Sweets and More Sweets! The NY Edition

So here is the lowdown. I don't think bad food exists in New York! Two weeks of eating out there gave me a lot of food to sample. So here is the scoop..... So we all know cupcakes are a pretty close to perfect food and I think I found my perfect cupcake at Magnolia Bakery (401 Bleeker Street in Greenwich Village) . It was the perfect combo of moist dense cake and sweet yummy frosting. Sometimes cupcakes look pretty but they are dry or the frosting is kind of flavorless but these are pretty much the best bakery bought cupcakes I have tried. Not far from I think Sheridan Square if you need a place to sit down and savor them. They had all kinds of yummy goodies like cookies and cake and cheesecake. Also somewhat nearby is Chelsea Market. It is an indoor market with several bakeries and shops and where they film some food networks stuff (Emeril I believe). In Chelsea Market is the Fat Witch Bakery (http://www.fatwitch.com). They sell several different kinds of witches (brownies) and looks like they sell them online as well. They had some additional flavors in the store like lemon bars and raspberry. I tried the cherry chocolate and it was sooo good. Lastly you can't go to New York without Italian food and you can't walk down Mulberry Street without passing a million restaurants and especially without finding cannolis. A bunch of us went to lunch and stopped into Ferraras (http://www.ferraracafe.com/recipes/cannoli.php) for a cannoli. It was heavenly! I tried two small ones a chocolate dipped and a plain. If they ask if you want the powdered sugar I say don't cheat yourself go for it! Also fun was Dylans Candy Bar (http://www.dylanscandybar.com). It is owned by Ralph Laurens daughter Dylan. There is an upstairs ice cream/cupcake spot to sit down and the basement has all kinds of candy. They even had those ribbon candies I haven't seen in years you know the wax paper ribbons with the dots that you peel off. It is right across the street from Bloomingdales so when you finish your shopping you can cross the street and stop in. Also spectacular were the blintzes at the Carnegie Deli (http://www.carnegiedeli.com). It is kind of dark but it was fun to go in and see the pictures plastered all over the walls. Here is their cheesecake recipie http://www.carnegiedeli.com/cheesecakes.html. Last but definitely not least is Juniors (http://www.juniorscheesecake.com). They started in Brooklyn and now have a spot in Grand Central Stations and Times Square. Apparently in the early 60's or 70's the restaurant caught fire and people stood watching the fire crying mourning the loss of the cheesecake and they luckily ended up rebuilding and remain a hit. So that is the scoop on the sweets!

Gelato Firenze

Every Saturday I try and make it to the Farmers Market here in by the lake. Every Saturday I walk longingly by this Gelato shop until a couple weeks ago when I walked in. It was the perfect warm night and I earned it by running the lake, right?? I tried the malt and the vanilla bean which were really good. Since then I have tried the chocolate hazelnut and the cherry. If you go to the movie it is the perfect place to hit up before or after because they are open late (I am sure for just that reason). Anyway it is delish!

478A Lake Park Ave
Oakland, CA 94610

Orphan Andy's

Saturday night I met Mary and her friend Regina for dinner and a movie at the Castro Theater. We rolled the dice and decided to try Orphan Andy's around the corner on 17th Street and Market. Neither of us had really been to any of the restaurants in the neighborhood and it looked fun. It is a diner and all the tables have jukeboxes at them which gives them an extra star in my book. Anyway every time I go to a breakfast place I am tempted by a monte cristo and never get one but this time I gave in and ordered the monte cristo. It was great! It was the yummiest combo of sweet and savory with a little powdered sugar sprinkled. I definitely recommend it. I have to say this neighborhood is not one of my most frequented but it's always good to know a solid place to get a bite to eat. The Castro Theater is super fun as well. They have Sound of Music and Wizard of Oz sing alongs but I went to an old Marilyn Monroe flick. They have a Wurlitzer and the interior of the theater looks straight out of 1920. If you are an east bay dweller it is really similar to the Grand Lake which has a Wurlizter too. Anyway if you like monte cristo sandwiches or just diner food and you find yourself in the neighborhood check it out.

