What I ate in New York

Now that my Christmas and new year blog posts are done and dusted, I thought it was about time I wrote another blog post about New York.

January feels as if it's dragged on for about a hundred years, and it genuinely feels like a lifetime ago since we experienced the magic of New York during the festive season.

We really love eating (shock horror) so we researched lots of places to eat before we went and plotted all the possibilities on a Trello board. We also added a few must-do-again restaurants to our list after falling in love with a few on our first trip to New York six years ago.

If you know me at all, you'll know that my days are always structured around food whether I'm at home, in work or on holiday. We started every day with a classic American breakfast which usually kept us full until mid afternoon, then we'd have a snack and a hot drink before going out for dinner a few hours later.

After reading the title of this post, I know you all just want see some food photos rather than scrolling through my ramblings. Your wish is my command...



Breakfast 

We ate breakfast at our hotel on the first morning. It was a good breakfast but was very expensive, so we decided to eat at Tick Tock Diner every morning for the rest of our trip. It was only a ten minute walk from our hotel, and we had a bonus view of the Empire State Building from our table if we were given a window seat. The pancakes at Tick Tock Diner are my absolute favourites, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm salivating just thinking about them.

Fast food 

One of the many excellent things about New York is the sheer amount of places where you can eat on the go. There's a huge variety of cuisines to choose from to suit every possible dietary requirement and appetite. Our most difficult decision was figuring out how to try as many places as we possibly could during our trip without over-eating and making ourselves sick.

We discovered a place that sold huge pizza slices for two dollars on our first afternoon so we promptly went there for our first snack of the holiday. Obviously you can't go wrong with a pizza slice for two dollars, so we visited a couple more times before the end of our trip.

We couldn't go to New York without getting a takeaway cheesecake to eat in our hotel room over three days, so we made sure we went to Junior's to get the biggest slice of cheesecake I've ever seen. True to form, it did last three days. 

The next two snacks were absolute must-dos after our last trip. The best hot dog I've ever had from the food court in Grand Central Station, and a giant burrito from Chipotle Mexican Grill.

Lastly on the snack front, no day in my life is complete without a hot chocolate stop. Although we tried to go to coffee shops we wouldn't find in the UK for the most part, I did succumb to a Starbucks one afternoon when I had a sugar low and was freezing cold. 

Dinner 

We'd scouted out all the restaurants we went to for dinner on TripAdvisor beforehand and they definitely lived up to the hype.

My favourite find was Bareburger on 46th St, and we ate here on our first evening and our last evening. If America does one thing really well, it's big fat burgers. And just look at the size of those onion rings! There are lots of sweet potato fries hiding under there too which were equally as delicious. 

After trying Junior's last time we visited New York and rating it as our best meal of the trip, we absolutely had to visit again. The photo makes my meal look a bit beige and bland, but I can promise you that it wasn't. However, I will grudgingly admit that it was far too big for me to eat the entire thing. 

Pure Thai, a little hidden gem on 9th Avenue, was another firm favourite. We would easily have walked past it without a thought if we hadn't looked it up on TripAdvisor. It was a tiny little restaurant with fewer than ten tables so we were lucky to get seated without a booking. The food was so simple but SO TASTY, and the service was fantastic. 

We splashed out on an expensive meal at K Rico Steakhouse, a few doors up from Pure Thai. We had three courses and a couple of glasses of wine, and it was well worth the price. The waiter helpfully warned us that the desserts were big enough to share, so I didn't eat that entire slice of cheesecake myself (just in case you were wondering). 

I well and truly miss New York and its amazing food, and I'm absolutely starving after writing this post. Have I inspired you to try any of these places if/when you visit New York? Let me know! 

Breakfast review: Bill's

Going for breakfast at Bill's has become a little bit of an obsession for us over the last few months.

I've visited Bill's loads of times for lunch and dinner, but we'd never got around to going there for breakfast until the end of May. We were missing our American breakfasts after coming home from Florida with a particular craving for pancakes, and we'd heard that Bill's was a pretty good substitute.

There's a Bill's in Cardiff city centre and in Cardiff Bay, and I've been to both restaurants several times over the last few years. However, when we go to Bill's as a couple, we always go to the one in Cardiff Bay as it's more convenient for us and is set in beautiful surroundings, especially on a sunny day.

