Tiki Sunday

I had never been to a tiki bar other than on a beach ever in my life until Valentine’s Day, when I went with my girlfriends.

I had a great time and was excited by the fun boat drinks in cool vessels. I didn’t know where to find another tiki bar in NYC. Mostly because I hadn’t thought of it. Luckily for me, my post about my Valentine’s Day at a tiki bar was found by Damon who has a blog strictly about tiki bars. He has a whole catalog of tiki bars by state and that helped remind me of Painkiller, which is a tiki bar I had heard of once or twice but had never stuck in my mind.

Last night, I went to dinner with Dave and Tal at Rye House, which is one of my favorites. When we were done with dinner, I suggested tiki drinks at Painkiller and they were both game. After being dropped by a cab on Essex and Grand, we looked around the rather dilapidated area to find the bar.

Oh here it is!

The door is in there somewhere, it was hidden.

We walked past heavy curtains and gain entry to the low ceilings and cramped space that was this gem of a bar. We passed all the makings of a tiki cocktail on the bar on the way to our booth.

Huge straws, flamingoes, umbrellas...

I immediately ordered a Suffering Bastard (lime juice, simple syrup, bourbon, ginger syrup, Angostura bitters, gin, soda, Collins) and it was really good, but had an overly strong ginger flavor and I could only have one. But look how cool it looks!

Suffering Bastard

The others in my party ordered these fine looking drinks:

Pina Colada. The bits of shaved coconut on the top were awesome.

How awesome is this drink!?

They played fun music, including lots of Beastie Boys, which made me happy. After drinking a whole conch shell, you can bet I sang all the words to “Sabotage” out loud. The best part? The inexpensive check at the end of the evening. That was the icing on the cake.

We finally departed extremely late (or early morning?) and when we exited, it was snowing. I felt fine with that though, because of our warm weather themed evening and I can’t wait to go back.

Food Filled Weekend

What else is new? My life seems to revolve around food. All food, all the time. I probably should have named my blog that.

In any event, I ate a ton this weekend. I won’t lie to you. I did however exercise portion control, and everything was mighty tasty, so who cares? Plus, Saturday night was a friend’s birthday celebration, so tons of eating and drinking was in order of course. Full disclosure: this post is chock-full of photos.

I ran home from work (left way early, 4:30PM!) and went for a nice long run on the East River, because it was just too beautiful not to be outdoors. For dinner, I went to the Palm with TBW and our friends Sasha and Steve. Double dates are so much fun, and Sasha and Steve are great company. I had tomato and mozzarella as an appetizer and forgot to take a picture. Once dinner hit the table, I remembered!

I love asparagus. Steamed on the side is a great choice.

The Palm has amazing creamed spinach!

Hash Browns. The sides are the best part!

And for my main course….

Sea bass! I always get sea bass or lamb here. Their fish is so perfectly cooked and buttery.

I love the Palm because the decor is minimal, but rich in history. They have caricatures painted on the wall of famous people who have come in and dined there, as well as regular patrons. See?

Pictures Painted on the wall.

After chowing down on all this great food, I was completely overstuffed. I have said it before and I will say it again: the Palm is one of my favorite places to eat. Always a great meal, never disappointed. I love that.

Saturday rolled around and I had to run some errands in Westchester. TBW graciously came with me so I would have a driving buddy. I treated him to lunch at Palmer’s Crossing in Larchmont. I used to eat there a lot in high school, and I woke up craving this great sandwich they have called the Larchmont Panini. It’s supposed to be prosciutto, olive oil, tomatoes, pesto sauce and mozzarella, all on focaccia bread, but they had changed it around on me and it wasn’t the amazing Italian goodness I remembered from years ago. Disappointed, we got back in the car to head back to NYC.

I was in the mood for something sweet (which very rarely happens to me) and suggested TBW try out 16 Handles. It’s so good, and when Ali introduced me to it, I became an instant fan and couldn’t help but crave it ever since. I picked different fro-yo than last time. Want to see what I got?

Lime Tart & Red Velvet Cake Fro-yo with fun toppings!

