NYC: Milk Bar

If you read my Momofuku posting, Noodle Bar was just okay.  Good, but I don't think I'll be dying for another trip here anytime soon.  Another David Chang joint we tried is Milk Bar.  We ordered the cereal milk shake, and cereal milk soft serve ice cream which tasted just like the leftover milk from a bowl of cereal - if only I could think of the cereal it tasted like.  It was really good.  I think I'd order the soft serve  ice cream again.

We also tried the Crack Pie and Compost Cookie.  The Crack Pie wasn't as addictive as I thought it would be, but it was good and tasted like a butter pie.  The Compost Cookie was great, it really was just a mixture of just about anything you can think of.  It was as if a little kid just came up with the recipe and couldn't make up their mind about what to make so they just mixed everything together.

The it primary ingredients (in case you can't see the detail from the photo) is sugar, brown sugar, cream, egg yolks, whole oats, unbleached wheat flour, and whole eggs.

Milk Bar (map)
207 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10003

NYC: Sundaes and Cones

Sundaes and Cones, what a great little homemade ice cream shop on a beautiful tree lined street in the East Village.  It's also right around the corner from Ippudo, so it's perfect for getting dessert right after dinner.  I got a scoop of Taro Root.  They do have other standard flavors too, but their unique flavors, such as Lychee, sesame, wasabi, etc add a bit of twist to this place.

I love this little secret ice cream shop. There aren't a lot of seats inside, but there's a couple benches outside where you can sit if it's a nice day. I can't wait to go back here again!

They also take custom cake orders as well.

Sundaes and Cones (map)
95 East 10th Street (bet. 3rd and 4th Ave)
New York, NY 10003

NYC: Bar Breton

It was a Thursday night when we went to Bar Breton.  The chef, Cyril Renaud, previously opened a restaurant called Fleur de Sel which received a star from Michelin three years in a row.  When he closed Fleur de Sel in 2008/2009, he opened up Bar Breton, a brasserie style restaurant.  With such a stellar resume and reviews, why was I so disappointed?  Maybe the word disappointed is a bit too strong.  I had pretty high hopes, and it's not that the food was bad, it just wasn't amazing.

I ordered the Cauliflower Gratin to start - good, but nothing really special.  In fact, it didn't have much flavor.  For my entree, I had my eye on the Salmon with Lentils, but once I heard the special, I ordered the Black Sea Bass.

Ethan ordered the House Smoked Salmon with horseradish creme, shallots, chives, and radish.  It was quite good and the flavors really complimented each other.  The only downside was the portion--more along the lines of an appetizer rather than an entree...I noticed Ethan eating slower than he normally does just to keep pace with the rest of us.

For dessert, we shared the Nutella Galette.  It was good, but the Chocolate Mousse ordered by our friends is better if you are in the mood for something more rich and chocolaty.  Since I didn't order a savory galette (they're known for their galettes), I thought we should get one for dessert.

Nutella Galette

One thing I was quite impressed with was the selection of gluten free dishes which was a majority of the items on the menu.  I think I would like to try the brunch menu sometime.

Bar Breton
254 5th Avenue (map)
New York, NY 10001-6406
(212) 213-4999

NYC: The Barn at Bedford Post Inn (Brunch)

Janet:

I've had my eye on Bedford Post Inn for some time now and finally, Yumi and I booked a morning of Yoga followed by Brunch in the Barn. I really wanted to spend the night at the Inn, but at $400 a night, it's a bit out of my price range. It was a beautiful 50 degree, blue sky day. Yoga in the morning was a great way start to the day. The class we took was called Iyengar yoga...I don't do yoga enough to really know the difference between all of the yoga styles, but it was really good and I can't wait to go again. Bedford Post is only about 45 minutes from Manhattan.

The Barn was really quaint and rustic. It's still a bit too cold to be eating outside, but that's why we need to go back there so we can enjoy it all over again once the weather is a bit warmer. I ordered the spicy grilled chicken sandwich with a side of applewood smoked bacon. Yumi and I shared a side of herbed french fries. The fries were NOT that good. They weren't soggy, but they weren't really crunchy either and they just missed flavor.

Dessert...yes, we ordered dessert after brunch, we shared a warm chocolate brownie with stracciatella gelato.

Yumi:

I had the poached eggs with polenta, which was really good, but really rich so I couldn't finish it. The best part of the visit was the snacks that we picked up after brunch. I got the vanilla cupcake and an apple strudel. The cupcake was moist with just the right ratio of cake to frosting, and the apple strudel was just sheer bliss. The apples were cooked to perfection with a hint of lemon.

Spicy Chicken Sandwich

Warm Brownie sunday with Stracciatella Gelato

Here are some other pastries from the Barn:

Bedford Post Inn

954 Old Post Road (map)

Bedford, NY 10506