t-something

at this point, Williamsburg, or the 'burg as i affectionately/lazily call it, is old news as a bastion of up and coming restaurants and bars. i started travelling out there in order to attend Smorgasburg and then slowly traveled over more often to eat at the various bars and restaurants. but even so, i don't go as often as i would like. most likely because my home base is Brooklyn Heights, so in order to get to the 'burg i have to go into Manhattan to take the L train, or else take the G train, which runs less frequently at night, or a bus. these act as deterrents to any casual outing to the 'burg.

which is why i love it when others give me a reason to go out there.

PerfectHusband decided to celebrate his t-something birthday (at a certain point i think we should stop specifying what age we're turning) in the 'burg. and he decided to go old-school: the multi-location birthday party.

the first stop: The Ides Bar.  Located at the rooftop of the Wythe Hotel, the bar undoubtedly has a great view. best for night times and sunsets. unfortunately, the place oozes pretension. i arrived on a saturday night around 9 pm and was immediately turned off by the small line forming around the corner of the hotel. because it was PH's birthday, i braved the line and waited to get in. between the asinine conversations taking place around me and the ridiculous procedure to get in, my patience was slowly being worn thin.

Ides Bar has a dual check system before you can enter the bar. first there's the hostess on the 1st floor. who is preceded by a red carpet. yes, they are pretentious enough to have a red carpet-like the ones you see celebrity step onto when entering awards shows. if you are able to make it to the hostess and are permitted entry to the bar, you are directed to an elevator. where another bouncer waits to check your ID. hmm, think they should've checked that at the first checkpoint? you are then squished into the elevator and arrive at the top floor, where you are finally let into the bar. 

which is only 1/3 full. 

and that is the ultimate douchey thing to do. the bar was not full at all, yet they were "creating" a sense of occupancy with the false line outside and making constant announcements that the line was "closing" and anyone not inside would not make it in for the night. 

booooooo.

the only thing that saved this place was the view and the company. and 1 of those things i can have any time i want, without the douchery.

luckily, we moved onto the 2nd venue: Berry Park.

much more my speed. no lines, no pretensions (although still half hipster-packed, but i can forgive that). although much more packed than Ides Bar, the place is large enough, with an upstairs and downstairs, to accommodate large crowds. plus it played my favorite type of music: old school hip hop and top 40. drinks are well-priced and the crowd is definitely out to have fun. 

i mean, look at how much fun we're having.

now, she was REALLY pretty

on Friday night i found Sully and i arrived at Malatesta for a surprise birthday dinner for She. which was a little ironic since that was where i had had my own surprise birthday dinner a year ago. 

as always, the food was amazing (the Spinach Gnocchi made more than 1 appearance at our table. aah, the power of Yelp) and i won't bore you by discussing it again (read my former post).

instead, some other interesting events happened, that made me think:

1. upon entering the restaurant, the first person i ran into wasn't a guest for the party, but instead a friend i'd known from middle school/high school (so over a decade ago). i hadn't spoken to her since high school, but we occasionally play random games of Scramble with Friends against each other.

of course it was great to see her and we did a brief catch-up with all the usual suspects.  there was 1 part of the whole situation that caused a little discussion between Sully and myself later which was that i never introduced her to my friends for the party. which may have been a little awkward since we were all squeezed into the waiting vestibule while we waited for our reservation to be completed. 

my thought process had simply been that this individual was not a close friend of mine, nor was it likely that i would ever see her again (at least not intentionally). so i saw very little point to introduce her to the people i was with.  in addition, i was with at least 4 other people, while also waiting for 2 more. it just seemed slightly cumbersome to make such a lengthy introduction for somebody that i would never see again. 

apparently, other people were more curious.  Sully assumed she was a family friend that would go back to my family and inform them that i was dating someone (which was not the case). others were simply just curious about the random stranger i had run into. 

in retrospect, should i have introduced her to everyone? did she expect me to? would i have expected to be introduced if i had been in her position?

