Barbarians

i rarely travel over to Park Slope, although i live in Brooklyn Heights and Kiddo is a Park Sloper.  however, Kiddo finally got me to go when an important event required that i attend a party at Kiddo's favorite local hangout, High Dive. 

although the event was sort of sad (it was a going-away party), the High Dive proved to be a great local bar! only a 10+ minute bus ride from my apartment. and the gratis popcorn they serve with various flavoring options is a bonus as well.

it was a sad occasion for Kiddo but he did it with style and grace, which made it a sweet memory for everyone since we all got to say our goodbyes in a celebratory fashion instead of a melancholy one.

as a bonus, i got to try out Pork Slope, which i never would have done if i hadn't ventured into the neighborhood. it's conveniently located right next to High Dive, which allows you to bring outside food into the bar.

well actually, i had been thinking about getting some Pork Slope, but before i had a chance to head over, one of Kiddo's friends arrived with the Porky Melt ($7) in hand. as i unabashedly stared and salivated at her sandwich, she politely asked if i wanted the other half since she wasn't that "hungry."  

any reasonable, civilized adult would have declined since this girl was clearly hungry (she had just been to the gym for an hour workout before she arrived to the party) and she had clearly only offered because i was so overtly staring at her food.

however, when it comes to yummy delicious porky food i've learned something about myself: i'm a savage who flouts the rules of civilized society. 

and so i ate the other half of her sandwich. 

and it was delicious. i mean, holy shit delicious.  yes, there was more bread than filling. and yes, it was a little tinier than i would have liked. but that delicious pork patty and melted cheese and caramelized onion was f*ing good.

of course, since i rudely eaten this poor girl's sandwich, and she was obviously still hungry, we headed back over to Pork Slope so i could return the favor.  i allowed her to pick anything she wanted off the menu, and perhaps being polite (had she not learned?! i clearly have no human decency when it comes to food), she ordered the Cheeseburger ($7) which was the only equally priced menu item.

the cheeseburger, while good, was nothing special, although the pickle was a nice touch. after we'd finished eating it, we both lamented how we should have purchased another Porky Melt instead of the ambivalent Cheeseburger. later someone brought back some tater tots which were completely consumed before i even got a chance to sneak a peek at them. rumor has it that they're pretty good too.

it was the best of times and it was the worst of times, but regardless, it was a "time" and it was a memory. 

and there's nothing more you can ask for in life than to make great memories with great people.

Dim Sum for the Suspect

i love dim sum. there will never be a moment when i reject someone's suggestion to eat dim sum for a meal (well, except in the instance where i just ate-and only because i am most likely too full to fit any food in my tummy, let alone dim sum).

Sully flies  his korean pride flag high, in that he favors korean cuisine over any other option. he rarely has an opportunity to eat dim sum, and the last outing didn't exactly impress him, so i'd been looking for another opportunity to go out for dim sum again. and that was how we found ourselves at Red Egg on a rainy Sunday morning. 

we were actually there due to a bloomspot voucher i had purchased which was about  to expire.  the deal allowed me to purchase $55 worth of food for a discounted amount. there had actually been a more reasonable offer but since Sully's daily intake of food exceeds most ordinary people's, i figured going for the larger option was best.

we arrived at the restaurant a little after 11 am, which is a decent time for dim sum if you want the freshest options without too much of a wait at the usual dim sum joints in Chinatown. however, when we arrived there were only 3 tables seated (all of them white). Unlike cart dim sum places, Red Egg offers a check-list for dim sum items and a regular menu for larger items. we ordered the following:

1. Pork and Shrimp Siu Mai ($2.75): this was one of Sully's favorite dishes.  the wrapper is thin and the pork and shrimp were juicy and plump.  not bad, although i wasn't as excited about it as Sully.

2. Veal Chops with Black Pepper Sauce ($3.75): a good alternative if you decide not to order the traditional spare ribs option. i offered Sully the option of either and he ended up choosing this one. very flavorful and juicy, with large easy-to-eat pieces although if you don't like the tendony portion attached to the bone, you may want to skip this. i have no qualms with using my fingers to get every bite.

