Restaurant Reviews Archives - Page 11 of 22

After yesterday’s awesome VITALITY workout session that I hosted with my personal trainer and Equinox, we headed over to Beecher’s Cellar for their happy hour special!

We were all amazed by the Cellar’s decor and atmosphere! It is a small space, probably able to fit around 85-100 people, but lit with warm candles throughout. Featuring a full bar, cow hide covered booth seats, and benches made out of the original building.

Our service last night was wonderful and their happy hour specials were the best deal I’ve seen in ages!

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It was wonderful to catch up with some of the VITALITY class attendees afterwards in a non workout based setting. It was actually the first time I’ve seen many of these ladies in anything other than ponytails and workout gear. Randomly, my trainer, Lauren, and I both brought white tops and skinny dark jeans to change into for the happy hour!

After the happy hour Bo and I headed downtown for dinner with a few of our friends. I’ve been craving Mexican all week so was thrilled when we were able to snag reservations at Mole Mexican Bar & Grill, a small Mexican restaurant on Jane Street we’d passed by many times before. Believe it or not, it’s quite difficult to find authentic Mexican food in New York City, beyond Rosa Mexicana and Dos Caminos.

The food and drinks were absolutely what we wanted! The drink menu was an extensive, including plenty of tequila based drinks beyond margaritas. I started with a tequila and grapefruit cocktail which was delicious. But, their margaritas were the real show stopper. It even came with red pepper infused salt!

The space, while tiny, had a wonderful energy including Mexican music! The staff was also very friendly and helpful even though they were jam packed last night.

After studying the menu for what seemed like ages, I finally decided to go with my old favorite, a quesadilla. I used to order a veggie quesadilla every Friday night when my sorority sisters and I went out for Friday night dinners.

Last night’s quesadilla was enormous! I was only able to eat half of it but every piece was vegetable filled and dripping with gooey cheese.

It was a fun night that continued at Hotel Griffou until I finally called it a night when I was close to falling asleep on their comfortable velvet couch. On my way out, I passed a familiar looking guy and within seconds did a double take to realize it was John Mayer. He definitely looks nothing like he used to when I spent evenings listening to Room for Squares on repeat each night of freshman year.

THEN NOW

The wine, tequila, and double workout, while fun, left me exhausted. I slept in until 10am this morning, missing the yoga class I had hoped to attend.

All was not lost though, because this week’s pancake breakfast was even better than last weeks! I took a note from Meghann’s book and topped the whole wheat pancakes with peaches and bananas!

This was the perfect fuel for a three mile recovery run and shopping in Columbus Circle.

The short day flew by and I can’t believe it’s already 6pm! I’m currently curled up in my new pair of CEW recovery socks, silk pajama bottoms, and my favorite hoody while enjoying amazing fall scents from new candles and sipping on a lovely glass of wine. This my friends is going to be the perfect Sunday evening!

Question: Tell me, are you a pumpkin lover or hater? I find it so amusing that people are so passionate about this topic. If you love it, what’s your favorite pumpkin thing and if you hate it, what’s your favorite fall food?

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After work yesterday, Bo and I finally did what we’ve wanted to do for a while: date night!

Jean-George Vongerichten’s 8th restaurant in the city, Perry Street is a very sleek and minimalistic restaurant which includes minimal ornamentation such as simple hanging lights. However, the comfort of the wood tables and the soft white colors also made me feel like we were in someone’s living room. You can tell, as soon as you enter, that it was designed by Richard Meier, the same architect who designed the parent building in which it’s located.

Located at Perry Street and West Side Highway, the restaurant’s window front also provides amazing sunset views!

We decided to start with cocktails instead of wine for a fun change of pace.

The Thyme Lemonade cocktail was refreshing and a not too sweet take on the traditional lemonade. The Citron Vodka was mixed with club soda and a lemon thyme syrup, resulting in a delicious cocktail which went down far too quickly.

We were in no mood to rush and therefore decided to split a small appetizer between us before ordering our appetizers and main course.

The chilled Peekytoe crab salad did not disappoint! Unlike any crab salad I’ve ever had, it was topped with fresh summer vegetables, crisp to the bite, and a champagne mango vinaigrette. The smooth crab flavor against the fresh, crisp vegetables left me craving more than just a small plate portion!

