The restaurant does not take reservations but the hostess said we could order drinks and enjoy them out on the side walk while we wait for a table to clear. A glass of white wine (DOMAIN DE LA PEPIERE, Muscadet, Melon De Bourgogne, 09 to be exact) seemed perfect on this hot summer day.

… and it was… although our table was ready for us by the time we got our drinks at the bar. Sweet!

Marlow & Sons’s menu is basically a template that allows for daily specials. Things like “crostini,” “leaf lettuce” and “fettuccine” don’t mean much until the waiter explains to you what is actually offered that day. You have to really pay attention!

Every single thing sounded amazing but at the end we chose 2 appetizers to share between the 3 of us (me, Adam and sister Inna) and then each of us chose an entree as well.

Morel toast was spectacular – boasting very earthy mushroom flavor balanced out by the more mellow cream sauce. This was definitely a dish for mushroom lovers but it did not cross that too-mushroomy territory (that even I sometimes recognize despite a mild mushroom obsession)

“Leaf lettuce” this past Saturday actually stood for kale and spinach greens with shaved carrots and green beans, dressed with house-made buttermilk dressing

I enjoyed how fresh the salad tasted (we asked that it was lightly dressed – it was perfect!) but I generally find raw kale and spinach to be too “green” and tough and would have personally preferred that mesculin greens were used instead. No worries, we still polished it off.

For my entree, both Adam and Inna chose “chicken under a brick” and it had perfectly crispy skin and super tender meat. I’ve been craving beef like it was my job so when the waiter mentioned the petit filet and roasted potatoes special, I was all over it.

From the front: petit filet with bearnaise sauce and watercress salad

Roasted garlic potatoes sneaking out from the side

The meat was very tender and lean, the potatoes were flavorful and the sauce was slightly tangy and simply spectacular. I’m so glad that this was humainely raised beef because I really enjoyed this dish!

Dessert: chocolate caramel tart

I believe it had an oreo cookie crust and then a thick caramel layer topped with a chocolate ganache layer. This was very hard to cut but man, was it delicious! The fleur de sel added a nice salty finish to each bite. Delicious!

Panna cotta with strawberry rhubarb sauce was so delicate and sophisticated. It was mild and creamy – all three of us absolutely loved it (and I rarely jump at chocolate-less desserts!)

Happy customers

This was a fantastic environment friendly/humaine meal. If you are ever in Brooklyn, and don’t mind the wait, tight quarters and lots of noise, I’d highly recommend it. A few glasses of wine and we felt right at home… except with even better food!!

So this past Saturday afternoon we attended the Tastes food festival, which raised funds for the NYC Lab School for collaborative studies. Twenty seven restaurants from the meatpacking district through Chelsey had booths set up and tempted attendees with their delicious eats. Each ticket allowed for 6 “tastes” so we definitely had to make some hard decisions.

A few pictures of the “set up”

The scene with this couple dancing right in front of the giant blueberry bottle-man cracked me up – I had to take a picture

So after browsing through the booths, I decided on a roasted eggplant salad with feta cheese from Pastis to start.

This was not bad but not great (too much dressing maybe?). My least favorite plate of all.

Next The Simple Kitchen table caught my eye with the bright cups of chilled local sweet pea soup

How gorgeous are these?

This was so perfect on an incredibly hot day – creamy yet refreshing. Amazing!

I actually stumbled upon that table on my way to the Bombay Talkie‘s tandoori shrimp with dates and mango lassi. My sister, Derek and Adam all LOVED this dish. I had to know what all the buzz was about!

Too bad this photo came out so blurry because this was another winner. The shrimp was super flavorful with all the quintessential Indian spices and the date was a fun sweet break between the 2 savory bites. The mango lassie was just okay.

A quick eating break for some pictures

Back to food…

Taste #4:

Tortilla Espanola con boquerones y guindilla peppers from Tia Pol – basically a fried potato cutlet base with sardines and pickled green beans

I really really loved this – so many textures and flavors! Of course the pickled veggies put this over the top for me. Yes, I’m obsessed!

Taste #5: Fluke crudo from 5 Ninth

Fluke with tapioca and cucumbers – super clean and refreshing!