TBW is now a big fan of this place as well, so we will definitely be going back.

Full of paninis and fro-yo, I went home for a big nap. It was such a great nap too. I felt tired and sleepy from not running, and wish I had, but baby steps, right?

Feeling a little refreshed from my snooze, I headed downtown for my friend Heather’s birthday. We were going to Spice Market for dinner and then out for drinks after, and I was pumped for the food. I love Spice Market. I have been there quite a few times, and am always happy with it.

There were five of us at dinner. When I sat down with the girls, they asked if I was going to blog about our night. I said “sure!”, and asked them if they read it. They all said they do, and looked forward to my posts. I was actually really surprised! I knew people like my mom read it, TBW reads it, other friends that blog read it, but I didn’t realize so many of my girlfriends were reading it too. It was cool to know people read my blog and actually liked it. Awesome! The best part was, they helped me remember to take photos of the food, and they even smiled for the camera and granted me permission for posting!

Then the food showed up and they kept telling me to take some pictures. I happily obliged. I’m not sure the people eating next to us loved me for it, I extend my apologies to them.

Heather (the birthday girl!!), Marcie & AnnieMe & Darcy

Sunshine = Healthy Lauren (Part 2)

When we left off, I had just put my whole roasted brussel sprouts and polenta pizza in the oven.

As it turns out, I am not a chef. Not even close. Quick recap:

• Brussel Sprouts = Amazing
• Polenta Pizza = I messed it up

Everything smelled amazing, so I was super excited to chow down. The brussel sprouts were done first, and I was very pleased with myself. They had a nice caramelized coating and were exactly as they should be. Crispy on the outside, warm and soft on the inside. They also tasted really great. TBW and I ate a whole pound of them. I guess that means I’m half a pound heavier this morning. But look how good these were!

Mmmm. So tasty.

About 20 minutes later, the polenta pizza was ready too. It also smelled good, but when I took it out of the oven, it left a lot to be desired. I tried to follow Emily’s recipe perfectly, but mine didn’t come out right at all.

First of all, I struggled with the polenta. It was too doughy and wouldn’t spread all over the pie pan. Second, I should have sprayed the pie pan with Pam, crisco, something before putting the polenta in there. When we tried to cut it into pieces, it wouldn’t come out of the pan. Ugh. Rookie mistake!

Second, somehow, the polenta didn’t cook all the way through. The parts that were crispy were the best, but they were few and far between. Here’s my sad polenta pizza:

Half is already eaten. See how it wouldn't fully come off the pie pan? 😦

Even though it was a broken pizza, it still tasted good, and we just sort of scooped it out and ate it with forks. Hey, if it tastes good, that’s all that matters, right? I couldn’t serve this at a dinner party, but it worked for TBW and I!

We wound up eating the whole thing, which wasn’t much, because a great deal of it was stuck to the bottom.

Bye Bye Polenta Pizza!

I also didn’t put enough toppings on. I forgot that the spinach would wilt and make it smaller. I think more toppings would have meant more tasty goodness. Next time, I’m going to use more water, less cornmeal, spray the pan with Pam before baking and add more toppings. That should make it a better dish! Emily suggests using a Springform pan, which I don’t have, but should probably invest in (it’s also used to make ice cream cake!).

I posted the brussel sprouts recipe for you to use since I loved it! I cannot in good faith post the polenta pizza recipe. I have to try it again and make some changes. However, the toppings I chose worked really well together, and that’s what I will use the next time (spinach, prosciutto, goat cheese).

Question: Does anyone have experience with polenta? What’s the best way to work with it?

Sunshine = Healthy Lauren (Part 1)

I don’t know why, but today was a really healthy day. That’s actually not true. I do know why. It’s because of the sunshine and warm weather.

Let me start from the beginning. I woke up with a hangover because I had run all over yesterday with Carolyn and had cocktails at no less than three swanky places. I did not spring out of bed. I did hit snooze twice. I finally rolled out of bed with my head swimming a little bit and had no interest in going to work out. I had a personal training session and if you cancel without notice, you get charged anyway and don’t get the workout. This meant that even though 5:15AM was tough to stomach, I still did it.

