Entries Tagged as 'ice cream'

Birthday Dinner

September 9th, 2010 · No Comments

For dinner tonight Dallas and I were just going to meet up at Belly Shack, on our way home. We had planned to go out for dinner on Friday and so we thought we just wanted to do something quick tonight. But then I got off at Damen and was going to walk to Western. .. except then we just decided to eat in Wicker Park and I chose Bin 36 Wine Cafe, since I’d always wanted to try it and never have. I’ve been to its sister restaurant Bin 36 and also A Mano, before it closed.

Bin 36 Wine Cafe was pretty good. I had a flight of white wines and Dallas had a couple beers. Yes, they do have a small beer menu, if that’s what you prefer. We split a trio of build-your-own bruschetti. It came with toasts on the side and then you got to spread on 3 toppings: chicken with apples and blue cheese, white bean with tomatoes, or some smokey squash and veggies. We also split the hearts of romaine caesar salad. For entrees, Dallas had the seared flat iron steak with fried green tomatoes, corn on the cob and crispy prosciutto-herb butter. I had the sauteed Atlantic skate with summer ratatouille and tempura squash blossom. Shockingly, Dallas ate his tomatoes (he hates tomatoes), but I tasted a bite and they didn’t even taste like tomatoes. More tangy and firm. I don’t know if I’ve even had fried green tomatoes before, but these were really good. I liked my skate and my ratatouille was nice and light.

We passed on dessert at Bin 36 Wine Cafe because we remembered that I had a Groupon for iCream, which was just a few storefronts down the street. This is not your typical ice cream shop. At iCream you choose a base – regular ice cream, reduced-fat, soymilk, non-fat yogurt, low-fat yogurt, or sorbet – then choose from 30 flavors and 30 toppings. You can even choose a color for your concoction. You then watch them use their commercial-grade KitchenAid mixers to whip everything together and using liquid nitrogen they instantly make your ice cream, frozen yogurt, or sorbet.

I got white chocolate and Irish cream flavors with Oreos mixed in. Dallas got green tea colored green. I liked it. I liked how the Oreos were still really crunchy and fresh.. not like sometimes when they’ve been sitting out, or in the ice cream, forever and there’s no crunch. Dallas said his green tea ice cream was good too. It looked and tasted just like regular ice cream, even though they used their fancy science to make it in front of us. Still, I don’t know if I’ll be back often. It’s pretty gimicky and not cheap if you don’t have a coupon. Still, a great birthday dessert!

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Toy Story 3, Margie’s Candies & Water Fights

July 27th, 2010 · No Comments

On Saturday Jessica and I had plans to see Toy Story 3 with Quinn. We met Jen and Quinn and Kristin and Limey at the theater at 10:30 a.m. My friend Marcus needed some kids to borrow to see the movie so he joined us too. The more the merrier!

I think Jen was a little fearful that Quinn would get freaked out and want to leave, but he was so into it. When Woody and Buzz made their first appearances he was so excited he just yelled “WOOOODYYY!!!” and “BUZZ LIGHTYEARR!” and at the end right when the credits started to roll he yelled out that he wanted to watch it again. So funny. He was so upset when we had to leave the theater.

Jess said she liked the movie too. Honestly, it was a bit dark and scary in some parts. I thought Quinn would be scared but he seemed ok.

After the movie we headed to Margie’s Candies on Montrose. I’d only been to the original Margie’s on Western (see here and here). Margie’s ice cream is the best. Actually, it’s the fudge sauce that’s the best.

We heard they also had food, so the plan was to get lunch, then get ice cream. Turns out that they don’t have a grill or anything so all they have for food is like cold sandwiches. They were nice enough to suggest we go just down the block to Dos Toritos, where they have both Mexican food and some grill items. I had a couple tacos, Jess had a grilled cheese. Theeeeennnnnn we headed back to Margie’s. I am happy to report that the new Margie’s doesn’t have those creepy dolls that the Margie’s on Western has, which was a blessing because there were creepy dolls in Toy Story 3 and I might have freaked out a little if they had followed me to the ice cream shop!

