Highs and Lows

life can be a little funny: sometimes when you expect something to be bad, it ends up being better than expected. then, when you expect something to be good, it turns out to be awful.  life, you've got one helluva sense of humor.

i had a date with Sully to go see The Amazing Spider Man at the Times Square Regal theater. the movie itself was "meh" (even in 3-D) aside from the fact that Andrew Garfield is worthy eye candy. that Emma Stone is 1 lucky lady. it wasn't as witty as its predecessors, though it tried to be, but the action was pretty good and the chemistry between Garfield and Stone was fun to watch. i don't think the story was as great as the movie itself which resulted in my lack of interest at times.

the surprise of the night was actually dinner. and a Groupon dinner at that. i'm quickly jumping on the Groupon bandwagon, although it's just such a commitment to purchase something in advance. but i digress.

Sully had gotten a $60 Groupon for dinner at Destino. although i wouldn't call Destino a destination restaurant, if i lived in the neighborhood, i might consider it a worthy local italian spot that i could suggest to friends and family who were visiting. it's not a big restaurant, and if you're in a party of 2, be ready to sit thisclose to your neighbor. i could feel (and hear) the awkward atmosphere of the table to the left of us: it was an older gentleman with a younger woman and they barely said 2 words to each other the whole night. and we arrived right when their entrees arrived and they sat through dessert and coffee. AWKWARD. i could also hear (and sympathize) with the table to the right of us: a guy and a girl who were clearly "just friends" but through the conversation you could tell that the girl clearly liked the guy but the guy was either not interested/oblivious. they kept talking about bad dates the guy had recently been on.  these flaws (or not flaws since they were pretty entertaining) aside,  the Groupon deal for Destino was very impressive.

for $60 you had the choice of 1 appetizer, 1 entree, 1 dessert, and 1 glass of wine per person. and they didn't skimp on the options. with the exception of a few items, you pretty much had the whole gamut of the menu to choose from.

to start, the restaurant provided us with bruschetta as a sort of amuse-bouche. while a little bit heavy for an amuse, it was definitely refreshing (as it was 90 degrees outside). the crostini was a little too crispy, but then again, who disagrees with gratis food?

as appetizers, i chose the Polpettine di Mario ($14) while Sully chose the Insalate di Mare ($16). don't let the picture fool you: this is 1 whopping meatball. yes, it's only 1 per serving but it is 1 big serving. i ate about half of it and let Sully eat the rest. and i definitely recommend you order it; it's a balance between light and dense, and the sauce is hearty enough to give it some flavor but light enough so it doesn't overwhelm the meatball taste itself. i don't think i've ever had such a complicated (and pretentious) sounding meatball. just get it.  the seafood salad was also light and refreshing, and a nice counterbalance to the heavy meatball appetizer.

for entrees, Sully ordered the Vitello Milanese (veal pounded thin and breaded, topped with arugula, tomato, red onion, and buffalo mozzarella) ($24.50). i ordered the Dentice Marechiaro (red snapper sauteed with white wine and a touch of marinara)($26) since i wasn't that hungry and figured that a white fish would be lighter than the alternative, which was pasta. both the fish and the veal were fine, although slightly overcooked. however, Sully seemed very satisfied as he finished off both our plates after i had gotten full.

for dessert we opted for the Tiramisu ($11) and the Ricotta Cheese Cake ($11). both were nice and light, although if i had to choose a winner i would go with the tiramisu. it had a more dessert feel to it, most likely because it was slightly sweeter.

so, as is the irony of life, i had expected great things from the movie and very little from the restaurant, only to have the reality turn out completely opposite.

A Day of Rest

every once in a while i get a little burnt out with the monotony that is (my) life. sometimes the whole "rat race" concept feels a little too close to home. so when i get into one of these moods, i tend to take a day off from work. although it's not a true day off since i usually have to work from home, but the good part is i can enjoy some of the day-time things that i don't get to partake in when i have to be in the office all day.

luckily for me, Life is 1 of my few remaining friends who hasn't been tied down to a 9-5 (or 7) yet. so he was more than game to meet up with me to catch the happy hour deal at Strong Place, a few blocks away from my apartment. in turn, i got to partake in my favorite kind of happy hour: $1 oysters. 