Orphan Andy's
3991 17th St
San Francisco, CA 94114

Mama's

So today I met my friend Mary for brunch/lunch at Mama's in North Beach. It has been around forever and I was told there would be a line but don't dismay the wait is worth it. Well I have to say after about a 45 minute wait chatting with Mary we finally sat down to eat. I had eggs florentine with spinach, tomato and avo with orange juice and it was excellent. Everything they had looked good. They had a bunch of coffee cakes that looked really good as well. Anyway, it was worth the wait but if you aren't up to it go early. It is right across the street from Washington Square Park and right off Columbus. Also near one of my favorites, Cafe Jaqueline. http://mamas-sf.com/

I also took a stroll down Columbus and stopped at Stella for some cannoli. They were excellent as the sisters and JJ can attest to. Also nearby is Cafe Trieste, City Lights Bookstore, Molinari Deli, and Steps of Rome (if you want waiters to flirt with you this is the place to go. my poor friend julie was ready to skip dessert after she saw them sing happy birthday to a girl at a table across the room)

Front Porch

Tuesday night Kathryne, Julie, Ryan and I all went to dinner at Front Porch (www.thefrontporch.com). It was excellent! I had the brown sugar and tamarind braised short ribs with sweet potato and cucumber salad. Ryan got the bucket of chicken and Julie had the fish cutter which was fried oyster. Kathryne had the vegan one pot stew which was really good as well. Another thing that won me over was their excellent mac and cheese. I am a sucker for mac and cheese and always interested in a new recipie and theirs was really good! They were paired with sweet potatoes and cucumber salad. We also tried the ceviche and arugala salad. Of course dessert is mandatory and they had excellent dessert options. I had the pumpkin pine nut cake with coconut ice cream drizzled with honey. Julie had the poached pear and Ryan tried the sorbet (meyer lemon, tamarind and one other flavor I can't remember). The prices were really reasonable and the food was really on par with way more expensive places. It was a really low key place. They played great music. It didn't get croweded until after about 8pm and it did start to get pretty noisy so if that is something you can't live with just go early and you will be fine. If you don't find a dessert you like there you always have Mitchells which is across the street (http://www.mitchellsicecream.com/)

U Street

So about a year ago Joanie sent me a link to this restaurant, not sure how she found out about it but my friend Lynn and I went there for dinner my last week in DC and it was amazingly good!I had the chard salad which had chard of course and ricotta, pine nuts and raisins. We shared pizza and for dessert we had honey tangerine sorbet and the nutella calzone. They had a chocolate dessert that sounded excellent as well. Everything was so good. http://www.coppisorganic.com/
The restaurant is on U Street in DC a few blocks from the Metro station. The neighborhood is definitely one of the most historic neighborhoods in DC. It is now starting to be revitalized and coming back into it's former glory. Another recommendation in this neighborhood is Bens Chili Bowl (http://www.benschilibowl.com/). I haven't eaten there but it is a DC institution. Interestingly enough NPR did a segment about U Street and there is a link to a history of U Street. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89397682

DC Edition

Well my trip isn't quite over yet but there has been good food to report. Weekend one was spent at Eastern Market on Capitol Hill (http://www.easternmarket.net). Super convenient via Metro by the way. There is a crepe stand there that judging by the line most people have figured out is excellent so of course I had to try it right.... Well it was excellent. They make them right in front of you and serve them warm in a paper. I had the banana-nutella version and it was indescribably delicious. Bottom line if you find yourself there on a Saturday give them a try. My second recommendation is Giffords (http://www.giffords.com). Their ice cream is sold all over DC but the one stand I have seen is at 10th and E Streets (Right by Fords Theater, FBIHQ and E Street Cinema). I have had ice cream there several times and it has yet to disappoint. This time I picked peanut butter cookies and cream and it was awesome. They made it into a sundae with chocolate sauce that almost rivals Ghiradelli. Anyway, hopefully more to come! Oh, also non-dessert related was Olssons Bookstore cafe which I believe is called something like Footnotes. I had amazingly good asparagus-brie soup. Olssons is right by Archives/Navy Memorial Stop on the Blue/Yellow lines on Seventh Street next door to the Shakespeare Theater. Lastly, the West Building of the National Museum of Art has a cafe with desserts that looked amazing as well as gelato. I was too late to try but they looked amazingly good. Anyway, happy eating and hope everyone has a chance to make it out here someday to "our nations capital" if you haven't already!