Penelope

159 Lexington Ave (30th st)

Since I'm on a tight budget for the summer I decided to try different sandwich places in the city. Sandwiches are inexpensive and can be as good as a main course. In the summer, I don't like to eat food that is too heavy or too greasy. I prefer eating light, fresh meals. A friend recommended Penelope to me. She had I feeling I would like it given its quaint decor and she raved about the sandwiches. Penelope is in fact really cute. The walls are powder blue and they also have a bakery inside. 

I was seated promptly. I gazed at the menu and settled on the chicken club sandwich, one of its grilled options, because I saw that bacon was included and so I just had to get it. The Grilled Chicken Club sandwich consists of grilled chicken (duh), crispy bacon bits, fontina, dijon, mayo, tomato, and lettuce on a toasted baguette. The order also came with a side of fries. When I bit into the sandwich, the chicken was juicy, cooked to perfection. The dijon mustard complemented the sandwich well by giving it that sweet honey taste with the spiciness. My mouth was tingling. I found that half a sandwich filled me up which was surprising, given my voracious appetite. It was very filling and I was forced to take the rest to go.

yum!

Our bill came in this tin can which I thought was really cute

Gandhi Cafe

For dinner we had Indian food since it was the only thing that me and my friend could decide on and so we went to Ghandi Cafe, which is located in the West Village. I had been to this place before and it was quite good from what I remembered.

It is a small restaurant. The layout is long and narrow. When you walk inside you feel like you are in an old lavishly decorated train car. In fact, the ceiling is actually the ceiling of a train car. The walls are velvet and decorated with plates, paintings, and soccer posters--an odd combination.

I ordered chicken vindaloo. Vindaloo is a curry meat dish with potatoes from the region of Goa in India. I was hesitant to order because I noticed in the menu it was listed as very hot. When the dish came out I was surprised to see how red it was. I'm used to my curry being more of an orange color than a vibrant red. I couldn't tell what was potato and what was chicken. The spiciness was a slow, build-able burn but in the end it wasn't too much for me to handle. I love spicy food. When eating Indian food, I like to dip nan into the curry sauce. I was disappointed with the chicken. I think they used lean chicken because it was quite dry and not very juicy. We ran out of rice and the waiter was kind enough to give us more rice for free. After we were done with our meal, the waiter brought out tea and dessert. I'm not sure what it was called but it was like rice pudding but a heavily watered down version. Something sweet is always good to counterbalance spiciness.

Nan! It was very soft and chewy just like the Indian place that I usually order from at school.

Chicken Vindaloo

The Rice Pudding Soup?

Xi'an Famous Foods

Today for lunch I was craving beef noodle soup from X'ian Famous Foods located at 81 St. Marks Place.

My friend standing in front of the place when she came to visit.

Sometimes it can be refreshing to have a bowl of hot soup amid the summer heat.  I remember the first time that I came here I had difficulty finding the place since it's such a small space. I ordered the Spicy and Tingly Beef Noodle Soup. I was debating between Cumin Lamb Noodle Soup and the beef noodle soup but in most cases, when I like something I stick to it. So next time I go there I will definitely be ordering something more exciting like Oxtail or Concubine's Chicken. Their pork and lamb burgers are really good too.

The beef noodle soup was just as tasty as the first time that I tried it. The noodles are made from scratch. They are thick and irregular shaped. They have a homey feel which I like. I'm more of a thin noodle kind of person but I really enjoyed these. The noodles balance out the intense flavors of the soup and the beef. The top of the soup is sprinkled with cilantro, adding extra flavor. I don't really like cilantro, but I thought it worked well in this case. The beef was really tender, very chewable. I was disappointed that the dish was not as spicy as I was hoping for. After I devoured the thing, I did experience that tingly sensation as the name suggested. For only 6.50 you can get that feeling too!

Spicy and Tingly Beef Noodle Soup

A close-up of the noodles.

All done!

We All Scream for Ice Cream

Momofuku Milk Bar

I want to try this place which supposedly has really good soft-serve.

251 East 13th Street (between 2nd and 3rd avenues)

First Post

Well my friend recently showed me a food blog and I was so inspired that I decided to make my own food blog! That person's food blog included reviews to restaurants all over the world. I am far less worldly than her so I'm just going to review restaurants in my backyard, New York City and perhaps even attempt to make some things. I've already concocted a list of places to eat at! Let the pigging out begin! Bon Appetit!