Midnight in NY

 

Saturday, Feb. 25th - Tribeca Grand Hotel in NYC

 

Soho Photo Gallery's Small Works exhibit

 Dinner at Butter in NoHo neighborhood

 Dessert to die for -- Raspberry Beignets with vanilla dipping sauce

 Birthday girl Sarah; Top pic - Scott, Miranda, Alex and Sarah; Bottom pic - Marie, Heidi and Scott

 Sunday - late breakfast at Doughnut Plant in the Chelsea Hotel

Pineapple and the Blackout

 

Sarah's 35th birthday party at the Tribeca Grand Hotel gave us an excuse to not come home that night because her party wasn't going to start until 10 pm! I scored a decent online rate for the night but was also able to get a further reduction by picking up the phone. :-)

Upon arrival, the front desk quickly made us feel at home with free glasses of pink champagne! We were then asked if we wanted to borrow an iPad for our night's stay. I knew from their website that this was one of their cool amenities.  But looking back, maybe the pet goldfish would have been cooler. No, I'm not joking.

We had time to check out photos taken by my former colleague, Mike, who was exhibiting two tiny images in the Soho Photo Gallery's Small Works exhibit. I loved that the gallery was across the street from the hotel. The show of smaller scale prints was a nice change of pace. 

My friend Alex had raved about Butter during NYC's Restaurant Week and I quickly put it on my "to eat" list. Boy oh boy were we blown away. We overindulged ourselves at this posh restaurant yet somehow managed to leave some room for dessert.

I'm shy on the dance floor so I don't really think I burned those beignet calories off at Sarah's party! We had a blast and it was great to see friends.

And following up with a bit of a beignet theme, I took Scott Babe to Doughnut Plant in the Chelsea Hotel the next day. He thought it was a charming cafe and he loved his doughnuts!! Yes, plural. I only ate half of mine and he ate the other half plus his "blackout" doughnut. ♥

The best meal of the day

I'd have to say that breakfast or brunch would have to be my favorite meal of the day. Maybe that's why I'm usually in a good mood -- starting the day off with comfort food. This was a breakfast-filled holiday weekend. Enjoy:

 

 

 Saturday, February 18th: 9 am breakfast with Mrs. Robinson ♥

Still Saturday but now it's early afternoon -- brunch with Scott Babe! ♥

Have you ever heard of Ebelskivers?! Well, now you have! We got a delightful box of goodies from Marie as a wedding gift. She shouldn't have! Scott & I were so touched. My first attempt, which I think was quite successful, was with probably the most complicated Ebelskiver recipe out there! I peeled and cored two apples for the first time. I've had Scott do this chore in the past, but I knew I could broaden my horizons. And I made my own caramel sauce. (messy, messy, messy! I don't recommend trying that yourself!) The recipe said to add a scoop of vanilla so that was enough justification in my book to have even more calories! hehe.

Presidents Day at Raymond's - Eggs Benedict and Breakfast Burrito

We love Raymond's and would eat there almost every day if we could! I'm going to share a little something with you -- Do you see the little piece of paper straw wrapper in Scott's hand? Well...by the time we are done eating, he will have transformed that into the tiniest ball you have ever seen. LOL.

Food beotches

Scott Babe and I tried a new Italian restaurant tonight in Montclair called Acappello. Our favorite Chinese restaurant, Sesame, was once in this location. Anyway, click here for a pretty set of images from Flickr. We sat at the table that is the third frame on the link. We actually ate at their sister restaurant, Cara Mia, in Millburn that night we saw Melissa & Joe Gorga! Because we liked Cara Mia, we thought this should be good, too. Not quite, but I think we simply ordered the wrong things. Their specials weren't special! I tried the seared scallops with risotto and was disappointed. Just bland and the hint of fish taste didn't help things. Nothing to write home about or blog about! And Scott's "special" was the short ribs. Scott thought they were tough and needed more cooking time to be the right tenderness. Have we become giant food snobs or what?! We will, however, try Acappello again and maybe stick to the menu items.

Trend Coffee & Tea House on Bloomfield Avenue

We then walk a half block to try the fairly new coffee joint called Trend. At first, I was very excited when we scored this bay window seating with high-back chairs. We were encouraged by our waitress to peruse the dessert selection in the glass case. I had room for dessert and was excited to check it out. They sold the famous "Mr. Cupcakes" from Clifton. It reminded me of the old Cafe Eclectic, but these desserts didn't entice me. "How long had they been in there?" I wondered. I wasn't going to take any chances. Scott & I kept things simple (or so we thought) and just ordered two cappuccinos. When they arrived, they weren't as hot as we like them. We got a good laugh from the Sweet'N Low. As Scott was pouring his usual three packets, he said, "How old is this?? Good Lord."

