Sunday Fun-day

Sunday night mom, dad, brother, boy, and I went to dinner at Buddakan and it was phenomenal. The night started off a little shaky...the restaurant was dark and a little loud, so dad was getting a little frustrated that he couldn't hear all of the conversation. Once he got a cocktail, though, he was fine...just needed to relax and settle into his surroundings. I had the "fate" cocktail, which was apparently one of the top 25 cocktails in the country, and it did not disappoint...I could have had about 30 of them....So, we sat downstairs (around the corner from the main room in the photo above) in a grotto-like room...the place is like a maze and it just keeps going. I would love a full tour of the place, especially the kitchen where there were 70 chefs hard at work - Dale included!

When we eat, we always share, so we made sure to order a variety of things that everyone agreed on. The edamame dumplings sound a little funky, but they were delicious! General Tsao's dumplings and cold tuna spring rolls were great too, but the best app we had was the chili rock shrimp...SO good. I'm pretty lame when it comes to spicy food, but these had just enough bite without burning your mouth. Mmmmm....

For our mains, we all enjoyed the glazed Alaskan black cod the most, but the Peking duck, Szechuan crusted NY rib eye, and Cantonese steamed sole were also great. We also ordered some sides - sugar snap peas, lobster fried rice (my personal favorite!), and chili crab with crispy noodles - that were all yummy too. Needless to say, there was no room for dessert... 4 appetizers, 4 entrees, and 3 sides were more than enough for 5 people, and everyone got to try a little of everything, which I love.

Which leads me into my next, and final, point: I do not like to go out to eat with people who do not share or try what I'm sharing with them. I love trying new things and I want others to try new foods as well, even if it doesn't sounds instantly appealing to them. Everyone should have an open mind and be willing to push past their comfort zone. I love dim sum, family style, and tapas restaurants for this reason: the dishes are meant to be shared and enjoyed by everyone at the table. I know that if you order a really good meal that you want it all for yourself (trust me, I've been there...), but part of the fun is allowing others to enjoy it just as much!

Cheers! To sharing in 2009!

Little Italy during Christmas...

...is beautiful. The food is beautiful, Mulberry Street is beautiful, the caroling is beautiful, even the dirty snow is beautiful. On Saturday night, K1, B, boy, and I went out for "date night" to Il Cortile in Little Italy and it was great. Once they brought the bread out and there was focaccia included, we knew we were in for a good meal...

I am one of the most indecisive people I know so it took me a while to figure out what I wanted, but I was really happy with my decision of spaghetti bolognese with a meatball, even if it was super simple. Definitely wasn't a traditional red meat sauce; it was almost pink in color, which makes me think that they added a little cream to it. Fine with me, especially since penne with a creamy vodka sauce was my second choice. The pasta was perfectly al dente and the sauce was delicious - rich and meaty, savory and flavorful! The red zinfandel paired quite nicely with it, too. Lucky for me, the dish was huge, so I'll have leftovers for dinner on Monday...

Buon appetito!

The first of many restaurant reviews!

P.S. Shabu-Tatsu was a lot of fun! We ordered the prime rib-eye beef shabu-shabu and it came with a salad, lots of veggies, noodles, and rice. (Oh, and we got pork gyoza to start - yummy, but there is so much food that an appetizer wasn't necessary.) Then the cooking began...we were presented with a pot of boiling, seasoned water where we proceeded to drop in our raw food. The beef took approximately 5 seconds to cook and after dipping it in the sauces, it was delicious! Boy and I didn't talk for about 20 minutes as we dropped and devoured. The meal came with ice cream too. Unfortunately, I didn't bring Lactaid. Fortunately, boy is a bottomless pit.

Great for a small group, especially since they only take reservations for parties of 4 or more. If you have to wait, there are a bunch of bars in the area with good happy hour specials. Also, make sure to wear a t-shirt and bring layers though...the cooking makes the room pretty warm, but it cools down once the heat is off.

Definitely recommend! Enjoy!

It all started with a shot

Last night, while anxiously awaiting our table at Shabu-Tatsu, boy and I were at The Thirsty Scholar reminiscing about 2008 and looking ahead to 2009, and since we will most likely not be spending NYE together, I decided to make a toast. Not with champagne, however, but with a shot:

"To being happy"
"No, to being happier"
"To doing what we love"
"To no regrets"
"Slainte"

Cliche? Perhaps. But it made me pause. What do I love? What do I want to do? Well, at 23, I know what I love, but I don't know what my career should be. Ideally, I'd love to open my own restaurant, but, alas, restaurants are not cheap and are not the safest investment. So, what do I do in the meantime? Eat.

This blog was boy's idea. Seeing as my life pretty much revolves around food, it seemed only natural that I keep track of the restaurants I go to and the food that I eat. And at the very least, it will keep me occupied, keep my writing skills sharp, and keep me away from watching really bad reality tv. Well, we'll see about that last part...sorry boy.

So, a toast: to enjoying the old favorites, to discovering new favorites, and to slipping into food comas as often as possible.

Unbutton your jeans because there's going to be a lot on your plate...