Total glee with F and B Gudtfood

Patrick, Jorge and I stopped by F&B, a semi-trendy, modern German food shop, after I mentioned that I had these incredible beignets early in October and was sad that I had no stomach space to try any of their bratwursts. So we trekked there from 33rd St. and 10th Ave. to 23rd St. and 8th Ave. It was a bit of a walk and I was sort of regretting it because it would take a bit of time to go back and I thought we'd be internally scolded by those who stayed at the office. But guilt aside, I was extremely happy that we did because not only are the beignets addicting and something that must be tried before anybody dies, the spruced- up hot dogs are extremely tasty AND antibiotic-free (according to a sign in the store).

Enter the tiny shop, which people have said used to be home to a Krispy Kreme (bad decision on their part considering there's a gym right next...talk about the wrong location), and you're greeted by a bubbly, bright and cheery ambiance with blue, white, silver decor. There is only counter-seating, but surprisingly, I didn't mind because essentially, it's really food that's much more fun to eat while standing.

The three of us agreed to order our own food and share an order of Swedish Meatballs and one tray of Caramel Beignets. Jorge got the Great Dane dog (at left): Pork, ketchup & mustard dressing, pickled cucumbers & roasted onions. Patrick ordered the Prairie Dog (below at right): Premium beef with fresh tomato salsa, guacamole & cheddar cheese. I didn't try theirs but given how much they enjoyed them, I bet they were delicious. After an agonizing internal debate over what to get, I opted for the Farm Dog because I can't resist anything with sweet corn relish on it and it was basically smoked chicken hot dog & sweet corn relish.

I have to tell you that it was one REALLY good chicken sausage that was well-complemented by the sweet and tart corn relish. I normally don't like chicken sausage, but the meat was so juicy and flavorful that I could have sworn it was pork instead. It was just simple and I just loved how you could taste the meat, which sort of popped when you bit into it, as well as what tasted like naturally sweet, pickled corn...nothing so dramatic that you'd end up tasting just a jumble of indecipherable ingredients.


Then came the beignets...we each had one and this time, when I bit into mine, I was euphoric. It was significantly better than the first time I had them with raspberry sauce. Why? Because these were just fried with just enough oozing caramel sauce lathering the chewy bread. While they may appear to be intensely sweet, they were...let's just say...an ideal donut. I suspect that the bread part itself is not sweetened. I can see it being just as good accompanied by a savory sauce like cheddar cheese or even sweet corn relish. These were really heavenly: absolutely warm, soft and springy in the center with a very substantial chew. These donuts were so good that after we finished our meal, we decided to buy 9 more pieces to share! Yes, NINE. Three come with one order. We ended up with 8 because those were all that was left for the day's batch...in other words, we bought the store out of their beignets that evening. Each tray had its own flavor...chocolate, strawberry and another one of caramel.

Neatly wrapped in a foil to-go bag, the three of us practically bounced out of F&B with joy over our satisfying and cheap meal. I remember the thought of returning to work made me forget about how happy I had been when we were eating. I reached over for one of the beignet bags that Patrick was holding and decided we had to savor the rest of the walk back to work as much as we could with the assistance of those glorious nuggets. But we barely moved because instead of walking and chewing, we stood for quite some time in front of what I think was a convenience store like CVS to split up the pieces and loudly enjoy them, exclaiming "oh my god, these are soooo good. I can't believe it" after practically every bite.

I have to say that my guilt of returning to work late was justified. What if I had lived another day without knowing those beignets could get that much better? Would have been a shame. Well, no regrets here!

Lesson of the day: Some food is sometimes worth being late to work for.