Jess was talking to me a bit more on Saturday and she asked if we could go to the park after lunch. While we were eating our ice cream Quinn asked Jess if she wanted to go to his house and play in his little pool, so we decided to do that. It was a hot day and it was good to cool off in the water. Jess and Quinn mostly just ran around the backyard and played in the pool and with a couple water guns. Jen and I both got a bit more wet than we’d have liked, but it felt good. Jess was talking a lot while we were playing, but mostly trying to tell Quinn and I to get her more water for her gun. I had to tell her not to be so bossy. Funny. Try to get the kid to talk for two days then basically have to tell her to be quiet!

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Tastee Freez

July 26th, 2010 · 1 Comment

Jessica and I took the Armitage bus west to California on our way back from Glazed Expressions. It was so hot last Friday, like 95 degrees, and so humid too. Before walking up California to go home we made a stop at Tastee Freez to get a small cone for our walk.

Tastee Freez is like a super old timey Dairy Queen. They’re celebrating 60 years in business and this location on California and Armitage looks like it’s been around almost that long! It reminds me of the Dairy Queen in my hometown. Except the Dairy Queen I grew up with didn’t have any hot food items and Tastee Freez does.

Also, the Dairy Queen where I grew up only had a window that you’d walk up to and order. Tastee Freeze had a very small building to walk into. You ordered on one side and picked up on the other side. It might as well have just been a walk up window… or two.

Tastee Freez is open every summer and is not too far of a walk from where I’ve lived for almost 2 years, but this was my first visit.

Jessica and I each got a small vanilla twist in a cone. “Cone” was the first word that Jessica said to me on her visit. It was in response to my question of whether she wanted a dish or cone. I thought we got quite a bit of ice cream for a small. It was just enough to get us home to our block.

Also, since we visited, I have had the John Mellencamp song Jack and Diane in my head. Remember? “Sucking on a chili dog outside the Tastee Freez. Diane’s sittin’ on Jacky’s lap, he’s got his hand between her knees.” Confirmed, this is the place referenced in the song… maybe not this location, but Tastee Freez, for sure.

When we got home Jess and I quickly ran to the supermarket. We needed some groceries and wanted to get some foods Jess liked. Of course, she wasn’t really saying what she liked. We did like the guessing game at the deli counter trying to figure out what cheese she liked for grilled cheese sandwiches. She tasted cheddar and Muenster and said she didn’t like either. I bought a half pound of each. Then finally she said “I like American cheese!” Wow. A sentence! So I bought a half pound of American cheese. The rest of the shopping trip was pretty quiet except the part where I was looking at yogurt and she said “I like this kind!” and pointed to some kind of little kid branded yogurt. I bought it for her just because she spoke up.

Later on Dallas made dinner for us: Pasta with meat sauce, using basil and green peppers that I grew on the roof. We all liked that. Later on Jess learned a lesson, though, when she wouldn’t tell Dallas what kind of after-dinner treat she wanted, and then she didn’t get any. When she and I were getting ready for bed she actually said a whole sentence to me asking if she could have the treat then. I felt bad saying no, but I held my ground. That is tough! I don’t know how parents do it. I guess you get used to it.

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Hot (Pot) & Ice (Cream)

November 20th, 2009 · 2 Comments

I found out from Hopstop that to get from the Garment District to Chinatown I’d just need to take the A train down to Canal. The A train entrance closest to my hotel was located at 40th Street and 8th Avenue, which is where this building is located:

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Pretty!

I met Jessica at the A line Canal stop. Our old office, where she still works, is located just up the street on Hudson. From there we began walking into Chinatown. Our destination was Grand Sichuan, where we were going to have hot pot for dinner.

