clinton st baking company – pancake month!

Chocolate & Blood Orange Pancakes - Clinton St Baking Co

For those of you in NYC, if you haven’t already seen me tweeting right and left about this, it’s Clinton Street Baking Company’s annual pancake month. Ahhh the pros of February. Doesn’t sound appealing yet? What about chocolate & blood orange pancakes with a candied orange glaze? No (well, I thought they were yummy)? How about fresh blackberries, pecan streusel, and warm maple butter? Or maybe chocolate chunks, fresh raspberries, and raspberry-caramel sauce is more your speed?

At any rate, we’ve still go over half of the month to go. Check out their pancake line-up over on the main page of their website. They offer their pancakes in the evening, which means you can escape the crazy lines you inevitably encounter when you try Clinton Street during brunch hours (oh no – don’t do it!). At night, you can either go with their pancake of the day or their yummy staple, blueberry pancakes. Note they’re open during the week from 8am - 4pm with a couple of hours break before reopening at 6pm. Be sure not to miss out on the paper baggies sitting on the table close to the hostess stand when you leave. Complimentary scones from that day’s breakfast makes a wonderful treat for the following day!

Clinton Street Baking Company – 4 Clinton Street (at East Houston) – 646.602.6263
No Reservations
Pancake month runs all through February!

 

carnies & social media week

Getting ready to take off...

Aside from Restaurant Week and some other dining adventures (many still to be captured here – much more to come), the past week and a half have been quite the whirlwind of activities. No dust accummulating here. My friend Jenn was in town and we decided to take a class at the Trapeze School New York, site of that one episode (season 6, “The Catch“) where Carrie takes a trapeze class.

“I could never! I have the most terrible fear of heights!” -Charlotte

“Well, I do not… you’ve seen my shoes.” -Carrie

Knee Hang

We decided to see what it was all about, and found it to be a wonderfully freeing experience – once you get over the process of scaling up the ladder to the platform. Minor detail there. There were about 10 in our class, and we probably got to go about 6-7 times each across on the bar. We first learned a knee hang, which at the time seemed crazy enough. But no there was more. From there, we learned how to do a double roll release and then finally, how to dismount to a catch by another instructor on a separate swing before falling below against the net. Just wow. It was unreal. Nothing like anything else I’ve ever tried, and something even better for being able to experience it with a friend. It’s ironic that it was also with Jenn that I first experienced ATV-ing and parasailing (both in Aruba). Always a fun time when you put us together! You just never quite know what will happen when you put together two or more Bama girls…

Picking up speed into the dismount

This past week has been Social Media Week in NYC, which has meant lots of activities, many of which didn’t really apply to me seeing as I don’t work full-time in social media. I did, however, make it out to a couple of the bigger social events which gave me a great opportunity to see some friends I haven’t seen in a while and to meet some really great new people as well along the way.

Social Divas/Digital Divas - Hotel Rivington

Obliterati @ R Bar - When my Uggs went into the air...

Obliterati - R Bar

And tomorrow, we sleep in… Happy Friday everyone!

 

dish buzz: cafe katja

Menu - Cafe Katja

I’ve wanted to try Cafe Katja since they opened (I recalled it being recent, though I learned they’ve actually been there about 2 years now) but somehow have never made my way there. Perhaps because I knew it was supposed to be small, is most known as a spot to hit later at night, and nothing makes me more cranky than trying to grab a bite to eat late at night when you’re ready to get down to business and being asked to wait. My typically scant patience really becomes nonexistent at that point.

Somehow though on this particular Thursday evening, we were on our way back from Obliterati at R Bar, one of the final big social blow-outs for Social Media Week NYC and were very close to Orchard Street – so I recommended we try to stop in. It was around 10:30pm, and the seating area was packed. However, the server was quick to state repeatedly that they could easily accommodate our table of five if we could hang tight a few minutes. We did, it came to pass, and we were soon seated in the prime seat in the main window for the restaurant. The restaurant has a nicer menu, but is essentially an Austian bar tiptoeing to that restaurant line, not prepared to give up the character to fully cross. Perfect for a late night stop.

 

dish buzz: one if by land, two if by sea

Our Romantic Dinner

I’ve always been curious to try One if By Land, Two if By Sea. I’ve known it for a while for two main reasons. One, I’ve heard it is one of the most romantic restaurants in the city. I’ve heard of many people getting engaged here or celebrating special occasions here, and have heard the food and atmosphere was of a quality to make it worthy to be chosen for such events. Secondly though, and perhaps more humorously, I always think of it as the restaurant in the city with the most awkward name. It just doesn’t quite roll easily off of the tongue, although I didn’t and don’t hold that against them and their food. I’ll let it speak for itself.

I love to see restaurants of this caliber willing to participate in restaurant week. And to do it so well. The servers did not seem annoyed, even though I’m guessing their tips on a $35 prix fixe meal cannot come close to the likes of a tip on their regular $78 prix fixe or $105 Chef’s Tasting menu. Everything about my experience here was nothing but top-notch. When I arrived, I sat at the bar waiting for my friends. The bartenders were attentive, checking in to see if I wanted anything (I was really just waiting), but weren’t pushy either. They’ve got it down to a science. They have a grand piano situated in front of the main window, and there was a pianist who started playing classical music. I was impressed before I ever took a bite, and that takes a lot.

 

dish buzz: cafe lalo

Ok, so I know Cafe Lalo is somewhat cramped. And yes, it is usually crowded. And well no, it’s not close to where I live at all. But I just kind of love it. It wasn’t until I was almost done eating here that my friend explained to me it was where Joe & Kathleen first have their “almost date” in You’ve Got Mail, one of my all-time favorite movies.

