Derek Visits NYC

My friend Derek lives in Saratoga Springs, NY (near Albany), and sometimes I convince him to come all the way to NYC to hang out with me. I wish I could post pictures of him, but he always hides from the camera. I'll just post pictures of food instead.

Derek usually arrives in NYC around lunchtime, and I try to find interesting places for us to eat. After all, what's the point of going to NYC and then eating at McDonald's or Five Guys or something. I was really craving something Spanish. I don't mean some American interpretation like Taco Bell or Chipotle. I mean something like Dominican or South American. With my trusty Yelp app, I was able to find a Peruvian restaurant not too far from Times Square where we met up.

It's called Pio Pio and it's at 604 10th Ave. I've been to a place called Pio Pio in DC where the food was cheap and it was really loud and you had to order your food at the counter. This place was totally different from that. They both specialize in rotisserie chicken, but the NYC version has a more extensive menu, including some $30 entrees. However, we lucked out with a $10 lunch special and an outdoor table.

Okay, let me just say this plate is awesome. I wanted to steal it. On the fantastic plate, we have a quarter chicken with salad and a side dish. I chose maduros, of course, also known as fried (sweet) plantains. I love them. I eat them at every available opportunity. The salad is awesome because it comes with avocado, but I almost ordered extra avocado, anyway. I love avocado. I think Derek had rice and beans as his side, but he kept stealing my maduros. I didn't mind because I can't eat this much food. Oh, I forgot to mention the lunch special comes with a soda. Awesome! I hate those places that charge you a ridiculous amount for a cup of ice with a little bit of soda in it.

For dinner, we went to Heartland Brewery (5th Ave & 34th St).  I figured it's probably just an overpriced tourist trap, but I wanted to try it, anyway.

Butternut squash ravioli? I think? Only a tiny amount, though. Totally not worth the money. There was way too much nasty nut garnish all over it. Actually, I feel like there was more garnish than actually ravioli. Yep, definitely a trap.

Derek had lentil soup. He said it was ok. I'm glad I caught his arm in this picture, because otherwise it would seem like he doesn't exist. There's nothing wrong with going to restaurants alone, but I don't do it. I usually need someone to eat half of my food. USUALLY, but not in this case. We were still hungry afterwards, so we went across the street to McDonald's.

Of course, no trip to visit me is complete without a trip to Pinkberry (58th & Columbus).

Derek's is the baby one in the middle. Apparently they gave him the wrong size. We stopped at the K-town Pinkberry (32nd & 5th) so he could get another. I think mine is the prettiest with the Cap'n Crunch and Fruity Pebbles. Next time, we're going to Max Brenner.