Im really gonna miss my friend Momo when she permanently moves to London. She knows the coolest places to eat! She’s like a walking Zagat survey! She has seriously eaten at every restaurant in Manhattan. Its a wonder that SHE isnt the one with the food blog.

After we had dinner with a bunch of friends the other day, we went to this really cute dessert bar called “ChikaLicious”. Everything about that place is cute and tiny (except the prices)! That place is so small you have to take baby steps when you enter. If you step too big you’ll end up behind the counter. People dont seem to mind being piled up on top of each other, sitting on eachothers laps if they have to. They’ll sacrifice their comfort just to get a little taste of one of those cupcakes. And thats all youll get if you buy one of those cupcakes, A little taste!

Theyre so small that I cant really classify them as cupcakes! Maybe they should call em DIXIE Cupcakes. It annoys me when I see people eating them with forks. THEYRE TWO BITES! Maybe 3 if you’re dainty! COME ON PEOPLE! I bet these are the same people who eat their snickers with a knife and fork.

What makes up for it is the fact that the cakes are small but the taste is BIG! Those are some the most moist, fluffy, delicious cupcakes I’ve ever had. They ALMOST give Tonnie’s Minis a run for their money! I say almost, because Tonnie’s Minis are delicious, bigger, AND cheaper! So they win by default!

One itty bitty cupcake in ChikaLicious is $1.75. That sounds cheap but when you see how small it is, you’ll think again. A “Premium” cupcake is $2.50! Premium cupcakes are the exact same size as the regular cupcake but they have a filling. Caramel has a caramel filling, Strawberry shortcake has a strawberry filling etc. I would really like to taste the Smore’s cupcake! Those look great! I will visit that store until I have tried every cupcake and when Im done trying them all, I will do it all over again! So far I’ve had the coconut (my fave), the vanilla, and the almond. Im not overly fond of the almond because the toppings are too crunchy. The almond is good but its not a favorite.

They have other desserts like Custards and “Adult Chocolate Pudding”. Cant wait to find out what the pudding is like. I was tempted to try it the other day, but I thought I’d better slow down considering I had already eaten 3 cupcakes and was eyeing a cookie! Their Chocolate Chip cookies are fantastic. I actually like their chocolate chip cookies better than Insomnia Chocolate chip! And thats saying a lot because these cookies werent even warm! But theyre so good, they still warm your insides.

I love their cute little birthday cakes. They look so yummy. When I say little I mean it. Theyre 10 bucks and theyre about the size a real cupcake should be! LOL…Im exaggerating a little but not much. One birthday cake can be eaten by one person seriously. I would love this place much more if the prices were a little more reasonable but they have a bunch of cute desserts and snacks and I am determined to try each and every one of them regardless of the cost. So expect an updated blog post.

The only thing thats missing from ChikaLicious is a staff with personality. You would think such a cute, quaint place would have cute quaint employees but what I’ve found each time Ive gone there (3 times so far) are employees who seem a bit annoyed by the customers and by the fact that they have to be there. I guess I would be annoyed too if I was selling cupcakes from a closet. If they made the place double the size, I think everyone would be happier. They dont need to make it any bigger than that though. If they make it any bigger than that, it might lose its charm!

East Village
13 Saint Marks Place
New York, NY
(212) 777-0606

Went to Pho32 the other day! That place is so much fun! If youve never had Shabu Shabu, you have to try it at least once! Even if you dont like cooking! Shabu Shabu tricks you into thinking cooking is fun!

Shabu Shabu is this whole experience! The tables have these little circles in them that are kinda like little hot plates. The waiter brings you this little pot filled with broth, and puts it on the hot plate. Then when it starts boiling, they bring you a plate full of veggies, and thinly sliced meats of your choice (chicken, pork, beef, or seafood)…then you put it all into the pot and let it boil! As the steam and aromas come up you have a good time laughing and joking with your friends!

I recommend you ask for some raw onions and garlic to season it up even more. The Shabu Shabu also comes with a variety of sauces for dipping your meats and veggies in. The sauces are good but once I season mine up with the onions and garlic, I dont even need the sauces any more. Their rice is great! I think they put sesame oil in it, which gives it extra flavor. I like to put rice, and my cooked meat and veggies into a bok choy leaf, roll it up and eat it like that! its great! If you dont like rice you can order it with noodles. But I am a rice fiend! I think I could live for years on a desert island with just rice! I’d be fat as hell but I’d be alive.

