Friday's five things: Back to school edition.

I started my fall classes on Wednesday. I have class on Wednesday and Thursday evenings. I am so close to being done! After my two classes this semester, I only have my capstone [!] left. I can't believe it! I am 9 months away from having my Master's!

[Iced coffee + whole wheat everything bagel with light lox spread... so I can pretend it's healthy]

I got home early, early Tuesday morning and have been exhausted all week, but somehow managed to drag myself out of bed this morning to stop by H&H Midtown Bagels, a guaranteed good start to my day.

[Bracelets by Jessica Simpson, Betsey Johnson, and Fossil, all from Macy's. Watch by Michael Kors]

My mom bought me these three bracelets this past weekend. I'm finally taking part in the stacking bracelets trend... I loved wearing them to work/class this week because I seriously jingle the whole day with the Betsey Johnson charms. It reminds me of how much fun I had this weekend! And how much I love it when my mom buys me nice little treats...

[Hammie loves helping with my photos]

The kitties were happy to see me after the long weekend. I'm looking forward to spending some time with them tomorrow and Sunday. I need some down time, and they need some Mommy time.

[My new desk]

This was actually my cheap desk from Amazon, but my wonderful Martha Stewart of an Aunt Diane took it home, sanded, and stained it for me. She dropped it off in my apartment while I was gone, so I came home to find this beautiful surprise waiting for me. Now this weekend I need to reorganize all the junk that goes in/on my desk...

Finally, this one is self-explanatory. After hurricanes and storms, then crappy weather all this week, it is finally nice out. And I'm going out tonight in this lovely nice weather!

TGIF, everyone! Enjoy this beautiful evening!

Prepping for Irene.

Well, here we are.

Prep started late last night with an emergency midnight snack. We had to get our strength up for all the work to be done today.

[Grilled cheese and fries from the Green Kitchen Diner]

All the grocery stores, Duane Reades, and hardware stores are completely out of chips, bread, water, and oh so many other essential items. And most of them have been closed for the last few hours. We are buckling down for Irene.

The worst part of today's prep work?

No coffee.

[Well, not really. We got coffee around the corner from the Green Bean Cafe around the corner.]

Gillian and Natalie are here, and we are settling in for at least the next 24 hours. We spent most of today making last minute trips to the grocery store for more bread (the only remaining options were English muffins, pita bread, or hamburger buns) and keeping our eyes out for potential hurricane boyfriends.

Friday's five things: 4th of July edition.

I turned in my final assignment for my summer class today. Finally. I now have just over 2 months off with NO OBLIGATIONS WHATSOEVER... outside of work... I'm off to Washington, DC/Maryland tomorrow to spend some time with my bestie B, my brother, my cousins in VA, and some other friends & sorority sisters from college.

I'm excited for B's family's Maryland crab fest tomorrow, brunch at Logan Tavern with my fam on Sunday, the Nationals vs. Pirates baseball game with my sorority sisters on Sunday, and then just chilling out for the rest of the weekend.

We'll hopefully see some fireworks somewhere on Monday/set off some of our own and try {not} to burn down B's neighborhood...

Can't wait for continued shenanigans with my bestie.

Love this beautiful cake from Glorious Treats. It looks really complicated, but I think I could even pull it off in my tiny NYC kitchen next summer for the 4th. I might even make it for Labor Day this summer, just to see if I can...

{photo via Glorious Treats also}

Also, I was in Minnesota last weekend {pictures to come next week when I finally take them off my camera} and went to pick up a new pair of Minnetonka Moccasins. They're made just minutes from my house, but have somehow become really popular in NY and DC in the last few years. Well, partially due to the fact that J.Crew has started some kind of partnership with Minnetonka Mocs and does a few special models each year {like these, that cost twice as much as the originals}.

Anyway, they were out of the style I wanted at our local Foursome boutique, but my mom ordered them for me, and I can't wait to get them! {Get your own from Zappos.}

I'm off to pack, get the kitties set for a long weekend alone, and try to squeeze in a workout of some sort before eating {delicious} junk food and drinking margies all weekend.

