new york / part 2 / the food.

"You took a lot of food photos in New York, didn't you?"

That seems to be a popular line when people comment on my holiday photos.

Yep. I took a lot of food photos.

There's not a single doubt in my mind that I took on the New York food scene with as much vigour, enthusiasm and thoroughness as humanly possible. Pizza. Bagels. Hot dogs. Pretzels. Magnolia. Fancy sushi. Terrible coffee. The best burgers known to man. Done, done and DONE.

People who know me in real life (and most likely on here as well) know that once I start talking about food, I don't really stop talking. Whenever I've been asked about the food over in NYC, it's a matter of "dooooon't eeeeeven get me started on how great it was!" often followed by a long, long rant.

Despite the huge volume of food photos on this post, I did actually eat some healthy food. I loved buying fresh (and cheap!) berries from street stalls and eating them for breakfast each morning. And when I needed a break from the junk, I found this great place that did beautiful vegie soups.

Overall though, all I can say is, thank god I did so much walking, otherwise I would've definitely returned home in an unrecognisably chubby state.

Photo time.

Shake Shack. Otherwise known as the greatest burger joint in the world. No joke. This place was recommended to me by several people, including the lovely Gillian, and OH MY GOD. I don't eat burgers regularly, but wow. I would eat this every day if I could.

Magnolia Bakery almost deserves an entire post to itself. I genuinely miss it. Of course, I had to try an iconic red velvet cupcake (or four), but the real star was the banana pudding. It came in tubs, served cold and was the definition of creamy, spongy, banana-y heaven. To answer Amelia's question on my last post... How good are the Magnolia cakes? THEY ARE PHENOMENAL.

Grimaldi's in Brooklyn. This was one of those awesome talian eateries with red and white table clothes and a menu that let you choose your toppings so you could create your ideal pizza. Delicious.

We couldn't make a day trip to Philadelphia and NOT try a Philly cheese steak! We asked the locals where to go and this place was dubbed the best in town. Mike and I actually had no idea what a Philly cheese steak would look like. Is it a steak? Covered in cheese? Nope. Turns out it's a crusty roll filled with beef and the most disgustingly delicious liquid orange cheese called Whiz. Yes, whiz.

One night I was craving sushi like nothing else. Upon the recommendation of the concierge at our hotel, we went to a place called Ruby Foo's. It was the coolest Asian restaurant with dim lighting, a great cocktail list, friendly service and the most beautiful food. We ended up going back because it was just so amazing.

A bagel with cream cheese was my morning tea staple. Bagels are delicious anywhere, but eating them in New York, the home of the bagel, made them taste even better!

Any Forrest Gump fans out there NEED to visit Bubba Gump Shrimp Co! It's a great family restaurant where the servings are huge and fries come on the side of everything. During your meal, your waiter will come around and give you a quiz on the movie, Forrest Gump, just for fun. We ended up going back three times because it was just such a cool place. And for the record, I smashed the Forrest Gump quiz every time.

Chinatown was a must for me. Mike was adamant about finding somewhere that looked respectable and clean, rather than eating from a random food cart. The food was so cheap, so authentic and so yummy. Especially the dumplings. Ohhh, the dumplings!

This has to be one of the longest posts I've ever written.

I'll stop now.

Wait, here's one more.

Mmm pizza the size of my face....