Weekly New York Post - 1.9.2012

This week's blog traverses the West Village, Meatpacking, SOHO and the LES.

LES

Motor City Bar
Welcome to a crazy LES good time! Although before you order twelve tequila shots make sure you have the cash to pay for them - that's right CASH. Don't forget! Worst case if you do there is an ATM next door. This bar comes chalk full of entertainment too. The below dancer is Labretta Suede and she not only has the moves but is also very nice! The bar gets nice and cozy on Saturday nights and stays open late. It's got that biker bar vibe, PBR, and tons of fun people! Hit. It. Up.


MEATPACKING

Catch
I'm pretty sure we went up to the Catch Rooftop bar which is more of a club late at night. That's what I posted the picture of but I can't really remember...The dance mix was pretty good but we got there so late that the crowd was petering out so I feel like I need to give it another chance. Kind of a pain to get in too but that's Meatpacking for you!

SOHO

Anchor Bar
I've been pestering my friend for the name of this place for months because that's how much I liked it. The interior has got an awesome look to it (just look at the chandelier!) and the dance floor is HOPPING. Whereas Catch felt like your average dance club, Anchor I was all about. Definitely headed back there now that I know the name!

Photo Credit: Anchor Bar Website

WEST VILLAGE

Automatic Slims
Okay so there wasn't anything hugely special to this place other than that it is walking distance from excellent restaurants like Extra Virgin, but then again isn't everything in the West Village walkable? The one thing that I do love about this place is that I gave the waitress a $3 tip for two Bud Lights and thanks to my accidental generosity she gave me free beers for the rest of the night. BOOM!

Photo Credit: Andy H. on Yelp.com

BLT
Stopped here for an evening meal on a Sunday. The place is pretty standard but the food was good. I got the Steakhouse burger which is a custom blend of 30-day dry-aged prime beef (Brisket, Shortribs, Sirloin) topped with caramelized onions and an order of sweet fries. Overall great burger, great fries, average service. I'd go back if there weren't a ton of other places worth trying first. But if you are in the area and looking for a good burger without the wait stop here.

Photo Credit: BLT Website

Fatty Crab
Just had this last night with an old coworker. I went to the Meatpacking location and the place was cool-looking, the waitress was super friendly and helpful and voila! they had a shellfish allergy menu for me. It was the coolest thing ever! We ordered the steamed buns that are soft and fluffy and you fill them with a juicy piece of pork, some spicy vegetables and what I think is plum sauce? SO good but definitely not for a first date - they stick like crazy to your teeth!

We also ordered the watermelon, pickle and crispy pork which comes out looking kind of like a salad. The juicy sweetness of the watermelon and the crispy savory pork might a mouthwatering bite!


Great restaurant! Oh and they have Hitachino Red Rice Ale which is one of my favorite beers. My only knock on the place is that when we arrived the place was mostly empty and the only two tables they would seat us at were RIGHT next to other people. I practically had to sit in the lap of the guy next to me which was totally unnecessary. Prepare to be friendly with your neighbors and try the shellfish since I can't!

Photo Credit: Fatty Crab Website

Fedora
A group of my friends have a running inside joke about the Honey Badger. For those of you who live in the Dark Ages watch this video. So we walk into Fedora's and low and behold the second menu item is... The Honey Badger. Made with Rittenhouse Rye, Combier, fresh lime, honey syrup and house beef jerky bitters because honey badger don't care. There was no way I was ordering it because it sounds disgusting but I did have a large beer which was tasty. The crowd is a little older so we eventually left but it made the blog due to menu ingenuity! Probably won't be back for drinks though - I hear dinner is good though!

Photo Credit: nycprgirls.com

Tartine
Last one on the list is Tartine which is a TINY restaurant that has multiple things I don't like..

1) It's cash only - WHAT A PAIN
2) It's BYOB - also a plus but not when you don't bring enough
3) It's tiny so you are sitting on top of people
4) It's an unorganized line to get a table and the waitress skipped us after we'd been waiting for at least 30 minutes.

Outside of the above which isn't that serious the food was good but not spectacular. I spent $45 not counting my wine which wasn't hugely expensive but still a lot for a small app and entree. I had the tuna tartare to start which was okay - I don't usually like my tuna to be that chopped up. The sauce on it was good though. Then for dinner I got the beef mignonette with fries and what I call a "fake" salad because it's really just lettuce with tomatoes on top. It was REALLY spicy so overall not a favorite. To sum it up for New York there are places I'd rather go.

NYC Weekly Post - 1.1.2012

Happy New Year readers! So, since I live in such an awesome city, I'm new to it (which sort of makes me a tourist), and it is one of the hottest travel destinations in the world I'm going to attempt to write a weekly Monday blog entry on all the new places I've been to that I love. So, I'm going to start with last week and I'm going to continue to do this by neighborhood since that's how most people pick their hotels/restaurants.

Chelsea

Rogue
I went here to watch some of the college football bowl games. The chicken fingers were standard but delicious, it was relatively cheap and they have screens all around so you don't have to crane your neck to watch. It's only fault is that it was pretty dark which is great for football viewing but not so much otherwise. Also not a lot of standing room but this might change if you are there later at night.

