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!

Eddie's Cafe - SF

So this one morning in SF, I woke up really early- due to my jetlag, and I really wanted some good breakfast. I was actually really craving some like, IHOP-type food, so I yelped some good places to eat around my friend Stephen's place, and I stumbled upon this place called "Eddie's Cafe". The reviews were decent, and it was really close by, I think it was like 2 blocks away and the prices looked real good. (hey, i'm a poor traveling nomad!)



We got there, and it was like a small corner shop- something that reminds me of Central Perk from Friends. The decor in the place was eccentric- pictures lining the walls, random flower pots- and the place was packed. It just seemed like a friendly-neighborhood diner that served "regulars" and was filled with a bunch of happy waiters. The restaurant was owned by Korean folk, which was a bit of a surprise to me, since the restaurant's stated it as "Soul Food"....and how random is it that there are penguins on the cover of the menu- what does that even MEAN?



Anyway, the food was decent, your typical breakfast foods, hashbrowns, eggs, sausages and coffee- tasted all right- but the price is what made it. I think I got all of that for like under $7 bucks- which is pretty insane because if I remember correctly, Ihop ususally charges like $7 STARTING.. without tax/tip!

Look how happy one of the customers are, eating their breakfast food!



Taste: 3.5/5
Atmosphere: 4.5
Cost: $5-8

THE ALL AMERICAN ROAD TRIP!! PT 2

A continuation...
Burma Super Star - SF (4/5)

This was actually my favorite restaurant of the week! This was my first time every trying any Burmese food, (to be honest, if you asked me to locate Burma on a map- I don't think I'd know where it is...) Anyway, a friend of mine was recommended it, so we went there for lunch one rainy morning. When we Yelped! it, we got a lot of warnings that it was going to be a super bustling place, because it was so popular, but when we got there - we didn't even have to wait for a table. But the place WAS packed to the brim. Literally there were like 2 feet in between each table and it was a great atmosphere. The service was quick and friendly, and everyone seemed to be breaking happy bread together.






We ordered the 'Samusa Soup', which is supposedly the most "popular" and "best" thing in the house. It was a vegetarian soup that had a mixture different veggies, predominantly it tasted like tomato soup, with a lot of other things mixed it, but one thing that I noticed that stood out, was they had this bready-texture THING inside which made the soup, the SOUP. Haha, overall the flavor was great and it tasted awesome and I would go back to try it again. We also ordered the Pumpkin Pork Stew - Tender pork stew slow cooked with kabocha squash and ginger- and it was the BEST. I've never eaten pumpkin cooked before, and it tastes a lot like squash... I suppose they are the same thing? But it tasted so awesome! We also ordered the Beef Kebat - Stir fried beef with onions, tomatoes, green chilies, and mint leaves. They say it's spicey, but it wasn't at all.

BLUE BOTTLE COFFEE CO. (SF) - (3.5/5)



Supposedly my friend said this is one of the two best coffees to try in SF? I stumbled upon it by accident one rainy morning, while RUNNING ERRANDS FOR A FRIEND, and was greeted with a nice surprise. I ordered the New Orleans Iced Coffee because I was curious as to what that tasted like. It was iced coffee with a dash of mocha on the top. It was good, strong coffee and tasty. Way better than the burnt crap that Starbucks always serves. The price was a little high, I think it was $3.50 for this cup- that's not really normal for a cup of iced coffee- so this can be a once in a lifetime sort of deal.

THE ALL AMERICAN ROAD TRIP!!

Hello my fellow reader(s) (plural, I hope!),

I have just returned from a cross country road trip that began in the little city of San Francisco, I then journeyed through Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona, Alamogordo and Roswell New Mexico, Lubbock Texas, Oklahoma City Oklahoma, Little Rock Arkansas, Memphis Tennessee, even hit a piece of North Carolina, the Smokey Mountains, up to West Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and then back to New York City! It was a pretty long and arduous journey, but I'm back alive, in one piece, and I honestly don't regret any moment of it.

