A Weekend of Family Fun

This weekend was filled with wonderful times with family!  

On Saturday, we had Linda, Jeffrey, Toots, Toto, Pam, and Kathy over for an afternoon of kitty bid whist.  As we reviewed the rules of the game, we munched on wraps and potato salad courtesy of Fresh Direct (which, by the way, totally lived up to its name - the food was super fresh and delivered right on time!).  

 

Then we settled in for fabulous hands of cards, rotating partners and teaching Kathy and Pam the rules of the game.  

 

Between the excitement of seeing different bidding strategies and the sugar rush from snacking on the amazing almond cookies Pam brought from Citarella, we didn't want to stop playing!

By the end of the day, we vowed to make the family bid whist game a regular occurrence.  Can't wait till next time!

 lovely flowers from Linda

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Then on Sunday we met up with Toots and Toto at DJ's parents for a lovely lunch.  DJ's mom went all out, making a feast of salmon, beef, cabbage, rice, chick peas, beets and salad.  Heavenly!

After a fabulous meal, we settled in to watch old home movies of the Haile-Mariam family while enjoying some of the rum cake that Mel brought along.  

Video of 14-year-old DJ = PRICELESS!! 

Happy Dancing at Hurricane Club

The owners of some of our favorite Delicious and Nutritious spots like Park Avenue and Smith and Wollensky's have a new baby in town: The Hurricane Club.  It boasts a Polynesian theme, complete with a huge rum selection and pupu platters.  Need we explain why we went there as soon as possible?

Brandon, Ladell, and Neha joined us for the adventure in gluttony.  The restaurant serves most dishes family style, so we kind of overestimated how much to order.  We tried the deviled eggs, tuna tartar and salad to start.  Then it was on to meat and veggies: wings, ribs, shrimp, asparagus, broccoli, lobster pasta, and fried rice.  Needless to say, we didn't come close to finishing all of it but certainly enjoyed sampling everything.  To satisfy our sweet teeth, we closed the meal with a flaming creme brulee which was quite tasty.  

 

 

 

Overall, the food was satisfying but nothing to necessarily write to Polynesia about.  None of the flavors stood out as particularly unique, and it was overpriced.  As DJ said: "Tasty but forgettable."  

There would be two reasons to return to the The Hurricane Club, however:  the drinks and the decor.  We all enjoyed trying the different rum-based cocktails, and the interior design is entrancing.  As soon as you walk in, you really do feel as though you're relaxing at an island lounge.  Best bet: go there for a drink and fun atmosphere, but grab a full meal elsewhere.

 

milk and cookies at Milk and Cookies

We had a fun chance to catch up with Nat and James (the parents-to-be) at Milk and Cookies in the West Village.

The place is super small, but known for its awesome cookies and ice cream sandwiches.  The reputation is well-deserved.  The cookies were AMAZING, and the ice cream sandwiches a perfect Sunday afternoon treat.

DJ tried "The Sweetheart" (chocolate chip cookies with strawberry ice cream) and Mel tried "The Grasshopper"  (double chocolate mint cookies with mint ice cream).  Two thumbs up!!!  We'll definitely return when we need to cool off in the summer.

P.S.  For fans of whoopie pies, they make those too!

Brooklyn Public House

It was an ECS/Costa Rica 2008 Reunion when we met up with Emily, Nilda, Rob and Sean at Brooklyn Public House.

This place is a great low-key hang out spot that Mel used to frequent on her summers off from the library.  A great collection of beer (including Mel's favorite Blueberry Ale), amazing burgers, and a chill pub setting make for a great time anytime.

Most of the crew got the burgers...

but DJ figured it would be fun to try one of the specials - blackened catfish (fabulous, but the spinach was so savory he could tell it was soaked in butter - ha!)...

and Mel decided to try the bacon-wrapped scallops (delicious for the first few bites, then a little too salty).

 

Afterward, we swung by Drink Up NY on the way home because a friend had mentioned they have a fabulous rum selection.  DJ picked out a cool one from Guyana.  Since it's named Pyrat, he decided to try pulling out the cork with his teeth like Captain Jack Sparrow.  Unfortunately, we do not have photos or video from the debacle that ensued, but needless to say it did not go as planned and we might need to see a dentist in the near future.

  

But the rum is fabulous and even has a hand-written certification of hand bottling!  Love it.

 

Lillie's Victorian Establishment

We met up with Liz in Union Square for a bit of brunch at Lillie's Victorian Establishment (the name speaks for itself).  

The food was typical brunch fare - the various egg and side dish options.  But they did also have a few specials of the day, of which Liz opted for the spaghetti and meatballs.

Mel went for the Norwegian Eggs so she could get a taste of the smoked salmon, and tacked on a side of the Irish sausage to share with the table.

DJ was adventurous and got the Irish Breakfast in honor of the Victorian theme.  The black and white pudding was questionable (we couldn't really figure out what it was exactly) and a bit salty, so DJ didn't really eat it.  Upon further research, turns out that this delicacy is a form of Irish sausage that involves a lot of pig blood.  That would explain the saltiness, indeed. 

At the end, we all took a few bites of the molten chocolate cake with ice cream, which was delightful (but really, when is it not?).  

Overall, the food at Lillie's is perfectly good pub grub, but we'd actually return more for the cool decor and the fact that we did not feel at all rushed in the midst of the popular brunch hours.

Another bonus: pints of beer count as a free drink option with your brunch (as well as the usual Bloody Mary or Mimosa).  Gotta love the Irish!  :) 

Lasagna and Luck

We stopped by Toots and Toto's to play a bit of bid whist, and Toto treated us to a feast of lasagna, salad, and garlic bread!  Our stomachs were doing back flips of happiness.  :)  We even got to take a lot of it home (MAJOR BONUS!), so we'll be set for days!

Afterward, we settled in for a few rousing rounds of bid whist with new partners:  DJ with Toots, Mel with Toto.  We also tried a new style called Kitty Bid Whist, which was a fun challenge.  The DJ/Toots pairing yielded 2 out of 3 wins, but Mel and Toto were clearly the lucky ones with some great streaks of good cards... somewhat resembling the hand below:

A rematch is definitely in our future.

Massages and Mai

The winter has really gotten us feeling run down, so DJ thoughtfully booked two massages at Ease NY in Midtown to relieve some of the winter blahs.  We left feeling so invigorated and refreshed... and ready for dinner!

As luck would have it, right next door is a new sushi place:  Mai.  Since it was convenient, we figured we'd give it a try.  And boy, are we glad we did!  This place is AWESOME!  The decor is simple and comfortable, the food is happy-dance-inducing, and the service is extremely friendly.  DJ ordered a bento box, which started us off with some delicious miso soup and a salad with the tastiest dressing we've tried in a while:  mustardy/smoky/spicy/heavenly.

Then came the rest of the bento box, along with Mel's order of a basic sushi sampler (the chef's top five choices of the day).  Each bite was so fresh and delightful! 

Last but not least, the bento box deal came with a dessert.  Mochi (one of our favorites) was an option, but we decided to try something knew and go for the sweet dumpling.  Turns out, it's little balls of mochi dough floating over tasty bean paste in (cue the chorus of angels) MANGO SAUCE!  Mel nearly fell off her chair in excitement.  We loved sharing every last bite.

Overall, Mai was such a happy accidental find.  DJ is definitely going to recommend it to coworkers for lunch or after-work gatherings.