Love Me Some Cheap Theater

I don't know if you've noticed, but there are some AWESOME Off-Broadway shows out there right now. I have so many on my want-to-see list, it's ridiculous. From Rent to Million Dollar Quartet, The Fantasticks to Traces, there's something for everybody!

While we await the big spring Broadway openings, I would highly recommend taking advantage of a current promotion available at more than three dozen shows called 20 at 20. Basically, you have 20 days to see amazing shows like the aforementioned for just $20. The 20 days started Jan. 18th (sorry for the late notice!) and goes until Feb. 6th. The way to get your $20 tickets is to show up to the box office 20 minutes before curtain and say you want your 20 at 20 tickets. It's that easy!

Plus, if you manage to see 7 shows over the course of the promotion, you get a free dinner for 2! Whatcha waitin' for?

Wining and, Well, Wining

Day drinking is a New Yorker's treasured pastime, but day drinking classy wines from all regions of the world in the humongous Javit's Center is an experience not to be missed. I attended the New York Wine Expo last year, and this vino-fest was beyond awesome. This year, the grand tasting will feature wines from 175 wineries and a renowned lineup of seminar speakers. The event will take place Friday March 2 - Sunday March 4, with Sunday being for trade only.

Good news! All of my readers are entitled to a $15 off discount on tickets for Friday night using the promotional code: AWESOME. But hurry, this code expires March 1! You won't want to miss an afternoon of day drinking and insightful seminars like "Wine 101: Taste Like a Pro with Wine Spectator," "Wine Spectator Presents...Portugal – Discover a World of Difference" or "The Rhône Valley: A River Runs Through It…with Mark Oldman." Cheers! Hope to see you there!

Tiramisu! Get Your Tiramisu!

It's not secret that I love the NYC food scene, but when I get to partake in it for no charge  is when I get excited. Savoia Restaurant in Caroll Gardens, is new to me but certainly not new to serving up classic Italian Cuisine in the big apple. After moving to Brooklyn from Chambers Street after 9/11, Savoia is family run and emphasizes the Italian experience, offering rustic decor and even waiters with true Italian accents. Most of their ingredients are imported direct from Italy, with perishable items locally sourced from organic farms and other food purveyors. Yelp reviewers rave about the brick oven pizzas, the paninis and even their brunch specials.

If you're in the neighborhood today, Savoia is celebrating their 10th anniversary by giving away a free glass of wine and piece of tiramisu with your dinner order. Also, they will be having a demonstration of how to make their Rigatoni alla Norma today at 5, complete with a tasting of course.

Check back soon for my review of Savoia and if you go today come back and comment how much you loved the tiramisu!

It's a Smorgasbrewery

I have to admit, I'm sorry to just be finding out about the Smorgasbrewery event going on at Brooklyn Brewery this Sunday 1/8 (and every Sunday through March). On top of their normally free on-the-hour brewery tours, the beloved beer aficionados who run the place are bringing in all sorts of local food vendors from noon to 5 pm.

This Sunday you can salivate over pork sandwiches (I'm assuming) from Porchetta, bivalves from Brooklyn Oyster Party, sweet and savory pies from Rachel's Pies, baked goods from Commerce Bakery and sugary confections from Lush Candy. And you musn't forget a Brooklyn Lager, IPA or maybe a Cuvee Noir...

Time for Tapas

Happy new year awesome readers! I hope you all celebrated in style. I'd like to kick off the new year right with a great deal I found at one of my favorite restaurants in NYC, Tia Pol. Tucked into a small space amid the fabulous art galleries in Chelsea, this tapas restaurant offers amazing sangria and wide variety of affordable and delicious small plates. A few of my favorites are the fried garbanzo beans (a must try!) and the gambas al ajillo (shrimp in olive oil with garlic and chili).

Bring the coupon below into Tia Pol before February 29th (yes, that's right it's a leap year!) and score 25% off your total bill.


Because of the small space, this place gets packed so I would HIGHLY recommend making a reservation, or plan on waiting a while. Cheers to 25% more fried garbanzo beans...

Elemental Dining

Williamsburg is fast becoming (or already is) the new awesome place to own a restaurant. To stand out and survive, each has to have something unique to draw people in and keep them happy hungry customers. Would a menu complete with Italian-style pizzas, South American seafood dishes and juicy burritos do the trick? I think so. 

On the border of McCarren Park, away from the hustle and bustle of Bedford Ave., you'll find Cu 29 Copper. Named to bring about thoughts of chemistry and harmony between different cuisines, the restaurant was decorated in warm hues of rust and of course, copper, with the center point being the large brick oven. I was invited by the owners on a nippy Sunday night to sample the menu and get a feel for this hidden gem.

We were seated in the large back room, with a view out to the good size outdoor patio. How I wished the weather was warmer so that we could have sat outside! When we arrived a family was finishing up their meal and a couple was canoodling/eating dinner on a cozy couch. There was a rather large elevated space in the corner and the host told us that they regularly have live music on weeknights. 

We started with the Roasted Garlic Shrimp. Talk about garlic. The sizzling dish packed a punch of flavor. I would watch out for this dish on a first date, but man oh man was it delicious. The shrimp were succulent, and my only complaint would be that I wanted more bread to sop up the remaining sauce. 

Roasted Garlic Shrimp

The next dish was Cu 29 Copper's Signature Pizza. The fluffy, slightly blackened (in a good way) crust was piled high with pepperoni, sweet sausage, peppers, mushrooms, red onions, black olives, hot cherry peppers and mozzarella cheese. With a slight kick, this pizza was super tasty. We came close to finishing it, but then the waiter reminded us we still had one more dish to try.

Cu Signature Pizza

The last dish, and my favorite, was the Seafood Moqueca, a traditional Latin seafood stew with coconut milk, lobster broth, cilantro and toasted pine nuts, served over rice. This dish came with lots of extra bread so as soon as we slurped up the mussels and found all the bits of calamari, we left no broth at all. The yellow rice was amazing as well after it had been sitting in the stew for so long.

Seafood Moqueca

Taking a look at the rest of the menu, I'm intrigued by the other pizzas (Italian Stallion anyone?), the tacos (especially the shrimp tacos with chipotle mole and the tuna tacos with sliced mandarin pico de gallo) and the banana nutella crepes (can't resist!). Drinks are reasonably priced with beers for $5 and signature cocktails ranging from $8-$10. They have a great lunch menu as well with specials around $8, and almost all the online reviews I've read about this place rave about its brunch.

Cu 29 Copper is located at 232 N. 12th Street (between Driggs Ave and Roebling Street).

Free Groceries!

Whenever I leave NY, I love visiting those super huge "super"markets. I oogle at all of the varieties of everything, the spacious aisles and the rows and rows of convenient items - brands I've never heard of before! Alas, I come back home and can get a similar, albeit crowded and expensive, experience at Whole Foods, but in my neighborhood, I've settled for Morton Williams as my grocery store of choice.

Their selection is pretty good, they offer a fairly wide selection of produce, and the people at the check out line at least say hello to me in a pleasant matter (and that's saying a lot compared to the likes of some Gristedes I've shopped in). So when I opened my email this morning to find an offer for a $30 voucher to Morton Williams for only $15, I jumped on it. The best part, you can buy 2 per person! But hurry, there were only 600 or so vouchers left when I last checked and I'm sure those puppies are going to sell out soon.