Who's Your Daddy...er Uncle

So I love my job.  I am helping create some incredibly impactful ads that can really shake up the industry (don't worry about not being able to reach through the computer screen, I am patting myself on the back).  It is pretty cool to realize that our teams are recognizing a need and determining how to fulfill it through advertising. 

That said, such genius can translate into late nights, tonight being one of them.  I have no problem putting in the time because I can anticipate the end result.  I especially don't mind when staying late means expensed din din at the office.  Tonight's restaurant of choice: Uncle Nick's.

Uncle Nick's is a small greek spot in the Midtown West/Hell's Kitchen/Theater District area.  It has become a regular on the rotation due to the consistently good food.  Being a creature of habit, I always order the gyro (no red onions, in case you wanted the specifics), but today I decided to mix it up.  I went on a limb and got the vegetable mousaka.  I am a huge lover of greek food (it's one of my faves), but can be picky about my mousaka, so this was a true test of Uncle Nick's cuisine.  Verdict: loved it!  The hearty eggplant/potato/zucchini dish was paired with a flavorful rice pilaf.  I'm stuffed - and all for $9.95.

Nick may just be my new favorite uncle (sorry to my Mommy and Daddy's bros - when you learn how to make mousaka like this, you can reclaim the title).

Unanswered Questions: Gossip Girl Recap - 3/29 Episode

This weeks episode was all about acknowledgement (or lack thereof), read on to see what I mean...

• Why does nobody acknowledge the fact that Eleanor's been living in Paris?  She comes back and it's like she's been there the whole time...except she hasn't because Serena's been using her apartment as her own private sex den.
• How did Jenny sober up? Yes it had been a while since the show as they acknowledge it was "late," but she ingested a buttload of pills. Unless they stopped at Lenox Hill Hospital for a quick stomach pump, I'm not buying it.
• Thank goodness everyone finally acknowledged that B has no friends at NYU.  But it begs the question...does it really matter when all of her real friends from high school miraculously wound up living in NYC anyway?
• After last year's seder dramz, I would have liked some acknowledgement of Passover...or Cyrus' existence at all. Where is he? What is he doing? INCONCEIVABLE!
• Yay those girls from Columbia acknowleged that GG still exists!  It was getting weird having her narrate when none of the characters mentioned her anymore.  Yes they idolize Blair, but why are they still rocking the headbands?  Even Blair's moved on.

And now perplexities not related to acknowledgement...

• Is it tacky to hang a Columbia penant in an NYU dorm room?
• Wouldn't a designer as successful as Eleanor Waldorf have a workshop?  Why is she turning her beautiful apartment into a sweatshop?
• What's so brill about Agnes' plan?  Why would Jenny agree it was necessary to flush the pills at the show - that's something that can be done at any bathroom anywhere.  Damien would be just as upset if she flushed his stash alone in a gas station bathroom.
• Why does Jenny think it's necessary to trade one absurd makeup tactic for another? First racoon eyes, now joker lipstick.  What's wrong with fresh faced makeup?  That's how every other female on the show does it and they all have hot, successful (read: not drug dealing) boyfriends.  Meanwhile, Jenny is left gazing at a picture of Nate on Gossip Girl...perhaps there's a correlation.

Reality Recap

Apparently there is a new reality show called Pretty Wild that chronicles the lives of three sisters living the crazy life in LA.  I was intrigued because one such sister is named Tess, and I assumed this would make me famous by association, name association that is.  I now realize I don't want to be associated with this chick.  Even without taking the cringe inducing lip piercing into consideration, I gathered I was nothing like this girl.  She and her sisters gallivant around La La Land before returning to be home schooled by their mother (a former playmate who wants nothing more than to see her girls realize her level of nude success) who apparently feels that collages and floral essences (no idea what that is) are the sorts of things you learn in school.  Why she doesn't care that her high school daughters are out until 3 AM is beyond me.  I love trash TV, but this one was too much for me.  I lasted maybe 3.5 minutes before gagging and changing the channel.

But reality tv is not all bad - I love Real Housewives of New York City.  That's it.  Rock on, ladies.  Can't wait to see what shenanigans you get yourselves into next.

While not a reality show, I finally broke down and purchased Season 1, Volume 1 of Glee yesterday, which is basically my favorite show ever.  I have already seen every episode multiple times, yet I still found this purchase to be completely necessary.  This show is like a combo of Election and High School Musical, and it totally works.  If you're not jealous of the fact that I now get to watch this show over and over again whenever I feel like it, then you must never have watched the show.  To that, I say shame on you.  Stop being so lazy and set your DVR to the greatest show ever.

