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

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

Crumbs Bake Shop.

After a great lunch with Roomie and H at Dallas BBQ, we sauntered up 3rd Ave. and decided to stop at Crumbs Bake Shop to pick up some of the enormous cupcakes that were sitting in their displays.

We each got one cupcake for ourselves. From top left is Fluffernutter, the "Elvis," and Lemon.

These cupcakes were huge. This here is H's Elvis, a vanilla cupcake with banana-flavored frosting and peanut butter chips on top. The amount of frosting on the top of these babies, however, wasn't the only special thing about these cupcakes.

These things even had frosting on the inside! This is my Fluffernutter cupcake, a vanilla cupcake with marshmallow-flavored frosting and white sprinkles on the top. The cupcake itself is very moist and soft, with great vanilla flavor. The frosting itself, however, was a tad too sweet for me and I will probably opt for more tart or less sweet choices in the future.

Overall, the cupcakes were fresh and the variety is vast. It truly is a sweet treat that is so good that only crumbs will be left on your plate after you start eating their cupcakes.

Price: <3<3<3

Taste: <3<3<3<3<

Atmosphere: N/A

Opinion: Recommended

Ottomanelli Bros.; Beard Papa's.

March 26th, 2009 was day of epic eating for us.  To start it off, Roomie, M, L, J, and I went to Ottomanelli Bros. for lunch after class.  Roomie really wanted to go there because he fell in love with their Hulk Burger Challenge and wanted to ask the burger out for a challenge.  The food journey that thus ensued was sick, yet memorable.

M got the 1/2 lb. Steak Burger, I believe, with American cheese, cooked medium rare.  It came with waffle fries and a pickle.  He ate it extremely slowly, as he normally does, but stated that it was cooked just the way he liked it: bleeding.

J wasn't that hungry, so he got the Popcorn Shrimp appetizer.  He said that it was alright.  I tasted it with a little bit of the "spicy" dipping sauce.  The dipping sauce was disappointing and the popcorn shrimp was only mediocre.  It was nothing out of the ordinary.

Unfortunately, the Hulk Burger Challenge ended at 2:30 and we arrived at Ottomanelli's around 2:40, so Roomie and I both settled for the burger pictured above.  We both got it cooked medium well and it came with waffle fries and a pickle spear.  The burger itself was alright, but I did especially like the nicely cooked peppers on the top.  The roll that the burger was placed on was a potato roll and was nice and soft.  The fries were also nice a crisp and only need a tiny dash of salt.

Being stood up by the Hulk Burger Challenge, Roomie was dying to swallow something and preposterously proposed going down to Chinatown, buying a whole cake, and eating it all.  We, however, opted for something slightly less extreme and picked Beard Papa's.  I had heard about this sexy old guy after seeing some of Mellow's pictures, and wanted to check him out, so we headed on down to his joint in the village.

I got two cream puffs.  The first one, pictured above, was a Green Tea Cream Puff.  Unknownlingly, I bit into the puff and was splurged on by the precious cream filling.  I was unable to salvage a lot of the cream, sadly, but did enjoy whatever was left.  It had a very subtle, yet nice green tea bitterness to it.

As shown in the picture, I made sure to splunk right into the hole of this cream puff and did not waste any of the precious vanilla cream inside.  The filling was nice a light, not overly sweet.  The puff was very airy and light also, with a very flaky feel to it.  It was very delicious and satisfying.

Overall, Ottomanelli's was a decent place and I'd like to go back and try their steak one day.  They had good food for reasonable prices.  Beard Papa's was pretty good, but I must complain that they need more seats inside of there.  Maybe Papa should consider investing in a bigger place, no?

Ottomanelli Bros.

Price: <3<3<3<3

Taste: <3<3<3<

Atmosphere: <3<3<3<

Opinion: OK to try

Beard Papa's

Price: <3<3<3<3

Taste: <3<3<3<3

Atmosphere: <3<3<

Opinion: Recommended

Ottomanelli Bros.

in Upper East Side

1325 5th Ave. (On the corner of 111th St. and 5th Ave.)

(212) 828-8900

Rice To Riches.

Following our indulgences in salty foods, we were craving a sweet dessert to ironically put the icing on the cake.  H had heard about Rice to Riches and we looked it up on the computer.  Upon finding out what it was, we had to go there.  It was a definite must.

Here are two bowls of rice pudding we found flirting in this trendy dessert restaurant.

