“No, we are not getting married”

That was the response my three friends (Aileen, Dana, Nicole) and I gave each time we told a friend or colleague we were heading to Niagara Falls, Canada.  I never realized it was a destination for young lovers to run off and marry!

Why did we go to Niagara Falls, you ask?

Well, a few months ago, I was talking to Aileen and mentioning that I’ve never been before.  She’d gone once, with her family years before, and agreed to join me.  Nicole and Dana had never been either so it became a foursome.

We flew into Buffalo, New York on US Air, directly from LGA.  The flights were about $160 bucks each and we were on little crop dusters.  We rented a car from Buffalo and drove the 35 minutes to Niagara Falls.  We stayed on the Canada side, which we heard was much more “fun” and “exciting” than the New York side and stayed at the Doubletree hotel, which was about $135 bucks a night.

The Good

The falls were beautiful!  They are comprised of the American Falls, Horseshoe Falls and Bridal Falls.  Take the Maid of the Mist that is open until the end of October to get the best view.  Also, the time of year was beautiful.. the weather crisp, leaves turning and not a lot of crowds!

Horseshoe Falls

People at the base of American Falls

We did not get to do this, but if you ever go to Niagara Falls, you should stay in Niagara on the Lake.  It’s such a quaint little town and the food and overall atomosphere is much better than either Niagara Falls, Canada or New York

Walking around town in Niagara on the Lake

The Bad

Niagara Falls is full of overly expensive chain restaurants (we actually went to a disgusting Macaroni Grill and IHOP while we were there and spent $20 on omelets, seriously). The non-chain resturants we found were actually much more reasonable – and this is coming from a girl who lives in NYC and is willing to spend money on good food.

On the Canada side, there doesn’t seem like a lot to do and the main downtown area, seems like a depressing Atlantic City or very ghetto Las Vegas.

On Sunday, before we left, we actually drove over the border to try to eat lunch on the American side.  Needless to say, that was even scarier.  We  actually had a restaurant in mind to go to (a recommendation from a Canadian local), but it was closed down.  The rest of the town seemed too depressing and boarded up, so we turned around and just headed back to Buffalo!

The Verdict

We didn’t really expect much, so overall, we had a really good time hanging out together. Despite the sort of kitchiness, I would definitely recommend to anyone who has never been and who want to stay one or two nights.   Just do some better research on where to stay and have some places in mind about where to eat first!

The four of us on the way to Niagara on the Lake

All You Can Eat Pasta?

At Becco, it works.

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Scott and I went to the new Broadway Hit, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson.  We planned to have dinner after, and I was craving Italian.  I suggested the massive chain restaurant at the top part of Time Square craving the bread sticks and all you can eat salad, but Scott suggested we have dinner at Lidia Bastianich’s restaurant, Becco instead.

Becco is a massive space, steps from Times Square and conveniently located in the Theater District at 355 W. 46th street.  There are at least three dining rooms that I could tell.  Although pretty busy, we were able to get seated without a reservation – probably because our show started at 7 PM instead of 8 PM and we were let out early.

Becco has a nice selection of wines, including an impressive list of wines that were all priced at $25 a bottle.  This was a nice surprise so we ordered a bottle to share although it was a Tuesday night!  Next, we decided to start with an order of burrata, which is Scott’s favorite and oh-so delicious.

Looking around us, there were happy patrons with all types of dishes served to them.  Fresh fish dishes, rack of lamb, home made pasta, which is one of their main draws.  Scott and I decided to order the Rack of Lamb, which was cooked perfectly and priced well at $29 as well as the pasta special which includes a choice of cesar salad or antipasti as well as an all you can eat trio of pasta.  That night, there was a fantastic gnocci with a creamy pesto, a delicious fettucine with a veal ragu, and a decent penne with basil marinara for $22.95.  This is all served table side and all you can eat.