Happy Hours

Monday:

Beer, beer and more beer. I've never seen more of an assortment than at The Ginger Man -- 66 taps and over 120 bottled beers from all over the world. I enjoyed a Jameson + Ginger as well as a pint of Guinness. :-)

Wednesday:

Arrive right when they open and you can sit anywhere!

Hello, New York!

An accidental snapshot but a welcomed one! 

Tonight, I caught up with my girlfriend Heidi at one of her InterNations socials held at the posh bar called Sky Room in Times Square. I loved the city views along with my glass of Prosecco.

The Big Apple

Times Square: A cast member from the musical "Chicago"

 and Scott posing next to liquid nitrogen!

 

Me, Frank, Scott, Alex

Fashion Week at Lincoln Center

It's rare for us to go into the city two days in a row! Frank was in town from California for the shows and good eats. We met up with him at yummy Bar Americain along with my former colleague & life coach, Alex. :-)

After brunch, Scott Babe and I walked to Lincoln Center to gawk at a few of Fashion Week's arrivals. We couldn't stay outside for too long - we were freezing. It was only 25 or 30 degrees.

Saturday night in Brooklyn

My girlfriend Rachel moved to Carroll Gardens neighborhood in Brooklyn six months ago from Jersey City. Scott Babe & I checked out her new digs this evening and were blown away. She’s got the top floor of a narrow but charming brownstone. It was built in 1910 with the original winding staircase. The 3 floors up didn't feel like a “walk-up” -- it was hip. I loved how Rachel decorated and made the apartment her own. Her vintage purse collection hung beautifully above her bed, against the exposed brick. Her bedroom windows had a gorgeous cityscape view and she has the choice of keeping her wooden shutters open or closed. So cool.

Look who we met when we left Rachel’s apt. for dinner!

 Misha is 15 and the neighborhood baby. Scott Babe is doing a backhand pet :-)

 I was grateful to Kim for organizing this delicious dinner at Convivium Osteria in Park Slope. It was great to catch up with her and her husband Brian and do more catching up with Rachel. :-)

My kind of class

 

 

 

Scott Babe and I met Austrian winemaker, Markus Huber, this evening at our local wine shop, Amanti Vino. I was quick to sign us up for this class because I have a soft spot for anything Austrian due to my year abroad back in 1989. 

Scott doesn't hide his feelings.

At one point during class, I saw him looking bored. I looked down, thinking he was taking notes like me and was startled to see that he wanted less talk and more wine! See his illustration below:

I must say however, that Scott's ears perked up when Markus talked of SO₂ and CO₂ during the bottling process.

Our favorite wine out of the seven we tasted was the Huber Eiswein Riesling, made from grapes that were frozen on the vine (a requirement). It's a dessert wine and I hope to surprise Scott with it on our Valentine's Day dinner that we'll be celebrating in the comfort of our home. ♥

Star-struck

 Joe & Melissa making their entrance

 Melissa & Scott babe

 Melissa's rock

Melissa & Joe with a fan

*Note to reader, especially to my dear friend Geraldine - 

Apologizes in advance for talking fur. I'm a reality TV junkie. That's all this is.

When I learned that Melissa & Joe Gorga from The Real Housewives of New Jersey were going to make an appearance in nearby Millburn, I thought, I must go to this! But there was a problem -- it was at a furrier. When I emailed Scott Babe the info, he wrote me back: Really?  It sounds like something to avoid.  I’m not buying a fur.


I let a few days pass and said, this will be fun! He agreed but there was a condition. Scott said, I'm not buying you a fur and you aren't buying yourself a fur.


We got there and I was pleased to see that it wasn't crowded. They did not promote it enough! My gain; their loss! There was pink champagne with a slice of strawberry in each glass and lots of hors d'oeuvres including sushi & sliders catered by The Brownstone. Too bad I was too overwhelmed with excitement to eat a bite of anything!

We got to talk to Melissa & Joe and I was so nervous! Joe kissed my cheek and was about to faint! When he asked us where we live, I become tongue-tied. Scott was quick to answer. Melissa said, "We had eaten at Tosca in Montclair not too long ago." I got less nervous maybe because the topic was food and said, "Salute is better! You must try them next time." :-)

When we left the event to try Cara Mia for dinner, Scott had a sad face. He said, Shouldn't we have said good-bye to Melissa & Joe?