The Girl Who Ate Everything

Let's go back....seven months. I was in Norway. I'm still writing about it. Refresh your memory with day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, and day 5.

(O_O)

The food just kept coming. And coming. And...coming. Until Morten, Kåre, and I were faced with a sort of mini buffet of Norwegian tapas more appropriate for a party twice our size. Whoooops.

WELL THE ONLY SOLUTION IS TO EAT IT ALL, I SUPPOSE.

Why did we end up with craptons of food? Because we weren't in charge of ordering it. Morten invited us to eat at Bryggen Tracteursted—located in Bryggen, more specifically in a schøtstue that was built in 1708—since it was part of the restaurant group he was working for. And since he knew the chef, we received a special meal, "special" meaning "nearly half of the menu." (Amusingly, the menu calls the dishes "savoury smallbits." It also calls them "Norwegian tapas," but "smallbits" is obviously the superior name.)

Now, a bunch of photos.

Bread and spread.

First, an assortment of bread accompanied by oil, Ramsløk butter (a sort of garlicky butter), and bacon fat topped with bacon bits.

Momma cake and baby cake, soon to be destroyed.

"Uuuuugggnnnnhhh aaaaahhhhhh arrrrrhhhggu uunnngggh!"

That is the sound of:

1. Being slowly gummed by a toothless lion
2. Being gently prodded in the legs by a bowling pin
3. Being completely taken off guard by a surprise birthday party for the third year in a row

I cannot attest to the first two, so it's the third. You probably figured that out.

Inexpertly made with Dan Awesome's Rage Maker.

Why would I make such uncouth sounds after being showered with love by my friends? Love that still sort of befuddles me a bit because it's, like, a lot? (I still don't think I've done enough to earn it, pretty much. Still workin' on it.) Because...three years in a row! (Recap last year and the year before.) HAVE I LEARNED NOTHING?

April recently left a comment on one of my posts with a question that I figure a bunch of people might have:

If you had to recommend 5-10 "must try" restaurants, regardless of budget, in NYC, what would they be and why?

When people ask me something like this, I usually respond, "What's the price range? What neighborhood? What cuisine?" to help narrow it down. But there are a handful of places I tend to bring people who are visiting from out of town, no matter the price/neighborhood/cuisine.

I wouldn't label the places below as "must try"—they're more like "a bunch places I like enough to want to go multiple times," mostly moderately priced since that's what I can afford. This isn't a definitive guide to my favorite spots in New York City (that post will take me roughly forever), but I hope it helps!

Shack Burger, you are mine.

Shake Shack: They make my favorite burger in the city. If you're craving a fat, juicy burger topped with bacon and caramelized onion on a brioche bun, this isn't the place, but if you're looking for a fast food-style burger—a thin, single-serving burger with simple toppings (some combination of lettuce, tomato, special sauce, onion, or cheese) on a basic bun—it's the best I've had. A single Shackburger is just the right size to make me feel satiated, which is a relief considering I have a tendency to eat meals that leave me feeling like a whale in a wetsuit. On that note, I also love their Shack Stack, which is gigantic and dripping in cheesy fried 'shroom-n-meat juice goodness.