NYC Food Frenzy v2.0

  So my friend and I decided to do another whirlwind trip to NYC.  Basically just to eat.  We have a board on Pinterest where we keep adding places.  Each place is known for something, whether it be a cookie, a cupcake, pizza, macaroons, waffle, a weird-flavored ice cream...you get the point.  In just under 10 hours we hit 17 places - we don't mess around :) So here's a photo recap of our tour:

# 1.  Magnolia Bakery - I don't think this needs an introduction. The place was super cute and ol' fashioned.  I chose the German Chocolate and Salted Caramel (I think). Both were good, but nothing spectacular.

#2.  Murray's Cheese - A cheese and specialty shop.  I picked up some neat looking pasta, yogurt and bread.

#3.  Sweet Revenge  - Known for their cupcake, wine and beer pairings - not to mention the awesome artisan menu we didn't get to sample.  We did try the Tart cupcake, pear cider, South African Rock Shandy, and the America Rock Shandy.  The cupcake was amazing-the brown parchment it was baked in added to its charm.  We got some other flavors to go and they were all sooooo good.  Just look at that menu! And the to-go cups...genius!

#4.  Kee's Chocolate - I didn't get anything here, mostly because the prices were outrageous. $2.50 for a small piece of chocolate!  Was it worth it, Abi?

#5.  Kate's Paperie - Not food, but I like paper :)

#6.  Detour to Anthropologie, because, well, it's Anthropologie.

#7.  Topshop

#8.  Eataly - I wish I could say more about this place, but we didn't stay here long.  There were just too many people here and we could barely walk around.  This was our second visit, so no disappointments.

#9.  NY Cake and Baking - Picked up some odds and ends for the kitchen.

#10.  Don Antonio's Pizza - Known for their Neapolitan pizza, we tried three different kinds: The Pizza Fritta, a lightly fried pizza filled with cherry tomatoes, homemade mozzarella, fresh ricotta and salami; The Montanara Starita, lightly fried pizza dough, sauce, imported smoked mozz, wood fired oven; and The Margherita.  The margherita was the best.  The others were good, in a different sort of way.  I think it was the fried dough - the dough may have taken on the flavor of the oil a little too much. Motorino's (from last tour) was much better.

#11.  Columbus Circle for Bouchon Bakery - I got a few cookies here. There were just okay.

#12.  Levain Bakery - Known for their Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip cookie, OMG these were good. I wish I had gotten more than just one.  You must go and try these.

#13.  Central Park - why not, right?  And it's not every day you get serenaded by a pirate.

#14.  Starbucks - Needed to refuel.

#15.  Laduree - "These small, round cakes, crisp on the outside, smooth and soft in the middle, are the most famous creation of Ladurée."  I tried the lemon, pistachio, and strawberry marshmallow.  I now know why they're been dubbed the best in the world.

#16.  Wafels & Dingas - These aren't just any Belgium waffles.  And what's a Dinga?  It's a topping.  We happened upon one of the Wafel & Dingas carts outside Central Park.  I was completely ready to pass on it, because really, we've been eating all day and I just couldn't eat one.more.thing.  Then I tasted the Liege Waffle, the "other" Belgium waffle.  According to their website, it's a wheat-based yeast sweetened dough with pearl sugar.  They're chewy and soft, and then you get that crunch from the half-carmelized sugar melting inside.  Our dingas was spekuloos spread.  'Nough said.  This may have been my favorite out the of whole trip. 

#17 - Momofuku Milk Bar - We went to try the cereal milk ice cream.  It tasted a little too much like corn flakes, and I never did like corn flakes that much.  They weren't sweet enough for me :)  I bought a variety of cookies, which included their infamous corn cookie (more corn flakes) and the compost cookie.  I liked the compost cookie and found it very interesting one of the ingredients listed is coffee grounds - guess that's why they call it compost.  Abi got the crack pie, one of their other specialties.  It didn't look like much, so I passed.  Then she gave me a taste days later and it makes sense why it's called crack pie. Because you can't stop eating it.  I will be making this very soon. 

How's that for a whirlwind day?  Anyone have any recommendations for next trip?

P.S. I just hit 1,000 page views today! Wahoo!