Upper West Side Presents: Cafe Lalo

Remember the movie You’ve Got Mail starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks? How can you not? It is such a good romantic-comedy (chick-flick) movie. Hehe. Anyway, Cafe Lalo was already popular even before it became one of You’ve Got Mail's shooting locations. It had more following after the movie was shown.

This establishment is known for its desserts. There is this French café ambiance that you get when dining here. I can’t remember the place having any air-conditioning inside so I wonder how this will do during the summer. The place has large windows that contribute to its European vibe though so I guess that will help. It is such a nice place to come during the day, right before lunch time or shortly after that. However, at night, I heard it gets pretty packed.

I was there during spring and decided to have lunch at around 2 in the afternoon after visiting the American Museum of National History. They have a really wide variety of food that you may have trouble choosing on which you would want to try first. The servings are for sharing so make sure to watch what you order because from the descriptions in the menu, it is easy to get carried away :P. Check out their in-house menu here.

Ordered the following:

Portobello Mushrooms with black truffle oil salad (USD13) – I was with my Mom and she is not very adventurous when it comes to eating so I played it safe because mushrooms are her favourite. This was absolutely mouth-watering when it arrived at our table. I wanted to dig in right away. The mushrooms were cooked to perfection. And I am no food expert but I think it was because of the truffle oil that enriched the taste of the salad. It came with some bell peppers, cherry tomatoes and lettuce. I am not a fan of bell peppers so I took those off but the rest were just goo-ood. :)

Portobello Mushrooms Sandwich (USD13) – I know, redundant. But a nice vision of the sandwich popped in my imagination when I read the description from the menu. It said Portobello mushrooms sauteed in black truffle oil and garlic with market greens, zucchini & coloured bell peppers. If you are a salad junkie such as myself, tell me how will you dismiss that? Anyway, it tasted like the salad (as expected) which was awesome. I also loved the bread that came with because of those sesame seeds and because it was toasted perfectly.

Authentic Belgian Waffle (USD12) - I know people come here for the cakes but I am always taken away by my preference towards waffles. I will make sure to try a slice when I come back. Chose cinnamon whipped cream and strawberries as toppings though you can also choose from plain yogurt or plain whipped cream. As for the fruit, you may ask what is available and they can serve you your preference. Add another dollar and you can have nuts sprinkled (pecan, hazelnut or macadamia). They provide you with maple syrup produced in Vermont. It was a perfect dessert to have. Yummy! I did not know that cinnamon and strawberries could go together. The plate was empty minutes later it was served.

The wait staff was friendly and the food arrived pretty quickly though Cafe Lalo was not particularly busy when I went there. Whenever you happen to be in the upper west side of Manhattan, make sure to give this establishment a visit. I’ll see to it to come back here the next time I’m in Manhattan, for now, I’ll leave you with this clip from You’ve Got Mail.

Cafe Lalo
201 West 83rd St.
(btw. Amsterdam and Broadway)
New York, NY 10024

Upper East Side's Frrrozen Hot Chocolate

I planned on writing about places to eat in New York in one post. As I was writing about my experience in Serendipity 3, I decided to post them one by one because I have this problem of going on and on about things that I like that I am afraid I might bore you to death.

I seem to love desserts. I started craving for the famous Frrrozen Hot Chocolate from Serendipity 3 when Oprah featured it as one of her favourite things a few years back. If I remember it right, my friend forked US$8 for one serving back in 2007. It is selling for US$8.95 now according to their website.

I almost forgot my own name when I tasted this. It was heaven. I remembered smiling from ear to ear. It was just really rich and I loved the fact that it was not too sweet. It was chilled though during the time that I was there, they didn’t have any whipped cream available. So mine came with none but that was fine by me. The serving, if it was going to be had after a meal, should be good for two (though I had one order all to myself, hihi).

I attempted to return here in 2008 but the wait was 2 hours and I did not have the time to do that then. I will call for reservations or simply have your name listed early if I were you. First time I went here, was around 11:00 a.m., and well, no people should be allowed to be eating desserts that early (except for me =P). They serve other meals of course, check out their menu here.

When it comes to the ambiance, it has this fresh vibe that you would want in a café. I experienced this not having a lot of people lining up in front waiting for a table though so I am not really sure if it is a good date place. However, the characters (Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack) from the movie Serendipity met in this place so I guess there is your answer. But beware as the place really becomes busy come night time.

The frozen hot chocolate is also being sold in packs but I haven’t tried those. I should get me one next time I return. Oh, and don’t ask me why there is a “3” in Serendipity 3, I have no idea. =P

Serendipity 3
225 East 60th Street
between 2nd and 3rd Avenues
New York, NY 10022
212-838-3531

New York City (Part 2)

Alright, as previously promised, here are some more places to visit when you are in New York City.

Bryant Park (midtown) – this park, is right at the center of Manhattan, so there is really no need to plan your entire day around it, as I’m sure you will be able to pass by this once you go around midtown. It’s very near the New York Public Library and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. People go here to just have a quick coffee. The place is famous during New York’s Fashion Week. I passed by Bryant Park often because I have a thing for Chipotle and there’s a branch right beside this park.

SoHo (downtown) – one of my favourite districts in the city. The name is short for South of Houston Street. In fact, they like doing this to the names of their neighbourhoods (NoHo and TriBeCa among many others). The shops here are amazing. Everywhere is full of art. You will also notice how trendy the establishments here are as well as the people around this area. I love it because it’s like being on a fashion show, only you’re not in a contained place. The restaurants around this area, I heard, are good as well. I must go back and eat here next time.

