Because I didn't get my traditional flat New York slice at Di Fara's, I was determined to get another slice of pizza. I found it in Lombardi's Pizza, which claims to be the first pizzeria in the United States.

The cash-only restaurant actually had available seating as soon as we walked in (!!). Thank goodness. The menu listed pizzas, a few salads, calzone and just a couple appetizers. We ordered a small original margherita pizza ($22). Eeesh pricey for a small.

The interior of this restaurant is definitely old school Italian, with some red checked tablecloths and family photos on the wall. Cozy.

The pizza was very tasty, and again, with fresh basil! I think that's the way all pizza should be. Anyway, this was quite good. Good sauce, good flavors. Better crust.

Grade: A

Remember how I said ramen is a thing now? It is. And Momofuku Noodle Bar in New York City is doing it very well.

Like literally every other thing in this city, we waited a very long time for our table. Finally, we were seated along the long table with strangers on either side of us and looked over the menu.



We put in an order of the pork buns (not on the menu but clearly ordered often). This was a very good decision.

The pork buns were just two bites or so each, but talk about some flavor! I love the texture of that chewy bun, plus super tender pork and a nice tangy sweet sauce. Just divine.

My main entree was the Momofuku Ramen - with pork belly, pork shoulder and a poached egg. This ramen was a good bit different from the other I had back in Boston. It was clearly a prettier presentation. And, there were more extraneous ingredients beyond noodles and broth. Plus I loved the little fish cake on the side!

My verdict: I love the broth. This broth is so delicious. It's salty - but not overly salty - and hot and soothing. I liked the larger, chewier noodles better than these ones. THOUGH, these are much easier to eat. The pork is delicious, and I love the fish cake. A good bit of other ingredients helped break up texture so it's not just a big bowl of soup.

Grade: A

I had one single drink in New York City, and it cost me about $17 total.


$17.


We stopped at E&E Grill House before we headed to our Broadway show for happy hour, and I looked over the menu. Yes, I could've just got a beer - but what fun would that have been? I wanted to try something unique to this place, so I ordered the Violet Beauregarde: elderflower liqueur, prosecco, fresh lemon juice, blueberry-pomegranate juice.

It was tasty, yes, and refreshing. But for that price? Meh.

Grade: C

Serendipity 3 is the scene of a few movies, including Serendipity, where a couple meet shopping at Bloomingdales and later share a dessert at the restaurant. The restaurant is also known to have been frequented by Marilyn Monroe, Andy Warhol and First Lady Jackie O.

They are known for their famous frozen hot chocolate. Unfortunately, you can't make reservations for just dessert, so you have to wait in a crazy long line. We actually tried to go here one night, but the wait was too long and would've made us miss dinner, so we had to come back the second night. It was OK, though, while waiting, we got to check out Dylan's Candy Bar.

When it was our turn, we arrived at our table and placed an order for the frozen hot chocolate. Was it good? Yes. Was it great? It was OK. I didn't love the shaved chocolate, because it made for an odd texture. And I think I was expected a milkshake? This was less sweet than a milkshake. But, it's still tasty.


Grade: B

Katz's Delicatessen is a Kosher-style deli known for huge pastrami sandwiches and as a New York City institution. It's also often cited as the location of Meg Ryan's famous fake orgasm scene in When Harry Met Sally.

This may have been the most heavily tourist-frequented stop along our trip. We waited outside in a huge line for what seemed like forever. Once we finally got to the door, we received a ticket. This, they said, is very important and to hold onto it for dear life. Got it.

Then, we were sort of funneled into makeshift lines at the counter. There weren't single-file lines because it was just an ocean of people struggling to make their way to the front. We sort of aligned ourself to one line and waited our turn.

I put in my order for half a pastrami sandwich and a bowl of matzoh ball soup. The man behind the counter chopped off a hunk of pastrami, plated it and set it atop the counter so I could have a bite. Is this to just get a taste of what you ordered? It was the little bits, so maybe they just don't want to use those on a sandwich. I dunno. But I had a bite or two and braced myself for how much more was to come.

You go down to the other end of the counter for any sides or drinks. It was so packed in here, we had a hard time finding three seats together. Finally, as some people were standing up, we snuck in and had a place to eat.

These sandwiches are massive. Even just the half sandwich has nine or so slices of pastrami. It's a lot of meat. I was very generous with the mustard to help cut through all that meat. And yes, it is very good. It's moist and flavorful. It's just a lot.

I mixed bites of my sandwich with bites of my matzoh ball soup, which is delicious. I love matzoh ball soup.

Oh, and the pickles! Very good. And a nice, cold, refreshing bite after all that heavy food.

For just a half sandwich, a matzoh ball soup and a water, it was $20. I was pretty surprised at how expensive sandwiches were. A full sandwich is around $20 alone. But, as you can see, you do get a ton of food. Prepare your stomach and your patience.


Grade: A

Macarons have become serious business lately. And, no I'm not talking about the coconut dollops ("Macaroons"). Instead, I'm talking about the French delicacies ("Macarons" which sounds like MacaRONS or MacaRONES). They are meringue-based confections made with egg white, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond powder and food coloring. The macaron is filled with ganache, buttercream or caramel (my favorite!) between the two cookies.

While we had our fancy lunch in New York City, Josh was actually taking a class at Mille-Feuille Bakery on how to make these macarons. And, he brought us some from Mille-Feuille back! So, I didn't get the chance to visit this bakery, but I did get the chance to gobble down some of this macarons!

I can certainly see why people are on the macaron train. The texture is so much different than I would've imagined. I've only have a few of these before, and these were by far the best. It is just a a light crumble-melt-in-your-mouth characteristic that makes me want to eat 1,000 of these. I had the caramel one, which was heaven. An actual layer of caramel in the middle. And I also had the rose one - which tastes like, well, rose. They're pricey. So make every bite count.

Grade: A

What would a trip to NYC be without a visit to Chinatown? Josh has a favorite place he likes to get his wontons from. HK Wonton Garden has folks wearing Hawaiian shirts and serving up some tasty, tasty offerings.

I ordered su-mai, and it's unlike other su-mai I've had. It was large pieces of pork and shrimp encased in this lovely dumpling. Not nearly as ... sweet? as the Americanized versions I eat. But overall - quite good.





Grade: B