****½ (4.5/5)

I was visiting the Washington Square Arch in Greenwich Village, New York quite early in the morning. My friends and I were looking for a quick breakfast place near by, and we found Bagel Bob’s listed in our trusty Not For Tourists for NY guide book.

This was a tiny bagel shop with only a couple tables in the shop. Bagel Bob’s didn’t just sell bagels, they had sandwiches and wraps too, but we were more interesting in eating the bagels. We got a Plain Bagel with Garlic and Herb cream cheese, a Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese with Everything Bagel, and a Whole Wheat Bagel with Strawberry Cream Cheese.

The food came out pretty fast, and the bagels were nice and warm. They were so fresh. The bagels had a really nice flaky crust, the middle was doughy and super soft. They were probably the freshest bagel I’ve ever had.

The best one out of the 3 we ordered has to be the Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese with Everything Bagel. First of all, you just cannot go wrong with that combination. And secondly, it was the best Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese bagel I’ve had in my life. The bagel itself was so delicious, everything tasted so fresh. It had a little bit of capers, and a little bit of dill. The amount of salmon and cream cheese ratio was just perfect. We really wanted to order another one of it to go.

It’s really too bad my picture below can’t do it justice. I absolutely miss these bagels. Since Bagel Bob’s is located near NYU, the food was inexpensive too. Amazing bagel shop, must visit!

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Bagel Bob’s
51 University Pl
New York, NY 10003
(212) 533-2627

****~ (4/5)

I was walking around Soho in New York when I walked past Rice To Riches. I had one of those moments where you walk past by something you know and but you just don’t know how or why you know it. I took me a second, then I realized I know this place from the movie ‘Hitch’. That was enough to make me to go try the goopey looking thingy Eva Mandes was eating in that movie.

Rice To Riches is a rice pudding dessert place. They have up to 18 flavors of rice puddings. The place was very bright, colourful, and neon. We ordered the Epic ($7.50), which was just rice pudding in 1 more 2 flavors, and for the flavors we decided on the Hazelnut Chocolate Bear Hug, and Coconut Coma.

The rice pudding came in a green reusable plastic bowl with lid and 2 green flat spoons, you’re allowed to take them home, and I did. They were very interesting designs, and work worked well with the rice pudding.

The rice pudding itself was pretty fantastic. The Hazelnut Chocolate Bear Hug was very chocolaty, smooth and had a very nice blend of hazelnut, and chocolate. It wasn’t too sweet. The rice was soft, but not mushy. The Coconut Coma was also really yummy. It was creamier than the Hazelnut Chocolate, and to my surprise, I enjoyed the chocolate one more.

This was a great place to get dessert and refuel yourself after a long day shopping in Soho. I would definitely return.

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Rice To Riches
37 Spring St
New York, NY 10012
(212) 274-0008

****~ (4/5)

I first heard about A Salt & Battery on the food channel. If you are familiar with Bobby Flay’s show Throw down, this was the fish n chips place Bobby Flay lost in New York. Because this restaurant was on TV and won the Throw Down, it was one of my must visit restaurants when I visited New York.

This place was fairly small. There were no tables, just bars along the wall and the front window for you to sit. The menu only had a few items on it. Aside from Cod and Chips, there were also chicken chunks, shrimp, scallops, battered and deep fried. There were also deep fried mars bars for dessert.

I ordered what I went for the Cod and Chips. It came in a basket with malt vinegar tarter sauce and coleslaw. The chips were cut nice and thick, and it was crispy. As for the cod, the batter was nice, light and crispy. The batter didn’t had too much spices in it, which was nice because it allowed me to taste the fish. The fillet of the fish was fairly big, and it was cooked perfectly. It was not dry, it was very simple and very delicious. The tarter sauce had just enough acidity in it, it was a really nice sauce for the fish and the chips.

