My friend Mitch and I were exploring the Lower East Side when we walked by an old bakery. Mitch stopped dead in his tracks, which threw me off a bit because he had been working a fast sprint the entire day. This is obviously due to the power of a knish. And not just any knish. This place is heralded as having the finest knish in Manhattan.
This is Yona Shimmel Knish Bakery on the Lower East side. It's been here over 100 years.
Do you know what a knish is? I didn't. I am a Presbyterian girl from Tennessee. Knish was never part of my vocabulary.
Obviously, this sign was strategically placed in the bakery for people like me.
A knish is a thin dough shell filled with potato or buckwheat groats (kasha) and finely chopped onion, but the ingredients run the gamut from spinach to blueberry cheese.
Mitch said I had to try one. And since I am not one to turn down an invitation to eat, and since it also meant we could sit down instead of continue our race through the streets, I agreed to order the blueberry cheese knish.
It was quite different than I expected. It's doughy and not very sweet. But it was really good. I'd definitely eat one again. Shocker. I know.
But what I loved the most was the actual bakery. When you walk in it seems time has stood still. There was such a sense of history lingering in the air. It's over 100 years old and has the original dumbwaiter in place to bring the knishes up from the basement ovens.
Old photos and newspaper clipping line the walls.
And a subtle reminder to tourists about tipping:
Our time was up and we had to head out to our next destination. But Mitch took my picture as we were leaving.
It's obvious that I am thrilled to no longer be a knish virgin. It's also obvious that I watched a few too many episodes of Wheel of Fortune during my formative years.
Rod took our boys to Shake Shack on the Upper West Side for a guys night out. I thought it would be nice for Lily and I to go somewhere, too. A girl's night out. The only thing she was upset about was that the boys got Daddy and she was stuck with just me. I guess she is prepping for her teenage years when she wakes up one morning and tells me I am the one who is ruining her life.
Anyway, Lily and I walked a couple blocks to Yorkville Creperie. I have to tell you that walking to restaurants is one of my favorite things about living in the city. It's nice to walk and talk instead of drive and break up fights in the back seat.
Lily had never even tasted a crepe before. So the entire walk went something like this:
Lily: What's a crepe? Me: It's like a pancake. Only better. Lily: OK. Where's daddy? Me: With your brothers. Lily: What's a crepe? Me: It's like a pancake. Only better. Lily: OK. Where's daddy? Me: With your brothers. Lily: Oh....Can you tell me what a crepe is again?
I finally gave up and told her it was delicious. She would love it. And it would change her life. The end.
As soon as we were seated, Lily pulled out all the sugar packets and asked me to play a game. It's the same game she always wants to play in a restaurant. The problem is...there are no rules. Well, there are rules, but only she knows them. And she changes them constantly to throw you for a curve. It's a little game I like to call insanity. She loves this game. I am not a fan of this game. I quickly ordered a glass of wine.
Then I looked up and noticed the crepes were being made right there at the bar counter- behind a little wall of glass. I grabbed Lily away from her evil game of Sugar Packets and plopped her down in front of the crepe chef.
She was mesmerized. Her mouth fell open and she proclaimed that she felt like she was IN A COOKING SHOW. From her excitement you would have thought she was in Pat and Gina Neely's TV kitchen. By the way, "Down Home with the Neely's" is Lily's favorite cooking show. I'm assuming this is due to their extensive use of pork in every recipe. My girl loves her pork.
Our dinner crepes came and they were mouthwatering. Lily ordered a cheese and ham crepe. Surprise, ham! And I ordered the bruchetta crepe. We moaned after every single bite. It was delicious. Once we were done, I told Lily that if she thought that was good, she should try a dessert crepe. She laid her head down on the counter and sighed. It was all too much for her.
But I did order a dessert crepe. With strawberries. And dark chocolate. And whip creme.
Lily took one bite, looked at me and said, "Is this a dream?" To which I replied, "No, but I'm sure it is similar to heaven."
Once we were home, Lily began to re-live the experience and tell the boys about it.
"OH.MY.GOSH. YOU HAVE NO IDEA! THE CREPES. THE CREPES. THEY WERE UNBELIEVABLE, YOU GUYS!"
And then I heard her in the shower singing this. A little love song about crepes. Enjoy.
Last week was restaurant week in NYC which means restaurants across Manhattan were offering special prices so common folk like me could have a chance to dine there. New York really does have unbelievable restaurants even though my favorite restaurant might just be the little bagel shop that delivers fresh bagels to my door every Sunday morning. I can be low-maintenance if I try.
Rod and I had a great time pouring over the list of participating restaurants, trying to figure out where to make a reservation. We wanted to pick a place we knew we would never normally be able to go on a date night due to the menu prices. So we settled on Del Posto. It's a chic upscale Italian restaurant owned by this guy.
Mario Batali
Anyway, we were so excited for the night to arrive. We knew the food was going to be great. I get rather excited about good food. Almost as excited as I do when Bravo comes out with a new reality show. But this night was going to be about food and I was recording Bravo, so the excitement was HIGH.
The restaurant is gorgeous. Very fancy, but without being stuffy. There is also a piano playing in the background which makes it rather romantic. It's one of those places where glasses are clinking, and you feel you are somewhere pretty special. It's not the Olive Garden.
We were seated at a lovely table in the balcony, which gave us a great view of the whole restaurant. The hostess gave us our menu and I told her we were there for restaurant week, so could we please have the special menu. Then she said it. It was like a movie in slow motion and in one of those utterly deep, dark voices.
