AWESOME GIVEAWAY: 2 Tickets to Romeo and Juliet

You all know the story of Romeo and Juliet. Juliet Capulet is forbidden by her family to be with Orlando Bloom...oops, I mean Romeo Montague. Excuse me, I have no idea where that came from. Now Orlando...excuse me again, Romeo...strives to come up with a plan for the two lovebirds to be together, but tragedy ensues and Orlando and Condola (that's one lucky lady) suffer untimely deaths.

Maybe you didn't pay attention in high school English, but rest assured you will be paying attention (or potentially completely distracted) watching Orlando Bloom (making his Broadway debut) and two-time Tony nominee Condola Rashad play the iconic romantic leads of Romeo and Juliet on Broadway this Fall. The play will open Thursday, September 19, 2013 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, following preview performances from Saturday, August 24, 2013.

Can we also take two seconds to acknowledge that Justin Guarini (of first season American Idol fame) will be playing the part of Paris? The high schooler inside of me is literally jumping for joy.

All my readers are in luck! I'm giving away a pair of tickets to Romeo and Juliet! There are 4 easy ways to win, and each comment counts as an entry. Be sure to leave your email in each comment so that I can contact you if you are the winner. Tickets will be good for Tues-Thurs performances in September.

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 letting me know your favorite Orlando Bloom movie and why.

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

4) Tweet about this contest "I just entered to win 2 tix to see @RomeoJulietBway on Awesome In New York! http://bit.ly/1315S0D via @yaelleah" and let me know with a link to your tweet.

Winners will be chosen using Random.org on Tuesday 8/13. You have until Tuesday 8/13 at 12 p.m. EST to enter the contest. Good luck!

Congrats Worldyking! He was the 38th commenter and wins 2 tickets to Romeo and Juliet on Broadway. Thanks for entering everyone, stay tuned for more fall show contests!

A limited number of $20 tickets for each performance are available for college students. Tickets may be purchased in advance either at the Box Office with valid ID or online, exclusively through TIX4STUDENTS.COM. Limit of two tickets per order; price does not include facility fee.

A limited number of $20 tickets for each performance are available for educators. Tickets may be purchased in advance at the Box Office with valid ID. Educator tickets are only available for purchase at the box office. Limit of two tickets per order; price does not include facility fee.

Food So Good, You'll Shout Opa!

To be a standout Greek restaurant in Astoria takes an extensive menu of authentic dishes, a super friendly and homey atmosphere and reasonable prices. Telly's Taverna on 23rd Avenue has all three and is by far my new favorite local place for some mezés and seafood!

So authentic, half the menu is in Greek!

I was invited to come dine with a friend last week and it's definitely a good thing I had a light lunch that day. Dianna, the owner, selected several small plates for us to start with and we also split a refreshing bottle of white wine (Boutari Moschofilero $32). First we had fresh made pita, nice and thick like I like it with an assortment of dips ($14) including Taramosalata (fish roe), tzatzki (yogurt and cucumber), Skordalia (garlic and potato). We also had a super fresh salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, and feta cheese ($9) and a finely chopped Nana's Green Salad ($9).

First appetizers

Next we had the traditional fried Kefalograviera cheese dish Saganaki ($11) which is good if you like fried cheese, but was probably what I enjoyed least of the entire meal (don't worry, there's much much more to come!)

Saganaki

If you ever go to Telly's you MUST order the grilled octopus ($14.75). It was cooked to perfection and with a little lemon and seasoning was one of the most delicious, simple dishes I have ever had. I could have finished the entire plate for dinner and been happy. The lima beans baked in tomato sauce ($10)are another must order. Having never really experienced lima beans, I now know to give them a lot more credit in the future.

Grilled Octopus

Lima Beans

Telly's has a number of grilled and fried veggies, but the fried eggplant and zucchini ($8 each) were standouts. You can tell they use quality vegetables as you can still taste the flavors underneath the light breading and there is minimal oil left over.

Fried Eggpland and Zucchini

For our main courses (like we hadn't already stuffed ourselves!), we went with both the most authentic Greek item on the menu--Barbounia ($19)--and the most popular fish--Branzini (market price). We were warned that the barbounia, also known as red mullet, were very bony and boy were they. You have to be a very meticulous eater who doesn't mind sifting through a maze of sharp pointy bones to get your food to enjoy this dish. The flavor was very interesting, different from any other fish I've had before, and I relished the new experience. The branzini was fairly standard as to what I've had at other Greek and Italian restaurants. Telly's serves it's fish with a bottle of lemon juice and olive oil mixture on the side and it was amazing with the fish. For sides, we had the beets ($7), hora (a Greek green vegetable, $6), and Greek style fried potatoes ($6).

