Brian & Brooke vs. White Plains, NY

Brooke vs. White Plains

The guys I was going to the Yankee’s game with (that would be Brian and his friend, Barry) bought a 6-pack of tall beers so they could get drunk before the game. Yes, you can drink on the train, and when you’re standing next to two guys having a chugging contest, it can be a bit embarrassing.

Boys.

Brooke vs. White Plains

Being in New York, you really notice when the street is dirty. The sad part is how often I see people just tossing their trash wherever, whenever.

I looked out the window and saw a guy walking across the street with a plastic cup. When he was done drinking whatever was in it, he proceeded to drop the cup and kick it across the street. And that is where it stayed. I had to pause a second.

While walking towards the Brooklyn Bridge we were behind a couple of girls who nonchalantly wadded up a cigarette pack and tossed it straight down. It made my mind pause again.

The most disrespectful display to the environment was after walking back from Veneiro’s (cannoli!). There was a car sitting outside of a small shop on the street. The car was on, the window was cracked, and music was playing. Obviously, the person was only getting out for a few minutes. A man was walking towards the car with a paper bag. He threw the paper bag in the window. No big deal, its his car. He’s getting ready to get in it. No, no he wasn’t. He continued walking.

That guy threw his garbage in someone’s car!

I was complaining to Brian about this in the car. As I was doing so, I tore a small price tag off a drink and started wadding it up. I wasn’t even thinking, but when I interjected about the littering, I tossed it right out the window!

I felt so bad after that. It was this itty bitty piece of paper but I couldn’t help but think I was going to become a litterbug, too! I hope not.

Brooke vs. White Plains

What is the best sound to any kid? I would have to say it is the music of an ice cream truck coming down the road. Yep! When I was a kid, I’d run to the my change box and grab whatever I could in time to flag the big truck down.

It’s been a long time since I had heard that noise, but White Plains brought it all back. Every time Brian and I hear it, our heads perk up and we look to the other, “Should we?!”

Ice cream trucks aren’t just for kids.

Brooke vs. White Plains

…or how to organize your garbage?

Ours does. The other day the LANDLORD dropped off a letter to all the tenants on how to keep the apartment clean, and how to do the laundry. This brought me back to the first day we moved in. He brought us some dishes (it was listed as a furnished place) and immediately broke out some sponges to demonstrate the “right way” to wash the dishes. It’s so funny because half the stuff he provided was cheap junk (yes, we melted a plastic spoon already).

Oh, LANDLORD, you make life interesting… Just think how interesting it would have been if we lived in your condo for 17 days in August (we found out he doesn’t technically live in our building, but his gf does). Yes, in order to lease the apartment ASAP, he actually offered to have us live in his condo for 17 days next month. We were going to do it so we could save $500-$700 off our lease, but in the end, he found another way to accomodate the next tenant. WHEW. That could have been too weird.

I don’t know if its just a rare case, but I think the landlords in White Plains might be a little… off. Another person Brian works with has a very, very strange landlord. We’ve had a lot of landlords in the past, but they have always been laidback and out of our hair.

Brooke vs. White Plains

I used some of my miles to get $25 off coupons for restaurants in the area. Going out to dinner in NY is quite costly, but one of my favorite things to do, so it seemed like a good idea. We went to Spiga, which I think is a chain restaurant, and was pleasantly surpised by their cannoli dessert!

Score is based on 1-5 (5 being the best).

Presentation: Talk about WOW. When you order a cannoli for $6.50, you’re not sure what you’re going to get, but this was awesome. Brian and I each got a plate that was drizzled in bright pink and orange sauce. In the middle of the plate was displayed this fantastically-sized and stuffed cannoli, speckled with chocolate chips and powdered sugar. To the left was a mound of fresh whipped cream topped with a mint leaf, and to the right was a scoop of a delicious mix of strawberries and blueberries. It was extremely colorful! Score = 5.

Filling: The filling did not let me down a bit. It was thick and had the ricotta taste I love. Score = 5.

Shell: The shell was crisp! Score = 4.

Satisfaction: I judge my satisfaction of a cannoli on the “can I really finish it” factor. I should be able to finish it, but I should feel that I do not need another. Score = 5.

Overall Score: 19/20

Highly recommended if you are going out to a dinner!

Brooke vs. White Plains

I have been in contact with another BnA-er, gettingouttahere (Laurie), for quite some time now. It was great coming to New York because we actually got to meet in person. The week of my birthday we met up at her place in the Bronx for a cookout, and she definitely surprised me with my favorite dessert – cannoli!

Her place is in a highly Italian neighborhood, so she got some from a pretty great Italian bakery. However, they were mini-cannoli, so I’ll have to speculate on satisfaction in relation to the normal size cannoli:

Scoring is based on 1-5 (5 being the best).