Pho32 is a great place to have a Shabu Shabu experience, but when you get there make sure you ask them if the table works! They love to sit people at tables, you get your mouth all set for some Shabu Shabu, then when you order it, they tell you the table doesnt work! How the hell are you running a Shabu Shabu joint with some broke ass tables? Thats like having a barbecue with no grill! Pho32 please get it together! I thought that the tables were broken at the 32nd street location because they were old, but the St. Marks location is new, so whats your excuse?

I went with a group and we were scattered all across a long table because some of the little stoves worked and some didnt. We almost looked like we were eating by ourselves…luckily a few more friends came to fill in the gaps and were smart enough not to order Shabu! Aside from the raggedy tables we had a great time. I love putting all the ingredients in, watching it all boil up..I love smelling the aromas! I love the control I have over my food! I can cook it for as little or as long as I want!

I liked this place so much that I went back the next day and took my mom. She had a great time. She loved the coffee they brought to the table. It was brewing in its own cup! Even the coffee cooks at the table! haha. I ordered the same thing the next day that I ordred the day before and I noticed that I didnt have any eggs. That leads me to believe that the eggs I was eating belonged to someone else’s order. SORRY FOR EATING YOUR EGGS! Especially considering there were 3 eggs and I ate two of em lol. BTW If you crack an egg in your pot, dont panick! It will start to boil so much that it looks like its about to boil over, so dont crack the egg in there if you have more than half a pot full of broth. To be safe maybe you should just boil the egg whole. Everyone might hate you for stinking up the place with a boiled egg, but at least your pot wont boil over.

These Shabu joints have a nice little hustle going on dont they? Theyre charging you 15 to 18 dollars for a bunch of raw food and making you cook it yourself! And they got the nerve to take FOREVER to bring the meat! We kept asking “wheres the meat? wheres the meet?” I felt like I was in a Wendy’s commercial! WHERES THE BEEF?! I mean seriously, why did it take so long? Its not like they had to cook it! Were they out hunting?

But seriously, they think their slick dont they? Im gonna open up a Shabu Shabu in the hood! Instead of broth Im gonna put some oil in those bad boys, and bring around slices of raw meat and flour so people can fry it up! Everyone will sit at those tables with pots of sizzling meat getting popped in the face with grease talkin about OOOOH THIS IS FUN! People are crazy as hell! I just might be onto something!

By the way, if you have your hair pressed, Shabu Shabu might not be the meal for you! With all that steam, you will go in there with a press & curl and come out with an afro!

Aside from the Shabu Shabu, I really enjoyed the appetizers, ESPECIALLY the fried shrimp balls! Those were so good, I had to order another. Dont look at me that way! I shared it with the group! We had a great time, eating and drinking! Sidebar: Pho32 does not have a liquor license so if you wanna get your drink on, you have to BYOS (Bring Your Own Sake!). And when you invite your friends to meet you at Pho32, make sure you say “Pho32″ and spell out the ” p-h-o” because someone thought I was saying “432″ like I suddenly got a country accent and started pronouncing “four” FO’.*smh* lol

541 Laguardia Place
New York
(212) 477-5700

This is just a quick post to let you know to check out Rhong Tiam if youre looking for a cute, cozy bar/lounge type of place to get a few drinks and chow down on some appetizers! The place is really adorable inside! The funny thing is, the place is so cute, I used a photo of the interior for my twitter background before I even knew what this place was.

The other night I went to meet up with my friends, walked in and said HEY THIS PLACE LOOKS FAMILIAR! HAHA! What a coincidence!

Rhong Tiam is actually a Thai Restaurant. I havent tried their food yet because I just went in there to meet up with friends and have a few drinks. We had some appetizers, fried cauliflower (delicious) and some calamari! I was told the calamari was great. I dont eat calamari so I will take their word for it. Other appetizers were ordered but they took so long to come that I left before they got there.

The place is really cute, but dont go there if youre in a hurry because they take all day to bring EVERYTHING! And dont let the waitress recommend things to you because she doesnt know wtf shes talking about! Stick to your gut! If you see something on the menu that you want, GET THAT! Dont let the waitress recommend something that she likes better because obviously her taste buds are on vacation.

I was gonna order the banana sticky rice but she recommended the Mango Flan and told me how delicious it was! So instead of sticking to my guns I listened to her! Note to self: Never order FLAN from a Thai restaurant! FLAN IS A LATIN DISH! Sticky rice is a Thai dish. They need to stick to what they know! That flan tasted like breakfast! All I needed was some bacon and hashbrowns. They tried to doll it up and make it look cute with fancy sculpted sugar on top and fancy sauce, but that wasnt nuttn but a damn egg! It tasted like pure egg and had the nerve to be 6 dollars. Did I just pay 6 dollars for a damn egg? The sticky rice was 4 dollars. She must not know what Flan is supposed to taste like, if she did, she wouldnt have said that mess was good. If you didnt know what it was supposed to taste like, I guess u could say it was good. But it wasnt good flan.

