Ba Xuyen

So yesterday I did something out of character. I traveled to Brooklyn. Ugh yes, Brooklyn. One of my friends suggested we go try this "really great" Viet place on 9th ave + 43rd street. So I went. It's ghetto, it's small, it's in the middle of no freaking where, but man, it was good- yeah, pretty much better than the truck. (see post here)



Mostly I went to see my two old high school friends, whom I haven't seen in literally 5 years. Danny Cai and Alejandro Chen-Li! But I was honestly really impressed with the sandwiches there. Ale had a Sardines sandwich! WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THEY HAD SARDINE SANDWICHES??? (sounds gross, since I'm not a huge fan of fish but some of you may like to try it...). I had the grilled pork sandwich. It was freaking amazing. They had some kind of strange white sauce mixed in with the spicy hot sauce,.. made the sandwich a little easier to eat. It wasn't dry at all, the pork was really tender and full of flavor. It definitely was a good eat.



Ghetto, dirty, hole in the wall, but damn good. And for $4.00 for a sandwich this big? I definitely don't think you'll ever find that kind of price in Manhattan OR Queens...



*5 points to whoever can find my blackberry. LOL

Taste: 5/5
Atmosphere: 2/5 (I definitely would not come here after 8pm)
Cost: $4.00 (FOUR BUCKS FOR A HUGE ASS SANDWICH? I THINK YES!)

2010 NYC PIZZA TOUR

Yes, I know I'm REALLY LATE with this entry! But I wanted to write about it so I will! So a few friends and I went on this little pizza tour back in the beginning of Summer (I seriously think it was June 8th? That's how late I am...haha!) We hit up a few places and together shared a bunch of different slices of pizza. I will recap you with what we tried and what I thought of each place.

*** WARNING: VERY IMAGE HEAVY *** :) ENJOY~

POSTO PIZZA (2nd ave btw 18+19th street):

Typical cheese pizza. Wasn't that enthralled by it. The slices are really small, kind like 1/4th the size of a normal slice. Really thin crust, simple, easy to eat, good for being the first pit stop of the morning.


ARTICHOKE BASILLE'S PIZZERIA (14th st btw 1st+2nd ave)


This pizza was really interesting. It was super cheesey and thick crusted. The sauce was something like alfredo sauce, completely drenched the pizza.



Flavorful, thick, saucy and cheesey... it was everything you really needed a pizza to be. I remember burning the roof of my mouth when I bit it... so be careful. Each slice is huge, I think you get sick/bored of the cheesiness by the time you get to 3/4th of the slice being finished. So, just drink a lot of water...

VENEIRO'S:


Our next stop was to break the Pizza-cycle with some dessert. We walked over to Veniero's Pastry Shop (11th street btw 1st+2nd ave). Biggest mistake. It was decent, but to me, it felt like some sort of over-done tourist trap. The space was real tacky, gold-mirrors and all this jazzy stuff all around. The pastries didn't seem that fresh, they were overly glazed and super DUPER sweet. Could have lived without it.

LUZZO'S PIZZERIA:


Then we went back to Pizzas. Our next stop, "Luzzo's" (1st ave btw 12th+13th st)
This was my personal favorite place. Most of us were pretty stuffed from the past places, so we all wanted something lighter. We ordered the pizza with arugula + ham topping. It was amazing !!! The arugula was so refreshing. The ham was sliced real thin so it wasn't overbearing, and the just completely packed the pizza with a ton of arugula. Actually, I've never had arugula before, prior to this pizza, and now I'm in love with this plant. The guys that worked there were real nice too, they decided to pose for us and take pictures... hah

MOTORINO'S:

Our LAST pizzeria stop was "Mororino's". A BIG no-no for me. We tried the Brussels sprout toppings- to be honest, it tasted bad. The Brussels sprouts were all burnt and tasted like charcoal, and the pizza wasn't anything I can remember. That's all I need to say. Here's a picture to sum up my words.

I think the coolest thing about that place was that the pizza box looked hot- that's about it..

