I had to move across the island (of Manhattan…sometimes we forget it’s an island) to finally appreciate this little LES gem. To think that I could have rolled out of bed in my old apartment and avoided the half hour wait…but some things are just worth waiting for. If you’ve been to Cocoron, have you noticed how ironic it is that they have more cold soba options than “heartwarming” options? Anyways, happiness surely ensues every visit to this adorable nook in the LES.

Japanese people and their cartoons…that’s why we love them! I definitely didn’t know soba was so healthy. Just another excuse to go back to Cocoron.

Andrew encouraged us to get this jiggly white thing, the Sobagaki, which actually turned out to be a YUMMY jiggly white thing. It might’ve been a little too sticky for my taste, but I’m always down to try something new. This is the first sobagaki that I’ve had, but I can tell you that it had a very subtle flavor (similar to buckwheat) and consistency resembling mushy gnocchi (in the nicest way possible).

Good things come in small P——-Pork & OKARA Croquettes. Yup, go for the powerful “flavor balls”–as I like to call them–made of potato, carrot, onion and okara (soy pulp). Crunchy on the outside, not greasy at all, WAY too small–I WANT MORE. #fatty

MMMMMMMMMM Cocoron’s soba was incredibly delicious! Although more than half the menu is cold soba, I opted for a warm bowl of Tororo Wakame Soba. The tororo (grated yam) and wakame (seaweed) didn’t really seem too appealing at first, but it was a great combination of ingredients. After the first bite, the high quality of the soba was very apparent to moi. Andrew and Jon were all smiles too. The soba had a slightly grainy quality which could only mean…this soba was legit. The soup base was light and clean yet flavorful (super surprising without any meat).

Nomz nomz nomz. This Green Tea Ice Cream, Red Bean Paste and Mochi Parfait was so freaking amazing. The bottom layer consisted of corn flakes! Yeah…for some reason, Japanese people LOVE corn flakes (and I’m totally okay with that). The mochi had the perfect combination of stickiness and chewiness to make me happy.

If you couldn’t tell already, Cocoron gets 1,000,000 thumbs up from this fatty. Soba was never top of mind for me in terms of Japanese food. It was always overshadowed by udon and ramen, but thanks to Cocoron, I’ll be looking out for soba places too. I love this hole-in-the-wall: great Little-Gem-of-Tokyo vibe, nice people, great food and open kitchen action. Just get ready for a wait…

I’m going to rev up the fatty engine this time with a few of my new favorite places. Most of them are located in and around the West Village since, as you know, I’ve always loved exploring the neighborhoods I call home. My current ‘hood, West Village, has so much to offer, my favorites being small, quaint restaurants with a community following (typical Fatty Kat).

TREMONT

This place is right around the corner from my apartment (no wonder my lazy butt likes this place). I read a crave-worthy review about the restaurant last Sunday and decided within minutes to roll out of bed and park my huge appetite on Bank and W 4th. I was VERY happy with my Orecchiette with mint pesto, zucchini, toasted almonds and of course, sheep’s milk ricotta (HOLY @*#&$^*). The portion was definitely “American” to say the least. The rich creaminess and nuttiness of the ingredients really complemented the sharp, green flavors of the mint pesto. I loved this dish. To be fair, Andrew visited Tremont and specifically tried this dish a few days later (by my recommendation), but he said it was mehhhh… I really hope that was a one time flop because I really respect Andrew’s opinion as he’s one of my top fatty advisors. Still, I’d go just for the ambiance (this is what I call a “foochebag” word) since the restaurant is perfectly situated on a gorgeous corner of the West Village abundantly lined with trees and brick townhouses.

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COPPELIA

I’ve been dying to try this 24/7 Cuban Diner forever!! What could be better than rice, beans and plantains at 4AM????? Exactly my thoughts…nothing. I went to Coppelia with Jaimie with one thing in mind: plantains. I’m obsessed with plantains. They go perfectly with rice, beans and all types of meat and seafood. I might even need to go to PA (Plantains Anonymous…harhar…lame joke). Well, in the end, we didn’t really order anything plantain-related except the AWESOME guacamole and plantain chips.

I also went with the Mazorca (think Cafe Habana’s corn) and Fish Tacos. The corn was so-so, but I really loved the lightly friend flounder in the tacos.

