Ronnybrook Farm’s Milk Bar is quickly becoming one of my favorite brunch spots in the city. Their service is fast, the waiters are (sometimes) friendly, and the food is delicious. Chris and I initially went to Milk Bar for some vanilla ice cream (after spending a night watching those Chevy commercials of the guy making a vanilla sundae with hot fudge and whipped cream), but we were pleasantly surprised when we realized they served actual food as well. Earlier in the day we had some chicken noodle soup, but we decided to have another breakfast before enjoying our sundaes.

On the weekends, Milk Bar serves their eggs all day (which is what we were in the mood for - yay!). We decided to just order the egg in the hole and share it since we had soup a couple hours before and weren’t that hungry:

The egg in the hole is served on rye toast with Grafton cheddar cheese, two slices of applewood bacon, and a side of potatoes. The cheese, egg, meat, and bread combination was a treat and we were still hungry afterwards, so we decided to order macaroni and cheese as well:

I don’t think I’ve ever had a cheesier mac and cheese - it was just layers and layers of gooey cheese mixed with macaroni noodles. The rye bread also tasted really good when I dipped it into the mac and cheese (because mac and cheese alone doesn’t have enough carbs).

After our satisfying lunch, we ordered a hazelnut sundae (they ran out of vanilla!!!):

Whole hazelnuts, ice cream that’s not too sweet, tons of fudge and whipped cream. We devoured the entire thing (and licked the cup afterwards!).

We are so obsessed with Milk Bar that we’ve been back a couple more times since (the other time we went on a weekday afternoon and they weren’t serving eggs). One of the servers has a scowl tattooed on her face, but the other servers are all friendly. Portions are large and everything is under $10, so you can try a bunch of items if you’re in the mood.

Seating is limited to a couple of stools, but the general feel of the restaurant is very warm and welcoming:

You can also pick up yogurt, ice cream, or milk to bring home with you. Try their creamline milk - it’s the closest thing you can get to milk straight from the cow:

The chocolate milk is also supposedly delicious, but I didn’t have any room left in my stomach to sample anything else.

How to get to Milk Bar:

Ronnybrook Farm’s Milk Bar
75 9th Avenue between 15th and 16th
New York, NY 10011
212-255-7990

2007 has been a great year for gracenotesnyc.com. We ate our way around New York (and other places) and found some blog-worthy places. Also, the website got a facelift, we added Grace Face’s, and we’re still working on changes to make GNN even better. In my private life, I’ve happily been residing in New York for over a year now, my brother has joined me, and I feel as if I’m finally making a home for myself in this huge city. As a way to close the year, I’ve selected a few of my favorites for 2007 (starting with breakfast and ending with my overall favorite meal) - I hope you enjoy!

Favorite brunch spot of 2007:

It was a tough call, especially since there are so many great places in Manhattan. Initially, I was going to say Clinton St Baking Company, hands down, for their fluffy blueberry pancakes, cheesy grits, and fried green tomatoes, but then I thought, WAIT A MINUTE…Norma’s accepts RESERVATIONS! I won’t have to wait 2 hours to order pancakes!! Norma’s Waz-Za is probably the most amazing and indulgent waffle I’ve EVER eaten. If you’re in New York, you MUST stop by Norma’s (and make reservations through opentable!).

Favorite cheeseburger of 2007:

2006 was the year of Shake Shack - I would go there ALL the time (and I’d take the train to Union Square and WALK to Madison Square Park so I wouldn’t feel so bad about ordering a cheeseburger, a shake, AND ice cream). 2007, however, is about eating healthier (is that possible when you’re talking about a huge piece of meat with a melted piece of cheese on top?). Goodburger’s ingredients are fresh and their service is good - great for a burger joint!

Favorite sandwich of 2007:

I keep going back to The Spotted Pig for their amazing cubanos and side salads, even though I’m not a fan of their poor service (and questionable tong usage). The cubano has a great crusty bread, lots of pork (and its grease), and pickles that bring the dish together. If you’re there, order the gnudi, too!