Barbounia

Branzini

So much food!

Dessert wasn't even an option; OF COURSE we were getting something. At Telly's everyone ends their meal with an order of Loukoumades for free (except for Saturdays). These are essentially donut holes served with honey and cinnamon, but better than any you would get at Dunkin Donuts that's for sure. We also sampled the Greek yogurt with preserves ($6)--think of Chobani plus all of that glorious creaminess they take out (also known as full fat) and you have a glorious, gluttonous plate of yummy.

Loukoumades

Greek yogurt and preserves (we liked it so much that I almost forgot to snap a photo)

I would definitely like to come back to try something on the Char-Broiled section of the menu; people on Yelp seem to love the lamb chops. You don't eat meat?! That's ok. I make lamb. Something else I love about Telly's is that they make everything to order and that encourages a long, leisurely meal. So grab a pal and your empty stomach, head to Telly's and come back and tell us how you liked it :)

An Enterprising Tasting

Summer tasting events are happening left and right and I have yet another to tell you about. Project Enterprise is a provider of micro business loans in New York City that does not require prior business experience, credit history or collateral to provide market-rate financing for small businesses. Working in mostly low-income communities in Upper Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, the organization provides assistance and support for entrepreneurs while fostering job creation and networking.

Next Wednesday, July 24, Project Enterprise is hosting A Taste of Project Enterprise at Studio Arte (265 West 37th Street, 17thFloor) from 6-9pm. The event will feature favorites from the organization’s food and restaurant entrepreneurs, including: Love Joy Treats, June Lee Catering, Heavenly Crumbs, Kamini Ice, Caribbean Cake Connoisseurs, and more.

Tickets can be purchased in advance for $25 or at the door for $30.

Some Summer Creativity

I've always considered myself a fairly creative person, and is it just me or does it seem like we used to get much more encouragement to be creative when we were kids? With all the stress of life as an adult, I've been finding it's actually more beneficial now to get my creative juices flowing than it was when all I really wanted was to gossip with my friends on the playground while sipping Capri Sun.

Thankfully for all my awesome readers, I've taken the liberty of trying out a couple classes in the NYC area and here's what I have to report:

Painting and Wine Class: The Art Studio NY

(Purchased on Groupon for $35 plus $10 for the canvas)

After seeing countless friends spend a fun night trying to copy a painting while sipping wine, I thought this would be a good place to start, especially given the fact that I have never painted anything in my life (with the exception of my dining room walls and some finger painting way back when). My friend Rachel and I shopped our options and settled for a 3-hour class at The Art Studio NY on the Upper West Side. Our instructor, Jacob Premo, was wonderful and encouraging as he led us through step-by-step as to how we should conquer the painting. He was also very flexible--helping other students paint entirely different pictures and even providing neon pink paint and glitter to one student (I was very jealous of her final product). The wine was constantly flowing and between that and the relaxing actions of mixing paints and putting brush to canvas, I was a happy lady by the end of the night. I may not be the next Van Gogh, but now I can say I have an original piece of art hanging in my apartment. The studio offers ongoing art classes for all levels at very reasonable prices, including drawing classes that take place in both the Met and Central Park. For only $39 including all materials, you may very well find me there in the near future.

The original next to my finished work

Me and Rachel with our masterpieces

Adventure Photography: JP Teaches Photo

(Free on Zozi, bring your own camera)

I've owned a Canon Rebel DSLR (fancy camera speak for one of those large cameras that take really good pictures) for about 7 years now, and I'm sad to say that I still don't know completely how to use it. I usually leave it on auto, occasionally venturing to manual when I have something specific in mind. For the most part I've been happy with it, because it takes killer photos even on auto, but with an upcoming trip to Thailand/South Korea (it's okay, you can be jealous), I wanted to up my game. I came across JP Teaches Photo through the deals site Zozi a few weeks back. They were (and are still...GET ON THIS PEOPLE!) running a special where you get a free "adventure" just for signing up, and more free adventures for signing up your friends. I opted for the adventure photo class in Central Park as a way to brush up on my camera skills and have a wonderful evening in the process. Our group of 6 students and 2 instructors met on the west side of the park on a perfect Sunday evening. The impending rain gave way to beautiful sunshine which streaked in sideways as the sun sank toward the horizon. Paul, a professional photographer/lighting designer and self-described "bro," led us through various exercises designed to get us used to motion photography as well as techniques to help us with landscape and wildlife photography. JP, who's specialty is in helping people use their cameras, stood by to answer specific questions like "how can I make the background lighter/darker?" or "where is that button on my [insert pretty much any camera you can think of]?" The most awesome part of the entire class was when Cartman the skateboarding bulldog and his owner passed by just after we talked about stop motion photography. I was so happy I had my camera in hand, ready to go. The two hours flew by too quickly, but I learned so much, and only whet my appetite for learning more. I may or may not have also signed up for the beginner class in August :)

Dark Cave

Lamp Post

Cartman the Bulldog

With all that this city has to offer, who knows what I might try next! Feel free to leave any suggestions in the comments below and be sure to let us know if you try either of these classes. Happy creativity!