After chugging some water, I went to the gym and worked out with my trainer, Bryant. We did legs and abs and I worked hard. And you know what I realized? It felt amazing. The more I sweat, the better I feel. Sexy, I know. It was great because it was the first day since I started working out that we increased the weight significantly and I think the reason I got so excited was because I had a feeling of accomplishment. I also now wanted to push myself to add more and more.

At the end of it all, Bryant made me do suicide runs in the group classes room. I was so exhausted, but felt really good when I was finished. We stretched and then you know what I noticed? My hangover was gone. I had sweated it all out and felt fresh and ready to start my day. A shower and some hair drying later, I walked the block to my office without a coat on, loving the warm weather and feeling pleased with myself.

I ate egg whites with turkey for breakfast, and felt good about my choice. I liked that even though I woke up with a hangover, the gym made it disappear and I didn’t chow down on a bacon egg and cheese to nurse myself back to feeling better. I have been attempting to eat a healthier breakfast for some time now, mainly with Luna Bars which I found in the deli across the street from me in all these great flavors:

From top to bottom: Dulce de Leche, S'mores, Caramel Nut Brownie, Chocolate Dipped Coconut and Iced Oatmeal Raisin

So far, S’more’s is my favorite. I was feeling so proud of myself and didn’t want to stop the healthy streak, so I got a salad for lunch.

Avocado, Peppers, Shrimp, Cucumbers, Edamame and Low Fat Raspberry Vinegarette!

It was pretty good. I get so bored with the lunch choices around my office that sometimes I forget to even eat lunch. No bueno.

After work, I went for a run, since I was feeling good about today as a whole and it’s just so warm out. I ended my run at the food store, to get ingredients for tonight’s feast.

Since I am a blogging world newbie, I discover new blogs every day that are funny, interesting or helpful. My current favorite is The Daily Garnish. Emily’s food looks so good, and she keeps a vegan lifestyle, which is not my thing, but I know her recipes are made with fresh, healthy ingredients! After reading about a million of her blog posts, I browsed for recipes that looked delectable for me to make TBW for dinner.

I decided on Whole Roasted Brussel Sprouts (because Emily’s photo of her’s looked so appetizing!) and Polenta Pizza. We love pizza but this is a healthier, more fun version.

I made some adjustments to her recipe. After all, she tells you to put your favorite toppings on the pizza. Here is the beginning of it…

Polenta Pizza with goat cheese, spinach and prosciutto. It's in the oven. Clearly my photography skills leave something to be desired.

Brussel Sprouts roasted with olive oil and soy sauce...in the oven...fingers crossed!

Now that I have started blogging, I clearly need a good point and shoot camera. Mine broke a few months ago and I never replaced it. I guess it’s time to invest in another!

When I finally took everything out of the oven, I was impressed with myself. It all looked and smelled amazing!!!

TBW made a face when I said we were having both brussel sprouts and spinach. He needs to get his head in the healthy game. I guess it’s not really fair of me to ask him to completely change his eating habits overnight. I’m a very extreme person and go from one thing into the next quickly and in full force. I don’t know how to start being healthy. I just have to do it all the time, non-stop. I hope it sticks!

Ready to see how everything I cooked turned out?

You have to wait until tomorrow to find out. This one’s a two parter. Right now, I’m going to enjoy a nice meal with TBW.

See you tomorrow!

Sun and Cocktail Filled Afternoon

I pride myself on being a really good friend. I try to be there for everyone, and make everyone feel the love. So when someone asks you to be their Maid of Honor, your good friend gene kicks into high gear and you have to pull out all the stops.

You may remember I told you about my friend Carolyn, who is getting married. We went dress shopping and bought what we thought was the perfect dress. Well, Carolyn couldn’t get the thought of another dress she had seen online out of her head, and she went to try it on with her mom this past weekend. She fell in love with a gown all over again and asked me to come see it with her.I took a half day off of work and she made an appointment.

