It’s been quite a week so I just wanted to end it with this picture of a piece of chocolate cake. I got it last weekend when I met up with my pal Melissa. We stopped at Big Daddy’s and this was my dinner. Yep. It was also the biggest piece of chocolate cake I’ve ever seen. I had some help and we still didn’t finish it. But alas. I’m feeling this picture right now.
So Happy Friday. I’m on my way to Detroit today and I’m excited to see some friends and some fam. It’s been a long time so it’s gonna be good.
Resto! Around Madison Square Park area, you can really find some good restaurants. With Resto, for an example. First, can I tell you their tag line is “Bringing fat back.” Yeah. Look at how cutesie it is, love the minimalistic atmosphere. The waitstaff even wore shirts with the tag line on it. Nice.
It was way too cold to sit outside that night, which is funny because right now it is SCORCHING in NYC. We’re talking 90 degrees. And air conditioning. In May.
Anyway, we were recommended (via twitter) to have the deviled eggs to start. They came with “crispy fried pork” which is exactly what you would imagine crispy fried pork to be. It’s the square under the egg and they are light and airy yet fried and you kind of don’t know what is going on. But you like it. It’s a new thing, just like that chicken liver mousse I had recently. Trying new things, people.
For entrees, I had the‘four story hill farm roasted poularde, which is hen. Had to ask our server on that one. It was very, very delicious and it came with ramps and asparagus.
Darren had the lamb neck, which is what I was going to get except I didn’t want us to order the same thing. The lamb neck was good as well and but I was surprised that I actually liked my hen better. And finally:
Resto has a pretty good dessert menu: peanut butter parfait, apple crumb pie, liege waffles, and waffle ice cream sandwiches… it keeps going. Resto is kind of Belgian style, which is why you can get frites and different dipping sauces and also why you can get Belgian chocolates as a dessert. We ended up splitting the chocolate truffle cake (as you see before you) which came with crunch ‘n’ munch, caramel, and bourbon vanilla chocolate. It was good but not as moist as I typically like, even with the chocolatey center. Maybe next time I’ll try the peanut butter parfait of a waffle ice cream sandwich… now that it’s getting toasty. :)
Welcome to Life with Amanda’s New Camera!!! YAY! This is a City Mitten revolution going on here and it started last night with my good friend Nora coming to town! And it also started with chicken liver mousse. Have you had it? Probably not. Neither had I, but when checking in to Vinegar Hill House on foursquare someone had left a tip to try it, so we did. It came with toasted bread, vinegar onions, and the mousse was topped with pistachios. It was weird, but good. Definitely a taste I have never tried. Also was a bed of mixed greens with a spicy horseradish dressing.
Quite a combination!
Next up: Nora’s English Pea Ravioli:
I think this picture looks ugly but Nora is saying, “It looks good, it looks so good,” because she’s remembering that it was, in fact, so good. In fact, I just looked at it again and said, “That was good.” Ha.
Next up: Amanda’s pan roasted fluke:
Underneath were ramps (NYC’s latest obsession, btw), chorizo, croutons and yogurt. Another interesting and delightful combination.
And finally, finally:
Guinness chocolate cake! With cream cheese frosting. Miss Kelly Purkey needs to check this out, because it is good. The frosting is the kicker for sure and I love that they do not skimp on that!
Vinegar Hill House is super cute and it’s kind of in the middle of nowhere Brooklyn. We got there at 9:30 last night and had to wait about 20 minutes, but on weekends it gets major packed.
Also: tonight there was a very interesting couple sitting at the bar. And by interesting I mean completely inappropriate. They couldn’t stop touching each – caressing each other’s face, touching each other’s bum, playing major kissy face… it was wildly distracting. Have some respect, people! Vinegar Hill House, while very comfortable, is not your living room.
One final note: Now that I have a brand-spanking-new-camera, you might want to get used to pictures of me making this face:
That was a cake shot, btw. Just in case you couldn’t tell. :)
My goodness. What is appropriate to talk about on City Mitten? Well first I can tell you that this is Missy and you should know that by now. We met up Friday after work to shoot this fab video for Drinking Brooklyn.
