Pasta & Chocolate

Oy vey, I'm full.

Now, I know you love your family. They are the bees knees and there when you need a shoulder to cry on. But do you, like me, have...a second family? Shhh don't tell my family. This second family of mine includes not one, but two best friends and their awesome parents. This past weekend they came to city to visit so of course we all needed to go out to dinner. K suggested, wait no, she didn't suggest, she demanded we go to Bianca on Bleeker St. (Please look at their website, it's super cute and easy to navigate)

With a party of five we expected to wait at least an hour on a busy Sunday night for a table in this cozy restaurant. Luck was on our side as the group before us did not have their full party there yet. Squeezing past romantic couples and laughing friends we tucked in the back corner of the restaurant next to the kitchen pick-up window. The room a little loud and our waitress a little accent-y, we had no idea what the specials were after they were told to us.

A bottle of red and a glass of white were summoned to our table top and received with joy followed by a selection of salads to start.
Spinaci - Spinach with walnuts, apples and pecorino cheese
Carciofini - Artichoke slices with Parmigiano and lemon dressing
Pomodori - Tomatoes with red onions and anchovies

At this point in my life I can't say I have ever had anchovies, but today was the day! I grabbed one of those slimy little buggers and threw it in my mouth. Salty and chewy, it was not something I would eat on it's own ever again, but with some lettuce and a tomato it made for an interesting bite of food.

Next came mains:
Me & K: Tagliatelle alla Bolognese - with meat sauce enriched with tomato and mushrooms
J - Gramigna con Salciccia e Peperoni - with crumbled sausage and red bell pepper
Mrs. H - Lasagna - the traditional one from Emilia-Romagna with Bechemel and meat sauce
Mrs. H - Tagliolini ai Frutti di Mare - with clams, mussels, calamari and shrimps sauteeed in garlic, EVOO and lite tomato sauce

Bon Appetit!

Oh, I'm sorry did you think I had room for dessert? HA.

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Yesterday I needed to run a work errand with my co-worker and we found ourselves right by City Bakery. Hungry because...well I'm always hungry AND it was lunch time, we stopped in to grab some grub. B informed me that this place is famous for it's hot chocolate. Armed with that information I approached the counter and asked the woman, what is the hot chocolate situation here? She said they had their classes dark chocolate hot chocolate that day with homemade marshmallows. I said, get it now!

Outside I tried to walk and drink. B acknowledged the importance of this moment, had us stop and made me take a sip of my hot chocolate. I...didn't...know....what...to....say. This liquid chocolate swirled around my mouth all thick and creamy and filled my belly with happiness. Rich. So rich. I have been on the hunt for great hot chocolate for years now having tried Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Pret a Manger, Jacques Torres, Swiss Miss etc. but this stuff is amazing. I cannot wait for their Hot Chocolate festival where through the month of February they feature a different flavor of hot chocolate EVERY DAY.

(Later that day B came to my office and found me slumped over my desk whining that I felt nauseous. Too much sugar she asked? Yesssss, I moaned. But SO worth it.)

Astoria Trifecta

Oh glorious Astoria! How you always surprise me with wonderful treats and meals. Let's begin this culinary journey with Friday evening when I met L at Basil Brick Oven Pizza. Conveniently located off of the Astoria Blvd. stop this restaurant was easy to find. My roommate visited this location and returned home raving about it so I was eager to try every pizza on the menu. Unfortunately my wallet and intestinal track would not allow for that so I was forced to pick just one. Attempting to be a bit unconventional I went for:

Pizzucca: Herbed Pumpkin Walnut Sauce, Homemade Fresh Mozzarella, Pancetta, Parmigiano Reggiano, Extra Virgin Olive Oil & Basil

And I cannot remember exactly what L had (I was really distracted by my pizza and inability to speak Italian) but I think it was:

Porchetta: Tomato Sauce, Homemade Fresh Mozzarella, Porchetta, Arugula, Parmigiano Reggiano & Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Regardless it came with what L appropriately described as a piece of meat shaped like a rose in the center of her pizza.

We quickly ate the first two of four slices of our individual pizzas and decided that we were really stinkin' hungry so we went ahead and finished the whole thing. Amen.

Then we ended up at Sweet Afton. Dur.

 Then Sunday arrived with beautiful weather and a slight headache. Almost about to leave and go seek some Brooklyn Bagels and Starbucks, A emerged from her slumber and asked if I wanted to go to Queens Comfort. I laughed in her face because she already knew the answer. NEVERRRRR. 