Of course this is my FOOD BLOG, so I will be updating you with some glorious images and reviews of all the interesting places that I ate at. Of course the next few posts will be updates from that trip, so I hope you will enjoy them!

We'll start with San Francisco!

CHOWDER - SF (2.5/5 stars)




Down at the Fisherman's Wharf, I tried this place called, "Chowder". Since this is the bay area, seafood around here should be pretty tasty and fresh no? So I wanted to try the Clam Chowder in their famous sourdough bread. Probably not a good idea to come here to try it... it's better in Boston. Hah. The decor of the whole place was great, the staff super friendly. The whole interior of the little shop was cute and inviting, but the food was just bad. The clam chowder was SUPER salty. I don't know if they think that the sour dough bread had to be consumed fully in order to counter balance the taste- but I wasn't about to eat the whole piece of dough just to get the taste of salt out of my mouth!

TRISH'S MINI DONUTS - SF (3/5 stars)



Next, I also tried this little donut place called, "Trish's Mini Donuts". I thought it was a cute place and the donuts actually ended up tasting really great. It was semi-sweet, there was sugar coated around it, but it wasn't nasty sweet. One the down side, I think the donuts were a little too oily for my taste, and it could have been a bit fluffier- but hey that's just me.

Okay, I'm going to try to limit each post with 2-3 different restaurants, since these are all going to be short blogs!

IN & OUT BURGER - SF (2/5 stars)


Okay, so I don't get what the hype is about this place. I mean it was good, but it wasn't GODLY. Everyone and everyone always raved about how great this place was, but honestly- is it because you haven't been to Five Guys before?! It was decent, I tried the "secret" burger- the "Animal-style" burger- but it was just mediocre. Yeah it was juicey, and the price is good for the meal, but the fries they gave me were cold and stale and just didn't cut it to any standard that people have given me. So all in all, I had a cruddy experience here and I don't think I'd ever crave this place ever again or want to go back. That's all. For all of you people that hate what I just wrote, I'm sorry, but that was my truthful experience. However, I do encourage you guys to go try it for yourselves.

The Filipino Dinner - Grill 21

My first time having Filipino food! It was at Uncle Pete's 2nd birthday party at GRILL 21 ! (part of his 3-day bash, of course). It's a little joint on the east side on 21st St between 1st and 2nd ave. It's small, our party literally took up the entire inside of the restaurant AND the outside. There's a lot of cute mural paintings all around the inner walls and there's a clean bathroom.



Thankfully it was a nice breezy night, and we were able to sit outside as well. The owners of the restaurant (a Caucasian man, in whom I suspect is married to the owner-ress, who looked Filipino) were really nice people. A little impatient I believe, but that's because we came in with such a large party and they weren't used to so many heads in one sitting. None the less, they were really friendly and recommended a lot of different things for us to try. We started off with some Filipino beer and spring rolls. The spring rolls were quite yummy, crispy yet still tasty. Nothing compared to Shelley Ting's Amazin' Springs, but they were decent. I have no idea what they had inside, I generally just tasted.. pepper. The beer was okay. As most of you know, again I am not a beer-connoisseur, but this 'Red Horse' Filipino Beer wasn't very memorable.



For my entre, I ordered the "Chicken Curry- chicken chunks cooked in coconut milk with potatoes, carrots & pepper". I know, I know, I'm not very adventurous when it comes to these things. But did you know that in Filipino cuisine, they really like fish? I DIDN'T KNOW THAT! I don't like fish though, so I settled with chicken. It was good though, the curry was really thick and flavorful. The portions here are enormous and probably not possible for you to finish- unless you're a REAL MAN. (Kidding). But they gave me about 5 large chunks of chicken leg and massive amounts of curry. (image to the left). A few of my friends ordered the "Sweet & Sour Tilapia whole fish" in which- they LITERALLY gave you the whole fish. I didn't taste the actual dish, but I heard of a few mixed reviews, going from "great!" to "horrible"- so this is something you will have to decide for yourself when you try it. Haha.



