I Wish I Parked My Car in Harvard Yard

I am obsessed, obsessed, with all things related to Mark Zuckerberg and the background information on how Facebook started.  I read everything I can find about it (well just what is on NY Mag, Gawker and the Post - but that is a lot).  I relish stories like the one my friend Merryl told me about Zuckerberg's sister stealing all of her clothing when she was at sleep away camp. She even cut her name tags out.  Obviously the obsession has to do with the opening of The Social Network this weekend.  In honor of the opening, I decided to dedicate my post to Harvard, where clearly I should have spent more time.  Perhaps I would be Mrs. Mark Zuckerberg today, but I spent my time drinking dollar beers at Great Scott and shopping on Newbury Street. Stupid girl!  Oh if I could turn back time. I can't, even Mark can't do that, but what I can do is write about my favorite chain restaurants in Harvard Square.  So here it is!

John Harvards - A great American chain with lots of awesome salads, burgers and chicken sandwiches.  I remember very well the bread they serve before the meal was amazing.  They also have a ton of great craft beers.

California Pizza Kitchen  - who doesn't love a good gourmet pizza (see JAP chain write up below)

Bertucci's - Good Italian food, big portions, but sometimes I think I ate too much and it made me sick.

Border Cafe - This is just another name for Jose Tejas, THE BEST CHAIN EVER.  Yes they took my Nevada fake ID here, but it has been 10 years, I am over it!

Fire and Ice - This was a staple of where you would go when your parents were in town.  Now that they opened one up in the Palisades Mall, it doesn't feel as special.

I need to write a special note for a chain that is no longer there, the TGI Friday's.  They allowed me and my friends many nights of fun that included chocolate, bananas, mudslides, DJ's wanting to go to Revere Beach and if I remember correctly a fight with the Harvard Hockey Team (Mark wasn't on that, if he was, we wouldn't have fought with them).

Happy New Year Japs!

Happy New Year to all my Jewish friends.  In honor of the year 5771 I decided to create a list of the Jappiest chain restaurants around.  I actually can't believe it has taken me this long to create such an important list for my people .   It just dawned on me when I was getting my coffee this afternoon that it would be such a genius idea.   I ran upstairs, Macchiato in hand, and told my favorite Jap that this was going to be created as soon as possible.  Without further adieu, put down your shofar and get ready... I present to you the most Jappy chain restaurants in the USA!

1) Haru - Japs love sushi and with the many outposts in NYC, this media lunch staple is a Jap heaven!  Miso Eggplant??
2) Tasti d Lite - This sort of frozen yogurt chain really started the trend of allowing Japs to indulge in their sweet tooth.  Where else could one enjoy cookies and cream for 100 calories?
3)  Berry Wild/Pink Berry/Red Mango - I am lumping all 3 together for this list because every Jap has her fave among them.  These more natural frozen yogurt chains are all the rage.  Even mommy dawg is into them with all of their fresh fruit and other fun toppings.  I am a moochi kinda lady.
4)  Houston's - What Jappy girl doesn't love to go to Houston's?  With their array of fun salads, delicious burgers, spinach artichoke dip and now SUSHI!!  This is a Jappy must!
5)  California Pizza Kitchen - With prime spots in all of the Jappy locations (Bloomingdale's, Murray Hill, Garden State Plaza, Prudential Center, etc) it is almost by default that this chain is so beloved.  I might even consider this an old-school stomping ground.
6)  Nobu - What Jap does not dream of her honeymoon in Mykonos and dinner at Nobu or her anniversary date and the chance of spotting a celeb there in NY or LA.
7)  Chop't - A salad chain must be included and this is the one I picked.  A bit pricey, but with all the fancy, low call dressings, it is a Jappy lunch dream.
8)  Dos Caminos - This made the list over the other Mexican chains because of their small portions (those tacos are tiny) and because of their new meatpacking district location.  Ample outdoor seating, yes please!

I would appreciate comments with ones I might have missed.  I am pretty, pretty low on the Jap totem pole (if I am even on it) so any feed back would be helpful. 