Other than that I think the place is cute. And it seems like a chill place to hang out and sip at cocktails and munch on appetizers. I would definitely go back! I would just be sure not to get any latin dishes! lol FYI I went to the one on 2nd ave.

I had a great time at dinner with friends last night! We had a little “welcome home” dinner for one of my friends who just returned “home” from London for a visit. Do you know she had the nerve to abandon us by moving there?! How dare she! Dont you hate when your friends move away, but the annoying people that you want to slap always seem to stick around? Why is that?

Anyway, we went to Boka! Its right on St. Mark’s place. I really like this place! Its spacious enough not to be considered small, and if youre in a large group, they put you in a cute little cubby-like room of your own! Its like having your own private party with wait staff!

The food is great! Ive never had a full meal there, I usually stick to appetizer type foods because theyre more fun. The main dish that people go there for is the BonChon Chicken. Its almost weird to go there and not order it. I’ve made a post before about BonChon Chicken when I reviewed “Mad For Chicken”. Its the same kind of chicken but to me “Mad For Chicken” is better. Mad For Chicken makes crispier chicken and they put more sauce on it. But if you dont feel like going all the way to Koreatown, Boka is great for second best. Another cool thing about Boka is the Happy Hour all you can eat chicken and beer special! For 23 dollars you can have all the chicken and beer you want! U HEAR THAT LUDACRIS!?

Honestly, the chicken and beer all you can eat special is fun, but it seems like they half ass it a little on the chicken when you do the special. I like my chicken extremely well done. And though the chicken was cooked all the way through, I would have liked some of it to be a little more cooked. Also, one round of chicken felt like it was luke warm. This doesnt fly when all the previous rounds were so hot, you could hardly even pick them up with your bare hands.

I guess we were eating the chicken too fast for them to keep up? NEWSFLASH: When you have “all you can eat” specials, you have to expect the HOMER SIMPSONS of the world and be prepared for these things! I had to send the luke warm pieces back and have them cooked a little more. My friends told me that I probably pissed off the waiter by sending it back and most likely the new chicken would be laced with piss or some other bodily fluid. HA HA VERY FUNNY! Whats funnier is that when the new chicken arrived, they were the first ones grabbin at it!

Boka also has really great sushi rolls! My favorite is the “Crab and Shrimp Roll”. My friend also got this really good roll that had beef in it. I think it was called a Bul Go Gi Roll! It was delicious! The beef was really tender! I didnt even know that rolls with beef in them even existed. I cant wait to try some of the other rolls.

As for drinks, aside from beer we had leechi soju. Im not a drinker but I liked this a lot! I had 3 shots of it (which is a lot for me) and ate one of the Leechis! Another time I went there, I had watermelon soju which is a lot of fun to drink! They dig out a small watermelon and fill it with the soju. Everyone takes turns scooping some into their little glasses! Its a little messy if youre clumsy but its really cute. Ive learned that I shouldnt drink more than one shot! Drinking prompts me to share too much info about my under garments (complete with visual aids).

Overall I really like this place. Its a cool place to go with a group of friends or on a date. Its very clean inside and I like the trendy atmosphere and neighborhood! Its right on St. Mark’s place so you can do some shopping once you leave! And if youre greedy like me, you can run across the street to Mamoun’s and get a Falafel for later!

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Maaaan BBQs is like an old friend. We go WAY BACK! Ive spent plenty of fun evenings with family and friends at this place. Its not the fanciest place you can go to, but its decent and if you want some good grubbin on a budget, its a great place to go. My favorite location is the one in the East Village. It feels a little more trendy. Maybe because its in the village and because they have the outside seating area.

The west village location has always been a ghetto mess! And its even MORE of a ghetto mess since their original location closed down and turned into a bank, and they moved into an old shoe store! They didnt even TRY to make it look like a restaurant! It looks like people are eating their food in a shoe store window! Everytime I walk past that store I secretly laugh at the people inside.

Aside from that, the food is great! My favorite thing to get is the baked half of chicken with fries. They give you a choice of a quarter chicken (costs an extra dollar for white meat), or for 2 dollars more you can get half of chicken. I just get the half. If Im gonna pay extra for white meat, why not just get the white and the dark right? The meat is always seasoned well, cooked well and the barbecue sauce is great! I usually ask for a side of their warm barbecue sauce. For some reason that barbecue sauce in the bottles on the table just isnt the same. I dont know who they think theyre fooling but theyre not fooling me!