I was getting really full at this point despite the fact that these were pretty small portions (and I didn’t even eat some of them in their entirety) so we decided to walk around the neighborhood and come back for our last few “tastes.” It was a great idea because we actually ended up passing by a lot of the restaurants that were featured (which was cool), had a fun time browsing through various shops in the Chelsey market (see this post for some pics from there) and worked up a tiny bit of an appetite… at least to manage a few more bites of food.

Taste #6:

Lucy’s Whey is actually a cute cheese shop that carries gorgeous artisanal cheeses, condiments and other specialty items, so this table combined a few of these delicious treats in one.

Cabot clothbound cheddar from the cellars at Jasper Hill with McClure’s garlic dill pickles on Amy’s Bread pumpernickel baguette

I received 2 little toasts and shared them with my group – this was definitely an amazing combo – sharp aged cheddar + pickles + hearty bread = love

So that was supposed to be it, but the guy checking my ticket at Lucy’s whey actually saw that it was supposed to be my last taste and just let me have it for free. I was pretty psyched about being able to taste one more thing from a great NYC restaurant…

Let’s try this again… Taste #6:

Shaved tuna with coconut lime broth, watermelon fizzy drink + cookies to go from Spice Market. As chef Anthony Ricco said: “The best deal in town!”

This was so delicious, it actually made me sad that I ran out of tastes from my ticket. The coconut lime broth was incredible – kind of creamy yet light and undeniably Thai. It was fun having cookies later as well. There were 3 mini ones – the peanut butter one was my favorite, the other 2 had too much nutmeg for my liking.

I love events like that because they expose you to many wonderful restaurants all in one place. I would love to go back to every single one of the restaurants from my chosen tastes (well Pastis didn’t impress me but its reputation proceeds it). What a great neighborhood event and definitely the ultimate brunch! Another reason to love NY – there is always something super cool going on. Have you ever attended an event like this? This definitely beat any other “street fair” I’ve ever been to.

We arrived at my sister’s apartment in Williamsburg at nearly 9pm, very much ready to eat. After checking a few spots for available seating, we ended up having dinner at Fanny - a small French bistro offering humainely raised meats and organic/local produce. My entree was way too salty but I’d come back there if I lived in the neighborhood. Everyone else seemed to enjoy their meals and I like supporting businesses that try to do the right thing (although 2 strikes and they would be out). After quickly polishing off our meals (and a glass of wine – or 2 for some) we hopped on the train to Manhattan to see Eugene Mirman at Comix. The opener/host was pretty funny, Eugene was hilarious and then Andy Kindler came on. Man, what a drag. He was clearly unprepared and the only thing that made it less painful were the oversweetened obligatory vodka cranberries I consumed (two if anyone’s counting). We left the show with a bit of a buzz and headed where else… to another bar!

THE SPOTTED PIG

The Spotted Pig is a gastropub featuring seasonal British & Italian dishes using local ingredients when possible. The atmosphere is super funky – there are pictures, plates, signs and lots of color all over the walls. This place gets pretty packed on a nightly basis. With bright colors and lots of people everywhere, the place had so much energy that I actually forgot that it was past midnight and that I was going on very little sleep.

I ordered the Doc’s Draft hard apple cider right away. I’ve never tried it with ice before (I think it sounds weird – who drinks “beer” or even juice with ice?) but it was surprisingly refreshing. Just make sure to drink it faster than it melts.

We just came for drinks but after scoring a table and being presented with food menus, everyone’s eyes lit up. Mine focused on the pot of pickles. Figures.

I ate a pickled shallot (!!!!!) It was dark and I was just grabbing veggies out of the dish. Oops. It wasn’t tooooooooo bad.

Adam has never tried deviled eggs and ordered one.

He didn’t share it with us, so I’ll take it that it was good

I think Derek ordered some roasted almonds…

… and I don’t know where that came from but for some reason I ordered a plate of shoestring fries.

Whoa, that’s a lot of fries!! They were a little hard to eat since they were so thin, but somehow this batch was devoured. Yeah, be impressed!

My sister and her boyfriend, Derek:

I had fun being the photographer for the night

Dessert, anyone?

Rhubarb tart

The chef definitely went too easy on rhubarb – this was mostly crust, which regardless was nutty and delicious.