After giving my name and getting the obvious musical joke from the host, A and I hurried down to the liquor store to fetch us some bubbly. Seeing that it was byob we deemed it necessary to make mimosas. Practically every table had at least one bottle of champagne sitting on it. Excited to try the French Toast Bread Pudding I scanned the menu for it practically salivating on the piece of paper. In anger and ire I screamed out that I could not find it on the list. A looked too and confirmed that yes, this dish that she had told me so much about, WAS GONE. BUAAT. 

Instead I opted for Thick Cut Brioche Custard French Toast – Cinnamon Sugar Butter, Maple  while A got Buttermilk Biscuits & Maple Cheddar Sausage Gravy – Thyme, Rosemary, Sage, Cayenne. Half-way through my meal I realized I wanted scrambled eggs so those were ordered as well. I ask you, why, for the life of me, can I not prepare scrambled eggs like those are prepared in restaurants. 

Tipsy and full we made our way back home and passed Astoria Bier & Cheese Shop . We did stop by on our way to Queens Comfort and now on our way back the restaurant/store had filled up with people eating off of Brooklyn Slate boards and drinking beer flights. This place has everything you would need: beer, cheese, bread and plenty of great foods to accompany your cheese like olives, fig spread, crackers and peppadew. Yummers. A and I selected two types of cheese and a baguette and happily made our way home. 

Now it's time to make dinner! 

Some places to go

This post is from a sticky note that I have with three restaurants written on it. I asked my co-workers one day where I could go for dinner with some friends and they suggested the following:

Calle Ocho
Cafetasia
Laut

Turns out my friends and I weren't able to get together so I have yet to go to any of these places, but now they are here and ready to be visited.

Digesting the Return

Why do we keep returning to restaurants and bars? When there are so many establishments out there to try, why do we yearn for the familiarity of that same booth in the corner or the same pasta dish that fills our bellies to the perfect level?

Many shows set in NYC know about this. The cast of Friends had The Central Perk, Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer had Tom's Restaurant, and the cast of HIMYM (if you have to look it up, I pity you) have their bar, MacLaren's. Perhaps it was too expensive for the set designer to create a new restaurant, bar or coffee shop for each episode. But oh, how I envy them! To slide easily into your seat that always happens to be free and a friend of yours happens to be sitting there waiting for you with a beer. Because all of your friends happen to live in the same part of town and have the same schedule as you.

I have found this happening to me recently. No, my dear friends are not sitting at Five Leaves or Bareburger waiting for me to arrive and no, I don't know the servers by name and they don't know my name, but I keep going back. Every trip to Five Leaves is the same trip on repeat. First I get my cocktail. Then I get my fig, ricotta & honey appetizer. Then I get my Five Leaves burger. Then I leave and roll around McCarren Park in the hopes that I digest my burger one day. My only exploration of other menu items are from my dining partners, don't worry I practice safe dining. Then at Bareburger I get my beer. Then I get the fries and onion rings with extra chipotle mayo sauce. Then I get 1 of two burgers, the California or the Roasted Red Pepper burger, bison meat, medium-rare. Then perhaps there is a milkshake to share in my future.

Wait. I see a trend. BURGERS.

Don't worry. Like the characters of Sex and the City I do go to other restaurants and check out openings. Okay, maybe not trendy, Carrie-like openings where I wear some sheer shirt and long flowy skirt with my Manolo Blahniks and wink in a flirty fashion at the cute guy standing across the room. No, I'm the frumpster that shows up 6 months later trying the things that food critics told me to try while I wipe some fancy ketchup off my pants.

So in conclusion I'm on a mission to become regular. I mean a regular. Meh. B & A suggested that a bar would be the easiest the most advantageous place to become a regular. I will select my location. Pick my seat at the bar (not the corner, because that's just creepy). And start drinking.

They better have burgers.

Elsa

I went to this bar.
Elsa
They have a drink I love.

Invitation to a Beheading: Gin, Jasmine Green-Tea Syrup, Lemon, Orange Flower Water and Bitters.

ORANGE FLOWER WATER!!
It reminds me of my non-alcoholic drink at Gramercy Tavern

Sigh.

I'll be returning for more beheadings.

Sunburnt Calf

(Telephone conversation with Mother)
Mom: So what did you do on Sunday?
Me: B, A, K and I went to brunch. An all you can drink brunch.
Mom: A what?
Me: Moooom, it's a thing. You go to brunch, get mediocre food and drink because you didn't drink enough the night before.
Mom: Oh. That's nice.