I got the Solo Coast to Coast Cheesecake.  It actually tasted like cheesecake, but in a liquified form.  The pudding was very creamy and the rice had very good texture.  It was not too hard, but still had good bite to it.  Plus the nifty little plastic bowls they served it in with covers were a nice complementary gift, given that we could take it home, wash it, and reuse it however we like.

Roomie got the Epic with two flavors.  It was half The Edge of Rum Raisin and half Don' Cappuccino.  The cappuccino flavor was alright.  Roomie seemed like he liked it, but it's always difficult to tell because he scarfs anything and everything that he eats down.

H also got the Epic size with two flavors.  It was half Coconut Coma and I think half Hazelnut Chocolate Bear Hug.  I could be wrong about the hazelnut.  It could be caramel.  Judging from my memory, it must've been only mediocre and not memorable.

Volatile got the Epic Coconut Coma.  The coconut flavor was very powerful in this one, and therefore, very delicious.  If also made Volatile very volatile, if you get my drift.

Overall, it was pleasantly enjoyable for us and we were caught off-guard by the many funny placards with jokes all over the walls.  The atmosphere was fun and trendy and it's a great place to stop at for dessert with friends during a night out in the city.

Price: <3<3<3

Taste: <3<3<3<3

Atmosphere: <3<3<3<3<

Opinion: Recommended

Max Brenner.

To bring a sweet end to their stay in the Great Big City, Roomie and I took MY and S to Max Brenner for dessert after a nice steak dinner.  It was an excellent complement to a great meal.  It also was a meal and restaurant that captured the essence of the city: luxurious, trendy, sweet, and sexy.

Above is the cappuccino that I ordered.  It came in a very aesthetically pleasing coffee cup and saucer that encouraged me to be playful and embrace the child inside of me when it was appropriate.  The cappuccino came with two pieces of chocolate, which I proceeded to stir into my coffee, giving it a very pleasant hint of chocolate.  It was very creamy, warm, and comforting.

MY felt like getting a glass of milk.  It came in this very interesting glass with a metal straw.  Kudos for Max Brenner's use of the Helvetica font on the cup!  As a graphic design student, I feel that Helvetica is a font that characterizes New York's modern (and perfect) atmosphere.

The first of two desserts we ordered was the Sharing (Tasting for Two).  Clockwise from the lower left: very light and airy whipped cream with a touch of very tart raspberry sauce, chocolate fondue sauce in an Erlenmeyer flask, chocolate & peanut butter snack, pop rock candy chocolate lick, chocolate-covered ice cream, and a banana split waffle.  The whipped cream, as stated earlier, was extremely light and refreshing, with the raspberry sauce adding a special zing to the light sweetness of the cream.  You can try drinking the chocolate fondue, which was warm and rich.  The chocolate & peanut butter snack had interesting texture, but the peanut butter didn't seem present.  The chefs, perhaps, were trying not to overpower the chocolate, since this is a chocolate-themed restaurant.  The pop rocks combined with the chocolate was exciting, like exploring unchartered territory.  Ice cream was normal.  The banana split waffle was ok, but I felt it was just to dense for the dessert.

First dessert, part two: Chocolate fondue.  Came with a pot with melted chocolate fondue for dipping, marshmallows, strawberries, and bananas for dipping, and a small personal grill to toast the marshmallows.  I absolutely love fruit dipped in chocolate, and the fresh toasted marshmallows were soft and creamy.  It was also fun when some of the marshmallows started to flame at certain points.

The second dessert we ordered was The Ivory Heart, a chocolate cake with layers of warm white chocolate and chocolate cream on the inside.  It comes with the plain ice cream, an Erlenmeyer flaskful of chocolate fondue sauce, and fresh strawberries and blueberries.  The cake was very warm and extremely chocolatey, but it was extremely good.  It was extremely moist and not overly sweet, but had a very strong chocolate taste.  The fresh fruit helped to balance the sweetness by adding a tart flavor to the plate.

Overall, the dessert was very satisfying and it was a fun experience.  It is definitely the place to go if you are a chocolate lover.

Price: <3<3<3

Taste: <3<3<3<3<3

Atmosphere: <3<3<3<3<3

Opinion: Highly Recommended

Sugar Café; Moonstruck Diner.

On the late evening of Thursday, March 12th, 2009, a group of my friends and I ventured down to the grimy streets of the Lower East Side, that have places where you can find a cheap piece of food to get your groove on with and satisfy your wildest desires and tastes. We wandered these streets, shot for dessert first at Sugar Cafe, and had a happy ending at Moonstruck Diner.

