Cafe Cluny

'Twas a West Village adventure when we decided to brave the brunch crowds and check out Cafe Cluny on a Sunday afternoon with Deep, Gigi, Carole, and her roommate. The hour wait didn't seem as long because the weather was actually close to spring-like. So we chatted outside and Gigi befriended a sweet scarf-wearing dog awaiting his brunch-eating owner.

Once we got inside, we agreed it was worth the wait! The folks who ordered eggs were quite pleased with the flavors, and the coffee was very tasty. Mel decided to try the oatmeal with a bit of granola because Cafe Cluny apparently sells their granola by the bag, so it was a safe wager it'd taste pretty good. And it did! She also got a side of twice-smoked bacon ('cuz what's brunch without bacon?) that had a great hickory flavor. Borderline jerky. Yum!

DJ opted for a tuna burger, and ohhhh it was a party for the tastebuds. The seasonings embedded in the meat really pushed the flavors over the edge.

Mesob in Montclair

We headed to New Jersey to hang out with Uncle Stan, Ibee, Amber and Luis over a fabulous Ethiopian meal at Mesob.

DJ took the lead on ordering for us, and we enjoyed a feast of Ethiopian food classics: azifa, cottage cheese, doro wat, kitfo, lamb, greens, chick peas, and of course anjera.
And major bonus points to Mesob for doing the coffee ceremony right before serving dessert. They brought out the pan with roasting coffee beans, and let us enjoy the aroma before sipping some of the best-tasting coffee ever! Alongside some scrumptious almond cake, it was a sweet end to a fantastic meal.

Oink the snow

MEL HAD A SNOW DAY!
And as soon as she got the call this morning, she did a happy dance because it meant having some free time to try a more complicated recipe than usual:

Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Pork Chop with Cider Gravy, Sautéed Apples and Onions.

Yum-O! (Shout out to www.RachaelRay.com for the recipe.)

Though the website's estimated times for cooking the pork were a bit off, this recipe wound up being a lot simpler to tackle than anticipated! The ingredients were all surprisingly healthy (very little butter and salt; lots of natural flavors), and the end result was absolutely delicious.

And the piece de resistance: the South African red wine DJ picked up to go with the meal really knocked all the tastes out of the park!

Lesson Learned: Next time, may just sear the pork and then bake it in the apple/onion/gravy combo, rather than making everything separately in the pan and then combining as the recipe dictated. That might seal in more juices and let the flavors really meld.

Dharma Pasta

We have now deemed Tuesday nights Dharma Pasta Nights in honor of watching the last season of Lost and wanting to eat something simple but tasty for dinner.

This week, Mel added some healthy chicken sausage (with sundried tomatoes) and vegetables to whole wheat ziti for a delicious and nutritious treat.

Now if only figuring out who "Flocke" really is could be as easy!

Lesson Learned: Mel is quite excited about the beauty of freezing cooked food. Since there's no such thinking as making "just a little bit of ziti", there is now a massive amount of frozen ziti and single-servings of French bread awaiting gradual future consumption. Yay for sub-zero temperatures! :-D

Sunday Dinner at Janna's

Janna had an awesome idea to have a monthly Sunday dinner and cook her way through a vegetarian cookbook. SO DELICIOUS! This month, she and Matt made tomato soup filled with scrumptious vegetables. Coupled with fresh cheese bread and some azifa that we brought, it was a perfect meal for a winter evening.

Afterward, we all worked together to make oatmeal cherry cookies FROM SCRATCH! It was a little touch-and-go when:

a) DJ decided that it would be okay to add ingredients out of order while we waited for Matt to make a brown sugar run, and

b) Deep considered splashing some beer in the mix.

But Matt came back just in time to prevent any further dissection of the recipe, the batter remained beer-free, and the cookies came out delicious! Since all the ingredients were essentially what you'd find in a bowl of oatmeal, we have henceforth dubbed these cookies:
Breakfast Deconstructed

Oh, and that fabulous bowl of nuts you see? Glazed with a homemade spicy syrup and roasted right in the oven. Eat your heart out, Planters Peanuts! We've got our own party mix in town.

Smith and Wollensky with a Brit and a Frenchie

To celebrate Deep's recovery from back surgery, Carole was able to work her magic so we could splurge on a steak dinner at Smith and Wollensky!

The guys decided to make their meals somewhat surf and turf by sharing a seafood appetizer between the two of them. Yes, that is a lobster head!


Then came the steak, in all its forms - rare to well-done and alllll gooooood. It was definitely a lot of meat!!! Deep and DJ fared a bit better than Carole and Mel, but for good reason. According to Deep: "You don't get to be this gangsta [pointing to DJ and himself] without knowing how to handle a steak."

Afterward, for those who needed a bit of something sweet, we nibbled at an apple tart a la mode (one of DJ's favorite dessert choices since, as he says, you can never really go wrong with apples and ice cream).

