5 mouths for being tender, juicy, and succulent in their own fabulous ways.

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See you next Munchin’ Monday!!

xx,

WhyDon’tYouEatMe

Why Don’t You Eat Me: A Few of My Favorite Meals

By |May 10th, 2010|Guest Blogger, Why Don't You Eat Me?|

You all know I love food. Passionately. What you may not know is that I almost always plan my meals out in advance. I’m thinking about breakfast the night before. Once I’ve had breakfast, I start to think about lunch and well, dinner will be figured out way before the sun goes down. It’s not that I’m particularly OCD (okay, maybe just slightly). It’s the fact that I love food so much that once I’ve got one meal covered I simply can’t wait to think about the next. So, today I’m going to give you a little more insight into the person you’ve come to know and love as WhyDon’tYouEatMe and share my favorite meals to all of you! They’re good, so get ready. Here we go!

BREAKFAST:

maincafeatlasAtlas: I used to live a block away from this place and I was there probably there at least 2x a week. First of all, the food is just plain good. Secondly, it’s fairly healthy. Thirdly, it’s inexpensive. That’s a winning combo in my book. My two favorite dishes are the granola with yogurt and fresh fruit or the goat cheese eggs with olives, and sundried tomatoes with a side salad and whole wheat bagel. Breakfast of champions.

LUNCH:

cafe gitaneCafe Gitane: I honestly love this place any time of day, but it’s best for lunch. I probably go here about once a week during the spring/summer. Their moroccan couscous with chicken is amazing. Their goat cheese salad with apples, olives, and goat cheese croutons is perfect. The avocado with lemon juice, olive oil, and chili flakes on seven grain toast is a MUST.  Everything I’ve ever had there is good and I’ve tried just about everything on the menu at this point.

DINNER:

newyork_momofukossam_001pMomofuku Ssam  Bar: Two words: pork buns. This is another menu where I’ve more or less tried everything at this point and it rarely disappoints. I’ll just highlight my faves for you though. The cured hamachi with edamame, horseradish, and pea leaves has the most amazing flavor. I get this dish every time along with an order of pork buns. My two favorite main dishes are the spicy pork sausage and rice cakes and the hanger steak. The flavors in both of these are sensational as well. I could eat here multiple times a week every week and never get sick of this place.

DESSERT:

venieroVeniero’s: When I’m not craving cupcakes from Baked by Melissa or cookies at Momofuku Milk Bar and want more of a variety, then I go to Veniero’s. This is where I find the best cannoli, eclairs, and napoleons around. They also have mini pastries, so I can get one mini of everything and pat myself on the back for getting to try ten different things in one sitting.

Now you have my favorite and most frequented restaurants in the city. They may seem simple and fairly uncomplicated, and inexpensive, but when it comes down to it it’s all about consistently good food that keeps me coming back.

See you next Munchin’ Monday!

xx,

WhyDon’tYouEatMe

Why Don’t You Eat Me: I Fon-due

By |May 4th, 2010|Guest Blogger, Why Don't You Eat Me?|

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Mix cheese and chocolate and I’m sold.  Toss them into a fondue pot and I’m double sold. Who can resist dipping multiple scrumptious items into even more scrumptious melted sauces? Not me. So, when Taureau opened up on 7th street between 1st and A (one of my favorite block as far as food goes) I couldn’t wait to try it out!

After feasting on BBQ and Mexican all weekend in my hometown of Memphis, I decided to head on over. We had reservations for 7:30 and got there at 7 after stopping by to pick up a bottle of wine first (they’re BYOB!). No one else was in the restaurant, but then again it was a Monday at 7 in the East Village.

