Tag Archives: carey

Jan16

Seahorse Tavern: 303 E 85th st. New York, NY

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A couple of months ago, my wonderful boyfriend gave me the most awesome shock of my life with a surprise 35th birthday party at Seahorse Tavern. I was so overwhelmed that day that I totally forgot to write about this awesome restaurant and figured that we’d just have to return another time to do so. When we found a 50% off deal on Scoutmob, we jumped at the chance to go for brunch this weekend.

I’d called for a reservation the previous day, but no one returned the call. When I called again in the morning, I was told that the messages were never listened to but that we could come in whenever. Ok. I guess reservations aren’t necessary. When we arrived, there were only a couple of tables full and we had our pick of spots. We chose a 2 top next to the window in the corner and the waitress brought over our menus and water right away.

Brunch includes a choice of entree and a drink  (bloody mary, wine, beer, or mimosa) for $14.95- it’s a fantastic deal. We remember loving the fried oysters appetizer from the party and even though they weren’t on the brunch menu, they were happy to serve them to us as our starter. YUM. SO good. Little toasted sesame seeds in the batter make for an interesting flavor and crunch on these perfectly cooked oysters. They each sit in their own shells atop a lovely tartar sauce and it’s all presented on tiny mounds of crushed sea salt. Great presentation, even better taste.

Next I had the goat cheese, arugula, mushroom omelette with home fries. This is a gorgeous, fluffy, omelette, cooked to perfection with a creamy, cheesy, mushroomy interior. My only complaint about it is that I only saw one tiny piece of arugula in there- it was mostly cheese and mushrooms. Still delicious, just not as green as I’d hoped. The home fries were wonderful- not greasy, cooked just right, and a bit spicy with various peppers mixed in. The bloody Mary is one of the best ones I’ve ever had- and was even better once I asked for a few extra olives. Gabriel ordered the Eggs Benedict over fresh crab meat and it was amazing. The crab was so fresh, flaked and chilled and piled underneath the most beautifully poached eggs. We both pretty much licked our plates clean.

The service at Seahorse is casual, low-key and friendly and the food is fabulous. I love the mix of a casual, laid back atmosphere with somewhat fancy food. This is definitely one of my favorite neighborhood spots and we’ll be going back again soon. Try it out!

Jan13

Pho 501: 501 Main St. East Hartford, CT

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I SERIOUSLY miss this place. Total hole-in-the-wall…BEST shrimp pho you’ve ever had in your life. $5 gets you a bowl that is the size of your head. I live in NYC now and still catch myself dreaming about my favorite cold weather meal. Sometimes I’m tempted to rent a car and drive 2 hours just to go get some. Sigh.

Jan13

Saigon Market: 91 University Place. NY NY

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I’ve walked past Saigon Market a bunch of times and never realized how enormous it is inside. My friend and I were seated right away and given menus and water. Even though the space is cavernous, it has a strangely cozy, warm feel to it anyway. It must be the lighting- which I really liked. The fixtures look sort of like little, golden, hot air balloons. Very cute.

The menu had a lot of great options with just about all of the lunch deals under $10. I scanned the menu and chose the basil chicken with brown rice.  My friend ordered dumplings and vegetarian spring rolls for herself. I had one of her spring rolls and thought it was pretty good, though kind of boring. I did really like the light, peanut-y sauce she ordered instead of the plum sauce that usually comes with it. My entree was great. Nice, large slices of white meat chicken, an assortment of veggies, and tons of basil. The portion size was perfect for me, as I didn’t really want to be taking leftovers with me since I wasn’t going straight home.

Overall, I think this is a convenient and thrifty place to meet someone for lunch and if I’m in the area I might go back. I’d like to try the Pho next time I’m there. Someone next to me was slurping down on some and It looked and smelled delicious. I’m slightly hesitant about ordering Pho from anywhere since my standards are crazy high and nothing really compares to: http://www.yelp.com/biz/pho-501-east-hartford#hrid:cT65iBDIPa7vY2LEC7gAEA/src:self

Hmmm. Great. Now I want to rent a car to drive up to East Hartford for a bowl.

Jan9

Rocco’s Italian Sausages & Philly Cheese Steaks: 5010 Northern Blvd (in front of Home Depot) Long Island City, NY

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This is a perfect example of why I run. I had started the day off on the right track. I had my typical breakfast which consists of a banana with a little peanut butter and a coffee with skim milk and honey. Lunch was Chobani greek yogurt, topped with blueberries, strawberries and Vanilla Almond Special K cereal. So far, so good.