I was sure nothing would be as beautiful as the first dress she chose. I kept thinking there is no way she is THAT into another dress! Well, Carolyn proved me wrong and as it turns out, she found another perfect dress. First, we took a quick look at the bridesmaids dresses at J. Crew Bridal on Madison Avenue and then jumped in a cab to Gabriella Bridal Salon on W. 14th street in the Meatpacking District. I was so overwhelmed when we walked in. Everything was lace covered or glittering, there were feathers, trains, and satin spilling out of every corner. I don’t know how I will handle being a bride, there is so much to choose from!!

I took a few photos so you could see what I mean.

Gowns in Gabriella.

Accessories were everywhere. Here is a small sampling.

There's Carolyn trying on more dresses. I love all the tulle everywhere!

Turns out, Carolyn was right, there was a better dress out there for her, and she bought it. No full on photos this time, I think it was bad luck!!

We had to celebrate with lunch and cocktails, since it was only 2:00PM. We crossed the street to go to Dos Caminos, which is in the old Vento. Too bad Vento closed, I liked it there! Dos Caminos was completely empty, so we snuggled up to the bar and ordered some cocktails immediately. I ordered The Cruiser (Don Julio Blanco, muddled brown sugar, pineapple) which was so delicious I wound up having two, and we started with some guacamole and chips, which was a home run.

 

Chips & Guac!

We then split an appetizer and an entrée. We had the Bocoles de Calabaza (black bean gorditas stuffed with spicy butternut squash, goat cheese, mole coloradito) and they were incredibly tasty. Carolyn didn’t love them, but I did.

I tried to cut open the gorditas so you could see inside. They don't photograph so well.

We also split Sesame Seared Yellowfin Tuna Lettuce Tacos (sushi grade tuna with hot papaya salsa, black bean pico de gallo) and it was light and refreshing. The dish was also colorful and pretty!

Tuna Lettuce Tacos. So colorful!

Once we were full and slightly buzzed, we walked across the street to the Gansevoort Hotel. I have a co-worker who constantly raves about it, so I thought why not? We went up to the penthouse where the roofdeck bar, Plunge lives. We were once again the only people there (it was a Wednesday at 4:00PM, after all). The space was totally trashy, but we stayed because the floor to ceiling glass walls let in a ton of the glorious afternoon sunlight and we ordered more cocktails while hanging out with our sunglasses on. The sun was magnificent but the drinks were mediocre at best, my Hennessy drink was heavy and not that great. The wraparound outdoor deck was a plus, and they had a pool, which I guess is nice in the summer. The sunset was orange and pink, so pretty to watch out over New Jersey. I was just so underwhelmed with this penthouse. $15 for a crappy cocktail? No thanks.

 

Mediocre Cocktails at Plunge.

The trashy decor.

Blech. I will probably never go back.

Another of my friends, Dorothy, left work early to come and join us at Plunge and the three of us agreed we needed a venue change. Since we were right around the corner (and it was only 6:00PM) we headed to Abe & Arthur’s for more drinks. While the setting was much, much better, low lighting, leather and wood, just the way I like my bars/restaurants, the service blew. We were at a table in the bar area, two more people joined our party for a total of five and it was similar to pulling teeth to get the waiter to keep coming back and refilling our vintage style champagne glasses.

I ordered a Cold Apple Pie (Absolut Vanilla Vodka, Cider, lemon juice, almond cream cloud). I should have known it was going to be a heavy drink. The word “cream” should have tipped me off. I don’t know why I always gravitate towards dessert-like cocktails. I don’t ever like them.

I drank the whole thing anyway, because it was good, but I would have been happier with just a taste, not a whole glass. I switched to the Thai cocktail, which is not on the menu they posted online, and therefore I can’t give you all the ingredients, but suffice it to say, it was really good!

The Cold Apple Pie is on the left, the amazing Thai drink is on the right.

I love the glasses they were served in. If it’s vintage, I like it.

I finally poured myself into a cab home knowing I had to be up early to see my personal trainer at the gym. Why do I always drink the night before I have to lift weights at 6:00AM? I’m foolish. I’m going to make an attempt to get more sleep!

Luke’s Birthday & Meet My Dogs!