if i could eat only 1 food for the rest of my life- ok, wait, that's too horrible for me to think about. let's start again: amongst my favorite foods that i don't get to eat enough of, oysters would probably be at the top of my list, perhaps along with pate, foie gras, porterhouse steak, korean barbecue, uni....

 tangent aside, oyster happy hours depress me because i can never get off work in time to enjoy them and most of them only run during the week. 

 and so it was that Life found me sitting at the bar at Strong Place with a dozen oysters in front of me and a 2-for-1 draft beer.  the oysters are already a great happy hour deal, and for beer drinkers, the 2-for-1 draft deal is even better. Strong Place has an extensive list of draft beers and includes its entire menu in its 2-for-1 happy hour special. the only catch is that the pours seem to be 12-oz pours vs. the traditional 16-oz pour. but for $5 for 2 beers of the more unique variety, i think it's a good trade-off.  i usually don't partake in fancy beers because they almost always give me the traditional asian-red-face and then just make me pee a lot and sometimes even gives me a headache. but who can say no to 2-for-1 int eh $5-$7 range?


while Life and i chatted, we somehow got onto the topic of Scoutmob, of which i'm a strong advocate. particularly since the first time i'd heard about it was while eating the best burger from Burger on Smith. although it's a little more expensive than two-8-two, it has a ton more topping options and remains cheaper than Moo Burger. plus, if you have Scoutmob, you get 50% off your entire order (capped at a $15 maximum discount). when Life and i went, they were also doing a beer special (with a better option than your generic Yuengling/Bud/Coors options). 

the fries are always crispy and flavorful but the burgers are what i go for. and 1 burger in particular: the Left Coast (beef burger, gruyere, avocado, oven roasted tomato, arugula, and garlic aoili) ($13) which is also served with a pickle and coleslaw. 


great. now i'm hungry.

Don't Be a Cheapskate Then.

ever since i joined the "real world" and got a job that makes me stay past 7 pm, i feel like i miss out on so many of the great free activities NYC has to offer e.g. movies in the park (i still have war-veteran-like flashbacks of watching Stand By Me at Brooklyn Bridge Park). luckily for me, Kins' current boyfriend works a job that allows him to get out fairly early, which is how i found myself with a prime seat in Central Park for the NY Philharmonic. 

i'm the first to admit that while i enjoy classical music, going to see an orchestra/ballet puts me straight to sleep. which is why concerts in the park are more my style. i get to (quietly) chat with my friends, eat yummy delicious food, drink wine (allegedly, since it's illegal to drink alcohol in a public park), and enjoy great music.

after receiving some initially poor directions from Kiks ("we're at the first speaker, walk towards the stage"-there were a total of 6 speakers staggered throughout the venue and the place was packed by the time i got there at 7:30 pm) we finally found each other.  and then i got to sit down and enjoy all the yummy and delicious snacks Kiks had packed for us which included, courtesy of Fresh Direct:sliced salami, a block of white cheddar, Triscuits (my favorite cracker-actually, i can't remember if that's the cracker she had, but i'm inputting my rose-colored memories on it), dense chocolate brownies, grapes, Israeli cous cous, baby carrots, and a cucumber tzatziki-like dipping sauce. Kiks always brings the best spread for outdoor picnics; she's the mom of outdoor spreads.

the concert began (relatively) promptly at 8:00 pm with some opening words from some guy related to the NY Philharmonic (either some top-ranked person in the organization or possibly a big philanthropist/volunteer) along with surprise guest Alec Baldwin. as soon as the celebrity was introduced a thousand cameras and camera phones shot into the air to try and get a picture. we're such amateur paparazzi. 


Kiddo and his girl ended up coming a little late and had to find us through the giant crowd. i had been texting Kiddo to direct him to our location and waving my hands in the air to make sure he saw me. we locked eyes and he seemed to have located our position; or so i thought. so i was surprised when i saw Kiddo less than a foot away from me (i could physically hear what he was saying) exclaiming that he had "lost me" and i couldn't find me. so of course i loudly announced, "i'm right here, stupid" which got me dirty looks and glares from the 2 women laying down in front of our blanket.

once Kiddo+1 sat down, i did the introductions between them all (the +1s were new to everyone else). keep in mind, we were keeping our voices at respectable low tones the entire time. but the 2 women in front of us-let's call them Groucho and Marx- kept turning their heads to give us those annoyed glares that passive aggressive people like to do in these situations.

