NYC Mini Food Tour

A few weeks ago I was able to go visit my lovely friend over at the Native New Yorker (who is so incredibly lucky to live in Manhattan among some of the best restaurants and food shops in the world) with some other wonderful college friends of mine. She was just about the best foodie tour guide we could've asked for, and thanks to her I was able to check many places off my "I need to eat here before I die" list. I was too in awe to snap many pictures, but I'll share what I have and leave the rest for you to check out for yourself someday!

First stop: Joe's Pizza

I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture of the pizza. Or the inside of the place for that matter, with the graffiti-adorned tables and their Wall of Fame. It's not huge, but they definitely make good use of every inch of space they have. The wait wasn't bad--maybe a 20 minute line outside, but the weather was nice and us ladies had some catching up to do as it was. When it came to the pizza, we just stuck with the good ol' classic plain pie, and it was definitely a good pick. The crust was thin and crispy, and they weren't shy with the cheese (which I take off anyway. I know, "then what's the point of eating pizza?" I hear it all the time. Old habits, people! But I understand if that completely voids any and all of my pizza reviews.). It reminded me a lot of the NJ favorite, famous DeLorenzo's Pies (which I am partial to...). Joe's was absolutely worth the visit, and I encourage anyone to stop by if they have the chance.

Next up: Chelsea Market!

My, oh my, Chelsea Market. It is what dreams are made of. Glittering archways, bon bons, liquor. Are you as enthralled as I am right now? We made our stops at Bar Suzette Creperie, Jacques Torres' for chocolates, Eleni's for cupcakes, the Chelsea Wine Vault, and window-shopped at every other place they had to offer (mostly because we couldn't consume anymore food at the moment).

Check my shirt! Chive shout out!

The crepes were perfect--just like you'd get in Paris. I stuck with the standard chocolate filling, but all of them were tempting (Butter with cinnamon-sugar! Butter with sugar and berries! Or bananas! Nutella!).  And they were completely portable, which is good when you have "work" to do.

Next door was Jacques Torres' shop (how convenient!) where I got six of his amazing chocolates and one of his famous cookies. The chocolates I went for were the chai-filled white chocolate, the cappuccino, the pistachio, the espresso, the dark chocolate truffle (recommended by the staff), and the menage-a-trois, which was a special combination of three of their flavors. I brought them home for my family to sample and we all collectively decided the menage-a-trois was the definite winner! It was so interesting...fruity and roasty and bitter. They were all excellent though. I also really liked the chai, but I'd probably like anything chai. The cookie was the chocolate peanut butter cup version, and I wasn't overly impressed. I've heard so much about these cookies, even have replicated them myself in the past, but it just didn't do its name justice. Though that could be because they had been sitting on the counter all day...! I just loved that I was in the presence of something Jacques Torres. He's been an idol of mine of all things chocolate and French since I was a kid.

We popped by Eleni's so the ladies could grab some cupcakes. Those of us who went for the crepes weren't quite ready for another round (rookies, I know.), but they seemed to thoroughly enjoy them! And who wouldn't love this cute shop?

Our last purchase at Chelsea Market was some lovely Pinot Grigio, then it was off to the High Line walking bridge for a stroll before our last stop of the day.

Final stop: The Doughnut Plant

I have longed to go to The Doughnut Plant for years. It's so quirky and they have such unique flavors. And who doesn't love doughnuts? I'm sure The Doughnut Plant was even on my mind as I made these doughnuts a while back. Again, I picked out a few and waited the couple hours(!) until I got home and was able to share them with my dear family. I decided to try the coconut, the vanilla bean, the pistachio (which my mother claims was hazelnut...we haven't settled that one yet), the black-out (chocolate cake), and the tres leches, which the girl behind the counter suggested. I have to say, they were all very, very good. I'm not a fan of cream-filled things, but the coconut was awesome regardless. I can even see non-coconut lovers loving this guy. If I had to pick a least favorite, it would probably be the tres leches. I say if you're having doughnuts, they've got to be from a yeast dough. The tres leches and the black-out were both cake-based, and the texture of the tres leches was a little off for me (a tad soggy maybe?). But it must be a big-seller if it was recommended, so my opinion is probably way out-numbered! It most definitely fulfilled my years of waiting, so I suggest you pop in if you get the chance.

There you have it, a long-winded, mini food tour of NYC, mostly consisting of all things sweet. I couldn't have pictured a better way of checking some destinations off my list than doing so with some of my dearest girlfriends. Thanks, ladies, for putting up with my insane enthusiasm and random shrieks of excitement. You are the best!