Favorite date spot:

Il Mattone is a quiet Italian restaurant in Tribeca where the food never disappoints. They have the best artichoke appetizer in the city and it’s a cute spot for a little one-on-one time, especially because you can walk to the water after you stuff yourself with their great bread (it’s always fresh out of the oven!!) It’s more of a takeout place (I can tell they’re doing well because all of the delivery boys carry iPhones), but I like going to the restaurant and sitting in their small dining room because it’s very quiet and *almost* romantic.

Favorite meal under $10:

This category is pretty open ended since you can go to a lot of places for under $10, especially if you like street food. My favorite pick for 2007: Dogmatic. I love the bite the jalepeno cheddar adds to the baguette and sausage. Their ginger sodas are also made with real ginger, making it “healthier” than other sodas. My only gripe about Dogmatic - you never know when he’s going to be there, so you might be disappointed if you go on a day he’s unavailable.

Favorite Sushi:

It’s not difficult to choose my favorite sushi restaurant in New York because the only place I trust is Sushi Yasuda. Their fish is tasty and I always feel like I’m being transported to Tokyo whenever I walk into the midtown eatery.

Favorite dessert:

2007 was definitely the year of frozen yogurt. I can’t pick a favorite (yet), but I enjoyed Pinkberry’s shaved ice (well, when they allowed you to substitute fruit with no extra charge), Red Mango’s green tea frozen yogurt, and all the other shops that have popped up all around Manhattan. I went on a frozen yogurt tour recently (which will be blogged about in the new year), but frozen yogurt is definitely on the top of my dessert list for 2007.

Favorite overall meal:

Pearl Oyster Bar is my favorite restaurant of 2007 and will probably be my favorite restaurant for years to come. POB never disappoints as my go-to place for out of town guests, Friday night dates, or just a special treat. Rebecca Charles and her team make POB seem like a warm and loving home with their simple but delicious dishes. I don’t think I’ll ever find a lobster roll as delicious as Pearl’s. Their clam chowder is also perfectly creamy and their apple pie is simple, but that’s exactly what you want in an apple pie, isn’t it? You really can’t go wrong when you’re at Pearl Oyster Bar.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading gracenotesnyc this year - I’ve enjoyed sharing my experiences with you and getting your recommendations as well! I’ll be back next year with a comprehensive review of New York’s frozen yogurt. Stay tuned, be safe and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

On my trip to Cincinnati, I visited Paradise Moon, possibly the worst restaurant in Cincinnati. After our terrible dinner, we went to Graeter’s ice cream for an evening treat. I’d been to Graeter’s once before and had also seen it featured on Oprah’s Favorite Things a while ago. Graeter’s sells ice cream, sorbets, chocolates, and other sweets but they’re special because of the ice cream making process, the French Pot method.

From their website: ‘the French Pot method swirls our secret recipe of egg custard and fresh cream along the chilled sides of the slowly spinning French Pot freezer. As the ice cream mix freezes and thickens, a blade carefully scrapes the sides of the pot, gently folding the ice cream into itself. It is this gentle folding process that prevents the whipping of air into our ice cream and accounts for its extremely dense and creamy consistency. Where a typical pint of ice cream can weigh as little as eight ounces, a Graeter’s pint weighs nearly a full pound!’

I’m not a huge fan of chocolate chips in my ice cream. If I ever order ice cream, I usually like it to be smooth enough so I can let the ice cream melt in my mouth without too much chewing. For Graeter’s, I make an exception. Their chocolate chips come in various sizes because they pour melted chocolate directly into the ice cream. The result is amazing:

Huge chunks of chocolate chips that are soft (how do they do it?!) and melt in your mouth. Black raspberry chocolate chip is my favorite. A close up:

If you’re not in the Cincinnati/Greater Kentucky area, don’t worry - you can order Graeter’s online and they’ll ship directly to your house (although you’ll have to buy at least 6 pints, I think).

How to get to get Graeter’s delivered:

Graeter’s Cincinnati
Online store

Norma’s, an open space restaurant in Le Parker Meridien, houses a brunch that is out of this world. I didn’t even know Norma’s existed until Metrodad recommended the restaurant. I love trying new brunch spots in the West Village, but Chris and I finally trekked up to midtown to sample Norma’s offerings.

