Tag Archives: Dinner

Easy & Healthy Salad Recipes

You have all heard me say that salads are not considered lunch in my book. I don’t think they are filling, while I have had some tasty salads with chicken/meat in it I still don’t like salads to have any sort of animal meat, and in all honesty I feel like salads are deceiving. When I say “deceiving” I mean they can be so fattening! You hear someone say “I’m eating a salad” (as their meal) many will assume that they are one of those people that are conscious about healthy eating. But that’s such a lie! If I eat a salad every day, while at the same time stuff my face with the same foods I’m already consuming, will that make me shed a few pounds? Hmmm — probably not.

But, I am truly not a salad hater. I think salads can be very healthy and be loaded with flavor. While I won’t eat a salad as an entire meal, I will enjoy one in addition to something else I am gobbling down.

My most recent salad fetishes include what I like to call my “Greece, Meet Capri” salad and my “Wally the Goat”. I’m strange, I know. I make up strange names, but who cares — it’s just me creating these fabulous salads. After you read below how to make these salads of mine, you’ll agree that they are both fairly healthy and they were created off of inspiration of other salads I adore.

My father and I chatting with a local in Anacapri, Italy.

My father and I chatting with a local in Anacapri, Italy.

Greece, Meet Capri

I am totally my father’s daughter — I love olives! So naturally, I’m happy to throw them into my salad. Oh, wait, there’s already a salad that does that!? Actually, the salad I have created is a spin off of a Greek Salad; I love the combination of flavors, the color and of course the healthy ingredients are a plus! But, I am not a fan of thick salad dressing. It makes me feel like I have ruined my salad — turning it from a healthy snack or side dish to a fatty one, and who would want that? I have also come to love cooking & baking with lemons. Lemon juice, lemon zest — you name it, I love it. I was actually inspired by the world of lemons when I went to Capri with my family back in 2010. The citrus flavor can be used in recipes in countless ways — there’s also nothing unhealthy about it!

Close to Capri, in Pompeii, you'll see tons of drink stands that rely on their citrus!

Close to Capri, in Pompeii, you’ll see tons of drink stands that rely on their citrus!

What You Will Need:

  •  Romaine Lettuce
  • Red Onions
  • Kalamata Olives
  • Tomatoes (cherry or vine)
  • Feta Cheese
  • Sweet Peppers (or spicy, if you’d like!)

For the Dressing:

  • Olive Oil
  • Lemon Zest

Directions:

  • Everyone has a different preference as to how much of what ingredients they would like to use, so please feel free to throw in lots of tomatoes if they are your favorite (or lots of olives, I love those!)
  • Chop up the lettuce
  • Slice a few (or a lot) slices of red onion
  • Slice a tomato or multiple cherry tomatoes
  • Throw the ingredients into a bowl including the olives!
  • Crumble the feta cheese over top
  • Combine a cup of olive oil and 1 zested lemon into a bowl or salad dressing shaker if you have one, once shaken add over top of the salad and toss the salad!
My lovely "Greece, Meet Capri" salad!

My lovely “Greece, Meet Capri” salad!

Wally The Goat

I will admit, lots of folks out there may not be a fan of some of the overwhelming flavors of many of the ingredients in the first salad. Which is why I depend on my “Wally The Goat” recipe, which I have been making for years! It’s actually probably the first salad I ever fell in love with eating. Years may have gone by, but I still to this very day love every bite of this salad! A few years ago, I was trying to get a family friend’s child to taste-test this salad; the little girl asked me what the name of the salad was but I didn’t have an answer for her. So, I told her if she tried the salad, she could name it! We settled on “Wally The Goat” because two main ingredients are goat cheese and walnuts. What a smart (and cute) cookie she was!

What You Will Need:

  • Fresh “Spring Mix” of greens (or Spinach if you prefer — I like to take turns with these)
  • Chopped Walnuts
  • Plain Goat Cheese
  • Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
  • Dried Cranberries

Directions:

  • Toss the Spring Mix, chopped walnuts, crumbled goat cheese, and dried cranberries
  • Add the dressing and toss well
  • BOOM! YOU’RE DONE! Stuff your face, and love the salad as much as I do!
A view from the Viceroy in Anguilla!

