On Tuesday, Pinkberry is revealing their newest flavor, COFFEE, which will be swirled with green tea. How did I find out? Chris and I went to Pinkberry on Friday night right after I got off the plane from Chicago! I spoke with my favorite swirlers (Jose, Raul, and JC) and they told me that the combo tastes pretty good. JC gave me the impression that you can only get the coffee flavor swirled with green tea (interesting combination, right?), but if you go on Tuesday and that’s not the case, please let me know!! I can’t wait to try it when I get back to New York!!

One of the best rewards for working hard is a great meal - it’s even better when the people you work for tell you to order anything you want and to not worry about the bill. After working on a project for six weeks (which seemed like six months), the manager of the project offered to take me and two others to dinner to show his appreciation for our hard work. SCORE! Since Morimoto is a pretty nice place to bring out of town guests, we decided to go there.

We started off with a small appetizer -a new take on fried rice:

Crispy and barely fried, it was very cute but not memorable (good thing it was free!).

I ordered for the table (since I’m the one that writes the reviews!) and we decided to go with a couple appetizers, sushi and sashimi, and some cooked dishes. The first appetizer to come out was the tuna pizza:

The tuna pizza comes on a flatbread that resembles a saltine (sans salt), cilantro, tuna, and a spicy wasabi mayo. I liked the different textures of the pizza and the table agreed that it was a good order.

Our next appetizer was the foie gras on a cooked oyster:

The thick cut of foie gras came on an oyster that was barely cooked and a healthy dose of teriyaki sauce. Another shot:

The foie gras was rich and decadent, but a little overkill with the teriyaki. Too much sauce is never a good thing.

I also ordered a couple pieces of sashimi in case our appetizers weren’t enough for everyone:

I’m a huge fan of tamago (but it’s very hard to mess up tamago - it’s an egg custard omelet that’s very rich and very easy to recreate). The fatty tuna was very meaty and the yellowtail was also a big hit.

An order of sushi before our main dishes arrived:

The spicy tuna roll was my favorite (especially since their spicy mayo is great)…but I don’t think the rolls/sashimi at Morimoto si that much better than any other sushi joint in NY. Onto the main dishes!! (although most of us were already full after all of the appetizers and sushi).

Our first dish was a braised black cod in a ginger reduction:

The cod was a little plain, but had enough sauce to make up for the taste of the fish. Everyone at the table enjoyed the dish, but I wouldn’t order it again.

Our next main course was Duck duck duck, a specialty of Morimoto’s:

The duck duck duck comes on a flaky croissant that’s brushed with foie gras (how rich!) and has duck and green onion inside. Duck duck duck was my favorite dish of the night; an abundance of greasy duck, flaky dough, and fresh flavor from the green onion. I wasn’t a fan of the dipping sauces (too pungent) but there was enough flavor from the duck grease that you didn’t even NEED to dip the sandwich in red miso.

Our third entree was the angry chicken:

My least favorite dish of the night. The dish tasted like it was out of a PF Chang’s; the chicken was dry, there was too much Styrofoam all around it, and there was too much sauce on the chicken and vegetables. Definitely not a dish to EVER order again.

After filling up on so many delicious appetizers and main courses, we had to indulge in some desserts. We started with a Chocolate Pecan Brownie with espresso ice cream:

The brownie tasted like it just came out of the oven and when eaten with a scoop of ice cream, tasted like a party in my mouth. Very delicious!

We also ordered Earl grey creme brulee:

This was my favorite dessert of the night. The earl grey tea was a very subtle flavor (moreso in the after taste) but the creme brulee was really well done and very delicious.

Overall, it was a solid meal at Morimoto (although my dining companion, Ryan, disagreed). Next time, I’ll order more sushi/sashimi and less cooked dishes (I don’t think they’re THAT great) and definitely MORE dessert!