2. the second experience is less of an etiquette question and more me unburdening what i recall as an unpleasant experience.  boyfriends pay attention.

right when people were winding down from their entrees, Sully received a phone call from his brother and stepped away from the table. he didn't come back to dinner until after dessert was completed. already, i was a little annoyed by this, but decided not to press the issue since my friends and i were having a good time anyway. 

it turned out that Sully's brother had gotten a blue screen on his laptop and needed help fixing it,  i used the opportunity to tell Egg, She, and Dr.Dre a story about Sully's brother.

I have yet to meet Sully's brother. on a recent trip to Flushing, Sully called his brother for a nearby restaurant recommendation.  when SB found out Sully was with me, he immediately started harassing Sully via text to send him a picture of me. in a million years, i would never want SB to see a picture of me without meeting me in person and here's why: in the past,  Sully had been dating a girl and when Sully showed SB the picture, SB's immediate response was to call the girl "atrocious." yea, he sounds like a real peach right? while i think i'm fine (as in not hideous), there's no way in hell i'm going to subject myself to that kind of no-holds-barred judgment.

so i was in the midst of relaying this story to my friends and had just gotten to the part where SB had criticized Sully's ex, when Sully interjected:

"and this ex, she was really pretty, if you know what i mean."

::awkward looks all around the table, including me::

"i mean, really pretty"

Egg: "uh....Sully? you might want to rethink your last phrase..."

"no, i mean, she was pretty. you know, pretty."

::sigh:: i chuckled the comment off and rolled my eyes at my friends and barreled on with the story although it obviously came to a lackluster finish. the climax should've been the insensitivity of SB, but instead, Sully managed to steal the thunder with his "she was REALLY pretty" comment. 

now, i've let Sully's comment slide. i mean, i've given him a little ribbing about it, and brought it up a few times since, but never in a "we need to have a serious talk about this" manner. it's sort of like a rock and a hard place for a girlfriend: i have no problem admitting that i may not be the prettiest or most beautiful girl my significant other has ever dated. but Sully's comment hits me the wrong way for the following:

A. it's the unspoken and inferred that's the worst about his comment. that if she was really pretty and his brother found her "atrocious" then who's to say what he would say about me? and in that implication is the obvious unspoken statement: that i am less pretty (or perhaps closer to atrocious) than his ex-girlfriend and his brother would rip me apart.

B. actually Sully had already made this comment to me before. obviously that's how i knew about the whole anecdote. and i'd pointed out the same thing as stated in above "A." but a private conversation that reveals a subconscious thought has a very different feeling than a public comment made in front of close friends.

it was definitely embarrassing to haveSully reveal that he thought i was less attractive than another girl in front of my friends. my friends who knew we were dating. i actually felt my face get red after he made the comment. and even as i tried to laugh it off, it felt humiliating to have to act that way in front of my friends e.g. it doesn't bother me that my boyfriend thinks i'm less/not attractive.

i guess it was a blessing that Malatesta is poorly lit so nobody noticed and that we left the restaurant shortly after that.

and while it's great to unburden this to the amorphous ether that is the internet, rehashing it also reminds me again of how it bugged me.

Dirty 30

my 30th birthday was looming over my head for the past 2 weeks, and i honestly could care less. work's been a crazy bundle of deadlines and doc review, i upgraded to a bigger room in my apartment and have been wrangling with what to do in the new (and larger) space, and my body's been on a slow guerilla warfare revolt against me lately making me randomly sick at the most inopportune moments.

clearly, my birthday is at the bottom of my list of concerns. and, if you've read previous birthday posts, you would know how i strongly dislike planning anything for my bday. so when tuesday rolled around, i decided to make no announcement and just let it fly under the radar. my only plans were to catch dinner with Kiddo and Jorts, and that was only because Kiddo asked me on monday night whether i had dinner plans for tuesday (which i did not) although i have a standing appointment with Jorts every tuesday night to watch Savage U at 11 pm. since usually i make dinner for Jorts and i while drinking a bottle of wine, i invited Jorts to dinner as well so we could go straight to my place after dinner to watch the show.

