Gilt

As a fan of the popular show Gossip Girl I have wanted to check out Gilt, the bar/restaurant inside the Van Der Woodsen's residence- the Palace Hotel. My friend and I met at the bar for drinks and a small bite to eat one evening after work. We opted to site in the bar & lounge area rather than in the formal dining room as we weren't crazy about the mandatory pre fixe menu. We were impressed by the creative drink and lounge food menus. The cocktail menu featured real cocktails like the Black Mojito and the Gilt Classic Smash as well as an extensive list of "mocktails" like the Thia Lemonade and the Garden of Eden.
Our waitress suggested that we try the truffle french fries and of course we were hesitant to order but we were taken by the fact that they were truffle-infused so we just couldn't pass them up.
For my main meal I had the pear and pecorino salad which was a nice, light dish.
The hotel in general was absolutely beautiful, somewhere I would like to walk around inside more to check out their other restaurants and bars. The Palace Hotel is located in the heart of midtown on 50th St. between Park and Madison Avenues, see map HERE.

B Bar

I recently had an extremely late night dining experience at B Bar which I had previously only been to for drinks. I've always loved the casual in-door/outdoor layout of the restaurant, half of the restaurant is inside and the back half is a year-round garden which is enclosed and fully heated in the winter and open during the summer so patrons can dine and drink under the stars. It's the perfect spot for weekend brunch, after work drinks, weekend nights out and fabulous for dinner.

For a late night dinner my friend and I started off with a tasty order of Homemade Guacamole & Chips. The menu boasts nine great sounding salads. I ordered the Roasted Beet Salad with herb-walnut crusted goat cheese. The menu also features a variety of dishes from seafood to pizzas to burgers and quesadillas.
I'm a big fan of restaurants and bars that have cocktail menus and B Bar doesn't disappoint. The cocktail menu features two of my favorite drinks- sangria and mojitos- but also offers a Watermelon Martini, B Bar Cosmo, a Spiced Margarita and more.

B Bar is very similar to The Park, located on 10th Ave near 17th St., and after my first visit to B Bar I asked the hostess if they had the same owner and she said yes but seemed a little unsure. Does anyone know if they are owned by the same people?!? (I really hope they are because they are really too similar not to be. Haha)

B Bar is located at 40 E. 4th St. near Bowery, see map HERE.

Blog Alert: Cook-To-Bang

This week my friend, DTrench, introduced me to a hot new foodie blog called Cook to Bang, providing men everywhere with recipes to get them laid.Besides the blush-worthy recipes like "Forbidden Fruit Salad" and "Let's Bang S'More," I love how they post images of the cooking process so you know what to expect when you try to make these concoctions yourself. A few of my favorite recipes from the site include the "Lecherous Lemon Bars," "Mo-Mojo Mojito," and the "Gettin' Your Goat Cheese Salad."
Give them a try and do kiss and tell by letting us know if you end up lucky in the bedroom after fixing one of these dishes. I'm all ears if you have your own recipes for love, share them in the comments below.

Florencia 13

A few weeks ago a friend of mine walked passed Florencia 13 and was so impressed with the mustached man logo that he knew this was a place he had to try. Finally checking it out, we were still impressed with the family owned Mexican restaurant. Owners, Ralph, Rina. Marco, Gina, and Lennard Camarillo monitor the cooking closely to insure that every dish that comes out of the kitchen remains true to its authentic Southern California Mexican roots.

Most of the ingredients come from Californian distributors or are hand-picked by the Camarillo's at the market daily. They offer plenty of vegetarian dishes including the colorful Montecito Salad with asparagus, beets, hearts of palm, red onions, and cherry tomatoes. While my friend enjoyed the El Sereno Al Pastor Tacos- three soft mini corn tortillas with rubbed port in a 13-spice marinade, cilantro, onion, tomato, pineapple and lime.

If nothing else, go to Florencia 13, at Sullivan St. & Bleecker, for their signature drinks made by son Lennard Camarillo like their Flaming Margarita and Classic Mojito. I'd also recommend the spicy guacamole and homemade chips.

A Night that Started at Nook

As my friend said, Nook is a true neighborhood gem located on 9th Ave. between 50th & 51st. It's a total hole in the wall BYOB place that only has about eight tables. The couple next to us even brought their own pitcher of sangria. Last night there were five of us, which is probably the biggest party I'd feel comfortable bringing to this restaurant. We ordered the Mushroom Cigars with White Truffle Oil for us all to share, they were amazing! Three of the five of us ordered their main salad with roasted pears, blue cheese (substituted for goat cheese instead) and candied walnuts with a citrus vinaigrette that was very good.
Nook is open for brunch, lunch and dinner the menu for all courses is available on Menu Pages.
Even though they don't have an official website they do take reservations, just call 212-247-5500

After diner we headed to a members-only mixology club where reesrvations are a must. This place is so exclusive that many New Yorkers think it's an urban myth, but I garentee you it's not. I don't want to ruin it by saying the name but wanted to share the experience. Despite being an exclusive club complete with rules it wasn't "clubby" at all, there is no dancing and in fact you don't really even see the other patrons. Everyone sits in tall booths and there is basically no lighting, just lights around the bar and one lit candle on each of the tables as well as on the trays the servers carry. The server came to our table asking what mood we were in and to give her an adjective that describes what kind of drink we're craving. My one friend said "refreshing," I said that I usually like mojitos and always like rasberries and blackberries. When all the drinks were served we all agreed that, not only were the drinks delicious they actually matched our personalities perfectly. Let's just say, I'd consider myself lucky to go back to this "underground" spot. ;)

Mercadito Grove

Mercadito Grove is a Mexican tapas restaurant located on 7th Avenue between Grove and Barrow Streets in the West Village. This is a great summer spot with outdoor seating perfect for interesting people watching and a vast list of exciting drinks including various mojitos, margaritas and cervezas.

To start we ordered the Guacamole Sampler which included orange guac, traditional and mango. The fruit in the guacamole made the spicy dishes a little more refreshing. My friend ordered the Pollo Tacos- four small tapas-style tacos topped with a sliver of avocado- and loved them. I had the Ensalada Verde (without jicama and queso). It was spicier than I would have liked and the quesco may have helped with that but I left most of the salad on my plate but made sure all of the chips and guacamole were eaten. = )