new york, new york

being in new york, the culinary hotbed that it is, presents an interesting dilemma for a wannabe foodie like myself: too many choices. now, i realize its better to have too many options than not enough of them but what do you when you just had thomas keller's version of a nutter butter (peanut butter mousse sandwiched between two fresh baked peanut butter cookies) at Bouchon Bakery, which nearly killed you it was so good, and you see Doughnut Plant up ahead? i'll tell you what you do; you get a donut. because it may be several months before you come across a jelly donut as light and delicious as this again. and that's the problem you face, or at least i face: as soon as i give into the donut, i see the bagels, the pizza, the hotdogs; i want 'em all. i will get them all. at least, thats what i tell myself before reason finally starts knocking around up there to remind me: everything in moderation (or heart failure is imminent).

sadly, there's only so much of you to go around. a line needs to be drawn on how much foodie heaven one can experience in a 5 day span. interestingly enough, thats exactly what i'm looking for to help narrow down my choices: a line. not just any line, but one forming out the door, around the corner, and down the block; preferably midday in the middle of the week when the forming of such a line would seem unreasonable. furthermore, when i get in line, and still can't see the end, i want to hear people making comments like "this is nothing compared to last week" or "this isn't bad at all."



jill (my sister) led me to two such places last week. Magnolia Bakery, famous for their cupcakes, and danny meyer's Shake Shack for burgers. both places had long lines for any other joint for 2 pm but apparently shorter than usual. worth every second of the wait. unbelievable. especially good was this double stack burger - a cheeseburger and mushroom burger stacked with "shack sauce". notice the mushroom burger in this picture. a "crisp-fried portobello filled with melted muenster and cheddar cheeses. fried mushrooms and cheese...on a burger. oh God.