finally, Marx, the younger of the 2 women, turned around and targeted me:

"can you keep it down, we're trying to listen."

and here was my response: 

"if it bothers you so much, go buy a fucking ticket.  otherwise, enjoy your free concert in the park with all the 300 other people present and shut up."


ok, i didn't say exactly that, this is just a condensed version of what i said but you get the gist. although i did say the part telling her to go buy a ticket if it bothered her so much. 


usually i'm not that confrontational with people, but the passive-aggressive way they did things really bothered me. and i think i have a valid point about the whole free concert vs. ticket issue. it's not like my friends and i were having a kegger on our little blanket. we were speaking at respectful volumes while also enjoying the music and laid-back, casual atmosphere. i can understand getting annoyed when you pay $100+ to have a fancy night at the orchestra and encounter a rude concert-goer. but Groucho and Marx were dressed in their hippy-finest in fucking flip flops. did they really expect the same type of behavior that you encounter with patrons who pay for their tickets? 


if you want that kind of atmosphere, stop being a cheapskate and pony up for some tickets. otherwise suck it up or move.

what happened to my ghoulash?

there's a downfall to having such an extensive restaurant/food list: it takes FOREVER to try and get through. for health reasons, for social reasons, for work reasons, and most importantly, for monetary reasons. some times a restaurant gets crossed off the list not because i've finally gone there to eat, but because the restaurant has closed.

while that didn't happen this time, something of equal importance did: the chef had changed and the menu had been completely revamped. so i had no idea what to expect when i went to The Karloff for dinner last night.

i have been trying to meet up with GI for over a month but he's always perpetually busy, this time even more so since he was the best man for 2 weddings which were only 2 weeks apart and training for a cross-county run in Europe. GI is one active fella. but the great news is that he just moved to my neck of the city: Brooklyn Heights! so many of the people i love are migrating towards my neighborhood and i couldn't be happier.

i suggested a late dinner at the Karloff in order to cross a restaurant off my list and play catch-up with GI in the process. my googling of the restaurant told me that they had closed for renovations in the beginning of June and had only recently re-opened as of June 28th with a brand new menu. and then 1 week after the re-opening their executive chef parted ways with the restaurant for "budget" reasons. so needless to say, i was now a little nervous about my dinner suggestion.

i had mistakenly believed that i had enough time to run home and change out of the torture devices aka high heels i had worn to work that day, which of course made me a few mins late to dinner.  i sat down at the table across from GI and noticed that we were the only people in the restaurant at 8 pm. now i was even more worried.

the waiter immediately swooped in and asked if i would like anything to drink. looking at the mason jar full of beer GI was already drinking, i inquired about it and was informed it was the House Lager ($5) and was similar to a light lager. the color of the beer seemed to confirm the waiter's claim so i ordered one. only to find out from GI that the beer was actually an IPA. it was still good but i'm not usually an IPA fan because of the bitter aftertaste it leaves in my mouth. and it gives me a wicked headache after 2+ glasses.

we started with an order of Potato Latkes ($8) and Meat Vareniki ($10) which had both been highly acclaimed by on-line reviews. plus, it seemed to be the only real russian/hungarian appetizer offerings left at the Karloff, which has severely reduced their menu offerings to a mix of more American type fare with a few Russian/Hungarian options interspersed. in fact, the entree offerings skewed entirely towards the usual American fare options, although with a culinary twist, but without any of the European influence that was the primary reason the restaurant was on my list in the first place.

Picture taken from Serious Eats, photographer Jessie Pascoe.  Our latkes didn't look like this. think smaller and fancier.  These are latkes from the Karloff's days of yore.

the Potato Latkes were actually very good, served with a vinegary red cabbage on top of each serving (there were 2 per plate-perfect for GI and i to eat 1 each). a small side of sour cream was belatedly brought to the table. but no apple sauce? in retrospect i doubt the applesauce is actually needed because of the sweet and tangy flavor of the cabbage. the latkes themselves were a little thicker than others i've had but had all the right elements: crispy crunchy outside with a nice tender center. these were probably a distant cousin to well-cooked hash browns.

