Easter

Easter Eve we had date night downtown.  We tried a new restaurant that I found in the same article that lead my husband to Catskill Distillery for Peace vodka a week ago.  It was called King which I thought was appropriate for the night before Easter.  The Sicilian Choke cocktail which was featured in the article actually ended up being my least favorite thing there.  We started with ramps and remesco, tots with bernaise, and fluke crudo.  Although it's not an Italian restaurant, we both ordered pasta for our entree.  I had beef ravioli with black truffle sauce and he had spaghetti with duck ragu.  Everything was wonderful!  The pasta was so fresh and some of the best I've ever had.  I would definitely return!

The next morning we got up early and went to mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral.  I feel lucky to have this as our local neighborhood church:

 Easter lilies...

And then we walked up Park Avenue on our way home so I could look at all of the tulips.  

We picked up breakfast and then took a nap.  The only thing we were missing was family!

The Smith

Last Friday, my husband and I celebrated our ten month anniversary and my last day at Ralph Lauren.  We recently noticed a new restaurant under construction in the neighborhood.  I was elated to see a glimmer of hope for something new among all of the vacancies in the neighborhood.  I've seen way too many restaurant and store closings over the last year or so.  Luckily it opened just in time for our night out.  The Smith is an American brasserie.  They already had a location in the East Village, but I've never tried it.  The Midtown East location was bustling the night we were there.  I, of course, called at the last minute to try to get a reservation and, of course, they were all booked.  But the hostess gave me a wonderful suggestion to call ahead and put our name on the wait list.  So I called at about 6:15 to put our name on the list, we showed up at about 7:00, had a drink at the bar, and were seated by 7:30.  Perfect!  Because my husband HATES waiting for very long at restaurants to be seated.

It has a bistro atmosphere with a lot of white subway tiles, mirrors, glass bottles, and vintage industrial pendant lights.  They bring sparkling and still water to the table, as well as fresh bread with yummy butter.  We started with the Moroccan meatballs.  I should have taken a picture of the little dish they were served in.  I had never seen something like it before.  It was almost like a dish for deviled eggs with curves cut into it, so the meatballs fit perfectly in it.  The meatballs were good and had just a bit of a kick to them.  I liked them but prefer a marinara sauce to gravy with meatballs.  I had the special of the day which was a lobster roll.  I had some reservation in ordering it because I've only ever had a lobster roll in Maine where they are the masters of lobster rolls!  But it didn't disappoint.  The sauce was light - not too creamy.  It even had a little bit of chopped up celery in it, which was a nice, different touch.  It was served with their homemade potato chips.  Which were also good but would have tasted even better with a beer.  My husband had the pork chop - he said he really liked it.  I had an Allagash White beer to start and Moscow Mule with dinner and my husband stuck to their Midtown Manhattans.  All were given the thumbs up.

They claim they are open early till late, so I hope to go back to try brunch and the late night scene.

Dig Inn

You may remember my previous post about the Spicy Dilligan at The Pump.  Well, last month, they broke my heart and re-vamped the entire restaurant and menu.  It's not even called The Pump anymore, it's called Dig Inn (stupid name!) and it traded in its fitness theme for some kind of rustic farmhouse feel.  I think the floral wallpaper just makes it look outdated.  I'm so sad that the Spicy Dilligan is no longer on the menu.  Although it is the same type of ordering process (with different veggies), you can no longer combine the ingredients into a delicious Spicy Dilligan.  They even have a new recipe for the yogurt dill sauce.  It is now made from Greek yogurt and called tzatziki sauce.  It tastes great, but is no longer included in the complimentary sauces so it will cost you an extra $1.15.  The only thing I like so far about the new Dig Inn is that they offer a smaller portion which only costs about $5.00.  It's perfect for a lighter meal, or to pair with a snack or fruit, or when you're trying to save calories for an awesome dessert afterwards.

Labor day

We enjoyed an extra long Labor Day weekend with my in-laws.  We spent a busy couple of days in the city and a few more relaxing, rainy days upstate.

They arrived late Friday night. so we stayed up late with a couple of cocktails catching up.  The next morning we went to Eataly as soon as they opened to avoid the crowds and loaded up on all kinds of tasty treats.

Then my husband and father-in-law went to Yankee stadium for a game and thoroughly enjoyed the Jim Beam bar while my mother-in-law and I saw War Horse.  It was a terrific play (this year's Tony award winner).  The mechanics were incredible - it took three people to operate one horse.  If you've seen Lion King on Broadway it's the same idea but with even more animation.

We met up at our apartment afterwards to make homemade pasta.  If Michael White is the pasta king, then I'm the pasta queen.  I've gotten the hang of the pasta roller attachments.  And now I look the part too in my real chef shirt!

