Chocolatey foodie adventures in the city

New York City is a very peculiar town. Never in my life have I seen men dress better than women, a glass of wine for $2 on one street and $20 on the next and people dress up as mermaids to frolic in the streets. Nonetheless, I fell in love with it.

My best friends, Rach and Jess, and I met up with the Rachel's family for breakfast. But not just any breakfast. Norma’s breakfast – which specializes in packing at least 10 pounds to your thighs, hips and ass before 11 a.m. Now normally I would complain about these unwanted calories, but Norma’s had a “sweet” way of enticing us. It’s one of those, you know, dessert-for breakfast, you’re-never-gonna-eat-anything-this-good-ever-again kinda places. Yeah. That was this. But this was WAY better. So I splurged on the PB&C Waffle. That’s peanut butter and chocolate in and on a waffle for those of you not in-the-know. And it was sinful. The best sin I have ever tasted. The only thing that I am disappointed about, now that I have come to the realization, is that I will never eat anything as good ever again. What a shame. Not even through a quarter of my life and I have already had my best meal.

The following day, the three of us window-shopped in the Upper West Side and made our way to Levain Bakery - isn’t it awful that more often than not the highlight of my day includes fattening food? But this wasn’t an average bakery. The little cookie haven was featured on the Food Network – specifically on “Throwdown with Bobby Flay”. Each cookie is half a pound. And it gave Norma’s a run for its money, which is an awfully difficult task.

The three of us shared the signature four cookies – chocolate chip walnut, dark chocolate chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin and dark chocolate peanut butter chip. So while the bakers were rolling out the dough, we practically rolled ourselves out the door.

After tons more walking around to lose some of the cookie calories, Jess and I decided we were in the mood for Thai food for dinner. I had asked a random man I met at a sushi bar about what one place in the city I shouldn’t miss eating at, and he told me about a place in Brooklyn called Sea. Though Brooklyn isn’t Jess and my's favorite place to be, we were craving great Thai.

Sea was on a chic street and had the most amazing atmosphere – low tables, wooden benches hanging from medal chains attached to the ceiling and Plexiglas bubble chairs also hanging from the ceiling . The pad thai was cheap and delicious – just the way I like.

And best of all, the people there were just cool. Artsy and cool. So cool, in fact, that you would think they were un-cool, but they were not. They, in their high-waisted pants, vests, scarves, vintage and the like, were ahead of the trend. So ahead that they all looked almost out of place and quirky. Good food and cool company scored this Thai joint an A++ in my book.

Restaurants on a whim

When my roommate Jess and I woke up this morning, we were aching for brunch, so I found a quaint restaurant with a name as unique as its food selection – Elephant & Castle. I sipped on iced coffee while savoring my egg white omelet with goat cheese, fresh tomato and basil. It was well-done just like I like, and the strong coffee woke me up.

Then, Jess and I wandered.

But not all who wander are lost. You see, that’s the great thing about life. You don’t have to know where you are going to get there. And Jess and I had no idea where we were going today. No particular destination. No plans. No time constraint. So we wandered.

We wandered past Jefferson Market Garden and Jackson Square, along streets that house million-dollar town homes with colorful doors and fresh flowers, and into vintage stores, including my newfound favorite, Zachary’s Smile…and let me tell you, his smile would make you smile. The vintage store sells clothing from the early 1900’s and each article of clothing is more exquisite than the next.

It was then that our travels brought us to Tea and Symphathy. Feeling classy, we sipped on tea at 3 p.m. in this charming English tea room that only has room for 20 people at a time. With a beautiful porcelain tea pot of green tea all to myself, I couldn’t help but indulge in a warm scone with homemade strawberry jam.

Because the tea shop is so small, it has a "wait-outside" policy. To me, its one-in-one-out policy was a tad annoying, but the flaky scones made the wait worth it. And I didn't even mind turning off my cell phone, as a sign on the front door suggested, so that the other patrons wouldn't be disturbed.

Sometimes the best places to grab a quick snack are best found when wandering.