A view from the Viceroy in Anguilla!

Want to go a little crazy? Try this wicked fabulous salad I had once at The Hearst Tower cafeteria as an intern at Food Network Magazine. I later had it when I traveled to Anguilla for a vacation. Who knows what it’s called, but I guarantee that several people reading this will think it sounds nasty — I promise you, it is not! So, for the sake of naming all of the salads in my life strange names… I’d love to hear from you — WHAT SHOULD I CALL THIS SALAD!? Tell me below in a comment!

 

What You Will Need:

  • Cubed Watermelon
  • Kosher Salt
  • Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
  • Crumbled Goat Cheese
  • Chopped Basil (optional)

Directions:

  • Pour the cubed watermelon on a plate
  • Sprinkle lightly with some Kosher salt
  • Sprinkle with goat cheese
  • Drizzle with Balsamic Vinaigrette (or, for a more intense taste, just drizzle *lightly* some balsamic vinegar. I love this!)
  • Add some chopped basil for some extra flavor — not necessary though!

I hope everyone enjoys some of my favorite salad recipes! I promise, next time I make these, I will take more photos to share them with you!

Pepolino in TriBeCa

Who doesn’t love to venture to a well-known highly rated Zagat Italian restaurant? I hadn’t had a chance to stalk the menu before heading down to TriBeCa — so I had no clue what type of restaurant we were heading to. All I knew was it was Italian… Perfect!

When I walked into the restaurant we were greeted with a friendly “Buonasera” — many of those working at the restaurant seemed Italian. Their accents were perfection and if I closed my eyes, ate the food and listened to the wait staff talk in their native tongue, I would have felt like I was back in Florence.

A preview of what we ate for dinner at Pepolino

A preview of what we ate for dinner at Pepolino

While the ambiance was casual and comfortable — the space tucks in as many tables as they can on multiple floors. But who cares how cramped you are, as long as you have good food, company and conversation!

I am only going to share with you my favorite plates of the night. Off of the antipasta section of the menu I was encouraged to try the Cozze Al Burro which is steamed mussels out of the shell in butter, garlic and parsley with toasted bread. I was hesitant about this dish because it has been a while since I have enjoyed mussels. But, I always will try things again — and I sure am happy I did because this was probably my favorite dish! One scoop of the creamy mussels, butter, garlic and parsley combo placed on top of the crispy toast was to-die-for. I could help but think of my father and his favorite flavors and I know this is something he would enjoy very much! Being full of garlic, it’s hard not to love!

garlic mussels and parsley dip

Another favorite starter was actually off of the specials menu. An Italian-style crepe stuffed with cheese and mushrooms was a great plate to hit the savory spot I was craving so much. The crepe itself you can hardly see — it was truly covered in a hefty portion of stringy mozzarella cheese. Baked to perfection, this plate should be on their permanent menu!

mushroom and cheese crepe

For our pasta dishes, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a different type of gnocchi. My experience with the potato dumplings, if that’s what you want to call them, have always been delicious but they are also very heavy in your stomach. Pepolino makes their gnocchi from spinach and ricotta rather than potato. Because of this change in ingredients, the Malfatti Burro e Salvia dish, was both fluffy and light. The spinach and ricotta gnocchi was covered in a butter and sage sauce — two beautiful ingredients I don’t think I could ever get sick of! What the plate needed though was a solid amount of parmigiano reggiano cheese grated on top … which was exactly what I asked for after taking my first bite! Perfection!

gnocchi made from spinach and ricotta

Okay, now I am going to share with you the biggest curve ball I have ever experienced in a restaurant! The final dish I ordered is called “Spaghetti Chitarra.” The description for this plate reads as:

Homemade square spaghetti with fresh tomato and basil

Okay. So, what would you think that dish is going to look like? Without even discussing it until the plate arrived, I thought it was legit SQUARE pasta, kind of like lasagna noodles except in the shape of a square. I was also expecting a red sauce since we saw the words “tomato” and “basil” in the description.

