Operation GET YOUR BUTT IN GEAR

So the other day, I realized something slightly disconcerting.  My first marathon is less than 70 days away!

Ok, so the realization was more like fantastically horrifying, considering I haven’t run more than 12 miles in quite some time.

And that training schedule I had made myself? It looks lovely hanging at my desk, but I don’t remember the last time I actually did what it said.

So my friend Tiffanie and I decided last week that it is GAME TIME. She’s running the New York City Marathon in November (for Hope for the Warriors, help her!), so she’s got a few weeks more than me to prepare, but we both needed a serious re-commitment to training.

We’re aiming to run 7ish miles two mornings every week together before work. And trust me, we are far from the only people out there in the park at 5:30 a.m.  

Then there’s Saturday long runs with JackRabbit, my Tuesday spin class, Wednesday November Project, a rest day somewhere, and trying to keep up on my weight training.  I know I should get some yoga flowin’ in my schedule too.

So it was with my recommitted mindset that I set out on Saturday’s Yankee Stadium run with the JackRabbit crew.   We had done this route a couple weeks ago, so I knew my way and felt comfortable leading the pack. I wasn’t very chatty on the run, which I felt kind of bad about, but it was more of a solitary running kinda morning I guess.

It never fails to crack me up how confused people in the Bronx are by a large group of people running.  Half of them are convinced we’re running the marathon.  The other half just yell at us to “GO! FASTER!”

For those of you who would like all the intimate details of my run, I had the lovely experience of getting my period around mile 6. Yep. That happened.  Luckily, I had supplies with me.

Not much else to comment on for the run, except that mentally and physically I was feeling good, and hoping to do more than the planned 11 miles.  I felt like I had at least a half-marathon in me that morning (I had even changed my party from Friday night to Saturday night to ensure a hangover free long run on Saturday- look, I’m getting so mature and responsible!) I was scared that I would make it back to the store, get my water (it was SWEATY out there) and then mentally feel like I was done.  But since I was the second one back, it made it easier to drink my water, start Map My Run, and head to Central Park to see what more I could do.

The longer I ran, the more I wanted to get my mileage UP. I couldn’t hear Map My Run, so I wasn’t positive how far I had gone, so I just kept going. A bridle loop and two reservoir loops and back to my apartment. 6.36 miles. And the Yankee Stadium route had come to just over 12 miles.  Meaning, I had reached 18 MILES! The last six weren’t very pretty. They were slow. And everything hurt. And they had me thinking, “I’m going to do this + 8.2 MORE?!” But I did it. And now I feel so much more confident that I can get through this training, do a 22 mile training run, and cross that finish line after 26.2 miles on October 4.  

(8:47 pace, OOOOF)

I got back to my apartment, opened up my yoga mat, grabbed the evil foam roller, and could barely move for the next half hour. 

(Although I moved enough for a photoshoot...guilty)

The only thing that motivated me was the fact that I neeeeded food. I then took an hour long nap, and didn’t even feel guilty about it because it wasn’t that nice out anyway.

(Lion mane)

So I guess my lesson has been learned. If you want to be able to run 18 miles, you should probably not drink your face off the night before a long run. (Notice I said my lesson was learned, not that I would actually heed this advice on a regular basis). But I’m glad that I had made it up in my mind to make this run a good one and did what I needed to do to make sure it actually happened. 

High fiving myself, sorry. 

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November Project- JUST SHOW UP.

Perhaps one of my favorite things in this world is FREE FITNESS.  Whether it’s my running group, the Nike Training Club, at home workouts or a free trial at a gym- I am all about proving that you can be in shape and not spend thousands of dollars! And lucky for me, NYC is just BURSTING with free fitness groups.  I swear, I discover a new one every day.

So it’s kind of amazing that it has taken me this long to #JustShowUp for November Project, which meets every Wednesday morning at 6:28 a.m. at Gracie Mansion (I am a fan of their punctuality). I can literally roll out of bed at 6:15, jog over, and be enveloped in a million sweaty hugs from this crazy awesome fitness family.

The first time I came to #WakeUpTheSun with November Project, it was a little intimidating. I’m not the world’s biggest hugger, and meeting new people isn’t my strength. But everyone was SO friendly, and I definitely have found that fitness-freaks like me have a special bond.

The first morning I went was “PR Day” where we basically ran “mansions” (laps around Gracie Mansion) and saw how long it took us to finish a certain number of them.

