Butter Lane

Who ever said diamonds were a girls best friend? CUPCAKES are a girls best friend, and New York has plenty of them! From small bite size cupcakes (Baked by Melissa) , to vegan cupcakes (Babycakes), to famous cupcakes featured in Sex in the City(Magnolia Bakery), to the overly huge cupcakes (Crumbs Bakery)...

Every New Yorker will have their opinion on what cupcake they like better: the sweeter one, the smaller one, the bigger one, the most original... however I am going to make a very strong statement (one that some may argue is not accurate) and say that the best cupcake you can find in the city is at Butter Lane.

Butter Lane is located at 123 East 7th street in Alphabet City. Being a former Alphabet citier... I frequented this place quite often (oink oink). You just can't help walking by without going in. First of all, the smell of cupcakes is so heavenly that you can't help turning your head when you walk by. Secondly, the place is so welcoming.. it's tiny yet has a very small town feel.  I love this place because all they serve is 3 types of cupcakes: Vanilla Cupcake, Chocolate Cupcake and Banana Cupcake. Simple right? Now comes the hard part... choosing the icing! At Butter Lane the icing variety is overwhelming (in a good way!). Icings include: vanilla bean, french vanilla buttercream, blueberry, raspberry, key lime, cream cheese, maple pecan, chocolate, french chocolate buttercream, strawberry, lemon, espresso, burnt caramel and cinnamon honey.

Can't get enough of them?! Well learn how to make them. Butter Lane offers classes in their own kitchen. However, reserve with anticipation as they get filled up quickly! They also cater and do weddings.

If you are not in Manhattan, worry not! Butter Lane just opened up their bakery in Park Slope at 240 7th Ave.

If you are in NY, make it a point to go here! Oh, and... according to their blog they have started selling Blue Bell Ice Cream and cake pops. Even more the reason to go...

My Recommendation: Banana Cupcake w/ cream cheese icing ($3.00)

                                                        Butter Lane in Alphabet City

Personally, the only cupcake place that might compare to Butter Lane is Sugar Sweet Sunshine. It's located at 126 Rivington street in the Lower East Side. The cupcake shop has a very cozy feel to it, and the prices are very acceptable. Not a cupcake fan? They also offer pies, cakes, morning sweets, puddings and brownies.

                                  Sugar Sweet Sunshine w/ my lovely Grandma and cousin

However Butter Lane takes the cake!! (or should i say cupcake!)

La Ville-Lumière

Paris, "The City of lights" is the capital of France and fashion capital of the world. Paris is the home of the croissants, baguettes, champagne and Coco Chanel. There is no end to the breath-taking sites, every corner, every stepping stone and every building is awe-inspiring. I have been lucky enough to travel there on several occasions, and I have been fortunate enough to spend a whole summer living in this city.


Personally, I think Paris and New York have an uncanny similarity. There are few cities in the world that can put you under a spell like these two places. Paris and New York, while so different have this transatlantic love affair going on. Why? Is it because in both places we can eat the most amazing food? Is it because we have so much art at our fingertips that it doesn't seize to mesmerize? Is it because everyone is so fashionable? The cities are peers in that way. However with many similarities come many differences. I would never be caught dead in Paris speed walking with a Starbucks in my hand, and I would never be able to enjoy the rain in New York City (did you ever see Midnight in Paris? -- Paris is at its most beautiful when it rains).  Nonetheless both cities have managed to enchant me.


While I took 6 years of French, I have to admit my French is VERY rusty. However, spend a few days in the city... and you will have no trouble picking up the basics. Paris grows on you, and before you know it you will think that you yourself are a Parisian. Sipping on coffee at Café du Marché, eating macaroons at Ladurée or sipping on a glass of Pinot Noir at Hotel Amour....