Joe: I think you’d discover a lot of things if you really knew me.

Kathleen: If I really knew you, I know exactly what I’d find: instead of a brain a cash register, instead of a heart a bottom line.

Joe: What?

Kathleen: I just had a breakthrough.

Joe: What is it?

Kathleen: I have you to thank for it. For the first time in my life, when confronted with a horrible, insensitive person, I knew exactly what I wanted to say and I said it.

Joe: I think you have the gift for it. It was a perfect blend of poetry and meanness.

Cafe Lalo - Upper West Side

I’ve been here twice now for brunch. Everytime, I’m physically incapable of ordering anything that is not served with their roasted potatoes. I think I’d come there just for a plate of roasted potatoes. They’re just that good. Now, when I walk through the front door, it’s the smell of the potatoes which I notice most in the restaurant. A bit of rosemary, and just the perfect amount of softness in them.

 

cupcakes – game ON!

Butter Lane - East Village

This morning, I found a comment from Maria at Butter Lane on my post I did back on October 19th on my experience at Butter Lane’s cupcake class. I haven’t hidden the fact that Butter Lane’s my favorite, after having tried most of the variations Manhattan (and beyond) have to offer. I like their’s in large part because they aren’t crazy overwhelmingly sweet and, as much as possible, they try to keep their flavors all-natural – something I find noticeable in the flavor of their cupcakes. You can even get coffee there if you desire. What more could you need?

Cupcake Spread - Butter Lane

If you aren’t sold yet, just wait. Listen up. They’re running a special/contest! Anyone who comes into Butter Lane and mentions you saw them on my blog, Grits in the City, gets two for one cupcakes Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays through the month of February (limit two per day). At the end of the month, the blogger with the most mentions wins a dozen cupcakes! Something in it for you, something in it for me, it’s a win win.

As extra incentive, if I were to win, I hereby promise to use the winning dozen to put together a humorous series of pictures and videos (likely involving Dixie as well) for your amusement. Did I mention win win? I hope you guys will play along!

Need a recommendation? Might I suggest peanut butter on banana, espresso on chocolate, or raspberry on chocolate for starters? As you try them, please come here and leave your thoughts on flavors. I’m sure others will appreciate it. Now, let’s CUPCAKE!

Time to dig in

 

dish buzz: salt bar

Saturday night’s plans included going to see a show at Mercury Lounge (Team Genius and Xylos) so, I decided we’d get reservations for Salt Bar since it’s close by, has a nice menu that looked good for sharing amongst a group, and it had a unique drink menu which I found intriguing.

When I first go there, they went ahead and seated me even though the other three in my party weren’t there. That was unexpected and appreciated. The server was super attentive and kept trying to take my drink order or bring me food while waiting. However once my friends joined me, it was all but impossible to get her attention. And while yes it was later, it still was not very crowded at the restaurant. It was like she was not social enough to be a server – walking around staring at her feet. It was the most bizarre thing I’d ever seen!

Prosciutto Flatbread - Salt Bar

We were surprised to see so early in the evening they were out of many basic things. We ordered the haricot vert, and were told “we’re out of green beans”. Okay. We then asked to order the flatbread with Prosciutto, blue cheese, caramelized onion, fig – but inquired as to whether or not we could substitute another cheese for blue cheese. Restaurants in NYC can be quite particular at times about We couldn’t go with the other flatbread as it had mushrooms and half of our table was allergic. She didn’t mind the request since, as luck would have it, they were also out of blue cheese. Really? Anyhow, we ended up with ricotta instead and I liked it – subtle taste to the saltiness of the prosciutto and the sweeter taste of the fig and onion. It was one of my favorites from the meal.

 

tortilla-crusted chicken

I promise I’m keeping up with my #10in10 goal to cook more healthy, well-balanced meals (hello dessert section in my cookbooks – I see you looking at me, and I’ll return to you shortly…). Working on some other writing though has distracted me from properly documenting the process over here to share, which is something I’m going to try to be better about as I play a little catch up.

Tortilla-crusted chicken

One of my recent favorite attempts was so easy, it made me wonder why on earth I don’t cook more often. All you need are some chicken breasts, your trusty spices, and some multi-grain tortilla chips. Oh, and salsa if you want to add it on as a garnish atop the chicken at the end (I did and enjoyed it – it added a bit of a kick. I’m a fan of Rosa Mexicana’s chipotle salsa – adds a ton of zing, for sure). I found this over on Eat Better America, where they do things like add whole grains rather than bleached flours and just try to add a better for you spin on regular comfort foods. I like multi-grain better, so found this change actually added some additional flavor in the process.

 

dish buzz: the spotted pig

The Spotted Pig - West Village

I’ve been meaning to try The Spotted Pig since I moved to New York City over two years ago. I’ll admit, it is the usual wait time I’ve heard about from basically all sources which has kept me away. Overall, I like low-stress and unrushed brunches. However for certain restaurants, you’ve just got to make an exception. At least once anyhow…

This outing coincided with the inaugural outing for Babes Who Brunch. Since we had a fair sized group and they do not take reservations, we were there right when they opened. Sometimes this itself is not an effective strategy (this is definitely the case with Clinton Street Baking Company – arrive at opening time and you’ll be greeted by a long line of people who have been there already for an hour), but in the case of the Spotted Pig, I was relieved to see lots of empty tables, no line, and that there’s even a decent-sized seating area upstairs.

 

365days – collage, november to present

365 days project

Check out the full set for 365 days here on Flickr. In the homestretch!