Happy Hour in the Deep Blue Sea

Mermaid Inn for the Win!

I love a good happy hour deal. Frank and I wanted to catch up and he suggested the Mermaid Inn (http://www.themermaidnyc.com/uws/). I had been to the East Village location once and loved the selection of snacks and cocktails. It is lovely to find a location that serves up fancy cocktails at happy hour pricing and not just basic drinks (vodka soda or rum and coke).

The happy hour is from 5-7pm daily. Cocktails are $7, Wine by the Glass is $6, and Beer is $5.

Entrance

Isn't the cover on the butter adorable?

I started with the Gone with the Gin, made with gin, grapefruit liqueur, thyme and lemon. It was refreshing and light and FAR TOO easy to drink! I highly recommend it!

Gone with the Gin!

Oysters are $1 each during happy hour - a great deal! We got a dozen to split. The two sauces served with them (cocktail and mignonette) offered a nice enhancement to the natural briny ocean flavor.

One Dozen East Coast Oysters

The Mini Mermaid Fish Taco is made with blackened tilapia, avocado, and smoked jalapeno. At $3 each, they were a bit pricey given the size! They flavor was wonderful though and the fish was super fresh.

Mini Mermaid Fish Tacos

We got an order of calamari ($7) which was served with a very unusual dipping sauce. Frank thought it may have had tamarind in it. I'm so used to marinara sauce that is was a change for sure!

Fried Calamari

For my second cocktail, I ordered the Kentucky Green, made with bourbon, apricot and green tea syrup. I loved how the green tea syrup brought out the flavor of the bourbon. An awesome combo!

The Kentucky Green

Frank ordered one grilled shrimp & avocado slider for $7. It seemed a bit overpriced for the small size. Frank did say the flavor was quite tasty.

Grilled Shrimp & Avocado Slider

The Yelp! Check-in deal is awesome - you get 1 free side even without purchasing an entrée! What a deal at happy hour! Naturally, we got the most expensive side: smoked gouda mac & cheese. It was rich and delicious...and FREE!

Yelp! Check-in!

When we were finished, we were surprised with a complimentary chocolate mousse! It was the perfect size and the perfect flavor to end our meal with!!

Perfect size!

Mermaid Inn gives you a Fortune Teller Miracle Fish when they present the check. It is a nice touch. Love it!

Your Future is in the Palm of Your Hand!

The happy hour here is wonderful! I encourage you to check it out at either the UWS or East Village location! Also, there is outdoor seating but it was too hot!

Cheers,

Liz

 

Celebrating Follies 2014

A Mexican Fiesta at Agave

We had an incredible Follies this year - the Torchy Awards! We wanted to take the cast out to celebrate with a fun dinner. Naturally, I was all over planning this event and picking the restaurant. I chose Agave (http://agaveny.com/) because I love this place. The food, drinks and atmosphere are awesome.

We had a 7pm reservation and I arrived a bit early...so I ordered a mango margarita - my favorite here! Gotta love that happy hour pricing! BOOM!

Happy Hour!

Once we were all assembled, we had to take a group shot! What a beautiful group of funny people - so proud to be a part of this amazing cast!

THE CAST!

Naturally, we had to order the guacamole! It is so yummy here and served in an edible bowl. I love that they refill your chips - it is critical to maintain the right guac to chip ratio.

Oh, hey there - get in my mouth now!

We also got sweet potato fries to split - served with a chipotle mayo. I'm sure you are aware of my love of mayo, so this was so yummy!

I ordered the Enchilada Mariscos, stuffed with Gulf Shrimp, Lump Crab, sautéed cabbage, queso cotija and salsa verde. Yummy. I did have some meal FOMO when I saw what Mike ordered: the Duck Enchiladas! I sampled a piece and it was soooooo good. NEXT TIME!

Enchilada Mariscos

We ordered several pitchers of frozen margs - awesome call. We also got three desserts to share. My favorite was the molten chocolate cake! The banana thing was ok, but honestly, I'm not a huge banana person (unless it is the cupcakes at Sugar Sweet Sunshine!). The tres leches was good too, but nothing to write home about.

Banana Dessert

Molten Chocolate Cake - WINNER WINNER!

Tres Leches

You know I love Agave. If you trust my taste, do yourself a favor and visit! Come early for happy hour at the bar, then get seated for dinner.

Cheers,

Liz

 

Serious Eats Require a Bib and Gloves

Dinner in a Plastic Bag Can Still Be Classy

While we were waiting at Fig. 19 for our table to be ready, I received a text message from the restaurant, The Boil (http://www.theboilny.com/). I love that restaurants are now using this form of communication to tell you when the table is ready - no more guessing or waiting around in a crowded waiting area!

I love the efficiency!

We closed out our check and headed next door to the restaurant. We were seated in the rear of the restaurant, which was nice since we were away from people coming in and out - aka the freezing cold air coming into the restaurant.