understanding we all have budgetary concerns, i suggested dinner at Malatesta, which was recently added to my on-going list of places i want to try. and since Kiddo has an undying love for Max, i figured Malatesta would be a good way to switch it up, while still offering yummy italian for a reasonable price. so on a beautiful, tuesday evening, i headed over to the West Village to meet up with my friends for dinner.

i arrived first and left my name with the waitress. there was a woman before me, who also left her name for a party of 2 and was advised of a 15-minute wait. so i was a little surprised when i left my name for my party of 3 and was told i could be seated as soon as my party arrived. a little odd? yes. a red-flag? nope. 


so i was very surprised when i saw Kiddo rounding the corner with a little posse consisting of MrsButtersworth, JimmyDean, and BlackSesame. SURPRISE! and a great one at that. i literally couldn't wipe the grin off my face for the rest of the evening.  the best surprises are the ones that are completely unexpected.

plus, with a larger crowd, we could all eat more off the menu. Malatesta doesn't have a crazy long menu, but offers simple italian fare in a refreshing manner and style. on the day we went, it was perfect weather. the whole restaurant was an open space spilling out onto the sidewalk, which made me even more excited for the arrival of summer, when the sidewalk restaurant is available on almost every block of NYC.

we ordered to reasonably-priced bottles of red wine and an Artichoke Salad ($9-special of the day), Funghi di Prato ($10), and Cozze ($10-mussels with white wine and chopped tomato) for starters, although we'd probably also consumed about 4 plates of bread by the time we ordered it. the Artichoke Salad was perfect for a summer day, cold and refreshing although i thought the Funghi di Prato was better since the mushroom was warm with the melted mozzarella and a generous dressing of balsamic vinegar. the mussels were a good option, although i liked the sauce that remained after all the mussels had been eaten, ideal for bread dipping.

for entrees, we all branched out and had something a little different (except MrsButtersworth and Jorts).  the Tagliatelle al Ragu ($14) would be the hands down favorite for that traditional and hearty italian flavor and flare.  and although raviolis usually disappoint me (usually for the limited portion), the Ravioli al Formaggio ($13.50) was a decent sized portion for an average appetite and the pink sauce the raviolis were served with were a winner. JimmyDean opted for the Penne All' Arrabbiata ($11.50) which had a nice kick to it, spicier than i've usually had at other italian restaurants; and Kiddo opted for a nightly special, Seafood Spaghetti ($16), which seemed to comprise of a lot of mussels and a light tomato sauce (i'm sure if he'd known we might've ordered a different appetizer sans mussels).

all the reviews i'd read about Malatesta, and the fact that no one else was ordering it, meant that i ordered the Spinach Gnocchi ($14.50), which ended being a pretty big hit of the night. or at least all the forks that were plucking gnocchi from plate seemed to indicate such. although i'd been worried about the gorgonzola sauce being too thick or cheesy, it ended up being neither. i always want to order creamy pastas but then end up regretting it when, about a quarter of the way through, i become overwhelmed with the heaviness of the dish. but not so with this Spinach Gnocchi. and the serving was pretty generous, since my friends were definitely not shy about stabbing gnocchi for themselves, and yet there was plenty for myself and to be shared.


good friends, great food, a surprise bday dinner. what more could a girl ask for?

Last Night I Let the Party Get the Best of Me...

"No drivin', no sleepin'
Live it up like it's the weekend
When the DJ play the right song
Gon' drink, gon' party all night long" 

                                               -Wiz Khalifa, "No Sleep"


i could've used this blogpost title for 2 weekends that happened in close proximity to each other. i had to think hard about for which one it was more apropos. (is that the correct way to use that term? i know i've read/heard it used before but can't remember the grammatical context. i'm just impressed i remembered a new vocab word.)


remember a while ago i said i was planning a bday party? well, i've finally gotten over my embarassment about that day and can now share it with you with a devil-may-care-i'll-just-chalk-it-up-to-my-pre30s-hijinxes attitude. i mean, it wasn't that bad...


