Seeing as you have to try gelato when you’re in Rome, I had to stop at La Gourmandise at the recommendation of my instructor. La Gourmandise was rated the 5th best Gelateria in Rome by Dissapore, an Italian website dedicated to cuisine. Located on Via Felice Cavallotti, La Gourmandise is a true hidden gem. There was no one else in the shop when we arrived, as only locals to the neighborhood are fully aware of the shop’s existence and location.
At La Gourmandise, I ordered a mix of two gelato flavors; vaniglia del Madagascar (vanilla from Madagascar) and nocciola del Piemonte (hazelnut from Piedmont). Served with homemade cream on top, both flavors were delicious. Other favorites include the crumble di pere (pear crumble), pistacchio di Egina (pistachio from Egina), and limone alla verbana (lemon and verbana). What makes La Gourmandise so delicious is that it uses all organic ingredients, and only uses fruits that are in season. As a result of these self-enforced regulations, the flavors are always changing. A small shop in the Monteverde sector of the city, La Gourmandise also sells bon bons, parfaits, and small cakes of the same quality. La Gourmandise is truly an extraordinary shop, especially considering its small size. It does not have large crowds, but only because it is not very well-known to the general public. I was told that this shop is a favorite of students studying at The American University of Rome.
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When I’m craving mac n’ cheese, I always go to EJ’s. Located at the Holiday Inn in downtown Concord, NH, EJ’s On Main is best known for their brick oven pizzas. Loved by locals and hotel guests, EJ’s offers a variety of meals like New England clam chowder, different salads, burgers and sandwiches, and pastas.
My favorite dish at EJ’s is their mac n’ cheese with mushrooms. The dish uses cavatappi pasta with five-cheese cream sauce and buttery crumb topping. You can add anything you want to it; from BBQ pulled pork to vegetables like broccoli and green peas. You can check out EJ’s On Main’s menu here at their website. If you’re in the Concord area, I definitely suggest looking into EJ’s. The restaurant atmosphere is very welcoming and more formal than your typical chain eatery like UNOs or The Ninety Nine. The staff is all very friendly, and they even cater to room service if you are staying at the hotel. With the temperature dropping and the holidays nearing, I thought it was appropriate to collect some of my favorite cupcake recipes to share. Cupcakes are great because they’re relatively easy to bake, they’re cheap, and they bake quickly. What better food for the holiday season? So check out my 8 favorite cupcake recipes below, and add your own in the comments if you have any that aren’t listed! Personally, I suggest baking cupcakes while watching Cupcakes Wars (on Netflix); it’s a great motivator. 1. Red Velvet Cupcakes from My Recipes (Cupcake image from here) 2. Double-Chocolate Cupcakes from My Recipes (Cupcake image from here) 3. Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Frosting from My Recipes (Cupcake image from here) 4. S’mores Cupcakes from 52 Kitchen Adventures (Cupcake image from here) 5. Snickers Cupcakes from Homemade by Holman (Cupcake image from here) 6. Crème Brûlée Cupcakes from Restless Chipotle (Cupcake image from here) 7. Apple Cupcakes from Women’s Day (Cupcake image from here) 8. Winter Wonderland Cupcakes from Betty Crocker (Cupcake image from here)
Oriental Cafe is one of the best places to eat in Wiliimantic, hands down. What used to be just a craving for Chinese food has shifted to a craving for Oriental. With great sushi, drinks, and meals, Oriental will satisfy any cravings for Chinese, Japanese, or even Thai. From the outside, Oriental doesn't seem like it has much intrigue, probably a standard take-out place, right? Wrong. With a dark, almost nightclub-esque interior, you step outside of WIillimantic and into a more mysterious, sultry atmosphere. Dinner at Oriental feels like the most exciting part of your day (or maybe my life is just sad.)
The staff are very friendly and eager to make recommendations, and the food has always been top notch. The presentation of food and drinks is always amazing, as you can tell from the photos on their Facebook page and in my photos below. I've never stopped in for lunch, but I've heard the specials are great and the lunch deals are even better. Happy Hour is from 3-6, and most rolls are half price. The new patio outside also looks incredibly welcoming and seems like a good spot for a long lunch. Insomnia Cookies was the main reason I was excited to visit Philadelphia / the University of Pennsylvania this past weekend. In case you’re unfamiliar with the company, here is a blurb about them from their website; “Insomnia Cookies is a rapidly expanding late-night bakery concept with offices in both New York and Philadelphia. Founded in a college dorm room in 2003 at the University of Pennsylvania, by then student, Seth Berkowitz, Insomnia Cookies has been feeding the insatiable hunger of our fans ever since. We specialize in delivering warm, delicious cookies right to the doors of individuals and companies alike. Insomnia Cookie stores are open from 4PM-3AM on weekdays, and 1PM-3AM on weekends. They’re a college student’s dream come true; delicious cookies (and milk) delivered right to your door.
