My friend and I stopped by Tipsy Scoop a few weeks ago to finally try the alcohol-infused ice cream that we have seen all over social media.  We were lucky that they were still offering their Malibu Pina Colada Summer Swirl so we managed to snap one.

I loved how their Summer Swirl had a fruity sorbet base so Tipsy Scoop was experimenting with all sorts of ice cream!  I'm not the biggest fan of sorbet so this wasn't really for me but even still, I still really liked it!  My friend is a much bigger sorbet fan and he thoroughly enjoyed this one.  If I recall correctly, this was actually his favorite out of the two that we got!  I also liked how they put a ton of toppings on there to really give it a myriad of textures and consistencies.  

For me, their Dirty Chai Sundae was much more my jam.  I loved the creaminess of the ice cream and how the alcohol wasn't too overpowering.  I was a little worried initially that the alcohol would be too strong as opposed to the sweetness of the ice cream.  I'm glad to say that this wasn't the case!  The sundae also comes in this waffle-like bowl which I thought was a nice touch.

Overall, this is a very nice little ice cream parlour and I was also excited to find out that they actually do monthly specials so they are always providing something different.  I definitely want to stop by again sometime later this month because I was told that it's going to be a Halloween-themed special!

Overall Verdict on Tipsy Scoop: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

I N F O R M A T I O N   O N   R E S T A U R A N T   M E N T I O N E D
Tipsy Scoop

217 East 26th St
New York, NY 10010
at 3rd and 2nd ave
(917) 388-2862

Website | Yelp

WHAT ABOUT YOU? HAVE YOU HAVE BEEN HERE? WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOU T THEIR ALCOHOLIC ICE CREAM?  LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS!   - Stephanie

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Brine | NYC

Guys, I don't say this lightly but I just MIGHT have found the best chicken 🍗 spot in the city (minus fried chicken, of course, since that's a completely different category).  But I came to Brine a few weeks ago to check out what they had to offer and their chicken 🍗 was P H E N O M E N A L!  😍

Even after taking photos for a good 20-25 minutes, the chicken 🍗 was still incredibly warm, tender and extremely flavorful.  What really stood out to me was the fact that even the "naked" chicken with the sauce on the side was seasoned so well 😍.  My friend actually preferred this one because this way, he had the ability to make it even more flavorful with the sauce if he chose to do so or try one of the many other sauces Brine had to offer.  Psst: they have SO many! 

My personal favorite was their Signature Thigh Quarter 🍗 that is smothered with their signature chili and honey-garlic sauce.  Seriously, that sauce is amazing.  I tried a number of their sauces but I think their signature is the best (I mean, that's why it's their signature, right?!)

I also love the fact that you can customize it with all of the various sides and salads 🥗 that they have available.  They have so many choices so you can really mix and match to find the perfect combo!  Our favorite salad out of the three options is definitely the Honey Roasted Garlic Caesar.  It's a nice twist to the traditional Caesar salad 🥗 with some honey roasted garlic confit mixed in.  Honestly, that roasted garlic is fantastic.  

Overall, this place is such a great spot for some amazing chicken.  My friend and I thought that this would be the perfect lunch spot since it's located in a busy NYC area plus the prices are incredibly reasonable (especially for NYC).  The service is also top-notch! 👍

Overall Verdict on Brine: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I N F O R M A T I O N   O N   R E S T A U R A N T   M E N T I O N E D
Brine

106 8th Ave
New York, NY 10011
b/t 16th St & 15th St
(646) 559-1660

Website | Yelp

WHAT ABOUT YOU? HAVE YOU HAVE BEEN HERE AND IF SO, WOULD YOU AGREE WITH MY VERDICT ON THE CHICKEN?  LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS!   - Stephanie

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Kaylee's Creamery | NYC

So this post will be a relatively short blog post since that ice cream 🍦 picture is all the stuff that my sister and I got at Kaylee's Creamery.  We both opted for the two scoops since we thought that one scoop was insufficient 😂 and that three was just too much 😉.  

F L A V O R S:

Strawberry Shortcake 🍓🍰 - we both decided to get this one because this was by far, our favorite.  It's sweet and tangy from the strawberries 🍓 and was just overall a great ice cream flavor.  This is one of their classics and we can certainly see why!

Coffee Cake ☕🍰 - my sister got this as her second scoop which is another one of their classic flavor.  From what she told me, she enjoyed this one as well but definitely preferred the Strawberry Shortcake 🍓🍰 instead.  She also topped hers with some colorful mochi pieces which she said were just okay.

Isn't She Lovely - this was my second scoop and honestly, I was not impressed.  It's one of their special flavor and it's supposed to be lychee ice cream with some rose accents 🌹.  The lychee was very subpar in my opinion and overall, not that special.  The rose 🌹 accents were just okay as well - they were the tiny pink crumbs/crystals on top of that right ice cream scoop.  The overall flavor was also very subtle as well.

