September 13th 2008/April 17th 2009-
The Boat Basin is the perfect Upper West Side neighborhood place to go in the summer when you just want to lay low, have an unpretentious bite to eat, relax, gaze at the river, and not spend your life's savings on a meal. There are families there, young people, old people, people looking to meet people, and even really cute dogs....everyone is welcome. At night, it feels more like you are at someone's fantastic house for a summer barbeque. The food isn't bad either. The cheeseburger, is no Soho Park burger (my fav), but it will do. It is better with a side of horseradish sauce. The tuna wraps are my favorite.... tuna, avocado and wasabi mayo is a perfect marriage. You can even order a glass of wine without breaking a ten. I feel at home here. I will be back.....with friends.....all summer long!
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Soho Park / Balthazar / Vosges
September 5th-
My sister flew into town this morning, and after allowing her to catch her breath, we headed to Soho for lunch and shopping. Soho Park, as I've mentioned to everyone who knows me, is my favorite place to go for a cheeseburger. If I'm hungry, and we're in Soho, that is my destination. The place is just cool. It has a hip vibe, a lot of young people are always eating here, and the music is an awesome omage to the eighties. The burgers are juicy and full of flavor..... it isn't the giant eight pound patty of dried up meat that I seem to find all over New York. The bun is soft and moist, and the sauce they put on is a perfect compliment. It is just burger perfection, and the airy, fun atmosphere puts the cherry on top. You don't have to sit amoungst annoying parents and their poiled toddlers like at the Upper West Side Shake Shack, or amoungst tourists at the Shack's Madison Square Park location, and these are just better burgers anyway. After lunch, we managed to shop for hours in Soho....searching for vintage shops while finding others along the way. I managed to fall in love with a handbag, and met my newest Steve Madden obsession......a pair of black patent leather peep toe booties.....to die for. By this time, lunch was way worn off and Kristi, tired from her early morning wake up call, wanted to have a bite and a break. I thought......Balthazar! Of course! We were just barely able to get a table in the bar area, but it was nice to sit down. What did we order? Steak tartare .....and the only acceptable beverage to accompany it.......champagne! Kristi was on vaca after all, and when she told me she had never tried tartare, I insisted we order it. After a few glasses of champagne, I could no longer resist my newest obsession, and we went directly to Steve Madden to acquire them. To celebrate......chocolate! We set out for Vosges. Now, I am not a big fan of chocolate, or of any sweets for that matter, but Vosges makes a curry coconut chocolate truffle that I can never refuse! That was the perfect end to our adventure in Soho.
My sister flew into town this morning, and after allowing her to catch her breath, we headed to Soho for lunch and shopping. Soho Park, as I've mentioned to everyone who knows me, is my favorite place to go for a cheeseburger. If I'm hungry, and we're in Soho, that is my destination. The place is just cool. It has a hip vibe, a lot of young people are always eating here, and the music is an awesome omage to the eighties. The burgers are juicy and full of flavor..... it isn't the giant eight pound patty of dried up meat that I seem to find all over New York. The bun is soft and moist, and the sauce they put on is a perfect compliment. It is just burger perfection, and the airy, fun atmosphere puts the cherry on top. You don't have to sit amoungst annoying parents and their poiled toddlers like at the Upper West Side Shake Shack, or amoungst tourists at the Shack's Madison Square Park location, and these are just better burgers anyway. After lunch, we managed to shop for hours in Soho....searching for vintage shops while finding others along the way. I managed to fall in love with a handbag, and met my newest Steve Madden obsession......a pair of black patent leather peep toe booties.....to die for. By this time, lunch was way worn off and Kristi, tired from her early morning wake up call, wanted to have a bite and a break. I thought......Balthazar! Of course! We were just barely able to get a table in the bar area, but it was nice to sit down. What did we order? Steak tartare .....and the only acceptable beverage to accompany it.......champagne! Kristi was on vaca after all, and when she told me she had never tried tartare, I insisted we order it. After a few glasses of champagne, I could no longer resist my newest obsession, and we went directly to Steve Madden to acquire them. To celebrate......chocolate! We set out for Vosges. Now, I am not a big fan of chocolate, or of any sweets for that matter, but Vosges makes a curry coconut chocolate truffle that I can never refuse! That was the perfect end to our adventure in Soho.
Royal Kabab & Curry
September 19th-
It was a perfect evening.....cold enough for a soft, comforting sweater, yet warm enough not to abandon my flip flops. We decided to go somewhere we had never been before, and since Nathan was tired from a long week of work, I suggested we stay in our hood this time......but a part of our hood that we seldom venture to.......north of west 95th. We set out down Broadway and nothing seemed to quite fit what we were looking for until we stumbled upon this tiny little authentic looking Indian restaurant on 103rd. We decided to give it a try. After looking around and then reading the menu, we had to laugh and agree, that, yes, this was probably authentic Indian food. Carafes of wine were referred to as "crafts" on the wine list, and when I asked what kind of wine they had I was told "red or white". The staff was made up of what seemed to be a family. They were all very sweet. It was very charming and down to earth. They were even playing Indian music in the background. (There is nothing worse than going to an "ethnic" restaurant, and being made to listen to Ace of Base.) We ordered our usual.....Nathan, the chicken tikka, and me, the mutter paneer. Along side of this we had garlic naan and riatha, which weren't the best ever, but they were ok. Our entrees were good. Nathan's was better than mine. I would have liked to have more paneer. All in all, it was a nice meal. The food was good and the energy was happy. We left satisified and with a to go menu in hand.
It was a perfect evening.....cold enough for a soft, comforting sweater, yet warm enough not to abandon my flip flops. We decided to go somewhere we had never been before, and since Nathan was tired from a long week of work, I suggested we stay in our hood this time......but a part of our hood that we seldom venture to.......north of west 95th. We set out down Broadway and nothing seemed to quite fit what we were looking for until we stumbled upon this tiny little authentic looking Indian restaurant on 103rd. We decided to give it a try. After looking around and then reading the menu, we had to laugh and agree, that, yes, this was probably authentic Indian food. Carafes of wine were referred to as "crafts" on the wine list, and when I asked what kind of wine they had I was told "red or white". The staff was made up of what seemed to be a family. They were all very sweet. It was very charming and down to earth. They were even playing Indian music in the background. (There is nothing worse than going to an "ethnic" restaurant, and being made to listen to Ace of Base.) We ordered our usual.....Nathan, the chicken tikka, and me, the mutter paneer. Along side of this we had garlic naan and riatha, which weren't the best ever, but they were ok. Our entrees were good. Nathan's was better than mine. I would have liked to have more paneer. All in all, it was a nice meal. The food was good and the energy was happy. We left satisified and with a to go menu in hand.
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