5 New York City Must Eats

I love to eat, that’s no secret, so when I’m returning to a place I’ve already been I usually have a list of stops I must make. New York’s lists of musts continues to grow for me so I want to share with you my top 5 favorite eats in this grand city. Without further ado and in no particular order:

1. Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie – Levain’s Bakery

These are the cookies of cookies. Levain’s  can form a long line at this small bakery but it is well worth it. These cookies are giant and delicious. There are several flavors but I just can’t get over the chocolate peanut butter.

2. Chocolate Cake Cheese Cake – Junior’s Cheese Cake

This is chocolate cake with a strip of cheese cake inside. This is the cake of dreams. The delicious rich chocolate is perfectly paired with it’s cheesecake filling. I’ve made my sister(who lives in Manhatten) pack a slice in her suitcase for me before. It’s that good.

3. NON-TOASTED Sesame Bagel with Strawberry Cream Cheese – Lenny’s Bagels

A good bagel should not be toasted. Lenny’s bagels meet that criteria so don’t you dare order a bagel toasted here. They have a great array of different bagel and cream cheese flavors, non which you can go wrong. I crave these bagels pretty much daily.

4. Spicy and Sour Spinach Dumplings – Xi’an Famous Foods

This is a new one on my list. Last time I was in NYC I was on my way to dinner but needed a snack to eat on the journey. I decided to give this place a shot after hearing rave reviews. Sure enough these dumplings were delicious. Not only the dumpling but the sauce they were in was lick the plate, or in this case to go packaging, worthy.

5. Paō de Quiejo or Cheese Bread – The Coffee Shop

Cheese may possibly be my favorite food and bread is up there too. So how can it get better than little bread bites filled with oozing cheese? It’ can’t. Go to The Coffee Shop order the Paō de Quiejo and thank me.

I only named 5 items and I know there is so much more that is to rave about in NYC. So please, share it with me! What’s your must eats in New York?

 

Eating in Kauai

Over the holidays I took a trip to Kauai. It was gorgeous, warm, and sunny. One major varying aspect was the food. It seemed every restaurant we went to was either really bad or really good. If you’re headed to Kauai any time soon here is my advice on food.

If you are renting a place with a kitchen make sure to hit up Costco for your groceries. They have some great deals compared to many other stores in the area. Another tip for Costco is their snack bar. Food in Kauai is expensive so paying $2.00 for a slice of pizza and a drink is an amazing deal!

Make sure to “check-in” on yelp.com at any restaurants you eat at. We found at least 5 different coupons and deals if you did this.

For breakfast we often stopped at Safeway and went to their deli counter where they made breakfast sandwiches for only $2.50.

Here were our favorite restaurants on the island:

Street Burger – This was such a welcomed meal after a few days of no luck. They have great burgers(and veggie burgers) with fresh ingredients. They even made their ketchup in house! After a long day of swimming and playing in the sun this was a welcomed treat.

Kauai Beer Company – It’s not just about the beer here. Kauai Beer Company has a decently sized menu for a “beer place”. Their food was really great and the service even better.

Duke’s– Duke’s is definitely a staple in Kauai. It has very mixed reviews but we really enjoyed the experience. The service was top notch and we both really loved the salad bar. Not only the good food and service but it has a fun atmosphere with views of the beach. This is a great last night in paradise meal.

Hula Girl – Perfect place to grab breakfast. Hula girl makes delicious stuffed croissants. I recommend asking her to heat it up for you making them extra tasty.

Did you eat at a restaurant in Kauai that you loved? Please share!

 

Best Chicago Eats

I was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. At 18 I went to Idaho for college and ended up moving to the pacific northwest after graduating. There’s a lot I love about Chicago, but food might be my number 1. I’ll admit I love food… some might even say I have an obsession, but the food in Chicago is just amazing. Here are my favorite places to grab a bite in Chicago:

Lou Malnati’s – I’ve done a post all about Chicago pizza here but I still needed to mention it in this post. Pizza is the first thing I think of when I think of Chicago food. The deep dish butter crust garlic and tomato pizza from Lou Malnati’s with a house salad to start and a giant Diet Coke to be exact. Do NOT I repeat do NOT miss out on trying Lou Malnati’s while in Chicago.

