Stix

I think they nailed it in "There's Something About Mary" when they marvel at how there should be more food on sticks.  Food on a stick is portable and fun to eat and shouldn't be limited to corn dogs.  Stick food doesn't have to mean ballpark, as exemplified by Stix, a restaurant that focuses on - you guessed it - food on stix.

Even when the cuisine isn't All-American, I still think of stick food as fast food.  After all, it's meant for speedy eating when you don't have to slow down to use a knife and fork.  Stix goes the Mediterranean route and though the food may be eaten on the go, the food is fresher and the flavors more complex than the street cart or gyro place in the mall you typically go to for Mediterranean fast food.  I went with the chefs special, which is a meatball of sorts made with ground lamb and beef, red wine, cumin, and garlic.  I ordered it as a Stix Plus meal which comes with two sticks, a chopped Greek salad, roasted potatoes with rosemary, tzatziki, and pita bread.  The pita bread was a little oily but everything else was great.  The tzatziki was flavorful and perfect as a dipping sauce for the potatoes.  The salad was meant to be there, not some after thought of day old tomatoes and cucumbers thrown together with onions and feta.

Other than the pita being greasy, the only thing I didn't really like was the cheese spread.  It looked like pimento cheese so I got all excited, but the feta it was made with was just too salty.  No matter, my Stix Plus meal provided an ample portion so I didn't really need the cheese spread anyway.  Plus, the cheese spread isn't on a stick so I'm not sure it deserves a home at Stix anyway.

I like when you're able to order a meal and it comes as a meal.  You have the protein, a starch, and a salad/veggie.  So often when I order food, especially delivery food, I get one item.  A sandwich is just a sandwich, no side dish.  This lady needs sides to feel satisfied.  The food also held up well throughout delivery, which is nice.  No sogginess here.

 

Monday Reads

1. This is probably the best argument for a female, black SNL cast member I've read.
2. Can we please institute this form of payment for the NYC Subway?
3. Tons of my friends are participating in Tough Mudder races in an effort to prove how badass they are; but with one death and plenty of injuries on the books, are these races just too dangerous? I promise I'll still think you're a badass if you run a 10K without going under an electrified fence.
4. A study shows we're born with a moral code and we choose how to follow it. It also examines how our "groups" define what we perceive as good and bad. Plus there's chimps.

Autumn Harvest Salad

One if my great new cheese discoveries is dunbarton blue. It's a blue cheese with cheddar as the base. The texture is more like cheddar so it doesn't crumble the way you may be accustomed to. Even the people I was with who don't like blue cheese liked this one. I had to have more if it and thought a salad would be the best way to put it to use. 

Since cheddar goes really well with apples I figured they would also work with this cheese. I went with a sweeter apple (I used honeycrisp) to appeal to the blue part of the cheese. Finally, I threw in pine nuts because that's what I had on hand, but walnuts would really be great here. Top with a light vinaigrette and you have a great salad full of Fall flavors in only a few ingredients. 

Grace

This New York Times article got me all sorts of pumped.  I love a good Irish pub when it's filled with patrons.  It's not too stuffy and I can get my whiskey on.  I'm also into mixology because I think there is an art to crafting a good cocktail.  [Anything I haven't yet mastered is considered "art" to me.]  Grace combines both in one place.  And the best part: the entire menu was designed by female bartenders from the city's most well know craft cocktail bars.  Chicks are underrepresented in this scene so it's nice to see them getting some respect.  As Beyoncé would say, "Who run the world?  GIRLS."

We tried out Grace as my November pick immediately after going to Albert's pick, Whitman and Bloom.  Liz met up with us as soon as her Megabus pulled into town, suitcase and all.  She and I both ordered the White Seahorse because I can't get enough of cucumbers.  It packed a punch...though you couldn't taste it.  Liz knew Albert and I were a couple cocktails deep and wanted to catch up so she ordered a Fireball shot.  Unfortunately, they don't carry Fireball so the bartender used Jameson and bitters to create something that tasted just like it.

