Love. Calliope: East Village

I'll start with this- Calliope is wonderful. Now, we've had a bit of a struggle going to new restaurants, falling in love and being dissapointed on our follow-up visits, but this will hopefully not be the case here because I'd be REALLY sad. A walk from Gramercy to the East Village on election night to meet a friend for dinner, I was hungry and cold by the time I arrived. I had received a text en route "the bread here is amazing"  and the rest is history:

- Bread (third basket upon my arrival) was toasted perfectly and drizzled with a lovely olive oil that saturated every nook and cranny- crispy crust and airy, oily inside and served with cut radishes.

- Appetziers were Traditional Eggs with Celery Salt and a Tallegio, Leek and Chanterelle Tart. Wow! My friend described the former as an "egg truffle"...boiled medium with a mayonaise sauce...salty, creamy. The latter was what seemed like a flat quiche with a buttery, flaky crust and a cheesy, earthy filling topped with arugala. Both were amazing.

- Dinner? The Crispy Roast Chicken and a Rabbit Papardelle. The chicken, swimming in a light broth had the dark meat removed and stuffed into cabbage leaves. The pan-fried white meat had a crispy skin and tender, lovely meat. The Rabbit was fantastic! Tender and light meat in a smokey sauce with a hint of citrus. Both were earthy and hearty, perfect on a cold November evening!

- For Dessert, a dense chocolate cake sprinkled with sea salt in a luscious hazlenut crean and the best rum baba I've had in years- Warm, soft cake with rum poured over it and fresh whipped cream dolloped on top at the table. Great cup of coffee too!

Where? 84 East Fourth Street at Second Avenue

What? Bistro serving "European Farmhouse Food"

When?  Dinner 5-11pm every night, Breakfast and Lunch is Tuesday- Friday, 9 am -2:30pm

Love. High Kitsch in Gramercy: Rolf's

There are some evenings when only REALLY BIG beers and pretzel sticks at a bar decked with seasonal leaves and vines, lights and the occasional toy, etc. will do- that, my friends, is when you head to Rolf's on 3rd Avenue (by the way, they changed to fall for Octoberfest since I've been). I always feel like I've stepped back to the fifties and am standing at a Bavarian restaurant in the Catskills when I'm here. We've shown up on nights when the bar was stacked high with meat sandwiches for happy hour, but usually it's wine glasses full of pretzel sticks and the largest mugs of beer I've encountered in the city- they're German drafts that are light, but surprisingly tasty. We seem, after a mug or two, always to order dinner at the bar. Order the potato pancakes (approximately the size of a human head) and any sausage...bratwurst, weisswurst, knackwurst- all great. Spatzle is tasty and the smoked pork chop is wonderful. Truth is, the food and drinks are not cheap, but the service is warm and the atmosphere is priceless. It is definitely a New York experience and, in the end, that's why one goes to Rolf's.

Where? 281 Third Avenue

What? Bavarian and Alsatian

When? 7 Days a Week 12pm- 10:30, Bar open until "customers are present" or until 4 a.m.

Love. Maialino: Gramercy Park

 I love the Gramercy Park Hotel- I love the look and feel of Rose Bar and Jade Bar and I love Maialino. We had dinner with friends last night and I'm always pleasantly surprised by how much I like not only the atmosphere, but the food here! The service is impeccable, our waiter able to speak fluent "menu" which allowed him to help with food pairings and drink suggestions beautifully. We started with a grilled octopus salad and caprese salad...the former was good, the latter amazing! The heirloom tomatos were chunked, rich and juicy under the drizzle of pureed olive oil / basil and the mozarella was a lovely, creamy counter to the sharper flavors. We shared the amazing suckling pig (shoulder) with it's crispy skin scented with rosemary, fennel seed, salt and pepper...the roasted potatos underneath, soaking up the incredible broth. And for desert a great olive oil cake (I'm seriuosly addicted) and a shaved espresso ice. Not full, just satisfied...perfect!

Where? 2 Lexington Avenue at The Gramercy Park Hotel

What? Roman-style Trattoria

When?  Dinner is Sunday through Thursday, 5:30-10:30, Friday through Saturday, 5:30-11

 (but check out the link for brunch hours- it's wonderful!)

Love. Vinegar Hill House: Vinegar Hill, Brooklyn

Yes, it seems we've spent a lot of time in Brooklyn lately (and we have)...truly enjoying the food from Williamsburg to Gowanus to Vingar Hill. Vinegar Hill House, our most recent gastronomic outing, is definitely an experience and I loved every moment of it! Behind DUMBO, Vinegar Hill is a little community of townhomes and cobbled streets, smokestacks and barbed wire, and it is absolutely enchanting. Wandering the streets en route to the restaurant puts you in the mood for The House...a chippy, eclectic space with pipe organ parts above the bar and rusty mid-century light fixtures, beautiful wood floors and simple table sets that reference bistros and farm tables. The service was wonderful, both prompt and unobtrusive...but when asked, our server had a great point of view when it came to suggestions on wine, beer and food. Beer? The Corsendank...a darker Belgian that was rich and not too malty or bitter (LOVED). Food? We started with the Summer Salad, a mix of room tempature fruits and veggies with olive oil that was rich and sweet, the olive oil giving the fruit a lovely, earthy depth. We also ordered the Garganelli as a starter course- buttery, brothy sauce with chantarelles and corn that we spooned up to get every bite. Main Course? Two of us had the Red Wattle Counrty Chop in Cheddar Grits- WOW!! smokey, tender and perfect with the counter of the creamy grits...down home with a refined edge. One had the Braised Short Ribs...he felt they didn't fall off the bone like they should have, but I thought the flavors were wonderful and the portion was solid. We finished with La Colombe (I love that coffee!!) and the Mexican Chocolate Bar and a berry dessert with cream cheese ice cream...yum!