Eataly is Ecstacy

I came, I saw, I ate, I drank, I met Batali, I conquired Eataly!
When I first heard about Eataly opening, I was beyond thrilled.  My favorite chef Mario Batali would be opening an Italian mega food complex based on a similar concepts in Italy (hence why it is a chain and I am writing about it).   When it opened this week, I knew I had to be go and check out this land of white cheeses, tomato sauce and wine.   Having recently traveled to Italy and eating and drinking my face off, I knew I would be an expert on judging Eataly.   So this Saturday, I shook off my normal Saturday morning hangover, went for a run and made Nina come with me to see what all the buzz was all about.
There was a line just to enter, but we only waited around 10 minutes until the security man allowed us in.  When you first walk in it looks like a fancy Italian supermarket, but as you navigate through the complex you realize there is more.  What really stood out to me was how you would be in the seafood section and all of a sudden there were tables and people eating, that is how it was throughout.  We started at the wine bar of course as we waited for our table in the pizza/pasta restaurant.  Because it is so new and opened ahead of schedule there were some hiccups in the service.  They ran out of wine glasses so it took some time to get our delicious rose.  Nini and I didn't care, we were chill, just enjoying the atmosphere and the fact that seconds before I took a picture with the captain of the orange crocs club.   The same can't be said for the miserable chubster we were next to at the wine bar with the red glitter flip flops who called the establishment a sh*t show and was being quite mean to the nice men behind the bar.  If I have learned anything in my 29 years on this planet it is that you be nice to your bar tender.  Be nice to anyone who can provide you with wine!  So, after our glass of vino we proceeded to go to the pizza/pasta restaurant because it was time to check on our table.  Lucky for us it was almost ready!  Right before we sat I noticed my favorite sommelier from Otto was working there.  For some reason I feel like we are friends, but that can just be my imagination, I am not sure.  He seemed very stressed and unhappy, it was sad.  Anyway, Nina let me pick our food, that was nice, so we got the Margarita Pizza and the Pesto Pasta.  You can tell by the pictures, it was delicious!!!  The pizza was extra, extra soft and the pesto was flavorful without being too greasy.   You could totally tell the pasta was homemade too.
I would definitely come back here soon and explore more of the different eating options.  I am excited about the beer garden on the roof and Manzo's (like the Real Housewives of NJ last name - so funny) restaurant.  It is kinda of sad that I don't really know how to cook because I imagine food shopping here would be fun.  I could probably get some good Truffle Oil. 
Welcome to NY Eataly and welcome to my heart! 

Real Chains of New Jersey

I am writing this blog in utter shock of what I am watching on TV.  The Real Housewives of NJ are so nuts and disgusting and crazy and fake and broke.  These so called women or womans, whatever they call themselves should be ashamed   Gross.  Thank god for that fine piece Albie, brings some class to that show.  I also think Danielle's daughter is really pretty and should be a model.  Good luck!
Anyway, I can think of one good thing coming from NJ and it is not these women or Xanadu.  It is CHAIN RESTAURANTS!
So without further adieu here is my list of chain restaurants I want to go to but am scared I might run into a housewife (also known as my fav NJ chains).  I will pick 5 in honor of every housewife (I dont't forget about nutso Dina).

1)  Jose Tejas (no shock there)
2)  P.F. Changs
3)  Joe's Ameican Bar and Grill
4)  Houston's
5)  Bahama Breeze

Oh Theresa just said "Do we believe everything the NYPost writes."
Umm Yes.  DO NOT PUT DOWN THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE BLOG!

Pop The Champagne, It's The Birth of a Chain

Mazel Tov Lavo!  Congratulations and welcome to the world of chains.
It is with great pleasure that I announce that Lavo will be opening in NY, therefore having 2 locations and being a chain.  The original outpost is in fabulous Las Vegas at the luxurious Palazzo Hotel.  Lavo is run by the same peeps that run Tao and I certainly love me some Tao.  Lavo is an Italian restaurant.  I went in Vegas and from what I can remember, which sadly is not much, it was quite lovely and quite delicious.  I do remember the nice waiter that Nini became friends with and eating meatballs that were yummy and a pasta dish.  I was kinda a hot mess that night, not gonna lie.  Oh well.  Now that it is opening up in NY I can have it again soon.  My bro claims he has a connection and can get us into opening night.  Fingers crossed!!  If that happens, you can expect a full blog posting on it.