I know…this dessert dish looks like every other one out there. Wrong! Our server recommended this warm bread pudding with a crispy, sweet plantain slice on top. Well, fatties and fatties, it was HEAVEN with whipped cream and unidentified crunchy stuff. Right Jaimie? We were basically fighting for the last bite (I won…being the bigger fatty has its advantages).

BASTA PASTA

It only took me 3 years, but I did it! I finally tried Basta Pasta having worked next door at BLT Fish (right next door) for almost 3 years. I can’t believe it took me this long to finally savor the beautiful flavors and presentation at this Japanese-run Italian restaurant. Yup, weird right? Japanese people cooking Italian food? Well, we all know that the Japanese are awesome at everything, so this really should be no surprise. It’s one of those only-in-New-York kind of things, ya know?

The menu has some great ideas, but most importantly, their execution is completely on point. Jess and I weren’t expecting too much from this restaurant as it was a middle-of-the-week-let’s-catch-up dinner, which I randomly chose from my “to do” list. It didn’t cost like a middle-of-the-week-let’s-catch-up dinner, but it was well worth the damage.

Look at this purdy Tortino di Granchio…fancy speak for crab cake. It was really light and refreshing (yay for green apples and weird/jiggly/yummy grapefruit jelly) but nothing to write home about. I thought the basil aioli would do more for the crab. Still…pretty damn decent though.

All-knowing Jess ordered the magnificent Spaghetti con Prosciutto E Parmigiano. It was prepared and served in a parmesan wheel (god’s gift to my waistline), topped with beautiful prosciutto and finished with basil. It really doesn’t get any better than that. I know your next question and here’s the answer: the pasta was served al dente! Yay, can’t get any better than that.

I saw the words sea urchin (uni)…I was soooo easily sold. Loved the idea of uni, pasta, tomatoes, basil, etc. I just don’t think the execution of this particular dish was done very well. The uni had this weird consistency because of the pasta’s residual water, and that made the dish feel sloppy. The flowers went well together, but the tomatoes were a little too young for my taste. I like my tomatoes more robust.

Wait for it………………….OH MY GOD!!!!! This steak was phenomenal. I don’t remember what kind of cut we ordered, but it was the daily special. Close your eyes and imagine, a freshly shucked sweet corn ragu using the freshest tomatoes in the world. Imagine the most succulent/tender/juicy/perfect steak that just melts in your mouth. Imagine the two swirling around in your mouth in a heavenly cloud of rainbows and butterflies. Yup, I’m currently drooling as I type. And yup, I’m hungry. Damn.

Y’all know that I live for dessert, and this Tiramisu definitely didn’t disappoint. Still, it wasn’t any (life-changing) In Vino tiramisu. It’s purrrrrdy though.

This place is stellar.

BEE DESSERTS

Blame iPhoto. I can’t find a picture of Bee Desserts’ lovely Corn and Coconut Cake, but let me just say that it was the only thing that made me feel better after coming back from Brazil. Bee Desserts’ is a Brazilian cafe and restaurant (not very many around town), and it has an adorable exposed courtyard in the back. The spongey cake is rich, sweet and creamy, just like everything else that’s wonderful in this world. Expect dried coconut and corn bits in every bite!

For the last few weeks, I’ve been traveling in Brazil as my “last hurrah” post-graduation and pre- full-time job. It was the best farewell tour I could’ve ever asked for. And why a farewell? No more endless vacationing and lazy days. No more day-time errands and long walks. No more hooliganism. MY LIFE IS OVER! Boohoo, life really sucks (not really, I’m blessed). But it’s work work work from here on out…got to make that paper. Therefore, I had to make my last hurrah something special, and this trip was certainly the trip of a lifetime (minus all the voracious mosquitoes).

When I was first started “planning’ my summer (and I didn’t do any real planning until a week before my actual trip), I had India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and a bunch of other super exotic places on my mind. You know me, if I’m not somewhere with unpaved dirt roads and barely running water, I’m not having a good time. So I’ve been dying to go to South America forever and ever, but Brazil was always too “dangerous.” Plus, people were saying “it’s winter” and “it’s expensive.” Let me first clarify a few things:

1. Brazil is safe. Be smart.
2. Winter doesn’t really exist in Brazil, especially not in the northern half where it’s always summertime.
3. Brazil IS expensive, especially compared to every other South American country. BUT you can make it work if you’re street smart and travel savvy. For example, I had full-on meals ranging anywhere from $2-60.
4. Pão de Queijo is the BEST thing to happen to mankind. Tapioca cheese bread. So squishy, so perfect.

