Fast Food & Small Plates

Day 4 of my trip to NYC started with a headache and a hangover. After our late night and subsequent late morning, big sis and I crawled out of bed and hauled our water-deprived selves down to 100th & B'way for a good feed of grease. The Metro is Angie's local diner, and spot of choice when in such a state of dis-equilibrium as we were. Insert sheepish face here...

Now, I don't have to tell you how good a greasy bfast looks when all you've got swishing around in your stomach is sweet champagne...and vodka...and Redbull... This was pretty standard; two eggs, bacon, toast, substitute fries for hashbrowns, toast, and the NY staple, grape jelly!

After our feed we managed to mosey to CP to spend the day lounging in the sun. We suntanned for awhile, then moved to the shade for naptime. Now, the problem with me and a hangover is that nothing satisfies me. I will eat all day long...Pretty soon, our stomachs were growling again and we headed over to The Shake Shack.

The Shake Shack was on my list of spots to hit since Saveur Magazine's Jenni Avins voted their burgers one of the Best Burgers in the US. We got sodas and crinkle fries and the most delish fast-food cheeseburger that I've ever tasted. The Shack's burgers are 4 oz. patties of beef, ground fresh daily, and cooked medium. Juicy and tender, just one bite of this burger had me practically on the floor. Simply dressed with cheese, ketchup, mustard and far too much mayo for one person to consume, the patty was nestled within a soft, buttery bun.

RIGHT?!?

This is what 'With Bite' is all about; delicious food, with some serious attitude...

After our religious experience, we trotted down to Columbus Circle for the antithesis of a 'power shop'. Actually, it was definetly the most unmotivated shopping experience of my life. It was hot and we were lazy. So what does one eat in the blistering heat? Why, ice cream, of course! I figured that if I was going to spend the whole day eating, I might as well go all out!

I had been searching for an ice cream store the whole day. My hopes were dashed when I discovered that Cold Stone Creamery was closed, but I was filled with delight when I saw the sign for Hagen Dazs!! This bit of Brownie a la Mode was just the thing to fill the last bit of empty space in my stomach. After this bit of sweet, we were pretty much spent and high-tailed it back to the apt. for our customary AC infused 4 pm nap. Man, I sound so lame!

Now, here's the sad part- dinner. I am ashamed to say that I forgot my camera. This sucked harfcore as the food not only tasted incredible, but looked that way as well. :( We had been heading down to Chelsea to take in a comedy show, but unfortunately, it filled up before we could get in.

We ended up at Tia Pole, a Brazilian tapas bar where the line-up was out the door and the place was abuzz with chatter. We got the last two seats in the house; barstools at the corner bar and ordered some Sangria.

To start, we shared one of the daily specials; heirloom tomato salad with goat cheese and toasted pine nuts. Sweet, thick wedges of tomatoes in a rainbow of hues were dressed simply with a pungent goat cheese drizzle and crunchy pine nuts. Next, an order of garbanzos fritos - fried chickpeas - served as the perfect bar snack to munch on as we paused between dishes.

We ordered two more small plates. Angie chose the paquetitos de jamón con alcachofa, little bundles of manchego cheese and artichoke enveloped by serrano ham and baked in the oven just slightly so that the meat was crisp and the cheese was gooey. She then indulged my odd meat & chocolate obsession and we ordered the chorizo con chocolate; small toasts slathered with a warm bittersweet chocolate and thinly sliced spicy palacios chorizo; mmm, salty-sweet!

And so ended another incredible day in Manhattan. We took our time on the way home, checking out the sights in Chelsea. It was an awesome day of lazing and eating- the epitome of a great day on vacay!

Travel to Italy, Cuba and France all in one day!

Day 3 in NYC. This day started out as a dream day in NYC with strong coffee and freshly-baked croissants from Silver Moon Bakery on Broadway. I'd attempted to try their stuff on my last visit, but alas, one can only eat so much! Anyhow, this place has been written up by the NY Times and The New Yorker, and has been called "The sweetest spot on the Upper West side."

As opposed to table service on the patio, we trotted back to Angie's apt to have brekkie on her terrace- restraining ourselves from tearing into the bag the whole way home!

