Birthday, Part 4 – Max Brenner

Last but certainly not least ….

The perfect ending to a birthday or any day – chocolate at Max Brenner! This was the dark chocolate “hot chocolat” – thick, velvety and luscious, and the beautiful latte art on top was the icing on the cake! This one was more of an American style hot chocolate since milk was added, but there are also many european style drinking chocolates available on the menu. Of course, what is hot chocolate without marshmallows?! Max Brenner also has the perfect hot chocolate for anyone and everyone that craves the nostalgia of hot chocolate topped off with a mound of marshmallows, just like the kind you had as a kid after you spent the whole day making snowmen or having snowball fights…

All of their hot chocolates are served in “hug mugs,” designed so that when you drink your chocolate, you “hug” your mug with your hands … yes, I know, a clever marketing scheme but I fell for it and bought one for my own mug collection at home

Of course, they also serve food! Food made of chocolate, that is ….

got the munchies for Munchies Waffles?

mmm my heart melts for this melting heart cake <3

Max Brenner, Chocolate by the Bald Man - 2nd Ave. and 9th Street (East Village)

Birthday, Part 3 – Sarabeth’s

On the actual day of my birthday, I arranged to meet some close friends in New York for the quintessential New York brunch at Sarabeth’s Central Park South. Sarabeth’s has several locations in Manhattan, but only the CPS location takes reservations for brunch. Even with a reservation, there was still an half an hour wait for our table – the place was packed (but that’s to be expected at noon on a Sunday). Once seated, I noticed that the CPS location is actually pretty roomy inside, with several different dining rooms and even a small cozy garden room in the middle that contains a table for two. The menu has both brunch and lunch items, with a separate cocktail menu. I thought that the Mama Bear, Baby Bear and Papa Bear porridge choices were particularly adorable! I had a really tough time deciding what to order since there were a few tasty eggs benedict choices available, but I was also really in the mood for lox and cream cheese. In the end, I got a little bit of both….

Goldie Lox (eggs with lox and cream cheese, served with a buttermilk red currant scone)

The eggs were deliciously fluffy and chock full of pieces of lox – each bite enhanced with a smear of tangy cream cheese. The scone was studded with bits of currant and paired perfectly with butter and strawberry preserves.

Here’s a sampling of a few other items on the menu:

For dessert, my friend S. brought me a chocolate cupcake from Crumbs! I only had room left in my stomach for one bite, and what a tasty bite it was!

Sarabeth’s Central Park South - 40 Central Park South (near 6th Ave)

Birthday, Part 2 – Bianca

Following our quest for takoyaki on St. Mark’s Place, we walked across town and browsed around West Village for a bit. There is a cute (and expensive!) puppy shop called “Le Petit Puppy” right off of Christopher Street, and I got to hold both a shih tzu and a yorkie!! The little darlings were so adorable – especially the shih tzu, who fell asleep in my arms! Puppy shop = instant mood lifter.

After our takoyaki and unagi-don digested, we finally arrived at the restaurant for my romantic birthday dinner with the bf …

BIANCA

Unfortunately, Bianca does not take reservations (even for special occasions like birthdays!), so we were faced with an hour and a half wait for a party of 2, since it was Saturday night. The bf and I headed to the bar next door to stay warm while we waited for a table to open up – the restaurant smelled so delicious and I was very excited for dinner! The wait was actually not too bad because I got a chance to work up a nice appetite for dinner and we were out of the cold night air.

Dinner was definitely worth the wait. We started the meal with an appetizer of Gnocco Fritto, puffy fried dough pockets served with various cold cuts – my favorites were the prosciutto and something that tasted like very high-end baloney! This appetizer is a specialty of Bianca’s that is hard to find in other Italian restaurants in the city.

Gnocco Fritto

Of course, we also went for a fried calamari appetizer (since calamari happens to be one of the bf’s favorite foods). Since there was no fried calamari on the appetizer menu, we decided to share the Fritto Misto, a mixed seafood entree consisting of golden fried calamari, red mullet, and shrimp with eggplant, zucchini, and basil. Absolutely amazing – although considering the size, probably better if it had been split for a party of 5 instead of a party of 2, haha!