DESSERT TRUCK WORKS:

The last place we went to was called, yes, my pick, "Dessert Truck Works". When I yelped it, I thought it was going to be an actual truck, but it ended up being a real shop! It was really nice there. The place was beautifully renovated, brand new, menu written in chalk, real cute place. I ordered the Honey-Rosemary Ice Cream. It was so good !!! Sweet, but not too sweet, rich, but not too rich.. ahh it was lovely. I'd go back here again anyday. They had a lot of other cool pastries that I wanted to try- all pretty decently priced. It's a cool place to just take a friend, date, or whatever to hang out and get something sweet. I'd pick this over momofuku any_day_....



The end!

Downtown Vietnamese Truck! - 'Banh Mi Cart'

Hopefully, I will be getting back to my updating moods. Life has gotten really busy this past Summer, between traveling, working (a LOT, Thank GOD!) and being a crazy, I've hopefully calmed down a bit for a little to pop my head in this blog and write about some great foods I've been lucky enough to try.

So one of my personal favorite places to eat is this truck, called the "Banh Mi Cart" on Hanover Square and Pearl Street in downtown Manhattan. (In the Financial District) There are so many stories associated with this little truck. But I've eaten there 3 times and each time has been heavenly goodness.

The first time was with my friend Shelley, who told me about this truck (since she works like a block away). The second time with my friend Alan, which best story ever, we literally ran around the whole financial district looking for this stupid truck in the pouring rain. My blackberry's googlemap really sucked, so we got lost, and I'm not very familiar with that area so yeah, we got lost a lot. The third time was with my sister for a really random quick lunch break, where we both craved it, and I traveled all the way from midtown just to go get it with her. (Yeah, I know..SUCH.. a _long_ way :p) Each time it tasted great, hit the spot and filled me up like a happy child getting a huge gift on Christmas morning.



I always get the sweet pork Vietnamese sandwich. They have things like spicy pork, chicken, vegetable, spring rolls, summer rolls, whatever finger-type foods the Vietnamese have- but no PHO.. sadly. Anyway, the sandwiches are thin, packed with meat, cucumbers, carrots and some other mysterious veggies (which are probably easily named, but I can't think of them off the top of my head right now) - but it all tastes great. The reason why I really love this place is because of how fresh and clean it tastes. It doesn't feel too heavy after you eat it, and it definitely leaves you feeling good after finishing the whole thing. It's not huMONNgo, nor is it too small, it's pretty much the perfect size. What's also pretty great, is that it costs $6, which if you're from queens, you're like WHAT THE HELL, WHY WOULD I PAY SO MUCH FOR A STUPID VIET SANDWICH, because you can get one for like $4, BUT! again, in manhattan, honestly, where can you get a lunch that's less than $8?! (WITHOUT a drink!) This is actually a jewel of a deal! :)

Anyways, if you guys have a chance, go check it out- should be there Mon-Fri from 11am-2pm. Don't call me if you get lost- I still probably can't find it even to this day. Ha!

Thanks to some of those DEDICATED FANS (HA HA WHO AM I KIDDING??) I realized that I forgot to put my proper ratings in, so here goes:

Taste: 5/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
Cost: $6

Cello Wine Bar - NYC

Taking a little break from my "Road Trip" Entries. I'm completely behind on my udpates! Will try to make up now!!

I walked into Cello Wine Bar on 53rd between 2nd and 3rd ave, and was greeted with a narrow 'hole in the wall' space that was beautifully decorated. The walls were brick and the tables were cozy and it was mixed with soft light and candles that lit down the row. It was a beautiful little space and I instantaneously loved it. I spoke with the wine director (and as some of you may know, I freelance for New York Magazine, and sometimes I get to go these great places to photograph the interiors, in which why I was sent here...) gave me a lot of great wines and even had the chef cook me a whole 3-course meal to try!!

First we started with a salad:


Then, his special, Mac 'n Cheese,


then finally his delicious panini/banana/nutella bread toast- thing magiggy. Everything was magical!



I highly recommend this place. The Mac and Cheese was really good- but seriously, his panini-banana-nutella thing was amazing. It's his personal creation (as a chef) and it was seriously one of the best tasting things I've had in awhile. I didnt actually check out the prices of the dishes, but it doesnt look too expensive. Doors open at 5pm, it's a great place to take a date, or just to hang out at the bar to eat some finger foods. The dishes aren't huge, so it isnt in any way overwhelming. The wine's delicious too!