After further researching, why the heck didn’t I get “square” pasta  I learned a few things:

  1. I am an idiot because it flat out says “spaghetti” in the description so we are going to get some sort of spaghetti noodles
  2. Chitarra is the Italian word for guitar — duhhh, that’s why my spaghetti noodles looked like guitar strings!
  3. And after searching around I couldn’t figure out why we didn’t have a red sauce like we thought we would have. I can’t find any specific sauce that is automatically assumed to be paired with Chitarra spaghetti.

This plate just caused major confusion… but in the end I enjoyed it! The edges of the Chitarra allowed the noodles to hold on to the cheese and butter in the dish — now, that’s my kind of pasta!

Overall I enjoyed Pepolino: the service was great, the restaurant was fun & comfortable and the wine list was perfecto! In all honesty though, Perbacco is still number one in my book!

Raymi — Peruvian Cuisine

Okay, I’ll admit it — I was very nervous to go out to dinner on Friday night. Peruvian food isn’t exactly something I am familiar with; and after menu-stalking I was a bit overwhelmed. After reading over several ingredients I either didn’t know the word/translation or I couldn’t seem to envision what the plate would taste like. I even found myself re-reading over “habanero.” The embarrassing part: I know what a habanero is. I know how to grow the plant in my backyard. I know just a small amount of this pepper will clear out my sinuses. But yet, I was so overwhelmed by the menu I had to look at the word “habanero” multiple times.

Within only a couple of minutes of being at the restaurant, I knew my dinner was in great hands. The servers at Raymi have perfected how to describe every dish, they know how to pair your food with Peruvian-style cocktails, and over-all they are brilliant at making your Peruvian dinner a memorable one.

You can easily get away with eating the entire meal in a tapas-style sort of way. My first dish: Causa of the day. Lobster was the catch of the day and the fish was placed over a cold aji amarillo potato puree. The rich, creamy texture of the lobster and potato puree was outstanding — but to add some extra flavor and crunch to the plate the chef added some roasted dehydrated corn. These little bites of crunchy corn was so delicious! I wish they were sold at the grocery store!

catch of the day

After quickly Yelp’ing a bit, I realized that the restaurant’s Peruvian Corn Cake plate was raved about. It seemed like such a hit, so obviously I put this at the top of the list of plates to order.

The corn cake is topped with a mushroom ragout and watercress leaves. It’s incredible how all of the flavors fuse together so beautifully — especially on this dish. Without the peppery taste of the watercress, the mushrooms and corn cake wouldn’t have that necessary zing. And I’m sure you are thinking about the texture of this “corn cake,” and let me assure you it’s nothing like a corn muffin or corn bread that we typically eat in the U.S. This corn cake doesn’t have the distinctive grainy consistency and is smooth and creamy and makes it easier to pick up the rest of the ingredients on your fork. I would be happy to order this plate and eat it as my lunch or dinner — funny enough, one of the hosts said she did just that the night before! This plate seems to be a hit for those dining at the restaurant and those working there!

peruvian corn cake

And since this restaurant really masters the concept of tapas plates, sharing food and talking about your favorite plates makes a dinner so much more fun. Which is why I loved the Ceviche & Tiraditos Tasting plate. This plate allows you to pick a total of 4 items from the ceviche and tiraditos section of the menu. Our choice (clock-wise from the top left): *I forget what the first one is, fluke, tuna and salmon. The manager recommended we eat these with a spoon — and boy was he right! Eating ceviche with a spoon rather than a fork allows you to scoop up the extra citrus juices at the bottom of the bowl — this gives the fish a refreshing flavor. This tasting plate couldn’t have been more of a hit!

peruvian ceviche

And, a close-up of the tuna:

tuna ceviche

Another brilliant appetizer to share between 2 people was the Hanger Steak — specifically it’s skewered hanger steak seared and served with aji panca glaze, creamy ocopa sauce and rocoto salsa. Wowza — this plate sure was full of flavor! It tasted as if the hanger steak was soaking and marinating in the most complex mixture of seasonings and spices before being cooked. Hands-down this was the most flavorful piece of meat I have tasted in a very long time! In addition to the  Peruvian Corn Cake, this Hanger Steak is a must-order!

peruvian hanger steak

For our “main dish” the two of us shared the Chaufa Completo — which is served with jasmine rice, chicken char siu, shrimp and chinese sausage. I dug in around the sausage but the overall plate was just bursting with exotic flavors. I knew right from the start the jasmine rice was going to add subtle but important flavorings to this plate.

