In case you didn’t hear, Harold Camping has made another prediction for the end of the world. That is for.. today! While I don’t really believe in his predictions, you can never be too sure right? So, if I got to choose my last meal I’d like to go for a nice juicy burger… which led us to Rare Bar and Grill. I’ve been hearing about this burger place for awhile, but hadn’t checked it out yet. As I was looking at the menu, the name left me asking… is everything cooked rare? I love a good medium burger, but rare is, well, a little too rare for me. Don’t worry though, they cook to order!

I ended up ordering a Louis Lunch Burger, which by the menu said they won’t give you ketchup with it… I had to think twice about ordering for the mere fact that they really might not give me ketchup. I’m by definition a ketchup whore. Luckily, they didn’t make too big of a deal of it though. I guess it’s some joke, because the original burger was made not far from New York? Whatever the joke, as long as I got my ketchup for my burger I was a happy camper. Oh, and just to set the record straight, I had to borrow an image of the burger I got because my phone died. So Mom, I’m sure you’re dying to know, my burger was cooked a little more well-done than this one!

While, the end of the world really didn’t happen… this still would have been a good last meal!

You guessed it, this post is dedicated to one of my favorite parts of fall, pumpkins! Pumpkin pie, cheesecake, seeds, lattes, bread, frozen yogurt.. the list is un-ending! Just the way I like it too :)

This time, I’m actually talking about the origin of all of the delicious recipes, the actual pumpkin. I’ve been excited all week to head out to the pumpkin patch and the day had finally come! After a train ride out to Long Island we were headed in the right direction to Windy Acres Farms. I can’t remember the last time I’ve actually gone to a real pumpkin patch, so I was as excited as the 5 and 7 year old kids running around at the farm. the farm was great because it had the pumpkin patch, a corn maze, a horse carriage, play areas for the kids, and a cafe. 

Despite the “pumpkin crisis” that Hurricane Irene caused, there was still a number of pumpkins to pick from. We were looking for the perfect pumpkins though so, as perfect things do, it took a little bit of time. Plus, we couldn’t get anything too big since we did have to haul it back on the train and 2 more subways back to our apartments! 

So what do the perfect pumpkins look like? Well, here is one!

Small enough to carry, but big enough to have a nice face to carve on! I cannot wait to get my carving on! I haven’t carved a pumpkin in years either. Feels good to only have one job this year so I have more time to enjoy, well, life!

As soon as we hit the pumpkin check-out line the boys bailed and headed for the cafe stand to line up for some apple cider donuts. I’d never had one so I didn’t understand the fuss of leaving the women with the pumpkins to carry (thanks guys!). To their defense, they did end up helping us first before getting back in line. Anyways, if you ever seen apple cider donuts on a menu, make sure to try them! These ones were freshly deep-fried and covered in sugar. Fabulous! The perfect way to end a trip to the pumpkin patch :)

Now onto the real important decisions like.. what am I going to carve on my pumpkin?!

If I had to eat mac and cheese for every dinner for the rest of my life, I’d be perfectly okay with that. Homemade, Kraft, generic brand, baked, or from a restaurant I love every kind. Who really makes the best mac and cheese though?! At least in New York that is… I’m on a mission to find out. For this post, the contenders are as follows:

Southern Hospitality: I’ve eaten there a number of times, but this was a first for their mac and cheese. Their mac and cheese was classic with elbow pasta, and a four cheese blend that defines creamy. I was a little surprised that there weren’t bread crumbs on top, being that it was a southern restaurant, but the cheese blend was delicious.

Beecher’s Handmade Cheese: Aw, I was really excited to try this place out! I saw it through a post on my digital reader and when I saw “world’s best mac and cheese” you know my eyes were caught. Once I looked the restaurant up online some more cool details emerged. Turns out, Beecher’s actually originates out of yours truly, Washington! Pike Place Market to be exact! How cool right? They just opened their New York location this summer and their only other location is back in Seattle. I ended up getting a grilled cheese, with a cup of their mac and cheese and some Boyland root beer.

What is really cool about Beecher’s is that they make their own cheese in the shop! You can even watch them prepare the cheese through the glass windows. They actually have a sit-down restaurant downstairs, but we just stopped by the cafe. Their cheese in the grilled cheese and mac and cheese was to die for! I’m a huge fan of Oregon’s Tillamook cheese, and Beecher’s gave me a taste of the west coast. The mac and cheese had penne noodles and tasted like perfectly fresh ground cheese. I still have a lot more mac and cheese to try before I say they are Anna’s world best mac and cheese, but it was definitely wonderful, and their grilled cheese was one of the best I’ve had.

MacBar: We stumbled upon this place by accident in Soho, but with a name like MacBar you knowwwww I couldn’t just walk right past. The restaurant is tiny, and resembles a cheese block with a yellow interior. It was the perfect stop-and-go place to drop in and grab some mac to go. We tried the cheeseburger mac and cheese.

My motto with mac and cheese really is, “the cheesier, the better” and Macbar did this really well. My favorite mac and cheeses are the ones with an extra layer of cheese melted on the top and Macbar had my mouth singing songs with their cheese! They had some pretty unique flavors on their menu too that I’m definitely going to have to go back and try.

So who has the best mac and cheese in New York? Well, I’m still deciding that.. but MacBar may have stole my heart for now…