My Response to Eater's List

My heterolifemate, Nini just sent me a link from Eater naming their picks for the top 10 chain restaurants that need to come to NY.  I am outraged that they did not contact me, the NYC chain restaurant extraordinaire, for input.  By not contacting me, they totally messed up and missed so many key chain restaurants that need to come to NYC.  Here are their picks with my comments.  Sonic (ok might be cool), Waffle House (no let it be a southern thing), Krispy Kreme (we had and we have enough donut stores -this is the most egregious pick), Dairy Queen (eh), Denny's (no, it is really for WT and I like my island for the lack of WT), Cracker Barrel (this is a country thing, good, but not for the city), P.F. Changs (yes, yes, yes) Chilli's (sure but not necessary), Chick Fil-A (yeah I would hit that) and In N Out (obvi yes).


For the correct list of the the top 10 Chain Restaurants that need to open in NY.  See below.

10)  Blue Ice Gelato
9)  Yogurtland (bc it is now Phileo)
8)  Katsuya
7) Panera (would be great for lunch, better than freakin Le Pain)
6) In N Out (give Shake Shack a run for it's money)
5) Cheesecake Factory
4) Del Taco (heard it was good)
3)  P.F. Changs (my parents would prob visit me more, if that is even possible)
2)  Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (please)
1) JOSE TEJAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  (no shock here)

OBIKA not Obama

My favorite O, besides Olen is not Obama, but Obika.
What is Obika you may be asking yourself, well it is a fabulous mozzarella bar in Rome Italy that has found success in other cities like London, Paris and good ol'NYC!  There is never a bar I do not love.  I was lucky enough to experience this mozzarella "bar" in Campo di Fiore a lovely square in the darling historical city of Rome.  I went to Obika after a late afternoon excursion with my travel buddy JM that included gelato.  When we walked passed Obika, we knew we had to try it because it just looked fabulous.  I am so glad we did.  The focus of the menu is of course, mozzarella which is just perfect for me because it is the only cheese I really like.   We got the Burrata with pesto sauce, basil and tomato (see photo above).  It was truly outstanding and delicious!  It was so creamy and wonderful and the pesto was perfect!  JM and I weren't hungry so we tried not too pig out to much but it was really hard.  To go with our lovely appertivo snack we each had a wonderful glass of refreshing Rose.  I really can't think of a better way to end a day in fabulous Rome.  Especially when on said day, one gets their luggage back!!!!! What a way to celebrate the return of Big Bertha back in my arms.  
Now, as I mentioned before there is also an Obika in NYC but that location seems to really be a bar within the IBM office building.  Not sure what I think about that.  I wish Obika would have opened up in the village where one could sit outside and people watch the way you can in Rome.   Perhaps one day! (cue in One Sweet Day by Mariah Carrey music now)

Ronaldo McDonaldi

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A trip to a foreign land would not be complete without exploring what the McDonald's is like in that land.
It is fun to see the different personalities each country brings to its best restaurant, McDonald's.  When I was in Italy I was pretty sure that the McDonald's there would have pizza, kinda like when they tried to introduce the McPizza in the USA.  I am glad that didn't work out.  Anyway, I was wrong, no McPizza.  The menu in Rome was very similar to the one in the US, just a bit abridged.  One thing that did totally stand out to me though was that they had fried shrimp!   I thought that was cool.  As always, I was there for one thing... the Chicken McNugget.  On my last day I fought through my infantile ear infection, exhaustion & dizziness and found the McDonald's right across the street from the Pantheon, how historic!   Jen M was kind enough to go with me on this expedition.  It was an expedition because the Trevi Fountain McDonald's had no power and was closed. 
Overall, I thought the chicken nuggie was pretty good, but still prefer the American version.  I think the American version has a lighter more airy batter.   This nuggie was a bit more crisp and hard in Italy.   The meat was totally white and for my chicken, I like that.   Jen M said she prefered the Italian version.  Really, both are quite delicious!  The dipping sauces are similar to what I found in Spain, honey mustard, bbq and some curry thing.  I just went with the bbq and honey mustard one.  I guess it is Italy, it would have been cool if they had a pesto or tomato dipping sauce.  I love some sauce!
So, there it is, one more McDonalds conquered.  I can't wait for my next one!

