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Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Tal Bagels

After Levain Bakery, we stopped at Tal Bagels. They have several locations in the upper east side.


I love their bagels. They're nice and chewy. Don't get them toasted. I also like the whitefish spread. So good. 



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Monday, March 30, 2020

Copycat Levain Cookie Recipe

I searched the web and found several recipes for copycat Levain cookies. After 5 tries, I think I finally found the right one.





1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups bread flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cornstarch
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup butter, cold & cubed (I use room temperature butter since I like to whip the butter and sugar until fluffy)
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolk
1 Tbs vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips
2 cups walnuts

Preheat oven to 390 degrees

Mix flour, salt, cornstarch, baking powder and baking soda then set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars for about 15 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, egg yolks and vanilla exract.

Stir in the flour mixture by hand or on the lowest setting of the electric mixer.

Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes.

Scoop out 4 oz dough and lightly form into ball. Place the dough 2 inches apart.

Bake for 12-13 minutes



I chose to make smaller cookies and I like this size better. The inside is under baked without being raw.

(after several tries, I decided to bake at 380 degrees for 11 minutes)








Sunday, March 29, 2020

Levain Bakery

The best cookies in New York City can be found at Levain's. If you're invited to someone's house for dinner, you better show up with a box of Levain cookies.


There are several locations. This one is at 1484 3rd Avenue.


They only have 5 varieties: Chocolate Chip Walnut, Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Walnut, Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip and Oatmeal Raisin. They're $4 each (the gluten free is $5) but weigh in at 6 oz each. You can order them online but they'll cost more: $27 for 4, $49 for 8 and $68 for 12.



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Saturday, March 28, 2020

Food Tour in Flushing

I heard Flushing had the best Chinese food in New York.


Stop in the New World Mall and take the escalators down to the basement.


You'll find lots of stalls. Lanzhou Handmade Noodle looked really good.


I ordered the Beef Tendon Noodle Soup--$8. This was so good. Great bouncy noodles with a rich, non-greasy broth that was full of beef flavor. Delicious!


There are tables in the middle where you can sit down to eat.


Kung Fu Tea was in another corner of the mall. Passion Fruit Slush--$4.25 for medium + $0.50 for pearls. I asked for no added sugar and it was plenty sweet.


Shanghai You Garden Dumpling House, located at 135-33 40th Rd. was known for soup dumplings.


The special of the day was a basket of soup dumpling (xiao long bao) for free if you ordered $10 of food. Otherwise, it was $6.50. These were quite good. They were larger than Din Tai Fung's and the skin was just slightly thicker but the meat and broth were quite good.


Cucumber & Garlic--$6.75. This was a large portion and the cucumbers were crisp.


Handmade Pork Dumplings--$6.75. These were great. The skin was chewy and the right thickness and the meat was well flavored.


Joe's Steam Rice Roll is located at 136-21 Roosevelt Avenue.


Shrimp Steam Rice Roll--$4.50 for small. You could add 3 vegetables and I chose lettuce, bean sprouts and cilantro. This was the best of the day and we had some amazing dishes. The sauce had a hint of sweet and salty and was delicious.



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Friday, March 27, 2020

Whitney Museum

The Whitney Museum also had admission specials on Friday nights. From 7-9:30pm, pay what you wish. Otherwise, the admission is $25.

The Whitney focuses on 20th and 21st century American artists.


Alexander Calder's "Circus"


Georgia O'Keefe's "Flower Abstraction"


Edward Hopper's "Self-Portrait"


Edward Hopper's "Woman in the Sun"


Norman Lewis "American Totem"


Jackson Pollock's "Number 27, 1950


Andy Warhol's "Elvis 2 Times"


Allan D'Arcangelo "Madonna and Child"


"Kitchen" by Liza Lou. This is a full sized kitchen made of beads, plaster, wood and found objects. It took her 5 years to create this installation. 


Simone Leigh's "Cupboard VIII"


Can't remember the name of this sculpture but it was a pile of folded blankets.



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Thursday, March 26, 2020

MOMA

The MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) has free admission on Friday nights 5:30-9 pm. Make sure to get in line early or after 7 pm because the line can get really long. Admission is otherwise $25 for adults.

The MOMA has some of the best art in the US.


Henri Matisse's "Dance"


Marc Chagall's "I and the Village"


Gustav Klimt's "Hope, II"


Pablo Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon"


I didn't realize "Boy Leading a Horse" was also a Picasso. It's so different from his best known works.


Vincent Van Gogh's "Starry Night." 


Salvador Dali's "The Persistence of Memory"


Frida Kahlo's "Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair"


Jackson Pollock's "One: Number 31, 1950"


Lee Bontecou "Untitled," a multimedia piece with welded steel, canvas, fabric, cowhide, copper wire and soot.


Jasper Johns "Flag"


Roy Lichtenstein's "Drowning Girl"


Andy Warhol's "Campbell's Soup Cans"


Andy Warhol's "Gold Marilyn Monroe"


You can zip through the museum and hit the highlights in 2 hours.

Before you enter, you'll be given a coupon for a free t-shirt at Uniqlo, Stop by their store at 666 5th Avenue and pick up the t-shirt.


It's Keith Haring art.



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Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Xian Famous Foods

Xian Famous Foods is another popular place in New York. There are several locations.


The location at 37 W. 54th Street was the closest to the Hilton Midtown.


Spicy Cumin Lamb Burger--$5.65. This had good flavor but was very greasy. I didn't like the bread.


Spicy Cumin Lamb Noodles--$11.21. This had good flavor as well but it was sitting in a pool of oil. 



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Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Halal Guys

The original Halal Guys stand just across the street from the Hilton serves the best gyro platter. I've tried them at their brick and mortar stores but it's not as good.


Be sure you find The Halal Guys with the yellow and red sign. There are many imitations out there.


You have a choice of chicken, beef gyro or falafel.


I get the large combo for $9. Tender chicken and seasoned beef gyro served over yellow rice. The white sauce is delicious. I ask for just a small streak of red sauce over the white sauce because it's very very spicy. The platter comes with a small salad and pita bread. Take it to go and make your plane seat mates jealous.



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Monday, March 23, 2020

Gai Chicken & Rice

Gai Chicken & Rice reminded me of Nong's Khao Man Gai in Portland. I love the chicken at Nong's and the chicken at Gai came close.


Gai is located at 158 East 45th Street between Lexington and 3rd Avenue.


We chose the Steamed for $11.95. Sliced chicken over rice with a small green salad and daikon soup. Delicious. The sauce was almost as good as Nong's.



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Sunday, March 22, 2020

$1 Pizza

I didn't realize you could get anything in New York for $1 until I heard about $1 pizza slices.


Percy's Pizza was listed on several lists as a good $1 pizza. It's located at 190 Bleecker Street in Greenwich.


It was a good slice. The slice was heated prior to serving. This gave the crust a nice crisp. The tomato sauce was flavorful. Not much cheese but that didn't bother me.


Another place listed as having good $1 pizza was 1 Dollar Pizza, located at 748 9th Avenue, between 50th & 51st.


Their pizza had more cheese but the sauce wasn't as good and the crust was not crispy.



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