Even though we had just a bit of leftovers, sharing all of these plates together completely satisfied us for dinner.

peruvian dinner

Over course we had to end our evening with dessert. We followed the manager’s suggestion and ordered the Peruvian Crispy Donuts. I know what you’re thinking — donuts are such a big food trend these can’t be anything other than ordinary, blah blah blah. But you’re wrong! Yes, donuts are such a food fad these days but Raymi adds a perfect, sweet, twist to the homemade dessert. Honey is the ingredient that makes these donuts have a natural sweetness — I guarantee that you’ll agree with me that these donuts are anything but ordinary!

homemade donuts

I’m sure you are overwhelmed reading this post — because you can see how much I truly enjoyed my first dinner at a Peruvian restaurant. I’m sure you have also noticed that Peruvian food is highly influenced by the Asian culture and cuisine! Who would have thought that a blend of Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, West African and Italian cuisines would be brought to the country of Peru and all of these cultures have been an influence on the food that is made throughout the country to this very day.  Luckily, for me, I found that Peruvian food seems to have a stronger influence from the Japanese — I’m not a huge fan of Chinese cuisine, but Japanese I love! There’s nothing like beautiful cuts of raw fish tossed in citrus and served fresh!

Finish Your Food, OR ELSE…

I think this is a threat we hear when we are younger from our parents: “Finish your food, young lady, or…” of course it’s followed by something terrifying like “you won’t be able to stay up until 8 p.m” or “you’ll go to bed hungry” or even “you won’t get to watch tv”. As a child, not finishing every grain of rice or every noodle of macaroni on our plates wasn’t that big of a deal. But for some half way around the world, a threat for not finishing their food could cost them some extra cash!

I read this morning on The Huffington Post Small Business page that a restaurant in Japan makes their customers give a donation of money if they don’t finish every grain of rice on a special plate (a large bowl of rice with a massive portion of salmon roe). Why? Well, it all comes down to the salmon on their plate and the fishermen that catch this salmon have such a risky job the restaurant wants to donate money to show their gratitude to those out their catching their dinner.

I’m sure a few sentences ago you were annoyed (like I was when reading The Huffington Post article), but now that you hear that this donation goes to a good cause, it doesn’t sound so bad!

empty plates

After reading the article I started to think: “hmmm… if we had that consequence in America, mayyybeeee….”

Here’s my list of POSITIVE outcomes if we applied this to our sit-down restaurants in the U.S:

  • Finally we’d take after the Europeans and have smaller portions. And don’t forget, smaller portions = self control = less over eating = decline in obesity.
  • Smaller portions means less waste and less waste means a massive saving of money.
  • A saving of money then means, maybe, that people who eat crappy food all the time would be able to afford to eat healthier (that’s just a thought… maybe?)
  • Money could be made through the consequential donation and then used to help feed those that can’t afford healthy food (this would NOT be in the form of food stamps where you can buy nearly whatever you want, it’s for healthy food only).

Obviously I’m not naive — this could never be regulated in the U.S. But it still baffles me why we haven’t had any regulations on portion sizes in restaurants.

I know, I RARELY ever post about a “serious” topic — but I was just so stunned by this article I had to share it with you all. So now what I want to know is what you’re thinking… So tell me either in the comments below or if you don’t want your thoughts published you can click on the Contact Me tab and send me your comment that way!

