Saturday, January 29, 2011

FC Nibble: Date Night Never Tasted So Good

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I’ve been to a lot of good restaurants lately, but it’s been a while since I walked away feeling that I just experienced true greatness. Feeling full, but wanting more…plotting my next visit, counting the menu items I must try. Joseph Leonard was that experience for me.

It’s a 35 seat joint (including bar seating) just off of 7th Avenue on Waverly. Its homey, like a hipster grandma’s living room (is there such thing?). It’s got a village charm and coolness, and doesn’t feel like its trying too hard. When we got there, we learned that restaurant just reopened – that week – with an updated menu and wine list, as it was closed for two months due to a basement fire.

The menu was exciting… not exotic… but had the type of items that just made your mouth water: a warm octopus salad, crispy braised pork hock, roasted brussel sprouts with siracha, YUM! And, the little open kitchen filled the small room with a perfume of goodness that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

We sat down to a jar of homemade sour gherkins – my date who has an aversion to sweet pickles was thrilled. For an “amuse-bouche” we were served homemade potato chips with sour cream an onion dip… Could there be anything better? For appetizers, we then opted to share deconstructed clam casino and the warm octopus salad – a definite highlight. For a main course, we split the New York strip which was perfectly medium rare, and the roasted cauliflower and roasted brussel sprouts with siracha – they were extremely hot and addictive.

Joseph Leonard is not for the faint of seasoning… each dish has big, bold flavors. The destructed clams casino was too salty, but everything else was perfect for my palate. I am counting the days until I can return. Next on my list to try – the crispy braised pork hock.


Joseph Leonard
170 Waverly Place (at Grove St)
646-429-8383

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

WTFood Bite of the Day

Pin It One of our favorite gossip bloggers Perez Hilton posted the following article on his site today:

Man Shoots Friend For Eating His Cake Without Asking


Our initial reaction...but what kind of cake was it?!?!  C'mon, you know you thought the same thing!

p.s. - The cake in the photo looks pretty amazing, right?!  Time for our afternoon snack!

Thanks Perez!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Happy New Year!

Pin It Happy New Year Foodies!

Ok ok we’re 10 days late – but that doesn’t mean we can’t have resolutions!! (I mean – we are making this all up as we go!) So here goes. Um…we’d like to continue to eat great food! And write MORE about it! So…nothing surprising there…but here are a few specifics we’d like to do in 2011:

- We need to hit some more boroughs! Queens and the Bronx – I’m talking to you! Staten Island…we’ll keep you on our list for 2012 – m’kay? ;)
- We’d love some guest bloggers! We love it when friends join us for dinner! So if you’re interested in joining us and/or writing about a great food experience – by all means let us know!
- Be more international! There are a ton of cuisines that we’ve not yet tried! Any suggestions?

So the first post of 2011 is actually from the December Foodies In NYC Monthly Dinner. And we went to a place that is definitely different – check it out below!

Cheers and here is to a delicious 2011!

Anne, Christa and Danielle - - a.k.a. – Foodies In NYC



"Nothing Wrong with That!"

So as members of Foodies In NYC, we pride ourselves on trying everything! We love all types of food - from the diners to the five stars of the city - we love it all (errr...or most of it!) So December's choice came to us via a FINYC fan Ann Subveri - who also does some PR work for the casual dining chain Uno's (formerly Pizzeria Uno's and now called simply Uno Chicago Grill). Ann called us up and asked if we'd peruse the new menu for the blog. We were beyond flattered and got to work.....that is, to eat!

The night started out with a cozy little wine bar in South Street Seaport called Bin No: 220 (http://www.binno220.com). It was a celebration of Danielle's birthday (Happy Bday D!!!) - so to help the celebration along - we started the evening off with a few glasses of 2002 Montepulchiano Zaccaginini. It was earthy, warm and a perfect way to start the night.

Then - on to Uno's in South Street Seaport. We aren't gonna lie - we were skeptical (some would say snobby) about going here but we forged ahead! It's perched on the second floor of the Pier with a breathtaking view of the lighted Brooklyn Bridge and majestic old ships keeping watch in the harbor. We settled into a booth and began perusing the PAGES of options! We needed a glass of wine to sort this all out - so we ordered (from our very cheery and attentive waitress) a bottle of Gnarly Head Pinot Noir. Good wine at a great price!

So while the menu boasts some healthy options - it's actually listed as America's Healthiest Chain Restaurant by Health Magazine - we did not opt for those (did you really think we would?). We started out with the Chi Town Tasting plate (typical fare with wings, cheese dippers, and chicken fingers) but the stand out of the NIGHT was a little dish called Pizza Skins. That's right kids - it's a deep dish crust filled with red bliss mashed potatoes topped with bacon, cheddar and sour cream. This was creamy carb heaven on a plate! "Nothing Wrong With That" was Danielle's comment as she dove into her second slice.

For dinner, we sampled some of the other “Chef's Signature Dishes” - which included a Meat Deep dish pizza w/ BBQ chicken and sweet peppers, the Wowza Chicken thin crust with peppered chicken, spicy banana peppers, bell peppers an array of cheeses and Uno's Wowza sauce infused with Sam Adams. We also tried the Chicken Spinoccoli which was a rolled chicken breast filled with mozzarella, feta, broccoli, spinach, tomatoes, garlic and basil with penne in creamy pesto and chunky tomato. It was good - but I think the fan favorite for the entrees was the deep dish.
Not surprisingly...the foodies were too full (can you believe it?) for dessert! Next time Uno's - we promise!

While this is a bit off the beaten path for the foodies - we still had ourselves a good time. Good talks, laughs and lots of overeating. In fact, as we ordered - we all talked about our guilty pleasure restaurants. Mine (Anne) was Ruby Tuesday (LOVE their salad bar!), Danielle loves herself some TGI Friday’s, and Christa's a fan of Red Lobster (hello cheddar biscuits!). While we can't eat like this every night - we think that Uno’s is definitely on our list for some good ole guilty fun! What are your guilty pleasures?