NYC: Day 3

Day 3 in NYC was a fabulous one.

We started off the morning in the Lower East Side at Clinton Street Baking Company for some breakfast. Recently featured on the Food Network’s “Throwdown with Bobby Flay“, Clinton Street Baking Company is known for some darn tasty Blueberry Pancakes.

So what did we get? The Blueberry Pancakes of course!

And a side of Sugar Cured Bacon. I’ve never even heard of “sugar curing” but it sounded good. And heck, it tasted gooooood!

The pancakes were darn tasty with just the right amount of Blueberry Sauce. Paired beautifully with their maple butter, the pancakes were light, fluffy, and simply delicious. Their coffee was REALLY good, too. 🙂

Service was quick and efficient and we only waited for a few minutes to get a table. Word to the wise, this spot gets crowded on weekends so if possible, I suggest grabbing a late breakfast on a weekday to avoid the wait.

Clinton Street Baking Company…..it’s goooooood. 🙂

Clinton Street Baking Company
4 Clinton Street
(646) 602-6263

After breakfast we jumped on the subway towards Midtown to spend a few hours at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Below are a few shots of some of my favorite pieces:

“Starry Night” by Van Gough

“Water Lillies” by Monet

Entrance to the Special Exhibit of “Tim Burton”

A few hours later, we had gotten our full of art but our tummies were in need of some sustenance. Where to? Brasserie Les Halles where my fav, Anthony Bourdain is the “Chef at Large”.

The moment we walked in the door, I knew we were going to LOVE this place. No, not just because of the food but because they were BLARING Jack Johnson over the speakers. And this girl LOVES her some Jack Johnson. 🙂

When our server handed us the menus, she informed us of their Monday Special—50% off all wines!! What the?! YIPPEE! So of course being the civic Americans we are, we did our best to add to the economy by ordering a full bottle instead of our original one glass plan 🙂

A quick perusal of the menu and we settled on the Confit de Canard and Steak Tartare avec Frites.

The BF’s Steak Tartare that was mixed table side.

Frites….hands down the best fries of my life. And this girl knows her fries. 🙂

My Confit de Canard. Notice the piece of toast underneath the duck to catch all the goodness?

Our delicious bottle of House Bordeaux.

Friends…..words cannot describe how amazing this meal was. The Confit was so crispy and fall-off-the-bone tender. The piece of toast that sopped up the goodness was genius. As for the Tartare–it was perfect. So well balanced between the mustard, cornichons, capers, etc. And the fries…OH MY GOD, THE FRIES!!!!! Crispy yet somehow tender in the inside–I couldn’t stop eating them! And the bf, who usually doesn’t eat fries that much, said he needed to finish them all. Which we did 🙂

The prices were so affordable–which was so amazing considering the great quality food we enjoyed. If you’re in town, Brasserie les Halles is a MUST DO. Seriously.

Brasserie les Halles
411 Park Avenue South
(212) 679-4111

A few hours later with a very happy tummy, we found ourselves at Top of the Rock to catch the beautiful views and skyline of the city.

Introducing my better half…. 🙂

Here I am doing a quick Yelp search to find our next snackie destination 🙂

Although it was clearly dinner time, the BF and I found ourselves with a bit of a sweet tooth. 🙂 Since we were in the area and it was on our list, we headed straight over to Bouchon Bakery. Yup, I’m one of those folks who is kind of hell bent to have my last meal on earth at the brilliant Thomas Keller’s French Laundry in Napa Valley, California. But, since I can’t afford to drop several hundred dollars on a lunch (although I am POSITIVE it would be worth EVERY penny), I am perfectly content to get my Keller-fix at Bouchon Bakery 🙂

I was like a kid in a candy store when I approached the counter and display case. Everything was absolutely gorgeous and meticulously put together. Cookies, macarons, tarts, eclairs, quiches….even Foie Gras Doggie Treats!

We ordered a selection of Macarons (Chocolate, Pistachio, Caramel, and Coconut), Pain au Trois Chocolat, and Espressos. I have no shame when I say I dove right into each of the pastries, marveling at the complex flavors of each item I bit into 🙂 The Pain was so delish with the chocolate flavors—crisp, rich…yum. And the Macarons–OH MY!!!! Lightly crisp exterior yet chewy in the inside…..with the “feet” that all good macarons should have. Hands down, my favorite two flavors were the caramel and coconut…TO DIE FOR! The caramel was so rich and for lack of better description, it was “caramel-y”. 🙂 The coconut had the PERFECT flavor that didn’t have that imitation coconut taste that many pastries have.

Our beautiful Macarons Selection 🙂

Giving the Pistachio a try 🙂  Verdict? Gooood.

And the whole time I kept on saying to myself, “If this is how his pastries taste, think of how AMAZING the French Laundry would be!” One day….<sigh>……

Bouchon Bakery
10 Columbus Circle
(212) 823-9366

Needless to say, when we went home that night, my tummy and “site-seeing bone” were extremely content. 🙂