the Vareniki, which you have the option of ordering meat or veggie, were yummy little baby pierogies filled with meat  instead of potato and cheese. i refrain from using the word dumpling only because they don't remind me of dumplings, they remind me of baby pierogies. the skin is not too thick or thin, but retains that slight crispy edge that i've come to associate with pierogies which are boiled and then pan-fried. the filling was a sufficient size and taste, although my inner (or outer) glutton would have preferred the filling to bursting out of their skins. but then that wouldn't have looked as pretty would it?

for entrees GI ordered the Trout ($19) while i opted for the Braised Oxtail ($16). the trout was the clear winner, grilled with a crispy skin on top but tender meat within without being dry. it was served with diced red potatoes and a slight cream sauce but maintained a relatively light feel to the dish. the oxtail on the other hand was 3 pieces of oxtail which, while tender enough that i could cut the meat away from the bone, was not exactly fall off the bone, which is what i would have preferred. it was served atop the biggest pile of mashed potatoes i've ever received in a restaurant portion. and although i am usually a big fan of that starchy side, i was getting pretty full from our heavier appetizers (and the giant breakfast and half a bar of swiss chocolate i had consumed at work. yes, i'm keeping it real).

overall, i thought the Karloff wasn't too bad. the food was good, if not exactly the type of cuisine i was expecting. i would definitely come back for the appetizers, and while the entrees were good, they weren't particularly special. but at least i get to finally cross it off my list.

How to Not to Get a Second Date

i recently had a slew of dates, which would usually be something to cheer about, except work has been giving me a slight aneurysm lately with all the stress so i wasn't really in the right mindset to go on a date. being charming and witty was just too much work at this point. so moving in the direction of the title for this post, here are a few how-to pointers about what not to do on a date.

1. Do Not Make Your Date Black Out
yes, you would think this is a no-brainer. and this one wasn't entirely my fault.

i met my date at a local bar close to my apartment since he was working near the Brooklyn Museum and wouldn't be able to meet until after 9:00 p.m. this gave me ample time to get home and change (well, 30 mins anyway), which i liked. but of course, as soon as i got home i got into "home" mode where i didn't want to go out at all. you know what i'm talking about. even if the "out" i was going to was only 3 blocks away.

regardless, i pulled myself together and made it to O'Keefe's for drinks. i ordered my usual, Jameson on the rocks, and my date followed suit. we had some good conversation, seemed to get along well, and proceeded to order another round. at this point, i had decided i liked my date enough to take him to my real local, Brazen Head (plus it was closer to my apartment which meant easier walk home later). 


so off we went to the Brazen, where we proceeded to order another round of drinks, this time Four Roses on the rocks. by the last round, i was more than tipsy, having not eaten dinner after work. my date seemed fine, although getting a little handsy, but not in an impolite way, just a flirty way. we didn't even finish our last drink before i made the command decision that i had to get my drunk ass home. 


like a gentleman, my date walked me home and i sent him on his way to the subway.

CUT TO THE NEXT MORNING: i get a text message from my date who is clearly suffering a serious hangover. i think to myself, "ok, that's fine. we did have a few drinks."

and then my date informs me that he blacked out and doesn't remember anything. wha?!?!

which is pretty ironic since i had a whole conversation with my date, who's a psychiatrist, about the medical rationale behind blacking out and its effect on the brain. and it seems he blacked out immediately after that conversation.

so......no second date for me.

2. Do Not Fall Off Your Chair During Your Date
This one RARELY happens to me. i have fallen only twice (including this time) while imbibing alcohol in the since December 2011. hmm, i guess that's not that impressive. 

i had made plans to meet my date at Vintry Wine and Whiskey  on Stone Street. it was actually a very considerate plan on his part since he knew i worked in FiDi and that i enjoyed drinking scotch/whiskey. and the place isn't a bad date option, with dark mood lighting and a relaxed yet classy atmosphere. overall a great place.

except for their high stools and tables. and dark recessed lighting. 

at some point during the date, my jacket, which i had placed on the stool next to me, had fallen on the floor. in an attempt to pick it up, i leaned down and... SPLAT.  it was the kind of loss-of-balance/falling where halfway down you realized it's pointless to fight the gravity so you just lean into the fall. and that's how i ended up on the floor laying on my right side.

my date had enough tact to not mention anything when i got back up to my seat. although i did hear a distinct "oooooohhhhhhhhh" from above the table when i landed on the ground. 

so....no surprise that i didn't get a second date from this one.

