Singing in the Waldorf

My parents were in the city last week so the three of us had dinner at Peacock Alley, right in the lobby of the Waldorf=Astoria. Since it was a pre-birthday celebration, my mom had arranged for the waiter to bring three glasses of champagne over to our table when we first sat down. It was a wonderful way to start the evening... Mom and I both started with the creamy potato, herb, and truffle soup and Dad had the Kumamoto Oysters...no surprise there! As an amuse bouche, the chef brought out the pistachio crusted seared foie gras with lychee caramel...can you say decadent? We pretty much could have stopped there and we would have been content. Instead, we pushed through and continued to eat our way through the menu. Oh, and did I mention that Dad also ordered a bottle of Pinot Noir? Because we all know that eating without drinking is like eating without silverware!

So with our wine, we all shared the Tuna Tartare, Butter Poached Maine Lobster, and the house Bouillabaisse...clearly we were in the mood for seafood. Everything was great, except for the risotto that accompanied the lobster - it was pretty bland and slightly cement-y - but at that point, I was already slightly buzzed and just enjoying catching up with my parents.

After our entrees had disappeared, there was a small lull in conversation and I swear, it was at this exact time that we stopped to listen to the pianist and she started singing "Happy Birthday"...to me. Right in the middle of the hotel. It made me blush, but I was secretly thrilled that the manager had arranged it - Mom was just as surprised as I was! Right when the song ended, the waiters brought over three desserts for the table, one with a candle and "Happy Birthday" written in chocolate. Another very welcome surprise! Oh wait, make that four desserts - I forgot that Mom had actually ordered one: Cookies and Mignardises, for the sole reason that it comes with amazing, delicious, homemade, melt-in-your-mouth marshmallows. The other desserts included cheesecake, peanut butter and chocolate mousse, and apple crumble. Those came home with me for the roommates...you're welcome K1, K2, and K3!

Whoever said that drinking with your parents was awkward was sorely mistaken...

Un Poquito #2

Here's a little tidbit on another hotel restaurant in midtown, The Bull and Bear at the Waldorf = Astoria: try the Tournedo of Beef that comes with Stilton Cheese, Red Wine, and Bearnaise Sauce (above) with a big glass of the Zinfandel. If tomatoes are in season (usually summertime), start with the simple Beefsteak Tomato and Buffalo Mozzarella with drizzled Balsamic and Olive Oil appetizer. The steak, tomato, and cheese are cut very thick and it's a small, but hearty meal.

O yea...

...and speaking of Mac & Cheese, this "diet" is horrible. I have had about an 1/8 of an ounce of dairy in 10 days and I still feel like crap after certain meals. What gives? I swear to God that it better not be a gluten allergy...seriously. I cannot possibly live as a Vegan or on specially made gluten/dairy free meals. I NEED CHEESE!

Un Poquito #1

If you ever stay at the Grand Hyatt next to Grand Central, be sure to try the Lobster Mac and Cheese side dish from The Commodore Grill. Mom and I enjoyed it the most out of anything we had all night. Well, except for the La Crema Pinot Noir we had with it...oh and the cheese bread from Tomkat Bakery. Mmmmm....

Damn you wholesale bakeries!

"Diet"

For the month of February (my birthday month, may I remind you), I am not allowed to have any type of dairy whatsoever. This pretty much means that my life is over.

Since I often experience stomach pains (cramps and bloating to be specific...too much information?) after I eat, my doctor suggested that we try to figure out the root of all this evil by cutting out all dairy products from my diet for a month. I already knew that I had an intolerance to lactose and I take Lactaid pills when I am about to ingest something with a high dairy content, but as you can see from the list below, everything in my diet has some form of butter, cheese, or milk in it except Japanese, Chinese, and Thai food.

Pizza.
Sandwiches.
Soup.
Smoothies.
Yogurt.
Macaroni & Cheese.
Toast.
Bagels.
French Toast.
Cereal.
7-Layer Dip.
Nachos.
Burritos.
Salads, specifically the Cosi Signature Salad.
Hot Chocolate.
Scrambled Eggs.
Cupcakes.
Frozen Yogurt.
Sour Cream.
Any cheese-flavored product. (There's a lot of those.)

I mean the list goes on and on. Perhaps it is a little more extreme in my case, seeing as I add cheese to pretty much everything I eat, but still. This is really uncool.

