Phobang Restaurant

One of the hardest things about leaving home to discover a new city is leaving behind all your reliable food shops for your favorite foods. Or at least it is in my case.

Especially moving to New York, the melting pot of the world. A city so diverse and filled with culture, you think it would be easy to find your favorite dishes, at even a better taste than the little places from home.

Unfortunately, thats not always so.

It took me forever to finally locate a decent Pho Restaurant (Prounounced Ph-A). I say forever because there have been a few times I’ve stepped foot inside certain restaurants in St. Marks for example and the price of a bowl of soup there was the price of two bowls at home.

Finally, my Vietnamese friend helped ease my pain. Being far from home in Cali, she had the biggest desire for her national soup, Pho. Like always after turning to our trusty source, Yelp.

After reading the reviews, we set out along with my suitemate to finally get our soup! Located in Flushing, Queens, home of all things Asia, we found our hero, the owners of Phobang Restaurant.

After driving around for fifteen minutes we finally found parking (negative). Good thing it was worth the wait. For $4.75 I got my big ol’ bowl of hot steamy Pho Banh Khong Thit . Which is rice noodles in beef soup. I prefer mine without meat, but I have tried it with meat and it is pretty good.

My friend got the Pho Ga Nuong which the rice noodle soup with a grilled chicken breast for $6.50 My suitemate had the Tai, which is rice noodles in beef soup with fresh eye of round for $5.75.

Question: Did the low prices affect the taste of the soup. Answer: Nope!

It tasted exactly as I thought it should. So if you’re new to Pho here is the basics.

You’re served a bowl of rice noodles in a beef stew. On one plate you’re given bean sprouts, Asian basil, mint leaves, lime and jalapeño. These can be added at your descretion. Then the fun part. Spicy! Spicy!

When I drink my Pho I am literally sweating. But I like mine spicy. There are two bottles of sauce in front of you. A red one, chili sauce and a brown one, Hoisin sauce. The red one is spicy and the hoisin sauce is a bit sweeter.

Don’t worry it doesn’t have to feel like a volcano is eruptting in your mouth, thats just my preference.

You can mix the two sauces until you get a desired taste. Which once you do I promise you, you will be more than satisfied.

The mix of herbs and spices really compliments the noodle, a taste you would probably get when ordering greasy chow mein, lo mein, etc.

The people at the restaurant are also very nice and polite. They even serve you complimentary tea, which is also really good.

Not a fan of soup? You can always stop by and grab other asian familiar dishes such as Fried rice, lo mein, and chicken curry.

I’m pretty sure everything on the menu tastes delicious if you just give it a try!

El Camion Cantina

Ok when I first started this blog my intentions was to list “cheap places” but I think this place is a must share! Usually when people think of Mexican they think Taco Bell and Chipotle. Chimichangas and Burritos. But no one ever really thinks Authentic Mexican Food. You know the stuff with really hot sauce thats NOT tabasco.

In DC, my favorite Authentic restaurant is Cafe Oxaca located in Adams Morgan. Here in New York, I found a new love tonight. El Camion Cantina in the East Village. Like Cafe Oxaca it is a bit pricey yes, but compared to a $6 meal at Taco Bell filled with fillers, its def worth the price.

After a night of aimless walking around because every Hookah bar was filled, all I wanted was tacos! Fresh handmade corn tortillas, grilled steak topped with cilantro, lime, onions and Hot Sauce. From a far I saw the big words “El Camion” and I automatically thought Spanish food.

Walking in the hosts were super friendly and even though it was like 12am on a Friday night and every other restaurant was packed, this one was surprisingly empty and were seated immediately. Their specials included duck tail and lamb chops. My friend and I decided to go for the Grilled Salmon and the Mole Poblano.

For a night that resulted in an Epic Fail this definitely made our night and the long ride into the city.

Grilled Salmon with cilantro rice, sauteed spinach and chipotle sauce: $18. I absolutely fell in love with this dish! My friend who ordered it left not so much as a grain of rice on her plate. The salmon was grilled just right and tasted absolutely amazing with the chipotle sauce.

The rice was so good too. When I read cilantro rice, I thought it was white rice garnished with cilantro but no this is literally green rice which tasted amazing in the chipotle sauce which compliments the portion of food by creating an island feel to it.

Mole Poblano; Chicken Breast in brown mole sauce, grilled cactus and red rice: $18. Although we’re not Mexican, my aunt knows how to make delicious green mole sauce. At Cafe Oxaca I learned that brown mole sauce is actually sweet and not spicy. So if you’re looking for spicy mole make sure to ask them to spice it up, they will gladly do it. And I am so glad I ordered this!

