Jean-Georges

Hello, I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! At my school, we get the Thursday and Friday before Easter and the Monday following Easter off, so my mom and sister came to visit me in New York.

On Friday, my mom and I went to one of my absolute favorite restaurants in New York - Jean-Georges. It's ridiculously fancy and ridiculously expensive but it's a huge treat when I do get to go. We decided last minute to go because they have a $38 prix-fixe lunch menu, which is completely affordable and a great little treat. It's three courses - appetizer, entree, and dessert - and it's amazing. Here's what I got:

Appetizer: Fried Calamari with Basil Salt and Citrus Chili Dip



 They were absolutely incredible. I adore calamari and getting it from one of the best restaurants in New York was pretty special. The Chili dip that went with it was the perfect bit of sweet, spice, and tangy and made for the perfect bite!

Entree: Slowly Cooked Salmon with Sautéed Potatoes and a Black Olive and Passion Fruit sauce.

The salmon was incredible. Fish in New York is out of this world. The portion was massive and underneath the fish was a few pieces of sautéed potatoes, spinach, and the most best glaze I've ever tasted. You wouldn't think a black olive and passion fruit glaze would taste good, but it was phenomenal.

My mom's entree: Sautéed Black Sea Bass with Shitake Mushrooms, Fiddlehead Ferns, Sesame Vinaigrette.

My mom also got fish - hers was a sautéed black sea bass that honestly changed my life. Cooked to perfection and covered in a magnificent sesame vinaigrette, this was a perfect entree.

Dessert: Jean-Georges Warm Chocoalte Cake with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Do I really need to say anything about this gorgeous piece of dessert? (Cake is my favorite food so I could barely contain myself when this got to our table - YUM)

I can't wait to go back to Jean-Georges for another amazing meal!

♡

xo Emily

Brunch Done Right

Quintessential American comfort that comes in the form of fluffy pancakes and creamy tomato soup is worth its price tag, especially coming from delicious Sarabeth's. 

As a self-proclaimed brunch aficionado, I knew it was time to try out Sarabeth's, a popular brunch destination in New York. A friend and I started our brunch journey at Lincoln Center and were happy to learn that the nearest Sarabeth's was a short walk away, nestled on Central Park South. 

As expected from one of the most popular brunch spots in the city, there was a wait for us to get a table. The thirty minutes we had to endure weren't as hard to handle once we decided to sit in the park and chat.

After the thirty minutes were up, we entered Sarabeth's. Even though it was a dreary day outside, the inside was warm and bright, flurrying with activity. It had a charming feel to it; wicker chairs and mint green walls make it seem like you're dining at your Grandmother's rather than a restaurant. The food is charming too. Standard brunch eats like omelets and French toast are interspersed with exciting combinations like lemon ricotta pancakes and toasted coconut waffles.

Once seated, our waiter was attentive and kind. He took our drink order immediately and gave us a suitable amount of time to peruse the menu before taking our order.

I opted for breakfast, ordering eggs benedict, my friend choosing the autumn vegetable salad. We love that the restuarant was loud enough that we didn't feel uncomfortable talking and laughing, but quiet enough so that we didn't have to raise our voices to understand each other.

It only took 10 minutes for our food to arrive. After waiting so long for a table, it was nice to have such quick delivery of our food.

My dish, eggs benedict, exceeded any and all expectations I had. The English muffin that acted as the base for the eggs was extra light and fluffy, toasted enough for the muffin to brown without getting too hard and difficult to eat. Atop the muffin sat a slice of Canadian bacon, surprisingly thick and substantial. The eggs were poached perfectly, the yolk spilling out beautifully when I cut into it, mixing with the hollandaise sauce in the best way. One the side was a light arugula salad, nicely balancing out the rich flavors of the eggs. The portions were generous and I found myself perfectly full after finishing the two halves of English muffin and argula salad that it came with. My friend and I finished our plates, satisfied and happy.

Overall, Sarabeth's was a lovely dining experience, better than any brunch I've had before it. Even though certain things on the menu can lean towards the pricey side, there are affordable choices as well. The cost and wait were well worth the delicious outcome of brunch at Sarabeth's.

It's always been my favorite brunch spot in the city and you'll love it too!

♡

xo Emily

Getting Hella Theatrical!

Hello friends!

