Flavor of Love

Yesterday was my five year wedding anniversary. To celebrate, we took a walk down Vanderbilt Ave and had brunch/lunch at Le Gamin, a french restaurant specializing in crepes. I recommend eating in the backyard area. I'm always pleased with the way restaurants in the city are able to transform a tiny backyard surrounded by buildings into a nice Eden for food-lovers. I had a swiss/mushroom/sausage crepe with salad. Tres bon!

After, we took a long trek to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. We've missed the cherry blossoms but it was still definitely worth it to go. There are still plenty of flowers, amazing trees to check out and the fish and turtles in the Japanese garden are always cool to see. And it was surprisingly not that crowded, which is always a huge plus when doing anything in NY.


For dinner, we made our way to No. 7 in Fort Greene. We were told it was a 40-minute wait but it ended up being only about 10 minutes! However, we were stuck at the crappiest table that was right in the walkway to the bathroom and the waiter stand. Overall the service was great though and the food was delicious. We shared an appetizer of mussels with thai basil/chickpea/sake broth and then I got the mahi mahi with bock choy, lentils and artichoke dip for the entree. Unfortunately, there was no room left for dessert in my belly.

Finally, we made our way to Frank's Lounge on Fulton St. hoping to listen to some live music that was suppose to go on at 9:30. But when 10:30 rolled around and I had about enough of the R&B album that was playing, we decided to just leave. I guess I'll never know what Big Brooklyn Red sounds like.

Looking forward to our 6th anniversary :)

Food at the Flea

This past Sunday I went to the Brooklyn Flea at the Williamsburg Savings Bank - that huge clock tower you've probably seen from any distance. I've been to the one outside on Saturdays in the school parking lot but I had heard that the food area on Sundays is in the bank's vault. In my mind I was thinking that the vault would be really cool with old safety deposit boxes and bars, but the only cool thing was the big vault door. The rest just looked like an unfinished basement with Sheetrock and really dim lighting. I ended up getting a very yummy grilled cheese sandwich from the Milk Truck that was called the "Classic with a Twist." It was Gruyere on rye with whole grain mustard and pickled onions. Yum! While I was waiting for it, I spotted Jesse Eisenberg (actor known for Squid and the Whale, Zombieland, Roger Dodger) holding hands with a girl. Love the celebrity spottings!

After, I made my way upstairs to where all the stores displayed their goods. The atmosphere upstairs was so much nicer. The building looked like an old cathedral with beautiful, painted dome ceilings and all the old details I was hoping to see. The vendors are very diverse from old and new jewelry to vintage furnishings to collectible items. I didn't end up buying anything but it was worth the visit. I recommend stopping in since it is free, but check out the Flea on Saturdays for a nicer outdoor shopping experience.

It's Good to Know a Chef

This past weekend my in-laws were in town so my husband, Rick, decided to take them to dinner at The Grocery on Smith St. in Carroll Gardens. Rick has been interning there for a month or so because he wanted to work in a small, chef/owner operated, highly-regarded restaurant. We've been there twice before he started interning there and have loved it both times. Now that he knows the chef it made the dining experience a little different. We sat down at 5pm because that was the only time we could get a reservation for 5 people (his sister came, too). The place immediately started to get crowded but that didn't stop Charlie, the chef/owner, from treating us like we were "somebody." He brought us each a glass of champagne and two complimentary amuse bouche as well as some fresh slices of salmon to taste. Then he brings out an asparagus dish that was a variation of something that was on the menu for us to try. It was of course delicious. But the best part of the evening was when we all ordered our food. I ordered the vegetarian lasagna, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law and my husband all ordered the scallops, and my father-in-law ordered lamb (I think). All of a sudden my husband gets a call on his cell phone and ignores it. Then it rings again. He decides to answer it and it's the chef calling from the kitchen! He says that he's not bringing out three scallop dishes and that my husband can just taste theirs so he has to pick something else to eat. It was pretty hilarious that he did that but he was right, why not order a bunch of different dishes and try everyone's? Everything was consistenly amazing. We even received complimentary sorbets in addition to the desserts we ordered. I definitely recommend going to The Grocery for your next dinner. And if you go on a Tuesday night you might just get something my husband made.