Hot & Crusty

New York $ ***
After suffering through "Where the Wild Things Are," my friend and I definitely needed some chocolate. We both walked straight into Hot & Crusty, which seems to be a New York chain. There were two huge cases of pastries. We were in heaven. We both ordered some crunchy chocolate pastries that I forgot the names of. Pretty good, but nothing amazing. However, we did slightly recover from the movie. I'd have liked to try their bagels, which must be good since people kept coming in for them, even late at night.
Hot & Crusty (Upper East Side)
1276 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10028

Wok 88

New York $ ****
Another Chinese restaurant during our stay in New York! This one is called Wok 88 and is located on the Upper East Side. They offer a variety of noodle dishes at reasonable prices. Clean place, decent service. And fortune cookies at the end. Perfect!
Wok 88 (Upper East Side)
1570 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10128

Ko Sushi Japanese Restaurant

New York $$ *****
This is definitely one of our favorite restaurants we tried during our visit to New York - and I will gladly take credit for it, since I had spent about an hour doing research in search of a decent sushi place for our fifth night. Located way east on York Avenue, it is pretty out of the way for most. However, the journey is well worth it. $13 for a plate of some of the best sushi I've ever had?! How can anyone say no? We came late at night, so by the end of the meal, the waitress was practically kicking us out. Besides the semi-rude service, everything else was perfect. Clean atmosphere (although, I do wish Ko played some Japanese music instead of American love songs), and the sushi was some of the best I've ever had (and I've had a lot!) -- both in taste and in price. It will be hard going to another sushi place after this.
Ko Sushi Japanese Restaurant (Upper East Side)
1619 York Avenue
New York, NY 10028-6259
Mon-Fri 11:30am-10:30pm
Sat-Sun Noon-10:30pm

Juliano's Espresso Bar

New York $ ****
Alright, we admit it - my friend and I went to Starbucks every day while in New York. However, we did manage to go to a non-chain (at least, that's what I hope) coffeeshop. On our way from our hostel on the Upper East Side to midtown, we popped into Juliano's, a small, cozy espresso bar. My hot chocolate was delicious and cheaper than Starbucks. Plus, the old Jewish baristas were adorable.

Juliano's Espresso Bar (Upper East Side)
1378 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10128

Pick Up Stix

New York $ *****
The first thing my friend and I wanted to do when we arrived in New York was eat - and of course we wanted to eat Asian food. We were staying in the Upper East Side, so we had a little difficulty finding an Asian restaurant. In fact, when we went into a bodega to ask for suggestions, he kind of looked at us, smirked at our apparently glaring "tourist" stamped on our foreheads, and told us, "Madison Avenue does not have that." So we kept walking, finding our way to Lexington Ave. There it was! A little hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant called Pick Up Stix. Looked authentic, i.e., the waiters were Chinese and it looked a bit dirty. Success.

This place definitely satisfied our Chinese food cravings. We shared dumplings and noodles. Delicious! Maybe we were just extremely hungry. Nevertheless, the food was steaming hot and tasty. What a perfect way to start our trip!

Pick Up Stix (Upper East Side)
1372 Lexington Ave
New York, NY 10128