Brooklyn Suds

Something that had been on my list of things to do in NYC for, say three years, was to visit the Brooklyn Brewery in Williamsburg. Maybe it was the foreign concept of taking the L or maybe I've been too consumed with wine, but I finally can check this activity off my list and tell you all to do the same.

The Brooklyn Brewery was founded in 1987 by a war correspondent and a banker who decided to quit their jobs and devote themselves full-time to the art of brewing. They started operations upstate but in 1996, took over an abandoned warehouse space in Williamsburg and it became the first successful brewery in New York City since 1976. Today, Brooklyn Brewery beers are sold all over the world.

Tours are free but I would recommend making a reservation for a small batch brewery tour from 5-7 every weeknight. Those tours are limited to just 25 people, and for $8, they include beer samples. You'll also get to see where the beer is actually made instead of just the large warehouse they show you on the free tours.

After your tour, I would invite you to stick around and throw back a couple. You can purchase beer tokens for $4 or 6 for $20, and glasses range from 1-3 tokens depending on the beer. The event space is great and open to the public Fridays 6-11 and Saturday and Sundays from 12-6. While they don't serve food, you can bring in your own or even have it delivered, just ask the bartender for their stash of menus.

Brooklyn Brewery event space

Lobby

The day I visited, I tried three different beers: Brooklyn Lager, Brooklyn Pilsner and Brooklyn Brown Ale. They were all excellent and I'm sure very fresh. From time to time the brewery will also showcase seasonal beers, so keep an eye out for those. 

Brooklyn Brewery Beers

And don't forget to check out the brewery's collection of old beer bottles from NYC brewery past.

These date back to more than 100 years ago!

Madison Square BBQ

Note: Don't you hate it when you start something and then get too distracted to finish it? Unfortunately that non-awesome situation happened to me with this post. It's a tad delayed but still super delicious. Enjoy!

When I think "New York," I don't usually think of "finger-lickin' good" (with the exception of an experience at Hill Country). However, for one weekend every summer, Madison Square Park becomes charcoal grilling, hickory smoking and pork 'n beans central wend the Big Apple BBQ takes over. At $8 a plate, patrons can gorge themselves with the best BBQ from across the country. All proceeds benefited the Madison Square Park Conservancy.

It was a slightly cloudy day, but that didn't stop the masses from donning their bibs and nibbling their ribs from a selection of more than 15 pitmasters, each with their own unique styles. All sorts of BBQ specialties were represented, including St. Louis Style Ribs, Pulled Pork Shoulder and Smoked Sausage.

Yup, that's a whole hog

We kicked off the event with a visit to the pop-up beer garden within the boundaries of the park. Goose Island was the beer sponsor, and I was a happy camper with a glass of their refreshing IPA.

After completing a once-over of all of the food options up and down Madison Avenue, we decided to try two different types of ribs. Ultimately this was decided by the which booths had the shortest lines. The smart folks had paid for an event fastpass well in advance. They were able to have special access to visit each of the booths from behind and skip all the lines and hullabaloo I had to wade through. Definitely doing that next time.

We visited the booth of the famed Gramercy joint, Blue Smoke for their Texas Salt n' Pepper Beef Ribs. Having never experience this kind of rib before, I was pleasantly surprised by how moist they were. Not only did the meat fall right off the bone, but they were full of flavor. We also tried the Baby Back Ribs from Rack & Soul, also in NYC. The sauce on these babies was out of this world, and they came with a side of BBQ beans that left me in BBQ heaven. In the end, I think the consensus was that Blue Smoke's ribs were better.

Rack & Soul's  Baby Back Ribs and BBQ Beans

Blue Smoke's Texas Salt n' Pepper Beef Ribs

This event puts Madison Square Park even higher up on my awesome list. For such a small park (in comparison to others...ahem...Central Park...), the conservancy does a great job of jam-packing it with wonderful activities, interesting art pieces and stellar events. The Shake Shack doesn't hurt either...

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!

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 GIVEAWAY: 2 Tickets to Voca People

Ever wanted to see an intergalactic, a capella musical complete with white aliens and lots of fun? The specific desire may not have crossed your mind, but you can now enjoy this showcase of uniqueness at Voca People - a new musical theater event playing at the Westside Theater in Hell's Kitchen.