"I'm sorry. We only offer the restaurant week menu for lunch. Not dinner."
Our hearts sank but we decided to just go for it anyway. A once in a lifetime opportunity. It's been a tough few weeks and we really needed a nice evening out.
Let me just say, we were not disappointed. The food. AMAZING. The service. UNBELIEVABLE. I lost count as to how many people served our table. Plus, they brought new silverware for every single course. And we ordered a five course meal. Here's a few pics taken with our camera phone.
My mouth is watering just looking at these pictures again. It was one of the best meals of my life. Thanks Rod! Totally worth the price- even though I refused to look at the final bill when it came. I let my date pay for it. I'm an old fashioned girl.
If you are ever in NY and have a special occasion to celebrate- you must check this place out!
I decided to go to the park with Lily this afternoon. But by the time we started walking down the street, I decided it would be a lot more fun to go eat something. This was an easy sell for Lily. She is always ready to eat. I have taught her well.
We went to the cutest little tea shop. It's called Alice's Tea Cup. There are 3 of these in Manhattan and one is just 3 blocks from our apartment.
The tiny shop is just adorable. Whimsical decor and mismatched china. Lots of teas (brewed in the cutest little pot at your table), great soups and sandwiches...and the scones. My word, the scones. I have never tasted anything so delicious. Lily ate hers, then sighed and said, "I wish I could start all over again." Let's just say she doesn't have that same reaction to zucchini.
Lily ordered the Wee Tea. It's off their kid's menu. It came with her own pot of tea, served with a tower of treats. She selected the berry scone, the chocolate mousse, and chicken fingers. I tried to tell her that chicken fingers was really not proper etiquette for a tea and that she should order the little sandwiches instead. She refused. The girl loves her chicken fingers. I couldn't even get her to put down them down for a picture. At that point I think she was just rubbing it in.
We had a lovely afternoon tea together. It was the perfect girl time - except for when she decided to change all the rules to the game 20 questions. I'm a tad competitive and as you can imagine, this threw me off a bit.
When it was over, Lily said:
"Do you what my favorite thing to do is, Mom?"
"No, what is it, Lily?"
"Anything with you."
Melt my heart and someone get this girl some more chicken fingers.
This might sound charming. It may even conjure up images in your mind of our little family skipping down the streets of Manhattan singing all the way to church. That's the way it goes in my head, too. When I dream.
The reality was the air was a brisk 20 degrees and I couldn't feel my face by the time we stepped into church. Plus, the sibling bickering that happens in a car on the way to church totally still happens walking down the sidewalk. I'm guessing it would still happen if each child had their own unicorn to ride to church, too.
Church was great. It was peaceful and refreshing. Pastor Tim Keller gave an amazing message.
It was Jackson's first time there. I asked him how he liked his class and he said, "I didn't hate it. Plus I actually learned stuff from the Bible at this church." Not sure what book he learned from at other churches, but I'm making a mental note to start checking into that a bit more.
When we picked up Lily, her teacher said, "Lily was great today. She is so methodical." Me: "Uhh....What?" Teacher: "She's so disciplined." To which Lily replied, "What's disciplined?"
First of all, I'm always shocked when Lily is able to pull this off with total strangers. How can she be so disciplined at church and not so disciplined at home? (Don't email and tell me the answer to this. I will be humiliated.) Second of all, the fact that she's not sure what the word disciplined means could be where some of our miscommunication stems from.
Do you know what we found after church?
A waffle truck. Yes. It is a truck that makes waffles. Hot, crispy, tasty waffles with all sorts of delicious toppings.
The truck moves around the city and tweets their location so you can find them. I have added them to my twitter list. Wouldn't you if you were here? Something about always knowing where I can find delicious Belgian waffles makes me warm inside. I'll let you know if this gets out of hand.
For those of you who don't know about this New York treasure, Serendipity is the cutest little ice cream shop you have ever seen.
They have real food, too, but their desserts are out of this world. They are famous for their frozen hot chocolate. We planned on getting that for dessert, but our very persuasive waiter said it was more of tradition to start your meal off with that. I chose not to argue and ordered 3 for our little table.
Obviously, Lily is concerned about the rate I am sipping. She knows me well. And she has every right to be concerned. I am a selfish frozen hot chocolate sipper.
Did you know they also have a dessert sundae that costs $1000? Yes, $1000. I had to promise Rod before I left home that I would not order one. But doesn't it look delicious? And shiny?
It's called the Golden Opulence Sundae and is known as the “world’s most expensive sundae.” I prefer to call it "a year supply of Bobbie Brown makeup" or "what you should be saving for your child's college education" sundae.
It is made with two scoops of rich Tagutuan vanilla bean ice cream infused with Madagascar vanilla. Then it’s covered with an edible 23k gold leaf and drizzled with Amedei Porceleana, the world’s most expensive chocolate. You eat it from a Baccarat crystal goblet (which you can actually take home) with a 14-karat gold spoon. I think for that price it should also include some liposuction to suck it back out of you after you eat it.
I'm not trying to be bossy, but you definitely need to visit Serendipity if you are ever in New York. Call them a few weeks ahead so you can get a reservation though. Otherwise, you will probably have to wait outside for hours. And who really wants to do that?
If you can't get to the city anytime soon, you can also purchase their frozen hot chocolate mix here and make it at home.
Posts