While sis got a "plain" croissant- and I use the term plain loosely as it was an incredible bundle of buttery delight- I succumbed to a tempting almond croissant. Oh, if only the Internet provided for scratch 'n' sniff! The croissant had a crisp, flaky crust which disguised the melt-in-you-mouth pastry beneath. The almond filling inside was abundant and not too sweet, which played nicely with the dusting of powdered sugar. Of course, the crunchy almonds on top finished off this delightful creation!

Not so exquisite now! I took this photo while I paused to let the almond filling melt on my tongue, took a nice gulp of dark roast, and proceeded to devour the rest. This sucker didn't stand a chance! Once breakfast had settled, we hoped on the subway and headed down to the West Village to take in some famous foodie sights. We were headed to Murray's Cheese which, to put it into perspective for a foodie, is the Chrysler Building. I had a need for cheese and this spot - an institution for cheese lovin' NYers -was the spot to go.

In addition to cheese, Murray's also sells fresh bread, pasta, gelato, specialty chocolates and various antipasti items including cured meats, olives and nuts. Angie had to drag me away from the Cheese Straws. Again, Scratch 'n' Sniff...is there an app for that?!?

As an olive lover from an early age and a martini lover a little later, my eyes were bulging out of my sockets with visions of lemony olives, blue-cheese stuffed ones, Queen-size greens and succulent kalamatas.

And then, there was second breakfast. This was a snack to end all snacks! As soon as I walked through the door, I was hit with the heady aroma of freshly-baked bread, ripe cheese, fruity olive oil, spicy meat and charred tomatoes. It turned out that the source was right next to me in the form of Fresh Mozzarella & Sopressata flatbread. They're clever marketers, those peeps at Murray's, for conveniently placing these puppies right by the front door, making them the first scent that you encounter. $3.99 was pennies to spend on a delight such as this.

Here it is; warm flatbread with a crunchy crust and soft, fluffy top, smooth and sweet mozzarella, spicy sopressata and intensely flavored sundried tomatoes.

After our snack, we strolled over to Soho to get our shop on. After several hours of this rigorous exercise, I suggested to Angie that we take a quick repose in the form of mid-afternoon Margaritas at Cafe Habana, one of my all-time favorite NYC restos. This place is amazing! The line-up was pouring out the door with people chugging Coca-Cola from glass bottles, cool fruit smoothies and eating Cuban corn with the juice dribbling down their chins.

It's also one of the tiniest restos you'll ever take a seat in; no elbow room, no leg room and no personal conversation room- the two PR girls next to us shed significant light into the trials and tribulations of the Bradley Cooper - Renee Zellweger - Jennifer Aniston love triangle. I know, I know, YAWN- I'll get to the food.

As per usual, we got two rocks-salt Margaritas at a whopping $7.95. I never pay a heed to this price however, as I'm usually tipsy after just one sip!

We started with an order of the Cuban corn; two cobs of peaches 'n' cream corn roasted on an open flame, sprinkled with salty cotija cheese and chili powder and served with a wedge of lime on the side. This stuff is the resto's most popular dish. The sweet heat of the chili powder mixed with a shot of citrus really wakes up an otherwise plain dish.

Now, normally at "the Cuban" I order the same thing, Baja-Style Fish Tacos; beer battered catfish topped with a mix of crunchy red and green cabbage, shredded carrot and red salsa served yellow rice and black beans. On this visit however, we arrived during brunch service, and exhaulted the fact that we could try some Cuban-style eggs. We ordered the Huevos Divorchiados; two scrambled eggs with red and tomatillo salsas and creamy roasted potatoes. A s/o of black beans rounded out the meal quite nicely!

Now, I know that this may not look like the most appetizing dish in the world, but the spicy red and tart green salsas combined with the potatoes and earthy black beans created a fantastic flavour pairing. Not to mention the fact that our tangy Margaritas brought this entire meal together.