The flourless chocolate cake was to-die for. Smooth and rich. Yum!!

We got home nearly at 3am. Definitely worth being a little tired the next day.

Check back later for other posts on our weekend trip!

Another awesome summer weekend. I’ll cover the highlights in a few posts. See you tomorrow

Rouge Tomate’s philosophy is truly what I’m all about – healthy, delicious, well balanced, environmentally friendly food + modern setting and beautiful presentation.  I hate that going out to restaurants most likely means an artery clogging meal, unless I really restrict myself and try to “be good” in which case that kind of kills half the fun of being out. This place had great potential though.  I’ve been dying to try it out for months and the only thing prevented me from doing so is that fact that I don’t (unfortunately) live in New York! Here is a little blurb about the restaurant from their website:

Rouge Tomate provides a harmonious alignment of balanced cuisine, well-being, and social and environmental consciousness. This nutritional approach demonstrates a genuine respect for the integrity of ingredients used in crafting balanced, healthful and flavorful dishes.  The Rouge Tomate lifestyle supports sustainable elements and business practices while offering an optimal balance of nutritional dishes and S.P.E.® compliant menus without sacrificing flavor, sophistication or a fun dining experience.

Now let’s get to dinner! When we walked in, I was pleasantly surprised by the decor. It was clean, modern and the fruit and grass not only looked cool but really were quite fitting as decoration for a healthy restaurant.

We sat down and ordered some cocktails. I rarely order cocktails but I figured since the dinner was a little lower in calories, I could splurge a little on a fun drink. Plus, it was the beginning of a fun weekend in NY, and what better way to start a holiday weekend than with a cocktail in hand? Oh yeah, what you see here is the rhubarb crisp: ten cane rum, fresh rhubarb, lemon vanilla, prosecco. As all rum cocktails, this one was delicious! I love me some rum

(On the left is my sister’s gin and soda, and on the right is Adam’s bitter orange cocktail… all three of us enjoyed our drinks!)

After ordering our meals, this crusty bread with fennel/pine nuts spread arrived. The bread was warm and hearty, but I think it was actually stale (it was warm because it was toasted, not because it was freshly made). The dip was ok. Not good, not terrible. I guess I’m not much of a fennel fan so that could have something to do with it.

And then we got a complementary “shot” of pureed split pea soup. I love complementary things at restaurants… I think they make the whole experience extra fancy, but I did not like this either. Basically this tasted like scallion juice (note the scallions on top for “decoration”) and I think most of us here know by now my extreme hatred for anything onion and onion-related.

So far, so… bad? It’s ok, I still had my yummy cocktail and lovely company. No sweat And now we uncover the mystery from this post. This stunning looking dish is the tombo tuna poke with sugar snap peas, honshimeji mushrooms, jicama, sesame.

I absolutely LOVE these bright colors! In fact, just looking at this picture makes me a little happier How did it taste? At first I loved it. The tuna was very fresh (definitely sushi quality) and I loved all the different textures and flavors of the crunchy veggies and exotic mushrooms. The sesame oil made it also very Asian, something I wasn’t originally expecting but definitely welcomed. But as I was eating it, it got salty. Like really, really salty. I couldn’t stop chugging water. Why would a healthy restaurant make a sodium laden dish? Hmm. Let’s talk about Adam’s sauteed Atlantic calamari with fava beans, chickpeas, brown garlic, and paprika instead. I have one word for it: bland. I guess that’s all I got.

For our entrees, my sister and I both wanted to try the Long Island duck in sous vide with mustard greens, potato roesti, baby turnips and apricot mostarda. I remembered this dish mentioned in many restaurant reviews of Rouge Tomate and even our hostess mentioned it while we were waiting to be seated. Oh, speaking of waiting to be seated… we made reservations for 10pm on Friday night (prime dinner time in NY!) and we were the only table at the restaurant!!!! It was just plain weird. This place is big too, so we were a little (ok a lot) put off by this fact. You’d think New Yorkers would be all about a fancy shmancy healthy restaurant, but I guess that’s not the case. Oh yeah, they also played musac. ‘Nuff said…. back to our entrees

I really loved this dish! The duck was nice and lean (with just a tiny bit of fat on the side for extra flavor), the sauce was delicious (nice and sweet) and the best part was the potato roesti (as they call it). Here is a closeup of this baby. Nice and crispy. Yum!