This week has been dragging, because so many schools are on vacation, and therefore a lot of my team is out of the office. When it’s slow at work, my day seems to go on forever.

Luckily, one of my bosses and I went out for Indian food for lunch to spice things up (Get it? Spice things up? I’m a dork, I know). There is this great hole-in-the-wall place a few blocks away, so we braved the freezing wind to get something other than the typical Midtown soup and salad combo.

I love Indian food. I think it’s a myth that it makes everyone sick. Just be smart about ordering and you are fine. If spicy food makes you sick, stick to things that are more mellow. Also, Indian food never looks awesome.

Looks gross, right? It tastes delicious!

After chowing down on some of the above, I finished out my day and jumped in the car with TBW to go to my mom’s house for one of my little brother’s birthday dinners.

Luke turned 12 on Valentine’s Day and a celebration was in order. My mom is a great cook, so she made dinner. Her Asian Style Beef Brisket is awesome. Oh man it’s so good. She cooked that, some Japanese sticky rice and a big salad and we were some very happy campers. After dinner, Luke blew out the candles on his homemade ice cream cake!

It's covered in sprinkles and Sweethearts (since he is a Valentine's baby!)

Recipes of both the cake and the brisket will follow, obviously.

My mom’s ice cream cake is so good. I am not really an ice cream person, but this cake is just great. Last night’s cake was mint chocolate chip and cookie dough. Yum! I love the chocolate cookie crumbles on top.

Mmmm. Ice Cream Cake!

Once cake and presents were finished, I spent some time playing with the dogs. My family has two Golden Retrievers. One of them is literally like my child. Her name is Ocean and she is four. Her and I have a special bond and I adore her. We could snuggle for hours. I treat her like a person.

Regrettably, she lives with my mom in the suburbs because she has more people around and more room to play. Sometimes she comes into the city to visit me, but it’s not frequent enough. If my job ever changes and I no longer work 60 hours a week, I will take her back to live with me. I miss her everyday. It’s so difficult to say goodbye to her when I have to go home. She stands by the door looking at me sadly. I can’t take it.

The second Golden is Finn and he is just under a year old. My family got him in November and he is very cute, but he is not my Ocean. I took some photos of them to tide me over and show you!

Finn is a bit of a bum, he likes to sleep a lot.

That's Finn on the left and Ocean on the right.

Finn (left) and Ocean (right) in their leis ready for Luke's Birthday!

This is not from last night, but you can see how pretty Ocean is! My mom is the only one who seems to be able to get decent photos of her.

Sorry for the shameless I-love-my-dogs-photos. Actually, I’m not really all that sorry.

I will definitely post the recipes for the brisket and the cake later, because you have to try them!

Are you a dog person? Do you love him/her as much as I do??

Tiki Bars Are My New Favorite

I have never been shy about the fact that I love good cocktails. I wander all over Manhattan to find the best ones. I love places that are either swanky or hidden, creative or pretty, or any combination of the aforementioned.

Since I went out on Saturday to celebrate Valentine’s Day with TBW at The Four Seasons, on actual Valentine’s Day I went out with the girls, and man did we have fun.

Amazing times aside, we went to a place with some of the best cocktails I have tried lately. The Hurricane Club was the destination of choice, as it is swanky, supposed to have great drinks and only just opened this past fall.

It was glorious.

I really don’t know how else to describe it. We had the best time. 7 girls around a table with tiki drinks? Don’t mind if I do. Here is a list of the cream of the crop from last night:

1. #77 (Monticristo Spiced, coconut, cardamom, passion fruit) – This delightfully fun beverage was served in it’s very own coconut shell!!! I almost screamed in excitement upon it’s arrival. The drink came with a small plastic stand to hold the coconut so your hands were free to read the extensive menu over and over.
2. #480 (Pitu, spiced passion fruit, muddled ginger) – This one came in a vase (a planter might be more appropriate) and was filled to the brim. It was enormous and had orchids floating on the top and a lime in the center that was….ready for it? On fire. Yay!
3. #46 – (Knob Creek, mandarin, bay leaf, toasted rice) – It had crushed ice which is always fun and bay leaves sticking up on the side. So pretty.
4. Coconut Shrimp – Interesting and delicious take on coconut shrimp, with this killer side of sauce with great blended flavors.
5. Dover Sole – It was a huge piece of fish, very fresh tasting with almonds and lemon.