the day started with me scrambling to get to ChubbyBunny's bday party, because, as expected, i was running late. i parked the car in Jersey City and hopped the PATH and one very long 1 train subway ride later, i was finally at Boat Basin Cafe.  BTWs, the place is great but a little scary to get to. you have to cross a highway and walk under a stone bridge and just feel all-around-sketch before getting to a great outdoor space on the water. the weather was damp and gray that afternoon so it was no surprise that the place wasn't packed. i had arrived too late to eat any snacks that been laid out but it's never too late to get a drink. there was a little make-shift bar set up to cater to ChubbyBunny's party which was great, except it was cash bar only. luckily i had $8 on me so i got a drink ($4+tip i think) and chatted with DoE who had flown from Cali to attend ChubbyBunny's bday. 


the party was only supposed to last until 3 p.m. and i had arrived a little after 2 p.m. whenever i come into the city i always make it a point to pack in as many events & people as possible since i rarely come in during the week. on this particular day i'd made plans to meet a family friend for drinks after ChubbyBunny's bday during the 2 hour window before dinner with friends.


of course, once alcohol comes into the picture, the idea of a set schedule is always the first casualty.


after a second drink (the bartender took pity on me and allowed me to purchase my scotch on the rocks with my paltry remaining $3=LOVE), i raced downtown to Rye House with DoE, DoE's college roommate, and DoE's college roommate's boyfriend (got all that?) in tow to meet with FamilyFriend. i was over an hour late. and starting to get a little tipsy...

i'd suggested Rye House because i was pretty curious about the place. i'd heard good things about their food, and, looking at the drink menu, it seemed like the kind of spot that guys and girls would like (meaning a variety of "manly" whiskeys and "girly" mixed cocktails). i was also pretty in love with how chill it was when we arrived. the place wasn't crowded at all, so we got one of the long tables/booths on the side. the wooden and marble decor makes the place feel local and classy. hovering on hipster/trendy but never crossing the line. then again, i wasn't there on a weekend night at 11 p.m., so who knows.



Love the proper ice cube. they serve "rocks" the way they're supposed to be: large ice cubes so the drink doesn't get too watery right away.

i ordered a Ballantine on the rocks ($8), which was the cheapest scotch they had on the menu. if i didn't have dinner plans in 30 mins, i might have ordered something else i could savor, but in light of the circumstances, i just went for something easy. they do have a lot of nice options and i'll have to go back some other time when i can leisurely enjoy it.

in addition, and realizing the liquid night i had ahead of me, i ordered Fried Pickles ($6) to nosh on with our drinks.  they came out piping hot and crispy. with the 6 of us, the small order was gone within 3 seconds of it landing on our table.


after 2 Ballantines and a slew of text messages, i raced to my dinner reservations at Paprika. i don't know why i thought West 17th was so close to 1st Ave that i could easily arrive in 10 mins. it's not. so of course i arrived about 30 mins late to my own dinner reservation.  so here's a list of my bad behavior up to this point in the night:


1. arriving late to ChubbyBunny's bday party.
2. arriving an hour late to meet FamilyFriend at Rye House.
3. sitting for 30 mins with FamilyFriend after he waited for over an hour before abandoning him with people he didn't know.
4. in my haste to get to Paprika, i forgot to leave money for my drinks and food at Rye House.
5. arriving 30 mins late for my own dinner reservation with 6 friends waiting for me.
6. arriving very tipsy to dinner.


by the time i arrived at Paprika, i was definitely not sober. of course, you never realize this yourself. but it was apparently obvious to my friends, which they informed me when i spoke to them later that week. so i wish i could provide a detailed description of my dinner, but... it was all a little hazy. it's like watching a movie with the sound off. i remember what i ordered (Beef Carpaccio and Lobster Maccheroni) and i remember eating them. i also remember drinking red wine. and that's it.