I should mention that Adam said I could make duck better than that, that the sauce was nauseating, and that the potato roesti was the only good part about this entree. I loved it and found it hard to stop at just eating half since Inna and I decided to split our entrees (she let me pick at it later). This brings me to the second entree I tried – the hazelnut crusted Maine halibut with cucumber, jicama, radish and soba noodles.

The soba noodles were hiding under the fish. Sneaky little noodles

Um, yeah – this cucumber mixture was gross!! It was super bitter and the cucumber juice soaked into the soba noodles and made them bitter too. After a tiny bite, I couldn’t eat it. The fish was perfectly cooked but was nothing special. Again, I think I could have made a better tasting fish. The hazelnuts on top were kind of fun though Oh and Adam got the lamb which he said overall wasn’t bad. I don’t know if that’s something the chef would want to hear. I don’t eat lamb so I can’t describe it better than that. We’ll go with “not bad.”

More complementary stuff! This time it was some kind of sorbet (ginger? fennel?) to cleanse our palates. Inna, do you remember what flavor it was? Unfortunately once again all three of us hated it. After a taste, we all put it away and got busy checking out the dessert menu. That’s my favorite part of a meal, so I was really excited!

We (kind of) shared 3 desserts, although not surprisingly I concentrated on the chocolate & cherry: chocolate pudding cake, cherry, feulletine, pistachio gelato

One thing I will say for sure – the presentation of everything was stunning! Here is the chocolate cake closeup. I think it was more of a mousse cake than a pudding cake. I love mousse cake and this one was fantastic! Was it really healthy? I think they “healthified it” by making it smaller. It definitely tasted super rich and decadent.

And it went perfectly with lots of fresh cherries (topped with some kind of fancy foam that just looked pretty, but I don’t think did much taste-wise) and pistachio gelato. I really did love my dessert and probably could have eaten 3 of them if no one was judging!

We also got the honey roasted apricot buttermilk-lemon shortcake with strawberries and toasted almond milk sorbet. I’m not going to lie, the chocolate dessert stole my attention and I was not interested in this one. I had a taste, but found it to be nothing special so I concentrated on what I really wanted

Lastly the assorted cookie plate for 1 completed our dessert sampling. I tried tiny bites of each cookie and was not impressed. I didn’t taste that shot either.

Overall I’m saddened to say that I would not recommend Rouge Tomate. Maybe I had too high of expectations, but let’s say the place was not cheap (a huge understatement!) and too many dishes were “off” or nearly uneadible. If I went by myself and only tasted my dishes, I actually would probably be quite satisfied. My appetizer was too salty, but overall was quite interesting and fresh… and I’m possibly too salt-sensitive lately (I’ve been told). I also loved my entree and my dessert of choice but I can’t ignore that sampled everyone’s else’s selections and was not impressed. I still think that New York (and Boston – yes, Boston please!!!) needs a fancy healthy restaurant. I KNOW it’s possible. We all make healthy delicious dishes and I want someone to prove to the world with a 5 star restaurant that healthy is not tasteless or bland… healthy is fresh and satisfying. Maybe this should be Barbara Lynch’s next addition to the Fort Point project. She seems to know her stuff

After seeing Bobby’s Flay’s blueberry pancakes throwdown with Clinton St. Baking Company‘s blueberry pancake masters in NYC, I knew at our next visit we HAD TO go there! I’ve actually been to Clinton St. Baking Company before and enjoyed their brunch but with so many amazing places in NY, I find it hard to justify going back to the same place twice. Maybe I’m missing something even better…

BUT, Bobby gave me no choice. Those blueberry pancakes were calling my name. After our kickboxing class on Saturday, my sister and I went down to the restaurant to put our names down (there is always a wait!). I was so nervous we were too late, but after being super nice to the guy, he promised me we’d get a table for 6 by brunch closing (4pm). Oh, blueberry pancakes… I couldn’t wait!

Guess what? I didn’t get blueberry pancakes! I got distracted. The menu looked so good. I wanted everything! I tried not to read it, but somehow at the last moment I went with the banana walnut pancakes with warm maple butter. Hey, at least I got pancakes!