Hunter’s in Brooklyn: Part II

So, my first impression on Hunter’s a few weeks ago was a great one. It was so fabulous I had to head back to sample a few more dishes. I was tempted because Hunter’s posts some fabulous photos on their Instagram account and I was drooling over a photograph a friend of mine posted on his own page. He put up a picture of Hunter’s Agnolotti! I knew the second I saw this photo that I HAD to go back to try a few other plates on the menu.

So my foodie partner-in-crime and I headed back out to Cobble Hill, Brooklyn for dinner. Of course we ordered their Angus Burger — but we had to try out one of Hunter’s specials well as the Agnolotti and a side of the Maple Sweet Potato Mash.

Here’s our verdict:
roasted bone marrow

The bone marrow wasn’t only delicious, but it was a work of art! FYI, when you order roasted bone marrow be cautious when you pick up the bones — you will burn yourself! Even if you pick it up with a napkin you won’t be able to hold it for long. Placed on top of crispy bread, the roasted bone marrow tasted beautiful!
agnolotti with spicy cocoa pumpkin seeds

The Agnolotti was just as spectacular as I imagined. Maybe even better! Of course it was sweet from the winter squash and the sage — but it was surprising to me that the plate also had a spicy kick to it! This was probably the first time I ever ate a sweet plate that was also spicy. The spice came from the spicy cocoa covered pumpkin seeds. I also really enjoyed that the dish had brussels sprouts leaves rather than the entire head of brussels sprouts. It made it much easier to eat and it allowed the green vegetable to complement the main flavors of the dish.

I did face a fork war over the side of Maple Sweet Potato Mash. OH MY GOSH this was heavenly! We probably should have ordered 2 of these — and I would strongly suggest for everyone to never share this dish with anyone. I am still tempted to go back to ask the chef to at least share what ingredients he/she uses — or maybe I could butter him/her up enough to get the recipe!

Even though this is my second dining experience at Hunter’s — I have decided that venturing off to Brooklyn for this restaurant will always be worth it!

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L’Apicio in the LES

I am a bit embarrassed to admit how behind I am on posting this — but, better late than never! 2012 flew by so fast AND I have a feeling that 2013 is going to be an amazing year in so many ways! So, what was my final dinner of 2012? ITALIAN, of course!

So here we go … my final meal of 2012 was a great one! I headed downtown to the Lower East Side for dinner at L’Apicio — the sister restaurant to L’Artusi. It opened only a couple of months ago and we have been excited to head on down to the LES to get a taste of the menu.

L’Apicio’s menu is set up the same way as L’Artusi’s — reasonable sized plates that you share with those you are dining with. Italian cuisine and tapas style… what could be better than this?

When it comes to tapas, I will admit that I go a bit crazy ordering. It first usually starts out with me and my foodie partner-in-crime looking over the menu, eying down what we have to have then we come together to share our choices, we narrow it down to a handful of plates then we confuse ourselves by asking the server what he/she prefers on the menu. Usually we end up picking a plate or two that the server prefers, then we both pick plates we both want, then we decide on one final dish that looks good.

We started with a delicious cheese plate — my guess is the restaurant changes this cheese menu based on what they are able to order / what is fresh. I would suggest ordering 2-4 different types of cheese to start. They go beautifully with wine as well!

hamachi

Then, we ordered a couple of appetizers — but there is one specific plate I have to rave about. The Hamachi was out of this world! Hamachi is also called yellowtail (click here for more info). This dish was made with apple, jalapeno, and chives. All of these ingredients made each bite full of fresh and vivid flavors. The funny part about ordering the Hamachi is that I was hesitant about eating it — I wasn’t too sure about the description on the menu but boy am I happy I gave it a try! It might be my new raw obsession!

cauliflower ravioli

Another dinner favorite was the Mezzalune — ravioli stuffed with cauliflower and topped with pinenuts and capers. The capers added the perfect amount of salt, the pinenuts made the ravioli texture unique and the cauliflower made me feel like I was eating something healthy! The plate was small and something I wish I could have devoured all on my own. If I went back and had to order only one plate — this would be it! Who would have thought how flavorful a cauliflower ravioli would be!?

beefy gnocchi

Another great order — the Osso Bucco Ragu Gnocchi. Gnocchi is already a very filling food, and paired with hearty meat you are bound for a food-coma. It’s also very easy to screw up cooking gnocchi and the chef at L’Apicio cooked this plate perfectly.

maple squash

And, last but not least, the perfect side dish — the Delicata Squash. The squash was made with hazelnuts, sage and maple. All of these sweet flavors made the vegetable taste like candy. It’s the perfect side dish to order when you are eating such savory main dishes. This is also an inspirational side dish that I would like to recreate at home!