How to get to Morimoto:

Morimoto
88 10th Avenue
New York, NY 100024
212-989-8883

Since moving to New York last August, I’ve eaten my fair share of cupcakes. When I was in college and the only experience I had of New York were re-runs of Sex and the City, the place to go for cupcakes was Magnolia’s. Once I moved here, I quickly found out that Magnolia’s is probably the most over-hyped establishment; their cupcakes are dry, their frosting is crusty and too sweet, and the lines are endless. I usually prefer Crumbs, Buttercup, or Cupcake Café. A friend of mine recently told me that Billy’s Cupcakes is another alternative to satisfy my cravings for sugary frosting with moist cake. Naturally, I had to go there myself to see what the fuss was about:

The offerings are similar to Magnolia or Buttercup; icebox cake, red velvet slices, and of course, lots and lots of cupcakes:

My friend, Leo, bought four for us to share:

Their cupcakes are definitely better than Magnolia’s; very light, airy, and chocolately, but not to the point that you can’t finish one cupcake without begging for a cup of milk. Their frosting, in my opinion, is better than Buttercup’s, too, because it’s creamy and sweet, but you don’t feel like you’re eating a pound of butter with every bite. Billy’s was a great treat that I really enjoyed and I’ll definitely be back to satisfy my cupcake cravings!

How to get to Billy’s:

Billy’s Bakery
184 9th Avenue between 21st and 22nd
New York, NY 10011
212-647-9956

One of my favorite restaurants in New York, The Green Table, is located in the Chelsea Market and serves great foods that are purchased locally (meaning all ingredients are purchased within driving distance). They have simple ingredients and simple items; grilled cheese, burgers, macaroni and cheese, chicken pot pie, and other comfort foods. I went with the chicken pot pie:

The chicken is really tender, the vegetables are cooked but not overdone, and the seasoning is near perfection. Also, the crust is flaky but not too buttery. Another great thing about The Green Table - their salads are always dressed SO well. There’s just enough oil, lemon juice, and pepper on every piece of arugula!

Chris ordered the Green Table burger:

The burger had an interesting tomato relish instead of pickles - just the right amount of tanginess to add to the well-cooked burger. I really love eating at Greenmarket because everything is so fresh and well-prepared. The only complaint - it’s not large enough; it only seats around 15 (including the communal table outside) so you might end up being turned away on a busy night.

How to get to The Green Table:

The Green Table
Inside Chelsea Market
New York, NY 10011
212-741-9174

Righteous Urban BBQ, also known as RUB, is a BBQ joint in Chelsea that Chris really likes (he gets their food once in while at work). I was in the mood for some good BBQ, especially after my disappointing trip to Daisy May’s, so we headed to RUB to check out their pulled pork and other offerings. The night we went, they ran out of their “burnt ends,” which sounded like a whole lot of fat, so instead, we ordered the Baron, which is a whole lot of meat:

The Baron is enough to feed a small country - it includes beef, pork, ham, pastrami, turkey, chicken, sausage and topped with a quarter rack of ribs. It also comes with two sides - we ordered baked beans and the potato salad.

Whew…what a plate-o-meat! The pulled pork was my favorite - the flavor was a little tangy and the meat had a great flavor, the complete opposite of Daisy May’s attempt to pull off pulled pork. The pork was moist, tender, and had just the right amount of zip. The brisket was a little tough and dry and the turkey, bleh, it was gross. I mean, what’s the point, anyway?

The side dishes were really tasty - the potato salad used a little pickle juice mixed with the mayo and the baked beans weren’t too sweet (I usually hate baked beans because they’re too mushy and sweet). Overall, it was pretty good BBQ!

The Baron is a great deal if you round up a group of people in the mood for a meat-filled feast. RUB BBQ is great and I’d definitely go back…after fasting for a week to maximize my eating potential.

How to get to Rub BBQ:

RUB BBQ
208 W 23rd St between 7th and 8th
New York, NY 10011
212-524-4300