Frost Doughnuts

My little bro was in the mood for doughnuts this morning, and decided to take me to Frost Doughnuts which recently opened a location in the Mill Creek Town Center (near my family's home in good 'ol Washington).

The greedy little bugger ordered 3 different kinds of doughnuts:

1. Peppermint kiss: a red velvet cake doughnut with peppermint cream

2. Southern red velvet: another red velvet cake doughnut, but this time with traditional cream cheese frosting

3. Maple bacon bar: a maple bar doughnut with bacon bits

I, being a slightly less greedy person, limited myself to 2:

1. Malt chocolate cream: a doughnut similar to a bavarian cream, but with malt chocolate mousse filling rather than bavarian cream

2. I copied my bro and also claimed a Southern red velvet cake doughnut

Gah! Holiday weight gain... seems almost impossible to avoid

5 Napkin Burger

My friends and I had intended to explore the West side and grab lunch in the Hell's Kitchen region, however we were so indecisive about choosing a place to eat that we ended up walking up and down 12 blocks several times before finally deciding on a rather boring default: burgers.

I ordered the original 5-Napkin burger, which is a 10oz beef patty with gruyere cheese, caramelized onion, and rosemary aioli. It's advertised on their website as being "Way too juicy for one napkin. Or four." However, I did NOT need more than one napkin. Probably because I eventually resorted to using a knife and fork.

Having ordered the meat patty to be done medium-rare, it was indeed pretty juicy - and made extra messy with the rosemary aioli topping (which I thought was probably the best part of the burger).

The fries were just regular fries and not too memorable.

Overall rating: 6.5/10

Prune

(It's been so long since I've had enough time to blog my food escapades that I've almost forgotten what to do. Here goes...)

Ever since watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations in which he visited his pal chef Gabrielle Hamilton at her restaurant Prune, I've been aching to try the place. Located on 1st street and between 1st and 2nd avenue, it's long been a popular place for both lunch and dinner - having been named one of NY Magazine's best lunch restaurants in the past.

A few months ago - before my schedule exploded, I dragged my friend/former neighbor/fellow food-lover Niu Niu with me to brunch at Prune. It's a tiny space with just a handful of tables but with a bright and sunny atmosphere (both from the country home-like decor as well as from the huge front window).

Niu Niu ordered the Scottish salmon with lemon rice, scallions, and peas. She loved her dish, saying that the rice was creamy and the salmon perfectly done - soft and moist. I can't offer any personal opinion though, seeing as how I didn't taste it. Call me odd, but I've never been in the habit of trying other people's dishes - even if they ordered something that I wanted and a taste is offered to me. Not sure I can even explain why. Sometimes you just can't rationalize craziness...

I ordered the fried oyster omelette with remoulade sauce. Remoulade sauce is a french sauce that is usually aioli- or mayonnaise- based, that tasted a lot like tartar sauce - making it a perfect match for the fried oyster. The egg of my omelette was amazingly fluffy. On the side was an unidentified red sauce that was the consistency of water, mildly spicy in nature, and with a hint of sweetness as well as a hint of tartness.

The omelette was one of the best that I've had - but what else would I expect from a place recommended by Mr. Bourdain?

Overall rating: 8.5/10