New York Short Excursion - Eataly, Doughnut Plant, and Legal Beans

Ri and I at Doughnut Plant

By Lu
This time, I really can't avoid talking about food. This whole trip was jammed packed with one great food after another. Ri and I planned this trip for months. It was just a short weekend trip, but it was filled with two great occasions - my birthday and Ri's husband, David's graduation from graduate school. She would tell you more about it I'm sure. As far as my birthday, I can be such a little girl about it. I love birthdays, especially mine! Last year's birthday was so great and there's no reason for this year's birthday to not be as great. Glad I could spend the day with people who care about me.
I definitely can certify that it was an eating weekend! Diets, exercise, cutting back, and everything else went out of the window for these four days. However, everything we ate was worth the calories. Check these out!

Eataly
Ri and I headed to NYC on Thursday as soon as I arrived in the vicinity. We were meeting my old old friend from high school back home in Jakarta, David (yep, a lot of Davids in this post). David was not the same dude I used to know back home. He's now a big shot NY stylist who's responsible for many famous magazine covers and why some stars can look so fabulous. I sacrificed not wearing my comfortable Crocs and changed to my Cole Haan ballet shoes that hurt my feet so bad just so he wouldn't laugh at me. But even after getting blisters on both of my feet, he still said I looked like an Indonesian or Illinois Housewife, I forgot exactly what he said. Yeah, that was worth it! Not!

He was running late, so Ri and I had a chance to explore Eataly in Manhattan's Flatiron District, on 23rd st. and 5th Ave. Established by Oscar Farinetti, Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich, and Lidia Matticchio Bastianich, Eataly is an upscale Italian grocery store complete with five or six different restaurants, starting from a fine dining called Manzo (the chef is one of Mario Batali's ex-chefs at Babbo), to a vegan restaurant (Le Verdure), a Fish Restaurant (Il Pesce) and a standing restaurant (La Piazza). There were also other eateries including a bakery, a sweet shop and a cafe serving LavAzza coffee...mh..my favorite coffee!

Cheese Case

La Piazza, look at the stacks of Parm Reg!

Out of all of those restaurants, Ri and I chose to eat at the standing one. Yep, they didn't think chairs were necessary. We didn't choose it because it was a standing restaurant, but because we wanted the salumi and formaggi platter. We are suckers for cured meats and cheese! Since we were starving, we munched on a sample platter while we were waiting for David. It was so delicious and it hit the spot. The platter consisted of Speck, Prosciutto di Parma, Prosciutto San Danielle, Salami and Mortadella cubes. And it was complimented with a sampler of fresh Ricotta, Taleggio, Gorgonzola, Merisco, and Parmigiano Reggiano. I simply loved Taleggio cheese. It was bitter, creamy, and yummy. I loved it!

Lu with Salumi Platter

If you like to cook Italian food, this place would be heaven for you. It was almost orgasmic looking at the fresh Mozzarella being pulled by hand right there in front of your eyes, all the assortment of cured meats, fresh and dried pasta, beautiful looking meats, wines, and pastries. I was in heaven. I wanted to take the big wheel of Parm Reg and use it as my pillow and cuddle it at night. Their motto is that they cook what they sell and they sell what they cook. The whole place is oozing with freshness. I am sure anyone would pay top price for the products and it put Whole Foods to shame.

If you're in NYC, you should stop by for a sample platter of salumi, or even just a cup of LavAzza coffee here in Eataly. Unfortunately, NYC is the only Eataly location in the US, but they also have numerous locations in Italy as well as in Japan.

Doughnut Plant
 

Doughnut Plant at Chelsea

Another highlight of the day was a dream come true to taste Doughnut Plant's doughnuts. I knew of it from watching Food Network and the Donut Paradise Program on the Travel Channel. Ri also had been dreaming about getting her fingers on one of these famous doughnuts. So after lunch at Va Piano with David, he took us to Doughnut Plant for dessert and coffee. It was his treat for my birthday though my birthday wasn't until the next day. Of course we were lucky because they just opened this new location at the Chelsea Hotel which was walking distance from where we were.

The Housewife & The Fashionista

Mark Israel, the owner and founder of Doughnut Plant, did a Donut Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and since I saw how good the doughnut looked on TV, I have always wanted to taste it. Of course, there was a line in that tiny store and there were a lot of people dressed in green - it was St. Patty's Day after all - waiting in line perhaps for the Shamrock Doughnut. David bought a sampler box consisted of four regular size doughnuts: Organic Orange, Coconut Glaze filled with Coconut Cream, Pistachio, and Vanilla Bean Glaze with Blackberry Jelly. And he also got the smaller size Crème Brulée doughnuts, which he described as two bites of heaven. He would not share this one in particular, so he got each of us one of these decadent doughnuts.