I went to this place with a friend whom previously lived in England, he gave a thumb up to its authenticity, and said this place reminded him of England. I think that was a good thing, and a compliment to the restaurant. This place was probably one of the few places in New York to get real authentic fish n chips. My meal there was great, and the name, so clever! I’d definitely go back the next time I visit New York.

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A Salt & Battery
112 Greenwich Ave
New York, NY 10011
(212) 691-2713

****~ (4/5)

Katz’s Deli could be labeled as one of the tourist traps in New York since it is listed in almost every travel guide for New York City. I was a tourist in New York, I love food, I like sandwiches, so it was a no brainer that I’d drop by with my greedy taste buds.

This place was hella busy, and was certainly not what I expected. Talk about a tourist trap, there were line ups  in the restaurant just to order food, not to mention the place was super packed. While lining up, we asked on of the security guards what was THE item to get here, and he answered ‘Pastrami on Rye! The Pastrami on Rye is the money!’ without hesitation, I loved his attitude.

When we finally got to the long deli counter, we ordered Pastrami on Rye ($14.95), Salami ($13.45), and Corned Beef ($14.95) Sandwiches. We also got a little paper stub that indicated on what food we ordered. Those stubs were used to pay for the sandwiches at the cashier on the way out.

The sandwiches came with a plate of thickly sliced pickles. Yum! My favorite sandwich would be the Pastrami. The meat was stacked high, true deli style, it looked really appetizing. It was my first time having pastrami, and it was SO GOOD! The sandwich was warm and the meat was nicely smoked and juicy. I didn’t even have mustard or mayo in the sandwich, and I didn’t need them at all. The security guard wasn’t lying.

The Corned Beef was also pretty tasty, but it was a little bit raw for me. The Salami was a cold sandwich, and I think it had enough salami pieces for me to make 10 sandwiches. It was a little bit weird eating cold cuts in a stack like that, but it was pretty good too.

The sandwiches were great, and the pickles were too! They were 2 kinds of pickles, one of them was pickled longer than the other as you could tell by their colours. They were both really great to eat with the sandwiches, crunchy and vinegary, I liked them a lot.

The decor of this place was very simple, like a cafeteria. It was a big place with simple tables and chairs. The walls were filled with pictures of celebrities visiting there. I wonder if they ever had to line up as well. If you go with a group of people, you can work as a team, get someone to order and someone to fight for seats because it was really busy in there. That’s what we did, and it still took us a while to find seats.

I did find the price to be a bit expensive. Averaging $15 dollars for a sandwich, I’m not sure I’d pay that price for a sandwich at anywhere else. But on the other hand, a burger at a semi nice restaurant would cost me almost $15 dollars too and it probably would not be as good as Katz’ pastrami sandwich.

Katz’s Deli, something to visit at least once when you’re in New York.

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Katz’s Deli
205 E Houston St
New York, NY 10002
(212) 254-2246
www.katzdeli.com

****~ (4/5)

Serendipity 3 is probably one of the few things that lives up to their hype. They do have one of best cold desserts. And it was also because of their media exposure, I was extra excited when I got to go there.

We arrived around 10pm, but we had to wait for an hour and a bit before we finally got our table for 4. Yah, this place is busy until they close. I’m not sure if the wait is like this everyday, because I did go there during the Christmas Holidays, when New York is extra packed with tourists.

This place has 2 floors, but it is very tiny. The décors inside is really cute, and I certainly did not expect the gigantic menus. Gigantic, as in physical size, not the number of items, it can literally cover my whole upper body. I ordered what I came for: Frozen hot chocolate. The frozen hot choclolate is really like what it sounds. It’s like hot chocolate but cold. And it is slushy like, very chocolaty, very goood. The size is masive, and it comes with 2 straws. Sharing is caring! Forget about calories counting, this is a must try!

I do agree, this place is kind of a tourist trap, but it was still really worth the 1 hour wait in the freezing December weather.

mmmmm yum!

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Serendipity 3
225 East 60th Street
between 2nd and 3rd Avenues
New York, NY 10022
http://www.serendipity3.com/