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Showing posts from July, 2011

Iron Chef House

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To continue my search for some good sushi in Brooklyn Heights I made my way over to Iron Chef House the other day. I was excited by the menu online. There were quite a few rolls that sounded kind of crazy and very non-traditional. This is the Banzai roll with spicy shrimp topped with tuna and crunchy mix. Well it certainly looked pretty but the first thing I noticed was the enormous mound of crunchy mix on the bottom of the roll. It was way to much crunch for me and kind of masked the rest of the roll. I took it off and then focused on the fish itself. The Tuna was actually really good but the spicy shrimp tasted a little weird. I had thought that the shrimp would be minced up in the mayo rather than whole. The various textures really threw me off, so much so that I ended up taking the shrimp out completely and just eating it like a spicy tuna roll. So while my roll wasn’t horrible I didn’t exactly enjoy it either. My search continues on for some good sushi in Brooklyn Heigh

Restaurant Week at Quality Meats

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Well after my somewhat miserable experience at The Central Park Boathouse I had all but written off the rest of Restaurant Week. But then I ran into a friend over the weekend who absolutely raved about her lunch at Quality Meats. She was so happy about her meal I kind of obsessed about it all week and finally ended up taking a few hours off of work so I could try it out. One of the best parts about Quality Meats is that lunch goes until 3:00. I was able to get one of the last reservations which worked out perfectly for my schedule. I knew I had made the right decision as soon as my bread arrived in this little cast iron skillet! Fresh out of the oven golden rolls covered with rosemary and salt- it was one of the nicest bread baskets I’ve ever had the pleasure of enjoying. Something about breaking apart each fluffy warm roll was so satisfying. I was extremely happy until my first course arrived- when I became elated. Look at this gorgeous Steak Tartare presentation! No o

Two Ways to Break The Heat This Weekend

As most of you already know I love the NYC Food and Wine Festival. I can't wait until Fall to try out all the great food and wine at the Grand Tasting...that is I truly don't have to wait. Because the Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival is this weekend!!! It's only a few hours away and I have to say the beach is really calling me this year. I'm done with the steamy weather and just need a break so AC is where I'm headed! I'm most excited about the Robert Mondavi Discover Wines Grand Market and Italian Village. It's no secret I love tasting and trying everything and this event should have over 125 different vendors. Apparently the "Discover" part of the event includes a wine cooking stage and Essence Station where you learn about the smell of wine along with cooking. I know a good amount about wine but I really need some help in the cooking department so I'm really looking forward to this event. Robert Mondavi Discover Wine Tour Al

The New Summer Menu at Bar Basque

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I was invited by Bar Basque to come try out their new summer menu about a week ago and I have to say I was thrilled. I had really enjoyed the space at the Rachel Ray EHOW event. The whole place was designed by Syd Mead of TRON and a NYC architect Philip Koether (you can read all about the project here ) It’s a combination of sleek futuristic bar interior and open air terrace dining. It’s really quite a great spot. I was planning to get some good shots of the inside but there was a snafu with our reservation which was a little frustrating. Apparently they had down the wrong name but everything was worked out in the end and we were given a lovely spot on the back terrace. They had a tasting menu planned for our evening and encouraged us to order anything else we would like from the main menu as well as wine and cocktails from the bar. The tasting menu looked like a lot of food so we decided just to order some drinks. I started out with a Hampton’s Mojito while Mr. T went

Tacombi

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I was on a big kick of Fish Tacos for a while and I think my obsession may be starting again now that I tried Tacombi. This little taco shop in SOHO is pretty neat. You buy food tickets at the counter up front and then order your tacos at the VW bus in front for meat or the window in the back for fish. On my visit I was all about the seafood so I tried out both the fried and grilled fish tacos. The Grilled Fish was good- unfortunately I don’t love a ton of salsa on my fish and this had a bunch. Next time I would order the regular grilled fish with the avocado salsa instead. But I would definitely order the Fried Fish Tacos again! This was delicious! The fish itself had no breading what so ever- just a nice big hunk of meat with crispy outside and some crunchy slaw. It was simple and perfect. Tacombi does breakfast tacos all day long which rocks as well. However watch out for the hot sauce! I had one tiny bite and my tongue was on fire for about 20 minutes. That

Restaurant Week at The Central Park Boathouse

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Even though the food and service last year at the Boathouse hadn’t been the best, I enjoyed the tranquil location so much I just had to go back again this year for Restaurant Week. Unfortunately this time around circumstances would be against me. First I was late for my reservation, about 45 minutes late in fact. I had called to let them know but that is much too long and by the time I arrived my table had been given away and they were no longer seating anyone else. This is my fault, not theirs. I should have just walked away and gone elsewhere but I was kind of a wreck. I had a terrible day at work (which is why I was so late) and I just wanted to take a moment and relax with a glass of wine. It was Friday for goodness sake. That’s when I noticed an open seat at the bar and the RW menu was being served. Why the hell not? So I took a seat and placed my order. Here’s where I made mistake number two. I was feeling a little stressed and for some reason I completely misorder

Happy Hour at the Cellar of Cheese!

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I was so excited to see Beecher Cheese had finally opened up on Broadway. It seemed like they had been getting it ready forever but the new cheese space is finally up and running. Besides selling various cheeses they also opened up a really cool restaurant called The Cellar. I was shocked when I saw the space. It was so dark, cozy and sexy. This is a perfect date place for sure and what’s even better is that it was Happy Hour when I arrived! I ordered the special infused cocktail for the day ($7.00) which was a Vodka Basil Strawberry. Wow- when I first took a sip my sinuses pretty much cleared right out. It was almost like eating some really spicy horseradish. I think they may have soaked the basil a tad too long making the taste somewhat overpowering. However they certainly put a ton of vodka inside as well and after a few sips I got used to the taste (as is the case with most strong cocktails). I wouldn’t order it again but it actually became manageable for the meal. To begi

Restaurant Week at Union Square Cafe

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For my second restaurant week lunch I was very excited to land a reservation at Union Square Café. This was Danny Meyer’s first restaurant and a classic example of fine dining in New York City. The day I went there was even a rumor that Mr. Meyer himself would be working one of the tables! Unfortunately it wasn’t ours but I did see the back of his head on my way in. We had a reservation at 2:00 PM and got a table in the large room up front. The place was absolutely packed with people. I’ve never seen such a crowded restaurant with the bar completely full and tons of people waiting for a possible seat. They started us out with usual basket of baguette, bread and crackers. Which we enjoyed alongside some black olives and delicious rosemary dusted butter. We were having trouble deciding what to order form the Restaurant Week menu so we started out with some oysters. These little guys were from Rhode Island and they were absolutely delicious. Sometime you get an oyster tha

Keegan's Brewery

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Keegan’s Beer seems to be coming up on a lot of restaurant and bar beer lists lately. I seem to see the Mother’s Milk everywhere and even the Hurricane Kitty has been popping up here and there. So when Mr. T and I were heading back from a weekend in Lake George I jumped at the chance to swing by Keegan Ales which was right off our route on the way home. Keegan’s certainly didn’t look like much from the outside that’s for sure- but the inside was surprisingly neat. They had a nice square bar in the back with darts and other games and then a separate room on the side for filling growlers and a band space. The coolest part of the space was looking directly into the brewery itself. Mr. T and I ordered an Old Capitol Ale and a Joe-Mama's Stout. The Old Capitol Ale was tasty for sure. It had a nice crisp edge that was refreshing albeit a tad boring. The Joe Mama on the other hand was awesome. The took the Mothers Milk Stout and brewed into it some coffee and choc