missmaggiepops

Like I’ve said before, NYC has been good to my belly and thighs. I have been in NY for work and found myself at the BlueFly.com studios. Our producer ordered the most amazing sandwiches & sides from Untamed Sandwiches on West 39th (between 5th and 6th Aves).
I have forgotten how satisfying a really good sandwich can be. I fell out-of-love with sandwiches when I stopped eating processed-anything because of my soy intolerance. And although I can eat bread, most shops don’t use freshly baked, processed-ingredient-free bread. Enter Untamed Sandwiches: their crusty ciabatta rolls hold the most creative fillings I’ve seen in awhile such as the Sheemakers Bounty: charred broccoli with fried almond butter & pickled raisin jam (pictured above). Or how about the Nettle Neck: braised lamb neck, gruyere, walnut-nettle pesto, and pickled and charred onions. Holy S**t, right? The sides are pretty fabulous themselves, such as the chermoula roasted carrots, the rye berry salad that’s actually not that spicey, and the broccoli rabe that is pleasantly spicey.
Did I mention they cater? Exactly, click that link above for tomorrow’s lunch.

A few more mentionables that I’ve eaten at, but the photos were too shitty dark to post:
–Mary’s Fish Camp in the West Village gets 10 stars. Kiddo had fried oysters, we split a crab gratin, and dined on shrimp burgers accompanied by charred shishito peppers, and pozole with red snapper, avocados, and hominy. Delish.
–Shake Shack is everything the hype says it is. The hubby & I found it at Grand Central Terminal’s food court. He ordered the burger, I had the chocolate milkshake, next time I want both with fries.
–Gnocco Cucina & Tradizione on E 10th between A & B was a recommendation from a friend of a friend. That friend of a friend is from Naples, and he said this place is exactly like home to him. So we went, and it was like discovering a little gem in the city. First of all, the village on this part of the island is like a little, unpretentious oasis in the concrete jungle. You walk in and immediately pass the kitchen with it’s brick oven- awesome- and make your way to the back to either the bar or the dining room. We all shared burrata, then moved on to our own dishes. I had the special: moist salmon crusted in pistachio served alongside black rice. The service was friendly, but not Applebee’s-annoyingly-friendly, and the room was dark enough so that the candlelight made everybody look good.
–Union Market. I know, it’s not a restaurant, but you can get cupcakes from Baked there. Oh, you don’t know of Baked? It’s a bakery in Red Hook, and I love love love following them on Instagram and Facebook. They also have gorgeous cookbooks. Get thee to Union Market if you can’t make it to Brooklyn (or Tribeca) for those cupcakes, and for other things too….
-I think the best time to go to Magnolia Bakery (the famed bakery after being shot in a Sex In The City episode) in the West Village is on a frigid, Tuesday night- no long lines. I had the truffle cupcake filled with chocolate ganache: it fired off all of my chocolate-addicted neurons, and I was left with a deep sense of fulfillment. Pretty powerful s**t, totally worth the calories.
-If you find yourself out in Stamford, CT, Lorca on the main drag has drip brew coffee and buttery pain au chocolat.