These were definitely the best pancakes I’ve ever had! They were very light and fluffy, despite being plain pancakes (no banana in the dough). If you asked me before this experience whether a plain pancake would be something I’d order, I’d tell you it sounds boring.  But, I made sure to cut a tiny piece of banana with every pancake bite (there were more bananas hidden under each pancakes), top it with a walnut crumb, and definitely dip it in the very decadent warm maple butter syrup. Oh my!

I also tasted Adam’s biscuit egg&cheese sandwich, which was awesome and had a bite of my sister’s po’ boy fish sandwich (also yummy but I’m not a huge fan of fried food so I wouldn’t order that). And there was also some nasty coffee involved…

… but we won’t talk about that

All 6 of us were very satisfied with our meals. Now I have to come back for the blueberry pancakes!

One Lucky Duck products are sold at the Juice + Takeaway restaurant on 17th Street, near Union Square. The place is tiny (maybe 5 little tables there tops) but everything looked awesome. They have pre-packaged stuff, like the cookies I bought, some raw granolas (that I am SO kicking myself for not getting), ground cocoa powders, chia seeds, etc – basically all the specialty stuff for raw eaters. They also sell (obviously) juices and lots of delicious looking desserts. These desserts were behind the glass, looking absolutely fabulous. I even asked the girl if they were raw because they just looked like fancy french pastries… and yes, they were all raw. I didn’t try those but something tells me I’ll be back there next time I’m in NY

Now let’s get to what I did get – chocolate macaroons and chocolate chip cookies!

Here is a picture of each. How cute are these little guys?!

Closeup of the chocolate macaroon:

They’re quite small, but pack in lots of flavor! The macaroons are very coconuty and very chocolaty. They are soft and chewy and so rich tasting and really are just heaven on earth I can’t believe there is no sugar involved in such an indulgent tasting treat!

And the ingredient list is absolutely stellar! Yay for delicious healthy eats

The chocolate chip cookie was recommended to me by one of the employees at the restaurant. I wanted to get the chocolate/macadamia kind but she said the macadamia nuts were a little weird in them but the chocolate chip cookies with almonds were delicious. I personally just really loved that they were heart shaped! Adorable!!

Again, simple ingredients list! Love.

Now these cookies do not taste like the indulgent “real” chocolate chip cookies I’m used to. In fact, after the first bite I was kind of disappointed. It’s like a cross between a cookie and cookie dough, but they’re not particalarly sweet and kind of strangely chewy. After I kept savoring the cookie though, the flavor kind of started to make sense. By the end I was really tasting the almond chunks, which I really liked. Overall, I’d say they would not satisfy a chocolate chip cookie craving, but they do make for a fun, sugar free dessert. Now the macaroons on the other hand – they are pure indulgence! I think I’m going to go grab one right now. Ok it’s only 7:58am, maybe I’ll wait ’till lunch time

• Dinner at Rouge Tomate – separate post to come
• Gareth Emery show at Cielo
• Kickboxing class on Saturday morning (after a night out and 4.5 hours of sleep!).  The class moved very fast but I did ok. There is actually a video the instructor took at the end and posted it on Facebook. I may post it here at some point if I figure out how to do that
• Brunch at Clinton St. Baking Company – separate post to come
• Chelsey Market -the place is so cute. I just love it there. There are also about a dozen bakeries in this small space so you know I could live there I bought some yummy brownies at the Fat Witch Bakery (see below).
• High Line park – SO cool! It’s an old above-ground rail line that was converted into a new modern park. The views of the city were gorgeous, and I loved how unique it was. They just unveiled it this weekend so I felt like we were in the know A few pics from the park…

The park goes through the buildings!