Rack of Lamb

All you can eat pasta trio

Scott (who is one of my favorite eating partners of all time) and I were gluttons that night.  We finished off practically everything and even had seconds of the fettucine with veal ragu.  So while the all you can eat is definitely the draw of this place, if you’re a local wanting to stay away from the average American tourist who loves to eat a lot, or the post-theater crowd, then Becco is probably not for you.  For me, this sure beat the chain restaurant I had suggested earlier.

You Went to School to Learn, Girl….

Michael Jackson sang it best… “ABC…all about love dear.”

And love it is… I am in love with ABC Kitchen.

This restaurant is a cool, Jean Georges place, located on an obscure block north of Union Square, near ABC Carpet and Home.

A friend recommended this place to me and said it was one of her favorites in the City… ever.

I was told it was practically impossible to get a reservation. I had some luck though…  I called the week before and took an 11 pm seating on a Saturday night.  Not a big deal though, since my group and I were planning to see La Cage Aux Folles on Broadway first.

My party of four walked in on time for our reservation.  The place was dimly lit, almost glowing, with lots of seating at the bar and a cute dining room.  It was sort of a sweet romantic vibe and I leaned in to give my guy a kiss.

The only downside of an 11 pm reservation in NYC is that you don’t want to eat too much that late before going to bed.  Nevertheless, my group and I were able to order some yummy dishes from their seasonal menu to share (although we skipped on appetizers).

I plan to go back to ABC Kitchen again.  This place has delicious, beautiful food, a great wine list and ambiance.  Beyond that, I just want to try more dishes and sample some of their appetizers and salads.

House Cut Fries; Tomato, Buffalo Mozzarella, and Basil Pizza

 

Pasta with Heirloom Tomatoes

Sea Bass

 

Akaushi Cheeseburger with Herbed Mayo and Pickled Jalapeño

ABC Kitchen

35 W. 18th Street (between bway and S.Park Ave)

High-Energy

That is how I describe my mood the past two days I’ve been on the Blueprint Cleanse.

I’m on my second day of JTD (Juice Til Dinner) and starting tomorrow, Day 3, I’ll be on juices only for 3 days.  Starting the cleanse yesterday wasn’t too bad.  I tried to be good and follow the guidelines BPC sends you to prepare you for cleansing.  I cut out meat and stuck with fish for 3 days before I started.  I incorporated a lot more salads and vegetables at every meal.  The one thing I didn’t do was cut out the coffee, sugar, and alcohol until yesterday.

Day 1 went by fast.  I had my first green juice around 9 AM, followed by the PAM (pineapple, apple, mint) yum, around 11 AM.  I consumed juice #3 (another green juice) around 1 PM and #4 (the spicy lemonade, also yum) at 2:30.  At 4 PM, I had the snack.  Seriously, the PAM, spicy lemonade, and snack bars were so good.

After I had the snack, I was either on a crazy sugar high or was really feeling the benefits of the cleanse, because I felt so loopy and giddy, it was unreal.  Normally at this time, I want a salty snack or a coffee because I’m falling aslweep.  By the time I got home last night, I was pretty hungry though.  So I had the delish, raw, vegan meal BPC provided, spacing out each “course” and starting around six pm.  Surprisingly, I felt really full and satisfied pretty much all day.  I felt sort of burpy, but not really gassy most of the day and didn’t go #2 at all on Day 1.

I woke up early this morning and my tummy felt flatter even though I hadn’t gone #2 yet or even had the urge to.  I weighed myself and it seems I lost 1.5 lbs.  Nice.  I drank some green tea and rushed out of the house for an 8 AM appointment for a colonic.  When I got there, I was starving.  After a few sips of the # 1 green juice, I felt better and all hunger went away.

I was really nervous for the colonic, since I’ve never had one before.  Apparently, colon therapy is good for you and helps you to remove toxins or parasites.  It can aid in treatments for various diseases.  Also, only about 10% of Americans have normal colons (according to autopys) and colonics help to promote normalcy if you have any digestive problems at all. Also, colonics are recommended in general if you are partaking in any cleanse.  It helps to get rid of the bad and frees up room inside for digestion of all the yummy juices and raw foods we’re eating on the cleanse.