3. Do Not Be a Douchebag
This is not based on my behavior (although you may argue that above conduct qualifies me on the road to douchebaggery). i recently met up with ArrangedMarriage (you remember him right? if not, please refer to any of these posts to refresh your recollection). i knew i shouldn't but did so mainly because of the family friend connection.


but ArrangedMarriage really can't help but to fuck it up for himself all the time. i mean, when you think about it, it's sort of impressive how much of a douche he can be. let's start from the very top:


due to work, i arrived 15 mins late. of course, feeling bad, i sent him a text message as soon as i got off the subway to let him know i was on my way. except when i got to the restaurant, AM was nowhere to be seen. so i sent him another text to let him know i was sitting at the bar.


AM showed up 35 mins late. with no explanation. he just walked in, no apology, no excuse, no NOTHING. and then proceeded to wander into the restaurant while i closed out my bar tab. awesome start.

conversation as always was a stall-out for the most part. AM never asks anything about me aside from the cursory, "so how's work?" whereas i learned through dinner that AM is thinking about making a career change, may have to move back to NJ to do so, and is generally fed up with his current job. you might say to yourself, "well, [you meaning me], it sounds like all you did was talk about work with him too Ms. Hypocrite." but that wouldn't be EXACTLY true...

i tried to ask AM about what else is going on with him. since he has no friends there was nothing to tell there (although we haven't hung out in almost 7 months! is that even possible?!). but the conversation took an interesting turn when we discussed dating or significant others.


AM kept not wanting to discuss it because, in his own words, "you might think lesser of me." almost impossible really, but of course i didn't say that to him-instead i blast it out here on the internet.  i just sort of rolled my eyes and left it alone.


as always, the 1 saving grace with meeting up with AM is that i always get to pick the restaurant. so i got to cross Macondo off my list. i'm actually glad i got to go this place with AM instead of my other more food-focused friends since i think they would've been as "meh" about this place as i was. 


when i first arrived, i sat at the corner of the bar adjacent to the street. Macondo also has 4 stools out on the sidewalk, i guess to give it that summer-tropic feel. which would have been fine except there was a serious ant infestation going on in the cracks of the outdoor bar table. it was seriously freaking me out sitting so close to it. and i kept feeling real/imaginary itching and crawling on my legs because of it. ::shiver::

the wine list is very moderately and affordably priced so we split a bottle of rioja ($30). since neither of us were very hungry we opted to order only 3 dishes. but honestly, i wasn't that enticed to order much of anything else for the most part. we ordered the A La Lolita (mushroom croquettes, figs, almonds, truffle trumpet aioli) ($9).  this was the best food item of the night. it's super creamy like a croquette should be and the mushrooms, figs, and almonds give it a sweet and savory flavor. plus it was perfectly crisped on the outside and warm on the inside. it came 3 to an order and i selfishly at 2 of them. 

we also ordered the Camaron (shrimp, roasted pineapple, ginger, aji amirillo, onion, cilantro) ($10). this was a ceviche dish that was good, but nothing special. the shrimp were average sized and the flavor was well balanced, but nothing that really stood out. the Bruselas (crispy brussel sprouts with chipotle aioli) ($6) were ordered mainly to add some greenery to my meal-i've been on a balanced diet kick recently. these were good and crispy, served in a hot skillet. however, they were slightly over-salted, but nothing i would die from (hopefully).


the service at Macondo was very attentive. to the point of being a little overly so. they kept coming over to refill our wine and water, to the point where our bottle of wine was done before all our food had arrived.


after Macondo, i asked what AM had planned for the rest of the night, seriously hoping and wishing he would say he had to go home. after all, it was a Monday night. except of course that didn't happen. without even asking, AM just declared "let's get another drink." since we were on the LES, i suggested Pianos, which i haven't been to in a couple of years. to my surprise (or really, should i have been surprised?), AM had never been to Pianos before, which i consider an NYC institution for young yuppies who want to drink and dance. so off we went.


and this is where i hit my final straw: so in order to make some conversation, i again brought up the topic of AM's recent romantic situation and again AM deferred, saying that i would "think less" of him. so i re-assured him that it wouldn't be the case and then shared a story of my own recent entanglement and the hijinxes i've been involved in (i did NOT share the 2 above stories). AM continued to defer, so i jokingly declared i would try to guess the "horrible" activity he was involved in. the only facts i had to go on were that it involved a co-worker of his.


i began by saying, "let's at least rule out some impossible situations, right?" and thinking of the most heinous thing that could happen and clearly that AM would never engage in such conduct, i suggested rape. and this was AM's response:


"i refuse to admit or deny that that happened."

