Food Favorite: Spotted Pig

I just can't get enough of this place! Small, very cozy, intimate, great beers and wines, gastropub food fair, very homey and soulful. I've had their burger and fries, fried pig ears (pin@ys - it tastes just like chicarron!), pork belly, lamb chops, and skirt steak - everything is cooked to perfection. Not only do they have multiple pork dishes (hence, spotted pig) - and ya'll know I'm a huge fan of pork - but, they also have cute servers (that's always a plus, right?!). =)

XOXO...

Gossip Girl fan here (and I feel a little embarrassed, but I know you're a fan too). Check out some of the sites:

The steps where lots of gossip and plotting happens:





The school courtyard:





Dalton School:


Anyone else a Gossip Girl fan? If not, just check out the first three episodes from Season 1 and if you're not hooked yet, I'll forgive you - at least you tried. The fan in me totally had a blast checking out these Gossip Girl sites with the person who is much more of a fan than I am - my cousin! haha... Thanks for visiting Kuya Marv!

Craft

This was such a classic dining experience in NYC. I walked into Craft, Tom Cholicchio's restaurant for those Top Chef watchers, and was immediately impressed by the warm lighting, amazing wine storage structure, and classic yet modern decor.





The food was cooked to perfection! Jeff and I started the night with a bottle of Malbec, and for the first course, had the arugula & lemon salad with the rock shrimp ravioli. Then we moved to our second course with pork and monkfish, and sides of gnocchi and baby carrots (my mouth is watering just thinking about these dishes). If I had to choose my favorites, it had to be the perfectly seasoned and fluffy gnocchi with the monkfish - MMmmmm!









Cheers!

Birthday Pics are Finally Here

Welcome to Therapy!



Here's a pic of my fellow research colleagues and their birthday gift to me: Whey Do Men Have Nipples? (Yes, I'll be citing this as part of my research!)



A Night of Fun, Drinking, and Dancing! One of the best parts of the night: friends from all parts of my life who happened to be in NYC came together, met one another, are now friends =) Cool people just attract other cool people!

Here's a pic of my cousin who traveled from the Bay, Paola (a research fellow from Ecuador), Jeff & Joey (Jeff who I used to dance with at DowneFX in the Bay! And fun Joey, Jeff's bf)











The Beyonce Girls perform Single Ladies perfectly! Plus - here's a pic of them and my friends who were their biggest fans!





A few more pics --

Birthday Bash!

OMG! Birthday Celebration was a huge success! Here's the wrap up:

My new and past NYC friends join me to celebrate my 29th birthday at a place fittingly named Therapy - a gay lounge and bar in Hell's Kitchen...



... Everyone grabs a drink to warm it up... group tequila shot #1... straight girl friends admire the bartender then start to harass him by taking multiple pics... Everyone grabs another drink... we head up stairs to dance... two guys decide to put on a bump and grind show on the center of the couches causing major havoc... the gays and girls scream and laugh... flashes and flashes (pictures are taken)... group tequila shot #2... more dancing... two other guys know the choreography to beyonce's Single Ladies and work it out!... the crowd goes crazy... more drinks... i'm more than buzzed and so is everyone else... tequila shot #3... drink #?.... dancing continues... more fun ensues... drink #?..... then....

pics to on their way. =)

Cuban/Chinese Food

I had no idea that this cuisine existed until a coworker let me know - and, it is ooooh soooo good!

A little bit of history of the origins of Cuban/Chinese food:

Chinese immigration to Cuba started in 1847 when Cantonese contract workers were brought to work in the sugar fields. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese workers were brought in from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan during the following decades to replace and / or work alongside African slaves. Brought to Cuba as laborers, these migrants developed a cuisine that blended Chinese and Caribbean flavors.

I had dinner with my friends Mary and Ngoc - fellow Oaklanders who moved to the East Coast. Check out the tasty food - yellow rice with a medley of seafood (calamari, shrimp, and scallops), fried plantains, black beans, and grilled steak. Mmmm Mmmm....

Spotted!

Look closely -- who do you see? If you squint your eyes just a little, you'll see the hot red glasses of Ugly Betty! No joke ya'll, it's really America Ferrera, and her co-star buddies Becki Newton and Michael Urie.

Just a few days after arriving into NYC, my research fellow colleagues and I decided to walk around our Grad School's neighborhood to get to know the area. Low and behold, we're crossing the street and notice a group of people looking towards a small, narrow street. As we get closer, we see lights, cameras, and.... The Ugly Betty cast shooting a scene for the show!

I've always been hearing that there are lots of actors all around NYC, but, I didn't believe it until this experience. I wouldn't have thought that I'd feel so star struck, but as an Ugly Betty fan, I couldn't help but feel super excited and gitty.

Check out the pics below for the few shots I was able to take of Michael Urie and the back of Becki Newton. America Ferrera had to shoot another scene on her own, and I wasn't able to switch my major zoom lens in time to catch her. Oh well, maybe another time! Or, maybe I'll find a way to be an extra for another show!