I don’t even know how to write this post or where to begin. There are simply too many things I want to write about and pictures I want to show you fatties. I’ve been around the (traveler’s) block quite a bit, and Brazil is undoubtedly one of the top 3 most beautiful countries in the world.

Many of you’ve asked me how I planned my trip. Well, I waited until the last minute and haphazardly planned my trip around what Google Images produced when I typed in “most beautiful places in Brazil.” Oh and the Lonely Planet is phenomenal. Travel  distance wasn’t a big issue because I bought the Brazil Airpass, which allowed me to travel all over the country fast and quite cheaply. I only had 3 weeks, so I wasn’t about to waste my time on buses that take forever and cost the same as flights.

And just so you know, I’m mostly about the world’s natural beauty and less about museums. My cultural interests lie in food (duh) and architecture. So here’s a quick recap of my trip:

1. Rio de Janeiro: THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CITY IN THE WORLD. Everyone says so and now I know why. The city is made up of beaches, tree-lined streets, skyscrapers, mountains, favelas (slums), and gorgeous people. I could seriously live in Rio.
*Faves: Christ The Redeemer, Sugarloaf, Santa Teresa, Ipanema Beach, Favela Tour, Galitos Grill, MegaMatte

2. Iguaçu Falls: This place is Niagara Falls x 100, literally. Absolutely gorgeous. There are two sides: Brazilian and Argentinian. I only wanted to spend one day in Iguaçu, so I chose the Argentinian side (better?).

3. Manaus and The Amazon: Despite Manaus’ pollution and overall sketchiness, I really enjoyed the city. Super nice people, great juice stands, beautiful opera house.
*Faves: Guarana frutas from Africa House

4. Lençois Maranhenses: My absolute FAVORITE place in Brazil. Imagine a gorgeous desert with thousands of sand dunes and lakes. The water you see in these pictures is rain water (crazy, huh?). This might be up there in the world’s most beautiful places.

5. São Luis: I was only there for a hot minute en route to my next destination, but the colonial/historical section of the city was colorful and lively.

6. Salvador: The Pelhorino (old city) might be the only reason to visit this city, but it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Full of awesome architecture and festivities!
*Faves: Mamabahia (for the Moqueca)

7. Lençois & Chapada Diamantina: Lençois is a super cute and alternative town. Very chill and laid back. Great food. Chapada Diamantina is a huge national park full of caves, waterfalls, plateaus, valleys, hills, rivers, natural water slides, cliffs, and all that good stuff.
*Faves: Fazendinha e Tal

8. Fernando de Noronha: Known in Brazil as having the country’s most beautiful beaches and most inflated prices. Both absolutely true. This tiny island is also known for having a bajillion dolphins and amazing diving spots, so I hiked through the mud (rained the day before I arrived) to see some dolphins and paid dearly to scuba dive for the first time in my life. There’s something enchanting about this island that eats away at my heart (in a very good, emotional way).
*Faves: Acai e Raizes, Pousada Carmo, Tricolor, Praia do Boldro, Baio do Sancho

Now, let’s talk about some food! You fatties better get excited, because I’m about to make you REAL hungry.

Pão de Queijo: Hot chewy, cheesy, crispy perfection. Everything you ever wanted in food. Must learn how to make this!

Guarana Frutas: Guarana is some fancy plant found in the Amazon that has a million health benefits, but I only know it as a drink. From what I observed (me no speaky Portuguese), they take guarana powder and blend it with fruits (mine had banana, avocado, papaya), ice, peanuts, milk, and syrup. What you have is a nutty fruit shake that’s better than anything at Jamba Juice (if that’s even possible).

Açai e Cupuaçu: MY FAVORITE SWEET THING IN BRAZIL. I’m not exactly sure how it’s made, but I think açai and cupuaçu are blended with ice, milk, and bananas to create a refreshing, healthy treat. It’s usually served with homemade granola (mmmmm nomz) and banana slices. Pinkberry is blah compared to this.