It’s freaking hilarious. Things I learned from this video: 1) Always look at the camera even if you have no idea what you’re saying. 2) I need a hair cut. So yes, apparently I get really nervous if you throw a camera in my face, as witnessed by the fact that I informed the nation that I tend to go for guys who are “kinda scruffy” and I “check them out.” I don’t use the acronym “LOL” but I feel like it would be valid here. So we were at Rosemary’s Greenpoint Tavern and you can read more about our experience here. That bar is just so funny to me, which is why I laugh.
ANYWAY the top picture is Missy with me at DuMont which is going to be one of my top favorite places to eat in NYC. It’s awesome! Outdoor garden, fabulous food, beautiful ambiance! Unfortunately Missy was not my dining companion, she was leaving and when she told the girl who seated us I was meeting a guy, the girl asked me for his name and I was like, “Uh…” cause it took me a few seconds to remember. Awesome!
The best part, which is another reason I love DuMont so much now, is later after the guy arrived and we had dined, I was walking back from the bathroom and the girl tapped me on the arm and said, “So how’s Bob? Everything going okay?” We shared a laugh. And his name was not really Bob, but I figured I’d protect his innocence because “Bob” was kind of a dud. Ha!
The only other picture I will post from DuMont is this one:
Beautiful, beautiful white Sangria, with lots of berries. I loved it. And if you’re curious, “Bob” got the burger because I made him (not even kidding) and I got the mac and cheese because it’s famous (rightly so) and we also got the chocolate cake in the end to split, which typically comes with peppermint ice cream but we substituted with mascarpone (I hate peppermint). It was delicious! Anyway, DuMont deserves a real post after this one, perhaps I will be able to go back with Missy one day, maybe even for brunch this weekend when my homegirl Nora is here. Yeah, I dig it.
I feel like myself. Last night I went out to dinner with my good friend Melissa, and while it was really not too long ago we had brunch together, it felt like so much had happened in that month and a half. It was really nice to meet up and relax, dining al fresco in the West Village. Oh, West Village I love you. You and your brownstones and your windy roads.
Melissa and I ended up settling at Extra Virgin, in one of the outdoor tables in the front, which allowed for more people watching (and really poor parallel parking skills watching). In the picture above, you will see the menus and we especially liked that the drink menu came as a little leather-bound journaly thing. We notice the little stuff.
This is Melissa’s Branzino, which came on a bed of mashed potatoes.
I opted for the lobster ravioli because it’s been extremely difficile to deny myself anything with lobster in it lately.
Of course we had to get something sweet to split at the end. Molten chocolate cake. Pretty good but not comparable to Gotham or Diner. Yeah, so I’m a pretty happy camper right now. Had a fabulous dinner with a fabulous friend and this weekend is looking to be pretty solid. So have a glorious one and take advantage of this beautiful weather!
Have you been to Diner? It’s only the place to be in Williamsburg. It’s a Kullman Diner from the 1920′s and it is sooo cool. I was excited just opening the door.
It’s dim-lit and you feel like people who are people are there with you.
I loved looking at what everyone was wearing: guys in extreme sweaters and girls with giant bows (that was our waitress).
The menu changes, so they write it onto your paper tablecloth as they describe the dishes. It’s legit. I went there with Miss Kelly Purkey and we were both so happy to be there. She ordered steak and I had pork chops and we were both happy. Even happier when we got dessert. Flourless chocolate cake, I think yes!
Very light and fluffy and very delicious. Definitely on my top three in NYC.
The next person who visits me in New York is definitely going with me here. Because it’s awesome.
We walked back to Manhattan over the Williamsburg Bridge, which was a first for both of us and where I got the picture from yesterday. It was so pretty. So here’s another:
Lovely! And my night didn’t even end there.
I met up with my friend Joe and we went to Death & Co for some fancy drinks. Really fancy. My drink had both Absinthe and champagne in it. Just so you know. I love speakeasys and Joe knows them all. He went to a “real” one after Death & Co. and saw Kei$ha. Tik Tok!
