On Friday night, Chris and I headed to bruschetteria for a quick bite to eat. bruschetteria is known for their sandwiches, wines, and…bruschetta! The place is tiny and right next door to teany, the tea shop that was once owned by Moby. The place is very cute and there is only enough space for 20 or so people:

I ordered a pressed sandwich with arugula, turkey, avacado, and tomato and Chris ordered four pieces of bruschetta with tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, and olive oil. My sandwich was really well made (there’s only one guy behind the counter making sandwiches and boy did he take his time). The turkey was really good (honey roasted) and the bread was crunchy on the outside, but soft and chewy on the inside (it tasted like it could’ve been from Balthazar). Chris’ bruschetta was okay (he enjoyed it) but I don’t think there was enough olive oil to bring everything together. I didn’t take pictures of the food (sorry!) but I’d definitely go back for a sandwich some time, so don’t worry, there will be pictures eventually!

After bruschetteria, we headed to teany for a Raspberry Lime Ricky, made with fresh raspberry puree and lime juice, blended, then lightly carbonated and sweetened. It was pretty tasty, although I would’ve preferred it without the sweetener (it was already pretty sweet on its own). They also specialize in vegan dishes (and desserts) and might be a cute place to check out sometime. I hear that moby doesn’t own the space anymore since he broke up with his co-owner, Kelly, so they sold it off, but who knows, I could’ve just made that up. Check back tomorrow for more updates!

After dinner at Bond St. Sushi and another snack at Soho Park, all of us headed to Double Happiness, a lounge on the lower east side. One of Felicia’s friends was DJ-ing at the club and we stopped by to have a couple drinks. The place is very dark (it’s underground) and it’s almost like a maze trying to get to the bathroom. I like Double Happiness because it doesn’t get too crowded, the bartender’s aren’t pretentious, and they have interesting martini creations. I read a review saying you should try their green tea martini, but Joe ordered one and it was probably the grossest drink on the menu. I ordered the grapefruit martini and it was delicious (I’m usually not a fan of martini’s since it’s mostly alcohol). The music was great and we all had a great time dancing, drinking, and hanging out with friends. Pictures from the night:

Chris, me, and Joe in the little nook next to the DJ booth:

UIUC-ers in NYC! (Felicia, me, Joe, and Jason):

Definitely check out Double Happiness when you’re looking for a cool hangout where you show off your made up dance moves without feeling embarassed (or at least I didn’t feel embarrassed :))

I haven’t been keeping up with blogging, but don’t worry, I have lots of restaurants to write about! Last Wednesday, Chris and I headed to Dash Dogs on Essex and Rivington for some hot dogs, sliders, and sodas. (Do you see how I’m trying to eat healthier?!) Dash Dogs opened a couple of years ago as a “fun project” for the owners, who own a seafood restaurant down the street. They sold hot dogs with different toppings and had lots of customers after the bars closed (who doesn’t like to eat junk food when they’re drunk?!) and started adding in sliders (bite-sized burgers) after eight months or so because they were sick of eating hot dogs all the time (I don’t blame them). The restaurant is bite-sized itself with only a couple of stools and some standing room, but the place is very cute…and how long can you stay somewhere eating a hot dog, anyway? The toppings are all listed on the mirror:

We both ordered the dash combo, which is one slider, one hot dog, and a soda, for $7 (you can pick any toppings, too). I picked the Infamous Stoned, which came with chili, cheese wiz, and crushed fritos.

and a slider with avocado:

The hot dog was pretty delicious, especially with the cheez wiz and fritos (what a nice touch). I can imagine how long the lines get after the bars close because this would definitely hit the spot. The slider was okay, but nothing special (maybe I picked the wrong topping. Next time I’d try something with the garlic aioli). Chris’ hot dog just had sauerkraut (nothing fancy) and his slider had cheese and sauteed onions:

Overall, I think the place was really cute and the owners were all really nice and talkative, and I think I’d stop by again when I’m on the LES. Go check it out!