It could be because I knew the bar's background or it could just be because the drink was good, but I thoroughly enjoyed Grace.  It's hard to beat the casual atmosphere of an Irish pub with the bespoke cocktails of a downtown hipster bar.

3 on Thursday

I am so far behind my NaNoWriMo goal it scares me.  Thankfully, I have a relatively low-key weekend planned so I intend to hole myself up in the coffee house and crank out some serious writing.

1. While most people get bored of the heat and welcome the crisp Fall air, I would be happy to have an eternal Summer.  That said, I have to admit that the foliage has been gorgeous.  Seeing the leaves on this tree as I approached Grand Central made the chilly walk to work more bearable.  Because it was just too pretty to feature one picture, Fall is featured in today's background as well.
2. In one of the coolest meetings I've had in a while, I made my own bitters.  From scratch.  It has to incubate for another two weeks, but I can't wait to create some fun drinks once the flavors have infused the spirit.  I made mine with orange peel, candied ginger, dried cranberries, and a few fresh spices like coriander and allspice.  
3. I spotted this fabulous walk of shame recently.  She's sporting her shoes, jacket, and clutch [out of frame] from the night before but has completed the ensemble with the shorts and t-shirt of her latest conquest.  I snapped this pic as she literally ran for bagels (and away from judgmental eyes).  Aw, honey.  We've all been there...well, not me - I'm a good girl.

Whitman and Bloom

When I walked by Arctica (a douchy typical Murray hill bar) and noticed it was now Whitman and Bloom I thought...oh good, Arctica 2.0.  But when Albert said that's what he wanted for his November pick, I couldn't argue.  You see, we're trying to establish a tradition where we each choose 1-2 new restaurants or bars each month to try - no vetoes allowed.  When he said that's where he wanted to go I made no complaints even though I suspected it would be overrun by Yankee frat boys.

I was floored with what they've done to the place.  You would never be able to recognize that it was once a place for sloppy make-out sessions over cheap well drinks...not that I know about that from personal experience.  The tables and chairs are dark wood while the walls are all white but in different textures.  Low lighting makes it feel romantic, not a word I would ever use to describe for the "love" connections made there.  Again, I don't know from personal experience.

The food is small plate style so Albert and I went to town.  We started with olives and then moved to a meat and cheese plate, followed by the mac and cheese, the roasted cauliflower, seared calamari, and the pulled lamb sliders.  We may have over-ordered a tad.  My favorite was the roasted cauliflower with homemade cheese though there was a bit too much of the tough stalk, even though it did make for a cool presentation.  Downsides were my overly sweet drink (the Smoked Pina) and that the waiter didn't really know anything about the cheese selection.

This is the kind of place I want to go to with my girlfriends before a night out on the town.  For the first time, I don't have to leave my neighborhood to do so.

Parmesan Chicken

My Mom recently told me about a recipe she made that was a super simple version of chicken parm.  It wasn't quite simple enough for me so I tossed about half the ingredients and made parmesan crusted chicken.

Mix mayo, fresh parmesan, and a bit of milk in a bowl.  Thinly spread this mayo mixture over both sides of chicken cutlets.  Use the mayo as the glue to secure a mixture of bread crumbs, garlic powder, and a little more parmesan.  I also had some chives leftover so I threw them in there, too.  Place the cutlets on a wire rack coated with cooking spray and then put the rack on a baking sheet.  My mistake was just putting the chicken on a baking sheet because the bottom wasn't able to get crispy.  All because I was too lazy for a little extra clean up.  Bake at 425 fro 15 minutes or until the chicken is done.

Not only does the mayo help stick the breading on there, it locks in the chicken's juices.  It was a great complement to some pesto pasta.  It's pretty hard to beat a meal that comes together in less than 25 minutes.