Al Safa Restaurant

Looking for more Middle Eastern adventures, I wandered down 5th. Ave and stumbled upon Al Safa restuarant. This corner spot is Lebanese and boasts pictures of the country under the counter. The distinction at Al Safa are the tiny pies baked here(pictured above). Lahmajeen with ground meat, onion, green pepper, tomato and spices, the ubiquitous spinach pie as well as pizza looking pies. I tried the cheese pie which is small with edges darkly baked with mozzarella cheese and spices in the middle.
Dishes of tiny roasted potatoes with lemon and spices and fried eggplant were among the appetizers. I also ordered the deep fried cauliflower which were juicy deep fried vegetables and the Lebanese garlic sauce. Different from Turkish it is a billowy fully potent garlic sauce which went perfectly with the cauliflower. The mini cheese pie was delish and the cheese tasted feta like. Other stews viewed while a middle eastern woman ordered looked great as well. Bathroom in basement.
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Click here for restaurant link.

Salumeria Rosi

Craving cured meats on the Upper West Side, this small market sells good quality pork. The marketplace also bakes it's own procuitto bread, properly darkly baked and absolutely the tops I have tasted. The doughy little ricotta bread on the right is original and super tasty with pasta or delightful dipped in olive oil. The attached restaurant offers small dishes and accompanying wines. Next store is the latest branch of Jacques Torres chocolate to sweeten up your taste buds after all this savory stuff.
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Momofuku Milk Bar

The wow factor at this modern cutting edge bakery is the intoxicating smell as you enter. Experimental, innovative baked goods are consumed standing up at David Chang's Milk Bar. Banana cake, banana cookies, and the ever popular crack pie. The baked goods look unusual compared to a more traditional bakery. I have tried the banana cookie which for $1.75 was very good. The properly darkly baked breads while looking lovingly baked at $9 are prohibitive. Soft serve ice-cream flavors currently serving chocolate malt and graham cracker along with extra add-ons. The chocolate malt is a tasty treat served in a plastic shot glass. The hazelnut crisps, I added on lacked flavor and tasted greasy.
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