On our first visit to Bill's back in May, I ordered the banana, strawberry and blueberry pancakes. You can choose between a 3 stack or a 5 stack, so I opted for the 3 stack to be on the safe side. I've got a hefty appetite but, for some reason, I REALLY struggle to finish all my food when it comes to American pancakes. 

I think you'll agree that this is a very instagrammable breakfast. The pancakes come with a decent helping of Bill's 'pancake syrup', which is basically their own branded maple syrup. The fruit adds the sweetness that's needed to break up the texture of the pancakes, and the whole dish just works perfectly. These pancakes are slightly thinner than their American counterparts which means they're more manageable for me, and I can comfortably clear my plate as long as I order a 3 stack. 

On our second visit to Bill's for breakfast in June, I chose the smoked streaky bacon pancakes. I think I marginally prefer the fruity variety, but that bacon really was cooked to perfection. My only slight issue with the bacon pancakes is that they come with a big dollop of very rich butter as well as the pancake syrup, and this meant the meal felt a little too rich for me towards the end. 

Bill's has plenty of options for breakfast if you don't fancy pancakes, but I don't think I'll ever be able to order anything else just in case I'm disappointed! There are also plenty of beverages on offer including tea, coffee, orange juice and a very tasty apple, carrot and ginger juice. 

Our breakfast usually comes to around £22, and Bill's will also add an optional 10% service charge to your bill. I think this is pretty reasonable for a good quality breakfast, and it's always a lovely experience with great service. We definitely need to plan our next visit soon. 

Have you been to Bill's for breakfast recently? What did you think? 

Florida and food...

One of my favourite things about going on holiday is knowing that I can eat as much as I want without feeling guilty. I always make a big effort to eat healthily during the week when I'm at home, so it's nice to relax the rules when I'm on holiday. Calories don't count when you're abroad, right?

The food in Florida is absolutely immense and I couldn't even begin to describe all the meals I ate there... you'd probably think I was disgusting if I detailed everything I ate. Or you'd be very very jealous.

I thought I'd compile a list of my top five restaurants, then I realised that I couldn't really narrow it down to a top five because there are so many fantastic places to eat in Orlando. So... I've attempted to rank my favourite five restaurants, but I added a load of notable mentions too to make sure I didn't leave anything out. I didn't take many photos of my food unfortunately, but I can assure you that it was all amazing.

1. Portobello, Downtown Disney

We ate in Portobello on our last night, and we definitely saved the best until last. I had beef and veal meatballs in a tomato sauce to start, and spinach and ricotta ravioli for my main course. We were also given some bread rolls with olive oil and roasted garlic... I'm still drooling at the thoughts of this amazing meal. Words can't actually describe it. We didn't have room for dessert unfortunately, but we did splash out on a bottle of Pinot Grigio as it was our last night. This was also Neil's favourite meal of the holiday, and we'll definitely be returning at least once next time we go to Florida. 20 out of 10!

2. The Cheesecake Factory, Mall at Millenia

The Cheesecake Factory isn't actually in Disney World but it's an absolute must if you're ever visiting Orlando. It's located in Mall at Millenia, and it's definitely not just about the cheesecake... although that's pretty good too. Their menu is about 20 pages long, and you really do have to spend about fifteen minutes deciding what you want. I went for a grilled chicken and avocado sandwich for my main course and the Oreo cheesecake for my dessert. You might be thinking that a sandwich is just a sandwich, but this is definitely the best sandwich I've ever had in my life. Don't even get me started on the cheesecake... it was absolutely spectacular. I took it back to the resort with me and took three days to finish it!

3. The Rainforest Cafe, Downtown Disney

Again, this is a restaurant you absolutely have to visit if you're in the area. It's a very unique restaurant as the interior actually makes you feel as if you're in a rainforest... there are even fake earthquakes and volcano eruptions from time to time! I had an amazing Italian sausage and mozzarella pasta in a tomato sauce, and I definitely didn't need a starter or a dessert to go with this massive main course. They do lovely cocktails too!

4. Perkins, Crossroads

Perkins is situated just outside the gates to Walt Disney World and is hugely popular with tourists and locals alike. We went for breakfast at Perkins twice... I had a bacon, egg and cheese melt with hash browns the first time and strawberry pancakes the second time. I ate every bite of the bacon, egg and cheese melt as it was probably the best breakfast I've ever had. However, I only managed one and a half pancakes as my stomach doesn't seem to let me eat any more than that before getting full. This is very gutting for me as their pancakes are delicious!

