fancypants "desperately seeking sushi" x.'s Profile

Before seeing "New Moon" at the Century Theaters at Tanforan, my sister & I decide we have time to stop for grub. I tell her to pick what she wants & she swings me into El Faro's drive thru. I'll be damned, I never knew they had a drive thru, hell, I barely even noticed there was an El Faro in this location!

We order two no meat baby burritos & one regular no meat burrito (the third was for her gf who we were meeting at the theater) & the total was $17. Yea, $17 for three people, that's amazing to me & that's why they are A-OK.

The burrito was decent, but the pico de gallo salsa had tons of flavor & deserves 5 stars. Not my favorite place for mexican, but definitely not a bad first time experience.

This morning, I'm at Higher Grounds, enjoying myself a cup of hot chocolate & what do I spy with my little eye across the street? Perch. I take my last sip & saunter into *angels singing* an oasis of all my favorite home thingys: candles, soaps, bath fizz, spoon holders, kitchen timers, greeting cards, wrapping paper, jewelry, etc.

Packaging is everything to me. You could wrap fake (or real) dog poop in beautifully designed packaging & I would swear I had to have it. Perch has these soaps (prices range from $10-$21) that not only smell incredible (lemon verbena, anyone?!) but are encased in pretty paisley wrapping that makes it such a perfect gift.

If anyone gave me anything here for my (*ahem* upcoming) birthday or christmas (which is right around the corner, people) I would be eternally grateful. Perch is a Papyrus meets Design Within Reach meets Anthropologie. They've got all the little things that make life a lot more colorful.

Above average Chinese food.

I think the restaurant may have changed owners since my last visit many years ago, but thankfully the taste & prices have not changed. Even after all these years, it's still good old reliable, yummy "new" golden wok.

The bf & I came in for a late lunch & we missed the lunch menu cut off by about half an hour (ends at 3 pm), so we ordered off the regular menu. The bf got a dinner special ($8.95) which includes: fried rice, sweet & sour pork, hot & sour soup, salad & eggroll. I ordered pan fried noodles ($6.95) which came with bok choy, shrimp, chicken & beef.

The amount of food that came out could seriously feed a small nation; we boxed up more than half the food & were still stuffed to the gills. What the place lacks in ambiance (pretty empty, wood paneling on the walls, african american art on the walls???) they more than make up for in quick service, food that doesn't disappoint & prices that help your pocketbook instead of hurt it.

(The ambiance factor is a moot point because most people order to go or get their food delivered, which I believe is free.)

Total not including tip (2 dishes & a sunkist): $18.50

2.5 stars

If I wanted to be shoved & elbowed, I would have joined the WWF. Magnolia has stirred up such a buzz because of the cupcake craze/Sex & the City mention, that women of all ages throwdown for this stuff. Approaching Magnolia, I see the line of people, which I expected. But once inside, the mob scene was so hectic, you'd think they were giving out free money.

Everything was so disorderly; where was the line? Where is the menu? I can't even see the display case. Ohhh, you're supposed to grab a box & fill it with cupcakes. But the cupcakes are running low. Oh, they're refilling it. I.am.so.confused. *pulls hair out*

Ten minutes later, I've paid for four cupcakes ($12ish dollars) & am spit out by the blue monster called Magnolia. Once on the sidewalk, I survey what I hastily threw in my box (2 for me, 2 for my cupcake partner) & am pleased. There is a heap of frosting covering a nice sized cupcake. I tried the vanilla (yellow cake with pretty pastel buttercream frosting) & enjoyed the moistness of the cake & overload of sweet green frosting.

I had the red velvet for a midnight snack & was sorely disappointed. The cake was very dense & dry & the frosting is a "whipped vanilla" instead of the traditional/my favorite, cream cheese frosting. This one was a waste of calories & money.

My experience at Magnolia was a pretty unpleasant one. At one point, I wanted to tell this woman who was jabbing me, "you're supposed to be a grown woman with manners, please act accordingly." I understand, cupcakes make women go bananas, but I will get my cupcake fix elsewhere, ya know, where people are civilized individuals & where the ordering process is not a riddle.

I haven't been to a planetarium in over a decade. I remember going for elementary school field trips & then in high school for a different kind of trip...

Anyways, fast forward to 2009, I'm all grown up & all mature & actually want to go to learn something *gasp, snort* (i know, even as I write this, I am in disbelief at how different I am from my teenage self.) My mom & I walk in, grab a seat (there is no "bad" seat in a planetarium) & look up. The room goes dark & a voice that can only belong to one Miss Whoopi Goldberg narrates the scientific magic playing out on the dome. "Journey to the Stars" was phenomenal & captivating. I can't believe how incredible our universe is! A must see if you are anywhere in the vicinity of the American Museum of Natural History.

