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 :-)

When I got a concert notification for Leighton Meester, I have to be honest, I didn’t know she had moved into music. I was a huge fan of Gossip Girl though so I texted my friend I used to watch GG with all the time and we decided it would be fun to check it out and support her. 

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I have to tell you the girl can seriously sing! Her album has a folk low-key vibe with heartfelt lyrics and it is definitely moving into my music rotation. Give it a listen for yourself on Spotify!

Dose of my “Subway Mixing” Playlist

Today’s preview, Leighton Meester “Heartstrings”

Gung Hay Fat Choy! My boss has a tradition every year of treating our office to a trip to Chinatown to celebrate her heritage with some Dim Sum and I’ve been lucky enough to join over the years. If you’ve never tried Dim Sum before, I absolutely suggest that you check it out! I highly recommend my boss’ choice, the Golden Unicorn!

Dim Sum is such a cool experience because it isn’t your typical sit-down restaurant. Once you sit down in their banquet room, the waiters come around with carts that you can pick what you’d like to order and then stamp your card. I’ve been pretty lucky to have had my boss there to show us the ropes and suggest some delicious dishes, but now that I’ve been a few times I feel like I’ve figured out some of my favorite dishes! Oh hello little steamed pork rolls and dumplings! YUM! 

After Dim Sum, we ventured a little further into Chinatown for the Chinese New Year parade to celebrate the year of the goat! Or sheep, depending on who you’re talking to!

I’m a huge fan of all things glitter and confetti, so you can imagine how excited I was about these confetti launchers — I imagine that’s not their real name, but I’ll go with it. They were like the typical party poppers but WAY bigger, and way more awesome. People were shooting them off everywhere too! I think it’s the one parade I’ve been to where they encourage you to shoot things off at the people in the parade.

It was truly such a fun time and the perfect bit of culture for the weekend!