Sarabeth's

One of my favorite parts of living in the city is the whole brunch craze.  I love brunch because it gives me an excuse to eat breakfast foods for lunch!  I always have to eat breakfast pretty much immediately upon waking up, so when I say I go to brunch I just mean I order of the brunch menu but eat it as lunch.  Breakfast foods are my all time favorites and I could eat them for any meal of the day, but it is more acceptable when you mask it under the label of "brunch" for the weekends.

So, in the city you can pretty much find a brunch menu anywhere, but there are a few places that are known as special brunch destinations.  One of the most famous places is Sarabeth's, and they have a bunch of locations all over NYC.  Today, the boot camp class that my sister and I take had a special promo class in Central Park, so we decided to go to the Sarabeth's on Central Park South right after the class.  It is pretty common to expect to wait anywhere between 30 minutes to 2 hours to get a table at brunch, depending on where you go.  We arrived expecting the worst, seeing as there was a big crowd outside, but we pleasantly surprised to hear that the wait was only 15 minutes!  We were seated after about 10 minutes, and were taken to a table in the back room.  From the outside it does not look big, but it is very deceiving, which is probably why the wait is so short even though it is super crowded.

Once we got seated the waiter came over right away, which I always appreciate.  To go along with the brunch theme, I got coffee, which was pretty decent and my sister got tea.  The menu is pretty big and they have a wide array of breakfast and lunch foods, so you can pretty much get anything you want.  I, of course, blocked out all of the lunch items and simply looked at the pancakes, waffles, and french toast.  I had been to the Sarabeth's on the Upper West Side once and got the Almond Crusted French Toast, which was delicious, so I originally planned on getting that again.  However, the table next to us had a half eaten plate of the Fat & Fluffy French Toast on their table that looked so amazing, so I immediately knew that was what I was going to order.

Usually I am not one to get French Toast, as I always end up picking pancakes (my favorite food), but something about the French Toast at Sarabeth's just called out to me.  My sister likes protein more than carbs so she got the garden omelette (egg whites only), which has cheddar, broccoli, corn and carrots.  All of their omelettes come with the choice of muffin, croissant, toast, or scone with preserves, so my sister opted for their banana muffin.

Our order came out after about only 15 minutes, which was extremely fast considering how big the place is!  I saw the waiter walking towards the table with our plates and my nose immediately perked up to the scent of rich, warm butter.  The French Toast comes with about 2 slices of thick challah bread that are each cut in half, fresh strawberries, pure maple syrup, and butter.  I took the first bite of French Toast and was in a sweet and buttery heaven.  The challah bread is so soft and thick, and the sweetness from the powdered sugar and maple syrup really balances out the richness.  I also like that the bread is not overly soaked, so it comes out soft and crisp instead of soggy (which is my pet peeve of french toast!)  I powered through and was able to finish it after giving my sister half of a piece, but felt SUPER stuffed.  

My sister's omelette was supposedly delicious, and she would highly recommend it if you like eggs.  Her favorite part, however, was the banana muffin with the preserves.  I tried a bite and could vouch for the fact that it is a very good muffin.  Their preserves also cannot be ignored, and if you really like them you can even buy a jar to go.

Overall, I highly recommend coming to Sarabeth's for weekend brunch in the city.  They have locations on the upper west side, upper east side, central park south, tribeca, and on park ave, so there is bound to be one near you no matter where you are in the city.  My recommendation would be the fat and fluffy french toast, which I preferred over the almond crusted french toast.  Don't let the crowd outside fool you; the wait flies by and it is well worth it!

Amy's Light & Lean Spinach Lasagna

Since I have been on a Trader Joe's kick lately, I have been neglecting all of the Amy's meals that I have in my freezer.  Amy's has always been my go to brand for frozen items because it is much healthier than other frozen food brands, is uses organic ingredients, and all of the meals that I have had are delicious.  I tend to go for the Light & Lean varieties because they are lower in fat and calories than the regular Amy's meals, but there are a few others that I do buy.