Ice Ice Baby

Blue Ice, Ice Baby.  That tune was in my head throughout my fantastic voyage to Italy.  One of the greatest food discoveries I found during my travels was the glorious gelato chain, Blue Ice.  These are everywhere in Rome.  In fact on one cute street near Campo di Fiore there are two only about 50 feet away from each other.  It is safe to say that Blue Ice is the Starbucks of Rome.  Between me and my travel buddies we were able to sample many, many flavors.  Some of the favorites were the Black Cherries and Cream, Coconut, Grapefruit (of course), Raspberry, Stracciatelli and Tiramissu.  One of my travel companions did not like the Tiramissu, but the vacum (me) came in to scoop it up and enjoy!
So if you are ever in Rome and need a refreshing treat, I really recommend stopping by Blue Ice.  After so many days of delicious gelato, it makes going back to Tasti D, extra hard!

Bad Salad's, Bad

Beautiful day in NYC if you love the heat like I do!  Too bad my office is so cold I might freeze in a heatwave, lovely.
While reading The Daily Beast this AM I came across this long list of VERY unhealthy salads.  These are VERY bad for the super bridesmaid diet.
Everything you think would be bad is bad.  The fried chicken and buffalo chicken salads, anything with blue cheese, etc.  I was upset to see one of my favorite salads on here, The Applebee's Oriental Chicken Salad.  One surprise that did stand out to me was the California Pizza Kitchen Salad Miso Shrimp Salad.  That sounds pretty healthy to me but it has over 1100 calories!  Oh well, Ill stick to their Spinach Artichoke Dip and Roasted garlic Chicken Pizza.
Check out the full gallery here.  I have a feeling they only tested a few places and that every chain had salads with over 1,000 calories in them.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/1818/1/?redirectURL=http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-07-05/40-most-unhealthy-salads/?cid=hp:beastoriginalsR1

Central Park Chain Emerges From The Meadows

In honor of my girl Brookie's upcoming nuptials this weekend, I decided to start blogging again and drinking more Stoli Raz.   I was in Central Park today getting some sun so I could be a tan bridesmaid when I saw a chain arise in the distant meadow.  Many thought it was too hot for the sun today, but not I and not Jen Roy.   Good thing I worship the sun because as I sweated in the meadow I saw the first Central Park chain, and what was this chain you may ask?  None other than one of Brookie's favorite spots, Le Pain Quotidien.  I am not a huge fan of this place because I think it is kinda expensive for what it is but I eat her with Brookie because it's a bit nicer than your typical Manhattan deli lunch spot.  No matter what, I am glad to see a chain in Central Park and could see myself getting some bread with some crap on top of it while I continue to go to Central Park this summer burning my skin.
So in honor of Le Pain Quotidien and the future Mrs. Weissman I lift up my $4.00 favored iced tea from Le Pain Quotidien and I say Mazel!

Chang Up Your Kitchen

I was at the movie theater this week when my eyes and ears were shocked by the sight and sound of a new commercial airing before Sex and the City.  (side note, I still don't understand commercials in movies)  Anyway, one of my favorite chains, P.F. Changs now has frozen meals available in your grocery store.  You can either stir fry them in a pan (Iam so inept I cant even do that) or heat them in your microwave.  The packaging recommends stiry fry but I would try microwaving them just to see.

They offer the following varities (my favorite dishes are not available)
Beef w. Broccoli, Orange Chicken, Sweet N Sour Chicken, General Changs Chicken, Shrimp in Garlic Sauce, Shrimp Lo Mein, Ginger Chicken and Broccoli, and Shanghai Style Beef.
I have yet to try them yet, but please comment if you have.
I doubt they will be half as good as they are in the restaurant but are definitely a welcome addition to the frozen food aisle.