::sigh:: i am too old to be having nights like this. yes, it was my birthday dinner, but birthdays are not free license to act like an asshole. although my friends all lovingly advise me that that is exactly what birthdays are for, that's just because they're my friends. they also kindly advised me i was not an asshole, but again, they're my friends.  it's not that rolling brown outs make people act shitty, but i didn't like that i couldn't recall what happened when the check came. i know my friends took care of it, but how did i behave? did i politely offer to contribute or did i sit back with an air of entitlement to the whole ordeal? i have a sneaking suspicion it was latter vs. the former. and that is not acceptable.

luckily, the electricity came back on in my brain after we left Paprika and i remember us walking to Central Bar for the party portion of the night. on the way, we stopped at Momofuku Milk Bar for dessert and snacks. i remember nibbling at other Kpopper's and She's snack and thinking "yummy" but again, what is was i tasted is a mystery.

we had a table reserved upstairs at Central and i pretty much stayed rooted to my seat the whole night, with magical scotches on the rocks appearing in front of me in 30 minute intervals (hooray for my friends!). it was a great birthday night, rolling brown outs excluded, and i loved that all my friends were there. i remember all of you being there even if i can't remember every conversation we had.


some  drama happened much much later in the night (or morning) which resulted in me making a hasty decision to stay at a friend's place and waking up the next morning extremely hungover in the middle of Chinatown. but that's a story too scandalous/embarassing to share on a blog...

Lady Gaga was right

meaning you should "just dance" as she tells you to.

HungryHungryHippo got me an amazing birthday present: Just Dance 2!

such a fun game! at first, felt a little self-conscious dancing on my own while TripleH and the cousins watched, but that feeling quickly passed. the moves are easy to follow but super fun and the Dance Battle mode was great to play against TripleH (i dominated the Dance Battle).

i highly recommend this game. i played it on and off with TripleH for the better part of an hour+ and by the end i had worked up a sweat and panting while laying on the floor in exhaustion. word of advice: don't dance to  "Jump Jump" by KrissKross unless you want to be in the same condition.



such a hilarious game to play with friends.and probably a great workout too. just to point out how out-of-shape/old i am, my arms and legs were sore the day after playing this game.

Get Me Some Gingko Biloba STAT!

i'm not usually a birthday party kind of person. i get really stressed out trying to plan bday parties, regardless if it's for a friend or for myself. the biggest stress to me is picking out a venue that fits everyone's tastes. the venue is the first step. and if you start out badly on the first step, you know it's only downhill from there.

i wasn't planning on having a bday party, but then Gecko asked me what i was doing because she would come to NYC for that weekend. concurrently when i learned of that information, i also got an invite to ChubbyBunny's birthday party. ChubbyBunny's bday is 2 weeks after mine but she decided to have it on the 23rd jointly with a friend. CB's bday invite, for the afternoon at Boat Basin Cafe, in conjunction with Gecko coming into town, spurred me to spontaneously decide to have a bday party.

before i could back out, i created a Facebook event and started researching venues. when making my FB event, i remembered another stressor of throwing a party: who to invite. FB makes inviting people super easy and convenient since almost everyone and their mothers are on FB now. however, 1st you have to deliberate whether you want to make the event public or private. public allows your guests to invite other people, which is great in case you forgot to invite someone, so i made it public. but since it's public, anyone you don't invite will be able to see it, should it come up in their news feed or if they happen to glance it while on an invited guest's profile, which can be super awkward (even if they never confront you about it). this was my 2nd deliberation. as i haphazardly checked off friends to invite, the biggest dilemma was those individuals who i'd met before, hung out with, but never really talk to if it wasn't for "Y" (the person who introduced us and whom I'm actually friends with). as i checked the box to invite "Y" i'd have to decide whether to invite that acquaintance whom I knew on FB but didn't really know. would they care if they weren't invited? would they want to come because "Y" was coming but didn't know if it would be ok because I hadn't invited them? i felt like my brain was going to explode.