We also ordered polenta but it was not something we enjoyed. I believe the consistency of polenta is either loved or hated — and in a nutshell, it’s something I really don’t like. But, if you do like polenta, the restaurant gives you a few beautiful options to choose from!
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Mele Kalikimaka

This Christmas holiday was filled with just pure excitement — great food, amazing friends, and loving families. After spending a spectacular holiday with my family, I was surprised with a last minute trip to Hawaii. Or, I should say, Hawai’i.

Long story short, every year for the past 15 years my boyfriend’s family goes to Hawaii for the holiday but for the past 5 years my boyfriend hasn’t joined them because it’s a crazy time of year for him at work. But this year he pulled a huge surprise for his family and for me — we flew to the South Pacific for some fun in the sun and quality family time.

Over the next week I’m going to post a few times about our trip to Hawaii — it was a short 3-day trip because we both needed to get back (for him he needed to get back for work, for me I wanted to get back to my family). I hope you enjoy the posts — be sure to keep a look-out for an exciting recipe that will tell you how to make my new favorite mojito! I promise you, you won’t be disappointed!

four seasons wailea

Above you’ll see a view of our hotel’s beach in Wailea. The side of the Maui island we were on had calm waves — the perfect water for snorkeling, paddle boarding, and other water sports.

hawaiian green turtle

We learned some rowing techniques on a traditional Hawaiian canoe called The Canoe of the Red Sea. Rowing with 2 other locals, we were able to learn some interesting history of the island as well as see some gorgeous wild life. Above, you’ll see a photo I took of a Hawaiian Green Turtle. I was able to capture this picture at a spot the locals call “The Cleaning Station” — it’s where the turtles swim to to have their shells cleaned by the fish. If their shells don’t get cleaned, the algae acts similar to mold and will destroy their shell by making it too soft.

fish tacos

Nothing is more satisfying for lunch than some fish tacos! The flavors came together beautifully — especially once we squeezed the lime juice over top of the fish!

hawaiian sunset

I can’t wait to get back for more Hawaiian sunsets! Everything about the island was so magical — it truly is paradise!

ahi tuna tacos

These Ahi Tuna Tacos almost look fake — don’t they? The fish was so fresh — I don’t think any of us ever saw such exquisite seafood! The taste on these tacos was fresh and savory — look closely and you can see the sesame seeds on top and the drizzle of a special sauce that added the perfect kick to the tuna.

Be sure to check back next week for more Hawaii posts and that mojito recipe I told you all about!

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Hunter’s in Brooklyn

I’m not (and in a way, I am) one of those people who refuses to leave Manhattan. There are specific situations I will willingly leave the island of Manhattan for another borough or NY location, they are: when I am going to the airport, when I am going to a baseball game, when I am visiting my friends Ken & Blaz (and their adorable pup, Little Bear), as well as visiting other special friends and when I head to Long Island to get to Fire Island. Yeah that’s just about the only time I leave Manhattan. But, if you have a good restaurant recommendation for me in a different borough, I will be adventurous enough to check it out.

Going to Cobble Hill isn’t really an “adventure” for me. I have been several times to visit my dearest friends and I really have grown to love the Brooklyn neighborhood. But how easy could this be — I jumped on the F train at 23rd Street, rode the subway for a short time and jumped off at the Bergen Street stop. After climbing out of the subway you’re on Smith Street and only a few steps away you’ll find the restaurant, Hunter’s.

Hunter’s is a gorgeous new restaurant on a popular Cobble Hill street — the interior is brand new and has beautiful furnishings. I met up with my friend Ken for a drink and of course I was hungry too… I kind of had to make sure I came hungry since he had been raving about the burger for so long.