The quarter chicken meal is only about 7 dollars. If you go for the early bird special (before 6pm) you can get TWO quarter chicken meals for 10 bucks! If thats not a recession special I dont know what is! Imagine going out to dinner, and only spending 10 dollars for two people!

Their fries are fresh cut and tasty. Sometimes I get the rice. The rice is simple but they put scallions on it which makes it great! Anything with scallions in it is great to me! My mom loves their cornbread and I understand why! It tastes like somebody’s mama made it!

If you go with a group, make sure you get the onion loaf. Its a fried onion dish shaped sorta like a top hat! Its pretty good but its a bit overwhelming for one or even two people to eat. You need about 3 or maybe even 4 people to polish it off. Its not really something you take to go. Some things taste best when fresh out of the oil.

Their fried honey wings are pretty popular. Ive had them before and theyre good but theyre not a staple in my list of things to get. Theyre a little too messy and the wings are HUGE!! I like dainty little chicken wings. They say theyre chicken wings but they look more like turkey wings! I dont like to eat things that can put me in a headlock.

The baby back ribs are great! Dowsed in barbecue sauce and crisp around the edges. My stomach is getting an attitude with me for teasing it with all this barbecue talk when all its getting is a baked salmon and some white rice for dinner tonight. Thats good food but its no baby back ribs!

BBQs has a pretty decent menu with a little something for everybody! Everything from shrimp cocktail and popcorn shrimp to pulled pork and brisket. If youre in a warm and fuzzy mood try their chicken noodle soup. If youre in the mood for gas, try their chili! Its great! But tell them to hold the onions if youre on a date.

I love to go to BBQs with my mom and sister. Its a special place we go when we want to hang out or celebrate something but we dont want to go overboard. Its a great place to get a hearty meal and a few drinks while bonding with your friends and family without breaking your pockets.

Its also a great place to take a date, especially if youre cheap or broke. Just make sure you hide the drinks/daiquiris menu and tell the waiter to ZIP IT (Because theyre obligated to ask if youd like to purchase a frozen drink!) Drinks cost more than the food! A drink runs between 8 and 15 dollars.
I love the strawberry daquiries! Im a dork, I get the virgin. I really dont like the taste of alcohol and I think the alcohol taste takes away from the deliciousness of the drink. I know. Im weird.

Sidebar: Dear East Village BBQ, please get rid of that ugly green awning! It is HIDEOUS! Whos idea was that? THEYRE FIRED!Go back to the brown, it was much more classy and inviting.

60 W 56th St
(between 5th Ave & Avenue Of The Americas)
New York, NY 10019
(212) 757-1642

Remember your old college days when you bought a whole case of Top Ramen for a dollar and thats what you lived off of for the entire 4 years (or 2 years shout out to Associates Degree holders! lol)…and you vowed never to touch, talk about, look at or think about ramen ever again?

WELL ITS TIME TO BREAK THAT VOW! Because what you had my friend, was not REAL ramen! That was bootleg ramen! The ramen you were eating was equivalent to a bootleg DVD…complete with babies crying in the background and silhouettes with big hair walking by with buckets of popcorn. Allow me to introduce you Menkui-Tei! The place to go, if you want PREMIUM Ramen! The only time I’ve had better ramen was when I was in Japan! But if you dont feel like catching a 14 hour flight, you can get your metrocard and take a 14 minute (give or take) train ride to the East Village.

Menkui-Tei has the most delicious ramen that I have had in New York so far! They have so many different types to choose from, youll want to go back every day to try each one! From, Soy Sauce, to Wonton-Men, to Sutamina you will not be disappointed! And for those of you (and by “you” I mean “us”) who like to mix and match, they even have a full menu of things that you can add to your ramen! Sometimes one ramen dish has the broth that you like, but the other ramen dish has the meat you like and another one has the dumplings you like! Well check out the “extras” menu and get them all thrown into one bowl!

Aside from ramen they have a full menu of other dishes like curry chicken, fried rice (very good!), and traditional Japanese dishes that I dont remember the names of! But forget about that stuff! Just stick with the ramen! You cant go to a NOODLE shop and not have noodles! You can grab a few appetizers like edamame, gyoza or fried chicken, but you really dont need side dishes. The bowl of ramen is so huge, it will keep you full for the rest of the day! My favorite is the Sutamina! My friend Yuni put me onto that! Its very tasty and has a slight hint of spice thats not too overwhelming, so even you wusses can eat it! It has a nice amount of scallions, delicious sliced pork, and veggies. With my sutamina I like to add a boiled egg (or 2), and wontons! Its so good, youll never look at top ramen the same again!

