Z.E.

When most people think of Thai food, they think of things like pad thai or drunken noodles, but new East Village restaurant Zabb Elee doesn't have that. They specialize in Northern Isan Thai food. Although I'm a huge fan of all Thai food, there's something about the specific cuisine from the Isan region that has me craving it more then Central Thai food. We started our meal with Som Tum (papaya salad) which is a staple must order for me when eating Thai. Crunchy, acidic, and refreshing... I'm so obsessed with this dish! 

After the papaya salad, we ordered the duck larb which was made with shallots, mint, scallion, cilantro, chili powder and a lime dressing. Again, another incredible dish and if you're not a fan of duck it also comes in beef, pork liver, chicken, catfish, bamboo shoot, crispy pork and regular pork. 

Saving my favorite for last, the other dish we got that night was Kana Moo Korb (crispy pork with Chinese broccoli). Ever since I had crispy pork At SriPraPhai in Queens, I've developed a sick infatuation with it. It's SOOO good! Definitely a must order.

SriPraPhai was by far the best Thai food I've ever consumed in my life, but Zabb Elee is a great alternative and saves me a trip out to Queens. Located in the heart of the East Village, Zabb Elee is inexpensive and delicious.

ramen

After becoming addicted to ramen noodles freshman year of college, I pledged to never eat them again, or at least not the type that comes in a bright red package. I broke my pledge the other night, but I have absolutely no remorse about it. The ramen noodles at Ippudo aren't like the crunchy curly ones you see in the Asian isle at the food market. These noodles are made in house, hand pulled, and are fresh to death. 

After waiting for a fucking hour we finally got seated. I don't know who these ramen bitches think they are, but not taking reservations is not cool. It came to the point where gum wasn't making the cut. I needed to eat and they needed to sit my ass. Finally, after the longest 60 minutes of my life, we were seated. Since we waited for so long, we were able to spend some quality time with the menus, so luckily everyone knew what they wanted. 

house salad

akamaru modern

karaka miso ramen

So after an incredible meal at Ippudo, I decided the moral of my story is wait the hour for the ramen, it's well worth it and a ramen addiction is completely healthy if my ramen eating is done at Ippudo. 

HEHE

penis pasta

liege-in it

Dedication. Some people have it others don't. Personally, my dedication, especially for food, is pretty solid. I won't let anything get in my way when it comes to food, not even food poisoning...The night before flying to Belgium I came down with a horrible case of food poisoning....fucking Barcelona food. Eating and drinking was unacceptable for me. It just was not possibility and I thought my life was over. How was I going to enjoy my mussels and liege waffles if I couldn't even keep water down?

After landing and taking the longest nap of my life I made my way out on the streets of Brussels. I was on a hunt and I wasn't letting my illness get in my way. I walked up to one of the store fronts selling these waffles. The smell, unreal...the taste, even better! Two bites in I could feel this was a bad idea, but it was just too damn good.

Unfortunately, eating that waffle was a bad idea. I clearly was not over my food poisoning and I found this out while out for my birthday dinner with my friends. One sip of my potato leek soup and I was done. The rest of the dinner consisted of me eating ice. There was one upside of the meal - I got my own bday sparkler!!

After those few days of hell I was back in action! 

München

I went to Munich, Germany to celebrate beer... I guess. Springfest was held in a huge tent in the middle of a carnival. We were surrounded by food, beer and rides...what else does one need? I started my weekend in Munich with a bike tour. We biked the entire city and ended our trip in one of Munich's most famous biergartens. 

The next morning my friends and I made our way over to the carnival. We walked inside the tent and found an overwhelming crowd of abroad students dancing on tables in the middle of the tent surrounded by all these foreigners - typical scene. We sat down, ordered our beers [which were the size of my face] and drank up!

Moving on to the food, walking around the carnival one was able to find everything from jumbo sized pretzels to bratwurst to cotton candy and more. After spending an entire day getting shit faced off enormous beers, the food surrounding us was a blessing in disguise. Everyone had the drunk munchies and the bratwurst stand was the first thing we ran to.

I believe that embracing the culture is important when in foreign countries, with that said, I stopped making a drunk fool out of myself and went out for a real sit down dinner. It was my friend Bess's birthday and she made sure we went to dinner for a traditional German meal. After the way my friend Katie hyped it up, there was no way I was leaving this restaurant, or Germany for that matter, without getting me some wiener schnitzel. 

First our waitress brought out some of those jumbo sized pretzels for us, then some other interesting appetizers and then my wiener schnitzel!

don't ask.

wienerschnitzel

apple strudel 

I think it is safe to say that Munich, Germany was one of my top favorite places I visited abroad. It could be because I was not sober 75% of the trip or because I was mildly obsessed with the outfits the servers wore in the tents. Either way this trip was one for the books. 

PS: How appropriate is it that Munich in German is München? 

