DBDG and The Lower East Side

We spent some time today walking around the lower east side before our reservations for DBDG. This is the New Museum which opened not too long ago - one of the first museums to open in years. Maybe next time we'll take a stroll through.

We took the 6 train to Bleeker street and it was within a couple blocks of the restaurant. We'd left a little early to walk around and to be able to make our reservation in the even there was a train issue.

We stopped at the Bowery Wine Company around the corner from DBDG, and had a glass of pinot grigio. The wind outside was stirring up lots of winter dirt sand, so it was good to step inside rather than walk around on this particular day :)
When we got to DBDG we were sat immediately in the back dining room - it was a nice room with some alcoved banquettes for larger parties. What was nice was that all the families with gobs of rugrats were in those alcoves, so the dining room was still like a dining room and not like Chucky Cheese. Bonus!

The cocktail menu includes 6 (that is S-I-X) pages of beer alone. I hadn't heard of a single solidary one, and all were over 5% alcohol. I decided I may as well have the White Cosmo from the Daniel Baloud empire :) FYI - they are quite nicer at Daniel, but ok here.

We started with the asparagus and fried egg appetizer - the egg was wrapped in a crispy coating and the liquid yolk was so delicious with the asparagus and bits of ham on the plate. I would go back for this dish alone.

Rick had the steak frites - a rib eye with wonderfully crisp french fries - and lots of 'em!

I ordered the house made cavatappi with (get this) bird song shrimps, sauteed spinach and sauce americaine (which is an alfredo with lobster essence and REALLY delicious). You can see the little rolls of pasta have these edges for capturing the lovely sauce, but as Rick pointed out, they kinda look like a bowl of Gagh. For you non Trekkies, that is the squiggly wormy things that the Klingons enjoy eating so much. I said no way - these don't move. Anyway, don't let that visual stop you from trying this dish - it really was lovely.

After we decided to stop at Slainte after for a lite beer as there were none at DBDG. It was a nice light bubble water for the ride home :) But you can see here the offer lots of full flavored options :)

Suzee's Asparagus, Zucchini, Onion and Feta Omelet

This morning I was really in the mood to cook. After work, cooking is not what I want to do. My feet hurt from the walk up hill home, and it's too warm to cook. (What a whiner I am! Ha!)

So today I made brunch - omelets which are one of Rick's fave's. I made him one with ham, american cheese and sauteed onions. I don't care for the deli ham in omelets - too salty I think. Usually I like sausage cut in small pieces - the flavor is good, but it's just so heavy - too heavy now that it's warm. I'd gotten our Fresh Direct order this morning, so I had some fresh veggies for dinner tomorrow. I took a couple of asparagus stalks and chopped them up, and a few coins of zucchini and made match sticks. I sauteed them all together with the remaining onions from Rick's omelet. I got it all omelet-y and crumbled feta cheese over it all over. Hhhhmmmmm :) Yum yum yum!

Pershing Square Outdoor Cafe

 Rick called me Thusday after work to see if I was interested in an apres work cocktail alfresco. He saw that there were tables open at Pershing Square where the street is blocked on the southbound side of Park between 42nd and 41st. It's right across from Grand Central Terminal, with lots of space.

I put my clothes back on since I had already changed in to my cozies, and took a stroll over to find Rick and the table he was saving for us. When I arrived the waiter quickly brought drinks and let us peruse the menus. They have a bar menu and a dinner menu. Lots of great snacks to choose from, Rick decided on the chicken tenders, and I was going to have the shrimpcargo (essentially a scampi minus the pasta I believe), but the waiter sold me on trying the soft-shelled crabs. Now, despite spending many summers on a lobster boat where we caught many blue crabs as well, I'd never had this delicacy. So I figured as a seafood goddess, I should at LEAST try them.

Now, soft shell crabs are crabs which have recently molted. I remember seeing lobsters with paper thin shells, but not any crabs. That doesn't mean there weren't any, just that I didn't see them from my perch in front of the windshield where my parents could be sure that little feet didn't get caught in the ropes and pulled overboard.

My crabs came looking something like this photo. I pulled them apart a bit - the legs stay attached to the body sections that are filled with crab meat, and you just pop the whole thing in your mouth. It was nice - essentially I think the draw to these little buggers is that you can deep fry them. Crab meat is too delicate to fry normally - it would just fall apart. So the papery skin that would eventually be a shell contains the sweet meat so it can be rolled around in egg, flour and/or bread crumbs. People do eat the crabs whole in sandwiches, but frankly I didn't really see the purpose of eating the top shell as mine were sitting on my plate with a small hearts of palm salad next to it (I don't care for hearts of palm). I would have these again sometime, perhaps at a chinese food place as they can have some interesting preparations.