The show, which has traveled around the world, features talented performers who entertain the crowd with familiar songs without the use of instruments. The characters hail from the planet Voca, where all communication is made by musical and vocal expressions. 

All my readers are in luck! I'm giving away a pair of tickets to see Voca People! The tickets must be picked up at the box office the day of the show. 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 - Follow this blog by clicking on the button on 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 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.

5) 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.

One winner will be chosen using Random.org on Wednesday 6/29. You have until Wednesday 6/29 at 12 p.m. EST to enter the contest. Good luck!

A winner has been chosen! Congratulations Cindy! She was the 1st commenter and wins two tickets to see Voca People! Thanks everyone for entering and stay tuned for more awesomeness.

Manhattan in Motion

It's hard to think of everything going on around the city when you're stuck in an overheated subway car or a cubicle far from a coveted window, but New York City is flippin' fantastic. I stumbled across a time lapse video called "Manhattan in Motion" by a man named Josh Owens and I was mesmerized by what he was able to capture. I especially liked seeing the Astor Place Cube spin round like a top that won't fall down and the way he panned from the quiet solitude of a rooftop to the busy streets below.


Mindrelic - Manhattan in motion from Mindrelic on Vimeo.

The original video can be found here. Enjoy!

FINALLY! Good Mexican in Manhattan

Being from Los Angeles, I have been searching high and low in NYC for something to even come close to replicating the often-craved, authentic Mexican food I can find readily available at home. There's the Mexican take-out joints run by Chinese people, and they have decent, cheap food, but the meat always seems like it could double in a Mongolian beef dish as well. Chipotle makes a decent burrito, but come on, burritos are more American than apple pie at this point. 

So when the oh-so-reliable blog Midtown Lunch alerted me to a new Mexican food purveyor near my office, I had to check it out. Taqueria Nixtamalito excited me because the name alone wasn't dumbed down to something a typical American office worker could say easily (not that it didn't take everyone a while to learn the correct pronunciation of Chipotle, but that's a different story). The "permanent cart," I'll call it, is an offshoot of Tortilleria Nixtamal in Corona, Queens. They've been dishing out fresh made tortillas, tamales and enchiladas (and wholesaling to NYC staples like Mexicue, Dos Toros Tacos and Rosa Mexicano) and decided to take their show to the big leagues by opening in a space just south of the Municipal Building (1 Centre Street).

When I arrived at 12:15 on a beautiful Tuesday, the line was about five people deep. I read that it can get much longer so I decided to take lunch on the earlier side. For such a small place, I was happy to see such a large menu. Tamales are one of my favorite foods if they're made right, and Taqueria Nixtamalito offered several varieties including chicken mole, chipotle with pork and chicken, and verde with pork all $3.50. The taco menu was also extensive and included chicken ($2.50), pork ($2.50), barbacoa ($2.75), carnitas ($2.50), shrimp ($3.00) and fish ($3.00). Rounding out the menu were chicken mole enchiladas, tortas, guacamole and salads. They also sell the Mexican soda Jarritos!

Although I was tempted by the chicken mole enchiladas, I couldn't pass up what I thought would hopefully be the most amazing (read = only) tamale I've had in years. I ordered the shrimp taco and chicken mole tamale. The cashier asked me if I'd like salsa and I said yes please. Then he made my day even more and asked if I'd like green or red. Salsa verde (green salsa) is amazing with tamales! 

Shrimp Taco

Chicken Mole Tamale 

Tamale Post-Salsa Verde

Ay carumba was I happy! With only three tables next to the actual stand, I took my food across the street to city hall park to eat in the shade and people watch. However, I would totally advocate for finding a table to eat this meal at. After carefully covering my lap in a napkin layered with the plastic bag layered with another napkin, I dug in. The shrimp taco came with mango, cucumber, a tangy mayo-based sauce and of course chunks of succulent shrimp. The handmade tortilla made all the difference as well.

I covered my tamale in the smoky salsa verde and enjoyed the mix of flavors with the mole. There were large pieces of shredded chicken that I enjoyed until I was scraping the extra off of the corn husk. For $6.50, this was a pretty filling lunch. I definitely could not eat two whole tamales without feeling super full. Next time I'm ordering the enchiladas. Who's with me?

The cashier said that they will soon be launching a system where customers can order online, but until then... Viva Taqueria Nixtamalito!