Martha Stewart Sundays: Spinach & Goat Cheese Omelet.

Why, yes, I did make a homemade spinach & goat cheese omelet this morning. And it was delicious. I even took a beautiful(-ish) picture of it before attacking it...

One of my goals in life is to make a better omelet. Mine always fall apart when I flip, or I let the eggs cook too long (to avoid the falling-apart), but then the eggs get too tough instead of moist and fluffy... Or I need a live-in French chef to make omelets for me.

*sigh*

Someday.

No recipe for this. Seriously, who can't figure out what goes in an omelet?

I'm having a lazy weekend. I have homework to do today and want to clean out my closet and finally replace my winter clothes with the summer clothes stored under my bed and clean the bathroom. But I also feel the need to just hang out today, go for a walk in the park, get an iced latte from Starbucks...

We'll see how far I get on my to-do list... after coffee.

Friday's five things.

Did I mention how busy I've been lately?

I just started my summer class, Advanced Book Editing, which involves 6 weeks of intensive reading and editing of manuscripts... and a lot of work. So far, so good. My family was here last weekend. It was a lot of fun, but I've been exhausted all week now. And now I'm so ready for summer! I can't believe it's June already!

I'm looking forward to a weekend of relaxing and doing homework. It should be pretty quiet. I have no real plans except tonight.

1. Tonight, I'm trying Hospoda, a new Eastern European craft beer joint on 73rd Street. I just happened to walk by it the other day, and I'm really excited! It's only been open a week now, so it will be interesting to see how people like it. They boast craft European beer and wine and a modern European menu. I'm not too sure about the food, but the beer looks great! I'm meeting Nat there tonight after work!

2. I've been craving a seersucker blazer. There was an adorable one in the window at Barney's last week. I don't know who the designer was, but I'm sure it's out of my price range. They styled it with a nautical, horizontal-striped navy and white tee, white cropped skinnies, and navy wedges. Adorable for summer! Here's a similar blazer from L.L. Bean for $139.

3. I went to the gym last night (when I was exhausted and didn't want to go! But I'm happy I did) and picked up sushi from Bamboo sushi on the way home. I overestimated my hunger and ended up with a leftover roll for lunch today at the office. Score!

4. I ordered these for myself yesterday. I've been ogling them for a while and couldn't stop thinking about them. I even went and tried them on at Macy's last weekend, but held off because I didn't want to pay full price. Then by the luck of the draw (or email alert...), I saw them for 33% off from Nordstrom.com yesterday and couldn't resist any longer! So excited to get them in the mail!

5. I plan on walking home through Central Park this afternoon. This is the official start of getting out of work a little early on Fridays and strolling through the beautiful park on the way home season!

Have a great weekend everyone! I swear, I should be back to regular posts at SOME point this summer...

Epic summer tk.

I'm getting so excited for this summer. The Summer Friday schedule was just released at work (which, of course, just happens to work in my favor this year after the chaos that I walked into last year), and I am busy planning the next month/entire summer full of fun activities. Here's how the calendar looks so far:

5/7 - Kentucky Derby (actual plans tk, but no doubt it will be something fun)

5/17 - seeing HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING on Broadway, starring Daniel Radcliffe

5/18 - Theory sample sale at Clothingline

5/21-22 - the Taste of Nolita, including samples from 7 restaurants and drink specials at a few bars

5/23 - Young to Publishing Group happy hour to kick off BookExpo America at The Frying Pan

5/26 - my parents arrive for Memorial Day Weekend; we're seeing SPIDERMAN: TURN OFF THE DARK on Broadway that evening

5/27-30 - tourisming, good meals, brunch, family time, etc. with my parents & bro

6/23-26 - home to Minnesota for a weekend at the lake

7/4 - 4th of July at Coney Island, including the Nathan's hot dog eating contest. I must see this once in my life.

7/15 - Harry Potter 7 Part 2

7/22-24 - visit D.C.? Maybe?

8/?? - one week during the month of August will be the Central Park Film Festival, which I thoroughly enjoyed last year and CAN NOT wait for this year. I want to try and go to at least 2 or 3 of the movies this year!