WHA?!?!?!?!?! REALLY?!?!?!?!?! so you want me to think that you might have raped your co-worker? 

and....date done. never to be repeated. EVER.

the tale of 2 scotch eggs

there were 2 arguments i presented to my mother when i pitched my case for the necessity of moving to NY once i got my current job in FiDi. 

1. i would be working long hours, sometimes late into the night or on weekends and it would be better to live closer/by subway rather than take the 1 hour bus from Port Authority back to my parents' home in NJ.
2. even if i wasn't working long hours, my job does frequent work happy hours and events which i will be expected to attend and then refer to Point 1 again.

i planned on moving to NY anyway, regardless of whether these arguments convinced her or not. but it was nice to try and appease her "empty-nest" spirit with some logic and rational. and i wasn't lying about it either. although my hours haven't been as crazy as perceived (only once in a blue moon) and the social events aren't as frequent as i thought it might be.

however, my firm does participate in a lot of fundraisers and marathon-related activities. and even if i don't participate in the exercise part of it, i still get to attend the food/drinks part of it. yippee! and so it was that because of 1 such work function, i found myself at an event held at the Jones Wood Foundry. which sounds more like a foundation than a bar. ah, the british and their fancy words.

the space itself isn't that big when you first enter. it's a narrow wooden bar, with a natural wood feel vs. that mahogany goodfellas feel. sort of like the beach? there's a courtyard area in the back with another room and bar/bathrooms even further back. my firm had booked the courtyard and back room for the event. i had arrived when the event was at its halfway point, with the idea that some of my non-work friends would meet me (i try to share the wealth when there's free food and drinks and it's ok to actually bring others). although my doofus/doofi(?) friends missed out, i on the other hand got to experience my first scotch egg of my life. and whoa nelly, it was good.

a scotch egg is clearly a heart attack waiting to happen: it's sausage wrapped around a hard-boiled egg that's then fried and eaten. but it's also so damn good. i'm pretty sure i ate at least 4 of these bad boys before i started to have imaginary (or real?) chest pains and had to stop.

a few weeks later i found myself meeting JCrew for dinner at the Toucan and the Lion for a our usual arrangement (which is that i get to pick a restaurant i've wanted to try and JCrew pays for it. i've known JCrew since high school and he's like an American version of an oppa). this is a small, trendy spot in the East Village, so i wouldn't recommend it for a large group gathering.  it has dim enough lighting to be good for a date, but due to the small size of the restaurant, it's not very intimate as youarethisclose to the table next to you. so it's probably best to just go with a friend or 2 for a casual dinner. JCrew and i decided neither of us were too hungry, so we would just share a few items.

one interesting thing about this restaurant. JCrew and i were looking over the menu and hadn't decided if we wanted to order any entrees/mains but knew we wanted some appetizers. so we proceeded to put in our appetizer orders with the idea that we would either add to it or order mains when the waitress came back. except we weren't allowed to do that. apparently the chef doesn't allow customers to order like that. you have to order everything at one time. it's a little bit of an odd practice, i mean i'm not ordering a prix fixe, but it's not something i can't live with.

JCrew is another of my dining partners who lets me run the show when it comes to ordering. i'm so blessed to have these friends in my life. so we ordered the following:

1. Duck Confit Mofongo ($14): crispy taro root, chinese sausage, salsa verde and a fried egg. this ended up being one of JCrew's favorite dishes of the night. this is a great combination of flavors and texture, with the egg yolk and salsa verde keeping the sausage moist. the "crispy" taro root isn't actually that crispy but it lends a sweetness to the dish that balances everything out.

2. Whiskey Sour Pickles ($6): fried brooklyn brine co. pickles, kaffir lime aioli. as long as you're  fan of fried pickles, you'll like these. but make sure to eat them quick because fried pickles are less fun to eat when they're not piping hot. 