No Reason For This List

Want to know the best way to ruin a lovely 90 degree NY day?  Publish an article about the worst chain dishes in terms of calorie and include one of my favorite dishes on that list.
Yup, PF Changs has the honor of being included on this list.  My go to dish, the double pan fried noodles has over 1,800 calories.  Wow!   I guess when something is not fried once, but twice, the calories add up.
I wonder if I will keep on eating it knowing this info now, probably. 
For more delicious un-nutritious dishes check out the link below.
http://www.cspinet.org/nah/articles/xtremeeating2010.html

Pita Grill is Pita Good

Anyone that lives in NYC knows Pita Grill.  It really is a staple of NYC eating and I am shocked that I have not written about this grill sooner.
I became a fan of this restaurant when it opened up it's Murray Hill location a few years ago.  Everything in the restaurant revolves around, you guessed it, a Pita.  They have various sandwiches served on a pita, platters that include pita and sides where you can dip your pita.
I have a few favorite go-to's here.  For sandwiches I enjoy the Thai Chicken Lite, which is a delicious piece of grilled chicken, lettuce, onions and tomatoes, I get it without the tomatoes obvi and a lite thai peanut sauce.  What I also have been doing lately is adding hot sauce to the equation.  Another sandwich that I like is the Hawaiian Pita, you can get it with Steak or Chicken.  Both are good.  The only bad thing about their sandwiches is that they can be rather messy to eat because a lot of the time the food falls out of said Pita.
When I am on the hungrier side, I get the platters.  All sandwiches can also be platters.  The platters include rice and veggies, but the great part is that you can substitute one of those for hummus.  I sub the veggies for the California Hummus which is excellent.  They add cilantro to it which gives it a fun kick!
I also really like the Pita Salad.  It is what one might refer to as a "Rori" salad.  It comes with craisins, chicken and grilled eggplant.  It is also served with feta cheese, but I HATE feta so I order it without the cheese.  Another menu option here are the rice bowls.  Cousin usually gets that and it looks delicious.  It is essentially a big bowl of rice and salad all mixed together.  Next time I go to Pita Grill I will try this.  They also have paninis but I think if you are at Pita Grill you shouldnt get a panini, save that for somewhere else.
One thing kinda annoying about Pita Grill is that because it is so good, if you dont place your order before you arrive you probably will have to wait a good 15 minutes or so for it to be ready.  Not a huge deal but good to note.

Mixing it Up with DJ Pauly D

While we wait in anticipation for the next season of The Jersey Shore, we have two things to make us happy.  One is the new season of Real Housewives of NJ (which actually was very disappointing last night) and this new ad campaign that Baskin Robbins is running for their 31 Below Ice Cream Creation.   The 31 Below is pretty much a Mc Flurry or a DQ Blizzard so I guess they needed to find a great figure like my personal facebook friend DJ Pauly D to help sell this creation.  I really like Baskin Robbins.  When I was a kid I would get it all the time.  I really liked the Daiquiri Ice Flavor which was probably a bit of foreshadowing of my young adult life.  Anyway, check out the man and all his DJ muscles below.  If you buy one of these bad boys you can text to get a free music download.  I recommend the song Dance! by Datarock, it reminds me of DJ Pauly D.

Frozen Yogurt Companies Please Read

Dear Great Chain Frozen Yogurt Companies,
Hello, my name is Rori and I am a chain restaurant blogger.  I am also a big Yankees fan and have an idea that I think will make you very rich.  Please open up a frozen yogurt stand in Yankee Stadium.  If you do so, I promise it will be a big success.  Whenever I am at a game I am always thinking to myself, man I wish they had frozen yogurt here.  That would be the perfect treat after my foot long hot dog or buffalo chicken sliders.
TCBY, Pinkberry, Red Mango, Berrywild, Tasti d Lite, if you are reading this consider opening up a shop in Yankee Stadium.
Thank you,
Rori
CEO and President of Chain of Food

PS - I didnt address this to Yogurtland or 16 Handles because I think the topping bar would be way too intense for a stadium.

PPS - I know that there is Carvel, but sometimes you want to save a few calories for beer, hence why we need the fro you stand.

