Zach Braff loves his Oysters

I finished up my seafood fest of a weekend with a dinner with mommy and Melissa at the 10 week old Mermaid Oyster Bar. The third restaurant of it's kind, however this one has a much smaller menu focusing on oysters and other shellfish. I don't eat oysters because they're too slimy and you don't even taste them when you dunk them in cocktail sauce, however my sister and mom ordered a dozen - half from the west coast and half from the east. They even had oysters from Mystic, CT where I was this weekend but they were out so we don't even know if they were good of not. I started off dinner with a shrimp cocktail and a wedge salad. The salad was already chopped in a bowl served with the usual, blue cheese, bacon, tomatoes. It didn't come with blue cheese or ranch dressing but a home made Russian one which was new to me but very tasty. The shrimp were a good size and I got four of them when it said it came with three on the menu. There was a yummy sounding pasta on the menu also that was served with rock shrimp and crab in a spicy tomato sauce, but I'm afraid if I keep this terrible eating up, my clothes will start to get tight.



Next my mom and sister got the blue plate special that usually ends at 7:00 pm but for you insiders I'll let you in on a little secret. On Mondays, they have the special all night. $20 for their lobster roll, fries and a beer. The lobster roll on the menu is $26, so you're getting a great deal.
I got the mussels which was a huge portion even though I asked for the smaller one. They were very big mussels in a yummy white wine garlic sauce. The menu says the mussels are roasted so that kind of threw me off but they looked and tasted like normal steamed ones.
The lobster roll is the same as the other Mermaid restaurants which I've had before but I don't remember the fries being so good. They were seasoned and skinny and cripsy and were even better when dipped in my mussels sauce!



Besides the great food, the best part of our meal was the people watching. The restaurant is kind of small and there were lots of people waiting for their table at the bar. I was lucky enough to be able to stare at everyone who walked in last night and was super excited when I saw Zach Braff! I haven't had a celeb sighting in quite a while so it was great. He's a lot taller than expected for all the Scrub fans out there and he is a part investor in the Oyster Bar because he's friends with the chef, Laurence Edelman. They probably went to Hebrew school together.

Mermaid Oyster Bar was a great new addition to the Greenwich Village area. Decent prices since you're dealing with seafood and an up and coming bar scene for sure. If you're in the area in the mood for oysters and maybe a Zach Braff sighting, this is your spot!

Side note: I know that I've been very bad with posting pictures but I will get back in the swing of things, I promise!

North to South - The Best Italian Around

This past weekend, I tagged along with my roommate to visit her college friend who lives in Boston. Since I've never been to Boston before, I jumped at the chance to see what the city was all about. I was excited for the long weekend and then I heard that Boston has some of the greatest Italian food - and I got even more excited.

After a long bus ride and some walking around Newbury Street (a great shopping street if any of you plan on visiting soon) we got ready and headed to our first dinner in Beantown. Lindsey's friend picked out a great place, Giacamos in the South End because you can make reservations there. At first glance, the place is small and homey. The menu had way too many choices that looked great and all at such good prices! Even a good bottle of wine was $20, something that would never happen in NYC. We decided on the fried calamari and a caprese salad as appetizers and for the main course, Lindsey and I shared our waiters favorite, the butternut squash ravioli and a special of the night. Home made pappardelle pasta with shrimps and scallops in a garlicky, redish cream sauce. Obviously I don't remember what the sauce was but it was really yum. The scallops were on the small size but there was enough seafood for both Lindsey and I to get our fare share. The butternut squash ravioli was great also. A big portion and the raviolis were filled with only butternut squash which was good. The dish was on the sweeter side so I'm glad I had it second because it was kind of like dessert!
Over all it was a great dinner at such a good price! If you're in the Boston area you should make sure you go to the South End Giacamos where there are no lines to get in and the prices and food are awesome.

However, not as awesome as our meal on Sunday night. New to living in Boston, Jenna didn't know exactly where the day was going to lead us in the food area. We did the touristy attractions, Faneuil Hall and the Freedom Trail and walked our way to the North End, which is the Little Italy of Boston. There are two major streets lined with Italian restaurant after Italian restaurant, it was hard to choose which one to go to. Being that Italian is my favorite meal (even before Sushi), I didn't care where we went as long as there was a Zagat sign in the window. We were drawn into this small corner restaurant by a guy named Michael and decided that this was the place. Definitely a family owned restaurant, every table was filled and it was only 6:30 pm. Al Dente is known for their famous spinach crepes so we had to order one of those and the lobster raviolis to start. The crepes were amazing. A big ravioli filled with spinach souffle on top of the greatest sauce you will ever taste. I have no idea what was it in but it was creamy and bad for you. The lobster ravioli came with chunks of lobster in each bite and it was hard not to want to eat the whole plate.

