New York Eats

My Family and I recently went to New York. My main focus was to spend time with family, celebrate my little girl's first birthday, and EAT! 

New York did not really disappoint me. I have to say they didn't have a lot of places "right in your face" to eat like they do in the south. Things were pretty spaced out, but if you ask the locals and the concierge at the hotels, they will definitely lead you in the right direction. 

As soon as we checked in at the hotel, we were starving. We asked the front desk where a good pizza place was and she pointed us in the right direction. We went to Ray's Pizza and it did not disappoint. I ordered a pepperoni and mushroom slice and a vegetarian slice. It was super fresh and just what we needed to welcome us to New York. 

The next day Mom, GG, and I decided to get up early for breakfast. We walked to the local Pret A Manger for some organic coffee, burritos, and breakfast sandwiches. I had the burrito with a coffee and it was delicious. The burrito was filled with black beans, onions, red bell peppers and eggs. The coffee was divine and just what I needed to wake me up and start my first full day in NYC. 

On our way back we stopped at Magnolia Bakery (pic). Y'ALL!!! I want to take a bath in their icing. It is sooo good. It's a buttercream icing and it is to die for. I bought 2 red velvet cupcakes, a chocolate cupcake and a vanilla cupcake with pink icing and sprinkles. 

After walking the city a bit we decided to stop in to The Plaza Hotel and eat at the Todd English Food Hall. This place was recommended to me by a friend to try out. We ended up eating her for lunch and dinner....it was that good. For lunch I ordered a green monster juice with extra ginger, which I paired with a cupcake from Magnolia Bakery. I figured it equaled out.

They Hubby ordered the lobster roll. It was a little on the small side but it was really good. I had a bite and had to stop myself from asking for more and devouring his. He did let me have his pickle though. Ha! 

Lunch for me! 

After lunch at The Plaza we walked through Central Park and took GG to the Central Park Zoo. 

On our way out I saw a Wafles and Dinges and I had to try. This my friends is my Belgian Waffle with Nutella, fresh strawberries, and vanilla ice cream.....Life Changing. GG loved it. 

Later for dinner we went back to The Plaza and had dinner. I forgot to take pictures but we had salmon sandwiches and shared a bento box of chicken teriyaki with a seaweed salad. 

The next day we decided on something small for breakfast and some coffee. We knew we were headed to Little Italy for dinner and we didn't want to get too stuffed. We decided on Angelo's after reading a few great reviews. It was great! 

We ordered the Antipasto Italiano plate with sardines and endive. It was perfection. Mr. Lovely ordered the pasta with shrimp and crab. I opted for the Cannelloni filled with meat, spinach, and cheese. Mom had the chicken marsala. All of the dishes were delicious. 

Pasta with Shrimp and Crab

Cannelloni with Spinach, Beef, and Cheese

Chicken Marsala

We walked around Little Italy for a while and had dessert at one of the oldest restaurants there Ferrara. We ordered some classic Cannolis and ate them on a bench in front of a local deli. Perfect way to end the day. 

The next day we headed to Eataly to check out Mario Battali's wonderful Italian Market. 

We went to La Pizza and La Pasta and had a yummy lunch. I ordered the Tagliatelle with a short rib ragu. Mr. Lovely ordered the pizza with sausage and pepperoni, Mom ordered a pizza with sausage and mushroom. Best pizza we have ever had in our lives!!! Authentic.....or as close to Italian cuisine as I have heard it should taste. 

Yummy foccacia bread with different toppings.

This was quite a popular one!

The deli that has some of the best sausage I have ever tasted....even better,,,,,you can order any of the meats and have it shipped to you. 

They have a Nutella Bar......YES....A NUTELLA BAR!!! 

People!!!!! I was sooo full from lunch at the pizza and pasta restaurant, but I knew I could not leave this place without ordering something. I had the Fior Di Latte (sweet milk) gelato, in a waffle cone with nutella drizzled on top. Dying!! 

Our final night in NYC we ate outside at a quaint Italian restaurant. I had the salmon with spinach, tomatoes, and cauliflower. 

Mr. Lovely had the Pasta Diablo with shrimp. 

For dessert we walked to Junior's Cheesecake and I had the best strawberry cheesecake EVER!!!! 

We shared one slice, as it was so rich and delicious. 

I was so proud of GG. She ate all of the foods we had the whole time we were in NYC. She is turning into quite the foodie and I want her to try and taste everything. 

Obviously we ate more than this, but these are just some of the highlights. It was an amazing trip. I fell in love with this city, just like how I fell in love with NOLA. You can read about those adventures here: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3, 

I definitely plan to visit NYC in the near future. 

Lemon - Berry Rolls

Sometimes you have ingredients in your refrigerator and think....

"What should I do with all of this stuff?" 

Well you go to google, put in the ingredients that you have, and miraculously recipes appear.

I found this recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything. 

It is a blueberry and lemon crescent ring. The recipe calls for a can of crescent rolls and delicious sweetened cream cheese with just the right amount of lemon juice for a kick. This is good friends. 

Here is the sweetened cream cheese. You have to mix it really good to give it a nice whipped and creamy look. 

Once you stretch out the dough, spread the cream cheese mixture all over and place the blueberries on top. I had to push the blueberries into the mixture a bit so they wouldn't slide when I rolled the dough up. 

Once the dough is rolled, slice using a serrated knife and place in a circle like above. 

Bake these puppies up at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Once they come out spread the icing on top. 

Blueberry and Lemon Crescent Rings

adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1 tbsp. lemon juice (fresh is best)

1 tbsp. lemon zest

1 can Crescent rolls

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1 c. fresh blueberries

Glaze

1/2 c. powdered sugar

2 tbsp. milk 

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie tray with parchment paper. In small bowl, combine the cream cheese, lemon juice, lemon zest, and sugar. Mix until well blended. Unroll the pack of crescent rolls and pinch the separation areas to make the dough combine and lay flat in one rectangular piece. 

Spread cream cheese mixture all over dough and top with blueberries. Push the blueberries into the cream cheese mixture a bit to make sure they won't move when you roll up the dough. Starting with the long side, roll the dough up until if forms a roll. Using a serrated knife, cut the dough into slices. Place each slice on the parchment lined cookie tray, overlapping ever so slightly. Bake for 20-30 minutes. 

While this is cooking combine your powdered sugar and milk to make the glaze. 

Once the crescent rolls are done, remove from the oven and pour the glaze over them. 

Enjoy!