Not strictly dining but...

The Garden food market on Manhattan has THE BEST selection of coffee. They sell by the half-pound and they will grind it to whatever degree of fineness that you like or just take it home. Last night I seriously left out the bag of Seville Orange coffee that I got while I was shopping because it was so fragrant and my kitchen smelled awesome.
They also have great bread, deli and organic produce and a large chocolate section which may or may not be of interest to you.

More expensive than the other groceries on Manhattan but worth it for some of your more specialty food needs and wants.

They also have locations in LIC and Williamsburg.

True. Sometimes You Just Want What You Want. [Vero, NYC]

Vero is a restaurant and wine bar. It’s got two locations in Manhattan (trust me, I went to both in the same night). Midtown East (53^rd and 2^nd ave) and the UES (2^nd Ave btw 77 and 78).

Well, anyway. The 53^rd St. location is a little newer and is pretty dimly lit which is perfect for a date, meeting friends for drinks…or screaming tourist who sing Bon Jovi or Journey (apparently).

So back to the actual destination here (focus! It’s only Thursday). Snazzy music in the vein of Gotan Project playing a pretty steady stream of your typical bar/loungey-type music. Candles on tables and what not. The argument that most people look better candlelit is probably valid and therefore this ambiance was appreciated.

After the slight transgression on the host’s part of trying to get me to squeeze in between two tables no more than 3” apart (I’m not that skinny), we sat down in the back corner table –enter singing tourists. Our waitress was amused and pleasant, though. Wine list is expectedly extensive—it is a wine bar, afterall—but the categories of “World red and white varietals” is a little silly (especially when you have an in-house second level sommelier). A mini-wine-dumping-ground after all of the larger categories are exhausted. The 2,200 wine cellar is pretty impressive for a small NYC bar, though. There’s a list of creative cocktails in the lineup, too. And being that it was a weeknight (Happy Tuesday, everyone!) I got the strawberry basil lemonade. Now, seriously, in Italy, this happens a lot but not as much in the US. Mixing fresh herbs and fruit in a drink is the shit. You have to try it sometime. This particular version was strawberry stoli, fresh basil, fresh strawberries and lemon peel all muddled up with a bit of lemon juice and soda. Good call, me.

So after messing around with my drink for a while, we start looking for some sustenance. My friend, Erik, has been to Vero uptown and has one thing on his mind: the Vero Pizza. After looking around, it’s not there. He asks, “Nope, not at this one. You gotta go uptown.”

“We’re going.” We are? I guess we are, so in the cab we go. Up about 20 blocks to the UES location. Same deal, a little smaller. Get a glass of rioja, sitting at the bar and order the Vero Pizza and meatballs.

OK. So, I can see why we came. It’s pretty good. Worth another cab ride? Debatable. Interesting take on pizza with a fontina cheese, prosciutto, roasted red peppers and a sundried tomato spread (instead of red sauce…a little too sweet). Came out as small triangular slices with a balsamic glaze—pretty presentation, and no worries about dropping cheese all over when you are separating a piece from a traditional pie. The meatballs were better, though, with a garlicky misto, stuffed with mozzarella. I have set the bar high since I’m 50% Italian and my Momma makes “the best” meatballs. They didn’t disappoint. The grilled ciabatta on the side could have been more grilled but I wasn’t interested in it anyway because I had a pizza to eat…

So, sometimes you just want what you want. Vero is a good concept with solid food and a really great bar. It’s not New Haven pizza so maybe not worth going out of your way for (i.e. from Brooklyn), but good little places if you’re in the neighborhood. It was a fun little chase up the east side to get a bite and a good glass of wine on a random weekday night.

Hello Punkin.

Let’s talk pumpkin. Pumpkin stuff to be exact. I realize that’s not really exact but bear with me. Da (roommate) and I have been recently consumers of mass amounts of pumpkin things.

Our day job is also sponsoring a pumpkin carving contest and pie baking contest (obviously, I’m a fan) so here’s to pumpkins:

Pumpkin beers: Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale is awesome. I don’t have much else to say on the matter but it tastes like pumpkins without being sweet and still tasting like beer which is an accomplishment. Also enjoyed Punk’N which has good pumpkin taste but after one was almost sickening sweet. It's decent but get the Smuttynose if you can...There's also the Heartland Brewery's Smiling Pumpkin Ale (from NYC) if you're into the local thing.

Pumpkin Waffles are REALLY GOOD! add some puree to your batter next time.

Pumpkin Pancakes: Go to Enid's for brunch. They have a delicious version. Or make your own if you're not in North Brooklyn like I am.

Pumpkin Pie: who didn’t even believe I could cook or bake untilobviously, mine is the best. I will NEVER divulge my secret but even my dad, recently said, “This may be the best pumpkin pie I’ve ever had in my life.” Ok, but since we’re all not bff (actually, most of us are, I don’t have a huge audience, do i?), and you might not get to try my pie, I recommend the little pumpkin tarts at Whole Foods (whose blog recently did their own pumpkin entry... They are portioned to be a couple bites big so you don’t have to worry about…ahem…over-indulgence. They have a nice texture (not slimy, but moist) and a tasty soft, caramelized walnut topping.

Pumpkin ICE CREAM: This was a great idea, whoever had it. Bravo. Get some on the LES at Sundaes and Cones!