Everyone has shirts (#GrassrootsGear) and everyone is enthusiastic and motivating and badass. We start each morning jumping up and down and screaming “Fuck yeah!” I’m not even kidding. We are called a tribe. And our leaders? So inspiring- not to mention fucking hysterical. 

And I got to meet Ali, whose blog I have been following for a while now, and who works at my most favorite place- JackRabbit! The next morning I showed up, my friend Salim from JackRabbit was there! The fitness community in New York City is kind of crazy that way. November Project even has a special vocabulary and traditions and I’m all about that spirit-y stuff. I was hooked from the start!

(Look, I have lots of new friends!)

Every Wednesday, they announce the location for Friday’s workout- and I’ll admit, I’ve been lazy and only made it to one- on the Fourthof July! We met at Grand Army Plaza decked out in our patriotic workout gear and did a bunch of fun stuff like suicide relays and leaping over people planking.

Wednesday’s workouts are usually running-centered, with loops around the park alternating with different exercises like burpees (ugh), pushups, planks, tricep dips, lunges, etc. Not to sound like a snob, but one of my favorite parts about November Project is that these guys are no joke. The workout is hard, and you will be pushed! But it's also a great social atmosphere, and you laugh and smile while you're getting your butt kicked.

And did I mention there’s a photographer who stealthily captures you looking badass? Yes.  There is. And I’m vain, and I love checking Facebook every Wednesday afternoon to see if there’s a shot of me.

I’m pumped because tomorrow, we’re meeting at Randall’s Island and I’m finally going to have my own #GrassRootsGear. If you read up on November Project, it’s a really amazing story, and thinking about it always gets me pumped to set my alarm early. These people are SO dedicated- sometimes running over 8 miles just to GET to the workout. And November Project is in 17 different cities already!

Thank you to my friend Tina for getting me involved in this awesome group. Everyone reading this- we want YOU to join us! Just show up!

(Ayyy)

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Restaurant Week: Summer 2014

It’s Restaurant Week in NYC!  Or should I say, “Restaurant Almost-Month.” The summer restaurant week runs from July 21 through August 15- and I’m about to drop a sizeable chunk of change to try some restaurants that I couldn’t normally afford.

But with over 300 restaurants participating, it’s no easy task deciding which places you’d like to tackle.  Here are some questions you can ask yourself to make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck, while also ensuring a worthwhile culinary experience (sounds fancy, huh? It is).

(This was my friends entree at David Burke's Fishtail. So pretty!)

Is there a big difference between the lunch and dinner menus?
At some restaurants, the lunch menu, which is $25 for three courses, is identical to the dinner menu, which is $38 for three courses.   You do the math. Often, the lunch menu is offered until 4 p.m., and with the amount of food you get- it’s definitely possible that you could pull an “80-year-old in Florida” and make it your dinner.

Save the Restaurant Week dinners for places that either don’t offer lunch, or offer a lunch menu that you’re just not feelin’ (But I’m telling you, the lunch menu is almost always very similar.)

Am I getting the goods?
Sorry, but I’m not dropping $30 on a lunch if my best appetizer option is a kale Caesar salad and the best entrée is some chicken with vegetables. You can keep your “assorted gelatos.” But anywhere giving me seafood options, lamb, duck, creative desserts, etc., I’m all in.

Will I actually experience the restaurant? 

Are they actually offering signature dishes from their typical menus? Or are they offering lame dishes made “special” for restaurant week? If there’s a dish you’ve been dying to try at a place, but it’s not offered on the restaurant week menu- save the trip, and splurge on that special entrée you’ve been eyeing.

Can you eat here another time for around the same price?
If this is a restaurant you can typically afford anyway, don’t go during restaurant week.  I usually look at their price rating on Yelp or similar websites.  If they’re a $$$$ restaurant- the chances I’m treating myself to a night there without it being restaurant week are very slim.  But $$, I can manage on my own at a later date.

Do they have regular prix fixe menus?
If the restaurant offers a prix fixe year-round, and it’s affordable, save it, and go to a restaurant without a regular prix fixe option.

