Whiskey Notes and Parachuting Fish

Is it true? You are what you eat? Growing up, my dad was always a plain meat and potatoes kind of guy. Thus, my taste buds have never strayed far… until now. In 1 Year, 10 Projects, 100 Discoveries, ten of the discoveries are different types of food. This post is part of that project. You can see all 10 foods here and the entire project here. Enjoy the flavors, I sure am!

New York City is a true mecca for gastronomy. In fact, there were so many food types on my list to eat that I didn’t even get close to crossing them all off. I guess that just means I’ll have to go back 🙂 Below are just a few of the highlights from my NYC food tour.

I was incredibly skeptical about Babycakes, a vegan and gluten free bakery. In fact, I was so skeptical that I crossed it off my list. But, I was told that even gluten free, it was completely worth it. The result? It indeed was some of the best vegan baked goods I’ve tasted. The Red Velvet cupcake was incredibly moist and the icing was just the right amount of sugar.

I love bagels. I especially love my very first NYC bagel experience so many years ago. The memory of it is still so vivid, except of course, the name of the place 🙁 This time, multiple recommendations came in for H&H Bagels. In fact, I was told it was the only way to go. I made the trek and even managed to get a hot and fresh one. While delicious, I didn’t think it lived up to all the hype. But, sadly, I didn’t have a chance to try another bagel elsewhere to compare it to.

I also have a huge sweet tooth with cheesecake being a weakness. Juniors was some of the best cheesecake I’ve ever had. It was so creamy and good that the original did fine all by itself – no fruit toppings or whacky ingredients to mask the taste needed. This is one cheesecake I’ll be going back for!

Last but not least, Katz’s pastrami on rye rounded out my tour. The deli made famous by the movie, When Harry Met Sally, was quite the NY deli experience. While the pastrami was delicious, the bread was a disappointment. The bread could be likened more to white bread than rye.

A hot dog from a street vendor, lots of pizza from hole in the wall places (my favorite) and leaf cookies rounded out my food tour. A special thank you to everyone, especially Adam, who provided me many a recommendation on where to find good eats!

Is it true? You are what you eat? Growing up, my dad was always a plain meat and potatoes kind of guy. Thus, my taste buds have never strayed far… until now. In 1 Year, 10 Projects, 100 Discoveries, ten of the discoveries are different types of food. This post is part of that project. You can see all 10 foods here and the entire project here. Enjoy the flavors, I sure am!

During one of the coldest times of the year, I decided to make the trek to Quebec City, Canada. When I’m in a new or even different city than my home town, I have one rule: NO eating at chain restaurants. I’ve never been able to wrap my head around the concept of “wasting” a meal eating at a chain restaurant like Applebee’s, when you could try a new place; a place you might not have the chance to eat at again.

True to form, while in Quebec I made sure to eat some traditional Quebec / French food. The cool part of almost every restaurant in Quebec is that they all have Prix Fixe menus that are a great deal! Often, you could get a 3-4 course meal for the price of just the entree.

The first place I stopped was Le Petit Chateau. Here, I found crepes galore. After a day of trekking around in the below 0 weather, I was cold and hungry. This quaint place with a giant chair of ice outside its doorway hit the spot. And, I’m glad I didn’t read any of the Yelp or TripAdvisor reviews beforehand. They all listed this place as having terrible food and service. But, I found it to be quite the contrary. While not the best meal, it was certainly a good one.

Dinner was another find that was neither on Yelp or Foursquare, Gambrinus. The place was quiet, the service excellent and after a wild night the previous day, this place was exactly what the doctor prescribed. Again, while not a meal for the record books, it was still a good one.

A well known Italian restaurant, Matto, rounded out my meal experience with an incredibly rich, Agnolotti, a ravoili-like pasta filled with veal.

My favorite Quebec “delicacy”? Carnaval food! I can’t remember what they called it, but it was a delicious and hot concoction of fried dough, chocolate, bananas and powdered sugar. I went for the banana option so I could claim it as a healthy, well balanced meal 🙂