Wafels & Dinges Restaurant

A group of us gathered one EARLY Sunday morning, hoping to have some of my favorite pancakes at Clinton Street Baking Company. When our expected wait of an hour turned into TWO hours, and then we heard it would be THREE HOURS, we collectively said Oh HELL NO, and walked north to find a better option, ANY option. Three hours for pancakes? You must think I've lost my mind and then some. No. NO NO NO NO NO. I'm mad we even waited that long, but sometimes optimism can be a real kick in the head.

We walked two blocks up and saw the brick and mortar version of the Wafels & Dinges, an amazing Belgian wafel truck that was really at the forefront of the food truck movement. In fact, back in 2008, I organized a Wafels & Dinges Day at the talk show where I worked. Everyone chipped in about 10 bucks and the Wafels truck came just for us outside work. Sigh..that was a great day. But back to the future...

He's putting BACON in the wafels--thank you, Sir. THANK YOU.

We walked in, immediately ordered at the counter (where they serve sweet AND savory), and were seated in under five minutes. Hello, THIS is how I like to do brunch. Screw that waiting in line nonsense. And I had an icy cold, bracingly strong iced coffee-- FINALLY!

I like to start with savory first thing in the morning, so I ordered the chicken and mushroom wafel. It sounded so good, and tasted even better. It was like a wonderfully comforting stew. Impossible to eat with your hands, but I'm not complaining. I was not expecting the savory wafels to be so incredibly flavorful. Bright, green herbs and BACON cooked into the wafel!! It came with a side of lightly-dressed arugula and pickled, tickle-your-tongue onions. Killer combo.

ABF ordered the Wake Up Grumpy: an egg, bacon and cheese with two savory wafels replacing the biscuit. Drizzled with a generous portion of honey, it looked gorgeous, and ABF gave it two forks up, happily.

For dessert, ABF & I shared the sweet raspberry wafel, lightly dusted with confectioner's sugar and a small scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzled with honey. This was great- ABF is coming around to really liking raspberries (one of my favorite foods), and I'm happy to share with him. As tasty as this was, I actually rate the chicken & mushroom wafel as even more fantastic.

See that stunning chocolate concoction? I think that was my friend Travis's pick-- I was so full at this point I couldn't even fathom trying it, but it smelled glorrrrrrrious.

The prices are reasonable, coffee is strong, flavors are fab, and the servers were all cheerful and welcoming. Skip waiting ANYWHERE for brunch and try out this spot!

Wafels and Dinges

209 East 2nd Street

NY, NY 10009

(866) 429-7329

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Doughnut Plant

If you love Doughnuts, if you even kind of LIKE them, you simply MUST swing by one of the Doughnut Plant's locations. Before this visit, I'd only been to the Chelsea area location, and taken them to-go. This time I went to their original spot on Grand street with my friend LaShauna, who was visiting for her birthday. We squeezed in time for a quick coffee for me, chai for LaShauna, and sweet treat before LaShauna had to leave. Oh, what a delicious visit we had this time, didn't we?

Their coffee is strong and smooth-- I loved my latte. LaShauna had their hot chai (not pictured).

They have yeast, cake and doughseed donuts, and we tried one of each: the peanut butter & jelly, the creme brulée, and tres leches. The fabulous, fabulous tres leches.

Creme Brulée

Creme Brulée's custardy insides

I always forget how tiny the creme brulée is-- two bites, TOPS. If you are trying to get as many doughnuts as you can, sure, share this, but you probably will want one all to yourself. The crackly bruléed top, the fluffy doughnut, and the sweet custard are a trifecta of fabulous flavors.

We also shared a doughseed that was a PB & J, with strawberry jam, and a peanut butter doughnut flecked in chopped peanut pieces. This was great, of course, as I've never had a bad doughnut there.

The showstopper, however, is the tres leches donut. How do they make this masterpiece of physics and flavor? It's cloaked in a gorgeous glaze that almost crackles like a piece of pottery- the doughnut inside is light and chewy, and the filling is perfect.

Tres Leches, man. Tres Leches.

How do they take everything about a tres leches cake and squeeze it into doughnut form? I don't know.. THEY JUST DO. This is a must-taste every time I go there.
It's obviously pretty pricey if you compare it to a Dunkin Donuts or other shop, but worth every penny. They're not just lumps of dough thrown into a bunch of oil-- they're edible art, and you'll remember them long after you dusted away the last delicious crumb.