Churrascaria: Delicious BBQ meat on sticks > mouth > belly. The servers do not stop bringing meat over to your table, even when you tell them “no” 100 times. These churrascarias are buffet-style, which means fatties like me can binge to no end. There are also a ton of appetizers, sides, and desserts to fill you up even more. #fatty

Feijoada: This is a typical Saturday meal of rice, jerked beef and bean stew, kale, farofa, and orange slices. If Brazil had a national dish, this would be it. It’s lovely in a heart and familiar way.

Moqueca: This Bahian seafood dish is native to northeastern Brazil where there’s a lot of African influences. It’s full of flavor thanks to tons of onions and garlic, as well as peppers, onions, and tomatoes. Think of it as curry without the curry.

Passion Fruit: I’ve never had real passion fruit before! All we get in the States is purée or passion fruit-flavored things. It’s not exactly sweet, incredibly tart, and the seeds are edible and delicious. Getting it open without a knife was interesting.

Salada de Frutas: While wandering the streets of Manaus, I saw hundreds of stands and stalls selling “salada de frutas.” I thought that meant a fresh fruit salad, but instead, it’s a bunch of finely chopped fresh fruit dowsed in cream and topped with flaky bits of some unidentified flaky stuff. Yummy!

Caipirinha: FRESH passion fruit caipirinha on the side of a river near Lençois Maranhenses. The bartender cracked open a passionfruit, extracted the juicy seeds, added ice, and poured in cachaça (sugar cane rum). Amazing.

Farofa: Rice and beans are staples at any Brazilian meal no matter where you are in the country. But so is farofa–toasted manioc flour. It’s on everything and tastes like crunchy bits of fried stuff. So blah.

To conclude this post, let me just declare that I’m completely in love with Brazil for many reasons: its landscape, its people, its food, its architecture, its history, its everything! I can’t wait to go back and I’m sure I will (and soon).

So there’s thing called a churrascaria here in Brazil. It’s what we typically consider “Brazilian Food” in the US. Smiling old men walk around the restaurant with huge glistening mounds of beef, pork, chicken, sausage, and even pineapple! And buffets are a big deal here in that they’re everywhere. That was a surprise for me, because when I think of Brazil, I think of Gisele. And when I think of Gisele, buffets are the last thing to come to mind. Let it be known, most Brazilian DO NOT look like Gisele. They have a lot more meat on their bones (and proudly stomp around the beach in their thong bikinis). Ok, very off topic right now.

The point of this post is that the meat buffets are glorious! I didn’t enjoy every cut of meat, but I tried eating as much as possible because I got all vegetarian-like about wasting the meat. I didn’t take any pics besides this one. Otherwise, I’d feel like a fatty loner with a freaky meat fetish. This just a cappuccino with whipped cream. Side note: I swear, everything here has added sugar or whipped cream. The barista man always stares me up and down when I say “no” to sugar with my espresso. Beware savory people (not me), you’re not safe in this country.

So to recap my first 2 days, I devoured Rio de Janeiro as much as I could. The city is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful I’ve ever been too. The Sugarloaf and Christ the Redeemer were much more awe-inspiring than one can imagine. Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon beaches are first and foremost GORGEOUS, followed by safe, never-ending, and full of sexy people. Santa Teresa is a quaint neighborhood on a hill overlooking the rest of the city where I had an amazing feijoada at Bar do Mineiro. I met this guy on the tram going down the hill, Jose, and we ended up walking along Copacabana beach and having dinner together. Very cool guy from Mexico that worked for Accenture and has a Tabasco problem. And all because the tram broke down… Yay for chance encounters. So my favorite touristy thing thus far has to be the favela tour. Learned so much about the “heart” of Brazilian culture, as well as the crime and influence the favelas have in Rio. I was surprised to learn that they each have an organized form of self-government and tradition. Oh, and there are approximately 750 favelas in Rio! Fast Five was not kidding! Let’s not forget the amazing roast chicken I had at Galitos Grill near my hostel. The bird came with fries, yuca flour (faronha) and salad.

Today, I made my way to Foz do Iguacu (Iguassu Falls) thanks to my Brazil Airpass. There’s not much in this town besides the falls, and I can’t wait to see them tomorrow!

Sorry I don’t have any good pictures! I need to grow some balls and bring this phone out and about with me.

