Costa Rica: La Dolce Vida

Not only did I have the time of my life in Costa Rica with 29 amazing people, but I got to eat some great food. Every breakfast was spent at the Beach Dog cafe where the waitresses were hot and the breakfast tacos were even hotter. Don't know if that makes sense, but the breakfast tacos kept me coming back. Breakfast tacos, powerade, and a large water was the perfect trifecta that abled me for all day drinking and fun. Sometimes I'd even have lunch at Beach Dog. The mango chicken quesadilla was delicious!

Robins was an everyday stop for ice cream and the occasional wrap. The chorizo wrap and ice cream kept us coming back despite the owners bad attitude. The pork taco stand became an everyday stop as well. I've tried their three varieties of tacos (tuna, chicken, and pork), but the pork tacos were definitely the best. The service was slow, but it was just the way of life down there and that was totally ok with us. After smoking pork spareribs, they cut the meat off the bones and put them in a flour tortilla. The pork was topped with a crunchy slaw that added a freshness and a great textural component. Overall, it was tied with Beach Dog for my favorite Costa spot.

We had a ton of other great meals during our stay. Marlin Bill's was a solid dinner spot and so was Toucans. We had a great dinner at Cafe Paris the night of our fishing trip. They prepared our fish three ways while also preparing sides to accompany the fish. La Dolce Vita was another great dinner-- an Italian feast with our friend "Scarpetta". Our family dinner also ranked among my favorite meals, but thats because food always taste better when you cook it! There was also alot of love in the air being the last night together in a tropical paradise.

Olga's and La Banana were great spots to visit. Olga's despite the ugly name had amazing views of the sunset while La Banana was our dancing haven.

Costa Rica-- the sweet life.

St. Patrick's Day

Actually, there's not much to say about St. Paddy's day in NYC. It seemed like amateur night, but I guess that's what happens when you start ripping shots of jamo at 10am. Unfortunately, I had work till 4pm and everyone was already wasted. Spent some time at the Irish American in my neighborhood with some friends and called it an early night. My liver and wallet were happy.

Korean Flavor

Danji is a 36-seat Korean tapas restaurant on West 52nd Street. Hooni Kim, who we had the pleasure of meeting, is chef/owner of this small Hell's Kitchen restaurant. He seemed genuinely interested in meeting us and chatting about food. I went with some friends from culinary management school, so we're all very much into food. Chef Kim told us that he was happy doing his food and that people were liking it. People weren't liking it, they were loving it. As I waited outside for the rest of my party to arrive, Danji attracted the attention to nearly every passerby. "This is my favorite place" or "we have to go here" were only a few things said about Danji. Walk inside and the bartender immediately lets you know that the line starts at the wall. There's limited space, so hopefully its nice enough to wait outside--or at the bar next door like we did. Although standing along the wall might be awkward, it is hilarious to see people wrestle through the huge curtain in the doorway.

Finally we were seated at a bar table that came equipped with drawers that held our menus. The space itself looked like it was designed by a Korean Ikea and it also felt like it--uncomfortable if you haven't experienced the wonders of an Ikea bed or couch. The decor matched the concept though, a nice juxtaposition between old and new similar to its menu. Danji's menu explores Kim's take on both traditional and modern Korean food. Order a bunch of dishes to share and if something is delicious--order some more. Meals go quick here and there's a no reservation policy so somebody is probably eyeing you for your seat. Small plates range from $8-$20 and will come out of the kitchen in waves allowing you to enjoy dishes as ready. Taste around the menu. The spicy whelk salad with buckwheat noodles, poached sablefish with daikon, and spicy yellowtail sashimi were all delicious fish dishes, but Kim's meat dishes sure did shine. Bulgogi sliders with spicy pickled cucumber and scallion salsa were so good we had to get seconds. The pork sliders, bossam, and kimchi bacon chorizo paella were also hits at our table. Definitely explore the menu. And don't forget to grab some drinks--I would recommend a shot of soju and an OB lager (or a 16oz Sixpoint can). CHECK IT OUT!

Birthday Week #2

Corner Bistro

If you consider yourself a burger connoisseur than you MUST check out Corner Bistro in the West Village. Coined as the "last bohemian bar in West Greenwich Village", Corner Bistro should be on every New Yorker's radar. You get the old New York vibe from the scenery to the service. An old man rocking a mets cap served the whole place. Unless you were ready to order, he didn't have time to chat or answer questions. The menu is on the wall, but most guests don't need it. The Bistro Burger is their signature burger with bacon and cheese; but they also have a Chili Burger if you're feeling spicy. They also have a chicken sandwich or BLT if you're not feeling like a burger. But you should get a burger, its delicious and pretty cheap. Granted you could probably order two, but one 8oz burger proved to be a great afternoon snack. Wash it down with a McSorly's ale to keep with tradition and you will be one happy camper. An afternoon is the perfect time to go if you want to avoid the long lines that keep Corner Bistro bustling with business.

