Starting off this week with my personal favorite activity, debunking weird food trends that take up enormous real estate on social media for weeks at a time. My sweet tooth and post-work hunger got the best of me and I had a “crookie,” a croissant baked with cookie dough sandwiched in the middle. You know what? It wasn’t good. The worst part of the whole endeavor was that it was procured from a bakery that makes killer croissants. This is how I knew that the issue was absolutely not the execution—the problem lies in the fact that this trend is just a poorly designed food combination. Chocolate chip cookies and croissants are two of my favorite foods, we simply do not need to combine them. Texturally they are completely different, the flavor profiles have no overlap beyond butter, and it thwarts the integrity of each by throwing them together in a thoughtless, and unnecessary love-child.
Moving on.
The theme this week importantly focuses on lower Manhattan, having neglected the borough in recent weeks. Apologies!! I will work on diversifying the newsletter.
The Lower East Side has collectively executed what I can only describe as a haven for mid-day bite lovers. There are so many places to get a quick snack that it is frankly overwhelming. I, for one, love a bite-to-go while walking around for hours on end and for whatever reason, I do feel I often end up in LES when this moment presents itself. If you are looking for a 2pm snack East of Roosevelt Park, have I got the spots for you!!! This one will be short and sweet, because who really needs a long-winded description of a snack.
Please note this is specifically for quick on-the-go spots—if your heart desires a more robust guide to the neighborhood, leave a comment and I will add it to the schedule.
Scarr’s
You know it, you love it, and if you don’t, where have you been! This is a really good slice of pizza, maybe not the best in the city, but certainly the best in the neighborhood. The new Scarr’s that opened across the street from their former, overly-narrow, and poorly laid out spot, was not a welcome change. I am not obsessed with the new over lightly bright fluorescence or the lines that crowd the sidewalks of Orchard at any peak hour. BUT, I always have, and always will, love Scarr’s. I will discuss stopping by every time I am within a mile radius. A slice of cheese pizza and a coke, that’s your order. This is a perfect slice……… LOOK AT IT. You’re welcome !
Regina’s Grocery
Hester and Orchard (it’s a good block)
I think an enormous sandwich might not actually be a snack…. but it could be… especially if you are with friends? I often have a hankering for sandwiches, or generally am just always craving carbs, especially when I’m strolling around and starving. In a world with so many mediocre sandwiches, don’t settle for a mid Italian sandwich. In the Lower East Side, you want to choose wisely, and this is that wise choice. Pictured below is my cute sister sharing an insane sandwich from Regina’s when they did a pop-up with Dame. I don’t have many pictures for this newsletter so you get a bonus picture of Spotty <3
Kopitiam
A Malaysian fast-casual spot open 7 days a week—what more could you ask for! Kopitiam is bright, airy, and casual, somewhere you can stop into and pull up a stool at virtually any hour of the day. They have sweets and savories and snacks galore—this is a great place to be adventurous and try something new. I could easily eat a bowl of coconut rice every day and I definitely want Kaya Butter Toast readily available at all times. Also, I am a serious hater of hard-boiled eggs—it is literally one of very few things in the entire world that I can not force myself to eat. HOWEVER, they are an important addition to Kopitiam’s Nasi Lemak, coconut rice topped with a combination of fried anchovies and peanuts, cucumber, hard boiled egg, and sambal. They also do set menus for such an incredibly price so you can have a deluxe snack and don’t need to decide on just one thing to eat. I love variety.
In addition…
Katz’s …. duh
Where I want to go!!!!!
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i completely agree with you about a crookie. two v delicious things absolutely do not need to exist together, in the same thing.
A large sandwich is definitely a sharable snack! Signed, someone who shares a sandwich as a snack fairly often.