Brunch at Clinton Street Baking Company and Restaurant

Clinton Street Baking Company and Restaurant has been voted "Best Pancakes" by New York Magazine two times! But lets not get it twisted, this place is much more than just a pancake joint.

In 2001, husband and wife team Neil Kleinberg and DeDe Lahman, began a journey to be known as having the best baked goods in the city that were hand-mixed in small batches. Today they have most definitely achieved their goal and the success tastes so, so sweet. So sweet in fact, their customer are willing to wait for the goods. The normal wait time for brunch on a Saturday morning is a few hours...and people do it with no hesitation.

When you walk into the tiny restaurant, you see the kitchen and everyone that works in it, all the patrons enjoying their food, the freshly bakes goods in the small case and the employees who look really thrilled to be at work. The case in the front contains all kinds of yummy goodness such as: muffins, cakes, pies, scones, cornbread, etc.

The Brunch, lunch and dinner menu consists of many mouthwatering options like Pancakes with Warm Maple Butter, Clinton Street Omelette and the Fried Chicken Sandwich. For a first-timer like myself deciding what to order was a really tough decision. Luckily, my friend Angela was along for the journey and we shared the Fried Chicken Sandwich and Brioche French Toast. 

So let me guess...this all sounds fantastic but you don't have time for a 2 hour wait for brunch? No problem Clinton Street Bakery delivers. They also have takeout and a fabulous way to pre-order cakes and pies for your next event.

Clinton Street Baking Company and Restaurant is located at 4 Clinton Street NY, NY 10002. For more information visit their website here.

Backyard BBQ in Astoria

This is how we do it.

 The Strand Smokehouse in Astoria, Queens is finger lickin' good. On a beautiful Sunday afternoon in the city I call home, my friends and I traveled the distance for some good ole' BBQ. The Strand Smokehouse was recommended to me by a friend so I had to see what all the fuss was about.

This spacious smokehouse is lined with long wood picnic tables, huge open windows and is full of people who just love a good BBQ joint.  Among the many unique things about this place, the one that I can't forget about is how they serve water. The water is served in bottles of Jack Daniels in the middle of the tables. Ha!

There are two ways to dine at The Strand Smokehouse. If you go during brunch hours there is table service and if you go after brunch (4:30PM on weekends) its more cafeteria style. We hung out at the bar and waited out the brunch crowd and then lined up for the delicious BBQ.

 Luckily, we jumped in line right when it started to form, otherwise we would have been waiting for a while to get some of this grub. When you get to the front of the line you choose from the Daily Cut & Sides Menu. These change daily but the meats range from pulled pork and beef short ribs to smoked salmon and leg of lamb. The sides also change daily but they have things like mac & cheese, potato salad and jalapeno corn salad.

Chicken BBQ with Macaroni Salad

Brisket and Ribs

Mac & Cheese and Corn Bread

Blueberry Soda

The Strand Smokehouse is located at 25-27 Broadway, Astoria, NY 11106 and the food is so tasty! For more info on The Strand Smokehouse visit their website here.

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Greek Freak

     Two weeks ago my "main squeeze" Annie, made an appearance to the always eventful neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY. Needless to say we were all happy she made it. Being the very busy lady that she is, she could only pencil me in for 23 hours and boy did we make it count. We started off the evening in the pouring rain watching one of our favorite bands, The Lone Bellow, at the free summer concert series Celebrate Brooklyn! Rain lead to frozen yogurt at 16 Handles (read my post about it here). And that is how we ended up here:

    After a night of laughter we were ready to eat again the next morning and that is when we turned to Anthi's Greek Speecialties at Smorgasburg in DUMBO. In typical Annie and Olivia fashion, we got two things and split them: a Chicken Gyro and a spinach pie called Spanakopita. It was delicious!

     To check out the full menu click here. If you can't make it on Sunday's to Smorgasburg,  you can visit Anthi's Greek Speecialties at 614A Amsterdam Ave. New York, NY 10024 or call them at (212) 787-1007. In conclusion, go be a Greek freak and enjoy this great food!










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Have a Fiesta at Tacombi

Tacombi makes me feel like I have stepped back in time. When I was there I felt like I was living inside the movie Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights and it was awesome.

Tacombi serves up traditional Mexican breakfast, lunch and dinner. The portions are small but that's alright with me because then I get to try more things! Not only do they have your staple Mexican food choices like tacos, entradas and quesadillas, but they also serve these delicious fresh fruit drinks like Horchata (Mexican drink made of rice and cinnamon), Auga De Sandia (Watermelon juice) and Agua De Jamaica (Mexican Hibiscus Tea). To see the full menu click here.

The restaurant it self is cozy and the front is wide open so passerby's can feel welcome to join in. With folding tables and chairs, the air-condition-free atmosphere just makes sense. In the center of the restaurant sits a vintage trailer where the food orders come out of. The music is bumping and you can tell that everyone is having a great time at this Mexican escape.

What are you waiting for? Come join the fiesta already! Tacombi is located at 267 Elizabeth Street in New York, New York. For more information visit their website here.

Thanks for reading! New posts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Don't forget to comment and subscribe! 

See you Friday!

Tasty Pastries at ARTOPOLIS in Astoria, Queens

 
Artopolis is a sweet-treat heaven. Located in Astoria, Queens for the last two years, they have everything you need to turn that frown upside down. Their shelves are fully stocked with freshly baked cakes, cookies, pastries, tarts, bread and Greek specialties.

Let's talk cake people. This place has 13 different kinds; Praline Chocolate, Passion Fruit, White Chocolate Mouse and list goes on. Check out these works out art for yourself!

After the cakes, I saw the tarts. Yummy! The tarts at Artopolis looked too good to be true. They come large and small in flavors like mixed fruit, strawberry, blackberry and apple.

 

 The cakes looked divine and the tarts seemed fantastic but when I saw the case of pastries it was over. The mini cakes and tarts were just so cute that I wanted one of each. Luckily, neither my wallet or waistline could afford that so I had to decide on one.  

Chocolate Supreme for the win!

My friends and I had such a great time exploring this bakery and enjoying the delicious treats and I cannot wait to go back! For the full menu click here. Next time you are in Astoria take a trip to Artopolis at Agora Plaza 23-18 31st street Astoria, NY 11105.

Elaine and Brandon

Panavahn and Hungry White Girl

Alex and Jess

White Girl Gone Crazy at Boca Chica

It's been a long time my friends and I am really sorry about that. I have been going through some great changes and trying to get situated. Some of those really great changes include getting a promotion, turning 23 and moving into a fabulous two bedroom apartment with FIVE windows in the heart of Brooklyn. So now that we are all caught up, let get back to the magic at: Boca Chica.

Boca Chica is this small seven table restaurant that serves up dynamite Dominican food. My friend Elaine introduced me to Boca Chica and since I consider "Rice and Beans" it's own food group, I fell in love instantly.  Luckily Elaine has got the Spanish language down and she was able to guide us through the meal. My main phrase of the evening was "gracias!" and it got me everything I needed.

We indulged in some proper Dominican fare such as: fried pork chops, fried fish and you can't forget the rice and beans.

 Needless to say, after this meal we were stuffed. Check out Boca Chica at 96-20 37th Ave  Queens, NY 11368. Trust me, it is worth the long subway ride!