Dessert @ Big Daddy's.

Following our hummus excursion, we still craved dessert. We wanted something simple, because we weren't that hungry. Diner dessert was thus conveniently located down the block at Big Daddy's.

I got the "She's My Cherry Pie," a la mode. The pie was tasty, but you could definitely tell that it was simple reheated. The crumbs on top were disappointingly soggy, but it still tasted great. The tartness of the cherries contrasted very well with the sweetness of the whipped cream and vanilla ice cream. The portion, here, was also perfect. As seen in some of my previous posts on Big Daddy's, there could be potential for huge portions at this popular New York City eatery.

Mic and Roomie wanted to experiment this time around. They contemplated intensely about what they could do. Waffles and ice cream came to mind. So they ordered a Belgian waffle, which is picture above. The waffle was fresh and fluffy, and Roomie proceeded to slather butter all over the face of the waffle.

The waffle would soon be combined with the "Big Daddy," a sundae of three scoops of ice cream, with marshmallow fluff, hot fudge, Oreo cookies, and whipped cream. They chose to have coffee ice cream. When combined with the warm and buttery waffle, it was sinful bliss. The contrast of warm and cold is always exciting and rewarding for our taste buds.

So we were finally able to sample the dessert at Big Daddy's. Usually, after a huge burger and tots, one could not fathom ordering dessert at Big Daddy's. Luckily, however, we were able to give it a try. As always, we were greatly satisfied.

Price: <3<3<

Taste: <3<3<3<3

Atmosphere: <3<3<3<3

Opinion: Now, Recommended for Dessert

Big Daddy's

in Upper East Side

1596 2nd Ave. (at 83rd St.)

(212) 717-2020

Hummus Kitchen.

On a surprisingly warm evening in early March, Mic, Volatile, Roomie, and I had a free evening to grab dinner, so we ventured out to further explore our new temporary home of the Upper East Side. We wanted to eat a place that had outdoor seating, so we looked at the various menus outside the restaurants along 2nd Ave. After very contented debate, we all agreed to go to Hummus Kitchen. After all, all four of us are pretty much well-versed in the tasting of hummus and this restaurant also opened up two weeks earlier. It was in need of a taste test!

We first started off with appetizers. This here is the Bureka, a puff pastry stuffed with feta cheese, eggplant, and dry tomato. It was very flaky and fresh with a very moist filling. It was buttery and crunchy. What's not to like, right?

Volatile loves feta cheese and is a vegetarian, so she had to order the Shredded Feta Cheese & Beets. The size of the dish was very disappointing because we all wanted a little bit, but overall, it was fresh and tasty.

Roomie, our resident health nut, got the Super Healthy Salad, a salad of quinoa, apricot, walnuts, and yogurt served on butternut squash. He said that it was really good and consumed it quite quickly.

Lastly, Mic wanted to try the falafels, so she ordered them. These were really good. They were really crisp and fresh and delicious.

For dinner entree, I ordered the Mushroom Hummus, fresh hummus with sauteed mushrooms finished off with olive oil drizzled over the plate. The hummus was warm and fresh, not too salty and combined very well with the spices from the mushrooms. It was nice to eat this, being that it was pretty cool outside.

You can't have hummus without warm pita bread to dip into the hummus. This regular bread was warm and refreshing, but I do believe that they charged us for extra bread. They do get points, however, for it coming to the table fast!

Overall, this was a very simple and healthy dinner. The food was fresh and the service was fast. The outdoor seating was beautiful on the wide street of 2nd Ave. I would say that the best place to have an outdoor restaurant experience would be in this area of the Upper East Side. Unfortunately, with the current construction of the 2nd Ave. Subway line, outdoor seating is no longer present along this stretch of 2nd Ave. In the future, hopefully we could all enjoy outdoor seating in this neighborhood again. For now, we'll just have to enjoy the food on the inside.

Price: <3<3<3

Taste: <3<3<3<3

Atmosphere: <3<3<3<3

Opinion: Recommended

Hummus Kitchen

in Upper East Side

1613 2nd Ave. (between 83rd & 84th Streets)

(212) 988-0090

Cafe Español.

Thanks to fellow foodies Roomie and AM, we were able to begin to sample some more expensive fare with the use of discount coupons! After dreaming about really good paella, we ventured on down to Cafe Español to sample there well-known paella.

We started off with fresh green olives. They were soaking in fresh olive oil and were very tasty. The flavor was smooth and slightly sour and salty, just how a good olive should be.

A very simple bread basket full of soft bread great with a smidgen of butter.

Our paellas came with a complementary salad of fresh greens. It was very cool and refreshing. It was also a huge portion!

These are Champinones Rellenos, or stuffed mushrooms. It was presented to us in a cast-iron platter and it was sizzling hot. The mushrooms were fresh and the stuffing was not too salty, very good for a dish that too often salted too heavily.

Next we got sauteed octopus. It was very good. The meat was not chewy, as I had expected it to be, but was rather firm and tender. It was nicely accented with garlic.

This is the Paella Marinara, paella with mussels, shrimp, scallops, and clams. H and Mic split this dish and said that it was good, though salty.

Here is the Paella Valenciana, paella with scallops, mussels, shrimp, clams, sausage, and salmon. The rice was very moist and had sweet peas spread throughout. The seafood was fresh, though I am not a big fan of gritty shellfish, sometimes. The salmon, however, was quite dry and I did not finish it. I was hoping that the salmon would be as moist as the accompanying rice. The whole dish, in general, was extremely salty for my taste and was, in the end, very disappointing.

After suffering through over-salted entrees, we hoped that the dessert would save the meal. Thankfully, the dessert was actually quite good. Here is the flan, which came with dollops of fresh whipped cream. The flan was very smooth and creamy and the caramel sauce was perfect.

Here are churros, dusted with powdered sugar, with a chocolate fondue. The churros were crispy and, when dipped in rich chocolate, they were so good. A great combination of chewy, crunchy, and soft textures and sweet and salty tastes.

Last, but not least, was the Tres Leches, a cake that is soaked in three different kinds of milk. I thought that this was quite good, but H said that he has had better tres leches before.

Overall, I was quite disappointed by this meal. I was expecting the paella to be better than it turned out to be. The dessert save the meal, slightly, but I do not know if I'd return to this place. Their menu, however, is vast, with many other options besides paella. If another coupon were to arise, I will perhaps return to Cafe Español.

Price: <3<3<

Taste: <3<3<3

Atmosphere: <3<3<3<3

Opinion: OK to try