3. Sticky Rice Wrapped in Lotus Leaf ($4.50): i primarily ordered this in order to provide Sully with a more "filling" option, in case he ended up not liking the other dishes. this is a dim sum staple dish as well, although Red Egg's version is a little too soft for my liking.  the flavor's "meh" although the meaty pieces were plenty (abundant minced pork/chicken and sausage).

4. Shrimp Steamed Rice Roll ($4.50): this was really the only dish i knew for sure Sully would absolutely love. and he did. i, on the other hand, found it just merely satisfactory. the shrimp pieces were nicely sized, but the rice roll wasn't as tender as i usually like it and the sauce wasn't as flavorful. 

5. Pork Shrimp and Cilantro Dumpling ($3.75): i was actually a bigger fan of this dumpling than Sully was, who preferred the Siu Mai instead.  i liked it for the thin egg-based wrapper they used as opposed to the white dumpling wrappers which can sometimes be too doughy.  

6. Octopus in Sweet Bean Sauce ($5.50): this is a cold dish that i had been hesitant to order but Sully had pushed for.  it was surprisingly good and a nice contrast to the rest of the dishes.  the little octopi were had a crunchy texture without being too chewy and the dipping sauce added a nice touch of salty-sweet.

7. Stir Fried Radish Cake with Duck Meat ($6.50): although a little salty, the accompanying hoisin dipping sauce made this dish an interesting treat. the radish cakes are fried and then stir-fried with shredded duck and other accompaniments e.g. julienned carrots, celery, and fried egg. afterwards, Sully commented that he didn't really like this dish except for the "potato" to which i clarified that wasn't potato but radish cake which surprised him and subsequently changed his opinion on the dish entirely.

all this food comes out in spurts and you can imagine our little 2-person table was filling up quickly. in order to hit our voucher quota, Sully had also ordered a dish off the regular menu: Jumbo Shrimp with Honey Walnuts ($19). he had recently tried this dish at Kiddo's bday dinner and had fallen in love (no surprise as this is every chinese kid's favorite dish when having banquet dinners with family. who can argue with candied walnuts and fried shrimp covered in a sweet mayo sauce?) we ended up getting this dish to-go because we were too stuffed at this point to contemplate eating any more food.

by the time we asked for our check, the restaurant had started to fill up.the clientele was still primarily white, although the elderly couple that sat next to us were cantonese. while i prefer the bustling push-cart atmosphere of traditional dim sum, this place isn't a bad way to introduce noobs/timid eaters to the wonderful world o dim sum.

Bits and Pieces

after finally jumping on the Groupon/Living Social/Lifebooker/Gilt City/Rue La La/Google Offers bandwagon, i have become a discount adventure queen. which is how i found myself with NannyDiaries and Bubby completely buck naked sitting in a scalding hot tub surrounded by 50+ women of all age ranges in a similar state of nudity.

i've always been  curious about the korean spa/bathhouse experience (찜질방), which i've only experienced through watching korean dramas.  but the whole culture fascinates me. why does everyone have to wear a uniform in order to enter? how do you fold a tiny towel to make those Princess Leia buns on the side of your head? those boiled eggs look really tasty. can you really stay there all night? these were questions that were burning through my inner brain which had to be answered.

so when King Spa  in Palisades Park, NJ offered a Groupon, i jumped on the opportunity.  of course, there was no way i was going to do it alone. which posed a very crucial and serious question: who would i be willing to be completely nude in front of? and who would be willing to be completely nude in front of me? in moments like these, you really run through your catalog of girlfriends in order to assess who you're truly comfortable with. and Bubby and ND won the friendship lotto.

why the focus on nudity? if you're not aware, and it's definitely daunting as a first-timer who doesn't speak korean, but King Spa has private shower/hot tub/steam room areas that are separated by gender. and it's pretty much mandatory that you attend these areas completely bare-ass naked. we actually saw a girl who had chosen to wear a bathing suit be forbidden from entering the scalding hot cauldron/hot tub because she refused to wear her birthday suit. 

Yelp reviews offer a great guide for how to approach and navigate King Spa if you're a first timer but i'll offer a rundown based on my experience anyway.

1. There is valet parking and a parking lot (valet service) directly across from the premises.  No charge for parking if you deliver the car to the lot yourself.

