3 on Thursday

I guess it has officially turned into "the season".  The one where every weekend is packed with things to do and people to see.  I can't complain - every one of those events is a fun escape with friends - but sometimes it's important to stop and enjoy something all alone, like a scrumptious pie...

After meeting friends in Flatiron, I decided I deserved a pie (or two) so I stopped into Hill Country Chicken for a sweet treat.  I couldn't decided which one to get so I rendered the decision unnecessary and got both.  First I tried the sour cherry for something truly fruity.  I enjoyed it, but it was totally upstaged by the special of the month: strawberry lemonade pie with a meringue topping and poppyseed crust.  It was the perfect combo of tart and sweet.

I'm a big fan of PJ Clarke's and always order the same thing: bacon cheeseburger.  But when Lindsay and I decided to stay and grab a bite after our first weekly happy hour meeting (yes, we started a happy hour club - I recommend it), we decided to also order the potato chips with blue cheese dip appetizer.  The blue cheese dip was basically fondue with extra chunks of blue cheese.  I may have gone up a jean size by the time the appetizer course was done, but it was worth it.

This city is not lacking in random festivals and the Cinco de Mayo party we attended on Saturday is a great example.  When we signed up and paid our $20, we only had Yacht Rock on the brain.  We heard they would be performing on a pier and bought tickets.  Apparently, a full fiesta came with the concert so we were able to enjoy tacos, cervesas, Mexican face painting, a mariachi band, and Mexican wrestling.  Aside from Yacht Rock, the wrestling was my favorite part of the day.  The performers had great names like Phat Pat, The Nerd, and Spider and the acting was awesomely bad.

BLZ

I had just a couple slices of bacon left in my fridge and my mind started reeling with the possibilities since, really, you can put bacon in just about anything.  My first thought was to make a BLT.  I thought it might be a great time to re-create a fried green tomato BLT I had at a restaurant, but then I decided to take it a step further with the BLZ: bacon, lettuce, and zucchini.  The taste is similar and the name rhymes with that of the original so I figured I wasn't straying too far from my starting point.

I crisped up applewood smoked bacon while I coated slices of zucchini with flour, egg, and panko bread crumbs and quickly pan fried them.  The zucchini only took a minute to fry up and remained juicy inside their golden brown casing.  After layering the zucchini, bacon, and lettuce, I smeared the top piece of toast with a thick layer of lemon pepper mayonnaise.  Because I hate runny and/or mealy tomatoes, and that's a risk you have to take when you work with them, I actually preferred using the zucchini.  No risk necessary.  Each layer of the sandwich - bread included - has a distinct crunch that makes this sandwich so gratifying.

Book Review: Blood, Bones & Butter

Now that I have (I hope) reached full foodie status, it's hard for me to resist a foodie book.  How can I turn away something that combines two of my favorite things, food and reading?  I was particularly drawn to Gabrielle Hamilton's memoir, Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef because I absolutely love her restaurant, Prune.  The book is way more than a behind the scenes look at the popular restaurant; in fact, the restaurant barely plays into the story.  What Hamilton does discuss is a somewhat tumultuous upbringing that led her to lie about her age and begin working in the restaurant industry.

A significant portion of the book is devoted to Hamilton's frank description of the drug infested restaurant industry.  While this is fun, I felt I'd been there, done that with Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential.  The last third of the book deals with Hamilton's crumbling marriage, one she entered after years of lesbianism to help get her male lover a green card.  While the marriage was a weird combination of adoration and convenience it results in annual trips to Italy and two children that made for interesting reading.  Interesting but somewhat out of place after the first more scandalous half of the book.  I enjoyed it, but found it a little disjointed.  I feel a follow-up is needed so we can learn more about Hamilton's life post-divorce.

2.75 out of 5 stars.

Feeling Blue

I have been to Atlantic Grill often, but I have never been to its big brother, Blue Water Grill, in Union Square.  The menus are similar and by that I mean they both serve no nonsense fish; however, Blue Water Grill is in a far more grandiose space that I now know is an old bank.  The ceilings are sky high with a large daisy design and the main area is a split-level so you get the panache that a staircase always adds to a room.  

