In honor of oatmeal.

New York City houses a unique collection of specialized cafes, offering several varieties of one specific item, like the Peanut Butter & Co. Sandwich Shop and Sarita's Macaroni and Cheese (S'MAC). Here, you will find classics at their best! Watch out...there's a new specialty in town, boys...OatMeals. This one-of-a-kind, one-stop-shop features everything oatmeal.

Salted Caramel Apple

Oatmeal is on fire! If you've checked out any of the most popular food blogs recently, oatmeal recipes fused with lots of fall flavors are trending.

How did I come across this oat-rageous find? Last semester, as I sat in my food service management class, I became a restaurant entreprenuer! I was challenged to create my very own restaurant including the design, menu, and management style of the establishment. Since I tend to go through food fazes, oatmeal was my meal of choice. Whether it was for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, I was stirring up a creamy bowl of oats. This is when I came up with my very own cafe (on paper that is), Only Oats.

Little did I know, I wasn't the only clever one in this big city. Samantha Stephens was already ahead of the game. Located on West 3rd street, in the big apple, was the home of OatMeals.

Take a step inside..

The walls of OatMeals are decorated with Samantha's personal collection, antique boxes of oats. A large blackboard is hung on one wall displaying the extensive list of signature bowls and build-your-own options.

In order to complete my project, I sat down with Samantha to discuss her OatMeals journey. While in college, the freshman 15 crept up on Samantha, just like it does with so many of us. As part of her freshman 15 fight, she chose a healthier path and began eating oatmeal for dinner. She found creative ways to spice it up and now shares her favorite recipes with all of New York.

The menu at OatMeals features "Signature Bowls," which are further broken down into the comforts, the hot & bothered, the savory spice & everything nice, and the happy endings. The lucky girl that I am was given the opportunity to try one of these famous oatmeal bowls. I gave the salted caramel apple a go...and it was an excellent choice! Sweet, salty, savory...what more could I ask for in a single bowl of oats?

What will you try?