Foodish Ways

Taking a trip to New York City is always a good idea. The people, the scenery, the energy, and the cultures within the city made me fall in love with it when I went to college in Queens. It’s made such an impact on me and continues to do so. If I hadn’t been required to create a blog for one of my courses, my little corner of the internet may not have existed without it.

When I was visiting Hartford, CT for some days, my friends drove us to New York City for a day trip. We even got to visit one of our favorite fry spots in the city.

WHAT I ORDERED

Pommes Frites

Oh, Pommes Frites. It had been far too long since I had last had some of the best fries in the city. During my last year of college, there was a bad explosion that impacted the original location and other nearby businesses. I was so excited to have some for the first time in years.

Pommes Frites is a specialty shop that serves Belgian fries and gourmet dipping sauces. It’s pretty small, and there aren’t many seats. You will likely have to wait for a seat to be available. According to its website, “Pommes Frites sales’ policies include allowing the customer to sample the frites and taste any and every sauce until satisfied.” Although I did not know this until I did some research, I love that this policy exists. Imagine trying all the sauces so you can narrow down what you’re going to order. It’s a genius idea.

Belgian fries are made by frying the potatoes twice. The first time the potatoes are fried, they’re cooked through. The second fry is to make the fries golden and crisp.

Pommes Frites’ menu also includes poutine, truffle frites, and impossible poutine (plant-based). The current list of sauces includes Aji Verde, Truffle Supreme, Sweet Mango Chutney, and Vietnamese Pineapple.

I ordered the Regular Frites and the Combo Sauce 3 x 2 oz. I chose Pomegranate Teriyaki; Bordeaux Wine, Mission Figs, & Fresh Sage; and Roasted Garlic Aioli.

The fries were perfect. When I say Pommes Frites doesn’t miss, I mean it! The fries are great by themselves. The sauces made the experience even better. My absolute favorite sauces in order were Roasted Garlic Aioli; Bordeaux Wine, Mission Figs, & Fresh Sage; and Pomegranate Teriyaki. You can’t go wrong with a garlic aioli. It works so well with fries. I was surprised that I loved the Bordeaux Wine, Mission Figs, & Fresh Sage as much as I did. I never thought about pairing fries with a figgy sauce, but it works beautifully.

Donut Pub

While walking around the neighborhood, we spotted the Donut Pub. Looking through the window, it’s such a cute spot, but it’s even better inside. The Donut Pub has a wall of freshly made sweets, which includes donuts, cookies, and croissant donuts. The facility is peanut- and tree-nut-free. One of my favorite things about the Donut Pub was the bar with stools. It’s true to the name, which makes it a unique place.

The Donut Pub was founded by Buzzy Geduld and his brother in 1964. The Astor Place location (the one in this post), is its second location.

The donut menu alone has options: regular donuts, croissant donuts, mini donuts, donut bites, letter donuts, special donuts, and donut cake. As of March 2024, the menu includes items like the Cannoli Croissant Donut, the S’mores Croissant Donut, the Lemon Donut, and Apple Turnovers. It was difficult to only choose two items, but I did it. I ordered the Maple Bacon Croissant Donut and the Cappuccino Croissant Donut.

Maple Bacon Croissant Donut

The Maple Bacon Croissant Donut is a croissant donut topped with maple icing and strips of bacon. I had never had this flavor for a croissant donut. The regular Maple Bacon donuts have been a great salty and sweet combo every time I’ve had it, so I was excited to see how this would be texturally.

Maple and bacon is a top-tier flavor combo, and it’s perfect in donut form. You can’t go wrong with this salty and sweet combo. I loved how fresh the donut was. The fusion of croissants and donuts is something I wish I thought of. It creates a beautiful pastry texture and doesn’t conflict with the other elements. The Maple Bacon Croissant Donut gets a 10/10 from me.

Cappuccino Croissant Donut

As a coffee person, I was the most excited to try this donut. I couldn’t find the details that make up this donut, but I figured that coffee was the main element.

The cappuccino flavor was on point. I loved the coffee icing on top, and the chocolate drizzle was a nice touch. I wish I had bought another one to take home. If you love coffee, you need to try the Cappuccino Croissant Donut.

Amy Ruth’s

When in Harlem, it just makes sense to get some good soul food. We stopped at Amy Ruth’s, a restaurant that serves homestyle Southern cuisine, for dinner. This was another one of my favorite places to eat while I was in college, and my friend was the one who introduced me to it.

Amy Ruth’s was founded by Carl S. Redding and named after his grandmother, Amy Ruth Moore Bass. Redding and his siblings would visit their grandparents in Alabama, where he learned how to cook Southern cuisine.

It had been a long time since my last trip to Amy Ruth’s. The menu includes waffles topped with protein like fried chicken or catfish, appetizers, sandwiches, salads, other entrees, drinks, and desserts. It felt right to get one of my favorites, the Rev. Al Sharpton Waffle.

The Rev. Al Sharpton Waffle

I was so excited for my food. The Rev. Al Sharpton Waffle is a waffle topped with fried chicken. You can choose fried or smothered chicken. It didn’t come with sides, but you can order some if you’d like. I ordered macaroni and cheese and collard greens.

This entree and the macaroni and cheese taste just like they did during my first visit. I could taste the love in this food. The chicken was fried beautifully, and the waffle was delightful. I loved the cheesiness of the macaroni and cheese. The collard greens were okay. Not bad not amazing. If you love chicken and waffles, I’m sure you’d enjoy The Rev. Al Sharpton Waffle.

WRAP-UP

A day trip to New York City is always a good idea. There’s so much to do, so much to explore. There’s no way you’d be able to tackle a ton of things in one day, which I love. You could visit and do completely new things in this city. It was such a breath of fresh air to visit again. If you’ve been thinking about taking a day trip or longer, I encourage you to do so.

Addresses:

Pommes Frites – 128 MacDougal St, New York, NY 10012

Donut Pub – 740 Broadway, New York, NY 10003; 203 W 14th St, New York, NY 10011

Amy Ruth’s – 113 W 116th St, New York, NY 10026

Until next time.