I decided to start blogging about my Astoria-specific dining experiences on Why Leave Astoria? You can go to their website for my review and lots of other cool information on what goes on in my neighborhood!
Category Archives: Restuarant Reviews
Guess what I got in Chicago?
Usually I go for the Chicago Mix (half caramel and half cheese), but this time I got the Pecan Caramelcrisp.
Best part is that all Garrett popcorn is made without gluten! Plus they give free samples 🙂
Buy some for your mom for Mother’s Day?
Or for yourself?
I don’t know, but you should get some.
Pala Pizza
Based on the recommendation of some helpful Yelpers – Nick and I hiked down to the Lower East Side to try out Pala Pizza. I didn’t mind the trip though because we got to see the sights and sounds of Washington Square Park on the way.
Washington Square Park
We started out with the arancini, which are risotto balls stuffed with mozzarella cheese and spinach, then they’re fried in a dedicated fryer. There are a ton of other options for appetizers as well, but according to all the reviews, these are a must-have. They were like a more sophisticated mozzarella stick…crispy outside, arborio rice that sticks to your teeth, and a sweet tomato sauce to dip in. My only complaint about this dish is that there weren’t more of them! $4/risotto ball is pricey no matter how you cut it.
Then the big decision on pizza – Nick loves meat toppings, of course, but they wouldn’t let us get a half and half, so he left it up to me to choose 🙂 I picked one with spinach, ricotta, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, garlic and parsley pesto.
Now this…was a pizza. The best gluten free crust I’ve had. Not to diss my old-faithful, Risotteria, but this pie really takes the cake. For a second I panicked, thinking that they gave us the wrong pizza because there was no indication that it was gluten free. This crust has the slightly crunchy/chewy bottom, takes some effort to pull apart (in a good way), and has yummy written all over it. The creamy ricotta, fresh tomatoes, and stringy mozzarella were just right.
They also put a bundle of oregano on the table, so you can sprinkle it fresh right on your pie:
Somehow, after finishing the pizza, we still had room for dessert. So we got the apple tart:
Apple tart with vanilla ice cream
The tart was…alright. Although I don’t think I’ve tasted anything remotely like pie crust in years, so I was satisfied. The crust is kind of like a shortbread, then there’s boiled apples with cinnamon on top. They also had an almond cake with chocolate sauce, that I’m regretting not getting in retrospect.
Ah well…the pizza made up for it.
Thanks for the recommendation! I will definitely be back!
Try it yourself: Pala Pizza – 198 Allen Street.
Cafe Habana
After work on Friday, Nick and I went to Cafe Habana down in Soho. We went here primarily for the grilled Mexican-style corn – coated in creamy mayo, rolled in cojita cheese, and sprinkled with chili powder:
Grilled Mexican Style Corn
The corn met all of my expectations, and at $4.25 for two pieces, it’s a great cheap eat to share.
Since we saved on the appetizer, we splurged on some drinks. A Mojito for me and a Pacifico for Nick:
Ahh...refreshing
The brownish color of the Mojito is due to the face that they use brown sugar instead of white. So good I had two.
For dinner I had the Camarones al Ajillo with black beans and yellow rice:
Spicy shrimp
And Nick had the gluten-filled Cuban sandwich and fries:
He says, “It was alright.” I wouldn’t know, but it doesn’t seem like I was missing much. One point for the non-gluten eaters of the world.
The quick-and-dirty:
- Great people watching at this joint. Many mustache sightings.
- Fairly cheap dinner for two – if I wouldn’t have gotten two $8 Mojitos we probably could have gotten out of there for about $35.
- They also have a couple of other entrees and appetizers that appear to be gluten-free and vegetarian (Sopesitos and a masa boat stuffed with goat cheese, beans, and sun-dried tomatoes)
- Get here early if you don’t want to wait.
- My recommendation = get a Mojito and some corn and move on for dinner.
To visit Cafe Habana – 17 Prince Street, New York, NY. (RW to Prince Street or the 6 to Spring Street)
Buenas suerte.