I have very little self-control, so this has been really hard for me, especially when friends, family, co-workers, and strangers are enjoying delicious cheesy and buttery meals around me. There was free pizza today at work and I had to settle for lettuce with some sort of Italian dressing on it! What the f! Ok, enough complaining. I'm sure my roomates, Boy, and my co-workers are really sick of hearing me bitch about this, so I'll just keep the suffering to myself. Good thing that February is the shortest month...

On the bright side, I get to cheat on my birthday!

I'll keep you posted and wish me luck!

Restaurant Week, Part Deux

It is a tradition that every time Restaurant Week rolls around, L will make the journey from Hoboken into the City to dine with K1 and I. This winter we chose China Grill as our rendezvous point and we had a delightful evening together. L and I got there a little early, so she ordered a glass of red and I had the China Grill Cosmo that had a sweet, but not syrupy black cherry flavor. When K1 arrived, we were seated in the front of the Asian-fusion restaurant, which is located in the CBS Black Rock building on 53rd and 6th. The place is impressive, with 30-foot ceilings and an open kitchen in the middle.

The portions there are family style, so with a party of three, we were instructed to order two appetizers, two entrees, and two desserts. We decided on the Spicy Beef and Scallion Dumplings, Crackling Calamari Salad, Sweet Soy Marinated Skirt Steak, Sake Marinated "Drunken" Chicken, Homemade Sorbet, and Hazelnut Chocolate Torte. And then, just because, we decided to add a wine pairing to each course for just $15 more. They were blends for the most part and were pretty decent, but nothing mind blowing. The appetizer white wine option, however, had a pretty great name: Luna Freakout.

So, onto the food: the dumplings were not overly spicy and sauce was so good that we ate it by the spoonfuls. Our salad was light and flavorful, with perfectly fried pieces of calamari. I'm not a huge steak eater, but this one was very good, with juicy small slices and sauteed lo mein noodles. When I go out to eat, I very rarely order chicken because, quite frankly, it's really boring. But tonight, the selections on the RW menu that did not involve a supplement charge were limited, so it was either salmon, mushroom pasta, or chicken...and salmon is the one fish that I do not enjoy and mushroom pasta? Eh. Long story short, the chicken turned out to be pretty good - really moist and tasty with lots of crunchy onions on top. Our dessert was yummy too, especially the fruity and fresh sorbets. Since the options for our dessert wine pairing were two not-so-good reds, our waitress was kind enough to bring us each a glass of Ice Wine/Eiswein and it really concluded the night on a high note.

All in all, a great Tuesday night: good food and even better company, and we left with a happy buzz. If it wasn't for work the next morning, that buzz may have escalated a bit...

Zai Jian!

"Wicked" Good Pasta

Last Friday was a perfect New York night: dinner, drinks, and theater. It was a clear, cool night, and the work week was over, so morale was very high.

Boy and I started the night off with about 30 pounds of pasta at Vice Versa on 51st st. We had been to its sister restaurant Etcetera Etcetera and really enjoyed it, so when we got tickets to the Gershwin Theatre, it seemed like the perfect choice. They, like many other restaurants in the area, are known for their pre-theatre dinner - they get you in and out with plenty of time. Boy started off the night with a glass of chianti and I had a blueberry cosmo, and then we dove into the menu.

We are both extremely indecisive, so we thought it would be best to share a bunch of appetizer portion pasta dishes: asparagus risotto, strozzapreti with duck ragout and black olives, gnocchi with smoked prosciutto and porcini mushrooms, and pumpkin ravioli with butter and sage. All very different, but all very delicious. Our favorite was the strozzapreti, or "strangled priest" (photo above), with the thick strips of moist duck. The creamy risotto was cooked perfectly, just like the artichoke risotto at Etcetera. Pumpkin and brown butter and sage make a terrific combination - sweet and savory. The gnocchi was a little heavy...thank god we got the app size portion or else we wouldn't have been able to move... To finish the meal, we shared a glass of limoncello and complimentary cookies. So far, so good.

Since we still had time to kill before the performance began, we decided to duck into The House of Brews down the street for a quick beer. Or beers as it turned out. Again, because we're indecisive, we went with a flight of four 4oz beers: Checker Cab, Chimay Triple, Duvel Green, and the Brooklyn Brewmasters Choice (which turned out to be a wintery ale). Chimay was hands down the top beer of the evening. By the time we finished the brews, it was time for Wicked, a show that I have wanted to see for a very long time and one that absolutely did not disappoint.

Such a wonderful (albeit full) night, by any city's standards.

Have a good one!