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!
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.