9/2-5 - Minnesota for Labor Day weekend, which may just have to include a trip to the Minnesota State Fair

And lots more tk. These are just the bare bones of the fabulosity that is summer in NYC and Minnesota.

What are you looking forward to this summer??

Friday's five things.

So, I ended up returning those boots. They were close, but they weren't perfect. I don't want to settle for something that I don't love. I've had a couple crazy weeks at work, and now I'm also trying to write a massive paper and get everything done before I leave for Europe on Thursday!!! I'm definitely looking forward to being productive this weekend.

1. I'm meeting Nat & G for dinner tonight at Go Burger on 2nd Ave. They have rum-spiked milkshakes and custom burgers that sounds delicious! We've never been there, but they got a great review from UrbanDaddy.

2. When I left this morning, the kitties' ducky was here:

When I came home, ducky was here:

They do this about twice a week, and it always makes me smile when I walk into the bedroom at the end of the day! I love when they "share" their toys with me!

3. This shirt, which I love, is on-sale at J.Crew for $49.99:

4. Did I mention alcoholic milkshakes?

5. I actually bought it last week... but... I bought a new camera! Because I dropped the old one... I got the Canon PowerShot 12.1 Megapixel SD1300 for $107 from Best Buy. It's pretty neat so far. I don't know exactly how everything works, but it's light and shiny and has great zoom!

TGIF, everyone!

Friday's Five Things: Snow, etc.

I actually accomplished something last night! I knocked off one of the essays for the department scholarship application that has been hanging over my head for the last week. One down, two to go! (All this to get someone else to give me money to go to school... what happened to good old begging?)

And then I woke up this morning to this:

My block was covered in snow! It makes me happy to see it, since it's so pretty, but then I took 2 steps outside my door and remembered why I hate walking in snow... but it was pretty...

I am carrying my new Lucky Brand purse today. I got it last weekend at Macy's (I can't find the exact style online, but here's a similar one). I love this bag! It's the perfect size, and feels so loose and casual for my fave casual Friday outfit (jeans + tank top + plaid blouse + black pointy-toe flats).

Spicy chicken udon soup from freshday on 48th street. This is my fave lunch in midtown Manhattan, in my opinion. For $7, I get a huge container of soup jam-packed with real grilled chicken breast (not the leftover random dark meat that some places use), udon noodles, broccoli, mushrooms, chives, tempura piecse and some other vegetables that I don't recognize. I can't exactly figure out the calorie content of this, but all the ingredients seem pretty innocuous on their own, so I accept it... and love it!
Because I haven't mentioned it yet, I seriously love my new phone. I have had the Droid Incredibly by HTC on Verizon for about 3 weeks now, and I love it! Since my camera is broken, all of my (terrible) photos have been coming from my phone (the camera is great; it's the photographer that is the problem!), and I've been using my phone for everything from my calendar to accessing SparkPeople (a FANTASTIC food/exercise tracker/healthy living program) to GChat. I adore it! Get yours here.

And lastly, I'm excited to go out tonight. I have been pretty lame for the last two weeks and now, I'm so ready for a pink, girly drink. I'm going to a poetry reading (at a bar nonetheless) for a friend tonight and most likely a friend's housewarming party tomorrow (and writing scholarship app essays in between, of course).

Have a good weekend everyone! Martha Stewart Sundays will be back this weekend with some sort of closet organization breakdown... since I WILL be cleaning my closet Sunday morning!

Friday's Five Things.

Another blog scheduling thing I'd like to try: Friday's Five Things, something I've picked up from Emily at Cupcakes and Cashmere, another blog I love. This is a simple list of five things (anything!) that I love or am lusting over or that make me happy right now, today, this Friday.

For today:

Smith's Rosebud Salve, $6 from Sephora. You can put it on anything.

Cuddly kittens. They were bombarding me this morning with snuggles when I was getting ready for work.

Planning my trip to Paris and Copenhagen in March. I stumbled across The Naughty Paris Guide... and don't think I will be buying this particular guide book... but it made me giggle.