Fritto Misto

Even though we were already starting to feel full from the delicious appetizers and the glass of Riesling that we were sharing, the bf and I bravely forged on. The entrees were ridiculously tasty as well. I had the lasagna, 8 layers of pure pasta perfection. The pasta was cooked to just the right firmness, and layered with rich, meaty goodness and finished off with a lovely bechamel. The bf’s Gramigna was also incredible – saucy, al dente pasta with little bits of sausage dispersed throughout.

Lasagna

Gramigna con Salciccia e Peperoni

Last but certainly not least, we turned our attention and our forks to dessert: tiramisu! As the waiter brought out the candlelit dessert, my bf sang “happy birthday” to me … the perfect ending to the perfect birthday dinner! The tiramisu was covered with luscious mascarpone cream, and the espresso laced ladyfingers perfectly completed this light, yet decadent dessert. Ah, la dolce vita.

Tiramisu

Bianca - 5 Bleecker St. (near Bowery)

Birthday, Part 1 – Takoyaki

Lately, I had a random craving for takoyaki – a puffy, fried octopus dumpling topped with okonomiyaki sauce and katsuobushi and served with mayonnaise and pickled ginger on the side. Katsuobushi is also known as “dancing fish flakes” because when it is added as a topping to a hot dish like takoyaki, the steam from the food makes the katsuobushi dance! The bf and I decided to have ourselves a little snack and off we trekked to St. Mark’s place to find some takoyaki goodness. We ended up at Yakitori Taisho, which is almost always packed with people and had a rather extensive and authentic looking menu filled with Japanese foods. I certainly had high hopes as we sat down in the crowded back room, elbow-to-elbow with all the other tables. Unfortunately, Yakitori Taisho woefully failed to live up to my dreams of yakitori that night. First of all, be aware that there is a minimum table charge of $7 per person, which is actually pretty hefty considering that this is a yakitori place and most single items are conveniently under $7 but any two items put together would be at least more than $10 – making so that a party of 2 would usually spend $20 without even including tax and tip! Do you know how much $20 could buy from Prosperity dumpling?? Over 100 dumplings and then a few sesame beef pancakes to boot!! Also, be ready for some terrible service at this place – the waitress got my order wrong and then argued with me about it, trying to convince me that I was the one who had made a mistake! When she clearly was not going to win the argument, she proceeded to sulk the rest of the night … incredibly, we still left a tip. The yakitori turned out soggy and not so good, although with the mayo it was better. At least the katsuobushi was dancing for us Since we were both hungry at the time, we ended up scarfing up the whole thing.  We also had a don topped with scrambled eggs and eel, however the dish was so unfortunate looking I opted not to take any pictures of it.

Dance Katsuobushi, Dance!

Yakitori FAIL – Not as crispy or tasty as you might think.

Next time, I am avoiding the mediocre food and service at Yakitori Taisho and going to try out Otafuku on 9th Street, known for their takoyaki takeout! Hopefully they will be better at satisfying my craving for takoyaki that is perfectly crispy on the outside, and chewy on the inside with pleasant little chunks of octopus dispersed throughout!

Yakitori Taisho – St. Mark’s Place

Morning cappuccino

Homemade Hamburger Helper

So I was in the mood for pasta tonight and decided to make my own homemade version of Hamburger Helper. This dish is very easy to put together and make in large batches – a great way to make enough for dinner and have leftovers for lunch the next day!

• 1 c. dried pasta (makes about 2 cups cooked)
• 1/4 lb. ground beef
• 1 link kielbasa sausage, diced
• 1 1/2 c. marinara sauce
• 2 cloves garlic
• Splash of red wine

1. Cook pasta in boiling water until a little bit undone (before al dente). Drain pasta and remove from heat. Reserve about 1/4 c. pasta water.
2. Brown the ground beef in a saute pan. Drain the grease.
3. Return browned beef to the pan, add garlic and saute until fragrant. Add a splash of red wine and reduce for about a minute.
4. Add diced kielbasa and marinara sauce. Bring sauce to a simmer.
5. Add cooked pasta and pasta water.
6. If desired, mix 1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tbsp of warm water to dissolve and add to sauce and pasta mixture.
7. Simmer until sauce reduces to desired consistency.
8. Serve with steamed broccoli on the side.

Nutella Bread Pudding!

It was extra cold out today, which inspired me to bake something warm and homey after I got back after work. I was actually craving chocolate bread pudding from the Dessert Truck, but was also in the mood to make something involving the delicious jar of nutella sitting in my kitchen cupboard. The result? Nutella bread pudding – warm, dense, chocolatey and hazelnutty, straight out of my own oven.

