Midnights in Williamsburg

Tags

brooklyn, date, date night, dinner, Williamsburg

Wow!
End of October already???
I mean, when I last posted I was gearing up for the busiest season at my office. I work in Tax so the days were long and days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and here we are.
With the change of the season I am experiencing Migraines. Lots and lots of migraines. If anyone has any remedies to bring relief, please reach out. Coffee, Excedrin, and Vicks Vapor Rub are my go-to methods but am open to trying something new.
SO, where were we?
Ah, that time my husband and I ended up at an adorable little bistro because the original place had lost our reservation. Right.
Sometime in the warmer months, hubby and I gussied up for dinner just because. We made reservations for a chef tasting that needed to be made in advance. When we arrived at the restaurant, they had no idea we were there for a tasting and sat us a at a table for 4 with another couple already there… can you say awkward???
One of my biggest pet peeves is dining with strangers. NYers are no strangers to crowded places but the act of dining should be somewhat intimate- it’s bad enough tables are 2 inches apart from each other but I need those two inches separating me from another set of diners.
I digress. They lost our reservation. We went to another restaurant. We contacted the people that lost our reservation and they invited us back to make up for the error.
It was probably one of the hottest days in the summer. Hubby and I dressed down so we could be comfortable. It was a 5 course tasting so comfort was definitely on the list of priorities. This time around, our visit was great! Not only was our reservation saved, but they remembered I preferred to dine semi-privately so we had a table in a corner booth all to ourselves. That alone was worth the entire “ordeal”.
We started with a chilled corn and crab soup. The portions for this tasting were… on the heavier side. We arrived hungry but, spoiler alert, we were STUFFED afterwards.

The Chilled corn soup was velvety and sweet with hearty chunks of lump crab meat. They paired it with a crisp chilled white wine.
We also had a salad course that I forgot to click… but you don’t win friends with salad. Amiright?
Next up, we had a trout dish with veggies. Wasn’t a huge fan of the trout as this particular presentation was very bony and if you take big bites like me… you’ll surely choke. Lol. Ain’t I a classy one?

The chef, feeling bad for what had happened to us the first time we got here, offered us an additional course to make up for the error. A buccatini dish that was probably the best thing we ate all night. It was incredible!

At this point of the night, we were running out of precious stomach room…but we had to press on.
Lordt!
Help us.
Short Rib. With a butternut squash puree and sautéed bok boy.
Delicious, indeed.
The big finale was a delicious warm chocolate sauce poured over a chocolate shell that melted to reveal a scoop of ice cream. It was a shared dessert. It was difficult to get through.
Once we finished our meal, we graciously thanked our host and chef for the memorable meal. They had more than made up for the previous error and their service will bring us back for more of everything!

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Zutto: Japanese American Pub

Tags

bao, coffee, date, dessert, dinner, doughnuts, ramen, steamed buns, sushi

I had the privilege recently of dining at a restaurant in the TriBeCa area of Manhattan with some hungry yelpers. Zutto is making a name for itself as it builds its reputation among yelpers for its amazing Ramen, as well as a few other things… But when we set out to dine on a cold Monday night, I knew one thing was certain:

I was going to have Ramen.

The décor at Zutto is warm and rustic yet its sophisticated enough that you know this place is no joke. Our massive party sat, at what seemed to be, a long picnic table. It was perfect because it kept us all within a camera click’s away from the delicious dishes coming out of the Chef’s kitchen.

It should be noted that they have some of the biggest soup spoons I have ever seen in my life. All for the purpose of pouring mass quantities of delicious ramen down my throat! yes!

We started with some roasted Shiseido Peppers. They were better than we all imagined. And so picturesque.

And we all opted to order the steamed buns and all chose different fillings. Above is the Kobe beef.

Short Rib Bun.

Pork Belly Bun.

(my fave was the short rib!)

They also have sushi at Zutto! Here is the spicy salmon roll… which was really spicy. I was sitting with a majority of fire loving people… my poor wimpy palate couldn’t hang.

The sauteed clams appetizer was amazing!

