I am struggling to find the desire/time/inspiration to cook in my kitchen. Lately, I’ve had a lot of salads on the go, more dinners of tomato soup than I care to share, and a few too many vanilla-strawberry-banana smoothies… but that is a post for another time ๐
Because the school year isn’t really into full swing yet, my friends and I have had more time on our hands than we usually get to have together. Combine that with the fact that our dining halls are… err, not the best… and it makes perfect sense why the following restaurants received our patronage over the last few weeks.
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Restaurant #1: Alice’s Tea Cup. Blueberry cornmeal scone and pumpkin scone (straight from heaven!). The menu says you must order at least two scones per person… so this meal became dinner that night as well as breakfast the next morning. Hey, I wasn’t complaining ๐
Woops, I almost forgot about the tea (and the adorable tea kettles)!
Restaurant #2: Massawa. This was my first experience with Ethiopian food and I ordered the Ful (๏ปฟ๏ปฟfava beans simmered with berbere, tomatoes, peppers, yogurt, and toasted bread). Sounds like it might be tastey, right? Wrong. On a side note, the salmon tebsi was DELISH ๐
Restaurant #3: Spice. Yes, this restaurant has multiple locations around Manhattan, but let me just say, there is a reason for that ๐ I went appetizer-crazy and skipped an entree in favor ofย lemongrass tom yum with shrimp and salmon tartar. Definitely worth repeating ๐
Restaurant #4: Veselka. Ukranian soul food was another “first” for me recently. It was pretty darn good, even considering that I had no idea what to expect. If you happen to be in the East Village sometime, you should stop by this restaurant. I ordered the roasted beet and goat cheese salad with toasted walnuts and pumpkin seeds. Whenever I see pumpkin seeds on a menu, I order that item without fail. I have to get my zinc somehow ๐
Restaurant #5: Terrace in the Sky. Ok, so actually this was a work event and I had to be talking, not eating, but nevertheless, I still have 3 things to say about this restaurant:
i. It’s way too fancy-schmancy for a normal dinner.
ii. Its location on the roof of a tall building offers the most beautiful views of the city at night.
iii. There was a harpist playing during dinner. Like I said, fancy-schmancy….
Restaurant #6: Deluxe. Brunch is my favorite meal of the day, so I can be a tough critic when it comes to french toast ๐ Fortunately, Deluxe’s raspberry and blueberry stuffed french toast passed my taste test. Unfortunately, I am now craving that french toast…
Yesterday, I finished the last take-out box in my fridge. This means I need to start remembering (ok, learning) how to cook my own food… You know what that means: many kitchen adventures are on the way ๐
Smile out loud,
Rachel
What we’re talkin’ about…