Hunter's Brooklyn

So here I am, ordering the Angus Beef Burger… waiting, impatiently. But at the same time I was enjoying catching up with Ken, he’s getting married in the fall of 2013 in Colorado and I was so excited to hear all about the planning and details!!! Us catching up was lovely, but I did wish that our friend Kelly was going to be there — he works at Hunter’s and is a person that just makes me feel so special in life. Kelly is such a positive person, who wouldn’t want a friend like that? His positivity makes me want to be more like him. Anyways, so, no Kelly. But next time I am coordinating to make sure he is there when I go back for my next Hunter’s Burger.

So here it is — THE BURGER! Made with pickled onions, Vermont cheddar all on a cilantro-jalapeno aioli brioche. In my opinion, brioche = the best bread for a burger. And I’m sure you just read “pickled onions” and said, “say what? pickled onions?” I have to say they are the perfect touch, who would have thought to put pickled onions on top of a savory burger? This ingredient added the most perfect tang and in a way, sweetness, to the condiments of the burger. The chef made my burger EXACTLY how I ordered it — he even came out to the bar where I was eating long enough for me to rave about the burger and chat his ear off on how delish his herb fries are. The french fries were perfectly seasoned but they were nice and potato-ey — meaning they weren’t the crispy type of fries. The best part about these fries was the food-flashback that I had to when I spent time in Amsterdam. The Dutch put mayo on their fries and when I dipped these babies into a dish of creamy mayo — I was in heaven! (Not in the mood for a burger? check out their menu for other dishes that will hit the spot!)

So, I guess I owe my friend Ken a HUGE thank-you for not only getting me out of Manhattan but also for introducing me to the best burger! (Shake Shack, you have some MAJOR competition!!!)

And Friends — follow me on Pinterest and Instagram for some more fun foodie ideas, recipes, and restaurant spottings!

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Bianca in Noho

So, one of my dearest friends, Stef, took me to one of her favorite UWS restaurants several weeks ago (I didn’t blog about it because I was so hungry I forgot to capture photos… sorry folks!). This restaurant is called Celeste — and Celeste doesn’t even have a website, so I wasn’t able to menu-stalk prior to going for dinner. Following our dinner a coworker of mine mentioned that I should go to Bianca downtown in Noho — she described this restaurant making it sound a bit like Celeste; there were no reservations, always expect a wait, payment is cash-only and the food is spectacular. Bianca does have a website so I forwarded it to Stef saying we needed to get to this joint asap! Stef couldn’t help but laugh as she pointed out to me that Bianca is Celeste’s sister restaurant.

food from bianca

So Stef and I hurried down to Bianca at 7:30 p.m. thinking our wait would be quick and easy — nope! we waited over an hour to be seated. But time flew by as we caught up over a glass of wine at an uber hipster bar right next to the restaurant. When we were seated at Bianca, I was reminded instantly of Al Di La in Brooklyn; the decor was so similar — old-school wall paper with white subway tiling to help divide the space on the walls, even the smells coming from the kitchen were as delectable as Al Di La’s.

We quickly ordered — clearly, we both scouted out the menu prior to attending dinner. To share: the Gnocco Fritto with Stracchino Cheese, a caprese salad (special of the day) and for our main dishes we both ordered pasta — I ordered myself the Ravioli di Ricotta con Burro e Salvia (ravioli in a butter and sage sauce) and Stef ordered herself the Gramigna con Salciccia e Peperoni (pasta with crumbled sausage and red bell pepper). Even though the restaurant was packed — not a single seat was available — the food came out in a very timely manner.

gnocco

Our apps were d-e-l-i-s-h … The gnocco was perfectly cooked, nice and puffy and soft and the stracchino cheese was out of this world. It was obvious it was coated in a very flavorful truffle olive oil, but the cheese consistency was smooth and creamy — maybe even more so than a burrata. Remember folks, Gnocco is not the same as Gnocchi.