The chairs have old rail wheels. Love it

• Walk around Union Square and a special trip to Pure Juice and Takeaway to pick up some One Lucky Duck goodies (review to come).
• Dinner at the Little Giant. I kind of ordered the wrong thing there (many onions were involved) but the place is great, so I won’t do a full on post but I will say I tried the best mac & cheese of my life there! I’d recommend Little Giant
• Bootcamp class in Central Park on Sunday (got 6.5 hours of sleep this time – woohoo!). The class began with about a 3.5 mile run, then we stopped to do some random exercises with a resistance band and did lots of push-ups. Our break was running (at least for me that was kind of a break) to our next stop when we did hardcore ab work. A little more running (probably another mile) led us to a sandbox. This is where it got a whole lot less fun. He made us crawl on our forearms and feet (like a plank on forearms but we were moving) to the other end of the sandbox and back. The sand was literally cutting up my arms and I wanted to stop so bad but it just wasn’t an option. He said if your stomach or face touched the sand, you had to go back to the start line. I was really annoyed with this exercise and was cursing the whole thing in my head. I was the last one to finish. Everyone was cheering me on. I wasn’t embarrassed though. Honestly I know I’m fit enough – I just don’t like being cut up for no reason. But that’s just me. My sister says you get used to it. We did a little more abs in the sand (during which point my eyes were sweaty and full of sand – yeah, imagine that… fun stuff … NOT) and then we ran back to the start line. I burnt 670 calories in 75 minutes. I think I’ll stick to indoor bootcamp and separate running next time. My sister is a true addict, though, so if you’re in NY – check it out. Maybe you’ll fall in love too

In between all of this, I tried 3 new yummies that are worth mentioning.

1) For pre-workout breakfast on Saturday I made myself a caffeinated yogurt parfait. Mixmygranola.com has a new line of enhancers to add to your customized granola mixes. You can pick your enhancers, just like you pick the rest of your mix-ins – they have pretty funky stuff there like chlorella powder, ginkgo leaf powder, gotu kola powder and much much more. I have no idea what those things are by the way Their website, however, describes key properties of the powders so you know what you’re getting – I think I may just learn something from here!. My little sample they sent me had organic granola, cranberries, dried blueberries, roasted almonds and caffeine and lucuma enhancers. We all know what caffeine is and lucuma is a source of fiber and carotene. I added the mix on top of plain chobani, fresh blueberries and 1/4 giant banana:

The mix was great! I loved the whole almonds and a subtle sweetness of the dried fruit and granola – was it enhanced by lucuma (lucuma is also used as a low sugar sweetener)? This breakfast fueled me very well for my kickboxing class! I was full of energy despite only having 4.5 hours of sleep. Not sure if it was the caffeine shot in the granola or just plain adrenaline but I went all day without a nap I highly recommend mixmygranola! The new enhancers are just another fun way your mix can be perfectly customized to your needs and likes

2) I tried the Synergy Kombucha! I’ve seen this stuff around the blog world and was intrigued. I honestly didn’t remember what people thought of it, but I recognized it in the store when I was looking for a beverage and decided to give it a go. Here is what $4 gets you in NY!

Um, yeah – not the best $4 I’ve ever spent. The stuff is WEIRD. It tasted kind of sour/salty which is not surprising after I found out the stuff is fermented tea! AND it was carbonated! Seriously strange stuff. I wouldn’t say it was compeletely horrible tasting (Adam would though). I drank it because well, I spent $4 on it, and because it’s supposed to be good for me. BUT I would not buy it again! Nope, not for this gal

3) Fat Witch Bakery brownies!!! Brownies are my all time favorite dessert. I just love them. And I’m quite the brownies snob if I do say so myself. I’ve been to Chelsey Market and saw this cute little bakery before but for some reason I never tried the brownies (there is a high chance I was already munching on something from a different bakery on previous occasions and that’s why a Fat Witch brownie purchase never happened until this past weekend). Here are a few pics of the cute place. The ladies working there were so curious about my picture taking

I’d normally get one of each, but given a sugar free challenge that was coming up just in one day (and these brownies last only up to 1 week in the fridge) I had to cut myself at just 1 regular sized Red Witch and 1 baby sized Walnut Baby.

Sorry these pictures are so horrible. The pics in the bakery were taken very fast (the place is tiny and was packed!) and I ate the brownies in the car on the way home on Sunday. I just couldn’t wait until we got back and I could take better pics before digging in. However, despite atrocious pics, these brownies were amazing!!! Very fudgy and buttery. The walnuts and cherries (in respective brownies) were also perfectly distributed and added some fun to the already delicious base. Not health food but omg so delicious. If you’re ever in NYC, check out Chelsea Market (in the meatpacking district) and be sure to stop by the Fat Witch Bakery for a yummy brownie of your choice (or several )!

