Cacio e Pepe: lots of cacio, too much pepe

It was another night where outdoor dining was essential and luckily we didn't have to wait long to score an outdoor table for 2 here on a Saturday night. The waiter swayed me in my decision to order the signature dish- cacio e pepe (cheese and pepper). It is served to you from a giant Parmesan bowl, hello photo op. The pasta mostly tastes of the warm cheesiness that blankets it. The other main element of the sauce was large pieces of cracked pepper, this was a bit different for me. Biting into a piece of peppercorn is usually something one tries to avoid, but here it used to add a spiciness to cut the cheese (teehee). I see what they were trying to do here and I knew what I was getting myself into when I ordered it, but it was just not something I could get myself to completely enjoy. But I really did like the texture and taste of the homemade pasta and cheese sauce, how could I not. I wondered about that huge cheese bowl, what do they clean it out at night? You can't exactly throw that in the dishwasher. We were informed that each order of cacio e pepe is served from one cheese bowl that they replace every 3-4 days. The sausage and pork over polenta was quite good. I do love polenta and theirs took on the porky flavor and made it extra tasty. I plan on coming back here to enjoy more flavorful Italian pasta in a relaxed setting and next time I need to try out some appetizers.

182 Second Ave.

Bourbon Street: Hurricanes and gator

Restaurant row is not my favorite street in this area. Its full of gimmicky places and under-whelming food. Bourbon street may be a bit gimmicky but they have an impressive happy hour. $5 can get you a mint julep, a dark n stormy, hurricane and a few others, and they are not skimpy. The drinks are nicely sized and acceptably strong. We could not resit ordering the alligator in a blanket appetizer- everyone can agree that pigs in a blanket is one of the best foods ever and its not everyday you get to consume alligator. I am glad we went for it, it is delicious! I don't know if I would come here for dinner, but its a conveniently located spot for happy hour and a snack. And they have big screen tvs everywhere if sports are your thing.

346 W 46th St

Carmine's: not just for tourists

Sometimes you have to say screw you to the road less traveled. A group of 8 of us headed to Carmine's for a birthday celebration. We were in the mood for big portions and looked forward to conquering the giant platters. We were promptly seated for our 8 oclock reservation. Carmine's does a good job at acommodating large groups and it was easy to snag our Friday reservation. Service was Speedy Gonzalez as I am sure would be important to help their table turnover.  We ordered a few bottles of reasonably priced and reasonable tasting red wine. To start we kept it simple and got the caesar salad and fried calamari, you can't go wrong there.  Had to get the salad to ensure some vitamins and minerals in the meal, yea right- that thing was covered in dressing and packing the calories. Its almost embarrassing how much I liked both the salad and the calamari. We had the penne a la vodka, veal saltimbucca, and the chicken special of the day. I am guessing the secret behind everything being tasty is vats of butter.  I think we did a good job at ordering here, we got a variety of flavors and were too stuffed for dessert. You better believe the small amount of leftovers made an ideal late night post-drinking snack. 

200 w 44th

Thai Stir Fry

Made this last week and it came out pretty darn good and was pretty darn fast and easy. We cut up flank steak and added is to a stir fry of asparagus, peppers, garlic, mushrooms, red and yellow onions, with vinegar, lime juice, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and a lot of cilantro. Its healthy balance of meat and veggies. 

Room Service: Thai'ed up in a pretty package

When I first passed by this place I thought it was some kind of new lounge. When I found out it was just ANOTHER 9th avenue Thai place I was disappointed. But the few reviews out about the restaurant were glowing, so I figured it couldn't hurt to check it out. This restaurant opened here in March and its other location is in Chelsea. The place is gorgeous: grey scale walls, classy moldings, a perfectly gaudy gaudy chandelier right in the middle, a cow print bar, vintage mirrors all around, and an entrance with huge glass windows and white door.  Maybe that sounds weird all together, but trust me, it worked. The Detox cocktail made me feel healthier as I sipped it; its an organic vodka cocktail with ginger, pomegranate, honey, and cucumber. Another cocktail on the menu is Redbull vodka, however they claim they use the original redbull that originated in Thailand. I am not a redbull expert, so I didn't taste too much of a difference, but its a cool idea. The menu has a lot of options, with standard dishes you would expect from a Thai restaurant along with more creative choices from what they call the "eat like a bangkokian" section. I normally like to pick something more interesting over pad thai, but Room Service offers the standard version and the bangkok version which is actually wrapped in an egg crepe.  A note at the bottom of the menu suggests adding on sun-dried shrimp, a typical bangkok snack. How could I resist that? The Room Service Pad Thai is presented beautifully and comes with regular shrimp (good), scallops and mussels (not as good) along with noodles that benefited from the hot sauce dotted along the side of the plate and th mango shreds on top. I really liked the sun dried shrimp, they are briny and have a fun texture, like some kind of shrimp jerky. The Bangkok pumpkin chicken curry had the perfect level of spiciness, but I would have liked to taste more pumpkin instead of just a standard curry taste. 

 I would love to come back here for dinner as well as for the lunch special. One last noteworthy element of this place would be the flashy/sexy  ethnic garb of the staff, they match the pretty plates and interior. 

690 9th Ave

Cafe con Leche: if you like pina coladas, and getting caught in the rain

Cafe con leche is the one place I know I can go to on the upper west side for affordable and consistent food. Most importantly though, they serve up a mean pina colada in an actual pineapple, during happy hour you can get 2 drinks for the price of one ($9). They serve other drinks as well, including sangria and mixed drinks in coconuts. Its not a huge amount of drink or as boozy as what I usually like and I am not one who often orders something like a pina coloda, but I can't resist them when I dine here. Double check with the happy hour, because sometimes they are weird about it. With my cold, frothy pina colada in my hand, a paper drink umbrella behind my ear, sitting outside under a raffia umbrella, I could almost pretend I was in the Caribbean... almost. I usually order the same things when I come here. The mofongo appetizer could easily pass as a main dish, there is nothing like mushed plaintains and pork skin to fill up your belly. Their version of ropa vieja is perfectly acceptable; its hard to screw up beef that has been braised, shredded, and sauced up. A special of ceviche was also enjoyable. Though it wouldn't have hurt them to add some shrimp. On this occasion, the service started out a bit brusque, but that could not kill our pina colada and pork induced good moods.

Chocolate Balls

Lookie here what I made for my office.  Oreo truffle bally thingers! And guess what, you can do it too. My apologies if these little guys are not so easy on the eye, but trust me, they taste like a dream. I used 2 sleeves of one oreo container and crushed them up. Then I added a package of cream cheese and smushed it all together. I rolled them into about 40-50 little ballies and chilled them in the fridge. While they chillaxed, I melted 3/4 a package of semi-sweet chocolate chips in a make-shift double broiler. I rolled the chilled balls in the chocolate, added some more oreo crumbs on top and popped them back in the fridge. Use your imagination for other toppings and coatings. I have had a request to make peanut butter chocolate truffle balls next. Easy breezy, and everyone loves them.