Posted by Julia

Going out to eat became a novelty ever since the birth of our baby. Luckily my parents live in New York and were able to babysit every week so we could go on date nights. We managed to cover a decent number of restaurants in the short time we were here:

• BonChon: Yummy Korean fried chicken joint that feels more like a nightclub
  
• Boqueria: Vibrant tapas restaurant. My fave was the Pimientos de Padrón (peppers with sea salt)
• Civetta: Tastiest gnocchi with roasted mushrooms
• DBGB: Liked the open kitchen with all the pots donated by various chefs as decoration. The food was forgettable (great selection of homemade sausages though)
  
• Fatty Crab: Cute Southeast Asian restaurant that made me look forward to Singapore's chili crab. The free coconut dessert was out of this world good
• Hakata Tonton: Japanese restaurant that offers a generous prix fixe focusing on pork and pig's feet
  
• L'Artusi: Good pastas and I loved the scallop and uni appetizer
• Lupa: Best beet salad and delicious homemade pastas
• Masa: An unforgettable dining experience. Would top my list for last meal
• Momofuku Ko: I played the internet reservations game for a few days before snagging one of the dinner spots. Wish I wasn't so "lucky" because the food disappointed (disliked the raw shavings of foie gras that everyone raves about and butternut squash should not be made into an ice cream flavor. No, no, no.)
• Sushi of Gari: Great omakase of creatively garnished sushi

In addition to these restaurants, our favorite lunch spots included bahn mis from the Viet-Nam Banh Mi So 1 in Soho, sandwiches from Despaña (my infamous $25 iberico ham sandwich) and burritos from the Calexico Cart down the street.

And only in NY will you find cupcakes this small selling for $1 each. Gotta love it.