Crispo

It's hard to judge Crispo, because I didn't get to enjoy their menu as I wanted. It was a Friday in lent and for some reason, I felt guilty about eating meat. I went with Colette and we both laughed at the idea of adhering to this Catholic tradition when neither of us have been inside a church in months, maybe years? We looked over the menu, a rather large collection of Northern Italian trattoria fare. Sometimes I get nervous of a large menu, because I wonder how a restaurant could keep everything fresh. But Frank Crispo, chef/owner of Crispo does a brilliant job in creating dishes that reuse ingredients. Besides the same ingredients being used throughout the menu, Crispo is always busy from what I hear.

Crispo opened in 2002 on 14th Street in Chelsea and has gained quite a reputation. The 150 seat restaurant is dimly lit and cozy. The food was good, but the company was even better. Our attempt to abstain from meat was successful! We enjoyed fresh mozzarella/peppers and fried calamari/zucchini for appetizers while I got the branzino for an entree. Crispo is a classic example of trattoria fare done right. Nothing here will blow your mind creativity wise, but the flavors are all good--familiar flavors. Then again, Crispo was recommended to me by my sister and G-mart--two of the harshest restaurant critics I know. So maybe I need to give Crispo another go -around.

craftbar

I always wanted to visit one of Tom Colicchio's restaurants after seeing him serve as the main food authority on Bravo's Top Chef. Although I wanted to go to Colicchio and Sons, I found myself with Kayte and Schopp in the Flatiron area; so we stopped by Craftbar to grab dinner.

We sat at a communal table in the bar area and started with a nice bottle of Malbec, a crowd pleaser. The menu is divided into snacks, small plates, salumi, cheese, large plates, and sides. The menu is pretty exciting--you see things that might seem unusual--like guinea hen mortadella and beef tongue wagyu--two things that we got to try. The homemade salumi was delicious and paired well with the Pecorino Fonduta--a bowl of pecorino cheese, pine nuts, honey,and pepperoncini with crostini for dipping. For main course, Kayte got the spaghetti and veal ricotta meatballs which showed the kitchens skill in Italian cooking. Schopp got the pork chop and I got the pancetta wrapped guinea hen--both solid dishes. The food itself was good, but easily forgettable. Service was decent, pushing toward good rather than bad. Our server seemed a bit rattled by the busyness of a Friday night, but she stayed afloat.

My meal at Craftbar was solely memorable because of my company. The food was good, but the prices didn't align. I don't mind spending money on a good dinner, but this place might have been a bit expensive for what we experienced. Maybe Colicchio and Sons or Craft might be better value restaurants--I guess we shall see.

Pok Pok

Wings were OK! Flavor was good, but the quality of chicken was offputting. Greg and courtney disagreed. Small place on Rivington could get stuffy, so it might be better to take these treats elsewhere. Also, wasn't crazy about the water that was served from a sketchy water jug. It tasted like they added some herbs to the water--not really sure. They had a delicious limeade to wash down your order of Andy Ricker's famous Ike's Wings. Ricker's, a Portland based chef, became famous in Oregon for these wings before bringing them to NYC. The wings are meaty and the Vietnamese fish sauce will have you licking your fingers clean. But for some reason, there was a flavor that made me think the wings were freezer burnt or something? I couldn't put my finger on it, but something was taking away from these wings that had so much potential.

Another interesting thing about Pok Pok was their drinking vinegars. We didn't try them, but they definitely stood out, especially because that's all they offered besides their weird water and tastey limeade. I think I may have to try Pok Pok again.

Market Table

Picking a restaurant for my birthday is a lot harder than you think. Momma dukes and Kim were coming into the city to take my to lunch and they left me to pick the restaurant. I consulted my book with tons of restaurants that I want to go to, but I kept doubling back unsure of what I felt like...or what they were in the mood for. I decided to check out Market Table in the West Village. On the corner of Bedford and Carmine, Market Table has the warm neighborhood feel with seasonal, American cuisine by chef Mike Price. It was actually exactly what I wanted.

Market Table was the brainchild of Gabe Stulman and Joey Campanaro (Little Owl), but their partnership soured as Campanaro took over and Stulman went on to open Joseph Leonards and take over Fedora.

We arrived early, so we were able to grab a seat; but when we left the place was mobbed with people trying to get a table. The vibe was cozy and allowed for conversation. The corner spot combined with big windows allowed us to gaze out into the picturesque streets of the West Village. Our server was very nice and did a pretty good job. He didn't really say much other than recommend the duck appetizer over the scallops. The duck confit with a poached egg was a treat, but I'm a sucker for scallop crudo. Even better than the duck was the warm octopus salad which came with fingerlings, chorizo, frisee, and an olive puree.