So here’s a little summary of what’s been going on these past few weeks:
- I moved into a beautiful new apartment in the West Village. Can somebody say 6th floor walkup? Holla!

- I graduated college. #nyualum
- I was on the jumbotron at NYU’s commencement at Yankee Stadium.

- Brooks and Emily moved. Boo.
- I finally got my driver’s license. #miracle
- I’M IN BRAZIL RIGHT NOW.
- I start my big girl job in a month.

That is life! And life is so good right now. I’ll be posting quite a bit while I’m in Brazil. Crazy enough to travel alone so I have time to kill!

Food: 2

Atmosphere: 3.5

Service: 3

Me = Asian
Asian = <3 Soup Noodles
Thus, Me <3 Soup Noodles

However…

Hung-Ry = Not-So-Yummy
Thus, Me = Sadness/Underwhelmed

Okay, no more tricky calculus-level mathematics for you. It gives me a headache too. But that's a summary of my meal at Hung-Ry a few weeks ago. I've been dying to try this place for months now, and it's even been on my “to eat” list since December. Therefore, when Soo-Young picked it for her birthday dinner, I was all smiles and cravings.

Soo-Young, (clearly) beloved birthday girl. Summer 2010.

With a group of 10ish people, it was probably difficult to fit us in the main dining room. Instead, we sat in the downstairs dining room, which was cozy and private but a little claustrophobic. I would’ve much preferred the high ceilings, server’s attention, and social ambiance of the main floor, but what can you do? Anyways, I loved the minimalist, earthy tones, and details present in the entire restaurant.

hung-ry.com

Service was a little patchy, but us being downstairs definitely made it difficult on the server. When the server was around, however, he was a blunt smart alec, which really didn’t serve his purpose of impressing us very well at all.

hung-ry.com

Let’s talk about food! Our table shared several appetizers, which allowed me to try more than what I could usually fit in my belly. Most of the dishes were pretty good, but none of them wow-ed me or anyone else at the table.

This dish was the Lamb Belly with grapefruit, chili oil, and crispy kale. Well, it went straight into my belly, but not before confusing my taste buds a little. The meat was obviously very tender (belly of anything is always tender…don’t quote me on that), and I loved the crispy kale. BUT the grapefruit didn’t make much sense to me. I applaud the chef’s creativity, especially because grapefruit is a hard ingredient to incorporate into savory foods. But it didn’t really work…

I wish I could remember what this was, but I couldn’t stop digging into the vegetables (as per usual me). Looks like beef, right? Hah, let’s play “Guess That Food.”

We also shared the Short Rib with diakon, shiso, and melon. Pretty good, but there’s something about foam in food that just annoys me. Foam is considered one of the “benchmarks” of molecular gastronomy (annoying in itself), and allows rich flavors to come across in a very light and delicate way. None of this came across my mind when I was gnawing on my short rib, so…sorry, the foam was lost on me.

The Composed Seasonal Vegetables consisting of beets, carrots, romanesco, and pickled turnips were delicious and beautifully presented. Definitely my favorite dish of the night! And don’t say I’m partial to vegetables (which I most absolutely am), but these lightly pickled vegetables were simultaneously sweet, salty, and tangy. Loved the textures of the vegetables too, especially the crunchy romanesco and turnips but also the softer carrots and beets. Yum!

Hung-Ry has several creative variations of hand-pulled soup noodles on their menu, but I went with the Duck Breast and Leg with Kumquat. I guess it also came with gizzard, but luckily I didn’t notice it while eating. Off tangent: gizzard is such a weird word, hah. My szechuan broth was extremely salty and aggressively burned my taste buds with every sip. Fortunately (or unfortunately), there was so little of it that I didn’t have too much trouble. There was barely enough broth for the noodles to swim in. COMPLETELY unacceptable. There should always be some broth left after all the noodles are eaten. Not the case with Hung-Ry. They totally skimped on the broth, or maybe all the soup fell out when the server was walking downstairs to deliver our dinner. Hung-Ry, fix this. Otherwise, all your efforts to perfect your organic hand-pulled noodles is in vain!

With all the hype about this restaurant, I was surprised at how underwhelming our meal was since I heard such good things. I was set up for disappointment. Also, get a new playlist! I can’t eat New York’s “finest organic hand-pulled noodles” with salsa music infiltrating my ear canals. It just doesn’t make sense to my senses! On to the next one! On to the next one!

