Next stop in NYC

I've been following the lovely and talented pastry chef and blogger, Shuna Fish Lydon, for several years now. We had the chance to meet at a conference in San Francisco in 2008 and ever since then I've been rather smitten with her writing.

She has a new gig as the pastry chef at the also new Peels restaurant in NYC so I had to ask my foodie pal in New York if she'd been and what she thought of it. The result -- rave reviews! I was told the "biscuit was unbelievably light" and that the bloody mary, breakfast sandwich and pastry basket were all delightful. [Insert common complaint about how D.C. doesn't have enough cool breakfast-specific places.] This makes me long for fluffy berry muffins, yogurt and muesli with sour cherry preserves...oh god, stop! If I keep going the list will just go on and on and on....

But if I were at Peels for dinner and dessert, I'd have to try the stuffed Montauk squid with roasted tomato, greens, grapefruit and lemon aioli...as well as the Maine diver scallops served in a cider reduction sauce. And to top it off with Shuna's flare, I'd order two desserts to share -- the 3 in 1 cream pie and the ice cream and sherbert trio (think peppermint stick!).