For entrees, my mom decided to go with one of the chalkboard specials-- a fried oyster sandwich. Her oyster sandwich was quite good, although I prefer oysters raw (thats just me). My mom loved the sandwich! Kim got the chicken salad sandwich which I didn't try, because I was too full from my massive burger. This burger had great flavor from the properly seasoned beef to the carmelized onions and cheddar. Market Tables fries were also pretty good and for some reason I didn't feel as bad eating them.

We ended with Kim's favorite part of the meal-- a chocolate terrine. The chocolate terrine was accompanied by sea salt, caramel popcorn, and pistachios. It was a really good, especially when you had all those flavors on one spoon-full. Overall, I was very happy we decided to go to Market Table. The ambiance was perfect and the food was delicious and reasonably priced. Market Table adds to the list of awesome West Village restaurants!

Bartenders Night Out

(drinks at Lani)

AOC in the West Village was our first stop on my birthday bar/restaurant crawl. After some beers and sandwiches, we headed to Lani Kai for some cocktails. After a few Queens Parks Swizzles and Mai Tais, we went to the Pegu Club for more cocktails. Being bartenders, we definitely appreciate a well crafted cocktail. Up a flight of stairs at this quiet West Houston spot is an awesome cocktail lounge that exudes a sexy and exotic vibe with its subtle asian accents. It's named for, and inspired by, a hangout for British colonial officers in Rangoon in the early 20th century. We had reservations otherwise we would have stayed longer.

(drinks at Pegu Club)

We headed east to Fourth Ave for our 8:00 reservation at Ippudo--an east village ramen favorite. Even with a reservation, our party of six had to wait in the packed bar area as tables were being turned. We didn't wait long although the crowded room made it seem longer. We were lucky enough to post up against the bar for a Sapporo while we watched the masses try to score a table. We were seated in an awesome three-sided booth that aligned the back wall. Ippudo is known for their ramen, but there were other delicious treats on the menu. The pork buns were among the best I've ever had while the baby octopus with wasabi was a nice treat. Shishito peppers were another delicious appetizer to stimulate your appetite before your ramen.The Ramen was incredible! The broth was so rich and flavorful that I barely spoke during dinner. I got the original "Tonkotsu" noodle soup topped with Ippudo's secret "Umami Dama" miso paste, pork chashu, cabage, kikurage, scallions, and fragrant garlic oil. I topped my ramen with pork belly! Now I know why they consider ramen Japan's soul food.

Next, we headed to Bowlmore; but there was a 2 hour wait so we headed to Fat Cat in the West Village. Fat Cat is an awesome place to go whether with friends or on a date. Ping pong, billiards,

shuffle board are just some of the games available. So grab a beer and get the competitive juices flowing. Live jazz plays and everyone is merry.

Move Over Beef!

"Get steak for your birthday", said Chris, one of my coworkers, when I asked: where should I go for my birthday? I don't usually go to steakhouses--not because they're not good; but because you could have a more elaborate and exciting meal for the price. But Chris was right, you should treat yourself to a good steakhouse atleast once a year. Only Keen's isn't known for their steaks, they're known for their "legendary mutton-chop". Don't get me wrong, Keen's puts out some of the best meat in NYC; but the mutton is what separates them for the competition.

Dodging people only seemed right as I walked against the flow of traffic at rush hour. People were hustling to Penn Station to catch their train as all rules of politeness are tossed out. Keen's is on West 36th St--only a few blocks away from Penn Station. Keen's was very much like any other steakhouse I've been in: a man's club. To Keen's credit, I felt like it had a bit more character. You definitely got that old school New York vibe, especially when you looked up all the pipes that lined the ceiling. Back in the day, Keen's had a pipe club so the pipes belonged to the members before smoking was prohibited in restaurants. There was a lot of history if you took the time to check it out.

So on to the legendary mutton chop-- a 26 oz saddle of lamb that can please any carnivore's appetite even if they thought they were coming for steak. The mutton chop served at Keen's is among the best lamb that I've ever had--only probably is that its hard to get all that delicious meat. its one of those dishes you wish you were eating at home, so that you could pick it up with your hands enabling you to get the hard to reach crevices.

The t-bone was not to be overlooked as Ed and I split both. It was our birthday dinner and both of us were well pleased. A light Bordeaux paired beautifully with our meat and brought us further into food ecstasy. Get some hash browns and some asparagus to round out your meal. Overall, a great dinner. Keen's should definitely be on your radar!