Hola! It’s been 3 weeks since I’ve been back from Nicaragua, but I’ve only just recovered from the trip’s cumulative food comas. After you read this post and see my pictures, you will understand why I’ve been missing for so long. There was just too much 4-lobsters-in-a-day type madness that I barely made it through the trip without buying a new wardrobe.

So a little bit about my “spring break”…

It was mother )*(@#$)(*W)#$ amazing! We spent the first few days in Corn Islands, which meant that we took a flimsy plane from Managua across a little stretch of the Atlantic Ocean to Great Corn Island. The airstrip was made of gravel. Yes, gravel. And yes, I’m glad we survived. The beaches were gorgeous with very few visitors. The food was fantastic. The people were nice. The island time wasn’t too island-y. And, George, our taxi driver-turned-friend was the man. Never had lobster like I had at Habana Libre (Little Corn Island). Key words: snorkeling, dance party, coral (in a naughty someone’s foot), coconut bread, boat-ferry-my-@$&, beach beach beach.

Boarding Pass. Nicaragua-style.

We're so cute.

Lobster in garlic sauce. Mmm.

After leaving Corn Islands, Christine and I spent a lovely half-day in Granada, and luckily that’s all the time we needed to explore this historical little city. Don’t ask me about the history, I have not a clue! But…the buildings were super colorful and Spanish-y. The food was delicious (but of course) and iced cacao is oral heaven. We even squished in some zip-lining as a treat.

Bet you've never seen me like this before.

Our next and last stop was gorgeous Isla de Ometepe, which consists of two connecting active volcanoes in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. Sounds sexy, huh? YES IT WAS. The ferry ride to the volcanic island mirrored the movements of a roller coaster, but we made it there safe, sound, and soaked. We met 3 guys on the ferry, 2 of whom biked down to Nicaragua from Canada. That’s north of the states! That’s intense. That’s sweaty. That’s crazy and incredibly admirable. Christine and I aren’t so adventurous, to say the least. Our most epic adventure was riding on the back of some random guy’s motor bike (for free) to get to the starting point of a 3 km long hike up one of the volcanoes to a refreshing waterfall followed by an hour long hike in the dark back to our hotel. How tired were we? Buffet for dinner.

2 volcanoes. 1 island.

Worth the leg and butt workout.

On our last day, we traveled back to Granada to try the steak at the very popular El Zaguan, which we didn’t have time to try on our half-day. After eating some of the best steak I’ve ever had in my life, we hopped on a mini bus back to Managua to catch our early morning flight. The things we do for food…

Headliners

Lobster: On every menu at every restaurant on the island. The lobster industry is one of the strongest for the islands, and I appreciated every little bit of it. Lobster in Garlic Sauce and Lobster Cuban-Style were my two favorite ways to enjoy the crustaceans. On one glorious day, the lobster demons took over my body, and I ate four lobster by myself (#fattykat).

Lobster Cuban-Style. Habana Libre. OMG.

Whole Fish: Like lobster, on every menu at every restaurant on the island. I loved the fried style the mostest. I also tried it baked and stuff, which I successfully tried to recreate when I got back to NY.

Baked Stuffed Fish. Nautilus.

Ceviche: Throughout the trip, I tried conch ceviche, shrimp ceviche, lobster ceviche, and fish ceviche. Not tired of it at all! I loved the lobster ceviche at our hotel in Great Corn Island, as well as the fish ceviche from a little place on Isla de Ometepe. The conch ceviche just couldn’t live up to the incredibly fresh and sweetconch salad I had in the Bahamas.

The Best Lobster Ceviche Ever. The Buccaneer. Great Corn Island.

Pan de Coco: We had an epic journey looking for coconut bread on Great Corn Island with a local leading us to someone’s house where we ended up buying 2 freshly baked loaves of carb-y heaven.

HOT.

Tostones: Fried plantains came with every meal on Corn Islands, and I always greeted them with a smile and a fork. The tostones at every meal were perfect. It’s such a staple in the local food culture that everyone knows how to make them and make them GOOD.