Paris has something for everyone:
The Artist: The Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, Pompidou, Montmartre, Rodin Museum, Musee de Cluny
The Historian: Versailles, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Coéur, Panthéon, Sainte Chapelle
The Romantic: Jardin du Luxembourg, Champs Elysées, Jardin des Tuileries, Pont Neuf
The Musician: Opera de Paris Garnier
The Shopper: Galleries Lafayette, Saint-Germain neighborhood, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Coco Chanel
The Partier: Le Baron, Queen (best on Mondays), Cab, Showcase, Bagatelle(best in summer), VIP, Ciruq du Bonheur
... too name a few.


My suggestion: Buy a bottle of wine, some cheese and go sit in a park with good company :). 

                                       "We'll always have Paris" Rick to Ilsa in Casablanca

Tacombi

If you have ever been to Playa del Carmen, and partied at the Santanera odds are you probably stopped to have tacos at Tacombi. What is tacombi? Where did the name come from? Well... let me tell you! Mexico is known for it's TACOs and the tacos at this establishment are served from a COMBI (Volkswagen Type 2 Camper). TACO+COMBI= TACOMBI. In Playa, this VW bus converted taqueria is a distinct lime green, and is open night and day. Best tacos in town, trust me... i'm Mexican.

                                                    TACOMBI @PLAYA DEL CARMEN

So you all can imagine my excitement when I heard Tacombi was opening up a restaurant in NYC! It took them a while to get their liquor license, but now they are 100% fully operational... and are by far the most authentic tacos that I have tasted here in Nueva York. Tacombi at Fonda Nolita is located at 267 Elizabeth Street. When you walk in it's as if you have just walked passed the border and into Mexico. The "fonda" experience is complete with the metal tables, strings of lights, wall paintings of popular Mexican sodas and crates of Mexican beer. It really does feel like home(except for the cashier that uses an ipad to charge your tacos -- i don't think Mexican fondas are there yet).

The menu is very simple. Tacos, tamales and the occasional tostada. In the morning you can get egg and chorizo tacos on corn tortilla and coffee. They always have fresh "aguas" to chose from like: sandia (watermelon), Horchata (traditional mexican beverage), Tamarindo (tamarind) and Jamaica (hibiscus flower).

My reco: Crispy fish tacos and agua de horchata. ohhhhh, and don't forget to squeeze some lime on that and add some of the spicy sauces... a taco is not a taco without some spice.

FUN FACT: The VW van at Fonda Nolita used to be parked in the Yucatan.

Difference between NY and Mexico? In NY a taco costs $4.00, in Mexico it's $.75c. Might be worth buying a ticket down to Playa, huh? Food for thought ;)

                                                                    TACOMBI @ NY

Standard Biergarten

If you ever lose me, can not contact me or simply want to see me... just go to the Standard Biergarten on a Saturday or Sunday and odds are I AM THERE. It's basically Oktoberfest all year long, hey who can say "no" to that... exactly.


It's located next to The Standard, and underneath the High Line in the fashionable Meatpacking Dirstrict. The Biergarten features the German classics: sausages, yummy beers, and salty pretzels. However, I do have to warn you, no one here wears drindls. If anything you will find a crowd in designer hand bags and button down shirts. It's a place where starlets and non-starlets alike can frolic around with a beer and ping pong paddles - - yes you heard me right, the beergarden has ping-pong tables where you can challenge your friends to a playful match.


Not a beer fan? Do not worry, the biergarten has you covered with a bar inclusive of all different kinds of liquors. However, my recommendation: when in Rome, do as the Romans do ( or Germans do it this case...)


There are 3 different kinds of German draft beers offered: A wheat beer Licher Weisse, a light dark beer Köstritzer Schwarzbier and the Bitburger pils.


My suggestion: Licher Weisse ($8.00) and a pretzel ($8.00).


And if the afternoon drinking gets you in a mood to party, worry not! Just head on up to 2 of the best clubs in town located within the same hotel: Le Bain and Boom Boom Room.


See you at The Standard Biergarten! Cheers!

