USA - New York

After a rainy week in NYC the sun was finally shining and spring had arrived! When the weather gets warmer, the craving for fresh, light and clean tatsing food gets stronger.

If ‘chocolate factory’ conjures up images of Wonka’s waterfall then you aren’t far off the truth – the pouring and whirling of chocolate is a key part of the process. I discovered this recently, when I was lucky to visit the Mast Brothers testing room and factory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

This is a compilation of honourable food & beverage mentions from a recent trip to NYC to visit Maxie and see the sights of this wonderous place.

Venues, meals, beverages & experiences are listed in no particular order, it's just a general archive of awesomeness.

I managed to survive 2 years living in England without eating one Scotch Egg. Now in NYC with the rise of the 'gastropub' these strange little morsals are popping up on menu's and chalkboards daily.

A 'scotch egg' is traditionally an english picnic food, which is essentially just a boiled egg wrapped in meat. An English supermarket claims to have invented them, however their origins can be traced back to a Moghul dish called 'nargisi kofta'. 

Our newest guest blogger Eleanor brings us a passionate and comprehensive guide to NYC's iciest pleasures... 

Visiting Harlem we knew that some southern soul food needed to be on the menu. Not being able to get into Red Rooster (book well ahead if you’re planning to go) we opted for other local hotspot Amy Ruth's.

No actually, I think American runs on calories. Flicking through a Cosmo or other womans magazine recently, I stumbled upon this snip it in the 'health and nutrition' section on "How to eat more of what you love without packing on the pounds" (or something equally as bad). Here's the words of wisdom they had to offer...

With a big night of dancing ahead of us, we thought it the perfect opportunity to fuel ourselves with the power of mexican food and margaritas and finally try the food at Lupe's.

One beautiful sunny Saturday morning, and having some friends from out of state in town, we decided to spend the day eating, walking and sightseeing around the West Village. 

This place had been on Maxie’s hit list after coming here just for dessert and having her mind blown with the white Sesame Tart with black sesame ice cream and shiso Flan with umeboshi sorbet, and I take no convincing to eat Japanese.

'Belgian Lion' by Marcel Broodthaers, 1968

New York has opened our eyes to several flavour sensations; dollar slices, 'smors' and having peanut butter on absolutely everything. The most recent liquid delight we were introduced to is the 'brass monkey'. 

"Brass monkey- that funky monkey
brass monkey- junkie
that funky monkey"

With friends visiting from Chicago and me visiting from Australia, Saturday morning meant a breakfast out in NYC. Maxie and I had walked past cute and cosy looking Jack's Wife Freda (224 Lafayette street, New York, NY 10009) on a recent stroll and noted it as somewhere to visit. We would definitely come back! 

In a recent wander around Williamsburg on a chilly afternoon Maxie and I were lured in by the neon lights, warmth and promise of interesting beverages at David Chang's Milk Bar. 

Here at The Bookery Cook, we are all about setting and achieving goals. We thought that the new year is the perfect time to set ourselves some gastromonic goals.

...almost as much as I do!

Today was absolutely beautiful in New York- sunny and 12 degrees- perfect weather for adventuring!

1/3 of the Bookery Cook (Maxie) team has now relocated in NYC… she will be blogging from her culinary adventures over there! And for her other adventures (not so food related) check out her personal blog Designersaur.