3. Beef Short Rib Tacos ($14): aromatic dried curry, queso fresco, pickled shallot. this was another of JCrew's favorites of the night. the beef short rib was done well, and the accoutrements helped the taco feel refreshing as opposed to overly-spiced or overwhelming. a good taco, but you can probably tell i'm not pining for it in retrospect.

4. Asparagus ($6): honestly, we ordered this only to get some vegetable/healthy option on the table. but it was surprisingly good. a well-cooked asparagus that retained its crispness with a light dressing of a mayo-based sauce that didn't overwhelm the innate veggie taste.

and of course, as related to the title of this post, we ordered the Scotch Eggs ($12) which the Toucan and the Lion does a little bit differently than the british version.  they use a soft-boiled egg with five-spice duck sausage served with kaffir lime aioli. duck sausage?!?! mind-blown. although i thoroughly enjoyed it, JCrew was less of a fan and i've read other reviews that agree with him. i think it's partly due to the gaminess of the duck sausage, which has never been a problem for me. but then again, i eat a lot of weird animals/parts.

SUN day part 1

at one point, i hit an eating wall. my stomach had finally thrown up its hands and surrendered from all the restaurants i'd gone to and all the food i'd supplied it with. it was just too tired and overstimulated.

and i think this wall came around the time i went to brunch at Fat Radish. which, btws, is delicious. on a beautiful saturday morning, i'd made plans to meet with TVDinner to try out brunch at this (not-so-new-anymore) british gastropub.  expecting the worst in terms of a wait, i was pleasantly surprised to find the restaurant moderately full, but not crowded.  BlackSesame and i grabbed a seat at the bar while we waited for TVDinner and Kiddo to arrive.

since i never say no to a bloody mary, and brunch is really the only acceptable time to drink one, both BlackSesame and i ordered a glass. Fat Radish's bloodies are good, but nothing special, although they make use of fresh horseradish and their own pickled garnishes consisting of a tiny string bean, a beet, and (of course) a radish. the garnishes are great, very much like McClure's or Rick's Picks.   be forewarned that their bloodies are not spicy, at all, so make sure to indicate you want yours spicy (which i did with my 2nd glass).

considering that Fat Radish touts itself as farm-to-table fare (a label i find silly since in the grand scheme of things everything is farm to table really), i found it ironic that they were serving Tropicana OJ. they explained that something had happened with their shipment of oranges/OJ and so they had to run out this morning and get a substitute. i'd be pretty pissed if i found out i was paying $6 for Tropicana. just saying.

once TVDinner and Kiddo arrive, we were promptly seated without a problem.  when we finished our meal it looked like there was a decent wait-time, although it didn't look unmanageable.  

the atmosphere and setting at Fat Radish is pretty idyllic with wooden tables and bright lighting (in a natural way, not dentist's chair-style). it was perfectly aligned with the perfect weather we were having. and even though i'd been out drinking the night before, the atmosphere at Fat Radish didn't make me feel like the gross hungover mess i am prone to be at times for saturday or sunday brunch.


TVDinner and i opted for the Cloth-bound cheddar and potato cake ($14) which included sauteed brussels sprouts, bacon, and a poached egg. this was pretty on point with its flavors, although when it first arrived i was slightly disappointed with its size. however, since Kiddo and i shared plates, i got to eat half of his Hake Kedgeree (this was a special on the specials board so i don't remember its price or ingredient list), but this was damn good. and filling without making me feel gross. once again, Kiddo saved my eating escapade by being willing to accommodate me! hooray Kiddo! BlackSesame opted for the Full English Breakfast ($15) which contained the usual stage of characters Meyers of Keswick sausages, bacon, eggs, beans, and roasted tomato. and as is always the case, the beans were the only things leftover on the plate. poor beans. 

one surprising entry onto our table as the Lawnmower ($12), a cocktail consisting of dark rum, green juice, and lime. what is green juice you ask? well it's one of Fat Radish's many homemade juices. this once consisted of kale, spinach, celery and apple. my initial reaction to that mix was "bleh" accompanied by a turtleface a la Nick from New Girl. but Fat Radish schooled me: this drink is heavenly. it's the perfect summer drink without being overly sweet and is light and refreshing in the style of lemonade. and it really does kind of remind me of freshly cut grass. odd, but delicious.