Sunday morning we all met the other in-laws.  My brother-in-law is getting married in California this fall and none of the couple's parents had ever met each other.  So, since all of them just happened to be on the east coast for the weekend, they arranged to meet for brunch in NYC.  We started off with mimosas at our apartment and then went to the very appropriately named restaurant, Jane.  They are super sweet people, and I'm so glad we got to enjoy each other's company before the big wedding.

The Vanilla Bean French Toast looked out of this world.

Then it was time to head upstate for the second half of the trip...

Princeton

This past weekend we took the train southwest to Princeton, New Jersey.  We arrived at a regular train station in town and then rode to campus on the "Dinky" - a mini train that runs on the shortest set of tracks in the country (a whopping 2.7 mile route).  My husband played tour guide of his alma mater, the Oklahoma State of the North (or maybe it's the other way around).  It is an absolutely gorgeous campus.  There is so much detail, history, and character everywhere you look.  My pictures don't do it justice.  You should really see the ivy, stone, and archways for yourself.

We debunked a myth while we were there - the architect was not a Yale grad, in fact he didn't even go to college.  But we did find the bulldog on the east side of the chapel (more like miniature St. Patrick's cathedral!) that started the story.

We then walked through FitzRandolph gate to Nassau Street.  The tradition is that undergrads aren't supposed to walk out of the gates until after commencement, otherwise, they will not graduate.  Good thing I'm realistic and know I would never be accepted so I'm not jinxing my graduation.

We stopped by Winberie's and chugged a beer for a quick beer.  It is not what I typically think of for a college bar.  I guess the snot noses do it up a little differently than the country hicks.  We saw this familiar face while we were there...

Then we had a delectable dinner with even better company.  I would definitely recommend Eno Terra if you are ever in the area.  They focus on local, homegrown ingredients - it shows in how fresh the cuisine is.  Great pastas, delicious veggies, and it might be the only restaurant I have ever been to with at least one wine from every single region of Italy.  

We stopped by Salt Creek for dessert and drinks.  (It was a fun atmosphere with good live music.)  We finished the evening off right - with chocolate souffle and Veuve Clicquet or as the waitress would pronounce it - voo-WAY-vay.  It was a fantastic night with great friends and I hope we can do it more often.  

Eataly

As I mentioned in my last post, last weekend I went to my favorite specialty food market Eataly.  Twice in fact.  I have a big love/hate relationship with the place.  On the love side, the place is fantastic and has every Italian food you could possibly want - pasta, bread, pizza, cheese, meats, produce, desserts, gelatto, coffee, wine, beer, limoncello, the list goes on.  But on the hate side, it is SO crowded ALL the time!  It's hard to enjoy the experience when you keep causing collisions by stopping to gaze at the breadcrumbs.

Friday night, my girl friends and I tried out the beer garden, Birreria.  I've been wanting to try it for awhile, but it has been very popular and I'm not the type of person that likes to wait to get in.  I finally summoned enough patience to give it a try.  Thank goodness because we waited an hour and a half to get upstairs.  In the meantime, we strolled around the market, I grabbed a foccacia sandwich, and then we found a seat at the bar area.

The foccacia was great, the waitress was not.  She announced that I could not sit in Eataly and eat my Eataly sandwich that I had purchased just five feet away from an Eataly vendor.  Huh?!?  That doesn't make a lot of sense to me.  So I threw the sandwich at the waitress and kicked her in the shin.  No I didn't.  Instead, I had a glass of Barbera wine.  How could I pass up such a thing?  Can you read the name on the barrel?  :)

Finally, I got a text from the beer garden (it beats those giant buzzer-beeper things that those corny chain restaurants give you) and our spot was ready upstairs.  It could have great views (the Empire State Building and Flatiron building are in eyesight), but the way they designed the place doesn't really show them off.  We had a great time and drank some good new beers.  And the way we all felt the next morning makes me think they are a lot stronger than a regular draft beer.

The next day, my husband and I went grocery shopping and picked up Lidia's cookbook.  We bought the ingredients to make caprese, pasta from scratch, meatballs, sugu, and white sauce - all secret family recipes.  :)  More on that to come...

Staycation

We plan on staying in the city this weekend.  I'm looking forward to it - it's been awhile since we've done that.  I'm looking forward to sleeping in and finally getting back to the gym.  A patio crawl, brunch, UFC, and possibly putt putt golf are also in store.  And after this showed up at our door last night, I think a stop by Eataly is needed.  I cannot contain my excitement for this pretty jewel and our newest appliance:

And the fun doesn't stop there.  We got three pasta attachments too!

