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Need my mexican heart say more?
Today is Thu Tran’s Birthday!!!!! Happy Birthday Thu!
Last night to celebrate Thu’s birthday we went to Fette Sau and ate our body weight in meat. After that we rolled over to Santos Party House to catch SHONEN KNIFE!! Here is a video I took on my phone [it's totally crappy].
Miho Hatori [from Cibo Matto and Gorillaz] and her new band opened up. They are called NEW OPTIMISM and the one and only Bad Brilliance got up onstage and danced with Miho and her hot male revue. Check it out!
Here is the cutest video from Shonen Knife’s new album, Super Group! Have a good birthday THU!
So a few months ago my roommate Emily came home with these weird things called OREO STIX. Perhaps you have seen the commercial:
Anyways these things are weird. They do stay crunchy but I would imagine it’s because they are really made of cardboard or something. The best part of the oreo cookie/milk union is the fact that your oreo gets mushy and dissolves into your milk, making it into a blizzard of sorts.
I am giving these things a thumbs down. Regular oreos can keep a thumbs up.
Oreo blizzards are always welcome, especially if they are mint:
or this guy:
Ok…I didn’t forget about the NYC restaurant weekly review thing. I did say, however, that I am lazy. I do have two very different places to review and they are both tasty! (one is VEGAN and one is certainly not!)
I wanted to take a moment to let everyone know that people in NYC are sometimes a**holes. (Crap! Can I say that on here?!) Granted, you may have known this already because there are a multitude of reasons to think that. I was referring to the fact that sometimes we will be convinced, like the hipster idiots we are, to spend a ton of money on something because it’s “organic” or “green”. I am guilty of this – BUT this time, it was totally worth it. (and let’s be honest, a lot of times it IS worth it because it’s tasty and good for you but the whole time you’re eating your grass-fed burger you can’t help but think it’s so freaking expensive and how you’re kind of an idiot for buying it)
Enter the fancy, pretentious organic ICE CREAM TRUCK! If you are a NYC resident chances are you’ve seen one of these around town. The company is called VAN LEEUWEN ARTISAN ICE CREAM and they drive around town in big, yellow trucks. Recently, one of these trucks has made it’s permanent summer residence around the corner from my workplace, in front of the Standard Hotel in Manhattan. Conveniently located right off the Highline and also in a neighborhood where people have lots of $$ to spend.
Here is a photo of their truck I found online. So last week everyone at work kept coming back with ice cream and talking about this truck. It was one of those killer 89 degree days so I took a stroll around the corner to track down the EARL GREY ICE CREAM everyone was talking about. They also have other, pretentious flavors such as: Red Currant, Ginger, Hazelnut and something called Giandujia.
Here is my delicious, melting cone. I must say, the EARL GREY rocked my tastebuds. It was amazing. And they are actually reasonably priced when compared with other ice cream places in town:
Van Leeuwen Small: $3.95 (which was a good amount for me)
Red Mango Small (no topping): $2.95
Mister Softee Small Cone: $1.95
So despite the fact that it seems pretentious, the company is really good. They only use “paper products” made from sugar cane husks and corn husks, and they donate money to charities. Their ice cream is also truly delicious so I suggest sucking it up and getting one next time you feel like a piece of frozen heaven.
Here is their cute, yet flash heavy site: http://www.vanleeuwenicecream.com/
Also on a completely UNRELATED note, a few of us had a Harry Potter themed dinner party to celebrate the midnight release of the the new movie Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. We made things like “Quaffle Pie” and “Sirius Black Beans and Rice“.
By far the best was the topping Jed and Elias made for their sundaes – a picture is worth 1,000 words:
!!!!
I’m really bad about blogging: I go to a great restaurant, eat amazing food, even take photos and then let them sit on my camera for months. Well, not anymore. Time to play catch-up. Let’s start with my most recent visit and a notorious Manhattan fixture: SHAKE SHACK.
Shake Shack is literally a little shack or kiosk in Madison Square Park located at 23rd and Madison in the Flat Iron District of Manhattan. There are a couple of other locations but this is the original. Here is a nice view of the Shack and the tables in the park. (Visit their cute website: http://www.shakeshacknyc.com/ – featuring a webcam live feed of the line. creepy cool!)
So when you get to the park you just stand in line. I went with 2 other first timers and we just went with it. There is one line and it is LONG so just stand in it. Unless you are getting only custard or concretes (their equivalent of a blizzard) then you can stand in the B-Line or Express Line. If you want burgers and dogs and shakes, suck it up and get in line. I suggest coming with people who are good conversationalists or bring a book or crossword. Maybe not a good idea for first date awkwardness. Or maybe if you like that kinda thing. We clocked ourselves at 1 hour, ten minutes to place our order. Once our order was placed we waited approximately 3 minutes. Very fast!
Eventually you get to one of the free standing menus. Then someone comes by to give you a taste of custard. Then you get really excited. So what’s the deal with this place? Best shake/burger combo in NYC is the rumor. If you like diner style, no bullshit burgers and dogs and custard, you have to try it. If you can read the menu you will see they have a small but varied selection. They are also reasonably priced for NYC: I got a Shack Burger, Fries and a Black and White Shake for 12.75. Not bad.
Krinkle Kut fries rule. I also found the portions to be just right for someone my size. I snack a lot through the day and when I eat a meal I prefer to be delightfully sated. Like, almost full. But not bursting, bellyache full. This was the right amount of food for that.
So as you can see I got a cheeseburger (Their Shack Burger) with LTMayo. I added ketchup and mustard as well. Good burger. Chargrilled. A bit greasy but not too greasy. Perfectly melted cheese. Not too thick bun. God, I’m salivating thinking about this again. It was really good. The fries were perfect – not soggy, not underdone, not old/stale – just right.
As for the shake…I can tell you a shake made with custard is thick, creamy, delicious, and very pleasing. You really need to suck it up your straw. I like that. I opted for the Black and White shack (chocolate vanilla) because sometimes all chocolate is too much. This was really good. Maybe it could’ve been more chocolately, less vanilla-y, but that’s what I get for not ordering a full on chocolate.
Happy customers!
Can you see the joy in my eyes? Truly, it was a beautiful thing.
So, was Shake Shack worth the long wait? Does it live up to the hype? My clean plate says yes.
