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Showing posts from March, 2019

New Brew Friday- Other Half Green City

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It's New Brew Friday and we're chilling in the neighborhood with an Other Half Green City at Blue Smoke .   This New England style IPA is brewed with Citra, Centennial and Simco hops giving it juicy, tropical flavors of orange and pineapple with a dry biscuit finish.  It clocks in at just 7% and is the perfect pairing with some of Blue Smoke's Alabama White Sauce Wings, which are half off during all March Madness games. Cheers to the weekend! Blue Smoke 116 East 27th Street at Lexington New York, NY 10016

Happy Hour at Gramercy Tavern

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It's no secret Gramercy Tavern is one of my favorite restaurants in the city.  Now they've added a weekday happy hour, which just makes me even more in love with this beautiful spot. From 4:00 P.M.- 6:00 P.M. each day the Tavern offers special prices on wine, beer, cider and specialty cocktails like the bubbly Roger Fitz Spritz with Grapefruit Liqueur, Aperol and prosecco and the frothy pink New York Sour with Templeton Rye, egg white, lemon and red wine.  All the drinks are fantastic and there's also a small menu of bar snacks. What a great excuse to head to the Tavern a bit earlier during the week! Gramercy Tavern 42 East 20th Street New York, NY 10003

Wine Dinner at Park Avenue Winter

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I love Park Avenue Winter; the concept of changing not only the menu, but the entire decor of a restaurant for each season is just amazing.  Bright rays of yellow dot the ceiling in the summer, brown and gold leaves in fall, and in winter an elegant sheath of white sprinkled with sparkling glass globes.  It's simply stunning.  Now they've introduced a nightly wine dinner where guests can chose any appetizer, entree and dessert with unlimited tastings of four different wines for just $69. Our meal began with glasses of Prosecco as we mulled over the extensive choices for dinner.  Then it was onto a bright, grassy Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, which paired perfectly with my blood orange & chili Hamchi Curdo. Next a lovely Pinot Noir from California poured alongside a Roasted Halibut dressed with earthy black truffles...  ...and to finish a hearty Antinori Sangiovese with dessert. Once we tasted our way through all four wines we were free to go back to o

Happy Hour at Gupshup

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On my continuing quest to find the city's best happy hour I stumbled into Gupshup, the trendy bi-level Indian spot that just opened near Union Square.  I had heard the cocktails were wonderful, but I wasn't prepared for the pure delight of the Gold Spot Soda.   Made with Spring 44 gin, fennel, lemon and cream soda this was like drinking a frothy vanilla and tamarind smoothie.  I almost drank the entire cocktail in one sip it was so delicious. There are no food specials during happy hour but I ordered the Delhi Butter Chicken anyway served traditional style with a thick, creamy sauce  and a side of Multi-Grain Naan which were spectacular.    Cocktails are just $10 during happy hour but plan to come early if you want to relax.  The bar was at full capacity by 6:00 PM. Gupshup 115 East 18th Street at Irving New York, NY 10003

COTE

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Korean BBQ meets American Steakhouse in every sleek, over the top style possible at COTE in Flatiron. This hot spot is known best for it's Butcher's Feast, a selection of four cuts of meat with Korean sides, but if you're a glutton (like most of us are) you'll probably want to add on a few extra items like the Korean Bacon.  These thick, squares of pork belly were almost melting when they arrived with a smokey, charred exterior and soft, fatty center, kicked up a notch with spicy pickled jalapeno.  I would also add on the Fisherman Welcome, a briny West Coast oyster topped with a beautiful dollop of uni.  What's not to love about that? Onto the Butchers Feast a selection of four cuts of USDA Prime meat and American style Wagyu served with an array of sides including spicy kimchi stew, savory dwen-jang stew, a gorgeous egg souffle, scallion salad and red leaf lettuce with ssam-jang.   The waiters cook everything for you at the table and guests

New Brew Friday- Kane Sneakbox

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It's New Brew Friday and we're heading across the river to New Jersey's Kane Brewing for one of my favorite local beers Sneakbox. Sneakbox is a pale ale made with 100% Citra hops giving off aromas of orange and mango with more citrus fruits, biscuit and malt on the finish.  It clocks in at just 5.2% making it an incredible sessionable beer, perfect for a long day of March Madness basketball watching.  Cheers to the weekend! Kane Brewing 1750 Bloomsbury Avenue Ocean Township, NJ 07712

Happy Hour at Huertas

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There are so many reasons to love Huertas; the tasty bites of  tapas , the crispy churros and their fantastic happy hour that includes cocktails, wine and the incredible Basque Dog. This sausage link stuffed with chorizo comes loaded with creamy aioli and piquillo mostarda.  It's spicy, sweet and easily one of the best things one can buy for $5.00 in NYC.  Paired with a bubbling glass of Cava and the window seat it's just about perfection. Huertas 107 1st Avenue at 6th St. New York, NY 10003

Bâtard

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We celebrated our anniversary this year at Bâtard, Drew Nieporent's charming and elegant French restaurant in Tribeca. After having just eaten at Frenchette and Le Coucou, I was a little hesitant on choosing another French spot.  But Bâtard not only meet all of our expectations, it stood out among the three as our favorite.   I began with a lovely Steak Tartare dressed with horseradish cream and everything bagel spice.  Mr. T had read the description from the menu, commenting that this dish was meant for me and he was absolutely right.  It had all the ingredients I love, with the heat from the horseradish pairing perfectly with the silky ribbons of steak and spice.  He chose the Carrot & Coconut Soup dotted with crispy sweetbreads, vadouvan and spiced peanuts.  There was a wonderful interplay of spicy and savory with the curry powder teasing the richness of the coconut and sweetbreads. Lobster Tagliatelle ($8 Supplement) with fennel and seafood broth was an abs