Located near the Boston Commons, the Paramount is a short order breakfast joint that serves up the usual favories like banana pancakes and ham and cheese omelets. The prices are reasonable, and the place is brimming with locals looking for their all-American breakfast fix.

The seating policy at the Paramount is unique. Seats are to be taken “as needed”, which means that you cannot reserve seats upon walking into the restaurant. They claim that this strange policy actually works, and has been employed since day one of the restaurant. I was a bit skeptical at first, and was afraid we would never find seats in the crowded room. I was happily suprised when a table freed up just as we finished ordering.

The food is solid at the Paramount. They simply make the best pancakes I have ever tasted. The batter is light and fluffy, and literally melts in your mouth. Combined with fresh bananas, these pancakes are worth coming back for. Their omelets and salads are good as well, but the pancakes definitely stole the show.

When I was a kid, I experienced many nightmares. Usually, they involved some kind of faceless monster in the dark–the usual midnight terror fare. Sometimes I would share these dark dreams with my parents, thinking that they too have experienced similar nightmares about monsters. To my surprise, their nightmares are academic, involving dreary events like failing a test in college. My young innocent ears couldn’t believe it–how could tests and schoolwork be nightmare fuel? I laughed in disbelief.

I have recently begun swallowing my naive words. During the past few years of college, I have had a host of nightmares involving schoolwork. Last night, I had yet another dream where I had mistakenly forgotten to attend a final exam. I felt the same type of fear as with the dark monsters in my childish dreams. How could I have missed my final? What will I do? Can I make up the course? These frantic questions streamed through my head.

The regular occurrence of these nightmares has made such an impression in my subconsciousness that I have begun to lucidly recognize them. During the course of my dream last night, I actually asked myself, “Is this a dream?” I waited for what seemed like a minute during my dream to see if I would wake up. I didn’t, and therefore concluded that it must really be happening. Needless to say, I breathe a heavy sigh of relief when the morning comes. This is followed by asking myself if I’ve been too stressed lately. In any case, I now appreciate my parents’ response to my nightmare inquiries. The academic world can be frighteningly difficult sometimes.

Located on the upperside of Little Italy, Lombardi’s Pizzeria is the first registered pizzeria in the US. It started as a grocery store in 1897, and became a full fledged pizzeria in 1905. Lombardi’s is heralded as the place where NY style pizza began. There was no way we’d miss this on our trip.

The atmosphere is casual and quite down to earth. The menu is simple, allowing diners to choose their own traditional toppings including Italian sausage, pepperoni, red peppers, and homemade meatballs. The prices are also very reasonable, from about $15 for a large. Being that they are a landmark pizzeria, they could have charged a lot more.

The mozzarella is always made from fresh buffalo milk, and this shows in the bright colors of the melted cheese on the pizza. Service was also suprisingly quick, pumping out our pizza from the coal oven in a jiffy.

On our first trip we ordered a large with Italian sausage and garlic (no charge). On our second trip, we ordered a large with half meatballs and red peppers, and half pancetta and mushrooms. The pizzas were simply dazzling. The crust was perfectly thin and just slightly crunchy. The toppings were all fresh and abundant, complementing the fresh mozzarella. The sauce also has a slight sweetness.

I’m glad I finally tried the original NY style pizzeria. There are many rivals out there in Manhattan and Brooklyn, but Lombardi’s was the first. This doesn’t always mean the best, but it’s nice to finally taste the heart of the pizza in the US.

Carnegie Deli is another star in the constellation of traditional Jewish delis in New York. Unlike Katz, Carnegie has an air of pretentiousness. Be prepared to spend at least $12.50 — the minimum charge per diner. On top of this, if you plan to share a sandwich (which is suggestable unless you can stomach more than a pound of meat), there is a $3.00 sharing charge.

The staff was professional, and the other diners were a mix between tourists and posh uptowners. I ordered the corned beef sandwich, which was piled sky high. The sandwich preparation is no-fuss at Carnegie — just meat with bread. Tomatoes and other condiments are served on the side if desired. The meat really is good enough to eat plain. I ventured forth and finished my corned beef all by myself. On any other occasion, I could have rationed out the meat to probably a whole weeks worth of sandwiches. But hey, this is a New York experience!

We also heard the deli was famous for its New York style cheesecake. We couldn’t help but eye each and every huge slice that passed by us. Everyone was ordering it, so we decided to have a slice too.

Carnegie deli makes arguably the best cheesecake I have ever eaten. Period. The texture is sinfully velvetly, and the crust is made from fresh cookie dough (not crumbs!) The whole thing is topped with real strawberries (although frozen).

All in all, the deli’s quality impressed, but the prices and atmosphere waned in comparison to Katz’s deli. The sandwiches are on par with Katz as well. However, the real star here is the cheesecake. Drop in sometime and get a piece of cheesecake to go (or order it online). You won’t be disappointed.

New York is freezing. Some may ask why I come to the east coast for spring break. “Normal people would go to Cancun!” The four-letter reason? Food.

New York offers a diverse array of traditional and trendy food that is arguably unmatched anywhere else. On this trip, we decided to focus on the traditional. On many other visits we didn’t really have a gastronomical plan. But this time we were prepared.

