The Donut Plant, NYC. (Review)

The Donut Plant, NYC
(Review)

It's that time of year again, the husband's birthday. And with that, comes the inevitable annual donut binge. I've never been a huge donut fan, however, there are a few exceptions, and The Donut Plant in NYC is one of them.

The Donut Plant ("TDP") is located on the lower east side. We cabbed it there early on Saturday morning having tasted their treats before and also having seen Donut shows talk about it on the Travel Channel. TDP is a small joint, no place to really sit, and not in a fancy neighborhood. You basically go get your $3.00 donut, and head home to savor every bite.

TDP boasts flavors like "Creme brulee" or "Pistachio" or "Black Out." They have a variety of cake, yeast and novelty donuts.

We got a potpourri to taste and share so we could adequately review the quality for you, our readers (that's right, we are lovingly blaming you all for our calorie binge!)

Above you will see the Glazed, Tres Leches, Chocolate Valhalla, Black Out & Creme Brulee flavors.

The breakdown:

Yeast Donuts:
(Glazed and Chocolate Valhalla)

*While the glazed and chocolate were great, I felt like they were a tad chewy (even though freshly made). Also, I found myself looking for a little more of the sweet glaze. Frankly, I think that nobody does a better glazed than Krispy Kreme, and that has really made it tough for the others to compete.

Cake Donuts:
(Black out, Tres Leche)

*The Black Out Donut is straight up the best donut I think I've ever had. It is a chocolate donut, with a very thin layer of cream in the middle, and topped off with tons of chocolate crumbs. Dipped in Coffee, or even nuked in the microwave for a few seconds, and you are in heaven.

*The tres leche also had a very thin layer of cream in the middle, and a nice, light glaze outside. It was spectacular, and a little lighter than the blackout.

*A plus for the cake donuts were they lasted until the next day and were still quite good, while the yeast donuts just seemed stale.

Overall, the cake donuts are the way to go here, you simply can't go wrong.

Novelty:
Creme Brulee

*The Creme Brulee really was similar to a creme brulee. It was filled with a cream very similar to the custard in creme brulee and the top was a scorched, crunchy sugar top. You felt like you were in fact eating a creme brulee dessert. This one was best on the first day, it's very rich and perfect to split.

If you are in New York City, and you love donuts (from what I can tell from our foodie friends, there is a closet nation of donut lovers out there!)
You will definitely want to give The Donut Plant a try.
http://www.doughnutplant.com/

Please share with us your all time favorite donuts and where we can grub them!

Cheers,
The Wilsons

Feeding Frenzy: Newport Rhode Island, Part II

Moving onto Part II of the Wilsons' feeding frenzy in Newport, RI (and yes, we both gained 3 lbs to prove it!)

The Coffee Grinder
So, to get a jump start on our day, we headed over to the Coffee Grinder down on the piers. All of the tasty treats, brownies, scones, muffins, are made from scratch by the really buff owner! I suppose if I ran a busy coffee shop and then baked all night, I'd be buff from stirring (and not eating) batter myself! I got an iced mocha that was made using hot chocolate mix, it was delish.

From there, we moved onto our morning breakfast spot, as recommended by our waiter from the night before.

Franklin Spa

*hole in the wall
*quality grub
*locals joint
*great prices

Franklin Spa is an unassuming little hole in the wall just a few blocks from all the action at the piers. The wait staff is incredibly friendly, and the prices are fabulous. There is a wide variety of comfort food, scrambles, omelets, and so on. The food isn't over the moon good, but it's worth the visit to get some tasty grub before heading out for the day.

After Franklin Spa, we walked up to the Tennis Hall of Fame, which hosts the only public grass courts in the US. We like to dabble in tennis, so this was a fun and worthwhile tour, and I picked up some gifts for my tennis fanatic family too.

International Tennis Hall of Fame Museum & Club
* Do the tour
* Eat at the restaurant
* Order the Lobster roll!

After the tour of the grounds and museum, we ventured to the attached restaurant. We had heard from our pretend friend Giada de Laurentis (Food Network) that the the Lobster Rolls here were the way to go.

