I hope walking 10 miles a day is combating all of the food adventures in Manhattan this week…

As a native Midwesterner, my idea of the New York food scene has been formed by the media that has traversed the nation: from the buzz of Eleven Madison Park to Le Bernadin, Momofuku and Milk Bar to Frenchette.

To solidify my perception of the restaurant scene here, I’m eating my way through Manhattan.

First stop: Bagel and Lox from Russ and Daughters. The wait? Worth it.

Next, dessert at Milk Bar: Cereal milk soft serve with corn flake garnish.

Next, lunch at Frenchette: a bit of “field wine”, duck, egg, chocolate mousse to finish the meal.

Dinner at Momofuku: pork buns, NYC IPA, black sesame soft serve.

From the experiences so far..

Who decides what is relevant in the food scene? Yes, each of these meals were excellent, dynamic, and well executed… but I am SURE there are many dining experiences as relevant as these places that haven’t received the marketing buzz and hype that drives someone as unconnected to the inseams of the NYC restaurant scene as a girl from Evanston, IL.

Tomorrow: Via Carota for some tagliatelle and Lucali for famous pizza.