And these are probably the best brussel sprouts that were ever put in my mouth with the perfect texture and flavor… and of course, bacon makes everything better.

Some guests ordered the animal Roll. I had a bite of it. Freaking awesome.

And for a little whimsy… some tater tots.

I ordered a spider roll. How can soft shell crab ever be a bad thing?? It was far from bad, I might add!

And my ramen! I ordered the spicy miso ramen. It came in a deceptively large bowl.

…doesn’t this LOOK small??

I assure you, it was massive. And with all the other things I had already consumed, I filled up quickly. For shame! The ramen at Zutto is taken VERY SERIOUSLY. The broth simmers for an entire day which is evident by the intense flavor of the soup.

And for shits and giggles, someone ordered more sushi. and I thought I was going to explode…

Because then there was dessert.

::slaps forehead::

I ordered the “Coffee and Doughnuts”, a coffee semifreddo with warm foam and a hot cinnamon sugar zeppoles. Probably the best thing I tried all night! and I am usually not a dessert person.

I also shared the brioche bread pudding that was perfect with bananas and vanilla ice cream. So. Good.

By the end of the night I was in need of stretchy pants! it was crazy. But I would definitely return for some of their amazing ramen and end it with an order of coffee and doughnuts.

So. Damn. Good.

Danny Brown

Tags

beet, burger, date, dinner, duck, goat cheese, queens, wine

Believe it or not, as much as I have proclaimed myself a content singleton, I have in fact been dating. It’s kind of crazy how it all happened, really. I put myself out there last year and then other personal things started to hit the fan and I realized I needed to be focusing on myself. My mom freaked but who could blame her. Her only daughter said with conviction “i might never get married or have kids but I’m not upset one bit about it”. Mom never gave up hope. And I never stopped pursuing things that made me happy.
But at some point in January, I needed a friend. And he was there. He who? Not important at the moment. But soon enough you shall know.
He took me by surprise as we hung out in a friendly capacity. And I found myself thinking about him even days after we last saw each other.
What I am trying to say is, I am seeing someone for the first time in a LONG time. Sure, I have had dates and I have dated someone for longer than 2 months but never someone I liked this much. And I have gotten so caught up in this new part of my life that I am trying to find a balance between my old way and the new way. Blogging must not suffer! Please bear with me as I adjust to this new “routine”.

It certainly wasn’t my intention to take a blogging break, or blog so sporadically; which is why I carried my camera along on our second date to Queens’ first Michelin star restaurant, Danny Brown Wine Bar.
The ambiance at Danny Brown is warm, inviting, relaxing, and intimate. We had reservations for a Sunday evening and found the place bustling; which was nice.

Our server was ever attentive and patient. My date knows wine like I know food so I chose our food and he chose the wine to go with.
He chose a Bordeaux. I’m not usually a fan of reds but he assured me with the right food, the wine would be less offensive on my palate

To start, I ordered a beet and goat cheese appetizer which was massive. The beets were sugary sweet and supple and the huge lump of warm goat cheese was a great addition. I mistakenly devoured the entire appetizer…(ever consume too many beers? Oh boy will you be seeing red!)

He ordered a grilled squid and white bean dish that was more tasty than it sounded. The squid was perfectly cooked without being chewy or slimy and with the bed of white beans underneath it, he was filling up rather quickly.

For the main course, he ordered the duck confit. The duck was tender and needed only a gentle touch from a fork to free itself from the bone while the skin on the duck was so crispy! A bite of his dish was quite sinful.

I had initially wanted a hangar steak but was told it was sold out… and then i opted for the salmon. And that was sold out too. I was not really craving anything crazy or heavy and opted for the burger. In my mind, it was wise because a place of this caliber would make even a burger a hot item… But I was wrong. It was served on a toasted English muffin that was too hard to eat, even after sawing at it with my knife. The meat, while cooked medium was mealy and bland. I was glad I ate my appetizer because I was full already. The fries were great and I shared them with my date.
We were too stuffed from dinner for dessert but finished our wine and hit the town for more fun 🙂
It wasn’t bad for my first time at Danny brown. I would definitely go again, but next time order something better than a burger!