Haha. I took this photo for all ya'll Tims fans out there. Newly introduced to the American market, Canada's beloved Timmies has been re-named Tim Horton's Coffee and Bake Shop. I'm sorry to say it, but I don't know if it's gonna last. Angie said that this Tim's location replaced a Dunkin' Doughnuts which always had line-ups our the door, but there wasn't a soul inside... Moving on!

After a brief nap, a little primping and alot of priming, we were ready for our night on the town. We were headed to Flute Champagne Bar in Midtown to celebrate the Bday of one of Angie's closest pals.

We ordered a flight of flutes for $20; Le Baron Magic Flute w/ a glass of Chateau Moncontour 2005, Blanquette de Limoux and a glass of the luscious, sinfully sweet Clairette de Die. This was a great gameplan as it allowed us to try a few types and determine our favorites. Several glasses of the exquisite apricot flavoured Clairette de Die were consumed in this mission.

The night was still young when we left the champagne bar and trotted to a party just past Lincoln Centre. I got a serious salsa lesson, splurged on a cab and fell into bead, as visions of champagne flutes danced in my head.

A great night IN, in NYC

Day 2 in NYC. Let's just say that after our late night on Thursday, we had a subsequent late morning. In order to destroy the cobwebs that had taken up residence in my brain, big sis and I went for a walk/run in Riverside park. By the time we got back at around noon, it was 34 degrees, hot and humid.

In this type of weather, what else do you do but lounge and relax? Accompanied by my friend, and Angie's previous roommate, we attempted to take up residence on a grassy knoll in Central Park. The heat soon had us begging not only for the shade, but moreso for 4 pm to hit so that we could take full advantage of Happy Hour. Well, we succumbed to both of these cravings and hit HH and hour early! At 3 pm, we dragged our wilted, sweaty, sunburned bodies into Harry's Burritos on Columbus Ave, hopped on some barstools and ordered a round of Margaritas- rocks & salt.

Once our thirst had been quenched, we had a quick shop around Broadway, Columbus & Amsterdam Aves in the 70's, then headed uptown to Angie's spot. I have to say, though at first I groaned as to the 52 steps required to get to sis' 3rd floor walk-up, they certainly did help to keep me in shape- especially when we had dinner to look forward to!

We started a trend on Friday, one that continue for the rest of my vacay which consisted of a 4 pm power nap. In that kind of weather, and with that much tequila in our bellies, a quick lie-down in front of the AC was necessary!

For dinner, our pal re-joined us and we ordered in from one of their favorite spots; Charm Thai on Amsterdam. We put on some tunes, cracked a bottle of red and went to work making some decisions for dinner. Actually, to be honest, I had no choice in the matter, but was simply told what I would be having for dinner; no complaints here- I trusted the experts, and I was in good hands!

By the time dinner came, about 10 minutes later (those NY delivery guys mean business), we popped the cork on some champagne, deconstructed the vault that were our take-out containers and revelled in the scents of lemongrass, basil and coconut milk. Even the rice smelled amazing!

We got an order of Kee Maow, chicken with flat rice noodles sauteed with basil, tomatoes, onions and chili. Holy heat- this dish was spicy! The chicken was juicy, sweet, and it seared my mouth with its blanket of tomato-chili sauce.

We also got an order of Green curry w/ tofu, coconut milk, bamboo shoots, eggplant, peppers, basil and chilis. I was thrilled with this decision as the mild curry proved to be almost an antidote the red curry's fiery heat. Though the sauce was certainly sweet, it had a light consistency which prevented it from being cloying. The veg itself was crisp, and flavourful adding to the dish's delightfully fresh profile. I was also happy with Angie's choice of going all out vegetarian by adding tofu to the mix. Being a devout carnivore, I never go this route, but the tofu's meaty yet silky consistency added a nice addition of to the dish.

All praise for the curries aside, this dining experience was all about the curry puffs. These treats were foreign to me. I thought that with the amount of Thai and Indian food I 've tried, I would have come across these goodies before, yet this was my first encounter with the concept. And the concept is this; warm, deep-fried pillows of crack. Yup, that's right- from my bite I had almost a drug-like addiction to these suckers.

