Say Buh-Bye to Cars on Park Avenue for the Next 2 Saturdays

While walking around Union Square post-yoga on Saturday, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Park Avenue was closed to cars. And then I remembered...IT'S AUGUST! Summer Streets!

Summer Streets is one of my favorite city programs because it opens up the streets to people wanting to truly enjoy the city sans cars. Walkers, joggers, cyclists, and even skaters have full use of the avenue from Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park from 7am until 1pm. That's about 7 whole miles with nary a yellow cab in sight! The program will run for 2 more Saturdays: August 8 and August 15.

All activities are free and open to anyone. I stumbled upon the Midtown rest stop where you could rent free skates and get fitted for a bicycle helmet. NYC Water was also on hand with drinking fountains so you could refill your bottle and keep hydrated on a hot day. If you want to get involved, you can apply to volunteer here.

Dinner and Boat Ride

After 7 years in NYC (it's official today!), I have finally popped my Staten Island cherry--and now have officially visited all 5 of New York City's boroughs. I'm a little ashamed that it took me this long, but I digress.

The Staten Island Ferry Building

The catalyst behind this visit was, of course, food. The free ferry ride across the bay didn't hurt either.

Boarding the ferry

Pulling away from Manhattan

I waved to Miss Liberty (along with throngs of tourists angling to get a picture)

Ok, so back to the food. I was invited, along with Dave from Barton's Bites to visit the River Dock Cafe located inside the ferry terminal building with a terrace overlooking the bay and downtown Manhattan.

Afshin, one of the restaurant's owners--it's a family business--met our group and gave us the history of how his father came to the US from India years ago and built up a food empire from nothing. They now own 47 restaurant concepts in the tri-state area, including most of the vendors in Penn Station. It was definitely an impressive rags-to-riches story and made me respect their ambition a ton.

We started with drinks, which were much needed given the fact that the sun was shining right in many of our faces and we were all sweating glistening. I would definitely recommend any of the frozen drinks, but I found myself craving more and more of the lemonade. I know it's simple, and there's not even alcohol (though you can ask them to add some vodka if you're feeling that), but it's delicious and refreshing and just screams summer.

As for appetizers, we were bombarded (in the best way possible) with a Thanksgiving table full of food. Favorites included the fried shrimp and calamari from the appetizer assortment ($23), the Caprese salad ($11), and the fresh white ahi tuna salad ($15).

Appetizer Assortment

Caprese Salad

Maryland Crabcakes

Afshin told us River Dock's specialty is seafood, even though they do fried food very, very well. So for the main course, the friendly waitstaff brought out another tableful of food: Cajun steamed pot ($33), fresh Maine lobster ($27), Thai mussel pot ($22), Seafood Fra Diavolo pasta ($19), marinated grilled shrimp ($29), Alaskan pan seared salmon ($22), BBQ baby back ribs ($23), and the grilled free range chicken breast ($19). PHEW!

That's a ton of food!

I tell ya, you can take the girl out of Boston (where I went to school), but you can't take the Boston out of the girl. I was super into the shellfish, and was the only one of us adventurous enough to crack into the lobster claws sans plastic bib. It was worth it. Nothing says summer like making a mess eating lobster. The Cajun steamed pot was also a ton of fun, with the crab legs easier to open than the lobster and the peel-and-eat shrimp ready for your dextrous digits to tear into them.

Cajun Steamed Pot

Thai Mussel Pot

Fresh Maine Lobster

BBQ Baby Back Ribs and Grilled Chicken

Marinated Grilled Shrimp

Atlantic Pan Seared Salmon

Seafood Fra Diavolo Pasta

Lastly, we couldn't leave without at least sampling dessert. Each dessert usually comes separately, but Afshin brought out a sampler for us including the red velvet cake, chocolate molten cake, and NY cheesecake (each $8). My favorite was definitely the molten cake because chocolate.

Cake Platter

One of the best parts of the night was the ride home (again, the Staten Island Ferry is FREE!). We stood at the bow of the boat, digesting as we watched the shimmering lights of the city come closer and closer. I would do it all again just to watch the distant hum of activity turn into the individual buildings and streets that we all know and love. 

River Dock Cafe is the perfect place to take a "staycation" dinner trip, even on a weekend night. Set up shop right after work with a few frozen cocktails and some lemonade, order up some seafood, and watch the sun go down and the Manhattan lights go up. Word has it that a ferris wheel larger than the London Eye will also be rising in the vicinity of the restaurant, so that will only draw more and more traffic to the area. So you might as well check it out now!

Disclosure: River Dock Cafe provided me with a comp meal in exchange for this review. However, all opinions are my own.