I made a reservation through OpenTable and received a confirmation with detailed instructions of what I should do before going to Norma’s:

• 24 hrs to go—print out the menu http://parkermeridien.com/eat.php
• 24-12 hrs to go—show off the menu and seek advice on what to order (yeah, they’re all jealous!)
• 18 hrs to go—aerobic exercise and strength training (preferably the Quickie) http://www.parkermeridien./gravity/
• Lunch the day before—remember, you’re in training, so have a protein shake
• Dinner the day before—no eating after 7pm—only bread and water allowed
• Night before—dream sweet dreams of beautiful food floating through your subconscious
• Morning of—do a full yoga session with Swami Ramdev Ji http://www.divyayoga.com/freePranayamTraning.htm
• Arrive on time and tell me that the “Swami sent you”
• You’ve made it, now time to eat!

What the heck - aerobic exercise to prepare for a brunch?! After an initial glance at the menu, I could kind of see why (lots of sweets and other fatty brunch foods) but seriously, a workout?! After seeing a couple of table’s food choices, I could see the reasoning behind a workout to prepare; Norma’s portions are HUGE and they do NOT mess with brunch.

Chris and I ordered two sweet brunch items - the Waz-Za and the Waffling Toast. The Waz-Za is a waffle with fruit on the inside and fruit on the outside with a crackly brulee top:

When we were ordering, we saw a waiter walk by with a huge waffle and a pile of fresh berries and whipped cream and immediately thought that was the Waz-Za. I think we were initially a little disappointed when the actual Waz-Za appeared, but I took a bite and it was seriously…pure bliss. Let’s start with the waffle - not too crunchy and not too soggy; especially impressive for a waffle that’s smothered with so much pink sauce. The fruit was mixed into the waffle mix and you could taste little bits of blueberries every once in a while. The pink sauce on top of the waffles was a puree of sour cream and berries (I think) that was topped with blueberries and bananas. All together, it was already perfect, but then Norma’s adds another kicker by adding a crunchy topping:

Every bite was better than the last and after scarfing down half of the Waz-Za, my turn was up - it was time to trade for the waffling French toast:

A great idea - it’s a piece of bread that’s dipped in an egg batter mixture that’s pressed in a waffle maker. The French toast was infused with lots of citrus (not in a bad way) but I simply couldn’t eat my one and a half pieces. By the time it was my turn to try to conquer the waffling French toast, my stomach had already called it quits and I couldn’t finish. The French toast tasted great and I feel like I didn’t give it enough of a chance since I was so in love with the Waz-Za. French toast: 1, Grace’s stomach: 0:

Norma’s is a little on the expensive side (around $17/plate) but it’s definitely worth the trip. It beats Clinton St. Bakery in terms of taste AND they accept reservations. My only regret - I didn’t wear elastic pants.

How to get to Norma’s:

Norma’s
118 W. 57th Street between 6th and 7th
New York, NY 10019
212-708-7460

On Friday night, I made a special trip to DessertTruck, a Mister Softee type van parked on 8th and University. DessertTruck was started by two friends - one a pastry sous chef from Le Cirque and the other an MBA student at Columbia:

We ordered two warm desserts: the molten chocolate cake and the Slow-Baked Apples & Cinnamon.

The molten chocolate cake came with a liquid ganache center, sea-salt, roasted pistachios, and a hint of olive oil:

Usually, I’m not a fan of mixing sweet with salty, but the sea salt paired SO well with the decadently sweet ganache and chocolate cake.

The slow-baked apples and cinnamon were also delicious:

Apples paired with cranberries, crisp puff pastry, streusel, and whipped cream. The sweetness of the apples was wonderfully offset by the tartness of the cranberries. The overall effect was very light and demonstrated that DessertTruck was just as good at doing lighter desserts as they were at producing the more decadent chocolately stuff.

The best part? The price; each dessert is only $5. AH!!!

PS - take a look at the logo; notice the RFG at the bottom? What does that stand for? My opinion: Really Fucking Good.

How to get to DessertTruck:

DessertTruck
8th St & University Pl
New York, NY 10014