A final note: Kelly had her fancy fancy camera with her when we were at Diner and I was sooooo jealous. I need to stop planning trips for awhile and get myself an SLR.
I love Christmas and I love Christmas Eve with my mom’s side of the family. Every year we go to my Aunt Sylvia’s for some (or a lot of) yummy foodz and family time and a Christmas gift exchange game. We fight about the rules every year. It’s great.
The cake got a liiiittle messed up during transportation which is why it only says “ery Christmas” instead of “Merry Christmas,” but you get the idea.
There’s always tons of food at the family gatherings. Each year there’s some variation but the main staples are always: pierogies, kielbasa, and cheesy potatoes. My family is Polish and we make some great pierogies.
And here’s some of my family milling around the table:
My cousin Danielle likes to be front and center:
And of course we have lots of treats. Chocolate cherry cake:
Pumpkin cake:
Sugar cookies from Maddox:
All the treats:
We played the present game we always play, which my aunt just informed me is called “Dirty Santa.” This year the theme was “favorite things” and we were instructed to bring, guess what, a favorite thing. Some items were: a Sonic gift card, a giant basset hound figure, fuzzy socks, a coloring book with crayons, a remote controlled Ferrari (which my grandma brought, of all people) and a ShamWow. Hilarious.
My gift was something I picked up last week at Artists & Fleas in Brooklyn. It’s a Kreepy Doll from the Kreepy Doll Factory and I thought this guy was the cutest. I love creatures and this was perfect to be a “favorite thing” for me to contribute to the game. And then of course, I fought like hell to get him. I can always count on my sisters to get my back and scheme with me so we end up with what we want.
Look at my baby:
I love him. Oh, and that’s my little sister at the top. Merry Christmas, everyone!
Saturday was rainy, sleety, and gross and I spent the whole day helping my friend P move from one apartment to another in Long Island City. It was freezing and a little bit dreadful but we had an entire team and after 8 hours (seriously) we were done. Yep, it took us EIGHT hours to move him across the street. We’re sweet.
When we were done, we unpacked his entire apartment and organized everything and then went out for a late dinner at the restaurant Shi that’s right in his building. At this point it was snowing a little!
I knew there was a sushi restaurant in his building, but I had no idea it was as nice as Shi. Shi is a restaurant/lounge with a huge bar area, chandeliers (as always a selling point for me) and a DJ above the lounge area. It was a pretty classy place. And there was me in the same jeans, tee and sweatshirt I had been doing God knows what in all day. Lookin’ good!
For whatever reason, my friends and I decided to spend the entire meal speaking in Southern accents. Actually, I don’t think we ever decided, I think it just happen. And we made it all the way to dessert before giving up. It was hilarious (to us anyway) and the people next to us must have thought we were crazy. because we were cracking ourselves up. I don’t even know what started it, I said something with a twang upstairs and the next thing I knew we were eating sushi, pretending it was our first time in the big city. Oh, we are nuts.
Anyway. Did I tell you how nice the view was? You could see straight to Manhattan through the windows. This next picture I took from my circa 1998 non-smart phone:
Gorgeous. And that’s the Chrysler Building. I posted the picture on twitter and someone thought it was my apartment. Not quite!
So, we got lots of apps (steamed shrimp dumplings for one) and then ordered some sushi rolls.
Sushi is so good. And I’m a major pro with my chop sticks, just so you know.
After all that, P suggested we got dessert so I opted we share the molten chocolate cake (duh). It was very warm and very moist and very delicious. Pretty, too:
I forgot to mention that the service here was impeccable, too. It was a very enjoyable dining experience and we stayed around for quite a while after our meal drinking hot tea (well, P and B were drinking tea, it’s not really my thing) and talking about life. A perfect night, I think.
When we finally got our bill it came in a cute little tin.
We have another birthday girl on our hands! Yesterday my cousin Melissa came to the city for the day to finally celebrate her birthday at Gotham Bar & Grill. Gotham Bar & Grill is one of the best restaurants in the city and practically across the street from my office, so I was more than happy to tag along.
