NYC Tastes

We had some friends come to visit last week and we ended up in Midtown doing some of the obligatory tourist things. We walked around Tiffany's and stopped by Central Park to enjoy the nice weather. After a few hours we decided we needed to stop and grab a drink. We were right near the Museum of Modern Art so we decided to stop in at the bar for a cocktail. We figured we could kill two birds with one stone- they could say they were at the museum (kind of!) and we could have a break from walking. Upon entering the Modern I loved the open and airy decor. There really isn't much as far as decoration is concerned is just very well....modern looking. We sat down and looked at the cocktail list and the Coming up Roses cocktail caught my eye. The cocktail was described as having Rose Petals, Lime, Rosewater, Bacardi razz and Champagne . Fantastic I thought. We ordered our drinks and as we talked the bartenders got to work in front of us. They brought out the beers and my friends d...

So we returned to Resto for dinner with friends on Thursday night. It was a lot more crowded than it was for brunch and we couldn't even get a seat at the bar. The tin ceilings make it quite loud and it was difficult to here everyone once we got seated. Our waiter ended up being the same guy we had at brunch and once again we had excellent service. They have such a fantastic Belgian beer list it was difficult to choose just one. I decided to have the Corsendonk Brown which was a good choice. It was really malty but surprisingly light for a 7.8% beer. For my appetizer I got the special Heirloom Tomato and Bacon salad which was the highlight of the meal. It was so fresh and tasty. Other appetizers were the deviled eggs, sausage special and double cooked pork. The sausage was nothing special but the pork was quite tasty. The deviled eggs on the other hand were the most fattening things I think I've ever eaten. Grease was literally dripping from the toast they were sitting on. ...

So I had 2 wonderful friends visit me this weekend and we spent our Saturday night catching up over many great beers at Zum Schnieder and DBA . We woke up on Sunday at 1:00!! I haven't slept that late in ages! We were not feeling too hot to say the least and needed a good brunch to recover. We didn't want to travel far so I suggested just walking up to Penelope. As we got about a block away, we could already see the line of people waiting outside. We decided to make a detour and headed to Resto . We walked in and got a great table in the back. The place was full but not packed. We all felt like a little hair of the dog would make us feel better so we got some mimosas. My friend got a regular one with fresh squeezed orange juice. The acidity of OJ always bothers my stomach so I got one with pineapple juice. This was one of the best mimosas I've ever had. For my meal I decided to get the Egg White Frittata . This was the first fritatta I'd ever eaten. It was good ...

L'Express has been on our restaurant to do list for about 6 years now. When Mr. T first came to the city to look for apartments the broker took him by this place. He enticed him to the neighborhood with the incentive of a 24 hour restaurant at all times. I guess he figured a young couple like us would be hitting up the bar scene right away, needing food at all hours of the night. Bless you broker, for believing that a junior software developer and a non-for-profit social worker could afford a night out on the town, much less have money for food afterwards! In fact, the largest expense our first year in the city was on a set of ping pong balls! We would take the train down to Kmart and pick up a couple cheap 12 packs of beer and then come back to our apartment and play beer pong. Our apartment had no furniture, so we would sit on the floor of our living room and bounce the ball back and forth trying to land it in a cup of beer. This was a great cheap way to pass the weekend un...

Since Mr. T's birthday fell on a Tuesday this year so we didn't get a chance to celebrate with his family until the weekend. First of all, Mr. T is pretty lucky as this would officially be his 3rd birthday dinner. My birthday is coming up in Septmeber so you'd better believe I've got 3 places picked out! Since we were having an early dinner we meet up at Landmarc in the Time Warner center at 4:00. The TWC is famous formany upscale resturants such as Per Se and Masa. Landmarc is one of the newest additions to the mall. Although most of the tables were filled we easily scored some seats at the bar. Landmarc is basically shaped like a rectangle with one side facing the mall and two sides with large windows that look out onto the streets of Manhattan. Unfortunately the tall buildings right next door blocked much of the sunlight and I found Landmarc to be a little too dark. I noticed our bartender seemed a little depressed and I wondered if it was because of the lack o...

I love trying out new beers and do so whenever I have the chance. Summer is quickly coming to a close so I'm trying to get in all the new fruit beers out there while I can. At Whole Foods the other day, I saw two I had never seen and decided I would do a beer boxing match. The Match: Southern Tier Brewing Co. Raspberry Wheat vs. Dogfish Head Festina Peche In the left corner, weighing in with an alcohol % of 4.5, the Dogfish Head Festina Peche . The beer poured a cloudy orange color with a small head that quickly disappeared after about a minute. I went to have a whiff of this beer and it surprising had hardly any smell at all. Their was the slight nose of peach but nothing too strong. I had a sip and my mouth instantly puckered. This beer is has a very tart and sour taste to it unlike any fruit beer I have ever tried before. Next up, in the right corner weighing in at....hmmm...no idea. Nothing written on the label. Automatic deduction for inadequate beer information- The South...

I was grocery shopping at Whole Foods the other day and decided to swing by their beer section to see if they had anything new and interesting. As I was looking through the beers a man came out and started putting some bottles on the shelf that I had never seen before. As I walked over I noticed the big B on the label and realized it was the new Brooklyn beer I had hear about. Zum Schnieder had just hosted a party last week in celebration of this new beer. Apparently the Br ewmaster of Schneider brewery and Brooklyn Brewmaster Garrett Oliver have been friends a long time and decided to make a beer together. I love almost all of the Schneider beers and Mr. T and I went to a beer class that was taught by Garrett Oliver and just loved him. So I was extremely excited when I saw the bottles and grabbed one right away. Work was tough this week so it wasn't until Friday night when I finally got to try it out. Upon pouring the beer I was a little put off by the color. It poured a mur...

I was craving some wings tonight because well... when am I not craving wings. I wasn't feeling like a regular Buffalo style wing so we decided to go for some Japanese. Tebaya is a tiny little place in the Flatiron district that specializes in Japanese finger food. They have a couple great items on their menu but are known most for their Teba Chicken Wings. They use the same recipe for these wings as the ones they sell at their store in Japan. As you can see from the picture, these aren't your average wings. They are fried twice in soy oil which removes almost all of the fat from the wing itself but keeps the juiciness of the chicken inside. Once the wings are fried they cover them in a Teba sauce which is basically a garlic sauce topped with toasted sesame seeds and black peppers. The final result is a wing with extra snappy skin, juicy meat and no visible chunks of fat. The best part about this place is the man who runs it. He is probably the friendliest guy to order from ...

To celebrate the actual day of Mr. T's birth we meet up with some friends for dinner at RUB. RUB is a BBQ joint that specializes in Kansas City style cue. One of our friends is from Kansas and swears these ribs are the real deal. RUB smokes their meat for hours on the grill and the wondeful smell fills the restaurant and spills out into the street. I secretly think they blow the smoke out onto the sidewalk so it consumes meat obsessed people like me. I've passed by before, and immediately visions of myself ordering every kind of meat imaginable: ribs, brisket, ends, chicken enter my head. Baked beans spilling onto my shirt, fingers covered in greasy, spicy, glorious goodness. And then, It's over. The smell has passed and I am in a sort of stupor as to what had just occured. But luckily, tonight I was not just passing by. I was going to eat. And I was going to eat a lot of meat! I was so excited to get my grub on as soon as we were inside I felt a little crazy because I kne...