Well, winter hasn’t quite decided to take a vacation yet! The snow may have continued throughout the day, but Chris and I decided to get out of Manhattan and head to Brooklyn for some comfort food bites.

First up on our agenda? A trip to DuMont Burger. While I will definitely be back to try their burgers.. this trip was all about their mac and cheese. 

Let’s just say this ‘food tour’ wasn’t exactly on the healthy side.. but hey walking through the snow can work up quite the appetite (or at least I’m telling myself that). Chris and I decided to split a side of their onion rings and their famous mac and cheese.

I enjoy a good onion ring and DuMont does this just right. The Spanish onions are cut thick and then covered in a tempura batter that is the perfect combination of fluffy and crisp. I’d happily come back just for a side of these with their special sauce.

Next on our order was their mac and cheese. They offer a bacon add-in, but I suggested we opted for it plain. In my view, to really test out how great a mac and cheese is, you need to do so without any of the extras first. Otherwise it ends up shadowing the cheese mix a little. Their mac and cheese is made with radiatore pasta and a mix of parmesan, gruyere and cheddar cheeses. 

So how do I think it stacks up? I was a big fan of the style of noodles. It’s a little different variety than most restaurants select and the noodles soak up the cheese just right. The cheese blend was a nice combination with a great combination of creamy without being too heavy. Finally, the mac is topped with a nice crust of melted cheese on the top which really finishes off the dish.

After we were filled up on fried and cheesy goodness we headed a little further out in Williamsburg to check out one of my favorite donut joints. 

We first had Dun-Well Doughnuts in the fall at Smorgasburg and I’ve been wanting to have another go at their donuts every since. At I continue my quest to find the best donuts in the city, Dun-Well currently sits a top of my list. The dough that their creations are cooked with is just perfect. 

I follow their accounts on Facebook and Instagram so my mouth was watering before we even made it in the door. We didn’t make it in until the afternoon so they had sold out of a lot of their varieties, but they still had the mini pie options that I had saw on social that morning so I was happier than a clam!

Okay… take a second to check out the bottom right menu item. Doughnut Sundae!?!? That’s just all sorts of fatty deliciousness sounding. If it wasn’t snowing I probably would have went with that route but since we were still pretty full from lunch we opted to take our treats to go. 

Now here is the part that kind of blew my mind a little… It turns out their donuts are vegan! Now I’ve certainly had delicious vegan options in the past, but being someone who doesn’t like missing out on ingredients.. my mind often just assumes that gluten-free or vegan bakeries are just missing a little in their treats, even if that’s a terrible theory.. Well, it’s time I officially throw that mindset out the window because Dun-Well proves that doing things a little different can have even more amazing results. I mean, look at these babies below!

Once we had our treats, it was time to head back to Manhattan. Not before snapping a picture of OMG Taco though. Um, how awesome is that name??  

I’d say our snow noms tour was a serious success. Delicious, and the perfect way to fight off some of the winter blues. Scoots wanted to say hi too :-)

Some may say it’s too cold for ice cream, but I’m a true believer in eating ice cream year round! Besides, the lines are much shorter in the winter ;-)

I’ve been hearing about Big Gay Ice Cream pretty much since I moved here, but this was actually my first visit inside. Before I even made it in the doors I spotted exactly what I was going to order. Their Apple Gobbler.

Big Gay Ice Cream really has it all… Bright colors, a cat chalkboard wall and hellooooo unicorn! Not to mention fun treat names featuring one of their signatures, The Salty Pimp. Even though I already decided on the Apple Gobbler before walking in, it only too a brief look over the menu to know I will be back!

So did their ice cream measure up to all of the press I’ve seen? Absol-fricking-lutely! Think about how great apple butter, bourbon butterscotch ice cream with pie piece and whipped cream sounds and then times it by 5, and that’s how delicious it was. The perfect combination of sweet and salty topped with the right ratio of creamy whipped cream and crunchy topping.

Chris settled on trying the Salty Pimp, which is vanilla ice cream, dulce de leche, and sea salt dipped in chocolate. Another seriously delicious option too. 

You can find locations both in the East and West Village as well as the Ace Hotel in LA. With upcoming locations coming to Philly and LA. All I know is, definitely add this spot to your dessert list. YUM!

Update: I actually just found out that today, February 18th is actually National Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day. Sometimes these national days can be silly, but today was actually created to honor kids who have had cancer. Even more of a reason to enjoy something sweet today!

I’m backkkk! Finally, I know! My holiday blogging break was a little longer than I planned.. The new year hasn’t been very kind to me so far, but I’m hoping that turns around this week! When it rains it pours, right?! Anyways, with the exception of the last few weeks, I had a really wonderful trip back to Washington during my break!

I haven’t really had a trip back recently where I just relaxed with family and this trip was just that. I watched more Hallmark movies with my mom than I care to acknowledge, got some of my favorite food fixes in and made 3 trips to Target. Just a good and solid relaxing trip with the fam bam!

I also got to check out the local movie theatre that plays the Seahawks games on the big screen. It’s free and they have treats and drinks for purchase. Someone had a seriously good idea with that idea — the place was packed!

Onto some of the bites of the trip… Donuts, Red Robin, teriyaki and some amazing mac and cheese from Kelly’s Mercantile.

It should also be noted, this was my dad’s FIRST trip to Oshio’s in Enumclaw. I’m not even sure how that is even possible, but it is.

I also got to catch up with a few of my favorites, Little Duck and Ang! So proud of everything Little Duck is doing! And it was so wonderful to catch up with Angie, who lives in New Zealand now! It’s not often we’re home at the same time so I’m glad I got to see her!

Another great trip home in the books! I got spoiled with a pretty awesome sunrise on my flight out of Seattle too. I mean, check out that view!

After an early morning on the west coast, I made it back to the east coast by the late afternoon, headed home to change and then I was on the go again to go kick-off the New Year!

And that does it for the exciting parts of my blogger break! I’m in the process of kicking some health bugs, but am hoping I’m on the path of recovery and will be back to my usual blogging now! Looking forward to another year together!