Chain Restaurant Deals

Happy Friday!  Great weather in NYC, enjoy it!
I came across this article and figured I would share with my readers.  It is some of the best chain restaurant deals going on right now.
Here are a few of my favs!
The steak ones are great!


Morton's Steakhouse - has a power hour happy hour with great deals like $5.00 mini burgers!,
Ruth's Chris Steak House is offering a three-course meal for $39.99. (note - this is where the corner kids ate on the 4th season of the wire!)

Also, Olen fam fav, PF Changs is offering a special for $39.95 4 course meal  for two.  How lovely!

 Check out the rest of the deals below
http://www.walletpop.com/specials/best-restaurant-deals?ncid=webmaildl6

Baja Fresh Cinco de Mayo Eating Contest

For all you massive eaters out there, pay attention to this post.  On May 5th at 5:00 pm Baja Fresh in NYC is hosting a Cinco de Mayo eating contest at both of it's midtown locations.
To quality you have to eat an entire Dos Manos Burrito Enchilado Style (it is just a huge burrito stuffed with cheese, beans, onions, a meat, peppers, pico de gallo and sour cream).  If you can do that, you quaility for the eating contest on Cinco de Mayo.
I don't eat most of the things in the burrito and was sick for 24 hours after I ate a very plain (but delicious) chicken burrito a few days ago, so I have to sit this contest out.
BUT if any chain of food readers wants to participate in this contest, please let me know and I will sponsor you.
Sponsor, what does that mean?  That means, if you go and qualify for the contest I will come cheer you on the day of the event, outfit you in a custom chain of food t-shirt and feature you on the blog.
Just message me on the blog if you are interested.
Ole!

Press Your Luck

Press is a healthy wrap focused take-out spot located on the border of Murray Hill and Gramercy.  There is also a second location near Madison Sq Park.  With 2 locations, it's...wait for it...a microchain.  I love using my new word.

After happy hour with some Post Alumni I was hungry after my typical glasses of white wine so a fellow alumni suggested we go to Press.  I thought it must have been fate, because I have been meaning to try it since it opened many months ago in the hood and cousin randomly brought the menu to my apt a few days ago.

The layout of Press is relatively minimalistic and modern.  You order the basics of the wrap at the cashier, which is the type of wrap you want, choices include white, whole wheat, sun dried tomato and rosemary, plus your main ingredient.  I went with chicken, but you could also get veggies or steak.  You quickly move to the press and fill bar (I came up with that name) where for some reason it takes a bit of time for the Press men to get your wrap ready and then fill it up with the rest of the wrap.  What I liked best about Press is that you get to pick exactly what you want inside your wrap.  I picked lettuce, sauted onions, and a bit of cabbage.  You also get to pick your sauce.  I love sauces. I went with the Blood Orange Viniagette and found it fab, but you could also get BBQ Sauce, Pesto, Honey Mustard, etc.

It is a nice sized wrap and not too messy to eat.  All and all, I was very happy with my Press.
Reviews I read said this place was expensive.  I really didn't find it expensive at all so those people saying that on menupages must be tourists or something.

Breaking Hale and Hearty News

On Monday, Hale and Hearty introduced 3 new salad dressings to their already lofty list.
They are a Lemon Vinaigrette, Smoky Chipotle and  Low Fat Summer Berry.  If you know me, you know what I sampled, the Low Fat Summer Berry obviously.
I have to say, I was very impressed.  It tastes fresh and very homemade.  I love the fact that there are seeds in the dressing, it makes it authentic.  What I also liked about the dressing is that it was not as thick as many other berry based dressings.  I would compare it to more of a berry vinaigerette that is a perfect light summer dressing.
As I told Nina earlier today, I like things that are fruity. 

