Don't Feed the Plant
We snagged some great seats during a flash sale for Little Shop of Horrors. So you know what that means? Pre-theater dinner. We went to OBAO in Hell’s Kitchen. It’s sort of a Vietnamese/Thai place. I’m glad I had the foresight to make a reservation - it wasn’t necessarily packed when we arrived, but it certainly was fairly busy and I would always rather secure a table than leave it up to chance.
We didn’t do anything too extravagant, didn’t even go for appetizers. We kept it straightforward and I had the BBQ pork & shrimp bún and my companion had the Drunken noodles.
I used to always order pho at vietnamese places, but I’ve since discovered the bún, and while I used to always go with the ones that came with spring rolls (I still typically gravitate towards that), I’ve found the other proteins are just as good (and probably mildly better to be eating rather than something deep fried). Usually these come in a bowl and so i was surprised to see it come on a platter instead. Since it’s a rice noodle and a heap of different veggies, it doesn’t feel nearly as heavy, which is why I prefer to order these. This one was pretty good and the portions of protein were good and well cooked, which I think is the most important. Would recommend.
Even though it wasn’t listed that you could choose a protein for the Drunken noodle, we asked and they were able to sub out for any other protein (there were probably a few exceptions, but they were able to do shrimp, which is what we wanted). Tip: never be too shy to ask if they can alter a dish to how you’d like it. Especially if it’s only one substituation. The worse they can tell you is that they can’t do it. Always have a backup.
Afterwards, I wanted some sort of dessert, but I really was craving a container of watermelon. We checked out some of the deli markets nearby but one didn’t even have any cut fruit and the other had some pretty weak looking watermelon, and I did not feel like being disappointed. So I did a huge pivot and got some cookies instead.
I love Schmackary’s because they have so many different flavors and are constantly swapping in different seasonal and new flavors. They always have the classics around as well (Chocolate Chip), but I love trying out the new flavors that they have. This one was the Turtle Snap (chewy caramel, semisweet chocolate, toasted pecans, sea salt). I know some people don’t like the salty sweet flavor, but i like getting a chunk of seasalt to balance out the sweetness of chocolate. and I love the bits of chewy caramel inside as well.
In addition to this, since they do a 2 for deal, I had to try the seasonal flavor, Schmack & Cheese. That’s right, basically a mac and cheese cookie. (corn flour / cornmeal / cheddar / gruyere / mozzarella / bacon / elbow macaroni).
It almost tasted like a sweeter version of a corn muffin? But it really wasn’t overly sweet. I didn’t think it was too bad, but the only issue I had was i think the noodles in the cookie? There were definitely some tougher bits to chew. I think without that it wouldn’t be so bad. I’m glad I tried it, but I probably wouldn’t get them again.