Melissa, her friend Angela, and I ordered off the prix fixe lunch menu and we were not disappointed. My selections were:
butternut squash soup
Papparadelle with veal (amazing)
and, of course, chocolate cake!
Their chocolate cake is probably my favorite in all of New York, it is just so light! Every time I cut a bite with my fork, I wondered how they make it. I would love to see that. The ice cream was some sort of mocha flavor with chocolate chips, which is another favorite thing of mine. Chocolate chips = love.
So, I love Gotham Bar & Grill is what it really comes down to. It’s such a nice place and the service is impeccable. You feel like everyone really cares and they are trying their best to take care of you. Angela thought going to Gotham was just a regular ol’ thing for me. I wish! I’ve been one other time with my friend Joe, when we split a bottle of wine during Summer Restaurant Week and I was delirious in happiness. Haha. I love these days.
And I’m not the only one who takes pictures at restaurants!
When she made the reservation, Melissa told them they were celebrating birthdays so at the end of our meal they brought out a little plate with a bunch of mini desserts on it.
Cute but not even comparable to their chocolate cake. An A for effort though, and for everything else. :)
Yesterday was a fabulous Saturday in Brooklyn. Woke up at 8 a.m. (yes, on a Saturday) and went running for the first time in WEEKS with a brand new playlist, followed by a trip to the Brooklyn Public Library and the farmer’s market. Now I have endless amounts of peaches, plums, raspberries and blueberries as well as subway reading material for the week. Per-fect.
Later in the day I met up with my friend Lucy, who always knows what’s going on in the city when it comes to music. We went to the Park Slope Bluegrass and Oldtime Jamboree at the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture. WTF is a Society for Ethical Culture? I have no idea. But we went there. There were a lot of older people, at least 75% of the hair in the room was white or missing completely. We felt like we had been momentarily transported to Vermont or somewhere, we definitely did not feel like we were still in New York. Some of these people had Southern accents and most of them lacked any sense of style. BUT they played some amazing Bluegrass. I am always awed by any musical abilities and some of these people with their instruments (not to mention voices) really impressed me. This one lady looked like she was 70 years old, played bluegrass bass and sang it out. If only my grandma could do that! (For the record my grandma owns an accordion, so maybe that means something.)
When we first got there, they had sold out of food so we walked two blocks to Sweet Melissa, a bakery on 7th avenue that I’ve heard of and walked by many times but never actually gotten anything from.
Well. I ordered their chicken potpie and it did NOT disappoint. I have no idea the last time when I actually had chicken pot pie was, but it’s been so blah and rainy outside, so a nice, warm, crisp chicken potpie is just what the doctor ordered.
Will you just look at that pot pie? The color is off because the lighting in the restaurant was not conducive to my photography skills, as is so often the case. But look! It is basically one giant crust that sits on top of a bowl of chicken stew. And the crust was so flaky and easy to break off into pieces, I really don’t think I have ever had better pot pie. It was comparable to the chicken stew they served at the Michigan State University cafeteria. I’m not even kidding, that was some good stuff! But it did not, of course, have that fancy crust.
Anyway, after my pot pie (and Lucy’s salad – she always gets salad!) we ordered a dessert. We got the warm flourless molten chocolate cake instead, basically, my five favorite words right there.
It was pretty good. My only complaints would be the wrapping was annoying to get around and I think I needed a glass of milk or a spoonful of vanilla ice cream to top it off. And perhaps a little more molten wouldn’t hurt. The next time I’m there I may try one of these cupcakes:
ANYWAY. This was supposed to be a post about Bluegrass. I like it. I also like that there are things called Pickin’ Tents where everyone brings their instrument, comes and goes as they please and jam along with whoever. Throughout the night we would go outside and check out the impromtu bluegrass band under the tent. My favorite is when everyone was singing along, people’s voices always surprise me.
A lot of the songs were about West Virginia. One of them I even knew from when I was like ten and would play this Carmen San Diego computer game all the time. Now that was a good game.
