Date Night @ Brooklyn Star (the new location)

We've been to Brooklyn Star before and when there was the fire incident, we kept wondering when it would re-open. Little did we expect the restaurant to open down the street from us! We went opening weekend!

The place is cute and casual. I love the car area which is where we ended up eating. The main dining area had tables but primarily a long communal table.

I knew that I had to get the corn bread with jalapeno and bacon. It's really the best corn bread I've ever had! Definitely going back for more!

Bacon Jalapeno Corn Bread

Yum... the bacon and jalapeno bits...

Bacon Jalapeno Corn Bread

 We shared the Spicy Fried Chicken Wings with pickled carrots. Not my fav.

Spicy Fried Chicken Wings

 We shared the 1/2 Roasted Chicken - sweet tea glaze, country ham, rice, apple, kale, which was amazing. It was perfectly cooked and tender with crispy skin. I love it!

1/2 Roasted Chicken

Definitely going back for more!

Dinner @ Armani Ristorante

I've been curious about the Armani Ristorante ever since it opened. Since it never really got any amazing reviews by critics, it's always been in the back of my mind but never pursued. I only decided to make a visit recently because it was conveniently close to my office for a dinner with an old friend.

I was beyond pleasantly surprised. Our dinner was not cheap by any means. Between the two of us, one glass of chardonnay each, each an antipasti, entree and dessert and out total bill was close to $200. The food was amazing, but I'm not sure if I would really return to spend $$ there versus elsewhere.

The bread basket was amazing!!

Compliments of the chef - split pea soup with ricotta cheese.

The Capesante Scottate - sauteed scallops on a potatoes thousand layers and shaved truffle. Loved the truffle touch on this dish and definitely used in a unique way compared to other restaurants.

Capesante Scottate

The Carpaccio Di Manzo - beef carpaccio with an artichoke salad and parmesan cheese. I loved the full slices of parmesan.

Carpaccio Di Manzo

I got the special - Lobster and Potato Gnocchi with a tomato sauce. I loved it! I hope this have this special often, because if I go back, I definitely want this dish.

Lobster and Potato Gnocchi

My friend got the Ossobuco Di Vitello Alla Milanese - braised veal shank served with saffron risotto. The piece I had was really great, thought I think Quattro Gastronomia Italiana might be better.

Ossobuco Di Vitello Alla Milanese

My friend got the Fondente Al Cioccolato - hot chocolate fondant with pandan ice cream.

Fondente Al Cioccolato

I settled for something lighter and more refreshing - Raspberry Sorbet. Perfect and delicious.

Raspberry Sorbet

I loved the space that the restaurant was in - the set up and lighting. Everything was well-done and I may not return for a full three-course meal, but maybe return for a lighter dinner. And thinking back the $75 tasting menu would have cost less.

Brunch @ Locanda Verde

I love Locanda Verde and have dined for dinner, lunch and now, finally, brunch!

Marcos and I woke up early and made it to Locanda Verde right at 10:30am, just in time for the start of their brunch.

I started with the Tre-Stelle juice - consisting of pomegranate, blood orange and valencia oranges. Delicious.

We started with focaccia bread. Amazing as usual with the grilled onion on top. Yum!

I got the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with blueberries and meyer lemon curd. This was so good and better than I ever imagined. I loved the meyer lemon curd!

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Marcos got the 8-hour Tripe with fried eggs on top. He loved his dish!! I remember having the tripe as an antipasti for dinner and it was something all of us kept thinking about months afterwards.

8-hour Tripe

We couldn't resist the sides. Really the best sausage ever - Homemade Pork Sausage.

Homemade Pork Sausage

And I LOVED the Crispy Garlic Potatoes. So crunchy and couldn't stop eating one after another.

Crispy Garlic Potatoes

We were quite full, so skipped out on dessert. By the time we were leaving, there was already a long wait. It'll be a long while before we decide to wake up so early for brunch again but this was thoroughly worth it.

Date Night @ Bohemian

The city is known to have several back door and secretive restaurants and bars. Bohemian is one unique Japanese restaurant that is discreetly tucked away without a publicized phone number or address. The only way to make it in to Bohemian is to either have a friend who has been there already and can pass you the phone number to make a reservation or to email them - ny-info@playearth.jp hope they will invite you.

I did the latter and was fortunate enough be invited. I made a reservation immediately thinking that it would be incredibly hard to get a reservation, but turns out that its wasn't that hard and probably because there are only so many people that have the number and address.

The $55 tasting course was amazing and a fantastic deal. I started with the Bergamont, earl grey infused into ginger with pomegranate syrup and frothed egg whites. Delicious...

Bergamont

The first item was a fresh assortment of vegetables (daikon, turnip, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, green pepper...) with anchovy cheese dipping sauce. Absolutely refreshing and could not get enough of the sauce.

We added pickled cauliflower to the tasting. I love anything pickled and this left me wanting for more throughout the week.

The mushroom croquette topped with uni was amazing with a perfect crunch on the outside and soft warm texture inside.

In between the croquette and sea bass, there was also a selection of cold cuts that I forgot to take a picture of since I was so excited for the next course.

The Mediterranean Sea Bass was amazing with an assortment of grilled vegetables - potatoes, mushrooms, asparagus, garlic, onion and squash. It came out sizzling hot and was beyond fulfilling. On the menu, it is regularly $28, which is such a fantastic deal.

The next part, you can select either the wagyu beef burger with crispy potato or the ikura caviar rice bowl.

I opted for the burger and Marcos got the Ikura Caviar Rice Bowl.

At last, dessert was a sake Panna Cotta with brown sugar syrup. I was blown away and left me wanting for more.