A few more tips:

• It’s also important to consider whether or not you plan on drinking, how much the restaurants cocktails typically go for, and if you are a dessert person or not.  If you would rather get a cocktail or two and not order dessert, maybe the prix fixe restaurant week option at that particular restaurant isn’t for you.
• Be adventurous- don’t make reservations at 4 Italian restaurants or 3 different sushi bars.  Chances are, the options, given the smaller menus, will be very similar among restaurants with the same cuisine.  So why not try sushi one night and Indian the next? You live in NYC, the options are endless.  Get out there and try new things!
• Take notice of supplementary charges on the restaurant week menus- a lot of times, signature dishes will cost an extra $7-$12!
• If you're like me, and love Instagramming your food- #NYCResaurantWeek is giving away gift cards to the best pictures! Get your X-ProII on and arrange those plates!
• Plan ahead, and make reservations.

What are my plans for the remainder of Restaurant Week, you ask?

Dovetail, mas (la grillade), Tamarind – Tribeca, Lure Fishbar. And I went to Fishtail on Sunday (review to follow!)

Leave me comments if there's any other places I NEEEEEED to try :) And happy eating! 

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Review: Two Tablespoons

Food markets, fairs and festivals in New York City are so wonderful. Entire streets blocked off for all different types of food vendors. Typically, I’m completely overwhelmed.  But when I visited Madison Square Eats, for once, I knew exactly what I was there to get! A vendor called Two Tablespoons- specializing in making delicious vegetarian food with organic and locally sourced ingredients. 

(Lovely setting for a food festival!)

I had been following them on Instagram for a while, and salivating at their colorful, fresh looking pictures on an almost daily basis. It was time to see if Two Tablespoons could please my taste buds as much as it pleased my eyes.

I ordered my food to go, and for the entire 45 minute trek back to my apartment, my stomach growled and I SO BADLY wanted to be that person eating on the subway. But I persevered and waited until I could sit outside on my roof with fresh spring rolls and salad. Ahhh, perfection.

(Look how colorful!)

First, I had the Lentils, Beets and Goat Cheese spring roll- filled with lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, beets, lentils, goat cheese and a citrus vinaigrette.  Wow. Everything was so fresh, and how can you beet eating something with all of these beautiful colors? (Did you catch my pun?) I’m a sucker for goat cheese, and paired with the pop of citrus vinaigrette, it was a wonderful combination.

The second spring roll I ordered was the Corn, Coconut and Curry Sauce. This one was filled with lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, corn, quinoa, pickled onions, coconut, almonds and curry sauce.  I loooove anything curry, so I was a little disappointed in this roll because the curry flavor was lacking a little bit. But overall, it was delicious and fresh!

Lastly, I ordered one of their glass noodle salads.  I chose the Lentils, Market Greens and Masala Dressing (again, love Indian-inspired flavors!) At first, it looked like a giant pile of lentils. But once I mixed it up, I saw the delicious glass noodles, carrots, onions and capers mixed in with the lentils.  It was a little bit of lentil overload after the lentil, beet and goat cheese spring roll, but still, delicious.

If I had to choose, I would definitely say the lentil, beet and goat cheese spring roll was my favorite part of this meal, but everything was delicious! I definitely plan on ordering from them again before they leave their current site, Broadway Bites in Greeley Square.

I’m dying to try their other menu items!

Biggggg thumbs up to Two Tablespoons. Not only was it healthy and delicious, but the price was right. 2 spring rolls are just $7.50 and let me tell you, they are filling with the lentils or quinoa! You can also try one of each spring roll for just $10! That’s less than a Chop’t salad! The small salads are only $5.50 and a large is $10. The two spring rolls + small salad were PLENTY to eat and I even had some leftover that I enjoyed with lunch the next day.

I will certainly be following them wherever they set up shop! It’s the perfect summer meal. 

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Drunk Food Confessions: Guac Guac Guac Everybody!

I'm starting a new feature on the blog- where I come clean about all of the ridiculous food I decide it's OK to eat while drunk. 

I would like to publicly acknowledge the fact that recently, in one weekend, my friends and I ordered 10 guacamole burgers from Jackson Hole. Which is a record, even for us.

The Jackson Hole menu was drunkenly opened after many drinks and many rounds of Cards Against Humanity. And as people started making suggestions, my friend grabbed the menu back and declared, “You’re all getting GUAC BURGERS. You’ll thank me."

And we did.

(We also may have gotten chicken parm and an egg sandwich. Because drunk cravings cannot be ignored.)  