The flaky, buttery pastry was filled with a mixture of minced chicken, potatoes, onions and a sweet curry that tasted more dessert-like than appy. Served with a contrasting vinaigrette-based dipping sauce of cool cucumber and spicy red onion, a mere mouthful of the pastry and filling lead me to a near-euphoric state. YES, they're really THAT good.

Given my epicurean curiosity, I quickly googled Curry Puffs and found that they're a Malaysian dish. I found a recipe, directions and additional info on the Rasa Malaysia website that I intend to make as soon as is humanly possible!

And so, we finished the last few drops of champagne and sat out on the terrace to digest. It was actually fun to stay in and enjoy the benefits of delivery; no dressing up, no subway, no over-priced bottles of wine and my bed just three feet away. All-in-all, a great night IN in NYC.

Susie's Shortbread's 1st Anniversary

s

Hey all! Next Saturday, August 29th, marks Susie Shortbread's 1 year anniversary. I've decided to start my day of right with MY idea of a 'Breakfast of Champions': cupcakes! Susie's Shortbreads opened a year ago this week- how time flies!

Here is the info on tomorrow's event. See their website for more information and my blog post from last summer about my Strawberry Fields cupcake!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!! Our store is turning one year old!!

Please join us for our big Anniversary Celebration on Saturday August 29th (we open at 11am as usual) and enjoy:

1st 50 customers receive a FREE gift with purchase

FREE product samples all day (cookies, cupcakes, fudge, frosting shots, cheesecakes, truffles, milkshakes...rotating throughout the day)

Face Painting for the Kids (12-2pm)

Cupcake Bingo (if you are one of the lucky ones to choose a cupcake with a Susie's sticker on the bottom, you win that cupcake for FREE)

FREE GIVEAWAYS! We will have a stack of envelopes for random lucky recipients to win prizes such as:
1/2 Dozen Cupcakes each month for an entire year!
Single Cupcake each week for 6 months!
$5 or $10 gift certificates
Susie's merchandise (mugs, hats, shirts, etc)
25% off your current purchase
Boxed Cookies
Cup-a-cake Containers
Slabs of Fudge

Plus, we will have our newest member of the Susie's Team to introduce you to...our new Cupcake Mascot!! (She's not named yet...so that may be a contest to come soon too...)
So we hope you will all join us in celebrating our first anniversary! It's been an amazing year and we want to thank all of our customers for your incredible support over the past year! And just think...we've only just begun...

My subsequent journey to Susie's on Saturday morning lead me to believe that cupcakes were considered the 'Breakfast of Champions' by many other Haligonians. By the time we arrived by 11:30 am, there was a steady line snaking through the little shop. My treat of choice was the Swiss Alps; a vanilla cupcake w/ buttercream swirled with Toblerone pieces and a chunck of the bar on top. Mmm, mmm, good. Congrats to the team at Susie's Shortbreads o their 1 year anniversary! Keep up the GREAT work!

NYC Necessities

I just got back from a trip to Manhattan to visit my big sis. I try to go once a year to hang out with her, do a little shopping and take in some new culinary experiences. On previous trips, I've often waited to blow all my cash at a celeb chef's restaurant. Not only that, but I often try to make these dinner plans in advance in order to ensure that we'd get a reservation. This time, however, I tried to take a more laid back approach to NYC. I also let my sis show me some of her fave restos, and introduce me to some new flavors and dining experiences from a New Yorker's point of view. Though I had a list of spots to visit, and we hit several of these, we also let our noses decide where breakfast, lunch, dinner and Happy Hour would be.

I arrived at Angie's Upper West Side apt in the rain- womp, womp! That didn't stop us however, from pulling out our umbrellas, hopping on the subway and heading down to Trader Joe's on the Lower East side to stock up on wine and snacks for the week. Angie had told me that TJ's was the place to go for groceries in Manhattan; super cheap and super delicious...and she was right! This shopping trip provided key kitchen staples for munchies with wine, a mid-afternoon snack and, well, maybe some late night snacks too!

The groceries for under 30 bucks: edamame; carrots, grape tomatoes, celery & 3-layer humus; Boursin cheese; rice crisps & potato curls, salted almonds and an %85 Valrhona chocolate bar.

