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!

Homemade Yeast Doughnuts

Every Sunday growing up my family and I would go to church, immediately after going straight to Grandma's house for coffee, doughnuts and bagels (7 year-olds drink coffee, right? This may or may not be the reason I currently drink a minimum of 3 cups of black coffee a day). The doughnuts didn't come from some franchise shop (I'm not Munchkin hatin'-- those things are amazing, especially for bribing people), but from a local bakery, making them something special. I'm not a fan of cream-filled things (sorry!), or jelly-filled things (sorry again! This on top of what I admitted to in the past, I'm starting to question why I even bother to bake...), so obviously I went for the frosted doughnuts with sprinkles. Beautiful, colorful sprinkles. So when I decided to make doughnuts of my own, that's exactly the kind I made. No cream, no jelly, just sprinkles.

Adapted from Alton Brown

Homemade Yeast Doughnuts

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/3 cup shortening 
• 2 packages instant yeast
• 1/3 cup warm water (lukewarm to the touch, not hot!)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup sugar 
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
• 23 ounces all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting surface (Alton suggests you weigh the flour, which I did and it worked perfectly. Unfortunately that means I don't have it converted into cups...)
• 1 gallon frying oil (peanut is best, but I used canola) 
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• Place shortening in a bowl. Heat milk over medium heat, just enough to melt the shortening. Pour warm milk into the bowl with the shortening. In a separate bowl put warm water and sprinkle with the packets of yeast, allowing to dissolve for 5 minutes. Transfer the yeast mixture to a mixing bowl. Add the shortening/yeast mixture when it only slightly warm. Next add eggs, sugar, salt, nutmeg and half of the flour, and mix on low speed until incorporated. Add the rest of the flour on low speed, then switch to medium speed and beat until well-combined. Change to the dough hook and beat the dough until it's smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl (about 3 minutes). Grease a large bowl and transfer the dough. Let rise for an hour until the dough has doubled. Roll out the dough on a generously-floured surface to about 1/2 inch think. Using a biscuit cutter, doughnut cutter or whatever large and small round cutter you'd like,* cut out your doughnuts. Place on a floured surface or baking sheet and cover with a towel. Allow to proof for 30 more minutes. Place a cooling rack on top of a sheet pan. Heat oil to 365 degrees F. Fry the donuts (a couple at a time, don't overcrowd!) for a minute per side, until cooked and light golden brown. Place cooked doughnuts on cooling rack and allow to cool before glazing. 
• *I used a larger glass for the doughnut and a shot glass for the hole. I just finished college, don't judge. 
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• Vanilla Glaze:
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 Tbsp* milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
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• Combine ingredients and mix well. *Add more or less milk to reach desired consistency.
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• Chocolate Ganache Glaze:
• 8 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used chips)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 Tbsp softened butter
• 1 Tbsp corn syrup
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• Heat cream over double boiler until it just begins to bubble. Pour over bowl of chopped chocolate. Allow to sit for a couple minutes, then slowly whisk to combine. Add butter and corn syrup and mix well. Cool slightly before glazing doughnuts. 
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• Dip or drizzle donuts in glaze of your choice, and top with sprinkles (absolutely not optional).

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