To My Favorite Chef...

Happy Father's Day to my dad who has inspired me in and outside of the kitchen. Who will do anything to see my dreams come true (which he has... i.e. I wouldn't be in NYC without him) and is the best chef I know. He cooks with love, passion and is always wanting to learn more. My favorite foods are home made by my dad and no one can do it better. He has spoiled me with taking me to amazing restaurants, teaching me to explore all types of cuisine and teaching me his skills (or tries to and I don't pay attention). I wish I had some cool vintage-y photo of my dad in the kitchen, but since I'm not home I'll have to make due with photos of some of my favorite dishes cooked by my dad.


(My dad at Five Guys for Dad's Day at Purdue)

Thanks dad for all the support you give me even when no one believes I can do it. For all the inspiration in the kitchen and giving me my love and passion for cooking and eating. And thank you for cooking me amazing food and taking me to great restaurants (even with the disapproval of mom :))


My dad's homemade Bolognese- he taught it to me and I hope I can pull it off. Nothing beats the smell of all the vegetables and herbs when he cooks it.


The large amounts of ramen I request.


Here with his homemade pork belly. Amazingggg!


With leftover steak.


My dad does not make me salad, but he makes an amazing roasted chicken that I request everytime I come home. It makes great leftovers that I put on salads.


The best breakfast maker ever (egg, sausage, spinach; potatoes in the background). Special Sundays called for frittatas or lox and bagels.

Last but not least... my dad makes the most amazing steaks ever. Who needs to go to a steak restaurant and spend $60 or more, when I can eat it perfectly cooked at home and have leftovers?

Birthday Treats.

So after an amazing dinner at Maialino for my birthday, dessert was still my pick. I'm usually not a big fan of dessert, but it was my birthday and I wanted to be able to indulge.

I picked Momofuku Milk Bar because I have always been so intrigued by the Momofuku (Lucky Peach) empire of David Chang. Since it was my "birthday," I decided to celebrate my life through sugar. I ordered the cereal milk soft serve and the crack pie. When David Chang means cereal milk... he means cereal milk. It literally tasted like the milk you drink after your done eating the cereal, but in soft serve form. It was quite refreshing, but I understand the small serving because personally it isn't something I could eat in large amounts, but still so interesting and David Chang innovation-esque. It's something you can't find anywhere else (including the rest of his desserts!) I hope to explore the Momofuku empire some more...

The crack pie was seriously like crack. I've never tried crack before (aren't you proud mom and dad), but I'm sure this pie is just as addicting. I can't really describe the taste, but it's something you want to just keep eating. You can taste the sugar, (large amounts of) butter, brown sugar and love that goes into this pie and you just want to keep on eating it. Its really indescribable, something you need to try for yourself and of course, become addicted.

This is a short post, but speaking of desserts: my cousin and recently stopped by Grom after a pizza dinner. I have read that Grom was listed as one of the best gelato in this city so naturally I had to try it. I eat everything and say it's research for "my blog." So even if no one reads this, it's here for a reason! I ordered the tiramisu gelato. Not only had I been craving tiramisu, but the names of the flavors were in Italian and I obviously can't read them and along with my bad eye sight, I could hardly read the descriptions (that were in English). I went with the tiramisu, but I was very happy with the results. My cousin ordered one of the three chocolate flavors... in confusion.

The tiramisu gelato included espresso coffee, biscuits and Teyunachocolate chips. I'm not sure what Teyunachocolate chips are, but they were damn good. I remember biting into the chocolate chips and thinking how chocolate-y and flavorful they were. They fit perfectly with the creamy coffee gelato and the great chunks of biscuits. Great textures all around.

So now I'm pleased and a little embarrassed to say I have eaten ice cream/soft serve/gelato from three of the best ice cream places in NYC. Otto, Momofuku Milk Bar and now Grom. I'm trying to hunt down the Coolhaus truck next for an ice cream sandwich. Hey, it's summer!


Cereal Milk Soft Serve.


Crack pie.


Grom. The confusing chocolate to the left, my tiramisu to the right. This is making me crave right now.

Coolhaus ice cream sandwiches, I'm coming for you!!!

1/7 Seven Deadly Sins.

If I had to pick one of the seven deadly sins that I am the best at, it would be gluttony (I would pick wrath for when anyone wakes me up from a nap...). I'm really great at over stuffing my plate, eating too much, usually going back for 2nds, 3rds, and pushing my stomach to the limits. The title of my blog says it all: Indulging Myself One Bite at a Time. Hey, I may even want to change it to [Over]indulging Myself One Bite at a Time.

This "trait" (for someone who likes to eat, I wouldn't call it a sin ;)) is shown best at a place like Maoz Vegetarian. While it prides itself on being healthy and light, it also creates a dangerous zone for people like me. It's pretty much a buffet line where you can order either a falafel sandwich or salad and go down the salad bar and stuff as much as you can in your sandwich or salad. Maoz has a 10% coupon for Mondays for their salad meal (I am also a sucker for any promotion!). I've heard pretty good things about Maoz too, so I was excited because of my new found love for falafel and all these Middle Eastern foods. I'm pretty obsessed now!!

