Brunch on Bowery with Gigi

Gigi is in town for a bit of summer, so we got to catch up with her, Michelle, and Deena over brunch on Bowery!

We got to the meet-up spot a bit early, so we wandered looking for a place to grab a drink while we waited.  We saw a sign for "Berries Sangria" and looked no further.  Turned out we had stumbled upon The Wren - a relatively new spot with great style.  Gorgeous wood floors and bar, charming people, a screen they pull down to show soccer games, and great drinks.  Score!  We'll be back.

Then we headed over to our main destination:  Peels.  This apparently is a new hot spot, so it was quite crowded.  But we had a reservation (whew!), so we were seated right away.  It's actually two floors, and we had an awesome booth upstairs that fit all of us quite comfortably.

Everyone we encountered was very friendly, and the food was all farm-fresh.

 Mel's Chef's Salad (without the egg)

DJ's Fried Chicken Sandwich (delectable!)

Biscuits & Gravy and Eggs Benedict for the gals

Overall, we enjoyed Peels.  But we have a feeling we'll be drawn back to the laid-back vibe and crafty drinks at The Wren a bit sooner.

Juventino in June

Kathy's birthday is the first week of June, and we wanted to celebrate with her in style.  So we headed into Park Slope to check out Juventino with Dave, Amber, and the Birthday Gal.

First off, the venue itself is fabulously welcoming.  We had a great window table lit nicely with candles, and were impressed by the table running along the middle of the restaurant.  At first we actually thought it was the bar because the high table had benches and was backed by a wall of shelves filled with books and bottles (cute!).  But we soon realized that it was indeed a table for people to dine community-style.  Love it!

The food is equally impressive.  We started off sharing duck prosciutto and a cheese plate (yum!). 

Then we moved on to main courses:

Dave got the duck (said it was possibly the best duck he's tasted)...

Kathy and Mel got the scallops (overall, a very sweet taste on the palate due to the combination of corn puree and carrots, but delicious)...

and DJ had the surf and turf (the beef was a little more well-done than he prefers, but he still really enjoyed it)...

 and Amber had the pork loin (thumbs up!).

Overall, we all really enjoyed our experience at Juventino.  The most impressive thing was how friendly they were.  We had mentioned to the waitress that it was Kathy's birthday, and she took all our drinks off the bill in honor of the special occasion!  So yes, we will definitely be going back.  :)