rita's!

once upon a time i dated this dude who lived in philly

and he lived across the street from this place called

rita's

which specialized in this stuff called water ice

water what?

water ice

{pronounced, "wuhter ice"}

it's a halfway point between a slushy and your average scoop of italian ice.

and it's addictive

so, too, is their frozen custard

whose sole purpose in life is to embellish the water ice,

creating what rita's calls a 

gelati

{unfortunate name, i know, but beggars can't be choosers-especially in this tasty case}

anyways,

you know what they say about breakups:

the hardest part of breaking up is getting back your food

right,

ok, 

i know i did not literally leave a cup of water ice at old boyfriend's apartment.

but since rita's didn't exist on the island back then, i did have to bid farewell to weekly gelatis 

and i just wanted to reference that sweet 2gether song {r.i.p. q.t. mcknight} 

so imagine my excitement when manhattan's first rita's opened up right in my neighborhood!!! 

weeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! happy dance.

the best days are the days when they have pistachio water ice.

the second best days are when they have birthday cake water ice.

and the third best days are when they have strawby water ice {and i get chocolate frozen custard plopped on top!}

the rest of the days are pretty much the best too.

rita's just makes me so jolly.

i usually walk really really fast on the way there,

and then i have nice little stroll back to my apartment...

savoring the artificial flavor,

taking care to get the perfect ratio of custard and ice in each bite, 

and then drinking the part that has become too melty to scoop up at the end.

who needs those bougey ice cream sandwiches anyways??

rita's, i love you.

xoxo

yeh

rita's in manhattan is on broadway and 92nd!

week 26: katz's delicatessen

when it is two in the morning and you are on the lower east side and you're confused because because just a few moments ago you were on the upper west side at harry's burritos and you just got off the phone with your best friend's dad because you tried calling your best friend but instead his dad answered and you are not quite sure who is more drunk, and somebody just asked you which way to the cruise ship, you know that something fantastic is about to happen:

you are going to eat a katz's pastrami sandwich.

omg.

it wasn't my idea. 

it was sam's.

he's my favorite.

  and when him and i were the last ones standing in a monumental evening of inebriation,

we decided this was our prize.

{last one to vom wins a sandwich!}

here is what i recall:

-thinking there would be a long wait

-there not being a long wait

-being confused about where to order

-receiving a free sample of pastrami while we waited

-ordering a pastrami sandwich and matzoh ball soup

-having an easy time finding a place to sit

-sam eating all of the pickles

-me being ok with it

-getting mad at sam for stealing my soup crackers

-sam repeating,

ohmygod this is amazing

while he stuffed his face

-bread so so so sooo soft, softer than any rye i've ever had

-being confused over which is better:

millburn or katz?

-medium warm medium good matzoh ball soup

-being confused about where to pay

-trying to pay with card

-having to pay with cash

-confusion about tipping

-just... general confusion, but extreme satisfaction
-wanting more

next time?

katz: the sober edition!

but first...

26 more to go!! 

i'm halfway there!!!

xoxo

yeh

katz's delicatessen is on hudson and ludlow in the l.e.s.

it's really really old. 

week 25: chola

ask most people what the best cure for a hangover is and they'll probably tell you 

advil & toast

ask most twenty-something guys what the best cure for a hangover is and they'll probably tell you

more booze

ask any one of the percussionists at juilliard what the best cure for a hangover is and they will tell you

indian buffet

there's nothing like sitting with my friends and stuffing our mouths with paneer and pakoras, trying to remember what exactly happened the night before. 

