Le (New) Crew?

Could my little New York crew be forming before my eyes? Let's hope so folks! My cousin Nicki was in town for the weekend and what a weekend it was!

Friday night I met up with Nicki, Kathleen, Val, Rich and Zak at Cafeteria on 7th Ave. A lovely spot right on the corner boasting a famous brunch (hello Sex and the City...) and even more famous mac n'cheese. It was packed on Friday night. Luckily we were all cozy at our tables while the gale force winds and heavy rain was brewing outside.

SIDE NOTE: There was actually a tornado warning on Friday from about 4 pm to 8 pm. Wacky East coasters.

So, we all cozied up, got into conversation and REALLY got into the mac n' cheese. Nick and I shared a goat cheese salad, she had the original mn'c and I had the truffle laced mac. Wow. I don't even think it's really right that restaurants serve mac n' cheese (I can get the value pack at Costco for like 4 bones), but this was real good. Top that off with some yummy cosmos and you have yourself a fine Friday night din.

Post-Cafeteria, most of that crew headed to another dinner at craftsteak. This spot is further west near my 'hood, so Nicki and I branched off and I took her to the West Coast to show off my new place. We hung out for a bit before the fateful call from the Swede - Erik - inviting us to meet up with him at Schillers.

Nicki treated to a cab and we were whisked away to the LES. Schillers is actually a restaurant bar by the peeps who own Pastis (Meatpacking) and Balthazar (SoHo), thus forming a fine trio of hotspots in all 3 gentrified (or eurofied) neighborhoods.

SIDE NOTE: Neighborhoods go through their "hot" phase so quickly these days that you just can't keep up with all the eurofication. It's crazy. There was this article in NY Mag that dubbed some spot in Jersey the next hot spot... probably for 2 months before it's over the hill.

Schillers bar seemed crowded at first, but once the mojitos (Erik), waters (Nicki) and Sparkling Mangoes (me!) started flowing, it was more like bar paradise - complete with foreign bartenders!

The Sparkling Mango is topped off with champagne (the sparkle) and has a nice mango slice on the rim (by the 3rd one I was asking for double mango slices).

I was ready for some action, mobile in hand. After much texting, Nate, Jenne and Sarah joined us for beer (Nate), vodka sodas (Sarah) and cheap wine (red then white, for Jenne). We rocked Schillers until about 2:30 am. Sarah and Erik had to jet, but the rest of us continued on to the next spot for the classic EON bebita: Stella Artois.

I ran into a tree branch on the way there.

And thus, a crew was born.

Let's Get Dirty

In the fine world of take-out, I have decided to become an expert. Apparently this is the best cit-ay to do that in, so why not.

Tonight, as I waited for the Real World premiere re-run, the spot was Dirty Bird To-Go. Yummy yummy. Found out about the spot in my own secret way and to my surprise my roommates didn't even know about it. Gaby (the one who is going to journalism grad school) apparently could smell the tastiness as I ran down the hallway with it. She asked, "What did you order tonight?", as she shuffled through the ridiculous drawer full of take-out menus (good and bad) in the kitchen. I told her it was the goodness and it was on the web, so no need to kill another tree.

SIDE NOTE: There is also a huge basket of take-out menus in the living room as well. As part of my deconstruction/reconstruction of the apartment, I am hoping to phase out the basket. The menus will all be recycled of course.

Dirty Bird. Dirty Bird. The chicken was so good. I had a quarter rotisserie. You can also get free range fried or straight up chicken fingers. Ali's Salad was not so good, but I think that is only because I put the dip for the chicken (do they usually send like buttermilk cream sauce for chicken?) on the salad thinking it was ranch. Anyway, the chicken made up for it and I can just have a wheat grass shot tomorrow to make up for the greens.

Spot: Dirty Bird To-Go
Who Dat?: Take-Out Chicken (and other stuff that goes with chicken)
Where: http://www.dirtybirdtogo.com/

Steamed Buns

Missing my Shanghai buns. Anthony heard rumors about the tasty dumplings and we traveled deep into Old Town to find the bun window -- and an hour long line to get the goods. It takes a while to serve the buns because each bamboo round holds only enough buns for one carton. I think there is also an upstairs dining room, where you can sit and eat, but be prepared to wait there as well. The bun window is really where it's at anyway. At for just 8¥ - such a good deal. Enjoy!

Nanxiang Steamed Bun House
85 Yu Yuan Rd, Old Town
Shanghai, 200010

GOTAN Goes Webster

HPIM1158, originally uploaded by danielafenili.

GOTAN Project swept into the Big Apple on October 25th. The show was absolutely HOT (even though it was freezing outside) and they did not dissapoint. All the old classic tango beats and some cool new tracks were all accounted for. Aprile and I had the bomb time.

Who? GOTAN Project
Where? Webster Hall
When? 10.25.2006
What? Sick tango beats, smokin hot visuals and all the GOTANers in white suits and long dresses. Love love.

My First Day

Working the FedEx packages my first day in the New York office. Aprile was there to give me the scoop on the lay of the land. In total, I believe it was about a week to receive and unload all the FedEx packs.