2. Enter the premises and approach the cashier at which time she will ask for ID/credit card and then provide you and each person in your party with a wristband that contains your locker number and key.  This also acts as your means for paying for services and food while you wander throughout the premises so don't lose it!

3. If you're a male, pick up your white uniform and head to the men's-only level on the third floor to change and enjoy some steamy hot/cold water time. if you're a woman, proceed directly to the right of the cashier and do the same.

4. Enter the locker room and change either into the pink uniform you've picked up and head up to the second floor to enjoy various dry sauna rooms to relax. interesting point: unlike the scene portrayed in korean dramas, there is no talking allowed inside the sauna rooms. however, there are many large spaces to sit with friends and chat outside of the sauna rooms. 

5. After you've sufficiently tried out each sauna box, head to the water area. there you'll find standing shower areas or seated shower areas as well as complimentary shampoo, conditioner, and soap.  if you're really comfortable with your friends, bring your loofahs and body scrubs and give it a go. before entering any of the pools it is mandatory that you shower.

6. there are 3 pools to try out: (1)  filled with an herbal bag (it kind of feels like you're being brewed like tea) and is moderately temperatured to be bearable; (2) scalding hot and really stretches the bounds of human tolerance (if you're white/pale-skinned, get ready to look like a cooked lobster); and (3) freezing cold. although it'll try your fortitude, i highly recommend bearing down in the scalding tub and then fully immersing in the freezing tub immediately after. it feels amazing.

7. once you're too prune-y for comfort, head to the restaurant level for some decent korean food, drinks, and desserts.

ND, Bubby and i did all of the above (not exactly in that order).  we'd made it a point to leave NY around 11:15 and stayed at King Spa until about 3:30, although the place is open for 24 hrs. when we'd arrived the place was at a tolerable capacity without seeming too empty or too full. however, when we left, it was a zoo at the reception area so i can't imagine the spa experience would be much fun with that many people. i absolutely want to do it again because it truly is relaxing once you've gotten the hang of it and gotten over the initial i'm-totally-butt-ass-naked awkwardness. plus my skin still feels really soft more than 24 hours afterwards.

how to drop a bomb

after the massive feast that was Thanksgiving, and the epic dinner Sully and i had at Delmonico's recently, i really should be trying to curb my diet. so i guess a dinner last night with Stitch at Bar Pitti wasn't really in my best interest.

but boy was it delicious.

an alleged (ok, confirmed) celebrity hotspot, nothing about Bar Pitti screams "trendy." i only knew it was a celebrity magnet when i attempted to google the restaurant and the only things that popped up were about Giselle/Beyonce/Bieber etc. dining there. otherwise, this is a small neighborhood italian joint. even a little pretentiously so, as they have a chalkboard menu of specials which is written strictly in italian and has to be translated for those not versed in the language.

the seating's a little crowded and the service a little brusque, but with the quality of food that they serve, all is easily forgiven. since Stitch was a frequent customer, i decided to let her take the lead on ordering (a true rarity for me) and we agreed on 2 appetizers, a pasta, and a seafood entree to share. 

we started with the burrata ($19.50) which is served with grape tomatoes and fresh basil.  the freshness of this cheese and the creamy goodness is worth the hefty price. and i don't usually spend that much for an appetizer. ever. this appetizer goes perfectly with the bread they give to you at the start of the meal, which has a nice crust on the outside but remains fluffy and soft on the inside. just spread the goodness of the cheese on it and i promise, you could die happy.

the burrata was served at the same time as our order of polpettina ($10.50), which were flavorful meatballs in a fresh tomato sauce. i never argue with a meatball (har, har) and i had no problems with these, aside from the fact that they were served lukewarm. although, Stitch and i devoured our 2 meatballs each, irregardless.

while we were ravishing our appetizers, the chef came by to show us the sea bass we had ordered (before they filet and clean it for us to eat), something that had never happened to me before but that i appreciated. although i wonder if anyone ever looks at the fish and changes their mind or demands a different piece. would they let you manhandle it? 

just as we finished our meatballs, the waiter brought our filleted sea bass with side of zucchini ($29.50) and our parpadelle with veal ragu ($14.50). the staff at Bar Pitti is definitely no nonsense when it comes to turning over tables. 

the sea bass was simply prepared flavored with salt and lemon. it was a perfect complement to the other heavier dishes we had ordered. and the side of zucchini, although nothing special, was a welcome addition of greens to our decadent meal.

the parpadelle was also great, with perfectly al dente fresh made noodles. for a simpler (and more economic meal) you definitely won't go wrong with an order of pasta.

