Otto, People Pops and L'Arte Del Gelato= frozen treat extravaganza!

Soooo, after being let out early from work unexpectedly and my sister also being free, it was pretty obvious there needed to be a food trip! I was in the mood for gelato, who isn't in this weather? But I was also really hungry too so since otto was in the same neighborhood as her hair salon (she got her hair cut first) we decided to go there for an "afternoon nosh" as the waitress called it. Here's what we got.

We got the Quattro Fromaggi pizza which had tomato, mozzarella, taleggio, cacio, and ricotta. We found out that cacio is a type of sheep's milk cheese. As you can see, the different cheeses were spread differently. It wasn't like all four cheeses on every slice, more like a few dispersed. I'm not sure if I like that or not. Regardless, I thought the pizza was good. I normally don't like ricotta cheese so thatone was ok, but the orange looking ones and the other cheesy ones were pretty good. I like ooey gooey cheese, not like crumbly things. I like cheese so I liked this pizza. 

Up next, dessert! We ordered the banana tartufo (left) and the blueberry almond crisp (right). The banana tartufo had banana gelato, chocolate brownie, caramelized white chocolate and spiced peanuts.Sound ridic? It was. Lemme start off by saying that gelato was on point! Theyre known for their amazing gelato and I can see why. That banana gelato tasted like I was eating a really good freakin banana or banana cake. So good. And then there was a chocolate brownie on the bottom that was really soft and went perfectly with the banana flavor. The caramelized white chocolate was especially cool because it cracked like the top of a creme brulee and offered a nice sweetness. I also liked the spiced peanuts because they gave that perfect salty crunch. A really good dessert. The blueberry almond crisp game with vanilla gelato and whipped cream (not pictured). This one was really good too. I haven't had many crisps before so this was a nice new experience. Once you get through the crumble there's a lot of soft, gooey blueberries that just look and taste awesome. The blueberries were sweet but not too sweet and with the crunchy crumble was just awesome. The vanilla gelato and whipped cream went really well with it. I couldn't decide which dessert was beter, they were both that good. 

 People pops! So the ones they had on hand were yellow peach with mint, strawberry balsamic, and strawberry something else that sounded plain. I went with the strawberry balsamic cuz I'm always hearing this whole balsamic thing and have no clue what it tastes like except the balsamic vinagrette salad dressing. Thought itd be a freaky combo and boy it was. At first you get a strong strawberry flavor and then at the end youre kinda like whoa? what the hell is that? but not in a bad way. just like in a curious way because its a little tart, kinda like the vinagrette. I found that the vinagrette dressing is pretty on point in regards to what balsamic tastes like.Overall, I liked this weird combo.

Mona had never been to chelsea market before so upon hearing this we made a trek over especially since people pops and l'arte del gelato were both there. Double win!So on to L'Arte Del Gelato.

MmmmmmMmmmmmmm. Gelato. First off they had so many flavors! I tried the marscarpone and the biscotti one but stopped after that cuz they seemed kinda annoyed. I ended up getting the mango sorbet and the mixed berry sorbet as I was in a fruity mood. They were both expected flavors. The mixed berry was very refreshing and just fruity. I liked the mango slightly better just because when I tasted it I was like holy hell I am tasting a mango right now. They even managed to get the sorbet to be a bit stringy like what you find in a real mango! Love. But then again, I friggin love mango. A perfect palate cleanser for the rest of the day. So get over to these places because the weather ain't getting any cooler!

Plaza Food Hall by Todd English: Trying lots of food :)

So, I had a day off and was in the city and decided to try something new for an early dinner. After realizing, I have tried nearly every place I want to try so far, the only place that just opened that I hadnt tried was the Plaza Food Hall recently opened by Todd English.  There appears to be a number of food vendors that I love gathered together in this fancy little hall. Plus, there wasn't a lot of people which was a definite perk. Among the many vendors include Luke's Lobster, No.7 Sub, Billy's Bakery, Lady M Confections, Francois Payard Bakery just to mention a few. Let's explore what I had.

