London: Dishoom

It's never too late to talk about London, is it? I enjoyed a girls' trip last fall with my good friend LaShauna, a two-woman 'hen do' of sorts (aka mini-bachelorette party). Just the two of us traipsing around one of our favorite cities.

We met up one night with a former news colleague of mine who has lived there for almost a decade (and is on her way to becoming a British citizen)! She suggested meeting on the edge of Covent Garden at Dishoom, a mostly no-reservations restaurant that is one of the last remaining Bombay cafes in London. (They do take them for parties of 6 or more)

That no reservations thing is no joke. However, we didn't wait that long, maybe 40 minutes, and they brought out mini drinks and snacks to keep us from getting too hangry in line.
My drink was a lovely hot mint tea. Just sweet enough, and full of fresh mint.

They took us downstairs to a table in the middle of bustling room, and we started with cocktails. Mine was the Bombay Colada: a pina colada jazzed up with coriander (those seeds on top), chai syrup, lime juice, and rum. WOW. This was one of the best cocktails I've had the pleasure of sipping. The coriander made this drink sing from the tip of my tongue to the soles of my happy feet.

LaShauna ordered the Chaijito, a chai-infused take on the mojito. I tried a sip-- it is a refreshing spin on one of my favorite cocktails, but once LaShauna tasted MY drink, she made that her second cocktail (and so did I-- I had TWO Bombay coladas!)

We decided to share a bunch of dishes, including their sauteed green veggies, their red curry, black daal (lentils) and some naan bread.
Samosas to start-- flaky crust, surreally-spiced filling, YES YES YES.

That Black House daal (pictured above)-- holy shut your mouth richness. The menu says it's a signature dish, and I can understand why. Simmered for more than 24 hours, it is incredibly lush, aromatic, flavored in the most luscious of layers. I could have had just this dish and called it one of the best things I ever ate.

The chicken ruby was a gorgeous curry in what they call a 'makhani' sauce. Tender, juicy chicken pieces floating blissfully in that sacrilicious sauce. We had some naan, thankfully, to scrape up every last drop of this dish.
We ordered the succinctly-titled 'Bowl of Greens,' described as "grilled broccoli, snow peas and spinach tumbled with chilli and lime." This dish could easily have been a throwaway, but it was so incredibly flavorful that we nearly ordered another. Splitting this among three people left us all wanting more, but we were saving room for dessert.

And I doubled DOWN on dessert. I didn't just get the pineapple & black pepper crumble (which was good, but not great, a little dry).

I also ordered a dessert coffee, a Monsooned Cobbler. It is described as Malabar espresso, 'bamboozled' with spices, cognac, and cream. They served with with cream and EXTRA sugar on the side-- it does NOT need any more sweetness, but yeah, I splashed a bit more cream in there. It was super cold and super sweet. Normally I don't care for sweet coffee, but this was excellent. When I go back, I'm having just THIS for dessert!

Dishoom
12 Upper St Martin's Lane
London WC2H 9FB, United Kingdom
+44 20 7420 9320

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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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Eggs-cellent Eats (Morrell Wine Bar)

I had a bit of a dental emergency recently. If you know me, you know how uptight I am about my teeth. It turns out that I grit my teeth so hard that I actually CRACKED one. Yep. I'm THAT strong. Well, it made eating a bit of a challenge, especially on the right side of my mouth. I wasn't sure what was going to happen at the dentist's office (this was a first for me), so I decided to have lunch BEFORE the appointment. 

Pre-dental work wine

I popped into Morrell's Wine Bar, which at 2pm was pretty empty, and took a seat at the bar. Morrell's is in the heart of Rockefeller Center, a certified tourist destination and a convenient location for many of us working New Yorkers. 

The deviled eggs sounded delicious AND easy to eat, so I ordered them and had a glass of Chardonnay.

They also brought me some delicious bread (I stuck to the softer, oniony kind) and very cold, very hard butter. The bread was chewy and flavorful, and I made sure to keep chewing only on the left side.

The deviled eggs were truffle-scented with fried, crispy chicken skins. Soft, salty, fatty, and a teeny bit of crunch at the end (just enough for a sensitive tooth). 

How are these eggs so gorgeous?? Smooth, perfectly filled, and every bite was a delight. 

The wine was a One Rock Chardonnay from Long Island's North Fork (#drink local), and while I'm not overall a "Chardonnay person," this was great. Light and crisp and lovely.

I loved the wine with the eggs! Why don't I make deviled eggs at home? They are so delicious! Granted, they are not cheap-- Morrell is not a Cheap Eats place, but it is always well-done and satisfying. 

PS: For those of you wondering, it turned out I didn't need a crown after all, just a deep filling. And it hardly even hurt! My teeth and I are doing much better now.

Morrell Cafe & Wine Bar

1 Rockefeller Plaza  

NY NY 10020 

(212) 262-7700  

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Ristorante le Segrete (Rome, Italy)

On last night in Rome-- a torrentially rainy last night-- 2 of the girls from our group joined me for a late night dinner at Ristorante le Segrete.

The restaurant appears tiny when you first walk in, with only 4 or 5 tables fitting in the front room, but the downstairs is spacious and warm. We had a room all to ourselves for a bit!

I ordered the artichoke bruschetta there-- just your basic garlic and olive oil masterpiece in edible form, topped with the most amazing artichokes I've ever tasted. They really are spectacular in Rome!

