NYC Tastes

I just returned from a wonderful Christmas filled with tons of good food, family and friends. Way too much eating and drinking went on over the past week and I cannot mention everything so I’ll try to give a little outline with a few highlights. The festivities started off at Mr. T’s parents, where we started to enjoy the after noon by opening up a MAGNUM of Chimay Blue Grand Reserve. Yes, that’s right, a Magnum. Now I have had Chimay Blue before and always enjoyed the flavor but this time it was a little different. There was still the nice malty smell and taste but it was smoother somehow. When I got home I checked out their website and they said it is indeed quite a different beer than a regular sized Chimay. Since it is such a huge amount, it affects the second fermentation of the beer which results in a fuller, smoother product. So the regular, easy to drink 9% abv. Chimay became even easier to drink and enjoy. We were all feeling pretty good by the end of the bottle and decided

I woke up Sunday morning and was determined to get all of my Christmas shopping done before it was time to watch football. I decided to head out to the farthest place first, so I jumped on the 6 train and headed to the Upper East Side. I needed to pick up a gift certificate at Café Sabarsky and I decided I might as well enjoy a cup of coffee while I was there as well. Unfortunately a lot of other people seemed to have the same idea as I did and there were no tables left for me when I arrived. The maitre d’ told me the downstairs café, Café Fledermaus, was open with the same menu so I decided to check it out. I walked in the café and was greeted, rather jovially, by two waiters with thick Austrian accents. I was kind of taken a back by the enthusiastic greeting at first, until I realized there was no one else in the café besides myself. These guys were probably dying for a customer, so I happily took a seat. Everything about the downstaits is kind of mod. Black and white checkered fl

After such a huge meal at Peter Lugers the night before you would think that food would be the last thing on our mind Saturday morning. However we ate quite early the night before and after much more imbibing after Luger's, I woke up ready to eat! We had been planing to get Thai food for lunch, but this being a complete gluttonous weekend, we decided we were all hankering for a good Bloody Mary to help start off our day. So we headed out to Noho Star. We got there around right around 12:30 and the place was already packed! Then it occurred to me...Oh yeah. Saturday brunch in Noho before Christmas equals lots of shoppers and tourists out eating. Probably not the best choice, since we were all starving, however some seats opened up at the bar and we were able to get a breakfast cocktail while we waited. Have a look at this Bloody Mary. Wow. This thing was fantastic. Can you see all of the chunky tomato goodness and the black pepper swirling around? This was spicy, thick and rich. Kin

My two friends from upstate came to visit last weekend and I was psyched! Why? Because they are fun people but more importantly they love good food and wine as much as me! So I knew it was going to be a great weekend. I just didn't realize the amount of food we would eat! Offdah! Talk about being indulgent! But I'm getting ahead of myself. Friday started with a half day of work and then off the Grand Central to pick up the Pitted Pruner and Arian. The one thing I love about the Pitted Pruner is that he almost always knows what he wants to eat. I can sit and contemplate for hours, agonizing over the various choices. The Pruner gets a hankering and that's that. It was no different today. I rolled up and he says "let's grab some sushi." Sure! I already liked the way this weekend was starting. So we head over to Sushi Yasuda. Now we knew we had reservations for Peter Luger later so we didn't go crazy but ordered a couple rolls and some amazing pieces of Eel an

Holy Crap! There's only two weeks of 2008 left!!!! Well Time Out New York just came out with its best picks for food and drink in 2008 and I figured, hey, I should do my own! Precursor!!! Just so you know, not all of these places are new to 2008. Some have been around for a long time but I have only been able to try them for the first time this year. This is my little favorites of the year list. The funniest thing is that I didn't blog about half of them! I don't really know why I guess I was just really busy this year and I decided to save the best for last :) So here goes: Bacon Fat English Muffin at Momofuku Ko First thing I thought of when I started this list. Not only was it one of the most unbelievable meals I have ever eaten OR scored a reservation too, this English Muffin was a sinfully delicious treat I will always remember. La Caille at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon Free range caramelized quail stuffed with foie gras, potato puree and summer truffle. This was my

After a wonderful and lovely Thanksgiving with family and friends we came home from Florida on Friday happy but a little tired. Saturday came and we had more company come and stay with us for the weekend. By the time Sunday night rolled around I was exhausted and decided to take a much needed break and took the day off on Monday. I slept in late and decided to treat myself to lunch. I was planning to meet Mr. T for his lunch break at my favorite burger joint P.J. Clark's but then Mr T had to cancel last minute. Well I had already been craving a burger so I decided to head downtown instead and finally check out Prune. Walking into Prune I immediately felt comfortable in the small and homey space. It was quite empty with only a group of four, two couples and another solo diner. I wasn't sure if it would get crowded so I decided to just have a seat at the tiny bar. Again, I love the feel of the place. The sun was streaming in the big open windows and it was the perfect day to sit