The fish was perfectly cooked and my swordfish steak managed to flake apart and not dry out as is often the case.  It was blackened and served over a sweet potato and crab hash and a red curry cream broth.  I liked having the sweetness of the hash to take down the spiciness of the blackened seasoning.  I actually preferred eating the sweet potatoes and crab separately since the potatoes have a strong flavor that can drown out the crab.  You probably know Blue Water Grill serves great fish, but when true seafood-only restaurants are harder to find, it's worth repeating. 

  

3 on Thursday

It seems that my weeks have turned into tightropes between major weekends.  Here's what I've been up to while I try to keep my balance.

While scouting bars that could serve as the new home of the NYC Dawgs, I grabbed a bite at The Australian.  The owner was raving about the kangaroo and brought some out, compliments of the house.  I have to say, I enjoyed it.  The sweet chili sauce paired nicely with the lean meat.  Happy to say I'm a 'roo lover, but then again, I'm a sucker for Australian accents.

In last week's "3 on Thursday", I told you about The Color Run and how cool it would be even though I don't have the stamina to run 3.1 miles.  I couldn't get it out of my head and considered signing up for a race.  I even looked it up and found out The Color Run happens all over the country, including NYC.  When Jimmy Fallon tweeted his followers the next day requesting recommendations for apps that help you train for a 5K, I figured some larger force was guiding me to the starting line.  I downloaded the app everyone suggested, Couch-to-5K, which takes you from zero to 5K through a too-good-to-be-true schedule.  Just 30 minutes per day, three days per week, for eight weeks and I'm supposed to be race-ready.  People swear by it.  I started training on Monday and so far I love it.  I now plan to sign up for NYC's Color Run (on August 25th) as soon as registration opens.  Wish me luck! 

Almondictive Bits have become a new Trader Joe's favorite find.  A few of these dark chocolate covered candied almonds will satisfy your sweet tooth.

Cream Cheese Corn

I'm always looking for ways to spice up vegetables, corn in particular.  I don't end up making corn all that often because, as a side dish, I find it a little boring.  Growing up, corn was the one vegetable my brother would eat while it was the one I found most lackluster.  I found the idea of eating it straight off the cob with those cute cob holders more appealing than the food itself.  I have a feeling, though, that if my mother had prepared corn like this, I would have eaten every bite.  It loses all nutritional value when prepared like this, you say?  Yup, sounds about right.  But guess what.  I don't care and my Mom should just be happy I'm now eating corn with such reckless abandon.  (And if I'm being honest, it's not all that bad for you if you use the light cream cheese, so rest easy.)

Combine one pound fresh or frozen corn (not canned), one tablespoon butter, and three ounces cream cheese (I use light) in a pan.  Once it's all heated through and the cream cheese has melted around all the corn kernels, add salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste.  That's it.

Yes to Yefsi

Saturday night I headed to Ashley's for dinner and drinks with her sister and friend.  We kicked off the Spring evening with champagne on the roof of Ash's building before heading around the corner to Yefsi for dinner.  Yefsi is a Greek restaurant that has a long list of appetizers that make it perfect for sharing tapas style (i.e.: perfect for a group of girls).  Though there are entrees on the menu, we opted for all apps because we knew they were on the larger side and it would allow us to try more things and decrease our total bill.  We ordered the fried calamari, horiatiki (traditional greek salad of tomato, cucumber, and feta), yefsi chips (fried zucchini and eggplant chips with tzatziki), octopodi (tender grilled octopus - my favorite of the evening), and halloumi (grilled cheese with citrus vinaigrette).  The food was wonderful and it seemed we ordered the perfect amount for our group of four.  Fair warning: the chef is not shy with the garlic, so make sure you bring some gum before meeting up with other friends.  Also wonderful was the wine.  Ashley knew what she was doing when it came to ordering because she had actually eaten there the previous weekend.  Once she confirmed we all liked Malbec, she ordered a fabulous wine that turned out to be the cheapest on the menu (though you wouldn't know by tasting it).

The food was delicious, authentic (I think, but, then again, I've never been to Greece), and reasonably priced.  It helps when the chef and owner previously worked at the city's top Greek restaurants, Molyvos and Milos.  Here, the food is just as good but comes with a more reasonable price tag.  Our entire bill, including wine and tax, came to $24 per person.  We left a hearty tip because the service was particularly good.  At the end of our meal, the manager brought out dessert wine and when he overheard us toasting Wellsley's birthday, he bought her a huge piece of cake.  That kind of service will keep me coming back...but the food already clinched that one.