Places | star-crossed smile

Hot Donuts + Fried Chicken

March 12, 2014 16 Comments

Anyone who knows me well knows that I have a major sweet tooth. When my friend suggested that we have hot donuts and fried chicken for breakfast on our first morning in Philly, you should have seen my eyes light up.

So we hopped in the car and drove to Federal Donuts. Can I just say- this place is awesome! First of all, when I say hot donuts, I mean piping hot, fresh out of the oven, delicious donuts. We tried a few different flavors- lavender vanilla, spiced, and cinnamon sugar- and they were all scrumptious. They also have glazed options that I’ll have to go back and try next time.

The people at this store are so friendly and threw in an extra donut with our order. Before our chicken was even ready, we’d pretty much demolished those donuts.

Oh boy, that chicken. You can order different dry rubs or glazes with your chicken, so we decided to try the coconut curry rub with the honey ginger glaze. It was good, really really good. One of my friends said it may be the best fried chicken she’s ever eaten. Federal Donuts- you had me at “donuts and chicken.” See you next time I’m in Philly!

Food

Sweets on Sweets on Sweets

June 12, 2013 15 Comments

Through a series of wonderful events, I was able to experience three of my favorite sweet treats this past weekend. If you’re ever in NYC and looking for a tasty treat, I would definitely recommend these places!

In case you missed, last Friday was National Donut Day. I don’t know if I’ve talked about it much on the blog, but I love donuts. I mean, I have a major sweet tooth, so I love pretty much anything sugary, but donuts have a special place in my stomach. There’s a local donut joint back home in Bakersfield that I used to frequent regularly. The donuts were cheap and delicious- what better combination is there? I miss it so much here on the East Coast that every time I fly back home and my parents pick me up at the airport, I always ask them to stop by Foster’s and pick up a donut for me. Anyways, all this is to say that I’m always on the hunt for my new donut joint here in NYC.

Doughnut Plant has some pretty tasty donuts. They have many flavors that I’ve never heard of before and slowly I’m trying them all. My only complaint is that sometimes when I try to visit their store they’ve run out of donuts for the day! Luckily, I didn’t have that issue on Friday when I went and picked up a coconut lime donut in honor of National Donut Day– yum yum yum.

This is one of my favorite cupcake places in NYC. Their cupcakes are pretty simple and very delicious. You can choose from three different kind of cakes (vanilla, chocolate or banana) and about 14 different flavors (my two favorites are caramel and espresso). I had a “buy one/get one free” google offer that was expiring last week, so after work I walked over to their store in the East Village and picked out a mixed dozen. I still have a few left in my fridge- I’m trying to limit myself to one a day!

I’ve been to the Brooklyn Flea several times, but the first time I went to the Fort Greene location and saw the stand for Dough, I couldn’t contain my excitement- new donuts to try! Dough might be favorite donut place that I’ve tried in NYC so far. Their donuts are so doughy (I can’t think of a better way to describe it!) and they also carry really interesting flavors, such as Blood Orange and Hibiscus. Last Sunday I went to the Brooklyn Flea in Williamsburg with some friends and I couldn’t leave there without getting a donut from Dough. This time I tried the Cafe au Lait which was so good. I’ve never been to their actually store in Brooklyn but one day soon I will.

Tell me: Do you like donuts? If so, tell me about your favorite donut place!

(images via 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6)

Life

Hot Summer Days

June 5, 2013 14 Comments

I know it’s not technically summer yet, but in my mind summer started this past weekend! Thanks to summer Fridays (the best) some coworkers and I left work at midday and headed to Trader Joe’s to get some snacks; then we took our chips and salsa to Union Square. After snagging a table, we munched and chatted and spent a little time people-watching. We couldn’t handle the heat for too long though- after half an hour or so we were all burning up! So, we went back to Trader’s Joe’s Wine Shop and picked up some cheap bottles of wine to drink back at my place- the perfect way to spend a Friday.

On Saturday the weather looked nice, so my roomie suggested that we venture outside and soak up some sun. It was super sunny outside, but also very hot and humid! We walked down to Tompkins Square Park to check out a music/art festival that was going on. The very first time I walked through Tompkins Square Park, it was really dark and creepy and there was a screamo band playing. This time around was much better- it was light and bright and people were laying out on every spare inch of grass. We tried that (laying out) for a little while, but within five minutes we were baking in the sun and went off in search of cool treats.

We stopped at the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop so my friends could get some ice cream. I was just commenting to a friend how I was looking forward to my first shaved ice of the season, when we stumbled on to the People’s Pops stand on 7th street. I’d totally forgot they had a little stand in the East Village, so lucky me, I got my shaved ice a lot sooner than I expected!

After gobbling up our frozen treats, my friends and I parted ways and my roommate and I headed home. Spring and summer are my favorite seasons because I love when the sun comes out and stays (I am a California girl- I need lots of sunshine in my life!). Although I’m not looking forward to the constant humidity that settles over the city in the summer, I am looking forward to sunny days, summer Fridays, and summer plans!

Tell me: How do you feel about summer? Love it or hate it?

(all images taken by me // arrow graphics via Vmac & Cheese)

Events

Adventures: The High Line & Renegade Craft Fair

June 27, 2012 14 Comments

Last Thursday I took my sister and my cousins who were visiting from London to The High Line. I love going there for a leisurely afternoon or evening stroll. Even though it was still fairly hot that day, we had a good time walking along The High Line and taking in the views. There were also several roving mini-bands playing music, which was kind of fun to watch. To keep cool, I was happy to be snag a cup of shaved ice from one of my favorites, People’s Pops.

On Sunday, I met up with my friend Babe to check out Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn. I love browsing at craft fairs because there’s just so many goodies to see! Of course, being the stationery addict that I am, I had to stop in nearly every stationery booth, but I only allowed myself to purchase the one set of blank cards above. I also saw several booths that belonged to members of the Etsy New York team! It was also really hot that day, so we were craving lots of cool beverages and even had to sit down a couple of times to regain our strength. Luckily, the weather has cooled down a bit here in NYC- in fact, yesterday was gorgeous!

Tell me: Have you had any adventures in your city recently?

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