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Friday, October 14, 2011

Foodie Finds: Connecticut and New York City

It’s been a whirlwind of travel for Ryan and I this past Fall. First, we headed to the DC/Maryland area for our RAGNAR relay, which I briefly shared here. Less than two weeks after returning home, we then jetted back to the East Coast, this time to visit friends Paige and Zach in Connecticut, where they moved a few months ago.
            I failed to do a ‘foodie’ post from our DC trip, in part because our days in the Capital city were more about sightseeing than eating. Granted, we had our fair share of good eats and drinks, but ultimately were more concerned with spending adequate time at the Smithsonian Museums and National Monuments and Memorials.  This trip, however, was more on par with our standard vacation, in which we explore a city via their food. In addition to spending a few days with our friends, we also took the train to New York City where we spent about 30 hours walking mile after mile, usually traveling from food place to food place while taking in the sights and sounds of New York along the way.

            So as to avoid too much wordiness and bore you to death, our food highlights from this trip, below:

Captain Scott’s Lobster Dock (New London, CT): We arrived just in the nick of time, a few days before this seafood stand in New London, CT closed for the season. Ryan and I share a love for fresh seafood, a luxury we don’t often get to enjoy in landlocked Missouri. In an attempt to get our fill, we felt the need to sample the menu and found ourselves with a scallop roll, a lobster roll, clam chowder, and fried clams. All fresh and not a bite left on the plate! If I could only ever enjoy scallops from here on out one way the rest of my life, this would be it!

Green Symphony (NYC): The bonus of a huge metropolitan city like New York is the impressive variety of food. Whatever it is you want, you can find it! Knowing we would be indulging quite a bit, we tried to balance that with some healthy food at this tiny Korean deli near our hotel. With a buffet full of hot and cold options, we filled plates with chicken curry salad, roasted vegetables, kale cashew salad, wild rice salad, and more, lamenting that St. Louis didn’t have more places like this! The next morning we returned so I could sample a fresh juice filled with beets, carrots, and cranberries (I felt the need to load up on nutrients before chowing down on bagels and ice cream!).

Hell’s Kitchen (NYC): Thanks to Yelp, we found this gem of a restaurant in the Theater District, where we stopped in for appetizers before our showing of Billy Elliot (which was absolutely worth seeing on Broadway!). Here we enjoyed the creative twist on Mexican food, our favorites being the guacamole sampler (three kinds of guac, from spicy to sweet!) and the tuna tostados with grilled pineapple.

Levain Bakery (NYC): I knew this place was a must-stop after hearing so many other bloggers rave about the cookies in this teeny tiny bakery. At $4/cookie, they aren’t cheap, but I would easily pay that again for what I’m convinced are the best cookies I’ve ever had. Heavy and dense, these cookies manage to be perfectly crisp on the outside with a gooey middle. My only regret was not buying more!

Daniel’s Bagels (NYC): Though I don’t know how or why New York bagels are so special, I can tell you that they are worth the hype. Daniel's Bagels was filled with locals, not tourists, and was another Yelp find. Although we had a hard time deciding, the whole grain bagel with pb and cream cheese along with the everything bagel with eggs and cheese were delightful and I wished I had the room to carry home a huge loaf of their fresh Challah.

Big Gay Ice Cream (NYC): Recommended to me by Sofia, I was eager to try this food-truck turned ice cream shop. As you might recall from our trip to Boston and Maine last Fall, ice cream is a staple whenever we travel. This ice cream did not disappoint—with a unique menu, I wanted to try them all! If we’re being honest, I should admit I ate mine and most of Ryan’s…I think I have an extra stomach for ice cream!

Red Fez (Providence, RI): We headed to Rhode Island our last day in town, where Paige and Zach introduced us to Waterfire, a unique experience of both water and fire (duh!). First, we enjoyed dinner at this little restaurant and bar where everything we ate (ie. pulled pork and collared greens, house-made pickles, old bay seasoned fries, and stuffed acorn squash, to name a few) got two thumbs up. Stay tuned for an upcoming soup recipe that I intend to recreate!

All in all, we had yet another great trip….full of good food, friends, and corn mazes! Thank you to Ryan for surprising me with such a great trip for my birthday. Thank you Paige and Zach for being such fun hosts. Thank you Levain Bakery for making such great cookies!

P.S. So much for not being wordy, huh?

Interested in food recommendations from other travels? Check out:
Arizona
Maine & Boston
San Diego
Nashville & Charleston
Charleston (Part II) & Asheville