Weekend Trip To New York City

For less than 15 dollars each way, Tyler and I decided to take a little trip up to New York to visit his sister. It was nice to get away from DC for a bit, and naturally I was very excited to explore the restaurants because the crowded, cultured city has every kind of food you can imagine!

Upon arriving, we decided to check out Chelsea. There is a building called the Chelsea Market, which my friend Maddie recommended. This building has a variety of shops, all with different specialities such as bread, juices, cheese, or soup. It is similar to the Ferry Building in San Francisco. We decided to stake out at Amy's Bread for an hour. This place had so many different breads, pastries, and treats.

Freshly baked breads at Amy's

We had a mini feast that consisted of Almond Brioche Toast, a Brie and Tomato Baguette sandwich with a little spicy mustard, ham and cheese grilled on a fresh cheese biscuit, and focaccia twists filled with anything from chocolate, to Parmesan, to herbs. It was a feast of everything you could come up with bread- but everything was absolutely amazing. The focaccia twists, for one dollar each, and the almond brioche toast were my favorites.

Tomato, Brie, Spicy Mustard on Baguette Sandwich

Almond Brioche Toast

After the Chelsea Market, we headed to Soho to do a little shopping and exploring. Next, we headed up town to his sister's work- which is at Fortune magazine!! It was really cool meeting the staff, exploring the building, and looking at the archives which goes back the the 1930s. We headed to the Upper West Side, and decided to do a casual night at one of Jessica's favorite places- Shake Shack.

Shake Shack is a casual burger joint known for its quality burgers and creamy frozen custards. I ordered a hamburger with the works and the Shake Shack sauce, with a chocolate frozen custard. The Hamburger was juicy, and the special sauce was delicious (for you west coasters- it was similar to In-N-Out's special sauce). The frozen custard was just like a chocolate milkshake, and I slurped it down quickly!

Shake Shack Hamburger

The next morning, we woke up and stood in line at Good Enough to Eat for brunch. The food was well worth the wait. The restaurant was adorable, as the tables were set inside a white picket fence and there were wire heart sculptures hanging from the ceiling.

Good Enough to Eat tables

We ordered a plate of eggs with onions and potatoes for the table, then we each ordered individually. Jessica had cinnamon raisin swirl french toast, Tyler had waffles, and I had the special of the day- Banana, Blueberry, and Granola Pancakes. The best part of the meal was the freshly made biscuits with homemade strawberry butter on the side. My mouth still waters thinking about this meal. The restaurant was true to it's name- as everything was (more than) good enough to eat!

Onion and Potato Omelette with a side of Biscuits and Strawberry Butter
Banana, Blueberry, Granola Pancakes with Strawberry Butter and powdered sugar

After brunch, we decided to wander around the busy streets of New York. We went to the Met, walked around Central Park, then headed down to the East Village. We stopped at a little cafe called Sweet Revenge to get some coffee and to avoid the cold. Then we ended up at a place Jessica heard of called Supper.

Fresh Ciabatta Bread served with a cannellini bean, olive oil, and red pepper flake sauce

Supper is a cozy Italian restaurant with communal tables. It was almost entirely lit by candle light. The kitchen is visible when you walk in, so you get to see them making all the pasta and various dishes. We sat down and pondered the menu for a while until we finally decided. For the table, we got an arugula, fennel, and Parmesan cheese salad with a lemon vinaigrette. For dinner, I had the Salmon Tagliata that came with a fresh pea relish on a bed of arugula. The relish was sweet and fresh, and perfectly complemented the salmon. Tyler ordered tagliatelle with prosciutto, tomatoes, and cheese. Jessica had bucatini with a pancetta tomato sauce with a mint garnish. Both loved their dishes.

Tagliatelle Pasta with Tomatoes and Prosciutto

Salmon Tagliata, with a seasonal fresh pea relish

Bucatini Pasta with Tomatoes, Pancetta, and a Mint Garnish

Good Ol' Ben's Chili Bowl

Ben's Chili Bowl is a historical diner that has earned a spot in every D.C. travel guide's restaurant section. The restaurant is fun because it is covered in framed pictures of their prestigious customer base, such as Martin Luther King Jr., Nat King Cole, Barack Obama, and their number one customer - Bill Cosby. The casual restaurant is adorned with diner booths and counter seats. The cooks and waiters are always laughing and chatting up the customers. Ben's is most popular with the late night weekend crowd, as they are open until 4am Fridays and Saturdays.

Ben's Chili Bowl- "A Washington Landmark"

Everyone comes to Ben's for of course- the chili! You can not come here without getting their famous chili dog. I ate my first chili dog, and certainly not my last, at Ben's. The restaurant also has great thick milkshakes, burgers, and fries. Don't expect to find anything green on the menu- it's all quality deep fried deliciousness.

Chili Dog with the Classic Mustard and Onions Topping

Chili Cheeseburger with the works

Good Stuff Eatery

Good Stuff Eatery is a casual burger joint belongs to Season 4 Top Chef's Spike (shown in the picture to the left). I heard about this place from a friend, and it's located in SE DC near Capitol Hill. The menu is simple with burgers, fries, salad wedges, and milkshakes.

I had a sudden craving for hamburgers, so Tyler and I hopped on the metro and walked to the restaurant. I ordered the turkey burger with avocado, sprouts, muenster cheese, and tomatoes on a whole wheat bun. It was good- but it tasted like there was lemon zest or lemon pepper in the meat and I felt like it overpowered a lot of the other taste. Besides that, the burger was tasty. Tyler ordered the "Good Stuff Melt" with melted cheddar and muenster cheese, caramelized onions, and mushrooms with Good Stuff sauce. I had a bite- and this was delicious. We ordered a side of onion rings which you HAVE to order if you come here. They are chunky, and there were multiple slices of onions in each fried shell with the perfect seasoning. Another must-have is the Black & White milkshake. This is a vanilla milkshake with chocolate fudge swirled and we were scraping the cup until it was all gone. Apparently the toasted marshmallow milkshake and milky way malt are also very good.

Black and White Milkshake

There is also a sauce bar with the usuals, mango mayonnaise, chipotle mayonnaise, and others.

Different sauces

Overall, it was fun! Very casual- you order at the counter and bring it to your seat, but good food and a good place to go with a large crowd.
** Unfortunately, the pictures of the hamburgers did not turn out well so I did not post them, Sorry!