When you’re walking over on Canal you’ll see this building and know you’re heading the right way:

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And then when you see this, look across the street and you’ll see Grand Sichuan:

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If you’re still not sure, there’s this:

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Aha! Now I know where to get hot pot.

Jeannette and Tien had arrived just before us and were waiting at a table. We ordered half the pot spicy and half mild. And then we ordered an assortment of meats and vegetables – broccoli, chicken, dumplings, beef, Chinese cabbage, wheat noodles, clear noodles. Noodles aren’t meat or vegetables, but that’s what we ordered.

Jeannette: “Are they ever going to bring the meat!?”

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Jeannette: “I neeeeed MEEEeeeeaaaAATTT!! Also, is that a rat I hear up there?”

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Jeannette: “Fine, I’ll make-do with broccoli.”

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Jessica: “I’ll take my own meat out, thank you very much. You keep splashing the boiling liquid on everyone!”

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Tien: “I know you’re taking my photo and I will let you, but that doesn’t mean I won’t hide my face in my hair and look at you creepily while you do so.”

tien

The hot pot was fun and tasty. I hadn’t been to hot pot since 2004, so it was fun to go again. And I don’t mean to imply that the service was slow and our wait for meat was long. The service was pretty great. And the rat thing is an inside joke. There are no rats at Grand Sichuan. That I know of.

The check. How do I submit a receipt for my portion of this?

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Outside walking on Canal Street again. We need to hit up the ATM so someone can pay someone and so we can all get ice cream.

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At Chinatown Ice Cream Factory the girl behind the counter seemed really aggrevated that we were there. She kept reminding us that we could only get two tastes per person (even when we only just asked for one) and was annoyed by our presence. We decided on our ice cream and brought it outside. I held up my camera to take a photo of the neon Chinatown Ice Cream Factory sign and the sign immediately flicked off. I guess it was closing time and that’s why the shop girl was so annoyed. Here is a photo of my red velvet cake ice cream cone anyway:

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On the way back up to Midtown. Got off the A train at 42nd and navigated the underground tunnels to make sure I got back out on 40th and 8th and not in the middle of Times Square madness.

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Walking back to my hotel, just what I was looking for!
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Blue Marble Ice Cream

August 7th, 2009 · No Comments

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Blue Marble Ice Cream, Boreum Hill, Brooklyn

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Blue Marble Ice Cream, Boreum Hill, Brooklyn

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Butter Pecan Ice Cream :: Blue Marble Ice Cream, Boreum Hill, Brooklyn

Jeannette and Yvan picked came by and rolled us out of Peter Luger’s after our decadent steak lunch. We dropped Dallas off at the hotel, grabbed my luggage and were off. Yvan and Jeannette had not eaten yet, so I just visited with them while they tried some burgers at 5 Napkin, which is only 4 blocks from where I lived in Hell’s Kitchen. It was cool to see the old neighborhood again.

After lunch we went to Jeannette’s newest favorite ice cream shop. It wasn’t exactly nearby, so good thing we had the car so we could drive over to Boerum Hill to check out Blue Marble Ice Cream. We tried a few samples and both decided to get the Butter Pecan. I don’t usually like that flavor the most, but it was really good. Maybe I was channeling Jess. I think that’s one of her favorites and she couldn’t meet up with us, so I had to eat the ice cream for her. Or something.

Like Van Leeuwen’s the day before, Blue Marble’s ice cream is all organic and hormone-free. They source everything they sell and make sure it’s free trade. The containers were all very biodegradable, all that. Van Leeuwen’s, though, had a more elegant feel, if that is even possible for an ice cream truck, whereas Blue Marble’s decor was very rustic and earthy and farm-ish. Cozy. I liked it. And the ice cream was delicous!

After ice cream we hung around Jeannette & Yvan’s condo in Long Island City for a while. Then it was time for me to head to the airport. Short trip, but was good seeing friends. Hope I can go back soon!

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