Weekly NYC Blog Post - 10.23.2012

EAST VILLAGE

VON
So sorry Hotel Chantelle but we NEEDED to go somewhere new for once.  So we ended up at Von which is a tucked away cocktail bar on Bleecker that immediately made me think of 1920s Sleep No More.  We headed straight down into the bowels of the bar to the lower basement level where we kicked back in barstools and drank copious amounts of red wine while discussing life.  I hear rumors that on a weekend night this place becomes quite the dance party so be prepared for anything.  I absolutely loved it and will be back!

FINANCIAL DISTRICT

121 Fulton Street
One of my first forays into the FiDi (yeah I try to use annoying monikers whenever possible) was at 121 Fulton Street where I had a delicious meal and a very spicy, nose-clearing cocktail.

Photo Credit: 121 Fulton Street Website

We started with the yellow fin tuna taquitos with mango salsa and red chili vinaigrette.  Not really sure what about them made them taquitos since they look like TACOS to me but whatever.  Unless taquito is spanish for "little taco"....  Anyways they tasted like tuna tartar in a crispy shell -  yummy.

Next up were the buttermilk fried chicken fingers with sweet chili sauce and honey mustard.  I LOVE a good chicken finger and these were SUPER crispy on the outside, not too breaded and filled with canine-rippable meat.  They didn't last long.

And then there were the empanadas with beef, onion and peppers.  I thought these were a little bready and meaty (like...shock....an empanada) but to each their own.

The mac n cheese was pretty standard.  Nothing to write here.

Lastly, I had the Exchange Margarita with Don Julio Blanco, Cointreau, jalepeño, passion fruit, mango puree and lime.  It lit my entire sinus cavity on fire but boy was it good!  Sorry many flavors working together perfectly to make a not to spicy not too sweet not too fruity concoction that you will definitely need to SIP.

I will totally hit this place up again!


LITTLE ITALY

Brinkleys
There was definitely a period of time where I frequented Brinkleys and South Side but I'd never actually ordered food!  I was pleasantly surprised to find my brussels sprouts and kale salad with cherry tomatoes, red onions, sliced apple, toasted almonds and shaved pecorino romano cheese to be VERY good.  There were plenty of toppings (I love salad with my toppings), the portion was large enough to be a meal on its own, and the flavors balanced each other nicely.  The lettuce was nice and crisp too.  My only thing is that paying $15 for a salad at a bar seems a LITTLE excessive.

 Photo Credit: Brinkley's Facebook Page

LOWER EAST SIDE

Schillers
Wow.  I have been to so few places where I am SO disappointed in the food.  I came to Schillers for brunch at the behest of my Aussie friends who were in town.  I'd only ever thought of Schillers as a happy hour spot but apparently they are big on brunch?  I don't know if I'm blind or what but I ordered the scrambled eggs and what arrived from the kitchen was a $2 side of eggs (yes they were indeed scrambled) with nary a seasoning in them.  I had also ordered the blood orange mimosa which tasted like nail polish remover.  One of the worst meals I've had in New York.  Not even sure I can stomach coming back just for drinks.  The only good thing I can say is that the waitress was patient and polite and it was easy to get a table (now I know why).

Photo Credit:  http://nydayoff.wordpress.com/

MIDTOWN

STK
First off thanks to our sales team for taking us to such a fancy lunch last week!  Secondly, I've been to STK in Vegas which was a very luxorious, decadent affair so I was excited to see what the New York spot had to offer.  We started with the tuna tartare with soy honey emulsion, avocado and taro chips and it was divine!  The fish was fresh and in bigger pieces which I like and the taro chip was crispy without being too bready.  Also they seasoned the guacamole which added dimension.  I also had the filet which was nice but nothing too exciting and the mac n cheese which I thought was above average but again nothing specific to say about it.

 

SOHO

Delicatessen
Man either I've become a NYC food snob or I've just had a bad week of restaurants!  I was Halloween costume shopping in Soho and was desperately hungry so my friend and I decided to go to Delicatessen because I'd heard good things.  I started off with a margarita that was HORRIBLE.  Like couldn't even take a sip and then my stomach hurt.  I ordered a beer and left it to die a lonely death.