On this note, I’m going to end this little recap. Separate posts on Rouge Tomate, Clinton St Baking Company and One Lucky Duck are coming up, so check back here soon. Ok?

My sister claimed for years that she’s a pork hater and apparently Momofuku made her a convert. Let’s just say a trip to momofuku was a mandatory one this weekend Despite reservations at Del Posto around 9pm, she insisted that a small snack of pork buns woudn’t ruin our appetite… and then promptly peer pressured us into ordering the momofuku ramen as well. It’s ok, we didn’t complain too much

Let’s do a quick mention of the awesome decor. The place is clean, modern and cool. I like the simplicity of the light wood fixtures (everything was covered in the same wood). It could have gone terribly wrong (read: bad bad 60′s wood covered panels) but instead it looked very chic! Sister (Inna) + her boyfriend (Derek)…

And the bar…

Now let’s get to the food! We started with the famous steamed pork buns:

This is not at all what I was expecting pork “buns” – these were like soft fluffy tortillas with pork belly and cucumber slices (also scallions which I asked not to include). Normally seeing the pork belly fat would completely turn me off, but with encouragement from my sister I dug in and was very happy I did.  With a little srirancha, this was a light and spicy treat… and surprisingly not fatty tasting at all! Yum! (I had one of these).

* Inna and Derek also ordered the chicken buns and those were possibly even better (I had a tiny bite to taste)! The meet was shredded, then made into a patty that was fried. Again, despite being fried it did not taste greasy at all. I think Inna and Derek (to their own surprise) decided that the chicken buns were the way to go next time!

Adam also ordered the smoked chicken wings with pickled chili and garlic (and again scallions which we skipped on). I had 2 wings – they were a little spicy but very nicely prepared. The skin on the outside was perfectly crunchy, and the inside meat was nice and tender. Delicious!

And lastly, the dish “we had to order”… the momofuku ramen: pork combo with a poached egg. This was delicious, but since we recently got back from Asia, I’m going to have to say it was nothing special. Sorry I probably sound like a snob now. Haha. I think next time I’d try the chilled spicy noodles

Overall the place is fabulous and just the kind of place we need to have more of in Boston. It is often packed and for a reason. I leave you with a picture of the outside. Love how modern it is!

This pic is kind of weird – you can see my head in the reflection (large) and my lower body (small) – creepy!

Oh wait, I just realized I promised to also talk about Amy’s Bread. Silly me! At some point in my NY life, I used to live a block away from Amy’s Bread, so very often when I come back to visit, I stop by and get my favorite roasted veggie/goat cheese sandwich (their walnut brownies, coconut dream bars, and cherry chocolate buns are also amazing!). On Sunday for our ride back to Boston, I stopped by Amy’s Bread to get just that. They were out of my favorite sandwich, but I was happy to find a new sammie – the spinach with havarti and roasted tomatoes on whole wheat five grain bread with clover sprouts and a tahini, yoghurt and harissa sauce. Yeah, awesome! Ok the bread got slightly soggy, but the flavor was all there – the cheese and roasted tomatoes and the spicy sauce were the best. Hmm, I guess that’s all the sandwich had. Anyways, best bus food ever!

Oh wait, I totally lied… I’m not done! I forgot we also went to Schiller’s for brunch on Sunday. I was craving the croque madame sandwich I got there on our last NYC visit. My sister was a little disappointed that I requested to go back there (she had a new place she wanted to show off – ha) – apparently they frequent Schiller’s alsmost every weekend as her boyfriend is just as obsessed with the same sandwich, but I had a craving… what can I say? Can you blame me, really?

This time I was smart to not eat the whole thing (I maybe “forced down” 3/4ths). It was amazing again! I do think I got it out of my system this time. *I think*

Back to regular (healthier) programming tomorrow. I managed to do 25 minutes of cardio and an hour yoga class before wolfing the above sandwich down, btw

Del Posto is a super fancy Italian restaurant! It’s in the meatpacking district (kind of trendy) so I almost wore “going out clothes” but upon entering the enormous (and absolutely gorgeous!) formal dining room, I was really happy I wore a dress. Almost all the men wore jackets. Definitely fancy!

