On Friday (9/30), I met up with Ranee and she took me on an epic grub crawl for my birthday.

We started at her apartment and on the way to Madison Square Park, we found a CoolHaus truck and picked up an ice cream sammich for breakfast.  Hee hee.

Once we arrived at Mad Square Eats, we picked up a Connecticut-style lobster roll from the Red Hook Lobster Truck.  It’s not the same kind I’ve had before since it’s just lobster poached in butter and stuffed into a bun.  It was so yummy!

For dessert, we picked up a liege wafel with fresh strawberries on top from Wafels & Dinges.  It was so crispy and chewy at the same time and with just the right amount of sweetness.

On our way to Chealsea Market, we stopped at Financier Patisserie for some choquettes.  They’re basically hollow cream puffs with sugar crystals on top and they’re so light and yummy!

At Chelsea Market, we browsed the bakeries and shops inside.  Eventually we made it to Lobster Place for a Maine-style lobster roll.  It’s the usual kind with mayo and came with potato chips.  Mmm…just as tasty.

Afterward we hopped onto the subway and headed uptown to Levain Bakery.  They make the most amazing chocolate chip cookies that are the size of scones and come out warm and gooey.  It was the perfect end to our grub crawl.  Thanks for the tasty tour, Ranee!!!

After the grub crawl, I headed back to Jason and Jia’s apartment to rest and digest a bit.  Eventually, we decided to leave for dinner and I got to try Shake Shack for the first time.  Luckily we decided to check out the newest location in Battery Park where they had indoor seating and we didn’t have to wait in a long line.  The burger was yummy but pretty greasy.  It’s good but not as good as In N Out.

After dinner, I got to see the new World Trade Center tower that is currently under construction.  I also got to see where Jes’ office is when he comes to New York for work.  It’s the building to the right of the World Trade Center.

On our walk back to the apartment, it was sprinkling and we had just enough time to open our umbrellas before it started to POUR.  It lasted a good 15 minutes and we hung out under the Burger King awning with a bunch of the protesters that were congregated at the park nearby.