Crack Pie

Yes, that's the name of one of the many imaginative desserts offered at Momofuku Milk Bar in NYC's East Village at 207 2nd Avenue.

Crack Pie has gooey butter filling in a toasted oat crust for $5.25/slice. It is sweet and a little goes a long way.

Marseille Again

"J", "R" and I returned to Marseille for another pre-theatre dinner. Marseille is located at 630 Ninth Avenue in NYC's Theatre District.

"J" and I both had the 3 course prix fix for $30. For appetizers "J" ordered the mediterranean salad and I had the onion soup. We both ordered the steak frites for our entrees. "R" had the lamb couscous.

For dessert our waiter allowed us to order off the regular dessert menu instead of being limited to the 3 desserts on the prix fixe menu. We had the apple tart tatin with vanilla ice cream and the warm beignets with chocolate sauce.

The prix fixe is a good value and the food at Marseille has always been consistently good and servings and generous.

Baklava

I have been anxious to try Poseidon Bakery because I enjoy baklava. Located on Ninth Avenue in NYC's Hell's Kitchen at 629 Ninth Avenue this bakery offers many traditional Greek pastries. The inside decor is not fancy, but the offerings looked marvelous.

I tried the baklava ($3/pc) and it was rich with honey and predominantly nuts. I prefer a little more phyllo dough in my baklava though. I would like to return to try their other treats.

Just Like in Paris

Le Relais de Venise is a new restaurant in NYC's Midtown located at 590 Lexington Avenue.

This outpost from the original Parisienne restaurant does not have a dinner menu. Each person is served the exact same thing: salad with walnuts and mustard vinagrette dressing, sliced steak and frites for $24. There are no other appetizers, salads or main entrees. The also served french bread, but do not ask for butter because they don't have any. They suggest you use the bread to soak up the house sauce served on the steak. And don't ask for ketchup because they don't have any. They serve you half of your entree and keep the other half warm. Once you finish your first half they serve you the balance and will also give second helpings on the steak and frites if you are still hungry.

You can only order your steak four ways: blue, rare, medium or well done.

The salad was good. The steak was cooked perfectly and was tender. The fries were excellent.

You do have your choice of several desserts. There is actually a dessert and wine menu. "J" had the apricot and peach melba in a cookie cup and I had the house special Venise which is meringue with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, topped with another meringue, a scoop of hazelnut ice cream, topped with another meringue, covered in whipped cream and chocolate syrup. Both were $6.50.

The food was very good and our waitress had a wickedly sarcastic sense of humor. All of the waitresses were the same black dress and white apron uniform as their Parisienne counterparts.

It was an interesting experience. And the couple seated next to us said it was an exact duplicate of the original Paris restaurant.

Bon Apetit!

Lemon Bars

These lemon bars from Trader Joe's should be called "lemon dots" because they are so small. Each one is a single serving! I don't know about you, but one of these is not satisfactory and I had to eat a second one just to get the flavor.

They are good and convenient to keep handy at home if you are craving a lemon bar. But I don't consider these to be a "box of 12"...more like a box of "4-6".

Afternoon Tea

The Mandarin Oriental hotel is located in NYC's Midtown at 10 Columbus Circle. The lounge offers drinks, light meals and afternoon tea.


For $38/person you receive your choice of teas, scones with orange marmalade and clotted cream, four types of dainty finger sandwiches (with the crusts removed, of course), and a plate of miniature desserts and cookies.


All this while enjoying a view of Central Park from the 35th floor!

Japonica

This restaurant located in NYC's Union Square offers a great Build Your Own Bento Box Dinner for $29.50.

Included with this meal: Miso Soup, Salad, steamed Asparagus and Vegetable Dumplings. I selected the Unagi Eel Rice bowl and "sushi favorites" (salmon, tuna, yellow tail, ebi/shrimp)

The sushi was fresh and tender. All portions were generous and this was a good deal for a dinner in Manhattan.