Foodprint: Dishing

DessertTruck Works.

I have to confess. There's highly likely there's nothing nutritionally beneficial about dessert truck works.

Whew. I feel so much better.

Firstly, one must hike down to DessertTruck works, one of the standing, erm, stands of NYCs infamous food trucks (Wafle & Dinges, TacoTruck, Etc.), if the truck's not about. Or, if you want to sit somewhere whilst desserttrucking. I went for the bread pudding. Mmmm. Bread...mmm........pudding (insert further Homer Simspon drool here) because it has BACON CUSTARD SAUCE.

BACON.
CUSTARD.
SAUCE.

Each word deserved its own line break, okay?

You can request the sauce on the side, so you don't feel quite so bad about yourself. The portions are also tiny. But, I like tiny because it's indulgent without overindulging. Strong flavors, and great ingredients really don't need sparklers, noisemakers or huge portions to be great. Although, the bacon custard sauce wasn't as bacon-y as I would have liked. Also, the staff behind the counter were very friendly, it didn't hurt that the place was empty for a spell, but nevertheless, friendly. The coffee, is also good and they have skim milk. Often, smaller non-chain places tend not to have skim, and I end up going sans milk. But, at DTWorks, you don't have to. You can have your cake, and skim too. And your...

BACON.
CUSTARD.
SAUCE.

Foodprint: Dishing

Rev'd Up Pi:



Rev'd Up Pi is great. With that said..two bad things about it...1. it's so out of the way for me, and 2..kind of pricey, considering the recent influx of 99 cent pizza places around town. But, I love it. It's guilt-free pigging out.

For a healthy pizza place, they had a pretty diverse menu. The have their own version of pizzeria pizza that I did want to try, but again, funds were limited. All the more reason to go back another time.

I had the mac & cheese, garlic knots and the Wake Up personal pie. The Wake Up personal pie is just heaven on a plate. It tastes like the bacon & egg sandwiches my mommy would make for on a Saturday morning. Hot, crispy, egg fully cooked yet fluffy -- you could even get all whites -- but I err, forgot. And the bacon! It's turkey bacon! Fooled me!

Mac & cheese, kind of on the tangy side, but very gooey. I like gooey mac & cheese. I didn't know that the cheese was reduced fat until I re-read the menu.

Garlic knots. At first, I wasn't too keen on these. They're cooked to perfection, crispy on the outside, yet chewy and tender. I figured 2/3 three of my order was good..so if the knots were bad, no real loss. Then, I opened up the marinara sauce -- real tomato flavor, schweet -- the sauce definitely makes the knots.

And, the staff was so nice to me. Brought my food out and packed up my what was on my plate after I finished. My leftovers almost didn't make it home.

Foodprint: Dishing

Mapo Tofu.

A Szechuan dish and a decent Chinese restaurant that's a mere leap, skip or hop from Bryant Park. Mapo Tofu doesn't do anything in particular that's extraordinary, but what they do is Chinese food, and they do it well. Food has a good flavor, but elevated from your neighborhood Chinese take-out. There's no charm or gimmick: it's good, hot, wallet friendly food. At first glance, the prices seem pretty steep. But, that's pertaining to specialty dishes, and the entrees are nicely sized. And easy to health it up.

You can request many items steamed, I went for steamed veggie dumplings, steamed bok choy and chicken breast. (The steaming does take a while, as they use bamboo steamers, so don't go starving if you're steaming.) The bok choy was cooked excellently, crisp, but not overdone. They have brown rice upon request, in which they don't charge you extra, and you can ask for sauce on the side. The portions are nicely sized; I ate 1/2 my entree, with the remainder serving as lunch 2x for the following week.

Foodprint: Dishing

A friend of mine was raving insanely about a place in Flushing that allows you to cook your own soup. Yeah, weird. I said it was insane If you're not one to with eat in Flushing regularly, or eat soup, or American Asian style cuisine...it is as odd as it sounds. But, you have to go, because it's fantastic.

(I guess I'm insane, too. Since, I'm writing it up. Oh noes.)

Yes, you can make your soup at home. Which is what my first response to "let's go to the hot pot place." Well, second.. I'm sure first was something inappropriate. Anyhow, it's a different experience when you take an in-house experience...out...house, erm. The place is Ice Fire Land. Aside from it's weird coolness, it's also healthy place to dine, by default! Even if you chose the more calorie laden items, you're still enjoying a nice hearty, broth-based and vegetable filled meal.

The soup is a selection of 2 or more elements, you pick an entree from protein based things like lamb, beef, fish, shrimp, there's even a vegetarian option, and the broth: hot, spicy, chicken and herbal, which was my choice -- and apparently pre-destined one at that.

I would go spicy for beef & lamb. Chicken for shrimp or fish, and herbal for fish, seafood and veggies. Pretty much, you can craft something familiar, yet unique. There's also a menu of extras.

And DIY sauces.

And this weird dessert thing I wasn't into, but cool.

And bubble tea.

Just go. I ran out of ands.

Foodprint: Dishing

Sometimes, I pay people to feed me.

Welcome to my latest grouping of random thoughts & food: Dishing!! This was per suggestion of friends. So if this is awful, blame them.

Havana Central

A very lively, bubbly, noisy place off of Time Square, New York that features live music amongst other things. The music is fantastic, it really does accent the restaurant. I was there in July. I had the picadillo. Why? 1. Because I knew what it actually was. 2. It's made from prime ground beef, sauteed in onion, tomato, raisins, peppers, all good stuff.

I have no idea how many calories I ate, but I wasn't worried. Cuban food can be good when it's at its simplest. Health conscious folk should steer from the fried, salty, porky and sugary, but head full on for the flavor.

Havana central's picadillo is delicious and well portioned in my opinion. It was that night's dinner and next day's lunch. It came with a side of rice, plantains, avocado, and yucca. The yucca was fried, but also decoration as it served as a bowl for the picadillo. It was also one of those entrees that taste even better the next day because the flavors just keep developing. The ground beef is savory, with hints of sweetness and a bit of heat. The yucca's crisp and light, however, that's only for one night. Upon refrigeration, it's chewy, but tasty. And plaintains. Yummm. They didn't make it home. It was so good that I to made a picadillo the week after as I was so inspired.