eighteen in ithaca — when there is food

In case the large gap in posting didn’t give it away, I’ve started college! More specifically, I’ve started attending Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. For someone who has lived in a city their entire life, I’ve actually quite enjoyed attending college in upstate New York. However, I will say the one thing I miss the most at college is NYC food. And since I knew I would be celebrating my birthday in Ithaca, I knew I had to make as amazing as possible (food-wise, at least).

Ahead of time, I ordered from a cake and truffles from one of my favorite bakeries in the city: milk bar. But when I opened the package, it turned they sent me the chocolate and peppermint cake and truffles, even though I had ordered the pumpkin dulce de leche. Luckily, this issue was remedied with a quick phone call. They offered to either refund me or send me my actual order, although it would arrive the day after my birthday. Obviously, since I’m not one to reject free baked goods, I obviously opted for them to send me a new cake and truffles. Honestly, all in all, a pretty good deal!

If you ask me, I think the paper plate really adds to the whole aesthetic.

Anyways, the chocolate peppermint limited edition cake was actually really tasty. The chocolate cake was dense and fudgy, which is the way I like my cake, and the frosting was creamy and thick, which complimented the cake well. The peppermint bits were also delightfully minty and crispy while the crumbs were dangerously addictive and crunchy. I may or may not have picked off all the crumbs off the top of the cake. Also, may have given up on cutting myself slices and just stuck my fork into the cake at some point. Whoops.

Just look at those layers. Amazing, stunning, never been done before.

I also really enjoyed the peppermint bark truffles, as they were very rich and dense, but I will say, there’s only a hint of peppermint, which was slightly disappointing.

Garlicky fried rice and noodles will always have a place in my heart.

Since my friend’s birthday was the day before, we decided to a joint thing on her birthday, where we went to sumo, which is this hibachi place where every college student in Ithaca seems to go at least once to celebrate their birthday, or some other exciting occasion. I will say though, they do give you a lot of food, so I’ll grant them that. Also, the garlic butter fried rice and noodles are pretty good, even though they use a thinner noodle than I’m used to. All in all, dinner there will most likely be a fun experience.

Also, since it was my birthday, I decided to ~treat~ myself, and order one of those sushi rolls that comes doused in various sweet sauces. This particular one was stuffed with fried crab, avocado, and was coated in eel sauce and masago, and it was absolutely delightful and greasy and probably horrible for my arteries.

For my actual birthday, I decided to have a picnic, complete with various cheeses, including cheddar, gruyere, parmigiano reggiano, truffle cheese, triple creme, various crackers, honey, strawberry jam, tortilla chips, guacamole, prosciutto, smoked salmon, chorizo, and a baguette, all courtesy of wegmans, quite possibly my favorite grocery store ever. Also, magnolia bakery cupcakes that my dad sent me, as well as the peppermint bark truffles. So a healthy, well balanced, delicious meal. Also, courtesy of climate change, it was unusually warm in Ithaca for a November afternoon, so we were actually able to sit outside and have a proper picnic.

One of my major revelations this semester.

Also, I discovered this mild triple creme cheese, which I just picked up randomly while at wegmans, is absolutely amazing, especially spread on a baguette or cracker with honey or jam. It was so rich, buttery, and creamy and that’s coming from someone who doesn’t really enjoy soft cheeses.

The aftermath, featuring excellent lighting for a November afternoon in Ithaca, NY

And then afterwards, I finally got my ears pierced! Unfortunately, I will not be attaching the video of it happening, because it was a lot of me freaking out over what actually felt like someone pinching my ear. Also, the Target in the same mall had a narwhal-flavored icee, which I tried along with the pink drink for the first time. Surprisingly, it tasted sort of like a fruity bubblegum? It wasn’t actually as horrible as it sounds, and thankfully, did not taste remotely like narwhal(not that I know what that tastes like). Or at least, I kept on drinking it anyways. Whoops.

This sunset photo was brought to you by David’s disposables.

And for my birthday dinner, we ordered from Thompson and Bleecker, a pizza place in Ithaca commons, because I knew I wanted to have pasta for my birthday dinner. We got the fusilli alla vodka, truffle mushroom tagliatelle alfredo, panzanella, pizza margharita, the funghi (mushroom and sausage), and the diavola pizza(sopressata and hot honey). Overall, it was honestly one of the best meals I’ve had at college. The truffle alfredo was creamy and generously truflle-y, and the margherita pizza reminded me of pizza back home. I also surprisingly enjoyed the hot honey pizza, with the crisp shards of sopressata, and the vodka pasta was pretty good as well, although not as creamy as I would’ve liked. My least favorite were probably the funghi, which lacked a little bit of salt, and the chunks of bread in the panzanella were a tad on the stale side.

But the highlight of the meal was the Lady M chocolate crepe cake my mom sent me. This cake was extraordinarily extravagant and decadent, and one of the best cakes I’ve ever eaten. The paper-thin layers of crepe, along with the creamy, gently chocolate-y mousse, made for an extremely delectable cake. It tastes so rich, you could taste the care and money that went into the production of the cake. And honestly when it arrived, it looked like pretty expensive too. It arrived surrounded in dry ice, and the cake itself cake in a reusable Lady M-branded bag, and then a Lady M cake box. Also, the cake itself came with chocolate curls on the side to just casually drape over the cake when consumed. You know, since most cakes come with chocolate curls on the side. Obviously.

You can see all those layers even from the outside. Can you imagine having to learn how to make these wafer-thing layers?

Ready for a close up. This cake is proof that food is art.

Also, while we were eating, we watched the cinematic masterpiece known as The Hunger Games, which I hadn’t watched in forever. Since it had been so long, I’d honestly forgotten just how good this movie is. I mean, the amount of social commentary in a movie geared towards 10 year olds is amazing, especially now that I’m older and can properly appreciate them. Also, I love the cinematography, because it effectively captures the perspective of the tributes and being in the Hunger Games. So all in all, an optimal birthday night.

The next day, the milk bar cake and truffles that I actually ordered finally arrived! While I did enjoy the pumpkin dulce de leche truffles better than the pumpkin pie ones, I actually enjoyed the peppermint bark cake better than the pumpkin dulce de leche. I think it’s because it has to do with the fact that I don’t really like light, fluffy cakes, and also the fact that I couldn’t really taste the dulce de leche, and.the pumpkin frosting was neither super smooth nor creamy, and not very frosting-like. Don’t get me wrong, i still really enjoyed the cake, I just like the peppermint bark one better.

Again, look at those layers! Milk bar cakes are really popping off here.

Slightly smushed, but still tasted amazing

Honestly, this was a great birthday, all things considered. After all, I got to celebrate it surrounded by lots of food and friends, and honestly, what more can you ask for?