5. Via Napoli, Epcot

Need I say any more after sharing this picture? This pepperoni pizza was big enough for both of us to share and is one of the best pizzas I've ever had. I know I keep saying that about all the food I eat in Florida, but it's so true! I also had lovely mozzarella and risotto balls to start in Via Napoli, but the starters are always slightly overshadowed (literally) by this immense pizza. The pizza dough was absolutely perfect, and the pepperoni was really tasty and wasn't dripping with grease. No other pizza will ever satisfy me!

Notable mentions:

Nine Dragons Restaurant, Epcot's World Showcase

We ate here three times!

Earl of Sandwich, Downtown Disney

Pictures will never do it justice.

Ghirardelli's, Downtown Disney

Might have eaten four of these during the holiday...

Be our Guest, Magic Kingdom

An amazing and authentic dining experience... and I met the Beast!

Karamell-Kuche, Epcot's World Showcase

I wanted EVERYTHING... I settled for some chocolate covered grapes. 

Good's Food to Go, Old Key West

Good old American food!

The Plaza, Magic Kingdom

Lovely burger and New York cheesecake... first meal after we got engaged :)

Churros and pretzels, everywhere!

Are you hungry yet? The big question is... how did I only put on 2lbs?!

Frantic about Florida #8

One month to go until I go on holiday! I'm almost tempted to count down the hours... I'm THAT excited. On that note, it's time for the eighth post in my Frantic about Florida series. You can read the previous posts on the links below:

Frantic about Florida #1
Frantic about Florida #2
Frantic about Florida #3
Frantic about Florida #4
Frantic about Florida #5
Frantic about Florida #6
Frantic about Florida #7


Here are another five things I'm super excited about...

1. The Magic Kindgom's overwhelming cheese factor 

The parades, shows and rides are massively cheesy and I love it!

2. The wave pool in Typhoon Lagoon

I stayed firmly in the shallow end but it was still a lot of fun.

3. Breakfast at Perkins'

Bacon and avocado omelette, breakfast potatoes, three buttermilk pancakes 

and an orange juice... Needless to say, I didn't manage to eat all of it. 

4. The Hulk ride at Universal's Islands of Adventure

Exhilarating!

5. 'Friendship' boat from Epcot to Hollywood Studios

Relaxing boat ride with beautiful views of some of the nicest resorts

EEEEEEEEEP! Two instalments to go... watch this space. 

New York #7: Food!

I love food. This is not news. Consequently, I was massively excited about sampling the food in New York. The food was amazing when I went to Florida last year, so I was expecting great things. My boyfriend was calling me the paparazzi as I took photos of all my meals (and desserts!), but it just had to be done for blogging purposes. I ate cakes I wouldn't dream of eating at home, and some mahoosive main meals too.  Thankfully we did lots of walking to burn off the excess calories.

So here's a summary in photos of what I ate throughout the week... don't judge me!

First night - Chicken and broccoli pizza slices at The Bread Factory

Breakfast at the hotel on our first morning - the bacon and the 

apple and cinnamon cake thing were especially tasty!

Cheeseburger and onion rings at Juniors - my favourite meal!

Carrot Cake Cheesecake from Juniors. It took me three days in total to finish this!

Hot dog from Frankie's in Grand Central Station. 

Baked beans, bacon bits and barbecue sauce.

Thai Green Curry from a little Thai restaurant in the Hell's Kitchen area

Cupcakes from the Crumbs Bake Shop - mine is the 

Cookie Dough cupcake on the left

American pancakes with strawberries from the Tick Tock Diner

Pepperoni stromboli from the Villa Kitchen in Times Square

Steak burrito from Chipotle Mexican Grill. My first burrito!

Giant chocolate chip cookie from The Bread Factory

Oreo Cake Tower on our last afternoon... Sadly, I couldn't finish it all

Don't panic, I (miraculously) didn't come back 5 stone heavier. My favourite meals were the American pancakes from Tick Tock Diner, the cheeseburger and onion rings from Juniors, and the carrot cake cheesecake from Juniors. Can you recommend any other restaurants in New York?