We followed our waiter’s appetizer recommendation for the appetizer course. Tuna is one of my favorite fish, whether grilled or served sashimi style, so I knew I couldn’t resist their signature dish, rice cracker crusted tuna. On the menu since opening day, this dish was served with a Siracha emulsion which was perfect for dipping.

Always a sucker for sweet breads, Bo ordered the appetizer special which was a summer take on sweet breads, paired with freshly grilled peaches and a Siracha glaze. I don’t care for sweet bread so can’t directly speak to their flavor but I know Bo loved them!

Choosing a main course was a more difficult task as many items sounded wonderful, especially the fish dishes!

I finally decided on the pistachio grilled cod accompanied with summer vegetables and chanterelle mushrooms. Unfortunately, the dish was lacking flavor though the cod was cooked perfectly.

Bo’s chicken was the real winner of the evening as it was a creative and perfectly executed spin on the southern classic, fried chicken with creamed corn. One boneless breast and one boneless thigh were served with rich creamed corn that was perfectly seasoned. The chicken also came with an interesting scotch bonnet hot sauce which enhanced the flavor even more by contrasting the creaminess of the corn. Bo thought that it was one of the best dishes that he’s had in a while.

The service continued to amaze us through the final portion of the meal, a complimentary serving of strawberry French style macarons. I personally don’t care for these one bit. I’ll take a coconut macaroon over a macaron any day if I have my choice. But, according to Bo, who loves all things French, these were soft and delicious with a subtle sweet strawberry flavor.

Overall, we were both very pleased with the service and meal. While I’m not sure we would go again, as there are so many restaurants in New York City, I would recommend it to anyone. The sunset views and friendly service made the atmosphere more relaxed than stuffy. The dishes were all very reasonably priced for New York City, especially the main courses.

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An afternoon nap and mani+pedi were exactly what I needed after the Queens half marathon to get a second wind for Bo’s birthday celebration! His friend Michael gave him a wonderful card with this hilarious pin, “Another Year Sexier” which Bo wore all night long! IMG_3513 (640x478)

Last night, 13 of our closest friends came together to celebrate Bo’s 27th birthday at Birreria. Birreria is the rooftop restaurant at Eataly. They have been trying to classify it as a beer garden but after three visits, I really don’t think you can call it that. While they have a wonderful and extensive beer selection the atmosphere and food is definitely a step above your typical beer garden.

Two weeks ago I called and made reservations, since they only accept them 2 weeks in advance for groups of 12 or less. Our friend Liz called and made reservation for a smaller table, requesting it to be near the group of 12. This allowed us the flexibility to have up to 18 people join for the celebration.

The best thing about bringing all our friends together is that by now most of them have met and spent time together during either our Marathon Party, Tacky Christmas Party, Ski Weekend, or Derby Party!

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Each table started with a round of drinks and appetizers as everyone caught up on life and the Summer adventures. Luckily, they had my favorite Blue point Summer Ale back on the menu last night which I enjoyed along with our table’s order of pretzel bread and cheese platter. You must order their pretzel bread if it’s on the menu; salty and doughy goodness. The rest of the table shared the salumi affettati misti platter which features a selection of all salumi.

I didn’t have the chance to take pictures of other people’s entrees but I ordered the Insalata Cotta Cruda which was once again a perfect summer meal. Filled with wax beans, potatoes, and other mixed vegetables it is light and filling.

Overall everyone was very pleased with their entrees including the pesce con verdure miste, pollo con pesto di olive verdii, bistecca con salsa verde, and sausage.

Birreria was the perfect location for a birthday dinner with a large group! Our waitress was very accommodating throughout the evening. Furthermore, our tables were adjacent to each other so we were able to play musical chairs all night, socializing with each table.

After dinner we headed over to Society Billiards for a few rounds of pool. We were looking for a relaxed atmosphere where we could have some fun, continue the laughs, and hang out. Their website describes it perfectly:

Society Billiards and Bar, in the shadow of the Flatiron, takes care to bring pool’s greatest traditions and welcomes a rich future for the game. Our friendly staff are all players as well and are dedicated to the reintroduction of a pool hall in the heart of this historic district of Manhattan.

It was a wonderful night celebrated with great friends. We missed those who couldn’t make it but were lucky to have both New York an Philadelphia friends up for the night.

A fun Saturday means that today is a relaxing recovery day. I’ve already enjoyed 30 minutes of gentle yoga and foam rolling followed by a homemade brunch.