My dear friend and I have birthdays a day apart and every year we pick a place to celebrate together. This year, we decided to go for a fancy tea instead of lunch or dinner and it proved to be a great decision.

Lady Mendl’s is hidden away at the Inn at Irving Place behind doors that make you think you’re walking into someone’s private brownstone. A small teacup plaque near the front door is the only clue that you are indeed in the right place, and it gives the feeling of walking into a little treasure.

Inside, the small rooms are decorated in warm, cozy light, antique furniture and plenty of candles and fresh flowers. After the host took our coats in the greeting room, we were led to a wonderful pair of leather sofas in front of a roaring fireplace. As girly as going out to tea may sound, this had such a romantic feel that It would make for a lovely date as well, assuming that your date loves delicious snacks, tea and excellent service.

We began with a wonderful butternut squash amuse bouche which was hot from the oven, perfectly smooth in it’s crispy shell, and so full of squashy flavor. My bouche was indeed amused.

Next, my chamomile tea was served with sugar cubes, including one particularly pretty decorated one that sat next to my cup. Delicious and poured beautifully by our server.

The waiter then came around with a tray full of tea sandwiches which we could choose from- with no limits I might add! Knowing that we had a lot more coming, we chose to share a few different ones including: smoked salmon with dill cream cheese on pumpernickel, cucumber with crème fraiche on brioche, turkey on seven grain and classic egg salad on rye. They were all delightful and petite- as they should be.

Next were the scones, one buttermilk and one cranberry. They were served with jam and clotted cream- although I must admit that I prefer the cream at Alice’s Tea Cup- another favorite tea spot of mine, which is a bit fluffier and thicker. The cream here was a bit running and loose. The scones however, were wonderful. It was a good thing that just two small ones were served because I think I could have polished off a whole basket full of them.

The dessert was my favorite course. It’s not hard to see why this cake is the one that Lady M is famous for. Wow. About a million layers as thin as crepes were piled high with a spread of whipped cream in between each. Underneath the cake was fresh raspberry coulis, the perfect accompaniment. It was SO indulgent, SO light, beautiful, simple and really incredible tasting.

Just in case we weren’t totally stuffed by then, our last and final course was served. I will call this one dessert, the sequel. A plate of handmade cookies and chocolate covered strawberries. I’m not sure how I managed to find room but I can assure you that I did. No cookie went unfinished. My favorite was the heart shaped butter cookie half-dipped in dark chocolate, and of course, the strawberries.

Overall, I was totally delighted by this experience. I would go back in a heartbeat- and would love to take a group of ladies and/or family there sometime. I think it is best on a chilly winter day to go and make sure to get that fireside spot. Enjoy this special place!

 

 

Gabriel and I went to get tickets to see the World Trade Center Memorial and had about an hour to kill before we could go in. We searched for a deal in the area for lunch and stumbled onto Dark Horse, which had very good ratings online. It was a dimly lit pub atmosphere with a friendly, though sort of rushy waitress, who sat us right  away.

I ordered a bowl of French onion soup and a mixed salad and thought both were pretty good, but nothing special. The soup didn’t have much flavor, and was a little on the oily side. The salad was fresh but came with a vinegarette when I’d specifically asked for bleu cheese- but oh well. I am sure I could have sent it back if our waitress had been easier to flag down.

With the deal, this lunch was totally worth it- but otherwise, I thought it was pretty run-of-the-mill as far as pub food and service goes.

I doubt I’d go back- but if you’re in the area and can find the same 50% off deal that we found, I guess it’s worth a shot.

 

 

The first 2 attempts I made to try the macarons at Laduree were foiled by 45 minute lines that went out the door. Today, I got lucky and happened to walk by when there were only a few people inside. As I waited, I noticed the VERY Upper East Side looking crowd. The clientele was basically made up of UES ladies with bleach blond hair, Prada over-the-knee boots and nose jobs-a-plenty or their nannies with the children they were caring for- coming in for their overpriced after school snack. I felt slightly out of place in my Old Navy yoga pants and sneakers, but that wasn’t enough to stop me from experiencing this very well-reviewed French treat. Ten minutes later I was at the front counter, looking at an array of beautiful choices just waiting to be eaten. Hooray, it was my turn to order.

