Mouth watering meats, doughnut heaven, and the perfect dumplings are just the tip of the iceberg of Nice Guy's LES food tour led by Dante Mercadante. Mix in some cool neighborhood history and his own brand of comedy and you are guaranteed a fun filled New York experience. Whether you’re a local like me or a tourist, you’ll learn something new and laugh until your stomach hurts. Finally, Dante holds true to his word, you’re going to leave full! Here are the 8 drool worthy places we hit up: 1. Yonah Schimmel Knishes I LOVE knishes so I was ecstatic to find out our first stop was the oldest Knishery in America! Originator Yonah Schimmel used to sell his knishes on a cart on the Lower East Side in the 1800s. They are still made the same way today, a filling of potato and onion wrapped in dough and baked. Hot out of the oven and dunked in some mustard you'll never look at a prepackaged frozen knish the same way again. They've also expanded their menu with specials like cheddar jalapeno, and sweet knishes stuffed with blueberries and other fruits. Keeping it both authentic and modern. You go Yonah Schimmel! 2. Russ and Daughters “The Shop” This is another New York City landmark started in 1914. Beautifully displayed inside is a large selection of schmears, dried fruits, baked goods, Caviar, fish and of course bagels. On this tour, you get to try a traditional raspberry rugelach. Take a bite of this freshly baked dough twisted and filled with raspberry jam and head out to the next stop! 3. Economy Candy What’s better than being a kid in a candy store? Being an adult in a candy store because I could buy whatever the hell I want! This colorful maze of giant lollipops and jelly beans is a trip down memory lane and feels like you’ve scored a Golden Ticket to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. The store, opened in 1937 by Moishe Cohen is run today with pride by his grandson Mitch. Here you get to sample their Halvah, a soft Middle Eastern candy made from sesame paste. Now grab some wax lips and candy cigarettes and have a ball! 4. Katz’s Delicatessan Serving New York’s best pastrami since 1888, this place needs no introduction. Loyal customers have returned for generations because of this family owned joint which is rich in history and delicious food. One of their catch phrases, “Katz’s, that’s all!,” came about because when Harry Tarowsky ordered a sign for the store, the sign maker asked, “What do you want it to say?” Harry replied, “Katz’s. That’s all.” A hilarious misinterpretation ensued and the sign still hangs on the side of the store today. P.S. This is the juiciest, most well seasoned and tender pastrami you will eat!! Smear some mustard on rye bread, load it with mouth watering meat and indulge in one of Manhattan’s greatest gifts to man. 5. Vanessa’s Dumpling House This spot in Chinatown has been a staple for students, artists and families since the 90’s. The dumplings, made daily with fresh ingredients come from centuries old recipes passed down from Vanessa’s grandparents. We tried the pork dumplings that were pan fried to PERFECTION. They were so flavorful I didn’t even bother reaching for the soy sauce. Ready for this? 4 dumplings cost 1.75! Fabulousssssss! 6. The Pickle Guys If you like pickles, or anything that has been pickled, this is your heaven on earth. Alan Kaufman, the hilarious owner cracks jokes like a seasoned comic while you get to peruse the endless barrels of all things pickled. The smell alone is intoxicating. Made from his mom’s Eastern European recipes, everything in the store is all natural, no preservatives. We tried their sour and half sour pickles, both incredible! 7. Kossar’s Bagels and Bialys This bakery has been making their famous bialys since 1936. “Bialy” comes from the yiddish phrase “Bialystoker Kuchen,” which means “little bread from Bialystok.” It’s like a flat bagel with no hole, and baked in the delicious center is roasted garlic or onions. They’ve expanded their bialy menu so there are now more varieties to try. We also tasted their magnificent everything bagels with cream cheese. They are kettle boiled and baked making them crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Then they are rolled top and bottom in the perfect everything seasoning which includes garlic! I could eat 1,000 fresh everything bagels! 8. Doughnut Plant Mark Isreal started Doughnut Plant with his grandfather’s recipes in 1994 and it has exploded in popularity ever since. These are some of the most delicious doughnuts you’ll ever eat, all made with seasonal fruits and local natural ingredients. There’s cake doughnuts, yeast doughnuts, filled doughnuts and the menu continues to grow. We tried the black and white cake doughnut, and it's not only the frosting, but the doughnut itself is half chocolate half vanilla. You get to have your cake and eat it too! Wink wink. Sorry. And don’t even think about leaving without purchasing a carrot cake doughnut filled with sweet cream cheese, or a peanut butter doughnut filled with fresh blackberry jam. You’ll thank me! This was my third tour with Dante and Nice Guy Tours and I had a blast! Dante gives you information, humor, a bottle of water and directions to wherever you are headed next!