Gabriel and I had to stop by his place in Queens that afternoon, and then had some errands to run at the Home Depot near there. When we finished up and we heading out, we noticed a tiny, little building attached to Home Depot that smelled marvelous. Rocco’s. He had noticed it a million times but never tried it. I, however, was very intrigued and had to look it up.  A quick Iphone search on Yelp made it clear that this 4 star Philly cheesesteak and sausage place couldn’t rightfully be skipped over.

We went in and scanned the menu.

It was aaaammmmmmaaaazing. Worth every ridiculous carb, calorie and fat gram. Hot and melty, the cheese was the perfect creamy compliment to the thin slices of steak and veggies. The hot sauce was a little too close to eating fire for my taste, but Gabriel slathered it on his half. This sandwich is no joke and it kind of makes me wish I had to go to that Home Depot more frequently. My waistline, however, thinks once in a very blue moon is plenty.On the recommendation of the very full-of-pride people working there, we ordered a large classic cheesesteak with onions, peppers and a side of hot sauce for us to share. This sandwich and a bottle of water cost about $11, so not dirt cheap. As we were about to find out, it turned out to be ohhhhh so worth it.

So, yes. I will be running extra miles this week to make up for it. I will also be loving every minute of it with the delicious memory still lingering. Check this place out and then thank me 🙂

Jan9

Chez Carey: Glazed tilapia and asian veggie stir fry over coconut/ginger rice.

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I usually avoid cooking fish in my apartment because I hate the smelly aftermath that lingers for days when it’s too cold to leave windows wide open. I recently found out that for some reason, tilapia isn’t nearly as smelly as other fish, so I decided to play around with it for tonight’s dinner. It’s so easy to get into a poultry cooking rut and this was a nice, refreshing change for me.

I decided to do an Asian spin on the flavoring and began by making a a glaze for the fish. Into the mix went: a TON of fresh, chopped ginger, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, garlic powder, a ton of chopped cilantro, some apple cider vinegar and a little bit of honey. I painted this mixture onto the filets and did a quick, hot, pan saute using spray coconut oil so it wouldn’t stick.

While that was cooking, I stir fried the following in my beloved wok (again using spray coconut oil) chopped bok choy, chopped exotic mixed mushrooms, baby corn, sliced water chestnuts, chopped green beans. When that was done I finished it with a squeeze of lemon juice, chopped cilantro and a little of the leftover fish glaze.

Admittedly, I cheated on the rice. I used a box of ‘A Taste of Thai’ coconut/ginger rice for this one. It’s really quite good, and SO much easier than making it myself.

I love when healthy cooking also equals a great dinner! 

Jan9

Chez Carey! (Casa de Carey :) Chicken Enchiladas!

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Unfortunately, this photo really does NOT do justice to how amazing these tasted. This is my healthy chicken enchilada creation that fed my boyfriend and I for 3 big dinners. It goes a long way indeed and just tastes better each day. I served them with diced avocado mixed with lemon juice and cilantro and a dallop of salsa on the side. It was a great belly warming meal on chilly winter nights and I’ll definitely be making it again.

As always, my ‘recipes’ are just concepts that can be altered to your likings. I don’t give quantities because I hardly ever measure anything. Just play around with the idea to get it the way you want it.

Here’s the basic idea: Throw the following in the crockpot: cut up boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut up onion, can O’ rinsed/drained black beans, can o’ rinsed/drained corn, bag O’ frozen mixed veggies, half cup chicken broth, some chili powder, fresh chopped cilantro, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, chipotle tabasco sauce, cayanne powder, garlic powder, onion powder. Cook that all on high for 6 hours or so.

Next, preheat oven to 350. Get Smart and Delicious Tortillas (50-100 calories each depending on what size you get). Put a scoop of the chicken mixture into a tortilla and roll it up tightly. Put in baking dish. Continue filling and rolling and putting them in the dish tightly packed together. Seam side down. When they are all lined up, spoon the rest of the chicken chili-thing soup that’s left over the top of the dish. Spread about a cup of salsa over the top of everything. Cover that with about a cup of cut up lowfat cheese of your liking. (I used a combo of a few kinds) Bake the whole thing for about 25 minutes and broil for a few minutes at the end to get it all bubbly.

Viola! YUM! Enjoy!

Jan3

Club A Steakhouse: 240 E. 58th St. New York NY

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My friend and I had a prix fix dinner deal for 2 from Living Social that we finally got to use tonight. It was $69 and included 2 apps, 2 sides, 2 entrees and 2 desserts. What a great deal! I walked in and was greeted by B, sitting at the bar, sipping a glass of red wine. It was a beautiful atmosphere to walk into with an abundance of warm red fabrics, candlelit tables and red roses. The host asked if we’d like to be seated downstairs or upstairs, and told us that upstairs had banquets instead of tables. Wanting the cozy warmth of a booth, we opted to go up. What a great decision. As soon as we got up there we noticed the red quilted ceiling and the huge window looking out on twinkling, white, Christmas lights in the trees outside. We settled into our seats and I ordered myself a glass of Malbec, my favorite red wine.