(Kind of) Hidden Find – Stumptown Coffee
My ever-so-hip father introduced me to Stumptown Coffee at the Ace Hotel, and I’m ashamed to admit now that I had no idea it existed, even though it’s only three blocks from my office. I stopped by here today to pick up a pound of coffee for my dad, and I found out it comes with a free small coffee! ($11/lb). All of the men working behind the counter look like Newsies, and are very friendly (an anomaly in NYC baristas).
Stmptown Coffee on 29th and Broadway
The best part about this location is that it’s connected to the Ace Hotel, which is a hipster magnet, but also a great quiet place to read and sip your coffee. The lobby is beautiful, and has tons of comfy chairs, big oak tables to work on laptops, and areas to gather a group of friends. It’s the kind of place you want to smoke a pipe and wear an ascot. Another nice feature is that they have waiter service around the lobby, so you don’t need to wait in the line at Stumptown to get a coffee and a bite to eat. It looks like they have a ton of yummy pastries, which of course, I can’t try to tell you how they are.
Just a nice Oasis in the Flatiron district, and has yet to get too hyped or busy.
Ace Hotel Lobby
Note for Michiganders: Rumor is that Stumptown is going to be coming to Ann Arbor sometime soon, care of Comet’s Coffee in Nickel’s Arcade. Apparently Stumptown requires that vendors be trained by an actual Stumptown staff member on how to brew their coffee, so Comet is saving up to fly someone out to Ann Arbor to train them.
Coffee is delicious, very strong, and $2 for a small. Also, they make their cappuccino foam into a heart sometimes.
Stumptown Coffee at the Ace Hotel
20 West 29th Street (Between Broadway and Fifth Ave)
Buzzbuzzbuzz.
Cheese Rocks and Rolls
Big Booty Bread Co. on 23rd St.
Friday over lunch I walked over to Big Booty Bread Company in Chelsea. I don’t know why, but they don’t really advertise themselves as a go-to gluten-free spot – but they have one of my favorite finds in the city. Their cheese rocks and cheese rolls are masterful – so chewy, satisfying, and hearty that you can’t tell the difference between their rolls and an artisan one.
Cheese rocks, rolls, and corn pancakes
Big Booty Dictionary:
Cheese rocks (lower left of display): light in color, really moist on the inside, perfect to dip in soup or make into a burger bun
Cheese rolls (to the right of the rocks): more eggy dough, sweet, with a big air pocket on the inside, warm and slathered with butter is the best way to eat (if you can get it home without eating it on the subway, like someone I may know…)
Corn pancakes: like arepas, but no filling. They have a plain and cheese variety, and both are great. Like an ultimate cheesy breadstick. I’m currently plotting to buy a couple of these and dip them in ranch dressing.
So what did we do with them?
My boyfriend, Nick, made his cheese rock into a bun for his bacon jalapeno cheeseburger. We picked up some McClure’s spicy pickles at Sweet Afton in Astoria, and put those on the side.
Nick's bacon cheeseburger and McClure's pickles
I had my cheese roll with egg salad the next day for lunch (no pickles for me, they’re far too spicy).
Two egg whites, one yolk
Please excuse the dying house plant in the background.
Big Booty Bread Co. is at 261 West 23rd Street, between 7th and 8th Ave.
Cheese rocks and rolls are $1.75, and they have a large selection of breads and cupcakes for your gluten-eating friends. (I also saw they have homemade meringue, but didn’t ask if it’s gluten-free…).
Beware: I came here around noon and they were almost out of cheese rolls, so try to come in early in the day.
Rock and roll, baby.
Babycakes, oh my Babycakes
Yesterday was a positively glorious day to live in New York City. I’d been planning on going back to Babycakes for quite some time, so it seemed like the perfect day to make the trek down to the (lowest of the) Lower East Side to get me something sweet.
We got off the train at Prince Street, pushed through the crowds in Soho, made our way through the outskirts of Chinatown, and eventually came to the shining sugary Mecca of gluten free bakeries: Babycakes!
