9/14/11

Sure Bets for a Birthday

So it's been more than a month since my birthday, but honestly, it's taken me that long to recover. Well, maybe not, but I thanks to great friends and two awesome bars, I had one of the best nights out in the city.



With a summer birthday, I'm always tempted to go for a venue with outdoor space, so I was banking on Loreley Restaurant and Beer Garden in the Lower East Side. However, I got caught up in the week and forgot to call and make any reservations until the day of. Oops! It actually turned out for the best though because that day was one of the hottest of the whole summer. After frantically calling around, I remembered an old favorite - Common Ground in the East Village. The manager there was more than accommodating, reserving a whole couch section in the back for my group. This comfortable yet chic venue (hello?! red velvet couches!) is great for it's fully stocked wall of board games and a $2 Yuengling and $5 Cosmo and Appletini happy hour. For my birthday, the service was great, with waitresses periodically checking in on our group to make sure we were fully quenched.

Before we even settled into the comfy couches of Common Ground however, our group met up around the corner at Key Bar. This dive is not a place I'd recommend for a cozy round of drinks for two, but for birthdays, this is your place. Two words: free shots. Two more: for everyone. If your birthday is within a week before of after your visit and you can prove it with an ID, the bartender will pour a round of shots for everyone in your party. I decided on lychee shots (highly recommended!) and since my boyfriend's birthday is two days before mine, he ordered blood orange (also delicious). All of our friends were definitely thankful and thoroughly ready to celebrate birthday style.

9/13/11

AWESOME GIVEAWAY: 2 Tickets to Relatively Speaking

What I love about Broadway is the never-ending innovation expressed through new shows. Relatively Speaking continues this tradition as it combines three one-act plays by some heavy hitters in the entertainment world - Ethan Coen, Elaine May and Woody Allen. Each comedy explores the inanity of family, from weddings to death to just plain old craziness. And can't we all relate to that?


All my readers are in luck! I'm giving away a pair of tickets to see Relatively SpeakingThe tickets are good through October 19. 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 with a crazy family story of your own.

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.

5) Tweet or blog about this event and let me know with a link to your tweet or blog in a comment below.

Two winners will be chosen using Random.org on Friday 9/16. You have until Friday 9/16 at 5 p.m. EST to enter the contest. Good luck!


A winner has been chosen! Congratulations Movidude74! He wins two tickets to see Relatively Speaking on Broadway. I was thoroughly entertained by everyone's family stories. Stay tuned for new contests and stay awesome!

To snag your own tickets to the show, visit Ticketmaster or visit the box office using code RSTELE before October 20. You will be able to find Orchestra and Front Mezz. seats for $74-79 and other seats for as low as $45.

9/2/11

Put A Little Ohm In It

If you didn't get enough R&R during the Hurricane Irene "NYC Shutdown" weekend and find that you could use a little more ohm in your life, you should get blissfully excited as September is National Yoga Month. Frankly, I think every month should be yoga month as I always find that I can relax and unwind from urban stresses with a little downward dog.

photo credit: www.myyogaloft.com
The biggest perk of National Yoga Month is, well, free yoga, but more specifically, a free week of yoga at close to 30 Manhattan studios and hundreds more across the globe. By visiting this website, you can search for your studio of choice (including the likes of Yogaworks, Pure Yoga, The Sports Club LA and Reebok Sports Club/NY) and claim your free week pass. Keep in mind this is for new students only so if you've already checked out Yogaworks, you won't be able to go back there.

Yoga in Bryant Park, sponsored by Lululemon, also continues through the month on Tuesdays at 10 am and Thursdays at 6 pm. These free classes are open level and mats are provided. The athletics-wear brand is also sponsoring free celebrity-endorsed Physique 57 classes every Friday at 12:15, free with RSVP. Designed to tone and create lean bodies, this class isn't yoga, but it sure looks like a good workout to me.


While I'm talking about yoga, I must also throw a little plug in here for my favorite yoga class in the city. Recently featured on Good Morning America, Anti-Gravity yoga is a class that has changed my life by challenging me to push my limits (hello?! you're upside down and doing flips!) and helped me to find more (literal and figurative) balance. It's taught at a few locations throughout the city now, but my favorite is Om Factory in midtown. You can see photos and videos of classes on their website, but basically the class involves traditional yoga poses mixed with aerial arts all using the aid of man-made silk hammocks hanging from the ceiling. If you're like me and can't do or hate the feeling of traditional yoga inversion poses, you will love this class.