Breakfast: Nicaraguans are big on the huevos (eggs) and gallo pinto (rice and beans), as well as panqueques (pancakes) and other western-style breakfast dishes. My favorite breakfast was at a popular and touristy spot called Kathy’s Waffle House. Yes, the name of a very authentically Nicaraguan restaurant, right? Don’t hate. Everything we had was delicious, from the gallo pinto to the fried cheese to the fresh pineapple milkshake.

Kathy's Waffle House.

Steak (with Chimichurri): BEST STEAK EVER! I’ve never had steak with chimichurri, let alone steak so juicy and tender and wonderful and drool-inducing. There was probably butter or some kind of oil painted on top, because it was just a gorgeous and beautiful-tasting piece of meat. *MUST EXERT SELF-CONTROL. MUST NOT GO TO KITCHEN WHILE WRITING AND CRAVING STEAK. MUST NOT BE SUCH A CARNIVOROUS FATTY.*

Cacao: I tried this drink by way of meeting Nick–a medical student currently working in Nicaragua. Christine and I met him while zip-lining in Granada and followed his group to El Zaguan (that ridiculously yummy steak restaurant I mentioned earlier). We were still full from breakfast at Kathy’s, so we settled for some drinks á la Nick’s recommendation. This iced chocolate drink was frothy and grainy in a great way. “Grainy” is a weird adjective, but it’s the best I have! Didn’t seem like there was any added sugar, which made the bevvy incredibly refreshing and natural tasting.

Cacao. El Zaguan. Mmm.

I’m hungry…

Apparently their concept is to take Latin street food to the “gourmet level,” so imagine fancy arepas (Venezuela), churros (Spain), tacos (Mexico), and a Brazilian Juice Bar. Reminds me a little bit of the new Oficina Latina huh?

On the brunch menu, this dish is simply called “Benedicts,” but it should really be renamed to something more creative, like OMG-poached eggs-smoked salmon-saffron-lemon-aioli-over-AMAZING-yellow-corn-arepa! Do you see where I’m going with this? I think I probably told 10 people about this meal on Saturday, but I just had to share my delight.

The nitty gritty… The poached eggs were a TEENY TINY bit overpoached (maybe by even 10 seconds) but absolutely delicious with the cakey yellow corn arepa, smoked salmon, and saffron lemon aioli. Everything just worked beautifully! Here are some “ness” adjectives that might not even be real words: sweetness, smokiness, fishiness, tanginess, spiciness, richness, and heaviness. It doesn’t look like it, but one of these babies turned out to be a lot of food. Obviously, I couldn’t stop eating, so I ate both and felt just lovely afterwards.

Macondo, you’ve ruined me. I still don’t know how spinach can be so wonderful. No other spinach will ever make me feel the way Macondo’s Spinach Catalana does. Just try and imagine lightly sauteed spinach that is so light it still looks raw. It was that in-between stage that impressed me so much at first glance. But the other ingredients really did it for me. The rich pine nuts, tart apple, and sweet (and squishy) golden raisins made for tasty accompaniments to the velvety spinach. Just look, it glistens:

I desperately wanted to try the Churros with spicy chocolate, but there was absolutely no space in my belly for dessert. And that never happens! I love you, Macondo.

Death + Company

After work on Saturday, John and I tried the lovely cocktails and not-so-small snacks at Death + Company. The whole speakeasy craze is as crazy as ever, and Death & Co. is always included in the conversation. How gorgeous is the interior? In reality, it’s much darker when you’re in there, but sexy nonetheless.

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It’s not the typical New York speakeasy (whatever that means to you) in that you can actually find it without texting a secret number or finding a hidden door. And most importantly, they actually let you in (sometimes), unlike Milk & Honey, which recently became members-only (just found out about that). This trend is here to stay and probably won’t die down for another few years, unless tiki bars take over (nah).

Check out Death & Co.’s menu here.

As for drinks, I tried the bubbly Morfeo made with chamomile-infused old overholt rye whiskey, fresh squeezed lemon juice, housemade acacia honey syrup, galliano autentico, and topped with champagne. Yes, fancy ingredients that go WAY over my head.
Needless to say, it was delicious and refreshing.

Since I was dying from one of my frequent, almost hourly bouts of hunger, we ordered the Tuna Tartar with crushed avocado and homemade kettle chips. Bigger chunks of fresh tuna made this dish a little different from what I’m used to on the tartar front. I thought the crushed avocado tasted super fresh and gave the tuna another dimension of flavor. However, something was definitely missing in the form of salt, herbs, seasonings…something. The kettle chips paired nicely with the tuna, and even after all the fish was gone, I was still fattening up on the chips.