butter and sage ravioli

When it came to my ravioli, I instantly had a flash back. The first time I ever cooked my boyfriend a meal at home I made him a caprese salad served with ravioli in a sage and butter sauce (Thanks Food Network for the fabulous recipe and thank you Whole Foods for providing the “homemade” ravioli). This ravioli at Bianca though was homemade and wasn’t just “served with butter” — it was swimming in it. The longer I let the ravioli sit, the thicker the butter got, which allowed me to scoop more of it up on to my fork. I would order this rich dish again in a heart beat!

meat pasta

I had to share a pic of Stef’s pasta — it was out of this world! I also loved that Bianca wasn’t afraid to feed people, the serving sizes were outstanding!

I love finding restaurants like Bianca and Celeste — I am always ready for more suggestions… So if anyone has any, be sure to share the details! Bianca really fit the bill for me and Stef this weekend — literally! Ultimately for 2 appetizers, 2 main dishes of pasta, and 1 homemade sorbet for dessert … plus a bottle of wine. It all totaled up to $81. The way we ordered we were also “splurging” so the fact that we didn’t faint at the sight of the bill, we were very pleased!

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Minetta Tavern in The Village

So I decided to mix it up a bit, not on purpose…

This weekend I attended a surprise birthday party, but when I arrived I arrived hungry. I’m not talking about the “I could use a snack” sort of hungry, I’m talking about the “turn the music up because my stomach is growling so loudly” sort of hungry. This party just so happened to over-look one of my favorite restaurants in the West Village, Bar Pitti and it’s neighboring rival, Da Silvano. What’s worse than just being hungry, but looking out the window to see a packed restaurant of people ordering the ravioli dish and caprese salad that you love.

So, as time went on the restaurants across the street stopped serving dinner and there went my opportunity to feed myself. My hunger wasn’t in the mood for an unsatisfying street meat kabob or falafel. So I found myself opening my mental file cabinet of West Village/ Village restaurants within a 5 minute walking distance. And what was exactly a minute and a half walk away was Minetta Tavern. I quickly called over to see if they were still serving food (it was midnight at this point and I had only ever eaten there at about 9 p.m.) and their answer was “yes”. So, we bolted out of the party that was about to change locations anyways, speed-walked down a few narrow Village streets and there it was — my food savior of the evening.

roasted bone marrow

We were seated right away in what was a still completely packed restaurant, ordered an appetizer and of course their Black Label Burger, ordered a glass of wine and at the initial sip of alcohol I instantly felt relieved. I was about to be fed, finally.

Ready for this? We ordered roasted bone marrow for our appetizer — yup you read that right — bone marrow. Bone marrow has the same consistency as an oyster, in other words — it’s slimy. But you put it on top of a baguette that has been heavily buttered and toasted with a shallot confit and all of the flavors ooze together to make the perfect flavorful app. I quickly realized that I shouldn’t try to pick up the bones to help me slide the marrow off and onto the bread — the bones are exceptionally hot and they stay hot for a while. So, don’t make the same mistake I made.

Minetta Tavern Burger

To fully satisfy my grumbling belly — I went for the Black Label Burger. This is THE burger that you have to order, there are a couple on the menu but this is the one you have to go with. The prime dry-aged beef cooked medium is full of the best juicy flavors you can sink your teeth into. It’s a thick burger that’s topped with caramelized onions that adds the perfect amount of sweetness on top of the rich burger. Oh — and, lets not forget about the pommes frites, in other words — French fries. They are perfectly salted, they have the perfect amount of crispiness and they are just oh so tasty! This order has the perfect amount of savory, salty and a hint of sweetness.

The “mixing it up” this weekend came down to swapping out dinner for “supper”. Yup, that is correct, there are restaurants in NYC that provide a “supper menu” and Minetta Tavern has one of these menus. It’s a late-night menu that is shorter than the traditional dinner menu but it still gets the job done. All that I cared about was ordering the Black Label Burger! This is something I might have to start doing for the restaurants that are difficult to reserve a table for (just like Minetta Tavern), I need to start eating a late lunch and head to my restaurant of choice for supper.

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