Bianca!

  

On a windy Saturday in New York City, Alex, his beautiful girlfriend Parrish and I went to a cozy hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant, Bianca.

Bianca is on Bleeker and Bowery. CUTE place.

This place is special, not only because there is a small seating capacity, but it feels like you are in a cute little Italian cottage. The decor is adorable!

 We started with the wine, that inevitably got Parrish and I a little sloshed, to say the least.

Then we tried the Gnocco Fritto which were puff pastries that you dip in Stracchino Cheese. 

Sadly we were disappointed with the cheese taste, so we ended up dipping the puffs in olive oil!

For dinner, Parrish had the VERY tasty Spaghettini Al Pomodoro. It was homemade spaghetti with tomatoes and basil. Simple, but extremely delectable. Did I say HOMEMADE spaghetti?!

Alex had Gramigna Con Salciccia which was pasta with sausage and peppers. He loved it and it had a spicy kick to it!

I had the BEST LASAGNA of my life!!!! Look at the layers! Look at the hearty meat sauce! Look at the basil! Look at the HOMEMADE pasta!!! I died and went to heaven, if there is one! This was a huge deal. I am still in awe over this lasagna.

By the time we stumbled upon dessert I had to pass. Alex had some boring Hazelnut ice cream (he wanted vanilla) and Parrish ordered her usual Tartufo which was chocolate ice cream (and vanilla?) and other great tasting things! 

Overall:

Best Italian I have had in the city. HANDS DOWN. Best lasagna.

Expect to wait at least 40 minutes on a weekend night. If you wait, you can go to the bar next door and George will come get you! 

Website:

biancanyc.com

BANGERANG!

During winter break one of my best friends in the whole world (Formally known as Brandi King) and I decided to have a cupcake masterpiece night.

The pictures explain it all:

Vapiano!

This place was amazing!!!

Vipiano is an Italian chain but it's so fun!

Here is what you do:

1. When you walk in, the hostess gives you a card.

2. You find a seat yourself.

3. You go up to the kitchen area labeled "Salad" or "Pizza" or "Pasta" and you order. If you order pasta you get to choose your noodles! AHA!

4. The chef has you tap your card on the machine.

5. Then you go eat.

6. When you leave, the hostess swipes your card and the total amount of $ is on there for you to pay.
6. You leave with a mini container of GUMMY BEARS! WIN.

SO FUN!

It is do it yourself style dining which is good for many reasons but a big one is that you have your own tab and you pay for your own food.

A plus for big groups!

So I started with the Strawberry Spinach Salad with goat cheese and berry vinaigrette.

Perfect.

Alex had the Ceasar! Not the best pic but you can see the card below and some olive oil for the amazing bread!

Then I had the alfredo with chicken and broccoli. Perfect. Not too creamy, not too light. 

Alex had the pasta with sausage and sauce. Somehow the pic doesn't show off the food, but Alex's reaction to it.

ha.

Somehow I managed to MATCH the color of my food. I didn't plan it.

The place looked cool.

We shared the cheesecake dessert. It was FREE because I signed up for the club online and I got a coupon emailed to me! woohoo!

And even the to-go containers were trendy

Overall:

I am DEFINITELY going back to Vipiano!! Affordable, yummy, and fun!

Website:

http://www.vapianointernational.com/vapiano/

Something Extraordinary...(San Diego, Winter 2011)

 Whilst at home in San Diego over my winter break, I decided to have a lunch date with my beloved Thanh. We ended our date with dessert, at the infamous Extraordinary Desserts!

We were so full from our lunch at Lotus Thai, we could not bear the idea of two desserts, so we shared one!

And boy was that a good choice!

We shared the Blood Orange Ricotta Torte!

Part of the reason Extraordinary Desserts is so amazing is because of the presentation.

I mean, look at it!

The cake was moist, the frosting was perfectly whipped, not too heavy not too light. The blood orange added a zing to the sweetness. Perfect choice for something that won't make you feel like you will keel over afterwards!

Overall:

Perfect. Extraordinary Desserts never lets me down!

Check our their website, they were featured on Food Network too!

Website:

http://www.extraordinarydesserts.com/