Generally, my freezer has a Spinach Lasagna, Spinach Pizza Pocket, Teriyaki Wrap and Spaghetti Italiano on reserve.  Recently, I have also added the Quinoa & Black Beans with Butternut Squash to the mix, since it is their newest variety.  The lasagna, spaghetti italiano, and quinoa are all light & lean, and are under 300 calories.

Tonight, I decided to go back to the Amy's meals and temporarily take a break from the Trader Joe's brand, so I chose to have the Spinach Lasagna.

The portion size of the lasagna is very generous, and you would never be able to guess that it is only 250 calories with 5 grams of fat!  You can't really get much better than that when you are eating lasagna.  They have a bunch of different lasagnas, but this one is definitely my favorite.  The sauce is really delicious, and there is tons of spinach inside each layer which I really appreciated.  There is also a nice layer of cheese on top, which is essential with lasagna.  The problem with many frozen meals is that they appear to be low calorie, but once you open the packaging you see that the portion sizes are tiny.  This is not the case with the lasagna as it is a pretty big piece and it is very satisfying.  

To make this for dinner, all you have to do is put it in the microwave for 4-5 minutes, let it stand for 1 minute and then you are ready to eat!  I highly recommend trying some of Amy's frozen meals, whether it be the lasagna, pizza pockets, or burritos, because they are all really delicious, and organic!

Nutella Banana Swirl Muffins

I have been counting down the days until I got to make this muffin again, because it is one of my ultimate favorites.  I never used to be a huge Nutella lover, but now I really don't know why!  It is SO good and I could probably eat it on anything.  When I was looking at different muffin recipes on Pinterest a few months ago, I found this gem: Nutella Banana Swirl Muffins (http://www.thenovicechefblog.com/2013/01/nutella-banana-swirl-muffins/).  I love banana and I love Nutella, so to me this seemed like a no brainer!

From the recipe, I only made a few slight changes.  Instead of using vegetable oil, I used unsweetened applesauce, I omitted the chopped pecans, and I used an egg white instead of an egg (since I had to quarter the recipe, it was too difficult to use a quarter of an egg, and it was much easier to measure out the equivalent in egg whites).

After I made these for the first time, I knew that they would be on the remake list.  While the top of the muffin with the Nutella swirl was the star, the banana muffin on the bottom was still delicious.  I waited for the banana to get very ripe before baking it, so the banana flavor really came through.  When they first come out of the oven, the Nutella has a crunchy shell around it but is so soft and melty on the inside.  If you have any leftover after the first day like I always do, the Nutella on top loses the crunchiness and becomes soft, but it is still extremely delicious.  You can choose to eat these any way that you like, but I recommend eating the bottom part of the muffin and then saving the top for last!  The combination of the Nutella with the banana is spot on, and it really raises the bar from the classic banana chocolate chip combination.

Chloe's Soft Serve Fruit Co

This weekend was such a nice way to kick off the summer season, because the weather was beautiful and warm both yesterday and today.  Since the weather tends to get pretty unpredictable over the summer, we tried to maximize our time outside as much as possible.  Today, we ran around the reservoir in Central Park, which is such a nice run, and then kicked around a soccer ball and laid out in the park for a bit.  The sun was shining and there was not a cloud in the sky, so it was the perfect time to try to get some color.  I do tend to get restless laying outside for too long because I get very hot and bored, so after about 40 minutes of laying outside we decided it was time to leave the park.  It was around 2:30 and I could feel my blood sugar dropping, so I knew it was time for an afternoon snack.  I usually have some sort of granola bar, but was craving something cold and refreshing.

My sister immediately suggested that we go to Soft Serve Fruit down by Union Square.  She had recently received a coupon for a free sundae from there and has been dying to go, so we traveled downtown for soft serve fruit.

What is great about this place is that it looks like frozen yogurt, but it only contains three ingredients: fruit, water, and some organic cane sugar.  Therefore, it is dairy free, gluten free, and fat free.  The flavors they had today were banana, raspberry, dark chocolate, and mango I believe.  I tried the banana and the dark chocolate flavors, and both were delicious.  The consistency is a bit icy-er than regular soft serve ice cream, but it is still very soft and really refreshing.  Even though I liked the banana, I opted to get the dark chocolate flavor.  The dark chocolate flavor uses the cocoa bean, so even though it isn't necessarily fruit it still is dairy and gluten free.