It's crazy to think about all the amazing things I am able to finally experience since I moved to New York and it baffles my mind that I even get to be near and breathe the same air that so many wonderful, creative, intelligent people do. I will never get over it so when I get to go out for a full night of just life, it overwhelms me. 

One of these nights happened about a week ago when my sister was visiting. She used to live here in New York with me but now is in D.C. so it was amazing to get to see her. She got us tickets to see 'This Is Our Youth' on Broadway and bought us dinner before it. It was a really wonderful night and I thank her so much for it!

We started out the night at Casellula, a small wine and cheese eatery in Hell's Kitchen near the Theater District - hella fancy stuff. My sister had eaten there before and I thought it looked good so we went there! We got olives, a cheese I can't remember the name to and a delicious salami called 'Gin and Juice'. It was all SO good holy MOLY. 

We also got their Bruschetta  - with tomatoes and a delicious Ricotta cheese. 

We also shared a F**king fantastic mac and cheese that almost made me float up into heaven right then and there. My mouth is dripping with saliva just thinking about it, UGH.

After that delectable dinner, we headed over to the Cort Theatre to take our seats. 

I'm wearing a TopShop Lace Camisole, a black Mango cardigan, Uniqlo Skinny Jeans, and Gianni Bini sandals! 

We had awesome seats - the first row in the balcony - and so our view was perfect. I love being in the front row of the balcony because you feel super cool and have no one in front of you to block your eyes!

The play itself was incredible. It was really funny - laugh out loud at a lot of moments - and the cast did wonderful. Kieran Culkin was my favorite performance, it didn't even feel like I was watching a play when he was saying his lines. It was also amazing to see Michael Cera in a more serious role - with all the funny moments from his character being portrayed so superbly. Also seeing one of my favorite people/a super cool cat Tavi Gevinson on Broadway was exciting! (Rookie Mag is a fave of mine!)

After the play, I waited around a bit to meet the cast. They all signed my playbill and Tavi and I even spoke for a minute. She was just so wonderful!!

AHHH, look at us!!!!

It was an amazing night! I love seeing plays and luckily it's pretty easy to get some student rush tickets. What a fun night!

♡

xo Emily

Bubble Tea and Cupcakes!

Yesterday, 2 of my roommates and I headed on a little Bubble Tea and Cupcake date to two of my favorite places! I'm positively obsessed with bubble tea and thankfully, we're not too far from Chinatown, where the absolute best of the best bubble tea lives!

(Do y'all like the dramatic liner? It's Stila's Liquid Liner! I'm obsessed!)

We stopped at Kung-Fu Tea off Canal Street in Chinatown and I got Taro Tea with bubbles and my roomies opted for Black Milk Tea with bubbles. They were so delicious!

We perused Chinatown for awhile then made our way to the Soho Brandy Melville, on Prince Street, and browsed around in there. It was such a fun walk from Chinatown over to Soho because there was just so much New York we got to experience and take in. We even passed the FRIENDS Central Perk pop-up shop; the line was ridiculous! 

Eventually we made our way over to one of my favorite Cupcake/Brunch/Lunch shops, Sweet Revenge, in the West Village. My sister used to work about a block away from the store so we would sometimes come in and get ourselves some cupcakes and chit-chat.

Today, I got the 'Crimson and Cream' Cupcake, which is one of my favorites. It's Raspberry Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and it's INSANE. I also got a Arnold Palmer (Half Iced Tea/Half Lemonade). My roomies opted for the 'Dirty' Cupcake, which is Valrhona Chocoalte Cake with Dark Chocoalte Truffle. It's amazing as well!

It was such a fun day and I was glad to share some of my favorite places with my roommates! It was also gorgeous outside and fun to just meander along the streets of New York and take everything in!

♡

Do you have a favorite cupcake shop in New York or in your hometown? I would love to know!

xo Emily

Flat Branch Pub and Brewing

Hi!

The other day I enjoyed a lovely meal at one of my favorite hometown eateries, Flat Branch Pub and Brewing. The night I went, it was unusually cool out and a perfect night to sit in their patio seating for dinner. They have a beautiful outdoor area where you can eat, surrounded by trees and lights. It has a great atmosphere and is just ideal for a casual night out to eat. 

Inside, they have a ton more seating, which is great because it's always packed, along with their on-site brewery. You can even see some of where the beer is being brewed through a see-through window area! 