The Braised Short Rib Sliders were my contribution to our midnight meal. YUMMY. First of all, 3 sliders came in one order. Secondly, sliders by Death and Co. Standards are ginormous. Those 2 facts made me a very happy fatty.

The short rib was tender and juicy surely thanks to some sort of marinade or BBQ sauce. The cheese was swiss or provolone, and the slider bun was a lovely brioche (me thinks). Alcohol = memory fail. Nevertheless, the toasted bun was soft, sweet, and 100% lovely. Very yummy but not a mind-blowing culinary achievement. And that’s okay! It’s bar grub and very good bar grub at that.

What a triumpant Saturday! So delicious, so fulfilling, still recovering. Thanks Macondo, Death + Company, and the “devilishly handsome” John (his words, not mine).

I love the interior design of this place! The space is much bigger than its sister in Chelsea with a long communal table, banquettes, semicircular booths, and sit-down tables. Do you see the exposed brick? Love it!

nymag.com

nymag.com

Andrew and Jon, stop modeling! We got to sit at a booth under the cow mirror, and I consider myself very lucky to have been under the cow’s @$& the entire evening. The rain left many people at home giving us one of the best tables in the restaurant (personal opinion…love round tables/booths).

We started off the meal with the Carpacho de Vieiras y Aguacate, which is a scallop carpaccio over slices of super fresh avocado sprinkled with sweet paprika and olive oil. I really liked the idea of this dish, but something was missing. The delicate flavors and textures were altogether smooth and delightful, but the dish was missing that little bit of umph to make it incredible. Maybe a certain richness, spiciness, or acidity could spiff it up a little!

These guys are the Croquetas Del Dia (croquettes du jour), which turned out to be crab croquettes that day. Not bad but definitely missing the wow factor. They were fried beautifully, but some spice could’ve funked them up a bit.

Y’all know that I LOVE my vegetables, so the Menestra de Verduras was a natural favorite of mine. This stew of cauliflower, tomato, fava beans, snow pea, asparagus, and shallot wasn’t what we wanted it to be, but it was one of the better tapas we tried. Andrew and I had both expected a cauliflower purée-type dish. Unfortunately, this is obviously no purée. BUT! The veggies were unbelievably fresh, crispy, and sweet.

Daily special: Pork Belly Terrine over Spinach. More like Chinatown Roast Pork if you ask me. Our server really sold this dish with her dorky glasses and sweet smile. I guess her heavy Spanish accent really made it so that neither one of us could understand her, but we all said yes to the daily special. It wasn’t really a terrine, but the pork meat was very tender and juicy. The brothy sauce had a hint of sweetness, which tickled my sweet tooth, but there wasn’t anything very special about this dish. And as a daily special, you’d expect it to be really, really special, right?

BEAUTY, isn’t it? Paella De Langosta. Look at those lobster tails! Look at all those clams. Look at the cod fish. Look at the snow peas and red peppers. Well everything looks amazing, but it was only just good. The lobster tails (or langoustines) were overcooked, which really took away from the amazing seafood flavors that turned up in the rice. The socarrat (burnt rice) was, of course, ridiculously delicious! The snow peas and red peppers were a wonderful touch to add some textural diversity to the paella. Next time, I NEED to try the squid ink paella (as per Mr. Foodie Pant’s recommendation).

Clearly the best part of dinner: dark chocolate beignets. And no. Not just because I have an extremely sensitive sweet tooth! Andrew and Jon even said the chocolate beignets were #dabombdotcom. They were small, bite-size beignets, but they packed a powerful punch of melted dark chocolate. If they were any bigger, I might have drowned in this lovely chocolatey concoction (death by chocolate). Unfortunately and fortunately, it was the only wow moment of the meal. I don’t exactly remember the name of the other dessert, but it was a french toast-like treat that tasted like bread soaked in milk, which is probably what it was. Decent, blah. Not great.

Love the restaurant but the food needs work! It just opened in December, so it needs to work out a few kinks before really taking off. Maybe they were just having a bad night and we ordered the wrong things, but I would definitely go back again. Love the space and the people!