Are you ready for the copious amounts of photos I took? I know you are:

#46 - Crushed Ice and Bay Leaves.

 

That's the #77 (in the coconut!) and some drink Lea ordered. She asked for "strong" and "bourbon".

#480. Pretty orchids! You can't see it here, but the lime was up in flames.

It was a huge beverage...

...meant to share!

 

Dover Sole, more than half eaten.

So, great food and drinks, but the decor? AWESOME.

I was so in love with the soaring ceilings, huge glittering chandelier, sexy crowd, leather and wood seating, candles and exotic flowers. It was like going on a first date and realizing its love at first sight. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Of course I wrote about this in more detail on Yelp. You can read all about it here.

Other than my amazing drinks and dinner combo with the girls, I had a pretty sweet Valentine’s Day. TBW sent me flowers, and I made him festive cupcakes!

 

Hot Pink Calla Lillies! My Favorite 🙂

Chocolate peanut butter cupcakes with fudge icing - his favorite!

 

Any fabulous places for cocktails you would recommend in NYC?

An Early Valentine’s Weekend

So this weekend was absolutely jam packed with activity. I felt like it was non-stop, as almost all my weekend’s are. Every moment was fun though, which is exactly how I like it.

It all started with Friday night dinner for TBW’s aunt’s birthday. We went out for Italian after work at iTrulli and it was so tasty!

Inside iTrulli. Photo compliments of Jane K. on Yelp.com

TBW has been talking this place up for a while and I never went, and was glad I finally made it there. The food was incredible, so fresh and interesting. I was blown away by both my appetizer and my main course. I ordered the chickpea fritters to start and the fried salted cod as a main. Both were awesome. Really, really awesome. After some passion fruit creme brulee for dessert, I was completely stuffed and satisfied. TBW put me in a cab and we headed home to get into bed early.

Of course I was up at 8:30AM on Saturday morning, that’s sleeping in for me! I laid on the couch and watched all my Tivoed shows from the week prior and ate some breakfast while TBW was still asleep. That is one of my favorite things to do. Veg out on the couch by myself with all my favorite shows. It’s so relaxing.

After being a bum for a while, I cleaned a little and tried to get TBW to go to the gym with me. He refused so I got back on the couch. After laying there a little bit longer, my motivation to go anywhere was totally crushed. I did have some fun though with TBW’s aunt’s dog, Ruby, whom we were watching for a few hours while she was out running errands.

To really put the icing on the cake, TBW went out to run some errands himself and returned with Shake Shack for lunch. How does one turn down a big juicy cheeseburger and crispy fries loaded with cheese? You don’t, that was a trick question.

After downing my fatty lunch of goodness, I obviously needed a big nap, which I did right then and there. Total fat kid status. I just laid down on the couch where I was already sitting and passed out. Don’t say I’m not classy.

I awoke from my nap with a newfound sense of enthusiasm for the day, threw on some running clothes and hit the streets.

Here’s is where my day got really awesome: I was running along, feeling good about myself since I was burning off at least some of those cheese fries, I’m enjoying being outdoors and BAM! The running path on the East River is closed at 79th Street. Granted, there is a huge hole in the middle of the path, but it’s been there forever and honestly, it needs to be fixed. COME ON CITY OF NEW YORK! Fix your public spaces!!! There is no way to go around it without jumping onto the FDR Drive (for you non-New Yorker’s, that’s a major highway), so I had to turn around. I texted Ali to alert her of this atrocity (which I am sure she knew about already) and she said “Yup. Sucks. Come over instead! Drink instead of run :)”

You don’t have to ask me twice.

I ran the few blocks to her apartment and rang the doorbell. Someone pour me some vino! I wound up hanging out for about two hours with her, her boyfriend ABS and Teddy.

