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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Murray's Cheese Bar

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you already know that That Sara's birthday is two days before mine. We usually have a birthday dinner a month or so later to exchange presents and catch up on life. This year might have been our quickest one ever-- it was less than 2 weeks after our birthdays!
We were both very eager to try out Murray's Cheese Bar, the fairly-new outpost run by the infamous (and incredibly amazing) cheese shop in NYC's West Village.

I started with a bracing cup of Stumptown Roasters' iced coffee. Wow, was this strong. Like, jitters kicking in about halfway through the glass strong-- just what I needed to wake me up on a breezy Sunday morning.

We each ordered the mini mimosa flight-- 3 small servings, a few ounces each, of (L-R) regular OJ, lychee, and blood orange flavors. These were all nice, but nothing amazing. It was more for the cuteness and the novelty of it. Fun, not too boozy, and just adorable.

Who goes to Murray and DOESN'T order a cheese plate? Silly people, that's who. So we picked the Weekender ($10), a selection of 3 cheeses: housemade ricotta drizzled with clover honey, a rich, oozy brie with a cherry glaze on the side, and a New York cheddar with fresh apple slices.

Of course, every cheese was a winner, every pairing just perfect, but holy moly that ricotta was sublime. It was nothing like the storebought version-- it was light, fluffy-yet-creamy, and so fabulously flavorful.
We shared the entrée-- Alpine Eggs ($14)-- to have room for dessert (or more cheese!) later. The Alpine Eggs were two poached eggs served on English muffins over ham and mushrooms, with a three-cheese fondue served on the side. YES. Who needs Hollandaise when you can have melty, creamy cheese over your eggs? The eggs were so so so perfectly cooked, the muffins were crunchy and not soggy, and I could have licked the bowl clean of that fondue. The home fries were also soft, expertly seasoned, and better than I expected.

*Sigh* I do so love a perfectly-poached egg....

Hello, beautiful....

Sharing was smart-- we saved room for dessert: peanut butter/cheddar cheese ice cream! Our server assured us that while it might sound awful, it was actually awesome... and she was right. Somehow, the bits of cheddar cheese went so well with the peanut butter base. The drizzle of honey on top made it like the best sandwich ever turned into a sweet treat. It was pretty incredible. I'm considering try to make a grilled cheese with peanut butter and honey now.. Hmmmm...

This was a wonderful, enjoyable, nommable brunch. The service was helpful, it wasn't too loud, and Murray's knows cheese, baby. They know CHEESE. Yum. I highly recommend this spot-- and then you can walk a few doors down and buy the cheeses you just ate! I need to stock up on that ricotta ASAP!


Also-- check out Sara's take on it here! 

Murray's Cheese Bar
254 Bleecker Street
New York, NY 10014
(212) 243-3289

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Cafe Cluny

I hear all the time about how chefs hate brunch and it's overblown and blah blah blah--- well, then this is not the blog for you! I love brunch, and my friend Laura & I just tried out a lovely spot in the West Village for an easy breezy late-morning meal.

We actually met a little early for 'brunch,' 10:30, breaking my own rule of 'Before 11am, you might as well just call it BREAKFAST.' But the circumstances warranted an earlier meeting, so there you have it. Bring on the coffee--and they did---refill after (free) refill of rich, hearty coffee. So far, so AWESOME!

I don't have the story on the bird display on the wall, but I sure do love it. I'm a sucker for birds. Birds & brunch--2 of my favorite things!

The menu has sweet, savory, and everything in between. I settled on the short rib hash. At $17, it is a bit pricier than I'd normally splurge for lunch, but it sounded amazing--poached eggs with a Bearnaise sauce over short rib hash--yes please! It was soooo good--the eggs still had runny yolks, were beautifully presented, and I ate every single bite of that dish. Gorgeously tender forkfuls of savory short ribs were tossed in with crispy, crunchy, salty bits of potatoes and scallions.

Laura got the omelet as a scramble, as she likes her eggs scrambled very dry. The potato galette on the side looked equally yummy.

Despite the packed room, bustling conversations, and growing line of waiting would-be brunchers, Laura & I had a lovely, self-contained, private-feeling start to our morning. It was a lovely, savory, expertly-executed brunch, with excellent service and great people-watching, and just a short walk from 14th street and 8th avenue. Anyone who poaches eggs that well gets a return visit from me!

Cafe Cluny
284 W 12th St
New York, NY 10014
(212) 255-6900

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Corner Bistro

This is where I wish I were right now. Juicy burgers, toasted buns, crispy fries, and maybe an ice cold root beer to wash it down my happy gullet.

It's a no frills, no fuss, all worth the wait place.

I hope your week has some equally delicious moments!

Corner Bistro
331 West 4th Street
New York, NY 10014
(212) 242-9502

Caffe Dante

My friend Carlota treated me to dessert and coffee the other night at a well-known spot for serious sweets, Caffe Dante. We'd been there once before, but it had been at least a few years, and I hadn't tried their tiramisu, which Carlota said is the best she's ever eaten. That's enough to get me to go. ;)

Dante's serves sandwiches and other savory eats as well, but we were there to focus on the sweet side. They had a beautiful, colorful array of gelato and sorbet, including a seasonal flavor: pumpkin! I almost got that, but the mousse caught my eye and that was that. I have no regrets! ;)

We shared the tiramisu and the chocolate mousse--both portions were more than generous. The tiramisu was clearly fresh, and you could smell the coffee and the liqueur. It was extremely light, fantastically flavorful, and definitely one of the best tiramisus I've ever had. Yum.

To go with the tiramisu, I ordered a steamed milk with amaretto. It came in a striking presentation and was quite delicious. The amaretto wasn't as strong as I expected; it was subtle and not-too-sweet. Perfect pairing for the tiramisu!

Carlota got the hot chocolate which came with a glorious crown of real whipped cream. I sampled a taste and agreed it was quite heavenly. I just might get that next time.

The other dessert was the monster-sized chocolate mousse. This. was. lovely. It was light, but it had real depth to it. The chocolate flavor was strong and serious and real. As delicious as it was, we couldn't quite finish it, though I did go back for a few more spoonfuls even though I was full, because it was just that tasty!

Every bite was delicious, and I will definitely go back to try one of the many other tempting desserts on display (like maybe that pineapple cake!!) This spot is worth visiting more than once!