Check out link for more info : https://www.niceguytours.com/ Thanks for hanging with this starving actress!
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I only had one full day and night in Amsterdam but it was enough to know that I would have to come back someday. It was like a great first date. You kinda fall fast. There was so much to do but the vibe of the city is so relaxed that I didn’t feel like a stressed out tourist choking on my camera strap as I ran around. Instead, it felt like a great adventure, one experience more exciting than the next. Of course I wish I could have done more, and I definitely will when I go back. Here is a list of the awesome things I recommend with 24 hours in Amsterdam. Have breakfast outside along the canals Amsterdam’s canals are over 400 years old and run through the entire city. They are lined with brightly colored flowers, and parked bicycles. The weather in August was sunny and warm and having a cup of coffee alongside these picturesque canals felt like a fairy tale. Take a boat ride There’s a lot of ways you can get around the city. You can walk, bike (which I would not recommend as the locals ride their bikes like they are driving cars. Fast and furious. Do not get in their way!) There are also trams and taxis, but getting to see the city from the vantage point of the canals is a great experience. You glide gently, looking up to see the colorful buildings on either side and you get a guided history from your driver. I did a hop on hop off tour which is a great way to see the different sites in a timely manner without having to navigate a foreign city! Visit the Anne Frank House Take a self guided tour with an audio device and learn about the history of the Frank family during WWII. You will walk through the apartment behind a bookcase where the family hid for 2 years. It’s a surreal experience. Do the Heineken Experience You most definitely don’t need to be a beer drinker to appreciate the Heineken brewery. I actually hate beer but this place is a masterpiece. Learn about the history of Heineken, how it’s brewed, sing karaoke, dance, play video games, put your name on a bottle, the list goes on. Get two free Heinekens with your ticket purchase and enjoy them on the rooftop overlooking the city with a burger fresh off the grill. Take a picture in front of the Iamsterdam sign and eat a stroop waffle! There are two or three signs around the city and they are usually always crowded, but it’s a fun tourist picture to take. As for stroopwafels, you can find them in most stores that sell things like candy and cigarettes. Enjoy the chewy caramel cookie as you take a stroll to your next attraction. Check out a Coffeeshop Here, it’s legal to purchase and smoke Marijuana like a pack of cigarettes. It was definitely a culture shock to see it sold and enjoyed out on the streets. You don’t have to buy anything but you can take a look inside for your own curiosity! Walk through the Red Light District Speaking of culture shock, I was not mentally prepared for this part of town. Rows and rows of store front windows are lined with red florescent lights and standing there are young attractive women. They call out to people passing by and offer them “services.” Someone approaches, there's an exchange, they walk in and a curtain is yanked over to cover up the window. There’s also theaters doing live shows and a lot of sex shops. The area was very lively and fun to walk around. It felt like a really kinky version of Times Square. Finish the Amsterdam game strong with a late night waffle
After an entire day of sightseeing, sit back relax and treat yourself to a decadent waffle. "Walk. Talk. Eat. Repeat"Without a doubt my favorite thing to do is travel to a new city alone and find my way around, all the while chomping on whatever local cuisine I can get my hands on. But sometimes I forget that my own city and hometown of New York has so much I have yet to discover. There are so many restaurants, Gelaterias, bars and bakeries constantly opening, but there are also staples that seem to be going strong since the Ice Age. A hard feat to pull off in NYC where rents are sky rocketing and the palettes of New Yorkers are ever changing. My old pal Dante Mercadante (YES THAT IS HIS REAL NAME!!) and I go back years to where we met in acting class. This guy has charisma, and he followed his passion for great food and love of NYC to create his own food tour, “Nice Guy Tours.” I joined the Greenwich Village tour, where I learned about the local landmarks, munched on A LOT of NYC classics, and had so many laughs I’m pretty sure I burned off all the calories I’d happily ingested anyway. Here are the places we stopped for a bite! 1. Mamoun's Falafel Mamoun's is the oldest falafel joint in all of NYC serving hungry New Yorkers since 1971. They had some of the best falafel I've ever tried. Perfectly crunchy, and though it's fried, it is not at all greasy. (They change the oil everyday). My favorite part was the gorgeous vibrant green on the inside! 