Battery Park and Statue of Liberty (downtown) – what is going to New York and not making a “courtesy call” to the Lady Liberty? Not visiting New York, that is. If it is your first time, you must do this. Take a ride from Battery Park. Make sure to hop on a ferry that will stop by the Liberty Island so you can roam around and take as much time as you want to get a perfect shot with the statue (there are ferries that will just go around the Liberty Island). It is best to go before lunch as the ferries do not stop by Ellis Island if you are taking the late afternoon ride, and because there are a lot of people doing this as well, safer to secure tickets during morning to get most out of your US$12.

Rockefeller Center (midtown) – that cheesy ice skating rink scene you often see in movies is almost always shot here. This place is always alive. It’s a good place to just sit for a bit, take photos, observe. This is also where you can go and see the views of the city from Top of the Rock.

South Street Seaport (downtown) – there are a lot of establishments surrounding this area. A lot of options for dining al fresco I must say but sadly, I haven’t tried any of them. I only came here buying tickets for Hairspray and I just went in the mall near the area and bought some stuff from Victoria Secret. However, if you are a shutterbug such as myself, this is a nice place to go.

Little Italy (downtown) – I call Little Italy the gelato center of the city. Why? Because come here during night time and it is an amazing little street that has tons of gelatos lying around outside the establishments. Everyday is feast day. Another nice place to go for shutterbugs as tourists come flocking around this direction.

Now if you have even more time, try going to the Columbus Circle and the mall near that area while you are somewhere in the South of Central Park. Also, check out The Plaza and the coolest Apple store I’ve seen. They are all within walking distance.

My favourite topic is up next, where to eat while you are in the city. ‘Til then. :)

New York City (Part 1)

Let me tell you something about why this is one of my favorite cities in the whole wide world. I consider this place very special to me because there were a lot of firsts happened in this little city. One of which was it being my first destination when I first travelled outside the country. Back then, I did not appreciate the city because it was raining, and I was very very cold. I was not able to go up the Statue of Liberty because I could not make a step from where I was standing when I was on Liberty Island, afraid that the wind will blow pass my direction and will make me even more cold.

Several years after, having watched a lot of movies and sitcoms filmed in the city, I knew I was going to love the place. I came back, flew alone, but lived with a friend in the city. It was early fall so the weather was not too hot, not too cold either. I just put on a light trench coat / jacket and I was good to go. Lugging around my trusty point and shoot Sony T100 then, I went around the city. For five days, I stayed in Long Island so I was able to understand the subway routes. I also had one whole day, all to myself which in a way was a test if I can in fact find my way around the city.

The spring after that, I came back, this time, with my mom and my brother. We stayed for eight days in the city (which still was not enough for me, but oh well, what can I do?) roaming all over. Here are a few information I can share with you.

The city is composed of 5 boroughs: Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island and Manhattan. The latter having a lot of structures for sightseeing. It's also in Manhattan where I spent most of my time during my stays.

My favorite places to go (still on the tourist-y side, but what the heck):

Museums: I was able to go to Guggenheim (upper east), MoMA (midtown), American Museum of National History (upper west) and Metropolitan Museum of Art (upper east). All of which I got in for free, thanks to my previous company which was a corporate member of these museums. But if you have limited time, make sure to go to MoMA (which is my favorite and is in midtown so it is very accessible) at least. Cool things await. They have the weirdest things in there in terms of art (which I know is not really a politically correct thing to say). I love how different the art pieces are in there. I saw a lot of Andy Warhol (Gold Marilyn Monroe, Campbell's) stuff, also Picasso's work that are in 3d, Vincent van Gogh (The Starry Night) and Claude Monet's (drip paintings). There were also some light installations which I think were pretty awesome.

Central park: located at uptown Manhattan, this park is an easy escape from the city life. It's a good place to just spend a beautiful sunny day and observe a lot of people. A quick picnic is ideal (read: take-out pizza... hihi). I have never gotten into exploring the inside of the park, because I never had a map with me that has the details of it. I was too afraid to get lost. But next time I come back, I will surely look for the spots where a lot of movies were shot.

Empire State Building (350 5th Ave, New York, NY [midtown]): I always end up climbing this building for the view of the city. Once went there 11 years ago, during the day, and twice during the night . The view is simply amazing and I prefer to be coming here at night. It never runs out of people too. It costs around $19 to go up to the 86th floor. You may go to 102nd floor though it would cost extra. The next time I'm at the city, I'll try climbing up Top of the Rock.

Brooklyn Bridge (downtown): This is also a nice site to see at night. If walking isn't your thing, you may take a subway from the City Hall to go to Brooklyn. From there, you may walk your way back to Manhattan and take a lot of night photos along the way. Warning though, there are going to be a lot of people riding bicycles so watch out.

Times Square (midtown): the classic New York background. This area is most alive when the night falls. This is also the background you get to see in TV for the New Year countdown in New York. Different Broadway theatres surround this area and those who love arts (any art) should not miss watching at least one Broadway show. Go crazy and have your picture taken standing by a lot of the Broadway show posters. (I know I did =P). I have a lot more shows to watch. Tip: to get discounted tickets that will be shown on the day, go to TKTS along 47th and Broadway or in South Street Seaport. Otherwise, check for tickets online as they also sell a lot of discounted tickets, sometimes even better deals than TKTS (plus you don’t have to line-up).

There are a few more of these places but I think I might have bored you to death. Coming up, aside from other places in the city, would be places to eat, to stay, and airlines that I took to fly in and out. 'Til then. :)