NYC: Pizza & Ethiopian

My 2nd day in New York City was here. What good things will I eat today? For lunch, I was definitely going to have pizza or hot dogs. For dinner, I wanted something really unique. I ended up making reservations for Queen of Sheba, an Ethiopian Restaurant.

I was perusing our new Manhattan map, which was very helpful! It listed all the streets and subway stops. We were both starving and needed a quick fix for lunch. We discovered that the PATH train stopped right by one of the NYC pizza staples, Famous Ray's in Greenwich Village. It's a small, simple place. You order at the counter and hopefully find a place to sit. There are about 5 tables and counter space for about 15 people. The pizza was really delicious. The crust was super thin (of course). The sauce tasted fresh and light. It had the perfect amount of cheese. Too bad you can't get too many pizzas like that in Florida...I think it's the sauce. But it could be the NYC water, which a lot of people claim is the reason it's so good.



After a great day of window shopping and visiting Central Park, it was time to eat dinner. I was so excited to go to Queen of Sheba! I had never tried Ethiopian food before. All I kind of knew is that you ate with your hands, picking up some kind of stewed meat with the pancake-like "plate". We stepped into the restaurant and were quickly seated at a table. It's a small place, but it was very packed. The menu had a big selection of entrees that were all reasonably priced (from $14 - $17). But my eyes went to the entree, Taste of Sheba, which had a sampling of it's favorite dishes. Ten minutes after we ordered, the dish came out. It was huge! The pancake must have had a 20 inch diameter. On the pancake were all the samplings, seven to be exact. Five were beef, two were lamb. I enjoyed all of them, but there were a couple which were outstanding. My two favorite were the Mechet Abesh Wot (ground beef cooked in green pepper sauce with garlic and ginger) and the Bozena Shiro (finely diced beef simmered in chickpea gravy). They serve you pancakes to eat on the side as well. The texture was very similar to a crepe, with a tangy taste. You just tear a piece off, and use it to scoop up your meat. It was a little messy, but fun. If you're in NYC, definitely check this place out if you're feeling adventurous.

Tombstone Extra Cheese Pizza

While I was grocery shopping the other day, I was suddenly craving pizza and thought I'd give one of the frozen ones a try. Tombstone was one of the cheaper ones, plus, it said "extra cheese" so I thought it couldn't be too bad. Right when I got home I put in the oven, and about 20 minutes later it was ready for me. The crust was thin and very crispy. The sauce tasted like a basic manufactured tomato sauce, which was what I was expecting anyway. The best part was all that cheese! I thought "extra cheese" was kind of an oxymoron for a frozen pizza, but they do a good job of loading it on. Overall, the pizza was good in a pinch, but I'd definitely rather go to my local pizza shop and grab a pizza there.

My Free Chicken Sandwich

Thursday was McDonald's free sandwich day. They were promoting their new Southern - Style Chicken Sandwich and Biscuit. Luckily, I forgot to bring in my lunch to work so I decided to brave the drive-thru line to taste this Chick-fil-a replica. I drove up to the menu board and placed my order for a medium soda and the chicken sandwich(you had to buy a medium or large drink to get this "free" sandwich). I was going to wait until I was at work to unveil it, but I was ravenous! I was in the parking lot and opened up the box to smell the deep fried goodness.



It looked good to me, the bun was soft and the crust looked crispy. I took my first bite and I was impressed. It was spiced well, crispy, and fairly juicy (it even had the 2 pickle slices). It tasted fresh and not like it was kept under a heat lamp all day. Overall, I have to stick with Chick-fil-a, because the chicken seems a little less processed and definitely larger in size. But the new McDonald's Southern-Style Chicken Sandwich is a great substitute in a pinch.

Light Hot Dogs

I was never really into hot dogs until a couple years ago. I was watching a special on the Travel Channel about hot dogs and I must have been really hungry, because I added them to my grocery list . Now I usually have them on hand when I'm craving junk food ( I guess it's better than going to get a Quarter Pounder, right?). I buy Oscar Meyer Light Beef Franks (I think the fat free & turkey dogs are GROSS). They are really good for being light! I heat these up in the oven, along with the buns (Whitewheat is the "healthiest"). I add half a slice of 2% American cheese to each bun and top it with mustard and hot sauce. It's a great treat!