Uno..Dos (Caminos)..Tres!

Mexican in Meatpacking!

After our evening at the Dream Hotel, Christine and I headed to Dos Caminos Meatpacking(http://www.doscaminos.com/) for dinner. After several hours of cocktails, we were due for actual food!

At Stern, I served as a Launch Captain (helped with Orientation for new students) and I got a gift card for the family of restaurants that owns Dos Caminos. I keep forgetting to use it, but happened to have it in my wallet. This was the perfect occasion!

Whenever I get to a restaurant, I check Yelp! and Foursquare for check-in deals. You'd be surprised on how many perks you can get just by "checking in"! On Yelp!, I noticed there was "1 free Prickly Pear Shot" with check-in. I had no idea how big it would be, but I assumed it would be a small serving of the frozen Prickly Pear margarita.

Yelp! Free Check-in Drink

I liked that it was served in a Champagne flute - it seemed more elegant. We didn't want to order any more alcoholic beverages, so this was a nice sweet treat. Naturally, we had to get the guacamole. A visit to a Mexican restaurant without it seems like a sad visit!

The STAR!

Salsa Trio

The guac here is great, but not as good as Rosa Mexicano. That place is the BEST. We split two tacos. The Carnitas is slow-roasted pork with green chile salsa and pickled red onion. There was an aggressive amount of onion, so I picked some of it off. We also got the Mar y Tierra, with grilled marinated skirt steak, Tecate battered rock shrimp, Sriracha aioli and BACON (!!!!!) guacamole.

Carnitas!

Mar y Tierra - SURF AND TURF

Rice and Beans!

It should be no surprise that I preferred the steak & shrimp tacos - who doesn't love sriracha mayo AND bacon AND guacamole? YUM!

This is a great restaurant and if the weather is nice, you can sit outside! I love people watching and seeing everyone dressed up  getting ready to go out on the town. Great vibe!

Cheers,

Liz

 

Dos Caminos

Another Solid Brunch Spot!

Last week, Melissa and I continued eating our way through Manhattan. Because it was Saturday, the answer was BRUNCH. The question was: Where? Melissa, the smart native New Yorker that she is, suggested that we go to Dos Caminos Meatpacking (http://www.doscaminos.com/mexican-restaurant-locations/new-york-city). Who doesn't like trendy Mexican food?

I have been to some of the other Dos locations, but not this uber-hip one. Clearly I was excited! Dos Caminos offers a great brunch deal. It is not drink-until-you-embarrass yourself, though you do get one classy cocktail included in the price of your entrée. Agave (http://agaveny.com/) is a great option if you want to drink until you don't remember your name but the food is not as good - know your objective and you're good. Also, both of these Mexican spots take reservations which is fantastic. I don't have the patience to wait for a margarita.

The brunch menu has a nice selection of both sweet and savory options, all under $20 with the cocktail and coffee/tea. I continuously battle which to pick - such a huge life decision I know.  I ended up with the Machacado Breakfast Tacos ($14) made with beef brisket, scrambled eggs, Vermont cheddar and salsa a la Mexicana. Melissa is a good friend and advised me to order the salsa on the side. This was a good move as I think "a la Mexicana" translated means you may not like this salsa. The taco shells were soft - good news. I felt it would be awkward to have a crunchy taco shell for brunch, it is too early for all the loud munching. The coffee was a bit odd, but of course I drank it.

BREAKFAST TACOS GET IN MY BELLY!

For my cocktail choice, I chose the frozen prickly pear margarita from the selection that also included a frozen traditional margarita, Bloody Mary, screwdriver, mimosa, Champagne, orange or grapefruit juice. The cocktail was lovely - great level of sweetness without being cloying.

Sip Sip!

Overall, Dos Caminos is a solid spot. I do, however, take issue with the fact that chips are not brought out with salsa for free. For some reason, that just annoys me. I guess the trendy spots aren't into that.

Cheers,

Liz

Colicchio & Sons Tap Room

Dinner and Drinks

Tonight, I had dinner at Colicchio & Sons Tap Room (http://www.craftrestaurantsinc.com/colicchio-and-sons/). It was fantastic. The bread looked amazing but I didn't have any - I'm still doing a special diet and cannot have any of that, wah! I ordered a Ketel One and Soda. It was great, as usual.