Why are you still sitting at your computer? Slip into your favorite pair of yoga pants, grab your mat and goooooooooooohm!

8/19/11

Crawling for Riesling: Part 1

Last year I took part in an innovative, month-long jaunt across the city organized by the coolest wine bar I've ever been to, Terroir. The Summer of Riesling is the brainchild of owner Paul Grieco, who only serves Riesling and no other white wines at his establishments (in the East Village and Tribeca...and soon to be Murray Hill!) all summer long. For more information about the Summer of Riesling, I would recommend reading an article the New York Times wrote up last year.

The Crawl, as it's called, started last summer and was ingeniously planned by both Grieco and the man behind @grapesandgrains, David Flaherty. After coming in second place last year, I'm back for more and I'm in it to win it. Here's how it works: throughout the month of August, you must visit 16 different wine bars throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn, try a different Riesling and get a stamp on your official passport. At the end of the month, all those who turn in their completed passports are emailed two fairly inane questions and the winner chosen receives a Riesling tasting dinner for six people at Hearth, the restaurant also owned by Grieco.



With about two weeks left in this year's crawl, I have already racked up 8 stamps. Here's a little recap of my experience thus far:

Night One: City Winery, Blue Ribbon Downing Street, Bar Henry
Heading out on this vino adventure, I was excited that City Winery was the first stop. I had never been before, but had heard all good things about the venue, with its lively backyard BBQs and unique concert space. I also knew that they made their own wine and was excited to try it. I met my friend Katharine and we found a space at the bar in the newly opened Barrel room. The wine selection here was: Riesling "Uptown," Uva Blanca Vineyard, City Winery, 2009, Finger Lakes, NY. I found this glass to be a fairly straightforward Riesling, tasting like crisp apples and on the slightly sweeter side. We lucked out because it was happy hour so our glasses were each only $5. For food, we snacked on the Mediterranean Flatbread which had a fair kick of spice, but was definitely delicious.

For Stop #2 we headed north and found the cozy Blue Ribbon Downing Street. We managed to find two seats at the bar, right next to a couple clearly on their first date. It made for very interesting eavesdropping as we snacked on our buttery breadsticks (gratis!). The bartender here was extremely nice and attentive. He told us about how the winemakers of the wine we were trying (Riesling Spatlese, Hochheimer Daubhaus, Schloss Schonborn, 1996, Rheingau, Germany) had been doing so for 27 generations. This wine, I wrote in my passport, is "the reason why I love Riesling." It had an almost offputting aroma of petrol, but once you start drinking it, it's interesting and complex in a way that no other variety of wine seems to be, at least in my experience.

For a Monday night, I was proud that Katharine and I made it to the subterranean Bar Henry for a third glass, and this was perhaps my favorite stop of the night. As we tried the Riesling Spatelese, Erdener Treppchen, C.H. Berres, 1997, Mosel, Germany, we talked with the bartenders who told us about their plans to do the crawl in two days. (Here's proof that they actually did it!). The bar, also a jazz venue, had a very chill feel and the bartenders were both very knowledgeable about both the wine we were there to try and a sweet Ice wine they let us sample. I would definitely come back here the next time I'm out in Greenwich Village or Soho.

Night Two: Terroir E. Vil. and Edi & the Wolf
For my second Riesling adventure night, my friend Rebecca and I hit up the location in the East Village. First stop was Terroir where we each had a glass of the Riesling Spatelese, Oberemmeler Hutte, von Hovel, 2004, Saar, Germany. This wine I described as "peachy and honey-y with well balanced acids." As the place where this whole crawl started, I definitely appreciated the relaxed vibe (their menus are in 3-ring binders for goodness sake) and the friendly bartender. We tried the smoked trout salad here as part of the Riesling-specific menu and I would definitely recommend it.

We then walked a mere two avenues over and five blocks down to Edi & the Wolf. I had been told to visit this Austrian restaurant before and I was very excited to finally venture over there. It's decorated to feel like a rustic and homey wine tavern, complete with lights running above the wood plank ceiling, giant ropes draped out of the ceiling, and a big burly bartender with an accent. It almost felt like I'd hopped a plane to Vienna until Rebecca reminded me that we were in New York and everyone was speaking English. The wine we tried here was the Riesling, Ried Alsegg, Mayer am Pfarrplatz, 2010, Wien, Austria. I loved this wine and thought it tasted like apples and honey, which went very nicely with the cheese plate we also ordered.