Spring semester doesn't start until the 24th. Which means I now have 5 evenings a week to myself, to go to the gym, meet friends for dinner, and return things to Bloomingdale's. This makes me even more excited to finish my Master's next spring so I can reclaim my evenings again! (You know, and to be accomplished academically and achieve success in my career... but mainly the free time thing... JK)

January & February is always a good time for fresh oranges.

That is all.

A foray into vegan-ish baking.

Do you ever really want to make something, and then realize that you don't have half the ingredients? Or better yet, your milk/eggs/SUPER IMPORTANT INGREDIENT is expired?

This seems to happen to me a lot... Maybe because I don't buy groceries that often. Or because life gets in the way and I don't actually cook anything when I originally planned on it... So I experiment!

A few weeks ago, I was planning to make Martha Stewart's Pumpkin Layer Cake for Thanksgiving, bought all the ingredients, and then we didn't have time to make it. And here, 3 weeks later, I still had all the ingredients... except the eggs and milk are expired... and there's no way in hell I'm going out in the freezing rain in NYC today just for some stupid eggs.

Experimentation! I've never tried vegan baking, but I've heard good things about it. Basically, you replace the wet ingredients like milk and eggs with things like applesauce, mashed banana, pumpkin puree, canola oil, etc.

After googling a few recipes, I started with this one for Vegan Old-fashioned Soft Pumpkin Cookies in mind... and added some other things to make it into cake batter... My additions are in pink.

INGREDIENTS

• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I nixed the 1/2 cup whole wheat flour because of course, I'm lucky to have ANY flour at all, let alone whole wheat)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (I didn't have ground cloves either, so I added an extra 1/2 t. of ginger)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened (So I cheated, it's not vegan anymore... because I have regular old unsalted butter in my fridge, no vegan margarine)
• 2 cups Libby's canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup applesauce (The recipe called for 1 T. of applesauce for the cookies, so for cake batter, I added extra applesauce)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• about 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (I wasn't measuring this... but adding it little by little until I got the desired consistency)
  

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease cake rounds.
3. Combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt in medium bowl.
4. Beat sugars and butter in large mixer bowl until well blended.
5. Beat in pumpkin, applesauce and vanilla extract until smooth.
6. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Beat in olive oil little by little, guessing as you go to achieve desired consistency.... Cross your fingers...
7. Divide batter evenly into two cake rounds.
8. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
9. Pray to God that it turns out...

I cheated again and topped it off with Martha's Light Cream Cheese Icing... again, not vegan, but that wasn't really the point. The point was using up what I had, which was lots of cream cheese!





Annnnd the taste test...



It turned out really great! Of course, everything's better with icing... but no, really, I'm really happy with how it turned out. It's moist and dense and not overwhelmingly sugary or pumpkin-y. It kind of reminds me of the pumpkin scones from Starbucks. Success!

Update: I brought my two pumpkin cakes into work this morning, and they were completely gone by lunch!

Central Park Film Festival.

Last night made me feel like a real New Yorker.

I went to the final evening of the 2010 Central Park Film Festival last night with my girlfriends Gillian and Charity. It was such a great event! They set up a giant screen at Mineral Springs (just north of the Sheep's Meadow) on a field that is sort of a natural amphitheater, all downward sloping to create a perfect viewing situation. It's fenced off, and they open the gates at 6:30 for the 8 p.m. movie.

We arrived around 6:15 to find a line already 100 people long at least, and at 6:30 people were practically running to stake out their spots with blankets and picnic baskets. It was wild!

We had our own great little picnic, but part of the fun was checking out what the other movie-goers brought for their dinners - a great range of Chinese takeout, Central Park hot dogs, Whole Foods takeout salads, homemade sandwiches . . . it's funny to see New Yorkers do "picnic" food. Fabulous.

Yesterday was the last night of the 5-day film festival punctuated with a showing of Woody Allen's 1979 Manhattan. I had never seen it, but I'm glad I did! It featured really iconic images of New York, and every time one of these images came across the screen, the entire field of picnicking New Yorkers cheered and clapped.