so with our tummies satiated, we left the restaurant (passing a line of waiting hipsters), and discussed our plans for the rest of the day. BlackSesame had picked up a flyer for the Hester Street Fair, which was close to our location, so we had discussed going to check it out. in addition, i had some Ctown grocery shopping to do (i was making braised oxtail), and Kiddo was going to drop in on the parental units, who own a store close by.

before heading over to the street fair, we decided to get a cup of coffee. i noticed that all the patrons entering Fat Radish were holding a particular brand of coffee in a takeaway cup and  wondered if the shop was close by and also if it was really that good. i mean, usually you see people with to-go cups of coffee in only 3 types of cups: (1) dunkin donuts; (2) starbucks; and (3) that generic pattern that every deli in NYC offers. so for all these Fat Radish guests to have gone to the same coffee shop must mean something and it was a mystery i refused to let lie. luckily Kiddo knew exactly which shop it was and pointed us in the right direction.

and that's how we found ourselves at Lost Weekend NYC. and it's only after googling it that i realized how much of a hipster mecca we had stumbled upon. i think i must possess a suppressed hipster somewhere in my psyche because i've also been to Saturdays Surf NYC, and the 2 are comparable hipster coffeeshops. we got ourselves some hipster coffee made the fancy way-no drip coffee machine here-and ogled the Mast chocolate bars before we headed over to the street fair.

i've been to Hester Street Fair back when it began last summer. honestly, i wasn't that impressed. granted i hadn't realized before i went that it was a closed off lot. when i think of "street fair" i tend to think of a closed off street, not a vacant lot filled with vendors. so color me disappointed the first time i went. this second time was better in that i knew what i was getting myself into.


unfortunately, none of us were prepared for how packed the venue was. unbeknownst to us, we had decided to attend the street fair on opening day. so it was almost impossible to move around. so i'll just mention the highlights:
1. Filthy Farm Girl. amazeballs soaps. yes, they're a little hippy in style and smell but they're worth it just for the dirty/naughty descriptions on the soaps. i met be getting a bunch for BBM when i attend her bridal shower and/or bachelorette.

"Your Honor...my client is ready to come clean!"

"I'm not like those other kitties...When i get all wet and soapy i just purr and purr!"

"I'm a busy girl but i've always got time to get sleek and fancy!"

this one was epic, except it's not what you think it means. it's talking about knitting...BOOO.

2. Ample Hills Creamery. four words: ooey gooey butter cake. and done. just go and get it ASAP. you will not regret it. 

don't be deceived by the Clark-Kent look of this ice cream. this is AMAZEBALLS.

3. we headed over to the Pies n' Thighs booth but the only thing left was Banana Bread Pudding, which BlackSesame and i nagged Kiddo to get until he finally broke down ("come on, it's only a dollar! one dollar! really?! it's a dollar!"). poor Kiddo.


overall, i suggest hitting up the Hester Street Fair if you like flea markets and snacks. it should only take you an hour tops to complete the whole circuit, and that's with food lines. 


i was pretty exhausted after all of this (don't ask me why. i understand that all i did was eat and walk a little. don't judge me) and just wanted to go home and veg out for a while, but that wasn't in the stars for me...
 

covert moves

this morning i found myself on a packed 5 train on my way into work. never a fun experience, especially in all this heat, but thank god the 4/5 trains tend to have very good A/C (better than my current apartment, where i haven't installed my window unit yet. and am melting because of my laziness/ineptitude).

the only spot available was the standing bar directly in front of the doors, which works fine for me since work's only 2 stops away. and today, i had the pleasure of having eye candy in the form of a good-looking man standing across from. hooray!

i'd also see this guy before on at least 1 occasion on the same train, and must've thought he was attractive then as well, since i clearly remembered him. as i surreptitiously stole glances at him, i realized how inopportune my position was in relation to him.  if i wasn't standing directly in front of him, at such a close distance, i could probably just stare away to my heart's content and enjoy his sharp, attractive features. but in my current location, it would be super creepy and awkward to just stare straight at him.

seeing this in front of you COULD make you uncomfortable. just a bit.

which was such a shame since he was very pleasant to look at.