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Showing posts from May, 2010

Happy Memorial Day!!!

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I hope everyone enjoyed this fabulous weekend in the sun with food, drinks and family! This is a little snapshot I took last week of a couple of brews Mr. T and I enjoyed on a gorgeous warm day. Shoolbreds down in the East Village just broke out their sidewalk tables so it’s time for drinking in the sun. This place has one of the best happy hours going if you like good beer. Every day from 4-8 it’s buy one get one free of any of their drafts. These drafts include some of my favorite- Goose Island Matilda, Delirium Tremens and Ommegang Witte. Goose Island Matilda’s are so good and so strong…I can get seriously tipsy here off four beers for the price of two. Score!! Happy Memorial Day!

A Tale of Two Pizza's- Artichoke and Vezzo

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The first up is an old favorite that’s finally been revisited- Artichoke Basielle Pizza & Brewery. There is nothing quite like getting an enormous gooey, cheesy, creamy, buttery, delicious slice of artichoke pizza. It’s like slathering a piece of crunchy dough with a big bowl of spinach artichoke dip. I mean really- look at those gorgeous brown cheese pockets among valleys of artichoke, garlic and balls of mozzarella. Although I love this pizza I can only handle half a slice at the most. My weak stomach can’t take all of the heavy rich topping, so when I reach my limit I turn to the Sicilian instead. Truly the closest thing to DiFara’s pizza I’ve ever had. The crust is very crisp- almost a little too crisp sometimes but the toppings are spot on. Tangy tomato sauce, fresh basil leaves, a liberal drizzle of tasty olive oil and a dousing of grated Parmesan cheese, make this pizza just amazing. It is an utterly delicious delight. Also they just added big cups of Budweiser for o

Fancy Lunch Time- Delmonico's

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It’s celebrate Rioja week here in NYC where various restaurants across the city are offering $25 lunch and $35 three course dinners that include a glass of wine from the Rioja region of Spain. I checked out their website and much to my surprise Delmonico’s was on the list. After looking at the menu online it was a no brainer- I needed a day off of work badly and what better way to spend it than with a fancy lunch. Now I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I have never even been inside Delmonico’s before. I’ve walked by it hundreds of times but never had to good fortune to eat or drink there. Being that it opened way back in 1837 as NYC first fine dining place, you would assume that I would have gone by now. Not only that- it’s also the birthplace of Eggs Benedict, Lobster Newburg and the Baked Alaska! Needless to say I was pretty excited to finally be going.  I made a reservation for 1:30 and when I entered the restaurant I would say it was only about half full. I was seated towards t

Some Little Bites at Cienfuegos

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What an enjoyable day this Saturday was! I had been planning to spend the day alone but then Mr.T found out he didn't have to work. Yay! We decided to walk around the Seaport a little bit and then stopped at Jeremy's Ale House to watch the Soccer match. Now Jeremy's has never been a favorite of mine. Sure you get 32 oz Styrofoam cup beers and the fun bra hanging decor, but it's always felt a little bit too dirty for me. Well I was actually enjoying myself this time and about to go for my second beer when this enormous cockroach ran across the wall right in front of the TV. It was so disgusting I thought I was going to be sick. We left immediately and headed to a bar with a little cleaner standards for the rest of the game. So gross... Anyway- after the game we were walking through the East Village when I remembered hearing about a new place opening up Cienfuegos. We walked into the little sandwich shop and up the stairs in the back to this hidden little spot. Okay n

Dalton's @ the Ninth Avenue Food Festival

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It was a gorgeous summer day Saturday and what better way to spend it then drinking and eating outside in the sun with friends. Luckily there was the perfect venue getting those goals accomplished- the 9th Avenue Food Festival. Most of it is really just a big street fair with the regular Mozzareppa’s, and Crepes, but there were also some local restaurants with stands of food and drink. We ended up meeting friends who had a great table outside Daltons with easy access to beers and perfect for people watching. We ended up staying there most of the day and saw plate after plate of Dalton’s pork sandwich being consumed around us. When hunger finally struck it seemed inevitable that we would have to try one out. The pork didn’t really look like much. Upon first glance I assumed it was going to be overcooked and tasteless. However Dalton’s proved me wrong- it was no RUB pork sandwich but it was definitely moist and had a nice mild spice in the marinade. The BBQ sauces that came on th