Walking home from the park last night, I believe, I felt like a young, social, happy, pretty, single New York girl more than any other time in the past 9 months.

Shake Shack.

I experienced Shake Shack last night, and it was pretty damn good. I'd say it was definitely one of the best burgers I've ever had before. Maybe it's not worth all the hype (it's been featured on several FoodTV best-of shows), but it was definitely good.

But the whole experience is really what makes it. The Shack is located in Madison Square Park, and only has outdoor seating at the picnic and bistro tables in the park.. It really is just a shack that turns out burgers and fries. The line is always at least 20 people deep, if not an entire block.

The burger itself was smaller than I expected, not the monster burgers you see at some places these days. It was slightly greasy, in a good way, with gooey cheese and perfectly tangy dill pickles on top of a buttery bun, perfectly sized for the burger. And the cheese fries were pretty good too.. But mainly because of the cheese sauce. The fries themselves were a little well done for my tastes.

I didn't try the custard, but I've heard it's amazing. Instead, I opted for a $4 beer, a rare find in Manhattan.

Overall, I thought this was better than 5 Guys, but I don't think I'll feel the need to run back down there all the time.

Brunch @ Poco.

A few weeks ago I went to brunch with the ladies at this little place called Poco at Ave B and 3rd street. It was the absolutely best brunch I think I've ever experienced in the city so far. Poco is normally a Spanish-inspired tapas restaurant, but Saturday and Sunday morning, it serves a pretty American Nouveau brunch menu complete with lobster benedict, lobster mac&cheese, and different varieties of pancakes and French toast.

From the 6 different brunch entrées enjoyed by my friends and me, I can say that at least 6 of entrées on the brunch menu are absolutely amazing. I personally enjoyed the lobster mac&cheese. It was light, creamy, and filling, without being completely overwhelming like the rich awesomeness at S'Mac. And it boasted finger-sized pieces of fresh lobster, at least 2 large claws plus some more lump meat. My friends all thoroughly enjoyed their choices as well, but the traditional eggs Benedict and the lobster Benedict seemed to be the two other winners of the day.

The atmosphere was super friendly, with an upstairs bar-type area filled with hightop tables and stools, and a separate, almost gothic-feeling basement that was more lounge-y, full of heavy red drapes and low couches, complete with throw pillows.

Best of all, with any $22 brunch entrée, you get all-you-can-drink mimosas, bloody Marys, or Sangria - and you can switch between the three! All the drinks are pre-made in pitchers, and the waitresses just come around and top everyone off. The bloodys were a bit too spicy for me, and contained something that tasted almost like pickle relish. It was interesting, but it didn't mix well with my first couple mimosas. Also, the waitstaff was really cool and didn't rush us out after we finished eating. They kept refilling our drinks for as long as we felt like sitting there.

I feel a little nervous sharing my favorite new brunch place with the world - I sort of want to keep this secret between me and my girls. But, alas, Poco is too good to not share with the world.

Flex Mussels.

This might be saying a lot, but I think Flex Mussels is my favorite restaurant in New York so far. It's the only restaurant I've actually gone back to already in my four short months here. Not only do I appreciate the witty name, but I love basically the entire menu at this place. On 82nd street between 3rd and Lexington, Flex Mussels is like a hip take on an old seaport staple. The décor is all crude wood, simple cape-reminiscent paintings, and blue and white accents. The atmosphere is very homey and welcoming, a nice change from some of the get-in-get-out NY places.

The menu is comprised of a few simple appetizers like salmon tartare or homemade clam chowder and a few salads, a few fresh fish dishes served grilled, charred, or fried, a solitary beef option, and... drum roll... an entire page of mussels options. There are 22 different styles of mussels, and a daily 23rd special preparation. These mussels, paired with thin, crispy, handcut french fries, are amazing! A few winners so far are the Dubliner, the Spaniard, and the Bisque. Flex Mussels also serves a daily variety of about 8 top-notch raw oysters on their raw bar menu. Their commitment to finding the best, freshest mussels and oysters is evident not only by their policies laid out on the menu, but in the actual quality of their shellfish. Amazing, basically.