The proportions seemed to be very small. Enough to fill one person but the size of this chicken breast was Huge! Covered in brown mole and seeds from the chile peppers, I honestly felt bad leaving behind almost a half of a chicken because I couldn’t eat it all. The chicken was not dry and all. It was also very tender which makes cutting it easier. I don’t know what I loved most, the chicken or the cactus however. I have never tasted a more delicious cactus ever! It tasted almost like biting into a green mango, it was just delicious and juicy and went perfect with the rice and chicken.

The mole sauce itself was a perfect mix of sweet and spicy. Even though I prefer really spicy the taste combined with the taste of the cactus didn’t even make me miss the burning sensation after biting into a orange habanero pepper (which by the way do not try if you can’t handle the molten lava feeling)

For what its priced its def worth a visit. From the kindness of the staff to the presentation of the food to the taste, I am definitely going back to try the rest of the things on their menu which were just too appealing to miss!

Grilled SalmonMole Poblano

Georgetown Cupcake

Saturday marked the opening of the famous cupcake shop, Georgetown Cupcake in SoHo. Located on Mercer Street between Prince and Spring Street, the line for New Yorkers to taste the famed cupcakes was definitely expected. The star of the show, DC Cupcakes, Georgetown Cupcake certainly has a reputation to live up to.

As a Washingtonian having moved to New York, I was pretty excited to have a piece of home I desperately miss whenever I’m in New York. No who am I kidding, I was ecstatic! Especially being in the DC location a week before the SoHo opening, I almost collapsed right then and there when I was told “Next Saturday.” I don’t think I’ve ever walked into the store and walked away with less than three cupcakes.

From experience I can say that the lines depicted at the the show for the Georgetown location are definitely no lie. I believe that I’ve only been to the DC location once and didn’t have to stand in line out of all the lets say million times I visit.

So the question is, is all the hype necessary and is the company really doing that well to be open up a shop right in the middle of SoHo? The answer is “YES! You have to be insane not to love their cupcakes.”

Even though I haven’t tried every flavor, from the few I have I can say I will continue to be a loyal customer. At only $2.75 a cupcake here is only a glimpse of what you can expect to have:

Red Velvet Cupcake: My favorite. I dread trying the Red Velvet cupcake from shops such as Crumbs because I don’t want my experience to be tainted. BUT Georgetown Cupcake holds the prize for the best. A bite into it and you’re in heaven. With the bread being so moist and tasty, you’re bound to go back for more. The cream cheese frosting compliments the flavorful moist bread. Not to sweet and not too much, its complimentary taste ties up the Red Velvet into one word: YUMMY!

Coconut Cupcake: First & foremost, if you’re not giving me the actual coconut fruit don’t bother. So why am I including this in my review? Because I’d be crazy not to. My friend actually bought this one because I would never order it and let me say, I felt bad for him because he said one bite and I took like 4. (at least I have small bites). The coconut bread, their delicious cream cheese frosting topped with shredded coconut is definitely a trip to the islands in just one bite.

Strawberry Cupcake: One of their seasonal cupcakes offered only during the months of February and July, as well as on Sundays, is my second favorite on menu. A strawberry cupcake should actually have strawberries and not just food coloring to make it seem as if it does. At first bite of the cupcake you are faced with not just a vanilla cake but CHUNKS (big enough chunks for a cupcake) of strawberries! And the frosting?! Strawberry frosting and strawberries in the cake? Yes that’s definitely a strawberry cupcake alright. Amazing. I kid you not one bite and your initial reaction is “MMMM” Sundays are some of their busiest days but this cupcake is definitely worth waiting in line.

Only three of my favorite cupcakes at GC, I can say that having also tried the Carrot Cupcake, Chocolate Ganache and Chocolate Peanut Butter, amongst the three listed above they are all super moist and just sweet enough to not leave you feeling like they used an entire bag of sugar in one cupcake. I can’t wait until I can say I’ve tried everything from the menu.

My advice? WHY ARE YOU STILL SITTING THERE? If you don’t have your shoes on and ready to head out to a Georgetown Cupcake (if you’re one of the lucky people living in DC, MD, Boston or New York) then I’m ashamed of you! If you’re not so fortunate and living in oh I don’t know Kentucky maybe? Georgetown Cupcake generously has a delivery system to any part of the USA.

Oh one last word of advice? If you’re lucky enough to be near the Georgetown or SoHo location don’t go home without stopping by Pinkberry for some frozen yogurt that is the perfect compliment to a Georgetown Cupcake. Trust me I know. These two locations make a lot of business out of me!

