NYC Tastes

We've lived in the area for over 6 years now and never tried out the steakhouse 5 blocks away, Angelo and Maxie's. Even though we love steak!! A couple weeks ago we noticed they had opened a little outpost of their steakhouse called Maxie's Bar and Grill. I walked by it one day and noticed they had a lot of plasma televisions and it looked pretty nice. Once Sunday rolled around both of us wanted to go watch the football games but we were in no mood to sit around a dank bar all day. We decided Maxie's might be a good choice. We got there right before 1:00 and only about 3 tables were filled, There was an older couple at the bar drinking large martini's (at 1:00 gasp!). I was a little surprised to see that the bar itself only had a view of one of the TVs. The rest were spread out in the dining area. Since we were watching multiple games I decided to ask the waitress where our best choice would be to sit. They were extremely accommodating and told us to sit wherever an

My aunt happened to be in town for a conference the other night and we meet her and a friend out for some drinks at The House. After some great conversation and a couple glasses of wine, Mr Trekker & I found ourselves alone once again and feeling pretty hungry. We didn't want to venture to far away so we decided to head over to The Smith, which had just opened in the former Pizzeria Uno spot. I had seen they had fish tacos listed on their website so I thought we might check it out. The place itself reminds of Schillor's Liquor Store with it's black and white tiles. We grabbed a seat at the bar and ordered a couple beers. They have a good selection of beers on tap and the menu looked quite good but we didn't end up staying more than one drink. Why? Because it was kind of creepy. It seemed like there were about 50 to 60 people working there. There was literally a busboy per table. They all would stand at the back of the restaurant and stare out over the room. I have n

I hope everyone has a fantastic day of Turkey & Trimmings!!!!

Friends were in town, so we decided to go out to brunch Saturday at Punch. Punch is kind of a weird place. I always feel like I'm at a hotel restaurant when I'm inside and I'm not really sure why. Once you get past the bar everything is white. Tablecloths, tables, walls; it really feels a little too formal for brunch even though that's not what the place is going for. We've come here a lot though because it has a pretty great prix-fix. For $14.95 you get a basket of fresh baked muffins and jam, a bloody mary/mimosa, coffee and an entree. Not too shabby! The mimosas are always great as well. They definitely use some decent champagne and a good juice to liquor ratio. We were seated immediately and got our menus. The basket of muffins came right away which was nice but then it took about 15 minutes before our waitress came over for our order. This seems to be a constant brunch problem in NY. No one ever seems to be on the same page. We ordered our entrees and got our d

So we went to Florida about a month ago and I took lots of pictures of our food and whatnot but never put them on my blog. I feel that since it's called Nyctastes it should only be about food from NY. Anyway, some of the friends I went with thought I should have used the photos since we went to some really great places! So to appease them I decided I would show a few in the form of a survey which also pretty much sums up our trip. So...Here goes. Let's say it's your last day in Florida and you started it off by drinking one of these: You decide to continue your day by consuming many of these: Until late into the night when you realize your multiple beverages just won't cut it and you need something to eat. Unfortunately the only thing open at this hour of night in Florida is the local gas station. Please tell me. Which one of these would you eat? Instant Ramen Noodles (chicken flavor), The Cattleman Sandwich (an enormous soy cheeseburger), a Ham & Cheese sub

So I was out shopping in Soho early one afternoon trying to get some early Christmas shopping done. I HATE dealing with the crowd of people that swarm Broadway between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The holidays turn people into a crazed and unruly bunch. If you don't believe me try walking down Broadway in a week or so. You will never be the same! So I set out early and went to just about every store imaginable and came up with nothing. I was pretty depressed by the end and my stomach was running on empty. I needed some comforting food fast. That's when I remembered Soho Park. Soho Park opened about a year ago and is basically just a cafe/ grill sort of place that caters to the SOHO shoppers. I figured I could grab some good food fast and be on my way. I decided to order some Pomme Frites with a side of Garlic Aioli and a bottle of water. They gave me this license plate and told me to sit wherever. The license plate was to act as my order number so the waiter could find m

So I have a couple posts from a few weeks back ,since our computer decided to break down and we had to send it away. Leaving me a shell of a human being behind!! Just kidding! Anyway, during this time, I had two of my best friends in the world come visit for a weekend. Yey Me!!! They came in early afternoon on Friday and we kind of just chilled out for a little while and then walked down to the village. Our first stop was the Stoned Crow for a couple beers. I love the Stoned Crow- It's one of those divey bars where I could chill out at all night and listen to some good music on the jukebox. They have Sixpoint Sweet Action on tap as well, which is always a plus for me. Once we finished a beer or two we realized we were starving! None of us had really eaten any lunch but we also didn't want to spoil our dinner so we spilt a burger between the 3 of us. This was actually the first time I have ever eaten at the Crow although I do know the chef is the former burger slinger from

I've been trying to come up with fun things to do on the weekend that don't involve spending a lot of money. I had read in the paper about this " Canstruction " gallery going on at the New York Design Center. It sounded pretty neat so we decided to check it out. Canstruction ® is basically a design competition held in many cities throughout North America. Teams of architects, engineers, and students compete to design and build giant structures made entirely from canned food. At the end of the competition, all of the canned food used is donated to help in the fight against hunger. With such a great cause we just had to go. The designs were absolutely amazing. There were so many great pieces - here's a few of my favorites. Who doesn't love the classic ice cream cone twist! My favorite game from my younger years! Hungry Hungry Hippo!! Humpty Dumpty ! This one was my favorite piece of all. With only the naked eye, I couldn't make out what these cans were s