Fresh Pasta? Yes Please!

A Lovely Dinner at Chelsea's Pepe Giallo

After grabbing drinks at Hudson Malone, I met up with Melissa for dinner in her neighborhood. She has a favorite spot near her apartment that serves up affordable Italian dishes and makes fresh pasta! Pepe Giallo (http://pepegiallo.com/) has a great vibe - very quaint and warm.

We decided to order the house red (Montepulciano). The 1/2 carafe is $14 and the carafe is $23 (save $5 for double the wine). Which do you think we ordered?

If you get a Carafe, make sure it is a FULL ONE! A better value!

As we nibbled on the warm bread, served with olives and olive oil, we looked over the menu and sipped our wine. Melissa has been here many times, so she was full of super helpful tips and recommendations. We decided to split the Apple, Goat Cheese and Tomato Salad, served over Organic Greens ($8).

Apple, Goat Cheese, Tomato Salad

This salad was super yummy and a decent portion size to split. I was torn between a couple of the pasta dishes. I wanted to get the Rigatoni with Salmon and Mushrooms in Cream Sauce ($13) but I wanted to try the homemade pasta. For an upcharge of $2, I changed the pasta to the homemade fettuccini. AWESOME CHOICE! The salmon was delicious (not fishy) and super tender. The sauce was creamy without being too heavy. I loved it.

LOOK - You can actually see CHUNKS of Salmon! Quality!

Melissa ordered the Fettuccini with Chicken and Mushrooms in Alfredo Sauce ($13). I tried a piece of chicken - delicious! I did prefer my dish more though.

CHICKEN!!!

I will comment that the portion sizes are great, especially considering the reasonable prices, and the amount of protein in each dish was awesome as well! Great spot! I cannot wait to return!

Cheers,

Liz

 

Whining About Finals Over Wine

Happy Hour For The Win

Melissa and I were walking in Chelsea after our nail appointment the other day and we were in desperate need of an adult beverage. As we were walking, we caught a sign for a Happy Hour at a cute little Italian Spot: Pastai (http://www.pastainyc.com/). I'm always down for an affordable glass of wine.

I've been dabbling more in red wines. I'm going to Napa again with a school group and I want to start developing a taste/appreciate for red wines. We each ordered a glass of a lovely Montepulciano. The wine is very jammy and easier to drink than many red wines I've had before.

Lovely Red

The spot has its own personalized wine glasses - really classy. I want to come back for food - the kitchen was opening up when we were there and the fresh pastas looked delicious.

Cheers,

Liz

 

Stopping by the Rooftop of the McKittrick Hotel

Gallow Green - AMAZING!

To celebrate the end of our incredible internships, my good friend Olivia and I went to an awesome spot: Gallow Green (http://mckittrickhotel.com/gallowgreen/) at the McKittrick Hotel. We had visited the hotel last year to see the interactive Macbeth performance of "Sleep No More" - this was certainly a different experience!

The venue is gorgeous. I highly recommend visiting it for drinks (the live music is fantastic) and/or dinner (the food is also lovely). I am a huge fan of large format cocktails, so we started with a bowl of boozy popsicle punch. It was made with Ketel One vodka and absolutely splendid! There were two fresh fruit popsicles inside - one pineapple and one watermelon - and a large square ice cube. The shape of the cube allowed it to melt slowly (chilling without too much diluting). As they continued to melt, they added to the taste and profile of the punch.

Once we finished the punch, we moved on to more cocktails! I ordered a glass of rose Champagne. It was served in a couple glass - how lovely! 

I strongly believe that glassware can influence the taste of a cocktail. My Grandma always said this and it has stuck!

After we finished up at Gallow Green, we went to The Heath (one floor below the rooftop). It was AWESOME. Great live music and dancing. I ordered a twist on a vodka lemonade, it was tasty. The credit card machine wasn't working though, so it was a bit annoying with cash/ATM fees.

You must check out this spot! A real "wow" location in the city.

Cheers,

Liz