Stitch and i managed to eat everything on our plates between the two of us. and the ordering was perfect since i feel i got to taste a variety of the menu while still getting a good representation of what the restaurant has to offer.  including tax and tip, Stitch and i each spent $86, which i would consider pricey overall, but for that burrata and the overall experience. 

in fact, the food, drink and price was distracting enough that i barely even registered that Stitch confessed a scandalous secret involving my ex-Gohm....

Something Like Korean

initially when Cousin told me she was coming into town, i was a little put-out in that selfish-aww-man-but-i-wanted-to-laze-about-and-do-nothing-like-i-do-every-weekend kind of way. there's always something slightly inconvenient about being asked to deviate from your normal schedule.  but, as with all things, change can be a good thing.

the eating and drinking theme of last weekend definitely took an unintended "korean" turn. it was kicked off by meeting BlackSesame at our usual friday night happy hour at K-town for some 50 cent chicken wings, soju and Hite beer. i'm supposed to be dieting (the result of a "serious" conversation with my Mom) and had had a little Checkers relapse the night before, so i'd abstained from eating all day except for a giant iced coffee (with skim and splenda) and a half of a whole wheat bagel with cream cheese.

so after 2 bottles of soju, 4 beers, and a lot of inappropriate conversations with the bouncer, BS and i headed off to Chinatown before i became one of those "unni" girls in the bathroom. i had intended for us to check out Super Taste so i could cross another restaurant off my list (hey, if i'm gonna fall off the diet wagon, i might as well go down slugging noodles and dumplings). unfortunately, by the time we rolled onto Eldridge Street from the subway, most of the restaurants were closed except for one sole beacon of light: Sheng Wang. and so it happened that BS and i found ourselves sharing a bowl of Fujianese Dumpling Noodle Soup ($5) and an order of dumplings ($3). 

i honestly couldn't have been any happier at that moment. the dumplings were juicy and flavorful with thin dumpling skin, but not so thin that the filling just falls out at the slightest touch.  the noodles were chewy and a great texture.  the only thing that would've made it better was if i had been clear-headed enough to order what i had really meant to order: the fishball noodle soup. because fujianese fishballs are the best little treasure bombs any fishball could have (it's fishball on the outside and meat on the inside. surprise!). but that being said, our order was perfect for the meal we were fulfilling and the shared order was just the right portion so we didn't walk away feeling like fatties.

after dinner i lame-assed it home in order to prepare for my cousin's arrival since she was taking a red-eye from Cali. and by laming out i missed out on meeting Sarah Silverman who BS saw at the bar he went to (Bell House in case you were wondering. they were doing a comedy show there that night.)

This is what happens when you decide not to be lame and go home.

after cursing my bad luck when i woke up the next morning, i diligently cleaned my room waiting to hear from my cousin. but around 12:30 i had still heard no word and was getting stahving. so Kitty and i made plans to meet up at Miss Korea in K-town for some delicious kalbi and  pork belly bbq and dumplings.

Miss Korea supposedly has some kick-ass lunch specials and is generally all-around good. when we arrived at 2 pm on Saturday, the place was packed. however, by the time we finished eating (around 3:30ish), the place had completely cleared out except for a few stragglers. 

we ordered steamed beef and pork mandu ($8.95) to start. being chinese, i'm a big fan of boiled and steamed dumplings. however, to date i have yet to have any steamed korean mandu where the dumpling doesn't completely fall apart. when i'd told Kitty i wanted to order it, he raised his eyebrows in a "are you sure?" look which i had chosen to ignore. lesson learned: when eating mandu, always ordered to fried version.