LT Burger

One year old and LT Burger is still going strong. The space that LT Burger  is located in has had its fair share of restaurants, so it's okay to have been a skeptic on LT Burger's success. Luckily, they're still going strong. One can expect to wait 45-60 plus minutes on a busy night, but it's well worth the wait. 

Interior

Being a huge burger fan, I had some trouble deciding on exactly which one to order. They have a great selection to choose from. Everything including the classic hamburger to a jerk chicken burger and even a falafel burger! In addition to their menu, they also have a few specials every night. I was lucky enough to be there the night of the lamb burger! 

Since I am team Greek, the lamb burger immediately caught my attention. Made from chopped lamb meat, this burger was topped with tzatziki, mint and a scallion salad. The bun was also perfectly buttered & toasted. It was delicious! My friends ordered off the menu and were also successful in their choices. 

classic hamburger w/ cheddar and a fried egg

classic hamburger with swiss and mushrooms

tuna burger w/ a fried green tomato, avocado, and tartare sauce

We also got a free vanilla milkshake...most likely because were young & attractive beauties ;)

LT Burger

62 Main st.

Sag Harbor, NY

631.899.4646

Bibimbap Bap Bap

front entrance

inside

My mom and I were wandering the city yesterday when we decided to hit up Koreatown for lunch. Skeptical of her dumpling recommendation, I pulled up Serious Eats on my phone to better familiarize myself with the area and see the "go to" spots on 32nd street. Food Gallery 32 was the first thing I came across that caught my attention and I'm glad it did! We walked inside to find what I would like to call a Korean Foodparc. We went to each station, but finally decided on Hanok. We ordered bimbimbap and kimchi fried rice. Both dishes hit the spot! It might have been some what of a rice overload, but it didn't seem to phase us. It just got better and better with each bite we took, especially when the rice got all crispy toward the bottom of the bibimbap [my favorite part]!

bibimbap

kimchi fried rice

side of kimchi and a green vegetable

cleared the plate

The added bonus of Food Gallery 32 is the self service Red Mango. 

If you're in the area make your way to Food Gallery 32. You won't regret it!

Panche Part 2

I’m sorry, but this dish deserves it’s own post…Another dinner at Tre Panche, another amazing meal. Wanting to try something new, I decided to order the the lemon cream chicken and split it with my friend Katie. Let’s just say we had no clue heaven tasted so fucking good. Even though the sauce was rich and creamy, the calorie content did not seem to bother us in the slightest bit. The tangy lemon flavor mixed with the cream was unbelievable. Each bite was accompanied with astonishment and shock. After thoroughly  licking our plates, we declared Tre Panche’s lemon chicken one of the top 5 best things eaten abroad.

"When it comes to food, they don't fuck around" - Lara Kasten

Pizza Pie

While there is no doubt in my mind that I will miss the mounds of pasta I have eaten over these past couple of months, I am happy to say that I am eager to return home and detox from my friends Penne, Linguine, Tagliatelle and Rigatoni. There is, however, one thing that I know I’m going to have a huge problem withdrawing from….PIZZA! Deep down I know there are amazing Italian restaurants back in the states where I can get my truffle carbonara fix, but where am I going to find napoleon style pizza like the kind I have eaten here in Florence. Nothing can replace Gusta or il Pizzaiuolo….NOTHING! 

My friend Jamie and I wanted an afternoon snack when we realized our usual pizza joint was closed on Mondays. We decided then to try il Pizzaiuolo. Hearing only amazing things about this restaurant, I went in with high expectations and was not disappointed. As I was eye sexing the burrata and tomatoes on the table next to me, before I knew it our pizza with spicy salami and olives was out. They were even so kind enough to cut it in half. 

Bite after bite we could not stop moaning. Everything about this pizza was delicious. Looking back on the meal, I wouldn’t say we were cheating on Gusta, but rather expanding our horizons…opening up our mouths to new things. While Jamie still has Gusta as her pizza of choice, I think these two restaurants are both pretty damn good. 

beauty

The Carriage House

Poor little tourists, always being fooled by the mounds of gelato piled as high as the Duomo. Bright artificially colored gelato fill the windows of Florence. Coming to Italy one can only want the best gelato out there, and my friends and I have found it. We forgo the fake shit and make sure we only have the best of the best. We’ve finally narrowed down our favorite spots for gelato, two of which are across the Arno on the other side of Florence. One is called La Carraia [the carriage house]. La Carraia is a hidden gem being that it is two bridges down from the Ponte Vecchio, it is not as known. People out there just never take the time to venture down that far. 

Although I do love trying new things, I always tend to go for the same flavors. Menta & Cookies are my staple favorites. It’s hard for me to resist the fresh mint flavor and the creamy cookie deliciousness. Cone or cup, doesn’t matter. This gelato would be good on or in anything.

gelato

colorful cones

Ironically, we stopped and got gelato on the way to working out #AbroadGirlProblems