At Sugar Cafe, the four of us split two different desserts. Mic and I got two different flavors of gelato, pictured on the left. We got Ferrero Rocher and something that tasted like vanilla chip. Both were nice a creamy for gelato, but in the end, were nothing special. Roomie and Squishy got the Red Velvet Cake with a scoop of Chocolate Gelato. The cake tasted normal, and gelato was similar to ours.

The sexy chocolate-dipped macaroon caught Roomie's eyes and he couldn't resist a taste, so he bought one.

Here's the mid-eating money shot. The coconut taste was nice, but the macaroon itself was a little dense and dry. It was alright.

From our post-dessert porn lust, we scampered on up to find Moonstruck Diner on 2nd Ave. around 1 A.M. (now Friday, March 13th in the morning) in the East Village and had ourselves some good old reliable diner grub. Above are the fixings for Roomie's burger. They were your standard dill pickle and cole slaw. The slaw was actually nice. It wasn't too heavy on the mayo and was light and refreshing.

I think Roomie got a turkey burger. I am not entirely sure, but do know it is some kind of burger. It came with some nice onion rings, fresh greenery, and crisp french fries. It seemed like he enjoyed it, judging from the speed at which he scarfed it down.

I was craving hash, so I got the corned beef hash with sunny side eggs and home fries. The hash was salty, but that was expected. The home fries were actually pretty good. They were neither greasy nor salty and they gave me a huge portion of it. They also added some fresh green bell peppers which gave it some great flavor.

Squishy got scrambled eggs with sausage and home fries. She said that it was good and that she would get it again. I must admit, though, that those sausages looked very dark and strange, and I was skeptical that it would taste good, but after she took a bite and we saw the inside, we realized that it was just an outside char.

Mic got got the corned beef hash with scrambled eggs and home fries. She was equally as satisfied with her hash as I was with mine.

Overall, it was a great night out. The desserts were fine and the diner hit the right spot. The diner was also very cozy and clean. I just love it when diners do that at 1 A.M. in the morning.

Sugar Cafe

Price: <3<3<3<

Taste: <3<3<3<

Atmosphere: <3<3<3<

Opinion: OK to try

Moonstruck on Second

Price: <3<3<3<3

Taste: <3<3<3<3<

Atmosphere: <3<3<3<3<3

Opinion: Highly Recommended

Moonstruck on Second

in East Village

88 2nd Ave. (b/t 1st Ave. and 5th St.)

(212) 420-8050

Big Daddy's Diner; Andre's Hungarian Bakery.

So, it seems like Roomie, Mic, and I end up stuffing ourselves to the max once every week on the weekends.  Since we've moved to the Upper East Side, we've discovered that there are a slew of restaurants that we feel compelled to try out.  Despite that, however, we were craving burgers.  We discovered that there was a Big Daddy's Diner on 2nd Ave., so off we went.  We also wanted to try this Hungarian Bakery we've walked by, so we made a plan to make a trip to Hungary to try some exotic desserts.

One of the signs in the very festive diner.

Roomie got the Turkey Burger (sauce on the side) and Fries.  He wolfed it down.  He was the one that was craving burgers, so he was very happy afterwards.

Mic got the Turkey Burger with Tots.  She equally enjoyed hers, but struggled with the immense amount of food that was on her plate.

I got the Daddy'O Burger with Tots.  It comes with pepper jack cheese and pieces of fried onions on a potato bun, cole slaw, and a pickle.

Close up of my burger.

Mid-action eating shot of my burger.  I asked for medium.  It was nice and pink and juicy.  It was also overwhelmingly filling.  The tater tots were nice and crisp, but they put too much salt on it, and I was unable to finish the tots.

Afterwards, we went to the bakery, but chose to just buy what we wanted and eat them on our own, because we were all way to stuffed to sit down and eat another huge piece of cake.  I chose to get the Sacher Cake.  Here is a picture, from later on in the evening.

Mid-action eating shot.  The cake had layers of apricot jelly inside, while the cake itself was surrounded by a shell of chocolate with some nuts in it.  The jelly was nicely paired with the chocolate flavors, but the cake itself was very dry and made it really difficult to eat, considering it was such a huge slice.

Overall, the diner was good.  It was filling.  The dessert was alright.

Big Daddy's Diner

Price: <3<3<

Taste: <3<3<3<

Atmosphere: <3<3<3<3

Opinion: Recommended

Andre's Hungarian Bakery

Price: <3<3<3

Taste: <3<3<3

Atmosphere: N/A

Opinion: OK to try