Doughnut Plant
379 Grand St
New York, NY 10002
(212) 505-3700

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Peels

After a spooky "Ghosts of Stuyvesant Town" walk with ABF, we stopped at Peels on Bowery for a late night snack. It was a bit late for dinner, but it's never too late for dessert, amIright?!

Peels is a dimly-lit but boisterous restaurant right on Bowery. We saw a bachelorette party, couples of all ages, and a few solo diners as well. All kinds are welcome at Peels!

I ordered their apple pie (a la mode, of course) and a mug of their hot chocolate. The pie was pretty good, though I like my apples cooked a little bit softer, but it did taste like homemade!

ABF also ordered a latte-- some lovely foam art capped a rich, lush cup of espresso. He is a coffee man if I ever met one, and he loved this.

The hot chocolate, however. Oh. My. Word. This could be dessert on its own. It's almost too much for one person. Almost. I managed, somehow. Wow. I'd go back just for that!

ABF ordered a butterscotch pudding---and it will come as no surprise to regular visitors to Stuff I Ate that once again, his ordering radar was triumphant once again. This was outstanding! I think it might have been a featured dessert, so I'm not sure if it's still there, but holy COW. The salty/sweet walnuts on the side really made the dish.
I still have yet to try the savory side of the menu, but Peels nails it with the sweet/salty desserts and the lush hot chocolate. 'Tis the season-- go grab a cup and let me know what you think!

Peels NYC
325 Bowery
New York, NY 10003
646-602-7015

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Birthday Dinner- Alias

I have a long-running 'list,' a compilation of the places I want to eat in this awesome city I call home. It keeps changing and growing, but Alias has been on it for a good 5 years or so. When I found out the bar I'd picked for my birthday happy hour was STEPS from Alias, that clinched it!

Alias is a tiny little spot on Clinton street, and even though we were a bit late (who wants to leave a birthday party on time?) for our reservation, they still graciously saw us to our table.

They brought us some bread and walnut pesto. The pesto was so amazing that we vowed to make it at home as soon as possible! Soooo good! I couldn't really tell a difference, and since walnuts are much cheaper than pine nuts (and so healthy for you!), it's a double-win!

I ordered the 76 Passion for my cocktail--passion fruit purée, vodka and simple syrup. Sweet and summery. So lovely.

I ordered the bacon-wrapped trout because hello, I love fish! And wrapping it in bacon makes it even better! This was fantastic--I wished I'd had more of it--always a good sign.

ABF ordered the skirt steak with a generous bed of cilantro, and two of the most delicate and delicious potato croquettes you can imagine. Wow.

Alias was every bit as delicious as I'd heard, and a fantastic dinner spot for both of us! This is worth a return visit and then some--and you'll probably eat every last bite of your dishes just like we did.

Alias
76 Clinton Street
New York, NY 10002
(212) 505-5011

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Pancake Prowess: CSBC

A friend I'd not seen in ages came to visit the other weekend. We had reconnected on FB & Twitter, and she was coming to enjoy a sunny, funfilled weekend after too many cold, chilly days in her San Francisco home. She mentioned she'd LOVE some pancakes, and that meant really only one stop to me: Clinton Street Baking Company. It's a bit of a shlep to get there, but my WORD..these pancakes! And I'm not even really that INTO pancakes!

I started with the must-have blueberry pancakes--these are crammed full of wild Maine blueberries, dotted with them, and then the gorgeous dish comes with a side of maple syrup butter. Yes, times 10.

Ali gamely agreed to share dishes--she ordered their potato pancakes (aka latkes) which came with applesauce and cinnamon sour cream. CINNAMON. This was a really nice change-a-roo--not sweet, just a hefty hint of cinnamon. Win! The latkes had a decent dose of onion in them---a tad salty but to my liking. Not as good as my mutha's, but pretty darn close.

Ali's friend Jon met us there as well; he ordered the country breakfast, which came with some grilled ham, poached eggs, and their famous homemade biscuits. He kindly shared a bit of the biscuit and it was good, but a little dry for me. Granted, I was getting the very edge. I would definitely go back just for some biscuits and jam, aka carb overload.