BEST EMAIL EVER

 I just got the best email ever, it was from Major League Eating and the IFOCE announcing that it was that time again.  I totally forgot I joined the IFOCE.
Time for the Annual Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest.  Check out the link below for key dates to see if you can qualify for the big event July 4th.  Though I do like my hot dogs as much as the next person, there is no way I could even begin to think about entering that one.  That being said, the site does mention a curly fry eating contest.  I think I have a chance there.
http://www.ifoce.com/contests.php

Pizza In a Cone, I'm Not Really Feeling That Zone

After a lovely day of running, bowling and most importantly, shopping, I decided it was finally time to try Pizza In a Cone.  I walked into the tiny shop ready to try this treat that I was talking about for so long.  After careful consideration, I opted for a small cone with tomato sauce, fresh mozzerella chese and spinach.  I was kinda surprised how long it took for the small cone to cook.  The workers put all of the ingredients into the cone and then bake it in a special oven.  When it was finally ready, it was a bit hot to eat so I waited a few seconds.  At first bite, I wasn't that impressed.   It was kind of boring.  I would compare the cone to a fresh Lean Pocket.  The cone is a bit thick and not that flavorful.  The fresh mozzerella cheese wasn't amazing and I really think there could have been much more tomato sauce.  Was it the grossest thing I ever had, no, not at all, but it definetly wasn't amazing.  A real slice of pizza is much better!  I was also kind of shocked by the price of the cone.  It cost me over $6.00 and it was really not a meal at all.  More like a snack which left me kind of annoyed.  I had to come home and have one of my Sun Chips Harvest Cheddar 100 Calorie Packs while I watched my Wire DVD.  Season 4 baby!!!!  Micheal, Randy and Duquane and my boys.

Micro Chain? Say What Now... Jo Mama

In my quest to try all the coffee places in my new work neighborhood, I stumbled into Joe The Art of Coffee.  Every morning in Grand Central Station there is a long line of midtown workers waiting in line for this artsy coffee.  I figured this place must be good if there is such a long line and many other coffee options to chose from in the area.   When I walked by today at around 11 am the line was not long so I figured this was my shot (pun) to try this shop.  I walked up to the barista and said, excuse me is this a chain.  He looked and me kinda confused and said well there are 5 locations in Manhattan, so I guess it is a microchain.  A microchain??? I never heard this term before, do I love it or do I find it too elitist.  I have decided I love it, and will embrace it as my own.  Microchain, hmmm so Dos Caminos, mircochain, Mc Donalds chain.  Got it!
Anyway, I didnt really love the coffee and think that my Machiatto is much better.  Besides all your standard coffee drinks they serve muffins, coffee and other baked treats from local bake shops like the Sullivan St. Bakery.  How microchain of them to do something like that!

Oh, I checked out their website and they feature bios and pictures of all of the baristas.  Because of that, I shall post some of their pictures on my blog.  Baristas, you are famous now!!!!!!!!!!!!

Meet-- Luke Folger, he doesn't actually drink Folgers

Here is Jessica, she went to Wellesley, and lived in Spain.  Wow.

I Went to Yogurtland in NYC and Ended up at Phileo

Yup, you are reading that title correctly.  I went on a trip to Yogurtland in Greenwich Village only to discover that it is no longer my heaven on earth Yogurtland.  Instead it is now called Phileo, which is a Philly (hence the name) frozen yogurt shop.  It is hard for me to like things from Philly since the World Series this year.  The good news, is that it is essentially the same exact shop that it was when it was Yogurtland.  I will admit though, knowing that it isnt Yogurtland doesn't make it as special. 
I guess Ill have to go to LA to get my Yogurtland fixes from now on!

MMMMMMM........Macchiato

Macchiato is the best coffee store in NY.  It is a bold statement to make, but I am making it.
If you are unfamiliar with it, it is a Europeanish coffee store that now has 2 locations in NY.  One on 44th between Lex and 3rd (right next to my office, hence how I discovered it) and the other on 52nd and 5th.
I have only had one thing here and that is the Iced Coffee.  I think testing an Iced Coffee is a great way to test how good a coffee place is.  The Iced Coffee here is perfect, you don't need any artifical flavors like vanilla or caramel, alone, this coffee is perfect.  It is smooth, not burnt and quite tasty. 
I have a new morning tradition and that is Macchiato!  I do miss Joe my coffee cart guy on 6th Ave, but I think I will grow to love the hipsters serving at Macchiato.
Actually, no, I will never love hipsters.  I will just love the coffee they serve.

I should note, that the coffee is on the expensive side, but I guess you are paying for quality.