I decided to get out yesterday since there was some sun outside and I've been missing it a lot! I got off the 6 at Bleeker Street and strolled over to Think Coffee. It was nice to sit outside and enjoy my decaf while the sun was out!
After coffee, I started south and found all these cool restaurant supply stores. One had John Boos 24" cutting boards for $59! I'm going to have to go back there for that steal! It was too heavy to carry all day.
Then I started walking around looking for Little Italy. I was going in circles for a bit (whoops!) but eventually found Alleva Dairy whose claim to fame is being the oldest Italian Cheese Shop in the US. I found they had fresh mozzerella and fresh ricotta - so of course I bought some. I see some chicken parmesean in Rick's future!
As I walked around, I came up to the Baked By Melissa cupcake window. I remember reading about it on Home Sweet NYC. I knew I had to pick some up for Rick :)
Almost across the street was Balthazar - hmmm and it was lunch time....OK! I'm in!
The mercury glass mirrors and pretty surroundings made me feel a little princess like :) I ordered the Salade Nicoise - it was so delicious! Seared fresh tuna, crisp greens, so many different veggies - just 1 or 2 of each -so many flavors - amazing. Since lunch was so good, maybe I needed to actually order dessert, too. Now normally I never order dessert. Mom always told me that the bakeries beautiful cases were filled with things that didn't taste nearly as good as they looked. And when I have ordered in the past, I am often disappointed. But it seemed this could be a little different! I ordered a Cafe Latte and a warm chocolate cake with white chocolate ice cream. Oh my. Oh my my my my my. The small individual cake was perfect - a little bit of a crust on the outside, which would make you wonder if it was one of those molton cakes that I don't particularly care for, but it was not. Perfectly baked, it was rich and chocolatey, and the ice cream was a sweet cool topper. And it was not one of those monstrosities - a perfect portion - petite and just enough.
I am very very lucky to have time to peruse around the city during the best time of the year - Spring. I'm going to enjoy it before the oppressive heat gets here.
