Restaurant Review: 2.5

Summer time makes me crave good food and good people, and being out in the city definitley finds opportunity for some great eats. Somehow, I've found the extra $$ to fund this little hobby, but all for a good cause :)

Restaurant 1:
A few weeks ago, a girlfriend from college came in for a short and sweet little visit (Hey Jessie!!). I love having friends visit, especially now, because my I have a great group of college girls in NY but we all have our own lives and schedules and it's hard to get together - much harder than living in the same [pink & purple] house :) :)

So in Jessie's honor, we made reservations at Bond ST Sushi. They have a great upstairs restaurant, as well as swanky downstairs lounge. The lounge was perfect for us because with this many girls, our appetites are all over the charts. Sometimes going to restaurants and having everyone order just appetizers or just wine makes for an unhappy waiter. Ironically, this time around we all could not resist the amazing looking menu:


Tuna Avocado Tartare



Spicy Yellowtail



Mish-Mosh of delicious food


Amazing girls


Restaurants 2:
So part of my busy schedule the last month has been....APT HUNTING! I wish I was exaggerating in saying that it was slightly miserable, but - alas - it was painful. However, after mis-matching schedule conflicts, broker lies, $$$$, lots of walking/emails/phone calls to strangers and strangers apartments, we finally found a place! We felt like this a few times along the way, so we continuously decided to treat ourselves to a glass of wine/nice dinner to celebrate. This included one stop to Barbounia. The photos are beautiful on the wall and the decoration of the restaurant and the food was great! However, I think their AC may have been broken (??) so slightly uncomfortable, especially close to the kitchen!
Still we ate a really good meal to celebrate our new apartment and new roommates!


Munching food


Charred Octopus with shaved fennel salad, mint,
grapefruit & extra virgin olive oil


Red Snapper Ceviche with Tabbouleh, cherry tomato, cilantro, olive oil & lemon juice


Restaurant Review .5


Finally, what is a good meal without a great dessert? Especially with this ridiculous heat wave that has been coming through the city, some cold ice cream always does the trick. However, it's nice to throw a little curve ball in there and try something new right!? I stumbled upon this place in Hoboken, NJ called Miami Rice (creative name huh?) It's all these different flavors of rice pudding!! Flavors like Pistachio, Cinnamon Bun, Apple Pie, Canoli, Plain, Chocolate, etc. Then...there was gelato flavors - which you could mix and match with the rice pudding...and THEN there were toppings! Like graham crackers, chocolate candies, syrup, cereals, gummies galore.
Apparently some avid fans had created their own combinations that became so popular they got their name and recipe on the board (ummm yes please?)


Our two creations:
"Pistachio Bashio": Pistachio Rice Pudding, Vanilla bean gelato, graham crackers
"Holy Canoli": Rice Pudding, Canoli gelato, whipped cream, chocolate fudge, sprinkles

Holy Cow - a must visit :)

That's all for now folks - restaurant week is coming up so I'm hoping to get some more good ones in! Stay coooool