for entrees we decided to go with straight-up BBQ, so we ordered a serving of thick-sliced pork belly ($22.95) and premium kalbi aka Hang A Ri ($26.95). while the samgyupsal was ok, the galbi was superb. the marinade flavoring perfectly complements and tenderizes the meat and the portion is very generous. and it comes with some interesting vegetables inside the pot which is also grilled with the meat. another perk of Miss Korea is that they allow you to specify which type of rice you want (healthy or white).  the healthy version is the purple rice with various types of beans and oats. very hearty and it fools you into thinking you're counteracting all that dense meat you're putting into you're stomach.

after the late lunch, i was pretty full and skipped dinner which worked out well for Cousin, who had a double dinner at Ippudo and Soba-Ya due to a miscommunication with the hostess at Ippudo. 

the next morning, continuing my korean-themed food-a-thon, we grabbed brunch at Bistro Petit in Williamsburg. hole-in-the-wall doesn't begin to describe how tiny this restaurant is. it has 3 dining counters and self-serve station of fancy sodas and coffee (and no free refills on coffee and no tap water available). we sat at the counter facing the kitchen and helped ourselves to menus. it's a limited menu, with only 1 page of options, but then again, for a place so small, what else would i expect?

we ended up sharing an order of Watermelon Salad ($10)-diced watermelon, pickled watermelon rind, mint, grilled haloumi cheese, and spicy watermelon reduction sauce and the Kimchi Bouillabaisse ($19)-mussel, scallop, pollack, shrimp, fried tofu, rice gnocchi, kombu, white wine, korean chili paste, watercress and kimchi. 

the clear winner was the Watermelon Salad. sweet, refreshing watermelon with contrasting yet complementing flavors of picked rind and salty haloumi cheese. amazeballs. the Kimchi Bouillabaisse on other hand was a little salty. while the seafood was well-cooked, the soup itself was salty. and i kept wishing it had made up its mind whether to be fusion or kimchijigae instead of a wishy-washy version of neither/both.

after our meal, i took Cousin down to Brooklyn Flea in order to walk off some of the food and to check out the wares. it was my first time visiting the Flea since they moved from Hanson Place to the Williamsburg location. the wares were interesting, but a more important food lesson learned: the lines at vendors at Brooklyn Flea are significantly shorter than at Smorgasburg. well, with the exception of Dough.

Hodge Podge

i was perusing  NY Serious Eats on-line wherein they rated the "25 Best Pork Sandwiches [They] Love in NYC."  i stumbled upon the Prosciutto Sandwich at Ground Support. intrigued, i looked up the cafe and realized: i've been here before. which then triggered the question: why was i there?

i don't often find myself in Soho, so why was i there that day? and then i remembered what a hodge-podge of a Sunday that was. JimmyDean, MrsButterworth, and i found ourselves on our way to Jing Fong for NannyDiary's bday brunch. we got there uber late thanks to JD, who didn't warn us that the uptown 6 train we transferred to at the Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall stop was going express to Union Square, although he knew it when we got on the train. so we ended up having to take another local 6 train from Union Square down to Canal Street.

aside from my recent experience at Sunshine 27, this excursion to Jing Fong was one of my less pleasant dim sum dinings for the following reasons:

1. ND had invited so many people that we were separated into 2 tables. totally deprives the whole purpose of dim sum dining. you're supposed to be chatting over tea and exclaiming over the diverse variety of food together. kind of hard to do when you're sitting at separate tables.

2. every separate group of friends had their own dining check. wha?!?! i didn't even know Jing Fong would let you do that, let alone WHY you would do that. yes, it would make splitting the check a lot easier. except chinese food is all about family-style. which always ends up being less-per-person cost-wise anyways. and chinese restaurants aren't that savvy when it comes to splitting checks. e.g. JD, MB, and i got charged everyone's teas which was just weird.

3. because we arrived late, everyone had already eaten a decent amount. so we were pretty limited in what we could/should get to eat since there were only 3 of us eating whatever we ordered.

4. BUT of course that didn't stop us. or more correctly, JD, who hadn't been out to dim sum in quite a while. so he went a little buckwild when it came time to order and grab food. and this is an observation coming from one of the worst offenders of this type of conduct. since i'm used to eating dim sum with my family since i was a little babe, there are certain staples that i insist on eating at dim sum, or else i feel incomplete. but this type of behavior, coupled with JD's ended up with us having too much food, and not finishing most of it. although, it was a little absurd for JD to order 3 orders of Steamed Pork Buns and Sauteed Snails (which of course everyone had a bite of and then abandoned as weird).