• 8 to 10 slices of Wonderbread
• 4-5 tablespoons Nutella
• 2 cups 2% milk
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 c. packed brown sugar

1. Make 4 to 5 nutella sandwiches by spreading 1 tablespoon of nutella per two slices of bread.
2. Cut each sandwich into 9 squares. Pile into a 8 inch pie plate or square baking pan.
3. Mix eggs, milk and sugar together until well blended.
4. Pour egg mixture over nutella sandwich squares. Toss gently to coat evenly. Let stand for 10 minutes – preheat the oven to 350 degrees F during this time.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F for about an hour, or until the center is set and the top is golden brown.
6. Cool thoroughly.
7. Cut with a serrated knife and enjoy!

Cheesecake Marble Brownie Bites

After I finished my bagel this morning, I realized that I had half a block of cream cheese left in my fridge and no more bagels to spread it on! I always wondered how people solve the puzzling mystery of how to get rid of leftover foods and condiments, such as when you run out of jelly but still have peanut butter left, or you when you are left with that odd piece of bread at the bottom of the loaf. The latter I solved with my bread pudding, and I decided that the only thing to do with the leftover cream cheese would be to make something that involves cheesecake! After a bit of brainstorming, I was down to a few choices: mini pumpkin cheesecakes, mini new york style cheesecakes, or cheesecake brownie bites. Being a chocoholic made the choice very easy to make. Forget lemons … the next time life hands you a extra cream cheese, whip up a batch of these little babies and you’ll definitely be putting that leftover cream cheese to a worthy cause.

• 1/2 box Dark Chocolate Brownie mix
• 1/4 c. vegetable oil
• 1/8 c. water
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 c. granulated sugar

1. Beat one egg with the sugar and cream cheese until mixture is smooth. Set aside.
2. Mix together brownie mix, oil, water, and remaining egg until batter is thick and consistent throughout.
3. Line a mini-muffin pan with paper muffin cups. Put one teaspoon of brownie batter in each cup. Add about 1/2 tsp. of the cream cheese mixture on top. Swirl using a chopstick (do not mix thoroughly).
4. Bake at 350 degrees F until tops are set. Remove from heat and let cool.
5. Makes about two dozen.

Improvement

My cappuccino this morning turned out a little better than the first, I foamed the milk while I tamped the espresso and pulled the shot for about 25 seconds. Topped it all off with a little caramel sauce to sweeten the deal. What a lovely start to my Tuesday!

Pinche Taqueria

Since my bf was visiting this weekend, we decided to do some wandering around the city and be a little adventurous. First, we went to Bottlerocket Wines for their Thanksgiving Wine Tasting event. Since we got there a little late (around 4:30 … and it ended at 5), we only had a sliver of turkey each and one candied pecan before all of the food ran out. This was particularly unfortunate because the entire *free* event was catered by City Bakery! Thankfully, the same thing didn’t happen to the wine supply since we were in a wine store … I got to sample some really good whites and also a bit of champagne. We left the tasting pleasantly buzzed, with a lovely bottle of Moscato tucked away for our own Thanksgiving feast later this month.

For dinner, we decided to try out Pinche Taqueria, of Serious Eats: New York fish taco fame. After perusing the menu a bit, we both decided to get combos for dinner. I got the taco combo with 2 fish tacos and yucca fries instead of rice and beans. The yucca fries came with jalapeno ketchup and cilantro mayonnaise, both of which went great with the crispy, dense fries. I also got a bit of extra guacamole on the side to dip my yucca fries with! The fish tacos did not disappoint, with thin fresh slivers of onion and cabbage and freshly fried breaded whitefish nuggets.

No quiero taco bell!

The bf went with the burrito combo, going for the steak burrito and a side of crazy corn smothered in butter, mayo and spices.

To wash down this delightful meal, I had the horchata while the bf had the house-made tamarindo drink. The horchata was pretty good, almost as good as any that I had in New Mexico – cold, creamy and cinnamony. The tamarindo was interesting, but hey, it’s good to try new things once in a while right? Overall, dinner came out to be $26 between the two of us – not bad for a dinner out in NYC!

Pinche Taqueria - 227 Mott Street (near Spring St.)