Ramen without the wait at Terakawa

A hairstylist from Japan told me about Terakawa Ramen. He said it's just as good as our beloved Ippudo, but minus the two hour wait. Add in the fact that it is only a few blocks away and we knew we had to give it a try. Our reaction was very similar to Menkui-Tei. No doubt that it is authentic and seems to be well liked by their Japanese patrons, but there is just something missing for us. It was a good meal, but we agreed that for our next ramen craving we would rather brave the lines at Momofuku or Ippudo.

Pork Dumplings

Terakawa Ramen

Miso Ramen

A Night in Brooklyn

Clover Club

My visiting friend had a friend in Brooklyn to catch up with and so off we went to experience some of the best Carroll Gardens has to offer. We started the night at Clover Club which I was instantly smitten by. Stepping through the door was like stepping back in time. I loved their dedication to classic cocktails and was tickled pink by the menu.

Sarge's Earns Their Stripes

My friend visiting from LA did her research and stumbled across Sarge's Deli which is supposed to be the quintessential NYC Deli experience, but a lot less touristy/crowded than say Katz. We were not led astray. The waitress was excellent, but very...New York. No fuss, direct, she brought us our food, end of story.

The meal started with a bowl of their pickles and coleslaw. I'm not generally a big fan of coleslaw despite the fact that I love cabbage, but this batch I LOVED. The sauce was light and refreshing, I had several helpings.

We both got the Matzo ball soup and half sandwich. She opted for the corned beef, I went with the turkey pastrami. Boy they are generous with their meat! We both had to take over half of it off to make a manageable sandwich. We left extremely satisfied and full, loved the food and the atmosphere!

Urbanspoon rocks

Lovely Day, Simply Lovely

Hopped into this little charming place after a visit to The New Museum for a drink with a friend. So completely adorable- I swooned. The decor was vintage in a warm farmhouse way and everyone was super welcoming and friendly to both newcomers and regulars which added to the homey feel. We got the house sake which was delicious, but weren't hungry yet so can't say much for their food. However, I definitely plan to come back and hope the food matches the ambiance.

Yakitori Taisho: Righteous

A great little yakitori place on St. Mark's with emphasis on the little. Space is tight so you will be cramped and you will get jostled and you WILL have to wait. But you'll also get a tasty little meal. We got the avocado appetizer special, some teriyaki pumpkin, Mentai Potato (french fries), and the yakitori combo A and it was way too much food for the three of us. Highly recommend the avocado thing if they have it.

Curry in a Hurry: Embarrassment of Murray

Had some girlfriends over to watch a chick flick and we decided to order a substantial meal before digging in to the cookie dough. We settled on Indian and someone mentioned Curry In A Hurry so thought we'd give it a try. I've heard all the Indian on Murray Hill is pretty much the same. Wrong. So wrong.

Ordered two of my go-to dishes Saag Paneer & Chicken Tikka Masala. Bland and watery. Actually, the Saag Paneer was kind of mucousy, like snot. And none of us even touched the sauces, one of which was aptly described by one of my girlfriends as 'sea foam' green. The color of pistachio pudding, but somehow even more unnatural. By far the worst Indian food I've ever had, it made me appreciate all the fantastic Indian restaurants I've been to in my life.

Grazie Enoteca Maria!

 Back when we lived in Boulder our friends used to regale us of tales of a magical little restaurant on Staten Island where a real Italian Grandmother took over the kitchen each night and made her home region's specialties. Imagine our delight when said friends came to visit and we were able to all go and experience it together! When they told us an Italian Grandmother cooked, I imaged that she was head chef, with sous-chefs carrying out her recipes. Wrong. There she is slaving away in the kitchen all by her lonesome. Good thing it's a small place! They brought out the antipasti platter and we were already smitten, everything was so good! Then came the stuffed artichoke appetizer- wow, what a treat!

Antipasti

Stuffed Artichoke

The owner came and chatted with us a bit, he is one cool dude. Definitely a little hippy-ish and his rock music selection didn't exactly go with the ambiance of the restaurant, but we enjoyed it because it gave the place a lot of personality. The important part is that this guy knows his wines. He helped us choose some really great bottles to enjoy with our meal. The combination of this, catching up with old friends, and inability to pause before attacking the dishes placed in front of us means the picture taking got neglected after appetizers. The pictures wouldn't do it justice anyway, everything was amazing. Do yourself a favor and take a trip on the Staten Island ferry out to this charming restaurant, just make sure to bring cash (although there's an ATM around the corner just in case).

Commonplace Copper Chimney

We had some friends in town who were in the mood for Indian food so we promptly escorted them over to Murray Hill. I'd been told that once you hit that area any restaurant is as good as the next, so we popped in to the first non-vegetarian option we found which wound up being Copper Chimney.

We ordered Samosas, Naan (both regular & garlic) and Chicken Tikka Masala. The food was good, the ambiance was good, but the service was somewhat lacking. But I didn't come to Murray Hill expecting 'good' food, I wanted 'great'. If I this restaurant was located somewhere else, I might be satisfied, but in an area known for its Indian food, it just didn't didn't impress.

No Crumbs Left

Birthday Cupcakes

For my birthday The Mr. surprised me with dinner at Hill Country BBQ with a bunch of friends. We then took a box of cupcakes back to our place to continue the celebration. These cupcakes were so amazing that we started discussing, at which point someone chimed in that they were actually from Crumbs Bake Shop. Now a lot of New Yorkers turn up their noses at Crumbs in favor of Billy's or Magnolia. But these made us all stop in our tracks. Pictured here: Red Velvet, Cookie Dough, PB & J, and German Chocolate flavors. I'm pretty sure that some of these flavors are only available at Hill Country BBQ. For me Cookie Dough took Runner Up with PB & J knocking my socks off. Vanilla cake with jelly inside topped with peanut butter frosting all capped off with Reeses Pieces. So amazing. But these suckers are pretty big and super rich, so make sure to split them with a friend.