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Queen of Hearts

Usually when I’m playing cards, I’m drinking. But recently, I’ve switched it up a little bit. My new favorite type of workout for days that I’m not concentrating on certain muscles or cardio is the deck of cards workout. It’s such a great way to mix things up, keep yourself interested, keep your body guessing, and you can make them as difficult as you want.  

The first one that I did was a couple of weeks ago. For the most part, I used Pumps & Iron’s Cardio Deck of Cards Workout, with a few tweaks.

Here’s what it looked like:

Clubs- Push-Ups/Renegade Row

Diamonds- Jack Jump Planks

Spades – V-Up Crunches

Hearts – I altered this, because I was doing the workout outside and didn’t have a treadmill.  I did :30 high knees, :30 butt kicks, :30 jumping jacks, :30 pretending to jump-rope.

The number = the number of reps (aces are 11 and face cards are 10). 

(Pictures taken from Pumps and Iron!)

I had planned on doing another circuit routine I found online after this, but by the end of the deck, I was poooooped! And it took a while to complete!

This weekend while I was home, I got to go to my old gym for my absolute FAVORITE class- Boot Camp! The instructor, an old family friend, is super intense and puts a lot of thought and effort into each workout, which I love.  This week, she had a deck of cards workout planned! We partnered up and every group of two got a deck of cards to try to complete before the end of class. 

Clubs – Box Jumps
Spades – Pike-Up/Push-Up on the medicine ball
Diamonds – Sprints
Hearts – Weighted lunges

For this deck of cards workout, Jacks were 11, Queens were 12, Kings with 13 and Aces were 14! A joker meant you had to go through all four exercises doing 14 reps.

Good stuff! 

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Ramblings of a Runner

A few weeks ago at the last minute I decided to go to the USQ Tuesday social run. It was a gorgeous day, and someone had chalked the route (someone from the store goes out and draws chalk arrows around the city for us to follow!) I love that, because then I don’t feel like I need to stay with the group because I don’t know where I’m going (my navigational and directional skills are poor at best). I was wearing my Nike’s, not my running sneakers. But it ended up being one of those runs where I was close to tears at how amazing it felt. I. was. flying. I wish I had had a watch because I reallllllly want to know what my pace was. I’ve never felt so fast in my entire life. It was nuts. I finished so far ahead of everyone else that I felt kind of bad. I was totally in the zone, didn’t want to talk to anyone, just wanted to sprint and sprint far and fast, and I did. And it was amazing. The other night I ditched the group too because I was in a bad mood and needed to run it out on my own. It’s crazy how much like therapy it can be for me.

It got me thinking about my running preferences and how much they can change on any given day. Most days, I love running with other people. I love the camaraderie and I love the conversations that take your mind off of whatever happened that day (or the fact that you’re sucking wind up a hill). 

(Hooray to running with friends) 

But some days, I need to just run alone and mull things over in my head without anyone else around. Just me and my sneakers.

And then there are the days that I NEED to run with someone. Usually, these are my long runs or early morning runs.  I will admit, sometimes I dread a run.  There, I said it. I don’t like admitting that. I like to think that running is my happy place, and training for this marathon is going to be sunshine and rainbows because I love running, right? Yeah, well.  Sometimes I don’t feel like waking up at 5:15 to run 12 miles before work. Why do it then? Because without fail, if I do it, I feel better afterwards. I need to accept the fact that training is going to feel like work at times.  Hard work. But I’ve read enough marathon recaps to know that if I can successfully cross that finish line after 26.2 miles, all of those miles thinking, “This sucks I want to stop” will be distant memories.

I also know that I’m going to have plenty of runs where I need that friend to be waiting for me at 5:30 so that I don’t shut off my alarm and go back to sleep.  And I’m going to need that friend who says, “Just 3 5Ks left and we’re done!” And I’m going to need that friend who says, “Pick it up Wolman, I know you can do better.” And I’m also going to need that friend who says, “Don’t be stupid, you’re going to hurt yourself.”

Another big thing I’ve noticed about my running preferences recently is that I haven’t worn headphones in ages! I’m either with people talking or running alone and thinking- and both of those things require no music! I still like to have music during a race in case I need it for that extra added “umph” but for the most part, I think I’m a music-free runner now. 

And those are my runner-ramblings for now. 