Bon Appetite!

(Shown Above: Red Velvet (With red heart). Chocolate (Pink Heart). Coconut and Strawberry)

Sophie’s Cuban Cuisine

There it was. In bright yellow and red. Sophie’s Cuban Cuisine. 10am on a cold Tuesday morning in the Flat Iron District this felt like a piece of heaven so close yet so far.

After noticing the little restaurant I was intrigued but had to keep moving as I was heading to a volunteer session. Throughout the whole day thoughts of cuban cuisine were rattling in my head until the beautiful words “you guys can head to lunch whenever” were spoken, Sophie and I could finally meet.

Still though my first action before actually heading to Sophie’s was to do my usual research on Yelp. After reading a few reviews I learned that I had to try the breaded chicken platter as it was the most suggested dish on the site.

When first walking into Sophie’s customers are faced with the counter to the left where a buffet style bar was set up for quick carryout service as it was 1pm and very packed. At the back of the store was a small area of cramped tables filled with plenty of businessmen along with tourists, enjoying their meals.

After deciding my best bet was to just wait a bit for a table (which didn’t take longer than two minutes) since it was too cold to go sit outside at Madison Square Park, I was greeted by a smiling helpful waiter who was more than ready to answer my questions as well as take my order.

At first glance at the menu I learned that they offered big platters of food for $9 which included one entree and two sides. I was very tempted to try the breaded chicken but being away from home and missing Latin cuisine I was more interested in the Carne con papas (Beef Stew) they offer on Tuesdays than chicken with no sauce.

After the waiter brought my drink and was ready to take my order I still couldn’t actually make up my mind. I was stuck between the Beef Stew and el Sandwiche Cubano, which according to Sophie was the best in town.

Eventually I went with the Cuban. For $8.99 I could get a sandwich, rice and beans, and a soda. Not bad. Not bad at all.

The rice and beans were amazing. Oh! And they had a green sauce container at my table that I remembered from the Yelp reviews is a must! Perfection!

A lover of spicy food, I could not put down the green sauce despite the burning sensation in my mouth! I was almost tempted of putting it in my bag and taking it home. It was THAT good.

Less than 10mins later came my sandwich. Never had having a cuban before because I prefer saucy entrees over dry ones, I was not a big fan. The ham, cheese, pickles and bread was fine, it was just the Cubano pulled pork that wasn’t juicy enough for me. I ended up taking half of the pork off to make it less dry. Added some green sauce and we were in business!

Having heard such great things about Cuban sandwiches before I didn’t feel like this was what a Cuban needed to taste like. But I was not entirely dissatisfied with my meal.

Would I go back to Sophie’s again? Sure, why not? Cheap prices and decent amount of food. Would I get the Cuban again? Probably not. Would I recommend Sophie’s to a college student on a budget? Yes, definitely! The carryout portions of the food was hefty! Enough for leftovers.

Next time I pay Sophie a visit I will make sure to try the breaded chicken or the beef stew.

Oh, and try to convince the owner to let me bring home the bottle of green sauce, the perfect addition to rice and beans or almost any meal for that matter. 

Martha’s Country Bakery

“Can I have a red velvet cupcake, a strawberry ganache cupcake, a fruit tart, a slice of apple pie, a blueberry muffin and a scoop of your lemon gelato please?”

Yep. That’s exactly what my first order at this adorable bakery in Bayside Queens sounded like.

My first experience at Martha’s Country Bakery was amazing. Not only was I impressed and excited because I was placing this large order at 11:30 on a Sunday night.

As soon as my friends and I walked in we were immediately greeted by a smiling waitress to seat us which amazed me because a typical bake shop would just be in and out or seat yourself. Even though it was 11:30 at night the shop was filled row to row with many chattering customers sipping away on their hot drinks and enjoying their delicious deserts.

Now the fun part–deciding what to get! My sweet tooth is famous for being persistent and crazy. So when the cashier told me the total for my order was only $20, I was excited and everyone else was shocked at my decision. Like really? $20 for all of this in my bag! Now that’s what I call a deal!

Of course the taste was just as amazing as having cupcakes at midnight. Red velvet cupcakes are a must for me anywhere I go, so I am very happy to say that this certainly fits the par. Especially with a tall glass of milk, its love.

Everything was superb for that matter. I didn’t get around to the fruit tart until two days later and even still it tasted fresh. Certainly satisfies late night cravings or any cravings for that matter.

Located just a 10 minutes drive outside of St. John’s University Queens Campus, Martha’s is definitely a must for desert lovers. And the ambiance of the shop makes for perfect first date!