Bar Toto

Bar Toto
Park Slope, Brooklyn
411 11th St
718-768-4698

Back in Brooklyn, for a 2nd try at the local Bar Toto. Italian food, dive-bar appearance from the outside. We avoided this one for quite sometime after moving to the neighborhood, despite its proximity to our apartment. Something about the hazy, rusty windows you couldn't quite see in and the beer signs out front, just figured it was another local bar, nothing special. Finally one day last year we went for their brunch, and it was actually quite good, and when you can sit outside along 6th Avenue there it can be a nice relaxing place for a weekend afternoon.

Well we hadn't been there since, so we decided it would be worth a Fri-night post-work try back in our neighborhood after a week of work. Convinced the hubby though he seemed skeptical, had to remind him that we did in fact enjoy brunch there before. Managed to get an outside table after a brief wait and got a couple of cold beers that were much needed. We started with the houmous plate with crisp warm pita (actually sort of grilled, different, very good). I really liked the houmous, with a nice drizzle of olive oil on it. Big plate, we were worried we would get too full from pita! Then ordered 2 pizzas to share. The plain I guess margarita was delicious. Thick gooey cheese, lots of tomato sauce (almost too much sauce if you don't like that, but I forgave that aspect), great flavor and strips of fresh basil. The other pizza was the vegetarian pizza, and we hadn't realized that there was no mozzarella on that one, only parmagian. Had lots of egglplant and zucchini, among other veggies. I liked that one as well, though the hubby was less thrilled, mostly because he doesn't really like eggplant and it wasn't quite "pizza" without mozzarella, if you thought of it as veggie flatbread it made more sense. The 2 pizzas were a lot for 2, we could have shared one. Leftovers for lunch the next day!

Miracle Grill, Park Slope

Miracle Grill (Click here for menupages)
(Southwestern)
222 7th Ave,
Btwn 3rd & 4th St
Brooklyn 11215
718-369-4541

It's so hard to be inspired to cook after work, right? Or is it just me? The other day after a drink with workmates, I figured my ambitions of going for a jog in Prospect Park were doomed, even though it was a gorgeous spring day. So I grabbed the hubby and we went for a "stroll" which wasn't much of a substitute for exercise given that the main purpose was to choose a delicious place for dinner! We decided to stop at Miracle Grill on 7th Ave between 3rd & 4th, as we had walked by before but never stopped in, and hey who's not a fan of southwestern or tex-mex or whatever exact variation this place serves (by the way is it truly a Bobby Flay creation??)

The atmosphere of the restaurant was fairly plain and un-memorable though the outside patio area was great for a nice day. The menu had a lot of great-sounding choices, though maybe slightly over-priced for what we wanted. Service was fine. We'd read something about great margaritas, so I tried the strawberry one. It wasn't the best; it was a lime margarita that looked like some kind of strawberry sauce was poured on top of. The lime part tasted good, but the strawberry didn't quite blend. Hubby's sangria was good.

I had the Barbequed pork & cheese empanadas, which I had interpreted to be different than it was (I thought it meant BBQ pork, plus a cheese empanada, but it was actually 2 empanadas, one with each filling). In any case they were EXCELLENT, really liked the flavors of the empanadas. There was a side of spinach that was ok, and a nice tomato sauce. Hubby got the shrimp & pinto bean burrito with rice and green salsa, which was tasy and his salad on the side had great dressing.

Not a bad place to check out from time to time in the slope. On the way back we ducked into the Cocoa Bar nearby for a chocolate cloud cookie, divine! Cocoa Bar has a garden area out back which looks like a nice place to hang out sometime.

Just found out, another parent visit is coming soon!! They've already said they're not so into shows and stuff, they'd rather save their show money for good food, so look out!

Brick Lane

Brick Lane Curryhouse
306-308 E 6th St
(212) 979-8787

Decided to try another Curry house on 6th St, hey why not. Again, we miss our curries from (no, not India itself) England. In London Brick Lane is famous for it's long row of curry houses, with everyone standing outside trying to entice people in to their particular restaurants. They keep adding more and more free "extras" to see if you'll bite... I was once out there for a girls dinner with about 9 or 10 girls, and wow was there a bidding war to see which restaurant would get to serve us... we ended up going to the one that offered 5 (yes 5!) free bottles of wine...

