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Small Shops

Flatiron, Small Shops
Hot Chocolate & Tea Thievery at City Bakery – NYC
02.09.10 | Permalink | 11 Comments

The City Bakery Hot Chocolate Festival kicked off officially this month, but technically it started the last weekend of January. That’s when I went. I couldn’t wait. I keep saying I’m not a big fan of dessert, but since last month, all I want to eat are sweets. I’m not sure why. I think it may have to do with the fact that I joined a gym. My appetite has been insatiable ever since. Perhaps I need to quit. Or maybe I have to stop watching Food Network while I’m on the bike. MORE »
Flatiron, Small Shops
Cake and Bonbons for Lunch – NYC
01.18.10 | Permalink | 6 Comments

A few days ago it was my birthday. Usually for me, a birthday means cocktails, dancing, and a wretched hangover the next day. This year, as appealing as a hangover sounded, all I wanted was cake, specifically the Coconut Cake from L.A. Burdick that I read about on SE:NY. I’m not usually a cake person (give me a jalebi over a slice of cake any day), but when I saw the post, I made a mental note: Coconut Cake = Birthday Cake Pour Moi. MORE »
K-Town, Midtown, Small Shops
Pork Bulgogi Wrap at Woorijip – NYC
12.10.09 | Permalink | 13 Comments

I wasn’t planning to write about anymore food in New York until I finished my East Asian posts, but on Wednesday I ate something so good I had to write about it. That something was the Pork Lettuce Wrap ($2.50) from Woorijip (우리집). I wasn’t expecting much when I bought it. It was tiny, and it looked pretty ordinary, but I got it anyway because, strangely, I wasn’t very hungry that day, and also, I thought it would be a nice change from the kimbab I normally get. But to my surprise, it was FREAKING AMAZING! MORE »
Small Shops, Street Eats
Fried Old-Fashioned Ddukbokki – Seoul
12.09.09 | Permalink | 7 Comments

I first heard about Hyoja-dong Yetnal Ddukbokki (Translation: Old-fashioned Ddukbokki from Hyoja-dong) when Robyn posted about it a few months ago on Serious Eats. I’ve eaten a lot of ddukbokki, but never the stir-fried kind. When I was little, I used to fry up dduk with sugar, creating sugary crunchy logs, but I never thought to make savory versions. This was all new to me. So as soon as I got to Korea, I asked Joo Hyun about it. She said she never had it, but Soo Hyun had, and she was told it was greasy, but good. Mmmm, that was all I needed to hear. The next day, while David was out visiting a friend, I went on a search for fried ddukbokki. MORE »
Midtown, Small Shops
Carb-on-Carb Action at Golden Krust – NYC
11.13.09 | Permalink | 10 Comments

I’ve been writing about Asia for so long now, many of you may have been wondering what I’ve been eating these days besides bar food. Well, during the day, I’ve been busy at work so I’ve been either packing my lunch or going to Chiyoda Sushi (Their usual $9.95 nigiri sushi set has been $7.96 since last month!). However, today I wanted something carby, not sure why, but that’s what I was craving so I made a stop at Golden Krust and got a Mild Beef Patty ($1.99, I got the mild only because it was the only meat patty ready at the time, it was either that or soy or vegetable. Mild Beef please!) and a piece of Coco Bread ($0.95). Put them together and what do you have? A Jamaican beef patty sandwich. Now, I’m sure you’re wondering, ‘Why on god’s green earth would you need to eat a patty between two pieces of bread?!” To which I respond, “Why the hell not?!” But seriously, coco bread makes a Jamaican beef patty more of a meal than a snack, and sometimes you want plain carbs with your greasy savory snack; be it bread, rice, or noodles. MORE »
Bite vs. Bite, Little Italy, Small Shops
Pork Banh Mi with Pâté at Banh Mi Saigon – NYC
09.12.09 | Permalink | 2 Comments

Yes, I know banh mis are so early 2009, and yes, I know everyone knows about Banh Mi Saigon, the small Vietnamese sandwich shop in the back of a jewelry store on Mott Street, but I recently made an invaluable discovery. For the longest time, although I love the Pork Banh Mi ($3.75) at Banh Mi Saigon, I missed the pâté the other famous Vietnamese shop in Alphabet City has in their pork sandwiches. (As I mentioned in a previous post, I actually prefer the Alphabet City store, but for some weird reason I got food poisoning once, and now I go almost exclusively to Banh Mi Saigon.) So on a recent trip to Banh Mi Saigon, I asked if there was a way I could get some pâté in the Pork Banh Mi, and of course, it was just a matter of asking. For one dollar extra ($4.75 total), the wonderful people at Banh Mi Saigon will spread a very generous layer of creamy pâté, even possibly too much, into an already overstuffed sandwich of roast barbecued pork, Vietnamese bologna, fresh cucumber sticks, cilantro, jalapeno slices, pickled daikon, and pickled carrots. One bite and you’ll be serious umami heaven. Now if only I could get them to add some Vietnamese headcheese (giò thủ), life would be closer to perfect. MORE »
Jackson Heights, Restaurants, Small Shops
A Late Lunch at Thakali Kitchen – NYC
08.28.09 | Permalink | 1 Comment

For the longest time, my friend Simrit had been telling me about Thakali Kitchen, a Nepalese & Tibetan restaurant in Jackson Heights. I’ve had limited experience with Tibetan food; once in Vegas at Himalayan Cuisine for flavorful lamb momos (dumplings), and once on Houston Street at a tiny restaurant for bland watered down curry. The former was good, the latter, not so much. But since my Vegas memory was more recent, I happily made my way to Jackson Heights from Times Square, and got there only one hour late. (Thank you E train for failing so miserably and so consistently every weekend!) MORE »