I imagine we will definitely hit the outdoor seating at Pershing Square again too.

Framboise Lambic, Belgian Framboise Beer

I was at the store and peeked this bottle in the beer cooler. Lately I've been giving belgian beers a break. I went through a phase where they all tasted like Heinekin (barf - smelliest beer on earth), but after finding Blue Moon, which is a spiced belgian ale, I've been giving it a little more of a try.

The last one I tried was Hoegaarden (bleck), and even though I didn't care for it, I was still ready to try this one.

Today when opening it, I was surprised to find the bottle had a cap requiring a bottle opener as well as a cork. Seriously. And when I poured it in my glass, it had a big pink head of bubbles, and a rich color rivaling a kool-aid.

I took a sip, and WOO HOO was it sweet. You know those little hard candies shaped like raspberries with soft centers? You know - your Memere probably had them in a candy dish each time you visited.

Well - this tastes exactly like those candies, but with BUBBLES!

So, if you open one of these lovely bottles, know that you should serve it in a champagne glass, and have many friends with whom to share it. Really only one glass is enjoyable :)

La Cage Aux Folles with Kelsey Grammer

On Thursday night I had a ticket to see La Cage Aux Folles, looking forward to a comedy with Kelsey Grammer (aka Frasier) playing Georges. Kelsey did a fine job, but his co-star, Douglas Hodge stole the show as Albin. Robin de Jesus as Jacob (Albin's Housekeeper) was pretty freaking hillarious too!

La Cage is the same story as the movie Birdcage released in 1996 with Robin Williams as Georges and Nathan Lane as Albin.

The stage production is interestingly produced, well contrived sets and super dance numbers. But the truth is, I continually thought of the movie. I guess I am too old to watch a show like this ;) Either that or Robin Williams has big shoes to fill :)

Barbounia, a Mediterranian delight!

Tuesday nights are the preferred Date Night at the LaFleur house. Head out after work, have a cocktail and then dinner. It gives us a chance to try out new restaurants while it's not so busy. We get great service, and aren't overburdened by a full dining room.

This time we came to Barbounia - a mediteranian restaurant that turns out to have delicious food and a gorgeous dining room!

To start we ordered a tray of tastes including tatziki, hummus and babaganoush. It came with a freshly baked flat bread . I asked for some veggie dippers for Rick who is low carbing it, and they were happy to add cucumber slices. They also offer olives, but damn - I just can not seem to like those salty yucky little bits. I like olive oil, and the flavor olives add to a dish, but I just don't like olives to eat. Anyway - nobody forces you to eat olives, and that is a good thing. The tatziki was wonderfully fresh and garlicy, the hummus was fresh and rich, and the babaganoush was light and garlicy. All were very yummy!
For dinner I ordered the Branzino - it was very fresh and well seasoned. I orderd it to be fileted in the kitchen, but I think next time I would have it served whole - the edges were a little over cooked, so I don't think it was fileted after cooking. Rick ordered the steak - he asked for spinach rather than the potatoes. Initially the server said we were unable to make substitutions, however she managed to get the extra side taken off the bill before providing the bill. We were thankful.
Barbounia has a lively bar scene - happy hour specials are only allowed at the bar, but the dining room allows a little more space early in the evening, and we genuinely enjoyed it. Come to Barbounia and listen to your server's suggestions - she knows what she is talking about!

Suzee's Tuna Tartine

Tonight was a laid back supper night. Rick's been low-carbing it, so on Sunday I prepped some go-to snacks for us. And, believe it or not, he asked me to make some tuna salad with onion!

Tonight it's cold and wet out, so we probably would have ordered soup or something warm, but we weren't that hungry. I put together these tartines, and Rick decided he wanted some too. He liked the Wasa Crisp Bread cracker base, and the savory flavor of the fresh avacado, and the tomato and cucumber lighted it up.

Here is how I made them
3 Wasa Light Crisp Bread, Multigrain
3 heaping tablespoons of tuna salad
1/2 an avacado sliced
1/2C or so chopped tomato and cucumber

Layer the ingredients as listed, and enjoy.