Supper Time

Before the Hollywood festivities of last night, I had the pleasure of visiting a gem of an East Village restaurant. Through, Twitter, I have been privy to (and the winner of) many a contest. I recently started following @suppernyc, the twitter account of Supper Restaurant on 2nd Street and Ave. A. It turns out, every weekday at 2 p.m., the restaurant, and their sister establishments @lilfrankies at noon and @frankrestaurant at 1 p.m. do a twitter food giveaway. The first follower to retweet the posted message wins the entree of the day.

Just my luck (which is good if you were curious), I won the Grilled Polenta entree. The catch is that you have to either have it delivered or pick it up that day during a specific time period. Since the delivery area is limited to the E. Village, I figured I would swing by on the way to the premiere.

Even with my two years in the city, I'm ashamed to say I haven't truly explored the East Village, but I am working on it! Walking east on 2nd Street, I saw the cutest boutiques and some wonderful happy hour deals. What I found when I walked into Supper though, was perhaps the most fantastic. Several rustic outdoor tables greet you at first and then you walk inside to what reminds me of a log cabin with a bit of an edge - almost an rural chic feel, if such a thing exists (if it doesn't, I just created it).  After telling the hostess that I was there because of the Twitter contest, she presented me with a glass of house red while I waited for my entree. I took a seat at the large wooden bar, checked in on Foursquare (have to spread the online love!), and began to drool over the rest of the menu I looked over.

Supper offers a different risotto for every day of the week - could this be a more perfect place for me?! The most appealing, although I'm not sure if it is more of a dessert than an actual dinner, is Monday's Vanilla Bean and Mascarpone. I better clear my upcoming Monday schedules!

What seems like their signature dinner option is called the "Simple Supper." From Mondays through Wednesdays from 4-7 p.m. you can get an appetizer and an entree for $15.95. You can add on a glass of wine or beer to that for just another $4. Their weekend brunch menu also looked very appealing; the Molly's French Toast with fresh fruit raspberry butter, toasted pecans and real maple syrup was highly recommended.

In my haste to make it to the premiere, I know that I did not do my dish justice since I had to eat it on the subway. I didn't even get a chance to take a picture. However, I will take my sweet time describing it here. The polenta was among the lightest and most flavorful I've ever had, topped with fennel shavings and pieces of fresh Parmigiano cheese. It was accompanied by mouth watering Prosciutto di Parma and a small container of aged Balsalmic vinegar and olive oil. The crunchy-on-the-outside-but-soft-on-the-inside Italian bread that came with the meal was perfect for sopping up the extra oil and vinegar. With each bite, the subway car practically melted away and I felt like I was sitting outdoors at a table next to an Italian farmhouse, just watching the cows in the meadow and the sun setting over the hills. Needless to say, I didn't want the dish to end!

So what are you waiting for? Follow these restaurants on Twitter today and tomorrow you could have a wonderful supper waiting for you! Keep in mind you can only win these giveaways once every 30 days, but you can bet that I'll be first in line in a month.

AWESOME ALERT: Hollywood on 54th Street

I did something very L.A. tonight. I know in a blog about New York, this would be quite the contrarian thing to say, but it’s true.

Thanks to the Young Members Circle at the Museum of the City of New York and a generous soul at Paramount Pictures, I was invited to a screening of the new Steve Carell and Paul Rudd movie, Dinner for Schmucks. At least that was what I was told. Turns out, it’s the PREMIERE of the movie! Having never been to a movie premiere before, even after spending the first 17 years of my life in SoCal (you know it’s been a while since I’ve lived there because I call it SoCal), I truly did not know what to expect. Do I get to walk the red carpet? Do I get to meet all the stars? What about free popcorn? Well, no there is a side entrance for non-stars, no, but I did get pretty close to Michael Scott himself and actually, yes it was quite tasty.

Steve Carell with the paparazzi

Christine enjoying the free popcorn

My guest, Christine, and I marveled at the ornate setting of the historical Ziegfeld Theater while munching on popcorn and waiting for the film to begin. The crowd buzzed when Steve Carell in a sharp blue blazer entered the theater, Paul Rudd with a rather robust beard caused quite the stir as he took his seat and flashes popped when Zach Galifianakis, who cleans up rather nice, greeted fans already seated. The film’s director Jay Roach (think Meet the Parents and Austin Powers) introduced the film saying that it contains the work of “perhaps 16 to 20 of the world’s funniest people.” (Um, excuse me, but when has a movie EVER been introduced to me by its director in person!?).

Inside of the Ziegfeld Theater

Christine and I before the movie

The movie was highly entertaining, and in fact I’d recommend you all go out and see it. Steve Carell fulfilled his typecast but wonderful “schmuck” of a character and Paul Rudd was his charming self, but perhaps the most comical part of the evening, was the fact that I was not even expecting it. That’s the beauty of life in this city. Opportunity is in fact everywhere, and I love running into it.

Dinner for Schmucks opens everywhere July 30.

A Knack for New York

New York is a complex city. Complex in so many ways that you start to doubt how complex it really is. Some become frustrated and leave before ever getting the chance to really experience it. Some come and go, all the while knowing magic exists here. Some never leave, maybe not even knowing how they got here in the first place, but staying all the same. After two years, I can attest to the magic.

Have you ever done something so amazing that you have no words to describe it? No words except for that one.

Awesome.

It says so much without saying much at all. Maybe it’s the New York magic, but I seem to having a knack. A knack for finding awesome.

Whether you just moved into your 5^th floor walk-up, or you’re on your 78^th monthly Metrocard, do yourself a favor. Check back, read about my experiences, find and share your own awesome in this city. It only flourishes by being passed along.