Posts Tagged ‘American’
JivamukTea Cafe in Union Square
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve embarked on a three-week cleanse that has totally turned my eating habits upside-down (in a good way). It focuses on eating a lot of non-processed, fresh veggies and fruits and cutting out other mostly-bad-for-you things (caffeine, dairy, etc.). The first week was rough — but I’ve slowly adapted and I’ve been feeling pretty amazing. I’ve had more energy, fitting into my jeans better, even my skin has been responding positively. In the past week I’ve had two people comment on its ‘glow’ (shucks!).
The hardest part I found has simply been A) finding time to do groceries and prepare my meals; B) when I’m short on time, finding places that will serve food that fit the parameters of the cleanse and still taste good. I’ve relied on Blue Dog for healthy, organic shakes some mornings, and anywhere I can get my hands on a salad. After working out with my friend Hamid last weekend, he took me to a cafe I probably would have never found on my own: JivamukTea Cafe. He tends to always show me some hidden gems in the city.
JivamukTea Cafe
The “hidden” cafe lives on the 2nd floor of the Jivamuktea Yoga School in Union Square (right smack in between Max Brenner and Cosi!). With no sign or indication of a cafe up there, you may very well pass right by it.
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Fig & Olive in Midtown East
By Munia Islam
Fig & Olive in midtown
It was one of my dear friend’s birthdays and it was her first time celebrating it in the U.S., so we needed a perfect New York City restaurant to start the night. Since most of the guests were vegetarian (just two of us are meat-eaters), we had to pick a place that had enough vegetarian options to make this a special dinner for the birthday girl! It was Saturday night and a packed crowd filled Fifth Avenue, but we planned ahead and made reservation at Fig & Olive, which fit the bill.
The ambiance of the restaurant was very romantic, but the gorgeous bottles of olive oils lining the walls of the restaurant were just divine and truly lit up the place. For starters, we started with the Cheese Assortment, including fromage de chevre (goat), gorgonzola dolce (cow), Robiola (cow/sheep), manchego (sheep), rocchetta (cow, sheep, goat), with an addition treat of sweet additions of Fig & Olive Walnut Tapenade, as well as Marcona Almond. My favorites were definitely the goat cheese—you can never go wrong with goat cheese, I say—and the tapenade, which allowed for a sweet and savory combination, all just in the first appetizer.
Chicken samosa
Mos Def and burgers at Zaitzeff
Last night, my friends and I trekked downtown to catch Mos Def (or Yasiin Bey as he now goes by) perform with the Brooklyn Philharmonic at the World Financial Center’s Winter Garden last night. It was the first time I was there and was such a beautiful space to watch a show.
The artist formerly known as Mos Def
Yasiin Bey aka Mos Def
But of course, afterwards I was STARVING. I don’t hang out in the Financial District much and I don’t know many places in the area. My friend Priya used to live there though and one thing I do remember is always passing this burger place, Zaitzeff, on the way to her apartment and never having time to stop in. It was one of New York magazine’s top 100 places to eat years ago. I was SO down for burgers right then though, and it was only a short ways away from the concert so we headed over.
Inside is cozy, brightly lit with a few tables, and this gigantic painting I couldn’t stop staring at.
Inside Zeitzaff
Inside Zeitzaff
Poring over Zaitzeff's chalkboard menu. Totally not posing.
Food Dance in Kalamazoo, MI
pretty centerpieces
Here are a few facts about Kalamazoo: No one’s really sure where the name came from. It used to be known as the “Paper City” for its paper mills. It’s the original home of Gibson Guitars. It was once the headquarters for Checker Taxis until they filed for bankruptcy in 2009.
I guess there’s actually nothing super fascinating to tell you about a place as exotic-sounding as Kalamazoo, except maybe the exceptional dinner I had at their not-quite-as-exotic sounding restaurant, Food Dance.
Jake Melnick’s in Chicago
Jake Melnick's Corner Tap in Chicago
The one night I was in Chicago, my sister and I had made plans to visit our friends Shaf and Fiyaz and have dinner at BIG & littles. The problem is, B&L apparently rep Labor Day hard and when we arrived they had a sign waiting for us that they were closed for the holiday. Not cool. But we were able to quickly find another restaurant to take its place. A place that was voted to have the Best Wings in Chicago: Jake Melnick’s. In case you didn’t believe me:
The sign outside
Clinton Street Baking Company – Lower East Side
Clinton Street Baking Company is pretty well known for their brunches, namely their famous pancakes (though it looks like I JUST missed their Pancake Month where they serve a special pancake flavor every Monday. Darn). The line out the door on any given weekend is probably a testament to that.
Clinton Street Baking Company
I’ve been wanting to go for some time now, but never felt like I had the energy to go all the way downtown and wait in line. When a friend was visiting from California though, I thought maybe it would be a nice treat for her to have brunch at a noted NYC spot.
Clinton Street Baking Company inside
Clinton Street Baking Company inside
I went extra early to put our names down, and ended up waiting a total of two hours. Not fun. The place is pretty small so it’s not that easy to get a seat, and weekend afternoon seems to be their most busy time. When we finally sat down though, I asked them to give me their most popular dish. The waitress told me that would be their Wild Maine Pancakes:
Wild Maine blueberry pancakes, $13
