lots of lovely food outings :)

Today was the “good city day” that I’ve been wanting for a few weeks now. For a lot of the summer, Potter and I have found ourselves outside of the city for a variety of reasons (visiting friends, family, a party to go to upstate, whatever). Even though we got to a late start today (didn’t get out the door until 3), we still got a lot done in Manhattan.

We started off going to Ali’s favorite thrift store in the East Village (East Village Thrift on 2nd Ave between 11th and 12th Streets). Had fun browsing through the racks and got some gifts for some people with approaching birthdays. Then we walked over to Crumb Bake Shop, a place Potter’s office goes to for birthday cupcakes. They sell almost exclusively cupcakes and have lots of different fun flavors (Samoa [like the Girl Scout cookie], espresso, caramel apple, grasshopper, Oreo, peanut butter cup, to name a few). It was a fun walk over, too, walking through the village, because it helped me piece together where things are in relation to one another; it turns out the thrift store (which is near my favorite cheese shop) isn’t as far from Potter’s office as I’d thought. Also, it is my new life goal to someday live on 10th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. Go to Google street view if you’re so inclined…it’s an adorable little tree-lined street with gorgeous buildings, and near lots of great restaurants. *Sigh*

Anyway, the cupcakes. We got cappuccino and caramel apple…they were pretty good, but I do have to admit that they were a little bit dryer than I’d have preferred. Still good, though. Then we spent the next hour or so wandering a street market that had been set up along University Place. It ran probably 6-7 blocks, and we had fun looking at all the hippy dress, jewelry, and general knick-knack stands. I got some grilled sweet corn that was delicious, and we were constantly tempted by cheap Thai food, as well. We walked along the street fair all the way up to Union Square, then took a subway back down to pretty much right where we started. We browsed at the Gap because I had a coupon, but nothing really struck our fancy so we continued on over to Washington Square Park.

Washington Square Park is probably one of my favorite parks in the city. There are always lots of people, lots of dogs, a performer or two of some sort, and a huge fountain that little kids are always wading in. Tonight we saw a barber shop quartet (very good), a guy doing what at first looked to be chalk art but we soon realized was colored sand that he was placing by hand (letting it slip between his fingers), a piano player, a drummer, a magician, and two very charismatic brothers, whom we’ve seen there before. I don’t quite know what their act is (they drew quite a crowd), but they seemed entertaining.

After marveling at the sights, we walked a block south to Mamoun’s, Potter’s favorite place for falafel. Apparently one of his coworkers was once in Israel and a guy over there recommended this particular falafel place as the best in the city, so he took his word for it! It’s not even a restaurant, just a hole in the wall where they dish up falafel, hummus platters, and shawarma in 60 seconds per order. Even if the line’s long, it moves quickly. We got 2 falafel, 1 humus sandwich, a can of ginger ale, and 1 piece of baklava (cause I’m a sucker for the stuff) and the whole dinner cost us $10.25. What a deal! We took our food back to the park and ate sitting on a bench. Very tasty (although I think I just don’t like how much tahini goes into the yogurt sauce…not their fault, though, I’ve noticed this at other places, too).

Then we took the subway home and are about to curl up with some of my favorite German beer to watch George Clooney in “Up In The Air”. (I’ve seen it before, but he hasn’t). Perfect NYC day!

Ooooh and last night we had a date night (also in the East Village) at Cellar 58. I had a coupon, so we decided to check it out. Excellent, excellent food. We got lots of small plates and ate a tapas-style meal. Started off with a cheese platter or gorgonzola, caprino (tasted a bit like parmesan), and prosciutto. The platter was served with grapes, honey, and marmalade…an amazing combination of flavors that I never would have thought to try. Then we got eggplants “al funghetto” with goat cheese…deliciously soft and creamy, mixed mushroom crostini (we’re both a sucker for mushrooms and it was delicious) and (drum roll, please) my favorite…caprese salad made with buffalo mozzarella. I’ve been dreaming about buffalo mozzarella ever since I left Italy. It’s milkier, lighter, and more flavorful than the traditional mozzarella we see here (even the fresh kind). Served with cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, and olive oil, it was divine. I can still taste it and lingered over every bite. Potter liked it, but wasn’t quite as enamored as I was…I took the last bite and even told him I didn’t love him enough to let him have it! The whole meal was accompanied by a nice white wine, and then we finished with tiramisu and chocolate mousse topped with toasted hazelnuts for dessert! It was a bit pricey, so I was glad to have the coupon, but we’ll definitely be coming back here for future date nights.

Okay! Off to go watch George Clooney :)