7/18/11

Not Your Typical Deli

Summer is a time for exotic revelry, but every so often I just crave simple comforts. After being invited to the Summer in Soho event at Delicatessen, I knew I was in for a slice of both. 


Especially in NYC, when you hear the word deli, you think of warm pastrami, matzah ball soup and perhaps some Dr. Brown's cream sodas. If you're in the mood for some of that, I'd say hit up Katz's, however, if you'd like a bit more ooh-la-la to your outing, I'd highly recommend Delicatessen on Prince and Lafayette in Nolita. The event I attended featured selected items from the new menu courtesy of Executive Chef Michael Ferraro and Pastry Chef Kate Cowan.

The party was held in both of Delicatessen's private party rooms -- The Courtyard, with it's awesome glass ceiling we watched the sunset through, and The Minibar, a dark cavernous, yet sexy space with, well, a bar. It was in the Minibar I was poured the signature drink of the night. The Tilly as they called it was my kind of summer drink -- muddled strawberry and lime shaken with Satisfaction vodka and pomegranate juice. I loved how the sweetness and tang melded together. And what a pretty color!

The Tilly
Looking up from The Courtyard
View of The Courtyard
The food was WAY better than standard deli fare. My favorites included the Flash Fried Tuna Avocado Rolls, which were just crispy enough for some nice texture but the smoothness of the tuna and avocado still came through, and the Tomato and Mozzarella Salad. The latter was definitely not your go-to caprese, rather the cheese was fried with tempura and the tomatoes were marinated. I could have had an unlimited amount of those puppies. Other delicious bites included the Smoked Chicken Tacos, Pork Mole Tacos and Sweet Sesame Chicken Lettuce Wraps.

Flash Fried Tuna and Avocado Rolls
Tomato and Mozzarella Salad
Sweet Sesame Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Smoked Chicken Taco
Dessert was a whole other wonderful experience. Three words: Maple Bacon Beignets. Three more words: Bourbon Creme Anglaise. I seriously could have eaten a whole tray of these, but they were in such high demand that I only managed to snag two. Good thing the two other dessert were just as much fun. I was weary of the Chocolate Layer Cake because they always look so good but taste so dry. This version was super moist and the frosting was not overly sticky sweet. The fresh berries on top were also a nice touch. The other clever dessert was a cheesecake lollipop coated in chocolate - yum!

Maple Bacon Beignets
Chocolate Layer Cakes
Cheesecake Lollipop
Besides bumping into friends, my favorite part of this event was finding out about a cool venue with some very unique food. I will definitely be back for some trendy comfort sometime very soon!

7/13/11

AWESOME GIVEAWAY: 2 Tickets to Phantom of the Opera

Phantom of the Opera, a quintessential musical and shame on you if you have yet to see it! One of my all-time favorites, Phantom weaves a beautiful story of love, acceptance, trust and life in the French opera 100+ years ago.



Celebrating 23 years on Broadway and 7 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Phantom of the Opera offers several affordable ticket options. Tickets in the last two rows of the Rear Mezzanine are priced at $26.25 for Monday through Thursday performances. These tickets may be purchased through Telecharge or at the box office. Also, Standing Room tickets are available for $26.25 at the box office only, only when the performance is sold out. I would also recommend checking TKTS for day-of tickets.


All my readers are in luck! I'm giving away a pair of tickets to see Phantom of the Opera! Whether you've seen it a thousand times or if this will be your first experience, you WANT to win this contest. The tickets are good for any Tues, Wed or Thurs evening performance from Sept. 13-Oct. 27. There are 5 easy ways to win and each comment counts as an entry. Please include your email in any comments so I know how to contact you if you are the winner.

1) REQUIRED - 
Subscribe to this blog by email, using the submission box in the right panel and leave a comment below letting me know you did so.

2) REQUIRED - Leave a comment below letting me know why you want to see this show.

3) Follow this blog by clicking on the button on the right panel and leave a comment below letting me know you did so.

4) Follow me on Twitter @yaelleah and leave a comment below letting me know you did so.

4) Tweet or blog about this event and let me know with a link to your tweet or blog in a comment below.

One winner will be chosen using Random.org on Wednesday 7/20. You have until Wednesday 7/20 at 12 p.m. EST to enter the contest. Good luck!




A winner has been chosen! Congratulations Rebecca! She was the 21st commenter and wins two tickets to see Phantom of the Opera! Thanks everyone for entering and stay tuned for more awesomeness.

Awesome Reads

Awesome in New York New York restaurants

Awesome Keywords

art gallery art museum Astoria atlantic city awesome alert Awesome Deal awesome giveaway awesome savings bakeries bar bar crawl BBQ beach beauty beer beer event birthday Book Launch brazilian breakfast Broadway Brooklyn Brooklyn Bridge Brunch Bryant Park carnegie hall celebrity spotting Central Park cheap tickets cheese Chelsea Market Chinatown Chinese Food Choice Eats class cocktails coffee columbus circle concert concert in the park contest cookies cooking creativity crunch cuban dance Deals Delicatessen delivery designer clothing dessert. food dinner Dior discount spa treatments discounted tickets doughnuts Downtown drink specials drinks East Village Ebates Entertainment event exercise Facebook giveaway fashion film fitness Flatiron Flushing Meadows-Corona park Food Food event food truck free Free Champagne free coffee Free Concerts free cupcake free dessert free drinks free food free museum admission free stuff Free Ticket free wine French food fundraising gift Gilt City giveaway gourmet food store Grand Central Greek Greenwich Village Groupon Guggenheim Museum half marathon halloween health healthy living helicopter tour hell's kitchen historic site history holiday shopping hot chocolate Italian food jazz jazz club jewelry lincoln center local food Lombardi Long Island City Lower East Side lunch macaron Madison Square Park Manhattan margaritas MCNY memberships Met mexican food MOMA movie premiere ms walk museum music New Year's Eve New York new york botanic garden New York City Food and Wine Festival New York Magazine New York Times New York Wine Expo Nolita NYC Off-Broadway online shopping open bar out of towners outdoors pancakes party photos pizza public art publications Queens restaurant Restaurant Review Restaurant Week Riesling Crawl rooftop roosevelt running sake save money shopping shopping deals skincare social media Social Media Week Soho spirits summer Super Bowl sushi sweetery tapas taxi TDF Terroir The Jewish Museum Theater thrift store Thrillist Times Square travel Twitter giveaway upper east side video views Village Voice volunteer opportunity website West Village williamsburg win wine wine class wine event Yankee Stadium yelp yoga Ziegfeld Theater