Afternoon/Evening 3: Anfora and Colicchio & Sons Tap Room
My first weekend outing began in the late afternoon, and honestly folks, that's the best time to start drinking Riesling. My girlfriends and I had had a wonderful day exploring the West Village and decided it was time to find a place to rest our feet for a while. Luckily, we were around the corner from Anfora, a dark lovely little bar in the heart of the West Village. There we tried the Riesling Spatlese, Urzinger Wurzgarten, C.H. Berres, 1997, Mosel, Germany.  I found it tasted like honey and nectarines and we especially enjoyed it with the free ricotta crostini we got for checking in on Foursquare.

Because it was a Saturday and there was still much more fun to be had, we headed north to Colicchio & Sons, just under the Highline. Unknowingly, we were in for a treat at this famed restaurant owned by none other than Top Chef's Tom Colicchio (who I met at last year's Star Chef's Gala). Walking in behind a couple dressed to the nines, I almost thought we should come back another time when we'd taken our cocktail dresses out of the backs of our closets, however we soon figured out that we would fit right in at the bar, located in the Tap Room at the front of the restaurant. We sat down at the empty bar and ordered glasses of the Riesling, Auten Vineyard First Harvest, Bloomer Creek, 2009, Finger Lakes, NY. This wine first tasted almost sparkling, but then I realized that was just the wonderful acid and fruit, Granny Smith apples to be exact. As the bar began to fill up, the awesome Sommelier and Beverage Director Thomas Pastuszak (someone who's good side I definitely need to stay on!) came by to introduce himself and treated us to samples of the other two Finger Lakes Rieslings the restaurant was featuring. The first, Argetsinger Vineyard, Ravines, 2008, Seneca Lake, NY, was perhaps the driest Riesling I've ever tasted. It would definitely pair well with a hearty meal and I loved it. The other, Magdalena, Vineyard Herman J. Wiemer, 2009, Seneca Lake, NY, was also drier than the Bloomer Creek, but definitely on the fruitier side. What was so weird to me was that the first wine we had and loved so much really tasted like pure juice when we went back to it after the drier wines. It's funny how comparing like wines side-by-side really enables you to discover these nuances. So thanks Thomas!

Night 4: The Tangled Vine
While I love visiting these establishments two and three (maybe four!) at a time, it's also nice to just plop down in one spot for the night, enjoy some food and pair it with some Riesling. So that's what a girlfriend and I did at the year-old Tangled Vine in the Upper West Side. I love this place. It's relaxed, comfortable and fits right into the neighborhood, but the staff is super knowledgeable about the wines they offer and I once heard that the desserts were all homemade by the owner's wife (literally in her home). On top of our Riesling, the Riesling Kabinett, Trittenheimer A Harchen Ernst Clusserath, 2008, Mosel, Germany, which was fruity with very round notes of pear and grapes (yes, wine can taste like grapes), we sampled the menu. Starting with the happy hour $1 oysters, we made our way through an order of the crab croquetas (think round mini-crabcakes with saffron aioli) and bites of the tuna and fennel crostini. I'd also recommend ordering their homemade paprika potato chips. Lastly, we didn't forget to check in on foursquare and claim our free glasses of Cava, a sparkling white wine.

So that's it for the first half of the crawl. With less than half the month left, I better get a move on the last stops!

8/18/11

AWESOME GIVEAWAY: 2 Tickets to Stomp!

The risk you take by going to see a brand, spanking new theater show is, well, that it could suck. However, when a show has been around successfully for more than 20 years, you know you're in for a treat. STOMP is the legendary anything-can-be-an instrument show that has been captivating audiences and using four blocks of athlete's chalk and 30 brooms (among other random items) a week to create soulful and high-energy musical performances. If you remember the old TV show Doug and the "bangin' on a trashcan, drummin' on a street light" song, you will be thoroughly entertained with this show.


All my readers are in luck! I'm giving away a pairs of tickets to see STOMPThe tickets are good for most performances in the show's East Village theater through the end of March. 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.

5) Tweet or blog about this event and let me know with a link to your tweet or blog in a comment below.

Two winners will be chosen using Random.org on Tuesday 8/23. You have until Monday 8/22 at 6 p.m. EST to enter the contest. Good luck!


A winner has been chosen! Congratulations Jerry! He was the 8th person to comment and wins two tickets to see the Off Broadway show STOMP! Thanks for playing everyone and stay tuned for more giveaways!

If you didn't win the contest, you can grab discounted tickets by clicking herevisiting the box office or calling 800.982.2787 and using the code AMC47 through September 4. You will be able to find tickets for as low as $47.50 (regularly $72.50).