This made me super apprehensive about the food but the cornbread that came out skillet-hot was warm and crumbly and buttery.  I almost stabbed my friend trying to take down more than my half.  I rounded out the lunch with the The Signature Burger which was a special blend ground beef, crisp pork belly, charred tomato, fried egg and brioche bun lathered with warm “cheese sauce.”  It kind of grossed me out and I love meat.  The pork belly was really fatty, the beef was hard??, and the bun was so "lathered" that everything just fell into pieces in my hands.  In addition to being a pain to eat, the taste didn't merit the effort.  I gave up and ate the fries instead.

Overall not very impressed.  I will not be back.

Photo Credit: http://nyulocal.com

UNION SQUARE

Laut
I've been here countless times for "Thai Friday" lunches with my friends but am always so hungry that I gobble down my food before I manage to take a picture.  This time I restrained myself so you could see what Masak Kicap looks like - Cinnamon, turmeric, star anise, ginger, garlic, shallots, onions, bell peppers, sweet peas & tomatoes with sweet soy sauce tossed with chicken and served with your choice of brown or white rice.  You can also choose your meat - I just went chicken this time.  I love this dish because it's spicy and sweet, the chicken is chunky and fresh, and the veggies are soft but still have a little crunch.  It's also the perfect amount of food.  And the atmosphere and service is impeccable and SO friendly.  I love this place!

WILLIAMSBURG

Brooklyn Bowl
I've heard so many things about this place and my thought has always been "eh bowling."  HOW WRONG WAS I???  This place is like another heaven that I've been missing (on the same level as Standard Biergarten, Frying Pan, etc).  They have music, beer and an 8 piece white fried chicken platter?!?!?!  Why would I EVER leave?  Unfortunately my first experience was tempered by the fact that I was there for a Penguin Prison concert and turns out Penguin Prison wasn't even playing.  WTF.  Granted the other bands were very good and so was my fried chicken and lime/chili grilled corn but come on!  Make sure you don't false advertise people.  I'll definitely be back but I'll be reading the fine print next time.

 

Nitehawk Cinema
Last but not least, Sunday I went to a showing of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (yes the old-school early '90s slasher flick featuring a young hot Luke Perry and Kristy Swanson's boobs).  I spent the entire movie laughing into my crispy, greasy tater tots.  Yes that's right they serve food and drinks in the movie!  It was a great alternate to drunken Sunday Funday football.  I will definitely be back!

Vegas!!!

Thank you Work for sending me to Vegas!!  I haven't been here in over a year, maybe two, and it's everything I remembered and more.  It was slightly tamer than my normal trips (sorry folks) but I was able to hit up some AMAZING restaurants and pool parties.

MGM Grand
Stayed here Thursday and Friday night in a beautiful suite (room 1909).  It was huge (especially after living in New York for the past year) and spotless.  There were automatic shades for the windows and the staff could not have been more helpful.  They called three times just to make sure I had everything I needed.  My only issue was the room was pretty dark (not a lot of lighting) and the hot water in the shower took FOREVER.  I took an entire bath while I waited for the shower to heat up.  It was a great bath though!

Cosmopolitan
Then Saturday night I ended up at the Cosmopolitan in a GIANT suite with a wrap around terrace that looked out over the strip and the Marquee Day Club.  This suite was incredible, especially the views from the terrace, however both the phones and the TV stopped working so gonna have to lower my opinion based on the technology.  It also took the repairman 40 minutes to show up.  Bad.

Blue Ribbon Sushi
Thursday night I was CRAVING sushi and it was one of the only places in the Cosmo serving post-11pm that wasn't a diner.  I was starving from the half day at work and plane ride so I DUG.IN.

For starters there was the yellowtail sashimi with jalapeno which was delicious but pretty standard.

The grilled Shishito peppers which were some of the best things I have ever tasted.  I don't know what seasoning they put on these but they were perfectly grilled with a little spicy and piping hot.  I ate this entire bowl and was still hungry for more.  I will literally dream about these for years to come.  In fact I'm headed back to Vegas for a bachelorette this weekend and may take a taxi to Cosmo just to get these to go.