Oh, and then there's dessert. The dessert creations include homemade, freshly deep-fried donuts and a homemade Whoopie Pie, along with a variety of other fun takes on classic dishes.

Flex Mussels also features a pretty good wine list, all bottles specifically chosen to complement the shellfish.

Go there.

Pulino's in SoHo.

Last Saturday night, my friend Lizzie and I tried Pulino's in SoHo for
dinner, and it was definitely a worthy find. It was written up by
UrbanDaddy about a month ago, so it was on my radar and sounded
interesting.. And oh, it was.

It was crazy busy on Saturday right at prime time. The bistro-like restaurant is impossible to miss with its big neon red sign right on the corner of Houston & Bowery. The restaurant itself had some really cool architectural features, like it's either an older space that's been redone, or they just created it to look that way. Oh, and all the decoration on the walls is rows and rows of various types of whiskey. It was pretty cool. My only complaint was that it's a small-ish space, and the noise just bounced off all those whiskey bottles and the chamber ceilings. Hard to carry a conversation on a Saturday night. Oh well.

Annnd best of all, the food. The minute I walked in the door, the first thing I noticed was the delicious smell. It smelled like fresh baking pizza dough and garlic and delicious smokey meats and sausages. We started at the bar for their list of signature cocktails (I had a cocktail with sparkling wine and limoncello), then sat down (after we waited 45 minutes for a table) for a crunchy escarole salad with roasted mushrooms that could have been right off the forest floor, fresh crispy bruschetta with a spreadable salami topping (I couldn't even begin to explain this, just try it), and split a pizza with spicy salami, black olives, and fresh rosemary. The crust was paper thin and super crispy, and the fresh mozzarella was perfectly bubbly, but not drowning out the other flavors of the pizza like some cheese-a-holic pizza places.

The pizza's are medium-smallish, maybe 12 or 14 inches? Because of the thin crust, you could definitely eat one alone, but I recommend splitting one so you can try all the other delicious things on the menu. Or for more people, get a few pizzas and share!

But save room for the dessert menu--there are a lot of great options, including ice cream sundaes with fresh berries & pistachios. Highly recommended.

I may have just found my favorite pizza (so far) in NY.

'Wichcraft Bryant Park

Hey all. So I haven't actually spent a weekend in the city for 3 weeks now. I have no really exciting new discoveries to share, except for the 'wichcraft lounge in Bryant Park. It's an outdoor patio where you can sit and relax and have delicious 'wichcraft creations brought right to you--including Watermelontinis and Meatloaf sandwiches (my favorites).

They serve the entire regular 'wichcraft menu, and a handful of Bryant Park specialty martinis and bar snacks like butter & parmesan- or cinnamon-flavored popcorn. It's the perfect place to hang out after work, grab a snack and enjoy the weather.

Meatloaf sandwich with bacon, cheddar and tomato relish. MMMMM.

The porch-like lounge at Bryant Park. Unfortunately only serves food until 6 PM. Sad face.

Sarita's Mac & Cheese.

So, first and foremost, I apologize for being MIA for a whole. I was sick, then had midterms, then I've been out of town for two weekends in a row. I have a zillion new discoveries I'd like to share, and swear they should be coming about twice a week now. Get excited!

First off, Sarita's Mac & Cheese, also known as S'Mac. Sarita's is a whole-in-the-wall in the East Village on east 12th street between 1st and 2nd aves. And it's amazing. And I'm obsessed. The restaurant is no bigger than my apartment, and is painted roughly the colors of Kraft mac & cheese and lemonade.

Unfortunately, Sarita's 13 kinds of mac & cheese are all SUPER rich, and I won't be able to go there except every 6 weeks or so. Not kidding. These 13 different creations all start with broiler-finished skillets of homemade mac, then delicious toppings like mozzarella or gruyere cheese, fresh rosemary, BBQ chicken or thick-sliced pork belly are added to your mac. And it's amazing. The skillets come in 4 different sizes, from "Nosh" (large snack-size) to "Partay" (enough for 12 people).

