From Crab to Cupcakes

Wow what a weekend - hopefully everyone enjoyed it as much as I did.

I ate lots of things I shouldn't have eaten, of course, but it was so worth it! So let's get to it...

Although this wasn't exactly the weekend, I did have dinner last week with an old friend of mine, Gary, so I'm going to include it anyway.  And there's nothing you can do about it, so there! :)

A+ Thai

We were hungry and in the area, so this was our choice for dinner on a random weekday night.  I'm not all that familiar with good dinner spots in Midtown East, but I've enjoyed a number of good lunches here.  We were seated right away and the food came out quickly, which was a plus since we were starving!!


We started with the Spicy Crispy Duck Salad, which was really good!  It definitely had a nice kick to it, and the duck was cooked perfectly.  It wasn't the largest portion and a bit pricy for such a small salad, but it was worth getting again, to share.

Gary was thrilled with how good this was and totally psyched for his dinner.  I was salivating for mine, which is a good thing it came out relatively quickly.

Gary went the safe route and ordered the Chicken Pad Thai.  I actually do the same when I'm trying a new Thai place.  If they don't have decent pad thai, then I pretty much write off the place entirely.

It's like going to a BBQ joint and getting the ribs, if they aren't good what is the point?! Luckily for Gary, their pad thai was spot on and he eat is in about 2 minutes.  He was a hungry man!  I definitely took a taste and was almost a little jealous I didn't go the safe route too.

I wanted some excitement in my life, so I ventured down the spicy basil udon road.  It was great, but almost a little too spicy.  I love me some spice, don't get me wrong, but because I was so hungry and my belly so empty, I could actually feel the burn in my gut.  It was weird, but I ate away hungrily.

I've been on a vegetarian kick, so this was the tofu with veggie version, which I highly recommend.  It was definitely flavorful (so it wasn't all heat) and the veggies were cooked perfectly.  Would recommend this for anyone looking for a good kick in the mouf.  :)

So A+ Thai is kind of A+ in my book.  Fast, fresh and really affordable.  Their lunch specials are great with an appetizer and entree for $10!

Pop Clothing Shop Spring Celebration!

I'm a HUGE fan of this store, and recommend anyone looking for adorable and well-made ladies clothing, shoes and accessories to check it out.  I'm in here about once a week since they're constantly adding new items to their inventory.  They add things daily, so essentially you can live in a tent outside and still be excited every time you went shopping.  LOVE IT!

Anyhoo, they were having a fun event after work on Friday and I dragged my lovely coworker, Chiara, there to inspect the good.  They happened to have the most lovely desserts in their cute backyard.

Turns out one my friends, Shannon, is the most fantastic baker and went all out making 150 cupcakes for the event.  Have you ever seen a more beautiful set up?!


They also had some nice white wine and Prosecco, which is just what I needed after a long work week.

If you look closely, those mini cupcakes (not the tiniest, but the second tiniest) actually have little baby birds on top made out of frosting.

Shannon only bakes vegan desserts - could I get any luckier!?!

It was truly amazing and they tasted better than they looked.

The event was awesome and hope they have another one soon.

Adam (yes he tagged along and not just for the cupcakes, he's a nice boyfriend), Chiara and I were hungry so we went over to Fiore for some supper.  We didn't want to go nuts since we were planning on having a few drinks with Shannon and Breonna (who works at Pop, yet another reason this store rocks) after they were done with the event.

Fiore

I absolutely adore Fiore.  If you go before 8pm, you can usually score a table without waiting, and everyone about this place makes me swoon.

First off, the decor is so cute.  Exposed brick, very homey with little antique touches here and there.  They also have a lovely back outdoor area when the weather is nicer.

Then there's the staff, who are exceptional.  And of course, the food is fantastic.  However, my photos are terrible (sorry) due to the fact that its dimly lit and I have no flash on my phone's camera... so I apologize in advance for how crappy they look, but I assure you the food looks amazing and tastes even better. 


Chiara and I wanted to share a pasta dish, but were torn between the Gnocchi di Patate ai Funghi e Porri (Potato gnocchi with wild mushrooms and leek ragout) and the Fettuccine con Ragu di Carne (Fettuccine with Fresh tomato and meat ragout sauce).  When we asked the waiter what he thought was the best choice, he recommended we get a half portion of each. 

Needless to say we squealed with delight (which he thought was funny) and enjoyed both dishes. 



Obviously the top image is the gnocchi, which was fluffy and really savory.  The ragout was so tasty with an earthiness to it.  

The Fettuccine complimented the gnocchi well since it had a totally different flavor.  You could taste the fresh tomatoes and the meat didn't overwhelm the sweet and tart flavor of the sauce.  It was really very good.  I would order either again.