FINALLY- FOR THE BEST PART OF THE NIGHT! The YAM ICE CREAM. They call it the Halo-Halo (?). But its basically Yam Ice cream on top of shaved iced with condensed milk and red bean. A lot like Taiwanese Ice, but with the amazing Yam ice cream with rice krispies sprinkled lightly on top. Can I say YAM ICE CREAM again!? It was so delicious- I think everyone loved them some of this!

OVERALL: This restaurant was tasty, worth the buck for it's bang, or bang for it's buck- whatever that saying is. I personally wouldn't venture there for part 2- unless it's just for dessert! That's all!

Taste: 3/5
Atmosphere: 2.5/5
Cost: $25-30

Pio Pio - New York

NOTE: This post was completely written by a friend who thought it'd be a great satirical piece... on me. He did a great job however, because it seriously sounds like .. me. The only slight edits I made were the ones inside the brackets [].

Please enjoy:

"This post is dedicated to Peter, who recently turned 21 for the sixth time. Sorry for the low picture quality (I left the 10k at home) [he meant to say i left my 10lb camera at home]



Anyway, after a beautiful day playing softball, my friends and I decided to go out and celebrate Peter's birthday (for the third freakin' time). My really annoying friend always suggests we go to Pio Pio but we usually settle for Pork Chop Rice. However, since today was a special day we decided to make the trek to Jackson Heights and try some some chicken that he has been dying to eat.

We get to the restaurant and the first thing I noticed (and you will to) is that this place is FREAKIN LOUD. Some people LIKE to yell at those sitting right next to them but, it was probably just the restaurant's layout.



We proceeded to the bar where we ordered some Sangria. There were oranges, apples and a sugar cane in it. It tasted very fruity and I couldnt really taste the wine but it was a little too strong for me LOL! (I knew I had to stop when I started speaking in a British accent). While waiting at the bar, we saw a table of CLOWNS eating. SERIOUSLY, who comes to a restaurant dressed as a CLOWN? WHO DOES THAT?

My friend Wing is a Peruvian food nut (and resident food connoisseur) so he ordered for us. To start, we got the Palta Rellena, which was avocado, shrimp, red onion, tomatoes and corn marinated in a cilantro-lime dressing. It looked like something Slimer from the Ghostbusters would vomit out, but it was delicious! Not overly spicy and all the ingredients complement each other very well. I also got an Inca Kola, which is a Latino soft drink that looks like Mountain Dew but tastes like bubblegum.



IF YOUR IDEA OF GOOD CHICKEN IS KENNEDY FRIED CHICKEN OR BOSTON MARKET---then this place will make you NEVER want to eat chicken from those places again. For our main course we got the Matador Combo (I wiki'd Matador, and it means "killer" and let me say this combo really lived up to it's name LOL) which consisted of a whole chicken, rice, beans, tostones (fried plantains), salchipapa, fried bananas, and avocado salad. Since we were sharing amongst 5 people, we also added on another chicken. Let me just say that the portions are FREAKIN HUGE. I had some white and dark meat and it was delicious. Usually the white meat I get at other chicken joints is dry and card-board tasting. But here, it was so tender and juicy. I enjoyed the sides but I did not like the salchipapa which was just sliced hot dogs and fries. The birthday boy got flan for desert but I was too stuffed with pollo to try a bite. IT LOOKED GOOD THOUGH!



I really enjoyed eating at Pio Pio. You definitely need to come here with a bunch of people because of the large portions. I just wish this place was quieter for my sensitive ears. Seriously, just imagine a room of Cynthia Chungs all screaming at each other and you will get the idea of just how loud this restaurant is. Also, the bathrooms don't have signs. I walked in to the Men's room LOL. [edit: TONY YANG walked into the WOMAN'S BATHROOM, surprising 2 women who were already inside - so please be careful and look UP.] So if you ever find yourself in Jackson Heights, check this place out (Bring your earplugs)"

Taste: 4.5/5
Atmosphere: 2/5
Cost: ~$25