Republic, noodle country

Finally stopped in to try the noodles at Republic in Union Square. We were surprised at how spacious this place in inside, since it has a fairly unobtrusive little store front. It looks like they do community style seating, although we went at an odd time so didn't have to share our table with anyone. The Watermelon Juice was delicious (I imagine that would be hard to mess up), but the Vietnamese Coffee was only so-so. The Mr. got the Spicy Duck Noodles (top) and I ordered the Spicy Beef Noodles (bottom). They were surprisingly good- I say surprisingly because we've been traipsing all over The Village eating noodles without a clue that there were fresh noodles to be found in our own backyard. I also don't have the highest expectations for the restaurants on Union Square seeing as the area just keeps getting more and more touristy (such as the most recent addition, TGI Fridays).

Best Lobster Roll: Luke's Lobster

I'd heard Luke's Lobster referenced as the best lobster roll in NYC several times, so when the Mr. and I found ourselves hungry and in The Village one evening after going to a coworker's gig, I knew just where to go. What better way to sample all they have to offer than the "Noah's Ark" feast for two. Two lobster rolls, two shrimp rolls, two crab rolls, two crab claws, two bags of chips, and you guessed it, two drinks. The drinks were from Maine Root soda company which I found to be a nice authentic touch, I enjoyed the blueberry soda immensely. Of the food, the lobster rolls were hands down better than everything else, and next time we visit this establishment we will just go straight for that. While I haven't had many other lobster rolls in this fair city, these seemed like they would be pretty hard to beat. In fact, later in the week the Mr. had another lobster roll craving and so got one from The City Crab across the street- didn't even come close.

I Can Cook: Cannoli Cones

Next time I'm craving Cannoli instead of heading down to Little Italy I'm just going to whip up another batch of these Hungry Girl Cannoli Cones. As a bonus I used the leftover filling to make her Cannoli Stuffed French Toast bites one morning.

Beer & Burgers with Buds at Bill's Bar & Burger

After working up quite an appetite sailing we decided we wanted a good old fashioned burger to celebrate America's independence. We could also use a nice cold beer after a misadventure with a broken clutch on the boat- yikes. Our friend led the way to this trusty burger joint and it completely hit the spot. Their Veggie Burger had actual chunks of vegetable in it and was definitely not the crappy frozen patty some places try to pawn off on you. The Veggie Fries were basically vegetable tempura and were delicious. The Mr., the burger connoisseur of the family, was very satisfied. He wasn't willing to give it the honor of 'one-of-the-best' burger joints in NYC, but he did deem it 'one of the better ones'.

Mad For Chicken makes me Happy

7/2/10

To celebrate our half day we went on a field trip with our coworker in hopes of finally purchasing my new DSLR. The camera shop dude was totally sketch and tried to bait and switch me. He was also trying to convince me to by the European version of the camera "all my european customers do because they don't need the US warranty". Ummm, that's great, but I'm not European, I *want* the warranty. Then, when I informed him I would take my business elsewhere, he tried to tell me how difficult ordering online was . No, actually ordering from reputable sites like Amazon or BestBuy is quite convenient and pleasant. You must be confusing me with an old person. Do I really look like a European old person? Anyway, no new camera yet for fantastic food fotos, but soon.

After that fun diversion we headed over to get some famous Mad For Chicken korean style fried chicken. I was glad we were with someone who knew what they were doing because I would have passed by the non-descript office building door at least 5 times on my own. Then, even when I was sure I had the right address, I'm not sure I would've had the guts to walk to the back and up some even more nondescript staircase and open the plain unmarked door. But lo and behold- nice chic fried chicken restaurant inside.

We got a large mixed order of their Soy Garlic chicken and went to town. The crispiness of the chicken is just as much of an auditory experience as it is a savory one. While they are no longer officially affiliated with the Bon Chon brand, there is a reason people are talking about this stuff. Trust the hype and get some. Also of note that they have extremely good mozzarella sticks. Random I know. My only complaint was that the service was a little unattentive...oh wait, and they tried to bait & switch me by offering Diet Coke on the menu but the soda I received was clearly a Diet Pepsi. This is usually an unforgivable offense in my book, so it speaks volumes that I was willing to look past this incident and enjoy my meal.