For the main course, our waitress told us that the Veal melts in your mouth, so two people ordered different kinds of veal. I shared with Lindsey again and we got the eggplant lasagna with a side of meatball and she got the most amazing pasta I have ever eaten. I wish I took a picture but you'll have to use your imagination. Home made fusilli pasta with scallops and shrimps (again) with a vodka sauce. I know you're thinking what's so special about that - but it was just awesome. Sometimes it's hard to tell the different between pasta out of the box and pasta that's home made but you could definitely tell the difference in this dish. The shrimps and scallops were huge and the portion itself was HUGE. Every entree we ordered was so big we could have gotten 2 for 5 people instead of 5. And again, the prices were great. At first they seem kind of like NYC prices but then you see the portion size and you are walking away with bags of leftovers - you know you got a deal.

I hope Jenna and Justin enjoyed those leftovers because I am craving that pasta right now.
If you love Italian food as much as I do, please visit these two restaurants and you will not be disappointed. And how could I forget! Even though you'll be so full from an amazing meal in the North End, you MUST visit Mike's Pastry for dessert. Anything you order from there will be mouth watering and you'll be in a food coma for the rest of the night. We got two of their famous cannolis, a home made peanut butter cup, a chocolate peanut butter cookie and some rainbow cookies to go and didn't make it out that night.

Eating my way through Boston was very enjoyable and now I can't stop thinking about pasta, chocolate and peanut butter - hope you can't too!

Back in the Kitchen I Go

After a successful night "cooking" my infamous rotel and Velveeta cheese dip, I set out to have another night in the kitchen this week. I have been on an eating out rampage and needed a night in and a home cooked meal. My friend Meghan and I had plans on Wednesday and I suggested cooking instead of the usual of trying a new restaurant.

Her roommate and friend joined in on the fun and home made pizza and salad were the menu.

My responsibility was to get the wine -- which I took seriously -- and tried a new Malbec from Argentina which was quite delish. The other three dinner guests did the grocery shopping and we all met up at Lauren and Meghans.

While making home made pizza might sound easy to some and complex to others it was a very simple thing to make and a great way to get creative! And this is the cooking novice talking, so anyone is capable of this!

All you need is to get either a pre made pie crust or dough, tomato sauce, any toppings you want and of course cheese!

We opted to get the Trader Joes whole wheat pizza dough, mushrooms, artichokes and goat cheese but you can really do whatever you want in this situation. I've also gotten the pre-made pizza crust from Trader Joe's and it works just the same!

After rolling out the dough, spreading the tomato sauce and adding our toppings and cheese, you put it in the oven at around 400 - 425 degrees for at least 10 minutes but could be more depending on your oven. I suggest to keep checking at 5 minute intervals after the initial 10 minutes. Meghan's oven was a little tired so we kept ours in for around 20 minutes.

We (and by we I mean Meghan) also made a simple Romain salad with tomatoes, onions, beets, almonds, goat cheese and artichokes to go along with the pizza.

The crust didn't end up getting as crispy as we wanted but it definitely hit the spot after my return to spin class earlier that night. We all decided that a pizza stone is the way to go if you want to use the pre-made dough to insure faster cooking and ideal crispiness.

I'm thinking about having one night a week be a cooking night -- we'll see how that goes. If anyone has easy and quick recipes for dummies please pass along!

Liquid Brunch and Dinners

I know when someone usually thinks of eating out in NYC, they automatically assume it's 5 star dining all the way, spending tons and tons of money. But being 24 years old and living on a budget, my friends and I have found ways to still eat at great restaurants but at places that don't break the bank.

I was lucky enough to have 3 best friends from the good ole days of CHS in town this weekend and we ate and drank all weekend long and didn't spend a million of $$.

Delayed and cancelled flights put us all in mood for a drinking weekend and it couldn't have started out better than a dinner in the back patio area of Elizabeth. Six girls, five glasses of wine (and a martini for me - obvi) and hilarious conversation. Lacey and I shared the grilled cheese sliders and fried calamari to start. The grilled cheese wasn't really a slider but a mini grilled cheese greasy sandwich. Two came in a serving with mini pickles on the side. The fried calamari was a huge portion with a lot of the round pieces and not a lot of the legs which I find scary and unappetizing. The sauce was spicy and creamy and delicious. Audrey got her new favorite butternut squash soup, which she loved and then followed it with the risotto. For main courses we weren't that original. Out of 6 girls, there were 3 turkey burgers with garlic sticky fries and 2 risottos. The turkey burger was thick and cooked well but I was so full from the apps that I didn't even finish my half and the fries were true to it's name -- garlicky! No dessert for us as we were off to night 1 of a 2 night dance party!!

Saturday morning came faster than expected and we headed to Philip Marie to start the day. As I said before, we were in a drinking mood so Philip Marie was the place for us. Every Saturday they have an unlimited mimosa brunch that comes with an entree for less than $17.00 per person. Can't get a better brunch deal than that. Although our waiter was kind of slow with the re-fills, going into 20 degree weather just wasn't as hard. I ordered the Marie's wrap with waffle fries. It was huge! It came with eggs, vegies, cheese and ham and I could only eat one half. I was most excited for the fries, because waffle fries are in my top 5 list of fries thanks to Chik-Fil-A.