Shabu Tatsu

One of the major responsibilities a New Yorker has is knowing where to eat, and what to eat where. NYC is the mecca for eating well. Whatever it is that your little heart desires, odds are you will find it in NY (and that basically goes for everything!).  I have an endless list of my favorite NY gems, but figured I would start with one that is on the top of my list.... Shabu-Tatsu in the East Village.

So what exactly makes this place so yummy? 2 words: Shabu Shabu ( i guess technically that's 1 word repeated twice). I first discovered Shabu Shabu on a trip to Kyoto a few years back, and thought I would never be able to experience a feast like that any place out of the country... but alas NY answered my prayers. What is Shabu Shabu exactly? Well let me tell ya! It's a Japanese hot pot dish. Thin slices of quality meat and fresh veggies are dipped and cooked in a broth bubbling on a burner in the middle of your table. Think of it as a Japanese fondue. After swishing it around in the boiling broth, you are expected to dip it in a ponzu or peanut sauce. Shabu Shabu is always accompanied by a bowl of rice. And a ying needs its yang... so before leaving make sure to order the green tea ice-cream.

Please, if you ever are in NY or live here DO NOT EVEN THINK twice about going here. It's located at 216 East 10th st. Reservations are highly recommended. You will not regret it, and if you do... blame me.

Ordering suggestions: Shabu Shabu Dinner Course with prime rib-eye beef ($26.00 per person) and some Sapporo to swish it down ;). 

Fun fact: The name Shabu Shabu comes from the "swish swish" sound of cooking the meat in the hot pot. 

                                                                      Sayonara!!!

1901

Thought I would share this song with all you music lovers out there in cyberspace. Being a HUGE Phoenix fan, I was expecting 1901 to be completely butchered by this 15 year old...but kudos to Birdy! Birdy, an English musician and an artist to watch... it's what I'm singing to in the shower these days- yes I sing in the shower. Enjoy!!!

i was internet famous once.

The traditional notion of fame has been challenged and Internet is the culprit.  A new kind of cyber world fame has surfaced that has enabled absolutely anyone that can get their hands on a computer to become public figures. So have a now declared myself a public figure? Is the reason behind this blog to become famous? I have to admit, i kinda do :/ --- there I said it!!

Of course every girl dreams of being an Audrey Hepburn (trust me on this one!), but unfortunately old Hollywood will have to stay in the past.  Nowadays there is a BIG difference between Internet celebrities and tabloid princesses like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. Traditional celebrity lives are based on how many magazines mention them, how many television shows they are on, how many movies are successful, how many concerts they sell out and how many people talk about them. When will we ever see paparazzi of the cuppy cup cake boy? NEVER. Hollywood celebrities tend to be careful in cultivating their public images and therefore they control the flow of information to the public through PR reps and publicists. Now, the Internet has enabled us to become our own publicists and shape our own image. 

So I welcome you to read my blog, were the only publicist I have is ME! 

And with that I leave you with my all time favorite 15 minute internet star:

about me

Greetings fellow readers... and welcome to my blog! My name is Andrea Arellano, and I was born in Mexico City and raised 40 minutes outside of the city in a place they call the city of the eternal Spring- Cuernavaca. I now live in New York, and I thrive on the unexpected.  A bit about me... I hate mayonnaise, worms, bad news, being dependent and early mornings. I love dolphins, Chipotle, learning new languages,meeting new people and wine....( to name a few!). I am a COMPLETE foodie and I LOVE to travel. So here I am! Blogging... have always wanted to start one, but have always been "too busy" so New Year's Resolution (2 months in).. start a blog. So here it is the start.  What will this blog be about? Anything and Everything.... to sum it up in 3 words it will be: LA WHOLE ENCHILADA.


With that I leave you with 2 amazing videos from my 2 favorite cites in the world. Enjoy :)

MEXICO CITY

                                                                           NYC