Here is where things really heated up. Ali and ABS have Wii. I know, I know, it’s been around forever, right? Well, I am clearly behind the times and loved it so much, I knew I had to invest in it right away. We played bowling, wakeboarding, cutting stuff up and more. I took this great shot of Teddy and ABS canoeing, which is HILARIOUS to watch someone else do.

You can see their arms flying wildly. It was so great.

That was really a lot of fun. Especially bowling and cutting stuff. ABS made me feel good about my bowling skills, he’s very nice and gave good Wii advice.

I finally tore myself away from the fun and ran back to my apartment to get ready for my Valentine’s date with TBW!

One of my favorite restaurants of all time is The Four Seasons Restaurant. I do not mean the Four Seasons Hotel. They are completely different. The Four Seasons Restaurant is classy, swanky and old New York, with the powerful Bar Room and elegant Pool Room. (It’s on my list of faves!) We of course sat at the bar for some cocktails (I had champagne to celebrate – he went with the only thing he ever orders – a martini) One more drink later (an old fashioned!) and we were escorted to our table in the gorgeous pool room.

The pool room is basically a giant two story space with massive floor to ceiling windows and a beautiful shimmering pool in the middle of the room with a tree at every corner, decorated for the time of year. On this Saturday, they were barren branches for winter, but had purple and red flowers stuck all over for Valentine’s Day. It was so pretty.

It was hard to take photos, the room was so serene and I don't even know if flashes are allowed. You can see the pretty trees and the pool though!

The food is of course out of this world good, I had the foie gras in its own juices to start. I don’t know about you, but I love foie gras. I would eat it all the time. They just do such a great job of perfectly searing it at The Four Seasons. I knew I had to have it when I saw it on the menu. After being wooed (is that a word?) by my appetizer, I dug right into my baby scallops on a bed of lemon risotto. It was perfect. I ate everything on my plate, naturally.

When do I not finish everything on my plate?

The seemingly never ending amazing meal came to a close with dessert, an elderflower souflee (tastes a lot like lychee) and cotton candy. The cotton candy is enormous and freshly spun. It’s worth going there just for that…well…that and the foie gras.

We took the remainder of the cotton candy home. The just put it right in a to-go bag, which I thought was funny.

You can see the fluffy cotton candy in there!

We ate it in the cab home. Again, classy.

The next morning I was up early and TBW and I went to my dad’s house in New jersey to have lunch with him and my step-mom. We ate at the Ho-Ho-Kus Inn & Tavern and I was happy with my lunch of homemade pretzels, calamari and cobb salad with lobster. The place was quaint, cozy and had a fireplace! Who knew Jersey had good food? (I’m kidding. Jersey is just fine.)

On the way home, my friend Dave texted me asking me to go afternoon drinking with him. Don’t mind if I do! We went to Shoolbreds (another fave, you can read about how much I love it here) because it’s cozy and Sunday afternoons are never crowded. Of course I had too many hot toddys, and we were very happy to snag the booth in the back which is dark and warm. It has all the best little touches like these pretty lamps:

I like the little jewels hanging down.

And we even discovered a new cocktail on the menu! The mulled cider with Courvoisier is the perfect drink to cozy up next to a fire place, which we eventually did. I don’t know why Shoolbreds always makes me so happy. It has a lot to do with this:

I love the metal grate with detailing that encloses it. Safety first!!

I finally went home to have dinner with TBW and attempt to get into bed early to start my week off right. We ordered Mexican food from Taco Taco (best burritos ever) and watched the new Big Love episode (I fell asleep during it, shocking!).

What did you do this weekend? What’s your perfect weekend?

Thirsty Thursday

After three solid days of working out hard, I didn’t hit the gym yesterday. I just couldn’t bring myself to get up that early again (that early being 5:15AM) so I slept in, and due to a work event immediately following close of business, I didn’t have time after work either.

I realized I sort of wished I had the time yesterday. I am already dragging today and I think it’s from not doing anything physical the day prior. I know you are supposed to rest between workouts, but I was sort of getting into it!

