I love beets!: NY

Until a few weeks ago, the last time I was in New York was 22 years ago! Nothing like that type of statistic to make you feel old. I don't remember a thing from my first trip, but this most recent trip was totally amazing. And cold. But amazing.

The best thing we ate. If nothing else, the sheer variety and availability of eating options in NY is staggering, exciting and intimidating. There is seriously not enough meals in the day to eat all the delicious food. Perhaps the best thing we ate on the trip were these perfect Belgian waffles from the Wafels and Dinges stand at the Union Square Greensmarket. Crispy exterior due to the liege sugar and a chewy interior all smeared with specaloos spread and topped with whipped cream. It was perfect! Seriously perfect. If you're a Food Network junkie such as myself, this is the same guy that was on Throwdown with Bobby Flay. Believe me, Bobby didn't stand a chance.

The pizza. Like many other people that live in Southern California, I'm a sucker for super crispy thin crust pizzas with fancy toppings like fig jam, goat cheese and arugula. But honestly, I really haven't met a pizza I didn't like. Well, except the Chicago pizza I had in Chicago, although, that was more of a pie. That being said, NY has the best pizza I've ever had! I think it has something to do with the tomato sauce, which is tangy and yummy. I honestly wasn't sure how I would feel about pizza that I could fold, but I loved every last little pizza crumb. Lombardi's really is as lovely as everyone says.

Loved the smell of the basil!

The snacks. We had a few misses with these. The cupcakes here (like most places) as very middle-of-the-road and even forgettable. I couldn't even finish one. But the real win here were the cookies at Levain Bakery. Their cookies are sky high and gooey and wonderful. They verge on underbaked, but it only contributes to their awesomeness.

Sourdough roll filled with molten Valrhona chocolate. Chocolate peanut butter chip cookie. We should've gotten two. Or three.

The iconic NY food. Also a few misses here. Gray's Papaya, while good and cheap, was just a hot dog with a bunch of stuff on it. Sauerkraut, I think, among other things. The snap of the casing was new and fun, but really, it's hard to compete with the juicy Costco hot dog. The bagels were also just so-so. Although, I do think that it may be because we didn't get bagels the way the locals have it. Is cream cheese a West Coast thing? We went to H&H Bagel, Ess-a-Bagel and Murray's Bagel. Murray's was my fav.

Gray's Papaya recession special. With everything. What's in the "everything" is still TBD.

Bagel and bialy at Ess-a-Bagel. What I did really enjoy about NY is that the mix the milk in your coffee for you. How thoughtful!

The street food. We loved loved the street food! Especially the halal cart on 53rd and 6th. Chicken and rice never tasted so good. And spicy! Our first taste of street food was a chicken pita. And then we went back for the chicken and rice. And the lamb gyro. And I wish I could back for more!

Chicken pita in the lobby of MoMA.

Lamb gyro and chicken and rice plate. The ideal pre-plane lunch.

The museums. We only visited two museums...American Natural History Museum and MoMA. I'm really glad we went to the natural history museum because otherwise, I would've been a highly dissatisfied museum go-er. The natural history museum was impressive with the array of animals exhibits and cultural exhibits. And MoMA was well...ummmm...too interpretive for me. A black painted canvas entitled black acrylic on hemp canvas is art? Seriously? Part of his cubism period?

But there were these cute monkeys.