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

 

Burgers and Bridal Shower Planning

SoHo Park for Burgers and Booze

I went to Chile for Spring Break and met several new friends, including Sophia and Frank. Sophia is getting married in a couple of months and Frank is leading the charge on planning. I was honored when they asked me to help them in picking a venue for a bridal brunch - I guess all of this blogging has given me a bit of a reputation.

We met up for dinner to review some potential locations. Frank suggested SoHo Park (no website, http://www.yelp.com/biz/soho-park-new-york). When I saw that there was a Capirinha, I ordered it! It was light, crisp and refreshing.

Capirinha - get it!

Frank takes planning seriously - LOVE him!

Frank - the ultimate planner

I ordered the Classic Park Cheese (cheese burger) with fries and garlic aioli (garlic mayo!). The burger was $6.75 and wasn't much better than a burger I'd get at Shake Shack for $4.75. The garlic aioli was amazing, but that is hard to mess up, right? Garlic + Mayo = Magic

Classic Park Cheese

This place was ok - there are far better places for burgers and fries in the city. The SoHo location just made it more expensive.

Cheers,

Liz

 

Pera for a Surprise Lunch!

Spring has Finally Sprung!

One of my closest friends at Stern (Liv) recently got engaged and a small group of us wanted to throw her a surprise engagement lunch. Another friend of mine, Beth, organized the event and made a reservation for the group at Pera SoHo (http://soho.peranyc.com/)

Since it was Cinco de Mayo, I chose to order an Apricot margarita with my lunch.

Apricot Margarita

I LOVED this drink. It was far too easy to enjoy and, given the amount of work I had to do during the rest of the day, I only had one.

While we waited for our food, we were given a basket of warm, seeded rolls served with an herb butter and oil - really tasty! After looking at the menu, I decided to order the Pera Steak Burger with Kasseri Cheese.

Da Burger!

This was DELICIOUS! I asked for it to be medium and it was perfectly so - juicy and flavorful. The hand-cut fries were also awesome - I loved the addition of oregano.

We sat outside since the weather was beautiful. It started to get VERY hot and I appreciated the attentiveness of the staff in propping up some of the umbrellas to provide shade.

I think I will come back here for Happy Hour (http://soho.peranyc.com/happy-hour/) the menu features tapas (choice of 2 for $6) and wines, draft beers and cocktails for $6 each.

Check this place out, especially if the weather is good to take advantage of the ample outdoor seating!

Cheers,

Liz

 

I love that Aroma!

A Chain with Decidedly Delicious Food

After class last week, Ingrid suggested somewhere for lunch that was not on 8th Street. Immediately, I was alarmed. Are there other places to eat at Stern that are not on 8th Street? Ingrid calmed my fears and told me it was the same distance just in the other direction! Who knew?

The spot she suggested was Aroma Espresso Bar (http://www.aroma.us/) in SoHo. There are four locations in NY and locations in Maryland, New Jersey and Florida.

When I stepped into the location, I was overwhelmed with delicious smells and an exciting menu. I love that the menu has photos! It makes it easier to visual your lunch with an actual visual! I felt like a salad and the Warm Grilled Chicken Salad looked yum yum! It is made with warm grilled chicken (SHOCKER!), chopped tomatoes, shredded carrots, red onions and a handful of peanuts on a bed of mixed greens with a drizzle of olive oil. It was served with a honey mustard dressing. You get to choose bread with the salad and I went with grain. A great choice!

Warm Grilled Chicken Salad

I look forward to returning to this place to try out different menu items.

Cheers,

Liz

 

Super Swank Hotel

The Crosby Bar

I recently went to The Crosby Street Hotel (http://www.firmdalehotels.com/new-york/crosby-street-hotel/crosby-street-bar) for a date. The bar is awesome! I really loved the cocktails but it can be awkward to navigate cocktail documentation while meeting someone for the first time. That being said, I wasn't able to take any photos of my drinks. Sad face!

I had the Passion and Ginger Caipirinha, made with cachaca, ginger, fresh passion fruit and lime. I also had the Crosmopolitan, made with gin, Pavan, blueberries, lemon juice and Champagne. My final drink was the Mango Tango, made with Pavan, mango puree and Champagne. 

I definitely plan to head back and you should too!

Cheers,

Liz