You receive a container of lettuce and five falafel and then down the line you go, plus two add-ons that are included in the meal. I picked hummus and fried eggplant. The salad bar includes various salads like baba-ganoush, vegetable salad, coleslaw, red cabbage, beet salad, chickpea salad, corn salad, olives, tabouli, broccoli and cauliflower, (plus a lot more but this is what I got) and then various sauces (I'm obsessed with the garlic sauce). You bet I stuffed every type of salad and sauce in my box. I think the employees were pretty impressed.

All in all, I liked Maoz. Every bite you have something a little different and everything tasted fresh and clean. I especially liked the chickpea salad, beet salad and their hummus. It added such a creamy texture to the salad, so you didn't even need any type of dressing. Their falafel was pretty good too, crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. Even with the coupon, my meal was still $10, but after I polished the WHOLE thing off (more gluttony), I didn't even notice that it was dinner time 5 hours later. This can definitely fit as two meals. So Maoz, watch your buffet line because next time I come back, I'll be figuring out how to stuff way more stuff into my salad box (muhahahaha).


Gluttony at its finest. Currently making evil plans on how to stuff more next time... uh yeah the lettuce is down there somewhere.

The Older I Get...

The older I get, the better food I eat. Though getting older is not always my favorite thing, I try to look at the positives. I can now enjoy food that I could never enjoy if I was younger. Whether it's not being able to afford to eat at fine dining restaurants or not understanding how good food really is, it's something I am able to discover with age and I'm excited for that part of growing up. I recently celebrated my 23rd birthday and got to pick a restaurant of my choice for when my dad was in town.

I picked Maialino, Danny Myer's restaurant in the Gramercy Park Hotel. I had read really good reviews about the place and wanted to check out something new. It is a Roman-style trattoria with Roman-style cooking from Executive Chef Nick Anderer. When arriving, I instantly saw how beautiful this restaurant was with its rustic and checkered decorations. I felt more rustic country than in Rome though. Our waitress was very nice and informative and explained everything thoroughly. The menu includes a lot of small plates and a few specials that you share with either 2-4 people. I loved all the small details that totally ties the restaurant together like the water was served in glass bottles, waiters and waitresses in plaid button-ups and wine lists on clipboards. After much deliberation, we decided to order the Polipetti Affogati (seared octopus, ramps, black olives), Spaghetti alla Carbonara (black pepper, guanciale & egg), Maialino Al Forno (the special-suckling pig and potatoes for two) and a side of Rapini Strascinati (charred broccoli rabe, garlic & chili).

I was very excited for our meal. I seem to have a weird obsession with pork lately (as seen in Seattle and at Ippudo). Right when our waitress announced the Maialino Al Forno special for two people (it usually serves four), my eyes lit up with delight so we knew we had to order it. The octopus came out first. Before ordering, I asked if the octopus was chewy because with my jaw problems, I can't eat anything that needs too much chewing. Our waitress said no (and this is one of her favorite dishes) because the octopus is first braised and then cooked in a way so the outside is cripsy. This is exactly how it came out and I loved the texture of the octopus. The outside had a little crunch to it especially on the tentacles, but the meat was soft and flavorful. Plus, the sauce was great and so were the touches of little greens. This dish can make anyone an octopus fan! Next was the Spaghetti alla Carbonara which can come in so many different forms, so we wanted to see how Maialino does it. The sauce was great-the egg yolk and cheese, plus the guanciale (unsmoked Italian bacon) was perfection. Even dunked in all the sauce, the bacon was still crispy and flavorful. One little problem my dad and I found was that the pasta was a little al dente/under cooked, but that just maybe their style of cooking the pasta.

Lastly was the Maialino Al Forno and side of broccoli rabe. The suckling pig was paired with rosemary potatoes that were cooked and drowned in the pig's drippings. This was seriously heaven. Even though the potatoes were drowned in the drippings, they were still perfectly crispy and tasty. The pig itself was great, the meat was flavorful and tender and just fall-off-the-bone without the bone. One awesome part was the skin, it was like a chip, but with extra fat and flavor :). I have always been a fan of broccoli, so I of course liked the broccoli rabe. It's a twist between regular broccoli and Chinese broccoli.


Beautiful decor.


Very elaborate bread basket, with my dad in the background reading the wine list (on a cute clipboard!)


Polipetti Affogat-Octopus salad.


(taking lots of different views for each dish).


Spaghetti alla Carbonara.




Maialino Al Forno with the best potatoes ever.


If I could eat this everyday...


Broccoli Rabe.


In the middle of the restaurant- an open area with breads, desserts, etc.

All in all, couldn't ask for a perfect birthday dinner. I would love to come here again and enjoy more of the small dishes and would totally get the Maialino Al Forno again. I wouldn't mind being taken to nice restaurants every so often :). Next will be my birthday dessert at Momofuku Milkbar!

p.s. if my parents only knew how much I spent at Trader Joe's today for my first grocery store visit for my new apartment, they would kill me. Good food this week, instant noodles the next... Sorry budget!!!