Next up where where the "shumai" or homemade pork dumplings.  I thought they were a little chewy and the sauce didn't add much.  Not upset I ordered them but I'd skip them next time.

The "shumai" was followed by smoked pork belly kushi yaki with pickled onions and baby watercress. THAT was delicious.  The pork was perfectly crispy and the watercress had a little dressing to add some sauce and the pickling of the onions added just enough spice to the dish.

Lastly I chowed down on the spicy tuna with tempura flakes and cucumber and the Dragon roll which was eel, avocado and radish sprouts.  Both were very good although when it comes to sushi it all tends to taste the same to me if the fish is fresh.

Marquee Day Club
So my friend had a $750 credit for food and drinks at the day club so we um... made a lot of friends?  The day club is absolutely awesome.  In comparing it to my favorite pool party location, Encore Beach Club, it is much more intimate although that also means it can get CROWDED (see above photo taken from the hotel room terrace).  Luckily since we were there on a Friday afternoon it was popular enough to be fun without being claustrophobic.  You'd have to be pretty drunk on a Saturday to survive the crowd...You MUST order the strawberry mojitos - they are one of the best drinks I think I have ever had.  Also the burger was pretty good as well for a hotel pool!  I would definitely come back.  I had so much fun I slept right through dinner at Scarpetta.  GRR.

Bamboo Pool
Post-shoot I scrambled to the Bamboo Pool at the Cosmopolitan in an attempt to squeeze a few final rays of sun out of my trip.  Unfortunately all the chairs were taken so I ended up on one in the shade.  Oh well.  I was also famished so I ordered the beef sliders and the chicken lettuce cups.  The sliders were good but the usual, but the lettuce cups were incredible.  There was this sweet tropical sauce and the chicken itself wasn't ground up like usual it was full-on chunks of grilled chicken.  It was messy and finger-licking good.  I was SUPER surprised since pool food again is usually terrible.  I would've ordered that in a restaurant! 

Also they have this purple drink that tastes like a raspberry popsicle (I can't remember if it was the mojito or not; I just pointed at what I wanted).  If you can figure out which one it is I highly recommend.  Overall this pool was much more laidback than Marquee which was a welcome change considering how tired I was.  Nap time!

Photo Credit: foxrentacarblog.com

STK
Last night in Vegas and I'm exhausted from our shoot this morning for work so I was falling asleep over my meal.  I also for whatever reason had a TERRIBLE stomach ache.  The place has awesome decoration (very Vegas) with molded walls, twinkly lights and cushy booths.  For whatever reason it was 90s DJ night because he was playing just about every song you've ever sung at a karaoke bar.  This resulted in drunk guys getting up and fist pumping in between bites of steak.  It was definitely a show and free haha.

All that being said I still fell in love with this meal and this restaurant. For appetizers, there was the carpaccio and the foie gras french toast.  The carpaccio I could barely even stab with my fork it was so soft.  The cheese and the balsamic dressing made it heavenly.  The foie gras on french toast was sinfully rich, the green apple adding just enough sour to make me gobble it down.

Then for the main courses, we went with the bone-in filet (maintains more flavor that way) with a piece of foie gras on top (extra) and the Colorado lamb chops with olives, artichokes and pomegranate vinaigrette.  The lamb was pretty standard I thought.  Good, but standard.  The filet on the other hand was so juicy and flavorful - I couldn't stop eating it and it wasn't even my dish!  The foie gras was total overkill but my friend loves it and couldn't resist.  Overall, I was so full from stuffing my face we didn't even bother with dessert.  I would 100% eat here again.  God it was good.

Chandelier
After an amazing dinner at STK we wandered downstairs to the infamous Chandelier Bar.  Basically it is a three story bar surrounded by walls of shimmering, glass beads that make you feel like you are literally drinking inside of a giant chandelier.  It's like art exhibit meets drinking venue.  The bottom floor is a little faster pace like a casino bar, the middle section feels like more of a Mad Men cocktail bar and the top floor is more of a waiting lounge type area where you can glimpse down into the meat of the experience.  It was very cool although I thought the drink menu was pretty limited...