Giada. You might not eat all that food you cook, and I both love and hate you (love your food, jealous of your rad life), but damn lady, that was a GREAT call! Meanwhile, let's be honest. I ate the entire roll, and Giada probably took one bite but whatever! (photo above)

Sailing & Liquor
We signed up for the "Dark & Stormy" (named after a ginger beer and rum concoction that sailors drink) sailing trip for an hour & a half starting at 5 pm.

This was a highlight of the trip. There are lots of options on times and types of sails, but our crew was particularly helpful pointing out great stuff including where Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis grew up and the 1800 square foot play house that she designed and her father built!

**(I think Jackie O's parent's home was 30,000 sq. feet, enormous, some dude from Goldman Sachs owns it now. Jackie's play house is for sale for about 1.7 million, but even if you bought it, you'd have no right to cross over the Goldman Sachs guy's property to get to it, you'd need an easement!) (Also, according to our guide, Jackie & JFK got married and had their reception at this house, I had no idea!!!) (Don't worry, I have not given away the entire tour, plus the guy on the boat has that wicked smaht nor eastern accent, it just sounds better coming from him than me!)

You can see it all from the water. Also, Our guide told us about the Newport music festival early in August, apparently because it is a "dry" venue (what is that about?) The best way to check it out is to find a pal with a boat, or pay for a ride, and cruise around in the water just off the grounds to hear the music, and drink your own cocktails.

This is a must do event.
Don't miss this: www.sail-newport.com

The Mooring Restaurant
Super popular spot at the piers.

This spot is a little fuzzy after a couple of martinis (it was my birthday, I have a great excuse!), but it's right on the water and a definite "must."

Don't Miss: The Bag of Doughnuts (really a fried ball of yummy seafood with some sugar involved, it's wildly good, comes in a brown bag like some donuts might.
Don't Miss: The Mac n Cheese side.
www.mooringrestaurant.com

I'm sure there is more that I have missed, if so I have a feeling the husband will weigh in with his two cents!

Happy Eating.
Please share your best Food Coma Story or Recipe with us here by clicking "comment" below this post!

Coming soon, our interview with a Yacht Chef!

Cheers,
The Wilsons

Food Frenzy Newport, Rhode Island (Part I)

It's been a week or so since we posted any tasty thoughts. I think we've been recovering from our attack on Newport, RI for a food frenzy. Below are a couple of mini restaurant reviews along with some tips on our favorite dishes.

I realize that lots of our California friends would not necessary think of going to Newport, RI, because frankly in my wildest dreams, as a west coast girl, I never imagined going there, but I have to say, Newport was a pleasant surprise. Even though it was a little tourist heavy down at the piers (it was August after all), there was much fun to be had between the restaurants, the cliff walks, mansions, sailing (it is the sailing capital of the US I believe), and tennis hall of fame (TBD next post!)

First Stop:

22 Bowen's Wine Bar & Grille
Overall, Great first stop. Indoor and outdoor seating. We ordered the Lobster Roll and the Burger special of the day. If you go, I'd say pass on the Lobster Roll, because there are much better options in town, and go for the burger.

The burger was packed with a smokey flavor thanks to the smoked Gouda, bacon, caramelized shallots and a garlic aioli. It was a top 5 burger ever.

Also a great spot to go for drinks or even eat at the nice air conditioned bar on the hot summer days.

Only complaint:
For Bowen's and the other restaurants down on the piers, it didn't seem like there were many options of spots to just sit out and have cocktails on the water. It seemed like you had to order food if you wanted to be outside with a good view.

Second Stop:

Cold Fusion Gelato
Definitely a stand out Gelato joint. I had the cake batter, and it tasted exactly like the frosting from my favorite cake in the world back in Pasadena, California (by Federico's). Husband got coffee heath bar and some type of caramel cream. We each ordered a small, and honestly, I only took a few bites. It was so rich and satisfying, but there was no way I could finish it (I'm ashamed to admit this, and wish I could have it back now!!!)

Third Stop:
Asterisk Restaurant
A fabulous casual indoor / outdoor restaurant with steaks, seafood, and even a little pizza & pasta. Great service and ambiance. Seemed like it was converted from funky old garage. They had a good martini and vodka list.

