New York City Eatin'

New York City Eatin'... Unfortunately with weekend travels I have been unable to post about recipes(though I will have two homemade dinners this week!). FORTUNATELY however for moi, I was in NYC this past weekend visiting my bestest friends and enjoying tons of Dahlicious foods - including New York staples such as bagels and pizza.


With a food loving Jewish father from Long Island it's hard for this girl not to enjoy the foods of The City. Having also spent 3 months interning in Manhattan in college just a few years back I am quite familiar with the town and love getting a chance to spend time all over, from strolling Highline in Chelsea, to drinks at Brinkley's in Little Italy/Nolita, to wandering the familiar 70's of the UES, it is always a a pleasure to visit New York.


This particular trip was a great foodie weekend, starting off Friday night with drinks at Fedora in the West Village followed by a scrumptious dinner at Barbuto consisting of a shaved veggie salad, perfectly fried soft shell crab with romesco, roasted chicken, sauteed kale, and crispy little potatoes. Every dish was flavorful and perfectly cooked. The chicken was juicy and the potatoes were crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, covered in a dusting of shaved parmesan.

shaved veggies and soft shell crab @ barbuto

roasted chicken, sauteed kale, and crispy potatoes @ barbuto

The next day after my morning espresso and of course a bagel from the UES H&H, we ventured to Eataly. How I had never been before is beyond me because it is a foodies paradise. It's a market full of every fresh handmade pasta you could dream up, every exotic olive oil imported from Europe, every perfectly butchered piece of meat you've heard of (plus some you haven't), fresh made mozzarella balls to die for, pastries galore, and produce that looks like it was plucked from  a farm that morning. Really the impact on your senses is quite remarkable. It was crowded of course, but that was part of the overwhelming fun. Inside the market there were also a number of places to eat. You could stand at high tables in one spot and simply select meats and cheese and vegetables from surrounding vendors, if you will, to snack on. We opted to sit down in the casual restaurant which extended in a very open fashion right off of the dried pasta aisles. Once sitting we immediately ordered the freshly made (in-house just feet away) mozzarella with olive oil and sea salt, the arugula/endive/radicchio salad, and a specialty pizza topped with eggplant and spicy italian sausage. Along with the cheese they brought slices of crusty white bread wrapped in brown paper for the table. The meal was fantastic in that simple way that cheese and greens can be. When ingredients are fresh and extremely high quality it is truly best to let their natural flavors speak for themselves, just a dash of good olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt can often do the trick.

Eataly: couldn't snag a pic before the mozz was gone!

@ Eataly

eggplant and spicy sausage pizza @ eataly

After a long walk on the Highline and a stroll through Chelsea Market, where I enjoyed a little cup of hazelnut and pistachio gelato, it was home to rest up for dinner - which of course was a continuation of the Italian fest.

enjoying my afternoon sweet treat, gelato!

Dinner on Saturday was at a favorite spot in Nolita, Pulino's. They serve up fantastic pizza and appetizers, not to mention some Dahlicious cocktails. We started the night with an Italian Summer: Gin, ruby red grapefruit, ginger syrup, lime juice and basil, along side two delectable appetizers.. one a fried calamari with a spicy tomato sauce and the other a ginormous artichoke sprinkled with bread crumbs and filled in the center with a lemon aioli. We also shared a pizza topped with prosciutto, arugula, and a fried egg! YUM.

artichoke and calamari app @ pulino

Sunday morning I woke up ravenous (as I usually do, and do even more so when I've been eating all weekend) and headed back downtown to another favorite brunch spot, the Grey Dog. This time we went to their new location but it was, as always, a perfect brunch. Fluffy eggy omelets, crispy home fries, and warm buttery sourdough toast.. and perhaps a thick crumbly oatmeal chocolate chip cookie on the side.


All in all the weekend was a blast and it was great to catch up with old friends. It was definitely an Italian themed weekend, which is always welcome in my book so I was happy! For me sometimes the more I eat of a certain type of food the more I crave it, so look out for some healthy twists on Italian classics coming up this week, I promise they'll be Dahlicious!