Photo Credit: Rogue Website

Tipsy Parson
Officially added to my favorite places in Manhattan. The restaurant has this adorable atmosphere...you feel like you've just walked into someone's house. And the food was AMAZING. I ordered the lamb ragu pasta and was in instant love.

Photo Credit: Tipsy Parson Website

East Village

Big Gay Ice Cream Shop
Yup, that's the name! What started off as an ice cream truck that roamed the streets of Manhattan, BGIC became so popular they opened a shop! The shop features rainbow paraphernalia and a giant glitter unicorn painted on the wall near the register. It literally looks like my room when I was five which made it an immediate favorite. Then I tried the actual ice cream!

I ordered the Salty Pimp (vanilla ice cream, dulce de leche sauce, sea salt, and chocolate dip) and the American Globs (vanilla ice cream, pretzels, sea salt, and chocolate dip). The Salty Pimp tasted AMAZING and the American Globs was pretty good as well. I also tried the Mexican AffoGAYto with homemade spicy hot chocolate, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, cayenne and shaved chocolate which was my least favorite because it was kind of soupy and too spicy and the Cinnamax which is two Snickerdoodle cookies with cinnamon ice cream in the middle - definite fav after the Salty Pimp. Definitely headed back there to purchase a T-shirt and a unicorn bag.

Salty Pimp

AffoGAYto

Cinnamax

American Globs

Bowery Electric
So I didn't get to spend very much time here but I'm posting it because it is somewhere I definitely want to come back to. They have live music usually and a great looking space. I was there on a Thursday right before NYE so it was completely dead but that's probably not always the case. Again just posting it here because it looks like a great music venue!

Photo Credit: Bowery Electric Website

Momofuku Milk Bar
So usually I only stick to places I really like but since this place is so well-known I'm going to talk about it. I didn't like this place at all. I was born with at least ten "sweet teeth" and this place almost ruined my love of dessert. I went to the one at 251 E 13th st and ordered the Crack Pie and the Compost and Cornflake cookies. The Crack Pie was like eaten hard, dried, brown sugar mixed with milk paste and the Cornflake cookie was so greasy that the bag it came in was almost wet. The Compost cookie was decent. It tasted like a really rich oatmeal cookie. This is one place where I DO NOT need to go back.

Phebe's
The night that we attempted to go to Bowery Electric (no one was there) we ended up down the street at Phebe's which was totally hoppin'. I wouldn't stretch to say there is anything hugely special about the place but the crowd was fun, the music was good and I would definitely come here again.

Photo Credit: Phebe's Website

Gramercy/Flatiron

Ace Hotel
So I went to the Ace Hotel for New Year's Eve in New York so my experience there might be slightly different. They had transformed the lobby into a winter wonderland with sparkly lights and hundreds of giant balloons. We had a "table" which really consisted of a three-person couch and two armchairs. I'm not sure how much the table cost but there was a $50/person drink minimum which is quite easy to meet especially on New Years. The hotel itself was really cool with inspirational quotes littered throughout on doorways, stairs, etc. It has a very artsy feel which I liked. I can't speak to the rooms but if I was visiting New York I might give it a try!


Inoteca
If you Google this restaurant you will get the Lower East Side location rather than the location on 24th and 3rd which is the one I went to. This restaurant is fairly small (we sat in the bar area) and the food is delicious. It's sort of Italian tapas style dining so we ordered the three bruschetta plate (pesto, tapenade and gorgonzola & fig) which was delicious. We also had meatballs, fried brussel sprouts and meat pasta all of which were amazing. I would definitely come back to this place. Also probably a little "datey" but fine for a group as well.


Tribeca

Stuzzicheria
I swear Tribeca is the land of delicious food. This was yet another amazing meal. The meatballs were juicy and giant (yes that sounds hilarious I know), the lamb ragu pasta I had was top five, and the rice balls were good although they aren't really my thing. For whatever reason I sort of felt like I was eating in the kitchen. Not sure what gave me that impression but it was nice!

Photo Credit: Yelp.com

West Village

Blue Ribbon Bakery
There couldn't be a better place to brunch and celebrate 2012! This restaurant was suggested to me by some friends and I'm so glad they did. The top/ground floor looks like your average restaurant but if you ask to sit downstairs you will be taken into the bowels of what feels like an old brick wine cellar. We had a table that felt like it was cut into the brick wall which was SO cozy and cool. Also make some excuse to go to the bathroom so that you can pass the bakery in the back that is open to viewing by the public. It can get REALLY toasty down there because of the bread baking so probably not the most ideal summer locale. But for winter the pulled pork sandwich, the home fries and French toast were homey and warm. One thing I noticed is the food has some Jewish aspects (Challah bread, etc) which I thought I'd point out.


Extra Virgin
Brought to you by the talent of Cooking Channel! This place doesn't take reservations so be prepared to wait. The decor is organic, trendy and fun and the bar is lively. We definitely waited for close to 45 minutes to get a table but the food was delicious. The brussel sprouts (clearly I'm on a kick here) were really good because they are mixed with pears which adds kind of a sweet/savory taste. The mac n' cheese is also delicious. I had the lamb threeways for dinner and it was some of the juiciest, tastiest lamb I have ever had. I HIGHLY recommend this place but not on a night when you are already starving.

Photo Credit: Extra Virgin Website