We came here for an early dinner. It was twilight; the sky was starting to darken & the air was changing from comfortably cool to downright nippy. I loved the atmosphere of dining on the sidewalk, with passing cars on one side & the open restaurant on the other. The heating lamp did it's job & kept our teeth from chattering.

Cafeteria is a diner that doesn't know it's a diner. It thinks it's a trendy, hip little corner eatery, but don't let the plush white (indoor) seating & uber chic wait staff fool you, it's a diner with diner-type food & (thankfully) diner type prices.

We both ordered BLT sandwiches with their homemade chips & thought the food was not altogether horrid, but not a meal we wanted to repeat. I can't put my finger on what was exactly wrong with the sandwich; I can say there was too much mayo or all I tasted was the super thick texas toast, but it was something more inexplicable than that. It just didn't float my boat.

As for service, we got the bare minimum "Let me take your order" & "Here's your bill." It wasn't rude, per se, it was more genuine disinterest. Our very cute gay waiter was distracted by his also cute, gay patrons & left (fabulous, funny, gay friendly) me to flag down other waitstaff for water, extra napkins & a box.

Despite this less than impressive first visit, Cafeteria has a menu chock full of breakfast goodies that I am excited to try (I'll endure anything for breakfast items.) It won't be my first stop next time I am in Chelsea, but it is definitely not on my shit list because this kid's got potential (open 24 hours & has lemon ricotta pancakes on the menu.)

Total not including tip $22.

Famous Ben's Pizza is now famous to me for a few reasons:

1) it was the lunch stop on our On Location movie tour
2) apparently a "Men In Black" scene was filmed here (here's a shocker, I've never seen the movie)
3) I had one of my cheapest meals EVER in NYC here: the "Men In Black" special: a big slice of cheese pizza & a root beer for $4.25. Awesome.

I don't think I will seek out Famous Ben's for their pizza the next time I am in town. It served it's purpose in my life that day & now we must part ways forever. Peace out Famous Ben's.

3.5 stars (rounded up to 4 stars.)

Of all the restaurants in all of Manhattan, my mom & I end up at a chain restaurant that was born of a (painfully long) Tom Hanks movie.

Fancy, you got some 'splaining to do....

Mary Poppins The Musical released us into the cold night at around 10:30 pm. We are famished, we are parched, we have been wandering & exploring all day & needed sustenance pronto, lest the evil bitch that lives in me rears her ugly (and hungry) head.

Foods: 1/2lb Shrimper's Net Catch appetizer, which is peel & eat shrimp steamed in beer. Everything else on the menu looked very heavy (and super unhealthy; NYC posts caloric info & suddenly that fried platter looks less appetizing) so my mom & I both ordered 1/2 caesar salad, 1/2 clam chowder. Everything was delicious & just the right amount of food for such a late night meal. (Total without tip: $45)

Great service, cheesy decor (as to be expected) & pricey due to it's tourist trap location. With the plethora of dining options in the city, I'm reluctant to recommend Bubba Gump, but if you do find yourself here one night, you probably won't be disappointed by the view, lively energy that fills the place, attentive service & quality of food.

My reward for walking across the Brooklyn Bridge is a stop into Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory...hmmm, i just had an epiphany: ya don't lose weight so quickly when you reward yourself for "exercising" with food *thumps head*

The first time I went, our friend/tour guide for the day recommended the coffee flavor, which was really rich & had that intense coffee goodness I really crave in a good cup o' joe. Sidenote: After I got back to the Bay, I ran around trying different coffee ice creams (Haagen Daas, Trader Joe's etc) but nothing compared. Bummer.

The last time I went, I felt adventurous & tried peaches & cream & butter pecan. Both were fantastic, natural tasting & just what the warmish day called for.

BICF is a cute little joint with a few bar stools, but the magic really happens when you bring your cone outside to enjoy the views of the bridge & the city.

Cash only. $5.50 for two scoops (because you can't have just one.)

There are, what, like 80 boba places on Irving, but Wonderful Foods Co. is a really good one. My favorite drink there: thai iced tea with grass jelly. In second place: regular milk tea with tapioca. The BFF gets taro with tapioca. The ladies are always very generous with the boba or grass jelly & the drinks are never watered down.  Cash only. Two drinks will run you about $8.50.

P.S. I hope they don't move again because that really confused the BFF & I & I guess we get confused easily.