And speaking of jam, their raspberry jam is bright, citrusy, and so so deliciously raspberry-y. My biscuit-to-jam ratio was egregiously in favor of the jam. ;/

Sure, there is almost always a line, but it moves pretty quickly, and it gives you a chance to sit outdoors and visit with friends--or make new ones while you're waiting! I also believe CSBC is one of the few 'hyped' places in NYC that I feel backs it up with delicious proof!

Clinton Street Baking Co.
4 Clinton Street
New York, NY 10002
(646) 602-6263

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Tai Thai

Once again, CPZ has shared another amazing find in NYC: cheap and delicious Thai! We met one incredibly rainy day for an early dinner (I get up at 4am, so the Early Bird Special is just about right these days). Tai Thai is a tiny (thai-ny?) little spot near 1st street and 1st Avenue, and their prices are so low I triple-checked the menu.

First of all, their house wines are $2.50. No, I didn't leave out a "1." Two dollars and fifty cents. So hell yes I had a glass of red! It was nice, full-bodied and smooth, a great match with the upcoming dishes. Carlota ordered the white, but I'm not sure what she thought of it.

I started off with one of my favorites--Tom Yum soup--a spicy red broth with bits of chicken, peppers, straw mushrooms and more. This was steaming hot and so delicious. A bit salty but yummily so. And $3.50!!!!!

Carlota ordered the tofu and veggie pad thai ($8.50). Doesn't it look bright and fresh? That's exactly how it tasted--delicious. She thoroughly enjoyed it.

I ordered the green papaya salad, which is a favorite dish of ours at another CPZ find, Pho. This one comes without meat, but was still yummy. The crunchy peanuts were a nice add, and I knew ABF would love this dish (which he did, 2 weeks later, when he & I stopped in for another early dinner! Two weeks later, it was also EXPLODING with garlic--wow. My mouth was on FIRE.)

We weren't ready to go yet, and we were still a little hungry, so we opted for the coconut pudding. These were adorable, tiny servings, just a bite or two. The dishes were barely bigger than a silver dollar, but it's just enough sweet to end a delicious meal.

When I went with ABF, I noticed Tai Thai also has a ridiculously low corkage fee if you'd like to BYOB. Either way, enjoy your meal and make sure to tip well--their servers are lovely and attentive, and they bring your food out fast!

Tai Thai
78 E 1st St
New York, NY 10009-7951
(212) 777-2552

Centosette

My gal pals and I were on the hunt for a new Happy Hour spot--but budgetary contstraints are always a hot topic. We'd planned to hit up the Thirsty Scholar on the Lower East Side's Second Avenue, but they were mysteriously boarded up that sunny September day. We crossed the street and found a lovely, open Italian spot, Centosette, and wandered right up to the bar.

The bartender made us feel right at home and poured us each a drink. I opted for the Cabernet, while one gal got the Montepulciano and another got a margarita. The Montepulciano was not part of the buy one-get one free HH deal, but my friend felt like splurging. I heard the margarita was not that great, so my friend opted for a strawberry one on the next round, made with fresh, ruby-red berries. That was pretty yummy!

After our first drink, we thought we might get a few bites. First up: Caprese salad with Mozzarella di Bufala (my favorite). It was very pretty and very fresh. Not the best Caprese ever, but still yummy. Between 3 girls, it was one slice of cheese and one tomato each..so we were still hungry....

So up came the Chicken Marsala. I love this dish, and used to make it quite often (but usually in the cooler winter months). This version was not great. Too sweet in the sauce, although the chicken was tender and yummy. Skip it, though...meh.

I split the grilled shrimp and roasted veggies--also freaking delicious, but not a heaping serving. No problem--we weren't there to stuff ourselves, just have some happy hour noshes.

3 shrimp and 2 broccoli florets are not gonna fill up this foodie...so we went on to share....

Spaghetti. Bolognese. DELISH. This dish went in no time. Sometimes bolognese can be heavy, weighed down with lots of cream, etc. This was light, delicious, satisfying and scrumptious. I would absolutely get this again. I will get this again. It was a great dish to share with two other people, too.

We also tried the pizza there, having seen it touted as a delicious brick-oven variety. By this point I was getting full, but I had a bite of the pizza that comes with basil, tomato sauce, and more Bufala di Mozzarella. THIS was good pizza. Perfectly cooked, not oversauced, and NOT SWEET. I hate sweet sauce. Fresh, fresh yumminess.

This was a great setting for a beautiful, sunny, cool September afternoon. We'll be back, no matter the month! Oh, fall in New York, how I love you!!!