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A New Foodie Happy Place

I have found my new foodie happy place. Smorgasburg is my first true love. But sometimes, it’s not the perfect day for lounging outside while eating delicious food. Sometimes, it does this annoying thing where liquid falls from the sky and makes me sad.  And sometimes, it’s not the weekend (I know, ew, right?) So when it’s not a beautiful Saturday or a beautiful Sunday, it’s a relief to know there’s somewhere else I can go with an overwhelming number of incredible food options that I eventually need to try.

Chelsea Market.

Probably the coolest building I’ve ever been in. You need to check it out. If you are somehow not enticed by the amazing food I’m about to tell you about, you should still go just to walk around and see the inside of it.

My friend and I went and did a lap (complete with all the free samples we could get our hands on, which was a lot) while contemplating how on earth we would make a decision about what to eat. It was like all the NYC food blogs I read had taken their top picks and plopped them into one building. Every place I passed I felt like I had read about. 

(Overwhelming number of options!)

We decided that instead of us each picking what we wanted for lunch, we should pick two things we both wanted and split them so we each got to try two things- teamwork at its best.

I was so happy that we both wanted Beyond Sushi, because I cannot tell you how long I have been DYING to try it. We got a combo which came with a roll and two single pieces- we got the fiesta roll, a mango piece and a tofu piece. We found a place to sit next to a cool fountain thing and I began to photograph the shit out of my beautiful vegan sushi rolls. I mean, look at it.  This stuff is art. Tasty, tasty art.  

There’s not much description I can think to give except happy taste buds. So happy. It came with some orange saucy thing in a little squirt container and I pretty much doused each of my pieces in it. Soy sauce shmoy sauce. Unnecessary with fresh flavahs like these.

Next it was time to get our taco on at Los Taco No. 1.  I’ve read a lot about these guys- one from Mexico and one from California- promised to be one of the most authentic tacos in the big apple. I spent forever waiting for Immaculate Infatuation to load so I knew which taco to order- I trust those guys big time, and if they tell me the way to go is with a carne asada corn taco, you better believe that’s what I am going to order. 

(Menu = unnecessary when you have The Infatuation as your guide!)

In hindsight we both should have gotten our own instead of attempting to split it. 1) Because it was a very messy endeavor and 2) Because half of this taco was NOT ENOUGH. 50 of these tacos would not be enough. It is impossible to ever have enough of these tacos. Upon first biting into this taco, I’m pretty sure our eyes may have rolled back in our heads. The sounds we were making were probably concerning to people. It was very close to a sexual experience we were having with this taco. We couldn’t get over how amazing this taco tasted. What do they put in it? Crack. Go get yourself some Los Taco No. 1 now. What are you waiting for? Go.

The only way to finish off a lunch of sushi and tacos is with some raspberry Ample Hills Creamery ice cream right? Oh yeah. I had a coupon for a free cup from filling out a survey on Chelsea Market’s Instagram so we split a small cup to top off our adventure. It was ice cream. It was yummy. 

Chelsea Market, I have only scratched your surface. We are going to be great friends. 

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Thank You JackRabbit!

In exciting, running related news (some of you out there may think that’s an oxymoron) I have updated my sneakers! An expensive but worthwhile venture.

I was back and forth on whether I wanted to buy my shoes online or in the store at JackRabbit. I could find them much cheaper ordering online, but I have such an appreciation for JackRabbit and all they do for me and other runners in New York City that I decided $120 on a pair of new shoes was a price I was willing to pay as a token of my thanks to them.

If you think about it, I owe them much more. They have provided me with:

-A running group that I can participate in for free, in multiple locations in the city, almost every night of the week. In a typical week, I run at the UES store Monday, USQ store Tuesday, choose between UES and USQ on Thursday, and long run at UES on Saturday morning. If I wanted, I could also run UWS and Brooklyn runs.

(USQ Tuesday runs will always have a special place in my heart!)

-New and exciting routes that I never would have discovered on my own. Wake up in the morning and don’t feel like doing the same boring loop of Central Park? That’s ok, I now know how to run to Randall’s Island for a tour.  Brooklyn over the Manhattan Bridge? Easy. You can run to Yankee Stadium? Sure you can!

 -Friends. And in New York City, sometimes a nice, normal friend with similar interests is a lot harder to find than you might think.