So anyway when we saw the restaurant aptly named "Brick Lane" on NYC's own curry-row, and it looked stylish, menu looked good, seemed to get good reviews, we decided we should check it out. We met up with some friends we went to school with in England, and the 5 of us took the round table by the window. On a weekday the place was empty, no trouble at all though we did make a reservation just in case. We had met the creator of Cobra beer during grad school, and some classmates even worked on a project for the company, so we've all become fans needless to say. I think they gave us all free beer at one point... but apparently they can't use the name "Cobra" beer in the US, so it's called "Krait" instead, which sounds a bit strange if you ask me. But hey we drank it anyway.

Great thing about 5 people is the potential of sharing curries. So we got 5 different options and shared, and overall they were very good curries.... chicken bhuna, lamb balti, chicken korma, saag, and chicken tikka masala (all were good, I think Bhuna was my fav!). Plenty of naan to go round, and some onion bhaji and samosas. Recommended!

Mary Ann's

Mary Ann's
(Mexican)
116 8th Ave (Chelsea)
New York, NY 10011
(212) 633-0877

Mexican. Always a favorite food choice (I just can't deal with the question of "what is your favorite food?", doesn't work for me, there's too many....)

Mary Ann's is always enjoyable, and part of the experience is trying to digest all of the endless menu options! Such good margaritas!! Their strawberry margarita was excellent, it has lime in it too so it's tangy, yum. So many options, each with so many flavors, so hard to decide. Specials always sound good too. We tend to devour their chips and salsa consistently.

Tonight's choices were Tequila lime shrimp, with plenty of red onion and artichoke, great flavors. The salad on the side had avo vinegrette, and the shrimp was served atop green rice. We also had the 'Alambre" I think, "Brochette" or skewer of chicken, shrimp, tomatoes, onions, peppers. Good, not outstanding. Served with black beans and green rice. The guacamole at the neighbors table was supposedly a small, but it looked huge! We saw a few tables leave with half the guac left a least. Something maybe to get with a bigger group. A good after-work staple.

Curry kicks

Angon on the Sixth
East Village
320 E 6th St
New York, NY 10003
(212) 260-8229

After living in England for nearly four years, you develop a keen taste for Indian curry. In England, curry houses are everywhere, and even run-of-the-mill pubs serve Indian or Thai curry. So yum. I don't think I'd had a proper curry until I moved across the pond, as my Indian house-mate in college tried only once, and not very successfully, to cook for us, somewhat disastrous. Now that I discovered that Indian curries are also about flavor, not JUST spice, well needless to say I became addicted. So many great places in London, one of my favorites was right around the corner from my last flat in Little Venice, Akash, on Edgeware Road, tiny little place with divine curries. Then there was the place we rode our bikes to in Cambridge.... sigh, memories. But that is all besides the point!

So my husband and I decided to re-live our UK fondness for curry and try out one of the many curry houses in the East Village. With so many to choose from, we took a page out of the Shecky's Best of NYC book (literally) and followed it to their vote for best Indian on "curry row", Angon on the 6th, on 6th St of course. We passed many other contenders, including a modern-looking place called Brick Lane, named after London's curry-row, with a great-looking menu (yup look for that one in future entries!).

We arrived at our destination and went down a short flight of stairs to the lower level restaurant. It was dimly lit with many hanging lanterns, candles and strings of lights which managed to distract you from the fact that they sure do cram a lot of restaurant-goers into a limited space! It was loud and busy, but fun and festive at the same time. Pappadoms came with the meal, the kind with pepper in them, and the various dipping sauces. I'm used to the thick mango chutney in London, which didn't seem to be an option, but the sauces were good. Indian beers were just right, Kingfisher for only about $4. The chicken curry and lamb bhuna were delicious, very reminiscent of our UK curries, with chunks of tomatoes, onions, and in the chicken curry potatoes as well. The basmati rice was great, with a sprinkling of caramelized onions on top. The bhuna was a bit thicker, and the sauce had great flavor. The naan bread was a highlight, so warm and buttery and soft; amazing and fresh. Great for dipping in the curries.
Service was slow at the end of the meal, it seemed no one wanted to bring us the check for ages, but we would go back for sure for some more de-lish curry!

Na zdrowie... Polish cheers from Teresa's

Teresa's
103 1st Ave,New York 10003
Btwn 6th & 7th St
(212)228-0604

My first pierogie ever! (Am I spelling that right??) Even with a Polish stepdad! Oh, yeah, and half-polish husband. Forgot that I now have a Polish last name... DEFINITELY about time I had a pierogie then!

