"Ess-a-Bagel was established in 1976 by Florence and Gene Wilpon and Florence's brother Aaron Wenzelberg. Coming from an Austrian baking family, the art of baking or crafting the perfect bagel came naturally to them. Within two years of opening, Ess-a-Bagel was voted #1 in the Tri-State area, and had attracted a loyal following," reads the website.



The restaurant offers fresh hand-rolled bagels, coffee, pastries, and more. The bagels are the star, though. They are baked fresh daily with no artificial flavors or preservatives.



Big options include plain, poppy, garlic, multigrain, everything, pumpernickel, onion, sesame, salt, cinnamon raisin, whole wheat and whole wheat everything.



Flavored cream cheeses include: Scallion, Vegetable, Herb, Everything Herb, Jalapeno, Olive, Sun Dried Tomato, Avocado Garlic, Raisin Walnut, Banana Nut, Apple Cinnamon, Blueberry, Strawberry, Peach, Chocolate Chip, Red Velvet, Oreo, Rainbow Cookie and Lox Cream Cheese.



There are a number of specialty sandwiches available, and you can choose your bagel. Everything from a lox bagel to a Reuben to chicken parmesan.



I kept it fresh with a BLTA - or bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado. I had scallion cream cheese on an onion bagel.



This was like the fresh familiarity of a BLT, but with some added flavor punch of the onion, garlic and cream cheese. I could've done with less lettuce because it waters things down a bit for me. But very tasty overall.



Grade: A

"Milk Bar is a sweet (and occasionally savory) shop that’s been turning familiar treats upside down and on their heads, shaking up the dessert scene since 2008. Bon Appetit magazine called us 'one of the most exciting bakeries in the country.'"



Founded by James Beard award-winning pastry chef Christina Tosi, Milk Bar first opened its doors in NYC’s East Village, and soon developed a loyal fanbase, according to its website.



Tosi was profiled on Netflix’s docu-series Chef’s Table, and I really admired the way that she unapologetically shared her love for sweets. A lot of times, chefs tend to look down on sweets or claim they don't enjoy them. But Tosi has a whimsical viewpoint of sweets, which carries over to her restaurant and products.



Popular menu items include the Compost Cookie®, layer cakes with unfrosted sides, Cereal Milk™ Soft Serve, Milk Bar Pie and more.



The Compost Cookie is their original sweet and salty kitchen sink cookie, with chocolate chips in a deep vanilla base, plus Milk Bar’s five recommended food groups: pretzels, potato chips, graham crackers, coffee, oats, and butterscotch.



Thr corn cookie is lacked with salted butter and a sprinkle of sugar. This corn-y cookie is a love letter to Tosi’s family farm, to her grandma’s famous cornbake, to Sunday morning cereal, and, of course, to the wonder of cornbread. Pro tip: use two as the ‘bread’ of a grilled cheese. Yes, really.



Finally - the blueberry & cream - A muffin top disguised as a cookie: mini white chocolate chips and bright, chewy dried blueberry bits suspended in a luscious sugar cookie base. Ideal for breakfast consumption… or any-time-of-day consumption.

These were all so delicious and so fun. I took them back to the hotel I was staying at in the city and savored each bite.



Grade: A

Junior's is a restaurant chain based in New York City. The restaurant was founded by Harry Rosen in 1950 and is known for its iconic New York–style cheesecake. According to the restaurant, it was named Junior's after Rosen's two sons, Walter and Marvin.



New York–style cheesecake uses a cream cheese base and incorporates heavy cream or sour cream. The typical New York cheesecake is rich, dense, smooth and creamy.



Alan Rosen identifies the roots of the cheesecake in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine and based on a recipe that was in the Rosen family for three generations.



In addition to cheesecake, Junior's features reubens, deli sandwiches, ten ounce steakburgers, BBQ and seafood. Though, I was here for the world-famous cheesecake. There are a ton of flavors: Plain Cheesecake, Strawberry Cheesecake, Strawberry Cheese Pie, Cherry Cheesecake, Blueberry Cheesecake, Pineapple Cheesecake, Three Fruit Cheesecake, Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake, Pumpkin Cheesecake, Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake, OREO Cheesecake, Red Velvet Cheesecake, Devils Food Cheesecake, Chocolate Mousse Cheese, Carrot Cake Cheesecake, Sugar Free "Diabetic Friendly" Cheesecake, Apple Crumb Cheesecake, Brownie Explosion Cheesecake



I went for the Original New York Cheesecake, which is topped with strawberry pie filling, finished with Junior’s signature macaroon crunch, and baked in a sweet pie dough shell.



It is so rich and fresh. Truly, one bite is satisfying enough, so entire cheesecake might take me a month to enjoy. If you really want to try this cheesecake, they are often sold at select grocery stores and can be delivered. But, I don't know that it comes close to the original.



Grade: A

The Modern is a two Michelin-starred, contemporary American restaurant at the Museum of Modern Art, featuring three separate experiences.



I opted for: THE BAR ROOM - The lively Bar Room offers Chef Thomas Allan's vividly seasonal contemporary cooking à la carte, along with an award-winning wine program and carefully curated cocktails, beer, and spirits.



This space is dark, moody and feels very high-end. The benefit is that I could order a la carte, and sinfe I was dining solo, I didn't necessarily want an hours-long tasting menu experience.



I started with their most popular dish: tarte flambée. It is an Alsatian flat bread with smoky bacon, sweet soft onions, and tangy créme fraîche. It is really quite good - like a refined, light pizza with amped up flavors.



I also ordered the hand-cut mafaldine with shaved black truffle. Malfaldine is a ribbon-shaped noodle that is like a cross between lasagna and fettuccine. It was perfectly cooked to have just a tiny bit of toothiness.



Truffles are like hard underground mushrooms that have a deep umami flavor and are hard to find, so they can be costly. But that almost pungent flavor cuts through the creamy pasta flawlessly.



This was a wonderful meal in a really cool space. It felt like an experience from a movie.



Grade: A

"The story of the world’s most famous bakery begins in 1996 on a quaint, cobblestone corner in the West Village where Magnolia Bakery opened its doors for the first time. The sweet smell of cakes and cookies and pies and pudding tumbled out, wafting down the streets, beckoning all in.

Our red velvet cupcakes became iconic and people lined up around the block for our banana pudding. There was even talk of New York pretzel guys becoming cupcake guys. Magnolia Bakery was a destination for locals and tourists alike."



For more than 25 years, Magnolia Bakery has been making baked goods from scratch, in small batches, and using the finest ingredients. Their assortment includes cakes and cupcakes, the world-famous banana pudding, and a host of other classic baked goods, seasonal treats, and more.

I had to try the famous banana pudding, which was fantastic. It includes creamy vanilla pudding with vanilla wafers and fresh bananas. It's light sweet but so satisfyingly smooth. They have other flavors, like Red Velvet Banana Pudding and Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Pudding that I will have to try next time.



Grade: A