-Knowledge. This goes along with the friends and running group. It’s crazy how long you can talk about running related things, and how little I knew when I first started. Cadence? Splits? PR? My mind is now filled with running lingo. How do I make my IT band stop hurting? Running friends to the rescue! “You need a foam roller!” “A foam what? Ow, fuck.” I can sleep in compression socks but never compression sleeves. Got it. CEP are the way to go, medical grade bitches! See, I sound smart, and it’s thanks to JackRabbit!

(Thanks for introducing me to this torture device...)

-Other Fitness Related Awesomeness. A free spin class at the trendy new Cyc studio in David Barton Gym that would usually cost me $30? Heck yes I’ll be there! Oh, you’re going to give me armfuls of free OatWorks smoothies afterwards? Sweeeeeet. Free yoga? Free HIIT workouts in the park? The chance to sample and run with a new GPS watch? A free gel for every Saturday long run? (Those things ain’t cheap, people). Through JackRabbit and people I’ve met there I’ve also had a chance to run for people in a NYRR 4-miler and in the Brooklyn Half Marathon! 2 tech shirts! 2 amazing days! 2 PRs! Oh, did I mention once I got two free pairs of UnderArmour underwear for the day we ran to Times Square to participate in breaking the world record for most people in their underwear? They’re super comfy underwear too.

(OW OWWW ;)

 -Beer and Burgers. Yes, JackRabbit has even provided the new Jack to Jack running group with pitchers of beer to celebrate a hard 3 miles through the park.  They are that awesome. And their monthly Shake Shack runs? Free shake or beer or beverage of choice (and the first week, they let us order WHATEVER WE WANTED TO EAT TOO).

So although I say it all the time, THANK YOU JACKRABBIT.

Let’s go back to my exciting story about new shoes, shall we? We shall.

It was definitely time to replace my Guide 6’s. A lot of non-running friends have been asking how I know it’s time to get a new pair and I can’t really give them an answer except that I just KNEW my sneakers were dead.  My legs were hurting more than they should for the miles I was doing, my calves were tight. The time had come to say goodbye to my blue and pink babies.

I had been out on a few runs recently in my Nike’s (bad for my shins but they were unplanned runs, sorrrrry legs) and actually loved how light they felt. So when I had John helping me figure out what to buy, I told him:
-I’m looking for something lighter
-I had a stress fracture
-My shins sucks
-I’m a 7.5

Things I also should have said but didn’t:
-I’m probably only going to pick a pair of sneakers if they come in pretty colors…

John brought out 3 different pairs and said they were each lighter but still supportive enough for my problematic legs. The first were an orange pair of New Balance. I ran a little on the treadmill in them and they felt pretty good. John said I was running fine in them, my right leg a little more wonky then the left but nothing to worry about (yes, I just used the word wonky, one of my gran’s specialties).

Second were a pair of Mizuno’s I’d been eyeing because they are SO PRETTY. Like, look at these. But sadly, they had a weird cushiony front piece that my big toe was mashing into- John said a lot of people complain about it. And I ALWAYS end up busting my toe through the top of the shoe as it is (another way I know it’s time for a new pair) so those weren’t going to work. So sad, because they were beautiful.

Third was a pair of Brooks that I loooooved the feel of.  They were like hugs on my feet.  They felt snug in a good way.  But they were ugly, and had the least amount of cushioning and support.  John explained that that also meant I would have to replace them a lot more frequently, which I can’t really afford.

That’s when I asked, “Can I try on the Guide 7’s?” D’oh.

Of course, when I hopped on the treadmill in the Guides, my feet were like oh, yeah, that’s right- because they’re what I’m used to. And they come in pretty colors. And last more miles. But they aren’t really “new” for me and they definitely aren’t lighter! But, as I am a creature of habit, and scared to make changes especially when it comes to running given my track record with injuries, I bought myself another pair of Guides. Here they are, ladies and gents, my new kicks: 

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Restaurant Review: Bar Americain

I typed this blog entry as I flew across the country to Las Vegas for work. It has been a crazy month or so, both in my personal life and at work. I haven’t had nearly the time I wish I had to dedicate to writing, hence the complete lack of posts.  But I haven’t forgotten about PB Is My Boyfriend, and I am not quitting on it! I’m determined to keep this blog kickin’ and in order to do that, I need to keep going out in the city, exercising, finding new workout groups, eating delicious food- it’s hard work, but someone’s got to do it, and I’m up for the task. Since I last posted, I have done SO MANY fitness and food related things that I can’t wait to eventually write about…in time I hope to be caught up and back on track.  So where to start?