We thought it'd be a good idea to take the parents out for a Polish culinary adventure, something you don't really find in their home in South Florida. Well they fell in love with Teresa's, another suggestion by the husband. We showed up for an early dinner and were seated immediately, though it filled up quickly thereafter. Simple decor, Teresa's does not try to be anything other than a good, traditional Polish restaurant (despite the trendy-appearance of their sign outside). We had the Polish beer they served, and started with potato pancakes and applesauce for the table. Very good, warm and crisp. I tried to eat SLIGHTLY lighter, got a salad with pear, arugula, and smoked turkey, which was good, though HUGE (it could have fed a family of 7).

The men got the "Polish platter", how could you not-- it featured, kielbasa, saurkraut, stuffed cabbage and potato pierogis. I'm not as into the kielbasa and all, but the saurkraut was excellent (much better than any saurkraut I've ever had). My mom's roast duck was caramelized with fruit and it was awesome. I was really impressed with my pierogies though! In addition to the mountain of salad, I got a selection of pierogies to try them out, boiled, with a side of onions, in flavors such as mushroom & saurkraut, cheese, potato, and meat. My fav was the potato, but they were all good. Now I feel like a real Polish wife! ;)

Flavors of Fabulous Fish: Blue Water Grill

Blue Water Grill
31 Union sq W
New York, NY 10003
(212) 675-9500

Well we really enjoyed our special night out, dinner (with my parents) at Blue Water Grill last night. I've heard it consistenly mentioned as one of (many) top NYC spots, and looking at the menu online ahead of time had me practically drooling in anticipation. I'm a sucker for anything that combines numerous delicious flavors on one plate, such as their
"Ginger-Soy Lacquered Chilean Sea Bass with Chinese Broccoli, Sticky Rice, Wasabi Vinaigrette" or "Organic Salmon with Truffled Leek Risotto, Fava Bean Vinaigrette."

So you could say we were looking forward to it! We were actually treating my parents as a thank-you gesture for all of their support for our wedding earlier this year, and hoping they would appreciate our reservations in the jazz room downstairs, since they enjoy listening to jazz and would not normally treat themselves to a dinner like this.

When we got there we walked past the crowds waiting to try and get a seat and were able to be seated right away with our reservation. We walked down the marble staircase which had votive candles on each step, to the rich red-hued jazz room downstairs. The band was playing, and they seemed quite good, although not QUITE good enough for us to take the host up on the first table he offered us which was RIGHT in front of the band. We wanted to enjoy the music, but also be able to hear one another. We found another table with a tall drippy candle and tucked in for some nice wine (they have an extensive wine list), and great bread that was brought out quickly.

I started the meal with the Baja roll (had to throw one sushi selection in there), and it was to-die-for. It features a great flavor mix (of course), of Tuna, Shrimp, Avocado, Jicama, Jalapeño. That may sound like a lot in one sushi roll, and I confess the rolls were massive to attempt to eat in one bite, but despite their size we wished for more. The parents got a shrimp cocktail with large, fresh shrimp and a cocktail sauce with a kick. The husband got the "Grilled bosc pear salad with goat cheese", which was also very nice.

The grilled shrimp & scallops entree was a top choice at the table, I had mine with lobster mashed potatoes and the chimichurri sauce (recommended, especially good on the scallops.) The grilled artichoke salad was another excellent side dish. The highlight at the table, however, was definitely the Blackened Swordfish, which was an amazing consistency with great crispy blackened seasoning, served atop a sweet potato-crabmeat-hash, a fabulous mix of sweet and savory again. I would get that meal any day! Given all of the delicious food at our table, I'm sure I'd love to go back again and again to try the rest of the menu. Many other flavors and restaurants in NYC to go though...

For dessert, the key lime sorbet was almost TOO tangy and tart. Dessert-- the caramelized banana ice cream tower, yum! Many layers, including marshmellow sauce, surrounded by hazelnut shell, so you had to, as the waiter suggested "knock the tower over on its side and break it up to get all the flavors!" Great cappucino. Very good service. Oh and I almost forgot to mention the extensive raw bar choices they have as well! We saw many multi-tiered raw bar adventures going out to patrons thoughout the night, I'm sure those are great as well.

Glad I got to experience Blue Water Grill, and treat the parents to some great seafood. Highly recommended!