Return to Congee Village

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Mr. T and I have been in such a food ordering rut lately that we literally fight over who will answer the door for our Chinese food delivery. Both of us are embarrassed to open the door for the same delivery guy over and over again. To be honest I don’t know why we care since we’re probably putting his kids through college with all of our tips but nonetheless. Anyway since we’ve been eating so much Chinese delivery we haven’t gone out for Chinese food in a really long time. However on Sunday when Mr. T said he wanted Chinese food again I just couldn’t do the delivery. It was a gorgeous day outside so instead we walked down to our old favorite Congee Village Bowery. Congee Village is a fun, laid back kind of Chinese restaurant. Whenever we try to go on a Friday or Saturday night it’s completely packed with loud groups of people in a party mode. However on a Sunday evening the crowds are gone and it’s a much more serene and relaxed environment. For some reason at Congee V

Lunch at Butai

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Wednesday was an extremely busy day at work for me- so busy I never got a chance to eat lunch. Luckily I was able to leave a little earlier than usual and on my way home I intended to stop and have a decent meal. I walked my usual route through Union Square and up Park Avenue, all the while looking for some food option to jump out at me. Then all of a sudden it was there- a big board outside of Butai advertising a seriously affordable and delicious sounding lunch special. It was pretty late in the day, almost early supper time rather than lunch, but I inquired about the special and they said it was still going on. Score one for me! I took a seat in front of the big window and ordered their short rib lunch box set. Within minutes I had this huge platter of food set in front of me. Sushi, salad, rice, dumplings and short ribs all in one nice platter. This is pretty much my food eating dream come true. There’s nothing better than having a variety of little bites to choose from.

Street Sweets

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I was walking over in Tribeca the other day, trying to get in some good exercise, when out of nowhere I run smack dab into the Street Sweets truck. Damn these mobile sweet machines! Just when I’m trying to eat healthy and exercise they seem to show up uninvited. This happens to be one of the few trucks I haven’t tried out yet so of course I had to buy a little something for research sake. The cupcakes looked pretty good but seemed to lack a lot of frosting, the chocolate chips looked amazing but were so big I knew I would eat the whole thing and feel guilty. In the end I settled on something a little different- a pumpkin whoopie pie. The pumpkin cake outside was delicious. The cake was moist and had just a hint of cinnamon, spice and carrot flavor. The edges of the cake were slightly crispy and I ended up eating around the edges first to enjoy all the crispy bites. The filling inside was vanilla and very sweet. Almost a little too sweet for my tastes but still delicious. So

Two Toms

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It was an insanely windy Saturday in the city and although the sun was out it was not a day you wanted to stay outside too long. Mr. T and I were walking to a new bar in Park Slope and I almost got taken out by a flying construction sign! We met up with friends at the new bar Rock Shop and attempted to enjoy some beers on their beautiful rooftop patio. However the wind just got to be too much for us so we went over to Sheep Station for a few Coopers Sparkling before finally arriving at our dinner destination- Two Toms. I have no idea how to even begin describing this place. Walking inside the décor was slightly reminiscent of a VFW with wood paneled walls and red tablecloths. I was a little taken aback at first but then the friendly waiter showed us to our table and his warm charming personality really put me at ease.   Two Toms has no set menu- just the waiter (who also plays the role of host and busboy) who lists off the specials for that day. So after some serious decision m

