7/18/11

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!

7/13/11

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.

6/23/11

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 PeopleThe 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.

6/10/11

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!

6/8/11

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!

Taqueria Nixtamalito on Urbanspoon

5/23/11

Tasting Tribeca

You might think that after a full brunch one would want to go home and take a nap. But not this awesome New Yorker. I just can't say no to an event. Especially one that involves food, the outdoors and nice weather and free tickets (thank you for a Twitter contest Bullfrog and Baum!). 


The Taste of Tribeca was this past Saturday and featured notable restaurants like Marc Forgione, Nobu, Landmarc, Locanda Verde and Tribeca Grill. Of course arriving for the last hour of the event meant that all of those notable places had already run out of food, packed up and headed home. Oh well, after all I had just eaten brunch. The tickets I won gave me tastes at six different restaurants. My friend who came with me had not just eaten brunch so I was able to take pictures of more than I actually ate (I'm not that much of a glutton people). Eat your hearts out.

The crowd at Taste of Tribeca
Ricotta Cheesecake from Pepolino
Ricotta Cheesecake from Pepolino
Jerk Chicken Tacos from Ward III
Vanilla Caramel ice cream with a Waffel from Petit Abeille and City Hall Restaurant
 
Orecchiette with Spicy Sausage and Butternut Squash from Roc
Chocolate Eggs from unknown
 My favorite was definitely the orecchiette, but then again that was the only savory thing I tasted. It definitely made me want to go to Roc for dinner though, that's for sure. The waffel was mighty wonderful, but the chocolate egg didn't do it for me. It was way too rich. We stopped at Tribeca Wine Merchants for a free tasting of summer whites after the food stands were closing up. All in all, it was a wonderful event and I hope I can return next year.

Feeling Mad?

I suppose one could feel mad in several different ways - crazy, upset, insane, in love. I'm not sure of the exact mood the people over at Pranna were feeling when they named their new brunch party, but with three drinks and a delicious entree, you will have a mad awesome time at their Mad Brunch, all for only $28.


I love brunch. So when I was invited to Pranna, a new-ish Thai fusion mega-restaurant in Flatiron, this past weekend to give their's a whirl, I was very excited. Boyfriend in tow, we arrived at noon (a bit earlier than most of the NYC brunch crowd, but people trickled in shortly after) and were both in awe of the sheer size of this place. I'm not sure if Pranna becomes a dance club at night, but it totally could. It's very New York, from the glass ball chandeliers to the aqua-toned leather on the walls and the swank bathrooms. Upon sitting down at a comfy booth for two, we were offered the first of our three drinks. We both ordered bellinis, but the other choices were mimosas, screwdrivers and bloody mary's. I found it a little odd that the drinks were served in plastic flutes for such a posh place, but I'm not one to judge a place for its glassware. They probably have their reasons. 

The brunch menu is pretty vast when you compare it to other similar places. The menu was split in half with breakfast-y/egg-y things on one side and lunch-y dishes on the other. The lunch dishes looked great, mostly all Asian-inspired like the 7-Spiced Seared Tuna Salad and the Signature Thai Drunken Noodles, but I have to have my huevos for brunch. I ordered the Lobster Benedict and my boyfriend got the Steak and Eggs. The Benedict came with two lobster tails and two poached eggs each on a bed of sauteed spinach on top of an English muffin. It was served with curried cauliflower and potatoes (an interesting spin on home fries) and a fresh spinach salad with a tangy, peppery dressing. The lobster and eggs were cooked well (the yolks still ran when I poked them), but the English muffin was a bit soggy, like maybe it had been sitting for a while before being served. I would have liked it a little more if there was slightly less butter on the spinach and a fresher muffin. Flavor-wise though, it was great. I was a big fan of the cauliflower and potatoes as I thought the curry flavor was original and unusual for breakfast. My boyfriend wasn't a fan of the curry or the cauliflower, but that just meant I got seconds. The double helping of spinach on the plate, although healthy, was a bit redundant and I wasn't uber-pleased with the dressing. The steak and eggs were pretty standard. The hangar steak had a nice marinade and was cooked just the way it was ordered. It also came with the cauliflower and potatoes and the spinach.

Lobster Benedict
Steak and Eggs
The DJ started around the time we received our second drinks, and that was a fun addition to brunch. The music was advertised as global beats, and I'd agree with that, though there was definitely some Rihanna in there. 

Overall, brunch at Pranna was a good experience. The service was a bit slow and haphazard, but everyone was very nice. We waited around for a while after pondering a third drink, but then decided to be productive with the rest of our day. The food was a nice splurge from our usual brunch diet and the ambiance was enjoyable. After seeing what the place looks like in the day, I definitely want to go back and check it out at night.  

Pranna on Urbanspoon

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