hudson valley restaurant week

 it's the most wonderful time of the year ... for foodies! it's restaurant week!

tomorrow marks the start of hudson valley restaurant week. restaurant week, which occurs each year in many major cities, is a collaboration among participating restaurant to provide prix fixe menus for either lunch or dinner - or most of the time both. don't be fooled by the name ... restaurant week is actually two weeks from march 14-27 offering 3-course lunch menus for $20.00 and 3-course dinner menus for $28.00 (excludes tax and gratuity) 

here's a list of restaurant week tips taken from The Valley Table: 

• reservations are highly recommended 
• if you need to cancel your reservation, do so with as much notice as possible so restaurants can rebook 
• if you have any dietary restrictions, call the restaurant before you go to ensure that one of the selections will work for you
• arrive with a good appetite and an open mind. each chef participating will take a different approach to the menu. the most popular or signature dishes might be featured, or the chef may create an entirely new and unique menu 
• tax and gratuity are not included in the prix fixe price. show appreciation for good service by tipping generously. *

... and make sure to arrive on time! also note that some restaurants have restrictions; some may only offer their prix fixe menu sunday-thursday or only during certain times.

for the full list of participating restaurants click here. 

if you have't already, i recommend creating an opentable account. it's easy & FREE. opentable is an online reservation making service that rewards the reservations you make with point values ... typically 100per reservations but occasionally, depending on the location/time 1,000. points can then be redeemed for an opentable dining cheque that can be used at any opentable restaurant. 2,000points = $20.00; 5,000points = $50.00, etc & many of the participating restaurant week restaurants are members of opentable. 

*as someone who works in a restaurant, i can completely empathize with those dreading restaurant week … keep in mind a typical 3-course meal can cost well over fifty dollars a person (+drinks) so please, please tip your servers generously. as a rule-of-thumb, i usually tip based on what the meal would have cost.

momofuku - noodle & milk bar

momofuku -  japanese for 'lucky peach' - refers to the restaurants owned by restaurateur david chang. chang and his restaurants are known for defying traditional restaurant etiquette with their "no reservations" / "no vegetarian option" policies.

today i tried both momofuku noodle bar and milk bar for the first time. i have to admit i was little weary about noodle bar ... mostly because my only previous experience with ramen is limited to those freeze-dried packages. anyways. for our appetizer we tried the pork buns, one of momofuku's signature dishes.

momofuku pork buns: $10.00

they were unbelievably delicious! i've never had steamed bread or pork belly before. having been a vegetarian for 8 years, i just started eating meat again a little over a year ago and can't believe i lived my life without ever trying pork belly. the combination of the pork belly's saltiness mixed with the slightly sweet + smoky flavor of the hoisin sauce was incredible & enhanced by the crunch of the pickles.

for my entree i went with the 'momofuku ramen' ... the bowl contained pork belly, pulled pork shoulder, hand-cut ramen noodles, bamboo shoots, scallions, fish cakes (those silly looking things with a pink swirl), nori and a two-hour soft cooked egg. i also added in sriracha* sauce which brought extra heat to the bacon-infused broth.

momofuku ramen: $16.00

our meal was absolutely fantastic and was like nothing i've ever experienced. we could have ordered off the lunch prix fixe menu (3-course for $20.00), but the options were limited and didn't include the pork buns which was one of the reasons we wanted to go ... despite ordering a la carte, it was still relatively inexpensive. the dining experience itself it also unique. noodle bar only has about four tables + a huge high-top community table and seating at the bar. the place was full of energy and worth the thirty minute wait for a table.

*a sauce made from sun ripen chilies which are ground into a smooth paste + garlic

after practically rolling out onto 1st ave, we ventured off to find momofuku milk bar ... noodle bar's sister restaurant known for its creative & nontraditional take on sweets (they also have some savory items, like bleu cheese or kimchi croissants). since momofuku ssäm bar and milk bar are right next to each other, we accidentally (and awkwardly) entered ssäm bar, but found milk bar's entrance further down the street.

cereal milk: $5.00  + candy bar pie: $5.25

for our dessert we tried the candy bar pie. the chocolate cookie crust was filled with peanut butter, toffee, house made nougat and caramel center, garnished with pretzels and a top layer of chocolate. i have to be honest. if i was forced to choose one dessert to eat for the rest of my life, it'd probably be that. we also tried the cereal milk ... it was interesting and worth a try. but it tastes exactly like you would think and exactly like something we've all experienced before (think milk after a bowl of frosted flakes). we also brought home a sampling of their cookies. and. as you can image. i'm very excited to try them! 

bag of (6) assorted milk bar cookies: $10.00  

for more information about the momofuku restaurant group/locations/+menus click here.

101 best sandwiches in NYC

i first read this article about the 101 best sandwiches in newyork back in may but it's something i've kept in the back of my mind since.

photo: hannah whitaker/new york magazine 

sandwiches are one of my favorite foods. and one the best things about sandwiches is. they're cheap. originally i wanted to go through the list and try all of the sandwiches (that peaked our interest) but only made it to taim, a falafel and smoothie bar in the west village ... once spring comes around i think we'll re-start our sandwich eatin' efforts.

check out the full list of "best sandwiches" here. 

muddy buddies recipe

simple sweets: muddy buddies. the combination of crunch and sweet is something i crave. alot. i remember munching on muddy buddies when i little but for years this quick and easy snack was lost to memory until it was revived this past christmas.

ingredients

• 9 cups chex cereal 
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 
• 1 1/2 cups powered sugar
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (chunky/smooth or both!)
• 1/4 cup butter or margine 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 

• 2-gallon sized plastic storage bag 

directions

• measure out nine cups of chex cereal and put into a storage bag 
• in a microwave safe bowl: combine chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter together. microwave on high for one minute
• stir ingredients and continue microwaving for 30seconds or until mixture is smooth then add vanilla
• pour mixture into storage bag to combine with cereal
• add powered sugar, seal, and shake until well coated
• put mixture onto waxed paper (or tin foil) to cool ... store in a sealable container in refrigerator 

for christmas, my sister and i made a slue of sweet treats including muddy buddies. when we started to make them we decided to combine both smooth and crunchy peanut butter ... other than that we stuck to the classic (easy to make and inexpensive) recipe. i would suggest maybe half-ing the recipe because using the full nine cups yields enough for a family of six + guests with some left over.

50 states, 50 breakfasts: food network magazine

read more

proud to say that newjersey's best breakfast is a pork roll, egg and cheese. it's really a shame i can't find anywhere in newyork with pork roll! and, according to the article, newjersey has the more diners than any other state in the country.