After deciding on the flavor, it is very similar to Pinkberry in that there are various toppings you can choose from.  Some of them include fruit (bananas, blueberries, mango, etc.), chocolate chips, graham crackers, pretzels, coconut, almonds, chocolate sauce, etc.  After pondering for a while, I chose to get bananas and dark chocolate chips as my topping, which made it that much more delicious.

My sister got the special sundae of the day, which had dark chocolate soft serve, bananas, strawberries, and graham crackers.  She loved the combination, and was very satisfied with her choice.  She usually gets a fruit flavor like raspberry, but today she was inspired by the chocolate.  There are also many delicious sounding smoothies and sundaes, like one that has dark chocolate soft serve, bananas, marshmallow sauce, peanut butter, and chocolate chips, but I didn't want to totally sabotage the healthy snack so I stuck with just two toppings.

Overall, it definitely was the perfect snack for a hot afternoon in the city.  It was very refreshing and delicious, and was very satisfying.  Since it only has three ingredients, if you go there with the hopes that it will taste like typical frozen yogurt, you will probably be disappointed.  It retains the strong fruit flavor (or dark chocolate flavor) and has a hint of sweetness from the cane sugar, but it isn't creamy.  It is also a bit on the expensive side (my small with 2 toppings was 5.75), but it is worth it if you don't go too often.  If you are near Union Square, I would highly recommend coming here on a hot afternoon for a refreshing snack that won't set back your diet.

Shake Shack

Part of the charm of living in the city is having the ability to find a restaurant from just about every cuisine within a 2 block radius.  A lot of times it is nice to just go to these neighborhood places and not give in to the hyped up "tourist traps" that plague the city.  That being said, there are a few exceptions, one being Shake Shack.

I would consider Shake Shack an institution in the city, and everyone that lives here has either been to a Shake Shack or has heard of it.  The thousands of yelp postings just verify how popular it is among city residents and visitors, in addition to the long lines that normally span at least 20 minutes.  Since it is officially the summer and I have been smelling that charcoal bbq smell all around the city, I have been craving a burger.  After going through the list of places in my mind, I knew that Shake Shack was the place I wanted to go to.  

There are many places in the city where you can claim to find "the best burger," but my taste in burgers is not that sophisticated, and therefore I find it difficult to rank one above the next.  However, I am able to recognize when a place serves a great, high quality burger, and Shake Shack is one of those places.  To me, it also ranks above the rest because coming here means getting the complete experience (with fries and a shake), as opposed to going to a nice restaurant and getting a fancy, overdone burger. The only one that I have ever been to is the one in Madison Square Park, because that has always been the closest to me and it is nice to be able to get your food and sit outside in the park to eat.  Upon arrival, the line may appear to be a bit daunting...

And, yes, I was in line when I took this picture, so clearly it wrapped all the way around.  From the time I got in line to the time I ordered, it was about 20-25 minutes which is not bad for Shake Shack.  They do have a "B" Line for those who just want to order Ice Cream, Beer, or Wine, but that one tends to be very short since most people come for the food/shakes. 

Once you finally order, you are then given a buzzer to wait for your food, which took about an addition 10-15 minutes.  Part of the charm is being able to sit outside in the park, so you have to be pretty vigilant and jump on a empty table when you have the chance, otherwise you my get stuck eating on a park bench.  

I ordered a single hamburger with the works (lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onion), an order of french fries, and a black and white milkshake.  I decided to go all out because I did a ton of walking today and a very hard boot camp class.  I had also been craving a black and white milk shake, so I knew I had to order that.  

This was such a satisfying meal, and exactly what I had been craving.  The burger was very juicy, and the patty was the perfect size.  I hate when burgers are too thick and everything falls off the bun, but this one was perfect.  It is a very simple and straight-forward burger, but that is what I love about it.  

