July 2009
15 posts
11 tags
New Jersey Comfort
I grew up in New Jersey and, even through all the teasing, I am still quite proud to have grown up in a place where I was neither sheltered nor thrown into the streets, surrounded by mountains, and 45 minutes from NYC, Philly, and the Beach. NJ gets a bum rap, but I’m happy it’s where I’m from.
Every time I go back to visit my parents, food becomes a big deal (whether home...
8 tags
If I'd-a known you were commin I'd-a baked a cake
Mike and I thoroughly enjoy project recipes, so this past Sunday we decided to bake a cake. Maybe we’ve been watching too much Ace of Cakes or Cake Boss, however, we wanted to make it complex. I’m not a cake person, so I set out to find a soft, vanilla cake I would like. I also wanted one that would go with an amaretto whipped cream and berries. I stumbled upon a blog called...
11 tags
Beency Bouncy Burgers, Bork Bork Bork
Mike and I were looking for a “Stumble Upon” in the area of 46th Street and 2nd Avenue. We found a fun looking Scandanavian place with a “Restaurant Month” menu on 49th Street and 2nd Avenue called Smorgas Chef (turns out they have one in the West Village, Midtown East, and on Wall Street). Their “Restaurant Month” menu was smart, with just a little more to...
5 tags
Bar 89 Original Variation
After a great outing to the Soho Nike Store to make sneakers (I love my job) we were all hungry. We stopped into Mercer Kitchen (I was willing to give it a second chance after the not so good Winter Restaurant Week experience), but it was about a 45 minute wait, so we went back to a place our host knew had great burgers, Bar 89 (on Mercer Street between Spring and Broome). I liked the dual...
11 tags
A welcome Times Square Addition: Montenapo
There aren’t a lot of options in Times Square for fine dining, so when a new place opens up with a lot of buzz, we all get a little excited. Montenapo is a brand new Italian restaurant in the New York Times building (and look! they even have a Twitter). The restaurant itself is set up very well, with very high windows on the inside wall facing a pretty internal courtyard with trees. It...
7 tags
Bye Byes at Becco
Saying goodbye to a friend leaving NYC is never easy, however, it becomes just a tad bit better when done over good food. I joined Emily (a new friend from Israel) and her friends at Becco, a great place on Restaurant Row (46th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues), to say goodbye as she leaves us for Atlanta.
Becco is famous for two things: a large $25/bottle wine list and their endless pasta...
6 tags
Stinkin' Up the Joint
Mike and I decided to endeavor on grilling fish in my apartment. One of my favorite kitchen tools is a stove top grill (I bought mine on sale for $50 from Williams Sonoma a few years ago but it does not appear they have it any more). It fits across two burners and makes mean pancakes on the flat side and great chicken on the ridged side. Fish was a new undertaking, however.
Now I have a large...
3 tags
NYC Nom Nom FAQ
What is a Nom Nom? This is the number one NYCNomNom question. Any repetition of the word “nom” is an onomonopia for the sound of someone chewing or eating something. Urban Dictionary defines that it is a sound usually made when food is enjoyed. My first encounter with “nom nom” was while reading lolcats. They have a LOLspeak dictionary that defines a nom as “to...
6 tags
Going Dutch
I am not overly familiar with the east 50s area of NYC, so when we found ourselves up there at FAO Schwartz to make a Muppet (best. birthday present. ever!), we wandered until we found an interesting place to eat.
Danku caught my eye with their tag line “Naturalicious Dutch Eatery” and my inability to recall what Dutch food exactly consists of.
Each table had a cute wooden tulip...
7 tags
Quick and Average Italian
A random night in the East Village left us with only an hour to eat but craving something filling. We stumbled upon Three of Cups on 1st Ave and 5th Street and it seemed to have a good menu. We sat outside but upon going through the restaurant, Mike and I both realized we had been to the bar at some point in the past. Mike ordered some classic spaghetti and meatballs while I had an artichoke,...
5 tags
Pongsri Thai
One of my best friends (and fellow food blogger) Lori and I have a good old standby Thai place that is always good… and cheap. Pongsri Thai’s menu is famous between Lori and I for laughs with dishes named “Prince Kermit” (frog’s legs) and “Big Bird’s Love Nets” (hard noodle nest with chicken, pineapple, and veggies inside). The teenage boys inside...
7 tags
Popover Dreams and BLT Steak
I absolutely love the popovers at BLT Steak. In fact, they are so good that I often dream about them. They are perfectly warm, fluffy, and crispy with that amazing crackly gruyere top. With a bit of butter and salt, they are absolutely sinful. And huge. When my mom wanted to come into NYC for a special birthday lunch (including a good NYC burger), I thought BLT was a great chance for me to...
7 tags
Fourth of July BBQ
What is the 4th of July without a BBQ? Luckily, Mike and I were invited to the ‘burbs of Long Island to enjoy some good ol’ grillin’. It so happened that we were eating Parve Kosher (that means no milk!) so this left me with quite a dilemma with baking. I had a recipe in mind that I hoped would taste good enough that slight textural changed wouldn’t matter (margarine...
9 tags
The High Line and The Park
The High Line is a very long awaited elevated park that runs along the West side of Manhattan. The story of The High Line goes back over a decade when people saw beauty in a very old elevated railway that was about to be demolished. It took a lot of education, economic rationalization, and celebrity support to open up a beautiful esplanade-type park west of 10th Ave. Now anyone that...
6 tags
Healthy and Delicious Quick Veggies
I love food. WAY too much for my waistline. I find it hard to eat healthy since I always feel like I’m missing out on food. I try to make good decisions (whole grains rather than white starches, portion control, avoiding fried foods and being aware of the hidden calories in things like juice and salad dressing) but usually I don’t want to have to trade my hearty, rich, favorite...