Overall, a wonderful meal had by all! And it was nice to finally see what the famed Smith and Wollensky looks and tastes like.

Tsunami and Smuggler's Cove - San Francisco

Oh my goodness, sushi in San Francisco is AMAZING!


Alex and Shannon were nice enough to make reservations for us all to have dinner at Tsunami - a trendy little spot near where Alex used to live. We loved indulging on sake, Japanese beer, and some fabulous sushi roll combinations.


The highlight of the evening: WALU!!! It's described as a buttery fish, and oh my oh my it is heaven in a bite. Mel actually contemplated buying it whole and just eating it straight off the bone. The waitress even told us what stores to find it in, but by that time Mel lost her nerve.


So we had delicious chocolate mochi for dessert instead. :)


After dinner we went to check out Alex and Shannon's new place and then headed to Smuggler's Cove to meet up with Marina's friends. It's the coolest pirate-themed bar, with a great selection of rum-based drinks. Definitely check it out if you're in San Francisco!

Mel's Drive-In (x4) - San Francisco

You'd think in a major city with awesome restaurants we'd try some crazy new cuisine at every meal. But let's face it, when you're tired and hungry after a long flight you want something quick and easy. So after landing very late in San Francisco, we checked into our hotel and went directly across the street to Mel's Drive-In for some fab late night snacks with Marina.

But then Mel's Drive-In became a bit of an obsession. lol The next morning we figured we'd grab a quick and easy breakfast since DJ's family would be meeting us mid-afternoon. So we ran across to Mel's yet again. Yay eggs and sausage!


Theeeeeeen, when DJ's aunt and cousins arrived they were so hungry they really didn't want to travel far for food. So we went BACK in, and sat with them as they ate lunch. At this point, the greeter looked at us and asked, "Haven't you.... been here already?" lol

Fast forward to late Saturday night after hanging out with Marina's friends and it was time for post-party junk food. So it was Mel's yet again for some take-out to bring back to the hotel.


Conclusion: no matter what major city you're in, sometimes you just need a diner! :)

Buffalo Wild Wings at Kennedy Airport

DJ suggested we name this entry "Disaster" because that's what this meal was. lol Buffalo Wild Wings is a chain so we figured it'd be a safe bet, but we're guessing that airport versions of chains use the same menus but provide different food altogether. We both were quite excited about our orders because they involved chips, salsa, pico de gallo and "mixed cheeses". What we got were fries, old diced tomatoes, and a few shards of Kraft cheddar.... boo.


But on a happier note, we don't really care that the food was bad because we're on our way to San Francisco!!!! And shout out to DJ: this blog entry was brought to you from the terminal (while we wait for our delayed flight) courtesy of his Macgyver skills of hooking up his phone internet connection to my little laptop. Such a smartie! :)

Blast from the Past! - Dinner at Mel's Parents

This happened a couple of weeks ago, but we're just getting the pictures now. :) Went to Mel's parents' for a nice lunch of salmon, chicken, rice, sweet potatoes and azefa.... oh, and to see Alex during his East Coast visit. lol But then, Amber surprised us all and came to announce that she's home for good!!! .... plus one!!! :-D

DJ's Parents' House

Queen of Sheba, eat your heart out!


DJ's parents were nice enough to host the Frenchies and Deep for an absolutely phenomenal home-cooked Ethiopian meal. The picture says it all!

Nyonya and Ferrara Cafe and Bakery

We got together with Nick and Kristen at Nyonya for some delicious Malaysian food. The Roti Canai and Curried Goat were superb, but then DJ got adventurous and tried the "aromatic crab" because it was the only thing on the menu described as "mouth-watering." :) He wasn't too pleased with what came out on the plate (lots of work, little meat - "I'm never ordering crab again. I don't care how aromatic it is.") so we figured fried ice cream would save the day... until we saw that it was just a ball of ice cream coated in soggy Frosted Flakes...


sooooooooooo, after a good laugh we went next door to famed Ferrara Bakery and Cafe for some awesome coffee and treats. Great way to end the night!

The Firehouse Tavern - LOST Premiere Party

The last season premiere of LOST + 10 HUGE screens at The Firehouse Tavern + Mexican food = PAR-TAY!

Though the margaritas left a bit to be desired, the coolness of being in a packed bar sitting in absolute silence to watch John Locke was pretty awesome.

Lula is ready...

we're all ready...

to see Ben on 10 screens...

at a table reserved for us Losties!

Park Avenue Winter

SPLURGE TIME!!! A trip to Park Avenue Winter with DJ's parents was a party for the tastebuds!

Benihana

Celebrating Liz's birthday in January with fabulously entertaining and delicious hibachi!

Hana Japanese Cuisine

How do you celebrate 5 wonderful months of getting to know each other? With awesome sushi, that's how!
(Please note: restaurant located with the help of the omniscient Google phone.)

The Farm on Adderley

A cozy brunch at The Farm on Adderley in Brooklyn was a great treat during the holiday break!