Sammich's at RUB

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I’ve written about Rub before. I actually think last time I did a face off between ribs and wings at RUB versus those at Dinosaur BBQ. Dinosaur won but that doesn’t mean RUB isn’t awesome. Case in point- their pulled BBQ pork sandwich. It’s hard to tell from the picture but this pork shoulder was incredibly tender and moist. There was a very light sauce on top but the meat was so wonderful I saw no need to add anymore. Maybe throw a pickle on top and you’re done. A perfectly squishy sandwich bun sealed the deal and I was in pulled pork heaven. Mr. T ordered the BBQ rib sandwich Basically boneless ribs covered in some BBQ sauce and served on a bun. His was pretty good- the sauce was very tasty and it came with the same squishy bun. It just seemed to need a little something extra to me. If I had ordered this dish I would have gone all out and gotten it with a sloppy top. Here’s the sloppy top! A nice big scoop of coleslaw right on top of the meat. Who wouldn’t lo

Happy Mothers Day!!

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A very Happy Mother's Day to all of you Mom's out there. I celebrated with a piece of cake from Black Hound Bakery. Luscious chocolate mousse, sweet vanilla icing and wonderful moist innards made for a lovely cake. A big shout out to the one woman I couldn't spend the day with- My Mom!! I got lucky with the best ever!!! Hopefully we can celebrate together soon!!!

Random Cupcake

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I was walking through Nolita enjoying a lovely warm day last week when a serious craving for something sweet hit me. Usually I just grab a little square of chocolate somewhere but I felt like I needed something more. I was going through all the various dessert treats I could find when suddenly I noticed all the people walking toward were holding something absolutely delicious looking- cupcakes!! They were everywhere! I couldn't understand what was going on! Then I noticed a little table up ahead set up with a box of cupcakes and a man handing them out for free. I was so excited I immediately took one upon offer. The red velvet cake was pretty moist and the large dollop of frosting had just the right amount sour and sweet tang. I was thoroughly enjoying my cupcake when I realized I really didn't know where this cupcake was from. I started to think back to the location. Hmmm...It had been a little card table set up kind of near Ciao Bella but with no sign, no defining characteris

Brunch at Kittichai

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My friend was up visiting from Tarrytown and that always means one thing for Sunday morning- brunch! As you know Mr. T hates brunch so I jump at the opportunity to actually have someone to go enjoy it with it. Kittichai had been on my radar for a while so we hopped in a cab down to SOHO and got a great table outside. Kittichai is an upscale Thai restaurant in the Thompson Hotel. I had eaten here years ago when it was Thom and absolutely loved the space. It still has the same sleek interior and lazy almost vacation vibe outside. The real draw however is the brunch deal. For $20 you can enjoy unlimited cocktails for 2 hours along with your entree. In my book that is awesome. Carrie went for the Bloody Mary. This had a nice kick to it without overwhelming chunks of tomato. I started out with the Blood Orange Mimosa and then switched over to the Lychee Bellini's when I had my fill of juice. Both were wonderful and they truly didn't skimp on the champagne. For my entree I decided to

LuckyRice

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NYC hosted the first annul Luckyrice Festival this year and I was in it from the get go. Asian street food, beers under the stars and David Chang. Hmmm....check! I'm in! So Friday we went to the Night Market over in DUMBO. It was a gorgeous warm night and the festival was set up with food outside and drinks in the main complex. We decided to hit all of the food stands first and here's a little display of what we enjoyed. Asiadog- The Wangding. Basically a hot dog topped with a nice fatty piece of pork belly, scallions and onion. Buddakan- Udon Noodles with Peanut Sauce. Kuma Inn- Pork Belly with Pickled Veggies. Delicatessen- Foie Gras and Beef Short Rib Dumpling with Asian vegetables and five spice consomme. Special Reserve beer from Brooklyn Brewery the Sorachi Ale. I have to say that while the event wasn't typical asian street food like I expected it was pretty amazing nonetheless. The highlights for me were the ridiculously delicious Asiadogs, the