Overall, the service was excellent, experience was amazing and we loved the food. Definitely returning - perhaps next week?

Love: DBGB for anytime of day

DBGB Kitchen and Bar is one of my favorite restaurants. The food is fantastic and I keep going back for more. I went a while ago and unfortunately, I have not been back since this past summer, which means its about time I return; however, I had to just touch on how much I love DBGB.

I've had all three of their burgers - TheYankee, The Piggie and The Frenchie. The Frenchie is my favorite - 6 oz beef patty with confit pork belly, arugula, tomato-onion compote and morbier cheese on a peppered brioche bun and accompanied with french fries (love the incredibly crispiness) and cornichon and mustard.

The Frenchie

I've always loved the sundaes, which are very decadent. My all-time favorite is no longer available - The grapefruit sundae was a grapefruit ice cream with candied grapefruit and fresh whip cream. I don't remember all the details and regret that I can't find the picture that I took from a while ago. The below chocolate sundae with truffle chocolates, fresh whip cream, caramel and cocoa bits is also no longer available on their menu, but so soooo good! Since I have not been back lately, I haven't tried the more recent concoctions but I'm sure they are equally as good as the ones that I have had in the past.

Chocolate-Caramel Sundae

On a separate occasion, I had the Omelette Norvegienne aka The Baked Alaska. This dessert is meant for two with vanilla and verbena ice cream, raspberry sorbet, fresh meringue and flambee with chartreuse. This dessert came out with a flare with the flambee chartreuse. It was a sight and simple delicious.

Omelette Norvegienne

I can't wait to go back again soon!!!

Love Dinner @ Mandolin in Design District in Miami

I spent a few days in Miami for work and one of the nights we went to the Design District for dinner. The Design District is mostly upscale furniture boutiques but also some very nice luxury boutiques such as Marni, Christian Louboutin and Tomas Maier.

The Mandolin was highly recommended and on a Wednesday night the place was packed with large groups wining and dining away. We were seated outdoors and really enjoyed our night out together.

Mandolin Menu

Mandolin Menu

The server was beyond helpful and we ordered everything he recommended. We started with the Turkish Sampler that was accompanied with homemade pita bread. The bread was well-made and three spreads were delightful complements - tomato and walnut, fava bean and carrot, traditional chick pea hummus.

 Turkish Sampler

The Cheese Saganaki was to die for! It is a crispy fried cheese and I couldn't resist asking for this one to the passed to me a couple of times to indulge in more.

Cheese Saganaki

The Kefte, beef and lamb meatballs with a dipping sauce was also delicious. The meatball is full of flavor and left me thinking if I should have ordered the lamb chops (one of the two recommended main entrees)

Kefte

Lastly, we also ordered the Marinated Grilled Octopus. It was made to perfection and thoroughly enjoyed.

Marinated Grilled Octopus 

For my entree, I decided on the Branzino (Mediterranean Sea Bass) and had it filleted. The Branzino was cooked whole (which kept is very flavorful) and simple grilled with olive oil, lemon and oregano. I feel like it has been a while since I had a well-made Branzino and loved my main course.

Branzino

Dinner was delicious and left us all so full that we passed on dessert.

The following day, we went to the Tomas Maier boutique in the Design District. Tomas Maier is the creative director for Bottega Veneta and he has his own boutique that incorporates some of the Bottega Veneta pieces that he designed. The Tomas Maier store sells a lifestyle from clothing, shoes, handbags to porcelain, perfume, coffee books. He's known for this fabulous swim wear, so if you visit be sure to pick up a piece or two. I couldn't take pictures inside the store, but here are a couple of shots of the store front.

Brunch @ Vinegar Hill House & Dessert @ Sweet Melissa's

Brunch at Vinegar Hill House in Dumbo, Brooklyn was really delicious. There was no wait at 1:00pm on a Sunday, but the place was full. Unfortunately, the place does not take reservations as I heard the wait can be quite long for dinner.

I loved everything about Vinegar Hill House except for the terrible service. The wait staff appear to be spacey and quite honestly run by a bunch of hipsters who don't really care. It's really a shame, because this place has so much to offer, but I definitely won't be rushing to return anytime soon.

Three of my girlfriends and I decided to try out Vinegar Hill House for brunch one day.

We started with the Eggs & Tomato with parmesan cheese and toast. This was delicious and we finished it without a bit left.

Eggs & Tomato

One of them had the Sourdough Pancake with apples, maple syrup and orange butter. The pancake from what I hear was amazing and compared to Clinton Street Bakery, which was named best pancakes in the city.

Sourdough Pancake

A friend of mine and myself shared the Lump Crab Omelette and it came with a small green salad on the side. The omelette was amazing and we awed over the incredibly smooth texture of the omelette on the exterior part. The inside was overfilling with crab and left us wanting for more.

Lump Crab Omelette

We also shared the Quiche made with cauliflower and gruyere cheese. This was another great dish served on a wooden cutting board.

Quiche

Our other friend got the Reuben Sanchez which has braised corn beef with sharp cheddar and a tomato-jalapeno jam.

Reuben Sanchez

Everything at Vinegar Hill House was well-made; however, the poor service is still on my mind.

After our fulfilling brunch at Vinegar Hill House, we toured around Brooklyn and I knew I had to make a stop at Sweet Melissa's. My favorites are the tarts. The pumpkin whoopie pie (upper left corner) was dry and tasted as though it was kept a few days too long. The lemon meringue and passion fruit with blackberry tarts were perfect and better than I remember them to be. The banana cream pie was for Marcos.

Sweet Melissa's has two locations - both in Brooklyn, but far from where I live. I hope they open a location in Williamsburg soon or at least in Manhattan.