Our day continued with shopping and drinking, stopping in bars in the village and soho to keep our buzz going. The shopping was unsuccessful, but the drinking was quite the opposite.

Rushing home for a quick shower and change we were off to dinner at L.E.S. Sushi. I've been hearing a lot about this BYO and all good things so I was excited to try it. The restaurant is tiny and with a party of 14 we were one out of two parties there. Tina (the owner and new bff) was great with getting our wine opened asap and taking our order without any mistakes. The sushi was really good also. They had creative rolls which were all fresh and good in size and it didn't take forever to come out. I would highly suggest taking a group of people to L.E.S. It was cheap, fun, and good food. We closed down the place well after 1:30 am and didn't feel rushed out at all.

Overall, we had some great meals and some great deals over the weekend. It's definitely possible to eat cheap in NYC and it doesn't have to be a hot dog or pretzel from the street.

Until my next meal....

16B as in Bama

The College football fanatic that I am, I was super excited for the BCS Championship game last night even though my Dawgs weren't in it. My friend Jenna and her non-converted 1 bedroom apartment decided to have a football party which made my life easier because we live in the same building. Right away we started discussing the the spread for the night and it came down to the usual greasy, unhealthy food anyone loves to eat while watching football.

I contributed the cheese dip which is the easiest thing to make because I'm challenged in the kitchen but it turned out to be a big hit! All it consists of is a can of rotel tomatoes and a box of Velveeta cheese. Cut the cheese into 1 inch cubes, add the rotel in a sauce pan and stir until melted. I've been eating this cheese dip since sophomore year in high school but it was the first time I made it myself so it was an exciting moment for me.

Jenna was in charge of the salsa and bean dip and the melted brie.

For the brie you need 1 round block of brie, a can of jelly and a Pillsbury crescent roll. Roll out the crescent roll, place the brie on top, add the jelly and wrap the rest of the roll. Bake for 20 mins and eat with crackers and you have an easy delicious appetizer!

Robin was on a time crunch so she contributed the frozen items which included hebrew national mini pigs in a blanket and slice and bake cookies. The easiest to make and probably the tastiest (except for my cheese dip of course).

Petey ordered the wings and carried the heini mini kegs because you can't watch football without beer and wings.

Overall the party was a success! Good food, good company, and a SEC Win! RTR for now until UGA gets a new defensive coaching team and we're back in action!

Next up I think Jenna needs to have a super bowl party so we can get a little more creative with our cooking/microwaving.

A New Year Brings New Restaurants!

After a week spent in gorgeous Mexico in an all-inclusive resort with terrible food, I could not wait to get back to my city and it's amazing restaurants. You would think that even in an all-inclusive resort in Mexico, they would at least have good Mexican food? I was mistaken. Tired of eating guacamole and chips for 7 days straight I cabbed my way to the meatpacking district last Saturday for a girls night out at Abe & Arthur's - the new meatpacking hot spot. Arriving for our 9pm reservation, every table was filled but the hyped up bar scene that I keep on reading about was quite empty. It was probably due to the frigid temps or that 90 percent of New Yorkers were en route back to the city from whatever warm destination they spent ringing in 2010.

Anyway... we were taken to our table upstairs near the 2nd empty bar and more full tables. Our waitress was great and brought our martinis quickly while suggesting top sellers on the menu. We decided on the tuna tartare tacos and the goat cheese and beet salad as appetizers. Both were adequate size with the tuna tartare coming with 6 mini tacos and enough tuna to fill them all and the salad had good sized pieces of both cheese and beets.



For our main course the three of us shared the branzino (sea bass) and a filet. The filet was cooked to perfection and we got two side sauces with it. The Abe & Arthurs steak sauce that was a little like A1 but sweeter and a mustardy sauce. The branzino was a good size and the filet was 14oz. Both were great entrees but nothing that made me say "this is the best ever!"



For dessert it was a tough decision between the french toast bread pudding and the carnival for 2 which came with ricotta doughnuts with 3 dipping sauces and a mini funnel cake on the side. We chose the carnival mostly because our waitress told us the doughnuts came on a ferris wheel and the dipping sauces came in mini ketchup looking bottles. They were your usual fried doughnut hole with strawberry, chocolate or caramel sauce but the presentation was cute so that got points from me.




For being such a hot spot these days, our service was great! Our waitress wasn't too pushy and she wasn't MIA either. She was honest with her suggestions which I also liked. I enjoyed everything that we ordered and thought they were all really good, but for the prices it should have been better. The amount of food that we got should not have been as pricey as it was, even for New York City. But I'm glad I got to experience what all the hype is about!

Happy New Year to everyone - I hope that it is healthy and happy and full of good food!