Time for more food!

We ate at Ess-a-Bagel for breakfast, which I talked about on the last post about food, so it's time to review a few different places today

Upper West Side - Shake Shack

After walking down 5th Avenue and exploring the American Museum of Natural History, we worked up an appetite. Thanks to Google Maps, we were able to locate the closest location of this go-to places highly recommended by my friend, Jeanne.

Based on the outside stanchions, you could tell that the line sometimes exceeded the space within the building itself. We were kind of lucky. There were no lines out the door in the snow, but there were lines for the tables inside. This little girl played with my jacket while she waited.

Shake Shack has a pretty basic menu, and includes variations of burgers and shakes. Duh, but they also had chicken sandwiches, hot dogs, and some treats for your dog(!). After placing our order and waiting in line for a table it was time to try this New York favorite.

And oh my god it was good. In fact, I would even say that I like it better than In-N-Out. Yes, I'm very aware those are fighting words, as evidenced by my LA brother's response to my Facebook status. I got the ShakeBurger, which is a basic cheese burger. To me, cheeseburgers are the best measuring stick for burger places. This one hit the spot. The bread is sweet and tastes a little like King's Hawaiian Sweet Bread. Cheese was melty, and the vegetables had such a crunch. I fell in love.

Tam almost ordered the 'Shroom Burger because it has a deep Portobello mushroom stuffed with muenster cheese and cheddar. Fortunately, the cashier recommended that he change his order to the Shake Stack because his original choice was a veggie burger. He also added bacon. It's my burger plus the mushroom+cheese patty, and it was also very good! Cheese was super gooey, and the sauce just accentuated everything.

While we didn't get shakes this time around, we knew we would be back.

Upper West Side - Ladurée

The reason we walked through the snowy Central Park was because I wanted to try this well-known macaron place. The store itself is adorable! Everything looked cute and it was packaged well. The storefront is small, but ordering was quick and easy.

I actually didn't get to eat these until after dinner. We got the following flavors:

Salted Caramel
Dark Chocolate
Vanilla
Pistachio
Orange Blossom
Cherry Morello (Seasonal Flavor, I don't really remember if this was it...)

Either way, we tried it and it wasn't bad. I mean, it wasn't great either. The texture was right, but I thought it was a bit sweet. The flavors were good, but I think I've had better flavor combinations. Anyway. I checked it off my list and don't have to try it again.

Chinatown - Nom Wah Tea Parlor

We met my mom's childhood friend, Gigi, in Chinatown for this place. The reason we tried it because I've never had soup dumplings, and Tam wanted to try some Chinese food. Also, part of it was inspired by this video.

The story of Nom Wah Tea Parlor in New York's China Town neighborhood is very much a history of the city itself. Opened in the early 1900s on Doyers Street, Nom Wah sits on one of the first blocks of the then-newly-emerging Chinese community in Manhattan.

It has pretty standard dim sum fare otherwise, and only takes cash... So be prepared. Anyway, we ordered things like the shrimp in rice paper, steamed pork buns, and a few other things. I thought it was alright, I know the video was by HYPEBEAST, but you don't always have to believe all the hype.

Gigi so nicely pointed out, "You can tell it isn't good if there aren't any Chinese people eating here."

It was true. There weren't any. Though dinner was miss, we headed somewhere else after.

Chinatown - 10 Below ice cream

A five minute walk lead us to this Chinatown ice cream spot. Gigi's nieces love this place, so it came highly recommended. Around the time we went, Sweet Creams 808 was opening up at home... With long lines. At least this way, we had a chance to try rolled ice cream.

The place is small but super cute. I really enjoyed it. While they had some set combinations, the toppings were unlimited. We got a Matcha Made in Heaven and added condensed milk, blueberries, and Oreos. Except... It was one Oreo.

Anyway, the flavor was super good and it was soft. I definitely think it helped that it was cold outside because the ice cream retained its shape and texture.

I think that's it for today!