So, I couldn't really get a picture of it but try to imagine. I got the cheesesteak from No.7 sub. It comes with miso whiz, funyuns, and pickled jalapenos. I opted out of the pickled jalapenos as I am not a big fan. From what the woman said, miso is soybean based or something but basically they make their whiz out of real cheese instead of that fake stuff. I didn't care really, it just tasted like cheese to me. Personally, I wasn't too fond of it, but then again, I don't really like the wiz flavor so I am most likely biased. However, the beef was really good and there was a hefty amount of wiz on there which I liked. Lots of places skimp out on the cheese, not this place. The funyuns were a fun, witty addition to this sandwich providing a nice crunch to the ooey gooey mess. Right on No.7 sub.

Next up, the every fabulous Francois Payard Bakery. Can't go wrong getting anything in this place. Seriously, the man is a master (see previous post regarding stellar ice cream sandwiches). I opted for the Verrine Tout Chocolat - Rich Layers of Dark Chocolate Sabayon, Dark Chocolate leaves with Fleur de Sel, Chocolate Macaron, Chocolate Mousse and Caramel Chips. Tell me you did not just wipe the saliva that was dripping from your mouth. I will assure you, it tastes just as good as it sounds. How can it not with all of those great flavors. Look at that thing! So cute! I loved it because it was just layered with more and more surprises. There was a cute little chocolate macaron on top that was great. Then the dark chocolate sabayon. I put my spoon all the way to the bottom in an attempt to get every component. And they are all in there. I loved the layers of flavors. there was chocolate then caramel then a little fleur de sel. The textures were also great being that there was crunchy, soft, creamy, and smooth. There were also little bits of some sort of chocolate cake or brownie which was the best part hidden at the bottom. GET.

Hola! Bread puddin!!! I took a piece of bread pudding from pain d'avignon home. The pic is one that has blueberries and blackberries but they rotate flavors daily so mine was a peach bread pudding. I love bread pudding and heard good things so you're comin home with me! When I got home, I saw they packed a little custard thing that I poured on top. The texture was very dense, I must say. It was really really soft and moist though, something I love in bread pudding. It was studded with peach pieces that gave a little tart/sweet feel too. The bread pudding soaked up the custard which was very creamy and smooth. I also thought I tasted some chocolate chips. Not my fav thing from the plaza, I gave the rest to my sister.

Last, but definitely not least, I had heard that this froyo place had over 50 toppings so I knew I had to stop by. They had a good number of flavors, not as much as 16 handles but there were some that stood out to me as something I would want to try. I tried the mango ( I <3 mango) and coconut and those were pretty darn good so I got those. With toppings it was 79cents/oz. which is pretty outrageous but what do you expect from the friggin plaza food hall? I didn't get many of the toppings that they had mainly because they were candies and things that go with chocolate and I was going in a fruity direction. So I had my mango coconut concoction with raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, pineapple, strawberries, pomegranate seeds, mango boba (soooo good) and some other stuff I don't remember but I loved the selection of fruit. Not a lot of places have soooo much available. The coconut was verrryy creamy and coconut-y while the mango was sweet and being a sorbet, had a strong mango flavor. I thought the two went together really well, especially with the food toppings. So all in all, check out this gathering of delicious foods!

Bobby's Burger Palace + Capogiro gelato = Awesome additions to an already awesome day!

So, on a recent trip to Philly to see a great little show, me and some cool peeps that were with me went to get some food that was less than 5 minutes away from the venue. Who knew that such delicious food would be so close by? Well, the original plan was to visit Capogiro gelato as I had just read that they were rated one of the top 10 ice cream parlors in the US by the US World News Report. So as we were on our way there, low and behold, Bobby's Burger Palace! I jumped up and down like a little school girl shouting Bobby's Burger Palace! Bobby's Burger Palace! Look! Bobby's Burger Palace! Now, I was really excited because I never thought that I would be able to go to this place since it had a lot of western locations and I certainly was not gonna make that trip. It was like so lucky we saw the place so obviously we went in.

 

According to Best Thing I ever Ate, Claire Robinson got the Buffalo Burger "crunchified" ie with potato chips. I wasn't a fan of buffalo so i got the crunch burger that was a burger with american cheese and potato chips. It was definitely different, that's for sure. Chips on a burger? I mean, come on, I KNOW you haven't had that one before. I liked that the chips held up their crunchy texture despite being crushed by the bun. The burger was medium well and cooked nicely and the soft bun with crunchy chips just made it great. Plus they had great sauces like burger sauce (not so great), ketchup, chipotle ketchup, bbq, etc so you had a lot of options. I stuck with regular ketchup, keeping it simple. 