We went to Time Out’s 2007 pick for best brunch for our weekly brunch date: Clinton St. Baking Company. I read a bunch of reviews saying that this place is absolutely amazing….and it IS. Clinton St. Baking Company is on the Lower East Side where patrons line up BEFORE they open, just so they don’t have to wait around for a table. Since I usually wake up pretty late on the weekends - don’t even think about calling me before 12 on Sundays - we had to wait. When I put our name down, I was thinking, okay, maybe 45 minutes…but no, we were told an hour and a half! Seriously?…we questioned if it was worth it. I put our name down and went outside to wait and to discuss whether or not it was worth it for food. While we were waiting, the hostess came out…with little pancakes and maple butter:

NO JOKE! She came out and offered samples for all the people waiting (how nice is that?! And look at how many people were willing to wait at least an hour for food!). One bite of the fluffy pancakes and we sat down and started reading our magazines to pass the time…it was DEFINITELY worth it and we were willing to wait. One little pancake the size of a quarter convinced us to wait an hour and a half for food…but then it got better because another waitress came out with THIS:

A waffle with fresh strawberries, lemon marscapone, graham cracker crumbles, and chocolate drizzled on top. Oh.my.god. It was SO incredibly good AND they only had ONE waffle, so there weren’t that many samples, but Chris and I EACH got our own piece! The waffles were so crispy and browned on the outside and yet so warm and fluffy on the inside….have you ever had waffles so good?

We were seated an hour and a half later and luckily, got a seat right by the window - perfect for a sunny afternoon to people watch. Clinton St. Baking Company is probably most famous for their blueberry pancakes - they’re warm, fluffy, and the syrup that comes with the pancakes is so buttery-and-bad-for-you-but-you-eat-it-anyway-because-it’s-so-tasty. A full menu in case you wanted to check it out for yourself. We ordered blueberry pancakes:

How delicious do those look? The secret, apparently, is to add egg whites RIGHT before you put the waffles on the griddle. Also, you have to make sure the temperature is just right (just right being hot but not too hot…how can you tell?!). The maple butter is out of this world and I usually don’t like too much syrup on pancakes because it’s too sweet, but I doused my pancakes with syrup because I seriously couldn’t get enough of it - sweet and buttery - the worst combination for your health! Another shot of the pancakes:

Chris ordered the southern breakfast (since we always switch plates halfway through the meal, we try to get something we’d both like to eat). The southern breakfast includes two eggs (we chose scrambled), grits (yum-oh!), four pieces of honey cured bacon, and fried-green tomatoes:

The eggs were slightly runny (in a good way…maybe they were just moist?) and so fluffy (how do they do it?!), the honey cured bacon was probably the fattest thing I’ve ever eaten but so delicious I ate all of it, the grits were cheesy and stick to your ribs/thighs good, and the fried green tomatoes were ok. You can’t be perfect, right? I think the fried green tomatoes could’ve used a little kick - maybe a little Tabasco sauce to make them spicier.

We also shared a biscuit, warm and fresh out of the oven:

Chris thought the biscuits at The Waverly Inn were better and I thought the biscuit needed more honey or sugar in their recipe. The biscuit was good, but not memorable. I think it was a little too crumbly and if they used more butter, it would’ve stayed together better (but I’m glad they didn’t because I consumed so much fatty food that as I write this, I still cannot force myself to eat anything). It also came with raspberry jam, which was delicious and homemade:

Brunch was definitely worth the hour and a half (but only once in a while) and afterwards, Chris and I walked around the lower east side and enjoyed the wonderful Sunday afternoon. This Thursday night is our birthday celebration and then we’re headed to Martha’s Vineyard to celebrate our birthday’s! I can’t wait!!!!!

On Saturday, Chris and I headed to Nicky’s Vietnamese Sandwiches on the LES for some Vietnamese sandwiches. I didn’t even know there were Vietnamese sandwiches…I’m from Champaign…so, be happy that I’ve had pho before. Nicky’s is special because it’s this small place on 2nd Street (I’m not familiar with the LES at all…unless you count knowing where all the good bakeries are in Chinatown as knowledgeable):

The place was really packed when we got there (at 3pm!) Nicky’s is a little run down, but it’s a small space with only two or three employees, two toasters, a rice cooker, and a television (playing the Simpsons on repeat!). Their menu is very simple - three or four types of sandwiches and a couple of rice options. Also, it’s incredibly cheap for sandwiches (only $4 a pop - you can’t beat that!). I ordered the traditional Vietnamese sandwich - Pâté, ham, ground pork, pickled carrot, cucumbers, cilantro, jalapeño, and mayo on a baguette and Chris ordered the chicken sandwich - Chicken, pickled carrot, cucumbers, cilantro, jalapeño, and mayo on a baguette. A picture of my sandwich:

First bite: awesome. The baguette is crispy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside. The Pâté, ham, and ground pork go surprisingly well with the carrots, cucumbers, cilantro, and jalapeño. The cilantro really makes the sandwich fresh and delicious. (My opinion may be somewhat skewed since we hadn’t eaten since the night before and we had to wait 30 minutes to get our food). If the location was closer to me/closer to a subway that’s close to me, I’d go there all the time, but since it’s in the middle of nowhere for me, Nicky’s is a place I’d go for a special treat.