After going to bed at 4:30am Sunday morning, my roommates and I dragged ourselves out of bed to venture to the Upper West Side to the Sunburnt Calf. Our friend, K, who sat at the bar waiting for us received free shots while she stealthily held 4 stools at the counter just in case a table wasn't available. Luckily we arrived as the restaurant opened at noon and the lovely Australian man sat us in the 'conservatory' in the back of the establishment. 3 things were noted upon entering said room:
1. It was loud, no sound absorption anywhere
2. The roof is glass, the fans hang below the ceiling so when the blades swirl around I had the feeling I was stuck at the bottom of some jail pit with the shadow of a fan disappearing and reappearing on our table.
3. There were exactly 3 men in the room. There were approx. 20 women, give or take.

I guess men don't brunch. They should. It's a chance to dress in a cute outfit on a fall day, meeting your friends and giggle and gossip about the party you went to last night. Oh wait. I get it.

Our waitress leaned in upon introducing herself and as if this was for our table only she said, "It's a 5 drink limit...but we don't really keep track." Cue the predicted snickering. As much as I didn't want to drink, I did. I received my moomosa (yes, for a split second I thought there was milk involved, I know you did too) and was happy. Every time my glass got half-way empty, there was our Australian waitress refilling it from a pitcher.

For my meal I diverted from the usual sweet pancakes or french toast that I so love and opted for an English muffin with salmon, a poached egg, and avocado. It was served with leafy greens and french fries (much to B's happiness; she didn't get any with her eggs. On this note, B is a vegetarian and there were virtually no vegetarian friendly foods offered.) I was most impressed with K's pancakes which turned out to literally be sliced cakes. Yes, I did get a little pang of jealousy when she received that. The food was basic and filled my stomach but I would not return for the food.

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After we swayed out I subtly mentioned that they needed to just 'see' the cookie place that I love so much. Ok, ok, you caught me, I knew their knees would buckle and mouths would salivate upon seeing this place. If this reaction doesn't occur, we cannot be friends. A and I descended the stairs to Levain saying we would split a cookie. The healthy K and the sweet-hater B, said they would wait outside. That lasted 2 minutes. They were down those stairs ordering a cookie fast then you can say 'can I have a glass of milk with this?'

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All in all, it was a wonderful Sunday.

Calexico

1 week ago, roommate: I want a burrito so bad. We should go to Calexico.
Me: What is that?
A: THE MOST AMAZING PLACE EVER

Friday, Me: Where should we go to dinner?
A: I'm not sure
Me: Why don't we got to Five Leaves
A: That's a great idea, because then tomorrow we can go to Calexico
Me: What is that again?
A: THE MOST AMAZING PLACE EVER

Saturday, All day, A: I'M SO EXCITED FOR CALEXICO I'M NOT EATING ALL DAY

Alas, after having a beer at the Brooklyn Brewery A, B & I made our way to Calexico to chow down on some Mexican food. It was quickly decided that A & I would have the white wine sangria (I was a little disappointed there was no red wine available) and B would have her favorite margarita.

And not surprisingly we all honed in on exactly what we wanted:

A: BAJA FISH BURRITO beer battered cod, spicy slaw, mango salsa, chipotle "crack" sauce  (no beans or pico de gallo)

B: TOFU ASADO TACOS grilled chile-lime tofu,  avocado salsa, pico de gallo

Moi: CHICKEN ENCHILADA slow cooked chicken and bacon in a red chile sauce with monterey jack cheese

Although my dish had a little bit of heat to it I thoroughly enjoyed it. A little dish of rice, beans and tomatoes was provided. I could have used a little sour cream but I was too involved with the cheesy enchiladas to look up at our adorable waiter and ask for some. Both B & A had been here before and informed me that the limes that are provided with any dish that calls for limes is severely dry and you're lucky to get any juice from it. A asked for extra crack sauce and it reminded me of Bareburger's chipotle mayo sauce that is ever so addicting. Next time I do want to try the fish burrito or maybe a fish taco. Whenever I feel like having a burrito I head straight to Chipotle and that keeps me full for several days. Perhaps when I am preparing for winter hibernation I'll do that.

We all rolled out fat and happy just missing the rain as we walked down Manhattan Ave. Of course as we passed Peter Pan Donuts A & I ran inside to fetch a honey glazed donut as our snack. So maybe we weren't as full as we thought...  

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