How about the night out at Bobby Flay’s Bar Americain with my parents- not my usual healthy fare, and not my favorite, but it had its high notes. We had planned to go to Momofuku’s Times Square restaurant, Ma Peche, but last minute decided that since we were out to celebrate my mom’s birthday, we should probably go somewhere that we knew she would like.  Plus the a la carte style of Ma Peche was a little daunting. I was crankily asserting that Times Square is THE worst place in Manhattan to try to find a seriously good restaurant, and calling Gato every 5 minutes to see if they had any last minute reservations available because I WILL get there one day, but in the end Bobby Flay’s other restaurant, Bar Americain, is where we decided to go.  Overall, I was pretty pleased with the choice.

The night kicked off to a good start when the bartender was able to make my favorite cocktail, stolen from China Grill, the China Blossom- St. Germain elderflower liquor, gin and grapefruit juice. A+.

Then, the bread basket contained CORN BREAD. I have a strange love for cornbread, and this cornbread was crispy and buttery- thumbs up.

(Corn bread STICKS)

Our waiter totally suckered us into an unplanned appetizer when he said, “Would you like some chips?” The bread hadn’t come out yet, so we thought he was offering complimentary chips.  My dad, whose been there before and had their potato chips, said we HAD to try them anyway so it was fine.  The homemade chips came out and while I didn’t think they were anything special- the blue cheese dip that they’re served with is another story.  Holy yum. 

(Magical, artery clogging cheese dip)

My dad eventually asked for the recipe and it’s something ridiculous like blue cheese, another type of cheese, heavy cream, butter- it’s basically a clogged artery in the form of cheese dip but it was the creamiest cheesiest most delicious thing. We all had to restraint ourselves from just eating spoonfuls of it. Every time the waiter asked to clear it away we were like absolutely not.

We also ordered two appetizers, though I’m sad to report, I wasn’t a fan of either of them.  The first was a crab avocado tower thing (crushed avocado, blue crab, hearts of palm, hot mustard and trout roe to be exact). It’s really hard writing reviews of restaurants to long after the fact, because a lot of the details are hard to remember.  I can’t remember specifics, just that  there was some taste in this appetizer that wasn’t doing it for me- usually I’ll just eat stuff because it’s there, but this I was able to just stop eating because I really didn’t like anything about it.  Weird, considering there’s not many seafood and guacamole dishes I’ll say no to. Maybe the problem was that it was bland? I don’t know. Either way, eh.

The second was an escargot appetizer that my parents made me promise I wouldn’t say anything bad about in my review because they assured me that it was incredible- they loved it (happy guys?)  I won’t say anything bad except that there were definitely truffles used in this- and I hate nothing more than that taste, so this appetizer was also a no go for me.

(Pat and Mitch promise it was delicious)

For dinner I ordered the lamb entrée, because I love lamb, and it came with carrots and quinoa!! The meal was lamb loin with a pinot noir barbeque sauce, charred carrots, quinoa and mint. Sadly, to me, the lamb was fatty, though my dad insists that it wasn’t fatty, just poorly cooked.  The veggies, sauce and quinoa were tasty though. 

In hindsight, I would have enjoyed my mom’s meal much more- she ordered the special of the night which was fish that had a delicious black bean sauce and avocado…I ended up eating a bunch of it! 

(Momma did well with her choice!)

My dad got the rabbit, so I got to try bunny for the first time, HA. I really liked it, it was like delicious dark meat chicken. My favorite part of dinner was the corn cake that came with my dad’s meal. I don’t know how to describe except it was a crispy flaky little pie filled with creamy delicious corn. I ate the entire thing. 

I also had made my parents order a side of sweet potatoes au gratin. Mmmm cheese and sweet potatoes how can you go wrong? This was also delicious. 

So overall, the highlights of the meal were my mom’s fish entrée, my quinoa, the sweet potatoes, and that dreamy corn cake! I wish I could have combined all of those elements to make my own entrée but, c’est la vie!

For a midtown restaurant, Bar Americain is good. For a New York City restaurant, it’s average. I will say that it’s a really spacious, pretty restaurant and the service was excellent.  The food left something to be desired for me, but there were definitely standouts that made the meal worthwhile. Bobby Flay, you’ve done alright with Bar Americain, but my hopes are much higher for the night I finally get a table at Gato! 

But by far the best part of the night was the company :) 

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