On to the next! Literally a few stores away, capogiro gelato! We ended up looking like freaks trying just about every flavor they had hahaha oh well. I ended up getting the pineapple gelato and something called amish milk gelato. They looked about the same where I couldn't really tell which one I was eating until it was in my mouth. The pineapple one had a prominent pineapple flavor that I liked which wasn't too sweet and thats why I went with it. Then after I tired the amish milk gelato it was like this weird creamy gelato that really just, well, tasted like milk! I thought itd be a nice creamy cut through the sweet pineapple. Mona got the chocolate coffee one which sorta just tasted like chocolate and kiwi which was reallly good, I almost got that one too. It seems theyre fruity flavors are the best. Anyhow, stop on by if you're in Philly and it'll definitely brighten up your day!

More Doughnut Plant!!!!

Hey, doughnut plant. Nice to see you again. I had a meeting that was a couple of blocks away early in the morning and I was hungry. My mom brought home a donut and I remembered it was nearby so I was like Breakfast= DONUTS!!!

On the left, their special donut. Mango yeast donut! I saw mango and it was a done deal. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE mango. They had it in yeast donut and cake donut form but went with yeast after consulting with the guy working there. It's pretty good. I mean, I just don't like that the flavor isn't really integrated. It's like first you taste like a regular yeast donut and then the mango comes in. And boy is it good. That mango glaze screams mango! I wish there were more mango chunks or creme or something to make it a stronger flavor. But, it's doughnut plant. So it's still damn good. Speaking of damn good, I tried the coconut creme yeast donut and that was AWESOME. See the difference with this one is that it had a coconut cream inside that was soooo good. AND it had a coconut glaze with coconut flakes all over the top! The flavor was screaming coconut! The yeast donut was perfect, chewy and that smooth coconut filling with the somewhat crunchy coconut flakes was just GREAT. Adding to repertoire of their best donuts to choose from. Oh, Doughnut Plant. I've missed you. Will visit again soon, promise!

JEAN GEORGES!!!

We made it to Jean Georges!!! We went for a celebratory belated birthday dinner to celebrate me and mona's transition into adulthood. Haha. Anyhow, side note, dress really professional cuz this place does not mess around dress code wise and you will feel intimidated even when you are dressed up. So look good. We went for lunch since they had a deal. They came out with amuse bouches but since I don't have pictures and I have no clue what they were called or what was in them, I'm just gonna say they weren't bad but nothing to write about. We started off with the sweet pea soup with parmesan (right) and the goat cheese gnocchi with caramelized baby artichokes, lemon and olive oil (left).

First off, the gnocchi. It was very cheesy. After all it was pretty much cheese with artichokes. I don't remember much about this dish (this happened a while ago, forgive the lack of memory). I just remember thinking very chees-y. What I do remember? The friggin sweet pea soup! First off, the croutons are placed on the bottom and the parmesan too. And then they come to your table and pour the sweet pea soup on top! How cool is that? Anyhow, this soups was one of my favorite dishes. It was just so strong in pea flavor (I <3 peas!) and it also had a very strong parmesan cheese flavor that I just LOVED. I kept eating it and I couldn't believe how much I was loving soup. Yes, soup. It was that good. This was followed by a mid course meal.

It was crispy crab with pink peppercorn and exotic fruits. That crab was definitely crispy. You could literally hear the crunch when you cut it with a knife. I don't know what the exotic fruits were per se, but I did like them. I also liked the greens that were on there too. The pink peppercorn I'm not remembering so much but I do know I remembered the strong crab flavor and liked that. then, came our main dishes.

On the left was the crispy sweetbreads with glazed maitake mushrooms, spring onion and hibiscus. That one was unique because I've never had sweetbreads before so I didn't know what t expect. Plus when I cut it, I really thought it was some sort of meat just based on the texture but Mona kept reassuring me it wasn't so I just kept eating it. The texture didn't sit well with me but I loved the crispyness and it tasted kinda like well for lack of a better description, sweet bread. The maitake mushrroms were a nice addition and the hibiscus provided a bit of sweetness to the dish. On the right was the grilled beef tenderloin with cherry mustard, mustard greens, and purple potato chips. Cooked medium well, it was a nice piece of meat. The cherry mustard was a bit bitter with the mustard greens but I didn't mind it so much. Sorry for no pics of the purple potato chips, but well, they were chips. Nothing special. Now, on to dessert!