Sundaes on Sunday with Sugartooth Tours

For many, summer is the time to don bikinis, travel to foreign places, and enjoy the extra hours of sunlight in the evening. While I'm not knocking any of that, summer--for me--is the time to gorge on ice cream (especially when it's 90 degrees out and NYC is so chock full of new "artisanal" creameries that I have tons of catching up to do!).

The most perfect way, I've found, to load up on sweets of any kind is through a Sugartooth Tours. I joined them for their first 2015 Ice Cream Summer Sundays Frozen Treats Tour last weekend. Even though my GI system has started rebelling against dairy in the ever-so-slightest way (TMI?), I grabbed a pack of Lactaid at Duane Reade and met up with the group at our first stop, Chloe's Soft Serve (25 E. 17th St.).

Our tour guide Alyson

Good news! I didn't even need the Lactaid here because all items only have 3 ingredients--fruit, ice, and cane sugar. We sampled frozen fruit pops (I had the pineapple), and it was so refreshing I can't even tell you. I also thought the pop was "creamy" in nature, even though there was nary a dairy bit in it! I'll definitely be back to sample their soft serve!

Pineapple Pop

Pineapple Pop

Next up was a place I definitely DID need my Lactaid for--Sundaes and Cones (95 e. 10th St.). This is an old school-style ice cream parlor. Our guide Alyson said it smells like waffle cones--and boy does it! She said she hopes that is what heaven smells like :) The storefront may be old school, but the flavors are NOT! We sampled avocado, red bean, taro, and sweet corn ice cream and all were as delicious as they were unique. But our sample here was the cookies and cream milkshake. Yummo!

Rachel and I enjoying Sundaes and Cones

The ice cream selection

Cookies and Cream Milkshake

Our third stop was a lesson in probiotics. Yogorino (657 Broadway) serves both gelato and frozen yogurt and we were able to sample a small size tart yogurt with 2 toppings--I chose dark chocolate and strawberries. I loved how the chocolate hardened on my frozen treat and I would highly recommend adding a fruit for some added natural flavor.

The awesome rotating gelato selection

My yogurt

Rice to Riches (37 Spring St.) is one of my all-time favorite places in NYC and somewhere that I always make sure out-of-town visitors experience. New Yorkers love their single ingredient-focused establishments, and this one takes the cake, or should I say the rice pudding? With several different flavors and toppings (try the french toast with "blessings"), Rice to Riches is also very tongue in cheek. "You MUST read all the signs on the wall," Alyson told our group. And yes, you must.

Rice to Riches

The flavor selection

My treat

This should be the new motto of this blog

Then we made our way down to Little Italy for a lesson in economics. If you can afford to only keep your storefront open for 5 months of the year, you will make your neighbors very jealous. M'O Il Gelato (178 Mulberry Street) does just that, and they make their gelato fresh every single morning. I sampled the coco flavor (coconut), and was super impressed by how creamy it was. We learned that gelato has a higher milk fat than ice cream (hence the creamier texture), but also that it melts faster than ice cream--which you would know if you've ever had a cone of stracciatella.

The selection at M'O Il Gelato

A small coco

The outside of M'O

Selfies in Little Italy!

Our last stop was probably the one I was most looking forward to. The Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory (65 Bayard St.) is a legend among New Yorkers. I first visited there after a trip to Thailand when I was craving some tropical flavors. Their selection includes black sesame, red bean, green tea, and much, much more. On the super hot Sunday we visited, the line was out the door and practically around the block. Thankfully we didn't have to wait in it as Alyson went in and grabbed us each a small green tea mixed with mango. It was the final dessert in a meal of desserts and it was well worth it.

Line out the door

Rachel and I with our ice cream

Green Tea and Mango ice cream

Once again the folks at Sugartooth have not failed to impress me with not only their knowledge of NYC and dessert (in this case ice cream) culture, but they have given me a heck of a good time and a lot of yummy eats. To close, I'll leave you with something I recently heard that cracks me up every time:

I scream. You scream. The police come. It's awkward.

Rediscovering the "De-chained" CPK and Loving It

Ever since I moved to NYC, I've had a very strong aversion to chain restaurants. Why should I eat at a place that I can eat at anywhere in the country when I have the best restaurants in the world mere footsteps away?, I thought. 

However, California Pizza Kitchen has always had a special place in my heart as it used to be the go-to birthday spot when I was a kid growing up in Los Angeles. I always knew about the CPK, as it's affectionately known, at 30th Street and Park Avenue, but have never been nostalgic enough to visit during my almost 7-year NYC tenure. But that all changes now.

Monday night I had the opportunity to visit CPK--the only location in Manhattan (so is it really a chain? Haha!)--as they celebrated their 30th anniversary and their new mission to "dechain the chain."

I first got a tour of the newly redecorated space, featuring a chalkboard and a wall of herbs at the entrance, reclaimed wood table tops, and scenic NYC photos adorning the walls. The space already feels more welcoming than your typical, cookie-cutter franchise.