First off, we wanted to try some tradition Jewish deli’s. Two of the more well known delis are Katz’s Deli and Carnegie Deli. All of these restaurants deserve a separate review (and pictures), so I will divulge more details in another post.

Next, we wanted some true thin crust pizza. Lombardi’s is a good choice, and is the first registered pizzeria in the US.

Those were the two main elements we wanted to explore. On top of this, we also took a rollicking ride through Japanese, Asian Fusion, and Dim Sum. All in all, the trip has been well worth it, even through the freezing rain. And, it’s only half over.

I arrived in NYC with the usual fanfare as I’ve always been arriving in the past years. With a little preparation this time, the usual city fare had some wonderful gems involved.

First up, the pastrami on rye at Katz’s Deli on the lower east side. This, my friend, is how pastrami was meant to be–juicy, tender, and delicate in its smokey flavors (stacked high, of course). I usually have pretty bad luck with pastrami. The flavors from imitators are overly crass with high salty and sour tones. If you want REAL New York style hot pastrami, Katz’s Deli is the place to go. Also, their chicken noodle soup is on spot with large chunks of chicken in a rich broth.

The patrons are a mix of regulars and tourists alike. The pastrami is the absolute favorite, but many people were also getting other traditional items like the Matzoball soup and roast beef sandwiches.

Be prepared to pay cash–this place is a no fuss venue. You recieve a ticket when walking in, and the deli cutters place a price on it when ordering. The payment is due on your way out. They warn you that you must keep your ticket, even if you don’t use it, or else a $50 charge is in order.

I’ll be traveling to New York early tomorrow morning to meet up with some friends. Hopefully, I’ll have access to internet a few times to update. I’m looking forward to some good pizza. I’ve been too NY-style-pizza deprived ever since coming to Cali.

On top of that, I want to hone my photography skills this next week and take some riveting photos. Maybe I’ll even drop by the photoblogger talk at the Apple store in SoHo.

But for now, it’s time to tie up any loose ends before leaving. Expect postings to be sparse during the next week.

I also might be working for Dolby Laboratories after my next quarter in San Francisco, depending on how things turn out.

We got a boatload of fresh lemons from Tippy’s co-worker. There’s a huge difference in flavor between fresh and store-bought lemons. If you haven’t had fresh, you should try it. I actually like eating them raw — they are semi-sweet with a refreshingly sour kick. In comparison, the ones at the store are just plain sour with a flat flavor.

We’re leaving to visit Karen in NYC this spring break (yes, I am finally done with this quarter). That means we have to use these lemons, and fast. I think it’s time for some lemonade.

I used to be very addicted to Indo Mie, especially their instant mee goreng. It’s basically a traditional Indonesian fried noodle dish with fried onions and glutamated soy sauce. My mom was born and raised in Indonesia, and introduced me to the spicy world of Indonesian food. Along with this came the instant foods as well.

As with all instant foods, Indo Mie’s packets of love are stuffed full of palm oil and lard. These things aren’t exactly the hallmark of healthful eating. I used to eat these almost everyday, but that’s when I was under 23 and invincible. Okay, so maybe I’m still a little invincible, but not for long.

Time for some real homemade Mee Goreng. It doesn’t really matter which recipe you follow. There are two main elements in this dish that will catapult it to ultimate savoriness: the ketjap manis, and the fried onions.

So what exactly is ketjap manis? It’s the thick sweet soy sauce that comes in those little packets. This is very simple to make. Grab about a tablespoon or two of soy sauce and about the same amount of brown sugar and heat on a low simmer in a saucepan. Throw in some stalks of green onion and ginger as well. The key is to heat it to the right thickness. You don’t want it to thin, or the sauce won’t properly coat the noodles. Also, don’t get it too thick or you’ll burn it. The right consistency is a little thicker than maple syrup.

The second thing not to miss out on is the fried onions. You can grab these at your local Asian supermarket. If you can’t find it, just make some at home. Just finely chop up some onions and caramelize in a pan. Keep caramelizing until it’s crispy. That’s it.

After making the sauce and onions, you’re 90% to freshly made Mee Goreng. Now, decide what else you want to go in the noodles. Some good ideas are chicken, tofu, or bell peppers. The sky’s the limit. Simply stir fry this with your cooked Asian noodles (any will do) and the fried onions with plenty of peanut oil to prevent sticking. Next, pour the ketjap manis over the noodles and mix thoroughly. Serve as quickly as possible, since the noodles will tend to become very sticky after sitting out. A fried egg sunnyside up is traditionally placed on top for the final finish.

Eating my own Mee Goreng brought back many memories. I just wish I knew how easy it was to make it fresh. Trust me, it’s ten times better than the package.

I finished my three projects for the quarter. I’ll probably put up a link to them with some commentary when I get time (they’re rather interesting). I have just one final to go, which is on monday.

I hate how Stanford calls this past week “dead week” even though we still have classes and projects due. It’s a total misnomer. At least at Cornell we had three or four days to study hard for the finals. Here, I only have a weekend.

After finals I’m off to New York city again to see Karen and friends. It’s time to eat some good east coast grub.