The appetizer was the stand out here.
*Shrimp stuffed with crab and wrapped in prosciutto served inside some crazy Parmeasan wrap over home made salsa. (photo above) Say no more. It was spectacular and frankly, it out shined the entrees.

The entrees were pretty good, we got a Steak Domenico style with the peppercorn sauce and Crispy Salmon over a orzo risotto in a Cabernet sauce. Both were unique and apparently locals favorites, but we wouldn't necessarily get them again.

Only complaints:
It seemed kind of secluded and parking was a real pain in the "As*terisk."

*Also our server was very helpful and told us about the best locals spot to go for breakfast the next day, Franklin Spa. A hole in the wall with good prices, friendly service and good eats. To be discussed in Newport Part II!

Have you been to Newport? Did you have a feeding frenzy on your summer vaca, tell us about it!!!

To Comment, click on the title and scroll down to click on "comment" and write up a storm!

LONG LIVE THE FOOD FRENZY!
The Wilsons

The Paella Virgin. (Socarrat Paella Bar NYC, Restaurant Review)

If you read our review about Raines Law Room (a NYC speakeasy/lounge) then you are up to speed. If you didn't, I'll cut to the chase. Our friend, who I have decided to call "San Diego," (much to his chagrin), was in town from San Diego. He took us to a killer place for drinks called Raines, then onto the truly spectacular, Socarrat Paella Bar.

Let's get this out on the table. I was a Paella Virgin until last night. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I just never met a Paella I was interested in. I figured some day I'd go to Spain and really go for it (inspired by Mario Batalli and the annoying Gwenyth Paltrow' show "On the Road Again" on PBS) (on a side note, why is Mario traveling to Spain with Gwenyth? Is he trying to mess with my head? It should be me for chrissake, I mean, she's on a freaking macrobiotic diet - she is so annoying on that show, I can't get inspired by her and her soy latte, non meat eating ways. I digress....)

Where was I. Oh yeah, Socarrat Paella Bar. As their website says, "Socarrat, the quintessence of the perfect paella and for which the restaurant is named, is the delectable, sensuous crust that forms on the bottom of the paella pan when the liquid is rendered and the rice reaches its peak of succulence."

I could easily leave it at that but, here is a bit more and the quicky review:

The Lo Down:

• You can't make reservations, so just show up, put your name it and then head to the bar on the corner for a cocktail (just past "Nasty Pig" on the south side of the street. You are right, I just wanted to point out there is a store there called Nasty Pig)
• The paella takes at least 30-40 minutes to cook, so keep that in mind, we ordered it before we were even seated so they get it going.
  
• The joint is pretty narrow and long, like a bar, but it really doesn't matter.
• The prices are reasonable $20 or so for Paella ($6-12 for tapas)- you have to order a 2 person minimum paella. We got 2 paellas (enough for 4) plus two tapas, and .. we. ate. every. last. bite. period. and we also polished off a bottle of wine. (I thought husband would die in the cab home from fullness, or at the very least, loose his "lunch" as it were. I on the other hand felt enlightened and fannnntastic!)

The Review:

• Tapas: We got the garlic shrimp & the fried artichoke. Both were simple but refined, fresh and bursting with flavor. Score: A

• Paella: We got the Carne with chicken, chorizo, duck, (and magic) and the Arroz Negro that was awesome and black because of the squid ink and filled with scallop, shrimp and even more magic. Score: A+++++ (I think all 3 of us were in full agreement)

*Why, you ask, was the Paella so magical? It was kinda like a fine wine. It started of really good, and then the more it sat there and the rice crusted on the bottom, and we scraped it onto our little plates, the better and bolder the flavors got. At the end, when down to the final bites of crispy bottom, the only sounds from our seats were, "mmmm, mmm, oh man, oh god, did you get that crunchy," and more mms and ahhs. You could taste the freshness of the ingredients and the true passion and love behind the dishes and the process of making them.

We can't wait to go back.
I have a feeling that Socarrat Paella Bar is a little bit like one's first love. While I may try other Paella, especially if in Spain, I will always have a special place in my heart for Socarrat.

Still in the food coma, but nearly ready for more! The Wilsons