The Food of NYC

So I figured I'd start out by telling you about my favorite thing in NYC...food!  Hey, I have to make those pounds I put on while there count for something, right?  Although we didn't really go out anywhere that was deemed a "Best of NYC" stop, we still found deliciousness lurking in every corner.

First stop:  Shake Shack!  A Facebook friends highly recommended this place, and I'm not one to turn down a tasty burger.  There were a few different locations, but since we stayed near Times Square, we opted to make that location our stop.  The line was ridiculously long, but we waited anyways, opting for two burgers, and order of fires to share, and a custard shake.  The outcome?  For one, the shake was fantastic!  I love custard, and it really made the shake smooth and creamy.  The burgers were pretty tasty, so they also get two thumbs up from me.  I've never had a burger completely blow me away (as much as I love them) but Shake Shack burgers are definitely on par with In N Out...maybe better.

The menu of Shake Shack.

It was ridiculously crowded.

Our delicious loot.

For dessert (I know we had the shake...but that didn't count), we stumbled on the Cake Boss Bakery.  Since we were there for my birthday, we decided to pop in and try a favorite of mine...Boston Creme Pie.  The shop was fun (and didn't have a line...whoo, hoo!), and the cake was creamy and scrumptious.  It took all of my willpower not to try more of the treats they had.

Me and my loot.

For dinner, we went to a Turkish restaurant called The Dervish.  Joel has a real affinity for Turkish food ever since he lived there for two years, and St. Louis is sorely lacking good ethnic food.  Joel was pleasantly surprised how good the food was, probably thanks to the cooks and waiters actually being Turkish, and although I don't love Turkish food, it was a pretty good meal.

Joel's fave, the Iskander Kebab.

My Chicken Kebab.

Every other day for lunch, we made our way over Little Italy for some much wanted Italian food.  Like I said, St. Louis is sorely lacking in good ethnic food, and its so called "The Hill" area doesn't taste anything like the food I've had in Italy.  The first place we tried was called Taormina.  We had a place in Germany by that name, and since they looked busy, we decided to give them a try.  They did not disappoint.  This was by far the best Italian food outside of Europe that I've had.

Scrumptious.

Joel's awesome bolognese.

The next day we tried a different spot, called Cafe Napoli.  Even though the workers were pushy and loud, we thought that was pretty much how Italians are, so we gave it a spot.  My pasta was just so-so, and Joel's bolognese was good, but it didn't beat out Taormina.  So, on the last day we went back to Taormina.  They don't have the best service, and we noticed both places had the tip included already (which actually is typical for Europe), so just don't be surprised by that if you go.

My pasta; kind of bland, sadly.

Joel's bolognese.

And when you go to Little Italy, make sure you stop and get some cannoli's.  The bakery on Mulberry street is far better than the outside vendors, and cheaper.  I wish I could remember the name, but it was ah-ma-zing.

See the Cannoli's at the top?

Other tasty Italian treats.

Our loot.

Heaven in a dessert.

And what's the best way to end a fabulous trip to NYC?  With cheesecake, of course.  We went to a place called Junior's (kind of touristy, but worth it).  I'll let the cheesecake speak for itself.

You are drooling now, aren't you?