ROC - Voula's Greek Sweets

Voula's is one of the small hidden gems of Rochester that everyone recommends to me but I've never been to, until now that is! 

LOCATIONS: 439 MONROE AVE, ROCHESTER, NY 14607

Sophia texted me recently and demanded that we go because she'd gone and it was great and I'm not one to turn down a lunch date especially when I've never been to the restaurant before. Thus, we venture around Monroe Ave turning into an unmarked side street/driveway that leads to Voula's.

This place is semi-busy which is to be expected around lunch time on this street but we're seated almost immediately. Sophia and I decide what we want and I end up ordering Spanakopita with a side of Lemon Potatoes. 

Now before I discuss the food, I will say that it took an exorbitant amount of time for the food to get to us and the waitress wasn't the best at checking back. We sat there quite hungry and slightly neglected for 40 or so minutes until Sophia overheard the waitress tell a nearby table that there was a slight problem with the oven but that food would be ready in about 10 more minutes. Let's just say I'm glad I didn't have to get back to work and that Sophia didn't have a time sensitive test running back at the lab. 

Anyhow, the food finally came after almost an hour and I will say that it was extremely delicious food. The spanakopita was flakey and crisp with a nice warm filling and the most super flakey crust I've ever had. The filling was a little heavy but I ate the whole thing without batting an eye lash. Of course, I'm a huge potato fan so I was pretty excited about these lemon potatoes because I've actually never had potatoes prepared with lemon juice and I was pleasantly surprised. Of course I love lemons too so the tart flavor mixed with the starchiness of the potatoes was a great combination for me. Sophia tried one but generally isn't a potato person and concluded that they were alright which was fine by me. On top of the spanakopita I couldn't quite finish everything but I was pretty close. 

The only thing was that we were both so full we didn't have room for one of the delicious looking deserts in the case so we'll have to make a trip back (darn! :P). Overall, great food, okay service. Maybe next time we'll stop for a small snack and have better luck with time. 

ROC - Marty's On Park

After driving by countless times, seeing the food truck at almost every festival, and watching people all over instagram hit this place up, I figured it was my turn to try Marty's Meats aka Marty's On Park.

LOCATION: 703 Park Ave, Rochester, NY 14607

Marty's has a great selection of sandwiches that all sound fantastic and great reviews from everyone I've talked to. Everyone that's told me to eat there has recommended the Uncle John but there's kimchi on it and I'm not completely sold on that so maybe next time I'll be brave enough to try it. Until that day, I'm happy to say that I instead got the Bahn Mi sandwich which came with chips and I'm not the least bit disappointed. First off, I got the sandwich to go because it was a busy day and I didn't have time to stop (plus I'm not a huge fan of going out and eating alone. Not quite there yet but believe me, I'm getting there). Before I made it the half a block to my car my stomach was grumbling and I had to have at least a chip so I open the cute little to go box and take a bite. These chips are fantastic. Super crisp and crunchy but they have the perfect mouth feel and don't tear into your gums. Points to you Marty's. Already, I'm happy.

I made the drive home and ate while getting ready for the my night and believe me, this sandwich was hard to put down. Really great crisp french bread, fantastic pork belly, pickled veggies, cilantro, and this fantastic red pepper aioli that drips out of the sandwich. I pull the jalapenos before taking a bite but if you're into that, they're there. Overall this sandwich is great, super filling for a reasonable price and great flavor. The girl making there making my sandwich was super great too and I had a lot of fun talking to her while she worked. 

Totally ready to come back to this place (for the Uncle John?) when I'm in the area. Cute location and great food with great workers. 

NYC - Karie and Emily Day

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.   

NYC - Zoe and Emily Day

It's Sunday and Karie is working 3-10 so it's Zoe and Emily day! Of course that means we wake up at 1pm and Zoe is dealing with tech support online for the next 2 hours but okay. By 3 her computer is better, and we start off our day. We both get ready, drop some laundry off for Zoe at the laundromat around the corner and head to Manhattan! By then its around 5pm and we're heading to get our first meal of the day - dinner. Zoe and Karie have been debating over Ramen restaurants and are at a disagreement to which is better so today Zoe takes me to her pick - TOTTO RAMEN.

LOCATION: 248E 52ND ST, NEW YORK, NY 10022

I already love it when we walk in. Totto Ramen had a cool rooster in a ramen bowl as their logo which is fantastic. Small wooden tables and great textures on the walls make this place feel young. Zoe orders us the fried octopus balls which I've never had before but are creamy and warm, dripping with flavor. I'm super in love. As a main I order the totto spicy ramen with pork and an added poached egg. I'm all about this raw yolk flavor. The ramen comes with rayu, spicy sesame oil, Paitan ramen, scallions, bean sprouts, and nori. I mix everything together and it's perfection. The spicy ramen is just the right amount of heat and gives it a little kick. The broth has great body and is so hot it par cooks my egg white when I mix it into the ramen. One bowl is perfect because we're stuffed. Warm and happy just the way I like it. 