{my efforts are usually focused on trying to remember if i had one or six gray's papaya hot dogs. and did i go to big nick's after that}

the point is,

i usually get my indian fix in the form of 

how much food can you get for the least amount of money and which places have unlimited naan and who cares what the quality is you're going to puke it up later in the day anyways.

but when my very hairy friend nick came to town craving some fine indian,

i couldn't think of a better way to experience this phenomenon.

indian at night time? 

high brow? 

limited quantities? 

sounds good, let's do it

my teacher's indian dentist says there are two good indian restaurants in this city:

tamarind

&

chola

and since my asian girl food enthusiast friend david told me that i must try chola,

i tried chola.

it was a really really strong decision.

typically when it comes to indian,

i start with samosas.

but i was feeling a little bubbly on this occasion of legit indian dining,

and nick seemed to know what he was doing,

so we started with 

roti canai

roti with coconut chicken curry

and 

ragara

taters, chickpeas, yogurt, chaat masala, cumin, and chutney

and i think i just about died and went to heaven when i assembled my roti canai and stuck it in my mouth.

the roti was so buttery!!!! 

 i love butter!

the ragara was also really good and refreshing.

but i couldn't stop drooling over the roti,

so it kind of took the back seat.

sorry, ragara. 

for our mains,

nick braved the 

chicken vindaloo

quasi-successfully.

i almost had to call an ambulance,

but he eventually manned up.

{in his defense, vindaloo is some pretty hot shit. and while nick is usually pretty good with hot shit {if ya know what i mean}, i had to throw him some sympathy here}

i didn't try it.

i've learned me lesson.

instead of my usual tikka masala,

i got 

chicken chutneywala

curried mango, mint, ginger

not just because it has a cool name,

but because mango seems to play well with chickens these days.

above is a sort of ghetto representation of how indian food should be eaten

the naan/rice/chicken taco

dunked in summa that green sauce and showered in raita 

fantastic!

indian food is even better when it hasn't been sitting on a buffet table for hours!

chola was completely worth the trip to the dark/east side.

the quality and freshness and service was pretty outstanding.

if you're not hungover,

or even if you are,

you need to go here.

i'll definitely be going here again.

as soon as i try the rest of my 27 restaurants!

xoxo

yeh

chola is on the upper east side. just. take a taxi.

week 24: baohaus

the asians know their bread,

and that's the truf. 

i'm no expert on the east,

but something culinarily spectacular happened where the chinese

 {my 'cestors} 

mastered the art of crustless bread.

{if you've never been to a chinatown bakery, you haven't lived}

this doughy goodness became apparent to me in my youth

in a time where meat,

vegetables,

and crust

were nowhere near my dietary wants (or needs?)

dough balls

were what i called the filling-less version of my favorite chicago dim sum joint's cha sao bao that mum and i used to make...

and the filling in the ones at the restaurant were just another obstacle to get past before indulging in the sweet, pillowy soft buns.

now, although i've since expanded my fave foods to include meat and other things,

the doughy part of the bao has always been the best part.

until

i

tried

baohaus

on the lower east side

where the bun and the filling go together hand-in-hand like macaroni and cheese,

country fairs and fried things,

and gustav mahler and french horns.

the bun and filling are equally delicious

and each one enhances the other as you gorge.

and i don't know when this started,

but it seems that all the haute baos these days are no longer dough balls

but more like doughy taco things

where the bread dough is flattened out 

and then steamed 

and then wrapped around their hangar steak or berkshire pork belly or tofu 

which is pretty friggen genius if you ask me.

it allows for more filling options,

like cilantro and crushed peanuts and taiwanese red sugar.

{enter a whole new world of tastes}

and allows for prettier pictures {see above}

baohaus' baos are

ridiculous. 

outrageous. 

you've got no idea.

they're cheap,

they're comforting,

and they go well with juice

 hey, juice.

and the tenderness of their perfectly cooked fillings

inside of their maximumly doughy casings 

make for a near-perfect bao.

the only thing i ask is,

why do they have to be served in a closet-sized l.e.s. florescent light land?

why can't they be stationed on the upper west side inside my living room?

and can there be a baohaus truck?

and can jess lapin suck it ?

and after eating these, is it possible that i will ever meet a better bao?

i'm really close to calling this the best bao in the world.

but i ain't gonna because

mum might get sad

and because

i've got 28 more restaurants to go!!!

xoxo

yeh

baohaus is located on rivington and norfolk in the glorious lower east side.