Madison Square Eats

On the west side of Madison Square Park on Worth Square, Madison Square Eats (MSE) is a fabulous outdoor food fair. With booths from several of NYC's popular food establishments including Momofuku Milk Bar, Eataly, and Asiadog. Their website has the full list of vendors. I went with my boyfriend to increase the number of things we could try. So much of this post includes his opinions as well.

• MSE Website
• MSE is held from 11am-9pm everyday through June 1st.

Arancini Bros (Arancini: fried risotto balls $4)

• Carbonara Arancini: pancetta, carbonara sauce, and black pepper
• Crispy exterior with a creamy dense inside
• It was a bit salty but still delicious
• The bf said there wasn't enough pancetta
• I would definitely get one again to try another flavor

ASIADOG (1 hot dog $4.50, 2 hot dogs for $8)

• VINH: Vietnamese banh-mi style: aioli + pate + cucumbers + pickled carrot and daikon + cilantro + jalapeno
• The bf got these dogs, I just had a bite
• He thought the carrot and daikon was a refreshing compliment to the savory dog
• Although he said he couldn't taste much of the other toppings, it was overall delicious

• WANGDING: Chinese BBQ pork belly + onions
• An equally delicious hot dog with a sweet and savory taste
• The pork belly was very tender with a smooth and tangy hoisin-like BBQ sauce
• Bf: pork on beef is delicious all the time

Roberta's Pizza & Asiadog

Roberta's Pizza (pizzas $8-9)

• Bee Sting Pizza $9: mozzarella, soppressata, chili oil, honey
• They use a real pizza oven so it has that great charred taste
• The crust was thin, crisp, and delicious
• Honey on a pizza may sound weird but it goes well with the chili and salty soppressata, yum

Roberta's portable pizza oven

The Cannibal Beer and Butcher (local beers and meat dishes at varying price)

• Pig's head Cuban sandwich $10
• Another of the bf's picks
• A traditional Cuban with chopped pieces of delicious meat from the head
• There are yummy little cartilaginous bits of goodness
• The bread was great with the perfect crunch
• This Cuban was also fairly large and can easily be shared

The Cannibal Cuban

Hong Kong Street Cart (buns, dimsum, and other Asian snacks at varying prices)

• pork bun $4: pork belly, cucumber, green onion, hoisin
• My bf loves Momofuku's pork buns so he used this as his base of comparison
• In general, it wasn't as good as Momofuku's because the pork was less tender and juicy
• It didn't melt in your mouth the way Momofuku's does
• Kinda expensive for the one bun you get

• Snowflower Ice $6
• Very similar to Shave Ice but the ice has some flavor already in it. Also when it is shaved it looks very different from ice shavings, more ribbony.
• I chose the milk ice with passion fruit syrup, azuki beans, and mochi balls.
• This was more icy and less creamy than others I have had before in Hawaii
• It was still quite delicious and perfect for the warm day
• You get a lot for your money, you definitely want to share this

Snowflower Ice

To sum up, you'll find great food at MSE. If you're in the city I suggest checking it out. Be sure to bring plenty of cash, a friend, and your eating pants. You can easily spend $20 per person, but you will be stuffed. 

New Discoveries!

This past weekend I went on a little trip to Chicago.
This post documents my findings.
However, none of these are actually in Chicago ;)

COFFEE
While waiting for my flight to O'Hare , I began searching for some coffee in the American airlines terminal of LaGuardia airport. This terminal has terrible options by the way. I came across this little place called Healthy Gourmet. Their coffee selection was nothing special, but I was intrigued by their french press cups.

Healthy Gourmet french press cup

In previous posts I have talked about my love of the french press method of coffee preparation. It is so simple, the coffee is freshly brewed, and you can control the strength.

I had never seen the french press in this form before. To have an individually brewed portable cup of  french press coffee is a genius idea. You never have to wonder how long ago your cup of coffee was actually made. This cup really should be more widely available.

see the pressed down filter inside

The barista at Healthy Gourmet puts coffee grounds in the bottom of your cup then adds hot water and milk/sugar as desired. The french press filter is in the lid. You wait only a minute or two and then you press down the filter. There is also a filter attached to the opening on the lid that you drink out of. This prevents any loose coffee grounds from getting out.

I have to admit though the coffee was terrible. They don't use good quality coffee beans. It tasted bitter and very harsh. I need better cafes to start using these french press cups. We need to start a coffee cup revolution!

Side Note:

I went to Chicago (actually outside Chicago) for the Midwest Token Kai, which is a Japanese sword and antique show. If you're interested in this, the next show is in San Francisco  http://www.ncjsc.org/SF_token_kai.htm. 

Also go buy stuff from my parent's business http://www.togishi.com/.

BUBBLE TEA

The hotel where the sword show was held is conveniently located right across the street from the Woodfield Mall in Schaumberg, Illinois. Apparently this is suppossed to be one of the largest malls in America, but I didn't find it to be that big. It has the weirdest configuration. Stores on the same floor are at different heights from each other. There was also a random mezzanine level. I can't even describe the awkwardness of the layout. Nevertheless, as I was walking through the mall, I found this:

Chill Bubble Tea

Apparently everything they serve is blended with various real fruit and other flavor options. I was surprised to see they offered avocado. I have only really seen this being offered in Hawaii, I think. I have always been intrigued and wanted to try this flavor. 

I ordered: Avocado Banana bubble tea:

• Taste: perfectly blended, very creamy, well balanced fruit flavors. It actually kinda tasted like a vanilla cookie. I don't know how else to describe the taste.
• Boba: the right consistency of soft and chew, but the boba doesn't have its own flavor. Just a textural addition to the drink.



Avocado Banana YUM

• Price: regular 16oz. size $5.00 

First off this was delicious. I was surprised to find damn good bubble tea in this mall. I don't know anything about the quality or quantity of bubble tea in the Schaumberg, Chicago, or Midwest regions. I guess Chill Bubble Tea attests to the growing popularity of my favorite beverage.

The bubble tea was really good, I just wish the boba had some of its own flavor, even just a hint of sweetness. Also I thought the price was high. To pay $5 for a bubble tea I expect to get something at least three times this size. Okay not really three times, but somewhere around 20-24 oz. For the size to price ratio, Chill is the most expensive bubble tea place I have been to. I'm not sure why their prices are so high, maybe it is their location in a region with low bubble tea demand. Also the mall was practically empty when I was there, so maybe Chill doesn't have many customers.

Well I guess what I have learned from this discovery is that you might find a great bubble tea shop in the most unlikely of places.

4 out of 5 bubbles.

P.S. 

Happy Lei Day!!