Dinner Report - 8/8/07

* ARMANDO'S *
(Montague Street)

salad
chicken rollatine
mixed vegetables
wine

The food wasn't great, but the wine was good and the company was fantastic - so it all turned out fine.

Dinner Report - 8/7/07

* HOME *

pizza (sausage, mushroom, black olive)

After my long-hard day of picnicing work, it was nice to come home and just relax.

Dinner Report - 8/6/07

*ERIN, PETER, BRUNO & BONES' *
(183rd & Ft. Washington)

turkey chili
vodka & soda

My visit to see new baby Bruno was awesome. Not only did I see one of the most beautiful babies EVER - I got turkey chili for dinner! Congratulations!

Dinner Report 8/5/07

* HOME *

steak
sauteed spinach
cous-cous

A quick dinner, perfect for winding down the weekend.

Dinner Report - 8/1/07

* SOSA BORELLA *
(8th Ave & 50th St)

caesar salad
bife alla sosa borella (grilled strip steak with chimichurri on a bed of arugula, side of french fries)
chocolate cake with nocciola gelato (shared)
wine

As usual, the meal was DELICIOUS!

Dinner Report - 7/31/07

* HOME *

garlicky pork cutlets with prosciutto, lemon, and sage
sauteed spinach
bourbon

mmm - the pork was a new recipe I tried from America's Test Kitchen "Fast & Fresh 2007." I think it tasted good & Tom liked it.

Dinner Report - 7/2/07

* SOSA BORELLA *
(8th Ave & 51st)
sosaborella.com

fresh crab ceviche
caesar salad
rosemary lemon chicken (grilled boneless chicken, side of sautéed spinach and gorgonzola mashed potato)
wine


After having a few happy hour drinks at The Ritz (the bar, not the hotel), the group decided on our ol' favorite, Sosa Borella, for dinner. Once again, the food matched the company - GREAT!

Gawd - I'm so behind!

So, the past few weeks (since I got back from Russia) have been hectic. As such, I've done nothing on the blog and sincerely apologize to everyone who actually humors me enough to check in from time to time. Here goes a quick recap of June highlights...

Best restaurant meals:

Craftsteak (15th St. and 10th Ave)
Tom surprised me with a visit here as a way to prepare for the new season of Top Chef which is judged by the restaurant's head chef Tom Colichio. We started with oysters and I had one of the New York Strip selections. The meat was incredible.

Blue Ribbon Brooklyn (5th Ave & 1st St)
One of my favorite restaurants, we went out to celebrate "just because" with a bunch of friends one night. I had one of the Paella's for the first time - and it ROCKED!

Landmarc TWC (Time Warner Center, Columbus Circle)
This was a 5th grade graduation dinner for my cousin - so not only did I get good food, I had a great time hanging out with my family. The mussels were a big hit as an appetizer, and my grilled skirt steak salad was great.


Fun & activities:

Cousin Lindsay's wedding
A quick flight up to Rochester was all it took to have a really fun weekend with my family. Seeing everyone was great & the wedding was beautiful.

Xanadu - the Musical
A MUST SEE for anyone who has a sense of humor and/or likes ELO and/or likes roller-skating. It was just funny & fun. The post-show banana-split and cheesecake at Junior's didn't hurt making the night one to remember either.

The Mermaid Parade
Tom and hosted a Saturday brunch before dragging a bunch of our friends out to Coney Island for the mermaid parade (click on the picture below to see the slideshow I put together.) It was great and the mini-Wii competition afterwards was lots of fun.


Well, it's not much but it's a start to getting back on track. I figure that this past weekend's HIGH SCHOOL REUNION (!!) deserves it's own post, so I'll make that a goal for this evening.

Dinner Report - 5/23/07

* HOME *

mixed vegetables
steak (broiled with spicy steak rub)

Not much to say about this... except YUM!

Dinner Report - 5/22/07

* LOCAL WEST *
(33rd St @ 8th Ave)

shared chili nachos
shared turkey club & fries
bourbon

It was a beautiful evening, perfect for sitting outside and enjoying an after-work get together with good friends.

Dinner Report - 5/21/07

* MANDARIN ORIENTAL *
(Columbus Circle)

various hors d'ouvres
- beef kabob
- tempura shrimp
- red pepper hummus
- spicy tuna
- mini egg roll
mixed green salad
filet mignon
strawberry torte
bourbon
wine

BMG Columbiahouse was a gold sponsor for this City of Hope benefit and I was lucky enough to be invited. It was a roast of Alan Grubman (old school music lawyer,) so there were a lot of industry people either ivolved or in the crowd including Clive Davis, Russell Simmons, John Mellencamp, and Bryant Gumbel. However, the most exciting celebrity I saw was the guest of honor's daughter... Lizzie Grubman (remember her?) She looked like a train wreck.

Dinner Report - 5/20/07

* ESCUELITA *
(39th St btwn 8th & 9th Aves)

salad
pasta w/vodka sauce
lasagna
chicken w/mushrooms
broccoli
string beans
tequila

This was the end of the season party for volleyball. The buffet was just the same as it always is, the drag show was just as fun, and the open bar was just as dangerous. It was a good season (despite my team's last-place finish), and I'll hopefully play at least a little over the summer, but I'm looking forward to the break.

Dinner Report - 5/19/07

* BRUCE & JILL'S *

salad
chicken parm hero
pizza
vodka & fresca

Bruce & I split the sandwich, so it wasn't as crazy as it sounds and I had a great time playing with their beautiful daughter. Also, if bars had fresca, I would order this drink a lot!

Dinner Report - 5/18/07

* SOSA BORELLA *
(8th Ave & 50th St)

bife alla sosa borella (grilled strip steak with chimichurri on a bed of arugula, side of french fries)
wine

Oh yes! This was Y-U-M...EEEEEEEEEE!

Dinner Report - 5/16/07

* HOME *

steel head trout
baked potato
salad

You're probably wondering "Is he going to have steel head trout everyday?" Well, we got it from Costco, so of course we had lots & wanted to make sure it didn't go bad. In any case, that was the last of it (except for a little bit of leftover that you'll probably see soon enough.) And, regardless of how many times I've had it in the past week - it was still DELICIOUS!

Dinner Report - 5/15/07

* HOME *

steel head trout
mixed vegetables

Tom made it with old bay seasoning & it was GOOOOD!

Dinner Report - 5/14/07

* HOME *

mixed green salad
ribeye steak w/shallot pan sauce
bourbon

Quick & simple - and super good if I do say so myself!

Dinner Report - 5/13/07

* HOME *

steel head trout
cous cous
asparagus
various cocktails
cardamom-pecan pound cake

We ate like kings while watching the finale of Survivor.

Dinner Report - 5/12/07

* PETE'S CANDY STORE *
(Lorimer St)

mixed greens
cheeseburger
hotdog
tequila

Some friends hosted this barbecue/happy hour to celebrate their upcoming wedding - it was great except that I was not dressed appropriately for the weather & I was c-o-l-d!

Dinner Report - 5/11/07

* VLADA / SOSA BORELLA *
(51st btwn 8th & 9th / 8th Ave & 50th St)

fried calamari (Vlada)
fish (Sosa Borella)
tequila

Because of the drinks at Vlada, my memory of the dinner is kind of a blur. I can't remember exactly what it was I ordered - but it was delicious!