Gus & Gabriel Gastropub

B and I discovered the Gus & Gabriel Gastropub last summer, right after watching the July 4th fireworks. Since then, we've been back several times for their delicious "Smothered" Chicken and eclectic beer selection. It wasn't until Friday that we decided to take advantage of their daily $15 deal: burger of choice, beer of choice, and nachos. The burger also comes with cole slaw and fries. That's an incredible amount of food for one person! I ordered a Weihenstephan Weiss Wheat beer and a medium-rare fried egg, bacon, and gruyére cheese burger (held off on the onion rings). It was very tasty for a burger, but I'm not sure how anyone can eat it like a burger though. It's as tall as it is from the tip of my nose to the bottom of my chin.

Cabrito

I enjoyed a colorful and spicy lunch at Cabrito with M on Thursday. For $10, you get two tacos and fixings. The corn tortillas are house-made and served with mexican rice and black beans. I tried the  Lengua y Tomatillo (braised tongue with avocado salsa) and Pork Belly (braised with tamarind-arbol glaze, jicama, green apple slaw). The Pork Belly taco was money. Braised tongue wasn't as tender as I thought it would be.

Eighty One

I apologize for not writing for awhile! For the past week, I've been stricken with a nasty cough (residual of a cold) and haven't been able to put my thoughts together. Today, I'm feeling a lot better. At least good enough to finally review Eighty One (from last Friday).

The "JD" on Raynaud Dinnerware

By popular demand, I made a batch of Japanese BBQ chicken for R's Superbowl party. This time, I tried using wings instead of just drumsticks and thighs. Although you don't get nearly as much meat per piece, you end up with more pieces for the party. After purchasing a splatter guard, the frying part was much easier to manage/clean up. These pieces are also showcased on my new Thomas Keller Hommage Porcelain plates by Raynaud. I snagged them off of RueLaLa at 30% off of the retail price. Love them!

Giorgione

A colorful and nutritious lunch at Giorgione with B. The beets paired well with the citrus and who doesn't love asparagus drenched in butter? I haven't been to Giorgione for awhile, but whenever I do go, I always enjoy it. This may sound crazy, but this was my first "vegetarian" meal in a long time. I should do this more often.

Restaurant Week: Nougatine

The double date Restaurant Week dinner that I had been looking forward to for weeks fell way short of my expectations. Since Noutagine is a highly rated Jean Georges restaurant, which even shares a kitchen with the Jean Georges Restaurant, you would naturally assume that something was wrong with our company, and not the food. To the contrary, S^2 were quite wonderful to dine with (as I had already learned from our first eatventure) and my meal left me wanting. There were distinct "winners and losers" on the Restaurant Week menu, which averaged the experience out to "good, but not anywhere near great."

Honey Tasting & Wine

Did you know that without honeybees, over a third of our global food supply would disappear? Even Albert Einstein once projected that if the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live.

Arcadia Beer Tasting

After slurping down a few dozen oysters at my favorite raw bar, the Mermaid Oyster Bar, B and I headed over to The Village Pourhouse for a Beer 101 and Tasting. This was the second tasting event where I had gotten the tickets from Groupon. Tonight, the tasting showcased a wide variety of Arcadia Ales from Battle Creek, Michigan.

Rheon Cafe

This is the amazingly delicious roast duck sandwich with romaine lettuce, cucumber and a sweet-spicy miso sauce from Rheon Cafe in SoHo. At $8.75 for a whole sandwich (or $4.75 for a half), which includes a piece of fruit (apple or banana), I don't know why I don't come here more often! I need to try their Ciabatta "Wagyu" Beef Burger sometime... More pics can be found here.

Bento Box Battles: Yama

Contestant: Yama

Location: 30-40 Carmine St., West Village

Order: Very Special Set Bento Box

Gari

I felt rather self-conscious when I first stepped into Gari. There were only a few patrons at 6:45PM, so everyone's attention was on us. We were greeted with a sharp "IRASSHAIMASE," which is a customary welcome at Japanese restaurants and businesses. Behind the sushi bar lined a row of five chefs who patiently waited to craft their next masterpiece. I usually like to sit at the bar, but only when the chefs are completely preoccupied and thus would have no time to observe my less-than-perfect table manners. But there was no escaping the unintended exhibitionism here. The giant glass windows and bright lighting insinuated that this place nor its guests had anything to hide.

Keste Pizzeria

For lunch today, M and I went to Keste Pizzeria to use the Blackboard Eats promo. I ordered the Prosciutto E Arugola personal pizza (as shown above) and it turned out to be absolutely delicious, but way too big. After the free appetizer (a filling caprece), I was only able to handle one slice!