5. we spent $20/person on dim sum for what ended up being an unsatisfactory meal. and that never happens to me at dim sum (until recently). i'm gonna have to remedy this soon.

so after this dim sum fiasco, we parted ways with ND's party and went our own separate ways.

wherein i stumbled upon my current favorite bubble tea place: Kung Fu Tea. we happened upon this shop and noticed it was having a grand opening. when we first went in, there was only 1 customer in the store. i was super happy to see they had Winter Melon Tea on their menu, which i ordered with no boba and 50% sugar. this was the perfect antidote to my bloated dim sum stomach, which wasn't very happy with the prior dim sum meal.

we then perused Soho stores since JD and MB had some errands to run and i could use the walk to walk off all that food.  and that's how, a few hours later, JD and i found ourselves at Ground Support Cafe while MB shopped at the Anthropologie next door.

Turkey Picnic

the cafe is super cute inside, and pretty spacious, with a hipster vibe. and they serve wine which i though was interesting since it seemed more like a coffeehouse from outside. but the best part was that after 5 pm, they have half-price sandwiches. and so although i wrestled with it, i ended up buying two sandwiches to take home: 1 for dinner and 1 for lunch the next day. i got the Turkey Picnic (turkey breast, aged gouda, pickled red onion, potato chips,  bbq sauce, bibb lettuce, and tomato) ($9.50) and the Cuban (turkey breast, berkshire pit ham, gruyere, pickles, peppadew relish, dijoun remoulade) ($10). both sandwiches were good and refreshing, but nothing i'd travel for.

Cuban

i kimbap you

the only good thing about having to go to Queens County Supreme Court in Jamaica for a 9:30 a.m. appearance is that i stop in ktown to pick up lunch. since i take the F train back and have to transfer to either the 4/5, R, or 1 to get back to the office, i get out at ktown and pick up some lunch and then hop on the R back to my office.

 this time, in the mood for something that could potentially cure my hangover, i picked up kimbap from E-mo (which is also on my list). i ordered a roll of spicy tuna ($6.50) and sausage ($6) but ended up receiving 2 rolls of spicy tuna. 

i can see why people are so affected by their kimbap. unlike some other places, they use 2 very traditional (hence non-traditional) ingredients: burdock root and sesame leaves. i'm a big fan of sesame leaves although japanese and korean foods are the only cuisines i've seen use them. and when i bought a bunch for a korean barbecue dinner i made for them, all of them really disliked the flavor of the sesame leaves although i find it refreshing, like a savory mint. burdock root on the other hand, isn't something i like the taste of, although i've used it in kimbap i've made before, and no one else seemed to mind it.


all in all, glad to have crossed E-mo off my list but in no rush to go back, unless i'm in the mood for some spam or beef kimbap. but then i can always just pop by Woorijip for those cravings and other snacks as well...

Park Avenue Summer (Again?Again)

with all the restaurants available in NY, whenever i do destination dining i tend not to pick the same place twice, unless i'm in a pinch e.g. dietary/ budget/cuisine restrictions, location restrictions, etc.

however, with Summer Restaurant Week rolling around, it was the first time i started to get a little bit weary.it's a lot of work to research every restaurant and their menu then to cross-check your choices with Yelp and blogs to get the best sense of where to spend your hard-earned cash (so as not to have a repeat of the Oak Room). and, as i started to notice last year, since the participating restaurants tend to always be the same cast of characters, i've started to have less and less enticing options if i stick to my "no repeats" rule.

which is how i found myself with reservations for dinner at Park Avenue Summer and Brasserie 8 1/2. after having been to Park Avenue Winter and Park Avenue Summer for restaurant week, i never really thought i would go back to try it again. because although they tout themselves as a seasonal restaurant, their menu options remain the same every season. so while the options may the be the freshest ingredients for that season, when it's the same options, it's not really that innovative or impressive.

however, this summer, they came out with a slightly varied menu so when Bubby choice Park Avenue Summer from my list of vetted and approved restaurants, i happily made the reservation.

