My fatty trip to NYC (Part II: Savory)
- May 9, 2016
- 5 min read
WARNING: The pictures in this post were not taken by a professional photographer nor with a professional camera, so bear with me.
I strongly advise you to play music in the background whilst reading this post.
More specifically: "New York, New York", "New York state of mind" or "Empire state of mind".
The time has come to show you the delectable meals I had the privilege to stuff my face with during my time in NYC. We didn't get to go to every restaurant that was on my list (yes I'm a type A freak) because of time and long ass lines. We still managed to eat amazing and fattening things, so get yourself comfortable and your stomach loose, cause I'm gonna take you on a sweet fat ride.
First stop: Dig Inn. I lied, the ride was not so fat; not in the beginning that is. But I can assure you that America's charm and its drive to make people fat got the best of my family and I, and we broke our promise to eat at the healthiest spots in NYC for the entirety of the trip. For now though, let's get back to Dig Inn.
I'd describe Dig Inn as a healthy canteen; and I'm using the word canteen in the most positive way possible. If my school had a canteen like Dig Inn, you would've probably seen me licking the last bits of food in my plate and I would probably not suffer from a binging habit I developed from getting home from school famished. The restaurant is so cozy, the atmosphere so hipster and the food so good: I couldn't have asked for more. Their "healthy fast food" concept is brilliant considering that the pace is New York City is ten times faster than humanely acceptable. You get a plate onto which you get a pick of proteins, of grains or greens and of sides, enough to fill you up for the day.
Next restaurant was Sweetgreen, not so much a restaurant as it is a fast food "go in go out" type of restaurant. NYC does know how to tailor itself to that fast paced environment it got going on. This was the first and last time I ever tried Kale - sorry Beyonce, I tried.. Like I said, we were still on our healthy streak before the real gorging began, so spare me the shaming.
I won't bore you anymore with healthy food, for now (I mean, have you ever stepped into a WholeFoods?!). On to our very first cheat meal: burgers. 5 Napkin burger is where we decided to have our first NYC burgers because of it's amazing reviews online; and it did not disappoint. I wouldn't say I love burgers, I'm more of a nachos or pizza kinda gal so I rarely have burgers. The burgers at 5 napkin burger though, Oh My God! I ordered the avocado ranch burger because I love me some guacamole (article on my favorite cuisine coming soon, if you're clever enough you guessed it: it's Mexican) with a side of sweet potato fries aka the only fries I will ever eat in my life. Get ready to salivate:
Next stop was the Chelsea market. I am obsessed with food markets because being surrounded by food makes me happy and it is the closest thing to a dream come true personally. I also hate food markets - yes, I am a confused and indecisive bitch - because I can never decide on what to get because I want it all. In the words of the Rolling stones: "you can't always get what you want", so I settled for a lobster sandwich from The Lobster Place, my dad went all out and ordered a whole lobster because why the hell not!
My mom and my sister had sushi, weird looking sushi, sushi that is meant to be "green" from Beyond sushi. They were pretty looking sushi though. Sushi, sushi, sushi...
The day we went to Brooklyn was the day we finally had pizza. We wanted the best of the best and the internet lead us to Grimaldi's pizza in Brooklyn (if you're a New Yorker reading this and you disagree with our choice please speak up, I can use some guidance for my next trip to NYC). The pizza was 4 times bigger than my head and as big as my stomach. It was a good think that we were walking the Brooklyn bridge that way we burned a quarter of the calories we inhaled.
We had to go to the famous Carnegie Deli to try "the Woody Allen" and let me just say, thank god the hotel was right next to it because we couldn't have been able to carry ourselves back after the monstrous sandwich. I mean, look at the size of that thing!
We couldn't let our stomachs rest we had to power through, there were still so many places aka. restaurants we hadn't been to. Whole foods was our next destination, their food court was like that of a movie, everything is so fresh and green that it looks like everything is photoshopped. On top of my obsession with food markets, I have an obsession with supermarkets (but more on that later). Being an indecisive little shit, I filled a box with pretty much everything the salad bar had to offer and my wallet did not enjoy it one bit. N.B: If you've never tried grilled melon, you are missing out on something deliciously sweet and heavenly.
I left the best for last: Hillstone. First things first, the Hillstone we went to is located underneath a Barnes and Nobles, how cool is that?! Secondly, the night we were there, a live jazz band was playing - you can add jazz to the list of things I'm obsessed with. Thirdly, it was our last night in NYC so I was emotional, might have also been the wine. Even though I said I didn't like burgers that much, the only burgers I'm always excited to eat are veggie burgers. I'm not a vegetarian or a vegan (god forbid) but I find that they are so flavorful, probably because chefs try to make up for the fact that there is no meaty flavor since they're mainly made out of beans. I still have steamy dreams about that burger, it is literally the best burger I've had so far (in my life) and I honestly cannot wait to go back to Hillstone to have it again.
And there you have it, my savory journey around NYC. We also went to Shake Shack for yet another burger, Chipotle, David Burke kitchen for their famous sandwiches, Pick a Bagel for a salmon and lox bagel, Chop't (for salad..), the Melt shop, Le pain quotidien (too many times to count, I'm ashamed of that), The smith for their yummy mac and cheese and the plaza hotel food court: gorgeous, gorgeous food court of which I unfortunately don't have pictures of.
And that's about it. Tune in for the part III of my trip to NYC, it's gonna be a sweet one ;)
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