The fries were also very good.  While they were not the best fries I have ever had, I can never eat a burger without having fries on the side, and these did the job just fine.  The shake was so creamy and delicious, and it was very hard not to drink the whole thing.  I made the mistake of looking up the nutritional information before I went, so I was too scared to drink the whole thing (note for the future: don't look at the nutritional information unless you are sure you want to see it!)  Even though I am generally a chocolate person, black and white milkshakes are my all time favorite.  My sister, my dad and I used to get a black and white shake from the country club we belonged to growing up, and now that we don't go there anymore I have been looking for a shake to fill the void.  This one did the trick.  

While there are many shake shacks in the city, I would highly recommend going to the one in madison square park if it is a nice day like today was.  They offer a variety of different shakes and frozen custards/concretes that also looked so good, in addition to burgers, fries, and hot dogs.  Sometimes you are just craving a burger with fries and a shake, and Shake Shack is the place to go for those days.  They now have tons of locations outside of the city, like in DC, Connecticut, Long Island, and Florida, and are quickly expanding, so you don't have to live in the city to experience Shake Shack!

Hu Kitchen

This morning my sister and I woke up and took a grueling boot camp class in East River Park.  It consisted of a lot of running, strength exercises, and tons of squats!  Needless to say after that class and the walk back to the apartment, we were both pretty sore and hungry.  Upon thinking about where to go for lunch, my sister suggested Hu Kitchen, which is a healthy place near union square that we had been to twice.  The place was created with the Paleo diet in mind, and all of their menu items are gluten free and grain free.  Everything there is fresh, "healthy," and un processed.

The first time that we went, we just shared a gluten free grain free espresso muffin because it was after a class at the gym and we had already eaten breakfast but it was too early for lunch.  The muffin was so good and soft, that it is so hard to believe there is no gluten or grains in it.  It literally melts in your mouth and has a nice and strong espresso flavor to it.  The best part, however, is the small chocolate chunk that is on top of the muffin.  It is a bittersweet dark chocolate chunk (technically, it is cacao because it is dairy free), which is my favorite and was a nice surprise to find in the muffin.  After finishing the muffin and looking at all the food and menu items, we began to plan when our next visit would be.  We knew that our mom was coming into the city the next day and she tries to keep a gluten free diet and is sensitive to a lot of different grains, so we thought it would be the perfect place to take her for lunch.

We ended up going for lunch, and our impressions were mixed.  I got the baked chicken tenders with sweet potato hash on the side, my mom got a turkey meatball with roasted sweet potatoes and carrots on the side, and my sister got a bowl that consisted of quinoa and thai chicken, with a side of roasted brussels sprouts.  My sister loved her bowl, and I tried a bite and can attest to the fact that it was really good.  My mom and I made the mistake of ordering from the glass display case, without realizing that the food was cold and they could not heat it up for you.  The sides that we got, however, were from the hot bar so those came out nice and warm.  

The turkey meatball was really good, it just would've been much better if it were warm.  The chicken tenders that I got were extremely bland, and the fact that they were cold didn't help.  My favorite parts were the sides of sweet potato hash and the roasted brussels sprouts, which were both delicious.  

So, today when my sister suggested it, I was a little wary to return since my previous visit didn't turn out so great.  I decided to give it another try since I like the whole idea of the place, and I wanted another espresso muffin.  My sister and I split the grandmaster veg hot plate with 2 sides (we got the sweet potato hash and brussels sprouts again).  The grandmaster veg consists of roasted vegetables, cashew cream, and housemade marinara sauce, and it is gluten/grain/dairy free.  Upon first examination, it kind of looks like lasagna and it is a huge chunk, so it was more than enough to share. 

The grandmaster veg was much more delicious than it looks in the picture, I promise you.  The combination of the sauce with the vegetables reminded me of a vegetable lasagna, and the crust on top with the layer of cashew cream was the best part.  I would recommend sharing this (or just eating half) because it is so big and very filling.  The sides were very delicious again, and the sweet potato hash was definitely my favorite.  

Since we could not leave without taking something to go, we got two espresso muffins and a dark chocolate bar that is filled with almond butter and quinoa puffs.  We were both pretty full, but had to try a square of the chocolate, and it was amazing.  The chocolate is very dark and the almond butter filling with the crunch of the quinoa puff made it great.  I usually don't like almond butter, but the almond butter filling in this chocolate bar tasted 10x better than regular almond butter, in my opinion.

