Bonded to Bond 45

Bond 45 Exterior

Antipasto Bar

Bond 45 Interior

This is actually my second pre-theatre meal at Bond 45, so I knew what to expect going in. As you walk in the door you walk past the fresh and colorful antipasto bar which gives you a preview to your dining experience. This antipasto bar is so tempting that last time I came I just ordered an antipasto platter as my main dish. I really wanted to go this route again, but decided to check out some of the other options on the menu this time.

Ending the Evening on a Blue Note

Blue Note Jazz Club

The Mr and I were out on the town and decided to end the evening with a little Jazz music at the legendary Blue Note. We walked in the door and were greeted by a doorman who asked us if we had a reservation and then gave us one of those "Well I guess we can accomodate you" attitudes. Then informed us it would be $35 to get a table. We agreed and were shown to a table (there were definitely enough seats to accomodate us, no attitude necessary). We sat down and then saw there was an additional drink minimum per set. This was not a problem, since we planned on getting a drink anyway. The Mr got a Margarita Martini that was alright and I got the Spicy Pear which I enjoyed. But the 'per set' language was making me a little nervous. How long do they consider 'a set'?

Waffles & Stuff at Wafels & Dinges

The Mr and I were meandering around the city on a Date Night gone wrong, when what to our wondering eyes should appear but the mythical Wafels & Dinges Food Truck! Finally, things started going our way. We've actually seen them parked on the corner of Christopher & 7th Ave before, but in the past we've been way too full to even consider it. It had been a while since dinner, so the timing was perfect.

de throwdown wafel & de bacon syrup wafel

Solid Neighborhood Support from Trestle on Tenth

Trestle on Tenth

We have lived across the street from Trestle on Tenth for over a year now, but nothing on the menu has ever stood out and lured me in. Finally, we decided to have a special night out, but were starving, so instead of hopping in a cab and facing a long wait time, we decided to finally check out this local spot.

Center Stage: Shake Shack (Theatre District)

We here at Newbie Foodies are huge fans of Shake Shack and go to the original location at Madison Square Park on a fairly regular basis (especially The Mr). We have now visited the relatively newer Theatre District location several times now and feel like we can definitely weigh in. Every time we've come it has been later in the evening after a show and there has never been much of a line. We've also only had to wait a minute or two for a table, so not too shabby on those fronts.

What've we eaten? Well of course we've had the burgers and cheese fries and found them to absolutely measure. In fact, since all of our visits have been this winter, the food has been better considering we didn't have to eat them in the freezing cold or wait until we got home until stuffing them in our mouths.

I Can Cook! Freshocracy Update

We've been busy little bees over the last few months so have had to skip more than a handful of Freshocracy Meals. Finally, our lives settled down enough after the holidays to once more get in the groove of having fresh and delicious home-cooked meals. For your food-lusting pleasure I present:

Meal 1: Lemon Risotto with Broiled Cod Fillet

Extra, Extra read all about Extra Virgin

For some reason, we never seem to make it down to the West Village for brunch, even though it's just a stone's throw away and has a lot of great spots. Something about the end of the reliable city grid system makes it seem like another world. Who knows what possessed us to choose the bitterest, coldest day of the winter so far to trek down there today, but boy were we glad we did.

Red is the color of love at RedFarm

Farmy & Cozy Community Table

I've been reading a lot of great things about relative newcomer RedFarm since it opened last August. Once a saw a picture of their Pac Man Dumplings I knew I had to try it out for myself. We skipped lunch and got there right at 5pm for an early dinner to avoid having to wait. Inside was warm and cozy like a farmhouse kitchen which was perfect for such a bitterly cold night.

Dolce Vizio: Our new Sweet Vice

As soon as I read about Dolce Vizio, a build-your-own tiramisu joint opening in the West Village this summer, I knew that I had to take The Mr on a pilgrimage there since Tiramisu is his all time favorite dessert.

Tiramisu as far as the eye can see...

The Breslin is another Ace

I've been wanting to try The Breslin almost as long as we've lived in NYC. Unfortunately, The Ace Hotel is in the weird no-man's land that isn't quite Midtown, Chelsea or Flatiron and definitely isn't too convenient to anything. We've hit up Stumptown a few times for coffee (and it would be way more if it were closer), but never happened to be hungry enough for a meal. Finally, filled with the determination of the New Year, we hopped in a cab and headed over for brunch.

Taking Peter Luger's down a Peg

Peter Luger's Steakhouse

Since we've moved to this great city, we've heard tell of a great Steakhouse called Peter Luger's- supposedly the best steak in the five boroughs and with a burger to rival any. Unfortunately, the burger is only available on the weekday lunch menu, making it a little tricky to make it out there since we have day jobs and all. Finally, we took advantage of the Martin Luther King, Jr half day to make the pilgrimage out to South Williamsburg on the M Train.