For my entree, I ordered the Skate. It was DELICIOUS! It is such a light and yummy fish. If you haven't had it, definitely try it if you see it on a menu.

One of my friends ordered dessert. He got the beignets (little balls of fried dough goodness). Again, couldn't partake but I lived vicariously through him and it looked/smelled lovely.

Instead of giving patrons a mint or something else when the check comes, the server gave each of us a freshly baked pumpkin spice muffin to go! What a great idea! I gave mine to my friend.

Happy Sunday!

Liz

 

Some Tipples at the Tippler

Visiting the Tippler

My good friend Christine was finally free this past Friday! It was a joyous occasion that demanded celebratory drinks. She wanted to go to the Tippler (http://thetippler.com/) and I had been there once before and loved it, so our location was set!

The Outside

If you haven't been to this spot before, it can be tricky to find it. If you go, look out for the lit "Open" sign to guide you! I've been on a Manhattan kick lately, so why stop it? I ordered the Flight of Manhattans. It included (from left to right), a classic Manhattan, a Greenpoint (with Green Chartreuse) and a Little Italy (with Cynar). I liked them in descending order! The classic was clearly the winner. The Greenpoint was interesting. Green Chartresuse is a green liqueur made with over 100 herbs and plants. It had a nice flavor. The Little Italy was not that pleasant. I had not yet had Cynar...it is odd. It is an Italian bitter liqueur made with herbs and plants, the predominant taste profile from the artichoke....ehhh. It doesn't taste like artichokes it just doesn't taste great. 

Manhattan Flight

Christine ordered the featured special - an alcoholic egg cream. The dusting of cinnamon on the top was a lovely touch!

Alcoholic Dessert :)

We got hungry and ordered appetizers. I got a shrimp cocktail and Christine got one of the featured toasts with white bean puree. Nomnomnom!!

Shrimp Cocktail

White Bean Toast

For our last round, I got a Bulleit Rye Perfect Manhattan and Christine got some interesting drink that tasted like orange soda (but was alcoholic). I only snapped a pic of mine though, oops!

Bulleit Rye Perfect Manhattan

This is a fun spot right by Chelsea Market. There is a lot of bar seating and standing table room which is an awesome feature. If you get there before 9pm, you could probably find a spot to sit without much trouble.

Check it out if you're in the area!

Cheers,

Liz

 

Brass Monkey...

...That Funky Monkey

Last night was apparently a birthday bonanza for Stern! Isaac was celebrating his birthday and picked the Brass Monkey (http://brassmonkeynyc.com/) as the meeting spot. I have heard about this spot for a long time but never quite made it over. I first saw it on The Real Housewives of New York when Bethenny and Kelly met to discuss their awkward "friendship". It is clear that Bethenny has moved on to better things, not including Brass Monkey. 

The venue reminds me of the type of place a ton of people end of going that don't want to deal with the hassle of covers and VIP lists but want to go to Meatpacking - such a hot spot. The crowd seemed to be heavily skewed to the B&T (Bridge and Tunnel) population, which is never a good sign. This crowd tends to be very annoying and a hallmark move is the always reliable "I have somewhere more important to go than you so I'm going to shove through the crowd with my massive purse and you're just going to have to f-ing deal with it because I drove here in my new outfit" move. It is super annoying. The bar lets in WAY too many people, so everyone is shoving and moving about, especially to make it up to the rooftop. 

It was nice once I escaped the frenzy of the first two levels. The rooftop had places to sit. It was also two other classmates' birthdays: Trent and Lilian. It was nice to catch up with each of them in an area that lent itself to conversation. It sounds like I'm asking for a lot, but I like to hear what the other person is saying during a conversation.

Overall, Brass Monkey will not be on my list of places to return. There are far too many other great places to go to in the city that aren't jam-packed with people. I'd rather pay $15 for a cocktail at a nice spot than return here for a vodka & soda (all they can really make) that I will likely spill on myself because of the B&T move described above.

Cheers,

Liz