Adam wanted to be healthy and had already eaten dinner, so he went with the Assorted fresh greens with balsamic.  It was a huge portion, enough for all of us to share.  He was still eating his salad when we were done scarfing down our pasta. ::oink oink::

While we were eating, our waiter came over and gave us a side of Sauteed broccoli rabe with garlic and oil.  Turns out the kitchen "accidentally" made this, so he gave it to us on the house.  It was delicious (sorry no photo, hands full w/ eating at the time) and we loved Fiore all the more for giving us free food.  It's really an affordable restaurant, with their most expensive dish costing about $17.00.  Most are between $11 and $15.  I also recommend their Slow cooked lamb shank with mashed potato and the Fedelini ai Frutti di Mare (Fresh tomato sauce with assorted seafood) which is amazing.  

On Saturday, I enjoyed brunch with Mel (lil' sis) at Manhattan Inn and just wanted to show everyone how cute it is in there.

Brunch was delicious, of course, and we enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere.  Again, we ordered the steak and eggs with a side of the greatest hash brown ever.

If you're waiting 18 years for a table at 5 Leaves, do yourself a favor and check this place out instead.  I know the "scene" there is hypnotizing, but being seated right away, serenaded and fed organic food is far better than any "scene" I assure you.

Later on, Adam and I took how his mother for her birthday.  She was in town for the 5 Borough Bike Tour and it was the perfect opportunity to eat somewhere nice in celebration of both the birthday and the tour.  She wanted something light, so we opted for fish (both the food and the name of the restaurant, coincidentally).

Fish Restaurant

This was SO worth the wait, and there is almost always a wait to get in.  We were rather early, getting there about 6:30pm, so the wait was only about 30 - 40 minutes.  The four of us, which included Adam, his mom Barbara and her friend Chris and I, were seated at a nice table near the back.  Our waitress came over, took drink orders and announced the specials.  Even without the specials, their menu is impressive with a plethora of fancy fish and raw bar options.  I had no idea what I was going to get, until the waitress mentioned a softshell crab entree on special that night. SCORE!  This is by far one of my most favorite foods in the whole world.



I started out with their Fish Market Soup, which is spicy tomatoey goodness with shrimp and white fish.  Fish soups usually have cream or dairy products, so this was a special treat for me.  Although it was pricy at $8 per bowl, it was really good.  I could have just eaten this with some of their amazing biscuits and been good.

We also ordered a half-pound of steamed Alaskan King Crab legs for the table.  I tried to take a photo of the dish, but everyone went crazy for the legs.  So what is pictured here is what was left after everyone grabbed a leg.  It was a nice portion to share with 4 people.  I can't image what the entree is like, which has over a pound of crab legs.

These were really amazing crab legs.  They were sweet and succulent, with no need for the butter.  Just a little spritz of lemon and I was all set.  I practically licked my plate clean.  Adam can't stop talking about how good these were.  He's determined to go back and order the entree (to share, or so he claims).



By the time my meal came out, I was already a little full, so I knew I wouldn't finish my dinner.  However, I was shocked to discover that the portion was ridiculously generous.  They gave me three large, juicy, perfectly pan-fried softshell crabs.  They were too delicious.

Even the sides were amazing!  The green beans were made to order and seasoned and cooked perfectly.  We kept raving about how good they were since everyone at our table got them.  Barbara shared mine and
Adam's. The mashed potatoes were great - fluffy and creamy with not too much butter, just enough to cleanse the palette between bites of mouth-watering crab.  It was a really special treat since they're only in season for a few weeks every year.  These big boys were the largest softshell crabs I've ever seen, let alone eaten.  If you have a chance, go there asap to try these.  They also offer a appetizer variation of this dish.


Adam and Chris ordered the other special, simply grilled wild caught stripped bass.  Had the softshell crab not been offered, I might have gone this route.  Stripped bass is fantastic and I had a feeling it would be particularly good here.

It really was just about the freshest fish you could get in NYC.  It was a nice sized filet that was cooked to perfection.  It didn't need much of anything to taste delicious.  Just a little salt, pepper and you're good to go.

Adam ate each bite carefully to fully appreciate how good this fish really was.  It came with this salsa verde, which was tasty, but the fish was just so good on its own - no need to spicy it up with some fancy sauce. Good fish can hold its own and this was definitely good.


There was little left after Adam and Chris were done.  I did manage to get a bite from Adam and would recommend their fish.  Definitely far healthier than my fried crab, alas.


Barbara went for one of the regular menu items, Pot o' Bass - which was a nice piece of bass cooked in a cast iron pot with white wine, potatoes, tomatoes and onions.  It looked and smelled delicious.  I wasn't able to try it, but Adam said it was really good, full of flavor with lots of tender fish.  It came with big piece of bread to soak up all that tasty broth. The photo doesn't do it justice, but it was really appealing in person. 

It was a glorious dinner that left with heartburn that could have killed an elephant, but it was so worth it.  Adam and I will definitely be back as soon as we can afford it.

Yup, this place is pretty pricy, with our special dishes costing $28 each.  Adam was a real gentleman and paid for the whole thing regardless of our cries to accept our cash to compensate the hefty bill.  What can I say, he's a keeper! So consider this a place to go for a special dinner or if you're really in the mood for unbelievable fish/seafood.  They're famous for their all-you-can-eat Maryland crab lunch special (which apparently runs out quickly, so go early) and their Oyster/PBR special for $8.  Either way, its a great place that's worth the wait and the hefty price tag.