Once you go black, you never go back

I’ve got one word for you. Actually one letter, even: Ñ. Pronounced en-ye, this Soho wine/tapas bar is small, dark and sexy. Not to mention mysterious—there is no website, no photos of it to be found, and its not listed on menupages.com. And it turns out the small-plates menu is equally as intriguing.

I went for the first time last night with two of my besties and laughed as they seated us in an exclusive alcove that would be great for date-night, but not a catch-up session with the girls. So we opted for a seat at the bar, where the single girl of our trio could scope out the guys.

We ordered 6 or 7 small dishes, from pan con tomate to cheese plates to octopus. Everything we ordered was delicious, but for me, the star of the evening was the Black Pearls—tender meatballs doused in a squid ink sauce, complimented with a few pieces of calamari on the plate.



Upon first inspection, it doesn’t look all that appetizing, in fact it looks downright scary. Like a culinary tar pit or something. But the black ink sauce gives the meatballs a certain “smoky” flavor that every meatball I’ve had up until now has lacked.

It was unique and different, but at the same time, made complete sense once you tasted it. Like this epiphany of why aren’t ALL meatballs served in ink sauce?! The pairing is a perfect combination, but be warned--I just don’t know if I’ll ever be satisfied with ordinary meatballs again.

--Jessica

Brunch, Bed, Bath and Beyond

I'm a little tardy for this posting party, but who's keeping track (besides the always punctual Monday blogger! Kidding, Zoe!)? Anyways, I had a surprisingly domestic Saturday afternoon with my husband, complete with trips to Home Depot and Bed Bath and Beyond. Cheesy, I know, but it was completely necessary. But before the errands began, we partook in my favorite weekend pastime: BRUNCH.

I couldn't make up my mind on where to go and was really looking for outdoor seating on this gorgeous New York summer day. But when we wandered by Northern Spy Food Co., one of the latest restaurant additions to the East Village, I wanted to try it after hearing so many great things about the food. And so we did.

The verdict? The food is definitely tasty and the brunch cocktails are ahhhmaaazing and refreshing.

I mean, who wouldn't want wheat beer and lemon soda shandy or a Fuji apple mimosa?!

For our entree's, we got the Slow-whisked scrambled eggs (with sausage and carmelized shallot flatbreat) and the Griddled ham and eggs.





The latter of the two might have LOOKED more appetizing (and the ham was predictably delicious), but for anyone who loves soft scrambled eggs, Northern Spy does it amazingly well. My only regret was not ordering the griddled cornbread with sweet onion yogurt as an appetizer. When it landed on the table next to us, I had a serious case of food envy. Oh well, it gives me a reason to come back. Who wants to come with me?

--Jessica

Fashionable food

The funny thing about fashion events (have I mentioned I'm a fashion editor by day?) is that there are almost always hors d'oeuvres served. I might be the only one eating them, but I'm ok with that. And I've gotten quite good at strategically putting myself in the direct path of the food servers, so as to not miss a bite of anything offered.

So Tuesday I had several events to go to and had dinner along the way--who said dinner had to be one big meal?

The evening started with mini cheese burgers and champagne at the Guess eyewear party. Not the usual food and beverage pairing, but it hit the spot.



A miniature cheese pizza with arugula passed by me and I couldn't resist nabbing one of those next. It was a bit too much greenery for such a small sampling, but hey, they can't all be perfect.

Next stop: The Seven for All Mankind holiday preview. Next bite: curry chicken salad sandwich sprinkled with paprika.



The trick is to eat these quick (thank god they are small) because you are juggling eating, drinking and snapping pics of the entire clothing collection. But I paused to eye the melted parmesean on tiny crostinis and these steak bites. Yum!



And then I couldn't resist the ginormous chicken sates that circled. That and the cheese platter sent me over the edge.

By the time I got to Ivanka Trump's party for her debut shoe collection, I was stuffed. But when you are having cocktails with Donald Trump, who cares about the food anyways?!

That's all for now from this Friday Foodie. Have a great weekend!

It's not a party without pizza

Friday night, girls night! Fellow bloggers Lynsey, Zoe and myself gathered for a boozy, MUNCHIE, catch-up fest, complete with diet-friendly vodka drinks, Triscuits and Wheat Thins. So far, so good. Remember, its my redemption day.



But around the 2 hour mark, dieting no longer seemed important. PIZZA did! So with a quick phone call to Gruppo (my neighborhood fave), we had these to feast our eyes and mouths on.



Garlic cheesy bread, complete with marinara sauce.



The most divine thin-crust cheese pizza.

It might have been an impromptu calorie splurge for my normal Friday, but I have to say, it was well worth it!
--Jessica

Date Night!

My husband and I work opposite hours. Actually, he just works many hours. So Mondays and Tuesdays are our designated date nights. With only 2 evenings to fit everything in, it's a constant struggle to pick between going out or getting couch time. This Tuesday date night, going out won.

We decided on dinner at Pranna, an asian-fusion restaurant on Madison and 28th st. Not an area I normally frequent for dining, but my husband suggested it, so I figured why not?!

Part restaurant, part lounge, the space is huge--almost too big in my opinion. It felt a tad impersonal and definitely not a quaint, romantic spot for date night at all. But the food was delicious, so I'll forgive the lack of ambiance.

We started with steamed lobster dumplings and roasted duck spring rolls. They were an impressive presentation (sorry, the spring rolls were eaten before I had time to snap a photo!) and impressed our taste buds even more.


Note: Please forgive the quality of my photos. Food and fashion I'm good at. Photography, not so much. I'll improve though, I promise!

Anyways, back to the important stuff. The dumplings were light and refreshing and helped balance out the heaviness of the duck. A perfect pairing, if you ask me!

For our entrees, we got the Chili-glazed Prawns with snow peas and shitake mushrooms and the Mussels Hot Pot.




Seafood overload? Maybe, but we didn’t care. The prawns were my favorite. The chili glaze was just the right amount of subtle sweetness mixed with spice. And there was nothing small about these prawns. In fact, I couldn’t even finish them (which almost never happens).

For dessert, we were about to order the chocolate soufflé, but then the waiter informed us that it would take at least 20 minutes to prepare. That was the deal-breaker. Blame the Yankees game in progress. But with or without the sweet ending, date night was still amazing. Thank you, Pranna. And my husband.

Here's your Friday Foodie signing out. Have a great (and delicious) weekend.
Jessica.

Redemption day

Hello Friday! You've been a long time coming. LONG TIME.

Fridays are usually my day to repent for my epicurean sins of the week and fast for the indulgences (brunch, anyone?) of the weekend to come. Catholics have confession and Lent. Jews have Yom Kippur. And in the religion of food, this devout follower has Fridays.

So what counts as my "fasting" Friday? Coffee in the cab, a small cup of chicken soup in my freezing office and Laughing Cow cheese on the couch during a Mad Men marathon.

While it might be good for the soul (and scale), my food atonement doesn't exactly make for a good read. But have no fear. The remaining six days are filled with a mixture of delicacies, comfort foods and general deliciousness that won't disappoint. Champagne and lobster. Truffle mac & cheese. Tacos. Pizza. Mmmm PIZZA.

I digress. Anyways, as we embark on the weekend, I leave you with these parting words that I like to think are sorta this blog’s mantra:

“One of the delights of life is eating with friends, second to that is talking about eating. And, for an unsurpassed double whammy, there is talking about eating while you are eating with friends.” —Laurie Colwin

See you same time next week. Jessica.