Overall, I am really glad that this experience at Hu Kitchen was great, because I really wanted to be able to love this place.  While you don't really know if their food/drinks are necessarily "healthy," in terms of fat content/calories since they don't provide the nutritional info, you do know that all of the ingredients are fresh, unprocessed, and grain/gluten free.  I do have to warn you that everything here is very expensive (The lunch with the two sides was about $15, and the chocolate bar, 2 muffins, and iced tea came to $17!) but you do get what you pay for.  Everything is high quality, and you are paying for better, more wholesome ingredients.  They also have a coffee bar, breakfast cereals, a breakfast mashbar, bowls, cold prepared food, warm food, bottled beverages, and snacks to-go.  If you are in the area, I highly recommend coming here and trying it out (just don't get the chicken fingers!)

Coolhaus Dexter Ice Cream Sandwiches

There are two things that I am completely obsessed with: Food (obviously) and Television.  On any given night there are usually 2 or 3 (at least) new programs that I watch live, and that is not counting the countless repeats that I watch throughout the day.  Some of my favorites (past and present) include: Friends, Law & Order, Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, Parenthood, Criminal Minds, Dexter, Smallville, and Homeland, to name a few, and this list doesn't even include the countless cable networks I watch like Bravo, TLC, and The Food Network.  The accounts that I follow on Twitter basically consist of the TV programs I watch, actors from those programs, and restaurants/food trucks.  So, I was extremely excited Tuesday night to see my Twitter account flooded with posts about free ice cream sandwiches from the Coolhaus food truck to promote the final season of Dexter.  This combined my two favorite things: TV and sweets.

I immediately went on their website to find out where the truck was going to located.  I saw that it was located in midtown on Wednesday, but since I was going to be working all day I knew I wouldn't make it. Then, Thursday seemed like a much more viable day, but seeing that I had the chocolate croissant for breakfast I figured it was probably not the best combination, health wise.  So, I waited until today to see where the location was going to be and hoped that it would be somewhere close by.  Sadly, it was downtown on the West Side, which is pretty far from where I am.  After much pondering, I decided it was worth the trip downtown and went to get my free ice cream sandwich!

I had never had an ice cream sandwich from Coolhaus, but it was on my list of things I have wanted to try.  Since these were specialty sandwiches, the flavor was pre-determined instead of custom made like they usually are at Coolhaus.  To go along with the Dexter theme, one cookie was double chocolate chip (to represent Dexter's dark side), one was Snickerdoodle (to represent his good side), and the ice cream was vanilla bean with cherry swirl (to represent blood).

After trekking downtown and finally locating the truck, I got there about 12:15 and was 6th in line.  They made the sandwiches fresh for each person, which takes a bit longer but makes all the difference. I watched as the sandwiches were handed out in front of me and my mouth began to water.  Finally, it was my turn and I could not wait to take my first bite (I of course waited so that I could get a good picture in of the label).

Since the weather today was beautiful and warm, the sandwich was handed to me all soft and melty.  I have some good ice cream sandwiches, but this one was by far the best.  The double chocolate chip cookie was the star in my eyes, because it was super chocolatey and was nice and chewy.  The ice cream was also great, as it was smooth and creamy.  You could actually see the specs of vanilla bean, which indicated that it was the real deal.  The cherry swirl also added a nice punch of flavor and balanced out the sweetness from the other components.  I did like the snickerdoodle as well, but it overall was my least favorite part.  I honestly don't even remember what it tasted like because the chocolate taste overpowered it.  It was also harder than the other cookie, so when I went to take a bite it tended to squeeze the ice cream towards to other end which made it very hard to walk with.  Supposedly the wrapper is edible as well, but I did not try it because, well, a piece of paper did not seem nearly as delicious as cookies and ice cream.

I had to limit myself to only eating half, but it was well worth it.  I would most likely return to this truck if I saw it again, but it was that much more special since it was made in honor of the final season of Dexter.