once that was done, i returned to the difficult task of choosing a venue. when i thought back on my past bar/club experiences, i realized how limited my memory actually is. it was like as soon as i tried to actually access my Manhattan venue database, i completely drew a blank. instead, all i could remember were places that i clearly couldn't have a party e.g. Kenka.  then there were places that would be great venues if i and my friends were willing to throw down $300-$450 per bottle to reserve a table and deal with line hassles e.g. Cabana, Hiro, 230 Fifth, Gansevoort, etc. (plus i find Meatpacking slightly annoying to get to via subway). every venue i could think of had its drawbacks: the Park (can't reserve a table upstairs in the atrium), Circle (too Asian), PS450 (west side + midtown), Pianos (cover after 11 and super crowded), etc.

i also can't believe how many places i can't remember the name or location of. i would vaguely remember the "feel" of a place, or the people i was with, but most of the time i couldn't remember "why" I was there or "where" it was. there was 1 particular night when Gecko and i went out and attended W's bday party. Gecko remembered the venue for W's bday party and i couldn't except for some vague, hazy recollections. initially, neither of us could remember where we'd been earlier that night, although i'd remembered having a really good time. so i decided to dive into the archives of this blog and see if i'd written about it somewhere. of course, i didn't. go figure. but it was really funny to read about all the hijinxes we used to get into back in the day. there was 1 month where i kept arriving home at 8 a.m. from nights out! and i found an entry where Oppa got into a fight!

while i remembered most of the events coinciding with the entries, i have to admit that certain details/aspects of the story i'd completely forgotten had ever happened. clearly, it did happen since i wrote about it, but why can't i remember? i'm seriously concerned about this failing memory. i'm not sure if it's a sign of old age, brain damage, or impending stupidity...

food and drink porn. sort of.

i have no delusions that i'm one of those chic food bloggers with fantastic pictures of the food and drinks i consume at trendy NYC restaurants. nor do i profess this to be a food blog at all (it's clearly not). honestly, i'm usually too embarassed to take the actual photos when the food arrives. it feels so dorky. but that doesn't mean i don't appreciate all those food bloggers who take the time to "dork" it up so that i can preview the food/experience at a restaurant i'm considering going to. THANKS!



although i shy away from doing it, as you've probably realized from other posts, that doesn't mean i don't do it. although, if you were paying attention (which you probably weren't-i wouldn't blame you), you'll notice the pictures usually involve the same ppl. so, are those my only friends? honestly...

ok, i'm not that much of a loser. the reason the pictures tend to have the same ppl is because those are the friends i'm so comfortable with that i don't feel weird/shy about taking pictures of food/drinks in front of them. and they're such good friends that they'll usually let me snap shots of their food/drinks too. thanks for indulging my inner (and outer) nerd!

Crumbs

As if there needs to be any more pictures on the web of these delicious cups of cake. but here they are anyway.
this was a while ago, so i don't remember all of the flavors. i picked this out for HungryHungryHippo's birthday, which fell on a weekday. it felt too sad to let her actual birthday go by without commemorating it somehow. there were plans to go out for a big birthday dinner that weekend but, even so, you should memorialize the actual day as well.my sister is a huge fan of Fluff so i figured getting her the S'more was a good idea. alas, there was no fluff to be found in the cupcake. however, it was still delicious and even looked great with all the marshmallow and graham on top. and the graham was still crispy. now if only there was some way to eat this piping hot as well... i think this cupcake was called Chocolate-Covered Strawberry. what a letdown. maybe i was expecting too much but i really wanted some actual strawberry pieces incorporated into it. or maybe even a strawberry in the center, like ichigo daifuku. alas, it was just strawberry frosting with a strawberry jam center. boooo. this was the first one we ate: Nestle Crunch. this was deeeelish. the little crunch on top gave good texture and the nutella in the center was perfect. maybe a little sweet, but in a good way.

The Oak Room at the Plaza
this is perfect timing since Restaurant Week starts January 24th.

Egg, She and I went to the Oak Room at the Plaza for Summer Restaurant Week 2010. if i'm not mistaken, they're on the list again for Winter Restaurant Week, and the offering isn't that different. if you're thinking about eating there, i offer this piece of advice: DON'T DO IT. with all the options you can choose from for RW, don't waste your time with this one. it's all hype, with no substance.