Pitch Your Brunch Fork Here

I always like to impress my brother with awesome NYC food when he visits, so when he came for his last trip I made a point to plan a delicious and all-you-can-drink meal that would be sure to wow him. We headed east to The Pitch and Fork and were seated in a cozy booth by the front of the rustic, yet charming, restaurant.

Pitc

One of the first things I noticed was the giant piece of taxidermy over the bar--it's definitely cozy--but then you see "bottomless brunch" on the menu and you're reminded that you are super far away from any place where a pitchfork is used for anything but decoration and the place suddenly feels chic.

The brunch menu is split into a couple of sections--appetizers, "like breakfast," and "like lunch"--to help you decide what you're in the mood for. You can make any entree into an all-you-can-drink 2-hour brunch for just $27 (that goes for the $10 granola or the $24 organic brick chicken). We started with the devils on horseback ($9) and highly recommend you do too. These little balls of bacon wrapped dates wrapped blue cheese are heavenly and they definitely don't skimp you!

Devils on Horseback ($9)

I opted for the grilled spicy shrimp ($24) with grits, fava beans, summer squash, ancho chili, bacon, and basil, which was basically a fancy way to say shrimp and grits. The Grits were perfectly cooked, and the whole dish just flowed seamlessly. I ate every last bite and could have eaten more.

Grilled Spicy Shrimp ($24)

My brother went for the classic steak and eggs (go big or go home right?), which was a rib eye served with eggs and potato hash ($24). The steak was a pretty large hunk of meat for any meal, let alone brunch, and everything was cooked wonderfully.

Steak and Eggs

We figured we had to have the entire Pitch and Fork experience so we asked what was available for dessert and knew what we had to order when our waitress told us about the donuts with bacon glaze and, get this, Pop Rocks! Do yourself a favor and get the donuts so that I don't have to explain the sensation of exploding candy in your mouth while you're trying to savor the warm doughy donuts saturated with powdered sugar and maple bacon glaze, ok?

Taking a look at Pitch and Fork's dinner menu, I'm definitely intrigued. Continuing on what seems to be a trend, they have bacon wrapped bacon for an appetizer and their shepherd's pie sounds pretty legitimate. Combine the awesome menu with a covered back patio, and this place seems to have it all. Ultimately, it was a successful meal and I'll definitely be back!

Savor That Craft Beer

I don't know if the concept of 'craft beer' is really all that new or if it just seems to be getting a lot more press in recent years, but either way, we think it's awesome. With all of the craft beer festivals popping up all over the place, these unique libations have many pedestals to stand on. The latest event to hit the Big Apple, presented by the Brewers Association, is Savor: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience taking place this weekend June 14-15 at the Altman Building and Metropolitan Pavillion.

The event comes to NYC after five consecutive years in the nation’s capital. Attendees will enjoy beers from 76 small and independent U.S. breweries, hailing from 31 different states and representing all regions of the country. Along with tasting some of the finest craft beers, attendees will enjoy a diverse array of food pairings designed by Chef Adam Dulye, co-owner/chef of San Francisco’s The Monk’s Kettle and James Beard Award-semifinalist Abbot’s Cellar, in collaboration with a panel of chefs and Cicerones. Sonnier & Castle will serve as the event caterer.

Savor will also feature salons each of the nights focusing on specific beer concepts such as:

• Cajun and Creole Artisanal Foods and Bieres in Quadraphonic Sensaround
• West Coast Beer, East Coast Food
• Blending Barrel Aged Sour Beers
• Several Shades of Lager: An Exploration and Explanation of Lager Beers

For tickets, click here. See you there this weekend. I hope you're ready to get your drink on!

AWESOME ALERT: Free Outdoor Adventures From Zozi and Bear Grylls

Ever fancied yourself an outdoors enthusiast? What about someone who at least likes trees? Either way, you're in luck because the deals site Zozi is giving away free outdoor adventures in NYC and around the country as part of a new promotion with Bear Grylls. I got the Outdoor Photography Class (regularly $97) and after referring 3 more people, I picked up the day pass to Brooklyn Boulders (regularly $32).

To sign up, click here and select your free adventure! Comment below on what you picked.