Presentation: Well, I’m kind of biased on this part since it was presented as a surprise to me. I believe, however, I saw these packaged in the fridge in a cute little pasty box from the bakery. Laurie then put them on a silver platter and brought them outside. The pastries themselves were very typical. Score = 4.

Filling: The filling was authentic ricotta goodness – not runny and with choc chips throughout. Score = 5.

Shell: The shells were crisp and either plain with powdered sugar, or coated in chocolate. Score = 4.

Satisfaction: It’s hard to compete with mini-cannoli. I’d probably have to eat 3 to have the same amount of satisfaction as a normal-sized cannoli. Score = 3.

Overall Score: 16/20

These were definitely up there on my list, but I think I would have to venture out for the larger ones! 🙂

Brooke vs. White Plains

I have been a member of Bootsnall for about a year now. After so long, you kind of get a feel for someone, like you know them (even though its just through a message board). I know, sounds kinda creepy making friends on message boards, huh? But, I’ll tell you what, Brian and I went out for a pubcrawl dealy with some of these peeps a few weekends ago in NYC and had a great time!

pictures courtesy of BostonBill:

Brooke vs. White Plains

Last summer when I came out for my brief visit to Brian while he was in White Plains, we had a decent dinner at Zanaro’s that included cannoli for dessert. We decided to go back for my birthday since it is the only place in town that we KNEW had cannoli.

Scoring is based on 1 – 5 (5 being the highest).

Presentation: The cannoli is interesting. They serve two cannoli, one stacked on the other, with a strawberry spiral cookie stick (forgot what they are called) stuck in the top one. I enjoy this presentation a lot (wish I had taken a picture). Score = 4

Filling: The filling, however, is not your traditional consistency. It is kind of runny, and they left half of the inside empty! It’s a shame since I do enjoy the slight taste of cinnamon I think they add. Score = 3

Shell: The shell was crisp and coated in powdered sugar just how I like! Score = 4

Satisfaction: We each had one of the cannoli and felt very unfulfilled afterwards. Although these have an interesting flavor, they are lacking the richness I desire in a normal-sized cannolo. Score = 2

Overall Score: 13/20

I also want to note that our service was absolutely horrible. I have never felt so ignored at any restaurant before, and even though I know they serve cannoli, I don’t think I’ll be going back.

Brooke vs. White Plains

Obsession is not a strong enough word to describe my love for the delectable Italian treat, cannoli. Coming from central-Illinois, I simply never had the opportunity to try the dessert until my semester abroad in Italy 2004. I had heard stories of its deliciousness, but after our first encounter, I knew that none had done it justice.

I remember the day perfectly. It was late April in Sicily when the primary quest began, which read something more like, “The quest to taste a cannolo.” Sarah, my traveling companion, and I made our way to the homeland of cannoli because, after all, we had never had one before and figured what better way to really taste one than to get to its roots. And so we did.

The quest didn’t last long as there are actually pastry shops on every corner in Sicily. I looked in the window of the first one in Catania and saw someone steadily at work filling a pastry shell with a creamy filling – yes, it was our beloved cannoli! I ran in with a smile on my face, pointed at what the lady had in hand, and paid my 1 ½ Euro with about as much exuberance as a kid in a candy store. Success!

Back on the street, pastry in hand, we took a moment to examine our soon-to-be-eaten treat. The shell was a pastry tube about 4 ½ inches long filled with some creamy/sweet ricotta filling that was randomly speckled with mini chocolate chips. Both ends were decorated with bright red candied cherries, while the top was lightly dusted with powdered sugar. My mouth was watering.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I sank my teeth in, and it was at that moment that I felt it: love. Love? Yes, I’m pretty sure it was love.

That was the day I made it official – The quest to find the perfect cannolo. With this in mind, I am taking advantage of my current location so I can search out the best in New York!

Brooke vs. White Plains

Getting home from downtown White Plains is usually just an unexciting, uphill battle. There are two ways to get home: the hilly way, or the ghetto way. I prefer the hilly way as I’m way less terrified we’ll get in any trouble. We were crossing an intersection at around midnight, oblivious to the surrounding predicament. The reason being I was recreating the story of BoomBox Guy for Brian.

Suddenly we look over – A car with two girls pulled a bit in the intersection but were stopped by a cop car with flashing lights pulling in front of them. I’m not sure if they suspected that was for them or not, but they started to back up, but they hit the car behind them. It turns out the car behind them was an unmarked police car with officers in normal clothing in it. They jumped out of the car, as well as the cops in the real police car, and proceeded in arresting the two girls quite forcefully. I was in shock. We were literally a few feet away when this went down. They were also next to a park, where I believe other people were getting arrested at the same time.

Geez. You just never know what you’re going to get around here. Here is a little recreation of the event: