In looking for a tasty and low-cal treat to bring to my friend’s BBQ last weekend I found a lemonade pie recipe from Betty Crocker, unfortunately for me the recipe went awry when I could not find any frozen lemonade concentrate at my local grocery store! So instead I purchased a non-alcoholic Bacardi frozen margarita can and substituted accordingly.

An unusual offering to a memorial day rooftop BBQ but boy was this thing a hit! And with one serving equaling 300 calories, I didn’t feel guilty while eating all those sandwiches, crudites, chips and dips!

Ingredients:

• 1 graham cracker crust pie mold
• 1 quart vanilla ice cream, softened
• 1 can (6 ounces) frozen Bacardi non-alcoholic margarita concentrate, thawed
• zest of 2 lemons

To Make:

• in large bowl mix ice cream and margarita concentrate
• add lemon zest and stir
• fill in pre-made graham cracker crust
• freeze for 4 hours or until firm
• let stand at room temperature a few minutes before serving
• enjoy!

The Meatpacking District will be taken over by good eats with the annual Tastes NYC this Saturday June 2nd from 11:30-3pm. Stuff your face with food from some of the city’s top chefs and support a good cause at the same time.

Taking over Gansevoort Plaza, enjoy tasty eats from MPD neighborhood favorites like Fatty Crab, Tia Pol, Macelleria, Friedmans Lunch, and more. Individual six-taste tickets can be pre-purchased for $35 or on-site for $45. If you wanna do it in style you can purchase a $100 ticket at a community table where food runners fetch you your six tastes or you can go all out and purchase an entire table for $750 with the same service!

NYC Lab School Logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Proceeds from this daytime dining party will benefit the NYC Lab School, an awesome public school that enrolls children from grades six through twelve on 17th Street in Chelsea.

Enjoy a three-course meal for only $30 at Prospect Heights’ James restaurant every Sunday night! The menu changes based on availability of certain ingredients but last I heard they were featuring fennel soup, a black kale salad with red quinoa and poached egg, sautéed skate with roasted sunchokes, and a lavender creme brulee with a marinated berry salad amongst many others you can choose from!

James

605 Carlton Avenue (at St Marks Avenue)

It’s rare that I don’t choose every restaurant my boyfriend and I go to but last week he insisted we hit up Palá on the Lower East Side. Apparently in his google search for “gluten-free dining” Palá came up as a go-to spot.

In the past year I have tried to make myself as knowledgeable as possible about the various restaurants that cater to my boyfriends unfortunate disease (celiac) and nowhere did Palá ever come up. So imagine my surprise when I found that not only was nearly the entire menu offered gluten-free, but that what we ate (GF pizza and GF pasta) was by far the best gluten-free alternatives  I have ever had.

Are you gluten-free, vegan, or vegetarian? Then you can find oodles to eat at Palá. They offer gluten-free and vegan menus that mirror the regular menu…. I mean where else can you find a place that basically caters to almost everyone? If you know of others, please let me know!

Anyways, the service was great; our serve was very sweet and made recommendations with a culinary zeal that I haven’t seen before in casual spots like this. Armed with his advice, we ordered the Carciofi Al Parmigiano (grilled artichoke salad with cherry tomatoes, and parmigiano cheese), the Bucatini alla Matriciana (pancetta, pecorino romano and spicy tomato sauce w/ GF spaghetti instead of bucatini), and the Zucca GF Pizza (butternut squash puree, pancetta, smoked scamorza cheese, mozzarella cheese and parsley) to share. This meal was so wonderful and not just because of the food….this was the first time David (my boyfriend) and I could share an entire meal together!

Our meal was fantastic but the highlight was the wood-fired gluten-free zucca pizza…at first I was a bit skeptical (butternut squash puree on a pizza?) but the server said it was the house favorite and so I took that as a challenge and ordered it. Thank god for him…. absolutely amazing and flavorful pizza. It’s a must eat for sure!

I couldn’t have been more impressed with our Saturday night dinner date at Palá. It was surprisingly wonderful and romantic with candlelit tables, great music, and perfect weather. I for one really enjoyed the mix of indoor and outdoor seating areas that seamlessly blended together. Forget Risotteria, this is our new spot for gluten-free/everyday dining! Good job David… I guess I can let go of the restaurant reigns a little bit and let you pick more often

Palá

198 Allen Street (between Houston and Stanton Streets)

Last week I hit up Williamsburg’s Artists & Fleas to look for a t-shirt with a friend who was sprayed with BBQ sauce from a BBQ hungry bystander at Smorgasburg and met my foodie twin. In the middle of overpriced vintage clothes, kitschy handmade jewelry and weird tunes I spotted a table filled with foodie themed greeting cards and ran right to it!

For anyone who knows me well they know that I write thank you notes for everything…seriously I have an arsenal of stationary and thank you cards that would make Kate’s Paperie and Hallmark proud. So I took a gander at the offerings and immediately fell in love.

Supergreat Greetings specializes in funny and witty foodism greeting cards that would make any New York food blogger, self-proclaimed foodie, and restaurant industry insider laugh out loud. The owner/designer Sam and I started chatting and I quickly realized that I had found my foodie twin. Not only does this girl document every food adventure like I do, but she also blogs, and has a super great energy about her. I was scared that my enthusiasm for her cards would scare her off but she jumped right in with me as if we were old friends.

You simple won’t find cards like this anywhere else, her design skills and creative ideas are simply genius. With a background in design and a passion for all things food, she was inspired to start her own company. And Supergreat Greetings was born…. a bevy of funny foodie greeting cards perfect for the every growing population of foodies who can share their love of food with the people they care about and those who most probably love food too!

Her lines includes the standard celebratory cards like birthdays, anniversaries, babies, thank yous, etc but she also has fill in the blank cards where people can write in their favorite restaurants and chefs! Needless to say I immediately bought one (a cute anniversary card to give to my boyfriend for our anniversary next month) and now am pissed I didn’t buy more! They are absolutely wonderful and so different from the other generic cards out there right now. Do yourself a favor and check out Supergreat Greetings….I bet you can’t buy just one

Check out and purchase her awesome cards here, read her funny blog here or visit her at Hester Street Fair on Saturday, June 30th!

My all time favorite fruit pie is strawberry rhubarb but it’s only available for like 2 months out of the year so I wait patiently until the first stalks show up in the markets and then I buy as many as I can. But as much as I wanted to take the giant stalks of rhubarb and juicy strawberries I bought from the coop last week and fold them into a ridiculously tasty pie… I had to resist and make something a little different this time around.

See, I am three weeks away from a six day sojourn to the island of Paros (in the Cyclades island group of the Greek islands) for what will be a truly unforgettable wedding and three months away from a two-week trip to the South of France with my boyfriend and some friends. So needless to say, this voracious eater needs to get herself in check asap and so I’m doing my very best to be good-by figuring out ways to enjoy  my favorite foods without the resulting guilt.

So I took the strawberries and rhubarb and made a “terrine” of sorts (I also love jello.. as evidenced here). It’s not a pie, but it’s the next best thing. And it’s also 120 calories per serving! You can always put a dollop of fresh whipped cream on top too!

Ingredients:

• 4 medium-sized rhubarb stalks, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch segments
• 3 cups water, divided into 2 cups and 1 cup
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 3 1/4 oz packets unflavored gelatin
• 2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
• 3/4 cup sugar
• zest from two oranges

To Make:

• Bring 2 cups water, orange zest and sugar to boil in medium saucepan
• Add lemon and rhubarb and bring to a simmer (let cook for 4 minutes) and remove from heat
• pour gelatin over remaining 1 cup water in bowl and stir till gelatin is dissolved and let sit for 1 minute
• mix gelatin water into rhubarb sugar mixture and stir till gelatin is completely dissolved
• pour into desired vessel and then add strawberries (I used small water glasses for individual use and placed strawberries on top)
• cover with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight
• Enjoy!

Thank GOD I went to the 2nd day of The Great Googa Mooga Festival and not the 1st or else I probably wouldn’t have been introduced to these amazing wings.

Saturday’s Googa Mooga was apparently a complete shitshow with long lines, empty food stalls and angry mobs of hungry diners. So in preparation for my visit yesterday, I consulted with the twitterverse and first day reports to scout out my plan of attack. Of all the suggestions I read or was given, none was more important than the recommendations I got from Sarah McLellan of The Aussie Who Ate The Big Apple via Twitter. Of the dozens of food offerings at the event, she singled out the wings at Kasadela as a must eat, along w/ a fantastic soft shell crab sandwich from Vinegar Hill house that I literally inhaled it was so good…..and I was so hungry.

Anyways back to the wings…

They were the first thing I ate and the most memorable food item I ate all day. Even my friends Charlie and Abby couldn’t resist the come hither sight of these devilishly tasty wings. It took awhile for me to get my hands on them as we got there right as the “doors” opened and Kasadela wasn’t quite ready for the throngs of people wanting to get their hands on their Japanese-style wings, but it was well worth the wait!

After a few moments baking in the sun, I paid for the wings ($8 for 5), made a beeline for a table and dug right in.  No doubt, these were/are the best darn chicken wings I have EVER had…. crispy, flavorful (both savory and tangy), and oh so juicy.  Plus, they were the ENTIRE wing… not just the drumstick and wing but also the wingtip (see below for helpful diagram). Slathered in honey and pepper, they were delectable. Too soon they were gone, (I shared with my friends) but I made sure to  lick every last part of my fingers that came into contact with the wing. 5 of these were simply not enough but I had a lot more eating to do, their line had gotten pretty long, and I can go to their restaurant in Alphabet City and eat them (an order comes with 8 in their restaurant).

So ya… in writing this post I am salivating and looking at my calendar for when I can get to their restaurant because quite frankly… I am OBSESSED with these chicken wings.

Kasadela

647 East 11th Street (between Avenue B and C)

Staying in the city this Memorial Day weekend? Spend it on Governors Island at the 5 Boro PicNYC; a 2-day celebration of craft beer, gourmet eats and live tunes!

Enjoy brews from Sixpoint Craft Ales, food from vendors such as Lucky 777 Chili, Jimmy’s No. 43, Peels, Vandaag, Deep River Snacks, The Fat Beagle, Luke’s Lobster, Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream, and live music from The Brooklyn Blues Project, Tomcat & The Whiskey Rats and more! There will also be a grilled cheese cook-off, sponsored by Jarlsberg Cheese, that will have ten chefs compete for cheesey glory!

The event runs both Saturday, May 26th and Sunday, May 27th from 11:30-4:30pm. General tickets can be purchased for $25 and premium tickets are $55. Purchase them here!

A portion of ticket sales will benefit this year’s community/charitable partners: Slow Food NYC, Earth Matter, Kingsborough Community College’s Culinary Program and Teen Battle Chef.

I’m ashamed to admit this but before I moved to NYC I had never tasted Indian food! But as soon as I moved here  (5 years ago) I embarked on a personal journey to taste as many different cuisines as I could and thus experienced a culinary epiphany of sorts. Indian food was my first and Haveli was the restaurant.

Since then, I have probably eaten every cuisine you can think of….Ethiopian (check), Tibetan (check), Cambodian (check), Yemeni (check), Croatian (check), Argentinian (check), as you know this list goes on and on. But Indian food has become a favorite of mine and having patronized dozens of different Indian restaurants throughout the city I can say that Haveli is still my number one.

It’s an outlier on an avenue that is filled with coffee shops, fast food take out joints, bars, and churches yet its just steps off of 6th street’s Little India/Curry Row. The decor is a bit more contemporary than its competitors around the corner who seem to follow the same basic designs and gimmicks with christmas lights, loud music, etc. Every time I go to Haveli it’s been very low-key and quiet, with a steady stream of people coming in and out and a busy delivery operation with  delivery men running in and out.

Now I would never consider myself an expert in Indian food but the food at Haveli is always on point and I enjoy that their food isn’t crazy spicy and allows you to control your spice with their complimentary condiments. I don’t stray too far from the norm with Haveli and so get dishes that I’m comfortable with and enjoy. Their jasmine rice is to die for….I find myself eating every last grain of rice on the plate. I can’t say that Haveli is the best but it’s more authentic (my Indian friends said I can make this remark) than some of the other Indian restaurants in the city I’ve been to. Come with a few people and prepare for a feast…the entrees are a good size and can be shared amongst the whole group. I suggest having each person pick a different entrée, order some naan, and an appetizer or two and you can get out of there for under $20 a person. It’s a great meal deal.

*Chicken Tandoori*

(spring chicken marinated in mild spices, barbecued over charcoal)

*Shaag Ponir*

(homemade cheese fried and cooked with fresh spinach)

*Chana Lamb Curry*

The food at Haveli is consistent, the prices are very reasonable, and the service is super friendly and accommodating. It’s a good choice if you’re looking for something affordable but more upscale than the neighboring spots around the corner. I probably should broaden my horizons and try some other spots and other Indian dishes but when I want “my normal” I know where I’m going…straight to Haveli!

Haveli

100 2nd Avenue (between 5th and 6th Streets)

If you wanna open up a restaurant or food related space then look no further than the border of Prospect and Crown Heights. Each time a new joint opens up, the neighborhood welcomes them with open arms and proceeds to pack it in night after night (further proving my opinion that we are starved for good food here). Well Kimchi Grill is no different. We’ve got a bevy of  food establishments around the neighborhood but few are actually that good. Luckily for me, in the past year or so some fantastic spots have opened up that I visit quite frequently (Bar Corvo, Barboncino, and Pete Zaaz to name a few).

Prospect/Crown Heights has a variety of cuisines available but Kimchi Grill’s fusion of Korean and Mexican is definitely new and to some, completely unheard of! As a fan of their truck I knew what to expect but was still surprised with the offerings at their brick and mortar location! Eat in or take out, Kimchi Grill offers up great service and food either way.

The small menu focuses on tacos, burritos and bowls. The open kitchen is a nice touch, so you can see first hand how fresh the ingredients are and the careful attention they put towards each and every order. I went with a burrito that no joke was the size of my giant size 10 feet (see comparison below with my large wallet and a large avocado) and headed home to enjoy this burrito behemoth on my comfy couch.

If you like spice, you will love this spot. With kimchi featured prominently, I had to kick up the heat with their signature dish and so added their special kimchi rice and signature spicy sauce to my grilled korean bbq short rib burrito. This thing was tremendously flavorful and left me super full (perhaps I should split this with someone next time?). Priced at $9, the burrito was a complete meal at a great price considering the ginormous size of it (seriously how did I manage to eat the entire thing!?).

Kimchi Grill is a FANTASTIC addition to Prospect/Crown Heights! It’s got it all….delicious and affordable food with super excellent service! I love love love this place and can’t wait to go back! Come and check it out for yourself!

Kimchi Grill

766 Washington Avenue (between Park and Sterling Places)

Having a party soon? Then you MUST make this dip! I brought to a friends housewarming this past weekend and it was a hit! Jazz up your dip display and serve alongside salsa, hummus and the like! I made a big batch Saturday morning and it was gone by Sunday night! Enjoy this super healthy, fresh and tasty dip!

Ingredients:

• 1 package (12 oz) shelled edamame
• 1 cup roughly chopped and tightly packed cilantro (including stems)
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 avocado, peeled and pit removed
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1-2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp hot sauce (I used tabasco)
• 1 tsp sesame oil

To Make:

• Place raw uncooked edamame in food processor and pulse several times
• Add cilantro and pulse for ten seconds
• add remaining ingredients (lemon juice, sesame oil, hot sauce, yogurt, avocado, water and salt) and pulse until pureed
• add more water if you want a smoother consistency and adjust seasonings if need be
• serve with crudite or pita chips
• enjoy!

Starting tonight, enjoy $10 pastas every Monday night after 9:30pm at Soho’s Osteria Morini! This is a great deal considering all of their pastas are between $19-$20 in price… but I hope you like to eat late!

And if you wanna catch a glimpse of the restaurateur/chef himself…. Michael White will be in the house tonight to help kick off this great special!

Osteria Morini

218 Lafayette Street (between Spring and Kenmare Streets)

Grilling season is here ya’ll!!! Before working at an upscale meat distributor for two years, I was clueless as to the different types of beef, grades, and how to cook it properly (medium rare always to achieve maximum flavor). But now I’m a meat machine and cooking (and eating) steaks are a summertime must!

So check out my handy tips for buying and cooking beef! Perhaps you need a quick refresher or maybe you need all the help you can get!?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

First…some suggestions on how to make your next steak meal the best ever…

1) Choose the right cut of meat (more on that later)

2) Choose the right quality of meat (again more on that later)

3) Season early (give the salt a chance to permeate the meat and not just end up on the pan or grill if you season right before)

4) Take your steaks out of the fridge early (steaks at room temp season better and cook faster)

5) Don’t touch it! (leave your steak alone and let it go….find out how long it takes to cook and stick to that- only flip once and make a quarter turn once on each side)! The more you touch the steak, the better chance you have of messing it up!

6) Re-create a restaurant quality presentation! Create cross-hatch marks if you can (when you use a grill) by setting it at a 45 degree angle and giving it a quarter turn once on each side!

7) Keep it Simple! Don’t mask the great meat flavor with a whole bunch of marinades, rubs, and sauces. Unless it’s of lesser quality… let the steak be and enjoy the rich flavor of a great steak!

8) ENJOY!

______________________________________________________________________

How to Buy:

*Beef Grading

Prime: has the highest level of marbling and is mostly found at high-end steakhouses and specialty stores (only 2-3 % of beef is awarded this prestigious grade)

Choice: less marbling than prime but is still high-quality and juicy- widely available

Select: little marbling and is somewhat tougher and less tasty than choice- its pretty cheap and widely available

*Steak Labels: Decoded!

Natural/All-Natural: doesn’t contain artificial flavorings, colors or preservatives but doesn’t guarantee that animals haven’t been given hormones or antibiotics

USDA Organic: everything the cow consumed was 100% organic and it was given access to pasture

Pasture-Raised: it should mean that the animal roamed and grazed freely but it probably means that they did very little of that. there is no time requirement for this certification, so they could have been out there for a day, few weeks or a few months. hopefully its the former but double-check with your butcher to make sure

Grass-Fed: animals are fed only pasture grasses and hay but unless it has the “USDA Process Verified” or “American Grassfed” designation that claim cannot be guaranteed

Animal-Welfare-Approved: this is an independent nonprofit org seal of approval that indicates animal was raised outdoors and farmer followed rigorous standards

Steak (Photo credit: tarale)

How to Cook:

To Grill: heat grill to medium high, oil the grate to prevent sticking (and swipe with paper towels to remove excess), and grill steak to desired doneness! 

To Sear: heat 1 tsp oil in large skillet over medium high heat and cook to desired doneness

To Broil: heat broiler to high and broil steak to desired doneness

After All: let your steak rest on cutting board, loosely tented with foil, for 5 minutes before slicing- this allows meat fibers to relax and re-distribute juices for maximum flavor!

*Best Cuts for Pan Searing:

• Sirloin Steak (aka top butt, butt steak, top sirloin butt, top sirloin steak, center-cut roast) – just like butter with a tremendous beef flavor

• Flap Meat Steak (aka top sirloin tips, beef sirloin tips, sirloin tip steak) – tender and fun to chew

*Best Cuts for Grilling:

• Flank Steak (aka London Broil)- pleasant mild flavor

• Skirt Steak (aka Fajita Meat) – rich and fatty

*Special Butcher Cuts to Seek Out:

• Hanger Steak (aka hanging tenderloin or butchers steak) – bold, brash beef flavor

• Flat Iron Steak (aka blade steak) – great beef flavor, tender and chewy

Now get to cooking!

Filed under: McKenzies Recommenzies ]]> http://mmmguide.com/2012/05/11/mckenzies-recommenzies-steak-101/feed/ 0 themmmguide beef cut ottamanelli Steak http://mmmguide.com/2012/05/10/my-latest-obsession-meatball-obsession/ http://mmmguide.com/2012/05/10/my-latest-obsession-meatball-obsession/#comments Thu, 10 May 2012 13:44:33 +0000 themmmguide http://mmmguide.com/?p=6145 Continue reading →]]>

I never win anything….well I won a free Gold’s Gym membership when I was 11 but they rescinded the offer when they realized my age ;(. So having no luck in the past 28 years, I was surprised when I found out I won free meatballs for a year via a Twitter promotion to Meatball Obsession!

Honestly they probably couldn’t have randomly picked a better person… for one, I LOVE Meatballs, and secondly, I will be taking advantage of this prize and blowing up their spot. So last night I went to pick up my free meatball gift card and meet the owners and staff.

These people are amazing… I wish that every restaurant/food owner was as enthusiastic, genuine and friendly as the folks at Meatball Obsession. In addition to my gift card I was given a congratulations balloon and paraded around the sidewalk taking photos and meeting people… for one hot second I was a mini celebrity but then reality set in and I had to get down to business as I had to eat my first meatball!

Ordering is super easy and the menu isn’t complicated (why should it be? these are meatballs after all!). Choose your meatball (beef, turkey or pork sausage), choose your style (original in a cup with sauce and foccacia bread for dipping- single, double or triple portion or as a pocket sandwich with meatballs and sauce tucked into a piece of ciabatta), then choose your topping (first is free, additional are 50 cents). Once you’ve done that, pay, wait a minute or two and then get ready to devour that sucker.

*Single Turkey “Naples Style”*

For my first order, I went with a single turkey meatball “Naples Style” which meant the ball was topped with fresh herbs, mozzarella cheese pearls, and extra virgin olive oil. Why turkey and not beef or pork (the latter being my favorite ball choice)? Well Paul (the CEO) divulged that each turkey ball is only 90 calories! 90 calories yes, but not when you add the sauce, focaccia bread, cheese, herbs and olive oil but still….that’s amazing!!!!

How was the meal? Fantastic, even with the staff and people on the street watching my every bite It had the perfect ratio of meat, sauce and bread. You could really taste the meat in this meatball (little filler in the form of bread crumbs) and it was very hardy with a great spice to it. The sauce? Oh, it’s thick, fresh and rich. After devouring the meatball I sopped up the rest of the perfect sauce with the fluffy focaccia. I am not the biggest fan of red sauce (so many are bland or too sweet) but this “Sunday Sauce” is good enough to change my mind (or at least pledge allegiance to this red sauce alone).

The single clocked in at under $6 and left me full for the rest of the night which is unbelievable considering my voracious appetite. This quick service take out joint is really awesome…. great food, reasonable prices (nothing is over $10), and fantastic service. I highly recommend getting your ball on here….meatballs in NYC may seem like the current trend but how many pizza and falafel joints are in town? They don’t freak out and put them under intense scrutiny when more than one open up do they? No. Meatballs are not a fad, almost every cuisine in the world has one in some form or another… so let’s put a stop to calling this a fad and call it what it is… awesome.

So I’ve got a year to eat all the meatballs in the world  at this place…. let’s see how many tasty combinations I can create. The name couldn’t be more dead on… my latest obsession is MEATBALL OBSESSION!

Meatball Obsession

510 6th Avenue (between 13th and 14th Streets)

Did you know May is National Hamburger Month??? Well to celebrate, Burger Conquest, the ultimate burger blog, is hosting an entire weeks worth of fun celebrating the almighty burger in a week-long series of events dubbed NY Burger Week!

From Sunday, May 13th- Sunday, May 20th Burger Conquest and Thrillist have teamed up to bring some truly unforgettable burger and craft beer events to NYC! Check them out!

All Week Long: Get Booze-Spike Shakes and Off the Menu Burgers at Stand4for $30 (includes 3 sliders, hot fries, tempura bread and butter pickles, 2 craft drafts and 1 spiked shake! Tickets can be purchased here!

Monday May 14th: Off the Menu, Wild Game Burgers and Craft Beers at Pour George for $29.00 (includes 4 rare meat sliders, 4 craft beers, order of fingerling frites)! Purchase tickets here!

Wednesday May 16th: Iron Maiden Beer and Burger Pairing at Idle Hands w/ That Burger for $30.00 (includes 3 full pours and 6 tastes from Smuttynose, Victory and Blue Point breweries paired to Iron Maiden’s Piece of Mind album , 4 sliders from That Burger, and one order of tater tots with off menu dipping sauces)! Purchase tickets here!

Friday May 18th: In conjunction with American Craft Beer Week… enjoy a Locavore Burger Spread-Off at Jimmy’s No. 43 for only $35.00 (includes unlimited mini burgers with an assortment of local artisanal toppings and unlimited samplings of American craft beers)! This event is not to be missed so purchase your tickets here!

Friday May 18th: Beachfront Burger and Beer Bash at Beekman Beer Garden near South Street Seaport with views of Brooklyn and Manhattan! Enjoy 2 craft beers, a custom Pat LaFrieda burger with cheese, and dance the night away with 2 djs and a live band that will keep the party going till 1 am! Want an unforgettable evening? Purchase your tickets asap!

Saturday May 19th: The peeps at iAdventure and Burger Conquest have teamed up to bring New York’s first ever burger crawl!!! This amazing 6 hour afternoon of boozing and burger eating in the East Village may be the best event of the week! Choose from three different ticket options to enjoy this great event ($20, $30 and $40)! Grab your friends and get ready to crawl!!!

Sunday, May 20th: To cap off a great week, Rub BBQ is hosting an exclusive off the menu Burger Bash! Enjoy 4 off the menu burgers, two craft beers, and one order of fries or onion strings for $44.95! Purchase your tickets here!

After a long day full of meetings, bike rides, and conference calls, I had a hankering for one of my favorite comfort foods… pillowy soft gnocchi slathered in butter and cheese

So with a few items in the fridge I concocted this simple and satisfying meal. It was just what I needed after my long day and eating this while sitting on the couch watching my backlog of dvr shows brought me such joy. I hope you enjoy eating this as much as I did

Ingredients:

• 1 lb gnocchi
• 3 small zucchini, thinly sliced into “ribbons”
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium shallots, chopped
• zest of 2 lemons
• 2 TBL butter
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• salt and pepper

To Make:

• Bring water to a boil and cook gnocchi until they float till the top
• drain, rinse with water and set aside
• melt butter in skillet over medium high heat and cook butter until brown (about 2 minutes)
• add shallots and zucchini and cook until softened (2-3 minutes)
• add tomatoes, salt and pepper and cook until tomatoes are about to break down (2 minutes)
• stir in parmesan, parsley and gnocchi and toss to coat
• enjoy!

Shake Shack (Photo credit: thenewyorkbroker.com)

Get to your nearest Shake Shack pronto for The Great American Shake Sale! From now until May 31 all Shake Shack guests who donate $2 or more to Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign will receive a complimentary shake, valued at $5, on their next visit!!

So ya not only do you get a $2 milkshake but you also help benefit No Kid Hungry, which aims to raise awareness and funds to end childhood hunger in America.

Share Our Strength (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One hundred percent of the donations will benefit No Kid Hungry, and the amazing folks at Shake Shack has committed to raising a minimum of $25,000!

***Offer available at all Shake Shack locations in NYC (not Citi Field), Miami, DC, and Connecticut

Fried pizza… it’s all the rage in New York now. Of course I had to taste it for myself and thus went with three of my favorite foodie friends to check out La Montanara, sister restaurant to Forcella in the East Village and Williamsburg.

Well not only is the pizza fried, nearly everything on the menu is fried in some way or another! Although it’s called fried pizza, the only thing that is fried is the dough… which is flash fried for 30 seconds then topped with sauce and various ingredients and finished in the oven. The result is pretty darn good but the hands down best part of this entire pizza is the dough…the only criticism I have is that the house made mozzarella cheese on my pizza hadn’t fully melted but had on others. But the fried crust is fantastic…. its crunchy, chewy and doesn’t taste greasy.

The pizza at La Montanara is deliciously different. Next time I find myself drinking on the LES or in the East Village… I’m heading straight for them! This my friends is the PERFECT drunk food

La Montanara

168 Ludlow Street (between Stanton and Houston Streets)

image via brotherjimmys.com

Put on your fancy hats and sombreros because this Saturday, May 5th brings together two fun and exciting celebrations into one helluva day! All across the country people will be downing margaritas and mint juleps side by side as we ring in the 138th Kentucky Derby and celebrate the crushing of Napoleon and the French Army in Mexico.

Still in need of a place to celebrate? Check out these Derby Day and Cinco de Mayo Specials going on all around the city….

Cinco de Derby: Celebrate both events at Studio Square where they are hosting a 2 for 1 special in their outdoor garden from 12-close! Enjoy live music, a bonnet and sombrero contest, mint julep and margarita specials, door prizes and a dj all day/night long!

Derby de Mayo: Brother Jimmy’s celebrates Derby de Mayo with a bottomless shindig from 5-7 features 2 hours of bottomless drinks and a bbq buffet! Get your tickets via Thrillist here!

Kentucky Derby:

Lowcountry: Watch the race while sipping down $38 Julep pitchers!

The Bell House: It’s a down home derby day party at the Bell House! Wear your finest (prizes will be given out to the best dressed) and dance the day away with a live dj and $6 mint juleps!

Maison Premiere: Enjoy a Derby Day soiree from 3-7pm with a barbecue, mint juleps, and music from the house band. But instead of screening the race, they will do it old school by broadcasting through an old fashioned radio!

Brooklyn Winery: The Brooklyn Derby party at Brooklyn Winery may be the best party in town! For just $75 you can party like you’re in Louisville with a 4 hour open bar and buffet while watching the race on the large screen outside in their courtyard!

Southern Hospitality (Hell’s Kitchen): Run for the Roses from 1-7pm with $3 Abita Drafts, $6 Frozen Mint Juleps and Fried Chicken Specials during the race!

The Brickyard: Dress up in your race day finest (prizes will be given out to the best attire) and head to Hells Kitchen where you can down $5 Mint Juleps all day long.

Cinco de Mayo:

Pampano: $6 margaritas and cocktails and $4 cervezas from 5pm-close!

Gran Electrica: Party outside all day at their new back garden that overlooks the Brooklyn Bridge with live music and tasty mexican eats!

Mex Fest at South Street Seaport: Pay as you go food truck festival of Mexican infused eats, treats and drinks from the likes of Luke’s Lobster, Souvlaki GR, Frites n Meats, Kimchi Taco, Milk Truck, Eddie’s Pizza and More! $5 ticket gets you a sombrero, and voucher good for 1 beer, 1 michelada, 1 shot of tequila, 1 margarita or 2 tacos! $25 gets you a sombrero and 5 tickets to the above items.

Rocking Horse Cafe: Enjoy 3 specially made Cinco de Mayo cocktails and tasty comidas (think mexican tapas) while you dance like you’ve never danced before with the mariachi band on hand all night long!

Rosa Mexicano: 10th Annual Festival includes a special menu, live music, prizes and giveaways!

675 Bar: Starting at 6pm celebrate with a mustache and sombrero party featuring margarita specials!

Of course, the minute I make the declaration that I hate cake and cupcakes, I find a cake that makes me weak in the knees! Last week I biked to Manhattan for a series of meetings and after biking close to 20 miles felt I deserved a sweet treat.

After dodging tourists left and right on the Brooklyn Bridge I began to sort through the places en route home that could satisfy my craving. I’d heard of the great red velvet cake at Cake Man Raven many times but being that I prefer pie, never ventured in. So when I passed it and hadn’t come up with a substitute in mind, figured why not taste this celebrated treat!?

It’s a simple storefront with display cases FILLED with slices of red velvet cakes in see-through plastic boxes. I inquired as to their other cakes and found that the only other option (for that day) was a pineapple upside down cake (their selection includes a yellow cake, chocolate, and coconut). But Cake Man Raven is known for its southern style red velvet so I went with their most popular slice. At $6, you get a piece of cake that is nearly bursting out of the package… this thing can feed two people easily!

Before departing, the lady at the counter gave me a tip that I MUST share with you all. I planned on walking out to a nearby bench and digging in but she suggested I microwave the cake for 10 seconds (and not a second more) to really enjoy my slice. So I took her advice, biked home and sliced the cake in two (I had to do a taste test!). While the cake is great at room temperature, it is absolutely amazing warmed up a little bit. The creamy frosting melts just a smidge over the moist dough which literally melts in your mouth with each bite.

After getting one bite of the slightly warm slice I quickly popped the room temp cake into the microwave for 10 seconds and went to town. My boyfriend would have been abhorred at the sight of my blissful happiness as I ate every last bit of this monstrous piece of cake. Thankfully, he was at work

Cake Man Raven

708 Fulton Street (between S Oxford St and S Portland Ave) *Fort Greene