getting there slightly early for our 8:30 reservation, i grabbed a seat at the bar. i hadn't paid much attention the last time Kiddo and i were there, but the summer decor is far less impressive than the winter decor and borders a little on kitschy. but then again, how much decor do you need to emphasize summer when it's still slightly light outside even though it's past 8 pm? maybe summer's the kind of season that just speaks for itself.

in contrast to the last time, the restaurant felt much more packed and trendy. the crowd consisted of young 20-and-30-somethings dressed in the casual-chic NYC uniform that everyone is seen wearing at these types of places: it screams while-i-may-not-be-wearing-a-suit-i-can-still-afford-to-eat-here-jealous?

as we sat down to our table, i was informed of a nice extra that wasn't available on the on-line menu: the restaurant is also doing a promotional wine offer of $6 for a glass of red or white as well as some suggested bottles of wine. we opted for the most economical bottle of white ($31) since we intended to order predominantly seafood for our appetizers and entrees.

all the appetizers we ordered were amazing. there wasn't a bad one out of the bunch.  we ordered:

Roasted Baby Beets with Lemon Poppy and Kunik Goat Cheese: the most "summer" of all the appetizer offerings. although i never opt for beets in a self-serve salad, nor do i ever prepare or purchase beets from the supermarket, i've always liked them when prepared in restaurant salads (the 2 times i've ordered them). and these were exquisite in a sweet and tangy flavor that was given a summer feeling through the citrus sauce. so good and most representative of "summer."

Mussels and Squid Ink Pasta with Red Curry Fra Diavolo: if you love seafood, this appetizer will pay off in spades. there was a serious amount of mussels in this dish to the point of overshadowing the pasta. you really have to dig through a trove of mussels before you get to the pasta at the bottom of the bowl. but when you do, you find a great al dente pasta that's been flavored with the juice from the mussels and the spicy sweet curry/diavolo sauce.

Crispy Soft Shell Crab with Avocado, Strawberry & Passion Fruit ($5 supplement): great portion and very well done soft shell crab although slightly salty. however, when eaten together with the sweet and softly textured accompaniments, it made for a perfect bite.

honestly, the appetizers were the highlight of the meal. for entrees we ordered:

Grilled Rainbow Trout with Kale, Lemon Aioli, White Anchovies: the trout was well cooked with a crispy skin and moist flesh. again the flavors remained fresh and not heavy most likely due to the lemon aioli and the kale is fried and retains its crisp.

Organic Scottish Salmon with Crispy Taro and Cucumber Salad: a well cooked fish, if a little bland. i also sometimes forget how much meat is in a salmon filet, which i categorize with cooked tuna as "steaks of the sea." due to the accompaniments, it was once again the most "summer" of the entrees, including the slightly bland salmon meat.

Potato Gnocchi with Sweet Corn and Summer Truffles: i've actually already had this dish since it was offered as an appetizer for last summer's Restaurant Week. but it was still great to watch Bubby and Kik's "ecstasy" face when they got a bite of this super rich, super buttery dish. aside from the "sweet corn" and the "summer truffles" this dish is pretty heavy since it's laden with what tastes like a whole bar of butter. but it is SO good.

no surprise that we were pretty full by this time dessert rolled around. but that never really stops us. we ordered:

Chilled Praline Parfait with Chocolate Crumbs and Caramel: you really can't go wrong with this dish if you like traditional chocolate or sweet desserts.

Creme Fraiche Cheese Cake Mousse with Blueberries and Lemon Semolina Cake: i just realized as i copied this item from the Park Avenue Summer Restaurant Week menu why this dessert tasted slightly bland to me. it hadn't registered that the "cake" in this dessert was a lemon semolina cake. i had just assumed it would be a cheese cake since i saw the words "creme fraiche cheese cake." oops. this was a good light dessert that will satisfy those that don't have a strong sweet tooth.
2 scoops of ice cream (Summer Corn and Basil): having learned my lesson from my last venture with Kiddo, i made sure we ordered ice cream instead of the panna cotta being offered. i'm a big fan of the summer corn which is sweet like corn in ice cream form. the basil wasn't my favorite as it kind of reminded me like mint but Kiks loved it.

as always, the bi-annual restaurant week dinner with my girls was a great experience and an opportunity for all 3 of us to get together and catch up (which doesn't happen as often as i would like).