Sorry for the absence mates, but hey, at least I have good food porn to show for it. In dire need of a holiday, a proper meal and a few good friends, I took myself to NYC for an extended weekend. It was a rejuvenating, drunk-karaoke-ing, gourmet doughnut-filled escapade, because that is pretty much the only way I roll, you know! **********************************************************************
Once upon a time, a doughnut changed my life. In all fairness, it was mind-blowing. It was a coconut cream pie filled doughnut, which also happens to be my favorite pie filling, and it gave me a total mouth-gasm. I discovered it on my first trip to NYC four years ago, when I did a food tour of the Lower East Side.
This beautiful, coconut-filled bundle of joy was created at The Doughnut Plant, a gourmet doughnut shop. This was 2005 mind you, a different time. It was before Michael Jackson died, before food bloggers wrote books that got turned into movies, before I was married, and certainly before I had encountered any gourmet doughnut shops. It rocked my little world, and four years later, it was the first place I wanted to try again. Thankfully, they had my precious, and I put away three over the course of the weekend. My mates and I tried a few of their cake doughnuts, which were surprisingly light and fluffy. The banana walnut was nice with just the slightest hint of banana.
We all fell in the love with the carrot cake doughnut, which was filled with just a touch of cream cheese frosting. So delicious!
After gorging on doughnuts, we poked our heads into The Pickle Guys shop. I love pickles, and this shop is small but filled to the brim with delicious food.
By then, we were in a mini version of Chinatown, so we wandered around until we found some dumplings. I know I don’t need to tell you how much I freaking LOVE dumplings.
This place is super cheap, has a huge variety of dumplings and other Chinese and Japanese specialties, and service is prompt. Not the best dumplings in the world, but $1 for four pan fried pork dumplings? I’m down.
We also had some tasty steamed chicken and basil dumplings, a steamed veggie bun, and some best not to be mentioned steamed shrimp dumplings (eat at your own peril). From there, we stumbled upon an old-fashioned candy shop called Economy. Candy as far as the eyes can see! Seeing as how I have a current obsession with Pixie Sticks (don’t ask), I had to go in.
Once I owned way more sugar than I or my dentist thinks I should have, we took a short trip to Central Park to have a lay on the lawn…
…and maybe eat some pretzels…
…which inevitably ended up in my hair. You can take the chunk out of out Chicago…
We headed back to the Lower East Side for some drinks and snacks and Verlaine, an Asian fusion restaurant. This was where I found…my first ever proper bottle of alcoholic ginger beer!
It was not the Stone’s Ginger Beer I used to drink in Australia, but it was from Trinidad and tasted pretty close! So happy was I. So happy that I sang and rapped a few karaoke songs off-key in a tiny room with my friends. The end to a perfect day in NYC!
~LTG! ************************************************ The Doughnut Plant 379 Grand Street New York, NY 10002 (212) 505-3700 www.doughnutplant.com The Pickle Guys 49 Essex St New York, NY 10002-4617 (212) 656-9739 www.nycpickleguys.com Vanessa’s Dumplings 118 Eldridge St between Broome St & Grand St) New York, NY 10002 (212) 625-8008 Economy Candy 108 Rivington St New York, NY 10002-2204 (212) 254-1531 Verlaine 110 Rivington St New York, NY 10002-8800 (212) 614-2494 www.verlainenyc.com
