I'm being passed between Karie and Zoe because of work. Mom and mom love me. It's Karie's day to hang out with me because Zoe is working from 10am until who knows when. Again, these late start NYC days are not what I'm used to in Rochester, but I don't mind sleeping in and catching up on some blog posts while I'm waiting for Karie to get ready and pick me up. 3:30pm and we finally head out, however, Karie's pick for Ramen takes a post lunch gap and closes from 3:30-5:00PM. We decide to go and wander around near by and end up deciding to get dessert before dinner because hey, we're 22 and in NYC, who's gonna stop us. And so we end up at SPOT Dessert Bar
LOCATION: 13 ST.MARKS PL, NEW YORK, NY 10003
Dessert before dinner sounds good to us. It's 4:00pm and we have an hour to kill and neither of us have eaten yet today so that sounds good to me. I order a bubble tea because I'm craving it and know I can't really get a great one in Rochester. Along with that I order the yuzu eskimo dessert while Karie decides on a pumpkin dessert of some sort. The yuzu eskimo is a frozen Japanese citrus cream bar with chocolate ganache a raspberry foam, strawberries, and and oreo crumb. Such a good idea. It was creamy and actually super filling for a plate of dessert. Kind of heavy but the citrus bar was pretty refreshing. A little too much chocolate with the ganache but everything looked great and it was easy to eat some parts alone and not have each bite be too chocolaty. The waiter who was there was a super nice guy who was fun and easy to talk to. If we're craving dessert, this is the place to go back to.
With dessert in our systems as the first meal of the day we hang out at Spot until 5pm until we can get Ramen. Eating is a marathon, and Karie, Zoe, and I have been training for years. Off to IPPUDO for us!
LOCATION: 65 4TH AVE, NEW YORK, NY 10003
Classier than the relaxed Totto Ramen, this place is has darker ambiance and cleaner lines. Ramen bowls line the walls when you walk in and the bar has ramen topped counters under glass. Super fun and cute and I can see why Zoe likes Totto and why Karie likes Ippudo already. Personalities fit. Karie and I are clearly not as hungry because of dessert so we skip the appetizer and just order the main course. Karie tells me to try the yuzu soda, so I do, and both of us decide on the Shiromaru Hakata Classic Ramen. Described as the 'original' silky pork soup noodles, the ramen has pork loin, sesame kikurage mushrooms, red pickled ginger, scallions, and of course add a poached egg. Similar to totto ramen's spicy that I tried yesterday in terms of content I figured it was a fair match. These ramen noddles are thinner and the broth is much meatier. You can really taste the pork in the soup which is alright but I immediately wasn't a huge fan. The mushrooms were alright but not my favorite type as well. Overall, it was a a fun experience and we were seated at the kitchen bar and got to watch the chefs make appetizers, but for me Totto Ramen is the winner when it comes to flavor and quality of food.
