Those New York City Food Adventures

Last week I spent the weekend in the City that Never Sleeps. I wish I could have stayed longer to try the millions of different restaurants, bakeries, cafes I saw on every bustling street. I had a couple meals in my friend's dining hall at NYU, but for the others, my friends and I ate out at three restaurants: Max Brenner, Le Pain Quotideon, and Shakeshack. Every single one served delicious food, but Max Brenner was by far the fanciest, most expensive treat of all. Although it does serve entrees, the restaurant is known for its chocolate pastries and desserts, especially the chocolate fondue. Among other pastries, pizza, and a salad, we ordered hot chocolate and three chocolate fondues: white chocolate, caramel, and milk chocolate, which came with a plate of fruit. It was so absolutely heavenly, I almost passed out from such rich flavor. If you haven't gone to Max Brenner, I strongly recommend it, even though it did do a fair amount of damage in our wallets once we saw the bill.

Of course, when fine dining pains us financially, we find comfort in a quick and easy solution for food: a Halal Food cart, many to be spotted on the corners of New York. The one dollar hot dogs didn't appeal to me, but a couple of my friends ordered the gyro, a Greek sandwich. The gyro consists of a pita bread filled with meat, usually lamb or pork, and tomatoes, onions, and a special chicken dressing. "Gyro" is probably the most mispronounced food, with many people calling it "jai-ro" or "gee-ro." I remember my mom once asked the man at a Gyro sandwich shop how to properly say it and he informed us that the correct pronunciation was "yee-ro" so I proudly imparted this fun fact to my friends who kept repeating that they would like a "jai-ro."

During the weekend, I set out to find the perfect red velvet cupcake. I had been craving one, and I figured why not try a red velvet cupcake in the Big Apple -- I was sure that there would be thousands of high end bakeries selling their elaborate pastries. I probably should have planned the location better, but when my friends stumbled upon this one pastry shop in Greenwich Village, they told me that it sold red velvet cupcakes here. I decided to buy one because most cupcakes I have had in my lifetime, even the Stop and Shop brand, weren't bad at all. Ha...Worst decision of my life. The topping on the cupcake was a tasteless whipped cream, not a sweet cream cheese that one usually finds on a red velvet. It was clearly a small private business and the only people occupying it was my friends. Maybe I should have judged the pastry shop better by the looks of it...

Next time I go back to the city, I am definitely going to find the great red velvet cupcake I dream of. The chocolate fondues, oven roasted tomato pizza, hard chocolate cake, gyros, gazpacho, smoked Atlantic salmon Tartine -- everything I ate that weekend met my high standards, even the cheap Hallal food and $1.50 pizza from Sam's. But I will never forget that first bite into the horrendous, vapid cupcake, which disappointed me tremendously. Learning from experience, I've already made a list of New York bakeries for the next visit! Where art thou, delicious red velvet cupcake?