Category: Food and Drink

  • Another Two Minutes Towards My 15

    This morning, in my pre-caffeine fog, I found myself standing next to someone in my office cafeteria.  "You look familiar," he said.  Well, yeah, I thought to myself.  We work in the same office.  It’s big, but not that big.  "Do you write for Gothamist?"  "Yes!" I replied.  We introduced ourselves and I went on my merry way, but it was fun to be recognized.

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    Just got home from a rockin’ good time at the Ozomatli show at Irving Plaza where I danced up a storm with Katie and Rob Y.  Also ran into Romy and David B., both of whom I hadn’t seen in way too long.  The cameraphone shot barely does it justice, but this is the part at the end where they got the whole crowd to kneel down while they were smack in the middle (we were in the balcony).

    Tomorrow night is a wine dinner — let’s just say I hope it’s not quite as damaging as the last one (four women, six bottles of wine). 

  • The Safety Word is “Bananas”

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    Nothing has made me laugh harder than that particular phrase in a loooong time.  No, I can’t even begin to explain.

    The long weekend was so much fun that I had to stay out at the beach last night just so I could enjoy yet another amazing meal (pulled pork sandwiches (pig roast leftovers) with grilled pineapple, grilled corn with chipotle lime garlic butter, caprese salad, "sex rice," and homemade ice cream cake) with fantastic company and a gorgeous sunset to top it all off.  I took the 7:25 a.m. ferry this morning and went straight to work.  Between the early morning, four (yes, count ’em, four) FOUR MILE runs (yay!) and a session with my trainer at lunchtime today, I’m about ready to keel over, but I had to put up the pictures first.  Enjoy — they’re all right here.

    Picture of the American flag composed out of jello shots.  Talk about your patriotism!

  • I Made the Empire State Building Disappear

    So I tried to take a picture of the Empire State Building on my way home tonight — the way the light was hitting it made it look almost fake, like part of a movie set.  Apparently, my camera phone sucks — you can’t even see it at all.

    I’m home tonight packing for an extra-long weekend at the beach house.  We’re having our second annual pig roast (pictures from last year are here).  I’ve apparently been given the honor of singing the Star Spangled Banner while the pig is being carved.  [Note to family: probably not as high-pressure as some of my other Star Spangled Banner performances]

    The 4th is also my brother and sister’s 25th birthday, so a happy early birthday to Bill & Katie!  Have a great weekend, everyone.  Anyone got any good cookout plans (or pig roasting tips)?

  • Viva Mexico!

    If last night’s dinner at Mercadito highlighting the Region del Sur is any indication of how good the rest of them will be, I may just find a way to make it over there every Monday night this summer.  Other regions include Golfo de Mexico, Region del Centro, and the Costa del Pacifico.  The grilled red snapper we had last night was particularly delicious, infused with coconut and topped with a fruity salsa (papaya, perhaps?).  It would be a perfect date (a hint for anyone out there who might want to take me out), and made a lovely belated birthday dinner for Matt.

  • Burgers Galore

    GreenchiliburgerAfter a very long day on Friday, Jenn came over for dinner.  We shared a good bottle of wine, some olive tapenade from my night with Ted Allen, and I made what was quite possibly the worst pizza I’ve ever made.  I’m going to blame it on the fact that I didn’t let the dough sit out at room temperature long enough, although it could have just been me.

    Despite the rain on Saturday, I mangaged to go to the gym get a haircut, do some errands, watch Mean Girls, and eventually made it out to the Burger Bash.  My favorite was the green chili cheeseburger (pictured), but I also tasted the Motz burger (named after George Motz, burger documentarian), the Guber burger (with peanut butter — odd), and the butter burger (a.k.a. coronary on a bun).  Pics are up on flickr.  I’m looking forward to visiting Water Taxi Beach on a sunny day sometime — they’ve got a great view of the city!

    Today I met Mom & Stephen for brunch at Prune (after the gym, of course), and I’ve thrown in a couple of loads of laundry, etc.  All in all, a fine weekend.  Now, a quiet night in to gear up for a hectic week.

  • Burgers + “Beach” = Fun!

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    Gothamist and A Hamburger Today are joining forces for our second food event (the last one was co-hosted with Slice at Fornino — still dreaming about that truffle pizza).  Come join me at Water Taxi Beach for the QBQ BBQ Burger Bash this Saturday 6/24 from 6-10 pm (after the Mermaid Parade; I think I can squeeze in both).  I’ve been meaning to hit this place for a while — this is clearly the best time to do it!

  • Back in the Saddle Again

    And I’m waaaay tan.

    I week at the beach was just what I needed.  I was able to clear my head a bit, and now the clouds aren’t quite as heavy as they were before I left.

    Lobstersnooze

    Three books, one lobster dinner/birthday party (complete with John’s traditional lobster hypnosis session, pictured above), the first smoked ribs of the season, a few naps face down in the sand, my longest run so far (plus 3 others), a healthy dose of grilling, visits from Rob, Ali, Bill, Kate & Kira, and great company all around helped out quite a bit with the healing process. 

    A week of decompression is great, but an extra day off (today) is excellent, too.  While all of the "real" attorneys are at the firm outing, admin staff (like me) got the day off.  I got to sleep late, hang out with a surprise out of town guest, and play hooky at the movies today, but now, I have to somehow bring myself back into gear so that I’m ready for tomorrow.

    Did you miss me?

  • The Non-Beachy Beach Weekend

    True, the only time I got to put on my new bathing suit was when I got into the hot tub, and I didn’t see the sun all weekend, but I had a wonderfully relaxing weekend at the beach.  My dinner turned out great (damn, I love that grilled pineapple salsa!), I got to shake my groove thang a little, sing the inaugural rendition of "We Belong" for the season, read trashy magazines and the Times, meet some new people, spend some quality time with Deb, walk along the beach, and go for two 45 minute runs with Katie.  The same run that was quite hard for me last year isn’t so bad at the moment.  Guess all this time at the gym is paying off!

  • To the Beach!

    I’m off to Fire Island for the first beach weekend of the summer; unfortunately, I’m not certain the weather is going to cooperate.  Deb is joining me and I’m in charge of cooking Saturday night — the menu includes grilled shrimp tacos with grilled pineapple salsa, grilled corn with chili-lime-garlic butter, black beans and rice, and a tres leches cake for dessert.  Can you tell I like to use the grill out there?

  • I Know, I Know . . .

    I haven’t been writing as much here as I used to.  It’s not that I’m not still busy, because I am.  It’s true that the number of jackass stories has dwindled dramatically as compared to last year (thankfully). 

    GotfoodThe main reason I haven’t been writing as much these days is because we’ve kicked up the pace over at Gothamist Food.  I have to make sure there are two to three food posts up every day — not all written by me, mind you, but it still takes quite a bit of time and energy.  If you haven’t already visited, please check it out — and let me know that you’ve stopped by.  Leave a comment, click on "recommend" a the bottom of the posts (it makes us feel loved), or just shoot me an email.  If you want to read just the posts I’ve written, you can do that too.  347 and counting (will be at least 349 and more likely 350 before the end of the week)!