The problem is, that I really want to get dessert. A bakery that I've been told to try  with an amazing cake that looks beyond beautiful in photos. So Zoe decides we should go get it, we'll just walk the hour it takes to get from totto to this bakery - 7 avenues and 29 streets - lets go! Its a warm day out and Zoe and I love just talking and catching up so that's what we do. We walk, and digest, and talk, and are happy. It's a perfect night. About and hour or so later, and a couple of stops we walk by a movie theater and decide to catch a flick at 10:30pm. An hour and a half to eat cake around the corner. We're so smart. We finish our trek and make it to HARBS bakery. 

LOCATION: 198 9TH AVE, NEW YORK, NY 10011

When I was working at Wegmans over the summer, Jon mentioned a bakery in New York he read about that has this amazing cake called the Mille Crepe. Layers of thin french crepes topped with whipped cream and a variety of fruit - pineapple, strawberry, kiwi, cantaloupe, banana, and honeydew. This is my kind of cake. Beautiful layers of fruit and whipped cream makes for a perfect dessert. Zoe falls in love with the Tiramisu in the glass case and orders one of those as well. We get tea to drink and are happy and full always. Zoe's friend comes to meet us for some tea and we get Karie a slice of mille crepe to go for when she meets us at the movie theater. Honestly, its a wonderful day and Zoe and I ate so much but it was all fantastic food.   

NYC - The Trio is Reunited; Let's Eat!

It's Saturday and Zoe and Karie are both free so off we go on our adventures! Of course it's a late start and we don't get into Manhattan until almost 2pm but that's okay. It's a late night because we're celebrating Karie's birthday so we can afford the late start. 

First stop is for me: I'm a food nerd and have recently gained interest in Chinese/Taiwanese chef Eddie Huang. (His book and new TV show Fresh Off the Boat are both fairly relatable to me and I enjoy the Asian kid growing up in America with parents fresh off the boat. It's an interesting life.) So of course, having just finished his book, I now need to go to his restaurant in the city: Baohaus. 

LOCATION: 238 E 14TH ST, NEW YORK, NY 10003

We walk in and it's pretty much how I imagined it; tiny place with graffiti and stickers on the black painted walls, old school 90s hip hop blasting from the speakers, just another asian restaurant with an incredible young american feel. I love it. I order two Baos - The Chairman Bao (the pork belly bao) and The Birdhaus Bao (the fried chicken bao) along with an order of Taro Fries. My level of excitement is through the roof. We just beat the rush of people and sit down as the line triples in length. Karie and Zoe end up each ordering three baos - the two I got and the Uncle Jesse which (the tofu Bao). We did in. I start off with the Birdhaus Bao, saving my pork belly Chairman Bao for last and I much on Taro fries (which are even better than I imagined because I was skeptical about the Taro). In the end the Birdhaus Bao is actually my favorite much to my surprise. Zoe is in the fence between the Birdhaus and the Uncle Jesse, while Karie sticks to the classic and says the Chairman is her favorite.

Overall, great little menu and such a chill feel. I love this place. 

Next stop! We go shopping and see a movie, but we start Karie's birthday celebration at dinner so she chooses next. Apparently after 5 phone calls, not restaurant wants to take a reservation for 6 people on a Saturday night leaving us wandering around Manhattan like lost hungry children. Most wait times are 2 to 3 hours which none of us are feeling, so we continue to wander until we get to GEMMA.

LOCATION: 335 BOWERY, NEW YORK, NY 10003

This Italian restaurant is crazy busy but we ask for a table of 6 and they give us an hour wait time. Deal. 30 minutes later we're sitting at a table getting ready to order, so quick service is what we're about tonight. Bread is enough of an appetizer for me, so I order a main course of lamb with roasted cauliflower. I'm a pretty big fan of the cauliflower, good color and flavor, not mushy or crunchy. I haven't had lamb in forever so I'm pretty excited, but honestly I'm a little let down. I order it medium rare and I believe lamb should be, and center pieces are getting pretty close to rare while the end pieces might as well be charcoal. Charred to the point of not tasting like meat anymore and drowned in capers, I can barely taste the gaminess of the meat and I'm kind of disappointed. 

Gemma does redeem itself with dessert. I order a Vanilla Panna Cotta and they put a little candle in Karie'e Nutella Calzone and let us sing to her (at the top of our lungs). Good vanilla flavor and the berry compote on the side is the perfect light touch for me. At least the end of the meal was as nice as the start. Karie is happy with her selection though so that's all that matters for her birthday. 

We're all stuffed and ready to celebrate, bar hopping and ducking into different clubs nearby until 3:30am. A successful night.