Where? 72 Hudson Avenue, Brooklyn

What? Gourmet Comfort

When?  M- Thursday, 6pm-11pm,
Friday and Saturday, 6-11:30 pm and Sunday, 5:30-11 pm

Love. Union Square Farmer's Market: Union Square

Union Square Farmer's Market

Where? North & West Sides of Union Square between 14th and 15th Street

What? Farm Direct Produce, Meats, Baked Goods, Eggs, Flowers

When? Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturdays, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m

Thrifty Me: Gramercy

The area around 23rd and 3rd Avenue is a treasure trove of vintage and thrift stores! The three I've highlighted are my absolute favorites, but there is also Goodwill, Salvation Army, Cause for Paws (all on 23rd between 2nd and 3rd). It's a great place to shop for bargains and they all benefit very worthy causes.

Vintage Thrift  

Where? 286 Third Avenue between 22nd & 23rd

What? Great Furniture, Art and Table Top, Window Auctions...they get a lot of wonderful mid century to deco pieces! The current window auction has some wonderful medical -themed accessories from the thrities and forties!

New York City Opera Thrift

Where? 222 East 23rd

What? Furniture (Doyle's donates here) and Great Designer Clothes for Women

Housing Works 

Where? 157 East 23rd

What? Furniture, Clothes, Art, Window Auctions

Lavender Lake: Gowanus, Brooklyn

We were back! Yes, we traveled (kicking and screaming) to our friend Nina's going away party in Gowanus last night...after work, we were starving and it took almost an hour to go from our apartment in Chelsea to Union Square (via the L) to Gowanus (via the R.) Needless to say, not in the best of moods by the time we got to Lavender Lake:

- Greeted by the EB White quote on the way in (I love happy hour quotes), a bit better.

- Into the not-so-crowded, open bar...better.

- Walk through to the deck/patio area..good.

- A few beers from their solid beer menu...getting there.

- Chat with friends...great.

- Order food...sold! Loved it. I am surprised at how good the bar food is here...radishes with butter on baguettes, fried brussel sprouts with a lemon aioli (fantastic...fluffy clouds of brussel sprouts that melt in your mouth), homemade potato chips with celery salt (perfect), beef tartar with pickles and eggs (nice texture and wonderful, fresh flavor) and a burger that was perfectly cooked and seasoned beautifully- no condiments required!

Service was friendly, if a bit harried (it got progressivley busier) but nothing to complain about. For a Thursday night, the crowd was perfect...a lot of very laid back, fun people that were respectful of those around them. Good Times, hoping we get dragged back again.

Where? 383 Carroll Street, Brooklyn

What? Bar with great nouveau bar food

When?  M-Friday, 4pm-2am, Saturday and Sunday, 12-2am

Love. VSF: Greenwich Village

As you walk along West 10th from Bleecker, I defy you not to be stopped by the flowers in VSF's window. They are exactly what the tasteful and quietly elegant New Yorker looks for in flowers- no tricks, just beautiful and sculptural flowers at the peak of their beauty. Stop by, the bouquet of acorns against the creamy roses stopped me in my tracks...if your eyes just rolled, trust me, they'd get you too!

Love. The Bedford: Williamsburg

When our friend Jill calls to schedule a dinner, it is our excuse to try Williamsburg's gastro-offerings. We're usually pleased, but this week we were impressed! When Jill recommended The Bedford, we quickly googled and loved the look of the interior (btw, it's about 20 minutes from Union Square), so it was a go! We sat for a drink at the bar waiting for everyone to arrive- a nice Ommegang is great after a long day. At the table, we tried the kielbasa (made in-house) with pickles, greens and mustard and crispy risotto balls- both absolutely wonderful. The kielbasa was smokey, grilled and wonderful- not greasy. The risotto balls were amazingly delicate and creamy with a country bacon gravy that made my eyes roll back (yup!). Skirt steak? Perfectly cooked with a wonderful, salty flavor and the little potatos were the same. We had Old Bay fries (put Old Bay on anything and I'm there) and a chive spatzel that were little nuggets of delicious that weren't overpowered by the chive or any other spice...buttery and crisp. To finish up, I'm embarassed to say that I haven't the slightest idea what the lemon dessert I had was called, but it was warm and sweet and just tart enough to make it memorable. In short, we'll go back...the look of the restaurant is great, the food is terrific and the staff was very friendly and warm.

Where? 110 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn
What? American gastropub
When?  Breakfast 8-4pm, Lunch 12-4pm, Dinner 6-11pm (12, Friday and Saturday), Brunch 11:30-4 Saturday and Sunday

Cutting it Close: West Village

What? Fsc Barber

Where? 5 Horatio Street, West Village

Why? Great cut, great atmosphere and great value

 A great barber is like a great dentist- they are hard to find, help you look great and make sitting in that chair a painless process. When you find one, you stick with him. With that said, I get my haircut at Freeman's in the West Village and, although I initially tried it because I like the brand (love the restaurant and have a tweed blazer that I always get compliments on), I keep going because of the value ($40.00 for a cut). These guys know what they are doing and though the wait is usually longish, you can kick back and read a magazine or catch up on texts and emails in a perfectly appointed, antique fixtured barber shop that your grand pop would have felt comfortable in. Hipsters to suits, bankers to fashion execs sit side by side in perfect, coiffed harmony.

 Japanese Clown Jacket, Freemans Sporting Club

 Storefront, 8 Rivington Street

 Burnished Brown Calf Strand, Freeman's Sporting Club

Restaurant, 8 Rivington Street, via New York Pudding