Unanswered Questions: Gossip Girl Recap - 3/22 Episode

This week, Lily and Rufus reconcile, but it's clear their future is precarious due to Lily's shifty phone call with CeCe at the end of the show.  But like lil J's V card, that's not the only thing that's uncertain.  Read on for the rest of this week's unanswered questions...

• How does Jenny somehow manage to get away with these schemes when she makes her sneaky phone calls directly outside her front door?  And how comatose is Rufus that he doesn't overhear this conversation?
• How has Jenny never heard of Dirty Dancing?  The "too young" excuse doesn't work.  I'm technically too young and yet I've seen it 12,000 times.  Does she not own a TV?  Even if she's not crazy for Swayze, that movie plays on TBS every day (thank goodness).
• Did anyone notice Chuck's pictures?  He has a total of two.  1) Bart Bass and 2) him and Blair sitting Napolean style (him sitting down with his hand inside his jacket over his breast and her standing over him).  Not like I expected a ton of crazy Spring Break pictures in "friends forever" frames, but for some reason that struck me as weird.
• Where is Eric?  Maybe he could talk some sense into Jenny.
• Why does Chuck's mom have a weird accent?  Don't think I didn't notice it before.  I did...I was just hoping (in vain) that she would lose it.
• What's that animal crawling on Jack Bass' chin?

'Til next week....

The "Non-Plan" Plan

I was so happy to have Carlen in the city all weekend!  After a yummy dinner at The Smith on Friday and a great lunch at Nanoosh (a hummus restaurant near my apartment) on Saturday, we had to finish off the weekend with a great Sunday brunch (the trifecta).  Since the weather gods decided to smile on us all weekend, we opted to go with the "non-plan" plan.  That is, we took the subway to Astor Place and walked around the East Village until we found someplace that caught our eye, preferably one we had not yet tried.  We wound up at La Palapa, a Mexican place on St. Mark's. 

I'll definitely be going back.  The prices were reasonable (my meal was only about $10) and the portions were hearty.  I ordered the Huevos Choriqueso (eggs with chorizo and cheese), which were served with heaping portions of beans and guac.  The beans were actually refried black beans, which I had previously never seen.  They were delicious and much better than normal refried beans.  I was shocked by how much guacamole they gave us.  Usually guacomole is portioned out sparingly, like a precious metal, but at La Palapa, they weren't shy, a quality I love in a restaurant.  The meals were served with a basket of tortillas, which I used to make myself a little breakfast burrito - yum! 

Mental Note: remember Mexican (and La Palapa in particular) for brunch.  I like eggs and bacon/sausage, but I am overall not a huge breakfast eater.  Going to a Mexican restaurant is a great way to satisfy my egg craving with more savory, lunchy accompaniments. 

Jingle Jangle

One of my favorite jingles has been the Starburst Berries and Cream .  Now there's a newbie in the mix.  I can not stop singing the words to McDonald's' "Gimme that filet o'fish" song.  It has the makings of a great jingle in that it is extremely catchy.  I can't get it out of my head.  While I think this is some great marketing - bringing a less sought after menu option to the forefront - I still don't think I'll be ordering it anytime soon.  I will, however, probably be singing this song in the Mickey D's line as I order my double cheeseburger.

A New Contender in the Burger Ring

I entered this weekend with one goal: cross at least one restaurant of my "To Try" list.  My friend from college, Carlen, came to visit for the weekend, thus carrying out this mission seemed that much more important.  Turns out I didn't need the whole weekend - we fulfilled this mission within 20 minutes of Carlen's arrival.  I've heard about The Smith for a while - its burger in particular - so I was very happy Carlen's friends chose it.

We shared the hot potato chips with blue cheese fondue and crawfish hush puppies.  Both were very yummy but could have been a little warmer.  The chips were good, but I have tried the hot chips with blue cheese dip at Bar Americain, and I must admit Bobby Flay made the chips better than The Smith.  The crawfish hush puppies were very good.  They were full of crawfish and almost like a bread-ier crawfish cake.  Of course after all that talk I had to try the burger...it was great!  It was huge, so I needed to cut it in half to give myself a fighting chance at getting it in my mouth.  The second I pressed down with my knife, burger juice flowed all over the plate and continued to drip down my arm as I ate, which I happily licked clean.  The juice mixed with the cheese and special sauce for extra deliciousness.  The ciabatta bun was the perfect choice for sandwiching the burger.  Oh and don't forget the thick, crisp bacon and mountain of thin-cut fries.  Unfortunately, I neglected to take a picture of the burger - I was too busy getting it into my belly.  I did, however, snap some pics of the apps.

The prices are definitely reasonable, so if you're looking for a casual place to grab a bite before heading out for the night, check out The Smith.  Feel free to thank me after eating the burger.

Hot Chips with Blue Cheese Fondue

Crawfish Hushpuppies with Old Bay Aioli