A basket of lovely rosemary bread, onion bread, and breadsticks were brought out along with butter and ice water. The waiter brought us our menus a few minutes later. We had about 6 choices in each section- better than most prix fixes I’ve seen, and just about everything sounded appealing. B and I are EXCELLENT at sharing and we always seem to agree on the same dishes which, along with a easy, lively conversation, makes us perfect dining partners. We opted to share everything.

We started with the caesar salad and the fried calamari. The salad was covered in delicious shavings of parmesan. The homemade dressing that came with it was perfect with just enough anchovies to give it great flavor- but not totally too many which can be overpowering. The calamari was ok- a little too breaded for my taste, but nice and crunchy and accompanied by an awesome spicy marinara.

Next we shared the hanger steak and the filet mignon and both were cooked to absolute perfection. The filet was SO buttery and tender and actually had a lot of flavor. We expected that of the hanger but not the filet which I often find is sort of flavorless but a great consistency, so that was a pleasant surprise. The hanger was our favorite though. It was still very tender but also extremely juicy and flavorful. It was cooked to the exact specification that we requested, medium rare. For our sides we asked for the mashed potatoes and the truffle infused creamed spinach and were delighted when they surprised us with the mac and cheese as an additional side. Yes, surely a nice, light dinner. Haha. The dishes were all so generous that I was able to bring home some of everything to enjoy the following day. All of the sides arrived in their own little crocks, an adorable presentation of delicious and hearty food. What a great meal for a cold, winter night with a dear friend.

Our desserts were pretty good but not outstanding. Then again, that might have just been because we were already stuffed to the brim. The tiramisu was fine, but not terribly exciting. The cream puffs were tasty, but boring, simply filled with cream and covered in more cream. It definitely could have used some berries to brighten it up a bit. Those were the only 2 choices for dessert and I was pretty unimpressed with them considering the quality of everything else. No chocolate option? No ice cream, sorbet, pie or fruit option? That was the only part of the meal that wasn’t awesome.

The only other thing that I think is worth a mention is the service. Although they were very professional, polite and friendly, they were slow as mud. We didn’t really mind since we wanted to chat and they didn’t seem to care if we lingered for hours, but it would have been nice if they checked in on us a few times during our meal and in between courses. We literally sat for an hour sipping the end of our glasses of wine waiting for the check and eventually flagged someone down to bring it over. Again, I’m not sure that this is a negative…just something worth mentioning.

Overall, I really liked Club A. I thought the atmosphere was incredibly romantic and sexy and would be a great place for a date on Valentines’ Day or another romantic occasion. I will certainly consider a repeat visit…especially if they run another fantastic deal like this one!

ADDENDUM!!

Gabriel and I returned to Club A to celebrate Valentine’s Day and WOW, what a special evening it was. 

There was SO much food we practically rolled out of there at the end of the night, but the overindulgence was worth every single calorie and  I can’t possibly say enough good things about the way we were treated and the food we consumed.

We were treated like absolute royalty by the staff and Bruno, the owner. First, a bottle of champagne and a basket of bread was brought over. Next a complimentary bottle of wonderful red wine was elaborately decanted for us.

Two of the largest shrimp cocktail were our next surprise, YUM!

We shared a caeser salad and a garden salad and I must rave for a moment about the outstanding caeser dressing. It was thick and creamy, with a lovely anchovy flavor and a hint of parmesan. One of the best caesers I’ve ever had.

We were then surprised yet again with a treat of lobster ravoili. The chunks of lobster inside were so decadent and fresh, this might have been my favorite part of the meal. At this point, we already felt SO full, but there was still a ton of food coming so we prepared ourselves. I began thinking that my skintight pencil dress might not have been the best choice for my outfit.

Out came our hanger steak and NY strip, cooked to perfection with the perfect amount of pink in the center. The outside was crisp and had so much flavor and juice inside…we were in meaty heaven. We also shared 2 wonderful sides of truffle oil creamed spinach and amazing mashed potatoes. We took some of the steak home and began thinking that perhaps we’d opt to take our desserts home too… Just then, out they arrived before we even ordered them! A PLATTER of sweets for us to squeeze into our bellies. It’s funny how there always seems to be just a little more room when you absolutely need it. We shared a gorgeous array of chocolate heart-sharped cake, cream puffs AND tiramisu and were blown away by the beautiful presentation of fruit that arrived  shortly after. WOW.