We originally had dinner reservations at 8:45 pm but due to spoiling our appetites earlier (a later post will cover that), we pushed the reservations back to 9:30pm. They were really accommodating to this last minute change! Great service!!

Since our dinner was kind of late, it was obvious they weren’t going to turn this table after us. The servers gave us our time – it really added to the feeling of luxury! Nothing was rushed; we got to really enjoy every course slowly and savor every bite

Upon reviewing the wine list (and ordering a bottle), this little plate of free appetizers arrived. I love when the chef sends over free food! Again, it just feels so luxurious This plate included 2 “shots” of split pea soup (I think) finished with chocolate (yes, chocolate! but it wasn’t very sweet) and a drizzle of olive oil, 2 mini prosciutto and cheese grilled sandwiches and 2 balls of butternut squash in candied walnuts.

My 1/2 of the apps:

Each one was so fun and unique! I think the squash ball was my favorite

Then we got our wine. A fabulous bottle! I probably had about 1/3 of it…

Then the bread basket arrived as well as the food menus. The bread basket was huge! I tried really hard not to fill up on it, so I had a tiny taste of each bread with the rosemary lard. The breads were homemade and warm, but honestly nothing was mind-blowing amazing. I definitely made sure to save room for the “real food.”

For my appetizer I wanted to have something on the lighter side, so I asked the waiter for a suggestion. He recommended the lobster salad (but that had onions! eww), the vongole or the tomato mozzarella salad. Out of the latter 2, I thought the vongole sounded more unique so I got that.  Here it is…

Vongole marinate with fried roman artichokes & minted lentil dressing

Do you know what vongole is? I sure didn’t! (From www.answerbag.com):

Vongole refers to clams of various types, which is typically used in Italian dishes. It is typically seen in soup or served with pasta.

Ahha, now I know what it is! Seriously, even while I was eating it I had no idea they were clams. They tasted a little salty but I really didn’t know what they were. This dish was so complex… after my first bite I told my husband that I am amazed (and jealous) at how the chefs are able to come up with this stuff. I mean, who would have thought of combining these things together? And they worked so wonderfully! The fried artichokes were actually very lightly fried so the waiter was right, I didn’t feel weighed down by this appetizer at all! Delicious!!

For my entree, again I wanted something a little bit lighter so I went with a fish and ordered the artic char with calamaretti, romanesco cauliflower & truffle passato.

Truffles usually make everything better so I thought this dish would be nothing short of spectacular, but the truth is it was nothing special. I actually forgot that arctic char is very close to salmon in taste and texture, so I was expecting a white fish, and well this wasn’t white… although it was perfectly cooked. The truffle paste was actually very neutral tasting. Not “OMG, I want to lick the plate clean” like truffle oil usually is. I wish this dish was also a bit more veggie heavy. I enjoyed it, but only ate 1/2 because of course I had to save room for dessert!

Chocolate Ricotta Tortino with toasted sicilian pistachios & extra virgin olive oil ice cream

It actually came pre-cut like this, showcasing the layers inside. How cute is the little tort? I’ve never had anything like this – a mix of ricotta pie and chocolate cake, covered in ganache and pistachios?! Yes, please!! The olive oil ice cream was pretty cool too. Very unique, but in a very good way… nice and creamy.

What a great way to end the meal! Oh wait… but there is more! We also got a mini cookie sampler on the house. Not like I needed any more dessert but I had to sample a few of these. There were mini brownies here (just ok – I had 1/2 of 1), apricot tarts (awesome!), candied almonds (yum), sugar cookies (didn’t try them) and white chocolate flakes cookies (it’s the brown flaky guys… sorry I don’t remember what else was in them. At first I thought they were tasteless but then the waiter came over and told us we must try them. After he described them to us, I definitely could taste all those flavors and they seemed a lot more special.)

Finally, AFTER we paid the bill, the waiter came over with a free round of moscato wine! This was the best dessert wine I’ve ever had! Too bad I don’t remember the name of it

Adam and I had such a great time! We go out to dinners this nice so rarely – it was a really special treat! Thanks Inna and Derek again for letting us experience this! And for all of you that live (or visit NY) – if you want a super fancy Italian meal, I’d recommend this place Although if you haven’t been, I’d probably recommend Alto first!