Before we ordered any food, one of the servers dressed each of us in a bib. Naturally, I had to take a shellfie (this is a selfie at a seafood restaurant, just FYI). Check out my hot outfit below.

Shellfie!

Don't be jealous of the bib - if you go here, you can get one too! We were going to order Bloody Marys but decided to get beers instead. I ordered the Abita Purple Haze. Yum!

Much Better Than Water

To start, we go an order of Cajun Fries. We ate these before we put on our gloves to eat all the seafood. SO TASTY! The dipping sauce was almost like a tartar sauce. Very good. Also, as a side note, my hands still smelled like Old Bay, Butter and Shrimp even with the gloves. This is what soap is for.

Cajun Fries

We also got an order of Oysters. The cocktail sauce and the vinaigrette were yummy. The oysters were super fresh and tasty.

Oysters!

We ordered the Combo bag of 1lb of Crawfish and 1 lb of Shrimp as well as 1lb of Snow Crab Legs. We got them with everything (The Boil Special): garlic butter, Old Bay, and lemon pepper.  For the temperature, we got Mild. This was the right call for me since spicy can get too aggressive too quickly.

Snow Crab Legs

The snow crab legs were easier to eat than the crawfish. They were SO HARD TO EAT! I never had them before and neither had Scott. Like some people I've dated, I'm not sure they were worth the effort. The shrimp had more payoff for the work required to peel them. The crawfish just didn't have much meat in them.

So many eyes looking at us!

The boil included sausage, potatoes and only ONE EAR OF CORN! We felt a bit robbed since there were two of us. I ate it and Scott seemed sad. While I was eating it, I didn't realize I was eating the ONLY one. Oops. It tasted great!

I highly recommend coming here, especially with someone you're close with. I say this because you will be a complete slob and look like a fool while you're eating. I had on blue gloves, a bib and managed to have food on my face the entire time. Scott doesn't judge, so he was the perfect companion.

Check out The Boil! Note: Cash only!

Happy Dining,

Liz

 

Let Me See that Lobster Roll

The MBA Life: Hamptons Edition

This past weekend has been a great break from the grind of the city. At Stern, each class is separated into blocks; I am in Block 3. One of my blockmates, Lilian, really spearheaded organizing the trip and the rest of us pitched in with cooking. One of the highlights of the trip was visiting The Lobster Roll Restaurant (http://www.lobsterroll.com/) in Amagansett. 

Since the seasons are changing, our server suggested a special drink. It was a Blue Point Pumpkin Ale with a cinnamon-sugar rim. It was DELICIOUS! I'm not sure if it was the best drink to pair with seafood, but whatever. I loved it!

As an appetizer, I was intrigued by the fried blowfish! How interesting! We had to try it, so a group of us selected a half-order to share.

You can probably see in the picture above that there is a small fin. When they fry puffer fish, it is the tail! For my main, I clearly had to get a lobster roll (I mean, the place is called The Lobster Roll!). Instead of the traditional style, I ordered a hot lobster roll. It is basically lobster meat prepared in butter and served with hot dog buns on the side.

It was delicious and really filling. The food isn't cheap, but you get a large quantity of lobster! With our bellies full, we headed to the beach.

The weather was lovely. I love New York City. I think being away from all the hustle and bustle gave me time to reflect on how much I love Stern, my friends and my family.

Cheers,

Liz

 

Tiki Time!

Intern Birthday Lunch!

One of my fellow interns celebrated his birthday during the summer and we had a wonderful lunch at Tommy Bahama (http://www.tommybahama.com/TBG/Stores_Restaurants/New_York_City.jsp). We had a DELICIOUS lunch and I ordered a Mai Tai. BOY, was it strong!! Don't get me wrong, I love a strong cocktail, but this was almost to the point of being undrinkable. I had to ask for more pineapple juice to water it down. 

The vibe of the spot is awesome and it really changes up the typical Midtown lunch routine. No more buffets!

Cheers,

Liz

 

Too Hot Out...Starting to Feel like a Zombie!

Maison Premiere is a Premier Spot! 

I wanted to show Amber a bar that has a totally different character than many bars I've been to in the city. My good friend Lisa introduced me to Maison Premiere (http://maisonpremiere.com/) nearly a year ago and I've been a fan ever since! We ordered a zombie cocktail. It was delicious and strong!!! The crushed ice helps dilute the cocktail - it is definitely a sipper. I've gotten absinthe cocktails there before but I'm not a huge fan of absinthe. I think I mainly ordered it because the presentation is beautiful. I'll continue to stick to the zombie. 

As a side note, the oyster happy hour is phenomenal (M-F, 4-7pm)! Unlike many spots, all oysters are available for the special. You can get a wide selection for a great value. Be warned though, you want to get there early!!! Seating fills up quickly. Additionally, there is a beautiful garden in the back with more seating. 

Your favorite zombie lover,

Liz