I went for a "Major Munch" (a large dinner-portion) in Alpine, which included gruyere and pork belly for $10.75. And I highly recommend it... if you're looking for a comfort food-induced coma.

Besides mac, you can get fresh chocolate chip cookies, a variety of interesting beers and indie fizzy sodas.

I will be going back for all 13 varieties over the next 2 years... since that's all my mac & cheese quota can handle.

Grand Central Oyster Bar.

So, I haven't posted for a while because I was really sick over this past weekend/week, then this week was midterms. I have a few reviews from last weekend with my parents (from before I got sick Saturday night...) that I feel the need to share with the world.

First, let's start with Grand Central Oyster Bar. We went here last Friday night, it being a Friday during Lent, and the poor Catholics having to replace their steak with oysters and crab claws... It came highly recommended via various online reviews, and it seemed like a great place to take my Midwesterner parents: it's part of the history of Grand Central station, a seemingly real attraction, and one of the oldest oyster bars in New York City. The menu is really large and completely available online, and I was hooked.

Unfortunately, the food was utterly disappointing for the prices. My dad and I both had Florida Blue Crab Claws (basically enormous crab claws that are cooked, then served chilled), and while they were large, they weren't served correctly. They had clearly been made way in advance, and when you chill the crab for too long, it refuses to separate from the shell. So after basically picking out miniscule amounts of meat... not worth it. The Oysters Rockefeller were actually really good, but I'd say that was the one redeeming factor of the meal. My scallops were flavorless, my mom's shrimp salad was miniature, and well, my dad ordered fish n' chips... so he really had nothing to complain about.

Seriously, it might be a great raw bar. But the dinner menu was awful. It's definitely not worthy of all the hype. Skip it.

Snow again in the city.

My parents came in yesterday from Minneapolis to be greeted by a "monster Nor'easter." Kind of. There's only 6 inches accumulated in the city, but everything is shut down. No classes at NYU tonight, which is great for me.

We were planning a whirlwind tour of the city, but we'll have to see with the snow what we can do. First on the list for sure, though, H&H Midtown Bagel. As I posted a few weeks ago, it's the best bagel I've had. In my entire life.

We're planning on going up to the Top of the Rock, the observation deck at Rockefeller Center, then the famous Grand Central Oyster Bar later tonight (it's a Friday during Lent, so no meat!)

We'll see how this goes, but we might have to find a nice warm museum for the rest of the day!

I like soup.

I had a snow day yesterday and was off work and class. It was great. I stayed in bed all day and read with the kitties. They couldn't figure out why I wasn't getting ready and going to work. I did go out and brave the blizzard to get a few things from the grocery store, and ended up making a delicious pot of Chicken Wild Rice Soup. Don't be scared. It's easy. Soup is one of the first things I learned how to make.

Chicken Wild Rice Soup

3/4 c. chopped carrots

3/4 c. chopped celery

1/2 c. chopped onion

1 package sliced white mushrooms

3-6 oz. cans of cooked chicken

1 1/2 c. wild rice (I actually couldn't find good wild rice here and had to use a wild rice/brown rice blend. Whatever. Just follow the instructions on the package)

4 c. chicken broth

16 oz. light or fat-free cream

12 oz. light of fat-free sour cream

salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary

1. Cook wild rice according to package until just a little bit crunch (like 5-10 minutes less than what the package tells you)

2. On medium-low heat, add chicken broth.

3. Add vegetables, mushrooms, and undrained chicken. Cook on medium-low heat until vegetables are soft (about 10 minutes).

4. On low heat, stir in cream and sour cream. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU KEEP THE SOUP ON LOW HEAT WHEN YOU ADD THE DAIRY PRODUCTS OR THEY WILL CURDLE AND GET ALL NASTY. The other ingredients must be cooked-through by now because you can't turn the heat up again!

5. Once the cream is stirred in properly, add about 1 tsp. each of salt, thyme, and rosemary, and 2 tsp. of pepper. Or to taste.

How easy is that? It turned out absolutely delicious and sooo filling. I forgot to take a picture of the finished product, but it was pretty, too. Just the perfect creamy bowl of soup.

Perfect for a snow day.