More birthday fun :)

Spoiled by way too many good friends this year... I have another post about my birthday!  I had such a wonderful day all over the city with dear friend and family! In the afternoon, two dear girlfriends of mine took me to Popover Cafe on the Upper West Side for some hot fudge sundaes!

Popover Cafe
551 Amsterdam Ave. (corner of 86th Street)

While Popover is known for it's fabulous brunch, my girlfriend, Erin, {who's lived here for about a decade:)} knew the hot fudge is great for a celebration too! She says it's possibly the best in the city and I agree! It came in those cups you can see on the table!

Popover is one of those delightful, well-established places - where you feel a little bit like you are at your Grandma's house because it is so welcoming. Everything is always wonderful and you know it will be there the next time you want to visit!

The brownies in this were amazing!! The kind that melt in your mouth and then you wonder how it was a brownie because it was so soft!!

Good to know: The wait for brunch on the weekends can be quite long so plan to arrive either before 10am or probably after 1pm.

Birthday date night!

{Whoa.. so after they sing happy birthday in Italian - which sounds way more beautiful than in English - they dump a pot of chocolate on your dessert until you tell them to stop! Mmmm... what a fun surprise!}

Hubby and I had one of our best date nights in the city on Saturday night! He took me out to celebrate my birthday and wandered around the Upper West Side with me afterwards. {I love just walking down any random street in the city... really the best way to explore!}

We started out with dinner at Cafe Fiorello - a most lovely Italian establishment! It's one of those places where the crowd is somewhat on the older side - probably because they've been going there for years and years!

 Cafe Fiorello
1900 Broadway (between 63rd and 64th St.)
 
The lasagna is one of their signature dishes and it's the reason I love Cafe Fiorello! It's an open-faced, one layer lasagna - but don't be fooled! It only makes the classic dish even better!!! The noodles are home made and you can taste it!

We ordered a pizza as well - which was really good! But we definitely like the margarita pizza better from the time before! {Oh and can you tell already that we had so many left over to bring home!!}

 

This is in reverse order, but for our appetizer - we ordered their famous fried ravioli! It really is fun to try!
Thanks hubby for the best night! It was my favorite birthday celebration yet!

Good to know: DO make reservations.. Cafe Fiorello is on opentable!

So much more than JUST a cookie!

Levain Bakery
167 West 74th Street

It was just kind of a funky day out yesterday with the rain and mist so a girlfriend and I decided we needed a cheery treat! She hadn't tried Levain's before so we headed up to the Upper West Side {UWS}!

If I were to give out awards, I think Levain would earn the award for MOST gooey and delicious Chocolate Chip Walnut cookie in the city! It really is something to try! And you MUST get it fresh from the bakery yourself so it's still warm {if not hot:)} inside!

I feel like the story should go - instead of - if you give a mouse a cookie...

If you give a girl a cookie, she'll be happy all day long! :) And we were!

Sorry the lighting is so bad on these! I was obviously distracted by the sweet smell and just wanting to take a bite!

For fun this time, we sampled this creation! It said it had cinnamon butter on the inside. We liked it, but thought it would have been better to pick up on a Saturday morning for a brunch instead of an afternoon snack.

Racks and racks and racks of cookies! It's amazing how many they can make in one little place!!

Want to try making them at home?! I don't think Levain has released their recipe, but they have links to copycat ones on their website!

Good to know: The bakery's hours are fairly limited (like a normal bakery - but not necessarily what you'd expect in New York): Mon-Sat 8am-7pm, Sun 9am-7pm. If you want these for a date night, you better pick them up earlier in the day!


Also, there is a location that is open seasonally in the Hamptons and another regularly open store in Harlem.