New York
Cafe Minerva is one of my favorite little cafes in the West Village. Not only do they serve a mean cup of coffee, but they also make some pretty amazing white truffle pasta. Need I say more?
Sometimes when I have the first bite of a dish, and I really love it, or the flavors surprise me in some way, I need a moment of silence to savor the food before resuming conversation with people around the table (weird, I know).
In the midst of finals at school and a beautiful (to me at least) snow storm, I headed to Lafayette for a little coffee date with my friend Grace. While I love eating at the restaurant itself, there's a little cozy patisserie corner just to the right of the entrance.
Navy was one of the top choices on my list of restaurants to try when I got back to NYC in August. I finally managed to try it just about two weeks ago, and now of course I'm regretting not having tried it earlier.
Lately (and I'm quite ashamed to admit it) I've been feeling a lack of inspiration. I feel like I've eaten at most of the places on my list, know my way around most of the areas of NYC really well and coming up with creative new content has become somewhat more difficult than it usually is.
"If you take your glasses off, you could almost believe you're in Paris" - I overheard one of the other customers at Cafe Cluny say.
Unfamiliar with the area I thought I would just go to Le Bernardin and ask about the Wine Bar but as soon as I sat down the friendly waiter pointed right behind me throughout the window and told me that the newly opened Wine Bar is located just opposite in the the next building.
Ralph's Coffee inside the new Polo Ralph Lauren Store is the perfect safe haven from the mayhem of Midtown Manhattan.
The Smile is the perfect place to hide away from the world and eat abnormal amounts of good food while no one is watching.
With this week's cold and rainy weather, the first leaves starting to fall from the trees and my ever present cold, all I want is tea and scones while watching people from inside a cozy restaurant.
One can never have too much avocado toast, and in New York there are plenty of options out there right now.
Remember that healthy lunch I had at The Butcher's Daughter on Monday? Well this is where I headed immediately to get my sweet fix.
Living in New York, I sometimes like to make a conscious effort to eat a healthy meal (and pretend that I don't finish every meal off with gelato anyway).
One of the things I really miss in New York is the abundance of places where you actually enjoy eating outside. Don't get me wrong, a lot of places have outside seating, but I don't particularly enjoy sitting on an extremely noisy and dirty avenue even if the food is amazing.
Anyone who knows me in the slightest, knows I seriously love to brunch. The great thing about the states is that they're brunch experts and you can literally have brunch anytime between 8 am and 5 pm during the weekend.
It's safe to say that if you return to a restaurant more than 3 times in 2 days, it's probably on its way to be on of your all time favorites.
Buvette happens to make the best ones I've ever had, simply using steam from a coffee machine …
My best friend Emma recently moved into her new apartment and is now an expert in all things East Village, so she took us to one of her favorite brunch places: The Smith. (Don't worry they have locations in midtown and the Upper West Side too!) The atmosphere is relaxed and it's lovely to enjoy the fresh air from the big windows as you eat.
Vienna
At the Dombeisl in Vienna, you will find some of the most important ingredients for a pleasant and enjoyable evening. Thomas Wohlfahrter, new chef at the Beisl, which is an Austrian nickname for a pub, loves to make his guests happy.
We were nearby for state championship in swimming, and the day got really long in between the races. It is sometimes easier to try to get a table on short notice than planning ahead. We were lucky and were taken care of with charm and finesse by Mrs Reitbauer herself in a dirndl and her team. This is a legendary "Wirtshaus" known for its quality meat and excellent kitchen open only from Thursday to Sunday.
If you're looking for a different kind of afternoon or an escape from Vienna for a day during the summer it is not far …
As a part of the "Meierei Breakfas"t Marion's Granola is served here in this best location in the middle of Vienna's Stadtpark
When I was in Vienna last week my parents took me out for a special lunch at Vienna’s best restaurant, Steirereck, which is also the ninth best restaurant of the world. It's right in the heart of Vienna's "Stadtpark".
Back in Vienna I enjoyed a few lovely days of the wonderful spring weather. I went on a lunch date with my mom and I can't even explain how lovely the 20 degree weather felt after having survived the horrors of the polar vortex and the ongoing New York City winter.
We ate outside for the first time this year, at Cafe Francais.
My mom's lovely friend L is an expert in all things art, so naturally she took my mom and I to see the new Fabergé exhibit at the art history museum in Vienna.
One of the reasons I love going home to Vienna from New York for breaks is that I get to eat with my family, mainly because I get no judgement for ordering every single thing on the menu and then eating enough for five or more people on my own. Luckily my brother is a swimmer and still growing, so the rest of us just pretend he's the one eating all the food.
PARIS
Have you ever wanted to have lunch in an enchanted forrest? The thought has certainly crossed my mind more than once, along with a deep desire to play a grand piano in the middle of a meadow… but that's a completely different story. Point being, Ralph's in Paris is probably my very favorite restaurant ever.
Pretty much anyone you ask will tell you that Angelina makes the best proper hot chocolate in Paris, so Angelina is definitely must see!
HolyBelly is a simple cafe near Canal St Martin with a homey atmosphere and run by Australians. Interestingly enough, everyone near me eating at the cafe was also Australian, so it must be a good place...
Some places are good enough to go to in different cities, and Buvette is definitely one of them!
Odette is the tiniest 4 story house wedged between two other houses on Paris' left bank. They sell only one type of pastry: filled choux pastry.
Claus is the tiniest breakfast place tucked away in a side street of Rue St Honoré, with a small shop on the ground level and a small restaurant on the first floor. It feels quintessentially French, but also serves all your British and American breakfast classics, and even some green juice, which is always difficult to find in Paris.
On one of my first nights in Paris my friend Helena (who knows the ways of the town because she grew up here) took Aya and me to one of the tiniest Italian places in the 6th. Tucked away in a side street near the Bon Marche is Cherche Midi, aptly named after the street it's located on.