The Taj Mahal
*Sidenote daydream on bakeries: they are probably my favorite place on earth. The smell of sweet saccharine goodness, the aesthetic beauty of all of the goodies lined up in their little rows according to type and color, the wax paper that they use to pick everything up with, the little samples that they put out on the counter so you don’t strangle someone while you’re waiting. It’s amazing, and I purposely avoid bakeries now for the very same reasons. No use torturing myself in a place that I can’t eat anything…but Babycakes is different.
Holey Moley
I CAN EAT IT ALL!!! NOM NOM NOM NOM
Now came the difficult part – choosing what to get. They had a variety of cupcakes (pumpkin, carrot, red velvet, vanilla chocolate), brownies, frosted ginger bread, frosted banana chocolate-chip bread, a variety of cookies, and a variety of donuts.
Originally I had my eye on a chocolate dip donut (a rare find in the GF world), but then the guy in front of me ordered the frosted banana chocolate-chip cake and I wanted that too. But, he took the last piece [jerk].
So I ended up with the caramel chocolate crunch donut instead:
Caramel chocolate crunch donut
**Deep breath out** IT WAS SO GOOD.
It was so moist, gooeyness overflowing from all over it. It had this chocolate drizzle on top, and just melted in my mouth with every bite. The only regret I had was not getting a tall glass of milk to go with it.
I haven’t eaten a donut in THREE YEARS. THIS WAS AWESOME.
And I got the wax paper that I love…and I licked it clean right in the middle of the street.
The quick-and-dirty:
- It is pricey ($4-5 for anything). But worth every penny.
- It is deep into Manhattan. But worth the walk.
- I’ve read mixed reviews from gluten-eaters, but it is certain to be a treat for anyone with Celiac.
To get some yumminess yourself – 248 Broome Street, between Orchard and Ludlow. Or order from www.babycakesnyc.com.
Restaurant Review – Paprika
Breakfast and brunch are often difficult eat-out meals. If I don’t plan ahead or do some research, I usually end up with eggs and potatoes. Now don’t get me wrong, there’s a simplicity and comfort to eggs for breakfast, but I’m a breakfast person of the pancake-loving, pastry-craving sort. So whenever I have an occasion to go out for breakfast or brunch, I always do so anticipating a let-down.
One compromise I’ve made is for the East Village spot, Paprika.
The quick-and-dirty:
- $12 for a brunch entree, mimosa or Belini, and tea or coffee
- The only egg dish you should be allowed to order here is the scrambled green eggs (they also have a frittata and an omelette, but I wouldn’t recommend either)
- If you have an ounce of love in your heart, you will bring your friends or significant other here and allow them to indulge in the Eggs Benedict
The green eggs are scrambled eggs with pesto and herbs, and they’re piled in heap atop a cake of polenta. The edges of the polenta get a bit crisp, and it makes the dish filling enough to not make you miss toast. On top of the eggs is about 3 tomatoes worth of diced tomatoes in a light dressing which brings a great outdoorsy-summer basil feeling.
While your brunch partner savagely devours the Eggs Benny, you can leave Paprika feeling satisfied, and not fall victim to the fried eggs/potatoes curse.
*For gluten-eaters* – Get the Eggs Benedict with Pancetta and Baby Lettuce. My gluten-eating boyfriend says that it does something so powerful to you that you have random thoughts about enjoying it. It’s two pieces of a Ciabatta/French looking crusty bread, with pieces of shredded pancetta, two perfectly poached eggs, and a drizzly Hollandaise sauce. While I’ll never experience this meal, seeing him enjoy it so much is almost as good.
Halfway through the massacre
Beware :
- They open at noon on weekends
- The place is pretty small, so if you have a large party you may need to wait
When you get a hankerin’ – head to 110 Saint Marks Place (between 1st Ave and Avenue A). http://paprikarestaurant.com/
Gluten Free? Gimme Three! 