Monthly Archives: May 2013

Day at Randall’s Island

For Memorial Day, I spent the day with a bunch of friends at Randall’s Island, which is situated in the East River in New York City, part of the borough of Manhattan. It was a perfect day (albeit, a bit on the warm side) to spend outside, just chilling, enjoying each others’ company and exploring.

We started off checking out the mini golf area, which was beautiful… Complete with colorful flowers, trees which made for plenty of shade and dappled sunlight, body of water with a lone duck, rock wall formations and two lovely waterfalls.

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Then, we decided we were hungry so we sat at the outdoor dining spot of The Beer Garden & Cafe at Randall’s Island. It was a cute little spot, right in the center of everything (mini golf, batting cages, etc) and there was live classic rock music playing, which really was a great addition to the balmy  sunny day.

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My friend and I decided to share the tilapia taco with mango salsa and purple coleslaw. They were mediocre… The taste of the tilapia was weak and unseasoned. I would’ve liked more tilapia. Also, the flavors didn’t mesh well together.

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The french fries, however, were delicious. Waffle cut, crispy, golden, salted and wonderful.

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Afterwards, we went to the batting cages and checked out the upper deck of the driving range area. There was a pretty view of a large green field and part of the city.

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Next we wanted to explore the other side of the island and walk along the weather. We found an opening along the fence, so we walked over it and  got to this glorious green grassy area with the glistening water ahead and a breathtaking view of the Manhattan side.

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I just had to get in the water and it felt sooo refreshing and cool. I could have stayed all day!

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Dining at Slide

Slide is a newly open restaurant on Bleecker Street in the West Village, specializing in Sliders (What else?) My friend and I ate in the outdoor beautiful garden-like area in the back which had hanging plants & flowers, a rock wall with waterfalls that cascade gently into a pond with koi fish! It was lovely and made us feel like we were not in the city, enveloped in this outdoor haven.

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The sliders come three to an order, presented on a custom-made wooden cutting board with cylinders cut out to hold each individual mini burger. I decided to try a combination of different sliders: Classic beef slider, fried chicken with cheddar waffle, pork belly slider.

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The classic beef slider is made with a top secret meat blend that’s mixed in-house. It came with Manchego cheese, plum tomato, arugula, remoulade and caramelized onions and is delicious. The meat was perfectly juicy, flavorful, tender and all the flavors combined perfectly to create a wonderful culinary experience.

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The buttermilk fried chicken & cheddar waffle w/ maple bourbon pear butter & spicy coleslaw was decent, but didn’t quite live up to my expectations. The fried chicken was not as seasoned as I would have liked; the waffle, though orange did not have a pronounced cheddar flavor and was too dry. I had to ask for syrup to moisten and sweeten the waffle. Also, I could barely taste the maple bourbon pear butter.

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Last was the BBQ pork belly slider, which I had reservations about but turned out to be quite good. It was made with Monterey Jack, pickled onions & fried brussel sprouts. I didn’t really taste the brussel sprouts, but the pork belly was crispy, and a slightly sweeter version of ribs.

I also had Parmesan, garlic & herb fries, which came in a silver tin. They were pretty good, and had plenty of Parmesan shavings but not so much the garlic and herb. I would have enjoyed it more if the garlic and herb were mixed in and cooked with the french fries; instead it seemed like some Parmesan cheese was thrown on top and that was it. They also have curly fries cooked in bacon oil which dark chocolate shavings, which sounded delicious but a little too indulgent. Maybe next time.

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Also for next time I would like to try the CBLT -Crab cake with bacon; the bulgogi cheese steak; the lobster slider, as well as one of their shakes!

Afterwards, my friend and I walked along Bleecker Street and kept passing amazing, tempting shops with posters, cheese, macarons, books, cupcakes… We stopped in a couple of the places. I ended up trying some of the macarons at bisous, ciao which had a clear white window exterior and white walls, accented with hot pink paneling and hot pink twinkle lights. I chose lavender + honey and gianduja, which is a classic mix of hazelnut and milk chocolate. The lavender + honey was truly delightful: Light, delicate flavor of lavender married with the sweeter, richer taste of honeysuckle cream. The chocolate one was surprisingly not as delectable, and was heavier, more dense and doughy with not enough hazelnut flavor.

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Location of Slide Restaurant: 174 Bleecker Street, New York NY

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Weekend with Friends in NJ

My mother actually came to visit from California for Mother’s Day and we headed to Lawrenceville, NJ to visit with some dear friends that we haven’t seen for quite some time. We stayed at my childhood friends’ parents’ house, which brought back some wonderful memories.

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We had some tea and homemade pastries, then walked around the backyard garden which was filled with pink, red, white, purple azaleas and a dozen other beautiful plants and flowers. It was truly an idyllic scene, especially with the sunlight streaming in.

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After touring the outer loveliness of the house, we went back in for raw vegetable appetizers, then shared a meal of pasta, pork, and salad.