Next, I was given an apron and whisked into the kitchen with Head Chef Brian Sullivan (who developed the iconic BBQ Chicken Pizza more than 20 years ago!) and NYC pizza chef Juan who both taught me how to make a pizza and (here's the best part) TOSS THE DOUGH! My first attempt ended up with me breaking holes in the dough, but try number 2 got some serious air and I transformed it into CPK's Wild Mushroom Pizza ($13.49) with 5 different types of mushrooms, 3 cheeses, garlic, and scallions. Yum!

Juan teaching me to stretch the dough

Oops! Popped some holes!

That's a winner!

My Wild Mushroom Pizza

At this point, I was finding flour in my hair and covering my arms--tis' the life of a pizza arteest!--but I was having a blast. Then I sat down with CPK CEO G.J. Hart, one of the nicest people I've ever met, who along with Chef Brian walked me through some of the new menu items and cocktails.

The first drink I tried, my favorite of the evening, was the California Roots, a Svedka vodka concoction with muddled avocado, mint, and agave sour rimmed with fennel salt. Talk about unusual! I also tried G.J.'s creation, The Executive Decision, which has Casamigos tequila blanco, muddled mint, fresh agave sour, Monin organic agave nectar and fresh lime, and I thought it was like vacation in a glass. Lastly, I sampled the Blueberry Ginger Smash, which cleverly mixes Jack Daniels with agave nectar, Domaine de Canton ginger, fresh blueberries and lime and cranberry juice into a delightful fruity libation. I told G.J. I could see these drinks going for upwards of $16 at some Manhattan hot spots, but he told me the price point was about half that depending on which CPK you were visiting!

California Roots

The Executive Decision

Blueberry Ginger Smash

Next, the food! Delicious, delicious food! When I used to come to CPK as a kid, I would always reliably order the BBQ Chicken Pizza. While the old classic is still on the menu, the items that surround it are new, improved, and focused on seasonal ingredients. Case in point, the California Fields Salad (half $9.99, full $13.49) is comprised of gorgeous field greens with fresh watermelon, sweet strawberries, feta, and California pistachios, topped with a housemade Champagne vinaigrette.

California Fields Salad

I also tried the new Maine Lobster Flatbread ($10.99), a wonderful dish for sharing, it features real Maine lobster meat, mayo, fresh herbs, arugula, and shaved red onions on a parmesan flatbread. It's like a pizza version of a lobster roll, and I LOVE lobster rolls.

Maine Lobster Flatbread

For main entrees, I sampled the Tricolore Salad Pizza ($12.99), which is a salad lover's dream! It features a different take on the crust--caramelized honey and parmesan lend it to be thinner and crispier--cooked and then topped with field greens, tomatoes, and shaved parmesan tossed with housemade Dijon balsalmic vinaigrette.

Tricolore Salad Pizza

I also had a clever take on a gluttonous dish, their Shrimp Scampi Zucchini ($14.79), which had half regular pasta and half noodles made from zucchini (aka: zoodles!) sauteed with lemon, garlic, and white wine. This entire dish is only 470 calories!

Shrimp Scampi Zucchini

Lastly, my favorite entree of the night was the Hearth-Roasted Halibut ($23.79) served over grilled asparagus and butternut squash farro and baby kale. I could eat this morning, noon, and night, and it's a good thing too because the size of the piece of fish they give you is ginormous! Definitely enough for 2 meals for me. And the farro adds a truly unique touch.

Hearth-Roasted Halibut

Of course they didn't let me skip out on dessert, and neither should you. Both the salted caramel pudding ($4.99) served with black cocoa cookie crumbs, whipped cream, and sea salt and the Butter Cake ($6.79) served with ice cream and whipped cream are decadent options to end your meal.

Salted Caramel Pudding

Butter Cake

I go to a lot of restaurant events, and I must say the hospitality I received at CPK was top notch. You could tell the people who work there enjoy the company for more than the fact that it gives them a paycheck--there's true passion behind the food and drink. Their prices are also fabulous! Lunch specials range from $9-11 from M-F, 1-4pm, and they also have happy hour specials.

From Left: Head Chef Brian Sullivan, me, and CEO G.J. Hart

G.J. also told me that CPK is committed to the communities they operate in, offering fundraising events as often as they can. They are also relaunching their grocery store branded items, so keep an eye out for those in the coming months. I also took home a copy of the CPK cookbook, so maybe I'll be trying some of their creations for my next dinner party!

The CPK Cookbook

Love the inscription!

It's official, I've been converted (partially) back to the chain. CPK, you have thoroughly impressed me and I'll be singing your praises for a long while.

Disclosure: CPK hosted me for this event and paid for my food, but all opinions are my own.