I also did get samples of two other flavors: Netflix and Chill as well as Pot of Gold.  For Netflix and Chill, the sriracha was way too powerful and left a very strong lingering feeling at the back of my throat.  On the flip side, the earl gray was too subdued so the sriracha pretty much overpowered it.  

As for Pot of Gold, I was disappointed because I was hoping for that crunchiness of the lucky charm marshmallows (similar to the lucky charm cereal) but it was mushy and just not that great.  I guess, now that I think about it, it wouldn't be crunchy since it's technically in "liquid-ish" at least when the ice cream was being made.  However, I just thought that the coldness of the ice cream would somehow preserve a bit of that crunchiness.    This flavor was also too overly sweet for me.  

Overall, I was not that impressed with the ice cream 🍦 here.  I had such high hopes after seeing all the positive reviews as well and I honestly thought that their ice cream 🍦 flavors would be incredible.  Instead, only one of the three flavors that we actually got was fantastic.  

The service was definitely top-notch though.  They were all incredibly friendly and really helpful.  It was just too bad that I was not terribly impressed with the actual flavors.

Overall Verdict on Kaylee's Creamery: 🌟🌟

I N F O R M A T I O N   O N   I C E   C R E A M   S H O P   M E N T I O N E D
Kaylee's Creamery

115 E 27th St
New York, NY 10016
b/t S Park Ave & Lexington Ave 

Website | Yelp

WHAT ABOUT YOU? IF YOU HAVE BEEN HERE, WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT THE ICE CREAM?   - Stephanie

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Tarallucci E Vino | NYC

I came here for brunch with my sister on a whim because she only notified that she would be in town the night before.  We mostly opted for this place due to the location and honestly did not know what to expect.  Upon arrival, we were the only people there despite it being about noon.  The first thing I ordered was coffee ☕ and was pleased to find that the cappuccino was quite good!

For my main, I opted for the Uova e Polenta ($14) which was decent.  Overall, it was not bad.  I was unimpressed with the amount of food and the way how the polenta was presented.  We all came in starving yet the portion (as you can see) is miniscule.  The eggs 🍳 weren't even runny which, for some reason, I had expected.  It was cooked well-done.  The polenta came in these two round shapes and that was it.  That was basically just two bites.  TWO.  😔

For me, the best part of the dish was the mushrooms.  Those were supremely tasty albeit a bit on the salty side.  Afterwards, I left still feeling quite hungry. 😔

My sister and her friend opted for the Uova e Salmone ($14).  They both seemed to really enjoy it even though my sister's friend's dish had kale in it despite specifically telling the waitress NOT to put that in.  Clearly, she did not listen. 🙄 Thankfully she wasn't allergic otherwise that would've been a huge situation.  

And unlike my dish, their eggs 🍳 were runny as seen in the photo.  I was quite jealous of that and honestly, I'm still not sure why mine were essentially well-done and theirs were runny.  Oh well.  

My sister and I also decided to share the Patate ($5) which were essentially fries 🍟.  These were actually the highlight of the meal for me because they were delicious. My sister requested some ketchup on the side but for some reason, the restaurant didn't have any.  Honestly, I found that extremely odd because ketchup just seems to be such a staple in most restaurants.  😒

Overall, I wouldn't go back to this place.  The food was subpar (at least for my dish - the rest was just okay) and the service was basically nonexistent.  At one point, my sister had to get up and find the waitress because there weren't anyone around. 😒 And when she finally did manage to reach a waitress, the waitress took forever to get back to us.  Maybe because it was a slow Sunday morning but regardless, it was not the best experience.

Overall Verdict on Tarallucci E Vino: 🌟1/2

I N F O R M A T I O N   O N   R E S T A U R A N T   M E N T I O N E D
Tarallucci E Vino

44 E 28th St
New York, NY 10016
b/t Madison Ave & S Park Ave
(212) 779-1100

Website | Yelp

WHAT ABOUT YOU? IF YOU HAVE BEEN HERE, DO YOU AGREE WITH MY SENTIMENTS?   - Stephanie

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Chuan Tian Xia | NYC

So I'm finally back after a month of hiatus mainly because I was busy with so many other things in my life 😩 but at least I'm back now and I have TONS of great food and places to share with you guys!

A week or so ago, my friend and I ventured out to Chuan Tian Xia, a Sichuan place that recently opened in Sunset Park.  Sichuan food is my absolute favorite so when I saw a new one opening relatively close to me, I wanted to try it out ASAP.

