the burger bistro

 

When Julie was here – weeks and weeks ago now... this is a very late post – we had dinner at the Burger Bistro in Bay Ridge (also located in Park Slope and the Upper East Side). I freaking love this place and wish I still lived as close to it as I used to. Make-your-own burger menus, fries, tater tots (we love our totz), and ICE CREAM SANDWICHES. Not to mention local sodas that come in fancy bottles and in flavors like "ginger root" and whatnot. Ahhh.

molly's cupcakes

A while back I got to meet up with Allie, one of the most elusive friends I have. We met on our study abroad trip to London and fell in platonic love. After graduation, she proceeded to disappear off the face of the earth, but I've managed to reign her back in. (No, that is a lie.)

We had dinner at a sushi restaurant in the West Village that is not even worth mentioning, really – what is worth mentioning is the cupcake shop we went to afterwards: Molly's Cupcakes. Allie's sister just started working at their Chicago location and has been raving about it apparently, so we decided to try it out.

Gulp.

DE-LISH.

Molly's has a great selection of in-house flavors, all filled with some special concoction (Boston creme pie, caramel butterscotch, blueberry cheesecake, cookie monster, cake batter, and one called "the Ron Bennington"). They also let you put together your own cupcake – i.e., you choose the cake, frosting, and any toppings you want.

Gulp. Gulp. Gulp.

I love this place so much that when my sister came to visit slash help me move, I forced her back here as well. Their red velvet is regal. Their cake batter cupcake is literally (no, not literally) a party in your mouth. Their cookie monster cupcake is fab.

Molly's Cupcakes is a bit pricier than my beloved Sugar Sweet Sunshine – but then the location is much larger, the flavor options are fancy-schmancier, and there is more cupcake to go around. Also, West Village versus Lower East Side? I mean... yeah.

a trip to the brooklyn bridge

On my parents' last day in New York, we decided to take a trip up to the Brooklyn Bridge. My dad had been wanting to go for some time now, and we didn't have time to go when everyone was here back in December. It was a cool 50-something degrees, so we bundled up and headed out to Dumbo.

I see the Brooklyn Bridge from a distance every time I travel along the Manhattan Bridge, but seeing it up close was kind of weird... surreal, almost. It was so windy! And so many Europeans everywhere!

Afterwards we were hungry for lunch so we went to Grimaldi's – the real reason for my dad's interest in the Brooklyn Bridge – where we found ourselves in a surprisingly short line. (Not even ten minutes and we were at a table for three. It's a far cry from the hour-long waits that people talk about on Yelp.)

This is not the best New York-style pizza i've ever had, and it's probably not worth waiting an hour in the rain/heat/snow, but it is pretty decent brick-oven pizza, and it's fun to say you've been here and tried the food! All in all, a fun way to wrap up an activity-filled weekend. Yay. Family is fun.

brief tour of flushing

When my parents flew up to visit me recently, we met up with one of my mother's old middle school friends – a woman she hadn't seen in 40 years! My mom was so cute – even though it had been such a long time since she last saw Gloria, when they got together, she said it was like nothing had really changed. The two of them linked arms immediately, my dad and I trailing behind, and it wasn't hard to imagine how they might have looked when they were younger.

We met Gloria in Flushing, Queens, where she lives in a great quirky house built in 1907. She took us around to a few of the places most popular with the locals, starting with breakfast at a little restaurant off of 41st & Main that serves "the best" traditional Taiwanese breakfast: shao bing you tiao and dou jiang.

The you tiao are Chinese crullers wrapped in shao bing, or sesame flatbread. Chinese people like to pair this with dou jiang, which is a sort of milk made from soybeans (but different from the soymilk you put in your coffee or cereal). I haven't had this kind of food in ages... brought me back to the last time I was in Taiwan, almost eight years ago now. Memories.

Later we went to Paris Baguette, apparently the best bakery in Flushing. Really really beautiful pastries there, perfectly flaky, and all sorts of interesting flavors. Whilst wandering, we also ended up at a stall off of 41st Ave & Main St & Kissena Blvd, underneath a sign that says "AA Plaza." Cheap-cheap-cheap Chinese street food – scallion pancakes, chicken drumsticks, fish balls, steamed pork buns (4 for only $1.25!), and more.

Flushing is really a cool area, a busy and bustling Chinatown without being overwhelmingly crowded or stinky (ahem, 8th Avenue) or ridiculously touristy and overpriced (ahem, Canal Street). And it was nice to be there with someone who calls it home – to sit and have tea and chat about everything and nothing.

smorgasburg

Smorgasburg started back up this weekend, so Betsy and I decided to go together – our first date in something like seven months. Happy days and gorgeous weather and so much food. I'm so looking forward to coming back when the weather gets warmer... more outdoor naps, fewer coats and sweaters.

     
Sandwich with pit beef, white onion, and Tiger Sauce on a Kaiser roll from Pit Beef NYC.
S'mores pie from Butter & Scotch, which we ate while waiting in line for doughnuts from Dough. (Lush.)

 
 
Teriyaki balls from Mimi and Coco, a bizarre mix between pancake & crepe but with a Japanese twist.
We also split an avocado shake (soy milk and liquefied avocado... love! love! love!).


Such a nice lazy day. I feel like this is what you're meant to do in New York – eat delicious overpriced food, enjoy the company of good friends, fall into food coma, and nap for the next few hours (if you're lucky).