novelas y mariachi

I have my bestest in town visting with her hubby for the New Year and they are a couple of fun foodies. So our mission last night was to find this little authentic mexican place that is holed up in the back of a mexican grocery store/bodega. Need to remember the name - I will post that later... just trying to keep up with the writing in general. Walking in towards the back I see the TV on novelas and the radio playing mariachi's and in the back corner there is a tiny window with one menu, mostly in spanish. Just place your order and grab a beer from the fridge - the food is made fresh and so yummy. Great for a quick bite or to sit and eat a little more. There are only two small sides of bar stools are the mirror lined walls; I'm guessing in an attempt to make it seem like more space. After eating you walk up to the front and just tell them what you had - coming out to $8 for my dinner and a drink isn't too shabby. Worth the trek over to 10th ave and 47th St for sure!

New Fav Museum

Haven't been keeping up with this... again. But wanted to quickly note I found a new fav spot in the city - the Rubin Art Museum. It's located in the old Barney's (how fitting) and the building is gorgeous - I need to go back and try to take pics for that sole reason. It almost feels as though you are in the center of a shell if you stand at the bottom of the staircase and look up. In addition to the art the have a great gift shop and a bar with a DJ and food. I went on a Friday night so not sure if this is an everyday occasion but I will definitely return and I'll write more soon especially on how great the food and drinks were! Also there is a promotion for a free movie screening when you buy a drink. I skipped it the last time but I am sure I will return. Check it out - it's worth it!

My Favorite Bar Food

Randomly I am deciding to write about one of my favorite bar foods - Jalapeno Poppers! I just had a delish version on my Birthday when making a stop on the way home, at the Irish Rogue. They made them the classic way stuffed with Cheddar Cheese. Some places make them with cream cheese which is still great but by far, not the best. Not much else to say except if you haven't tried them, try them! They are not as spicy as most people think; although, I have had some super spicy versions but it's not typical to find those. Just be careful not to burn the roof of your mouth when biting into one - think deep fried, melted cheese is waiting to ooze out once bitten!

Soundtrack to My Life

I am 29 years old and I am now an official ipod shuffle owner. My life is great again; how have I lived without music in my life for so long? I moved to NYC almost 2 years ago and never thought to get an ipod, although I did see many people on the subways and walking on the streets with them. Moving from a non-pedestrian city, I just never thought about it because I had a stereo at home with many, many CD's and in my car I had a CD player and the radio that kept me entertained on many rides to and from work. Going out to clubs or bars, we always had our theme music on hand playing loud. It was great.
I moved here and my soul lost the music - I just never realized it. Of course I would dance along to all my favorite music in the clubs and I did buy an alram clock with CD player to listen to the occassional song or two at home but it just is not the same. So now I feel that I am seeing the city in a whole new light. With music in my ears and thoughts in my mind - the people and the colors of the city kind of changed somehow. That little bounce in my step gets a little bigger and I feel I always have that smile again. Seeing someone smiling makes you happy. And another thing I discovered is that if I have music in ears I don't hear the stupid guys cat-calling out to me which all around makes me a happier person. For those who know me - you know.

Light Bites

A friend first introduced me to La Pain Quotidien over the summer because she decided to have her Birthday Brunch there - the location in Union Square. The family style tables make it a warm and welcoming environment for such a thing. I went back with my Mother for champagne and snacks before a movie in the fall. Perfect for that occasion as well but we opted for a smaller twosome table to catch up amongst ourselves. This past Saturday I found myself at the location closest to Bryant Park, after no luck trying to skate; we had planned a skating day completely forgetting that it was a holiday weekend. We all got the small plates to share. I sampled the special beverage of the day, the organic ginger apple cider - it was delish! But you definitely have to like ginger for this one. I ordered the Ricotta Terrine but they were out of Ricotta - I was bummed but got the sugar waffle instead. I tend to go from one extreme to the other; however, the Ricotta had honey on it too so not too far off. I shared the black bean hummus with a friend. Would highly recommend this one for something light and refreshing, the perfect about of tomato flavor blended nicely with fresh avocado that was just crisp enough to be not too ripe. It was easy to enjoy conversation and it is that in between organic kind of restaurant if someone isn't ready for a full on vegetarian/vegan spot, this is perfect to try. The food is fresh, yummy and organic but also may introduce something new into your palate. The service was a little slow but for the kind of relaxing afternoon that it was, we didn't mind one bit.