Their menu is one of the best, with delicious appetizers and fantastic entrees.

This trip, my friend and I started out with some of their delicious beer bread that comes with truly addicting honey butter. We also got an order of their french fries because they are literally the most delicious things you will ever taste! 

It took us awhile to decide what to eat for our entrees, only because everything always looks so amazing but we both settled on pasta!

She got the Smoked Salmon Pasta with tomatoes, basil pesto, white wine, and cream. I went for the Sausage and Chicken Bayou Pasta which was pasta tossed with a spicy cream sauce with Cajun seasoning and charbroiled chicken breast along with andouille sausage, green peppers, and yellow onion. So delicious! We paired out meal with fresh Iced Tea and had such a great night. This is definitely one of my favorite places to get a great meal and have a fun night with friends or family.

How delicious does it look! 

We had so much fun!

xo Emily

Monday, Monday....

Happy Monday! (not)

Ah yes, the dreaded day is back. In the words of the Mama's and the Papa's, (no, not my parents...it's a band) "whenever Monday comes, you can find me crying all of the time." So yes. I am crying because I have a heck of a week ahead of me. 

But that's besides the point. The point is: today's post comes to you with Ice Cream in mind!! And who doesn't love Ice Cream? 

I'm getting quite excited because it's actually maybe, finally becoming a bit warmer in the city here and my summer clothes are itching to get out of their stuffy containers but the jury's still out on whether or not I need to start shaving my legs. So, despite that, I decided to soak up the (minimal) sun and enjoy a true warm weather activity.... getting Ice Cream!

It wasn't too long ago when I was watching the cooking channel and one of those rando shows all about desserts came on and within the episode, a little shop called Victory Garden, in the west village, was featured. The name caught my eye and I realized that this was the very shop I walked past countless times as it was right near my sisters work. So obviously I dragged my sister to the shop to eat some Ice Cream.

Victory Garden, as I soon found out, wasn't your typical Ice Cream shop. Instead, they serve creamy goats milk ice cream. 

Now that might make you balk a little bit especially since the word "goat" is in the same phrase as "Ice Cream" but trust me, this ice cream is some of the best you will ever taste. I was nervous at first too but my sister and the cooking channel convinced me to try it. 

When we got to the cute little shop, the employees were incredibly friendly, allowing me to try the dreaded goats milk ice cream before I settled on a full cup. 

mmmm.....salted caramel

The shop has daily flavors that change enough for you to still want to come try what's new, as well as keeping your favorites (like salted caramel). Today's daily flavors are chocolate rosemary, fennel, tangy goat milk, and salted caramel. And every single one is insanely delicious.

I only needed two samples of two delicious flavors and then I was hooked. 

I got myself a cup of salted caramel and almost found myself licking the cup once I was done. This stuff is seriously so so good and I recommend it to anyone who is an Ice Cream enthusiast or just would like a sweet treat on a warm day!

xo Emily

Victory Garden is located at 31 Carmine Street between Bedford and Bleeker in the West Village and it's an easy subway ride from the 1.

Feasting in Brooklyn....

Hey guys! Happy Thursday!

Since it's thrusday, I'm going to do a throwback post! 

Todays is a snippet from last October and my first time at Smorgasburg in Brooklyn!!! It's this really amazing outdoor market that has over 75 vendors with some really amazing, fresh, and unique food. I tried some perfect Bite Me cheesecakes, had some of the best pigs in a blanket I've ever had from Brooklyn Piggies and gorged on Takumi Tacos! 

Here's me with one of my favorites: strawberry basil lemonade!!! If you spent a few dollars more, you got your own mason jar to keep!

The atmosphere was amazing

Here are the Brooklyn Piggies!!! The best thing I feasted on!!!

The most beautiful view of the most beautiful city!

If you get a chance, you should try and make it down to Brooklyn to try the tasty treats!!!! It happens every weekend in two locations: Saturdays at East River State Park—Kent Ave. and N. 7 St. and Sundays on the DUMBO waterfront at the historic Tobacco Warehouse in Brooklyn Bridge Park (this is the one on the Williamsburg waterfront that I went to). They're open from 11am to 6pm rain or shine!!! I highly recommend it for anyone who loves quality food, a great view, and a unique atmosphere!

xo Emily