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Fine & Raw Chocolate – Bonbon Bar!

Went to the Spring Handmade Cavalcade at Berry Park this past weekend and picked up a bar of chocolate at the Fine & Raw booth. Using fairtrade cacao and low heat techniques, Fine & Raw’s raw chocolate bars are some of the best chocolate I’ve ever had. Raw chocolate is actually supposed to be pretty good for you, with vitamin C, natural fiber, antioxidants, etc. that you lose when chocolate is actually roasted.

We got a bonbon bar, which is dark raw chocolate with a thin line of bonbon truffle in the center. This chocolate is seriously amazing and I recommend you go get some!

Fine & Raw

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Kafana | кафана – Amazing Serbian Food! Meat fest!

Gao Di and I went to celebrate Valentine’s Day at the same place we went last year, the amazing Serbian restaurant Kafana (кафана) in Alphabet City. I owe the discovery of this place to Eileen, thanks homie! Anyway, Valentine’s Day also happened to be the first day of the Chinese New Year and we rejoiced in the most un-Chinese of ways, having stuffed our faces at Joe’s Shanghai in Chinatown the day before. What I mean by that, is that Chinese people traditionally do not eat meat on the first day of the new year, only eating some Chicken at dinner. They say that brings good luck.

Either way, Kafana happens to offer a most meaty of meals and this place RULES.

Before I get to my comments on the food, I’d like to share a quick story that prefaced our actual meal. Our table was right by the door, and while Gao Di was in the bathroom, a duo of very strange guy plus very old guy appeared hovering by our table. The man asked that the old man, who I assume was his father, take a seat for just a moment. Not knowing what to do, I told him it’d be fine just that my girlfriend would be returning shortly. Sure enough, she was on her way back, and these guys didn’t budge. The owner and service people were stunned. Not knowing what to do we just sort of stood around while this strange business proceeded. All I can say is these people were ridiculously weird and no one knew what to do. The restaurant was super busy but within a moment, the owner opened up another table for us. All I can say is that the workers were champs and handled the situation as best they could. They were super nice and we still had an amazing time! We wound up with dessert on the house… now! To the food…

As I’ve troubled you to read through that story I will keep my notes on the food from being too long winded and make it more of a photo essay… who reads this anyway? Pictures pictures pictures…

We started off with the spinach pie which was quite delicious, dense and flaky!

You are also always treated to some bread with delicious red pepper spread when you come here. Don’t eat too much of this just because it’s free.. there’s much more to be had.

Behold. Kafana’s Mixed Grill for Two (Mesano Meso) is the perfect meat fest. This feast comes with: Seljacka Kobasica (peasant sausage), Dimljena Vesalica (thinly sliced smoked pork loin), Rolovane Suve Sljive i Dzigerica (prunes stuffed with walnuts & cheese rolled in bacon and chicken liver rolled in bacon), and a Krmenadla (pork chop). That’s a lot of pork products, and that’s a lot of “can’t go wrong” food right there. All of this is delicious. The bacon-rolled prunes and chicken liver are particularly delicious as is the pork chop. All that meat is also a deal at $29.95. MMMMMMM.

Sufficiently stuffed but always game for more food we were treated to one last treasure: a flourless chocolate walnut cake. This thing is ridiculously dense and is amazing for any chocolate lover. I recommend it.

Anyway, that about sums up all that needs to be said about Kafana. The restaurant has an awesome ambiance, the food is amazing and the wait staff is super friendly. My experiences at this restaurant have all been awesome and I encourage you to go there!

Kafana is located at 116 Avenue C between E 7th St. and E 8th St.

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Xie Xie Has Tasty Asian Fusion Sandwiches

I first went to Xie Xie on Ninth Ave a few months ago and decided it was time to come back and give the place somewhat of a formal review. Xie Xie offers some asian-inspired sandwiches without asian-inspired prices.

First up is the Vietnamese BBQ Beef sandwich, which seems to be Xie Xie’s take on the banh mi, using beef, carrots, mayo, basil and kimchee. This sandwich is delicious! The mayo is tasty and this sandwich (like banh mis) goes amazingly well with some sriracha sauce which is provided at the table. At $10.50 this sandwich is a bit overpriced but it is definitely worth the experience. The only annoying bit is that the damn sandwich is so messy and collapses in your hands after the first bite!

Next up is the Sweet Glazed Pork which actually comes as three little sammies. These are fun and surprisingly filling. The pork tastes great as does the dough-y bun. $9.50

Aaand, the best way to complete your Xie Xie experience is with a Thousand Year Old Ice Cream Sandwich (mirroring the idea of the thousand year old egg). The thousand year old ice cream sandwich is a scoop of vanilla ice cream between two chocolate cookies with an amazing black caramel center.

All in all, Xie Xie is a great place to enjoy an asian fusion sandwich although the price is a bit on the high side… like I said regarding Baoguette.. there are cheap banh mis to be had in Chinatown! That being said, Xie Xie offers something a little different and is a fun alternative to the ever popular banh mi.

Xie Xie is located at 645 Ninth Ave btwen 45th and 46th Sts

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A Taste of Britain at Tea & Sympathy (not for your wallet)

Yesterday I went Tea & Sympathy in the West Village on Greenwich Ave (by 13th st). The restaurant is small and cozy, seating only 23 people, with lots of floral prints and patterns on all the tupperware and tables. Always a cheap-ass, I was worried about the restaurant’s pseudo-premium price point but Tea & Sympathy delivers!

We got the lamb shepherd’s pie and bangers, bacon and beans. The shepherd’s pie was deliciously lamb-y and accompanied by a side of peas. The bangers, bacon and beans came with warm toast that was so tasty. We might have overdid it on the meat, but who doesn’t love meat? While the dishes didn’t look particular big I was sufficiently stuffed after our two entrees (both pricing in around $14.95).

After our meal we followed up with a pot of Tea & Sympathy’s Rosie Lee tea (for two at, I think, $10.75). The pot was huge, with more tea than I could drink in one meal, but really soothing after binging on a meat festival.

If you like English food, go to Tea & Sympathy. You might feel like you’re paying pound (£) prices, but you get generous portions and the feeling of sitting in your British friend’s house and getting his mom’s home-cooking.

Their tea-time specials look delicious. The “Afternoon Tea for One” comes with an assortment of fancy finger foods (scones with clotted cream and jam, finger sandwiches, cakes and a pot of tea) at $35.00. Unwilling to shell out the money I jealously watched other diners enjoying this seemingly wonderful mix of foods (pictured below).

Also, their desserts are delicious. Try their sticky toffee pudding in warm custard. MMMMM!

pictures stolen from internet