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Obviously I’d already scoped out the menu and knew exactly what I wanted. I ordered a cheese fondue called Devil’s Wiff. The very helpful waitress explained that Chef Didier came up with this name himself (even though Wiff isn’t necessarily a word and doesn’t exactly have a meaning). Well, when you come up with something that tasty, you can call it  whatever you want. The Devil’s Wiff is a blend of pepper jack cheese and wine. I picked this one for the “spice” factor. The fondue comes standard with a side of greens and croutons for dipping and they leave the rest up to you. I chose cauliflower, red apple, hot chorizo, and marshmallow cut slab bacon.  Oh yes, I did indeed just say marshmallow cut slab bacon. Phenomenal.

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They also have meat fondue that you cook yourself in different choices of oil, but I decided to save that for another time and leave room for their milk chocolate fondue called the petite au lait (for 1-2 people). It’s served with fresh fruits (bananas, strawberries, and pineapples) as well as dried figs, dried apricots, and baby marshmallows. This is the kind of dessert where all conversation ceases until every last bit is consumed. It was so good that we may or may not have started dipping our spoons in for the remainder of chocolate once our fruit was depleted.

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During our meal, Chef Didier walked in with his motorcycle jacket and helmet in hand and stopped to greet us. I told him how much I enjoyed dinner and he told me that it’s all about simple, good food. Exactly what I’d been looking for and exactly what I got!

I give Taureau 4 out of 5 mouths for being fun, different, yet straight forward.

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See you next Munchin’ Monday!

xx,

WhyDon’tYouEatMe

Why Don’t You Eat Me: Ice Ice Baby

By |April 26th, 2010|Guest Blogger, Why Don't You Eat Me?|

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By now, you know how much I love cupcakes. Well, there are only a few other desserts that trump cupcakes in my book and ice-cream happens to be one of them. Summer is quickly approaching and while April showers typically bring May flowers, I figured I’d bring us into May with a list New York’s best ice-cream (or gelato) shops. Are you ready? Spoon in hand? Here we go.

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1. Ciao Bella Gelato: This is by far my favorite in the city. Love it. Love it so much that when their store on Mott St. was closed earlier than I’d remembered one winter evening, I went on a citywide scavenger hunt for a deli that carried it. Have no fear my friends, mission accomplished. While every flavor I have tried is good, my absolute faves are the Tahitian Vanilla and Pistachio.

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2. Emack & Bolio’s: While Ciao Bella may be my first choice, Emack & Bolio’s is a close second. I was lucky enough (or cursed) to live only a block away from their SoHo store for years. It was on my way home from the train and boy, that was a pit stop I made far too often.  You must be wondering how I’m not 500 lbs at this point? It’s a good question, really. Good genes I guess (thanks, mom and dad). Anyway, most of their flavors are creative and about as good as it gets. My favorite happens to be the Raspberry Truffle with vanilla ice-cream, raspberry swirl, and raspberry truffles mixed in. De-lish!

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3. Otto: Otto makes my list here for the most creative and outside the box gelati (as they call it). My all-time fave is the Olive Oil gelati. Olive oil gelati? Really? YES! It’s AMAZING! They also have flavors like Salty Peanut and Guinness Stout. I know all you boys just stopped reading this and are heading over to get a pint of the Guinness Stout now. It’s ok. I don’t blame you.

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4. Shake Shack: I’ve got 3 words for you: BEST MILKSHAKE EVER. Every time I go, I get both the chocolate and vanilla milkshakes. Why choose between the two? I haven’t had a chance to try this yet, but I desperately need to try their bacon and pancake custard ASAP. Bacon anything makes my heart melt.

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5. Momofuku Milk Bar: With flavors like “cereal milk” or “cream cheese frosting”, how can this place not rock my world? Exactly. It can’t.  I am also completely obsessed with their cookies, but that’s for another day…

With so many ice- cream/gelato/gelati/this/that/other shops in NYC, it’s hard to choose, but these five are the best in my humble opinion (which just so happens to usually be right). Ice-cream genuinely makes me happy. It’s up there with kittens and rainbows and glitter and you get the idea. You call it ice cream, I call it heaven. Now get your spoons and get to lickin’!

See you next Munchin’ Monday!

xx,

WhyDon’tYouEatMe