Favorite Food in New York

I grew up in New York and it's always held a special place in my heart so I thought I should do at least one NY-themed post. One of my favorite things about NYC is how easy it is to find delicious food. I've seen a lot of places come and go but here are some of my favorite places that have been around for a while. The service in all of these places is really warm and makes you feel extremely comfortable. If you get the chance to visit any of these places, you'll immediately see why they've been around for so long.

Japanese - Kyo Ya ((212) 982-4140, 7th St between 1st Ave and Ave A). Everything here is extremely intricate and well cooked. I love the sweet potato tempura (a large chunk of sweet potato on a bed of fried watercress), the chawanmushi (super fluffy egg custard and seafood), and the black bean an mitsu (the most intricate dessert you will ever have in your life)

Hot Dog - Gray's Papaya (corner of 72nd and Amsterdam). It's the last Gray's Papaya left in the city. The hot dogs have that perfect snap when you bite into them and the hot dogs only cost $2 each.

Tapas - Las Ramblas (West 4th near 6th Ave). Delicious tapas (my favorite is the sauteed mushrooms). They also have great sangria and a good selection of wines

Cheesecake - Eileen's Special Cheesecake (17 Cleveland Pl). The cheesecake here is perfectly fluffy and not too sweet and not too sour. You can buy them in units of mini, which are about 3" in diameter, or in units of large, which are about 10" across. Plain is my favorite.

Italian - Max Soha (123rd St and Amsterdam) The restaurant is super cozy and the perfect place to enjoy a pot of Grandma's Lasagna.

Cookie - Levain Bakery (74th St between Amsterdam and Columbus) This place makes the Platonic ideal of a cookie. Warm, soft, and chewy; their chocolate chip cookie is to die for (it closes at 7pm)

Peking Duck - Mr. Tong's ((718) 897-8202, 9720 Queens Blvd) The chef here used to work at Tung Ching Garden, which was one of the best Chinese restaurants in NYC. Tung Ching Garden has since closed but the chef at Mr. Tong's continues to make a delicious peking duck with crispy skin and ample duck meat. They will also make the requisite duck soup with tofu and vermicelli from the leftover duck bones.

Cream Puff - Beard Papa's (Broadway between 76th and 77th) The cream puffs are light and airy and the cream is sweet and vanilla-y.

Chicken and Rice - Halal Guys (53rd and 6th, SE corner!) These guys serve the same food as the cart across the street but they are open during the day and have no line! Hurray. I like to get the mix of lamb/chicken with white sauce (so crucial!) and spicy sauce. I think they now also have a storefront downtown.

Denver, Colorado

When I first got to Denver, I did not really like it very much. The city was kind of grey and the 16th St looked like a standard run-down strip mall. But then I did some walking and Denver turned out to be super interesting! There are lots of great restaurants, bars, and interesting old buildings. It's also infinitely walkable, which I really like in a city. Here's a rundown of some of the awesome things I found.

Best food in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Since I'm leaving Cambridge, I thought I should compile a list of my favorite places to eat in the area (in no particular order and I'm using area in a broad sense):

Life Alive (at the corner of Mass Ave and Inman St) - Awesome vegetarian place (I think technically they are vegan). They really celebrate vegetables. I always get the Alchemist and a Ginger Crush (be forewarned, this is extremely gingery).


Hungry Mother (at the corner of Cardinal Medeiros and Bristol St) - Everyone loves this place including me. Their fried chicken is all kinds of glorious and the vegetables that come with whatever beef dish is on the menu somehow always turn out delicious (creamed corn, parsnip fries, etc.). The beef tongue starter is also great. They also give out tiny peanutty, chocolatey, oat squares with every check.

Best Food in Maui, Hawaii

We had some really good food in Maui. Below are some of the places we liked:

Koiso Sushi (808.875.8258) - this place serves some of the best sushi I have ever eaten in my life. They don't have a website, seat about 12 people around the sushi bar, and write all of their reservations on a wall calendar. It is fantastic. The chef serves extremely fresh fish and the most buttery uni ever. They make their own wasabi and it was slightly sweeter than what I was used to but still went very well with the fish. It's also quite cheap; dinner for two with beer came to ~$100. For desserts, we got these cute little packages of mochi wrapped up in lotus leaves. 

Hookipa Beach, Maui, Hawaii!

This beach is right outside of Paia and famous for its windsurfing. In the span of one day, you can watch surfers, windsurfers, and kite surfers. It's an awesome experience.

Bamboo Forest in Hana, Maui, Hawaii

We hiked the Pipiwai trail (a very easy hike) in Haleakala National Park which takes you through a bamboo forest. The section through the bamboo forest was one of the most peaceful places I have ever been. The hike ends at a waterfall where you emerge from under the trees into a valley with open sky. It really feels like you have arrived at the end of the world at the end of this trail.

We stayed at the Hamoa Bay Bungalow just outside of Hana. It was really wonderfully decorated with Balinese influences. The bungalow had a queen bed as well as an outdoor shower as well as a semi-outdoor tub (the tub is in an enclosed deck). It was also a short walk to Hamoa Beach. You can email hamoabay@maui.net for reservations.

Hana basically has no cell phone service so it is the perfect place to relax. We also found an excellent Thai place near the Hana community center: Pranee's Thai. 

Spending a 25th birthday at Harry Potter World, Orlando, Florida

We spent my best friend's 25th birthday in Orlando at Harry Potter World. The butterbeer was awesome! I wish more of the stores were real though... We also had the chance to wander around the rest of Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. The best roller coaster was the Hulk but I also have a special place in my heart for Dr. Seuss

We also had some really excellent food at Primo in Orlando.

Climbing Mt. Tripyramid in New Hampshire

Mt. Tripyramid is one of the four-thousand-footers in New Hampshire. It is a slightly challenging hike with a fairly steep rock wall and then a descent through loose rocks. Be sure to wear lots of insect repellent; I got some gnarly black fly bites.

Above the clouds at Mt. Tamalpais, California

We drove along Highway 1 north of San Francisco and made a short detour to go up Mt. Tamalpais; it's always a little bit shocking to drive through the rainy cloud line and emerge in the sun above the clouds.

Lazing around on Lopez Island, Washington

We spent the next couple of days on Lopez Island, where there are basically no people. The landscape is all flat rolling hills and farms with beautiful walks along rocky beaches. I even learned how to skip rocks at Agate Beach.

Hiking a mountain and meeting a troll in Seattle, Washington

It's important to know what kind of hike you are doing. For example, a pair of Converse is not appropriate for a 16-mile hike up Silver Peak in Snoqualmie National Forest. Ah well, the scenery was lovely and and my feet did not suffer too much. There is a beautiful lake where one can rest and have a picnic lunch in the middle of the hike.

We spent the end of the day in Fremont, a neighborhood with a Lenin statue in the town square and a troll sculpture under the main bridge, finishing with a great sushi meal at Chiso.