Here Kitti(chai), Kitti(chai)

Boozy Thai Brunch

Melissa has grown to be a very close friend of mine over the past year. She recently celebrated her 25th birthday and invited some of us to the $25 bottomless brunch at Kittichai (http://www.kittichairestaurant.com/). She keeps me young - turning 30 in August. EEK.

I have heard rave reviews about it, so I was eager try it out. Thai is one of my favorite cuisines, so combining it with unlimited cocktails is always a good time! I started with the Bloody Mary. It had a weird taste to it, so I ate the olive to cleanse my palate and moved ON.

Bloody Mary - Just say NO!

Melissa invited both friends from Stern and beyond - I always love the opportunity to meet new people. Her other friends are really great, especially Dayna.

Dayna and Melissa, looking for refills, obviously.

In the picture above, Melissa has the Lychee Bellini in the cocktail glass. It was lovely - just the perfect amount of sweetness. I really enjoyed this one!

I also tried the Blood Orange Mimosa. It was ok. Based on the color, I doubt it was anything more than regular OJ.

"Blood Orange" Mimosa

The beautiful birthday girl - Melissa! Love her so much!

PUG!

After looking at the different brunch options, I decided to go the savory route. The Shrimp Pad Thai was delicious. Melissa commented that the portions used to be much larger. It was quite tasty, so I would have been happy to have eaten more.

Shrimp Pad Thai

We HAD to have a Stern photo shoot!

Melissa and Diana

Dipti and Hannah

This is a super hip spot but beware, since it is bottomless, some younger "just turned 21" folks come there that get super wasted and loud (at least that was our experience).

Cheers,

Liz

 

Eating Early = Saving Money

Boyd Thai has a Nom-Worthy Dinner Special!

I have been missing out on an incredible Thai spot near campus! Luckily, I have smart friends that are in the know (like Melissa) to make sure I stay on top of the best meal deals in town!

Most Thai restaurants in NYC have a reputation for having awesome lunch specials, so it is a nice change to see a restaurant also offering a dinner special. Boyd Thai's (boydthainyc.com) "early bird" special is from 4pm - 7pm. For $12, you get an appetizer plate with a summer roll, house salad and dumplings! The dressing on the salad is so tasty. The peanut sauce for the summer roll is out of this world. I didn't use all of it but I still ended up eating it with a spoon. Sometimes, you do what you need to do. No judgment here.

Appetizer plate is included for the early birds!

For my entrée, I got the pineapple curry with chicken. The curry is very similar to a red curry but with pineapples. I ordered it mild since I was warned this place can make food very spicy! It was delicious. I had to get it to go because I was running late for class. Trust that it was delicious and I enjoyed every bite!

If you're in between classes at NYU and looking for a tasty lunch ($8 special!) or dinner, give this Thai joint a try! It has semi-open air seating, so it is great to enjoy as the weather improves.

Cheers,

Liz

 

Tao Downtown

An Awesome Setting for an Incredible Feast

After our fun day, Courtney and I met up with my brother for dinner at Tao Downtown (http://taorestaurant.com/downtown/). As I guessed, even though we had 8:15pm reservations, we were given a buzzer and told we would be notified when our table was ready. We walked through the main dining hall to the bar.

Incredible Ambiance - do you see that awesome statue in the background?

After looking at the cocktail menu, we all ordered a drink. I chose the Ruby Red Dragon, made with Finlandia Grapefruit Vodka, Yuzu Citrus and a Hint of Pomegranate.

Ruby Red Dragon

The backdrop of the bar is beautiful. I think I will come back here just for drinks sometime - a new date location!

The Back Bar - The Geishas are Ready for You!

We ordered a bunch of plates to share among us. My favorite was one of the small plates, Satay of Chilean Sea Bass with a Miso Glaze. I loved it SO MUCH that I found a recipe online and recreated it (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/miso-and-soy-chilean-sea-bass/) - it is spot on! Anyway, back to Tao!

Satay of Chilean Sea Bass

Our next course that came out was another small plate, Rock Shrimp Lettuce Cups with spicy mayo and jalapeno lime. I was SO DISAPPOINTED with this choice! Normally I love dishes like this but it really lacked flavor - which is shocking given the spicy mayo! Thumbs down. Boo.

Rock Shrimp Lettuce Cups

Courtney ordered the small plate, Crispy Rice Tuna served with spicy mayo and kabayaki sauce (whatever that is) - SHE LOVED IT! I didn't try it since I was too busy with my Sea Bass.

Crispy Rice Tuna

She also got the Pork Potstickers served with gochujang and sesame. She enjoyed it and I tried one. They were good. It is sort of hard to mess up potstickers!

Pork Potstickers

Since I figured many of the small plates would be SMALL, I ordered a Chicken Pad Thai for the table. It was really yummy and a big serving, even for a fancy spot like this! It was served with a pair of wooden tongs - cute touch!

Chicken Pad Thai

My brother decided to order several pieces of sashimi. It is served in a beautiful bowl on a bed of ice. Great Presentation!

Sashimi

After I finished my first cocktail, I ordered the drink Courtney first ordered: The Thai Basil Smash, made with Stoli Citrus, Thai Basil and (fresh!) Mandarin Orange. It was fantastic! The fruit was fresh (not canned) and the cocktail was very refreshing.

Thai Basil Smash

This is definitely a happening spot. I would recommend visiting for the cocktails and the ambiance. The food is fairly expensive for what it is, you're paying to eat at a trendy spot not necessarily to have a food-gasm.

Cheers,

Liz

 

Liz Like Thai

Ladies Who Lunch

This past Friday was a lovely "Girls' Day" with Melissa - a wonderful partner in crime! We went to Spice (http://www.spicethainyc.com/spice/home/index.html) on 199 8th Avenue. The weather was AWFUL and I was not prepared with what I had worn. General nastiness - cold and rain.

Once I got into the restaurant, I ordered a hot pot of tea. There were several selections and I went with the Lychee option - so tasty! I also loved the tea pot - so cute and dainty!

Hot Tea Please!

Like most Thai spots in the city, there is a Lunch Special from 11:30 AM to 3:30PM. Depending on the protein, you can get an appetizer and entrée for $8-$9. I decided to get the Duck Wrap (a bit like the P.F. Chang lettuce wraps but saltier) to start.

Duck Wrap

For my entrée, I ordered the Pad Thai with chicken. It was tasty but a bit too sweet. Pad Thai is such a standard dish to order yet there is so much variance from place to place. I will continue my search for the ultimate Pad Thai.

Chicken Pad Thai

If you're in the Chelsea area for lunch, check it out. These places are best to visit during lunch for the best deal!

Cheers,

Liz

 

Mango Tango at Lantern Thai Kitchen (Gramercy)

Have Some Tango with That Mango!

This Saturday, I had a Thailand Trek Reunion with some of my Stern friends that went on the trip. Naturally, we went to a Thai restaurant! This was my first time at Lantern Thai Kitchen (http://lanternthai.com/), but I was confident it would be tasty based on friend's reviews and Yelp! I arrived a bit early to grab a drink at the bar. I ordered the Mango Tango but substituted the tequila with vodka. The drink was fairly simple: vodka, triple sec, lime juice and mango juice. I satisfied my sweet tooth for only $8. If you're in the area and are craving Thai and cocktails, check out Lantern!

Cheers

Liz