This was seriously the most food I’ve put away in one sitting. I was still full the next morning! Thank you SO much to Arben, Bruno and the whole staff at Club A. This was a night we will cherish in our memories forever.

Dec27

Lucky Plaza: 81 Christie st. New York, NY

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Like all good Jews, Gabriel and I had big plans for Chinese food and a movie on Christmas. We decided it would be fun to wander around Chinatown on a quest for Lychees (one of my favorite snacks that we learned are totally out of season right now) and various types of dried fish. (aka: cat-treats) While we did not find lychees, we DID manage to find longan (aka: dragon eyes, and rightfully so) and a pretty overpriced and not-very-good Chinese restaurant. Go figure.

There are SO many awesome and dirt cheap places in Chinatown that I’m really not quite sure how we managed to go to this one. It’s not that the food was awful, but it wasn’t great either.

We ordered pork juicy buns- well, actually we ordered crab/pork (see what good Jews we are? hahaha) juicy buns but were told they were out of crab. Oookkkay. We ordered jellyfish and squid stir fry…but then we were told they were out of jellyfish. Ooookkkay. We ordered fried rice, mixed vegetables and crispy oysters. Everything was so- so. The oysters were basically just a plate of tempura oysters, with no sauce. When we asked what we were supposed to dip them in, they pointed to the red vinegar (which poor Gabriel tried and nearly spit out). When we asked again, they brought out a miniscule bowl of duck sauce. Ookkkay. The fried rice was pretty good- and thank goodness for that since it’s basically what we filled up on. The vegetables were fresh and cooked nicely- but the sauce they were in was too greasy/slimy for my liking. The dumplings were also eh. So. Ya. Booooooo.

When we got the $46 check and realized what our money could have bought us instead, we were none too thrilled. Seriously? Oooookkkkay.

Oh well. Next Christmas we’ve decided we are going to be on a beach somewhere anyway.

Dec24

Co Ba: 110 9th ave, NY NY

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Just a few days ago I had a realization that I’d never tried Banh Mi before. (a Vietnamese sandwich that seems to have gotten very popular in NYC recently) I had a lunch planned with a friend in an area neither of us knew very well, and after searching for scoutmob/yelp/groupon/living social deals and not finding anything very appealing, we decided to take a chance on Co Ba- which stood across the street from where we were. When we looked in the window and saw only a couple of people eating there, we realized it was a little risky but decided to give it a shot.

It’s a cute, little restaurant, with lovely photos of the rice paddies and straw hats lining the walls, and it had an overall sense of peace and calm inside.

The prices for lunch meals were mostly under $10 and I thought much of the menu sounded great. I was sure I wanted to try Banh Mi, but didn’t know which one so I asked our waiter about them. He recommended the pork belly or the beef, explaining that the pork belly was very fatty but tasty and that the beef was leaner and spicier. I went with the beef and was sure I made the right choice after the first bite. The tangy/sweet vinegar of the pickles, cabbage and carrots went SO beautifully with the watercress and spicy tender beef. The side salad it came with was refreshing with sprigs of mint and a sesame soy dressing. The crusty french baguette the sandwich came on was such a cool contrast to the asian flavors but seemed to be paired perfectly. Okay. I officially love this sandwich.

I cleaned my plate and was even more pleased with the check arrived and I saw that my whole lunch including tip was around $10. Great deal, great service and awesome food.

Dec21

Cupcake Heaven NY: Yonkers, NY (914) 309-6933 www.cupcakeheavenny.com

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 I bought a Groupon deal for a dozen cupcakes (for $12!!) to be delivered from Cupcake Heaven NY and was excited to find out that we could mix and match any 3 flavor combos. After browsing their website, Gabriel and I placed an order for: 1. red velvet cake. vanilla icing. peanut butter cups on top.2. rich chocolate cake. whipped cream filling. marshmallow icing.hershey bar topping.3. classic white cake. chocolate pudding filling. chocolate icing.oreos topping.

The order arrived for us a few days later in cute little boxes, but we were bummed to find out that the combos were incorrect, and included some flavors that we really strongly dislike and wouldn’t eat.  At that point, I emailed the company to point out this disappointment and was told that our order would be corrected and re-delivered at our convenience. Happy to accept that mistakes are made, and a solution was offered, I placed the new order for a couple of weeks later.

Well, the order arrived today and I must say that I am VERY pleased. Everything we wanted was exactly correct, and the cupcakes were totally delicious. The cake was moist and fresh- I’m guessing they came out of the oven just an hour or 2 before they arrived at my door.

I read the reviews on Yelp and see that a lot of people are unhappy with this company. Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt. They are clearly new and working out some kinks. Bear with them for a little while and I’m sure they will be a great success. Nom nom nom. YUM.