A Little Sushi with Your Swisher?

A distinction: I am NOT a Yankee, but I am now a Yankees fan.  I attended Yankees games on both Thursday night and Saturday afternoon.  On Thursday, I was in the nosebleed section while on Saturday, I enjoyed cushy seats and waitress service from the 9th row behind 3rd base.  Different views, same great baseball experience. 

While I wanted to watch the action on the field, my main concern was completing the research necessary to perform a comprehensive food comparison between Yankee Stadium and Citi Field.  I think Citi Field wins overall, thanks to Shake Shack, but I was intrigued by one thing at Yankee Stadium: sushi.

At a sporting event, I want game food.  The act of balancing a basket of greasy food on your lap while still trying to stand and cheer for an amazing play is almost a sport of its own.  Sushi is awkward and requires too much coordination.  Who wants to weild chopsticks at a baseball game?  Instead, over the course of two games, I opted for Carl's Cheesesteaks, Nathan's cheese fries, a Lobel's roast beef sandwich, and of course the very reasonably priced $5 bottle of water.

(In case you didn't get the reference in the post title, Swisher is a player for the Yankees.)

Prepping my Lobel's

Book Review: Midwives

This novel was a quick but good read recommended by my Mommy (and Oprah). At the center is the ethical dilemma of whether or not a midwife is guilty of murdering a patient.  Minus a point or two because while there was resolution to each character's issues, many things were handled from a surface perspective (part of why it was such a quick read).  Overall, the idea of doubt is interesting and how it plays within the courtroom space even more so.

Mostly, I liked this book because I enjoy saying "midwifery," pronounced "midwiffery.

Finding Nemo

At about 5 PM today, I got a yen for fish tacos.  Not sure why I suddenly craved the West Coast specialty, but I was hungry and it was pretty much all I could think about.  My stomach led me to the nearest Whole Foods so I could pick up all the ingredients.  Since it was my first attempt at fish tacos, I enlisted the help of the perky man at the seafood counter who helped me choose the appropriate scaly friend.  With his assistance, Nemo made it on my plate by 8 PM.

After spending my entire San Diego/LA trip trying to track down the best fish tacos in SoCal, I can now say that the best fish tacos can be found Chez Tess.  I topped my grilled swordfish with a homemade chili-lime slaw, pico de gallo, and avocado.  It was delicious!  But more importantly, it satisfied my craving and took no time to make.  On the side, I ate beets with mangoes in a cilantro raspberry vinaigrette, courtesy of the Whole Foods prepared foods section.  And now for the perfect end to the meal, I'll be eating Haagen-Dazs' Creme Brulee ice cream (complete with swirl of caramelized sugar)...straight from the pint of course.

Kellari's a Keeper

After some last minute changes in plans on Saturday night, we found ourselves walking into Kellari Taverna for dinner.  We didn't have a reservation but were seated immediately.  If you're wondering about the restaurant's credibility due to the fact that there was no hour-long wait, I'll have you know it was recently featured on Gossip Girl; and if B and S grace a restaurant with their presence, it must be good. 

We snacked on the hummus, bread, radishes, and olives on the table while examining the menu before coming to our food decisions.  For appetizers, we ordered some ultra creamy tzaziki and a wonderful octopus salad.  The octopus was lightly dressed, warm, and not at all tough.  In other words: perfect.  Seeing as how fish is the house specialty, I ordered dorado.  It was very tasty, but I found a couple bones.  I can safely say there is no demure or ladylike way to pull fish bones out of your mouth in a fancy restaurant.  We ordered the potatoes, spinach, and asparagus sides as well since the menu was à la carte style.  Everything was very lightly seasoned to pull out the best, natural flavors of the dishes.  We finished the meal with the baklava, which was delicious - more melt in your mouth than chewy, as baklava should be.

Kellari is not cheap, but if you want fresh, well-prepared fish, it is a great place to keep in mind.  While I am a carnivore through and through, I have a couple of ::gasp:: veggie-minded pals, and it is nice to have a reliable vegetarian-friendly restaurant in the arsenal.  I think this is a little better than directing them to the make-your-own salad station at Europa.  Though if they are completely vegetarian and do not even eat fish...I don't really know where to tell you to go.  Is there a celery store?

Bacon Makes Everything Better

Wowee zowee, this is my 100th post.  In honor of this auspicious occasion, I knew this blog entry would have to be a doozie, and what better subject than BACON. 

Yesterday was Sunday Funday, so Dave and I headed to Brooklyn to check out Matt and Jen's new digs.  That was not a typo - I actually hopped on the L and went to Brooklyn yesterday.  I don't think I'm quite cool enough to be in Williamsburg full time (read: I don't look like a Jonas Brother), but after 3 years in NYC, I figured it was time to give the BK a chance.  Turns out, there are some pretty cool things in Williamsburg.  Matt and Jen have an amazing apartment and happen to live next to 2 check-out worthy (and cheap) places:

1. Carmines pizza - delish.  I had one with chicken and bacon.  Bacon on pizza is a wonderful idea.  I also spied one that was comprised of a chicken ceasar salad on top of the slice.  Interesting...
2. Uncle Louie G's Italian Ice - TONS of flavors; and now that I am the proud owner of a loyalty card, I intend to try them all.  Thus far, black raspberry proved to be pretty solid.

But don't think the bacon stopped at the pizza.  What's Sunday Funday without brunch drinks?  Sunday Borningday.  Mimosas and bloodies were the perfect accompaniment to our steak and eggs, but the kicker was the vodka.  BACON VODKA.  I suppose it was only a matter of time before someone infused the nectar of the gods with the best meat around.  It added a little something extra to the bloody marys.  At only $30 a bottle, this is cheap (and yummy) enough to keep in your freezer for on-going brunch occasions.

Gleek Out

Yayyyy Glee's back!  Last night's episode was not the best ever (mostly due to Will/Emma cheesiness), but it definitely satisfied me, primarily because of the following lines:

• Kurt: (in response to Will's question how everyone answers the phone) No, she's dead; this is her son.
• Brittany: Did you know dolphins are just gay sharks?

The show was also bumped to greatness by showing me my Broadway dream, realized.  Idina Menzel as a guest star yessss!  To top it off, we got to see Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff together again.  Loved the sexual chemistry...minus the fact that Groff is actually of the homosexual persuasion.  But it took me back to when I saw their respective boobs and booty from about 2 feet away in Spring Awakening - aaah memories.

Hi Tess, How Was the Ice Age? Welcome to the New Millennium.

I am sooo cool.  Er actually, I'm about as cool as the rest of the world already is.  I now - finally - have a smartphone.  The Droid Eris, to be more precise.  It's a whole new world - internet! touchpad! apps!  But if you're reading this, don't call me - I still don't know how to use it.