So on the left was their chocolate tasting. It came with their signature molten chocolate lava cake with vanilla bean ice cream. It was pretty standard lava cake, nice smooth liquid chocolate with cake perfectly balanced by the ice cream. Classic. It also came with a white chocolate meringue with meyer lemon ice and cinnamon.This was actually quite unique. At first you only taste the tart lemon but then as you keep eating you slowly get the smooth white chocolate meringue that balances out that tartness. The cinnamon also gave it a nice arthy touch. Defninitely different. On the right was the caramel tasting. It came with caramelized pineapple, carrot cake pieces, and molasses. That one was the star. I wish there were more carrot cake cuz it was pretty awesome. But, the caramelized pineapple was pretty rad too. I'm definitely gonna caramelize my pineapples from now on. The molasses added to the sweetness but surprisingly it wasnt too sweet. Loved it.It also came wit hsticky toffee cake, coconut sorbet, and a tamarind caramel. Not sure what tamarind tastes like but it just tasted like caramel, which is always good. The sticky toffee cake was very dense, almost chewy. It was very sweet but thats ok cuz the creamy coconut was like hey what's up and then youre like mmmm coconut, and the sweet is back with that caramel. Pretty good I'd say. But it's not over yet!

Birthday cake surprise!  I called ahead and told them it was her birthday and Mona was shocked haha. It was quite funny. Anyhow, that thing was so damn cute we didn't wanna eat it. The chocolate bow, the gold pieces, the cute little box! We did anyway. I have no clue what was in it. Definitely chocolate something or other with some sort of cake, crunchy bottom and something creamy like a pudding like thing in the middle. Worst description ever but that's all I remember. Oh, and the white chocolate shard that they wrote happy birthday on. Hold on! Stilll not done.

We finished off with some dessert amuse bouches. It came with strawberry macarons and some truffles! They were pretty good. The macarons literally melted in your mouth and had a very strong strawberry flavor both in the cookie an jam in the middle. The truffles were really good too! There was a caramel one that was awesome as well as a passionfruit one that I really liked.Usually I'm against pureed fruit and chocolate like in truffles, gimme some caramel or more chocolate! But that was really good! So all in all a really good meal! And no that expensive either! Go for lunch! :)

Big Gay Ice Cream Truck- Bea Arthur!

On the way to work I was early and spotted the truck. Decided to try something new so I tried the Bea Arthur. It came with vanilla soft serve with dulce de leche covered in crushed nilla wafers.

Look at that beauty. Damn I want some big gay ice cream truck right now. It was sweet from the dulce de leche but that was easily balanced by the smooth creamy vanilla ice cream. The nilla wafers also added a nice crunch. It was good, but I gotta say, the salty pimp is still the best!

Kelvin Slush! Finally!!!

Hey, I know I have been MIA for like ever but I honestly just wasn't trying anything new. A lot of this stuff is out of date cuz they all happened recently but I don't remember when exactly so I'm just gonna write about what I remember. And I definitely remember Kelvin Slush. I spotted them on the way to meeting up with my sister and Mom for a semi early dinner. Mine kinda looks like the one below. I got an arnold palmer base with mango puree. Mmmmm it was good. Arnold Palmer was the perfect balance of sweet and tart. You get a little zing from the lemonade but the sweet iced tea balances it out perfectly. The mango also added a nice fruity flavor that I liked. I got a bigger size and actually regret not getting the small. Don't be fooled. It looks tiny but it's so much! So much goodness!

So when I met up with Mona and told her about it, she wanted one too. She got the Arnold Palmer with mixed berry which was good too. Very fruity flavor from the berries. Not too sweet either. Another winner.

They both even just look awesome! Oh and you could add more than one fruit puree for 75 cents I think. They had passion fruit, mango, mixed berry, raspberry, and much more. Check em out!! Especially wit h the current hot weather!