Pumpkins: yes, natural pumpkins. They grow in the ground…usually not in Brooklyn…but if you spit a few seeds, who knows what may happen. Here are a few recipes for interesting, toasty fall pumpkin recipes:

Pumpkin Bread from The Fresh Loaf

Real Pumpkin Pie (yes, with an actual pumpkin)

Canned Pumpkin Pie (cheating a little but still can be tasty)

Pumpkin Pie cheesecake (if you're a little suicidal)

And, although starbucks is my nemesis culturally and most likely ethically I would like to conclude with the glorious Pumpkin Spice Latte. Get the nonfat version. Hell, it’s even very (surprisingly) good iced. If you like pumpkin, try it. Personally, I like the hot version, and don’t get the whipped cream but do add the shake of spice on top. I’d love to have whipped cream all the time but hey, when you’re writing about

food, you have to cut corners every here and there to make sure you don’t look like you write about food. Dunkin Donuts has a pumpkin flavored coffee which will probably disappoint you if

you actually like a) pumpkins, or b) coffee.

(-->Pumpkin the cat approves this message.)

Interlude

Hi from me and my moms.

Dazie's (Sunnyside, NY!)

Queens is an interesting place: almost as culturally diverse as somewhere like, say, the world, it’s got a lot to offer food-wise but you have to be willing to look around a little bit past the generic Chinese places and gimmicky would-be (were they not in Queens) tourist attraction type places.

Let me set the scene. Typical Sunday night: everyone is lazy and secretly convalescing the dread that, yet again, the weekend has come to an end. Nobody is going to cook. After 90 minutes of deliberation, we rule out French—the place I want to try is cash-only. I have $11 in my wallet…

Sarah, from Massachusetts, suggests Sfoglia (Nantucket and the UES…”Sss-vole-yia” or “sa-foge-lia” as Da likes to say is a rustic, charming-enough looking place on the UES…which is not taking reservations until 9:30. Apparently it has a cult following that keeps it booked. It’s 8. We’ve already stalled for an hour, people are getting cranky, hungry and tired. La Taverna (on Manhattan Ave is suggested) and while I’m going to go there “sometime soon,” it just didn’t feel right. What did feel right? Mafia. Standard “family” style Italian place.

So, Google Maps is so handy sometimes. Google Maps plus a dire sense of laze is amazing in its capabilities. And so we stumble upon Dazies. Nestled in the shadows of the 7, Dazie’s is what you’d expect from an Italian restaurant in Queens…except better. Speaking to my grandparent’s generation with its iron sconces, candles and tuxedoed waiters, it’s well above average for traditional Italian-American dining.

Yes, there are a lot of stereotypical things here but there are some really great things too. Roasted eggplant to start is great on bread. Both the stuffed mushrooms and fried calamari are tasty but I always think they’re tasty…Not the best I had but far from the worst. Veal Saltimbocca would have been wonderful—the meat was perfectly cooked and tender—but they finished with too-salty spinach and thick slices of hardboiled egg instead of a fried egg…or no egg.

(Da was hungry.)

White clam sauce over linguine is very good. Well spiced and not creamy or too thick. Filet with a Barolo sauce and sautéed mushrooms is delicious. Really perfectly cooked medium rare (thank god). Gnocchi was also very good if you’re looking for a different pasta dish, came in a fairly light pesto sauce.

Wine list is remarkably inexpensive for New York. And waitstaff is so pleasant that they had my Chinese roommate speaking Italian (really).

So go. They even filmed a scene from 30 Rock here. Right off the 40^th street station on the 7!

It's time to do an update when...

...your mother, who can barely use a computer, lets you know that you haven't updated your blog in "a while" even though it's only been 1 day.

So here we go:

This is The Bar Review, after all, so a bar review is in order.

The Turkey's Nest at the borders of Greenpoint and Williamsburg in Brooklyn, is a dive.



The Turkey's Nest is a bar that cards. I got carded in NYC for the first time possibly EVER. After this little boost to my self-esteem (they carded our 36 year old friend, as well). We wandered in. The bar is scattered with TVs with various sports games on, dart boards and, as a dive, is also equipped with Big Buck Hunter, decent music and the "frozen gargoyle" (i'll explain later).

But first, a story. We were out to celebrate. It was a friend of a friend's birthday. A potential new hire was out with us (all the way from Austin, TX) and, most obviously, it was the weekend. Drinks all around! So, 3 of us decide....since we're in brooklyn...that we'll order Manhattans.

me: Yep, can i get 3 manhattan's please?
bartender: Does that have vermouth in it?
me: Yeah.
bartender: Yeah, this isn't a fancy bar.

OK. I'm sorry! I was unaware that liquor that wholesales at about $5/bottle was fancy! Well, I digress. We order beer.

Except for my roommate, who orders a fretful Frozen Gargoyle. This is a frozen mixed drink. But instead of a margarita it's some concoction involving absinthe. My 5'6" roommate is a goner and after several drinks before this, ends up spending the rest of the night shooting at the shrubbery in Big Buck Hunter. He does not remember this. Or the mile walk home. But it's all good. Supposedly absinthe, in its American-acceptable form, does not contain enough wormwood to have any hallucinogenic qualities, but weighing in at 100-proof, it does pack an alcoholic punch. For whatever reason, I'm going to discard commonly accepted medical advice and report on behalf of both Da and myself, that it's still a mind eraser.

(This guy does NOT approve of frozen drink mix-->)

The Turkey's nest is a pretty fun time. Surprisingly minimal hipster presence and uncrowded, just don't order anything "fancy."

PIE!

enough said. i'll be entering. it'll be awesome. i promise.