We headed to downtown Princeton next and enjoyed some ice cream from Thomas’ Sweets. I had maple walnut and peanut butter fudge flavors in a sugar cone, and the ice cream tasted divine. The maple walnut was sweet but in subtle way and the peanut butter fudge was rich, creamy, delicious. The flavors blended well together.

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We then strolled around Princeton University for a bit, checking out the Museum, library, chapel, different halls, and enjoying the beauty of the prestigious ivy league campus.

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SATURDAY, May 11
My mom and I headed to another friends’ home for lunch. It was lovely to see them and catch up after so many years. We had quiche, salad, grapes and yummy cookies.

Back at our other friends’ place, my childhood friend had come for the day and brought her two adorable children that I got to meet for the first time. Stella (3 years old) was shy at first, but so pretty, talkative and smart! And I loved holding little Lukas (7 months), who has such a pleasant sweet disposition and the cutest little features!

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 When the kids went down for a nap, my friend took my mom and me to downtown Princeton where we shopped at Talbots (had $160 gift card from “Katie Couric Show”), as part of my mom’s Mother’s Day gift. She ended up picking a pale pink sweater button down and I picked out a hot pink sweater button down. I tried on a hot pink dress that I did enjoy but the $100+ price tag deterred me from getting it because I wanted my mom to have the rest of the money on the gift card.

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We also got free samples at Origins (Zero Oil Cleanser & Modern Friction Scrub) and award-winning mini cupcakes from House of Cupcakes- They won the Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars!” They were absolutely little bites of heaven… Perfectly moist and sweet.

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We went back to the house after that and hung out outside while we grilled some chicken and sausage, which made for a very tasty dinner.

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SUNDAY, May 12
It was beautiful out today, so we could finally go to the gardens. I got to ride on the back of a Harley on the way there, which was a ton of fun. We then walked through the fair that was near the gardens. I found a gorgeous silver necklace that spelled out LOVE in cursive with a glittering heart dangling from the words. I also got some kettle corn to share with everyone. Of course it was delicious and oh so very addicting!

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The gardens were lovely as we walked along paths, bodies of water, bridges, and came across flowers, trees, plants, greenery.

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After the trip to the gardens we headed out to a place across the Delaware River, called Dilly’s Corner that has burgers, french fries, soft serve ice cream. There was a long line when we got there and the food was mediocre. Though the curly fries were quite delicious. I just wish I could’ve tried a shake or some of that soft serve ice cream.

All in all, a wonderful time spent with great friends. The only downside was that the weekend went by way too quickly!
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Meeting 98 Degrees

98 degrees 2.0

Yes, 98 Degrees, the boy band that brought us hits such as “Hardest Thing,” “I Do (Cherish You)” and “Because of You” is back with a new CD, “2.0.” So when I heard they would be making an appearance at the Apple in Soho, I knew I had to be there. I got there only a few minutes before they were set to appear, so I had to stand the whole time in the back, but I still managed to get a decent view of the group.

They still look deliciously swoonworthy, especially Nick Lachey and Jeff Timmons. They still have that tight muscled physique, charming smiles and a sweet demeanor. I smiled, waved a blew a kiss at Nick from across the room and yes, he smiled and waved back!

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The event started off with a moderated conversation with Cubby from KTU, with questions about what made the boys come back together again, where they’ve been living, what the boys have been up to and so on. Nick is busy being a new father; Drew participated in (and won) “Dancing with the Stars” and became a host for the show; Justin ran for mayor of Cincinnati; and Jeff was hosting Chippendale’s in Las Vegas… aka being a stripper (not really, but we wish) — He did pretend to take off his button down shirt and do a little dance for us though. So adorably sexy!

Next was the Q&A from the audience, which was fun but the part I loved most was when they performed a few of their hit songs throughout the years… Their special performance was heartfelt, beautiful and amazing. Nick’s voice was deeply velvety silk smooth and undeniably sexy. Jeff’s voice was a bit higher, still rocked it.  All the voice harmonizing together was a real treat.

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The Play List
1. “Invisible Man” – This was gorgeous sounding… Pure perfection!
2. Then what they called The Sunshine Song- “Because of You”
3. Continuing with one of my personal favorites, “The Hardest Thing,” which almost made me cry…
4. Another sappy love song, but with the opposite message of the one prior, “I Do (Cherish You)”
5. “Una Noche”
6. And the latest hit from their newest album, “Microphone” (uptempo, incredibly sexy and got us all up dancing)

Afterwards, I headed outside to the back door to see if I could meet them, but turns out they were signing autographs and taking pictures with fans inside the Apple store and security wouldn’t let us back in. So we waited, and still got a chance to get autographs and pictures. I managed to get a picture with all of the members, but not all together. in one photo. Still, much better than nothing! I loved that they were so sweet & great about it, and made it clear that it was “because of us,” that they loved and cherished us all!

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With sexy Jeff Timmons and Justin Jeffre

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With oh-so-swoonworthy Nick Lachey

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With cutie Drew Lachey

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