She and i were interested in dining here because of what it is: the Plaza. i mean, it's an NYC landmark. and when you think of the people that have been through there and the events and moments that have happened there, you can't help but be impressed and awed.

and they definitely don't let you forget that when you go the Oak Room. when you enter there's a short, narrow hallway you pass through. when you pass the stairs on the left (which lead to the new food court) you see very large black and white photos of the famous people that have been to the restaurant. subtlety, thy name is not the Plaza.

we had to wait about 30 minutes for our table although we had a reservation. we went to the bar and were given an extensive drink menu to choose from. we all chose to drink water. TAP. the price of drinks at the Oak Room bar are ridiculous. i know that drinks in manhattan are inflated and ridiculous, but the Oak Room took it to a whole new level. $25 for a glass of Johnny Black? you've got to be kidding. Egg and i did the math and calculated the mark-up for their drinks is about 70 -90%. that's pretty outrageous. it made me look around the bar and wonder at the idiots around us that had ordered drinks.
when we finally sat down and started eating, the food was such a letdown. the choices i made were just super salty: the Bigeye Tuna Sashimi was more soy sauce than soy-pique vinaigrette and the Griller Meyer Ranch Hanger Steak was also salty. the dessert was actually pretty good, but i can't remember exactly what is was. maybe strawberry cheesecake? whatever it was, it's not being offered for their winter menu.
i'll admit, it wasn't all horrible though. She ordered the Lobster and Sweet Corn Bisque which was pretty good, although not as dense as i usually like bisques to be and, as expected, the lobster piece was miniscule. the winner amongst the appetizers was the Tomato and Fennel Soup, which Egg ordered. it's essentially tomato soup, which is good by itself, "grilled cheese" sandwich they serve with it is buttery crispy goodness. they both ordered the Crisp Organic "Brick" Chicken which was really good, although She's piece had a sizable amount of fat/sinews so she didn't end up finishing it.
and of course, the Oak Bar was delicious. but then again, how can chocolate ever go wrong?

Brooklyn Flea Market
in the same weekend i went to the Plaza, i also went to Brooklyn Flea. the two establishments should be considered complete anti-theses of each other in terms of clientele, costs, and conditions. and the food at Brooklyn Flea was infinite times better.i ordered the Ito from AsiaDog. i love the trend that made hotdogs cool to eat again, because i can eat about 10 of them in one sitting. and now that they're "cool" again like they were when i was 10 yrs old, i don't have to feel bad about that. the curry from the Ito gave the hotdog a little kick while the apples cooled it down a bit because of its sweetness. afterwards, i was really tempted to order the Ginny or the Mash but felt it would be bad form with all the other vendor options available.Kiks opted for a set from Red Hook Food Vendors. since she'd been to actual location before and said the food was amazing. and she did not lie. however, since this was a while ago i really don't remember what we ordered. but it was good enough that i forgot to take a picture until we were thoroughly stuffed. so all i can show you is the aftermath.

my bad.

Detroit in the House

DRC has turned 1 year older. congrats to DRC! the celebration was 3-fold: dinner at Joya, pre-game at DRC's apartment, the final party at M1-5.

the dinner at Joya got botched b/c Joya messed up the reservation so instead we ended up eating at Cafe Chili, which i've never been to before but had heard good things about. the price is slightly higher than Joya but, for me, the quality was comparable, altho the number of options weren't as plenty as Joya's. there's also a whole Italian side of the menu that you can order from, but the prices for those entrees were exorbitant.the real celebration was when the drinking started (of course).

by the time we arrived at M1-5, DRC was pretty rocked (as should be expected of the birthday girl). DRC reserved tables and got comped a bottle of champagne and some drink tickets which helped to make my night better and i definitely drank a sufficient amount to the point i kept leaving floaters of Jack and Coke all over the place.


as fun as it was, i'd broken my heel right before we entered the bar (i never even knew that really happened!) and when the party started to move to Williamsburg i decided to forego. it wasn't so bad to go home earlier tho b/c at least i got to share a cab w/Crush <3>