During work the sun was shining so brightly I absolutely craved it. I wanted some sun on my face. I think this bleak winter is giving me a vitamin D deficiency! I walked around the block because that’s all I had time for.

Midtown was so sunny. It was great to be in it, if only for a few minutes!

After a long day of work I went to a small work gathering meant to boost morale and promote team socialization. We went for cocktails at The Aspen Social Club, which is only a few blocks from my office and it’s pretty much a swanky ski lodge…without the mountain or the snow. While the dimly lit interior and faux log cabin walls were perfect in keeping with the theme, they seating was horribly laid out, and I didn’t think there was a ton of room for groups (we were 15 people).

The coolest part of the whole place was the back dining area. The ceiling was covered in perfectly polished snow-white antlers. It was so cool. I took this photo, but it really doesn’t do the ceiling justice:

Antler ceiling.

Pretty cool, right?

After being impressed by the decor, I tried to food. We had a large spread with tons of options. What I tried, I liked!

• Crab Dip and chips – Good, the dip was a little watery, but the flavors were there, and the chips were homemade.
• Tuna Tartar – Classic preparation, with avocado and the homemade chips to scoop it up. Fish was fresh, so that was really all I needed.
• Deviled Eggs With Yellowfin Tuna and Wasabi Tobiko – Damn, was that good. I didn’t think I liked deviled eggs, but I guess I do!
• Pulled Pork Sliders – Your basic sliders, nothing crazy or special about them, but they tasted good, although they were a little messy for people in suits, as they were dripping sauce everywhere.
• Cheese Plate – I only tried a small piece of some sort of gorgonzola and it was fantastic!
• Acai Margarita – A little sweet, but I had 3 of them so something in there must have sparked my interest.

I did enjoy it, it was a decent after work dimly lit cocktail den that happened to have a menu of food too, and Midtown west is severely lacking options of the cocktail den variety. It was intimate, and when we got there around 5:30PM it was empty, but incredibly packed by the time we left at 9. Midtown win? I think so. I wish they had a better set up for private parties, but now I know the layout for next time.

Check it out, let me know what you think!

Do you have a Midtown favorite for after work cocktails?

A Happy Hump Day!

Yesterday started out rough because I was late to work, but ended extremely well. After a long and hectic day at the office, I sprinted out of there at 5:15, got myself a quick manicure and went to the gym to workout with my trainer, Bryant.

We did lots of weights, focusing mostly on legs and he made me laugh the whole time. My hamstrings were on fire by the end of it, but it felt really good too. After a quick primp in the locker room, I jumped a cab to the Upper East Side to have a date with Ali! We had been emailing all day back and forth and by the time 7:30 rolled around, I was pretty excited to catch up with her.

We went to our favorite Thai food place, called Land Northeast Thai on second avenue.

Inside Land

Land has some of the best Thai food I have tried in this big city. We started with the Mixed Appetizers which was a great dish for two to share. It consisted of two of each: shrimp parcels, chicken curry puffs, vegetable dumplings and a side of three different dipping sauces. Sorry I didn’t take a picture, I was took busy eating as fast as I could. As an entrée, I had my current favorite, the Chicken Pad See Ew. Its long, flat noodles with chicken, brocoli, cauliflower and this dark amazing sauce. It’s not spicy, which is one of the reasons I like it, and damn, is it tasty.

After eating almost the entire thing (the portion is sizeable) I was really full, but Ali insisted (read: sarcasm. I don’t need that much convincing) we go to 16 Handles, which is right next door. I’m not really an ice cream person, but thought I would try it out, since she is so obsessed with it.

Oh my. I was not expecting it to be this good. It’s a serve yourself frozen yogurt place with unique flavors and a million toppings to choose from.

This is similar to what I got last night. Looks tasty, right? Photo Compliments of http://peanutbutterandonions.wordpress.com/

I had to boisonberry fro-yo and it was to die for. I was super impressed with how great the flavor was. I preferred the peanut butter cup and cookie dough toppings to anything else I tried, and now I am ready for next time!

Just sitting there people watching with Ali was a great way to end my day. I can’t wait to go back!

What was the best thing that happened to you on Hump day yesterday?