I thought that this was a pretty good deal for a load of groceries, but it got better when we ventured into TJ's Wine store next door. For $52.74, we got 6 bottles of wine: Cono Sur Voignier, Lindeman's Pinot Noir, Villa Borghetti Pinot Grigio, Ruffino Chianti and Blason de Bourgogne Cremant.

I want to take a sec here to mention how pumped I was to finally get my hands on a Valrhona bar, generally used as a baking chocolate, but I had to taste for myself. I've read several NY'ers blogs heralding this amazing French chocolate; even chef Jean Georges Vongerichten has a Valhrona chocolate cake on his dessert menu. This chocolate made a great taste of something sweet, especially when paired with some of the almonds that we got.

And so, we sat out on the terrace that evening, drinking wine, eating snacks and listening to the sounds of the city in preparation for out night out to see Meika Pauley at the Rockwood Music Hall in Soho. This girl has got some serious pipes- her website is definitely worth a look. Anyhow, Angie's group had played with her last year and was not letting me miss out on seeing her live.
After our stint at the Rockwood (and far too much wine later), we felt the need for a little grease and headed over to Pommes Frites, Authentic Belgian Fries. This place is known for their selection of dipping sauces- Vietnamese Pineapple Mayo, Parmesan Peppercorn and Hot Chili Paste, to name a few. But I was in the mood for something a little richer, something with...perhaps, cheese and gravy? Yup, that's right, we breezed past the exotic sauces and treated ourselves to a familiar favorite; poutine. And the verdict? Pretty tasty, but Canada can do it much better!

The 2nd Annual Select Nova Scotia IncrEDIBLE Picnic

Select Nova Scotia's 2nd Annual Incredible Picnic has been postponed for this Sunday. The event has been rescheduled for next Sunday, August 30th. From 11am-3pm, Nova Scotians will gather simultaneously at 11 locations throughout the province to experience agri-food products from a variety of sources.

This is such a great event; not only does it help to build relationships between consumers and purveyors, but it assists in strengthening the bond between family and friends as well. You can pack your own picnic or purchase from the vendors on site.

I'll be attending the Halifax picnic at Garrison Grounds, Citadel Hill, to take part in the camaraderie of those who love delicious local products in an environment conducive to sharing both food and the pleasure of eating it.

There will also be displays from Taste of Nova Scotia, Halifax Seed and the Ecology Action Centre. Have fun with the kiddies with face painting, a petting zoo from Hatfield Farms and an Aquaculture Touch Tank.

Be sure to check out my experience at last year's picnic here. It's a great way to spend the day; learning about Nova Scotian products, spending some quality time with the family, and catching up with old and new friends.

Not your ordinary Cheeseburger at The Argyle

After a long, but fun day of filming at the 3rd Annual Seaport Beerfest, Ash, the Creative Director at Haligonia and I seriously needed a bite to soak up all that beer. When he let me pick the place, I immediately thought of The Argyle. I have this problem whereby, I'll get a dish in my head and think about it incessantly until I get to try it. The Argyle had been on the brain since I discovered that they had a Blue Cheeseburger on their menu and I thought that this was the perfect opportunity to indulge.

Now, I'm not one to ruin a cheeseburger feed w/ salad, as opposed to fries, especially on this excursion. Though we got our grub quickly, I was served a Caesar salad w/ my burger. However, when I pointed out the mistake, a s/o of french fries was quickly delivered to our table.

A close up view...Seriously, I ask you: What could possibly be better than a big, juicy beef patty topped with crispy bacon, earthy sauteed mushrooms and a tangy, creamy blue? Very little, that's what. The burger was served on a pretty standard restaurant-style bun, and the tasty fries, cooked with their skins on were crisp.

I've eaten at The Argyle a few times, usually in the summer as I love me an ice cold beer on a patio. I'm not a big fan of Caesar salads, but I'd consider this a pretty good one from the couple bites I sampled. This burger was just what the doctor ordered on Saturday; it was quite filling without being too heavy. If you're partial to Blue cheese, and like a good burger, you might just want to put The Argyle at the top of your list.