A HUGE THANK YOU is in order for the generous people behind this great restaurant.  If you are ever near Rockford, Illinois, please stop by Lino's.  I got the chance to try it last year around Christmas and fun was had by all.  The bread is stellar!  ;)  I just might have a connection to the bakery that makes it.  And everyone in our big group loved their meal.  Between all of us, we were able to sample a lot of their menu - salad, pizza, pasta - everything was delicious and service was fantastic.  They also have a recipe of the week section on their website.  I'm going to have to give some a try!

I hope the first attempt at homemade pasta isn't a total failure.  My in-laws might divorce me.

Roscoe date night

Last weekend my husband and I went on an impromptu date in Roscoe.  I didn't even know we could do that up there!  I needed a snack before we called it a night and we didn't stock up on food for the weekend, so I twisted my husband's arm and we decided to try Lake's End at Tennanah.  It is a casual establishment made up of the Boathouse Cafe (food) and Stadium Club (bar).  We grabbed a drink from the Stadium Club bar, which is decked out in quite an eclectic assortment of sports paraphernalia (my husband pointed out some autographed jerseys of some people I don't know).  We headed outside and sat on the deck overlooking the lake at the Boathouse Cafe.  It's hard to beat the view.  And the location is perfect for us.  It saves us a trip down the mountain into town and we could stumble home if needed.

I don't think I would get a glass of wine again - my pinot grigio was warm, so I switched to beer.  I ordered a summery Shock Top beer and was pleasantly surprised when the waitress showed up with a Shock Top Raspberry Wheat.  Right up my alley!  I can also attest that their deep frier works well.  Mozzarella sticks and french fries were piping hot and did the trick of filling my tummy for a late night snack.

The weather was perfect, but we have to remember to bring bug spray next time.  And the place was hoppin' because the Hilfiger Brothers band (a portion of the X-Brothers) was performing.  Andy Hilfiger is a neighbor and sometimes rocks out with his fam at the lake.  I'm not sure how many Hilfiger brothers were actually there, but their family and friends filled up most of the outdoor deck.  Although I wouldn't pay to see a show, the live music made for a really fun atmosphere.

I'm always so sad to drive back to the reality of work the next morning, but this time it was a little more enjoyable... we lathered up with sunscreen and took part of the top off the Jeep.

My view looking up:

I'm sorry to say this because I feel awful for my family and friends trying to survive this summer's heat wave in Oklahoma, but the weather was pretty awesome.  When we left Roscoe Sunday afternoon it was a perfect 79 degrees.  :)  When we pulled into the city it was 92 degrees.  I suppose nothing to complain about though.  Don't worry, I'll get my payback this winter!

Cincinnati

This has been the year of travel for me and my husband. Last weekend was no different - we drove to Cincy for my cousin's wedding reception.  We got in town Friday afternoon, and it was HOT!  We already had tickets to the Reds vs. Braves game that evening, so we thought we would stop by to check out the ballpark.  It was a nice stadium...

With big, refreshing beers...

We had a great time!  I hardly watched the game; I was too busy laughing with my cousins.  It's always so fun when we get together.  My baseball fanatic husband was stoked he got to see the Reds' pitcher Chapman and Braves' pitcher Kimbrel, so we both left hot and happy.

We decided to take the party to the hotel bar and literally drank them out of draft beer - starting with Stella Artiola.  (not a typo, just a funny quote from the night).

A native Cincy friend, gave us a few food recs for the weekend, so of course, we had to try them all.  We started that night with La Rosa's pizza.

We devoured four large pizzas, but I gotta admit I've become a pizza snob... it doesn't even make my top 5.  There wasn't anything bad, just not enough to knock out one of my faves.

Saturday we continued to check off the list of Cincy things to try.  Next up, Skyline Chili.

We had quite a sampling - loaded chili bowl, chili bean mix burrito deluxe, cheese coney, 4-way chili, and 5-way chili.  (Don't worry that wasn't all just for the two of us!).

        

And to finish off the caloric weekend, our fave - Graeter's ice cream.  

I would highly recommend this stop for ice cream.  Everyone there really enjoyed the treats, and there was a really cute old lady serving it up.  If you know me, you know I have a big soft spot for the elderly.

Now for the style segment of the trip.  We stumbled across this little gem... House of Adam Men's Wear.

My husband spotted this ruby from the street.

I wish you could see the attention to detail they put into it.  It was a three piece, eight-button NBA draft suit - lots of triangular flaps and flared pant legs.  My husband was going to wear it to the reception Saturday night, but we couldn't get a sales associate to help us - they pretended like they didn't see us holding their suit.

Stay tuned for part 2 of Cincinnati... the reception!