Our Doughnut Box

 
He didn't exaggerate about the Crème Brulée doughnuts. It was pretty special. Boston Cream Donut at Dunkin Donuts did not stand a chance to this one. This doughnut was so fluffy and sticky. The glaze was to die for and that cream custard filling was divine. I could eat three of this, but that would be pretty piggish of me if I actually did it.

Vanilla Glazed Doughnut with Blackberry Jelly

Coconut Glaze with Coconut Cream

 
Then I tried a piece of the Coconut Glaze with Coconut Cream and all I wished was that my mom was there with us. She loves coconut donuts. She used to make me bring coconut donuts from Dunkin Donuts home to Indonesia. She just simply loved it and the Dunkin Donuts back home did not have that kind of coconut donut. I couldn't imagine if she tried Doughnut Plant's version of it. Wow, no comparison. Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts can't hold a candle to the Doughnut Plant for sure. It is just several notches above those Donuts establishments. I am definitely interested to compare the Doughnut Plant to Voodoo Donuts in Oregon, however.

Cute Wall Doughnut Decorations

The establishment is tiny with only several tables with a long line of customers. They have nice wall decorations of tacky throw pillows that resemble the doughnuts, but yet put together, they look like a pretty artsy wall piece. We had a blast sitting there, sipping coffee and sampling the heavenly doughnuts. They were really exceptional. And I had a ball browsing the eye candies in Chelsea, but David crushed every hope as he kept on telling me that they were gay. "Honey, this is Chelsea," he said. My bad! Man, they're cute. But Doughnut Plant...mh, I can't wait to come back there again! It will definitely be a sure stop from now on whenever I'm in NYC.

Birthday 
The next day was my birthday. We were getting ready in the morning for our road trip to Boston. Ri and I caught a ride with Ri's sister in law, Michelle. Also joining us was Michelle's BFF, Bryn. The four girls were ready to attack Boston! All of them have been to Boston many times, except me. Michelle and Bryn went to college there, so they knew the city well. I was just excited to go because it was my first time and I kept on salivating on the thought of Lobster Rolls.

Bacon Egg and Cheese Sandwich

First thing first, I begged Ri for some Legal Beans' Bacon Egg and Cheese Sandwich on a Kaiser Roll before we would leave town. I talked about this before in my breakfast post. I know it sounded so fatty and bad, but this sandwich is crazy good and since I haven't had it in at least three years, I didn't mind the calories at all. We had an hour before the scheduled departure - we were on a time table to make it to Boston at a reasonable time. It was my birthday, so my sis was agreeable enough to keep me happy that day and I got me some Legal Beans!
However, before we left for Legal Beans, Michelle and Ri surprised me with a cake! I was playing with Michelle's cat, Brooklyn, when all of sudden I heard them singing happy birthday and when I turned around I saw Ri with a cake! I didn't always get a cake with candles on every birthday, so it was truly special! Ri bought me a red velvet cake from Crumbs Bake Shop. She was so sweet and thoughtful! Though, we didn't get to eat it until we got to Boston, we did a pretty good job chowing on it the whole weekend. I had never really had red velvet cake before. I've had a variation of it like red velvet cup cake and cheesecake, but this was a whole 8-inch of red velvet cake, layered with frosting. Yum!!

Waffle

Then after the brief birthday celebration, we made it to the Legal Beans in Hoboken, New Jersey! I was getting a little pissed waiting for service there as the waitress kept on doing other things instead of taking our orders. We were in a hurry too. However, finally she came and then she told me she might not have the kaiser roll and asked if I would've minded if they'd served it on a Bagel. Hell yeah, I minded! I was about to throw a fit. But birthday luck was with me and I got the sandwich just the way I liked it. Ri ordered a waffle. I didn't know why. It looked good though.

After a cup of cappuccino and the sandwich, I was satisfied and two pounds heavier. It was a great way to start my birthday. It was really beautiful spring day and the temperature was about 70+ degree. Plus, I had my sister with me. What could I ask for more? It was simply special.

We did have a plan to have dinner at the Spotted Pig, April Bloomfield's restaurant, on Thursday. But we were so full from lunch and doughnuts that we wouldn't even enjoy dinner anymore. Maybe next time.

Next, we're off to Boston!