2. Hudson Bagels Dante orders a classic NYC everything bagel made fresh on location, boiled and rolled (top and bottom!) in the traditional salt, garlic, sesame and poppy seed topping. With a shmear of cream cheese of course. 3. Artichoke Pizza Artichoke opened on 14th street in 2008 and has since opened ELEVEN other locations! That success speaks for itself. Their special Artichoke slice is what I can only describe as warm cheesy artichoke dip atop a perfectly crunchy crust. Although the topping is rich and creamy, the slice does not get soggy. These guys know what they are doing and let me tell you, it is WELL worth the calories! 4. Pomme Frites What takes these authentic Belgian fries next level are two things: 1.They are fried twice making them crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. 2. You have a choice of 30 different dipping sauces!!!! Dante gets their best sellers to sample with your frites (sweet mango chutney and Vietnamese pineapple) and a bunch more. You can also sample as many as you want! Is this real life?!?! 5. Faicco's Italian Specialties Gooey arancini? Check. A slice of fresh sopressata while you're waiting? Check. Indulge in this lovely rice ball and take in the intoxicating smells of homemade sausages, olive oils and cheeses. 6. Bleecker Street Pizza Now I am a born and raised Bronx girl who is very loyal to her local Pizzerias. I get very protective of my borough when it comes to comparing slices throughout New York. But I have to say, Bleecker Street's "Nonna Maria's" slice is literally something to write home about. It comes from a family recipe of grandma's sweet sauce, basil, oregano and fresh mozzerella. The crust is dusted with semolina to give it that perfect crunch. It's crispy, gooey and was definitely my favorite part of the tour. It was voted best pizza in NYC by the Food Network 3 years in a row. How could I have missed this all my life? 7. Pasticceria Rocco This bakery was an improvised last stop and I'm not complaining. It's been run by Rocco and his family since 1974 serving up Rocco's world famous cannoli filled fresh on the spot. The only question is, pistachio cream or chocolate chip? I had the greatest time on this tour and left with my belly and heart full! Dante will deliver the food, the info and as always a barrel of laughs! Check out link for more info : https://www.niceguytours.com/
My sister was lucky enough to get a job transfer to Geneva, Switzerland for a year, and I was lucky enough to have her as my sister. Free room! I booked a flight for less than $550 (thank you Kayak) and was off for another adventure. Switzerland was never really on my radar for places to go, especially because I don’t ski. But I ended up being quite delighted by all the lovely things it had to offer. France borders Switzerland so in mere minutes you can be in another country. Two countries in seven minutes. Really saves you on that airfare. Here are 7 awesome things we did on this trip! 1. Ate fondue - Now I’m going to warn you, when you walk into a restaurant that serves cheese fondue, it smells like an old sock; with a foot in it. If you can withstand that in the first ten minutes while waiting for your table, you will be happy you did. The fondue is rich, creamy, salty and not to mention a hell of a lot of fun to play with. Get your sticks ready! 2. Went to Gruyere - More cheese! I had no idea Gruyere cheese came from Switzerland. (Swiss cheese!!) The town of Gruyere is a small medieval village set against the backdrop of stunning green terrain, surrounded by snow capped mountains. It looks like the scene from Beauty and the Beast where Belle sings, “There must be more than this provincial life!” Except you don’t need more. There’s cheese. And a castle. They also have a spectacular local dish called rosti. Which is basically a giant hashbrown that you can top in a variety of ways! 3. Walked along the promenade in Vevey- On a beautiful day, you can walk along the promenade on Lake Geneva with a homemade crepe or nutella waffle, breathe in the fresh air and get a beautiful view of the mountains. You can also bear witness to the gigantic fork sticking out of the Lake. You can take funny pictures likeeee pretending to impale your sister with it! Oh siblings! 