A colonic, for you newbies, is basically, where a technician or a doctor inserts a plastic tube about 1/2 an inch up your behind.  The tube has 2 branches.  One for flushing with water and one for releasing.  Basically, water is flowing in and out of your behind constantly, for about 40 minutes.  My tech, Doris was great and despite the whole experience being extremely uncomfortable, it never hurt.  <ok, if you are my friend and/or you don’t want to hear about (my) poop, then you should probably stop reading now>.   It was nuts!  It seemed like I was literally going to the bathroom or felt like I was going for 40 minutes straight, there was so much pressure.  The other thing is because she knows where the colon is shaped under my belly, she’d rub different spots to expel gas or to keep things moving along when the colon turns inside.  The whole experience ended with a massive pile of bile (from drinking alcohol) and other waste getting massaged/flushed out of me… pretty nasty.  When you’re done, they direct you to the bathroom where you sort of sit on the toilet and it all comes rushing out.  Almost like explosive diarrea.

After I was done, I was afraid I’d lose it (literally) on the subway on the way to work but I was fine.  The best thing is my tummy felt lighter and less bloated all day.  I pretty much felt amazing all day.  And as twisted as this sounds, I’m looking forward to my second colonic on Monday, to flush out everything as I finish the cleanse.

So now I’m home.  I weighed myself again when I got home and it appears I lost 2 more lbs since this morning.  I must have had 2 lbs of poop come out today

And tonight is my last day of the “food” before I start 3 days of cleansing juice only.  I do have to admit I cheated tonight and ate 1/2 an avocado when I got home (one of the BPC’s cheat foods).  I was pretty hungry when I got off the subway and I figured this is my last day of eating so I might as well go balls out.

So far, I have no regrets at all about starting this thing.  If I feel half as great on Saturday as I do today, then it will all be worth it.

A Craft of Genius

A good friend of mine, and local bay area radio personality, Heather Quarterman , for KKIQ came to visit me last week.  She sent me a list of things she wanted to do over FaceBook while in NYC, including “hit up one of Tom Colicchio’s restaurants, he was just named top chef in America.”

I knew I was already a fan of Colicchio’s, having dined at Gramercy Tavern before.  The hard part was whether I wanted to choose Craft or CraftBar though.  After talking to some friends, I realized that Craftbar was a little more affordable and would also be more fun. While I’m sure Craft is delicious, the clientele appears to be stuffier and a bit older.

CraftBar, to put it simply was an amazing dining experience.  The space wasn’t huge, but it is modernly decorated and was bustling inside.  There were people sitting at the bar and a nice sized dining room with probably 20-25 tables.  We were seated at a table for four and introduced to our waiter, Mark.

This is where the night started off right.  Mark, was wonderful.  Funny and charming, he had great recommendations for us from the start.  My dining companions, A, H, and Heather, are self proclaimed “fun eaters” so dinner could have been like wild Wild West.  No limitations whatsoever.  We asked Mark for suggestions and he gave us a list of recommendations that were in line with our thoughts and our palate.  He suggested some things off the extensive menu that were questionable to some of us, but we went for it anyway.

Overall, the food was amazing – each and every dish and course.  While we did have a 1 or 2 items we were not in love with, there were no complaints about anything.  Below, is a sampling of what we ordered.  I guarantee to order these in this exact order the next time I dine at CraftBar.

Spanish Octopus to Start

Smoked Pig Head Terrine, Mostarda - so freaking delish

Soft shell crab risotto

Triple Pork Delight (can't remember the real name) - Pork Belly, Pork Ravioli, Pork Loin

Lemon Panna Cotta with Kumquat

Homemade coconut sorbet and cookies and cream icecream... yum.

This place is highly, highly recommended by me.  Next time you go here, ask for Mark and tell him I say hi.