I looked over the macaron map on the counter and chose 3 pieces: chocolate, salted caramel and pistachio. The other flavors all sounded wonderful but I wanted to limit myself, both calorically and monetarily, to a reasonable number. I got up to the cash register and paid my $8.10 for the 3 cookies. WOAH. I could have a 2 maki sushi roll lunch special, complete with miso soup and shumai for $.40 more than that. Amazingly expensive treats indeed.

The cashier gave me back the change from my ten spot, saying ‘You don’t mind the nickels’ with a smile and a chuckle. a $1 bill and $.90 in nickels. He explained that he was out of other change. Um, THAT was annoying. 30 seconds later as I was leaving, I heard and saw him crack open a new roll of quarters. Heh? Gee thanks. Perhaps the big coins are reserved for the customers wearing designer clothes.

I stepped outside and took a quick photo of my macarons before eating them. I started with the pistachio which was unfreakingbelieveable. The meringue shell practically melted in my mouth and the pistachio cream inside was almost like marzipan. The chocolate one was not too sweet, and though the filling’s consistency reminded me of fudge, the flavor was more like fine cocoa powder. The salted caramel wasn’t particularly salty- actually, I didn’t taste the salt at all, and the caramel was a slightly more firm than the other flavors but again, the shell was total perfection. These are truly exquisite, decadent, and worth every over priced penny. I’m not entirely sure I’ll go back give the fact that they cost more than double what they cost everywhere else, but I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend at least one visit to you. Enjoy!

 

 

 

I’d been meaning to try Heidi’s for a long time, especially since it’s only a couple of blocks from my apartment. To call it tiny would be an understatement, and every time I walked by it was totally packed solid. Even though Heidi had graciously offered to take my cell phone number and call when a table was ready, I was always too hungry to wait for one and kept putting it off for a time when luck would have me walk by to find an empty table.

When Gabriel and I found a 50% off deal on Scoutmob, we just couldn’t resist anymore…crowded or not, how could we pass up such a great offer? On Yelp.com, people were raving about Heidi’s since it opened, with every review even better than the last. We called from my place, asked if she’d put us on the list and she obliged, telling us to come by in about half an hour. When we arrived, we’d apparently missed our name being called. We were told that they did in fact try to call us on my cell phone but when they got no answer they skipped us. When I asked to see the number they called and found they’d written it down wrong, they apologized and immediately found us the perfect little table for two. This was a great start indeed.

Although it’s small, it’s rather cozy, especially on a chilly night. The local crowd , clearly built of quite a few loyal regulars, was totally down-to-earth, mostly in jeans and T’s. I loved the comfortable atmosphere and immediately felt at home. Before I even tried the food, I proclaimed “this is my new favorite local!” excitedly. Gabriel laughed and reminded me we hadn’t even ordered yet. Well, I guess I just had that much faith that it would be awesome.

I’m very happy to say that my jumping-the-gun announcement was well deserved. The food was totally outstanding. We shared 3 small plates; the shrimp tacos which were made simply and perfectly cooked, the fresh guacamole with warm, homemade tortilla chips and the special gnocchi of the day; which was served with parmesan, white truffle oil and shiitake mushrooms. WOW. That last one was seriously noteworthy. The gnocchi were basically little heaps of mashed potatoes and the meaty mushrooms made this dish more than filling enough for the two of us to share. We would probably have licked the plate clean if no one had been watching. Seriously scrumptious. We had struggled in choosing it over the lobster mac and cheese which is one of their classics, but decided since that one is always on the menu we’d be able to try the much-talked-about mac next time. We also had 2 delicious glasses of wine- which were generously filled to the top in large glasses, more than reasonable at $7 each.

We left Heidi’s full and very pleased with our experience. The wait staff is awesome. The clientele is awesome. The overall vibe is exactly what you’d hope to find in your neighborhood local spot. We will most certainly go back soon, this time perhaps to try that famous lobster mac, the incredible looking chocolate souffle and to play one of the many board games piled high near the front door. I worry that it’s often so crowded and yet another rave review will only keep adding to the number of people who have discovered this treasure, but alas, it is my culinary duty to keep you all well-informed of the gems like this one. Enjoy!