Katz's Delicatessen (New York - Lower East Side)

205 E. Houston St, New York
www.katzdeli.com

Katz's is known for serving the best pastrami sandwich in the East Coast, so we had to visit! It's also famous for being the site of Meg Ryan's famous "I'll have what she's having" fake orgasm scene in When Harry Met Sally.
So this is the process everyone goes through...Get your ticket upon entering, line up at the counter to an available meat cutter, try a juice slice that he gives you to sample, order a pastrami sandwich on rye, give the meat cutter your ticket so he can mark it off, tip your meat cutter, then choose your seat. Pay by credit card near the salamis or cash by the door. (Our meat cutter graciously offered to take a picture of us...All the memorabilia and picture frames in the background are of celebs, politicians, past prez who came to dine here)

Our succulent pastrami sandwich on sliced rye bread with 2 kinds of pickles..The sliced pickle was quite milder than the other, but a nice refreshing touch. I like the classic salty pickle.The pastrami slices were thick, smoky, and so tender. We ordered one sandwich and split it...It was quite filling and delicious! (Cost: $18 for sandwich and Katz's lemonade).

Artichoke (New York - East Village)

328 E 14th St
New York, NY, 10003
(212) 228-2004

artichokepizza.com

This joint is known to have undisplayed odd hours with lines out the door all the time. There are no tables or chairs, so patrons either have to eat while standing outside or quickly find a spot to chow down the fresh pizza. Pizza eaten later is not the same! After 30 minutes of waiting, we finally got our pizzas. Since it was also raining, we had to find some kind of nearby shelter to eat our pizzas. There was a nice spot under a fire escape but that had been taken by other Artichoke patrons. We had to find cover and found a bus stop across the street. That didn't last long since buses were coming and we felt weird. So we went to a McDonald's instead and ordered a refreshing Coke and happily ate our Artichoke pizzas.
The bottom slice pictured below is the Artichoke and Spinach slice, which was creamy with large pieces of spinach and mozzarella cheese.

The slice to the right is the classic Margherita with fresh mozzarella, San Marzano tomatoes, basil and olive oil.

The square slice with the teeth marks (I was too eager to eat before thinking about taking pictures) is the Sicilian slice, which had a thicker and crispier crust than the Margherita.
These delicious slices were very crispy on the outside, yet its interior was chewy. The wait here is definitely worth it. Prices are reasonable for this kind of quality pizza ($2.50-3.00).

Rice to Riches (Nolita, New York)

37 Spring St. (between Mott St & Mulberry St)

New York, NY 10012
(212) 274-0008
www.ricetoriches.com

With all this craze about rice pudding for dessert, I had to stop by Rice to Riches to see what the hype was about. This clean and futuristic-looking dessert shop in Nolita features rice pudding in custom-made plastic containers with matching spoons. (These containers aren't very Earth friendly so take it home and reuse them). The small size can be filled with two flavors, while the large container is ideal for taking it home. Rice to Riches was also featured in Hitch where Eva Mendez confesses her affection for Will Smith to her best friend over a bowl of rice pudding.

The place is really sleek and clean, but prepare to stand as there is only a small booth area and few counters to stand around.
This is the "Raspberry Statement"...Not a very appealing look, but somewhat tasteful. I'm not a rice pudding kind of person so I could be biased. The first few bites were okay, but after awhile, it got too rich and heavy and I could not finish the bowl.
A cute sign in their bathroom....
If you like rice pudding and adventurous in discovering different flavors, you should check it out. We met a couple from Connecticut who always come here when they visit Manhattan. But I probably couldn't come back here. The dessert was much too heavy for me...Good to share with someone though.