Smorgas: Compliments to the Swedish Chef

Smorgas Chef

The Newbie Foodies went out on a date night tonight and were walking back to Chelsea from The Village when we decided to grab some drinks and desserts to finish the night up right. We were walking through the West Village and happened upon Smorgas Chef. Their reputation precedes them, so in we went.

Let me see you do the Kati Roll

The Kati Roll Company 

I was out of town last week and the first thing The Mr. said to me when I got home was that he had discovered a new place that he had to take me. So we scheduled a date night, toute suite and headed down to The Kati Roll Company's Greenwich Village location to check out his new find.

Disney Dining: Animal Kingdom & Downtown Disney

Welcome to a special travel edition of Newbie Foodies! This week I was in Walt Disney World in sunny Orlando Florida. We elected to try the Disney Dining plan which consists of a daily Snack, Quick Service Meal, and Sit Down Meal. Here is what I ate on the fourth and final day of our trip in Animal Kingdom Park.

After the first day I learned to use my daily Snack credit for a cup of Oatmeal for breakfast at Pop Century Resort, leaving me one Table Service and Quick Service meal for the day. Since Magic Kingdom closes at 5pm on Sunday, we decided to use our Table Service meal in the park at Tusker House Restaurant. This was a character dining meal which featured Mickey, Donald, and Goofy in Safari Gear.

Disney Dining: Hollywood Studios (MGM)

Welcome to a special travel edition of Newbie Foodies! This week I was in Walt Disney World in sunny Orlando Florida. We elected to try the Disney Dining plan which consists of a daily Snack, Quick Service Meal, and Sit Down Meal. Here is what I ate on the third day of our trip in Hollywood Studios (or as I still like to refer to it, MGM).

I learned after my first day to use my Dining Plan Snack option on Oatmeal for breakfast at our hotel, but had an extra snack credit from before I figured that out. Today I decided to use it on one of those famous Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Bars. People always say things like "Call me crazy, but the fact they are shaped like Mickey somehow make it taste better!". To those people I say: You are not crazy. Take a peek at the nutritional contents. They somehow are cramming 26 grams of fat in there- and yes, fat makes things taste suuuuper good.

Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Bar

Disney Dining: Epcot

Welcome to a special travel edition of Newbie Foodies! This week I was in Walt Disney World in sunny Orlando Florida. We elected to try the Disney Dining plan which consists of a daily Snack, Quick Service Meal, and Sit Down Meal. Here is what I ate on the second day of our trip in Epcot.

This morning I wizened up and used my Dining Plan Snack credit on oatmeal for breakfast at Pop Century Resort. I found that the portions were so huge at lunch and dinner on the first day that I really didn't need an extra snack in the park so this strategy worked well.

We wanted to eat lunch in one of the countries, but by the time lunch rolled around we hadn't made our way over there yet. The Sunshine Seasons Cafe had a lot of good reviews online so we made our way over to the Land Pavilion. They had a wide variety of options, which was perfect for our party of six. I got a goat cheese, beet, and candied walnut salad (which my fellow travelers found to be a bizarre selection) and as you can see in the background my companions got some Chinese food. My salad was incredibly fresh and even featured two different colored beet varieties! I was very impressed with the quality of this salad. For dessert I found a guava cream cheese cupcake. Again, my companions thought this was weird, but I thought it was divine! Even if you are moving on to one of the countries for lunch, you should stop in here to get this as a snack.

Sunshine Seasons: Beet & Goat Cheese Salad
with Guava Cream Cheese Cupcake

Disney Dining: Magic Kingdom

Welcome to a special travel edition of Newbie Foodies! This week I was in Walt Disney World in sunny Orlando Florida. We elected to try the Disney Dining plan which consists of a daily Snack, Quick Service Meal, and Sit Down Meal. Here is what I ate on the first day of our trip in Magic Kingdom Park.

We were staying in Pop Century Resort and got breakfast there. They had a lot of options, but all of them were way too much food for the likes of me. I was also saving up my dining plan meals for lunch and dinner, so paid for some oatmeal out of pocket. It came with a side of brown sugar and a side of raisins. I only needed half the raisins to achieve ideal raisin to oatmeal proportions, so got a bonus half box of raisins as snack for later!

Pop Century: Oatmeal

All Hail the Queen of Sheba

Queen of Sheba

A New Year, A New Day and my out of town guests and I were looking for a good place to fill up our bellies and recover from a festive New Year's Eve. We were in the mood for something spicy, warm, and filling so I suggested Ethiopian food and was met with enthusiasm from my friends. I did a little internetting around and Queen of Sheba came out ahead as the people's favorite, so we loaded up into a cab and headed up 10th Ave.