Pa-Ner-AAAAAAAAAA

Apparently I'm a grown up and I like salad now. Who knew! But Megan just mentioned that there is an awesome Strawberry Poppyseed Chicken Salad that was around for the summer and that she loved. Of course these things are like a challenge to me. I had to try it. I had the day off and I was just running errands so I made Panera a stop and picked up a half salad with a baguette. It was awesome. This salad had everything; chicken, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, mandarin oranges, and  pecans, on romaine lettuce with the poppyseed lettuce. I'm a major fruit kid and love almost all fruits so this salad was a home run. Definitely going to make Panera one of my stops again.

Also, funny side note - I got my salad to go and ate it at home and right as I sit down a Panera commercial comes onto the TV. Great timing Panera but I'm one step ahead of you!   

ROC - Mise en Place

Sophia is my wonderful summer lunch buddy 2015 because we had yet another lunch together. It's becoming a weekly thing, which I love. 

LOCATION: 683 SOUTH AVE, ROCHESTER, NY 14620

This week we went to a little market/shop/cafe called Mise en Place. Her mom took her there and Sophia enjoyed it so I had to give it a try with her. It was great. I was super pumped because they have a Jumbo Roasted Beet Salad and I haven't had beets in forever. A craving I didn't realize I had. 

So I ordered the beet salad which has roasted beets, mixed greens, goat cheese, walnuts, and an herb vinaigrette. I added chicken on top for a little extra and it was all wonderful. I was stuffed in the end but there were so many beets I could've died of a beet overdose. Perfection. I would go back just for the salad. 

Sophia got a Jalapeno Pepper burger that she was eyeing when she came with her mom and was equally satisfied. I like this little place. A lot. 

UPDATE: It's Wednesday and Jon has kindly told me (at 12:15) that I'm on my own for lunch. No buddies to eat with me this last minute but Mise en Place will be my friend. I drove over and ordered tempura battered vegetables. Best last minutes decision ever. I'm so happy right now just munching away. Mise en Place is becoming a lifesaver.

Not too heavy or greasy, I'm finding myself digging around for the carrots because they haven't fallen apart quite as much as the zucchini. Broccoli is pretty good but not my favorite. This dipping sauce, awesome - though I'm wishing I didn't sqeeze so much lemon on top because it's becoming overwhelming on all the light veggie tastes. Now I know! 

NYC - Ichabod's

This was our last night in NYC before the drive home tomorrow morning so Seth decided we should have a nice dinner out together. He, Fernando, Karie, Zoe, and I all wandered around Union Square and looked for a good place to eat. Seth narrowed it down and said he wanted an American restaurant for some steak. Solid. And this we ended up at Ichabod's.

LOCATION: 15 IRVING PL, NEW YORK, NY 10003 

Seth and Fernando each got the steak. Zoe ordered fried oysters to start and then a pork shoulder dish as her main, and Karie and I each got the special Squid Ink Pasta with shrimp, squid, and scallops. 

It. Was. Incredible. I've always wanted to try a squid ink pasta but have never had the guts to do it. Turns out it doesn't taste too different. The pasta was slightly saltier...maybe... and it was a little softer but that's about it. The seafood in this dish was perfect. The shrimp wasn't over cooked, the squid wasn't too chewy, and the scallops (which were my favorite part) had this incredible flavor to them. I'm so happy we ended up here and that this was their special. Here's to trying new dishes. It's basically my motto anyways isn't it? 

NYC - Ice Cream, Ice Cream, Ice Cream!

Last night after our Japanese dinner, Zoe and Karie were both kind enough to humor me and get ice cream before our friends Seth and Fernando got into town. As I mentioned, the three of us girls pack in the food so we just had this huge Japanese meal and we promptly walk a few blocks over and get ice cream. Marathon eating is an art form and the three of us manage it well. 

LOCATION: 2 RIVINGTON ST, NEW YORK, NY 10002

Before going to NYC this time around I was reading Bon Appetite magazine and saw this review for a cool ice cream shop called Morganstern's Finest Ice Cream. It turned out to be close to St. Marks Place where we had dinner so we ventured after to get dessert. This place was packed. We arrived around 9pm and the line to this little place was out the door but Zoe is relaxed and insisted that I wanted to try it so we would wait. For almost an hour. For one scoop of ice cream each. At least we had time to digest... 

Now the reason I wanted to make the stop was because this place has crazy cool flavors and there was one that caught my eye. The durian banana. A durian is a crazy asian fruit that has the texture of custard on the inside, is a spikey melon sized thing from the outside, and has a pungent smell you can get a whiff of from a mile away. I love it. It's for sure an acquired taste that isn't very popular but I love it so that's all I really care about.  I had to try the ice cream tho and I was not disappointed. One scoop but it was fantastic and the look of this place is super cute. I wish there was a shorter line and that the workers maybe didn't take 10 minutes to scoop one scoop of ice cream but it was definitely worth the try. 

LOCATION: 125 E 7TH ST, NEW YORK, NY 10009

Today was ice cream part two. Because why not have ice cream every day. This time we went to Big Gay Ice Cream because this place has been on my list for at least 2 years and I still haven't had the chance to try it.

Again, Zoe seizes the opportunity and makes things happen so we're off to Big Gay Ice Cream where I order one of the famous specialties. The Salty Pimp. That's right. That's the name of one of their signature ice creams. I had a little trouble getting over the name but once you do it's a great order. The salty pimp is vanilla soft serve with caramel hand squeezed into the little ridges of the custard and then the whole thing is dipped in chocolate. Its the perfect salty sweet combo and I liked it quite a bit. Totally worth finally getting to try it. 

NYC - Oh! Taisho

Made another trip to New York City this time with my friend Michael to visit a few of our friends who moved there recently (aka after graduation). 

I'm staying with my friend Zoe and for dinner tonight she decided on Japanese (because my list for NYC is quite short - but its better that way; more exploring!). We headed to St. Marks Place in Manhattan and walked up and down the street while Karie was on her way. We ended up chosing a little restaurant called Oh! Taisho that Zoe's been to before and said was good. It was. 

LOCATION: 9 SAINT MARKS PL, NEW YORK, NY 10003

We ordered Party Plate A as an appetizer aka skewers of 5 different types of meat (chicken which was a little dry, gizzards, pork skin, pork belly, and beef). I think that was right... Then we ordered a plate of duck to share which was fresh and the perfect amount of fatty and just mouth watering. And then we each ordered a bowl of ramen. Karie and I got the house ramen while Zoe got the version that was the house plus more spicy-ness.  

I only managed a pic of the ramen. The mean platters weren't too impressive looking and we were too hungry for me to attempt at a shot of it. Sometimes eating is more important. 

And boy do we eat. I swear the three of us together results in someone being hungry at all times. We walk around as the three petite little asians that people don't really know what to expect but man do we pack it in. Zoe and I slammed our parts of the meal down really quick. Karie takes time to catch up but she always ends up on par so it works out. Separately we are all super conscious about how much we eat and trying to stay healthy but together, no food is safe.