8/17/11

Another Successful Restaurant Week

Every year, twice a year, restaurants in NYC expand their menus and welcome in hoards of adventurous diners looking for an excellent meal that's light on the wallet. These are two of my favorite times of the year, for Restaurant Week (which is really two weeks that gets extended an additional month...but who's really counting?) gives me the opportunity to try those restaurants I can never afford and sample menu items that I so often salivate over. 

This year, some coworkers and I continued our tradition of going out for a Restaurant Week lunch. We settled on Wall & Water in the newly-opened, swanky Andaz Hotel on Wall Street. I prefer going out for lunch than dinner for these meals as you definitely get more of a bang for your buck and it's such a treat to have a three-course lunch.

Finding the entrance to the restaurant was slightly more confusing than I would have liked, however, upon ascending the beautiful staircase to the main restaurant we were warmly greeted by the hostess and promptly shown to our table. The decor of the restaurant is beautiful. It doesn't feel like your typical "hotel restaurant," rather it's coated in a chic yet relaxing navy hue and is connected to an open kitchen. I liked watching the chefs at work as we enjoyed our meal.

In addition to bread, we were offered complimentary roasted artichokes with a delicious creamy dipping sauce. The best part about the artichoke, other than the fact that I was able to show my fellow diners how to cut through to the heart, was the fact that our waiter brought more as soon as we finished the first two. For my official appetizer, I ordered the burrata cheese served with mission figs and marinated onions. Wow, what flavor!! Burrata is one of my favorite foods maybe ever, and this dish presented it in a way that made me exceedingly happy and satisfied.

Burrata Cheese Appetizer
For the main course, eight out of nine of us ordered the steak and one person ordered the young chicken entree. While the flavors of my steak were good, I ordered it medium and it came fairly well-done. I'm not one to send food back unless it's truly inedible so I still enjoyed it with a squirt of grilled lemon and some roasted potatoes and tomatoes.

Steak Entree

Dessert was a course that I was very impressed with. I decided to go with the berry crumble with a bourbon creme anglaise and when it arrived at my plate, I was tickled with excitement. The warm and gooey center combined with the buttery and flakey crust so well and the sauce drizzled over added even more delicious flavor. I also tried the apple pie with ice cream that a coworker ordered and I loved that as well.

Berry Crumble
Apple Pie
For both of our birthdays, my boyfriend and I also dined out for Restaurant Week at the intimate Giorgio's of Gramercy. I'd never heard of the restaurant before we made reservations, which is very rare for me, but the menu looked amazing, it was close to our apartment and the price was certainly right. The restaurant also offered wine pairings, which we took advantage of, for $15 a person. While I didn't take pictures at this dinner (come on, it was a date!), I did fall in love with the food.

Giorgio's traditionally always offers a three-course meal year-round, and they use the same menu as part of the Restaurant Week promotion. This is very good news for my readers as the official Restaurant Week ends Sept. 5th! The long and narrow restaurant was packed when we got there on a Wednesday night. It's painted in a sexy red and decorated with some provocative artwork. The host greeted us as we made our way through the jam-packed bar and sat us in the back, where it was a little quieter and we could actually hear each other talk.

I started with the fried oysters; served in their shells on top of a bed of creamed spinach and topped with chipotle remoulade, these puppies were an excellent start to a meal. My boyfriend had the tuna tartare, which I almost ordered, and that was super fresh and tasty. It was also a comparatively large portion than what I would have expected, so that was nice. For the main course we both ordered the surf and turf that came with an 8 oz. grilled filet mignon and a poached tiger prawn. It was served with lemon fingerling potatoes, a good portion of asparagus and herb butter. To end our celebratory dinner we both ordered the s'mores bread pudding. You really can't compete with this dessert. When you throw chocolate together with marshmallows and graham crackers in an which formation, it's going to be good. This version was also served with vanilla ice cream and drizzled in caramel sauce. 

Restaurant this year was definitely a success for me, but I'm already plotting where I want to go for the next go-round. Anyone have any suggestions?

Wall & Water on Urbanspoon

Giorgio's of Gramercy on Urbanspoon

8/10/11

It's Not Summer Without Baseball

I recently attended my first Yankee's game and was playing around with the panorama feature on the camera of my new phone. Check it out!


Have any of my awesome readers been to a Yankee's game before? What's your favorite part? I loved my Italian sausage with peppers and onions, although I was eyeing the much-anticipated Meatball Parm sandwich from Torrisi Italian Specialties. However, at $15, I figured I could go straight to the source in Little Italy any time. 

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