4. Passed through Annecy and Lyon (Both in France)- In the old town (vielle ville) of Annecy, in the winding cobblestone streets, local vendors were selling meats, cheeses, flowers, chocolates and other goodies. When I went to purchase the lavender honey, I realized I only had Swiss Francs, (French use Euro) and I had about three minutes to find an ATM in this little village before the shop closed. I ran along the canal yelling, “ATM! BANCOMAT!?!” to any human who would point me in the right direction. I made it back just in time to purchase the sweet treat, and it was worth it. Lyon was more of a metropolitan city with big open streets and brand name stores. I had one of the best meals of my life at a beautiful Victorian looking restaurant. Escargot in a puff pastry with parsley butter, truffle foie gras ravioli, white wine and a chocolate crepe. Bon Apetit! 5. Went to the ski village of Chamonix, France (and didn’t ski)- However, we did we ride a cable car 12,604 ft to the top of Mount Blanc ($60 euros) and took a picture on a see through ledge. Whatever you do, DO NOT LOOK DOWN! Afterwards, while a kickass live band from Dublin was rockin' out with their banjos and guitars, we got some vin chaud (delicious hot spiced wine) and walked around the village checking out all the cute shops. I also ate frog legs for the first time. No thank you! 6. Ate chocolate- I felt like I was in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate factory for a week. In both Switzerland and France you can’t walk 10 feet without stumbling across the intoxicating smell of freshly churned chocolate. Chocolatiere’s are like ATMS over there. The windows are decorated with rows and rows of stacked blocks of chocolate in every variety. Nuts, fruits, milk, dark. Is there any better way to window shop? I think not! 7. Made a swiss army knife from scratch- At the store, Victorianox, I got to assemble an authentic swiss army knife on a sixty year old machine. You follow a chart, and place each individual piece in the correct area. Then you step on a pedal that crunches down and presses everything together. I felt like I was building a weapon in WWII. It was pretty badass. You can also get it engraved, makes a great gift!
Texas food. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. What started as a trip to find the best live music venues in Austin, quickly became a NEED to figure out where me and my best friend would be stuffing our faces next. Here are some of the places where our thighs happily expanded. Gordough’s Public House This place is known for their doughnuts and more importantly, putting all kinds of sweet and savory things on, in and around them. I ordered the "Mother Clucker," two pieces of perfectly fried chicken over a crisp warm doughnut drenched in honey butter. I could feel my double chin growing with every bite but I let the honey butter drip wherever it wanted and all was right in the world. This is a MUST stop people. Torchy’s Tacos These are the best tacos I've ever had. EVER. I had a baja shrimp, chicken fajita and a beef. You can make them "trashy" by replacing the lettuce with more cheese!! The shrimp taco was just out of control delicious. We also shared street corn covered in ancho aioli, queso fresco and chili pepper. My mouth was on fire and my eyes were watering but I couldn’t stop shoveling it into my mouth at a rapid rate. Oh and how could I forget the melty white queso dip and salty warm chips? Nothing like a cheesy Mexican meal before a night out on the town! Torchy’s Tacos for breakfast I know Torchy’s is already on the list. But by god their breakfast tacos deserve their own category. I am an addict for the Migas; scrambled eggs, pico de gallo, avocado, green chilis and tomatillo sauce all on a perfectly sized flour tortilla to fit right into my big mouth. We woke up at 6am just to have these tacos again before our 10am flight home. Stubbs BBQ Mac and Cheese. Nuff’ said. Lucy’s Fried Chicken Fried deviled eggs anyone? With a crunchy chicken skin aioli to dip? Salty deliciousness. Juicy fried chicken with a side of mashed sweet potatoes and cornbread? Yes please. The ambience was so welcoming and laid back, I just wanted to kick my feet up while I digested this awesome southern comfort food. It was hard for me to leave for a lot of reasons. Mostly because of the extra basket of complimentary fried chicken. Standing up was a challenge. Unbuckle those belts, ladies and gents, you’re in Texas.
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