I paired my appetizer with a glass of an Italian red (can't remember the specific grape/varietal)-- always an excellent bet in Bella Roma.

One of my friends ordered the garlic & oil bruschetta-- I think she was hoping there would be more to it.

They do look a little underwhelming in retrospect-- but she still ate them! She also got the pizza (first pic in this post), a traditional pizza margarita, with mozzarella, fresh basil, and olive oil, and a perfectly charred crust. It smelled so lovely!

Our other dining companion ordered a dish with fresh zucchini and cream sauce. I want to say these were paccheri noodles, but I'm not sure. She was quite happy with her dish.

My dish is one I try in nearly every Italian restaurant: Cacio e Pepe (cheese & pepper). It's a dish that sounds and looks humble, but packs such a savory punch. This was perfectly al dente, a great chew to them, and expertly seasoned with the perfect amount of cracked black pepper, a spice I'm learning to appreciate more and more. O, Italia-- you are always so delicious!

The food was heavenly, the service was great, and they even take Discover cards!

I loved this spot; it's not touristy, prices were reasonable, and our server always popped up at precisely the right moments without rushing or crowding us. I'd recommend it if you're looking for a more sedate spot for dinner-- get the downstairs seating if you can!

Ristorante le Segrete

Via della Scrofa, 31

00186 Roma, Italy

+39 06 6476 0557

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Friend of a Farmer: Breakfast

After a deeply disappointing dinner, I returned to Friend of a Farmer at ABF's request-- he'd had one of the best breakfasts EVER there, he insisted, and I should give it one more chance.

I was meeting up for a weekday breakfast with my friend Jeannie-- she lives a few states away but was in town for a conference. I couldn't pass up the chance to spend some time with her!

We got a cozy two-top in the upstairs area, where I've never sat before. Cute room! It has a fireplace, a country feel, and warm tones all around the open-air layout.

I was really hungry and almost picked a breakfast that came with pancakes, bacon, and more-- but opted not to get that one. I wasn't in the mood to take chances, so I ordered something I love: Eggs Benedict.

The dishes are very bare bones, no frills or even a fruit twist on the side. Mine came with a very small portion, maybe 2 heaping tablespoons, of home fried potatoes. My eggs, however, were perfectly cooked and delicious. The Hollandaise was very light with a bracing lemon kick to it, thin but very flavorful.

Lonely Omelet

Jeannie ordered the Farmer's Omelet, which came with spinach and cheese. She asked for an English muffin on the side instead of home fries (see my dish-she wasn't missing out on much!), so when her omelet arrived, it looked a little sad in the skillet with all that empty space where potatoes would have been. Aesthetics aside, Jeannie enjoyed her omelet!

We both got French press coffee, and this was fantastic. Velvety smooth, rich, and not a hint of burned or bitter flavors. Stellar brew!

The service was wonderful-- our server was friendly and funny, came at the perfect times to check on us, and while he did NOT rush us out of there, he was also quick to bring us back the bill so we could head out for a lovely walk through Manhattan..with a stroll right past nearby fancy-pants Gramercy Park, of course. Prices are also very reasonable (about 20 pp for breakfast and a pot of coffee, including tax & tip).

Friend of a Farmer definitely redeemed themselves in this instance, and I wouldn't hesitate to come back again for breakfast!

Friend of a Farmer

77 Irving Place

New York, NY 10003

(212) 477-2188

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Peanut Butter & Co.

A college friend of mine was visiting NYC with her family, and ABF & I decided to meet them in the West Village for a kitschy and tasty lunch at Peanut Butter & Co., a family/tourist/tastebud friendly spot that's been around for quite some time.

Tourist & Family-friendly fare! 

It's a small space, but we managed to snag some seats in the back for our group of 6.

Peanut Butter & Company makes their own peanut butter, as well as peanut butter spreads, and they will make just about any sandwich concoction you want. I ended up going with my standby: creamy peanut butter with raspberry preserves on whole wheat bread. My only mistake? I forgot to ask them to cut off the crusts (yes, they will do this)!

I also ordered a coffee milkshake because, well, I wanted one! It was creamy, with a strong coffee flavor and lots of sugar in there. This would later come to haunt me...but we'll continue. You can also get a glass of milk if that's your thing (I will MAKE that my thing next time).

ABF got the Elvis: peanut butter, bananas, and bacon, all fried in a pan. I wasn't feeling too adventurous, so I declined his offer of a bite. However, this is one of their most popular sandwiches-- I'm just an odd duck.

As we finished our sandwiches, we decided to all get some sweet treats to end the meal. Here's where caused myself some trouble- quickly forgetting the liquid sugar bomb of a shake I just had, I thought it would be a GREAT idea to have the brownie sundae and share it with ABF. What was I thinking!? Clearly I was all hopped up on sugar. Well, that sundae was SO good that I kept taking 'just one more bite,' unaware that I was bringing myself ever closer to the stomachache of a lifetime.

Everything we ate was quite tasty-- like comfort food without having to do your own dishes. However, if I had a do-over (and how I wish I did), I would have skipped the shake and saved room for the sundae instead. Sometimes you really CAN have too much of a good thing.

Peanut Butter & Co.
240 Sullivan Street
New York, NY 10012
(212)677-3995

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