Out and About in December

December was kind of a blur. I returned from Paris, I was promoted, I ate a lot, one of my oldest and best friends Marya came to visit me in New York, and then it was time to fly home to Seattle for Christmas. Here are some highlights!


L'Apicio

My flight back from Paris landed...early! I was still in the mood for delicious wines and heavy dishes, so I figured I'd go to L'Apicio after dropping my stuff off and showering for a meal. Last I remembered, L'Apicio had a fantastic gnocchi, which is what I was in the mood for.

I was given some fresh ricotta and bread to start!

The gnocchi was still delicious...but I was hoping for a meaty ragu sauce. This one was served with black trumpet mushrooms, which were still good...but not ragu. I also had a glass of my new favorite red wine, Scarpetta Barberra Monferrato to deal with post vacation depression. 

Perla 

I went to see Blue is the Warmest Color at the IFC Center, and was planning on visiting Trader Joe's after to pick up my normal groceries for the week. Instead, I remembered Perla was across the street, and I decided to grab dinner at the bar. Last time I was at Perla, it had received rave reviews, and I wasn't all that impressed. I decided to give it a "second chance", and I ended up having a great meal!

I was served a foie gras macaron as an amuse bouche. I'm DEFINITELY coming back here if that is always on the menu! 

                    

So remember when I flew home from Paris and I wanted a pasta with a heavy ragu sauce? Oh, here it is. I found it. Papardelle with duck ragu and foie gras. Ahhhhhhhh. Also on my to list for the New Year? Make a delicious home made pasta with home made ragu. I am licking my lips as I type.

And THEN I needed to have the espresso torta with hazelnut gelato. What? I need a winter layer of flab to keep me warm.

Khe-Yo

One of my oldest friends, Marya, was in town visiting for a week. We decided to investigate Khe-Yo, a new Laotian place in TriBeCa. 

                     

Saul

I headed out to Brooklyn to visit the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum with some girlfriends. We decided to grab brunch before we visited the exhibit at the in-house restaurant, Saul. Saul used to be located in Cobble Hill, and moved to the museum recently (October?).

I ordered the lamb belly. I don't think it requires any further desThe food was great, but the service was not that great. I wouldn't necessarily trek out all the way to Brooklyn for this restaurant, but I would certainly recommend it to anyone who would be in the area and wanted a nice place to eat.

Balthazar

I took Marya, her boyfriend Ilya, and his friend Aaron here for brunch. I don't think you can go wrong with brunch here (though a few of my friends disagree). We all know how much I love this place, so I won't go on more...the only thing I would skip is the pastry basket. We ordered it this time, and the only delicious thing was the cinnamon raisin roll. The rest I could have done without.

The best part of le panier!

Marya ordered the mussels...

And I ordered the mac and cheese.

Grace Bar

This is a new-ish bar that opened up in Murray Hill. The cocktails are great, the food is just okay.

ABC Kitchen

I was catching a late flight out of Newark, so I had some time to finish up Christmas shopping and the like on my last Saturday in New York. I had finished my shopping earlier than expected, so my options were to head into SoHo to the YSL store and drool over the medium lulu satchel or have brunch. Since I was a block away from ABC Kitchen, I (wisely) decided on the latter.

I'm sorry Balthazar, I think I've found a new love. I forgot how fantastic the brunch was here! I ordered the scrambeled eggs with fried oysters and chili butter sauce. I wasn't hungover (it's hard to tell these days), but the spicy eggs were just what I needed. Also, how do restaurants make the most perfect scrambled eggs? Mine always end up sticking to the pan and burning.

Brunch and a glass of sancerre!

Here is the dessert menu, if I had room left in my stomach, I would have had the sundae. Next time!

And that is it, friends. Shortly after my brunch at ABC Kitchen, I hopped in an uber and to EWR to head home for the holidays. Au revoir, 2013, thanks for the fun food adventures!