The only drawback is you could probably get about 12 thousand packs of top ramen for the price of one bowl of ramen at Menkui-Tei! This place is not cheap! I mean its not expensive but, a bowl of ramen goes from 9 to 12 dollars. And if you add extras it can get pretty steep! Mine ends up being about 15 bucks because I add wontons which is about 3 bucks, and boiled eggs which are about a dollar each! wtf! a dollar for one egg! I feel like smuggling in my own boiled eggs! I can get a whole DOZEN for those prices!

In general 9-12 dollars is not a steep price, but when you hear 12 dollars for ramen I bet the first thing you say is “FOR SOUP?!!?!?!?”…..YEAH FOR SOUP! Its worth every penny! Its authentic ramen and its cheaper than the thousand+ dollars it would cost you to fly to Japan for authentic ramen! Its a great place to go with your friends. The restaurant is clean and neat, not very big, but they fit a decent amount of people comfortably! They also play great music! The Menkui-Tei “DJ” is a better deejay than some of the deejay’s ive heard spinning at clubs! They play everything from old school hip hop and pop, to the some of the BETTER new stuff. Its fun to hear the throwbacks while you slurp your ramen!

Menkuite has two locations but my favorite is the one in the Village. The one in the Village plays the cool music and they have more to choose from on the menu. Also, the location in Midtown is more crowded and cramped and its so damn hot and sweaty in there that I dont know if Im eating soup or if Im IN the soup!

Overall, Menkuite is one of my favorite places to go with my friends. Its cozy and cute and youll walk out with a full belly and a warm spirit every time!

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22 Saint Marks Place
New York, NY 10003-8022
(212) 387-7747
www.mamounsfalafel.com

If you’re ever walking down the street in the village and you see a long line coming out of a hole in the wall, GET ON IT because most likely its the line for Mamoun’s, the best falafel you may ever have, unless you catch a flight out to Isreal! You really can not beat Mamoun’s falafels. Not only are they good but theyre cheap! $2.50 will take you a long way in that place! If you have 5 dollars you may as well be rich! Dont be intimidated by the line because it moves pretty quickly. They make sandwiches all day so theyre almost like machines. In a pita bread trance just stuffing and wrapping stuffing and wrapping.

If you make special requests, make sure to check your order. Because most people are not annoying like us, and just order standard falafels with all the fixins, so being the machines that they are, it becomes second nature to just throw everything in there without thought. I cant tell you how many times ive gotten extra tomatoes in my “no tomato” falafel. But I dont blame them. Its my fault for being picky. One of my favorite things to do, is go around the corner to Pluck U and get a side of their mild sauce and pour that into my falafel sandwich! Just when you thought a falafel couldnt get any better, the Pluck U sauce mixed with their tahini sauce just sends it through the roof!

The people in Pluck U would look at me sideways when Id go in there and just order sauce and no chicken, so I had to finally confess to them what I was doing with it. They didnt mind though because Im such a regular customer of theirs we’re like family! HAHA

Everytime I’m in the village, I feel the need to drop in and grab a falafel, even if Im not hungry. I know eventually I will be and its an exciting feeling to know that when you get hungry you have a falafel in your bag. I have walked (i like to walk. as much as I eat, its much needed) from 34th street, to 8th street for a Mamoun’s falafel. Some people may find that strange because New York City streets are filled with halal carts and stands that boast to have the best falafels. Yes I can easily stop at one of those and get a falafel, but all falafels are not the same. And once you’ve had Mamoun’s you compare every falafel to theirs, and its not fair to the other falafel stands so I dont even bother.

Mamoun’s is not a sit down restaurant although they do have a couple of benches and tables inside, and I do see people sitting and eating in there. You wont catch ME eating in there! Its too cramped and kinda dark, and damp dark places give me the willies. They keep it as clean as they can but the turnaround in that place is so quick! People are in and out all day so its hard to pick up every piece of lettuce that falls on the floor as soon as it gets there. So I just get in, get my grub and get out. Id rather walk down the street and eat it.

They also have chicken kabob sandwiches, shawarma, full platters, and other dishes and desserts, but I usually stick to the falafels. People tell me that the other food is just as great though. If you plan on getting a platter, bring more than 2 dollars and change though. Platters start at 5 dollars and go up to about 10.

Wanna buy me a cookie?

THANK YOU

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