We opted for three dishes that came recommended by the staff there as the "most popular" dishes and we were eager to see why they were so popular.  The first dish to arrive was the Pineapple Fried Rice ($9.99).  We were a bit surprised to hear that this was recommended since this isn't a dish that we that would consider as "traditional" Sichuan food.  However, because the other two dishes were spicy and numbing, this dish actually really helped to cleanse our palate.  We ended up thoroughly enjoying this dish!  They were also not shy with the amount of shrimp that was put in!  This was also the hardest dish to photograph since there weren't that many vibrant colors in it.

The next dish to arrive was the Spicy Cold Chicken.  This was the dish that I was highly anticipating because this is a favorite of mine.  I haven't had it in a while though so I was excited to try this one out.  Unfortunately this was also the dish that fell really flatly for the both of us.  My friend commented and said that it tasted as if they did not marinate the chicken in the spicy sauce and rather simply combined the two right before serving it.  Therefore, the chicken was tasteless for the most part.  I would agree with this sentiment.  We ended up having some leftover which I brought home and after letting it "marinate" for another day or so, the chicken ended up being so much more flavorful.  I would recommend ordering this dish to-go and then consume it a day or two later for maximum flavor!

Finally, we got our third dish, the Chongqing Spicy Chicken ($15.99) and this dish was HUGE.  I don't think any of the photos did it justice because I felt that no matter how much we ate, this dish didn't seem to decrease in amount.  This was probably our favorite dish of the night because the chicken was perfectly fried without feeling greasy and it was very flavorful.  The one downside was that it wasn't as spicy as we had hoped.

We also got two lychee lime fresh juices ($5.25) which were fantastic!  They were incredibly refreshing and we thoroughly enjoyed them.  I would suggest mixing it a bit before drinking it because we noticed that once we got towards the end, it started to become a bit sour (more sour than usual).

Overall, I was pleased with this place but next time I visit, I definitely want to check out the more traditional dishes such as the Spicy Boil Fish or the String Beans with Minced Meat.  I would also request the dishes to be spicier because it wasn't as spicy/numb as I would have liked.

Overall Verdict on Chuan Tian Xia: 🌟🌟🌟1/2

I N F O R M A T I O N   O N   R E S T A U R A N T   M E N T I O N E D
Chuan Tian Xia

5502 7th Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11220
b/t 56th St & 55th St
(929) 295-0128

Website | Yelp

WHAT ABOUT YOU? IF YOU HAVE BEEN HERE, LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT ABOUT IT.   - Stephanie

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Nostro Ristorante | NYC

So my baby sister was here in NYC last week and she stayed for a few days.  The one thing we both love to do is eat so of course, I took her to some awesome places for dinner and other meals (obviously !).  The first day that she arrived, we decided to go to an Italian restaurant that was relatively close (it was in Brooklyn) and BYOB.  Though it wasn't a free BYOB but they did have a corkage fee of $5.

As typical Italian places, they placed a cute paper bag filled with freshly baked mini buns.  They were fluffy and they were delicious even without the usual olive oil and/or balsamic vinaigrette.  However, they tasted even better once we got our appetizer and were able to soak the buns in that delicious savory tomato sauce. 

We were initially not going to order any appetizers but I was a little worried because 1) we brought an entire bottle of red and 2) I wasn't sure if just the entrees would be enough food for the both of us.  We were hungry, okay?! Don't judge.    Anyways, we decided to go for the Polpette which were beef and pork meatballs.  They were delicious! The tomato sauce was perfectly seasoned with a slight tanginess to it.  For $8, I found it quite reasonable.

For my main dish, I got the fettuccine amore which was squid ink pasta with shrimp and lobster in this pink sauce.  This dish was A M A Z I N G !   My sister and I wanted to get the two dishes that were most recommended and this was one of them.  I can definitely see why everyone raved about it because it was that good!  There were a good amount of large shrimps in it and even though there were only 2-3 relatively large pieces of lobster in it, the overall amount was reasonable.  The dish was extremely flavorful and my sister and I inhaled it.  This dish was $20.

As for my sister, she ordered the risotto pescatore which was simply risotto topped with mussels, shrimps and calamari.  She really enjoyed this dish but because I had my squid ink pasta first, this one was much more bland and very mild in comparison.  So for me, I was not terribly impressed with this dish because it simply did not have the amount of flavor that my initial dish had.  However, there were an abundance of seafood in this dish so I was very pleased with that.  There was also a distinct tanginess to this as well probably from the tomatoes.  This dish was also $20.  

Finally, we got some D E S S E R T!  I don't know about you but I  dessert!  Anyways, my sister and I opted to share a dessert and since she had no particular preference, I decided to go for the chocolate lava cake with a scoop of gelato.  I honestly forgot the price of this dish and I couldn't find it online  sorry guys!  But this dessert was yummy~ The only qualm I had about this and this is completely my own personal preference but I tend to prefer my lava cakes to be on the fudgier side and this one was more cakey.  Regardless though, it was delicious and the gelato was divine.