I tried the peanut butter chip, and split an M&M cookie cake with a few other people (it was basically a giant cookie… what more could you want?). The cookies themselves were only $1.45 each (prices obviously may vary), and the “cake” was only $16 (split between four people, it was only $4 each!). With a bottle of milk being an additional $3, I ended up paying less than $9 for everything I could ever want at midnight. Make sure you check out their website to find a store near you, and experience the absolute delight that is Insomnia Cookies. Catsup & Mustard is at 623 Main St. in Manchester. It's a relatively high end burger bar known for burgers fully loaded with tons of fun toppings. With a large bar and two sections of seating, Catsup & Mustard is a great place to go for drinks, or go for a huge burger. According to their website: Corey Wry was born and raised in Manchester, CT. After graduating from Manchester High School in 1995, he went on to attend college in Providence, Rhode Island. Corey received a Bachelors degree in culinary arts from Johnson & Wales University. After being stumped, I finally ordered the Hartford Yard Goat, according to the menu it's a burger topped with goat cheese, sprouts, fried pickle, bacon, horseradish sauce, egg, sweet & smokey onions on a sesame bun. The other burger pictured is the Turkey California, a turkey burger with chardonnay onions, brioche, turkey bacon, avocado, ranch, spinach, balsamic vinegar, tomato, and blue cheese. I also ordered the garlic parmesan fries, and the other fries are plain.
All the burgers sounded really good, and mine was delicious. I did notice that I could barely taste some of the elements, like the horseradish sauce and goat cheese, and maybe that defeated the purpose of piling the burger so high. In concept, hell yes, load it up sky high, but in execution, logistically, you can only taste so much at once... The fries were delicious, and overall it was a very satisfying meal, but maybe if the rest of the burgers are like mine, the menu could use a little more thought, with focus on the important elements. I'd definitely return to Catsup & Mustard, and I'd love to try more of the menu, but I certainly won't come without a healthy appetite. Hot chocolate has always been my drink of choice, regardless of the temperature or the season. While I’m a huge fan of the traditional drinks like the Swiss Miss milk chocolate packets with little marshmallows, I am always on the look-out for new recipes. Lucky for me, other people seem to love hot chocolate too. Check out some of my favorite recipes that I’ve found below, and leave a comment if you try one! 1. S’mores Hot Chocolate from Our Best Bites (Image from here) 2. Peppermint-Rimmed Hot Cocoa from How Does She? (Image from here) 3. Hot Chocolate Cupcakes with Mint Kissed Centers from Picky-Palate (Image from here) 4. Pumpkin Spice White Hot Chocolate from Number 2 Pencil (Image from here) 5. [2-Ingredient] Nutella Hot Chocolate from Gimme Some Oven (Image from here) 6. Lemongrass-Lavender White Hot Chocolate from Serious Eats (Image from here) 7. White Fudge Oreo Hot Cocoa from Sweet C’s Designs (Image from here) I hope you find a new recipe for hot chocolate, and make sure you check out the following articles for even more recipes from Buzzfeed and Something Swanky.
***NOTE: All recipes are not our own, and are linked with their corresponding title. All images were taken from their corresponding websites, and are not our own! Morey’s Family Restaurant, also referred to as the “creepy doll diner” by locals (also by me, but that’s irrelevant) is a very unique business in Oneonta, NY. Not so much in terms of food (although it does have a large assortment of breakfast, lunch, and dinner options), but because of its large collection of dollhouse miniatures. Inside the restaurant, there are hundreds of different miniature dolls and collections. Most tables have their own display, in addition to more displays lining the walls. Overall the food was pretty good (I ordered chocolate chip pancakes), but I think its hype mainly comes from the large doll collection (and the thousands of tiny eyes that watch you as you eat your food). According to their website, “You’ll love the unique atmosphere of Morey’s Family Restaurant and Dollhouse Miniatures, with over 150 dollhouse miniatures on display! Your kids can play in our toy corner while the adults enjoy a delicious meal.” I’m convinced that the main purpose of this restaurant is to showcase the doll collection, and serving food is only a bonus.
I would suggest looking at their website, as it has their menus pictures of the doll collection. You can also check out Morey’s on Facebook if you’re interested in seeing their business hours and upcoming (potentially doll-related) events. As we all know at this point, I'm a sucker for juice bars, fresh pressed whatever, essentially if it's green and looks kinda inedible, I'm all over it. I finally tried Not Only Juice, the juice bar at 790 Main St. in Willimantic. I think I'm in love. Everything is beautiful, fresh, handmade, local, ethical, and delicious. With an comfortably reclaimed sit-in atmosphere, Not Only Juice is welcoming and is a great place to just sit and hang out with amazing fresh cold-pressed juice or one of the many dishes from the kitchen. Check out their Facebook for more information. I got the Triple Threat with raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and protein, mixed with coconut milk, and the other is chocolate almond dream, with frozen bananas, almond butter, almond milk, raw cacao, and agave.
The Undercover Eggplant is a small sandwich and pizza shop in Oneonta, NY. According to its website, the restaurant is open 11am to 7pm Monday to Friday, and closed on Sundays.
The Undercover Eggplant is not a normal sit down restaurant. It has more of a fast-paced city vibe to it, with a counter to order your meal and limited seating. The sandwichery (as it is most known for) is very unique, with green and purple painted walls resembling the vegetable it was named after. I visited it for the first time last weekend when my mom visited from NH. I was hesitant when ordering, as there appeared to be a lot of meat options (and being a vegetarian, I wanted to avoid that). I ordered a Mrs. Eggplant sandwich, which had eggplant, mozzarella cheese, and red roasted peppers. Overall, I was very surprised and content with my choice. All sandwiches come with pasta salad, and while I’m not a huge fan of pasta salad, the Undercover Eggplant did a pretty good job with preparing it. I would certainly order another Mrs. Eggplant from there (or try another sandwich). I especially like that you can order take-out food (a sandwich or pizza to-go), and bring it home to eat. Visit the Undercover Eggplant if you need a quick meal or lunch, or are a big fan of sandwiches. You can read more about the restaurant at their website, or check them out on Facebook. |
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