Veteran's Day

Ok, I've been lazy about posting but in my defense, I've been sick for an entire week and haven't had much of an appetite. Shocking, I know. On Thursday, I was one of the lucky few that got the day off work for Veteran's Day and had to make the most of it, cold and all.

I started off with lunch at Ippudo. It's amazing how much better their ramen tastes when I'm one of the first patrons there and there is no wait. Ramen was followed with a scoop of pumpkin ice cream from Sundae and Cones. Delicious. I then trekked all over the city for some shopping and stopped for a coffee break at EATaly. Amazingly, I did not eat anything there but couldn't resist an espresso torinese and some dessert to go.

I attempted to go to dinner at Lowcountry but the wait was an hour and I didn't feel like waiting. After several more failed attempts to find a decent dinner spot, I ended up at Pinto, a Thai place in the West Village. I'm glad I stumbled upon it because it was delicious. Unfortunately, I don't remember how I got there and probably won't be able to find it again. The West Village is a ridiculous jumble of streets that I will never really understand. I always walk in circles before somehow ending up where I need to be.

DIY thai tea! super cool

fried shrimp with spicy aioli

crab fried rice

pumpkin curry with chicken

Dinner was delish. I can't wait to try this place again. Great date place!





Restaurants mentioned:
Ippudo
65 4th Ave.
New York, NY 10003

Sundaes & Cones
95 E. 10th St.
New York, NY 10003

EATaly
200 5th Ave.
New York, NY 10010

Pinto
118 Christopher St.
New York, 10014

2 Hour Ramen @ Ippudo

Over the weekend, Kevin was in town so I took him to the infamous ramen house, Ippudo. I am quite the loyal ramen follower, but I've only been to Ippudo once before. It happened to be a Sunday afternoon so the wait wasn't horrendous. Going on a Saturday night, however, probably wasn't the best idea if I had expected to eat dinner at a normal time. The wait was approximately 2 hours, despite the ridiculous 80 degree temperature in New York. Who wants to eat a eat steaming bowl of ramen when it's 80 degrees out?? Well, besides me, of course. :) So we did what any rational person would do---headed up the street to a bar to kill time. We eventually got a table and promptly ordered a ton of food.

The shochu cocktail with fresh squeezed grapefruit juice is a must. It tasted like a really delicious Greyhound. It's definitely one of those "creeper" drinks where it tastes so good, you forget how much alcohol you're quickly guzzling.

Who knew a simple dish like cabbage with sesame oil, rice crackers and a little salt and pepper could be so yummy? The crunchy texture brings it all together. Love it.

I've never had shisito peppers before but these were lightly fried and came with a side of salty dipping mixture, which we jokingly dubbed MSG (I wouldn't be surprised if it was mixed in there!) It wasn't my favorite dish, but not bad at all.

Mmmm...the one dish I was fantasizing about besides the ramen. These are no Momofuku buns but still hold their own! They're filled with Berkshire pork, lettuce, and some sort of spicy, mayo, chili sauce. I could have eaten all 6, but just had 1. Absolutely delicious!

I decided to go with the miso ramen which came with Berkshire pork, cabbage and scallions. The bowls are huge and I could barely finish half. I can't say that I really see a huge difference in Ippudo ramen and some other top ramen places in the city. The noodles are hand pulled and not too soft or gummy. The broths never disappoint. Is it worth the wait? I definitely think it's worth going at least once.





Restaurants mentioned:
Ippudo
65 4th Ave.
New York, NY 10003