The service here was also incredibly sweet.  There were only two servers but they were always readily available even though the place got relatively busy halfway through our meal.  I would definitely stop by here again for dinner!

Overall Verdict on Nostro Ristorante: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

I N F O R M A T I O N   O N   R E S T A U R A N T   M E N T I O N E D
Nostro Ristorante

710 5th Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11215
b/t 22nd St & 23rd St

(929) 337-7053

Website | Yelp

WHAT ABOUT YOU? IF YOU HAVE BEEN HERE, LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT ABOUT IT.   - Stephanie

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Oriental Garden | NYC

I haven't gotten any Chinese food or dimsum in a very long time so I was quite enthused to check out Oriental Garden when my friend suggested this place.  We also went in thinking that it was BYOB because he had read an article from Eater saying that it was so.  It was not so.  There was a $10 corkage fee which is actually on the higher end but since we already brought a bottle to share, we ended up going for it.  😭

I was also in a dumpling mood so we basically went all out with the dumplings.  The first thing we got was the chicken & mushroom dumplings which was $4.95.  I wasn't terribly impressed with this because it literally tasted like any frozen dumplings that I can get from a supermarket.  But I only got 4 pieces whereas I can get 20 pieces at the grocery store.  

    

And then the rest of the dumplings we ordered arrived.  We got a total of five steamed dumplings.  The shrimp dumplings (left) was $5.50 which was probably the best out of all of the dumplings.  The skin had that nice chewy texture and there were a lot of shrimps inside.  The sauce was very much needed however because otherwise the dumplings lacked seasoning.  

The taro and pork dumplings (middle) was $4.95 and I was quite disappointed with this one.  It came slightly lukewarm rather than piping hot.  The filling also lacked flavor and the skin was, by far, the most disappointing.  It tasted mushy and reminded me of Taiwan's rou yuan which are these delicious meat and bamboo fillings wrapped in this chewy delicate skin.  However, the consistency was on the mushier side and I was very disappointed.  

The scallop dumplings (right) was $5.50.  The skin of those dumplings were the same with the taro and pork ones so I was already not impressed.  There were also a distinct lack of scallops in the fillings.  Once I bit into it, I found out that it was mostly skin and very little filling.  

  

We also ordered the seafood dumplings (left) which was $5.50.  In terms of the filling, this was probably one of the better ones as it was stuffed with seafood.  I actually felt like I was eating a good amount of seafood especially compared with the scallop one 😓.  The skin was also the same with the taro/pork ones so not great.

Then the final dumpling that we got was the snow pea and seafood dumpling for $5.95.  This one was pretty decent as well.  Though I wasn't a fan of the skin as it was still the same texture as the taro/pork ones.  And honestly, all of the dumplings lacked any real seasoning or flavor though they all ranged from terrible to decent.  I did have to dump them all either in the hot sauce or in soy sauce just so there was more flavor in my food.

    

We did end up ordering a few more items which ended up being the highlight of the entire meal.  I would definitely recommend skipping the dumplings entirely and go with the fried stuff LOL .  We got the fried shrimp balls (left) for $6.95.  This was so good!  There were tons of flavor and it was really hot as if it just came out of the fryer.  I was impressed with the amount of shrimp inside.  The mayo on the side also had a sweet kick to it so it actually really complemented with the fried/greasy aspect of the shrimp balls.  I definitely recommend these.

The second fried item we ordered were the shrimp rolls (middle) for $5.50.  This was also really good.  There were a good amount of shrimp inside and the oyster sauce it came with worked really well with the shrimp rolls.  Thumbs up on my end.

And finally, the last item that we got was fried crab claws (right) for $7.95.  There were supposed to be three but my friend was too fast and too hungry, I guess , so he didn't wait for me to take a picture first.  Out of all of the fried items, I was least impressed with this one but I still liked it more (much more!) than the dumplings.  There were a good amount of crab in each piece and the mayo it came with was the same as the fried shrimp balls.  

In terms of the service, it was relatively decent.  There was always one or two servers lurking around so if we needed anything, they responded very quickly.  The only downside that night (other than the food) was the amount of parties going on.  When we first arrived, there was this large group of school kids.  It was as if the teacher brought his or her entire class for dinner.  Then there was birthday group and finally, when we were wrapping things up, this huge group of tourists came in.  We were wondering if they came straight from a tour group because they clearly looked the part.  So while the two of us never heard of this place, it was clearly very catered toward tourists and large parties.

Overall Verdict on Oriental Garden: 🌟🌟

I N F O R M A T I O N   O N   R E S T A U R A N T   M E N T I O N E D
Oriental Garden

14 Elizabeth St
New York, NY 10013
b/t Canal St & Bayard St

(212) 619-0085

Website | Yelp

WHAT ABOUT YOU? IF YOU HAVE BEEN TO ORIENTAL GARDEN, LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT ABOUT IT.   - Stephanie

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