Portillo’s – Portillo’s has start to spread outside of Chicago but is still primarily found there. Portillo’s is a unique restaurant where often there are two counters one for the original Portillo’s where you can order Italian beef, burgers, hot dogs, etc and another counter called Barnelli’s where you can order salads, pasta, etc. Everything here is so good and the amount of people in the restaurant will attest to that. While often very busy they are quick to get your order out and there’s always enough seating. My top recommendations of items to try: Italian beef, chopped salad, chocolate cake shake, burger and fries.

Julie Ann’s – If you haven’t tried frozen custard yet this is a must. Think of ice cream but extra soft and creamy. Julie Anns knows what they’re doing. They have tons of differnt mix ins and toppings for you to add. You will not be disappointed.

Garrett’s – Garrett’s is the place to get Chicago Mix popcorn. Chicago mix is cheese popcorn and carmel popcorn mixed. And while that may sound like an odd combination try it and you will love it. It is messy so make sure to grab an extra napkin or two.

 Flat Top Grill – Flat top is my favorite place to get Mongolian style food. Once you get your table you will be brought a bowl which you take up to the counter and add the ingredients you want, mix the sauce you’d like, and hand it over to the chef. You can then watch as they grill up your food and plate it. This is a great place for people with allergies or food restrictions. They are very conscious of this and give plenty of alternatives.

Visiting Austin

Texas, I’ll be honest, has not been on the top of my list. I had only ever had layovers in Dallas and never gotten outside the airport. When I found out I would be traveling here for work I was happy to be going somewhere new, but wasn’t thrilled. Then the more I read about and researched Austin the more excited I became.

I haven’t mentioned much about what I do, but I work for a DMO aka a Destination Marketing Organization. Or what you may know of as a Visitors Bureau. I had been awarded the honor of being a part of the DMAI(Destination Marketing Association International) 2015 30 under 30 class. With that came this trip to Austin. Granted a lot of my time there was for work, but I work in the tourism industry so sometimes work equals play.

I arrived in Austin and I had read about the 100 Bus that took you straight downtown for only $1.75. I found it easily and only waited about 10 minutes until it arrived. It was perfect it took maybe 20 minutes to arrive downtown and even had a stop right outside my hotel.

I stopped into the visitor information center which was a historic building. I would recommending making a trip here. There was a store inside with fun souvenirs and the people were very helpful and friendly.

The opening night we had an event at Austin City Limits. I’mm be honest, I had never heard of this before but a lot of people had. I walked out of the hotel and up came a cowboy… yes a cowboy. He had two horses and asked if anyone wanted a ride. I jumped at the first opportunity and rode to the event. Riding in downtown Austin was an experience I will not forget.

Austin City Limits was a blast. They had The Night Owls playing live music with delicious food from around the city. I heard later how much of a rarety it is to have Austin City Limits hold a party for just one group. It was a great venue and I would recommend anyone who has the opportunity to go.

On one night I waited to watch the bats. There is a bridge with 1.5 million bats that fly out at dusk to eat. Unfortunately, they were a no show. You can’t control nature so I understand, but I was bummed.

I explored 6th St which was such a cool experience. They close off the street to cars after a certain time and you can walk down and listen to all the live music coming out of each venue. We went to the Vulcan Gas Company who had the Spazmatics playing. It was such a fun time. They cover 80s music and everyone was dancing and singing.

I shopped on South Congress in all it’s cute little shops. There’s everything from an old fashion candy shop to quaint boutiques. This is the place to get something to remember Austin by.

I ate delicious Austin food from BBQ to Pizza. My favorite place had to have been Tacodeli. Which as you can imagine had tons of different Tacos. Bonus they had about 5 different vegetarian taco choices.

Overall I really enjoyed Austin. I would love to go back and bring Ryan and eat more delicious food and listen to more live music. It has now inspired me to go on a Texas road trip. I want more Texas!