new york city + places to eat

new york city + places to eat

This summer, I made it my mission to not eat at places I could ever get in a 300 mile radius of Florida. This task wasn't hard at all. With nearly three restaurants on every corner, it was hard to choose where to eat. Three months later, I probably tried ever cuisine known to man kind... more than once. I comprised a list of places one has to eat at if ever in New York. There is probably better places, but these places definitely caught my attention. Feel free to give me suggestions for my next visit!

Best Pizza: Grimaldi's Pizza- Brooklyn 
The hour ish wait to get order my pizza was well worth it! A friend and I got it right before crossing the bridge. You could say walking the entire bridge made us feel better about scarfing down calories.

Best Fries: Pomme Frites 
A friend I had class with recommended this to me. She told me it was "an orgasm in your mouth"... she was right. With all the dips to choose from, it never gets old coming back again and again.

Best Brunch: Sarabeth's Upper West Sides 
I would have never gone here unless a friend invited me to go. The wait can be up to an hour and half, but the waffles and salmon benedict will have you forgetting you had to wait or so long.

Best Doughnut: Donut Plant
At work one day, a co-worker brought these to celebrate another co-worker's birthday. They were so huge, I could only eat half. They also have more varieties of doughnut than you can image

Best Fast Lunch: Pret-A-Manger
During work days, I only got about 30 minutes to eat lunch, and it usually meant bringing it back to the office. This place has really "my mom made this for me" sandwiches and salads. It was fast to get and filled me up for the rest of the day.

Best Cookies: Levain Bakery
As a sucker for oozy gooey cookies, I tend to be pretty picky on the places I choose to buy cookies from- I usually make it myself. When I tried Levain Bakery, I immediately became obsessed. The cookies look hard on the outside, but are so soft and gooey on the inside. Plus they are the size of a hockey puck!

Best Sushi: Azuki Sushi
When going to Azuki, you don't just delicious sushi but also endless wine. If your table spends more than $15 on sushi, you get free wine the whole night- well till you leave. Unlike most sushi restaurants in New York, this one is perfectly price and you get what you pay for.

Best Burgers: Paul's Burgers St. Marks
Obsessed with this place!

Best Frozen Yogurt: 16 Candles 
The small radius Tallahassee acquires in size doesn't mean we are limited to fro-yo places. We have about 10 within a 2 mile radius alone. As a eater of mainly Pinkberry, I gave 16 candles a try, I stopped going to Pinkberry afterwards. There are 16 different flavors and a wide variety of topping, plus it's self serve!

Best Place You Must Try: Shake Shack
This place is known for its long lines, but that doesn't stop anyone from going. Since you wait in line to order, you tend to go all out. You can't leave without getting a shake. I recommend getting the shack burger, cheese fries, and a strawberry shake.

Best Korean: Baden Baden
Not only is the food delicious, but the atmosphere is awesome too! You have a DJ playing, a crowded bar, and an equally crowded dining area. Let's just say the Koreans know how to do it.

Best Coffee: La Colombe Torrefaction
I recommend going to the one in TriBeCa, but the one in SoHo is just as good. They even decorate the top of your drink with a flower or heart- depending on the type of drink you get.

Best Ice Cream: Brooklyn Ice Cream Co.
Located right under the Brooklyn Bridge, it becomes a popular attraction for both tourist and locals. I recommend the coffee flavor one. It is a nice cool down after crossing the bridge.

Best Tea: Alice's Tea Cup
The atmosphere is whimsical and the food hits the spot, but it's the tea you must try!

Best Cupcakes: Crumbs Bakeshop
Hands down! No matter the other places I tried, I am a true lover of Crumbs. As a lover of peanut butter, I recommend the peanut butter cupcake

Best Mac N' Cheese: Smac'
Nothing beats mac n' cheese- well according to me. I recommend the margarita mac n' cheese.

Best place to grab a beer: The Standard Biergarten
Located right under the High Line. Just grab a few friends, drink a few beers, and have a good time!

Best Bagels: Lenny's Bagels
I'm obsessed with bagels, and New York won't disappoint you in the places to get a bagel. But the one place I went to the most, and thoroughly enjoyed was Lenny's Bagels.

Best Late Night Dessert: Serendipity 3
Before going, I recommend making a reservation or you will be waiting for awhile. Aside from the frozen hot chocolate, go for other desserts like the forbidden chocolate sundae or the strawberry cheesecake. It's huge so you will want to share

I could probably add more to this list, like best BBQ, best Chinese, etc etc. but I didn't try enough of those places to determine which is the best.

photo diary + instagram

photo diary + instagram

SO LATELY, THE ONLY PICTURES I TAKE ARE WITH MY INSTAGRAM APP ON MY IPHONE.   I'VE BEEN TOO LAZY TO CARRY AROUND MY CAMERA AND ALSO SCARED I'LL BRAKE IT OR GET IT STOLEN. MY IPHONE IS MUCH MORE CONVENIENT. THESE PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, I'VE BEEN GOING ALL AROUND THE CITY. ME AND MY FRIENDS TRIED MAX BRENER, THE CHOCOLATE RESTAURANT, BUT WE WERE DISAPPOINTED. WE EXPECTED A PLACE OF CHOCOLATE HEAVEN, BUT WERE GREETED BY CHOCOLATE DISAPPOINTMENT. I ENJOYED A NIGHT IN BRYANT PARK FOR OLD SUMMER MOVIES AND MEET THE MOST INTERESTING GROUP OF PEOPLE. OF COURSE, I WOULD GET STUCK NEXT TO THE PEOPLE WHO HAD A BLOW UP CACTUS AND A GIRL DOING YOGA. I'VE BEEN SPLURGING ON SHOPPING IN SOHO, AND GOING DEEPER INTO CENTRAL PARK. THE BEST PARK ABOUT NOT CARRYING A CAMERA THOUGH IS THE FACT PEOPLE MISTAKE ME FOR A REAL LOCAL. BUT THE BAD PART IS WHEN PEOPLE ASK FOR DIRECTION, I TEND TO GIVE THEM THE WRONG ONE. I'VE STEPPED AWAY FROM MANHATTAN TO GO TO MY FAVORITE PART OF BROOKLYN-WILLIAMSBURG. WE HIT UP THE NORTHSIDE MARKET TO SEE IF WE CAN FIND VINTAGE JEWELRY, BUT WE WERE MORE IMPRESSED WITH THE MANHATTAN SKYLINE. I STIL HAVE 5 WEEKS LEFT, SO WHO KNOWS WHAT ELSE I'LL BE DOING AND ADDING TO MY INSTAGRAM DIARY. 

second oldest new york pub

second oldest new york pub

Since I've been in New York City, I've stayed as far away as I could from the main tourist spots. This past couple of days, I have been heading to lower manhattan to take in its beauty. I wanted to get away from the bustling midtown and away from the pushing, impatient tourist. One place I did hit up this past weekend was Fanelli Cafe in the SoHo district. While SoHo is a tourist spot, Fanelli is a small pub that almost goes unrecognized, especially if you aren't looking for it. It is (according the website) the second oldest pub in New York City, and it was able to stay alive during prohibition. The place still had its old charm to it with black and white pictures of famous people who have been to the little pub. While sipping on beer and enjoying some New York cheesecake, I watch people walking by from the little front door.