My parents are very 'touristy' when it comes to New York; the furthest they will probably travel is Rockefeller Center. So, when my dad told me to take him somewhere he has never been for lunch, I had the perfect idea. I stumbled upon Vapiano's in Union Square almost five years ago on a hot summer afternoon after spending the majority of my morning exploring the area. The self-serve idea is super cool - you walk in, get a card, ring up your entire order on the card and pay as you leave. It's super easy and convenient and something I knew my dad would enjoy. There's three sections throughout the restaurant - Pasta, Pizza, and Salad. You get to watch the cooks make your food - if you know me, you know I love to know all my ingredients so I fully enjoy this part. I have had many different pastas, two different types of pizzas, and a salad from here throughout my many trips and I have yet to be disappointed.

I ordered the Pesto Basilico with penne pasta while my dad ordered the Primavera with penne pasta.

Happy eating!

First off: I want to apologize for all these pictures being taken on my iPhone. After coming here time and time again, I figured I would write about it but never snapped any real pictures.

I have always been one to choose food stands/trucks over going to a five-star restaurant. Why? The service is faster, the food (nine times out of ten) is better, and to be honest - an extensive menu at a restaurant just gets me overwhelmed. I would rather have a few options to choose from than sitting there thinking to myself "What sounds better - this or that?" "What if I get this but I really end up wanting that?"

Anyway, I stumbled upon Broadway Bites on my way to class one morning last year. Instead of actually paying attention to my three-hour class, I clicked away to find out what this place actually was. After reading about it and seeing the many different options they had, I decided to try it out on my way home. What is it, exactly? Broadway Bites is presented by a company called UrbanSpace and many different restaurants throughout the five boroughs coming together and opening up food stands for a few weeks at a time. Simple. Broadway Bites happens twice a year with UrbanSpace's other pop-up food stands, Madison Square Eats.

If you follow my Instagram or Twitter - you will see that I rave on and on about the food I try. Melt Bakery was a place I just could not get enough of. I first spotted this cart at Madison Square Eats so when I saw they had a cart at Broadway Bites, my eyes filled with hearts - literally. When I find somewhere I absolutely love, I make it a mission to try something new every time I visit. This was 'The Classic' - chocolate chip walnut cookies with vanilla ice cream. I was pleased.

Roberta's Pizza. Perfect, perfect, perfect pizza. I could have easily went back for a second personal pie.

I have the biggest sweet tooth out of anyone I know and my taste buds were drawn to Nunu Chocolates. I tried the chocolate covered grahams - awesome, of course. They didn't have a bar at Madison Square Eats the last time they were open but they did at Broadway Bites.

Last one from Melt Bakery. This is the 'Lovelet' which, I can see to be their more popular item. It is red velvet with cream cheese ice cream. I was thrown off and a bit hesitant to try it once I heard the cream cheese ice cream part but it was delicious!

Broadway Bites offers a variety of food. I would easily recommend this place as a quick date night spot when two people who want two completely different things! Get a full list of the vendors here.