To prepare for our Thomas Keller experience at The French Laundry (in a MONTH!), Chris and I went to Keller’s affordable bistro in Manhattan: Bouchon. Located in the Time Warner Center just below Per Se, Bouchon is a small cafe/restaurant that serves bistro goodies. The wait on a Saturday afternoon was about 20 minutes; not bad at all since there are so many stores to distract you while you’re waiting. We were promptly seated and given a bread basket while we contemplated what we wanted to order (we had a general idea of what we wanted, but had to narrow down the choices!).

Our bread basket with butter:

Each piece of bread was connected to the next so you could just break off a perfect-sized piece for yourself. The bread was extremely good, but would’ve been great if it had been hot (it’s asking a lot, I know). Also, the butter was really creamy and was the perfect spreading temperature (I love it when you can stick your knife in the butter and get exactly the amount you want without it being too hard or soft).

Chris and I decided to order a grilled cheese and tomato soup as well as a wagyu beef brisket sandwich (and dessert, of course). I started with the grilled cheese and tomato soup:

Grilled cheesy goodness:

The grilled cheese had two types of cheese (fontina and gruyere) sandwiched between two slices of brioche. The tomato soup tasted like fresh tomato puree and was very simple yet delicious. I read a couple of reviews before going to Bouchon and people usually complained that the food wasn’t hot (the kitchen is pretty small and it’s close to the bakery on the side of the restaurant), but my tomato soup was extremely hot - so hot that I burned my tongue!

Chris ordered the Wagyu Beef Brisket sandwich with side salad:

Initially, we wanted to order the lobster macaroni and cheese (since we both LOVE macaroni and cheese), but they only make a certain amount everyday and they were out by the time we got there. The wagyu beef brisket sandwich was okay, but not something I’d order again. The meat was a little dry, in my opinion. The side salad was overdressed and the dressing actually tasted a little bit like olive juice.

I was really interested in trying their desserts (there are so many to choose from!) and Chris and I decided to go with the Nutter Butter with vanilla ice cream:

Thomas Keller’s take on the nutter butter was soft, chewy, and and the filling inside was a lot better than what Nutter Butter offers. The cookie isn’t that sweet (even though it’s a ton of sugar and butter - I know because I recreated the recipe over the weekend), but the vanilla ice cream balanced the cookie out. It was amazing!

After our lunch at Bouchon, we walked over to the bakery to see what we could for take out:

They have TKO’s (Thomas Keller Oreos), sticky buns, and lots of macaroons. I didn’t order anything, but I’ll be back in a couple weeks for their macaroni and cheese!

What to order: Tartine Of Tuna Nicoise On Pain De Campagna, Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese, Vegetable Jardiniere On Toasted Multigrain, and the Nutter butter cookie for dessert.

How to get to Bouchon Bakery:

Bouchon Bakery
10 Columbus Circle
New York, NY 10019
212-823-9366

Yesterday, Chris and I went to the Olafur Eliasson’s exhibit at the MoMA:

Part of the exhibit is in Queens (at P.S. 1), but we didn’t have a chance to go - we’re definitely going soon because we’ve heard it’s equally interesting there. Here are some of my favorite pictures from yesterday’s visit:

A fan, suspended from the ceiling, floats just above people’s touch:

I forgot this was part of the exhibit and leaned against it:

The artist installed intense orange lights down two halls:

Jumping around a room that changed colors:

Moda, located in the Flatotel in the theater district, is a restaurant we visited based on a friend’s recommendation. The restaurant feels very lounge-like; dimly lit, large comfortable couches, and a well-stocked bar. The brunch at Moda is very reasonable - every entree is under $15 and everything comes with a free mimosa, bloody mary, or orange juice!

I went with the French toast:

If you’ve been following the site for a while, you know that I’m picky when it comes to French toast; the bread needs to be stale enough to hold the egg/milk combination but has to be moist (and not soggy). I mean, it can’t be that difficult to make good French toast (considering I can do it at home), but I feel like a lot of restaurants just don’t know how to make it. Moda’s French toast was prepared exceptionally well - just enough egg and milk combined with bread dusted with powdered sugar. Yum!

Chris ordered the standard cheeseburger:

Surprisingly, the cheeseburger from Moda was AWESOME! It had a nice grill flavor and there was a huge chunk of cheese melted on the big peace of meat - what else can you ask for? It’s not my favorite burger (that honor belongs to Goodburger), but it was definitely better than a lot of brunch burgers I’ve had.

Our friends both ordered egg white omelettes with hash browns:

They both enjoyed their egg white omelettes and the waiter even threw in an extra side of toast (I think the kitchen accidentally prepared it and didn’t want it to go to waste. Seriously, no one else was in the restaurant). I can’t see myself going back to Moda (it’s in a weird location for me), but I think their brunch is pretty decent (and you can make reservations on opentable!)

How to get to Moda:

Moda Restaurant and Lounge
135 W 52nd St
New York, NY, 10019
212-887-9880

If you’re a loyal reader of gracenotesnyc, you’ll know that I am a cheeseburger fanatic. After reading about Five Guys opening up in Manhattan, I had to visit opening weekend. Five guys was started by a dad and his four sons (using their college fund to start the place). Five Guys is famous for their burgers and fries and their goal is to sell the best quality burgers possible, so I knew I was in for a treat.

When we arrived, I was surprised to see the place was completely empty, especially since earlier in the week, it took an hour and a half to get your order. The place reminded me of a Jimmy John’s (same checkered tiling around the walls):

The bags around the cash register and along the walls are full of potatoes (everything is really fresh). 5 guys has been compared to In N Out, and since I love their burgers, I was hoping for the same experience. Their menu is simple and they offer premium toppings for free - mushrooms, onions, relish, jalapeño peppers, green peppers, and your normal tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, and mayo. We placed our orders for two cheeseburgers and an order of fries (half Cajun, half normal) and while we waited, we munched on FREE peanuts:

Why do they offer free peanuts?!

10 minutes later, our cheeseburgers and fries arrived and I couldn’t believe how large the burger was:

I didn’t realize that the cheeseburger was a double patty (so much meat, such a little stomach). The burger was cooked and seasoned well but the bun was too soft. It tasted more like a Chinese pastry than a burger bun even though it was toasted. The burger wasn’t too messy and it wasn’t that greasy (I’ve heard stories that in the Philadelphia branch, by the time your burger gets to you, the bun is completely soaked in grease).

The fries were greasy and a little soggy, not crispy:

AND there was no Cajun seasoning on half of the fries (even though we requested it). The fries tasted like they were drenched in grease and there were a lot of little pieces (which I HATE). We eventually got some Cajun seasoning and mixed it with the fries in a paper bag, but I didn’t think the seasoning was anything great (Chris, on the other hand, liked the seasoning a lot).

Five guys’ burger was good, but not great. I’m sure it’ll be popular with the folks that work around midtown and it’ll give the Burger Joint some competition, but I don’t plan on returning.

How to get to Five Guys:

Five Guys
43 W 55th St between 5th and 6th
New York, NY 10019
212-459-9600

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